Animal (33 page)

Gucci grabbed Animal by the sleeve and held on for dear life. “I won’t let you go. Mama, please make him stay.”

“Gucci, he’s gotta go. It’s for the best.” Ms. Ronnie pried her daughter’s trembling hand loose.

Animal kissed her on the forehead. “I’ll be back, baby,” he promised and headed for the door. Gucci shrieked and pleaded for him to stay until she was exhausted. Even when Animal was away from the room and had slipped out of the hospital her cries still echoed in his head.

Animal walked from the hospital to his rental car in a daze. There was an orange ticket on the windshield, but he hardly seemed to notice. He braced himself against the car and breathed in and out as if he was on the verge of an asthma attack. Leaving Gucci in such an emotional state was one of the hardest things that he had to do, but it was a necessary evil. There was no way
they could be together until he had finished what he had come to do, which was murder his enemies.

“So what now, big homie?” Ashanti asked. Animal had almost forgotten that he was with him.

“I finish what I started,” Animal told him.

Ashanti was taken aback. “Dawg, Gucci is good now. You ain’t gotta chase this suicide mission no more. Take your lady and bounce, my G. Ain’t nobody gonna hold that against you.”

Animal turned to his friend. “By now, Shai Clark knows that not only am I alive, but it’s been me who has been whacking his people. You really think they’re gonna let me just ride off into the sunset like that? I gotta ride this train to the end, li’l one.”

Ashanti lowered his head. For as long as he’d known Animal, he had always been at war with something or someone, more often than not, himself. The only time he’d ever truly seen him at peace was when he was with Gucci. Now that they had been reunited once again, the ghosts of war threatened to tear them apart. There was no way that Ashanti could sit idle and watch it happen for a second time. “Then move over, because I’m riding with you.”

Animal looked at Ashanti. It was a noble gesture, but a pointless one. “You know where this train is likely headed, and there’s a good chance neither one of us will ever make it off.”

“Let’s worry about that when it arrives at the last stop. Animal, since I was a kid, I’ve seen you stand with others in the best and worst situations. It’s time somebody stood with you. We ride together,” Ashanti extended his fist.

“We die together.” Animal pounded his fist. “All we’re missing is Brasco, and this unholy union would be complete.”

“Well, Brasco might not be here with us to ride off into hell, but I got a cat who is just as solid,” Ashanti said with a knowing smirk.

THIRTY-FIVE

T
HE LAST FEW DAYS HAD BEEN TENSE
for everybody, especially Alonzo. King James had declared war and dragged all of them into it by default. Alonzo didn’t want any part of war; he just wanted to keep getting his little paper on the streets until a solid job came through, but he wasn’t left with much of a choice. Lakim had pledged himself to King James and the war effort, and he had to stand by his brother, no matter how much of a bad idea he thought it was.

Another thing weighing heavy on his mind was his friend Ashanti. Ever since the failed attempt on Holiday’s life, he had been acting strange. There was no doubt that he would war with them when called upon. Some would even say he looked forward to it, but the dynamics of his and Alonzo’s relationship had changed slightly. If he wasn’t out with Fatima, he was disappearing unexpectedly and could never account for his whereabouts. Since they had been friends, he and Ashanti had been joined at the hip, but lately, he could hardly catch up with him. Alonzo would never question Ashanti’s loyalty, but there
was something off about him that he couldn’t put his finger on, and he intended to confront him about it the next time they were alone.

With all the madness going on in Alonzo’s life he was in desperate need of some downtime and some normalcy. He thought about catching a movie, but seeing a movie alone was no fun so he called an old friend to see if she wanted to keep him company. As soon as he dialed the number he regretted it. He really wanted to see Porsha again, but didn’t want to seem too thirsty. And what if she was still playing games and shot him down once he put himself out there? He started to hang up and forget the whole idea, but before he could, she picked up.

“Hello?” Porsha’s voice came through the phone. Alonzo found himself at a loss for words. “Hello? Look, whoever this is, you need to stop playing on my phone, asshole!”

“Wait, don’t hang up,” Alonzo finally blurted out.

“Zo, is that you?” Porsha’s tone lightened. “Now
this
is a pleasant surprise.”

“Hey, how you, Porsha?”

“Good, just a little shocked to hear from you,” she told him.

“You said use the number, so I did.”

“True, but I didn’t think it would take you days to get around to it. I was starting to think I was wrong in giving it to you.”

“You know you don’t mean that. You were probably sitting by the phone waiting for me to hit you up,” he joked.

“Don’t flatter yourself, youngster. Anyway, to what do I owe the pleasure of this call?”

“Nothing much. I was thinking about you and decided to hit you up to see what was good. You feel like coming to Harlem to
hang out with me? I was thinking that maybe we could catch a movie and grab a bite to eat.”

“Aww that’s sweet, but I can’t.”

Alonzo felt the wind leave his sails. “It’s all good, Porsha. Can’t knock a nigga for trying. I guess I’ll holla at you later.”

“Well, damn, don’t be so quick to give up on a girl.” Porsha shook her head in disappointment as if he could see her through the phone. “The reason I can’t come uptown to hang out is because I promised Frankie that I would come kick it with her in Brooklyn. See? And you were all ready to hang up on me because you thought I was spinning you.”

“No, I wasn’t,” Alonzo lied.

“Whatever, Zo. You know I know that your ass is as sensitive as hell.”

“Fuck you, Porsha,” he said jokingly.

“If you play your cards right, you never know,” she said slyly. “But if you aren’t doing anything, why don’t you come out to BK and hang with us. There’s a big-ass block party in Frankie’s hood. Free food and free liquor. You can’t beat that.”

“I dunno, Porsha. You know I don’t fuck with Brooklyn niggaz like that,” Alonzo said apprehensively.

“You ain’t coming to hang out with Brooklyn niggaz, you’re coming to hang out with me. Don’t act like that, Zo. Come party with ya girl and you never know, we might end up having breakfast together in the morning.”

“There you go with the games again, ma. You know you ain’t trying to go there with me.”

“I guess there’s only one way to find out, huh?” she challenged.

It didn’t take Alonzo long to make up his mind. “A’ight, give me the address.”

The street was blocked off so Alonzo had to get out of the taxi a block away and walk, which was cool because he wanted to scout the territory before he got to them anyway. The block was packed with the young and old, as well as the savory and unsavory, and everybody seemed to be watching him. He knew they were most likely just sizing him up because he was a new face so there was no immediate threat, but if it did pop off, he had his trusty .357 on him.

He managed to bend the corner without incident and made his way deeper into the block. He spotted Frankie first. She was standing on a stoop across the street talking to Dena. From their body language they seemed to be having a heated argument. He looked around for Porsha but didn’t see her until he was almost in front of the building. There was a long line of kids that stretched off the curb. At the front of the line, sitting on a crate, was Porsha. She was looking good enough to eat in a pair of fitting tan Capris, black wedges, with a black tank top under a fatigue blazer. Porsha was expertly painting colorful designs on the faces of the smiling children. This shocked Alonzo because he had no idea that Porsha was an artist. She must’ve felt his presence because she looked up at him and winked. She motioned for him to give her a second so he went to say hello to Frankie and Dena while he waited.

“‘Sup, ladies?” Alonzo interrupted their conversation.

Dena spun on him with fire in her eyes, but she checked herself when she realized who it was. “Hey, Zo,” she spoke dryly and walked over to the grill to check the meat.

“Damn, did I kick her dog or something?” Alonzo asked confused.

“Nah, she’s just having a bad day,” Frankie told him while watching Dena aggressively work the grill. “What wind blows you this far south?” she asked Alonzo with a raised eyebrow.

“Do you even need to ask?” He nodded toward Porsha.

Frankie shook her head. “Y’all two kill me with this on-and-off shit.”

“I ain’t never been on to get off, but I’m trying to change that,” Alonzo said slyly. He looked out at the crowd dancing in the streets to Caribbean music. He was a long way from home. “Damn, Frankie Angels, what the fuck made you move so far out? You know you got Harlem in your heart.”

“I got wherever there’s a roof over my head in my heart,” she said seriously. “Brooklyn is different than what I’m used to, but it beats sleeping on friends’ couches any day.”

“Tell me about it,” he agreed. “The best thing I ever did was move outta my mom’s crib.”

“I’ll bet. Now you can have your li’l harem of shorties run around naked all day and night.”

“Stop it, five.” He waved her off. “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t keep my dick wet pretty regularly, but you know it’s only one chick who’ll ever have this.” He placed his hand over his heart.

“And who is that?” Porsha came up behind him.

“Why don’t you make some noise when you walk?” Alonzo turned to her.

“Don’t try to change the subject. Finish what you were just telling Frankie,” Porsha dared him.

Alonzo gave her the once-over and put on his best Harlem
face. “Baby, at this point of the game, if I still gotta say it out loud, then it ain’t worth my breath, ya hear?”

“He got your ass,” Frankie laughed and pointed her finger at Porsha, instigating the situation.

“Shut up, Frankie,” Porsha pushed her playfully.

“Ain’t you gonna introduce me to your friend?” Vashaun came over. She was dressed in a pair of shorts that rode up in her ass, too small mules, and a shirt that looked like it belonged to her little sister, but you couldn’t tell her that she wasn’t killing ’em.

“I hadn’t planned on it,” Frankie mumbled under her breath.

Alonzo cut his eyes at her comment. “Zo.” He shook Vashaun’s hand, and when he tried to pull it back she was reluctant to let it go.

“Nice to meet you, Zo. I’m Vashaun,” she introduced herself. “So where you from, Zo?”

“I’m from Harlem, why? You interviewing me for a gig?” He said it with a smile, but his irritation with her questioning was clear in his tone.

Vashaun rocked back on her heels and looked Alonzo up and down. “Ain’t no need to get defensive, cutie. I just know you ain’t from around here, so I’m trying to figure out if you came to see somebody or if you’re fair game.”

“Actually, he came to see me.” Porsha folded her arms.

“My fault. I wasn’t trying to step on no toes,” Vashaun said, but there wasn’t much sincerity in her voice.

“Never that, boo. I just said he came to see me, not that I had papers on him,” Porsha shot back.

“I’ll take that as food for thought,” Vashaun said with a chuckle.

“Why do I feel like I’m at a slave auction?” Alonzo asked sarcastically.

“You stupid.” Frankie elbowed Alonzo playfully. “Hey, V, where’s your other half? Bess was out there a minute ago, but she seems to have just up and disappeared.”

“She went around the corner to meet our homegirl. She took the train out here from L.G. and got lost, so Bess went to walk her over,” Vashaun said.

No sooner than Vashaun made the statement, Bess came walking over. She was wearing a pair of sweatpants and a white T-shirt with a scarf tied around her head. Trailing a few feet behind her was the friend she had gone to meet. The girl was dark skinned with a nice body that she showed off proudly in the tight-fitting denim skirt and white tank top. Porsha and Frankie stared at the girl, both knowing that they had seen her somewhere before but weren’t quite sure where. When they saw the slack-jawed expression on Alonzo’s face all doubt was removed. It was indeed the same girl from BBQ’s. Veronica.