Chapter Three

Cornered

 

Police sirens filled the air. A police helicopter was in the night sky shining a bright light down on the dark and narrow Baltimore alley. Police cars were speeding through the alleys shining bright lights into dark backyards, making dogs bark. Cops were also on foot, guns drawn and flashlights out. German Shepards had been turned loose. The police were closing in on their prey and they were out for blood. One of their own had been smoked, shot in the face five times with a .40 caliber.

Trapped inside a dark garage, out of breath, Bloody slid a fresh extended clip in her Ruger and cocked the gun. A loud echo filled the garage.

“These muhfuckas gon’ have to kill me.” She said to herself, peeping through the dirty window that faced the alley. Quickly, she ducked as a light was flashed through the window. “Shit!” she whispered, squatting next to the door.

Holding the Ruger between her legs, with both hands she cocked the hammer, ready for her last stand. The loud barking of a dog outside of the garage made her heart beat faster. She knew she was cornered.

“Fuck it,” she continued to talk to herself. “I’m ready.”

Outside of the garage, shining a flashlight through the window with his finger on the trigger of his gun, a police offer called out, “Over here, guys! I think we got something!” As the German Shepard barked and scratched at the garage door, five cops crowded around nervous, with their fingers on the trigger.

“Kick the door open.” An officer said. With force, the officer kicked the door open and let the German Sheppard rush inside.

BOOM! BOOM! Bloody punished the dog with quick shots to the head. Spinning toward the cops she kept firing .40 caliber slugs. The cop with the flashlight got it all in the face. The rest of the cops spread out as they opened fire on Bloody. As bullets tore through her body, Bloody rushed out of the garage firing at the cops.

“Ahhhh!” she yelled, making the handgun sound like a machine gun as fire spit from the barrel lighting up the alley.

A bullet hit Bloody in the head and blew her brains across the alley. Her body hit the ground with a hard thud. The surviving cops emptied their clips in Bloody’s direction making sure she was dead.

 

****

 

“Vida! Vida!” Tia shouted shaking Vida out of her sleep.

“Huh? What the fuck?!” Vida woke up rubbing her eyes as she came to her senses. Reality kicked her in the chest.

The TV was already on the news and Bloody’s situation was the hot topic.

“They got Bloody, Vee!” Tia was excited and out of breath. She looked shaken up. Focusing on the news and shaking her head in disbelief, Vida said, “What happened?!”

Tia paced the floor with her pistol still in hand.

“The feds got on our back…we ran ‘em and crashed. We had to bus’ at they ass and run. I got away but Bloody got cornered. She musta shot it out wit’ them peoples.”

“This shit can’t be goin down like this!” Vida said while standing up shaking her head.

On the TV, the anchorwoman was at the scene of the shooting where Bloody took her last stand. Cops and the reporters were everywhere. The dark alley was lit up by the lights of news crews and police cars. Yellow tape has the scene of the main action sectioned off.

“Baltimore City police have lost two of their own tonight when a high speed chase turned into a deadly gun battle. Two female suspects opened fire on officers. One is still at large and the other is now dead after killing two officers. The identity of the slain cop killer is not yet-”

Vida cut the TV off.

“I can’t listen to no more of that shit.” Vida sighed and walked to the window rubbing her hand through her hair like the world was coming to an end.

Tia took a seat on the bed and stared at the floor for a second as she clenched her jaw in frustration. I told Bloody to stay behind, she thought. Now Bloody was dead. Tia felt guilty about letting Bloody go with her to pick up the money from Wendell. Looking back at the situation, Tia barely got away. Once she and Bloody jumped out of the Viper bussin’ at the police and ran in different directions, Tia headed in a dark alley and came out on the other side where she jacked a Nissan 350zx and made it back to the condo. As soon as she got back she saw the news and knew exactly what was up.

Trying to clear her mind, Vida said, “It’s all or nothin’, Tee.”

“Yeah, I know…we ain’t got nothin’ to lose.” Tia said nodding her head in agreement, still staring at the floor.

“Damn!” Vida hissed as she took a seat beside Tia. “First Moe-Moe, now Bloody. Fuck!” She slammed her fist down on the bed.

“We gotta get outta B-more. We can’t just sit up in here and wait for the feds to find us.” Tia said.

“We can’t go back out tonight, the feds gon’ be all over the place.” Vida said.

“Don’t nobody know ‘bout this spot, we gotta lay low until at least tomorrow night or somethin’.”

“Yeah, I think you right.” Tia said nodding her head. Vida sighed not knowing what to do next.

 

****

Saratoga Avenue was in full swing even though it was past one in the morning. It looks like D.C.’s version of the hoods on HBO’s hit show, The Wire. Coke, dope, water, Ecstasy, you name it and you could find it around the “Toga” anytime of the day. In front of his apartment building with a few of his homies, Lil Rose was on the grind serving pipe heads hand-to-hand. Sells were coming left and right.

Although Lil Rose was up to buying a brick of coke from Tia, he still got out on the block and went hand-to-hand as if he was only buying quarter-ounces. He loved the block and put it and his homies before everything else in life. However, at this time, with the heat on Tia and Vida, Lil Rose was thinking about finding a new connect.

Marky came out the building smoking a fat-ass Backwood stuffed with weed. He was dressed in a red and black LRG T-shirt, black LRG jeans and red and black Jordan’s. His Lil Wayne style dreads were hanging down his back. He and Lil Rose were partners, they were close like brothers. Marky was a smooth dark-skinned 19 year old but at the same time had no problem with gunplay.

Marky spoke to all his homies, showing love and then pulled up on Lil Rose.

“Ay, moe, you see that shit ‘bout Vida and them on the news?” He asked.

Lil Rose nodded.

“Yeah, moe, they went the hardest, kill my mutha, Moe!”

“Damn!” Marky was impressed with the work Vida and her crew had put in. He didn’t think about the repercussions of their actions. Taking another pull on the Backwood, he passed it to Lil Rose.

“Ain’t no turnin’ back after you do some shit like that, moe.” He said.

“No bullshit.” Lil Rose hit the Backwood long and smooth as a pipehead walked up and asked for a twenty. He served the smoker and turned back to Marky.

“They crushed a police, moe. The feds gon’ be all over they ass.”

“It gotta be life or death for me to crush a police.” Marky said shaking his head.

“Me too.” Lil Rose said looking up and down the block as a few cars cruised by, one was blasting Young Jeezy.

A young dude named Driver walked up on Lil Rose and Marky.

“What’s up wit’ y’all, Moe?” Driver asked.

“Ain’t too much.” Lil Rose gave Driver dap. Marky gave Driver dap as well.

“What you up to?”

“I got Lala upstairs.” Driver said rubbing his chin with a smile.

Lil Rose and Marky laughed at Driver. Shorty was fly as shit at 16. He had a nice rap game too, when it came to getting pussy. For him to have Lala waiting on him up in his apartment was a nice catch for Driver. Lala was one of the baddest young Hell Razor Honeys that ran with Paris. Lala didn’t give the pussy away easily. A nigga had to have paper or serious pull game.

“How you pull that off wit Lala, Driver?” Lil Rose asked. Driver smiled.

“Come on, moe, you all in my business now.”

Lil Rose and Marky laughed. Lil Rose nodded in agreement with what Driver said.

“My bad, moe, you right.” Lil Rose passed the Backwood back to Marky.

“Driver, let me ask you this, if you got Lala upstairs, fuck is you doin’ down here rappin’ wit’ us for?”

“I’m tryin’ to get a few pills.” Driver said, pulling a knot of 20s and 50s out of the pocket of his Red Monkey jeans.

Marky pulled out a plastic sandwich bag full of green “E” pills.

“How many you want, Moe?” Marky asked.

“Five. What you gon’ charge me?”

“Gimme fifty.” Marky said.

Marky gave Driver five pills at wholesale price. Giving Marky and Lil Rose a pound, Driver stepped off.

“Catch y’all later.”

“I fucks wit’ shorty tough.” Lil Rose looked at Marky and said.

“Me too.” Marky killed the Backwood and plucked it in the middle of Saratoga Avenue.

A car full of bad ass broads pulled up in front of Lil Rose and Marky. Lil Wayne was pumping out of the speakers.

“Aye, Marky!”

A cute girl called from the passenger’s side window of the Audi. Marky took a good look at the girls and saw that they were a group of the Most Wanted Honies that came through the Toga to cop pills from him.

“I’ll be right back.” Marky said looking at Lil Rose.

Marky walked up on the car and took a good look inside. Five Most Wanted Honies were inside dressed to impress in Louie, Prada, Gucci, you name it.

“What’s up, Summer?” Marky smiled. He had fucked Summer once and wanted another shot but they kept missing each other.

At 19 years old Summer was a dime piece. She looked like the singer Rihanna in the face but had the body of a video model.

“Let me get five of them pills.” Summer licked her sexy lips and said.

Marky served her and got $90 in return.

“I see you wit’ your peoples but when can we hang out again?” Marky asked. Summer smiled.

“I’ma call you tomorrow.” She winked at him.

“Sounds good to me” Marky nodded and stepped away and the Audi pulled off.

“Aye, Moe,” Lil Rose said as Marky came back his way. “That bitch Summer like that. Stop handcuffin’ that ho.”

Marky laughed.

“I ain’t handcuffin’ her. Shoot your shot, Moe. I only hit that once. I’m trying to put my bid in again.”

“I feel you, Moe.” Lil Rose said looking over his shoulder at a crap game that had just started in front of the building.

“Aye, Rose!” A voice called from the darkness of the side of the building. Lil Rose and Marky suspiciously looked toward the cut.

“Who the fuck is that, Moe?” Marky said.

Squinting his eyes, Lil Rose saw that it was his pipe head uncle, Mechanic.

Mechanic was one of those cool-ass smokers that would bring a nigga a thousand sells and only want a twenty for it. He was always selling something, fixing something, or renting his car out to get high.

“Come here, shorty, I got somethin’ for you.” Mechanic said waving his hand urgently for Lil Rose to come holla at him.

Lil Rose tapped Marky on the arm and said, “I’ll be right back.” He then stepped off.

“What’s up, Unc?” Lil Rose said in the shadows on the side of the building with Mechanic.

Mechanic had a book bag in his hand.

“Check this out,” he opened the book bag and pulled out a beat up Uzi machine gun, the small pistol kind. The clip had to be a foot and a half long.

“This one of them nine millimeter Uzis, here...check it out.” He handed Lil Rose the Uzi.

Lil Rose admired the machine gun with both hands, turning it from side to side. The joint looked wicked.

“Man, do this joint work?”

Mechanic sighed.

“Come on, family. You know better than that.” Mechanic said. Lil Rose smiled.

“What do you want for it?”

“Two hundred.”

“This joint better work.” Lil Rose said unsure.

“Trust me, it work, shorty.” Mechanic stuck his hand in the book bag and pulled out a silencer for the Uzi.

“I got this too.”

“Damn, moe.” Lil Rose was excited. He pulled out the money and gave it to his uncle.

“Catch you later, nephew.” Mechanic stepped off.

Lil Rose walked up on the crap game with the book bag on his back and told Marky to meet him inside the building.

Once inside, Lil Rose said, “You ain’t gon’ believe what I’ve got.”

“What?” Marky asked.

Lil Rose opened the book bag to show Marky the machine gun.

“We got a muhfuckin’ U-whop.”

“Damn, moe! And you got a silencer, too?!”

Lil Rose nodded.

“You tryin’ to see what’s up wit’ them Panamanian niggas ‘round the corner?”

“Kill.” Marky nodded in agreement.

 

****

 

The next morning, Tia was packing a light bag of clothes and a few other things to hit the road with. She and Vida still weren’t sure what they were going to do, but they knew they had to get out of the area. Bloody’s last stand was still all over the news. Her real name was just released and she was connected to the D.C. murders. The whole story was now put together. Baltimore City police knew all about Bloody, Tia and Vida. Their names and pictures were plastered on all the news networks. Even CNN was in on the story now.

Finished packing a few things, Tia zipped the bag and took a deep breath. Stress was at an all-time high. The loss of Moe-Moe and Bloody was really getting to her. She could feel the walls closing in on her and Vida. At this point, Tia’s mind was made up, it was kill or be killed, by any means. Just as Bloody had held court in the streets, Tia vowed to do the same if she and Vida were to find themselves cornered.

Walking over to the mirror in the bedroom, the one that hung on the closet door, Tia studied her new look. She’d cut her hair off and was rocking the short Halle Berry look. It fit her well, too, adding to her sexiness. She also popped in a pair of hazel contacts to help give her a different look. Picking up her .40 caliber off the dresser, Tia popped in a fresh clip and cocked the gun.

Vida walked in the bedroom in a pair of tight, black Seven jeans, a white Prada short sleeve shirt, and a pair of black and white Prada tennis shoes. She’d gotten Tia to cut her hair into a short bob and dyed it blonde like the Philly rapper, Eve. The look fit her well.

“Tee, I think we should head up north first.” Vida said, checking out her new look in the mirror over the dresser. She looked very different. “Hit a busy place like New York until we figure out what to do.”

“Yeah, I’m wit’ that.” Tia said as she picked up a Backwood stuffed with purple haze and lit it.

“I was thinkin’ the same thing. We can holla at Tonio up there.” Tia continued.

“Daddieo’s brother?” Vida raised her eyebrow.

“Yea, slim got major connections, Vee.” Tia took a long pull on the Backwood. “I’m sure he’ll look out for us.”

Tia and Tonio still did a little business together on and off since they were both heavy in the drug game.

Thinking about Tonio, Vida nodded her head and said, “Yeah, Tonio might be just the man to holla at.”

“I got his number in my phone.” Tia passed Vida the Backwood. “I don’t wanna use that joint no more though, so I’ma have to call slim from a pay phone once we hit the road.”

Blowing smoke in the air, Vida said, “Cool, we can do that.” She took a few more pulls on the Backwood and passed it back to Tia. She needed the high that was coming on. Thoughts of Moe-Moe and Bloody were weighing heavy on her mind, stressing her out.

“Ay, Tee, we need a ride. We don’t need to be in no stolen ride right now.”

“I’m hip.” Tia took a long pull on the Backwood.

“I’ma text Lil Rose and get slim to bring us one of his joints, he’ll do that for us.”

“Yeah, do that, Tee.”

“Aye, Vee, I know you already know this but we can’t go to jail. That’s out of the question.”

Vida nodded and sighed.

“I know. They can’t take us alive… no matter what.”

“We all we got now, Vee.”

“Til’ death do us part.” “Vida hugged Tia.

“Til’ death do us part.” Tia held Vida tight.