by K'wan
Animal was feeling good when he reemerged in the hotel lobby. He was fresh, clean and had a nice buzz going on, courtesy of the Fountain Bleau's mini bar. He wasn’t drunk, but he had taken enough of the edge off to relax and slipped a little further into himself.
When he passed the front desk he looked for Jenny but she wasn’t at her station. Instead there was a tall light skinned cat with a processed wave manning her post. He was hunched over the desk flirting with two curvaceous chicks that were checking into the hotel. One of the girls caught sight of the chocolate Harlem native floating threw the lobby and zeroed in on him like he was a piece of meat. She tapped her friend and pointed in Animal's direction. They whispered something to each other and shared a giggle. Animal stealing the light skinned dude's shine didn’t go over well with him and he didn’t bother trying to hide it when he twisted his face up into a scowl. Dude tried to look tough, but Animal could smell the pussy coming off him from across the lobby. To add insult to injury Animal nodded at the two girls and smiled. They responded by motioning for him to come over, but he declined, pointing at his watch to let them know he was pressed for time. Animal knew that if he wanted to he could've probably gotten both of them to come up to his suite, but he wasn’t there for that.
The temperature had dropped a bit as it was approaching nightfall, but it was still very warm. Animal thought he would be able to catch a cab near the hotel but it was easier said than done. One of the valets offered to call one for him, but Animal declined, instead asking for a phone book and a phone he could use. He didn’t want anyone to be able to make the connection between the hotel and his destination. He had called several taxi companies but whenever he gave them the address he was going to they refused to take him. He hung up the phone in frustration and tried to brainstorm another mode of transport.
"You need a ride, boss?"
"What?" Animal turned and was confronted with one of the valets. He was a hip looking young cat with a gold tooth in the side of his mouth.
"I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I overheard you having some trouble getting a taxi." The valet said.
"Yeah, these niggaz act like they scared to go into a black neighborhood." Animal said in frustration.
"Most of them are. I might be able to help you. Where are you trying to go?" the valet asked.
"To this address." Animal handed him a slip of paper.
The valet shook his head and whistled. "No wonder you can't get a ride. Nobody goes down that way if they ain't from there, especially tourists. What you want in Liberty City, brah?"
"What I want down there is my business and if you can't get me there then ain't no need in your worrying about it." Animal said.
"Ain't no need to get in your feelings. I didn’t mean no disrespect, brah. Like I said, I might be able to help you. You need a ride and I got a car. I can run you to Liberty City for a few dollars." The valet explained.
"What, you the valet and a taxi driver?" Animal asked sarcastically.
The valet laughed. "Nah, man. I ain't no taxi. I'm just a lil short on gas money."
Animal pulled a brick of money from his pocket and peeled off two hundred dollar bills. "Will this put enough gas in your car to get me to Liberty City?"
The valet's eyes got wide at the sight of the money. "Shit, for two hundred dollars I'll drive your ass all the way to Cuba!" the valet reached for the money, but Animal snatched it back.
"Just because I'm a tourist doesn’t mean I'm stupid. You'll get your money when we reach Liberty City." Animal said.
"No problem, boss. Look, my shift is over in ten minutes. Meet me right here and I'll get you where you need to go."
Fifteen minutes later Animal and the valet were in a beat up Honda Civic on I-195W heading deeper into the heart of Miami. The view of the city skyline as they crossed the Julia Tuttle Causeway was breathtaking. Most of his trip to Miami had been spent below decks or crossing through bad weather so he never really had a chance to appreciate the scenery.
"Your first time in the dirty?" the valet asked Animal.
"Huh?"
"I said is it your first time down south?"
"Nah, I been down bottom a few times, but never to Miami." Animal told him and went back to staring out the widow.
"You from up north, ain't you?" It was obvious that Animal wasn’t interested in talking, but the valet was persistent.
"What makes you say that?" Animal asked.
"Your accent."
Animal gave him a quizzical look. "My accent? I think y'all the ones with accents."
"That's because you ain't from the south. To us you northerners are the ones who talk funny. You know what I'm saying, kid?" the valet did his best New York accent. He expected Animal to laugh, but he didn’t. "So what part of the north are you from? D.C.? Philly? Nah, you a New York nigga."
"I'm from everywhere and nowhere. Why you asking me so many fucking questions, homie? You wired?" Animal said in an irritated tone.
"My fault, boss. I was just trying to make small talk." The valet said in an apologetic tone.
"Well, I ain't really the talking kid, feel me? So, if it's all the same to you, just get me to my destination." Animal turned his attention back to the window.
The valet must've gotten the hint because he was quiet for the rest of the ride. Animal enjoyed the sights and sounds of Miami. He had had a lot on his mind and it felt good just to be able to think for a minute. When he happened to look up and saw that they had crossed N.E. 59th street he started to pay more attention to his surroundings. The address he had given him was a park off N.E. 63rd and 2nd Avenue, so they would arrive at his destination in a few minutes. To his surprise the valet turned on N.E. 60th and started heading further west. Animal didn’t know much about Miami, but he had googled the directions before he left the hotel, so he knew they were going in the wrong direction.
"My nigga, you could've gone up 2nd avenue and we'd have run into it." Animal pointed out.
"I know, boss, but at this time of day there would've been too much traffic. I'm taking a short cut. Relax yaself. I got this." The valet assured him.
The valet's words were calm and reassuring, too calm in fact. Animal's instincts were going crazy, but he kept his composure. Animal would be the first to admit that in light of everything that had happened he'd become highly paranoid and sometimes read too deep into things, but this didn’t feel right. The valet made a sharp turn down a street that was lined with abandoned houses and killed the engine. Even before he saw men start to file out of one of the houses Animal knew what time it was. He had been caught slipping.
Animal turned to the valet who had produced a gun, seemingly out of thin air, and pointed it at him.
"What the fuck is this?" Animal asked, already knowing the answer to the question.
The valet tossed a copy of Animal's mix tape at him and smiled. "Like ya man Jay-Z said, you got a face too easy to trace. I pegged you from the moment I saw you at the hotel. There's big money on your head, superstar, and I aim to collect."
One of the men who had come out of the abandoned house snatched the passenger door open and jammed a 9mm into Animal's face. "You know what it is, nigga. Get the fuck out the car."
Animal looked to the valet. "If you know who I am then you know this ain't gonna end well for you. "
The valet nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah, you a big bad killer. Good thing that the reward is the same whether you're dead or alive. I'd rather take you back breathing, but I'm getting paid regardless."
Pain exploded in Animal's skull as the man holding the 9mm hit him in the side of the head. "Stop stalling and get the fuck out of the car before I blast you, brah!" The man ordered.
Animal clutched his head. Blood spilled over his fingers and down the side of his face from the gash that the gun had opened up. He glared murderously at the valet. "After I kill your boys, I'm gonna cut your lying tongue outta your fucking mouth."
"A gangsta, even in the face of impending doom. I
respect you, brah, but I respect my pockets more. Take this nigga." The valet told his goons.
Animal knew that it was now or never, so when the man holding the 9mm reached for him, he made his move. He grabbed the arm holding the gun and pulled the man forward at the same time throwing his head backwards. Animal head butted the shocked gunman and busted his nose like an overripe tomato. Before the gunman could recover, Animal broke his arm at the elbow, causing the gun to go off. The stray bullet hit the valet in the nuts and he howled in pain as he flung himself out of the car. Hands reached into the car grabbing Animal by his hair and shirt, dragging him out of the vehicle.
They threw Animal to the floor and rat-packed on him. They kicked, stomped, and punch Animal all over his body. Somewhere in the mess of arms and legs Animal saw someone pull a knife, but there were so many of them beating on Animal that he couldn’t get a clean cut in. A few feet away he could see the valet crawling around on the ground, holding the bloody hole in his lap and crying hysterically. Animal managed to force a smile to his lips, right before someone kicked him in the mouth. There was no doubt in Animal's mind that he was living his final moments, but at least he would die with the vision of the valet's pain twisted face in his head.
When Animal heard the gunshot, his eyes automatically closed and his body went rigid. There were three more retorts from the gun and it he knew the game had officially come to an end for him. He waited for the searing pain that came with getting shot but didn’t feel anything, which he attributed to his body being in shock from the beating. This drew his attention to the fact that he was no longer being beaten.
Animal opened one eye and found himself face to face with the corpse of the man who had hit him with the 9mm. Ignoring the pain in his body; he rolled away from the corpse and brushed against another one. From the tattoo on his hand he knew this had been the man holding the knife he'd seen. Animal propped himself up and took stock of his surroundings. All of his attackers were dead. Standing in the midst of the carnage were two people, a guy and a girl.
The girl was dark skinned with dyed blonde hair, accented with pink streaks, which she wore in two Princess Leah buns on either side of her head. She was petite, but standing on the black and yellow roller skates she towered over her partner. She wore black leggings with a yellow sweatshirt that hung off one shoulder and was cut off at the stomach, showing off the tattoo just above her bellybutton that read Uniquely Me In All Ways. She reminded Animal of one of the girls from the old roller derby shows he used to watch with his aunt and uncle back in the days. She skated tight circles around her partner with her eyes locked on Animal the whole time.
The man was the complete opposite of the girl. Where as she was flashy, he was quiet and reserved. He wore a white shirt and black tie, under a simple black suit that hung perfectly on his wiry frame. His hair was cut low into a wavy Caesar with a half moon part carved into the left side of it. He looked like a little boy on his way home from church, except instead of a bible he carried a smoking 10mm.
The young man in the suit stepped through the bodies and hovered over Animal. He wasn’t aiming the gun at him, but the tenseness in his hand said that he could bring it into play at a moment's notice. He studied Animal for a few minutes before extending his free hand.
Animal was hesitant.
The young man in the suit sighed and the girl rolled her eyes. He held held the gun up to show Animal he meant him no harm then slipped it back into the holster beneath his jacket. He extended his hand again. This time Animal accepted the help to his feet.
"Are you hurt?" the young man in the suit asked.
"Just my pride." Animal brushed the dirt from his clothes. His body ached all over, but he was alive. "Thanks for saving my ass."
"No thanks needed, brother. I'm your unofficial guardian angel while you're in Miami." The young man in the suit informed him. He noticed the quizzical look on Animal's face. "Where are my manors? I'm called Brother Minister Jackson."
"Minister? What're you, some kind of Muslim?" Animal looked at his suit.
"Yes, I'm a Muslim, but Minister is actually my first name. Don’t ask because I'm not going to explain." Minister told him. "This," he pointed to the girl on the roller skates, "is Unique." Unique gave Animal a shy smile. "We're associates of Diamonds."
Animal frowned. "So, what was this shit? Some kind of test?"
"I assure you, brother, this was none of our doing. Diamonds doesn’t do tests. Either you're with him or you're not." Minister said seriously. "We've been tailing you since you got off the boat to see if you were who you said you were and to make sure you got to where you needed to be."
"So am I who I'm supposed to be?" Animal asked sarcastically.
"Judging by the fact that you're standing in the middle of a crime scene within a few hours of landing in Miami, I'd say you're the man they call Animal. I want to apologize to you for slipping in my responsibilities. Had we not lost track of you in traffic these cats would've never gotten within three feet of you." Minister said.
"I'd rather you showed up late than not at all. Any idea who these guys are?"
Minister shrugged. "Just some knuckleheads who tried to come up off a tourist."
Unique slammed one of the heavy roller skates into the valet's side. "Too bad this tourist was under the protection of Diamonds." Unique squatted over the injured valet. She produced a blade from her bra and placed it to the valet's throat.
"Please, I didn’t know he was with Diamonds." The valet tried to explain.
"Too bad, too sad." Unique cut him across the cheek. She took the bloody knife and smeared the letter U on the valet's forehead. "This is gonna be fun."
"Unique, stop playing. Kill him and be done with it. Diamonds is waiting on us and you know he's impatient." Minister told her.
"Alright, alright, freaking spoil sport." Unique mumbled. She tightened the grip on the knife, prepared to finish the valet off.
"Wait!" Animal called out.
Unique scowled at Animal. "What the fuck do you mean wait? This guy tried to off you and you wanna spare him?"
Animal approached them. "Absolutely not. This lying piece of shit is going to die, but I just wanted to do the honors. That is, if you don’t mind?"
"Not at all," Unique smiled and placed the bloody knife in Animal's hand.
The valet took one look at the murderous look in Animal's eyes and pissed his pants. "Please, I'm sorry. I swear if you let me live you'll never see me again."
"Stop fucking crying!" Unique kicked the valet in his head roughly with the skate.
The valet's eyes rolled back in his head like he was going to pass out, but Animal slapped him twice hard across the face. "Nah, I need you to be wide awake for this." Animal squeezed the valet's cheeks, forcing his mouth open. He placed the blade on the valet's tongue. "Unlike you, I'm a man of my word." He told him before cutting his tongue out.
"Are you quite done?" Minister didn’t bother to hide his disgust at Animal's brutality.
"I recon so." Animal wiped the blade on the valet's uniform and handed it back to Unique. "Thank you."
"Let's get out of here. Diamonds is waiting for us." Minister led the trio back up the block to where their car was parked.
As they walked up the street, Unique skated up next to Animal. "I think I'm gonna like you." She winked and skated away.
CHAPTER 2
Ashanti sat in the window of the fifth floor apartment, staring out the rain streaked window. It was coming down pretty hard, but he was dressed for the weather. Green army jacket, black boots and a safari cap. His hand was shoved deep into the pocket of his army jacket, where he absently stroked the small .38 he was carrying. He was ready for anything man or nature had to throw at him.
Ashanti's keen eyes were locked on the playground below, where a dude named Terror sat on the bench. A large umbrella sat on his shoulder, protecting him from the rain while he conducted his business. Terror was serving fiends like he had a license to do it. He was
the only one bold or dumb enough to hustle out in the open after what had happened. The hood was a ghost town and it was all his fault.
The block was on fire with police doubling up their patrols and under covers lurking in every nook and cranny of the General Grant Houses. Their hourly sweeps made the hood hot and it only promised to get hotter before it was all said and done. The police were assholes as a rule, but this time even Ashanti had to admit they were justified in their anger. The act that had drawn down their wrath had been so heinous that it not only touched the hood, but rocked the whole city.
A few nights prior there had been a dice game on the Avenue that had attracted a small crowd of hustlers from the hood, including Terror. Terror wasn’t originally from the projects, but he had been living there for years. He and his younger brother had come to New York to live with their grandmother after their parents were tragically killed in a bank robbery gone wrong. Both brothers were criminals, but Terror's antics put him in a class by himself. He was a reckless young bull who had no value for his life or anyone else's, which ostracized him from most clicks, but Terror didn’t need a click. He was a one man army. Most of the crews steered clear of the violent youth, including King James. Terror was a federal case in the making and King wanted no parts of it.
Terror had been on a rotten streak and was getting tight that the young boy who was holding the bank was taking all his money. They started off slinging playful insults at each other, but it wasn’t long before the insults turned into sharp words. It didn’t take long before lines and weapons were drawn with Terror on one side and the kid and his crew on the other. The kid holding the bank had numbers on his side so he expected Terror to back down. That's because he didn’t know Terror.
Without so much as a second though, Terror opened fire. The kid he'd been arguing with was knocked out of his shoes and his friends ran for cover. Terror fired recklessly at the fleeing men, but missed his targets. He did manage to hit a little girl who had just come out of the store. She was buying milk and cereal for her little brothers and sisters when a stray bullet cut her down just shy of her thirteenth birthday.