Chapter 30
Kalif was temporarily in his right state of mind. As he and his main-tier people sat around the table, they all discussed their plans for the day. The re-up had just come in from an elated Nieem, and the guys were all in great spirits overall. Amir had received his final grades. Pit Boy’s dog had just delivered her litter. Li’l James had added more money to his stash to get his mother out of the hood. And today was Key’s daughter’s birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese’s, which he definitely was looking forward to. And Keys hoped his friends would show up and show love, despite their dislike for his no-good baby mama.
After opening several boxes of the tampons, Amir did the honors of separating their portions into huge piles. After the final count of the infamous, highly addictive pills was complete, all the fellas knew what their tickets were. They varied depending on how each area of town had been buying the week prior. Whereas Li’l James and his crew were doing much better than Pit Boy and his, Keys and his boys posted up on East Side were bringing in more revenue than them both. Keys had earned those bragging rights by always being first on the scene, before most of his workers, and by always being the last to leave.
With several other workers added to the original group of friends, Kalif’s workforce had grown not only in numbers but also in popularity in the streets. Whenever one of them would step foot on any set, the crowd of drug addicts would follow, leaving in the dust other playas attempting to get their hustle on.
Ready to face the day, the group of close-knit friends parted ways, each headed in a different direction.
* * *
The sun had barely come up. The streets had yet to get busy. But shear madness never rested or slept. Cutt and Mutt had been up all night. Popping pills and drinking lean was their normal activity, whether they were on the clock or not. Both new-age, modern-day drug addicts, the two of them had been plotting their hunt for days. Extra high and feeling invincible, they knew that this morning they would execute their plan to earn the money Brutus had blessed them with. If their scheme went as intended, they’d be back at the trap house they laid their heads at, celebrating by getting even higher.
“Yo, my nigga. He right on time,” Mutt told Cutt.
“Yeah, I see. This shit gonna be easy as a motherfucker.”
“You think so?” Mutt moved his wild dreads out of his face.
“Nigga, I know so. He ain’t gonna know what hit his ass. He gonna go running back to the West Side and never, ever come back this way. Not even if bitches giving away free pussy all day and night to whoever pulls up,” Cutt said, reaffirming how easily they would be earning their bread.
Watching Keys park his minivan, Cutt took out his gun. Although using it was not the plan, he still put one up top. Mutt then followed suit. After laying on Keys for days, the crazed, pill-polluted pair had quickly discerned that their soon-to-be target was a creature of habit. He’d pull up down at the end of the block and drink a coffee. One by one, his always late crew members would show up and cop their package from him and exchange a few words. Once he’d touched base with all of them, then Keys would leave for a couple of hours. After following him three or four times, Cutt and Mutt had discovered that he would always go park a few miles away, on various side streets off of Mt. Elliott. There, it seemed to them, he would count money, talk on his cell, and take a piss in the alley if need be.
Now, as Cutt and Mutt watched, one by one, Keys’s crew members showed up. They all followed their regular routine, and after Keys had put his people in full motion, he pulled off the block. Cutt and Mutt quickly jumped in their beater and followed, but not close enough to be noticed. Keys, a true creature of habit, bent a few corners. This time he parked on Theodore. After giving Keys no more than five minutes to get started on his customary way of doing things, the bloodthirsty duo made their move. Undetected, guns drawn, each man crept up on the sides of the van. Preoccupied by the conversation he was having on his cell, Keys was caught off guard. There was nothing he could do, nothing he could say. Cutt was at the driver’s side. Mutt was at the passenger’s side. Both had their weapons pointed at Keys’s head.
* * *
“Look, girl. Damn! Stop fucking stressing me the hell out,” Keys yelled. “I already told you I got the shit covered. All you gotta do is bring li’l mama and her friends to the place. Grab whatever tables you want, and we good. Just make sure you get enough space, because all my homeboys coming to.”
Keys was getting pissed as he reached for a half-eaten bag of hot Better Made Potato Chips. He was aggravated. It was bad enough he felt his daughter was too young to be having a birthday party at expensive-ass Chuck E. Cheese’s in the first place, but since early this morning, his worrisome, greedy baby moms had been on him. He’d already bought all his baby’s gifts. They were wrapped and in the rear of his van. He’d gotten her not one, but two outfits to wear on her big day. And when he shut down for the day, which would be earlier than usual, he’d then swing by and pick up her over-the-top custom cake, which her mother had insisted on. Keys didn’t care. Not really. He’d do anything for his princess. However, his baby moms was doing beyond the most. Now she was pestering him to bring her a couple more dollars so she could get her hair done.
“All right. Damn, girl. Just hold up and let me figure some shit out. I’ma get back with you in a few. But don’t forget what I said about grabbing enough tables for later.” Having developed a severe migraine, thanks to that nonstop nagging he’d endured, Keys ended the call and briefly closed his eyes, regretting he’d even fucked with her in the first place.
When he reopened his eyes, he was shocked. Oh shit! What the fuck? His eyes widened, and his migraine immediately grew worse.
The doors to the older-model van were already unlocked. After opening the passenger’s side door, Mutt got in the van and ordered Keys to drive. There was no way Keys could not do as he was told. He had got caught slipping when he was arguing with that rotten-mouthed bitch. His boys had always said she was bad luck for him. And this proved just that. After putting the van in motion, he did as instructed. Cutt was trailing behind. The game plan was to go to a more secluded area and rough Keys up. Maybe break both his legs, putting him out of commission for some time to come. Or maybe even severely pistol-whipping him. They’d decide that when the time came.
Keys never said a word. His mind was working overtime. Far from being a ho, he knew he was gonna make a move. But it was only a matter of picking the right opportunity to do so. Keys was not too familiar with the East Side; however, like every other Detroiter, Keys did recognize where he was when his dreadlocked captor had him pull over. The old Packard Automotive Plant had been shut down for decades, but it still stood as an iconic city landmark. The walls that were still intact had been covered in multicolored graffiti and gang signs. And litter covered the broken-up floors. Remains of steel rails and cinder blocks were everywhere in the once well-constructed building, as were illegally dumped old tires.
“Kill the engine and get your big, goofy punk ass out of this van,” Mutt demanded, holding his gun as steady as he could, knowing he was still buzzing strong from the few pills he’d popped earlier.
Keys did as he was told, still not saying a word. Then the unannounced passenger’s partner joined them. Now with two guns on him, Keys knew getting away would be twice as difficult, but he wasn’t going out like nobody’s little bitch. He wasn’t cut like that, period. Standing more than a few inches taller than both of the other men, Keys knew if they didn’t have weapons, he’d beat a few pints of blood outta both they weird-looking asses. But the fact was, they did have those guns, so his next play would definitely have to be his best if he wished to survive.
“All right, homeboy. It’s like this. You and your people can’t be coming over here on our side of town, stepping on niggas’ toes like shit’s a joke,” Mutt growled. He mean mugged Keys as Cutt cosigned.
“Yeah, we ain’t no lames this way. We let your bitch ass get a li’l money, but you done went too far with the bullshit. You got our peoples screaming on us, so yeah, nigga, we at you!”
“So this is how this right here about to go. First, start your ass to walking up in this motherfucker.” Mutt waved his gun, motioning to a huge area in the building where a wall had collapsed. “You gonna go on a little sightseeing tour with me and my boy. We wanna show you some shit.”
Cutt laughed, still high as hell, thinking shit was funny. “Yeah, West Side bitch, come get some of this East Side hospitality.”
Keys was no fool, far from it. He knew if he allowed these funny-style idiots to march him up inside this building, it’d be lights out for him. If he wanted to come out of this hole and see his baby girl’s face once more, he knew now would be his time to react. Catching the overconfident Cutt and Mutt slipping, arguing about who was going to get Keys’s watch and diamond stud earring, the West Side warrior made his move and bolted. Not knowing which way was which, Keys ran down a short side street, made a quick left, then another left, and then a right. The more he ran for his life, the more his heart rate increased. He was out of breath and confused. He felt turned around, as if he was going in circles. This way was wrong. This way was blocked. And the other way would take him right back to Mutt and Cutt, or so he believed. And sadly for him, he was correct. If you had not grown up in this neighborhood, you’d have no way of knowing which blocks were dead ends and which streets would lead you right back to the automotive plant’s perimeters.
Staring down the barrels of both guns, Keys ended up inside the back area of the building. This was a better location than Cutt and Mutt had originally wanted to be in. After being told more of the same about why the pair was on a mission to do him harm, Keys had a chance to catch his breath a bit. When the father of one did catch his breath, he did not utter a word. He did not ask for mercy. He wasted no more time. He swiftly bum-rushed the bigger of the two men, which was Cutt, and tried his luck. Having totally caught Cutt off guard, Keys was successful. He knocked the gun from Cutt’s hand. Mutt saw his boy being manhandled, and of course, he reacted automatically by pulling the trigger. The sound of the single gunshot seemed to echo throughout the deserted structure. Cutt stumbled backward, trying to catch his balance, as Keys fell to his knees.
With blood gushing from a gaping hole in the rear of his skull, Keys struggled to keep life in his body. He wanted nothing more than to pick up that over-the-top cake and make it to the party. However, the angel of death cruelly appeared. Keys tragically succumbed to the gunshot wound, and his upper body slumped over. Showing no signs of remorse, the pair of murderers removed Keys’s watch and earring, the ones they’d already argued about. After running through his pockets for any cash and his new iPhone, they left him facedown in a pile of garbage.
After Mutt and Cutt emerged victorious from the rear of the Packard Plant, one drove Keys’s van a few blocks away, and the other followed. They then casually abandoned the vehicle, just as they had Keys’s lifeless body, but not before stealing his remaining re-up of CDs and all his daughter’s birthday presents, which were wrapped and ready to go in the rear hatch, just waiting to put a smile on her innocent face.