by Styles, T.
“I let myself in,” she laughed, looking around. Her hands remained in the black trench coat she wore. “Everything looks the same.” She looked around and than back at him. He looked terrified. “Why the long face? You’d think you’d be happy to see me after all this time. Considerin’ we use to fuck everyday for the three years I was wit’ your worthless ass. That has to count for somethin’.”
“Fuck you want, bitch?” Jarvis questioned.
Her phone vibrated in her pocket.
“Excuse me,” she smiled holding one finger out. “This will only be a minute.” She recognized the cell number as her brother’s. She was still smiling until she heard the voice of her only son. She stood quiet as he spoke to her. Instantly, her eyes watered and became red.
“I love you too,” she said ending the call that lasted a few seconds. Only she, Kelsi and her brother Rick knew what Kelsi said to her.
“Where were we,” she said wiping a tear from her eye.
“Helena, what you want?” Kyope asked, keeping his distance.
“I was in New York and decided to stop by,” she smiled looking at Crane, Kyope and Jarvis. “I don’t want no trouble. I was just in the neighborhood.”
“Bitch, your middle name is trouble,” Jarvis said.
Although she had a limp and small scar on her face, she was still beautiful. Not to mention her mysterious sexual appeal was on full blast.
“Helena, you got five seconds to tell me what’s up?” Kyope added.
“Either way, you not gonna make it outta here alive,” Jarvis said.
Janet laughed.
“Both of you niggas is funny as shit,” she said looking at them. “You should know by now that I got nine lives. You tried to kill me. Skully saves me and then tries to kill me, but all of your attempts ended in vain. Get use to it, you lookin’ at the baddest bitch who ever walked the face of the earth. And since my son played both of you like the two bitches your mother’s raised, I’d say you met the baddest nigga, too.”
Kyope had enough. He didn’t understand how he even ended up in this predicament, but he certainly wasn’t going to wait around to find out. When her eyes moved to Jarvis, Kyope pulled out his Smith and Wesson and fired. The bullet landed in the wall. Angry he missed, he was preparing to fire again but Janet was way ahead of him. She whipped out her pearl handled chrome .45 and aimed for Kyope’s throat. Crane immediately jumped behind her placing her in a choke hold. Her arm remained aimed in the direction of Kyope.
“Well looky, here,” Kyope laughed. “Seems like you underestimated us. You should be smarter than that. Didn’t you see Crane in the room?”
Jarvis was silent, and doing his best to stay out the way while thinking of his next move. And then he remembered a crucial detail.
“Hold up…,” Jarvis said, slowly. “How the fuck you get in here? Kyope locked the door when he came in.”
Realizing he may be on to them, Crane whipped his weapon out and aimed at Jarvis, Janet remained aimed at Kyope.
“Sorry, slim,” Crane said, using his voice for the first time around them in months. “This my baby sis. Now lower that fuckin’ piece, Kyope.”
For a few weeks prior to Kelsi coming to New York, Crane legally known as Cole, worked around club Wave doing light jobs. When he wasn’t doing janitorial duties, he’d act as a bouncer because of his large build. Kyope hired him the moment he saw him to protect him. The rest was history.
“YOU HAVE TO BE FUCKIN’ KIDDIN’ ME!” Kyope screamed. “I CAN’T BELIEVE THIS SHIT!” He went into immediate hysterics.
“Nigga, calm the fuck down!” Crane told him. “For I shoot!”
“I WANNA KNOW WHAT THE FUCK IS GOIN’ ON?! NOBODY’S WHO THEY CLAIM TO BE!” Kyope’s voice was high pitched and shaky. It was as if he was no longer sane.
He knew all was lost and didn’t know how to deal with it. No longer caring, he was about to pull the trigger to shoot Janet, when Crane shot first. He hit Kyope in the chest. Before going down, Kyope managed to hit Crane in his arm, tearing the flesh from his bone. Janet now enraged, fired twice killing Kyope instantly.
Jarvis ducked to escape all the stray bullets.
“You okay?” Janet asked kneeling down next to her brother, still focusing on Jarvis. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah…just keep your eye on that nigga,” he told her pointing at Jarvis who was cowering in a corner.
Worrying about her brother, but still remembering her purpose, she kept her target in her sights. She walked over to Jarvis who was crouched down near the floor and pointed her .45 near his temple. “Get the fuck up!!!You comin’ wit’ me,” Janet told Jarvis.
“What? Bitch, you crazy!” he said standing to his feet.
“Right now you ain’t got a lot of options,” Janet insisted. “Either I kill you here after we torture your bitch ass,” she said as she cocked her gun back . “Or you can try your hand and come wit’ me now, I’m countin’ to three.”
“Two-,”
“Okay…okay! I’m comin’!” he said angrily. “Were the fuck we goin’?”
“Shut the fuck up!!! I’m runnin’ this shit. You’ll see when we get there!!”
Tuesday, 11:00 am
****
She alive. My moms’ alive.
-Kelsi
“I gotta get some air, right quick,” I told Rick. The TV was on but I wasn’t watching it. And I know he wasn’t either. We’d driven in the night and were back in Maryland, not too far from where I use to stay with my mother. We were waitin’ on my moms to call us, and give us the next move. “I’ll be right back.”
“I don’t know if you should be out on your own,” Rick told me. “I promised your mother I’d look out for you.”
“I’m cool. Trust me,” I said standin’ up. “Since we not in New York no more I don’t think there’s nothin’ to worry about. I’m good, trust me.”
He breathed heavily. “Aight, but come back in a hour,” he said. “Or I gotta come lookin’ for you. It’ll make me feel betta.”
“Cool.”
I was turnin’ around to leave when I realized I had a question. “Hey,” I said holdin’ the door open.
“What’s up?”
“How come you had Cole hit me?”
“Cause your mother said you was tough as nails and you wouldn’t go willingly. I was doin’ it for her.”
“Oh…True.” I laughed. “My moms always did know me.”
“Be back soon, son.”
I nodded and walked out of the cheap hotel off of Annapolis Road. It was funny. I was exactly across from Capital Plaza. It was the same mall parking lot where I got into it with Charles. I couldn’t help but think if I would’ve just walked away, maybe none of this would’ve happened. It seemed like the minute we started beefin’, shit went downhill. Fightin’ over a female was the worst type of shit to get in. Damn…And I ain’t even wit’ the bitch no more. I had to kill her myself.
I decided to go ‘round my old neighborhood. It felt good being back in Maryland. For some reason, I couldn’t allow myself to feel too happy despite the good news. My moms was alive! The feelings I dealt wit’, cuz I thought she was dead, were all for nothin’. When everything was said and done, we’d be able to go on wit’ our lives.
I flagged a cab and asked him to take me ‘round Quincy Manor. Although it wasn’t my old stompin’ grounds, I was hopin’ my man, Jay was there and had some smoke. He kept the best weed in the Manor.
“How much?” I asked him.
“Eight dollars.”
I gave him ten and told him to keep the change. I was in the Manor for only a minute and already saw some bullshit. I had to take a step back when I saw this guy stranglin’ this female in a royal blue Suburban. Slim had her neck in a full grip, but she was stealin’ the bamma over and over in the face. I had to help her. And then I thought about it. Who the fuck am I? I had my own problems to deal wit’.
Turnin’ around I was bout’ to hit it and leave ‘til I stopped in
my tracks. O came to mind. Had I gone wit’ my instincts and helped O in that car, Jarvis and his friends woulda never gotten they hands on her. On the strength of O, I had to help this bitch.
Fuck!
Pullin’ open the driver’s door of the Suburban, I dragged the dude out the truck by his shirt collar. Then I punched him a rack a times in the head. I thought about Jarvis. I thought about Kyope and I thought about the white dude who held O against her will. I probably hit this nigga at least 15 times in the face. His lower body was in the truck and his upper body was on the ground. Then I looked at the shawty in the car. Although she was distraught, I couldn’t help but notice how sexy she was. And she had cute toes.
“Hey you betta get outta here,” I told her looking down at dude.
“W…why did you help me?” she asked rubbing her throat.
“I uuon’t know. But unless you want me to change my mind, I suggest you get the fuck outta here before you be dealin’ wit’ your problems on your own again.”
She must’ve got the picture because she made her exit and I noticed the rhinestone belt buckle she wore read, Parade. Fuck is a Parade? Who the fuck cares? When she ran off, I snatched the niggas eagle from his waist and shot him in the chest. Then I took his heat wit’ me.
It’s somethin’ ‘bout murder that moves me. I came to get weed and took a life instead. And I still felt high. Figurin’ it was time to bounce, I walked to the main road to hit it back to the hotel. I was out less than thirty minutes and committed another murder.
Damn. I’ma fuckin’ menace.
Skully
Earlier, Tuesday, 1:15 am
****
Either she a ghost or the luckiest bitch I know!
-Skully
“You seein’ what I’m seein’?” Jax asked as they watched Janet walk out of Jarvis’s building with Jarvis in front of her. Crane was behind both of them before all three entered a car. “And it looks like Jarvis’s man Crane is injured.”
“She can’t be alive! I pumped at least three bullets in that bitch’s chest!” he said looking at her from the confines of his big body black Mercedes CLS 500. “She has to be dead!!!”
“It’s been awhile since I arrested her, but I’d know that face anywhere.” Jax said. He was a dirty cop with the NYPD who freelanced in crime in his free time. “That’s her.”
Skully was stuck. Never could he imagine she was alive. And although he didn’t want to admit it, he feared for his life. And Skully wasn’t fearful of anybody.
“Let’s drive back to Maryland. I need some more time to figure shit out.”
“What ‘bout the girl?” he asked referring to O who was in the back seat trembling.
“Let’s keep her for now, I may need her for leverage. And if not, she’ll be dumped at a truck stop on 95.”
“I got detail tomorrow. I ain’t been at the police station in days,” Jax said. “I can’t leave New York tonight.”
“You can and you will. Unless you want your lieutenant finding out ‘bout your extra curricular activities.”
“Alright.”
“I figured you’d see it my way.”
Tuesday, 8:58 pm
****
Seems that everybody I love is eventually taken away from me.
-Janet
The drive back to Maryland was long and drawn out. We had to make a few stops along the way because I was worried about Cole. By the time we came back, it was dark. I couldn’t wait to see and hug my son. He was everything to me. Everything. I know some people might think I was wrong for puttin’ my son in the predicament he was in. You know, wit’ us killin’ Delonte together. But I disagree. My only mistake was trustin’ others. The next time we commit a crime together, our secrets will go to our grave.
“How you doin’ over there?” I asked my brother who was in the passenger seat bleedin’ to death. Jarvis was in the back seat tied up and lookin’ stupid.
“I’m good,” he said, lookin’ at me. “How you doin’?”
“I’m fine,” I smiled. “Just worried ‘bout you.”
“Hey…I’m your big brother. You know I’m good,” he said as sweat poured down his face.
“I really think we should take you to the hospital.” I was beyond worried about him. It ain’t look like he would make it.
“You know we can’t do that. They’ll start askin’ questions,” he continued shiftin’ in the seat. “Let’s just get this over wit’.”
“You somethin’,” I told him rememberin’ the good times we shared when we was younger. Cole use to be my protector. He use to fight anybody who tried to hurt me. It was my father who made him climb on top of me and rape me, repeatedly. I remember tears fallin’ from his eyes every time he entered my body. He loved me. “Always tryin’ to protect me.”
“That’s what big brothers do,” he said in a low voice. “Protect they sisters.” There was a moment of silence before he spoke again. “Helena…I’m sorry.”
“Please don’t. Not in front of him.” I said referrin’ to Jarvis.
“I have to. Just hear me out,” he paused. “Awwwwww!!!!” he screamed in pain.
“Cole! You okay?!”
“Y…yes,” he said, his voice tremblin’. “I’m fine. Just hear me out.”
“Okay. Go ‘head but try not to talk too much.”
“I’m sorry for everything we put you through. You should know, that we always loved you. Always.”
“I know. I know,” I told him, stoppin’ the sweat from runnin’ down his face and into his eyes wit’ my bare hands. “Just get some rest.”
“You’re a soldier. Look at the man you raised. I could tell in his eyes whenever I saw him, that he did everything for you. You…you…should be proud.”
“I am.”
“Tell my nephew I’m sorry I hurt him. Tell him I love him and that I’m sorry I couldn’t be in his life. Tell him that it made me proud to see the man he became.”
“Okay…I will,” I cried. “Just please…get some sleep.”
No longer able to dispute, he closed his eyes. Permanently.
The moment he did, I looked at Jarvis in the rearview mirror. This was all his fault. My stare was cold.
“I know you gonna kill me,” he said defeated. I didn’t respond.
Tuesday, 9:18 pm
****
If I’m goin’ die, I’m goin’ out swingin’.
-Jarvis
When Janet finally stopped, they were on the football field at Bladensburg High School. Jarvis’s curiosity was killing him. He wanted to know what was about to occur there.
“What’s this about?” he asked once Janet stopped the car.
She ignored him and looked at her brother. A tear fell from her eye and she wiped it away.
“What the fuck is goin’ on, Helena?” he continued. He could care less about her brother being dead. As always, the selfish man in him cared only for himself.
Taking one look at her brother, she knew his eyes were permanently closed. He finally re-entered her life, only for him to exit just as quickly. At least she spent enough time with Rick to get to know him all over again. She couldn’t say the same for Cole. The hate she felt enslaved her soul. Lifting her aluminum bat from the front seat, she reached back and busted Jarvis in the mouth with the tip.
“Awwwww!” he said tasting his cracked teeth. “Bitch, you betta hope I don’t make it outta this shit alive.”
“Don’t worry, you won’t.”
Placing the bat back on the floor, she placed her jacket over Cole. Then she took a deep breath.
“I love you,” she whispered. “And thank you for everything.”
Getting out of the car, she pulled Jarvis out by his forearm, his hands still tied behind his back.
“Get the fuck out!” she snatched him, then slamming the door shut. She kept her gun drawn in case things wouldn’t work out as planned. She reserved the right to shoot him if need be.
It took a few moments to walk to the football f
ield. There were ten women along with Bricks huddled in an open circle, with flashlights on the ground for light. She smiled noticing Rick standing off to the right. As he promised, he got her only son from New York safely.
In the middle of the circle, stood Kelsi, wearing only a pair of jeans, no shirt. His muscles buckled as he cracked his knuckles. The scene looked like the one in the movie, “Four Brothers” one of Kelsi’s favorite movies. Janet could not believe how much older and mature her only son looked in a matter of less than a year. The things he saw and did made him grow up. Janet made eye contact with Kelsi, winked and mouthed, I love you.
He winked back and did the same.
Kill him, she mouthed again.
I will, he responded back.
There was no time for fluffy emotions. There was still work to be done. Jarvis laughed hysterically noticing the scene.
“God is kind to me after all,” he continued.
“Glad you think so,” Janet said untying his hands.
“Don’t try no stupid shit,” Janet warned. “I won’t hesitate to lay you flat.”
“Try no stupid shit?” he repeated. “And risk whippin’ your son’s ass? Neva that!” he said shaking his head.
Jarvis rubbed his wrists and walked into the circle. Once inside, he stepped to Kelsi and looked him in his face. Kelsi removed his shades and didn’t flinch. Like a prize winning’ fight, they stood face to face. The flashlights on the ground illuminated the field.
“Let me get this straight,” Jarvis said taking off his shirt. “I’ma get to break your ass off for all the bullshit you put me through?”