Chapter 20

Text Message

Ronnie-K and Dank let their controllers fall to the floor, the unpaused game continuing without them. Philly and I freeze, too. I’m hoping no one draws their piece at this point because the woman’s looking just crazy enough to discharge both of those barrels if someone upsets the balance of power in this room.

“What are you doing?” Tiff’s in a panic, staring at her aunt.

“What I should’ve done the first time I laid eyes on these filthy thugs!”

“Put that shit away,” Hyena barks at her. “Are you fucking nuts? We all got guns! What are you gonna do, blast us all?”

“If I have to,” Her gaze dances around the room, more than eager for an excuse to pull that trigger. “My Daddy taught me how to use this thing and he told me if it came down to it I better not pull it out unless I planned to use it. And I do.”

“Are you going to let us walk out of here?” I ask, sounding as bored as I can.

“That’s your only option.” She snarls, brave behind the firearm. “Unless you’re interested in getting a load of buckshot to fill that empty space where a brain ought to be.”

I stand up slowly, “Let’s go, boys.”

“Then I’m going, too,” Hyena tells her.

“You so much as think about taking a step towards that door and I’ll blow a piece of you off, too!”

“Aunt Jolene!” Tiff shrieks. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying,” the woman’s speaks slowly, “He’d better stay put until I can talk some sense into his head after these piles of trash get off my property.”

“You’d shoot me?” Hyena’s beginning to realize who he’s dealing with. “You’d kill my friends? I can’t fucking believe this.”

“Believe it,” Philly tells him, standing up slowly. “Bitch is crazier than fuckin’ Cujo.”

“Shut your mouth, wetback! And y’all keep your hands where I can see ‘em.”

“Listen, lady,” I stand by as the others file past me towards the door, “The boy just needs you to be reasonable right now.”

“Are you talking again, nigger?” She hisses, “The only thing ‘the boy’ needs is to get away from trash like you and get his life back to Jesus!”

If I thought this angry little troll had the intelligence to understand it, I might point out the hypocrisy of this entire situation. Since I don’t, I simply roll my eyes. Philly passes me, his jaw working in a way that tells me he’s grinding his teeth to hold his tongue.

“Follow him out,” she orders me.

“I go last.” I look her straight in the eyes. “I don’t trust you so I’m gonna make sure you don’t try shootin’ one of my men.”

“I wouldn’t shoot a person in the back.” She tells me. “Unlike you, I’m not a coward.”

If I didn’t give a shit about Hyena or his sister I’d not have any trouble dropping her out of principle. She certainly seems to be begging for it by constantly provoking us. Of course, no matter who’s fault it was since we’re gang-bangers and she’s a church lady we’d be the ones going to jail.

“Dank, Ronnie.” I let her break our stare-down before I look over to them. “Follow Philly out to the car. I’ll be right behind you.”

Aunt Jolene knows I’ve overridden her control of the situation, but she says nothing. Both men look at me as they pass by, their expressions showing that they’re more pissed off than they are scared.

“Good luck, Hyena,” I tell Sam before following my crew. “You too, Tiff.”

“Move, don’t talk!” Aunt Jolene orders, jabbing the gun into my back. “Once you’re gone don’t you ever come back or, Lord help me, I’ll go straight to the police.”

And tell them what, that she held us up at gunpoint? No sense mentioning that to her since she’s not acting on any sane impulses. Once we’re in the parking lot, I tell Philly to run down to Benton with the boys to make sure things are going smoothly there. I also make sure he remembers to meet with Kettle to inspect the cash the Knuckleheads gave us. Then I kick him hard in the shins.

“Ow!” he yelps. “Why the fuck did you do that?”

“I told you to keep your hands off Tiff, didn’t I?” Suppressing the fact that I find this humorous is tough, but I manage.

“Aw shit, man.” Philly’s rubbing his sore leg. “She came on to me last night, I couldn’t say no cause I didn’t want to piss her off and get us kicked out of there so we couldn’t guard the place like you asked us to.”

“Beggars can’t be choosers, I suppose.” He knows I’m mocking him. “Next time you do like I tell you or I’ll aim for the balls.”

“I didn’t fuckin’ beg her!” He protests loudly, causing Ronnie-K and Dank to burst into hysterical laughter. “Didn’t beg her aunt, either.”

“Nuh-uh!” Dank’s collapsing against the car while he says this. “You screwed both of ‘em?”

“Damn straight!” Philly scowls at him. “Why you think the old bitch got mad when she found out I balled her niece? I only did her while Tiff was in the shower, otherwise I was too busy bangin’ Tiff to fool with her.”

“Oh my god!” Ronnie-K’s wracked by a fresh wave of laughter. “You did the old chick, too! Oh my fucking god!”

“Okay, okay,” I jump in, impatient to get out of here so I can make a call. “Enough high-fiving over balling skanks. We’re all proud of you for scoring the world’s easiest lays. Philly, get to Benton with these two monkeys. I’ve got shit to do. Call me if you need anything.”

With that I get into my car and pull out of the parking lot. All this insanity has left me hungry and since I skipped breakfast I’m going to need some form of sustenance here real quick. I hate eating alone, so I reach for my phone to call around and see which of my females feels like a date. While I’m opening the phone, a text message comes through. It’s from Hyena.

“not going to texas. see you after they leave. stay true.”

I have to smile at the kid’s determination. Might be more difficult to get out of his predicament than he thinks right now, but my gut tells me he’s going to pull it off.

I fire back a message of my own: “do what u gotta do.”

Author’s Note: There it is.

Chapter 19

Hey, Jo, Where You Goin’ With That…

The sound of locks being undone comes right before the door swings open to reveal Philly aiming his .45 at us. “Who the fu– Oh, hey!”

“Goddamn, Philly!” My heart’s about to bash its way out through my ribcage because I fear being shot accidentally more than I do being gunned down by my enemies. “Put that shit away! Don’t you fools look out the window first?”

“Sorry, man,” He looks embarrassed, then calls back over his shoulder, “Hey, Tiff! Look who finally showed up!”

Tiff has evidently been waiting just around the corner because she flies out, nearly knocking Philly into the wall and seizes her brother up in a crushing embrace.

“Fuckin’ Christ, Tiff!” Hyena gasps. “I missed you, too, but shit!”

“Oh, Sam, I started to think I’d never see you again.” The make-up around her eyes is creating dark streaks down her face as it mixes with her tears. “Oh, god!”

She’s mouthing “thank you” to me over Sam’s shoulders as he struggles to end the hug that must be humiliating him to death. Next, I see a middle aged woman in jeans and a cream-colored sweater rushing out the door. She joins the hug.

“Samuel Clayton King!” she scolds him. “Don’t you ever worry your poor aunt like that again! Me and your sister though you’d been killed!”

“I’m fine!” Hyena’s trying to untangle himself from their arms and failing. “Perce bailed me out and nothing bad happened to me.”

“You!” Aunt Jolene glares at me with as much disgust as her tone conveys. “I know about you!”

“I did my best to protect him, ma’am.” I can be awfully calm and polite when I’m getting angry. “Came as quick as I could once I knew the young man was in trouble.”

“Oh, is that what you call making the morning headlines, now? Protecting him?” The whites of her eyes are flashing the way a dog’s will once it’s entered an attack frenzy. “An SUV shot full of bullets and bodies lying all over the street in front of the library?”

My jaw clenches involuntarily. “At least the boy is alive,” I say through gritted teeth.

“And scarred for life!” She’s shrieking now. “We’re going back to San Antonio where nigger thugs like you can’t–”

“Hey! Watch your fuckin’ mouth, puta!” Philly roars, stepping up behind her. “My friend risked his fucking life for Sam! You can’t talk to him that way!”

“Don’t you yell at her, you bastard!” Tiff screams, bursting into fresh tears.

Hyena breaks free of the women, shouting, “Hey! Everybody just chill the fuck out! I’m alive! I’m okay!”

This brings silence down on the group of us like a judge’s gavel. The boy’s eyes blaze with intensity, emotions rippling beneath his teenage face. Everyone’s looking at him, most of us unconsciously holding our breath. I’m not sure, but he’s got that look a person gets when they’re about to cry. I hope like hell that he doesn’t.

Instead he raises his shoulders, takes in a deep breath and announces, “I’m the one who brought all this drama down on my family. Not just my blood family, but my street family, too. It’s my fault things got this fucked up in the first place and I’m sorry for that, but y’all can’t be gettin’ at each other over something I did to myself. Perce ain’t responsible for me and neither are you, Tiff and Aunt Jolene. I never meant to drag my troubles into your home.”

“I wish you wouldn’t use such atrocious language, Sam,” his aunt chides, but she’s looking at him with more pride than anything else. “We aren’t angry with you, only worried. We know you just got mixed up with a bad crowd.” Her scowl touches first me, then Philly. “This is no kind of life for a smart young man like you.”

I’m half-tempted to tell the old bag off – she’s clearly baiting us – but I resist. Philly crosses his arms over his chest and does his best to pretend he’s interested in the cement he’s standing on. Sam simply nods and walks into the house. I’m not sure whether I’m welcome inside or not as I watch the women follow him inside, but Tiff motions for me to follow. So I do.

The interior of the apartment holds nothing unusual. Typical white walls, beige carpeting and furniture that’s clean, but has seen its better days. Dank and Ronnie-K sit on the floor in front of an older model television playing some football game on Sam’s Xbox. If this were MadBlack’s place or nearly anywhere else they’d be trash-talking each other like crazy, but right now they’re quietly absorbed in the action on-screen. The eerie quiet in here fails to comfort me, making me want to walk softly or not speak at all. Sam heads back to his bedroom, his sister following him while Aunt Jolene disappears into the kitchen. Philly and I plop down on the couch, exchanging ‘man this is fucked up’ glances.

Today’s newspaper is laying on the coffee table so I pick it up and sure enough, the shootout in front of the Thunder Gate Public Library made the front page. The headline trumpets ‘URBAN MASSACRE’ and the teaser text reads ‘Eight Dead in Brutal Street Gang Turf War’. I’m almost used to reading about situations I’ve been involved with in the papers by now, but it’s always amusing to see how a reporter will spin things to come up with a sensationalistic story. The lady who wrote this one gives a brief sketch of the facts before diving into comparisons between what happened in Thunder Gate and the situation in Southern California that’s been emerging since the arrival of ‘increasingly sadistic’ gangs from Mexico and Central America. According to this story there were no witnesses because the residents in the area were too afraid of being hit by stray bullets from the ‘endless barrage of gunfire’ to go anywhere near a window. The police claim they’ve got no leads on who gunned down the ‘members of a notorious Seattle-based drug ring known as Smoke Money Family’ but ‘investigators are searching for clues to help them track down whatever criminal organization committed this vicious and brazen slaying.’ Maybe that’s true, but I know from past experience that law enforcement tends to withhold information to keep suspects confident and relaxed so they can be taken down more easily.

“Would you boys care for anything to drink?” Aunt Jolene’s calling from the kitchen. “I’ve got soda or coffee.”

“I could use a soda!” Ronnie-K yells back.

“Me too!” Dank adds.

“Percy? Philly? Anything for you?” she asks as she hands the cans to those who requested them.

“No, thank you,” I tell her as Philly shakes his head, probably still a bit steamed from earlier.

Just then Hyena comes stalking back into the room, Tiff close at his heels. Judging from the set of his jaw I’d say his sister has already informed him that they plan to leave for Texas tonight.

“No fucking way!” Hyena snarls, not bothering to look back at her. “I’m not leaving the Brotherhood behind, especially not with what went down last night. I’m not gonna live my life running like a scared bitch.”

“I’m sorry, Sam,” Aunt Jolene’s employing a gratingly false tone of empathy. “But I’m afraid you don’t have a choice this time. I’m your legal guardian now and I’m not willing to bend on this. This whole ‘gangster’ life could get you killed and there’s no way I can live with knowing that I could’ve done something to save you and didn’t. You’ll make plenty of new friends in San Antonio where it’s safer.”

“I don’t like it either, Sam,” Tiff adds. “But I can’t even stand the idea of seeing my only brother in a wheelchair or a coffin.”

“Perce!” Hyena’s eyes are begging mine. “Tell these two that I can’t go! I’ve got obligations here, people to look out for and I can’t go running off like this!”

Oh, how I wish I were somewhere else. “They’re just looking out for you is all. Really, it ain’t any of my business.”

“I’m trying to do right by your parents, Sam,” Aunt Jolene’s wearing her best poor-me expression, playing the martyr here. “My sister, God bless her, would never have let things go this far, but I wanted to give you freedom.”

“No offense,” Philly surprises me by jumping in, “But you don’t ‘give’ a person freedom. Everyone’s got it, only thing is not all of us choose to live how we want.”

“You mean like uncivilized barbarians?” Aunt Jolene snaps at him. “Killing people, doing drugs, probably even raping people!”

“Hey, I ain’t no rapist!” Philly tenses, ready to spring up from the couch. “I don’t have to beg or plead to get laid, much less rape the woman!”

“You begged and pleaded plenty last night,” Tiff gives Philly a smug smile.

Philly’s “What the fuck?” and Aunt Jolene’s “Tiffany Ann!” both happen at the same time. The older woman’s face has gone from the pink shade of frustration to a darker crimson flush of anger. Tiffany herself looks a bit surprised at the reactions she’s evoked. I’m not too terribly surprised by any of this, it’s a typical inter-family spat. Mainly I’m hoping no one babbles to the police about my role in last night’s shootout. Not that they’d be able to prove anything, but I despise the hassle of even the clumsiest shakedown.

“I’m not going back to Texas,” Hyena’s states flatly. “Period.”

“Oh,” Aunt Jolene’s voice turns low and mean. “Yes, you are, the both of you! I’m taking you both out of this sinful city for good!”

“No,” Hyena shakes his dreadlocks. “You can’t force me to go.”

“Sam, please!” Tiff tries her calmest voice. “Please think of the people who love you. We can’t stand to see you in danger like this. Please?”

Aunt Jolene strides out of the room, apparently fed up with all of us. Hyena continues shaking his head at his sister, his stiff posture indicating that he’s prepared to stand his ground, but he says nothing more. Tiff’s face falls and tears well up again.

“Perce?” She looks to me for support. “Can’t you tell him how serious this is?”

I shrug. “Already have. Not my place to be making his decisions.”

“Sam, you have to!” She’s nearly sobbing. “We can’t stay here!”

Hyena’s voice holds steady. “I don’t have to do shi–”

“Out of my house!” Aunt Jolene appears from the back rooms, double-barreled shotgun raised to her shoulder. “Get out, ever one of ya!”

Author Notes: We still aren’t to the action part, yet…. it’s coming…