New York's Finest (23 page)

“Alright,” I said and then I went on and finished the task at hand.

Now while I cleaned up behind myself and made sure that everything I used to dispose of Evan’s body with was thrown into another trash bag, Reggie was in the other room gathering up his things. I heard him counting all the money his money. And then I heard him fumbling with something in his closet. I didn’t bother him because I knew he needed this time to figure out our next step, so I made a detour into my room and gathered up my things as well.

New York’s Finest Kiki Swinson

Chapter 25 – The Last Man Standing

Fifteen minutes later Damian and Stone finally showed up. Stone was ready to walk back out the door the moment he stepped inside. He made it blatantly obvious that he was ready to get us out of there. “Come on, let’s go. I got my other driver outside waiting for us.” he told us. But after Reggie ran down what happened before they got there, Stone wasn’t pleased to hear that he had to dispose of a body while it’s still broad daylight. “You know I’ll die for you Reggie. But, that would be a dumb move to move that body while it’s still daylight. We’re gonna have to change plans.”

“Nah, we can’t do that. It’s gonna fuck up everything.” Reggie argued.

Stone wouldn’t stand down. He was adamant about handling his business a certain way. “I’m sorry. But, I won’t do it,” he told Reggie.

Reggie wasn’t used to hearing someone telling him no. He was the boss and he always had the last say in any situation. “Look, Stone you know I don’t like changing plans. That motherfucker came to us with his bullshit. So, we had to deal with it accordingly. And if we hadn’t and allowed him to go free then the cops would’ve been all over us right now.”

Damian and I sat there across from each other and waited to see how this thing with Stone and Reggie would play out. We knew we needed to get out of there but we also knew that we couldn’t leave until the body was gone first.

“Why don’t y’all leave now and I’ll catch up to you later on tonight.” Stone suggested.

“But we’re gonna need you to drive. That was the plan. Remember?”

“Yeah, that was the plan until I found out you got a dead body lying back there in the damn bathtub.”

Damian saw that this ordeal with Reggie and Stone wouldn’t be resolved as quickly as we’d liked, so he stood up and said, “Why don’t we all stay here until nightfall and then we make a run for it?”

“Nah, that’s a dumbass plan. Our faces will be plastered all over the fucking TV by then. Not to mention, the neighbors in this building knows how we look. Don’t you think they’ll blow the whistle on us for some fucking reward money if the FEDS say their offering it?”

“He’s got a point Damian.” I said.

“But what other choice do you have?” Stone chimed in.

“I say we blow this joint now. I got a duffle bag filled with dough that’ll last me for a while. And all I need for you to do is get me across the Mexico Border so I can chill out over there for a few months until this shit blows over. By that time, Vanessa will have let her guard down and brought her stinky ass out of hiding and then boom, I could’ve snuck back into the states without anyone knowing and have that bitch carved up like a pig on a silver platter.”

“And what do we do in the meantime?” I spoke up. I realized that none of Reggie’s plans included me or Damian.

“Right now sis, we gotta go our separate ways. It wouldn’t be a good look to have all of us going to the same place. We can meet up sometime later though.”

“You can go with me out west if you like.” Damian suggested to me. I knew what he was doing. So, I played it off and went along with him.

“Are you sure?” I asked.

“Yeah, I’m sure. That way I can keep an eye on you and make sure you’re safe.” he continued.

“Stop the bullshit you two!” Reggie yelled. “I know what’s going on. I know y’all fucking. So, cut it out.”

“What!” I said, trying to act like I was shocked.

“What, nothing. I’ve noticed how y’all been acting towards each other lately. I can tell how a nigga acts after he gets the pussy.”

“Come on now Reggie, not now.” Damian tried to defuse the conversation.

“Whatcha mean not now?” Reggie turned his attention towards Damian, “Trust me nigga, I could care less about what y’all are doing. Just don’t try to play me like I’m some stupid ass nigga from around the way.”

“Ain’t nobody trying to play you dawg. Out of respect for you, I just wanna make sure Naomi is alright. That’s all.”

Meanwhile Stone’s cell phone rings and after he answered it, his facial expression changed. “Alright. We’ll handle it on this end.” he told the caller and then he hung up. “My guy outside just informed me that about eight FBI Agents just hopped out of their cars and that they’re trying to get into the building right now.”

“Oh shit!” I said as my body was instantly struck with fear. I rushed back to my bedroom, grabbed my duffle bag from the bed and dashed back into the front room. Reggie had already bolted out of the front door but Damian stood there and waited for me. He extended his hand and said, “Come on baby,” let’s go.”

I took his hand and followed him out the front door. I had no idea where the hell he planned to take me so I resisted a little, “Didn’t Stone say they were trying to come through the front door, so where are we going?”

“Reggie said that there was an underground utility basement in the laundry room on the first floor, so we’re going down the back staircase to get there.”

“What about Stone? What is he going to do?” I continued to question him.

“Don’t worry about him. He’s going to be fine. He said he’ll meet up with us in a few minutes.” Damian explained and then he literally pulled me forcibly down the stairway.

When we reached the bottom floor, Damian heard a loud BOOM. Then the building shook. Debris from the ceiling started falling down around us. Visions of me dying inside of this building engulfed me and my body became numb. But that didn’t stop Damian. He dragged me into the laundry room and down the stairs that lead to the basement. The door had already been kicked open by Reggie, so we knew we weren’t that far behind him.

The basement was poorly lit with old light bulbs but that didn’t deter us from finding our way out of there. The thought of freedom weighed heavy on my heart. I wanted it so badly I could taste it. So, I held onto Damian’s hand and helped him, help me get to freedom.

“Come on baby, we’re almost there.” he said. And when I zoomed in ahead of us and noticed that there was indeed light at the end of this tunnel, I began to breathe. The weight of everything around me fell off my shoulders as we approached the half cracked doorway that lead to the outside. And when we finally wiggled our way through it and was able to see that the coast was clear, we fled on foot away from the building and hoped that we’d flag down a cab before the FBI got wind of which direction we ran.

I can’t lie, I was dead tired, exhausted to say the least. Reggie was nowhere in sight and that frightened me. But what really frightened me was when I looked back at the building, I noticed that the apartment we had and the entire floor had blown up and was completely engulfed in flames. My heart sunk at the thought that Stone had started an explosion in the apartment and killed himself in the process so that we could getaway. This was something you’d see in a fucking movie. There was no way I would’ve done that for anyone else. Nor did I have the guts to even attempt something of that magnitude. Stone gave new meaning to the word loyalty. And he’ll be forever in my heart.

We walked a total of five blocks before we caught a cab. And instead of telling the cab driver to take us to the nearest transit station, we told him to take us north towards Connecticut. Thank God he didn’t ask us any questions. But he required us to give him cash up front before he moved the car, so we did. And as soon as the cab pulled back on the road and began to head north, Damian and I were finally able to let out a long sigh.

New York’s Finest Kiki Swinson

Epilogue

It had been two weeks since Damian and I left New York. We’ve traveled from state to state and stayed out of the public eye. It took about five days before we saw our faces broadcasted on national television so I panicked the first time I saw it. But Damian reminded me that as long as we had our fake passports and driver’s licenses on hand, then we were fine.

Periodically, I’d worry about what was going on back in New York. The thought of not being able to speak to my parents bothered me more than not knowing where Reggie was because I knew he could take care of himself. And since there were no new reports about him getting arrested, I knew he was still on the streets. My guess was that he’d be sitting on a beach somewhere, sipping on a cold Corona with a slice of lime floating at the top of the bottle. But when my brand new cell phone rung I got an entirely different story.

Damian was sitting next to me on the hotel bed when the call came through. He and I both looked at each other like we’d just saw a ghost. “Hello,” I said, after allowing the phone to ring four times.

“Hey sis, this is your brother.” Reggie yelled through the phone.

His voice magnified with each word he uttered. He sounded like he was excited about something. But I was even more excited to hear his voice and to know that he was alright. “Oh my God! I can’t believe it’s you.” I said and then I pressed the speaker phone button so Damian could hear our conversation.

“Yeah, it’s me. So, I guess y’all are alright?” he yelled again. There was a lot of loud traffic noise in the back ground so I assumed he was either walking or driving with the windows down, which made it very hard for him to hear me.

“Yeah, we’re good. And you?”

“Yeah, I’m great. I’m still roaming around the city. I couldn’t bring myself to leave after I found out what Stone did for us. Plus, I wasn’t going to let Vanessa off the hook after what she did to me. She basically destroyed everything I built.”

I placed my hand over my mouth. “Reggie, what did you do?” I forced myself to say.

“Let’s just say that she won’t be running her fucking mouth anymore. I got her, that nigga Ben and that nigga Dre torched in a house fire. They thought I wasn’t gonna find out they were hiding out at Ben’s sister’s house in the Bronx.”

Shocked by his words, I said, “What!”

Reggie chuckled. “Yeah, I paid that nigga that Stone had waiting for us outside, to put me up in his crib for a while. Then I got him to help me find out where those motherfuckers were hiding out. And instead of running in the crib and blasting all of them in their fucking heads, me and that cat decided to close off all the windows, barricade the front door and set the spot on fire so we could burn them alive. You should’ve heard Vanessa screaming when that fire got to her ass. It was like music to my ears.”

“Vanessa’s dead?”

“Damn right! That bitch and those niggas finally got what they deserved.”

“So, what do we do now?” I asked him. Believe it or not, Damian and I needed a plan. I was tired of going from one hotel to the next. And I was sure Damian felt the same way.

“I don’t know what to tell you right now. But I do know that coming back to New York isn’t the answer because Marco and Miguel are standing in line behind the FEDS, so they are looking for us too.”

I didn’t want to admit it, but I knew there was a chance that Marco would have us on his radar after we lost his shipment to the FEDS. So, there’s another situation we had to handle. “What about mom and dad? Have you been able to see or talk to them?” I asked.

“No I haven’t. But I’ve been able to get money to them though. So don’t worry, they’re in good hands.”

“So, what’s next for you?”

“I don’t know baby sis. But I do know that I can’t leave New York right now especially with all the product we have left. I talked to Stone’s people and they’ve agreed to help me get rid of all that’s left. So, until that mission is completed, I’m a sitting duck.”

“Don’t you think that’s a little too risky?”

“Of course it is. But, what am I going to do with one and a half million dollars’ worth of product? Just let it sit in the warehouse and collect dusk. No way. I’m a businessman. And besides that, I got a baby on the way. I couldn’t leave Malika either.”

“Sounds like you got a lot on your plate.” I said.

He chuckled again. “Yeah, it looks that way doesn’t it?”

I wanted to answer him but I couldn’t because I realized that I was losing him to the world of drugs. Like my dad Foxx, Reggie was born and raised in that whole scene so it was a part of his DNA and no one would be able to get him to walk away from it. Now it was a matter of life or death.

“Hey listen baby sis, tell Damian I said to take care of you. A’ight?”

“Alright,” I managed to say, my voice started cracking.

“Oh yeah, and I want you to know that if you ever get word that something happened to me, don’t start crying and shit. Just get yourself together and bring your ass back to the city because I’m gonna have a large amount of cash put away for you and my unborn child. You follow me?”

“Yeah, but how will I know where to find it?”

“Just think back to where we used to play when we were kids. And when you remember the spot, then you’ll know where to go from there. Now, I gotta go. I love you.”