"Don"t think about it," Case said as if he were reading her mind. "If something happens to me, you better believe someone will be at your front door, killing your husband and son," Case said as he smiled and tried to lighten up the mood by offering Aries a drink.
"I"ll pa.s.s," Aries said as her trigger finger itched. She knew that Case had her number, so the only thing she could do was play by his rules.
"I just need you to hold the n.i.g.g.a there until that money comes up, and then after that, you can off him. Be patient, baby girl," Case answered.
Case would never let Aries know, but he respected her gangster. He knew that her and her old squad were nothing to play with in their prime, and that was the main reason he once hired them.
Aries now had to sit back and play the waiting game. She stormed out and headed back to the house.
Chicago pulled into the small apartment complex that one of his wh.o.r.es lived in. "This is it right here. She lives on the third floor," Chicago said as he looked up at the building.
"Okay, let"s go up," Edris said as he held the gun firmly to Chicago"s rib.
Edris looked over the girl in the front seat. She was noticeably shaken up, and Edris didn"t have time to worry about two people while they went up and got the money. "You get your a.s.s in the trunk!" Edris said as he hopped out, grabbed the keys out of the ignition, and waved his gun toward the trunk.
The hooker and Chicago got out of the car, and Edris quickly grabbed the girl and pushed her to the back of the car while still keeping a close eye on Chicago. The girl began to cry as Edris popped the trunk. Chicago quickly encouraged her that everything would be all right.
"Just get in there, baby girl. We will be right out. I promise," Chicago said, not knowing if he was being truthful or not.
The wh.o.r.e gained up enough courage and hopped in the trunk. Edris immediately closed the door and pointed the gun at Chicago.
"Let"s go, n.i.g.g.a! Don"t try any funny s.h.i.t either. I"m shooting first and asking questions last, just to let you know," Edris added for insurance.
Chicago, with his hands still in the air, responded. "She should be up there," he said as he looked up to the third floor where the light was on.
Edris walked behind Chicago and pressed the gun to his lower back. They headed up the stairs and reached the door. Slow music leaked from the apartment, so Edris immediately knew that somebody was in there. Edris" mind began to race as he thought about what he potentially was walking into.
What if this n.i.g.g.a got goons waiting on the inside, Edris thought as Chicago knocked on the door. Edris dismissed the small amount of fear in his heart and knew that he had to go all out for his boss. He had to get the rest of the money or Macy would die.
Moments later, a female voice sounded from the opposite side of the door. "Who is it?" she said in an irritated tone.
"It"s me, b.i.t.c.h. Now, open the door!" Chicago yelled as he leaned into the door.
Seconds later the door opened and the sounds of smooth R&B came out of the apartment along with the smell of incense. A young black girl answered the door wearing nothing but an undersized silk robe. She held the robe closed with her hand as she grew a confused look on her face when she saw Chicago and Edris at her doorstep.
"b.i.t.c.h, don"t just stand there like a deer in the headlights. Let us in," Chicago said quickly as urgency was evident in his voice. Although he was being held at gunpoint, Chicago kept his pimp hand strong.
The girl quickly stepped to the side as requested, and Edris pushed Chicago in. A naked white man came out of the bedroom, and Chicago quickly let him know what time it was.
"Yo, player, you have to bounce. You can come back in an hour and get your rocks off. Sorry about the inconvenience," Chicago said as he looked dead in the man"s eyes, letting him know it was time to go. The skinny white man quickly rushed to the room and gathered his clothes. He rushed out in his underwear, obviously scared to death. The sight of two dangerous-looking black men was enough reason for him to get out of Dodge. They watched as he scurried out and then they got straight to business.
"Where the dough at?" Edris asked as he revealed his gun to the wh.o.r.e, making her instantly throw her hands up in fear. She stood there speechless as she tried to understand what was going on.
"Sweetie, go and get the money," Chicago demanded.
"What money?" the girl answered, not wanting to give up the fortune that was hidden in her room"s closet.
"Stop playing, b.i.t.c.h. Go and get it and get it quick," Chicago said while raising his voice. He had hidden it there a couple of days back. A true street veteran knew to never put all of his eggs in one basket, so he brought half of the money there.
The girl quickly disappeared into the back room, and Edris pointed the gun at Chicago while frequently peeking at the doorway, waiting on the girl to reenter.
With every pa.s.sing second, Chicago grew more nervous. He knew how Macy and his crew used to get down before he got into politics, and he didn"t want to lose his life for something he wasn"t aware of. If he knew that Boomer was the john his bottom wh.o.r.e had robbed, he would have never let it go down. Macy ran the city, and Chicago understood that.
"Listen, I hope we can all look past this once you get the money back," Chicago said, trying to ease the tension. He was unsure of what Edris would do after he retrieved all of the money, which made him very uneasy.
"This is strictly business, Chicago. We don"t have a beef with you. We just want the money back, that"s all," Edris said as he thought about the task at hand.
Finally the girl came from the back with the book bag where the money was at. She walked over to Chicago and dropped it at his feet. "Here it is, daddy," she said as she looked at him with an intense stare. Chicago didn"t pay her any mind, but she was trying to give him a heads-up on what was about to happen.
"It"s all here," Chicago said as he looked down at the bag and opened it, so that Edris could see that the bag was full of money. Edris bent down to grab the bag, and Chicago"s heart dropped. He saw that his wh.o.r.e was pulling out a small .22-caliber gun from behind her.
"No!" Chicago screamed as he tried to stop her from doing something foolish.
Edris quickly followed Chicago"s eyes and looked at the wh.o.r.e, who fumbled with the gun. Out of instinct, Edris swung the gun on the girl and let off a round, catching her square in the chest.
The wh.o.r.e flew back and crashed into the gla.s.s coffee table. Her once white robe was slowly becoming maroon red with blood as she lay in the shattered gla.s.s with dead eyes. Edris" heart pounded as he looked at the lifeless girl who lay in front of him.
Chicago quickly rushed to her side and grabbed her hand; however, it was too late. She was dead. The bullet went straight to her heart, killing her instantly.
"d.a.m.n, man," Chicago said as tears began to well up in his eyes. "She was only seventeen. You killed my baby girl," Chicago said as he quickly wiped the single tear away. Edris didn"t know what to say; he just stood there and looked into the girl"s face. She looked so much younger to him at that point. It seemed as though her youthfulness shone through even more now that he had killed her.
"d.a.m.n," Edris whispered as he closed his eyes and shook his head.
Chicago kissed the girl"s forehead and slowly turned and looked up at Edris with hatred in his eyes. Chicago wanted to kill him, and his emotions got the best of him. He reached for the gun that was on the floor a couple of feet away. He was determined to kill Edris for killing his wh.o.r.e, but Edris wasn"t letting that happen.
Edris let two rounds off in Chicago"s back, causing him to collapse on top of his dead girl. He, too, was dead at the hand of Edris. Edris quickly grabbed the bag full of money and headed out the door, using his shirt to turn the k.n.o.b.
He hurried down the stairs and into the car. Edris" hands were shaking, and he was frantic as he tried to get off of the scene as quickly as possible. He had murdered before, but that particular one didn"t sit right with him. He never murdered a kid, and to know that the girl was only seventeen weighed heavily on his heart.
As he turned off the corner, he noticed something in his rearview mirror. A cop had pulled behind him. He grew nervous as he suddenly remembered that there was a hooker in his trunk. "f.u.c.k!" he said as he hit the steering wheel violently and peeked in his rearview mirror once again.
The cop hit his lights and sounded his siren. At this point, Edris" heart was pounding so hard it seemed as if he had a baboon in his chest trying to get out. Edris slowly pulled over and began to try to regain his composure. He wiped the sweat from his brow and cleared his throat as he waited for the police officer to approach his car.
"h.e.l.lo, Officer," Edris said as he looked over his left shoulder and directly in the cop"s flashlight.
"License and registration, please," the officer said. Edris put on a fake smile and reached into his glove compartment. He handed it to the cop.
"There you go, sir," he said.
"I pulled you over because you have a busted taillight," the cop stated. "I"ll be right back."
Edris couldn"t do anything but sit and wait as he hoped like h.e.l.l that the hooker didn"t make any noise to alarm the officer. After a few minutes of waiting, Edris noticed two other police cars pull up. He grew even more nervous as he wondered why the officer called for backup. Edris thought about grabbing his gun and shooting it out with the cops, but he chose to relax, knowing that he was outnumbered.
Without warning, Edris had three cops surrounding his car with their guns drawn. "Put your motherf.u.c.king hands up where I can see them!" one of the officers yelled.
Edris" luck had run out. Just so happened that the girl in the trunk had busted out the light and managed to squeeze her hand out of the light"s opening. When the officer noticed it, he immediately called for backup. One other thing: The girl in the trunk suffocated because of lack of oxygen.
Edris had a murder weapon on him and a dead girl in the trunk; it wasn"t looking good for Edris. It was the end of the line for him-and Macy.
Chapter Twelve.
Edris sweated profusely as he sat in the interrogation room. Two male cops stood over him as the light from the ceiling seemed to be straight down on his head. He had no options. He was a black man with a dead white girl in the trunk. Not to mention, he had a bag full of money when he was pulled over. Edris" heart began to beat rapidly in his chest as his harsh reality began to set in. The two male cops were breathing down his neck as Edris thought twice about repeating what he just had said.
"What? Say that again?" one of the detectives asked, not believing what Edris just said.
"I said, I have proof that the mayor killed his son," Edris said with watery eyes. The thought of him going to jail for the rest of his life changed his view on things. He knew that things looked bad for him, but with the information he had on Macy, maybe they would cut him a deal. "And I have a tape to prove it." Edris dropped his head in shame as he couldn"t believe what he was about to do. He was breaking the code of the streets, and he would forever regret the decision that he just made.
Edris would eventually lead the police to the surveillance tape that showed Macy and his goons entering the hotel room where the homicide happened. Edris had just broken the first rule of the street, and he would forever be labeled a rat.
After that day, Edris was shipped to an unknown location and never seen again, while under the protection of the government. The media frenzy had now been multiplied by ten as the local news turned into national news concerning the crooked mayor known as Macy Sigel.
Within twenty-four hours, an arrest warrant was issued for the city"s mayor, Macy Sigel. The media was already in a frenzy, but now it was complete pandemonium. Macy"s checkered past began to be questioned, and the media was having a field day with the missing-in-action mayor, who was accused of murdering his own son.
Macy sat in the chair and it seemed like a thousand ideas ran through his mind as he tried to figure a way out of his current predicament. He stared at Jordan, who sat across the room and stared at the basketball game that was on television. Jordan playfully tossed a balled-up piece of paper in the air as if he were shooting a basketball. Macy watched closely and knew that Case would kill him after he retrieved the money, so Jordan was his only hope.
"You got a little bit of game, huh?" Macy said as he released a small smile and hoped that he could ease his way into an alliance with the young kid.
"Yeah, I used to be nice back in the day," Jordan said without any emotion.
"You played ball?" Macy asked, trying to further the conversation.
"Look, I"m not supposed to be talking to you," Jordan answered back as he stopped tossing the paper and finally looked at Macy.
"What? Is the other guy your boss or something?" Macy said, understanding that Jordan had opened a door of opportunity for him to play mental chess.
Jordan instantly frowned at the comment and stuck his chin in the air as if he were trying to seem tougher than he was.
"I don"t have a boss. I"m my own motherf.u.c.king boss," Jordan answered with hostility in his voice.
"Don"t seem like it," Macy said under his breath just before he let out a small chuckle.
Jordan quickly jumped up and balled up his fist and stared at Macy intensely. "Look, I ain"t n.o.body"s f.u.c.king worker! I"m a f.u.c.king boss fo" real. You must not know "bout me, fam. I"m Jordan Zamora, one of the realest n.i.g.g.as that ever been "round these parts," the nave Jordan said, not knowing that he was only making himself look more foolish than dangerous.
"I don"t doubt that, youngblood. My apologies," Macy answered smoothly as he smiled and realized that Jordan had messed up by foolishly saying his own last name. Jordan, now satisfied with Macy"s new point of view, sat down and focused back on the television.
Macy"s mind began to churn even more as the name Zamora sounded very familiar to him. He once knew a Zamora. His name was Tino Zamora, to be exact. Tino used to run packs for him before he started using his own supply and supposedly overdosed.
"You wouldn"t happen to know Tino, would you?" Macy asked. Before Jordan could even answer, Macy smiled and continued. "You don"t remember me, do you?" Macy said as he slowly nodded his head up and down while gazing at Jordan.
It was 1991, and Macy had just gotten back in town from copping from his out-of-town c.o.ke connect. He had twenty kilos of pure cocaine in the trunk of his money-green Benz, and within hours he would flood the city. Although it was mid-summer, he was about to set the city on fire with the grade-A product he possessed. Whoever said it didn"t snow in California was a d.a.m.n lie, and Macy was living proof.
Macy was about to go to the trap spot, but first he had to make a stop. Word got back to him that Tino, a former worker, had pa.s.sed a week earlier while he was out of town.
Macy pulled up to the small brick house that was in one of the neighborhoods he supplied. Kids played in the streets, and all eyes were on him as he slowly pulled onto the block. When his car parked on the curb, it seemed as if time stood still. The children admired his car and custom gold rims as they began to ooh and ah over the luxury vehicle.
Macy grabbed the box that sat on his pa.s.senger side and stepped out of the car. The thick gold rope around his neck seemed to glisten as the sun hit it just perfectly. Macy made his way to the door of his deceased friend to offer his condolences to his wife.
Macy saw a young kid dribbling a basketball on the sidewalk in front of the house and immediately saw the resemblance. The young boy was the spitting image of his father, Tino. Macy walked up to the young boy and looked down at him. The young boy dribbled the ball while keeping his head down, so he didn"t notice the man hovering over him. Macy kneeled down so that he could get eye level with the boy.
"You look just like your daddy," Macy said as he released a small grin. He then handed the box of Air Jordans to the young kid. The young boy"s eyes lit up at the sight of the expensive shoes that he had always wanted. Macy smiled as he saw the face of the young kid light up with joy.
Macy felt obligated to come see the family of the fallen soldier who he once called a friend. The young boy watched as Macy stood up and walked to the front porch where his mother was waiting. Macy gave the woman a warm embrace. She fell into his arms and cried as Macy ensured her that everything would be all right. He managed to get a smile out of her as he placed his hand on her shoulder and gave her his perfect smile. He then reached into his pocket and slid a bankroll of ten thousand dollars to her. Macy then whispered something to the woman and gave her a light kiss on the cheek.
He walked past the young boy and rubbed on his head as the boy was already trying on the Air Jordans. Just as quick as Macy arrived, he had left. The young boy stared in admiration and watched as the car left the block.
Jordan looked at Macy closer and remembered that day as vividly as Macy told the story. The little boy was Jordan, and he recollected how that money helped his mother get a car and gave her temporary happiness.
"Yeah, your father was a stand-up guy. That was my n.i.g.g.a," Macy said as he couldn"t believe the coincidence. Macy also thought about how he ordered Edris to kill Tino and make it look like a drug overdose. Tino was shaving money off of the top of Macy"s packs, and Macy acted accordingly. A hot shot of bad dope was forced into Tino"s arm for his disloyalty, and it was a part of the game.
Macy was never a firm believer in karma, but at that point, he began to be certain that it existed. Years before, Macy had killed the father of the person who had Macy"s life in his hands. Jordan had no idea that he was in the presence of his father"s killer, and Macy had no intentions of letting him know, of course. Macy looked at the coincidence of him knowing Jordan"s father as a chess move. The mental manipulation had just begun.
Jordan quickly got up and left the room. He almost began to tear up at the thought of that difficult time in his life. He had to get himself together and not let Macy see that he was getting choked up. Jordan began to question his role in the kidnapping. How could he do this to the man who helped out his father and mother?
Macy sat back and smiled as he noticed the change in Jordan"s demeanor. He had just planted a seed that would eventually blossom into his escape.
Aries was upstairs staring out of the window and shook her head from side to side in disbelief. I can"t believe this n.i.g.g.a has me playing a kidnapper, she thought as her trigger finger began to itch. She wanted so bad to go across town and show Case who was boss.
She quickly dismissed the idea when she thought about her family at home. Aries knew that she had put them in a bad situation, and she couldn"t wait until the job was over so that it could finally be done and over with. Aries didn"t want to admit it, but the feel of a gun in her palms felt good. She thought that she had left her past life behind, but just like always, karma came back around and pulled her back in. She had committed so many murders, had caused so many tears, and now that the tables were turned, she felt the burden that she had placed on so many different people.
Aries began to think about all her girls. They all had one thing in common: they were all dead. She was the last one standing. She thought about the original Mamas: Anisa, Robyn, and the one and only Miamor. She couldn"t help but to think that she would follow the same path as all of her girls and end up in an early grave. Aries quickly dismissed that thought once she thought about her son, who she would leave behind if she died. I am going to be there for him no matter what, she thought as she continued to stare out the window.
With the Murder Mamas, she had a lot of bad times, but there were good ones, too. She smiled as she thought about the time they were hired to kill a man and ordered to cut his d.i.c.k off. Even though they were doing the most horrendous things, good memories came from them.
"Haha!" Aries laughed out loud as she thought back to that crazy night....
Aries and her girls had sat at Applebee"s dining and having drinks. They were there to discuss their new hit.
"So how much is this n.i.g.g.a trying to pay?" Robyn asked Miamor as she took a sip of her Long Island iced tea.
"The job pays the usual eighty stacks. That"s twenty a p-" Miamor stopped mid-sentence and remembered that the caper wasn"t going to be split four ways anymore. All the girls" hearts dropped as they realized that this was their first hit since the death of Anisa. A brief moment of silence arose as the harsh reality of the lost member of the Murder Mamas set in. Miamor wanted to be strong for her crew and continued to explain the job.
"Remember Black from South Beach?" Miamor asked in a low voice as she clasped her hands and leaned into the table to be more discreet.
"Yeah, I remember him. He had us take care of that snitchin"-a.s.s n.i.g.g.a a couple years back, right?" Robyn responded.
"Yeah, that"s him. He wants us to take care of a n.i.g.g.a named Fabian. Black has a younger brother doing life in the pen for drug trafficking. From what Black told me, his brother weighs like a buck twenty soaking wet. The story is that Fabian was violating Black"s little brother in jail, doing him real dirty. You know, raping him and s.h.i.t.
"Fabian got released from the joint about six months ago and "posed to be moving major weight around his area. Black wants us to get at his a.s.s. But there"s a catch," Miamor said as she quickly glanced around to make sure no one was in her mouth.
"What"s that?" Robyn asked.
"He wants us to cut off the n.i.g.g.a"s d.i.c.k before we kill him," Miamor said before she released a small smirk.