| |
Terry woke up in Maria’s bed to the pleasant smell of breakfast being prepared. He and Maria, a flight attendant, had been dating for the past six months.
After gathering his thoughts, Terry walked over to the chaise where his pants lay, removed his phone from the pocket, then returned to the bed. He was supposed to be at Dynasty and he knew Mack was going to chew him out for being late.
The moment he turned his phone on, it began to vibrate non-stop. There were dozens of texts from both Kerri and Mack. The first message, from Kerri, caused his heart rate to accelerate at a rapid pace. It read: Dynasty was raided by the police. They’re looking for u and Mack! Panic struck him like a bolt of lightning. He read through a few more texts in disbelief. Every text from Mack simply said: Call me right away! He dialed Mack’s number.
“Hello?” Mack picked up right away.
“Wassup?” Terry asked.
“Come to the Cool Out right now. Don’t waste a second!”
The line went dead. Terry rushed to get dressed, and then darted downstairs. He walked into the kitchen where Maria was busy cooking.
“Baby, I can’t stay. I gotta go.”
Maria turned around to see Terry fully dressed and in a panicked state. “What’s wrong, Terry? You’re scaring me.”
“I’m not sure what’s going on, but as soon as I find out, I’ll let you know.”
“Are you okay?”
“Don’t worry. Everything’s going to be fine.” Terry kissed Maria, then turned to leave.
“Terry, I’m...” Maria paused as soon as Terry turned to face her and they locked eyes.
“Wassup, Maria?”
She lowered her gaze. “I’m...I’m going to stay up until you call me and let me know everything’s okay.”
“Alright. I’ll call you.”
Terry rushed out of her house, into his car and made his way to a secluded house in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, thirty minutes away. Terry and Mack used the house to get away from everything and to relax. They nick-named their place the Cool Out.
During the drive, Terry’s mind raced to cover the possibilities of why he was wanted. He had left the streets alone, so it could only be something from his past coming back to haunt him. In thirty minutes he made it to the house. The moment his car came to an abrupt stop he was out of it. Mack, who was on high alert, opened the door and ushered him in.
“What the fuck is up, Mack?”
“These muthafuckas got murder warrants out on us!” Mack shut the door behind Terry.
One look at Mack’s stress laden face and he knew their situation was real. An overwhelming surge of emotions plagued Terry as he realized the seriousness of their predicament. “What are we gonna do?”
“I talked to my lawyer. He said the warrants are for the murders of the twins.”
The dreadful news seemed to consume Terry’s energy. He plopped down on the couch. “Fuck!” he screamed in frustration.
“That’s not it,” Mack continued, “Jihad got knocked with ten bricks yesterday and they ran up in Julio’s garage. They found like thirty ki’s and a bunch of money. I think Shawn got knocked, too.”
The information poured out like running water. Just the night before, Terry couldn’t have asked to be in a better position. Now he had been thrown into a hole that continuously grew deeper and darker. He hoped that Jihad’s arrest didn’t result in the raid of Julio’s garage. If so, that would be a detrimental blow.
“I have to call, Juk.” Terry removed his phone and scrolled through his phone book.
“Who the fuck is Juk?”
“That’s my man who introduced me to the cartel connect. If anything’s wrong, he should know.” After dialing the number, a computer-generated voice announced that the number was no longer in service.
“Something’s not right,” Terry said.
“Why you say that?” Mack asked.
“Juk’s phone is disconnected. He would never change his number without letting me know.”
“I need to smoke.” Mack took a seat on the couch next to Terry, who pulled out a small bag of high grade Indica and passed it to him.
“I have to call the connect. That’s the only way we’re going to know what’s up.” Terry found the number in his phone and pressed the call button.
“Hello?” Alfredo Lajas answered.
“Mr. Lajas, this is Terry. I..." The line went dead. Terry looked at his phone with a bewildered expression. He tried again and again. Each time the voice mail was instantly activated.
“What happened?” Mack asked anxiously waiting for a response. He finished rolling a healthy blunt and reached for the lighter on the coffee table.
“Yo, we got big fucking problems.”
“No shit.” Mack lit the blunt and took a pull.
“Nah, you don’t understand. The connect answered the phone and hung up once he heard my voice.”
“So, what does that mean?”
“That means he ain’t got nothin’ to say. He must think I’m responsible for Julio’s garage getting busted.”
“Man, fuck him!” Mack stood and removed his Glock 17. “If he want war, then war it’s gon’ be!” Mack took another pull from the blunt.
“You don’t understand the power of the Zeta Cartel, bruh. These muthafuckas are serious. I’ll bet he already sent some Mexicans up here to hunt me down.”
“Listen, cannon, we’re in this together. However they want it, they can get it. I’d rather take my chances with them than to turn myself in to the police. I ain’t goin’ out like that.” He passed Terry the blunt. “We can’t live our lives runnin’ from the cops and the cartel. I’ll tell you what, let’s just lay low until we find out what the police have on us. They can’t have no direct evidence. The most they can have is somebody snitchin’. We also have to find a way to clean this mess up with the cartel.”
“We can’t stay in Philly.” Terry took a pull from the blunt, filled his lungs with the potent smoke, and then released it.
“Maria’s mom left her a house in Newport News, Virginia. No one knows about it. We can stay there for a minute.”
“Aaight. I’m with it, bruh. I got a little over two hundred grand.” Mack pointed to a duffel bag on the floor.
“We’re going to need more than that, in case we have a change of plans and need to bounce. I got three hundred grand at my other house. Let’s pick that up, get the keys from Maria, and get the fuck outta here.”
Mack grabbed his duffel bag of money and they left. He backed a late model Chevy Impala out of the garage. Terry then pulled his Mercedes into the garage and joined Mack.
The paranoia was hard to subdue as Mack cautiously navigated through the streets. They were now wanted on both sides of the fence. The sight of every patrol car they passed created tension. And the thought of an unfamiliar vehicle pulling alongside them and spraying their car with a barrage of bullets caused their nerves to remain unsettled.
Mack pulled the Impala into the driveway of Terry’s second home. “Hurry up, T. We gotta get the fuck outta here.”
“Aaight. I’ll be in and out.” Terry dashed out of the car. He had the key ready, so it took no time to unlock the front door. Once in the house, he moved with a purpose, pushing the glass coffee table to the side and rolling up the Oriental rug. He began to remove the wood panels revealing a large in-ground safe. Terry keyed the combination into the electronic keypad when the sound of a cocked gun froze his movements.
He looked up and couldn’t believe who was standing over him. “Juk...what’s going on?”
“How could you fuck this up, T?” Jukwon asked, pointing a .357 Magnum at his head.
“Juk, listen to me. It wasn’t my fault. I...”
”It was your fuckin’ fault! You gave the plug to ya mans. You didn’t have the authority to do no shit like that. You know what I had to go through in order to introduce you to the Zetas. I should have never done it.”
“Juk, you gotta understand, I was easing my way out the game,” Terry said, still on his knees.
“Mr. Lajas gave you simple rules. One of the rules was don’t bring any heat on him. Because you violated his rule, and I introduced you to him, he’s making me take care of the problem.”
“Juk, you’re my fuckin’ brother. Just let me go and I promise you’ll never hear from me again,” Terry pleaded.
“You really don’t get it. These muthafuckas is like gods. How do you think I knew you were coming here? He told me that if I don’t take care of you personally, my brother, wife and son will share a grave with me.”
Terry could not see a way out. The cartel had directed Jukwon to end his life. His failure to do so would result in the murder of him and his family. They were both placed in an unattainable situation.
“Can you do me a favor?” Terry asked.
“What?”
“Give this money to my mother. And tell her I love her.” Terry pressed the remaining combination numbers into the keypad, opened the door, and exposed neat stacks of cash.
He noticed that Jukwon was no longer pointing the gun at him. With no other choice, he seized the opportunity and barreled his shoulder into Jukwon’s mid-section, knocking him to the ground with tremendous force. The impact caused the revolver to fall from his hand and slide across the floor. With Terry on top, Jukwon threw a hard punch to his rib cage, and then another punch that hit him in the face. Terry absorbed the blows. He wrapped his hands around Jukwon’s throat and squeezed with all his strength, restricting the flow of oxygen to his windpipe. Jukwon scratched, clawed, and kicked. Terry’s arms were too long for Jukwon to reach his face.
“I’m sorry, Juk.” Terry’s eyes welled up while he continued to apply pressure. Jukwon’s resistance grew weaker. “Aaaah!” Terry screamed at the top of his lungs in pain as Jukwon reached down and grabbed Terry’s balls with a vice-like grip. He squeezed and twisted until Terry was forced to relinquish his choke hold. The air burned Jukwon’s larynx as he took in a deep breath of oxygen. There was little time to recover. He kneed Terry hard in the groin causing debilitating pain. Jukwon pulled himself from under the weight of Terry’s body and crawled toward the gun that lay a few feet away.
He reached out and grabbed Jukwon’s boot, pulling his body back closer to him and away from the gun. Jukwon turned his body over so that his back was on the floor. He used his free foot to stiff kick Terry’s face. Blood erupted from his nostrils. He released his grip. Again, Jukwon made a frenzied attempt to get to the weapon. Terry quickly stood and charged Jukwon. Jukwon’s hand wrapped around the gun. He spun around, squeezing the trigger two times. The roar of the .357 echoed through the house. The first slug tore through Terry’s waist, shattering his pelvis. The second drilled into the center of his chest, dropping him like a dead weight.
Jukwon struggled to his feet and went over to the safe. He was going to honor his friend’s last request.
The sound of the door crashing open startled Jukwon. He clutched his gun and looked up simultaneously. The sound of rapid gunfire forced him to release two rounds, and then run for cover. A multitude of bullets were still being fired in his direction, crashing into walls and furniture inches away. He scurried into the kitchen and out of the rear door.
Mack was about to give chase, but the sight of Terry’s motionless body lying in a large pool of blood stopped him. He kneeled down next to his friend and slightly cradled his head. “It’s okay, T. I’ma take you to the hospital.” Terry’s eyes fluttered slightly. “Who was that?” Mack asked.
Terry struggled to get the word out. Blood seeped from his mouth followed by a single word, “Jukwon.”
“I’ma find him, T. I’ma find him and I’ma kill him. Don’t die on me, bruh. We gon’ make it outta here!”
“G-go!” Terry’s final word eased out. His body completely relaxed. His eyes rolled to the back of his head. His life was gone.
Tears fell as Mack looked down at the corpse of his best friend. He used his fingers to gently close Terry’s eyelids. The distant sound of sirens broke Mack out of his trance.
––––––––
An unmarked car had been parked several houses down from Terry’s home. The officer had been assigned to keep surveillance on the suspect’s residence since that morning.
When the Impala pulled into the driveway, he notified Homicide Detectives Todd and Latrice. They called in the Fugitive Task force and wasted no time arriving at the scene fully prepared for whatever lay ahead.
––––––––
“I promise I’m going to kill, Jukwon.” With one final look at the body of his comrade, he picked up his Glock, bolted through the living room, and out the door.
“Mack, put the gun down!” Todd ordered. He, Latrice and several officers had their weapons aimed directly at him.
Mack’s eyes darted around. There were at least twelve police officers prepared to fire. “Fuck you!” Mack tightened the grip on his semi-automatic.
“It’s not worth it,” Latrice reasoned, keeping her firearm trained on him. “You can’t win that way. Put the gun down.”
Mack’s mind raced. He could go out shooting with the hopes of taking a cop or two with him, or he could live to fight another day. The vision of Terry’s body, along with so many others that he encountered, flashed through his head. He had much more living to do before the time for him to die would come. Mack released the grip on his gun, allowing it to fall to the ground, and raised his hands above his head. With Todd covering his sister, Latrice placed Mack’s hands behind his back, and secured them with handcuffs.
“Damn, it feels so good to put these on you. You’re under arrest for the murders of Kahdeem and Quadir Wilson.”
Mack looked Latrice directly in her eyes. “I want to see if you have that same look on your face when I beat the charges...”