by K'wan
In the middle of the celebrity barbecue, a short kid who was built like a mailbox and who rocked his hair in messy cornrows, walked over to the grill where the pimp and his henchman were talking to a group of young ladies. There was something familiar about the young man, but Ice couldn’t quite place him. Before he had a chance to ponder it further the park erupted in gunfire.
Shorty reached for his pistol, but the alcohol dulled his movements by a fraction of an inch which was all Shannon needed to gun him down. Shorty’s head exploded like a melon when the bullet hit it. Ice tried to take cover but two bullets to the back immobilized him. Don B. and his people scattered leaving Ice at the mercy of the gunman.
“Turn yo bitch ass over!” Shannon kicked him in the ass, leaving a Timberland print on the rear of Ice’s white linen shorts.
Ice was in a world of pain, but managed to roll over onto his side to face the man. “Dawg, I don’t even know you. What the fuck is this about?” Ice asked, not bothering to hide the panic in his voice.
Shannon glared down at Black Ice. “This is about dreams, nigga. Dreams of a little girl that may never come true because of a slick-talking nigga.”
Ice tried to plead. “Man, wait a second. I got ten grand in my truck. Let me live and you can have it!”
“Money?” Shannon chuckled. “Bitch nigga, I don’t want ya money, I want ya fucking life. My little sister Dena wanted you to have this.” Shannon leveled his gun. Ice opened his mouth to beg but a bullet ripping through the back of his throat silenced him. Shannon continued to squeeze the trigger until his gun was empty. While Ice lay motionless on the ground Shannon spat on him before walking calmly from the park. The debt had been settled. They say that even after Shannon was gone you could still hear Shorty’s brains sizzling on the grill where they’d been deposited.
FOR A LONG TIME PEOPLE talked about the shootout at the Big Dawg game, but as with most things in the hood that news became old in light of more drama. Though Charlie Rock had managed to escape the scene of the triple murder, he couldn’t escape his karma. He was last seen on the corner of Decatur and Ralph, being stuffed into the back of a car by Spider’s older brother, Killer-Bo.
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
STILL HOOD. Copyright © 2007 by K’wan Foye. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.stmartins.com
eISBN 9781429921084
First eBook Edition : February 2011
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
K’wan.
Still hood / K’wan.—1st ed. p. cm.
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-36010-8
ISBN-10: 0-312-36010-X
1. African American beauty operators—Fiction. 2. African American musicians—Fiction. 3. Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)—Fiction. 4. Street life—Fiction. 5. Hip-hop—Fiction. I. Title.
PS3606.O96S73 2007
813’.6—dc22
2007021197
First Edition: October 2007