Chapter 25

 

Crook pulled up in front of Muta’s building that cold Tuesday evening at exactly 7:00, driving a black Chevy Tahoe with dark tinted windows. A second later Jahad jogged from the lobby dressed for the occasion in a black Pelle’ Pelle leather jacket, a black Sean John hoody and jeans, black leather gloves, black Timberlands, and a black New York Yankee fitted cap. Tucked in his waistline were two Desert Eagle 44’s, in his hoody pocket an extremely sharp straight razor.

“You ready to get busy Sun?” He asked with a crooked grin, as he hopped into the passenger seat.

Crook took a pull from a blunt the size of his thumb, gagged a few times, and then pulled off. “I was born gettin’ busy. Where we headed?”

“When you get off the Deegan, hit Webster Avenue. We gon’ meet Derrick, Joey, and Kwan at a carwash not too far from Jimmy’s Café. You know where River Park Towers are?”

Crook shook his head, with his eyes on traffic, “Nah, heard of ‘em, don’t know the exact location.”

“When you drop me off, hit the Hudson River Drive, I’ll give you directions. We’ll be behind you in ‘bout thirty minutes.”

“I gotcha. Wanna hit this?” Crook passed the blunt in Jahad’s direction.

“Nah, I’m good. You need to chill too. Fuck around and fall asleep.”

“This shit keep me paranoid as hell, so don’t stress that.”

“If you say so... What you got in mind for Duke?”

“Oh, I got some rope, a little gas, a hammer, some nails, a...”

“You wanna crucify the nigga don’t you?”

“We can do that if you want,” Crook replied dead serious, “What, we gon’ nail him to a tree or something?”

“Nigga, you crazy for real!” Jahad laughed, “I wanna see if his ass can walk on water tho’.”

“What you mean?”

“You’ll see.”

A half hour later, Crook turned off the Major Deegan. Streetlights and colorful billboard signs illuminated Webster Avenue as he weaved through the thick traffic, trying to stay ahead of their schedule. Jahad sat in the passenger seat staring out at traffic without really seeing anything, his thoughts tuned into the move they were about to make. If successful, what lay ahead held so many possibilities, so much power, but would it be enough to quench the fire that burned inside him, he wondered.

“Is that the gas station?” Crook asked, nodding towards the Shell gas station they were approaching.

Snatched from his thoughts, Jahad looked up, “Yeah, make a right as soon as you pass it. Derrick should be pushing a blue minivan.”

Crook slowed and turned into the carwash connected to the gas station. He parked beside two large coin operated vacuum cleaners, which separated the Tahoe from the light blue Plymouth Voyager Derrick drove.

“You got some duct tape, right?”

Crook reached over the seat and grabbed a white plastic bag, “Rope, hammer, tape...”

“All I need is the tape. You got the directions down, right?”

Crook nodded.

“A’ight. When you get there, park and find a hiding spot in case Hector tries to slide some bullshit in on us.” Jahad got out the truck, tucking the tape in his hoody pocket.

“I gotcha... This is it, huh?” Crook grinned excitedly.

“You better believe it!”

Before Jahad could make it to the minivan, the black sliding door opened and Kwan hopped out with a lip splitting grin, “What up nigga!” He hugged Jahad, then stepped back to look him over, “Damn, we missed your ass man.”

“I missed your funny ass too.” Jahad draped an arm around his shoulder as they walked back to the van.

Derrick leaned over the seat to give him a hug as soon as he climbed into the back seat, “Word up, its good to see you Sun... You know about Razor, right?”

“Yeah, they get it too.”

Derrick nodded satisfied.

“You know we gotta celebrate when this shit is over,” Joey said with the same lip splitting grin as his brother.

“And you know it.” Jahad chatted a few minutes with his childhood friends then got down to business, “What up with José, he still in Jimmy’s?”

“Yeah. I just checked a few minutes ago,” Derrick answered, glancing at his watch, “It’s eight now. He usually leaves around eight-thirty, so we good on time.”

“He’s driving, right?”

Kwan nodded, “His Benz is parked up past Jimmy’s by White Castle.”

“A’ight, this how its going down. I’ma post up by White Castle. Derrick you double park beside his Benz or a car length ahead, have the sliding door open. On his way to his car I’ma snatch his ass up. Kwan, Joey, be ready to tie his ass up when I throw him in. When I do, Derrick you take off for Hudson River Drive. You all have celly’s, right?”

“Yeah Jah, we know the drill. Tone put us on to everything,” Derrick said.

“Just wanted to make sure. After this move, the South Bronx is ours! ... I never got to thank ya’ll either for holding my family down. I’m a bless ya’ll when I get this dough.”

“C’mon Jah,” Kwan threw an arm around his shoulder, “We were just doing what fam’ is suppose to do.”

“No doubt. And I’m a show love how fam’ is suppose to show love.” Jahad looked at his G-shock watch, “Ya’ll go ‘head and get in position. I’m a walk around here and see if I can catch a glimpse of this piece of shit. Kwan make sure this door is open and...”

“Breathe easy Jah. I know what to do,” Kwan grinned, pushing him out the door.

From a chilly forty degrees, the temperature had dropped in a matter of a few hours to a bone piercing fifteen degrees. Jahad pulled his hood over his head and blended in with the thick sidewalk traffic, scanning everything in front of him through upturned eyes. He had just passed an electronics store, three stores away from Jimmy’s Café when he spotted a familiar face leaving the Café escorting a beautiful Puerto Rican woman. Taking a closer look he saw that it was José and a cold hatred swept through him. With his adrenaline pumping, he scanned the sidewalk traffic again while keeping a sharp eye on José. Judging the distance between them, he picked up his pace to a light jog, hoping to reach José before he made it to his car. As his feet drew him closer, he pulled the Desert Eagle from his waistline, keeping it concealed under his hoody. His mind raced with each step, debating whether to let José go and try again when the sidewalks weren’t so crowded, or take him now. His hatred made the decision for him. Moving quickly he reversed the grip on the gun so that he held it like a hammer, then rushed up, slamming it into the back of the woman’s head. As she crumbled to the ground, José turned, his expression confused, unaware that Jahad had his gun trained at the middle of his back.

“What the fuc...” José’s words were cut short by a left hook Jahad delivered to his chin.

“C’mon lover boy. I’m your date now,” Jahad said, wrapping an arm around José’s waist to keep him from falling. Pedestrians watched awestruck, parting the way as Jahad drug him towards the minivan with his head tilted down so his face couldn’t be seen. “If you scream or say anything I’m a leave your ass right here with five or six slugs in your chest.”

José shifted his balance so he could see his abductor, “You!” He yelled, shook, “I thought... I thought...”

Jahad hit him in the mouth with the gun, “You won’t think shit else if you don’t shut the fuck up!”

José said not another word, knowing Jahad wouldn’t hesitate to kill him.

As planned, the sliding door was open when they approached. Jahad quickly tossed José in, head first, then dived in behind him, “Go! Go!”

Derrick squealed tires as he pulled into traffic, barely missing a yellow cab that was in the process of changing lanes. While Joey and Kwan were busy taping José’s wrist and ankles together, Jahad paged the lieutenants and entered the triple 0 code. They sat José up so that he faced Jahad when they finished their work.

“Long time no see. What’s been happening Homey?” Jahad said with a crooked grin to disguise his loathe.

José flared at Jahad, “What you want with me?”

“What you think muthafucka? We got some unfinished business to handle.”

“We have nothing...”

Jahad slapped José so hard tears sprung to his eyes, “Shut the fuck up and listen! I’m about to call your faggot ass brother and let him know where to pick your sorry ass up. What’s his number?”

José looked away.

“Oh, you don’t want to talk?” Jahad scowled, reaching in his hoody pocket taking out the straight razor. You think it’s a game, huh?” He said slashing José across the face so hard that the razor scraped the bone.

“AGGGGG!” José screamed, trying his best to scoot away, but Kwan pushed him back towards Jahad.

“Now I’m a ask you one more time. You front, I’m a cut your fuckin’ ear off. Now what’s the damn number?”

“Okay! Okay!”

Once José recited the number, Jahad dialed, then stared out at traffic with his jaws clenched as the phone rung.

“Hola?” Hector answered on the third ring.

“Hola to you too muthafucka,” Jahad spat, “I want you to listen and pay close attention to what I’m about to say. I got your sorry ass brother here, hog tied and bleedin’ like a muthafucka. If you ever wanna see him again, you’ll meet me behind River Park Towers at nine o’clock with a quarter mill’. That’s two hundred and fifty thousand, if your stupid ass can’t count. You got that?”

“Who the hell is this and what the hell are you talking about?”

“You know who the fuck I am. The same nigga you tried to kill a couple times. The same nigga whose pops you bodied. You know who I am now?”

“Jah... Jahad?” Hector stuttered.

“In the flesh and I’m dead ass ‘bout putting slugs in your brother’s head unless you come up with the dough at exactly nine o’clock. Not 9:15, 9:05, or even 9:01. NINE O’CLOCK! Come down Hudson River Drive until you see a blue minivan and don’t pull up too close ‘cause I’m a start blazin’. I want my money in something see through too, in case you try to pull some slick shit. When I get the dough, you get your brother back... Hold on, I’ll let you speak to him,” He placed the phone against José’s ear, “Go ahead, say Hola or whatever that shit is ya’ll be talking.”

“Hector!” José spoke frantically, “Thank God, this Moreno bastard... AGGGGGG!” He screamed in agony when Jahad cut him down the middle of his face.

“You need to teach your brother some manners Hector. Fuckin’ with me, he’ll end up looking like Carlos. You do remember Carlos don’t you? ... Now as much as I like talking to you I gotta go.”

“Wait!” Hector shouted desperately, “I’ll have your money, it’s no problem. I need more time though.”

Jahad looked at his watch. Eight forty. There was no way Hector could make it in twenty minutes.

“A’ight, you have an hour. But if you try some slick shit, your brother is fish food.”

“I’ll be there, just don’t hurt him anymore... Please!”

“That depends on you Hector, it all depends on you. And since I’m giving you some extra time, I want some extra money so double that. Hurry the fuck up too!” Jahad pressed the end button, and then turned to José, “I see your brother loves your worthless ass. That same love is gon’ get his ass killed.”

“I thought...” José quickly closed his mouth when Jahad raised the razor.

“I see you’re a fast learner,” Jahad tore off a piece of tape, placing it over José’s mouth, then resumed talking, “I know you don’t think I’m stupid enough to let you slimy bastards live. You bodied my pops and tried...”

“He did what?” Kwan asked, shocked.

“Yeah, this bastard here and his bitch ass brother were the muthafuckas who bodied my pops that day. You remember the Puerto Rican dude who was dead beside my pops, right?”

Kwan nodded, remembering the day vividly. It was the first time any of them had ever seen a dead body.

“That was this nigga here pops. They bodied him too.”

“Get the fuck outta here!” Kwan and Joey shouted in unison.

“Some ill shit, right?” Jahad looked at José, his face masking his rage, “I’m taking everything muthafucka... everything!”

Fifteen minutes later, Derrick turned off the Major Deegan onto Hudson River Drive. Jahad stared out at the Hudson River’s blackish waters as light from River Park Towers shimmered off the water like crystals in the sun, his thoughts on the person who caused him the most pain, Janet. Rumor had it that she was back in the Bronx, living with her mother, although none of his friends had seen her. If there was any truth to the rumor, Jahad figured she thought he was never getting out. She was in for the shock of her life. Once the Coco Twins were dead, she was next in line, but he had no plans of killing her. Killing her would be too good. He wanted her to live and suffer as he suffered, feel the pain he felt.

“How we doing this?” Derrick asked once he parked along side the sidewalk bordering the Hudson River.

Jahad looked at his watch, “We got like thirty minutes before Hector should show up. I don’t think he’ll try no corny shit, but go find Crook and stay low just in case. When he gets here, stay put unless you see something funny or you see me rub my head. If I do come out busin’.”

“So what’s up with scrams?” Joey nodded at José, whose blood poured off his chin from the slashes in his face.

“I’m ‘bout to see if he can walk on water,” Jahad grabbed the tape off the seat and wrapped José’s face like a mummy, cutting off his air supply.

“UMMM! UMMM! UMMM!” José grumbled loudly, shaking his head back and forth.

“If I were you, I’d try to hold my breath. Better yet, breath out your ears,” Joey laughed, opening the sliding door.

Jahad dragged José out by his collar, while he flapped like a fish out of water, trying desperately to breath, “You ready to perform your miracle muthafucka?”

“UMMM! UMMM!”

“UM, my ass,” Jahad hoisted him up by the back of his collar and the seat of his pants, “Let me give you some advice, turn over on your back and try to float.” With that said he threw José over into the freezing cold water, watching as he sunk upon contact. “One down, one to go,” he whispered, turning back to the van.

Twenty minutes later, a powder blue Lexus LS400, parked thirty yards ahead of the minivan, its dim light left on. Jahad’s heart raced, this was the moment he had been waiting on. As he stepped out the van, he screwed up his face, noticing that Hector wasn’t alone. From the distance, he could make out a woman’s silhouette sitting in the passenger’s seat. Something was wrong; he could feel it.

“I thought you’d be smart enough to come by yourself. I guess your brother’s life don’t mean shit to you after all!” He called out when Hector and the woman stepped from the car.

“Where’s José? I have your damn money now turn over my damn brother!”

He’s up to something Jahad thought, “Who the fuck are you to be making demands? Bring my money, then we can talk about your sorry ass brother.”

“It’s coming, but I’m not bringing it. You think I’m stupid enough to walk right into your hands so you can kill me? Give me a little credit... Besides, I thought you would want to see your old flame again.”

As the woman drew closer holding a large see through plastic bag full of cash, Jahad’s mouth dropped on. Walking only a few feet in front of him was the first and last woman he would ever give his heart to, Janet. Her honey blonde hair was cut short, her face a little fatter, but it was definitely Janet.

“You bitch!” He spat, pointing his gun at her head.

“Jah, listen, you don’t understand baby,” Janet pleaded. Even under the circumstances, she was so happy to see him. If only he would listen, she could explain everything, so much depended on him understanding. Not for her sake, but for their child. “I need...”

“Shut the fuck up!” He hissed, his finger tightening on the trigger. “Open the damn bag and sit it out in front of you... hurry up!”

“Just let me explain. Hector has...”

“Explain what? I’m sayin’, what I ever do wrong to you, huh? What the fuck I do to you!” He yelled with emotions thick in his voice. “Nothing! Not a damn thing and you were fuckin’ that slimy bastard. By the looks of it, you still are. You think he gives a fuck about you? I gave a fuck about you. That nigga don’t...”

“No! No!” Janet cried, shaking her head. “I never cheated on you Jah, never! Hector is my brother.”

“Brother? Chico... Chico...” Stunned, Jahad realized where he had heard that from, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I was scared baby. I didn’t know what to do. I tried to talk Hector out of hurting you, I did. He said he would let us...”

“Whoa, hold up,” He shook his head, confused, wanting so bad to believer her, “What you doing here now then?”

“If you would listen, that’s what I’ve been trying to tell you. Hector forced me to come. He took our...”

“BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! POP! POP! POP! POP! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!”

At the sound of gunshots, Jahad ducked, just as Janet fell into his arms when a stray bullet slammed into her back. Looking up he saw Derrick, Kwan, Joey, and Crook running towards the Lexus, firing at Hector and two other men who had slipped from the trunk. Unable to stand the firepower Hector weaved his way towards the Hudson River and dived in, just as Jahad took aim at his back.

“Goddammit!” Jahad screamed, sprinting towards the rail looking over the dark water, “You better pray you drown muthafucka! If I catch you I’m a torture your ass. You hear me! You hear me!” He roared as tears of rage poured from his eyes.

“C’mon Jah, lets go man,” Derrick said, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Jahad turned from the rail and his eyes immediately focused on Janet’s twitching body. For a moment, he felt a tug at his heart. If what she said was true, then his hatred had been in vain. Then again, he would never know...