Читать книгу Knock Knock Whooz There? - Marvin Griffin - Страница 6

Several hours later, six killers, Famous, Equal, Justice, Religion, Burden, and Glory left Brick's restaurant to meet the early day heat you normally found at the break of the day in Miami. It was twelve noon and the steamy sun set a blazed over the horizon causing milky waves to seep from the asphalt.

The partiated crew stood right outside Brick's restaurant for about five minutes or so as they tried to figure out there next move. So far everything was going according to plan. They had convinced Brick to get back in the game on a promissory note that it would pay off for all of them in the long run. Since they were confident Brick was going to deliver on his end of the bargain there was nothing else to be said. But the drugs were just one part of the scheme of things. If they intended on fulfilling on their end of the bargain they had to execute certain prongs that was stipulated in the blue print. - street hustler's manual one of which was to install fear in your competition.

Brick, Faith, and I hung behind. We watched the crude mugs of the crew as the six of them insinuated their own hybrid ideas about the task they had before them. Each facial expression told a different story. Famous just wanted fifteen minutes, Equal feigned equality, Justice acquired just that, Religion, fathom a moral association, Glory looked for anything he could glorify, and Burden simply felt like the weight of the world was on his shoulders. I had my own story too. And I was finally glad I had Brick and Faith to their selves so I could try to talk some sense in their head. I couldn't make him understand.

"Shit it's hotter than a mutha fucka out here." Justice announced.

"I know dats right, so what's up now, what we 'bout to do now?" asked Glory. He directed his question of Equal. While they talked Burden noticed a late model red Honda Accord LX pulled to the curve. He watched the vehicle with unabashed attention until he noticed a young lady wearing a pair of apple bottom blue jeans with a red apple on the right pocket and a white T-shirt that read right above her full size breast: Free Marvin. On the back of the T-shirt was two photos of the dreaded head Marvin the shirt spoke of. One before he was locked up at a Maze concert, the before and the other during his incarceration, the after. The young lady also rocked a head full of pick tails and a pair of old school blue Puma with the red stripes. But that wasn't what made Burden rise and want to get to know her better, but all that ass she had in them jeans. Burden drifted behind her walking the short length of the sidewalk.

"My nigga where the fuck you going?" Religion asked. "We ain't got time for you to be hot nutting 'round. We tryna get dis paper, we can get pussy later."

"Hol' up I just want to get the seven digits." Burden hollered back. He never noticed the inscriptions the girl had on her shirt. But when he caught up with her and got a closer look he froze. "Marvin…" Burden gasped. He started to turn around, but what for? He was only going to ask the girl her name.

"Tangela," the girl replied sarcastically. It was obvious she didn't want to be bothered with anyone, particularly a man. Her mind screamed can't you read? "I got a man." Tangela thought. The more she played hard to get the more Burden pursued her. Both of t-hem disappeared in the Arab corner store. By that time several other cars started to pull in front of Brick's restaurant. So the rest of the crew was forced to move down the block a little.

"Man, dat's all that nigga think 'bout is pussy." Equal said, blushing. He looked back to see Burden making his way inside the store behind the girl. A devilish smile slushed across his face as he grabbed his crotch. "Shiit that ain't a bad idea. That's what I need to be doing trying to get my nuts out of pawn." Burden thought.

Don't tell 'em nothin' one day he gone go after the wrong bitch and she gone give dat nigga something that's going to cause his whole dick to fall off." Justice joked. Everybody laughed.

"I need to go by my old girl house first and put on some fresh gear and let the old girl see me. Then we need to go scope a few spots out; see who moving what and where. We'll roll through 15th Ave first an' see what's poppin' up there. Who's running shit up there now anyway?" Equal quizzed the crew.

"Ya know dat nigga Duke still got the main spot locked down, but'cha know it's so many other niggas up there doing lil shit." Glory explained.

Burden stepped back on the scene flashing a phone number on a torn brown paper bag.

"Boy I told you I was gone come up." Burden boasted. Religion shook his head and said.

"Boy pussy gone be the death of you one day."

"Shit nigga if I die of anything I want it to be pussy." Famous spat. Equal laughed.

"I know that's right homey." Burden said. He stuck his balled fist out to Famous for some dap. They bumped fist.

"What about the other niggas up there?" Justice piped up. "What we tryna take over the whole Ave."

"Not trying to," Equal straightened him, "Going to. And no we ain't gone take over the whole Ave, 'cause we gotta have competition so just the main spot where Duke at."

"Well dat shouldn't be no sweat." Famous said to everyone's surprise as he fold his flip cell phone closed. It was a burn out. He placed it in his pocket. "'Cause dat nigga ain't got no street credit out here no way soft ass nigga." Everybody shot Famous a curious look like what you know that we don't know nigga.

"Oh yeah and why you say dat." Equal asked.

"Oh, I forgot, ain't dat nigga Murph up there too doin' it?"

"Yeah. I think he is," Religion answered.

"Dat still shouldn't be shit." Famous said again reaffirming his initial statement. Now Famous facial expression was different. He cracked his knuckles.

"What's up my nigga? Fame tell the crew what you know." Equal questioned.

"I can tell you this; any nigga can get in the dope game, even soft niggas. But put that same nigga around a bunch of killers and he'll look fierce, but call 'em out and he'll bitch slap up. Watch!"

It seemed like the longer the crew stood there the hotter it got and Religion had just about taken all he could take.

"My nigga we can talk 'bout dis shit in the car or when we get to your old girl's crib or something 'cause a nigga gun burn up standing out here in this hot sun."

Justice and Equal hustled across 22nd in route to Justice's truck as everybody else walked to their car. As soon as they were on the other side of the street Justice pressed his alarm key to unlock the doors. He continued to make his way to the driver's door and climbed in immediately. Equal climbed in on the passenger side right behind him.

"Boy you still got dis Bronco?" Equal said questionably.

"Ya know it. I ain't gone never get rid of the Bronco. Shiit nigga you know how many young hoes I done fucked in here." Equal and Justice exchanged a casual laugh as they glanced around the truck's interior. Equal couldn't help but notice a quilt and pillow in the back seat. A sly grin formed across his face as he wondered just how many.

Justice cranked the Bronco up, looked into his side mirror and gradually eased out into traffic. He clicked his Alpine sound system on, smashed his cigarette lighter in, and propped a half smoke in his mouth. As they cruised up 22nd avenue a Goody Mob hit, Soul Food came through the woofers and tweeters. The base from the music shook the entire truck and everyone inside it. Justice cut his eyes over at Equal as he hit his joint. He noticed Equal glaring out the window. Something was wrong with him, he just had this look on his face. Maybe the music was too loud. Justice turned it down. Then he put his joint out, maybe that was the problem. But Equal continued to glare and Justice couldn't figure out what his problem was. All he knew was that he was about to be a rich man so he needed to loosen up. And he was the one who sequenced the entire lick.

Justice made an illegal turn down State Road 9, and the all white Bronco traveled towards the bus terminal. I-95 was also connected to State Road 9, about a mile down. That's the interstate Justice had in mind to take to the city. He could see the highway in his mind's eye. But Equal caught on fast.

"My nigga you don't think I want to see da city? That's all I been looking at all night is highway." Equal snapped.

"Oh my bad dawg, I'll turn dis mutha fucka around and we'll roll through the hoods. I don't know what the fuck I was thinking about anyway."

Justice sat up in his seat and looked in his rearview mirror as he broke the speed on the truck. "70.60. .50. .40. .30.. 20.. Justice knew that only way he could head back in the other direction was he had to violate. There wasn't a median strip on State Road 9 only grass that separated the two highways and it was for official use only. But that was a small thing to a giant. Justice's whole life was standardized from one form of violating the law to another. "I mean who in the fuck in the hood pardoned rules anyway? If there was rules on signs or whatever – around they were supposedly there to govern the behavior of black folk and/or there to place statutory limitations on their God given right to roam the earth, they were made to be broken." Justice pondered.

"Definitely! All you had to do was watch your back and don't get caught."

Justice didn't have any intentions on getting caught doing anything. He thought he'd made sure that it wasn't a police insight when he pulled to the shoulder of the highway and drove across the prohibited grass. Then no sooner after he got back on the road did he see a state trooper coming up from behind flashing their police lights.

"Oh shit, nine!" Justice berated his self as Equal turned and looked back over his shoulder at the state trooper approaching swiftly.

"Man where in the fuck them crackas come from?" Equal questioned. But Justice never responded. Now he had other things to worry about other than wasting time on rhetorical questions. As Justice peered out his rearview mirror he ordered Equal to pass him his 9mm in the glove compartment. Equal followed his orders. He made sure it was cooked before he passed it to him. Justice could see the brake lights flicker on and off on Religion's black Acura Legend as it zipped by with Fame, Burden, Glory, and himself inside. He could tell the way they were looking that they understood trouble was in the mix. And they were right because Justice refused to cede any ground to his adversaries, that's police or unofficial. He'd promised his self a long time ago he wasn't ever going back to prison. But as a two time felon that's exactly where it looked like he was heading with Equal as his codefendant with the semi weapons he had in his truck. And I said weapons. Because no sooner after Justice finished telling Equal to pass him his gun out the glove compartment he ordered him to grab the chopper AK-47 from under the back seat.

As Equal rooted around in the chair's cushion he stole a look of the rest of the crew as they made a u-turn behind them. The state trooper was getting closer and closer and Equal could feel Justice breaking his speed. He thought about the blue print-street hustlers manual and what it said about situations like this.

"You found it!" Justice barked.

In response, Equal launched back across the chair, AK in hand ready to blast away. "Man this shit ain't happening." Equal thought. "Not on a nigga's first day home. We didn't even get a chance to hit that lick and we already about to smoke a fuckin' cop."

"What's the plan? What's the fuckin' plan?" Equal shouted. Spurts of spit escaped his mouth.

"We gotta do 'em!" Justice responded panicky.

"Pull over. Pull dis mutha fucka ova now!" Equal shouted. In his mind he'd formed the notion if they were going to kill a cop they had to do it where they was. They couldn't wait until they got too far into the city limits. He had the best plan. "Do it now!"

Justice broke his speed completely and then pulled to the side of the road. As soon as the trooper pulled over Equal was going to ease out the passenger door and open fire. From there they would escape, burn the truck and carry on with their plans.

"What the fuck dem niggas doing? Why are they pulling over?" Famous shouted as they cruised up behind them. Justice and Equal waited patiently. They anticipated the trooper to either pull on the side of them or behind the truck. But neither scenario happened. In fact, the state trooper didn't stop at all, but zoomed right pass the Bronco never once breaking its speed. Justice and Equal glared at each other for a second in disbelief. Then Equal's head fell back into the headrest. "A false alarm." Equal thought. The relief he felt was beyond words. His eyes narrowed and darkened up the highway looking at the back end of the state trooper's vehicle. He watched it until it made a sharp right on 22nd and vanished from his eyesight. No doubt the trooper was running off to another call. That's all Equal could think of as he glared down at the assault rifle cradled in his hands. "Man dat was close..." Justice thought. Then he burst out laughing.

Moments later the state trooper drove the vehicle right up on the sidewalk in front of Brick's restaurant, parked, and exited the vehicle. It was a normal routine for her. Everyday around lunch time Brick expected her to show up and patronized his business and order a chicken wing and french fries platter. This is the only place she took her lunch breaks. Her and Brick had built up that type of relationship and they were real good friends. In fact, she knew if she didn't show up or was a little late it would offend Brick and that's the last thing she wanted to do. That's why she was so much in a hurry to get there.

Usually she made it to the restaurant around twelve, but it was 12:30 now. "Brick is gone be mad," Officer Toni thought.

Surprisingly though, Brick wasn't only connected to the underworld. He had friends in high places, the majority of which wore uniforms of some sort and made arrests at times at his own approval and at times at his dissent.

Officer Toni made her way through the door with a guilty smile on her face almost as wide as the gap between her two front teeth. Brick was standing behind the counter as she expected he would be. He looked down at his watch as soon as Toni made it through the door. She could read the expression on his face. "You late."

"I know, I know boo… I'm late. But I had to finish up a report I was doing for a citation I'd issued." Toni said almost breathless. "I had to rush to get here." She added. Then she turned around and glanced over her shoulder.

"What's so funny?" Brick asked.

"Nothin' chile. I was just laughing at something that just happened."

"What? I wanna laugh too." Brick said. "Sense you late you might as well amuse me."

"It ain't nothin'. When I was coming down State Road 9 on my way here these guys must've thought I was pulling them over. Some guys in an all white Bronco with dark tinted windows. They pulled over and I just drove right pass them." Toni couldn't stop laughing as she told Brick what happened. Brick just stared at her. Then she said.

"I should've pulled them over 'cause they made an illegal u-turn. But I was already late an' I didn't want to hear your mouth."

"An all white Bronco?" Brick asked, as he remembered the only Bronco in the city that fit that description and who it belonged to. Justice clicked in his head and then Famous, Religion, Equal, Burden, and Glory. Then it dawned on him as he looked at Toni thinking nothing good could've come out of that situation.

"Girl you be careful out there in them streets, you hear me?" Brick said fatherly. All Toni could do was blush as she rubbed the sided of Brick's handsome black face. She couldn't help having a genuine love for him. Even though there was a conflict of interest in their life styles she was blindly attracted to him. "And he is so loquacious and beautiful." Toni thought.

Brick was the only black she'd seen in here entire life who had money green eyes. He even had a voice so deep and sexy it made her cream in her panties. "Well, whenever I'm wearing some." Toni thought. Now since she was on duty she had a pair on but she'll take them off for him. If only she could get him to see past her plus size she might be able get him to creep.

"So how 'bout I come by your mom's place tonight when I'm off?" Toni asked.

"Brick." Faith called out as she made her way through the door to see Toni's hand flush up against the side of Brick's face. Faith paused as Brick took a step back and Toni quickly removed her hand. Toni grimaced.

"That'll be $10.95" Brick stammered. Faith faked a smile as she gingerly handed Brick the cordless phone.

"Hello."

The closer Equal and Justice got to Equal's house, the more happier he got knowing he was about to finally see his mom. He hadn't seen her in years. A wry smile formed across his face as he thought about the obvious surprise and greeting he was going to get from her. He was also suddenly reminded of the fact he hadn't talk to his mother in years as well. It wasn't because he didn't call, he did. She just never accepted any of the collect calls he made. He always wondered what was up with that. Now he was about to find out.

"Hol' up dawg let me check an' see if she home first." Equal approached the door and knocked on it three times. In a matter of seconds Equal's mom opened the door to see her only son's face standing there. Equal was surprised when he noticed the expression on her face changed from delight to disgust.

"Ma!" Equal said, as he stretched his arms out for a hug. Equal was more surprised when his mother walked up to him and slapped him in the face as hard as she could.

"Equal why did you have to kill that girl? She didn't deserve to die like that!" Equal's mother cried. "I hate I had you, you ain't nothing but the devil!"