A Gangsta Twist Saga (29 page)

Taz glared at Mama-Mama and asked, “So, you've met him?”

“Yes, I met him a while back.”

“And you didn't tell me about this, Mama-Mama?”

“It wasn't much to tell. 'Neema brought him over to meet me, and I cooked them both a meal.”

“But why didn't you tell me about this?”

“Don't you raise your voice at me in my own house, Taz! It wasn't my place to tell you. I told 'Neema that she had to tell you. She called you and asked you to come over, but you had to go out of town. So don't you be blamin' me about this mess, boy!”

Turning his attention back toward Tazneema, he said, “You're too young to be havin' any kids, 'Neema.”

“I'm eighteen years old, Taz! I'll be nineteen later this year! I'm grown, and you can't make this decision for me!”

Taz shook his head and said, “The decision's been made, and you are goin' to have an abortion.”

“Taz, you should—”

“Hold what you got, Li'l Mama!” he said angrily. “Let me deal with this in my way. Please, don't get in my way right now.”

“Taz, if 'Neema wants to have this child, you have no right not to let her,” Mama-Mama said as she got up from the couch.

Taz's head was spinning so badly that he felt a little dizzy as he went and sat down next to Tazneema. After getting his bearings together, he said, “Okay, you're right. Where is this clown at? I want to meet him.”

“He's not a clown, Taz! He's my man!” Tazneema screamed.

“Your what? Raise your voice to me again like that, 'Neema, and I swear I'll—”

“Taz! Don't you dare threaten that there girl!” screamed Mama-Mama.

“I think everyone needs to take a deep breath and calm down. There will be no way to resolve this intelligently with this much anger in the air,” Sacha said wisely.

“All right. Now, where is this Clifford at? I want to talk to him. Do I have that right, Mama-Mama?”

“Watch yourself, boy! You're not that grown! I'll still pop you upside your head!”

Taz smiled at that and said, “I'm sorry, Mama-Mama. You know I'll never disrespect you. But this has to be dealt with accordingly.”

“He's on his way over now. He should be here any minute,” Tazneema said as she wiped her nose on the sleeve of her blouse.

“How long have you been messing with this guy, 'Neema?” asked Taz.

“Ever since that night you shot that guy at the club.”

“Shot? Club? Boy, I thought your crazy days were behind you! What the hell have you been gettin' into out there?” screamed Mama-Mama.

“It was self-defense, Mama-Mama. A dude at the club tried to rob me and Sacha, so I shot him.”

“Lord! Taz, you know this stuff is going to have to stop one day. You can't keep on living this crazy life you've been living. It's bad enough this girl's moth—”

“I know, Mama-Mama . . . I know,” Taz said, cutting Mama-Mama off.

Before anyone could say another word, Sacha heard a car pull into the driveway. “I guess that's your boyfriend now,” she said, and she stepped to the door so she could get the first look at Tazneema's boyfriend. She gasped and felt as if she had been hit in the stomach by a two-by-four when she saw Clifford getting out of his Mercedes-Benz. She shook her head a few times to make sure she wasn't seeing an illusion. When she focused on Clifford as he walked up to the front door, she said, “Oh my God!”

Taz got up from his seat and asked, “What's wrong, Li'l Mama?”

Sacha was speechless. All she could do was point toward the door.

When Clifford walked through the front door, Taz's eyes grew as wide as saucers as he yelled, “Oh, hell nah! I know God damn well this ain't the nigga that has gotten you pregnant, 'Neema! Please, baby girl! Tell me this ain't the nigga!”

With a confused expression on her face, Tazneema got up from the couch and said, “Yes, that's Cliff, and he's my man, Taz.”

Before Taz could speak, Clifford said, “Look, Taz. I know this looks kind of crazy, but ever since I meet 'Neema, I've been in love with her.”

“Nigga, if you don't shut the fuck up, I swear to God, I'll blast you right here in my mother's fuckin' living room! You know damn well you don't love her! You're just trying to do this shit to get back at me for taking Sacha away from your sorry-ass!”

“
What?
What are you talking about, Taz?” asked Tazneema.

“Baby girl, this clown-ass nigga you've been callin' your man don't fuckin' love you! He used to be all caught up with Sacha until she dumped his ass for me! Can't you see? This nigga is just trying to get back at me! Just like I've always told you, you have to stay out of the way, 'cause niggas out there would one day try to use you as a tool against me. And that's exactly what this nigga is doing. He don't love you, 'Neema! He's been using you!”

“That's not true! We've been living together for the last two weeks. I know this man. I share a home with him. He does love me, Daddy! He does!” screamed Tazneema.

“
Daddy?
” Clifford and Sacha yelled out at the same time.

Taz smiled and said, “Yeah, nigga! Daddy! 'Neema's my daughter, you punk muthafucka! My fuckin' seed, fool! So, do you really think I'm goin' to let you get away with this shit? Huh? Do you?” yelled Taz.

Clifford said, “Listen, Taz. It doesn't matter that she's your child. What does matter is that we both love her and want nothing but the very best for her. And I'm willing to do whatever it takes to prove that to you. I know you don't like me, and I know you think it's some type of conspiracy going on here, but you are wrong. I love Tazneema, and I'd die for her!”

Taz grinned and said, “Nigga, you don't know how true those words you just spoke are!”

“Taz! Watch yourself, boy!” Mama-Mama threatened.

Shaking his head no, Taz said, “Nah, Mama-Mama. This is my baby, and you know that ever since MiMi was killed, I swore that nothing and no one would ever hurt my baby. This nigga has got to go, one way or the other!”

Clifford knew that this could possibly turn into something ugly, and that's why he came prepared. He stepped back toward the door, pulled out a chrome .380 pistol, and said, “Look, Taz. I don't want any problems with you, but there is no punk in me. I'm not letting you take the woman I love away from me.”

Taz stared at the small-caliber gun in Clifford's hand, smiled, and said, “So, you ready to play gangsta, nigga? You gots me twisted if you think you will ever have a child by my seed, fool. So, if you gone bust your gun, you needs to get to bustin', 'cause as far as I'm concerned, you are already a dead man!”

“If I lose 'Neema and my child, I might as well be dead, because she's all that I have,” Clifford said as he raised his pistol and aimed it directly at Taz's face.

Taz smiled as he glared at Clifford and said, “Go on, coward-ass nigga! Do it!
Do it!
”

Clifford was so scared that he was literally shaking.

Mama-Mama was so shocked at what was happening that she felt as if she was going to faint.

Sacha, on the other hand, was neither scared nor shocked. She was flat-out angry. “Damnit, Cliff! This isn't the way to go about handling this! Put that fucking gun down!”

“No! He took you, and I accepted that. But he's not taking my 'Neema away from me! I'll kill his ass before I let him do that to me!”

With her hands in the air, pleading, Tazneema begged, “Please, baby! Don't hurt my daddy! If you kill him, it won't do anything but hurt us both. I'll lose my father, and I'll lose you, too, 'cause you're going to go to jail. Put the gun down, baby. Please!”

Shaking his head no, Clifford said, “I love you, 'Neema. You have to believe me. But your father will never let us live our lives. Look at him. Look at how he's staring at me now. Can't you see the hatred, baby? Can't you see it?”

“That's right, nigga. Pump yourself up to do it. Don't let no female stop you, you coward. You're right. I'm never going to let you take my seed away from me. Do you hear me, coward? Never!”

Tazneema screamed, “No-o-o-o-o!” and pushed her father out of the way just as Clifford pulled the trigger on his weapon. The small pop hit Tazneema in her upper torso, and she fell to the ground.

Taz got off of the floor and stared in disbelief at his daughter lying there unconscious. He stepped to her and cradled her in his arms as tears streamed down his face.

Mama-Mama fainted, and Sacha ran to her to see if she was all right.

Clifford stood in the doorway, speechless. “Lord, God, what have I done?” he said to himself as he turned and ran out of the house.

Sacha screamed for Taz to call an ambulance, but he couldn't hear her. He was in too much pain.

This is my first attempt at writing a two-part book. I hope that the readers are feeling this story so far. I guarantee that you won't be disappointed in
Gangsta Twist 2
. I will answer all of the unanswered questions, such as: What is Won really up to, and why? And what happened to Tazneema's mother, and why? This will also give the readers a better understanding as to why Taz does the things that he does where Tazneema is concerned.

The twists have just begun, so hold on for a few until I can get back to the lab and bring it all together for you all.

I want to thank every homie who has let me use their name for creative purposes. I hope I haven't upset anyone too badly by how I displayed their character. Remember, gee, it's just fiction. All make-believe! (Smile!)

So, once again, please stay tuned for the next installment of
Gangsta Twist
.

 

ONE LOVE,

 

SPUD

Taz, Sacha, and Mama-Mama were sitting in the waiting area of the emergency room at Mercy Hospital. Taz sat dazed as he stared at the wall without saying a word to anyone. Sacha sat next to him, trying her best to console and comfort her man, while Mama-Mama, Taz's mother, was on the other side of the room silently praying.

Taz couldn't believe that fool, Cliff, had actually shot his child. His daughter Tazneema was currently in surgery fighting for her life all because of his arrogance.
If I hadn't chosen to goad Clifford on, my child wouldn't be inside of that damn operating room,
Taz thought as he continued to stare at the wall.

“Please say something, baby. You're really scaring me,” Sacha told Taz as she gently rubbed his back.

Taz turned toward his fiancée, smiled sadly and said, “I'm here, Li'l Mama, but I'm damn sure not all right. This shit is killin' me.”

“I know, baby... I know. But Tazneema is going to be okay. You have to keep the faith, baby.”

“Faith?
Faith?
Faith is for Mama-Mama, Li'l Mama, not me. All my life I've vowed to protect that girl. When I lost her mother because of my cocky-ass attitude, I swore to never let anything ever happen to my baby girl. And years later, look what the fuck I've done. Once again, my cockiness has gotten another loved one hurt. I'm tellin' you, Li'l Mama, I'm a cursed man. You really might want to take some time and think again about marrying a nigga like me!” he said angrily.

“That's nonsense, boy, and you damn well know it!” screamed Mama-Mama from across the room. “God has a plan for us all. It is not your fault what happened today. It's that damned Cliff's! So don't you dare beat yourself up behind this, Taz. And sure as I know God is good, He's not going to take my grandbaby away from me.”

When Taz saw tears streaming down his mother's face, he quickly got to his feet and went and held her in his arms. As they were hugging, he said, “I can't lose her, Mama-Mama! She's all of MiMi I got left. I can't lose my baby girl!” he cried.

“She's gon' be all right, baby. She's gon' be all right,” Mama-Mama said as she held on tightly to her only child.

After Taz seemed to have regained some of his composure, he sat back down in his seat and resumed staring at the wall.

Sacha, still confused about everything, had a lot of questions running through her mind.
This may not be the right time, but I need some answers,
she thought to herself. Then to Taz she said, “Do you feel like talking, baby? It might help a little.”

“Talk about what, Li'l Mama? How I'm gon' murder Cliff? Do you really want to talk about somethin' like that? 'Cause that's the only thing that's on my mind right now, other than my baby girl.”

She knew not to even go there with him, so she said, “You're right. I don't want to talk about any of that nonsense. Why don't you tell me about MiMi?”

Taz stared at Sacha's beautiful face for a moment, and once again gave her that sad smile and said, “All right, Li'l Mama. I should have told you this story a long time ago, but for some reason I chose to keep it to myself. If you're goin' to be caught up in my cursed life, you might as well know the entire story.” He shook his head from side to side as he began:

“What seems like a million years ago, I was a wild youngsta with a two-year-old daughter. MiMi was my everything. We'd been in love with each other ever since we were in junior high school. I guess the first sign of my curse was when I messed that girl's life up.”

“Would you please stop with that ‘cursed' stuff? You are not a cursed man, Taz. God!” Sacha said sternly.

“Whatever! Anyway, I got her pregnant when we were in the tenth grade, and she had to miss the rest of our tenth grade year as well as our eleventh because of the baby. She had plans on becoming a doctor. She actually wanted to be a brain surgeon. I used to laugh at her, but I could tell by the determined look in those beautiful brown eyes that she was going to accomplish every single goal that she had set for herself. And I fucked it all up. Once Tazneema was born, her family flipped out on her and refused to give us any help. They actually put her out! Can you believe that shit? I was so mad that for a minute I thought about doin' somethin' to them. But, as usual, Mama-Mama came to my rescue and let MiMi move in with us.” Taz smiled at that memory and continued.

“Since Mama-Mama had spoiled me so much, I had no choice but to drop out of school so I could get my hustle on. I couldn't let my mother be the breadwinner for me and my family. I would have felt less of a man. Even though I was just a seventeen-year-old, I had to step up to the plate. So, like everybody else in the city was doin' in the late eighties, I started slangin' rocks. But somethin' about being a dope boy just wasn't cool with me. I was small time, and I didn't like the fact that I was destroying my people. So I quit the dope game after a few months and got some of my closest friends together and formed the crew.”

Sacha smiled and said, “The crew, as in Keno, Bob, Bo-Pete, Red, and Wild Bill?”

“Yeah. My plan was simple. Since a bunch of dudes from Texas and Cali were coming to the city, gettin' rich off of the dope game, I came up with the smart-ass idea that we should just sit back and let those niggas make the money. Then we would come in and jack them for their easily earned dividends. With the Li'l money I had from the game, I bought us some guns, and we quickly put my plan into effect. We was jackin' every nigga we even thought had some money. We were young, and murder was something that I never even gave a thought about. Can you believe that shit? Here I was, robbing niggas for a living and I wasn't even thinkin' about takin' a nigga's life. Young, dumb and arrogant as hell. Yep, that was me.

“Anyway, after a year of this, we had came up pretty damn good. We all had cars, and we even had our own apartments. I saved a nice chunk of change so MiMi could enroll in college. I was determined to help her become a brain surgeon. As far as I was concerned, she wasn't goin' to fail because of me. She was proud of me, yet she hated what I was doin' in them streets. She understood though, because hell, I didn't know much of anything else. All I had was my high school diploma, and that wasn't shit. See, after I dropped out of school, MiMi made me promise her that I would go back so I could get my diploma. I kept my word and went back to school, but I was still robbing any and everybody with chips.

“Everything was goin' just fine, until the day my stupidity finally caught up with me. Some Crips from California set up shop on the East Side, and as usual, they were slippin'. You see, niggas come out here from out of town and think since we're from Oklahoma we're some straight country suckas. And to tell you the truth, most of them dope boys in the city are exactly that . . . suckas. All they want to do is get plugged in with Cali niggas and try their best to be just like them. That's how we got all of this damn gang-bangin' in the city now. Anyway, once we found out where them Crips niggas was gettin' money at, we quickly came up with a plan to get at them fools. The lick went just as smoothly as the rest of them had. But, you see, I was so cocky that I never anticipated any retaliation from any of our victims. That's why we never wore any ski masks over our faces. After all, most of the niggas we were jackin' weren't from here anyway.

“A couple of weeks after that particular jack, the word around town was that those Cali niggas were lookin' for me and my crew. I was confident that no one knew where any of us lived, so we decided to lay low for a minute until those clowns got tired. That was my second mistake. It took them a Li'l over a month, but somehow they finally found out where my apartment was. I was at the store gettin' some fish and shrimp for MiMi, because she loved her some seafood,” he remembered fondly. “By the time I came back to the apartment building, I heard my daughter crying. I ran up the stairs as fast as I could because I knew that something was wrong. When I made it to my apartment, I saw that the door had been kicked in. I dropped the bags I was holding and ran inside of the apartment with no gun or nothin'. All I was thinkin' about was MiMi and my baby girl.

“The first thing I noticed when I entered the apartment was Tazneema crying. For some reason, that's what I remember most about that day; the way my baby girl was crying. When I saw MiMi lying on the floor with three bulletholes in her chest, I screamed as I ran and held her dead body in my arms.

“After a few minutes, a strange calm came over me. I gently laid my MiMi back on the floor, grabbed my daughter out of her bassinet and took her into the bedroom and fed her a bottle so she could calm down. I then grabbed the phone and called Keno, and told him what had happened. After I hung up with him, I called Mama-Mama and told her that she had to hurry up and get over to my apartment before the police did, so she could take 'Neema over to her house.

“By the time Mama-Mama had come and left, the crew had arrived just before the police did. They asked me all types of fuckin' questions. For a minute I thought they thought I did that stupid shit. When the homicide detective told me that I was going to have to go downtown to the police station for more questioning, I lost it. I told them that they could all go to hell 'cause I wasn't goin' any fuckin' where. My girl was dead, and those niggas had to die. You see, I wasn't prepared for murder before, but after they took my MiMi from me, my murder game became the most vicious that Oklahoma City had ever seen. Not only did I get those Cali Crip niggas, but almost every other jack we put down after MiMi's murder resulted with a murder being committed. I didn't give a fuck about anything anymore. All of the money I made I gave to Mama-Mama for 'Neema. I kept what I needed for survival, but I had to make sure that Mama-Mama was straight financially, because I knew I was walking around on borrowed time. My niggas rode with me, and we all made a pact that, no matter what happened, if anything happened to any one of us, the rest of the crew would ride until we were either dead or in jail for the rest of our lives. So murder was my game, and that was the only thing that kept me sane. If I didn't kill someone at least twice a month, I started to feel as if I had somehow betrayed MiMi. That's how twisted my thinking had become. MiMi was my everything, and without her in this world with me I didn't give a damn about anyone other than 'Neema, Mama-Mama, and my niggas.”

“What stopped you from that insane mission you were on?”

Taz smiled and simply answered, “Won. He came into my life because a friend of his had heard about this crazy-ass crew in the city, robbin' and killin' everything in their way. This friend then set up a meet for me and Won. That was the day that Won gave me a brand-new way of thinking.”

“What did he say at that meeting, baby?”

“He told me that it was time for me to stop killing and to start living for my seed.”

“So, Won is the reason that you stopped killing and robbing people?”

Taz thought about Sacha's question for a moment, and then said, “Yes and no. You know what we do, so you know that I've never stopped doin' my thang. But the senseless killings stopped. The only time I've had to take a life since then was to ensure the safety of me and the crew—not counting that time that fool tried to jack me and you at the club. My anger has subsided over the years, Li'l Mama, but believe me, the hatred is still in my heart. I lost the woman of my dreams, and I will never be able to have her back. That pain still lingers deep within me, and I honestly feel that it will never go away completely.”

“That's natural, baby. You were deeply in love, and that love got cut short. But, Taz, you have to stop this madness. You can't let what Cliff has done turn you back into that monster you once were. It'll ruin you this time, baby,” Sacha wisely said.

Taz shook his head slowly and said, “If God wants that fool to remain breathing, He has to spare my baby's life. 'Cause if 'Neema dies, so will Cliff. That's real talk, Li'l Mama.”

Sacha stared deeply into her fiancé's eyes, and knew that he meant every word of what he had just told her. Before she could say anything, the crew finally arrived.

Keno was the first to enter the waiting room. He walked straight up to Taz and asked, “How is she, dog? Why the fuck didn't you call us as soon as you got here? Who did this shit?”

Taz got to his feet and said, “First off, calm down, my nigga. 'Neema's still in surgery. We're waiting for the doctors to finish up with her now. Her nigga Cliff shot her. He was trying to blast me, and 'Neema pushed me out of the way and took the hit for me, dog. Some straight movie shit, for real. I didn't call y'all 'cause I haven't even been thinkin' straight,
gee
. That's my bad.”

“Who is this nigga? 'Cause he gots to go!” Bo-Pete said vehemently.

Taz smiled and said, “Remember that nigga that used to try to holla at Sacha? He somehow got 'Neema to fall in love with him. Not only did they become involved with each other, the nigga got my baby girl pregnant!”

“
What?
Come on,
gee
! That's some straight up soap opera shit,” Red said as he stepped closer to Taz.

“Yeah, I know, but it is what it is, dog.”

“All right,
gee
. Where can we find this clown-ass nigga? You stay down with Mama-Mama and wifey while we go handle this nigga real quick like,” Wild Bill said in a deadly tone.

Mama-Mama, who had been silent through all of this, stepped over to them and said, “You will do no such thing, Billy! I want each one of you to sit down and wait this out here with Taz, Sacha, and myself. Do you understand me?”

Keno gave Mama-Mama a hug and said, “Mama-Mama, you know we love you and 'Neema as if we were all family. We can't let this clown get away with this. We gots to go.”