Torn by the Code

by Eureka

  “Who . . . Who is that?” I said, stumbling over my words in fear that what I felt was true. I looked at the body Slynn cradled. The first thing I noticed was the red hair on whoever it was, and it was female. “Slynn, I said who the fuck is that! This bet’ not be my peeps, man,” I said in a cold, nervous tone. Judging from the red hair and the body shape, I immediately knew it was my cousin. Slynn just continued to rock her back and forth. When I got closer, my fears were confirmed. My cousin, my beloved cousin, was lying in her best friend’s arms, eyes wide open with blood covering her entire neck and clothes.

  “Slynn, Slynn, what the fuck! What the fuck happened?” I yelled at the top of my lungs.

  By this time, Vell, Knight, Netta, and Peanut were close enough to see Mona’s body lying slumped in Slynn’s lap. Netta held her hand over her mouth in shock.

  “Wha . . . Who is this?” Netta managed to say before she turned and vomited on the floor. “Vell, take her ass outta here,” I said as I stepped in front of Netta to prevent her from seeing Mona’s body any further.

  “I told her to be careful . . . I told her to be careful,” Slynn repeated, still rocking Mona’s body.

  “How long she been like this, Slynn?” She didn’t say a word. She was in a trance from shock, and grief consumed her. “Slynn! Slynn, baby girl, you have to tell me who did this!” I shouted to her as I pulled her up from the floor.

  “I told her he was no good. She told me she could handle him. She said he was a lightweight.”

  Slynn sobbed louder as she placed her head on my chest. She was so messed up in the head she couldn’t even form a sentence to tell me anything. Instead, she pointed over to a small monitor that sat on the top of a cabinet on the other side of the room. I looked over in the direction of the monitor and noticed a DVD player underneath it. “Take Netta and that snake out in the lobby. Make sure no one comes in.” I looked at Vell and Knight. Before walking over to the monitor, I grabbed a tablecloth off one of the tables and covered my cousin.

  Then I walked up to the monitor and noticed it was a base for a surveillance camera. I could see the live feed of me looking at myself on the screen. I looked at the DVD player and pressed play. The images appeared on the screen. The audio was real low, so I pressed the button to turn it up. I heard Mona and a man having sex. I could hear the skin-on-skin action. They were not in the camera’s view until Mona was flipped on top of the desk and getting long dick from behind. That’s when I saw the face of the man who has caused me so much pain and misery that could last me a lifetime. Naheri was fucking Mona, saying things so disrespectful and cold. Then in one long stroke, he placed his hand around her neck with a small blade in between his fingers and slit her throat. Blood gushed out as if a faucet had been turned on. I watched in anger as Mona took in her last breath. In a fit of rage, I flung the monitor around and broke the DVD player against the wall. “I’ma kill his ass if the last thing I do. I’ma kill him!”

  The noise caused Knight to rush back in to the office. Confused, he asked, “Hey, what the fuck happened, man? Who did this?”

  I didn’t say a word. I just heaved my chest in and out trying to calm myself. “He killed her, man. First, the love of my life, and now, my cousin.”

  “Who killed your cousin?” Knight asked, ready to shoot the next thing moving. I just stood there clenching my fist tightly with a look of murder on my face. Knight looked over at Slynn. She was crying, staring at Mona’s body covered on the floor.

  “Why?” Slynn said, holding her hand over heart.

  “One of y’all tell me who the fuck is behind this,” Knight demanded.

  I looked at him with pure fire in my eyes. “That fuckin’ Naheri did this. I saw him on the DVD slashing my cousin’s throat.” I hit my fist against the table. A shot coming from the other room caused us to run out of the office. Peanut lay on the floor holding his right arm as blood gushed from a bullet wound.

  Netta screamed, “Stop him! Please, he’s gonna kill him. I’ll tell y’all everything,” she yelled.

  “The muthafucka was trying to run. He a fuckin’ snake, I don’t care how you put it. He double-crossed us—his so-called family, his bros . . . us. I see no need to keep him alive,” Vell said as he held the smoking gun to Peanut’s head. “Why, man, why? We been more than family, nigga. How could you turn like this? Why? For the almighty dollar?” Vell was within inches of pulling the trigger. Slynn fell back down to the floor, still upset about her dear friend.

  Suddenly, they heard the wind chimes on the front door make a noise, and a female voice yelled out, “Hey, is anybody here? Mona, Slynn? Where y’all at?”

  “We’re back here, Brandi,” Slynn called out to her. When she made it over toward Slynn, she looked at her then back toward me; then her attention diverted over toward Peanut who was lying on the floor whining in pain.

  “What’s going on h—” Her words suddenly stopped as she gazed down at what looked like a body lying on the floor, then looked back up at Slynn. Judging by the way Slynn was so upset, it had to be someone close to her. “Come on, y’all, put the guns down. Slynn, who is this, and what happened?” Brandi walked over and put her hand on Slynn’s shoulder.

  Slynn began to tell Brandi the body on the floor was that of their beloved friend and sister Mona. Hearing that, Brandi hugged Slynn so tightly. Tears fell from their faces like rainwater.

  “Pick that nigga up and put his ass in the chair,” I said to Knight as he stood over Peanut who was still lying on the floor. “Slynn, did Mona say anything about where this fool was stayin’?” Slynn released Brandi long enough to tell me everything Mona had told her about this dude. She told him everything except why and who she was doing this setup for.

  “All I know is she told me she was holding him here for a friend. She never told me the friend’s name. Oh my God, how could he just kill her like this? The way she was when I first came in . . . Not even a dog deserved to die like that,” Slynn spoke through her salty tears.

  “Don’t worry, Slynn, this fool is gonna pay. Did she tell you where this dude was stayin’?” Vell asked as he slammed Peanut in the chair.

  “Or better yet, do you know, seeing as how you keepin’ secrets and shit?” Vell stared Peanut right in the eyes.

  “Naw, man, I swear, I don’t know nothing about this. All I know is I was supposed to get you, Knight, and Flex here; that was it,” Peanut said as he lowered his head in shame.

  * * *

  Vell huffed and walked off. Brandi looked at the trio and the pregnant woman who looked terrified. Netta trembled as she watched the veins on the side of Flex’s forehead begin to form.

  “Wait, wait. Mona called last night and asked me if I wanted to come in and get some of this hot trick she was workin’ on. I told her I couldn’t because I had a private party of my own. I asked her who the trick was, and she told me some dude from the States, and that he was good looking. She said he stayed over across the street at the big hotel, Hotel Knutsford,” Brandi said as she began recalling the conversation in her mind. The Knutsford hotel was one of Kingston’s more reputable hotels. Many diplomats and people with money stay there whenever they visit the island.

  I looked at Peanut with disgust and hate written on my face. Knight and Vell did the same.

  “Come on, help me clean this place and take care of my cousin’s body. Slynn, where is Mona’s car?” I asked, knowing my cousin had a whip. Slynn walked over and gave me the keys to Mona’s Jeep Cherokee with vanity plates that read “Red’s Baby.” Vell held on to Netta. Peanut didn’t put up a fight. He stood as Knight and I carefully picked up Mona’s body and placed it in the back of her truck. Slynn and Brandi stayed behind and cleaned up. They would make sure the place was spotless.

  They all loaded up in the truck and covered Mona’s body. I got in and sat in the driver’s seat and took a deep breath. My heart was hurting for my cousin, and her dying this way was no good. I wanted to give her a nice resting place. There was no way I could get her
back home, not without the police getting involved. I looked through the rearview mirror into Netta’s eyes. “Do you know of a nice, peaceful, secluded section on the island?”

  “Yes, over on the north side of the city, close to the ocean. There’s very little traffic in the heart of this park, and it has a nice flower garden,” Netta said as she stared at Flex through the mirror.

  Once again, her similarities to Dutch took my attention. I couldn’t break my gaze off her. “Flex, man, let’s go. We have got to lay Mona to rest; then we go see that fool. Even if it takes all night, his ass will pay,” Knight said, bringing me back to my reality.

  “A’ight, let’s go.” I started the engine and pulled off in the direction Netta told me about. Then Naheri was my focus, getting my son back, and making him pay dearly for taking another person out of her life.

  Chapter 37

  Kainmen’s Law

  I was so glad when I pulled up at the spot that I didn’t get right out. Instead, I stayed in the car and peeped the scene. I parked in front of the hotel across from Mona’s brothel. I knew my eyes were playing a cruel game on me because I could have sworn I spotted Flex and Netta, along with Peanut and two other guys I didn’t know. I watched as all of them piled up in Mona’s truck and loaded up something in the back. They had no idea I was close, close enough to take them all out. I clenched my gun and just when I was ready to jump out and spray all of them, a truck parked directly in front of me, blocking my view. My anger forced me out of my ride. I inched closer behind the truck, quickly ducked down, and crept up from behind the truck ready to empty my clip . . . but they were gone. I was pissed. I looked up and down the road and could see red taillights in the distance. Fuck! I couldn’t jump back in my car and try to follow them now because by the time I headed in the direction I saw the red lights, they would have been gone. Besides, there were too many possible turns they could make, and I wanted to see his face when I blasted that ass.

  I tucked my gun back into my waist and decided to enter Mona’s spot. As soon as I opened up the club door, the strong scent of bleach overwhelmed my nostrils. Two females were cleaning the place. The look on their face showed my presence was a shock. I remembered the taller one from some of my many visits here.

  “Ay, baby girl, wha wrong? I don’t remember your name offhand, but you seem down. Is there anything I can do to help?” I walked over to her and saw the tears all over her face. That was my confirmation that something bad went down.

  “We’re closed. Can you come back another day?” the shorter one with the brown complexion said with a slight attitude. I almost reached back and slapped the taste from her mouth. I gave her a stern look to let her know if she said one more word, she would be breathing her last breath.

  “Anyway, baby girl, as I was saying, do you need my help with anything?” I said as I walked her toward the back of the club where the smell of bleach was stronger.

  She stopped me before I got to the part where the office was located. “My bad, baby girl. You don’t want me to go in there. I’m sorry if I’m intruding.” My curiosity was getting the better of me. Before I could take another step, her friend raced back there, almost knocking me down to close the door.

  She looked at her friend. “Slynn, don’t you think you and your guest should go back up front? I don’t want anyone coming in. We ain’t doing no business tonight. Sir, I’ma have to ask you to leave.” Brandi gave Slynn a knowing look.

  “Yeah, she’s right, but thank you for trying to help me. What’s your name? You look real familiar to me,” Slynn hesitantly said.

  “No need to thank me. It’s just when I see a beautiful woman in need, it’s in my nature to help. Besides, I heard this was the hottest spot in town. Ya know how to party.”

  She smiled but held a questioning look on her face.

  I had to smooth it over. Her friend looked me up and down as if she was saying, “Fuck you, nigga.” I turned to walk toward the front when I heard her friend say to her in a hushed tone, “Girl, we ain’t got time for this shit. Like how we gonna survive, and who this fool is who killed Mona?”

  “I know, Brandi. He didn’t mean any harm. Right now, I need to get this place cleaned up and lie down. My head hurts.”

  I slowed my stride toward the door and stopped when I heard her say Mona was dead. I know fuck boy Flex ain’t kilt her, but who did? This nigga bring nothing but misery and sadness every place he go.

  “Ayo, baby girl, you mind if I leave my number with you? Maybe on a better day we can hook up, ya know, spend some time,” I said as I called toward the back of the club. I held a small card in my hand. Slynn smiled and reached out to accept the card . . . until her friend slapped it out of my hand.

  “I know you. You that muthafucka that got the big-ass house up top. You and your brother . . . Wait ah minute. I know your brother too, that sick fool. He killed my girl last month. Slynn, get the fuck away from him,” she said as she stood between us.

  Slynn looked at her, then at me. “What are you talking about, Brandi? What brother?”

  “Slynn, remember when we had this guy acting up in here last month . . . getting rough with Renee? Well, this is him. I remember that night he went in hard. Almost broke her nose and fought Derose. It took the whole team to put him out.”

  “Ma’am, I have no idea what you are talkin’ about” I lied with a smile. In fact, I remember her too. That night she was the one who called the police on me. I was about to come back and shut this shit down, but Mona brings big money to the island. I refused to fuck up the churches’ money, as we say.

  “Stop lying, Slynn. Remember when I told you Mona called me last night to join the party? Well, she sent me a photo of the guy. He looked familiar like I knew him. The fact he was sexy didn’t hurt, either, so I looked him up on Google. There was a picture of him and this guy right here standing in front of a mansion. They were featured in the Social section about some of the wealthiest families around. I remember the dude’s picture because my girl has been missing for a while, and his brother was the last one with her. How I know that? She was staying at my house, and she had the guy’s picture in some of her things. That’s when it hit me, who the guy was, and where I remembered him from. I couldn’t make it to the club. I tried calling Mona, and when she didn’t answer, that’s when I decided to show up early today and see how her li’l date went and warn her about the guy.”

  I just listened to her go and on. Then I drew my hand back and slapped the spit out of her mouth. I had enough. There was one thing I will not stand, and that is a female thinking she can talk flip to me, then live or be able to talk about it.

  “What the fuck!” Brandi said as she lunged at me. She was wildly swinging blows and connecting some of them to my face.

  I caught her by the hand and slung her so hard, she landed against the bar knocking over every bottle and glass. She lay there unconscious as Slynn screamed at the top of her lungs. I didn’t want to do it, but I had to. I drew back once more and punched her right in the face. What the fuck has Naheri’s stupid ass done now? I didn’t have time to worry about that. I reached out swiftly and grabbed Slynn by the neck. I was choking her almost unconscious. I couldn’t take a chance of her tipping the police off or her letting Flex know.

  I watched as her eyes began to roll in the back of her head until I heard... “Muthafucka!” I turned toward the sound, and the side of my face encountered the side of a glass bottle. I released Slynn and held my head. Dazed a little but angrier than anything, I lunged at Brandi and wrapped my hand around her neck, shaking her like a rag doll. I felt the life leave her.

  “You stupid bitch,” I said as the blood ran down my face. I wanted her to die. Suddenly, “Click” is all I heard. I released Brandi, and her lifeless body hit the floor. I turned around to stare . . . right down the barrel of a Glock 9 mm . . . and a very healthy-looking Dutchtress holding the other end.

  She smirked. “I see some shit never changes. Nice to see you, Kainmen.”r />
  I held my hands up in submission. I knew if I made a move, Dutchtress would blow my head clean off my shoulders. “I see death looks good on you, aye,” I said smiling. There was no way I was gonna die kissing her ass. I could see the hate in her eyes. At any moment, she could pull the trigger.

  “Not as good as it will look on you. So tell me, where is your sorry-ass brother? Better yet, where is my son?” she said through clenched teeth while she held the gun in my face.

  I knew my options were few and far between. I had one chance to grab my Glock from behind me. “Look here, I’ll bargain with you. My brother’s stupid ass already is dead to me, so how about we work together and kill his ass? So what you think about that?” I said trying to sound as convincing as I could because the first chance I get, I’m blowing her fuckin’ head off. I hate her just as much as she hates me. There will not be a second try. She will be dying this day.

  “You sound . . . stupid . . . as . . . hell,” she said laughing as if she heard a joke. “I don’t believe that, Kainmen. Who in the fuck do you think you’re talking to? Better yet, fuck your information. I’ll find him myself. You two dummies never learn, do you?” She began circling me with the gun. I felt a sharp tug at the back of my shirt. She found my gun.

  “Shit,” I said just above a whisper.

  “See, Kainmen, you should know me better than that. After killing your grandfather, I was trained by the best. I’m not one of these dummies you run into, the ones who fear you. Muthafucka, I know how you work, and what drives you. And that would be me. You lived your whole life eating, sleeping, and breathing me. I’m in your soul.” She continued circling me slowly and cautiously. “See, unlike you, I never send a soldier to do a general’s job. Your grandfather underestimated me, as did you, I see. Naheri was, well, I thought he was a good dude, ya know, husband material and a good father. Had I known he carried your sorry-ass blood, I would have long ago slit his fuckin’ throat in his sleep.”