by India
“What do you mean?” He looked at me with one eyebrow raised.
“Why do you always help me?” Sometimes you had to question people’s motives. I learned from my father that if something is too good to be true, then nine times out of ten, it probably is.
“Well, I help you based on the relationship your father and I had.” He sat back and removed the navy blue Detroit baseball cap from his head. Bryant worked narcotics. Therefore, he wasn’t confined to a uniform. Typically, he dressed in plain clothes which often consisted of urban wear. He was a young man, probably mid-twenties, and looked too good to be a cop.
“Okay, I would be more apt to understand your rationale if my father were still alive and you were still on payroll,” I whispered. “But he’s dead. And I don’t have any money to pay you with. So, the fact that you continue to assist me is bewildering.”
“Janelle, money isn’t everything.” He looked away from me yet continued talking. “Growing up, your father was good to me.”
“What do you mean growing up?”
“Julius used to hustle from the apartment right next to the one I shared with my mother. He was about sixteen then, and I was perhaps nine. Each day, I would see him making more money than I could ever dream of. And he saw me every day searching for loose change in the hallways. My mother was a single parent, always robbing Peter to pay Paul, so to speak. I got tired of seeing her struggle and work so hard. One day, while she was at work, I went over to his apartment and knocked lightly. Your dad came to the door rocking an Adidas tracksuit and more gold chains than Mr. T.”
Bryant laughed while continuing to reminisce. “I told him I wanted a job. He asked me what kind of job. I said to him it didn’t matter as long as I could make money to help my mother pay the bills and put food on the table. He stared at me for a minute then asked what I wanted to be when I grew up. I admitted I wanted to be a police officer. It was then that he acknowledged he was a bad guy, so he couldn’t give me a job. For a second, I reflected on his words. Then I declared if I could get paid like him, I wanted to be a bad guy too. He laughed and patted my head, then said to me to never try to be something I’m not. I felt discouraged and began to walk away. But he called me back and stated that if I stayed in school and didn’t get into trouble, he would help my mother out.”
Deep in thought, he paused as if he were watching a movie of his life. “Admirably, Julius remained true to his word. He even sent me to college. When I graduated magna cum laude, he bought me my first car. Sitting in the second row, right beside my mother was Julius. He also attended my graduation from the police academy. Your father was like a big brother to me. That’s why I look out for you the way I do.”
“Wow, that’s deep.” I was happy to hear the story about my father.
“Man, I was devastated when he was murdered.” Bryant shook his head.
“Speaking of that, do you have access to his case files? Have they discovered who killed my parents?” A while ago, I decided to place my parents’ deaths in the back of my mind. However, every now and then, the thoughts and images gnawed at me.
“I reviewed the file front to back. It indicated there was a search warrant for the property. And when the police arrived, your father began shooting.”
“They ambushed the house with smoke bombs. However, no one knocked on the front door to present the warrant. As a matter of fact, the men on the surveillance cameras wore ski masks. My father began shooting because he thought it was a home invasion.”
“The report made no mention of that. Are you sure that’s what happened?” Bryant sat up straight.
“That’s a day I will never forget.” I looked at him like, duh! “Don’t you guys have the surveillance tapes?”
“The report mentioned nothing about tapes. I’m going to have another look at the case file. I’ll keep you posted.”
“Okay, we’ll talk soon.” Noticing Alicia’s Lexus pull up to the curb, I stood to leave. For obvious reasons, she had ditched the stolen Town & Country we’d used in the drive-by. I was relieved. “I have to go. My ride is here.”
“Call me if you need anything,” he shouted as I hustled over to Alicia’s whip.
“Girl, I was worried sick about you.” Ali exhaled after I was securely situated inside of the vehicle. After observing Ace sitting in the front seat, it was my turn to exhale.
“Baby, what happened? Did you get him?” I knew Alicia was worried about me. Even so, I was more concerned about Smoke.
“That nigga should be on his way to the morgue right about now. I left him stanking in the gutter,” Ace replied calmly. All the while, he was watching me with a puzzled look through the pull-down mirror. “What the fuck happened to your face?”
“Some cop put his hands on me, but it’s nothing.” Brushing off my true emotions was the only way to keep Ace calm. If I had expressed how upset I was, he surely would’ve reacted in a brash manner and ruined my plan for revenge.
“Fuck you mean it’s nothing?” Ace turned around in his seat to face me.
“It’s nothing. Just chill.” I sighed.
“Bryant?” Alicia asked while merging onto I-75.
“No. Some asshole named Brisbane.” The pounding in my head was treacherous. Therefore, I closed my eyes and rested my head against the headrest.
“Some man put his hands on my pregnant fiancée, and you want me to chill?” Ace’s question was rhetorical. Therefore, I didn’t respond.
“First thing in the morning, we goin’ to see that nigga,” Ali declared.
“You damn right we goin’ to see that nigga.” Ace turned on the radio and leaned back in the passenger seat. I had my own plans when it came to Brisbane. For that reason, I didn’t say a word and just let ’em talk.
“Do you think you need a doctor?” Although Alicia was concerned, all I wanted were pain pills, my bed, and a pillow.
“No, I’m good. Just get me home as fast as you can.” The freeway was practically empty this time of night. Effortlessly, she navigated the lanes as a local radio station, WJLB, played in the background. They were bumping some great music, which allowed me the opportunity to relax, if only for a little while. Realizing this was the calm before the storm, I took it all in before my showdown with Brisbane.
* * *
After the run-in at the projects, Ace decided it was best for me to lie low for at least a week. I did as instructed and stayed out of the streets, with the exception of going to school or to my doctor appointments, which was where I was coming from today. Because both Ace and Alicia were busy, I had gone by myself. I didn’t mind the alone time. It allowed me to think without distractions. These last few days, my mind had been on overload. I was mentally fatigued.
The minute I pulled up to the crib, it was my intention to jump into the bed and hibernate. Unfortunately, as I rounded the corner, I noticed Keisha’s Ford Fusion parked in the driveway. Not only had we already handled our business for the month, but I had informed her that the credit card operation was over as well. Hence, I felt the visit was out of place. Keisha was extremely disappointed that her pockets would take a hit. Nonetheless, she took the news in stride, and we promised to keep in touch. So why is she here? I wondered silently while walking up the steps. Is she trying to settle the score with Ali? With a scowl on my face, I placed the key into the lock. I honestly didn’t know where the beef between them stemmed from. Right or wrong, I was always on Alicia’s side. Keisha was my girl. However, Ali was my sister, and I would battle any bitch for her.
Upon entering the foyer, I stopped and listened for a possible cat fight between the women but heard nothing. Next, I walked though the condo and spotted Keisha’s Hermès bag on the couch along with a pair of Jimmy Choo heels sprawled across the floor. What in the hell? I twisted my face up and headed straight for Alicia’s bedroom. Providing only a slight knock, I turned the knob and entered. To tell the truth, I didn’t know what I expected to see on the other side of the door. However, nothing could’ve prepared
me for what I did find.
“Oh, shit, baby, make me cum,” Alicia moaned. My eyes widened. Her eyes were closed as she lay back on top of her bed, with one hand behind her head and the other palming Keisha’s head like a basketball.
“Damn, baby, I missed this good shit.” Keisha’s tongue slid up and down between Ali’s parted legs. I almost pissed myself. I’d known both of these girls forever and had no inkling that either of them was playing for the other team. To make shit crazier, Alicia was my best friend. We shared almost everything, so why hadn’t she told me about her sexual preference?
Just as I was about to make my silent departure from the bedroom, Alicia’s eyes popped open. I was cold busted. “Janelle,” she called out.
“Janelle?” Keisha lifted her head, obviously offended. “What you mean, Janelle?”
Without a word, Alicia pointed in my direction.
“Oh, my God, Janelle!” Keisha tried as best she could to cover herself.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to barge in. I thought you two were in here fighting, and I was coming to break it up. I didn’t know y’all were in here fucking.” I closed the door, but Alicia was hot on my trail.
“Look, can we talk?” She stepped into the living room in just her bra and panties. Wrapped in a sheet from the bed, Keisha came out of the bedroom behind her boo. “I can explain.”
“You don’t have to explain anything to me.” I shook my head. “It’s none of my business what you do in your boudoir.” I was telling the absolute truth. Nevertheless, Alicia insisted on explaining.
“Me and Keisha used to mess around back in the day. But we broke up, and that’s why we were beefing.”
“Tell the whole truth,” Keisha chimed in.
“At the time, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be a full-fledged lesbian or if I was bisexual.” She paused long enough for Keisha to add her two cents again.
“She cheated on me with a dude. That’s why we broke up, Janelle!”
“Okay, that’s all fine and good. Like I said, it’s none of my business. But why did you keep this from me?” I cared nothing about her and Keisha’s relationship. On the other hand, the fact that she’d been fronting . . . What actually had me puzzled was her pretending to be someone she wasn’t. We were as thick as thieves. or so I thought.
“I didn’t want you to view me as being weird, peculiar, or strange.” She took a seat beside me.
“Alicia, you know me better than that. I would never judge you for something like that. Come on now.” A lot of people frowned upon the homosexual lifestyle. Not me. I left the judgment up to God. Nobody’s perfect, and no single sin is greater than the next.
“I’m sorry, Janie. I was going to tell you. I just didn’t know when or even how.” Alicia wrapped her arms around me. “You forgive me?” she asked in baby dialect.
“It’s all good. Just don’t let that shit happen again!” I pinched her arm. How could I get mad at her for keeping secrets when I had a few of my own? Granted, my secret was in regard to murder, which by the way was a much bigger deal than being a lesbian. Yet again, it was all good. “Are you guys an item again?”
“Yeah, I’m ready to go all the way this time.” She winked at Keisha, who was blushing like a schoolgirl.
“In any case, I’ll support you girls without a doubt.” Alicia was my best friend in the whole world, and Keisha was a close friend. If they wanted to be together, who was I to stand in their way?
Chapter Forty-two
At seven o’clock the next morning, I was startled awake by someone lying heavily on the doorbell. I looked over at Ace, who was comatose as usual, and I rolled my eyes. Today was Sunday, and I was trying to rest. Until I got rid of the intruder, sleep wouldn’t come again. Grabbing the switchblade from my nightstand, I approached the door with a vengeance. “Who the fuck is it?”
“It’s Chucky!” My uncle sounded like the Big Bad Wolf ready to blow my house down.
“What’s up?” I yanked the door open with much attitude. “What you keep ringing the doorbell for?” After wiping sleep from my eyes, I placed the switchblade into my pajama shorts.
“Tell me what the fuck went down in the projects the other night?” He barged into the living room like a madman and awaited my response.
“If you left your bed to come over here this early in the morning, then I’m sure you already know what happened.” I yawned.
“Janelle, I’m here because I want you to tell me that your stupid ass didn’t do what I think you did.” He mean-mugged me, and I returned the stare down. I didn’t know who Chucky thought he was to be bossing up on me, but I didn’t like it one bit. Tired of his temper tantrums, I squared up to him. Chucky was pissed but so was I. He had no right to come into my home and think it would be okay to speak to me any ol’ kind of way.
“No disrespect, but who the hell are you talking to, Unc?”
“I’m talking to a young-ass girl who’s gon’ fuck around and get killed or end up in jail’cause she thinks she’s made of Teflon.” He sat down on the sofa. “Had I known you were going to be involved in that shit, I never would’ve given Ace those guns. Now it’s just a clusterfuck of bullshit, and you’re caught up right in the middle.”
“I’ve been cleared.” I shook my head. “It’s all good.”
“True, you’ve been cleared by the police, but what about the niggas in the projects? Once they find out you were in on that shooting, they gon’ come for you.”
“Unc, we deaded all those niggas. Ain’t nobody coming for me.”
“Let’s hope not, Janelle. That’s a battle you’re not ready for.” He sighed.
“I’m not a little girl anymore, Chucky. Trust me, I can handle this.” I sat beside him and patted his knee.
“I know you’re grown. It’s just hard for me to accept it. In my eyes, you’ll always be that little baby with a snotty nose and pissy diaper.” He chuckled and started coughing at the same time. Due to years of smoking, his lungs were dreadful.
Ace must’ve heard the bickering. Wearing nothing more than a pair of boxer briefs, he entered the living room. “What’s up, Chucky.” He nodded. “You good, J?”
“Yeah, she’s good, nigga,” Chucky answered on my behalf in a malicious tone of voice.
“I was talking to my girl.” Folding his arms, Ace stared Chucky down with those hazel-green eyes I loved to hate. At times, his pupils were warm and inviting, but sometimes they were cold and piercing.
“Oh, now you wanna be overprotective. Where was that overprotective shit the other night when you took her to do a damn drive-by?” I could tell things were about to get ugly when Chucky stood.
“I don’t have to explain nothing to you, dog.” Ace stood his ground. “What me and Janelle got going on is between me and Janelle.”
“Modern-day Bonnie and Clyde, huh?” Chucky smirked.
“Yeah, something like that,” Ace replied.
“Newsflash, dummy: they both die in the end. Do you want to be responsible for the death of your pregnant girlfriend?”
“Ain’t nobody gon’ get her killed. So you can chill out with all of that shit.”
“Y’all young’uns think you know everything.” Chucky shook his head and headed to the door. However, he stopped short then turned around to face Ace, who was still standing in the same position up against the wall. “As a matter of fact, since you got this, go out and start your own operation.”
“What are you saying?” Ace shifted his body.
“I’m saying you’re cut from my team.”
“Fuck you and your team!” Ace was up off the wall and now in Chucky’s face. “You think you big and bad, but you’re really a bitch-made nigga!”
“Li’l nigga, you better remember who taught you the game and show some respect!”
“The only nigga who ever taught me shit was Julius. You were just a bitch-ass sidekick.” By now, both of them were so close in each other’s face that it was merely a matter of time before all hell broke
loose.
“A sidekick?” Chucky was offended. “Homie, you better check my resume, because I do this shit.”
“You don’t do shit but hide behind your money. You just a pussy playing the part of a real nigga.” Ace was all the way turned up. “If Julius hadn’t been killed before he made the announcement, then the whole organization would’ve been mine.”
The last expression to come from Ace’s mouth had my mouth wide open. Did Uncle Chucky take my daddy out in order to keep the trap to himself? While I sat there pondering what the hell was really going on, Chucky had charged at Ace. They were on the ground scuffling like wild animals.
“What is this?” Alicia had finally emerged from her room, where she had been holed up all night with Keisha.
Crash! The men knocked over a ceramic lamp from the coffee table. “Stop it!” she yelled. However, it was useless. I knew better than to throw myself between two men.
“I’m gonna call the police.” She grabbed the phone from the receiver but no one budged. They kept at one another until Ace was on top of Chucky, beating him like he had stolen something. I thought Chucky was going to die, which was the only reason I intervened.
“Please don’t kill him,” I begged. “Ace, please, please, please don’t kill him.”
Ace was apparently angry that I had discontinued the WWE match. Nonetheless, he obliged and got off of my uncle.
“Get that nigga outta here.” He was out of breath, yet still in good shape. If I had to pick a winner of this round, it definitely wouldn’t be Chucky.
* * *
Although the fight was still on everyone’s mind, no one had time to dwell on it when there were bigger fish to fry. The time had come for me to pay Brisbane a visit. I was eagerly anticipating the reunion. Bryant had called a few hours ago with the information I needed to make Brisbane pay for what he had done.
“Where is this nigga at? He was supposed to be home an hour ago.” Ali huffed and puffed in the passenger seat of the rented Chevy Impala, which was parked down the street from Brisbane’s address.