Invincible: A Novel (18 page)

“Nigga you in my place,” Monster told Jake.

“Main man, I’m in Mitch’s place and I rolled c-low. Ten thou or better and if the money ain’t on the floor it ain’t a bet. Now if you down a buck put it on the floor or fall back, main man. I came here to get money not fuck around.” Then he asked Mitch, “This how you do in here, Unc? Have your goon try to strong-arm the game?”

“Yo, watch your mouth before you lose a couple of your fucking teeth, nigga,” Monster said, really trying to get under Jake’s skin.

Mitch told Monster to take it easy. “Don’t worry about it.” Then he looked at Jake and said, “Don’t worry about nothing. You know how this gambling shit go, a bunch of talk. Nothing to worry about, though.”

Jake looked at Mitch and snickered. “I ain’t worried. See no reason to be. We family, right?” Then Jake asked, “Anyone else down?”

“Yeah, I’m down fifty.” It was one of the Calvin brothers who chimed in, strolled over, and threw his money on the floor. Jake looked up to see where the other brother went but he was gone. The cat that had participated in robbing his store was still across the room.

Jake yelled, “Fifty left in, who got it?”

The other Calvin brother, who Jake hadn’t spotted, walked over and said, “Me,” and threw his money down.

“Okay, this is the big one,” Jake whispered to himself. He
shook the dice as hard as he could for ten seconds, then threw the dice. First number came up. It was a 1. Second number came up. It was a 2. The third die just kept spinning. Mitch and the Calvin brothers were hoping for a 3, but a 4 registered. Jake picked them up and shook the dice again, this time for twenty seconds. When he let them go, 4-5-6 came up. With the grace and speed of a cheetah he scooped the money off the floor and put it in his bag—at the same moment, he withdrew the gun at his waist. Without hesitating, he put the nozzle to Mitch’s forehead and threw his book bag over his shoulder. This move had Mitch, Monster, the Calvin brothers, and the whole spot fucked up. It was so unexpected.

Jake said, “Mitch, turn the fuck around and walk toward the door, motherfucker.” He looked at Monster and the Calvin brothers. “Try it if you want, motherfuckers. I can’t wait to lay one of you down!” As he was talking, Jake reached for the other gun at his waist, pulled it out, and waved it around the room. “Everybody get the fuck down before I start shooting!”

Those close to the door and away from Jake ran out. Those within his range did exactly what he said. The advantage that Jake had over most everyone in the room was that he had nothing to lose. He did not give a fuck. Neither Mitch nor the Calvin brothers could have afforded to pull a move like that on Jake; it would have made them too hot, they’d have to be really stupid to risk their freedom like that. Even Monster couldn’t see that one coming. He pulled out his .357, but Mitch told him to put it down.

“Yo, Jake, it ain’t that serious!” Monster said, putting his gun away. “What the fuck are you doing? That’s your uncle!”

Jake just shot him a wicked look. Mitch thought about spinnin’ around and trying to disarm his nephew.

As if Jake could read his thought, he said, “Go ’head, Mitch! Try and see if you still got it and get your brains all over the fucking place.”

“What the fuck are you doing, Jake? Why me? What’s going on? First, you come in to gamble against me, now this?”

“Mitch, shut the fuck up and stop acting stupid!” Jake stopped where the robber of his store was on the floor. “Yo, you dickhead, who sent you to rob my store? Did you think I didn’t recognize you or did you just think I was pussy?”

“Yo, fam, I didn’t rob your shit,” the man on the floor said in his defense.

“Now I’m getting tight! Dickhead, I remember you and I want an answer!”

“Yo, I didn’t rob your shit!” Dude held fast.

“Okay,” Jake said. “Stand up!”

“Yo, chill, I told you I didn’t rob your shit!”

“Stand the fuck up!”

“Don’t do this, man, you got me mixed up.”

“Fuck you, nigga!” BOOM BOOM BOOM. Jake tore him up and walked out the room.

“Let’s go, Uncle. We got family business to discuss.”

Soon as they stepped out the door Jake kicked Mitch in his ass, causing him to fall to the concrete.

“What the fuck are you doing, Jake? Why me?”

“Hold on, Uncle. Watch this!” Jake pulled a matchbook out of his pocket, struck one, and threw it against the front door of the spot. “Get a good look at that, Unc!” POOOFFFFF! A big flame ignited.

“Hey, Mitch, I squeezed gas on the front of the building. I had a feeling I would be in a hurry out the front and I didn’t want anyone behind me. Don’t worry, everyone will make it out the back nice and safe, but it’s definitely a wrap for your spot! Now go to the fucking car I got parked right there and hop in the driver’s seat! We gotta have a talk. I’m gonna hop in the back in case you ain’t talking right!”

“Yo, Jake, you’re buggin’! You gotta slow down! This is me. At least give me the benefit of the doubt. I’m your uncle. I raised you. What the fuck! Not my bum-ass crackhead brother, but me. I was always there for you and this is how you repay me?”

“Why did you fuck Kim, Mitch? Out of everyone in the world you had to fuck my girl?”

“I’m not going to lie to you, boy. I slept with her, but you shouldn’t kill your family over no bitch! That ain’t good family principles nor street principles. You didn’t know that girl like you think you did. She was pure evil!”

“So did you have something to do with her death, Mitch?”

“Yes I did, Jake. If I didn’t kill her you wouldn’t have made it. How do you think those people kept finding you? It was her.”

“Drive faster, Mitch, and tell me more before I lose it and blow your brains out.”

“Fuck it! Blow my brains out, nigga, but you better think long and hard, Jake! If I wanted you dead I could have did it myself when you were in your deep sleep. Your girl Kim is the one who had you set up.”

“That bitch could have killed me in my sleep, too, Mitch! So why didn’t she? She even had a gun in her bag. Why didn’t she shoot me?”

“Because she was given different orders. Mr. Albert Murphy wants you to die at his hands. He wants to witness your death.”

“Now we getting places, Mitch! I like when you talk to me! So is this Mr. Albert Murphy the brother of Phat Murphy? Mitch, that’s who wants me dead?”

“No, Jake, Albert is Phat’s father. The Calvin brothers are his brothers or half brothers. All I know is Albert considers the Calvins his sons and all three of them are pretty pissed you killed Phat.”

“Listen here, Mitch! First of all, I’m glad that disgusting pig is dead and I wouldn’t change that for the world! Second of all, it was Phil who killed him. Not that it matters because I would have killed him anyway.”

“Well then, Jake, I guess you can understand why Phil set you up to make it look like you spazzed out for nothing. He was just trying to save his own hide, which is understandable due to the circumstances.”

“Yeah, I guess so, but, um, what part did you play in this, Mitch? In which other way besides fucking my girl and not letting me know who wants me dead did you do me dirty? Who’s behind the 300 Crew?”

“Phil, me, and Frazier,” Mitch admitted. He had nothing to lose.

“Hold up, Frazier the CO?” Jake asked.

“That’s the one,” Mitch answered.

“Go on,” Jake told him.

Mitch kept going. “Plus Kim, Albert Murphy, and the Calvin brothers.”

Jake’s mind was spinning. “So it was Frazier dropping them letters on my bed? I thought you said this Albert cat wanted me to die at his hands?”

“He does, Jake. He turned himself in on some parking tickets and had his lawyer check him straight into PC. They had hopes that the letters would make you check into PC but they didn’t. Phil went left on his own with the karate guy that put you in the coma. Everybody thought he did it because you was fucking M.B. and the wire was out that she was pregnant. Now I know why he wanted you dead so bad. You had the DL on him. Neither me nor Kim was in on the shit Phil did. She really wanted to keep it moving with you when you got out of the hospital and called her, but Phil got wind of that shit and told Albert. When they got to Kim they let her know it was you or her mom and then they told me the same. It’s me or you. When you had Kim call me all I had to do was go to you and leave you the Caddy. They put a tracking device in the car to be able to find you wherever you went.”

“How could you sell out your own blood like that, Mitch? You raised me like a son for years. I idolized you for the longest! I put in work with you when I was young and you sell me out for some organization? Are you that scared of Albert Murphy and his sons? Or is the money so good that you just don’t give a fuck about anybody?” The car sped up. “Mitch, are you trying to scare me by speeding up ’cause you’re doing about eighty miles per hour and we ain’t even on the highway yet.”

“Listen to me, Jake, I can understand you being upset and wanting to kill me but you don’t know these dudes and what they’re capable of doing. They even kill friends! If I didn’t kill
Kim she would have set you up again. I could have got you that night but I kept going. I was hoping you would keep going, too. I spared you twice. All I’m asking is that you spare me.”

“You didn’t spare me and Kim didn’t spare me. You tried to set me up! If Murphy’s family didn’t have such a grudge, you probably would have did it yourself.”

“I was ordered to hurt you and not kill you.”

“Mitch, you’re lying about some things and telling the truth about some things. But I’m getting tired of all this. Pull over and get the fuck out the car! I’m gonna spare you, nigga, cause you my blood!”

“Jake, I know you’re lying. You’re gonna shoot me.”

“I said pull the fuck over, Mitch, and get the fuck out or I might change my mind about killing you!”

Mitch stopped the car and got out. Jake let him walk a few feet, then got out behind him. “You know you should have killed me, Unc, and you’re lying about Mr. Albert wanting to kill me himself. There was only one hit man when it was me and Nine-One, and I killed him personally. After Kim and I left the hospital, it was two shooters and they both got arrested. You should have just told the truth and said you did me dirty and you don’t know why, but you tried to lie to me instead. You said Kim was giving up our locations but you set me up with your car with the tracking device. Your stories aren’t adding up!”

“What are you gonna do, nephew?”

Jake pulled a gun off his waist, put it on the ground, and kicked it to his uncle. “I’m gonna give you a chance to pick that gun up and defend yourself.”

“That’s mighty kind of ya, youngin’! You want me to reach
for it so you’ll have an excuse to shoot me. You want to be able to justify killing your blood. Well, Jake, I won’t do it! You want to shoot me, then shoot.”

“Okay, then have it your way.” Jake squeezed the trigger on the 9mm. The first bullet smashed directly into Mitch’s face. Jake squeezed again. The second bullet hit the same spot the first one had. Then Jake let his whole clip off into Mitch’s face. After he was dead, Jake wished Mitch to rot in hell. Jake had enough info to handle his business. He knew exactly who wanted to kill him and why. There was no more mystery. As far as his life went, he knew it was over. He would definitely be wanted for homicide, and more than one. There was no turning back. He wasn’t going to jail for the rest of his life. He made up his mind. He would kill every one of his enemies then flee somewhere off the radar or he would die on the streets.

Jake ran back to his car and drove off. He knew he would have to get rid of it soon and he knew he needed a place to lay his head. He had enough money to breeze right then and there but he was beyond the point of no return. He wanted to kill for all the bullshit they put him through. His next mission would be to find out where he could locate Albert Murphy and the Calvin brothers.

THE RIGHT SIDE

The Calvin brothers stopped by Albert Murphy’s house, who happened to be resting, but was happy with the news they brought him. Albert said to the Calvin brothers, “I was tired of Mitch anyway! That was a man of many games. Jake did us a favor! You can’t trust a man who would turn on his own family. Notice how we keep getting smaller and smaller. I hate this Jake, but I’m glad he did what he did because now he’s wanted for Mitch’s murder. So we will get to this guy one way or the other. Whether we get him first or the law does, one thing is for sure: We got him right were we want him.”

The eldest Calvin brother spoke. “Listen, Pops, I think you should leave town for a while until we put him down or until the cops nab this guy! He’s a loose cannon, he’ll try anything!
You have to be careful with guys like that. Our best bet is to get you outta here.”

“Fuck no, boys,” Albert said. “I’m not running or hiding from this prick! He is the one that needs to be worried. Maybe he will do us a favor and kill Phil, too. Then all we got left is Frazier to take care of. That will be easy! Then the whole house is cleaned. We’ll have a clean slate. But, I couldn’t imagine relocating for any one man, especially some street punk! Phil was thinking of snatching his child’s mother and his baby. I told him ‘No, it’s not the time now.’ I should have had you boys murder him and that bitch and his child that night!”