27

Harlem walked into Delaware County Memorial Hospital with his usual scowl. He heard that Crown was still alive and he needed to get a word with him. He moved through Security and the nurses’ station with a concealed Glock and dared anybody to stop him.

“Sir, excuse me, sir. You just can’t go through there,” a nurse called out, trying to stop him.

Her pleas fell on deaf ears. Harlem pushed through the doors to the emergency room and scanned the room quickly. The only things he saw were doctors, patients, and all kinds of other shit that he didn’t need to see.

Harlem stood out in the emergency room like Al Sharpton at a Klan gathering. He wore a long, dark parka that was wet from the rain, dark jeans and black Timberlands. Everyone in the ER quickly took notice of the harrowing figure among them and grew wary.

Harlem was about to start searching room to room for Crown but stopped in his tracks when he noticed two Philadelphia cops in the distance, talking to a patient. He knew it would be stupid to act a fool. Soon, the nurse who tried to stop him earlier appeared in the emergency room with two security guards who gave Harlem contemptuous looks.

“You got a pass to be in here, sir?” one of the guards asked.

Harlem returned the man’s hardened gaze with his own, knowing that if they were in another place, at another time, the two toy cops would be dead where they stood.

“I’m lookin’ for a friend,” Harlem said.

“Well, you need to sign your name at the front desk and give us your friends first and last name. You just can’t be charging past us like that. We got rules here, sir, so c’mon, let’s go,” the second security guard said to him sternly.

Harlem smirked at the two toy cops and wished he could kill them both but he let his murderous temper subside. “A’ight. Whatever!” The two uniformed cops were now paying attention to Harlem and watched him closely.

Harlem followed behind the guards to the front desk. Harlem hated to wait, but he did. He took a seat in the waiting area and eyed the two security guards like they were prey to him, making one of them kind of nervous by the look he was giving them. He wanted to kill both of them for coming at him disrespectfully, but he knew their deaths would have to wait. He had to see about Crown. He wanted the west side of Philly to run red with his vengeance. Harlem knew in his gut that YB and Rufus were behind the shooting, but he needed to get Crown’s approval and assurance before he could strike back.

Unfortunately, Harlem got word that Crown fell into a coma and the doctors were doing everything that they could to save his life.

Harlem hated to hear the news and knew when Crown awoke Philly would not be the same for a lot of people. Harlem was a killer, and he knew not to strike at those responsible for Crown’s shooting until he personally got the word from his boss’s lips that YB and Rufus were the ones involved. Fortunately for Rufus and his peoples, Harlem left town for a while and vowed to come back to settle the score with his enemies.