Lil Fade shook his head. “Man, what in the fuck is you talkin’ ’bout?”
“It’s a conspiracy, and it’s controlled from the highest levels!” Taariq told them. “Give them dope, string out the women, and lock up the men. They give us astronomical release dates, and then take our women. They put food on the table by given our women food stamps. They put a roof over their head, by giving them housing. And then they pay all of their bills by giving them welfare. They are trying to take the place of the black man.”
Taariq leaned forward and tapped Darius on his knee. “Peep it, they strung out our pops in the seventies, and made sure that we grew up without dads. Now they locking us up in the nineties, and making sure our kids grow up without dads! They are afraid! If our kids grow up right, with moms and pops in the house, they’ll become lawyers, doctors, and scientists. They’ll take jobs away from they kids. More importantly, our kids will look around and realize that they can be doctors, lawyers, and scientists too. The stereotypes and claims of mental inferiority will be shattered. The playing fields will be level, and they know they can’t play on the same field with us.”
Taariq lifted his hand and gave Darius a high-five. “Every time we concentrate on something, and are determined to excel at something, we dominate. They let us on the baseball field, and there goes Jackie Robinson. They let us on the basketball courts, and there goes Kareem and Mike. The list goes on and on. Now imagine, if instead of our kids wanting to be the next Mike, they all wanted to be the next Charles Drew, or Benjamin Banneker. We’d blow up, baby! But you know what, that’ll never happen, because we killin’ each other. How many future leaders have we shot dead in the streets over a color? We need to stop. The same guns they are puttin’ in our community and the same kids they are turning into battle-hardened soldiers, need to stop killin’ each other and start using those guns to protect our women. Let our mothers and sisters and grandmothers feel safe enough to walk down the streets at night again. They need to become soldiers in the right war, and fight the right fight.”
Taariq began tapping at his fingers, as he ticked off the things that he felt needed to be done. “The fight to save our people from welfare, food stamps, drugs, poverty, and illiteracy. Being shot at by bullets ain’t nothing compared to being bombarded by that shit. An old man told me in prison that the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world. That’s why crack cocaine has nearly destroyed us. It puts our women in the streets, it takes them away from their jobs as mothers, and makes them turn out crack babies. We men can’t do a damn thing about it, because we are either dead or in prison. You know who it’s going to take to stop this shit?” Taariq asked.
“Us,” he answered himself. “Darius, you said it yourself, it’s me and you, baby. It’s up to us to stop this, it’s up to us to put down the guns and the crack. It’s gonna take some generals like us to stop this war. If not, then who? Nobody else cares, and you know why? Because dead men and convicted felons can’t vote. So we gotta grab our little knuckleheads and stop them. You know the saying: ‘Each one, teach one.’”
Taariq lifted his arm and stared at the watch on his wrist. “Dang, I’m late. I didn’t mean to preach to you brothers, but I ain’t told y’all nothing wrong. There’s something else I want y’all brothers to think about too. There is something that falls in between Michael Jordan and being the neighborhood drug dealer. There is honor in being a plumber, a carpenter, an electrician, stuff like that. Ain’t nothing wrong with getting a trade and working with your hands to take care of your family. Pick up them shorties with your big, dirty, rough hands and teach them how to be a man. Y’all come on down to the mosque and hear the imam speak. A Salaam a laikum.”
Taariq waved to them as he left the porch and headed for his vehicle. Just as he reached his car, Poison and Peaches pulled up. Poison rolled down her window.
“Hey, Spook!” she shouted.
Taariq stopped and smiled.
Peaches parked, and Poison leapt out of the vehicle, ran to where Taariq was standing, and jumped into his arms.
“When did you get out?” she asked.
“A couple a days ago,” he told her. “What have you been doing with yourself?”
“Going to school,” she told him. “Have you talked to Preference yet?”
Taariq shook his head. “Naw, she didn’t ride with me the whole bid. The truth be told, she only rode with me a year before she broke bad.” Taariq glanced at his watch again. “Say, I’m a give you my number so you can call me tonight and we can finish talking.”
“Okay.” Poison stood and waited, while Taariq opened his car door, climbed inside, and scribbled down his telephone number.
Travon, who had overheard the conversation, was fuming with jealousy. He rose from the porch, walked to where Poison was standing, and wrapped his arm around her.
Poison accepted Taariq’s number, and then turned toward Travon. “What’s up, baby?” She kissed him on his cheek. “Why didn’t you tell me you was gonna leave last night?”
“I really didn’t know myself at the time, it just kinda came up.”
Taariq honked his horn and pulled away.
“So what’s up?” Travon asked Poison. “What brought y’all out here?”
Poison wrapped her arms around Travon and pulled him close. “We gonna go and wash this girl’s car.”
“Who, you?” Travon shook his head. “Uh-uh, you’re pregnant. Hell, let Lil Fade do it, that’s her man.”
Poison smacked her lips and frowned. “You know Lil Fade ain’t gonna do nothing for her but jump up and down on top of her and eat up her food.”
Travon lifted his arms into the air. “Then what the hell is she fuckin’ with him for?”
Poison folded her arms and shifted her weight to one side.
After a few moments of silence, Travon exhaled and relented. “I’ll go with y’all and wash it for you.”
Poison smiled and hugged him. Together, they walked over to the small red Geo Metro and climbed inside.
Lil Fade, who was talking to Peaches, opened the opposite rear door and joined Travon in the back. Peaches closed the door and pulled away.
“They sure are getting mighty close lately,” observed Marcus from his seat on the front porch.
“I know,” Darius agreed. “I wonder what that’s about.”
“Better him than me,” Romeo added.
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
Car Wash
East Houston Street
“I’ma go get some quarters from inside the store,” Peaches told them. “Hold on, girl, I’m a go with you,” Poison said. She turned to Travon. “Baby, you want something outta here?”
Travon shook his head. “Naw, I’m cool.”
The girls turned and walked into the store, which was adjoined to the self-serve car wash. It was a large car wash, with ten carports. Travon and Lil Fade stood outside of the small car, neither one speaking to the other.
Travon dug inside his pocket, pulled out some change, and inserted two quarters; instantly, the high pressure hose came alive. He turned the knob that controlled the hose’s functions, to the setting marked soap. He lifted the hose from its rack, and began spraying the car. After several moments of awkward silence, he turned to Lil Fade.
“Lil Fade, what happened last night?” Travon asked.
“You know what happened last night, Blood,” Lil Fade answered. “We handled our muthafuckin’ business.”
“What happened to Tangela?”
A sinister grin spread across Lil Fade’s face. “It’s a bloody story; you might get queasy and throw up if I tell you.”
Travon’s nostrils flared. “Don’t fuck with me, I’m not in the mood for any of your bullshit-ass psychopathic games! Just tell me what the fuck happened!” Travon stopped spraying the car and stared at him.
Lil Fade pressed his hand against his chest. “My psychopathic games?” He shook his finger at Travon. “You’re the one who killed those people, one by one.”
Travon shook his head in disbelief and turned his attention back to the car, where he started spraying again. “Bullshit! I was too drunk, I couldn’t have.”
“You did. You was so determined to get Dejuan, you took out anybody who got in you way.” Lil Fade began following Travon around the small red car. “You’re a pure killa now, Baby-Low.”
Travon shook his head. “I knew I wouldn’t be able to get a straight answer from you. You’re all caught up in your twisted little games.”
Lil Fade placed his hand upon his chest again. “I’m twisted? You killed them, not me.”
Travon stopped and stared at him coldly. “And Dejuan, who killed him?”
“We did, together.” Lil Fade’s smile returned. “For the first time last night, we acted like true homies. Afterward, we celebrated by going on a little joyride. We took our little trip. The one I promised you when you were in jail. We rode by people in the streets last night, and each time we were about to pass one up, you decided whether or not they should live or die.” Lil Fade’s smile widened. “You killed mercilessly.”
“Bullshit!” Travon walked away. “I’m through talking to you.”
Lil Fade quickened his own pace, remaining just behind Travon. “I’m not bullshittin’; we took a hell of a ride last night.”
A red Mustang GT convertible passed by the car wash, and Lil Fade hurried out of the stall so that he could be seen.
“What’s up, Blood?” He waved his hands through the air, beckoning for the vehicle to return.
The Mustang’s brake lights flashed, and the car quickly turned down a nearby street.
“Who was that?” Travon asked.
“Just the homies from the Rigsby,” Lil Fade answered.
Travon shook his head. “Damn, what’s taking them so long?”
“Shit, they probably in there shopping, you know them,” Lil Fade answered.
The red Mustang pulled into the parking lot.
“Aw shit, there go the homies right there,” Lil Fade told Travon.
Monsta was first out of the Mustang, followed by Tate. When Travon saw Tate, he began walking toward him. Peaches and Poison exited the store.
The Mustang was parked between the girls and the wash stalls where Travon and Lil Fade were standing, and as a result, the girls were able to see what Tate was hiding. Peaches’ eyes flew wide.
“Lil Fade, look out!”
“Yeah, niggaz, what’s up?” Monsta shouted, as he pulled a nine-millimeter handgun from his waist and began firing.
Lil Fade grabbed Travon, slung him back, and bore the brunt of Monsta’s flurry of bullets. Travon fell and quickly began to crawl away.
“This is for Suga!” Tate shouted. He lifted a small sawed-off, double-barreled shotgun and fired.
The blast swept Lil Fade off of his feet. Travon, who had crawled out of the wash stall, now stood up to run. Monsta fired at him, but missed. Chips from the concrete wall struck Travon in his face, as the bullets from the nine-millimeter ricocheted off of it.
Tate ran up to a badly wounded Lil Fade, who was lying next to the Metro. He stood over him, and gave Lil Fade the second barrel of the shotgun from point-blank range. When Tate turned to run back to the Mustang, Poison was standing there. She fired once, and his blood and brain fragments sprayed the wet concrete walls of the wash stall. Peaches stood next to the Mustang, where inside Leonard Wright lay dead against the rear panel. Monsta fled on foot.
Poison began scanning the area. “Tre. Where’s Tre?”
Peaches ran to where Lil Fade was lying in the stall. “I don’t know, girl. I don’t know.” She dropped her weapon and knelt down beside her man.
“Tre! Tre!” Poison screamed. She quickly began moving from wash stall to wash stall, searching each one. She walked to the last stall and peered inside, where she found Travon seated on the ground, rocking back and forth nervously. His hands were cupped over his face, and his entire body was shaking.
Poison knelt and wrapped her arms around him. “It’s okay, baby,” she whispered softly. “It’s all right.”
“I got caught slipping,” Travon told her. His voice broke with each of his words. “I didn’t bring my strap, and I got caught slippin’.”
Travon stood, walked to the far wall, and began kicking it. “God damn it! I know better than that!”
Poison rose. “Tre, it’s okay.” She walked to where he was standing.
Travon turned and stared at her coldly. “Is it? Listen.”
They stood in silence, and both could hear Peaches crying loudly.
“Oooooh, girl, I’m coming!” Poison ran out of the stall with Travon and into the one where her friend was crying. When she arrived, Peaches was seated in a pool of blood with Lil Fade’s head in her lap. Her pants and shirt, as well as her hands and face, were covered with blood.
Travon walked to the stall where the girls were kneeling and trying to care for Lil Fade. He watched for a moment, and then placed his arm against the wet concrete wall, where he leaned his head against it. “He pulled me out of the way,” he told them softly. “It should have been me.”
Travon shook his head. “Again, it should have been me.” Tears began to flow, and his body began to shake violently. “Why? Why do I keep getting chances?”
He turned, slowly walked out of the stall, and peered up at the beautiful clear blue South Texas sky.
“What is it that You want from me?” Travon shouted. “What is it that You want me to do? I’ll kill! I’ll kill! I’ll do whatever You want! Just stop killing everybody around me!”
Slowly he fell to his knees, and laid his head down upon the concrete. Tears poured from his shaking body. “Please! Please.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
Aunt Vera’s House
Days Later
Travon pulled up to the house, climbed out of his vehicle, and walked inside. The house seemed empty. No one was sitting on the porch, no one was watching television inside of the living room, and there was a general absence of noise.
Travon climbed the stairs to his room, where he pulled some clothing from his closet and tossed it onto his bed. He then walked to his dresser, removed some underclothes, which he placed on top of the others. He folded his clothing into a large bundle, struggled back down the stairs, and headed out the front door. This time, Darius was seated on the porch.
“You still hiding?” Darius asked him.
“I didn’t come for any shit, I just came to get some clothes,” Travon replied.
“So I guess that means yes.”
Travon halted. “I don’t need the lecture, and no, I’m not hiding. I’m taking it to them niggaz, and if you would come down off of the fence, we could get this shit over with. It looks to me like you’re the one hiding.”
“I’ve heard about some of your little escapades,” Darius sneered. “You’re out there shooting at everybody and building quite a little name for yourself. You shootin’ at C-Low, Slow Poke, and Jermaine in the East Terrace. You’re shooting at Snuff Dog, Lil Bullet, Lil Anthony, and Short Texas in the Courts. You’re even into killing Bloods now, huh? I heard you shot up Pork Chop, Monsta, Daryl, and Filou yesterday. You’re a real bad-ass now. I guess Too-Low would be real proud of you. Everybody is running from, or trying to kill Baby-Low. Congratulations.”
“Jealous?” Travon asked.
“Jealous?” Darius rose from the porch banister. He pounded the air with his fist and his voice trembled with fury as he spoke. “Hell no, and fuck you! I don’t want it, Tre, I never did. And the little shit I did do, I can’t even do that anymore. I can’t do it anymore, I can’t.”
“So you let Taariq talk you into that Muslim shit, huh?”
“It’s not shit, and yeah, I’ve been going by the mosque to hear the imam speak. You should come with me one day.”
“Thanks, but no thanks.” Travon began to walk away.
“Lil Fade is awake now,” Darius told him.
Travon stopped, paused for several
seconds, and then turned back toward his cousin. “What do you want me to do about it?”
“You could go see him,” Darius told him.
“What for?”
“Well, for stepping in front of that pistol for one,” Darius told him sarcastically.
Travon shook his head. “I didn’t ask him to. I didn’t ask for any of this shit!”
Darius jabbed his finger at him. “But you got it, so now deal with it!”
Travon sat his bundle of clothing down on the porch, and then lifted his arms high into the air. “What do you want from me, Darius? What?”
“I want you to come back across the line. We do what we have to do, to protect each other and survive. We don’t go out and just blow people away! We never did that!”
Darius jabbed his finger through the air toward his cousin. “You crossed the line, Tre. Just like Too-Low crossed the line, and Lil Fade crossed the line, and a whole lot of other muthafuckas just like y’all, crossed the line!”
Travon jabbed his finger back at his cousin. “You never said shit to Lil Fade about it! So why are you giving me a bunch of shit?”
“Because you’re my cousin and I love you,” Darius told him through clenched teeth. “There’s a difference between how I feel about you and how I feel about Lil Fade!”
Travon sat down on the porch steps. He lowered his head into the palms of his hands. “I don’t know how to come back, Darius. I’m afraid.” He lifted his head and peered over his shoulder at his cousin. “How do I come back?” he asked softly.
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