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Kesha lay in bed counting up the bag that Te’Qui had gotten, which was his first half of the payment for the job Big Will had hired him for. While she was busy doing all of this, Te’Qui was standing before the nightstand mirror strapping on his Kevlar bulletproof vest. He looked to each side that he strapped down, with red webbed, weed slanted eyes. Once he finished putting on the body armor, he adjusted it so it would fit him comfortably. Next, he slipped a black sweatshirt over his head and tucked his red ski-mask into his right back pocket. He grabbed his Glizzy and slid it inside of his deep pocket. Then, he picked up two extra magazines and slid them into his other pocket. Right after, he picked up the throwaway cellular that Big Will’s people had dropped off along with the money. He was to use the cell phone to record the shit he was going to do to them old buster-ass niggaz that had ambushed Killa Tay. He had already gotten the username and password to Killa Tay’s Instagram, so he was ready for the night’s mission at hand.
Te’Qui sat down on the bed and looked at Kesha count up the last of the money. Once she was finished, she wrote the amount down on the small notepad lying beside her leg. Once she finished, she scooted over to Te’Qui and showed him the total amount he’d saved. Smiles spread across the couples’ lips staring at nearly one million dollars.
“You see that, babe? We’re $350,000 away from your goal.” Kesha put her arm around Te’Qui’s shoulders as she held the notepad before his eyes. He took the notepad from her hand and took a good look at it.
“That’s hard work right there, baby, hard-mothafuckin’-work.” Te’Qui declared, still looking over the numbers before him in black and white.
“Yep. My baby don’t play when he sets his mind to something. I got myself a hard working, strong, handsome black man,” she stared at him admiringly. She genuinely loved any and everything about him, even his flaws. Little momma couldn’t see herself being with anyone else besides him. As far as she was concerned, he was going to be the man that she spent the rest of her life with.
“Once I get that million, I’m done. We gettin’ the fuck outta the hood. We gon’ raise our lil’ family in the A.” he switched hands with the notepad and rubbed on her stomach. Kesha chuckled and rubbed the opposite side of her stomach, looking down at it smiling.
Te’Qui had been knee deep in the streets snatching up every dollar that he could to obtain that million dollar goal. The plan was for him and Kesha to move down to Atlanta, buy a nice affordable six bedroom house and a Benz station wagon for their family. They had it in mind to open up their own soul food restaurant. It all had been Kesha’s idea. She had wanted to be a chef and run her own spot ever since she was twelve-years-old. Now, here Te’Qui was, trying to make it all come true for her. There wasn’t any wonder why she loved the young nigga as much as she did.
Kesha put the rubber bands back around the money she’d counted up and shoved it inside of the Gucci knapsack that Big Will’s carrier had brought it in. She then passed it to Te’Qui who carried it over to the closet, opening it. Once he pulled the drawstring that turned on the light bulb hanging from the ceiling, he moved the clothes back that were hanging on the rack. He then kneeled down to a digital safe, glancing over his shoulder to make sure Kesha wasn’t there trying to get a peek at the pass code he was about to enter. Although little momma was his heart, he wasn’t anybody’s fool. He knew a mothafucka, no matter how much they claim to love you, would body your ass for enough money.
Once he didn’t see Kesha peering over his shoulder, Te’Qui went back to the key-pad before him. After he cleared his throat, he punched in the code to access the digital safe. The door popped open, and he started placing the g-stacks inside of the safe, alongside the other stacks of money already there. Once he was done unloading the knapsack, he sat it inside of the closet and shut the door of the safe. He put the clothes on the rack back in their rightful place and shut the closet door behind him.
“Baby.” Kesha called out to the father of her unborn child.
“’Sup, momma?” Te’Qui asked.
“Well, you said there gonna be like three niggaz you gotta G-check, right? Well, I was thinking that maybe you should holla at T.J. You know, to have someone there to watch cho’ back? You know he ain’t no punk about his shit, and he won’t hesitate to bust them thangz if he gots to.”
“Hold up. You holdin’ this nigga’z dick or somethin’?” Te’Qui gave her the side eye. He wasn’t feeling her complimenting another nigga’z gangsta.
Kesha’s brows furrowed and she waved him off like he was talking non-sense, saying, “Boy, please. Only nigga dick I’m holding is yours. All I’m tryna do is look out for you. I don’t want nothing to happen to yo’ black ass ‘cause I know I’d be sick.”
“Ain’t nothin’ ‘bouta happen to me. I’m straight. You just worry too much.”
“With the life you caught up in, can you blame a bitch for worrying about chu. The last thing I want is for something to happen to you and our child grows up without a father, like I did. When I think about him or her growing up without a father, it breaks my heart all over again and I get sad, babe. Real sad.” Her vision obscured as her eyes pooled with tears and her bottom lip trembled. “Why you think I’m always tryna roll with you to have yo’ back? At least I know if something happens to you, then I’ll be there. That way, if niggaz take you out, then they gon’ have to see me to. ‘Cause I’d rather be dead than live in this world without chu.” She became teary eyed.
“Lil’ momma,” Te’Qui stared into her eyes as he caressed the side of her face. He watched as she blinked back tears. “You ain’t ever gotta worry about livin’ in this world without me. ‘Cause I ain’t goin’ nowhere without you and that lil’ one of ours. That’s on my momma and daddy’s grave.”
“Promise me, then.” she said. Her eyes were focused on the collar of his sweatshirt as she fondled with it.
“Promise you what, beautiful?”
“That chu never gonna die, and leave me and our baby alone.”
“Look at me,” Te’Qui told her. She looked right up at him. “I promise I’m not gonna die and leave you and our baby. I’ma real-ass nigga, and I’m too hard to kill. These busta-ass niggaz I’m goin’ to holla at can’t fade me.”
After telling her that, Te’Qui cupped her face and kissed her on both cheeks and then her forehead. Afterwards, he threw his hood on his head and grabbed his trench coat from off the bed. After he slipped the trench coat on, he lifted up his mattress and removed the long, black shotgun with the strap. Chick-Chick! He cocked that fat mothafucka and gave his lady a kiss goodbye. Heading towards the door, he hid the shotgun inside of his trench coat and kept on strolling. He’d almost disappeared through the doorway when Kesha called him back, stopping him in his tracks. He looked over his shoulder at her.
“What’s up?” Te’Qui asked as he threw his head back.
“I love you.” she told him as tears rolled down her cheeks.
He grinned at her and said, “I love you, too. I’ll be back soon. Okay?”
“Okay.”
Te’Qui flashed her a smile and she flashed him a weak one back. He then continued out of the door to carry out his mission.
***
Te’Qui hit up all of the locations that Killa Tay’s fans had DM’d him through his Instagram. The last one he went to was a house below the poverty line. The house looked like it was in terrible need of a paint job. Its fence was rusting and it had a dirt patch lawn. A ‘76 navy blue Buick Regal on “24 chrome rims was parked inside of the driveway. The lights were on inside of the house and Te’Qui saw someone walk past one of the windows. Seeing this, he knew that there was a good chance that the fools he was looking for were inside. So he parked two houses down from the house he was scoping out and murdered the engine.
Te’Qui popped open his glove-box and removed his red ski-mask. He then hopped out of the car and slammed the door shut. He walked around to the rear of the vehicle, opened the trunk and pulled out the shotgun. Once he held the shotgun down low, he looked around to make sure that no one had seen him remove it from his trunk. Having seen the streets was clear of lurking eyes, Te’Qui moved up the sidewalk cautiously, keeping a close eye on his surroundings. He snuck inside of the yard of the house that the fools were at that robbed Killa Tay. Hunched over, he hurried over to the side of the house and pulled his ski-mask down over his face. Using one hand, he adjusted the mask so that he could see out of the eye holes. Once he’d done this, he turned around and slowly peered over into the window. Through it, he saw a nigga playing X-Box while another one was cooking something on the stove. Exactly what he was cooking? He didn’t know, nor did he give a fuck. He was there to make an example out of niggaz.
Te’Qui took his head from out of the window and crept to the front of the house. He placed his ear to the door and listened in for a minute. He could hear Future’s Fuck up some commas, as well as Madden which homeboy was playing from the couch. Te’Qui cradled his shotgun and took a step back from the front door. He lifted his leg and bent it back, aiming to kick the door in at its lock.
Boom!
Te’Qui kicked the front door in and nearly knocked it off its hinges. His forceful entree caused Mann to drop his controller and say ‘Oh shit’. When the nigga went for his gun, which was lying on coffee table, Te’Qui blasted the table top. The pint of Hennessy it held exploded and the shreds of a magazine went up into the air. Seeing Skinny, the nigga who was standing over the stove cooking something, move out of the corner of his eye, Te’Qui whipped his shotgun around. As soon as he did, Skinny threw a coffee pot of murky water and crack at him. The coffee pot connected with his head and he let off a frivolous round at the carpeted floor. Te’Qui staggered back, wincing. By the time he regained his equilibrium and turned around, he discovered the nigga that was playing Madden charging at him.
Before Te’Qui could blast on his monkey-ass, Mann was grabbing hold of his shotgun. The men gritted and frowned at one another as they tussled over the weapon. While they were in their power struggle, Te’Qui saw Skinny pull his gun from the small of his back. He observed him cock it and point it. A danger alarm rang loud and angrily inside of Te’Qui’s head. He saw Skinny with his gun trying to draw a bead on him. Acknowledging this, Te’Qui tried his best to keep Mann within firing range of his homeboy’s gun. That way, he wouldn’t wind up getting shot himself.
“You fucked up and broke into the wrong house, cuz! Now, that’s yo’ ass!” Mann told Te’Qui as they wrestled for control over the shotgun. “Skinny, shoot ‘em! Shoot this mothafucka!”
“I can’t draw a bead on ‘em! You in the way!” Skinny said, trying his best to get a shot at Te’Qui. “Fuck it.” he lowered his gun at his side and sped walked towards them so he could shoot Te’Qui in the head at point blank range.
“Awww, hurry up, this mothafucka strong!” Mann called out to his homeboy.
Seeing that Skinny was getting dangerously close to them, Te’Qui knew he had to do something fast or that was his black ass. He kneed Mann in his balls which doubled him over, making him grab a handful of himself. Right after, he blasted Skinny in his leg. The nigga threw his head back wailing at the top of his lungs, displaying all of the teeth inside of his mouth. He then fell to the floor, dropping his gun and bawling in pain.
When Mann looked back and saw his homeboy was at the nigga in the ski-mask mercy, he knew he had to act fast or they both were going to be dead. He hollered out a battle cry and tackled Te’Qui up against the same door he’d kicked open, slamming it shut. Te’Qui, then, slammed the stock of his shotgun into his back, causing him to holler out in pain. He then kneed him in the stomach and struck him across the jaw with the stock. As soon as he fell to the carpeted floor, Te’Qui took the liberty to stomp his fucking head.
“Bitch-ass mothafucka!”
Blam! Blam! Blam!
Te’Qui’s head was thrown back from the impact of bullets crashing into his chest. He staggered backwards, dropping the shotgun and falling slumped against the wall. His head was bowed and his right hand was lying on his lap. His movements had ceased and he was silent.
The only sounds inside of the living room were the Madden video game and Mann and Skinny’s groans of agony. Half Dead, the nigga that had just opened fire on Te’Qui, lowered his long nose nickel plated revolver, as its barrel wafted with smoke. He was in the bathroom taking a shit when everything popped off inside of the living room. He sat his pistol down on top of a tall speaker and went about the task of zipping up his jeans and buckling his belt.
Half Dead looked around at his homeboys as he slipped his leather belt into its metal buckle. From the expressions on his homeboys’ faces he could tell that they were in a great deal of pain. “Y’all niggaz all right, man?” he asked of their current conditions.
“Fuck no, I ain’t all right, fool!” Skinny winced as he held his busted, bleeding leg. “That cocksucka shot me in my fucking leg! Aaaahhh!”
“Shiiiit, nigga, you leaking something awful, I’ma call 9-1-1.” Half Dead went to grab the telephone, but Skinny calling him back stopped him.
“Don’t call ‘em yet! We gotta get this dead mothafucka outta here, and stash that dope somewhere.” Mann said as he scrambled to his feet slowly, holding the side of his head. He was a little dizzy from Te’Qui whipping his ass.
He’s right, Half Dead, get that shit from off the kitchen table.” Skinny, who was still holding his busted leg, wincing, threw his head towards the kitchen. “Once you hide that shit, help Mann dump this nigga somewhere.” he spoke of Te’Qui, who was still sitting slumped against the wall.
Half Dead grabbed his revolver and tucked it at the small of his back. He then ran inside of the kitchen where he saw a box of bacon soda, razors, sandwich baggies and a digital scale. Skinny was in the middle of cooking up coke to serve to the crack fiends around the way, when Te’Qui kicked down the door.
Half Dead put away the items on the kitchen table that was going to be used to prepare the crack. He then snatched the package of coke, which was wrapped up in duct tape, from off the table and ran back inside of the living room. He kneeled down to the speaker box he’d sat his revolver on top of earlier, and removed the bottom speaker from out of it. Next, he stuffed the kilo inside of the hollow space and replaced it with the speaker. Once he was done, he turned around to help Mann move the dead body.
Half Dead’s eyes doubled in size and his mouth dropped open. He saw Te’Qui kick Mann across the chin which knocked blood out of his mouth and dropped him to the carpeted floor. Seeing this, Half Dead reached around his back to grab his .44, but Te’Qui had already came from off his waistline with his Glizzy, spitting fire at him. The first shot ripped through Half Dead’s kneecap, while the second shot ripped through his left bicep. Te’Qui picked up his shotgun and hoisted its strap over his shoulder. Still pointing his gun at Half Dead, he sped walked over to him and took his revolver. Afterwards, motioning with his gun, Te’Qui commanded Mann to help Half Dead over to Skinny and lie on his back beside him. Once homeboy had done what he was told, Te’Qui pulled out the throwaway cell phone that Big Will’s carrier had given him.
“Alright, you ol’ busta-ass niggaz, I’ma ‘bouta tell you how this shit gon’ go,” Te’Qui began, holding his gun at his side. “I’ma record y’all apologizin’ to Hood Rich Records and Killa Tay.”
“Now, why in the fuck would we apologize to them fools foe?” Skinny asked as he lay on his stomach, still wincing from his busted leg.
“’Cause if you don’t I’ma empty this Glock out on you and yo’ busta-ass homies.” Te’Qui kicked Mann in his side hard as shit, causing him to howl in pain. He squeezed his eyelids shut and gritted his teeth to combat the aching in his ribs. “Now, do you have any more questions?”
“Y-yeah, are you gon’ kill us?” Half Dead asked with a pain streaked face, bleeding all over the goddamn carpet.
“Nah, I ain’t gon’ crush y’all fools. Big Will just wanted me to spank y’all and record the apology.”
“Man, how we know you not lying? Put that on God!” Mann looked up at him from where he was lying on the floor.
Te’Qui tucked his gun on his waistline and swung his shotgun around, locking one into its chamber. He tapped Mann at the top of his head with its barrel and told him to open his mouth. Once he obliged him, Te’Qui stuck his shotgun in that nigga’z grill, looking down at him with animosity in his eyes.
Cool and calmly, Te’Qui addressed Mann, “My nigga, the next time you open them fat ass lips, I’ma blow yo’ entire fuckin’ head off yo’ shoulders. Do we have an understandin’?”
“Uhn huh,” Mann said with a mouthful of shotgun.
“Good.” Te’Qui took the shotgun from out of his mouth and whipped out his Glock again. “Alright, fuck-niggaz, this is exactly what I want y’all to say...”
Te’Qui recorded the fools lying on their stomachs apologizing to Hood Rich Records and Killa Tay. He then recovered all of the jewelry and money they’d stolen from off of Killa Tay. Next, he took the dead faces they had on them and all of the drugs they had in the house, including the kilo Half Dead had stashed inside of the speaker box.
He was going to call an ambulance for them niggaz, but once he heard Twelve’s sirens heading to the location; he got the fuck out of dodge.
***
Kesha was lying in bed watching television when she heard the front door open. She hopped out of her bed and ran towards the door to meet Te’Qui. As soon as he crossed the threshold, she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him all over his face. Te’Qui winced against her embrace and pushed her back gently. She frowned up at him, wondering what she’d done to hurt him.
“What’s the matter, baby?” Kesha questioned with concern, looking him up and down.
Te’Qui didn’t bother answering her. He walked over to the nightstand with the mirror attachment and sat his shotgun down on it, along with the package of coke he had on him. Next, he pulled out the throwaway cell phone and Killa Tay’s jewelry, both of which he sat down on the nightstand beside the other shit he’d put there.
Te’Qui, what’s the matter?” she placed her hand on his shoulder.
“Gimme a sec’, babe,” Te’Qui squeezed his eyelids shut and clenched his jaws, fighting back the pain he was feeling. He peeled off his trench coat and then his sweatshirt, handing it to her. Looking back up, he saw the bullets mashed up against his bulletproof vest. He started unstrapping the Kevlar armor.
“Oh, my God, bae, you were shot?” Kesha’s eyes grew big. She knew that Te’Qui could have been killed that night if he’d been shot, and that scared her. In fact, it scared the living shit out of her. Her eyes got moist but she didn’t cry.
“Yeah, nigga came outta nowhere and threw three at cha boy. Luckily I was strapped up,” Te’Qui took the bulletproof vest off and sat it up against the nightstand’s mirror. Looking at his reflection, he saw the reddish purple bruising from where he’d been popped in his vest.
“That looks bad. Do you want me to put some ointment on it?” she asked as she examined the bruises on his chest.
“Yeah. And fix me a drink, will ya?” he asked her.
“Sure, bae, what would you like?” she asked over her shoulder as she slipped his trench coat on a hanger to hang it on the rack inside of the closet. She had his holy sweatshirt over her shoulder and was going to dispose of it shortly.
“The usual, momma.” he responded as he picked up his cellular and lay back in bed.
“Okay.” Kesha walked past him to go make the drink he’d requested.
As soon as Kesha had left the bedroom Te’Qui got on the jack with Big Will. He told him he’d handled the job and asked him where he wanted to meet, so he could collect his other half of the money.
“Alright, you wanna meet up there at what time?” Te’Qui asked Big Will as he took the glass of alcohol from Kesha who’d just sat down beside him in bed. She was beginning to twist the top off a small jar of ointment. “Cool. I’ll holla at chu, then. Peace.” he disconnected the call and sat the cell phone down beside him in bed. He then took a sip of his drink and licked his lips. “Aahh!”
Te’Qui winced in pain feeling Kesha’s fingers rub the ointment on his bruises. He looked at her like she was the devil.
“I’m sorry, boo, I wasn’t tryna hurt chu. Here, limme kiss it and make it better.” She leaned down and kissed his injuries, then went back to rubbing the ointment onto his chest, gently this time. “How’s that?”
“I got somethin’ you can kiss and make feel better,” he looked at her with a smile and freaky thoughts on his brain.
“I bet chu do.” she smiled and playfully slapped him on the shoulder, before going back to applying the ointment onto his bruises. He continued to sip from his glass as she performed her duty.
“You know, bae, you were right. I shoulda hit that nigga T.J. up so he coulda rolled out with me, to have my back.” he took the time to scratch his nose with his thumb before continuing, “Shit got realll thick up in there. I thought them fools had me back there. I came close to checkin’ out, especially when that fool threw them three at me. Through the grace of God, a nigga still here, but I coulda been gone.”
“See,” she began, blinking back the tears that had formed in her eyes. “I told you, but you weren’t tryna listen to me. Maybe you’ll listen to me now, and take ‘em along the next time you gotta go up against more than one head.”
“I am. As a matter of fact, the next lick I get I’m bringin’ homie with me.”
“Good.” she replied, twisting the lid back onto the ointment. “There. All done.”
“Gimme a kiss.” he placed his hand behind her head and pulled her closer. He kissed her long, deep and passionately.