Gangsta

by Foye, K'wan

  Nigga you ain't even have to come. Always popping some shit.

  If anything, why we can't just peel this nigga cap?"

  "Because," said Snake Eyes from the drivers seat, snatching the joint from Stan. "Killing a law enforcement agent is a capital crime. Which means, if we get caught, we get the gas. Stupid motherfucker." They all laughed.

  Snake Eyes was a banger, but he was book smart also. He graduated at the top of his class at Crenshaw high and was currently enrolled in his third year of law school at UCLA. Like Lou-loc, Snake Eyes didn't intend to make a living out of selling drugs.

  "A'ight fellas," said Gutter checking his .38. "You ready, Lou-loc?"

  For a long moment, Lou-loc said nothing. He just sat there staring at the tech-nine on his lap. For some reason this whole situation made him uneasy.

  It wasn't that he was scared. Lou-loc had shot more than a few people in his nineteen years on earth, but this was different.

  They were about to invade a mans home. A police officer at that.

  Gutter finally broke the silence. "Yo, cuz," he whispered to Lou-loc, who was sitting next to him in the back seat. "You ain't gotta get dirty this rip. If you want, you can stay in the car and watch our back. Me and Snake can hold this down."

  "Nah," said Lou-loc shaking his head from side to side. "Let's do this shit, and get it over with." Lou-loc stepped from the car and tied a red bandanna around the lower portion of his face.

  Gutter and Snake Eyes stepped from the car and did the same.

  As they made their way toward the house Lou-loc stopped short. "One thing fellas," he said in a hushed tone. "We don't touch, his wife and kids. If we gotta peel this nigga, then so be it, but the woman and children go free. Agreed?" Gutter and Snake Eyes looked at each other puzzled, but nodded their heads in agreement. Stan on the other hand just sucked his teeth and continued carrying his empty box up the driveway. Stan was going to be trouble, and Lou-loc knew it.

  Stan walked up the few steps and rang the doorbell while his three henchmen concealed themselves in the bushes. A shadow appeared in the front window to see who it was? From the sil-houette, Stan could tell it was a female, so he put on his Supermodel smile and waved. After a moment or so, the front door was being unlocked.

  The young lady who answered the door was very attractive.

  Her long blonde hair was flipped up in the back and held in place by two pencils. She had ocean blue eyes, and her lips where full and pink.

  Stan openly admired the girl with a lustful look in his eyes.

  She in turn did the same. The cool breeze coming off the Pacific Ocean caused her nipples to stand at full attention, poking out through her baby doll T-shirt. She shifted her weight from one leg to the other and gave Stan a pleasant smile.

  Stan's eyes kept shooting back and forth from her nipples to her too short jean shorts. He was looking at her, the way a hungry man would eye a T-bone steak. The funny thing was, she did- n't seem to mind. Under different circumstances he would've been trying to holla at her.

  After a long silence, and a bit of fantasizing, Stan finally found his voice. "Ah...package for the O'Leary's." The girl licked her lips and looked Stan dead in the eye.

  "Pretty big huh?" she said seductively. "The package that is." Stan smiled at her obvious attempt at flirting with him. "So where would you like me to put it?" Stan asked matching her tone. Before she could answer, Gutter stepped from the shadows with his gun drawn.

  "Don't move bitch," Gutter snapped. She looked like she was going to scream until Gutter placed the gun to her head.

  That changed her mind.

  "Let's do a little math, shall we?" Gutter asked backing her into the house. "Scream, plus gun, equals dead little white girl.

  You understand?" she nodded her head in agreement. "Good." Lou-loc and Snake Eyes stepped into the house, followed by Stan. "Yea, I'm gonna get me some of that," Stan said moving towards the already terrified girl. Just when he got within feet of her, Lou-loc stepped in between them.

  "We ain't got time for that," said Lou-loc, placing a firm hand against Stan's chest. "Besides, you got some where to be. Don't you?"

  Stan wanted to test Lou-loc, but thought better of it.

  Something in the man's eyes told Stan to let it be. He just sucked his teeth and walked out the front door.

  Lou-loc watched Stan walk up the street. He and Stan were cool, but Lou-loc knew better than to turn his back on him. After Stan had gone, Lou-loc turned his attention towards the girl. He motioned for her to sit on the couch and then knelt down beside her.

  "What's your name?"

  When she didn't answer he tried being a little softer with her.

  "Look girl, ain't no body gonna hurt you. Now, tell me your name?"

  "T...Tina," she finally blurted out.

  "Good," said Lou-loc. "Now we're making some progress.

  Next question, who else is here with you?" more silence.

  "Look bitch," Snake Eyes began, but was cut off when Lou-loc raised his hand for silence. Getting the girl all scared wouldn't help them any.

  "Tina," Lou-loc said very evenly. "I told you that no one was going to hurt you, but if you don't cooperate, all bets are off.

  Now, who else is in the house with you?" Tina fidgeted on the green sofa for a moment, but when she saw the look on the men's faces, she decide it was best to answer. "My mother and little brother are upstairs in the bedroom. But please don't hurt them, they won't be any trouble?"

  "Let us be the judge of that," said Lou-loc. "A'ight boys," he said looking from Snake Eyes to Gutter. "Round them up.

  Quietly if possible, forcibly if necessary." Snake Eyes and Gutter made their way upstairs while Lou-loc stayed with Tina. At first there was silence then a scream. As Lou-loc was about to investigate, he heard footsteps coming down the stairs.

  Gutter appeared first with a middle-aged woman slung over his shoulder. Her hair was in her face but you could still see the resemblance between her and Tina. The woman's hands and feet were tied behind her as she thrashed wildly on Gutter's shoulder. Snake Eyes followed leading a small boy by the hand.

  "What's that all about?" asked Lou-loc.

  Gutter tossed the woman on the sofa next to her daughter, and let out a sigh. "Blood, this hoe started tripping. I had to tie her ass up to keep her from wilding out."

  "Oh my God," the woman said frantically. "Did these animals hurt you?"

  Tina shook her head in the negative. "No mom, I'm fine.

  We'll all be fine as long as we don't give them any trouble." Mrs. O'Leary looked at her daughter in disbelief. "Tina, are you insane? These people are animals. All they know is violence."

  Lou-loc stepped in and tried to defuse the situation. "Look miss, you're going to be ok. We didn't come here to harm you or your family."

  "You expect me to believe that?" she shot back. "I read about your kind in the news everyday. All you do is kill each other and blame honest white folks for your situation. You bastards are parasites. We've damned ourselves for even bringing you to this country. They should've left you in Africa with the rest of the monkeys and apes."

  Gutter in particular took offense at this particular remark.

  His grandparents had originally come to the states from Algeria.

  Before Lou-loc had time to react, Gutter was on his feet and moving towards her. He snatched her by the collar of her bathrobe and lifted her to her feet.

  "Who are you to judge?" He said in almost a growl. "You say that we are taking from you, but what about what you have already taken from us? Our culture, freedom, dignity? How dare you?"

  Lou-loc tried to calm his friend, but Gutter waved him off.

  With one fluid motion, Gutter drew his weapon and placed it in her mouth.

  "You say you hate blacks so much? Well it was a black

  woman who saved your life this evening." Mrs. O'Leary looked at him confused as he tucked the gun back in his belt.

  "My poor mother would turn o
ver in her grave if I threw my life away on someone as ignorant as your ass." He threw her roughly back to the couch. "I feel no pity for you or your soul, for it will surely burn in the Hereafter. It is the children I am concerned for," he said pointing at Tina and her brother.

  As Gutter walked away from her, he stopped short. "Always remember this, ignorance is a very contagious disease. If you pass it on to your children, they will surely share your miserable fate."

  Gutter walked over and stood by the window. Lou-loc breathed a sigh of relief. Mrs. O'Leary would probably never have guessed how close she came to meeting her God.

  Outside, Stan stood on the corner kicking rocks. He didn't like being outside away from the action. What bothered him more, was missing out on his chance with the young white girl.

  "Cock blocking motherfucker," Stan said to no one in particular.

  Who was Lou-loc to be giving him orders? "Fuck Harlem," Stan said kicking a loose stone.

  As Stan looked up the street, he noticed a group of young Mexican girls coming his way. They were all wearing bikini tops and too tight shorts. At least the night wouldn't be a total loss, Stan thought as he made his way to intercept them.

  "Holla, mommies," Stan said and bent into an over exagger-ated bow. "Como esta?" the girls thought Stan was funny, so they decided to stop.

  Stan went right to work snowing the young girls with his best lines. He was so wrapped up in the girls, that he didn't notice O'Leary's blue ford bend the corner. That was a mistake that would cost him.

  Inside the house, the three mock Bloods stood watch over their hostages. Two hours had passed since they entered the house. Two hours and not a sign of O'Leary. Lou-loc's stomach started to turn. Something was wrong.

  "Where this fool at?" Lou-loc said looking at his watch. "His shift been over and he ain't here."

  "Maybe he's out with his girlfriend?" Gutter said taunting Mrs. O'Leary.

  "Please don't do this?" Mrs. O'Leary pleaded. "My husband is a police officer."

  "We know that," said Gutter. "Why the fuck you think we here?"

  "I have money," she said. "If it's money you're after, there's three hundred dollars on my night stand, and some jewelry in my box. You can have it all if you just leave."

  "Don't nobody want your money, lady," said Lou-loc.

  "Speak for yourself," said Gutter, tossing Lou-loc the cell phone. "Be on point for the home boy's call. I'm going upstairs to see what these crackers is holding." Gutter turned and bound-ed up the stairs.

  ***

  Outside the house, detective O'Leary exited his car followed by his partner. The men in the house expected O'Leary to be alone, but he wasn't. This would surely affect the equation.

  Detective O'Leary was a short squat man with thinning gray hair. His brown suit looked like it had been slept in, and his wing tipped shoes

  looked like they were ready to be retired. From the stains on his shirt, it was fair to say that the man was a slob.

  His partner was a bit of a different case. He was a man who appeared to be in his early thirties. He wore an expensive looking blue suit with his tie hanging loose around his neck. His

  shoes were freshly polished and made a clicking sound on the concrete drive way.

  "I don't know, John," he said following O'Leary to the front door. "Seems like for every spook we bust, two more pop up to take their place. Makes you wonder if it's even worth it?"

  "All depends on how you look at it Billy boy," said O'Leary lighting a cigarette. "Those poor bastards are doing us a favor.

  They're killing each other in the streets. And all for what, a fucking color? Property they don't even own?

  "I say fuck em all in their black Asses. Basketball dunking sons of bitches. Makes more sense to just step back and let them wipe each other out. I'm just trying to live long enough to collect my pension."

  The two men laughed together and headed for the front door.

  Neither one knowing what waited for them on the other side.

  ***

  Inside the house, Lou-loc was pacing back and forth over the living room carpet. He didn't feel right about this set up. He was confident

  in Gutter and Snake Eyes, but he didn't like leaving Stan to cover their Asses.

  "Man, why don't you sit your ass still?" said Snake Eyes from the other side of the living room. "You keep working on the rug like that, and you gonna leave a trail right to where you stay at," he said jokingly.

  Lou-loc gave a halfhearted laugh. Just as he was about to go back to the window, the lock on the front door clicked.

  Everything else happened so fast that he barely had time to react. Before he could warn Snake Eyes, O'Leary was stepping into the house. Stan had fucked up, big time.

  The first thing O'Leary saw when he stepped in the house, was his wife sitting on the couch with her hands tied. "What the hell!" O'Leary shouted. His eyes bulged wide with fear and confusion.

  O'Leary was attempting to pull his gun, but his partner Billy was a little quicker. The young detective raised his .38 and fired two shots over O'Leary's shoulder. The first one went wild and struck the wall above Snake Eye's head. The second one struck him in the leg and folded him.

  Neither one of the detectives saw Lou-loc, who was behind the door near the window. Just as his gut had warned him, everything was going wrong. He still had the element of surprise on his side, so he took advantage of it.

  With his free hand, he reached from behind the door and grabbed O'Leary by the tie. He yanked forward and down as hard as he could, tossing O'Leary to the ground. With his other hand, he raised the Tech 9 to the peephole and squeezed the trigger. The hollow point bullets shredded the door and most of Billy's skull along with it.

  O'Leary made another grab for his gun, but again he was too slow. Before the barrel cleared the holster, Gutter was down the stairs and on him.

  CHAPTER 2

  "So good of you to join us," Gutter said with a smile. "Don't let me stop you. By all means, reach for it." O'Leary saw the murderous look in the masked mans eyes, and changed his mind.

  "Fuck happened in here?" Gutter asked looking from Lou-loc to Snake Eyes, who was on the ground bleeding.

  "Ask your stupid ass home boy," Lou-loc snapped as he rushed over to tend Snake Eyes. "He let this fat bastard sneak up on us. Phone never even rung."

  "Damn," Gutter spat looking at the dead man in the doorway. "You hit bad blood?" he asked Snake Eyes.

  "Nah, I think it just scratched me. No thanks to your punk ass home boy."

  No sooner than the words left Snake Eye's mouth, Stan came running in the house. "Damn, Lou-loc, what the hell happened in here?"

  Lou-loc shot Stan a cold stare. When he turned his gaze to O'Leary, the detective was giving him a puzzled look. Strike two for Stan.

  O'Leary stared hard at Lou-loc and let the name roll around in his brain. "Lou-loc?" A light of recognition went off in O'Leary's head.

  "Lou-loc, huh?" O'Leary said slyly. "You little gang banging mother fucker. I should've known when you splattered old Billy through the door. Ain't too many pros in L.A. County can shoot with that type of accuracy.

  "Think you're pretty smart, don't you, cuz? Well let me let you in on a little secret. You just killed a cop, and that's a capital offense. It's the gas chamber for you boy.

  "If you're Lou-loc, then that black bastard over there must be Gutter? Yea, you fucking apes always roll in packs. At least you fucking coons can keep each other company on death row."

  "You always was a dumb ass, Stan," Snake Eyes said as he struggled to his feet, "you just fucked us all."

  "Fucked ain't the word," O'Leary said as he got up off the floor, "Kidnapping, breaking and entering, murder. I'm gonna turn the gas on personally for this one." Stan's eyes began to fill with tears as the panic started to set in. "Oh, yea? You think this is a fucking game," he said putting the gun to Mrs. O'Leary's head.

  "Fall back, player," said Lou-loc, "we ain't gotta go there.

 
Our beef is with this fat bastard, not his family."

  "Nah, cuz," said Stan with the tears flowing down his cheeks. "I can't go to the pin. No way, no how, it ain't gonna happen.

  "Come, on Stan," said Gutter inching closer to him. "Just hold your head, cuz. Everything is blue." When Gutter got close enough to Stan he lunged for the gun, but it was too late. Pieces of Mrs. O'Leary's skull, as well as brain matter, coated the walls and her son's pajamas.

  At that point all hell had broken loose. O'Leary went into a rage and caught Gutter with a blind left. The punch caught Gutter off guard and dazed him. As he tried to gather himself, O'Leary followed up with a right to the temple, knocking Gutter to the ground.

  Stan tried to turn his pistol on O'Leary, but was a half a second too late. O'Leary grabbed Stan's wrist and twisted until the bones popped. The gun was now O'Leary's.

  "Motherfucker!" Lou-loc shouted as he dived through the kitchen's swinging door. He hated to leave the homeboys on Front Street but, he needed to regroup and get the hell out of O'Leary's range.

  "Nigger mother fuckers!" O'Leary shouted as he kicked Snake Eyes in his already injured leg. "In my fucking house!" Stan got a kick this time.

  "You mother fuckers are going down for this one. You're gonna fucking die," he said as he dialed the phone, never taking his eyes off of the fallen soldiers.

  O'Leary dialed the phone quickly, constantly looking from the would be killers to the kitchen, where Lou-loc had disappeared. He didn't feel at all comfortable with Lou-loc being out of sight, and armed at that. He knew Lou-loc's reputation from back in the day when he sponsored his first trip to the county.

  Lou-loc had always been a pretty docile kid. But god help you if you forced his hand. It was best to get back up as quickly as possible.

  "Yea, this is O'Leary," he rasped into the receiver. "My wife's been killed. I got three of the perps in custody, but there's still one somewhere in the house, and he's armed. Hurry the fuck up!" He slammed the phone down.