A CHILD OF A CRACKHEAD

by Shameek Speight

  “I got to go” Rachel said and started to walk out of the bedroom door. She headed down the hall to the front door. “I love you mommy.” Michael’s little voice grew fainter as she walked out of the house.

  Rachel began to cry. She just did the same thing that her mother did to her. She began to run down the block and saw an alleyway, the same alleyway that Black Ice killed her Uncle Brian in many years ago.

  She walked in the alleyway and cried very hard and pulled out the glass pipe from her bra and stuffed it with crack. She lit the end and inhaled. The smoke rushed in her lungs and instantly relaxed her. For a few seconds, she forgot about her problems and pain. Ten minutes later, she remembered her problems and pain and she started sucking on the glass pipe again.

  Chapter 17

  “Oh, tomorrow it’s on. So be ready J-Rock.” Caesar said.

  “I’ll be ready son.” J-Rock said.

  “I’ll holla at you tomorrow.” Caesar said as he hung up the phone.

  It’s been three months since Caesar and J-Rock talked about killing Black Ice.

  Caesar looked at Ace and said, “He’s at his weakest. It’s now or never.”

  “You’re right. I hope J-Rock knows what he’s doing.” Ace replied.

  “Please nigga. Black Ice is cracked out. That nigga is a straight crack head. He shouldn’t be getting money and no one should fear his ass no more. You see how he looks just like one of the fucking crack heads that our workers sell to.”

  “Yea, but he is still Black Ice.” Ace stated. Ace knew all the shit that Caesar was talking about was true. He knew that Caesar was just as scared of Black Ice like he was or anyone else in the hood was for that matter. That’s why he didn’t try to kill Black Ice himself. Ace was starting to feel the real reason Caesar hated Black Ice. It was because Black Ice started fucking Roxy and he couldn’t get no time with her.

  Caesar and Ace sat in silence counting the money they made for the week in an apartment in Brownsville projects. Both of them were in deep thoughts. Ace was thinking about what he will do with all the money he’ll be making and what kind of a house he’ll be buying for Lisa and the kids.

  Caesar was thinking about how he came in Lisa’s mouth earlier that day and how Ace would be kissing her later and he smiled.

  “Yo, what are you smiling about son?” Ace asked.

  “Nothing, my man, nothing” Caesar replied in a smooth tone.

  Black Ice inhaled deeply and let the cigarette full of crack relax him. He stood in the lobby of building 234 in Brownsville projects with a brown paper bag full of money that he just collected from Ace and Caesar for the week. He was stuck in thoughts of how crazy of a week it had been.

  Rachel was smoking more crack than humanly possible as she was smoking an ounce of crack a day. Shit he didn’t have in mind that when he made her start smoking it would be like that. She wasn’t supposed to get this bad. Then the bitch took his son to Momma’s house. He was going to go get him back he thought even as much as he hated the evil look his son has been giving him and for trying to kill him. He still loved Michael. The blood that was running thru his veins was his very own. Black Ice took the last of the cigarette and held the smoke in. He tossed the bud on the floor and pushed the building door open and walked outside. Once he was outside, he exhaled the smoke that was in his lungs and watched the smoke float in the air. He started walking through the projects to make his way out. He walked past a bench with three young thugs sitting on it. He took a quick glance at them as he passed them and got a feeling that something was wrong. He realized he didn’t recognize any of those thugs on the bench. That was impossible he knew all the workers that worked for Caesar and Ace under him. “Shit it’s the crack. It has me tripping. I’m paranoid as a mother fucker.” He said to himself. His stomach started bubbling some more and he stopped in his tracks. “Fuck that I’ve lived this long because I listen to my gut.” He said while turning around to walk toward the three thugs on the bench. He pulled out a cigarette on his way there. “Yo does one of you have a light?” Black Ice asked when he was face to face with them.

  “Yeah” The tall men of the group said.

  As Black Ice looked in the men’s faces, an alarm went off in his head. He has seen these niggas from Picking Avenue.

  What the fuck were they doing over here?

  These niggas knew better than to try to get money over here. Right then and there Black Ice knew something was wrong.

  One of the men held a lighter in his hand and flicked it as Black Ice bent over to light the cigarette. He could see from the corner of his eye one of the other men slowly reaching his hand to his waist. In the blink of an eye, Black Ice, let go of the bag of money he was carrying and pulled out his gun’s, one in each hand, before the bag of money hit the ground. He squeezed the triggers of both guns at the same time, repeatedly. Bullets ripped through the men at the same time. Blood and pieces of skull covered his face and clothes as the bullets ripped through the faces of the men in front of him. Two bullets caught the man on the left of him in the neck and one in the heart making him slump over dead. The man behind the bench tried to react and reach for his gun, but was way too slow. Black Ice closed his arms together and had both guns aiming at him. The young thug found himself staring down the barrel of a 44

  bulldog revolver and a nickel plated 9mm.

  “What the fuck are y’all niggas trying to do?

  Rob me? Y’all must be crazy!” Black Ice laughed.

  “Yo man, it’s nothing like that. J-Rock sent us to get at...” the young thug started to say. Black Ice ended those words by pulling the triggers on both guns. He turned around while keeping his guns aimed at the young thug and couldn’t believe what he saw. Five men were running towards him shooting. Black Ice took a giant step onto the bench and leaped over it. He grabbed the young thug that was in front of him and put him in a one arm head lock. He started shooting back while using the body of the thug as a shield as rapid fire was coming at Black Ice left and right.

  J-Rock let four quick shots from his gun hoping that they would find their mark.

  But every shot went into the thug that Black Ice was using as a shield squirming in pain as every bullet that was meant for Black Ice ripped through his body. He tried to get free of Black Ice’s grip, but it was no use he was too strong. He let out a scream when the last bullet ripped through him and his body went limp.

  Black Ice felt the body get heavy and knew he was dead. He released his grip and raised his arms. Gunshots were flying all over from the oncoming gunmen squeezing their triggers. Bullets were flying all over the place as black Ice exchanged fire five bullets made their way to one of J-Rock’s gunmen filling him up with lead and leaving him dead. J-Rock and Smoke saw their henchman go down so they took cover and let their two other gunmen attempt to approach Black Ice while he was firing his guns crazy.

  A cop car road by the block and the cop looked in the projects to see the gunfight and reached for his radio and said, “Officer needs back up. Shot being fired in the projects.” In no time, another cop car pulled up to the scene. The cops got out of their cars and the four of them made their way over to the gunfight with their weapons drawn and fired.

  J-Rock watched as the back of one of his gunmen’s head blew open leaving a whole the size of a baseball. He felt bullets whistle past his head. He looked back and saw the four white cops shooting at him and his men’s direction. He ran behind a tree for cover. “Smoke, Smoke!” J-Rock yelled.

  Smoke lay’s in the grass trying to get a good aim on Black Ice, but couldn’t because he was using the bench for cover. “Yo, Smoke!” J-Rock yelled again.

  Smoke looked over to see J-Rock calling for him and then saw the cops running towards them shooting.

  “Grab the bag with the money and be out. Tell Juice to go after Black Ice.” J-Rock yelled once he got Smoke’s attention.

  Juice was J-Rocks last gunmen and he was ducking in a bush reloading his gun.

  “Yo, Jui
ce, you heard him.” Smoke yelled at Juice.

  Black Ice saw the four cops come and he was thankful because he was out of bullets. He used this opportunity and took off running.

  “Follow him, Juice. Don’t let him get away.” Smoke said as Juice took off running after Black Ice. Smoke got up and ran for the brown bag. A bullet hit him in the leg.

  He grabbed the back of his leg and fired back at the cops making them duck and roll for cover. Smoke picked up the bag and ran to the nearest building. He ran through the lobby and knocked on a door inside. An old lady opened the door and Smoke shoved his way in. “Don’t say shit and I won’t shoot you grandma” Smoke said to the lady while pointing his gun at her and locking the door behind him.

  J-Rock took off running across the street. “They’re running.” One of the cops said to the others. “I’ll follow the one going across the street. You guys go after the others.”

  Juice ran as fast as he could to catch Black Ice. He saw him turn the corner around the building. Black Ice leaned on the building and quickly reloaded his guns.

  Juice was so busy trying to catch Black Ice he forgot about the cops that were chasing after him. Juice turned the corner of the building and something told him to turn his head to the side. He looked and saw Black Ice leaning against the wall with the guns pointed at him. Black Ice fired and watched as the shots ripped through Juice’s body from the back and came out the front of him.

  The bullets sprayed in his chest and tore through his insides. Black Ice watched his body fall to the ground.

  “We got another one.” One of the cops yelled as the three of them approached.

  “Wait he is still moving.” One of the cops said when he looked down and fired three shots into Juice’s body while he was on the ground dying. Something caught the attention to one of the cops. He looked up at the side of the building to see Black Ice standing there with the guns pointing in their direction. “Move!” the cop yelled to his partner while he dived for cover. The warning came too late. Black Ice sent rapid fire toward the cop’s bodies. They twisted and jerked as the bullets ripped through their bodies and faces like paper. They fell over dead right on top of Juice’s body. The young cop lifted his head and looked up to see that his partners were dead and saw Black Ice run into the building. He grabbed the radio on his shoulder and pressed the button and said, “Officers down. I repeat Officers down. I need an ambulance and back up in Brownsville Projects.” He requested as tears ran down his face. He got up slowly to run after Black Ice who ran into the building.

  Chapter 18

  Black Ice ran up the stairs to the second floor and laughed. A sense of pleasure overwhelmed him when he saw the cops fall over dead. He ran down the long hallway to the back stairway and ran down the stairs to the back exits of the building.

  He could hear the sirens of more police cars arriving around the building. He quickly went to the next building and ran up to the fourth floor and knocked on apartment 4C of the building. The door opened, “Ray Ray move let me in.” Black Ice shoved his way in the door. Ray Ray locked the door behind him.

  The young police officer lost Black Ice at the first building on the second floor.

  He didn’t know where he went. He didn’t know the project buildings and the back exits. He went outside and cried for his partner’s lives that were lost as he heard the sirens coming closer for the backup he needed, but it was too late. He already lost Black Ice.

  The S.W.A.T team and uniform cops surrounded the Brownsville Projects.

  Detective Roy was an overweight cop that was in charge of the investigation. He approached the young cop that chased Black Ice inside the building. “What’s your name officer?” Detective Roy asked they young cop.

  “Officer Reed sir” He answered.

  “Okay Officer Reed, tell me what the fuck is going on? Why do we have three dead cops and six gunmen?” Detective Roy asked.

  “Did you say three dead cops?”

  Officer Reed asked. He only knew of his partner and one other man.

  “Yes there are three dead men of our own. Start from the beginning.” Detective Roy ordered.

  “My partner and I were driving by when we saw the gunfight going on. He jumped out of the car to try to get things under control.”

  “Do you know what the gunfight was about?” Detective Roy asked.

  “No sir, but all the gunmen seemed to be shooting at one person. He was dark skin and really black. He had two guns and was shooting right back at all of them like crazy.” Office Reed started.

  Detective Roy’s heart jumped a beat.

  He knew who ran this hood, Black Ice. He’s wanted to take Black Ice down for years, but there were never any witnesses when a murder showed up and everybody knew Black Ice did it. But, no one was foolish enough to snitch on him. Detective Roy still remembered the pair of hands they found tied up on the power lines a few years back.

  “Okay officer, keep going. Tell me how the other two cops ended up dead.”

  “We all…” he began until interrupted by Detective Roy.

  “What do you mean ‘we all’?”

  “Well sir the other two officers and myself started chasing the tall man that everybody was shooting at. The suspect we were chasing turned around and fired on us.”

  He swallowed hard. He needed to give another reason why other than that they shot the young man on the ground that was still alive out of cold blood. He sure wasn’t going to tell him that. He continued, “Once the suspect fired at us we exchanged gunfire and killed him. My partner walked up to him to disarm him. When I turned my head the other suspect that the man we killed was chasing, was leaning up against the building wall in a shadow with two guns pointed at us. I tried to warn the other officers, but it was too late. The suspect killed them in cold blood. I was on the floor and took cover and fired back at him. He, meaning Black Ice, ran into that building right there.

  I followed him inside, but lost him. He was laughing sir the whole time running.”

  “Officer Reed if you saw the suspect again, would you be able to point him out in a line up?” Detective Roy asked.

  “Yes sir I would. He had the evilest eyes I’ve ever seen.”

  Detective Roy turned to the S.W.A.T

  team and ordered them to search the building. He ordered the uniform cops to go door to door ordering everybody out of their apartments and to search through the apartments. Detective Roy knew now for sure that the shooter of the death of the cops had to be Black Ice. The evil eyes and the laughter the officer talked about could only be one person. He thought I’m going to get that nigga one way or the other, if it’s locking his ass up or putting his body in a body bag.

  Chapter 19

  Ray Ray was in the mix of the crowd of noisy people around the crime scene.

  After hearing everything he needed to get the news to Black Ice. He slowly walked off and headed back to his building. He ran up the four flights of stairs into his apartment on the fourth floor. He locked the door.

  “Yo, it looks bad out there.” He said as he turned around to face Black Ice who was on the couch smoking crack out of his pipe.

  “What the fuck you mean it looks bad. I sent you out there to go details. Now tell me what it looks fucking bad out there means.” Black Ice hollered.

  “Chill Black Ice” Ray Ray said in a pleading tone. “The cops and the S.W.A.T

  team are searching the building next to this one. They are making everybody come out of their apartments and they are looking for you. They don’t know you are over here.”

  “What you mean they are looking for me. Do they know it was me?” Black Ice asked.

  “No, not really, but that fat fucking Detective Roy is out there and you know he has it hard up for you for years. And there’s this young white office named Reese, or Reed. He told him he the guy who shot the cops and could point him out in a line up.”

  “Really?” Black Ice said while

  rubbing his chin. “Here take this
.” He threw a piece of crack the size of a small rock to Ray Ray. “Here this is what I need you to do. I can’t leave yet and go outside.

  The projects will be crawling with police for a day or even more. What I want you to do is follow that young cop back to the precinct and then to his house and write the address down. I’ll pay you good.” Black Ice said.

  “But, Black Ice how am I going to follow him I don’t have a car.” Ray Ray asked.

  Black Ice pulled out a set of keys from his jeans pocket and handed them to Ray Ray. “Take these. There’s a brown Ford Taurus with tinted windows parked on Shutter Avenue.”

  “I didn’t know you had a Ford

  Taurus.” Ray Ray said.

  “Don’t worry about that and get fucking moving! Go now!” Black Ice yelled at Ray Ray. With that Ray Ray was out of the apartment and headed down the block and around the corner to Black Ice’s car.

  Officer Reed went to the 77 precinct and changed his clothes in the locker room.

  He felt as if all eyes were on him. His partner and another officer are dead. He felt like it was his fault. He quickly got dressed and put his uniform in his locker and exited the precinct. He walked out into the parking lot and walked up to his Toyota Camry. He pulled off thinking to himself “Damn, I can’t believe this shit. I lost my partner.” Tears started rolling out of his eyes making it hard for him to see where he was driving. “If I only would have warned him in time, Billy would still be alive.” He said to himself. He stopped at a red light and closed his eyes.

  Black Ice’s laugh echoed in his head. He could still see clearly Black Ice pointing the two guns at him and the other officers. “His eyes, those evil looking eyes, how could a man be so evil?” he said aloud. Then he flashed back about a month ago, when he was on duty at the Broadway Junction Train Station. He was getting ready to arrest a woman for hopping the turn style. The flashback went to the young little boy and his eyes. He remembered his eyes and thought they had the same look as the eyes he saw today. The boy’s words echoed in his head. ‘Don’t arrest my mommy it was my daddy. Blame him. Get him.’