“Hell yeah, they are,” Jackson said, nodding his head. “And it ain’t that cold out tonight. Trust me, nigga. The police is gon’ be out in full force tonight.”
“Nigga, regardless of when the police out or not, we gotta get this Byron nigga as soon as fuckin’ possible,” Tramar said. “That’s what we need to be figuring out. We need to be figuring out how we can draw this nigga out and take his ass off the street. You know we ain’t just gon’ be able to ride back out to his house, and he’s just sittin’ there waitin’ for us.”
“But, what if the nigga is at home?” Jackson insisted. “I mean, you saw what I saw when we rolled out there. It looked like he was home and looked like the nigga had company. Shit, he probably had a couple bitches over or somethin’. So, what you sayin’ that you try’na do? You try’na say you wanna get him off the streets then kill him and shit or what?”
“I don’t know,” Tramar said, thinking. “It would be nice to fuck with the nigga for a little bit before I kill his ass. But then again, I don’t know. We don’t even know where the nigga is. I doubt we call his ass and he just come out.”
“But what if he do?” Jackson asked. “What if you call him and tell him that we got the money early? He offer to meet up and shit, thinkin’ that he is gonna get the money. We get his ass then.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Tramar said, nodding his head. “Then we can take his ass back to that house where we got them other niggas tied up and really put on a show.”
“Man, you did them niggas dirty in that house,” Jackson said, shaking his head and snickering. “You really did some foul shit.”
“What you do, Tramar?” Ayana asked. “What did you do at that house, nigga?”
Tramar chuckled before he explained.
“Why you do all that?” Ayana asked, playfully hitting his shoulder.
“And, baby,” Tramar said. “Listen to this. One of the niggas had this little ass dick and now when that Byron nigga walk up in the house, he gon’ have to see that shit. Tomorrow, I guess.”
They laughed for a moment before moving on. They agreed on calling Byron and asking if he would want to meet up tonight to get the money. The three of them walked over to the side of the parking lot, now standing between the front of Jackson’s car and a wooded area. Jackson called Byron, put his phone on speaker phone, and held it out in front of everybody.
“Just the niggas I wanted to hear from,” Byron said, answering the phone.
“Nigga, we got your money,” Tramar said. “Nigga, we got your fuckin’ money.”
“Yeah,” Jackson said. “And we try’na see if you wanna meet up tonight to get this shit.”
“And so I can get my family back,” Tramar said.
Byron took a long pause, as if he were trying to think of what to say to such a proposition. Those several seconds seemed like several minutes to Tramar, Jackson, and Ayana, as they stood in the parking lot, waiting on Byron’s response. Ayana then thought about something and wanted to interject. However, she knew better than to put her voice in anything. Rather, she stood there in silence and waited.
“Okay,” Byron said, kind of slowly. His voice was full of skepticism. “Okay, okay little niggas. I see you all try’na be big boys and shit. Let’s meet up at 2 o’clock, and it’s gotta be in a place that ain’t got too much traffic and shit. You know it’s Saturday night, and the niggas gon’ be out, actin’ like fools.”
“Bet,” Tramar said, ready for the details. “Where you try’na meet at, nigga?”
“Y’all know where Fifty-first and Ashland is, don’t you?” Byron asked.
Jackson looked at Tramar. They both nodded. “Yeah, nigga,” Tramar said. “We do.”
“Okay, be over there at two,” Byron said. “And have your phone so I can call your ass.”
Byron hung up before either of them could say a word. “Bet,” Tramar said, practically ready to go. “I’m ready to kill this nigga, tonight. Then get the fuck outta here by tomorrow night or some shit. I wanna be startin’ my new life wherever first thing Monday morning.”
“Hold up,” Ayana said. “I don’t know about this, y'all. I mean, somethin’ just don’t feel right.”
“What you mean?” Tramar asked, visibly confused. “What you talkin’ bout, baby?”
“Think about it, Tramar,” Ayana said. “Something about that just seemed a little too easy. There was like something in his voice that tells me he knows something that maybe we don’t. He seemed a little too eager to come out on a Saturday night. And, plus, he sounded like he was thinking something or planning some shit when he was takin’ so damn long to answer the question.”
“She’s right,” Jackson said. “You wanna know what I think?”
Tramar looked at Jackson for a moment. “That he done already been over at that house and know that I got my family and shit?” he asked.
“Exactly, nigga,” Jackson said. “Exactly. I bet you he know.”
“I think he do too,” Ayana said. “This shit sound like a…”
“Set up,” Tramar said, finishing the sentence. He looked away in frustration. “Okay, that’s cool then.” Tramar nodded his head. “He wanna set us up, then we can set his ass up. Simple as that. He said for us to meet him at Fifty-first and Ashland?”
“Yeah,” Ayana said, wondering where Tramar was going with this. “At two o’clock, why?”
“Either we can beat him there and ambush that nigga and shit while he sittin’ in his car,” Tramar said. “Or we can show up really fuckin’ late and do the shit when he least suspectin’ it…When the nigga think that we ain’t showed up because we figured out that he knew we already had the family.”
“That shit could work, nigga,” Jackson said. “That shit really could work.”
Ayana liked the idea; it seemed like a plan that would hold up. Tramar then turned to her. “And you can be the reason that it really works,” he said. “You, Ayana.”
Ayana looked surprised, wondering what her man was thinking. Before she could answer, Frank had come out of the motel room. He approached the group with a question. “Look,” he said. “I know y’all out here planning your great American heist or whatever, but I was wondering what we would have to do to get some food to eat. Vivica and I haven’t had any real food in a couple days, you know. And since you all may be running out of town like a couple of gangstas soon, even though I think you should turn yourselves in, I don’t know just how soon I’ll be back home to have any real food again either.”
Tramar needed to hear no more. “Don’t you and Vivica worry, Daddy,” he said. “I’mma go get y’all something to eat and make sure that you got what you need.”
“Yeah, Mister Frank,” Jackson said. “We gon’ go get you somethin’ to eat.”
“Okay,” Frank said. The older man still could not believe his involvement in this entire situation. He turned away and walked back into the motel room, pushing the door closed behind him. Ayana, Jackson, and Tramar hopped into the car and headed out onto the road. Jackson remembered that a couple of miles down the road, by the interstate exit, was a cluster of restaurants and gas station/convenient stores.
“So,” Ayana said. “What did you mean when you said that I’mma be the reason that it works tonight?”
“Because,” Tramar said, “he don’t even know that you involved in any of this. That’s why if you was to go walking up to his truck and shit, he ain’t gon’ think shit about it. Really, he might even try to sweet talk you and stuff. The nigga is one of them niggas. He just gets dumb over some pussy and ain’t payin’ no attention.”
“Yeah, we know that,” Jackson said. “You shoulda seen the look on the nigga’s face when we ran up in his shit. It was very clear that he was paying no attention.”
Tramar chuckled then looked back to Ayana. “Look, it’s coo if you don’t wanna do it,” he said. “I was just askin’ ‘cause it would probably make things a whole lot smoother and shit if you was to trick him.”
“So, you sayi
n’ that you want me to walk up to him actin’ like I’m some prostitute or something?” Ayana asked. “Nigga, you know I ain’t gon do no stuff like that.”
“I ain’t say that you had to walk up to him actin’ like you was anything,” Tramar said. “Shit, you can just walk by and let them lips and that ass get his attention. Take it from there.”
Ayana pouted her lips out and looked at Tramar. For the first time in a couple of days, he had some sexual thoughts. The very thought of watching Ayana go all the way down on his dick with those lips was making him horny. However, he knew that with the mission he had tonight, he would be a long way from feeling that sort of pleasure for a while. He’d just keep it at the back of his head as he made his moves.
They pulled into the drive thru of a White Castle. Tramar was not sure if Vivica and his father would like this kind of food. However, after what they’d been through, he was sure they’d take whatever they could get. They had obviously been through a lot, and Tramar was going to buy them as much food as he could so if they got hungry at all during the night, there would be something for them to eat. Once they’d ordered the food, Tramar reached back and grabbed Ayana’s thigh.
“So, what you gon’ do?” Tramar asked. “Look, if you scared we can just drop you back off when we drop the food off or somethin’ and come back and get you when we ready to roll out. If you wanna help a nigga out, that’s fine too. If you don’t come, though, we gon’ have to think up some good shit quick that will get that nigga out and into the light where we can get his ass. And the sooner the better for me. I mean, these cops is really gettin’ hot out here if they bustin’ into hotel rooms and motels and shit try’na find me.”
“Yeah,” Jackson said. “And you killed a white person, so you know they really gon’ find your ass. Indiana is probably gonna try to give you the death penalty or somethin’.”
“Nigga, shut up with that shit,” Tramar said.
Ayana grabbed his attention again. “If I go, we gotta make sure we do stuff in a way that’s comfortable to me,” she said. “If I’mma be out there, gettin’ his attention and stuff, then I gotta make sure that I’m on my best.”
“Baby,” Tramar said. “All you got to do is walk by and make sure that he get a good look at that body. Trust me, everything will fall right into place. I just wanna kill this nigga. What we gon’ do is you get his attention and shit. You know, really get him to talkin’ and shit to where he ain’t lookin’ at shit cause you gon’ be out there way after the time that we was supposed to show up. The nigga prolly gon’ be sleepy and shit and not be thinkin’ straight no way. And once you do that, we can run up and put them guns on him. I want that truck. Since he ain’t the one who is wanted and shit, we can use that truck to get outta town.”
“Just what I was thinkin’,” Jackson said. “But I can’t lie, though. A nigga was also thinkin’ bout stayin’ in that nice ass house for a couple days, on the low like in the basement or something, while we figure out what the fuck we gon’ do.”
“That may be a idea,” Tramar said.
“No,” Ayana said. “If I’mma walk up on him like that, or get him to call me over or whatever, I wanna have a gun.”
Tramar leaned back, surprised at how tough his woman was acting. “Oh, really?” he asked. “And what you gon’ do with it.”
“Naw, that nigga got me caught up in this shit too,” Ayana said, feeling a little angry. “Goddamn, detectives and shit coming to my mama’s door and comin’ to my hotel and shit. I’mma get in the car and hold a gun to him. Then one of y’all come over, but only once I got his ass stuck. Shit, I can grab his keys and shit and toss them out the fuckin’ window.”
Tramar smiled, wanting to dick his baby down something fierce. “That’s the shit I like to hear,” he said.
Jackson pulled the food through the window before they headed back to the motel. Once they returned and had taken the food into the room, Frank asked if he could talk to his son for a moment. Frank walked alongside Tramar as they walked along the edge of the parking lot.
“Tramar,” Frank said, “what the hell do you think you’re going to do tonight?”
Tramar could see the serious look in his father’s face. And it broke his heart to have to see that look at this point in his life. “You know, Daddy,” Tramar said.
“I heard all that talking you were doing earlier about going to kill someone and stuff,” Frank said. “You not really thinking about doing something like that for real, are you, Tramar? I mean, look. I should be calling the police, but you know I’m not. You and Jackson could go ahead and get a fresh start.”
“But what about you and Vivica, Daddy?” Tramar asked. “You met the Byron dude.” He looked at his father’s face. “Up close and personal. I know with all you’ve seen and all the places you’ve been that you can see that that nigga just ain’t gon’ stop because we tell him to.”
“I know,” Frank said, not doubting one word that was coming out of Tramar’s mouth. “I know. I just don’t want you to get into any more trouble than you’re already in.”
“Can I really, though?” Tramar asked. “I mean, can I really get into any more trouble than this? Wanted for being connected to three bank robberies in two days and I’m the idiot nigga who had to shoot and kill the security guard.”
“And why don’t you turn yourself in?” Frank asked, once more. “Son, how far do you really think you’re going to get before they catch you?”
Tramar shrugged. “I don’t know,” he answered. “But I’m not gon’ just let them catch me and put me in prison for the rest of my life. If I already know that’s what they try’na do and stuff, then I’mma at least make them work for it. They gon’ have to do some work to catch me.”
“Son, you’d only be making it worse for yourself,” Frank said.
Tramar looked down the parking lot at Ayana. “Or would I be making it better?” he asked, rhetorically. “You know, I really wanted to marry that girl.”
“Well,” Frank said. “That’s gonna be pretty hard to do if you’re on the run and in hiding and stuff. I mean, you are really going to have to fall off the grid because you know the police will be looking for you very hard. They’re going to be pulling over every black male trying to cross state lines for at least the next couple of weeks. And that goes for Indiana and Illinois. And you know them white people over in Indiana don’t play. Whatever slack Illinois throws on the table, Indiana will pick that shit right up and keep on going.”
“Yeah,” Tramar said, looking off in the dark distance. “I don’t know where we gonna go yet. Me and Ayana had been talkin’ about goin’ to Atlanta, but I guess that’s off the table. Wherever we go, we gon’ have to get with some people so we can stay low. I was thinkin’ bout gettin’ with some Mexicans or Nigerians and getting fake IDs. Maybe we can be from some islands or something.”
“Yeah,” Frank said, not really knowing what to think. “If you think that’ll work for you, then by all means, son, I guess you should go for it. All I can say, and I can’t believe that I’m about to say this, but all I can say is be smart and move low. I knew a nigga, back in the day, who was on the run for like three years. I don’t know how he did that shit. Yeah, it was after segregation and all of that, but people were still somewhat sectioned off from one another. Anyway, that nigga was on the run for three years. But, you know once them white people caught up with him, it was a wrap. Ain’t seen or heard from him or about him since, now that I think about it.”
“Well, I’mma be smart about this, Daddy,” Tramar said. “We just gotta go do this. That Byron dude has to be taken off the street. If I leave town now and don’t come back for a long time, all he gon’ do is use his free time to find you and Vivica and make y’all’s lives a living hell all over again.”
“Yeah, that was hell,” Frank said, leading Tramar back down the parking lot. “And I’m glad it’s over.”
When Tramar got back down to the motel room, Ayana and Jackson came out of the
room. They’d been inside, talking to Vivica and Quan. Tramar quickly said goodbye to Quan, telling him that he would be spending the night with Grandpa and Miss Vivica. Quan agreed, sleepiness showing in his eyes. Tramar shook his hand before sending him back into the room. As Frank pushed the door closed, he looked into Tramar’s eyes in a way his father had never looked at him. It would be a look that he would remember for the rest of his life.
“Okay, let’s go get this nigga,” Tramar said.
Tramar, Jackson, and Ayana all hopped into Jackson’s car. With Jackson behind the wheel, he looked at the time. “We still got a good hour before we would even need to be headin’ that way,” he said.
“That’s coo,” Tramar said. “We can use that time to ride around the spot and see what we workin’ with. He said the name of the place like he already know. I can’t say that I do, and that’s all the more reason that we should ride through and see what options we got for hiding around in the area and shit until it gets later and we get that nigga right when he think that we not comin’.”
Jackson agreed as he pulled out of the parking spot and headed toward the road. Tramar, who sat in the back this time, looked at his woman. He tilted her face up, holding her cheek, so that she was now looking into his eyes. “You sure you okay with this?” Tramar asked. “I mean, Ayana, if you not really okay with this, then all you got to do is say so, and you ain’t got to do nothin’ if you don’t want to.”
“No, I do,” Ayana insisted. “I do. I gotta do something, ‘cause this shit is affecting me now too. And you was right. He not gon’ know who I am. Shit, he don’t even know that I may have been a part of any of this or that I even exist. That can work in our favor.”
Liking what he just heard and not being able to help himself, Tramar leaned in and passionately kissed Ayana. Before either of them knew it, they were rubbing their hands on one another and pushing back and forth. “I’m so sorry,” Tramar said. “I swear to God I am, baby.”
“It’s okay,” Ayana said, really meaning it. “Let’s just make sure we get this over with tonight so we can all move on with our lives.”
When It All Falls Down 3 - Somebody is Gonna Die: A Chicago Hood Drama (A Hustler's Lady) Page 12