Shyt List 3 (The Cartel Publications Presents)

by Reign (T. Styles)

  “Ming does that man have your nose and your pussy wide open?”

  “If Ming isn’t worried, you shouldn’t be either.”

  “Bricks told me to tell you to stay away from him.”

  She laughed and said, “Ming’s a big girl.”

  “Where is he?” Yvonna asked frustrated. She didn’t want to see her only friend get in over her head, especially after being introduced to her issues with her uncle Yao.

  “He’s right here… watching TV.”

  Yvonna couldn’t believe Darcus was next to her while she was on the phone, when he was the topic of their discussion. “Ming, you trippin’ so I’ma let you go in a minute but I hope for your sake you know what you doing. When am I pickin’ up the package?”

  “Day after tomorrow, at my house. Darcus will be here waiting on you.”

  “Wait, you gonna to leave the bags wit’ him?”

  “Yes. He’ll have everything you need to know when you get here.”

  “But shouldn’t I examine them wit' you? What if somethin’ happens?”

  “It won’t,” Ming said nonchalantly. “I trust him.”

  It was then that Yvonna made up her mind that Ming couldn’t make sound decisions. So, she would have to rid the world of Darcus herself.

  “What time you want me there?”

  “Early.”

  “Cool. But does your cousin still own that 24 hour carry out spot?”

  “Yeah why?” Ming yawned again.

  “Look, I’ma need you tomorrow before you leave.”

  “Ming has to be on plane!”

  “It’ll be real quick? Can you get a uniform from your cousin and her delivery car and drive it to an address I’ma give you? Oh…and I’ma also need a hose and some antifreeze.”

  “Yvonna! That’s too much for Ming to do tomorrow!”

  “It sounds like a lot but it’s not. Your part will take all of five minutes.” Ming sighed. When she felt Ming’s hesitation she decided to hammer home. “Look, I ain’t wanna get into a lot of shit wit’ you today but somebody tried to kill me and my baby earlier. Now I’m not gonna be able to get at Swoopes, but I can do some other things to one of his men. So will you help me or not?”

  “How early?”

  “Six in the morning. I figure you can have your cousin bring you the carry out car and the uniform tonight. Let her drive one of your other cars home.”

  “Okay…I’ll do it,” Ming relented. “Give me the information.”

  Yvonna spent the next ten minutes going over her plan, and she felt it was almost perfect. A few minutes later, Bricks came downstairs.

  “You sleep?” he asked standing on the steps. The light from the hallway lit up his muscular silhouette and Yvonna could smell the soap from his body. In her opinion, there was nothing like a clean man.

  “Not really…why?” She said adjusting the sheets on the bed.

  “You want some company?”

  She could’ve said no but she didn’t want to be alone. “I don’t care.”

  Bricks walked down the stairs and eased into bed with her. She turned to her side and he wrapped his arms around her waist pulling her to him. She melted into him. “You awfully forward.” Yvonna said. “How you know I want you touchin’ me?”

  “Cause you turned that ass my way.”

  Yvonna playfully hit him. “I always sleep on my side.”

  “Stop playin’, girl, after all that fussin’ upstairs. You know you want me in this bed,” he continued as he pulled her closer. “Just like I wanna be in this bed wit’ you.”

  It felt good.

  It felt right.

  “We can’t fuck so don’t try nothing,” she said turning her head to look at him after feeling the bulge in his shorts on her ass. “My baby’s in this room.”

  “Still ain’t trynna give up the pussy.”

  “I’m serious.”

  “You real overprotective of her ain’t you?”

  “I guess so.” She said turning her head back around, focusing on the playpen. “She’s all I got.”

  “I get that.” He said rubbing her shoulder.

  “Bricks,” she paused sinking into his touch. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to say the next thing, but if she didn’t, she wouldn’t know if they had a real chance to be. “Kendal was right.” She said softly. “About what she said.”

  Silence.

  “Did you hear me?” she asked turning her head toward him again.

  “Yeah.” He said hesitantly.

  “I suffer from schizophrenia. Apparently all my life.”

  Silence.

  “What does that mean? I ain’t neva heard of nobody in real life havin’ no shit like that before.”

  Yvonna sighed and said, “I don’t fully understand it either. I do know I can control it a little more than I use to. But basically it means that sometimes I see people and things that aren’t really there.”

  “Like today in the club?”

  She was so embarrassed she wanted to hide under Penny’s ass. “Yes. If I take my medication, like I been doin’, I’ll be fine. But sometimes…I… I feel I need my illness, to make me stronger.”

  Bricks didn’t know what to say to her crazy ass. Although he had to admit, he’d never met anybody like her.

  “Why you say that?”

  “When I don’t take my medicine, I see someone named Gabriella. In the earlier stages of my condition, she could take over my body all together. Now, as long as I take my medicine, it doesn’t happen that much. If I take the full dose, I’m drowsy and don’t feel right but if I take a half a pill, my hallucinations slow down. But if I miss one day or more, my illness can take over and people can get hurt.”

  “Who told you all this shit? Them white people?” he said looking at her. “You know damn well don’t no black people have no skitz-a-whateva the fuck you just said. Only white people get that kinda shit. Ain’t nothin’ wrong wit’ you, girl. You just be trippin’ sometimes that’s all.”

  “I’m serious, Bricks. I mean…I know we only gonna be together for the next three weeks, until this shit blows over, but I just wanted to tell you. You know, wit’ you lettin’ me stay here and all.”

  “You not gonna kill me or nothin’ are you?” He asked half seriously.

  “Naw…I’ma let you live,” she said pushing her ass into him deeper.

  “Listen, ‘bout tomorrow, I’m askin’ you not to do anything alone.” He said remembering something she’d said earlier. “If you wanna hit up whoever, I’ma do it wit’ you. Just don’t leave without lettin’ me know.”

  “This my drama not yours. I just wanna kick up some shit like Swoopes did to me that’s all.”

  “If you think I’m lettin’ you handle this shit by yourself you don’t know me. Now what time we gettin’ up?”

  “I’ma get up at 11:00 in the morning.” She lied.

  “Just wake me up wit’ you. I’m not an early bird.”

  “Okay,” she said closing her eyes.

  But when the morning came, and Bricks reached out for her, she was already gone.

  Lube Job

  “Carry out! Open the door please.”

  Cane jumped out of bed, rubbed his eyes and listened to what he thought were quick raps at his front door. When two louder bangs followed, he hopped out of bed and moved toward the sound. Once he made it to the front door, he looked outside and saw a small Chinese man with a blue cap on his head and a brown paper bag in his hands. At the curb sat a Ford Mercury with a ‘We Come 24/7’, sign on top of it.

  “Who the fuck knockin’ at my door at 6:00 in the mornin’?!” Cane yelled rubbing his hand on his bare chest.

  “We Come 24-7!” Someone said in a thick Chinese accent. Cane rubbed his eyes and looked through the peephole. “You pay now or we leave.”

  “I ain’t order no fuckin’ food!”

  “Look…we come ‘cause you place order! Either you pay now, or we band address off list! Your choice…we don’t care.”
<
br />   Cane was about to curse him out and send him on his way, when his stomach growled. Although he didn’t order the food, he was hungry. “What’s in the order?”

  The Chinese man opened the brown paper bag and examined the contents. When he finished he said, “Pancakes, sausage and eggs. Do you want or not?”

  Sleepy and not thinking straight, he opened the door and was met with a severe blow to the face by a bat. Yvonna, who was standing on the side of his house out of view, rushed inside.

  “What the fuck is this?” He asked, angry he left his gun in the back room.

  “Payback, bitch!” She yelled hitting him in the head again with the bat, rendering him unconscious.

  Twenty minutes later, when Cane came to, he was strapped to a leather chair, with his arms and legs bound.

  “Look, Ming has to go! Hurry up and tie!” Ming said as she helped Yvonna finish up the last few knots. They were talking around Cane as if he were an article of clothing and a not a real person.

  “Bitch, I’m moving as fast as I can,” Yvonna said tying the last knot.

  When they were done, Ming stood up and removed the cap she used to disguise herself as a man. Her bob cut hairstyle flopped out and she ran her fingers through her hair.

  “Okay, we’re done. Ming must go. Next time we kill at a more convenient time.” Yvonna smiled. “And don’t forget about the trip tomorrow,” she continued before leaving out the door.

  When Ming was gone, Yvonna sat in the chair across from Cane. She looked sexy in her jean skirt, and corset shaped black leather jacket. So she could maneuver around comfortably, instead of wearing high heel boots, she opted for her black comfortable Uggs.

  “Cane is it?” Yvonna said flicking a match and lighting a cigarette. “Do you remember me?”

  “Of course he does,” Gabriella said. “Kill his ass.”

  Although her illness had gotten more manageable, as far as she was concerned, it was still difficult to hear her voice and not have a negative reaction to it.

  “For real, I started not to come back here,” he said slowly, “’Cause I knew you had my address. But I was sure you ain’t see my face at the restaurant. I guess I was wrong.”

  She smiled. “Since you know so much, what am I gonna do now?”

  “I was hopin’ you’d wanna make some cash, to put this all behind us.”

  Although she hadn’t planned on robbing Cane, now that the offer was on the table, it didn’t sound half bad. “Where’s the money and how much we talkin’?”

  “It’s not here. I can get it though. We can go together.”

  Yvonna spoke through stiff lips and said, “You think I’m a fuckin’ fool?”

  “No…but you look like a smart woman. And I figured you’d recognize a good opportunity if it fell in your lap.” Cane appealed.

  “So what’s the price of my baby’s life? Since that’s what we talkin’ about right? You want me to forget that you almost killed my baby and me yesterday. So to you, how much is that worth?”

  “Kill him, Yvonna,” Gabriella said walking behind her to speak in her ear. “You didn’t stop taking your medicine to just hear me talk…unleash me.”

  Yvonna stood up, and walked over to him. “Open your mouth.”

  “What?” The moment he spoke, she put the cigarette out on his lips and his jaws flew open. When it did, she shoved a black tube to the back of his throat. When he bit down on it, she punched him again reopening his mouth.

  “Keep your fuckin’ mouth open. Do you hear me?” Yvonna said standing over him. He nodded in agreement. “Good. Now…I’m gonna ask you a couple of questions,” She said removing a pair of brown leather gloves from her back pocket. “And you gonna give me the answers. Do you understand me so far?” Again he nodded. “Good. Where does Swoopes live?”

  He didn’t respond and she punched him in the stomach. “Where?” She repeated, but again he remained silent. This time she took a large bottle of antifreeze, removed the top and connected the spout to a white plastic pump that connected to the hose inside his mouth. She made the little concoction in Brick’s garage before she went to Cane’s house.

  “This is too good!” Gabriella said. “I could not have thought of a better way to torture him myself.”

  “I’m sure you could have,” Yvonna laughed.

  “W…what’s this…for?” he mumbled despite the tube being lodged down his throat.

  “You don’t want to answer my questions, so we’ll play another game.”

  Yvonna hit the pump twice and two large swallows of antifreeze entered the tube and rolled down his throat. The sweetness was unexpected and seemed less frightening until he felt his stomach rumble.

  “Where…does…Swoopes live?” She repeated. “I know you didn’t mean to hurt me and my baby.” She said in a sweet soft tone. “But I also know he sent you. So let him endure all of this instead of you. It’s only fair. So tell me…where is he?”

  He was determined to remain silent, so she pumped the nozzle three more times and more liquid oozed down his throat. When it did, he felt a whirlwind in his stomach as vomit reached his throat and escaped his mouth, splashing everywhere. Yvonna jumped back just in time to prevent his bodily fluids from soaking her shoes.

  “Now…where does he live?” She asked trying not to inhale the terrible smell.

  “P…please. Don’t do this shit.” He mumbled as his body moved in violent convulsions. “You…you ain’t gotta do this.”

  Yvonna’s eyebrows creased and she pumped twice more. “No! You ain’t gotta do this! All you have to do is tell me where the fuck he lives! Don’t be stupid. I will kill you in here today.”

  Instead of answering he just closed his eyes. He knew it was over and it appeared he was ready to meet his fate.

  “Do it again,” Gabriella cheered. “He still doesn’t get the picture so you gotta make him feel it.” Yvonna pumped the antifreeze into his body again. “Once more!”

  She continued to strike the pump until Cane regurgitated so much, that the fluid leaving his body turned to blood and his eyes drooped. Angry couldn’t explain how Yvonna felt because she found someone loyal to the one man she felt deserved to rot in hell.

  “You sure you don’t wanna tell me where he lives?”

  Inaudible words left his mouth and Yvonna moved closer to hear him better.

  “F… y… b…” He said.

  “What?”

  The moment she got closer, he threw up all over her clothes. He had held his own vomit, in his mouth, just to throw up on her when she got closer. Blood, food particles and mucus covered her leather jacket, ran down her legs and hit her soft boots.

  “I said, fuck you bitch!” He said as audible as possible.

  “Your funeral!” She yelled striking him so hard in the face, his nose broke under her fist. With his mouth still open, she poured the liquid down his throat. Fluid eased out the sides and fell onto the floor. He could no longer breathe or fight. And when his body stopped moving, she allowed the plastic bottle to fall at her feet. This was not the ending she’d hoped for.

  “Fuck him,” Gabriella said. “You gonna have to smoke Swoopes out yourself.”

  “I know…but this shit gonna definitely piss him off.”

  “I hope you ready.”

  “I was born that way.”

  Baby Mama Drama

  After leaving Target to buy a new pair of jeans and shirt, since Cane ruined her others, she went to the library to do some research. It only took her a couple of hours and a few phone calls to find out what she needed to know to exact her next plan.

  After the library she visited Mom’s and purchased a couple of Speed pills. And later she arranged to meet with a local manufacturer of Lidocaine, a powdered substance generally used to make gels to prevent itching. But she had two hours before he could be ready and he was closing briskly afterwards. He wasn’t supposed to be even selling her the powder, but she offered him enough money to make it worth his while. She was just abou
t to get on 295, leading to Virginia when Bricks called.

  “Yes Bricks?” She hesitated knowing Bricks would be angry that she left without waking him up.

  “Shawty, I know you ain’t do what I asked you not to.”

  “I had to.” She sighed maneuvering down the busy road in early morning traffic. She tossed a few new CD cases around that she’d bought at Target before settling on Mariah Carey’s, An Imperfect Angel, CD.

  “You had to?” He repeated. “You okay?”

  “I’m talkin’ ain’t I?”

  Bricks sighed and said, “And you left your kid here without any milk. What kinda shit is that?”

  “So you can babysit Chomps but not my daughter?” She paused only to breathe. “And don’t you have some milk left from the cereal Tracey ate? And what happened to your cousin watching her for me?”

  “What?! Yo…I feel like mashin’ on your ass right now.”

  “Bricks, what you want me to do?”

  “Come get your fuckin’ kid.”

  “I can’t right now. I have something I have to do right quick.”

  “You bringing that dude to the spot last night caused me to have to meet up wit’ Cameo. And to be honest,” he said growing angrier. “It don’t matter what my fuckin’ reason is. You don’t do no unmotherly shit like leave your kid wit’ somebody without checkin’ to make sure everything is cool.”