A Good Day to Die

by James Hendricks

  The place was located in the middle of nowhere. There were nine hundred youths housed in the facility. Their ages ranged from ten to twenty-one. Six hundred of the delinquents were affiliated with the Crips organization. There were no other Vice Lords at the time of the twin’s arrival. The facility had a small number of white kids and about two hundred Latinos.

  The guards were huge bodybuilders. They were known to body-slam inmates who got out of line. The center was set up for offenders to attend one of the three groups. There were violent offenders, sex offenders and drug abuse offenders. Sixty percent of the population was sex offenders. The groups were mandatory and were classes.

  Jon was given an IQ test on arrival. With a score of 186, he shocked the teacher. The teacher tested Jon again. This time his score was 188. Jon excelled, exceeding even the teacher’s expectations. He was a few credits short of getting his diploma and decided to pursue it. Jon tutored some of the kids.

  Jon became a fitness buff. He lifted weights and pounded the heavy bag. Jon quit eating red meat. He didn’t like playing sports and kept to himself. It was clear that he wasn’t trying to make new friends.

  The teacher liked Jon and did everything he could to help him. He petitioned the court for Jon to get an early release. The court’s response was if Jon graduated, passed the SAT or ACT, stayed out of trouble and was accepted by a college, he’d be released early. Jon was overjoyed by the news and thanked the teacher everyday. Jon graduated at the age of seventeen and the teacher quickly set up the mandatory test. Jon aced it. He applied to Black colleges and decided on Grambling State University in Grambling, Louisiana. He’d serve eleven months of his sentence, if he could stay out of trouble.

  Don was given the same IQ test. He scored well-above average. Don was a drop-out and didn’t have high school credits. He’d have to wait until he was eighteen to take the GED. Classes didn’t appeal to him. He did what was required of him to stay in good graces.

  Don was the same hot-head. He stayed in arguments with the other boys and fought at least twice a week. Don played sports all the time with the other kids and his cockiness always came out. Basketball was the reason Don and the Crips weren’t getting along. They were always sending someone to fight him. Don welcomed the challenge and easily handled whoever the Crips sent. He had quit eating red meat but didn’t lift weights.

  Both boys worked in the kitchen. They’d pick the easiest jobs then sit kicking it until they had to leave. Don got cool with a female supervisor. Not long after, Jon played look-out while Don fucked the broad in a kitchen closet. Don was loving the youth center.

  The boys were also on the State basketball team together. The team had players form California, Philly, New York and Carolina. All of the boys on the State team had game and they were one of the teams vying for the first place. The coach of the state team had played college ball at UCLA and also played a couple seasons in the CBA.

  The twins spent time with each other’s children during family visits. Tina, Shawn, Lynette and the twin’s kids visited twice a month. Shawn had a boy, named Don Jr. Lynette had a boy named Jon Jr. The two infant were born three days apart. Lynette gave birth first.

  On visits everyone got along and the kids all looked like they came from the same parents. Jon enjoyed spending time with his family and enjoyed even more holding his kids in his arms. Don also loved the time spent with his family but was always trying to figure a way to get pussy from Shawn.

  Two weeks before Jon was set to leave all hell broke loose. The twins were at work in the kitchen when a Crip came through the line and disrespected Jon. Jon let the comment slide but Don didn’t. He went into the cafeteria and used a food tray to smack the Crip. Don then stomped the boy. The other Crips jumped up from their seats and bum-rushed Don.

  Jon had followed his brother into the cafeteria and once the other Crips jumped, Jon ran to his brother’s aid. Although outnumbered the twins brawled for twenty minutes. The officers quickly got things under control. Jon’s early release was in doubt but his teacher pulled strings and the incident was never put in his file. Two weeks later Jon was out.

  He was in Gary for a month. Jon and Kay were sitting in Kay’s car.

  “I’m no longer down, Kay,” Jon said.

  “What…?”

  “I want out of the game…the street life, all that,” Jon said. Kay stared in surprise at him.

  “You through with SCC…?”

  “Kay, come with me to Louisiana.”

  Kay thought for a moment then spoke. “I can’t man, you know Don gon’ need help running things. Maybe later on…”

  “Ahight…”

  Jon spent time with his family. He’d take Shawn and his nephews to the beach and other places. Jon hung out with Jackie who was happy to see him. She was sad to hear that he had retired. Jon packed up and left for college. Lynette and the kids left with him.

  Don was depressed when Jon left the center. He fought everyday with any Crip. A couple of weeks later, Don calmed down and started lifting weights. He liked the feel that he got from lifting not to mention the look. Don passed his GED and spent more time in the kitchen with the supervisor he was seeing.

  A couple months after Jon left two boys from Indiana came to High Plains and one of them was from Gary. Juan was from Gary and knew of Don. Juan was from the Glen Park area and wasn’t affiliated. Juice was a Vice Lord from Michigan City. He was rugged, jet black, with big nose and large. Juice loved lifting weights. He and Don quickly became cool. The three were inseparable until Don left.

  22

  The summer and fall of 1998 brought back new life and old memories to the city of Gary. Don was back and spent his first couple of days with Kay catching-up. He was highly upset to find that only the Pauline remained after all the hard work. Kay had done his best. Kay explained Twon’s behavior and told Don about the confusion Twon started. Don was uninterested. Kay told Don that he was leaving and going to Louisiana with Jon.

  “Be cool and stay safe,” Don said.

  It was clear that Don had changed and it wasn’t for the better. Jon came back in the summer and spent time with his brother. The brothers greeted each other. Don immediately pulled Jon to the side. They had a private talk.

  “What’ up baby brother?” Don asked hugging Jon.

  “I’m your only brother,” Jon said embracing Don.

  “That’s what I’m talking bout,” Don said smiling. “You my only brother and you leave me hanging like this.”

  “What are you talking about?” Jon asked with his head cocked sideways.

  “We’ve been in this together since day one. You go down to Arizona and let a teacher poison you. You always had my back. I’m asking you to come back. Together we can take this city over,” Don said smiling.

  “You my brother and I love you. But there is no way I’m coming back. I’ve had enough. I just wanna spend my life happy and worry-free. You can do what you want to with your life but I know how I’m going to spend mine.”

  Don looked at his brother and shook his head. “So sad. They done turned my brother into a pussy.”

  Jon grabbed Don by his shirt and snatched him out of his chair and up against a wall.

  “I ain’t no pussy,” Jon said between clenched teeth.

  Both boys had grown to be six-five but Don was a little heavier because he had hit the weights hard-body. Even with the size in Don’s favor he knew that there was no way he could beat Jon. Jon released his grip on Don and walked out.

  Shine and Will damn-near owned all the drug sales going down in the city. Will held his spot in the background, while Shine was up front, soaking up all the glory. Success got to this head. He’d ride around giving middle fingers to everyone. Shine threw blunt butts at females and had people kissing his six point star ring like he was King.

  He got a wake-up call when he heard Don was out. Shine called a meeting of his entire crew and told them to stay alert. Don wanted the apartment buildings they took from them. Shine al
so put a million dollar hit on Don’s head. He wasn’t taking Don lightly and started getting chauffeured around with bodyguards by his side at all times.

  Don spoke with Twon about his problem.

  “So what’s your beef with Kay?” Don asked as they sat in the game room.

  “I ain’t got no beef with that fool. I’m just tired of being treated like I’m a peon, that’s all.”

  “Ahight, so straighten up and be my second in command,” Don said.

  That was music to Twon’s ears. He got his act together and joined Don. Together they’d be even bigger than Shine and Will.

  Next on Don’s list was Goldie.

  “Did y’all ever find out who shot Bay Bro?” Don asked.

  Goldie seemed a lot older. He had picked up about twenty pounds and was graying. Goldie’s pain was all over his face at the mere mention of Bay bro’s name.

  “Nah, the muthafucka got away to tell about it. But if I ever find out.”

  “I hear you on that one. Goldie, this is what I need to talk with you about. It’s been six years since I took my oath and I put in hella work.”

  “You want some rank,” Goldie said with a smile.

  “Yeah,” Don said grinning. “I think it’s long overdue.”

  Goldie nodded in agreement. “You know Bay Bro was going to bless y’all with something when y’all got out. Since he ain’t here, it would be my pleasure to bless you with everything I can. Call some peoples to witness.”

  Don pulled out his cell phone and called everybody in his crew. J-Roc was the first to arrive, followed by Twon and some other SCC members. Goldie blessed Don with the most rank that he could and gave him a promise of more if he stayed on the right path. Don was official now and he wanted everybody to know it.

  Jon and Kay were back in Louisiana. Don planned a hit on all the apartment buildings to see which was the most vulnerable. He found Debbie to be the weakest but Don still didn’t have the manpower to go up against Shine.

  Twon cleaned up and was around everyday supervising. J-Roc was on the rise. He had Concord projects on lock and plenty of soldiers to go to war. Don had J-Roc by his side. He was still missing a valuable piece in the dangerous game he was playing.

  When the middle of September rolled around Don still hadn’t gained control of any of the other apartment buildings. Shine was the man and it showed in his numbers. Don was standing in front of the game room when a car pulled up.

  “What’s up brother?” Juice greeted Don stepping out of the cab.

  Don looked at his man and smiled. “When yo ass get out?”

  Juice paid the cab driver and gave Don a hug. “Today…” Doug laughed and the two walked inside.

  “You know that I ain’t no problem getting with your team but I ain’t got no family up here.”

  Don put his hand over his heart.

  “I’m offended. All the shit we been through together in Arizona and you don’t consider me family.” Don shook his head and took a swallow of beer. “I got you. You ain’t got to worry about nothing.”

  Juice smiled and grabbed a beer of his own.

  “It’s on then. Let’s get that money, Don.”

  Juice started putting in work for the crew immediately. Juice was feared by a lot of people. In a matter of days Juice’s name was known by all the major dealers. He went on a robbery spree that put a huge dent in a lot of suppliers’ pockets. Don sat back and watched his man tear the city apart. Juice grew in wealth, respect and fame, so did Don.

  It was Juice who Don now turned to for advice. He consulted with him instead of Twon. Juice was doing too many reckless things to last long in the game. Twon played his position when Don was ready to initiate his takeover.

  The Debbie was at the top of Don’s list and he sat in a borrowed truck with Juice, J-Roc and Twon. They were parked across the street from the Debbie waiting for the pick-up and drop-off. Don thought it’d be right to take the Debbie back the same way Shine and Will took Zoe.

  He positioned four teams on the corners to take out the security that were in the cars. Two more stolen vans filled with SCC members waited on the next block for the signal. Two hours later, a Caprice Classic pulled up. The driver got out and went to the trunk pulling out big duffel bags.

  “Let’s move.” Don said grabbing the SK and exiting the truck.

  Don, Twon J-Ron and Juice ran up on the two men. All were firing SK’s. The driver was dropped and the passenger never made it out of car. The security teams that were parked on the corners heard the shots. Before any of them could start the cars, bullets riddled all four. Two cars tried to get away but the SCC members ran behind them shooting. The cars turned down Durbin heading straight towards each other. Don fired into the cars.

  Workers in the apartments shot from the windows. Juice, J-Roc and Twon let off bullets causing the workers to duck. Don and crew approached the apartment building. They were joined by the other crew members parked on the next block.

  Juice went to the basement door and tried to kick it in having no luck. Don remembered the iron-bar that was used for keeping robbers out.

  “It won’t do any good Juice.” He laughed looking up at the apartment building. “The doors not gone give like that. We gone have to shoot the doors off.”

  Juice, Twon and a couple more members cocked their guns and were about to shoot. “Hold it. I got another idea,” Don said looking at Juice. “It’s gone give them niggas a chance to escape with their lives.”

  “Nah, fuck that,” Twon said slamming his hat on the ground. “Them niggas didn’t give Zoe a chance. Fuck that!”

  Twon’s anger left Don with no choice.

  “Fuck it then.” Don said throwing his hands in the air. “Blow these bitches off the hinges. Let’s get this shit over with.”

  Don split the crew up into three groups. Juice took some to the top floor. J-Roc had the middle floor. Don and Twon covered the basement. The three groups blew the doors off the hinges and killed the workers that were inside as they all tried to run out the backdoors.

  SSC regained control of the Debbie but had time to celebrate, they heard police sirens.

  “Grab all the money and the dope you can find in the apartments,” Don said.

  Twon searched the basement apartment. Don went out to the Caprice and grabbed the two duffel bags. The SCC members hurried back to the stolen vehicles and were out before the police got there. Don smiled to himself. The Debbie was only the beginning.

  Shine received calls about the apartment building from several workers. The way Don took back the building surprised Shine. He had underestimated Don’s strength and numbers. Shine called Will. The two of them needed to sit down immediately.

  “So what happened?” Will asked lighting a blunt.

  They were sitting in Shine’s living room. Renee was in the bedroom at the back of the house.

  “Them niggas hit us hard,” Shine said sipping Hennessey.

  “What you wanna do now? We gone strike or what?”

  Shine took the blunt from Will. He pulled long and hard on it thinking about the next move.

  “Nah, they got that,” Shine said coughing. “We not gone throw anything away over one apartment building. We gone put extra security on the other buildings and just let everybody know that they got to stay alert.”

  Will shook his head disagreeing with Shine. “That ain’t the way to handle this.” Will said as he sat on the couch. “Letting them think they got away with this is only gone strengthen them. Niggas gone start joining them thinking that they the winning team. And with more security on the apartments, it ain’t gone matter cause they gone be deep enough to takeover anyone they want.”

  Shine sat back feeling the effect of the weed.

  “We don’t need any heat right now. Shit’s smooth and we on top. We the winning team. Fuck what other niggas think, we on top. Anyway,” Shine said leaning forward. “The crib on Buchanan is where our money at. We straight.”

  One month later, with
SCC membership growing, Don and J-roc made an agreement so that SCC and Concord became one. Don and J-Roc had equal say in all matters. The Concord members were only concerned with making money for themselves. Don and J-Roc started making plans taking back over the Bobby. They were all set to strike when war broke out between Concord and the Bronx.

  Soldiers from the two hoods were killing each other everyday. J-Roc got tired of the war. He wanted to put an end to it once and for all. J-Roc asked Don to gather everyone. He wanted to hit the Bronx hard one time ending the feud. Don agreed and the two started making plans.

  Don and J-Roc had put together their master plan to take down the Bronx. It would take place on Thursday. This was Sunday and there was a concert at the Savoy. No Limit Soldiers were in town and everyone was going to be there.

  Since Smoke was killed, the Savoy was forced to increase security in order to keep open. Weapons of any kind were banned from the club. The owner got rid of Mad Dog and two metal detectors were installed at the front door.

  These precautions helped in the decline of violent incidents. Neighborhoods, cliques, crews and organizations had to find areas in the parking lot where they could park in groups. Rivals had to get run for their gun hoping that you were parked closer to the club than your enemy. There was police stationed inside the parking lot. This was the type of security that the No Limit Soldiers received.

  Nine o’clock that night the concert kicked off. SCC made their entrance at ten-thirty. Silkk The Shocker and Mystikal were performing, It Ain’t My Fault. Heated words and deadly glares were exchanged between Concord members and people from the Bronx when the groups bumped into each other.

  The females in the club were passing Don their numbers and kissing him all over his face. Don was enjoying himself. J-Roc couldn’t relax because the Bronx member kept their eyes on him. J-roc didn’t have his gun and this made him real uneasy. The concert continued and Master P was now performing his old hit, Ice Cream Man. A member from the Bronx was walking by SCC and bumped into a member from Concord.