by N’Tyse
Really? Tandra glanced around the club again. Rarely was anything this easy in life. What was the catch? “I am charging you forty for the mess you left.”
Crown winced as he pulled out her chair. Tandra didn’t want to sit down, but had no way out of complying with him. She slid into the seat and he sat across from her.
“Did I hear you correctly?”
“Yes, you did. The fee is double, plus expenses. Your people left an unnecessary mess. We had to remove furniture, paint and the count was…” Tandra raised her hands to show eight fingers.
“But that is what you do.”
“No.” Tandra crossed her legs. Crown watched her legs with appreciation; his slight smile turned Tandra on. She tried to ignore it. “What I do is make sure that the scene is evidence-free. That’s easy enough with a low count and unnecessary brutality.” Tandra leaned forward. “When someone participates in a bloodbath, there are additional expenses.”
Crown sat back and observed her. “I like you.”
“That is irrelevant.”
“No, it is very relevant. It makes all the difference in the world.”
Tandra stared at him as he smiled at her.
“How do I know it’s been handled?”
“Send someone up there to check it out if you want. I don’t care. I won’t be going back.”
Crown nodded his head. “Do you have anything for me?”
“All residue has been eliminated.”
“I am willing to pay thirty. For your trouble.”
“Sixty and the price will go up with every counteroffer.” Tandra stood up. “Don’t waste my time and please don’t disrespect my professionalism. I take what I do very seriously; it is not a discount service to be negotiated down.”
“And if I don’t pay?”
Tandra shrugged and kept her game face in play. If he didn’t pay, then a few of the bullet casings that she had would find their way to the police and that was for damn sure. That evidence wouldn’t be buried in final until she was paid in full. But she wouldn’t tell him that. He would find out the hard way what the consequences were, and it would be in a way that he couldn’t prove her responsible and couldn’t directly retaliate against her.
“Oh, so you keep insurance for yourself, huh?”
Tandra met Crown’s eyes. “Sixty-five then?”
“Please, sit down, sweet lady.” Crown laughed and clapped his hands. A thick woman with evil eyes approached and grimaced at Tandra, who didn’t acknowledge her with anything more than a glance.
Crown mumbled something to her and she walked away. “So, Tandra, what do you drink?”
“I don’t.” Tandra was ready to go.
“What are you doing this evening?”
At the direct question, Tandra smiled and met his eyes. “I am sure I will be working.”
“Cleaning?”
Tandra shook her head no. “Cleaning is not my only business.”
“Ah, an entrepreneur.” The woman returned and dropped four stacks on the table. “I like a woman with some grind.”
Tandra rolled her eyes.
Crown smiled. “Forty grand, then?”
Tandra weighed her options. She met his smile with a sweet one of her own, but her eyes were deadly serious. “Forty is no longer on the table—it was my initial offer and you forced me to have to counteroffer.”
“Let’s meet in the middle, Tandra. You can do that, right?”
Tandra considered it. She nodded.
Crown raised one finger. The woman with the evil eyes appeared and dropped another stack on the table. She rolled her eyes at Tandra as she walked away. Tandra laughed out loud as Crown shook his head.
“My assistant is territorial.”
“I see.” Tandra shook her head. “It’s no problem.” Tandra stood again, preparing to leave.
“So, Tandra, why don’t you enjoy Club Enjami sometime? VIP. On me, of course.”
Tandra smiled. She needed a night out. Maybe she would bring Lyell and Lenora and tell Breeze to bring Lele. They could pop bottles and just relax. “Maybe. When would be a good night?”
Crown stood up and placed his hand on her waist. “Tonight, of course…”
“I’m not sure about tonight. I would want to bring some friends.”
“Maybe this weekend, then?”
Tandra gave Crown a flirtatious grin. He was sexy. Tandra pointed to the stack of money on the table. “Can you give me something to put that in?
“Of course, Sexy.” Crown raised a hand again.
The evil-eyed woman appeared again with a purple leather handbag. At the same time, Tandra saw someone walking toward her, his motion smooth but purposeful; too focused for someone in a club in the middle of the day. He bumped into a waiter and walked across the center of the dance floor. His eyes were on her and Crown.
Tandra’s instinct sounded off like a three-bell alarm. She didn’t know why, but her hands reached for her Beretta. Crown’s eyes widened, his jaw fell open.
The man raised the gun. The first explosion stunned the people in the room; everyone stood still for a second until the evil-eyed woman screamed as blood squirted from her shoulder. Bodies were in motion after that. Crown grabbed for Tandra, but she would be damned if he used her as a human shield. She lunged past him as a second shot rang out and hit the floor behind the table. Her gun slid from her fingertips under the bench behind her.
“Crown, you son of a bitch!” The gunman screamed; a bloodcurdling sound that made Tandra’s heart drop to her toes.
She knew that voice.
8
The several people that had been milling about before broke for the door at the sound of the first shot. Tandra and Crown were trapped, too deep in the club to get past the gunman. The gunman smiled at Crown; he had the advantage.
Bodyguards that Tandra hadn’t noticed before emerged from the shadows of the club. The dark man fired and hit the tall man running toward Crown from the bar; another bullet nailed the shorter guard who had been talking with the waitress by the kitchen. The second shot hadn’t come from the gunman; a female dressed in all black had shot him.
A female who came running out of the kitchen with a gun; the gunwoman in all black shot her. The woman in all black ran into the kitchen and Tandra could hear her blasting her gun to clear the room. The shot woman fell close to Tandra, who tried to crawl closer to get her gun.
“Bitch, don’t move.” Tandra felt the heat from the gun near the back of her neck. She lay still facing the floor and spread out her arms. The gunman took the gun from the victim, whom he shot in the face.
Tandra didn’t blink.
“Crown, you’re finished. You hear me.”
“Detrick, this is a foolish move.” Crown’s smooth voice contained no fear, in fact he sounded like he was laughing. Tandra couldn’t believe it was Detrick who was shooting up the place. She turned her head to better focus on the man in the dim light. It was Detrick. Shit. Whatever this was, it had nothing to do with her. She figured it was time to make her exit.
Tandra stood up.
Detrick glanced at her, his face questioning her boldness, until he recognized her. “Tandra. The red hair threw me off. I didn’t know that was you.”
“Detrick, I don’t have anything to do with what’s going on here.” Tandra took a step toward the door.
“Oh, you don’t?” Detrick kept his gun trained on Crown, but Tandra had his full attention. “Actually, I am glad you’re here. I can get some fucking answers now.”
“What?” Tandra shook her head; he had her twisted. There was no question that she had the answer to where it concerned him.
Crown interrupted, “Detrick, what the hell are you thinking, huh, to pull some shit like this on me? On the Crown?” His accent made his words faster and choppier. “I made you. And you cross the Crown?”
Detrick shot Crown in the thigh. Crown whimpered as the force of the shot knocked him to the ground. “You tried to kill me and my crew.”
Crown didn’t answer, his teeth clenched as he grabbed his leg.
“You thought I wasn’t going to know. You hired them damn Cleaners to cover your trail. So, what, you were going to take us all out? Just like that, Crown?”
Tandra’s eyes flitted between Detrick and Crown. How did Detrick know about the job? How had he found out who was in the apartment?
The female in all black stepped out of the kitchen, her gun drawn. Tandra knew, without looking at her, that it was Lenora. The puzzle pieces fell into place. Her heart stopped beating for a second and sadness flooded her. Lenora had talked and had walked in like Detrick’s do-or-die bitch.
Tandra met Lenora’s eyes. Lenora’s mouth opened, shame clouded her face. “Tandy, I didn’t know…”
“Lenora, what did you do?”
Sweat poured down Crown’s brow. “This is one of your people?” Crown gasped.
Tandra nodded.
“You fucked up,” Crown whispered. “You fucked up, sexy lady.”
Tandra met his eyes.
Detrick pushed past Tandra to stand directly in front of Crown. “It didn’t have to be like this. I told you I was doing my own thing. You should have let me go.”
“You stole from me. You don’t steal and walk away.” Crown dragged himself to a chair and sat down.
“I didn’t steal from you, Crown. I learned the game and used it, the way you did. That ain’t stealing.”
“You cut a side deal. And didn’t offer up any tax on it to me or to those who have embraced you.” Crown spat phlegm at the floor. “You are a thief, dumb bombaclot.” The words curled around Crown’s tongue like a marble in his mouth. “And now, now you are a dead man.”
Detrick shrugged. “I was a dead man, anyway, right? It was just a matter of time. But you crossed the line. PJ? My son’s mother? You did that?”
Crown shrugged. “She was nothing but a low-paid trick. And the pussy was a tad bit raggedy, anyway.” He laughed; a weak sound of fury. “I figured I would fuck her one last time before I let my boys get a taste. Let her do what she specialized in before she took her last breath.” Crown sized Detrick up, his eyes traveling up and down his body. “And look at you. Supposed to be a man, standing here signing your own death sentence over a fiend.” Crown pressed his fist against his thigh. “Pathetic.”
Detrick stared at him as if he didn’t hear a word Crown had said. Instead his lips moved, like he was having a private conversation with himself. He nodded his head, lifted the gun and riddled Crown’s body full of bullets. Tandra flinched, but didn’t move. She was going to distract Detrick out of his trance, that was for sure.
She met Lenora’s eyes again; this time her own eyes were blank. Emotion had been wiped clean. Lenora was now an enemy and would be handled like one.
“What did you do, Nora?”
“I didn’t know you were going to be here.”
“You sure about that? I called you a hundred times. Or did you decide you were going to come in during the meeting and do me, like he just did Crown.”
Detrick snorted at Tandra’s comment. He stood over Crown and stared at him. “Your empire is mine now. Trust.”
“Tandy, listen to me, I went to Detrick’s like you said. To ask for double for the cleaning. But he ain’t have nothing to do with the cleaning. He just put it together.”
No explanation would matter to Tandra. Maybe Lenora didn’t realize that. “You went over there in the same clothes, Nora. Then you come up in here wearing them? With all the bodies you touched and all the shit we cleaned, you still wearing the same fucking clothes?” Tandra’s normal calm broke; she could hear herself screaming.
“I was just trying to let him know that you wanted double.”
“You fucked him?”
Silence. Lenora looked at the floor.
“I am going to ask you again. Did you fuck my client?”
“It’s wasn’t like that.”
“Enough of the bullshit, Nora. Just tell her.” Detrick pushed his gun back in the side strap and pulled out a cigarette.
“Tell me what?” Tandra crossed her arms and stared at Detrick, who smiled at her.
“I been fucking Nora for months,” Detrick said with a shrug. “She a’ight.”
Tandra laughed, her eyes glinting fury. “See, Nora, I told you he was an asshole.”
“No doubt.” Detrick lit a cigar and took out his cell phone and called someone. “Come to Enjami. Now,” he demanded.
When he hung up the phone, he and Tandra looked at each other and shook their heads in unison.
Lenora looked back and forth between the two as if she were left out of some sick joke. Why was she never included in the silent conversations that happened all around her? It was obvious they thought she was a fool, some little errand girl who didn’t deserve any respect.
“I’m a’ight?” Lenora faced Detrick. “What the hell does that mean?”
“Shorty, I’m not feelin’ it right now. You need to take it down.”
“What it means, little girl, is that he is simply fucking you. And in the process of getting fucked, you put my business at risk.”
“That’s all you care about, Tandy? Is your business?”
Tandra ignored her and looked at Detrick. “Why are you coming in here blasting like this?”
Detrick bit his lip. “I’ve known you forever, Tandra. That’s why I can’t even be mad. Not really. Was PJ up in that spot?”
Tandra shook her head. “I don’t know who PJ is.”
“A girl was up in there alive. The little girl told it.” Detrick didn’t bother to look at Lenora, either. “She was mine, Tandra.”
Tandra bit her lip. “I didn’t know. It would have been different, Detrick, had I known.” She moved closer to him. “You know that, right?”
“Who did it? Who pulled the trigger?”
“I did.” Tandra didn’t hesitate. She looked him in his eye, power for power, respect for respect. “I’m not going to lie to you. I did it.”
A moment of silence passed between them. Tandra wasn’t going to apologize, because she wasn’t at fault. It was part of the job, part of the life. And Detrick understood that.
“This one here.” He pointed at Lenora without looking at her. “Loose lips, Tandra. You got to be careful with her.”
“Fuck both of y’all.” Lenora had her guns drawn, pointing at Detrick and Tandra.
Tandra felt her body temperature rise; her anger was making her blood boil. Detrick chuckled.
“Put that gun down, Nora,” Tandra said.
“No, I am sick of both of y’all. I am not stupid. I’m standing right here and y’all gonna act like I ain’t even in the room—”
Detrick moved quickly, his gun trained on Lenora. “If you point a gun at me, you better be prepared to use it, stupid bitch!”
Tandra shook her head. “Don’t do this, Lenora.”
Detrick chuckled, dropping his gun to his side. “Fuck this little girl.” Detrick turned his back on her and walked toward the bar. “I need a drink.”
“You gonna turn your back on me?” Lenora’s hand began to shake as a tear tumbled down her back. She hiccupped and shrieked at the same time. Tandra knew the look of craziness that crossed her face; the look of pure desperation just as a woman’s heart breaks.
“Lenora, no!”
Tandra lunged at Lenora and bumped her arm just as she fired at Detrick’s back. Another shot rang out into the air. Lenora gasped in surprise as the bullet hit her in the back and shoved her body forward with its momentum. She stumbled and looked down at her chest; blood trickled down the front of her body suit, the hole squarely between her breasts.
“Oh shit.” Detrick fell forward; the bullet had penetrated the back of his arm. “Did this trick just shoot me?”
Tandra looked around, trying to figure out where the shot that hit Lenora had come from.
Tears covered Lenora’s face. “Tandy?”
Another shot hit Lenora in the ba
ck of the head. Tandy stepped toward her as Lenora fell into her arms.
Breeze stepped out of the shadows, smoke trailing from the tip of her gun.
Tandra stared down into Lenora’s blank eyes.
Detrick rubbed his hand over his face.
The three of them said nothing for a long while. Detrick stood up when his cell phone beeped and started walking across the dance floor to the door.
“Tandra,” Detrick said just before he walked out, his voice quiet. “I need this scene cleaned.”
Kai is the author of the highly acclaimed urban fiction novel, Daughter of the Game. She is also receiving critical acclaim for the novel The Loudest Silence, a chilling and raw examination of the death of love.
A published and nationally recognized poet and writer, her poem, “Pre-Destiny,” was featured in the April 2008 issue of Essence magazine and she was a Featured Poet in A Place Of Our Own (APOOO) national tribute in April 2008 and RAWSISTAZ Author Showcase, April 2007. Kai is a contributing poet in Step Up to the Mic: A Poetry Explosion, by Poetic Press (Xpress Yourself Publishing). A winner of the No Candles Infinity Contest, hosted by Osbey Books, Kai is credited for writing emotionally raw and thought-provoking works and has been published in numerous anthologies and magazines under other pen names. Her highly anticipated sequel, Daughter of the Game II: The Secret Keeper, is now available. An alumni of Hampton University, SUNY Brockport and Georgetown University Law Center, she is a licensed attorney and proud parent. For more information, visit the author at www.authorkai.com.
BY C.J. HUDSON
1
Roni and Kita sat in a stolen Chevy Trailblazer and watched the front door of their mark intently. At any minute, it would swing open and all hell would break loose.
Roni and Kita were members of the Get Money Bitches, three cold and heartless women who were about making paper by any means necessary. Whether it was carjacking, spot-rushing, or strong-arm robbery, the Get Money Bitches were all about clocking the dough. During their last spot-rushing heist, an unexpected problem had arisen and their leader, Jasmine, had to pump three hollow points into the owner of the house.