Working Girls (22 page)

Buster crept back down the steps to the basement with a flashlight in one hand and a brown paper bag with sandwiches and water in the other. With each step he took, the wooden steps creaked, as if they were going to give way any minute. The basement was cold, dark, and gloomy. All that could be heard was the sound of muffled sobbing and rats scurrying about. The basement was completely unfurnished and had no electricity or heat. The walls were cement, as was the floor, and the ceiling was unfinished. Electrical wires and asbestos were hanging down from every ceiling beam. As Buster cleared the last step, a foul stench could be smelled in the air. It was a mixture of body odor, urine, and feces.

In one corner of the room Jewels was laid out on her side, completely naked, handcuffed to a radiator, bruised, and badly beaten. She had a blindfold over her eyes, duct tape over her mouth, and her legs were tied together. Buster couldn't help but smile as the flashlight illuminated Jewels. She had mashed-up shit on her back and legs, and dried blood was smeared all over her face, neck, and scalp.

“Good news, bitch!” he called out. “That nigga comin' to get you.”

He could hear Jewels sniffling over in the corner. He mistook it for tears.

“Don't cry now, bitch! What happened to all that tough talk?” Buster asked as, without remorse, he kicked her in the ribs.

He despised Jewels at this point. When she was getting tied up, Jewels fought back and almost disarmed him, and for that, she was beaten and raped until she was unconscious. Jewels got gun butted repeatedly in her face and sustained multiple kicks to the head and body. Buster had plans to kill her but had to hold back. It wasn't the right time, and the stage wasn't set for it yet. Rome and Jewels were going to die together.

Buster took the tape off her mouth and placed the sandwich on the floor. “Eat that shit off the floor! You ain't worth me feeding your ass.”

Jewels hadn't eaten in over twenty-six hours and was so hungry that she didn't care how degraded she felt. She bent down and gobbled down the turkey sandwich in seconds.

“You was hungry, huh, bitch? You piece of shit! Don't worry. In a little while all of this will be over. You and ya boyfriend can get married in hell,” Buster stated coldly.

“Fuck you!” Jewels yelled out with all the force she could muster.

“Fuck me?” Buster pointed at his chest. “No. Fuck you!” He drew his weapon from his waist belt and fired.

Jewels screamed out in agony. The bullet had torn through her leg.

“You and your boyfriend should've never fucked with me and my peoples! He made it like this. Y'all brought it on yo' motherfuckin' selves!” Buster exclaimed. He walked over to her and pointed the gun directly at her head.

Jewels looked up at him and stared him square in his eyes. “Do it, motherfucka!” she barked.

Buster chuckled. “Still wanna be tough, huh?” He applied five pounds of pressure to the trigger of his gun for a second time. This time the bullet ripped into Jewels's shoulder, pinning her up against the wall.

Buster ignored her cries. He was fed up with her cocky attitude and tough demeanor. He grabbed her by the head and brought his pistol down on the side of her face. The blow was enough to end Jewels's cries, but not before she saw the image that she had been looking for ever since she realized she had been kidnapped.

Rome had just passed the last block before his turn came up. He remembered all the spots the girl had told them they could find Los and Buster. He had checked three of the four spots and was certain this had to be it. The GPS on his phone informed him he wasn't too far from the house.

“Shit!” he cursed. It was dark. He hated the dark and really couldn't see at night.

As he drew closer, Rome spotted a white utility van parked closer to the top of the driveway than to the house. He pulled over and parked, then turned around and unzipped the duffel bag he had in his backseat. He pulled the twin .40 calibers out of the duffel. He cocked them both back and took the safety off. He then made his way over to the side of the house. He kneeled down and cupped his hands and looked through the basement's side window. He grimaced at what he saw. Jewels was sitting in a corner, tied up, naked, and bloody. Rome's nostrils flared. He couldn't tell whether she was dead or alive, because her head was slumped over.

Think, Rome.
He tapped his pistol on the side of his head. He knew if he started firing shots through the window, he risked hitting Jewels. And if he missed, he knew he would get her killed, anyway. He wasn't willing to take that chance. Instead, he thought of something else.

Just as he had hoped, when he made his way around the house, he found one of the windows halfway open. Carefully, he opened the window the rest of the way and began to climb in, only to get stuck when he was halfway through. His pants had gotten snagged on something. He struggled to get the lower half of his body through the narrow space. After making it through, he gently landed on the floor and got up, then cautiously exited the room. He made his way to the living room. As he reached it, he could hear Buster's muffled voice coming from the other side of a door by the kitchen. He put his ear to it and heard Buster say something about killing Jewels. His heart jumped. Immediately, Rome drew the conclusion that he wasn't going to let that happen, not to the woman he loved and cared about a great deal. He figured he had to do something now and do it fast.

The only thing he could come up with was to shoot first and ask questions later, but he knew that wasn't a good plan at all. But it was the only plan he had. All he could hope for was to not hit Jewels in the process. For the love of her, that was what he decided to do. Rome took a deep breath and grabbed the doorknob, then began to count to three. He snatched the door open with his guns pointed, ready for action.

The shots brought Jewels back to consciousness. Rome rushed down the steps of the basement with his smoking guns in tow. He lost his footing at the bottom of the steps, just as he tried to leap on Buster. As he stumbled to get to his feet, he noticed the blood all over his hoodie. He had broken his nose when he'd fallen. He continued to struggle to get up. Once on his feet, he staggered to the other side of the room. Buster no longer had his gun, thanks to Rome. He too was a little dazed. Rome had managed to hit him upside his head and knock his pistol out of his hand right before he plunged to the floor. Buster searched the floor for anything that he felt could be used as a weapon. He spotted a thick piece of wood and picked it up, then made his way toward Rome. When he got close enough, he drew the piece of wood back, swung at him, and hit him in the back, knocking him to his knees. He saw the .40 calibers drop out of Rome's hands as he went down, and made an attempt to retrieve one of them.

Rome quickly recovered from the blow when he saw Buster going for his gun. Buster was actually closer to the gun than Rome. Just before he was able to bend over to get the gun, Rome punched Buster right in his midsection. The punch caused him to double over. Both men were now on their knees. Rome was the first to launch another attack. He lunged at Buster. They rolled on the floor now like two female mud wrestlers in a pit. They each struggled to gain the upper hand over the other, but it was like a tug-of-war. One minute Rome was on top, and the next Buster. Remembering the other gun he had possessed, Rome made an attempt to regain possession of it, but each time he tried, Buster stopped him and tried himself to grab the gun. Finally, they both reached out for the weapon at the same time. Buster got ahold of it first.

Jewels started to kick the old radiator to loosen it from the floor so that she could slide her handcuffs off of it. She was still weak and in pain from the gunshots to her leg and shoulder, but she didn't care. Rome was here fighting for her, and now she had to fight for him.

Jewels glanced over as Rome and Buster went blow for blow. They continued to struggle, only this time it was to possess the .40 caliber. Buster managed to pull the gun over, and Rome tried to prevent him from pointing it at him. Rome somehow managed to retrieve his other gun while he continued to fight Buster off. Buster was strong, but pound for pound, Rome was stronger. All four hands were on the one gun now, as they continued to fight for the upper hand. Then, just like that, three shots echoed throughout the basement.

At the same time Jewels had succeeded in freeing herself from the radiator and was quickly removing the ties around her ankles. The shots startled her, and she didn't want to look and see who had gotten shot.

“Shit!” Buster cried out. “Yo' bitch ass shot me!” He was in pain. He had been shot once in the midsection, and he was bleeding profusely.

Rome didn't respond to him. He too had been shot. He had taken two shots to the chest at point-blank range. With what little strength she had, Jewels let out a screeching cry at the sight of Rome. Her cries could be heard throughout the neighborhood as her eyes zeroed in on him as he lay there, squirming on the floor. She was so focused on him that she never noticed Buster. He had crawled over to where Jewels was.

“Come here, bitch!” Buster struggled to stand to his feet and grabbed Jewels by her wounded shoulder. She made a failed attempt to launch an attack, throwing weak kicks and punches at Buster, only to find herself in a death-grip choke hold.

“Don't make me snap your motherfuckin' neck,” he said, threatening her. His words were not worth the breath he'd used to utter them. Jewels continued fighting. Her movements caused Buster to tighten up his grip around her neck. “Calm the fuck down!” He jerked his forearms to emphasize the fact that he meant business.

Still, Jewels ignored him. At this point, she didn't care anymore, and neither did Buster. Jewels began to cough and gag from the sudden pressure being applied to her throat. She could feel herself getting weaker. She closed her eyes and could almost feel the point of no return. But something interrupted the process. The sound of a shot caused Jewels's eyes to shoot open. She could have sworn the bullet whizzed past her ear. The once tight grip around her neck loosened up, and Buster now hid behind her limber body. When she looked over, Rome was lying on his stomach, gripping his gun as tightly as he could, pointing it in her and Buster's direction.

“Nigga, I swear to God, if you don't throw your fucking piece over here, I'll blow this ho's brains out,” Buster said, threatening Jewels's life again.

When Rome looked closely, he saw that Buster was hiding behind the chair that he had put down in the basement so that he could watch Jewels. Buster pulled Jewels over to the chair and sat her down, with his gun pointed at her temple.

“Kill him!” Jewels managed to yell. Just knowing Rome was still alive had given her a sudden burst of energy.

“Shut the fuck up, bitch!” Buster said, hitting Jewels upside the head with the barrel of the gun.

Rome thought quickly. He knew that Buster would kill her, just like he knew that Jewels didn't mind dying, so long as her death was avenged. But Rome didn't want it to go down like that, so he tried another route. He tried to reason with Buster. “Yo, why don't you just take all this shit, and you go your way and we go ours?”

“Nigga, you think somebody stupid? This shit'll never be over. Not until I'm dead or you and this bitch dead. Nah, fuck dat! I ain't trying to hear that shit,” Buster yelled, declining the truce.

Rome had known that he wasn't going to go for that, but he had had to try. Then another thought popped into his head. “Yo, enough motherfuckas got killed already, and enough blood been spilt. I ain't trying to die, and I know you ain't, either.” He hoped his words would make a difference, but somehow he knew it was a shot in the dark.

Buster couldn't help but laugh. “Nah, nigga. You wrong! I am ready to die!” Buster exclaimed in his best Biggie Smalls voice right before he let off three rounds.

Jewels was disoriented when she woke up. She had just come out of surgery. The anesthesia the doctors had given her had her body on cloud number nine. She felt light-headed, her vision was blurred, and the room seemed to be spinning. She thought she had died and had somehow made it to heaven, but she realized that wasn't the case when a sharp pain shot through her side. She had had nightmares that had seemed and had felt so real that she'd thought she might be dreaming, but the sound of someone calling her by her birth name confirmed that she was alive.

“How are you feeling?” the voice asked.

Jewels's eyes were fighting to stay open. Her body felt heavier than normal. She managed to keep her eyes open long enough to see where the voice was coming from.

“Welcome back.”

Jewels was met with a Cheshire cat smile from a young-looking Caucasian woman. She checked her vitals, gave her three pills inside a small cup, and some water. Jewels stared down at the medication. The pills were three different colors and three different sizes.

“What is this I'm taking?” she asked. Her words were a little slurred.

“The white one is Motrin for the pain. The blue and green ones are antibiotics.” The nurse smiled. “How are you feeling?” She went to check the heart monitor for an update.

“I feel fine,” Jewels lied. The truth was, she was sore all over, and her head pounded. To top it off, her mind was flooded with images and flashes of what had taken place.

The door to Jewels's hospital room flew open for a second time. Her vision was clear enough that she could see who the new visitor was who had just entered her room. She was not surprised to see this person.

“Hello. I'm Detective Marks.” A tall, dark-skinned African American man who looked more like a model or a professional bodybuilder than a policeman waved and introduced himself at the same time.

The nurse smiled and returned his hello. Jewels, on the other hand, said nothing.

“Am I interrupting?” He directed his words to the nurse.

“Just finishing up,” the nurse answered. “She's all yours,” she added with another smile.

Detective Marks nodded to the nurse in passing as he walked over to the side of Jewels's bed. Jewels eyed him as he approached.

“Not gonna take up too much of your time,” he announced. “I know you need to get your rest so you regain your strength.”

His words caused Jewels to face him. “Thanks.” Her tone was low, and she sounded a little groggy. She was not in the mood to talk to Detective Marks, or to anyone else, for that matter. She just wanted to be left alone with her thoughts. She needed to figure out what all had happened and remember how she had gotten to the hospital in the first place. “I just want to be left alone,” she told the detective.

“I understand,” Detective Marks replied. “But first”—he pulled out his pen and pad—“I need to know who did this to you.”

Jewels nodded. But the truth was, she had no intention of assisting him in any way.
What little I do know, you'll never know,
she told herself.

“Again, my name is Detective Marks.” He had already reached into his inside suit jacket pocket and pulled out his card. He extended it to Jewels.

Jewels took the card, looked at it, then handed it back and turned her head the other way. Her reaction let the detective know that he was not about to get any cooperation. It was a trick, a test he had been putting people through since he was just a rookie in the crime investigation unit. If they accepted his card, most of the time they had something to say. The ones who didn't want to talk never took his card. He knew those were the ones who played by the rules. Detective Marks had already done a little background check on Jewels and had discovered she had had a life of hard knocks, so despite her beauty, there was no doubt in his mind that she was going to give him the minimum, if that. Still, it was his job.

He placed the card on the nightstand beside her. “I'll put it over here for now.” He looked at the bloody gauze taped to her shoulder. “What happened to you?”

Jewels rolled her eyes and took a deep breath. She was trying to keep her composure to get through the formalities, but the detective's presence annoyed her. “I don't remember anything. Everything is a blur,” she lied.

The detective studied her. He knew she was lying. “Well, an officer tells me someone dropped you off here.”

His words caught Jewels by surprise.
Dropped off? By who?
The detective now had her attention. He knew things she didn't, and she needed to find out what he knew.

“Who?” she asked.

“Your guess would be better than mine,” he replied.

Jewels searched his face for the truth. She had dealt with enough lying men in her profession to know when one was lying. But she concluded that he was telling her the truth.

“Was I the only one brought in?” she asked. She knew she was opening a door by asking that question.

The detective's right eyebrow rose. He thought the question was a very strange one. “Why would you think that?” he asked. “Is there something you remember?”

“Not that I'm aware of.”

“Humph.” He shifted positions and began to play with his beard. “You have no idea who would have or could have done this to you? Looks like whoever did this meant business, like they were angry about something.”

His words caught Jewels's attention. “No! Why would I protect someone who did me like this?” Jewels became tense. The beeping on the blood pressure machine picked up speed. “I'm sure it was a case of mistaken identity or a drive-by shooting or something. Ain't nobody after me. There's no reason for them to be.”

The nurse rushed in when she heard the accelerated beeping. “All right, Detective. I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you to leave.”

Detective Marks looked at Jewels. “You have my card. If you think of or remember anything, give me a call. Any time of the day. It doesn't matter.”

Jewels rolled her eyes again and nodded her head nonchalantly, then threw her hand over her face, like she had the worst headache in the world.

“Where's my clothes? I need to get out of here,” Jewels said as soon as he left.

She demanded that the nurse discharge her. She knew it was just a matter of time. The longer she stayed there, the more likely it was that the inquisitive detective would put some things together, she believed. He had said someone had dropped her off. Which meant he wouldn't stop until he found out who that someone was.

“I can't, sweetie. You need to stay here and get some rest. The doctor is the only one who can give the order to let you go,” the nurse informed her.

Jewels thought back to her last hospital visit. “But you can't hold me against my will.”

“That's true. But why would you want to put yourself at risk like that? They want to keep you for a couple more days, just to make sure the bleeding is under control and you're healing properly.” She placed a light snack on a tray and pushed it toward the bed. “Listen, why don't you nibble on this, get a little bit of rest? Then we'll see how you feel.”

Jewels thought for a moment. She was dead tired and really didn't feel like moving a muscle. “I can do that. But can you please do me a favor and tell me if by any chance my bag made it in here with me?”

The nurse twisted her lips. “It did. Let me guess. You want your cell phone.” The nurse looked at her and shook her head.

Jewels tried to form a smile, but it was weak. “Can I use it please? I really do have to let some people know my whereabouts.”

“Now, you know you're not supposed to use those in here.” She liked Jewels. She didn't know what her situation was, but Jewels reminded her of her own daughter. “I'm going to do it for you.” She walked over to where all Jewels's belongings were and grabbed the cell phone from her bag. She walked back over to the bed and placed the phone in her hand. “Promise, you won't be too long. I can get in trouble,” she said.

Jewels nodded.

“I'll be back in fifteen minutes for your next vitals check,” the nurse told her, then made a beeline for the door to the room.

“What's your name?” Jewels called out just before the nurse exited the room.

“Tara,” the nurse turned and said.

“Thank you, Tara.”

“You're welcome,” replied Nurse Tara before she closed the door behind her.

Jewels wasted no time scrolling through her phone. Little by little, more of what had happened to her resurfaced. She knew Buster had kidnapped her, she remembered that Rome had come for her, and she remembered shots ringing out and being hit in the shoulder and the leg. But that was it.

He's the only person who could have dropped me off,
Jewels thought as she scrolled through her phone for Rome's number. She found the number and dialed it. After the third ring, the voice she so loved came through her receiver. Jewels's heart skipped a beat.

“What's good? You know what to do,” Rome's voice mail said.

Jewels cursed and hung up. She knew there was no need to leave a message, because he was bad at checking them.
Rome, where are you?
she wondered.

She understood why he would have had to drop her off. She knew he'd never leave her anywhere unless he had to. Jewels closed her eyes and tried to relax her mind. She traveled back to the chain of events from the moment Buster snatched her out of the van and forced her to give him head to when she first laid eyes on Rome after he found her. She grimaced at the images of Buster that appeared in her mind. She squeezed her eyes tightly to fast-forward the movie of the repeated rape he had inflicted on her. The horrific images were replaced with Rome's face. Jewels smiled, remembering how her heart had melted when he came rushing down the stairs of the basement where she was being held captive. His voice echoed in her head. She could hear him asking,
Babe, you okay
? She could see Rome pointing his twin cannons in Buster's direction.

Her heart sped up. She could also see Buster staring back at him, unfazed. She snarled as she relived how he had darted over to her, grabbed her up by the neck, and used her as a human shield. She could still feel the pressure he had applied to her throat. Just like in the flashback, Jewels couldn't breathe. It was as if Buster was literally choking her at that moment. Her eyes shot open. It was too painful to watch this movie. But she knew she had to continue. She braced herself, then closed her eyes and traveled back to the basement. She jerked from the sudden flash of Rome and Buster tussling over a gun. She wondered how Buster had gotten so close to Rome.
Where's his other gun
? she questioned, as it seemed Buster was gaining an advantage over him. Jewels wanted to jump in the scene and join Rome in killing Buster. The loud boom startled her. One man stood; the other dropped to the floor. Jewels's heart nearly sank into her stomach as Rome fell face-first.

“No!” she yelled out. She even let out a cry in the hospital bed as she relived the incident. The next image that appeared in her mind gave Jewels hope. As the image was displayed in her mind, the scene came back to her. Jewels watched herself scramble to get the gun, which was closer to her than it was to Buster, as he raised the one he had just used to shoot Rome. An array of shots rang out. The last thing Jewels remembered was grabbing the door handle before she passed out.

Where is Rome? Is he dead
? There were so many questions still unanswered. Jewels had to get out of the hospital immediately if she wanted answers. There was no one else she could call. Again, she was on her own. She played back the conversation with the detective.

“Someone dropped you off . . . ,” he'd said.

Jewels's thoughts were interrupted by a soft knock on the door. She figured it was Nurse Tara.

“Come in, Ms. Tara.”

“How are you?”

Tears formed instantly in her eyes at the sight of Rome in a wheelchair, with bandages around his chest. She tried to get out of bed, but the pain prevented her.

“I thought . . . I thought . . . What—”

“Don't worry about that now. I told you before that I always have your back.” Rome wheeled himself closer to her and held her hand.

“What happens now?”

 

 

To Be Continued