Life (25 page)

hair, and her lips were glossed in a way that made them appear

sensuous. Her forehead was creased with lines of concern. Her

perfume engulfed me, fumigating my nostrils. She loosened my

tie opening my shirt.

“
Oh, no,” I moaned pathetically. Now the entire store gath-

ered to gawk at me. I figured about five minutes had passed of my

impromptu performance. I got off the floor to the hushed drones

of disbelievers as they looked at me in awe, like a dead man walk-

ing. Someone tried to grab my arm, told me I ought to try to wait

until the ambulance arrived. The white lady that was trying to

resuscitate me affectionately touched my arm and told me to wait

for the ambulance. I thanked her and picked up my briefcase and

squeezed through the throngs of shoppers that had gathered with

the number thirty thousand in my mind. I smirked as I rushed

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through the revolving doors walking out into the scorching sum-

mer heat. The car was parked up ahead. As I walked, my mind

plotted on how I was going to beat them bitches out of their rich-

es.

Up the street, I saw them standing next to the car with its

doors wide open. Something was wrong, terribly wrong. My pace

slowed. As I neared, I could see Tomica’s face. Her eyes tried to

warn me. That’s when I noticed what was wrong. Tomica and

Evette’s hands were in the air. It was then that I recognized the

undercover cop from the store. He had his gun pointed at them

with one hand, and in the other, he held the stolen bracelet. My

heart somersaulted in my chest as my breathing quickened.

Without thinking, I reacted like a man does in war, or a lesson

taught in the ghetto, the survival instinct kicked in. Raw energy

seized my body. Nothing else mattered, nothing else existed. This

was the concrete jungle. In it, life was a conquest of kill or be

killed. If gunplay could have earned me a medal, I would have

won its highest honor. In one quick motion, I reached into my

back pulling out my gun, placing it against the cop’s skull. In the

distance I heard screams as people scurried about.

“
Move, muthafucka, and I’ll blow your goddamn brains out!”

In my peripheral vision, I saw a lady pick up her small toddler and

take off r unning. Pandemonium quickly was all around me.

“
Pha-pha-pleeze don’t kill me,” the frightful cop drawled. “I

got a wife and two kids.” Cars drove by with their occupants look-

ing on in horror.

“
Get his gun,” I said to Tomica. Both women were frozen like

statues. They were going to get me busted. I had to move fast. I

heard sirens in the distance.

“
Get on your knees cracka!” I commanded as I snatched his

gun placing it into my pocket and then I grabbed the bracelet. Just

up ahead, I saw the blue and white police car turn into the park-

ing lot. With all my might, I hit the officer upside the head with

the butt of my gun. His blood got on my suit as he fell backward

onto the concrete like a sack of rocks. I was moving fast. Tomica

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and Evette were still in a state of shock. I jumped into the car, fully

intent on leaving their so-called professional asses right there. All

their sophistication, savvy and wit had failed them miserably and

now when it came to the last resort, brute force with a twist of

some real gangsta shit, they were just as intimidated as the victim.

I star ted the engine and they jumped in the car. I pulled off, there

was no traffic in front of me. I drove slow, as inconspicuously as

possible. There was only one way in and one way out. Up ahead

the police car was coming slowly toward me. I had my gun on my

lap with my hand on the trigger. I smiled and moved my lips like

I was heavy into conversation with my lady friends.

“
There’s the police,” Tomica said, panic stricken.

“
Bitch, I see them. Smile like you ain’t tryin to go back to the

chain gang,” I said between clinched teeth, wondering how could

she be so fucking dumb.

As we passed the police, they stared into the car. Thank God

they were slowed down by the oncoming traffic. It would be a

minute before they reached the unconscious cop. As soon as I

turned onto the main street, police cars came from every direc-

tion, lights blaring. I punched the gas. Up a block, I turned on a

side street taking the back way. I pushed the tape in on the tape

deck. UGK was rapping about having a pocket full of stones. I

thought about the diamonds in my pocket and drove faster. A

police car raced by us. I knew where they were going, to the place

I had just left. I just knew there would be an all-points bulletin out

for the car.

I glanced over to see Tomica staring at me. Whatever it was

written on her face I couldn’t read. She had her mouth open like

she had lockjaw or some shit. I needed to get back to the hotel and

fast. For some reason, I don’t know, I looked over at Tomica and

smirked. I thought about the lame game and now who tricked

who. I guess it was my manly ego, or just that triumphant feeling

a hustler gets when he hits a good lick. That ruthlessness a thug

feels, like liquid fire surging through my veins. Yeah, I was keepin’

it gangsta!

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I pulled into the hotel with my thoughts heavy on my mind.

Just the fact that we had been silent all the way back from the

caper gave me an advantage, a kind of leverage that I fully intend-

ed to exploit. Now it was time to execute plan B, “Big Pimpin.”

Break these hoes. Shit, they were going to do it to me if I let them.

I knew that I still had to use some finesse but with a different tech-

nique. I spun around fast in my seat, placing my arm around

Tomica’s headrest. It startled her. Now they were watching me

with their full attention. I knew that I held all the advantages.

Actually, it was the thirty thousand dollar bracelet in my pocket.

I turned, glancing back and for th at both of them.

“
That shit ya’ll bitches pulled back there was not proper.

Could have got a nigga kilt,” I said, pointing my finger at Tomica,

my voice cold, impassive. “You understand me?!” I yelled. Tomica

flinched fearfully. I turned to look at Evette. She was already nod-

ding her head up and down, starry eyes brimming with tears.

Good

, I thought to myself. Give them a large dose of fear. In my

mind I wondered where they had all that money stashed and just

how was I going to take it. I thought about the pussy game they

played on me and started to feel sexually aroused. I thought about

what I was going to do to them with those same handcuffs.

Tomica primed her lips to speak like she was considering every

word carefully.

“
I didn’t know that you was packin’ heat, that’s all, but you

don’t have to talk to us like that,” she said tentatively. She sent her

words like a scout to test my temperament. It took a second for

me to read into her ploy.

“
Bitch! Did I tell you to talk?” I snapped.

She cringed in her seat, damn near jumped out the window. I

heard every whimper in the back seat. Her mind still held the fresh

memor y of what I had done to the cop. Violence does that to peo-

ple. With that I realized that I had more than enough persuasion

to make them submit to my every whim.

I adjusted my tie, made like I was tr ying to get comfortable.

All eyes were on me. I dropped my voice a few decibels, tried to

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act civil and loving ever y damn minute of the control I was now

feeling over these women. What were they going to do, call the

police on me?

“
I really don’t want the bracelet,” I said matter of factly. I lied.

Tomica’s eyes got big as silver dollars. I could hear Evette in the

backseat sniffing back tears.

“
Just give me the money ya’ll owe me and we can work some-

thing out.” I smiled sincerely with my own motives.

“
Let me have the bracelet,” Tomica said meekly. Her words

hung in the air resonating without an answer. I knew they would

take the bait.

“
Ya’ll go back to the room, get comfortable, and I’ma get a lil

sumpin’ sumpin’ to smoke on and we can get our drank on. I have

a proposition for ya’ll, and we can get our freak on.”

“
Proposition? Freak on?” Tomica retorted disdainfully, eyes

narrowing at me. I peered at Evette in the back seat and she looked

at me the way a follower does. She just wanted to be led to safety.

I thought I detected a hint of something in her demeanor. Just

then a blue Lexus pulled into the parking lot. I leaned for ward in

my seat craning my neck not believing what I was seeing. It was

Trina, the bitch that stole my stash. I slouched down in my seat

and watched as she parked the car. Tomica made a face at me, she

was about to say something. I grabbed the gun. Just as Trina was

exiting the car, I took the keys out of the ignition of Tomica’s car

and placed them in my pocket.

“
Hey!” Tomica complained.

“
Go to the room!” I said getting out of the car, my pace brisk

like a stalker. Trina had not seen me yet. She wore a simple white

dress with flowers, pink sandals with a Gucci ankle bracelet on her

leg. She had shut the car door retrieving three large shopping bags.

She looked up just as I approached. For a fleeting second, I

thought I saw a smile cross her lips. I slapped her so hard her neck

snapped back and she stumbled holding onto the car to keep her

balance, dropping her bags to the ground.

She wiped her bloody lip with the back of her hand, looked at

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her blood almost examining it. She spit blood at my feet as she

continued to hold her head dignified.

“
You didn’t have to hit me out here in the streets. I have your

money, plus more.” Her composure completely caught me off

guard. Not what I was expecting. I grabbed her by the hair. “Bitch,

I’ma kill you!” I said with my face just inches from hers and then

shoved her face away. She picked up the shopping bags. I marched

her right past the car with Tomica and Evette in it. Their breath

fogged up the windows as they watched me abduct a woman in

broad daylight.

The lame?

As soon as I turned the corner, that’s when I saw him, the

white man, watching me. His face looked familiar. As I passed the

car I took a closer look at him, he turned away. I thought nothing

more of it, and continued to focus my attention on Trina. That

white man would come back to haunt me.

*****

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Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

“
The Ultimate Betrayal”