Thugs with Tendencies 12
TWT12
Yusef Buchanan
On my block you don't get caught lacking. What's lacking one might ask? Lacking is the act of not being strapped with your gun. You don't get caught without your guns totted and your partners. Lacking in itself means that you might not survive the next day. If you lack your weapon how are you going to shoot back at the guys shooting at you. Lacking was the stupidest thing that someone could do. If you love your son--- you make sure he has a gun. Give a pistol to your wife ---if you don't want her to lose her life. Don't get caught "Lacking".
Because if you're lacking. It means you're dead.
So much blood on my block.
"It's done," DJ said, "Jose and his friend are dead. They didn't put up much of a fight. Not like what I thought it was going to be. They were lacking."
Strange. They were lacking. That was unusual for Jose. Those guys had weapons on top of weapons. Why the hell were they lacking? DJ and Kool-Aid walk in with the news. They'd been sent to kill Jose and Manuel. Killing those two would start a war with the other Mexicans soon. I'd have to be ready.
I drift into thinking. I'm washing my hands underneath the water. I'm running my hands under it thoroughly rinsing and repeating. They still seem so dirty to me for whatever reason.
I nod, "Good I'll tell Ty."
Kool Aid stares at the door, "Yo we took some pictures with the dead Opps...'
`You did what? Give me your fucking phone Kool Aid," I say walking over.
I grab Kool Aid's phone. Sure enough this dumb motherfucker has a picture with his gun and a dead Mexican on it.
"They need to start calling me the Grim Reaper," he laughs.
"You so fucking stupid," I say to him.
"Don't talk to Kool Aid like that man," DJ responds.
I always thought DJ and Kool Aid were fucking. If they weren't they definitely act like it. I mean there's a lot of gay shit going on in the hood on a daily basis. I wouldn't be surprised by it. The thing is they both were under Ty but I was the one in Ty's bed.
"Self-snitching is a fucking disease," I explain, "Delete the fucking pictures dumbass. And get the fuck out."
"We were going to show the pictures to Ty."
Young idiots. They wanted to gain some points. It was all about the clout in Chiraq. Killing someone wasn't enough to these young ones. They had to self-snitch. They had shown proof of what they did. It's a simple myth among these dummies that police don't have access to technology and they are stuck with a magnifying glass like Sherlock Holmes. Little does Kool Aid know I'm actually trying to help him right now.
"You really want to get a case huh?" I ask shaking my head, "Go home. I'll tell Ty. He's busy."
More screams.
Kool Aid looks like he is about to say something smart but DJ grabs him by his shoulder, "Come on Kool Aid. Let's leave them be. What's up Meech?"
Kool Aid walks out and Meech walks in. Meech speaks to DJ but I can tell he has something else on his mind. Jesus Christ I couldn't even get a minute alone in Chiraq.
There are screams in the back room. My cousin Kenyatta is going through it. God knows what Ty is doing to her. I keep getting these stares. They keep looking at me wondering if I'm going to do something to help her. I wasn't. She brought this on herself by going up against Ty. I had to choose a side and I wasn't going to choose Kenyatta just because of blood. How far did blood get me? My dad abandoned me. My mother hated me.
Fuck blood. Only blood I care about are the blood of my opponents. We were savages. If we find an Op lacking on the wrong block, we chase him down and end that really quick.
What a beautiful day in Chiraq. The birds are chirping the Ops are lurking. Well honestly they don't have birds in Chiraq. No goldfish either. Take the scenic route to avoid the savages or you just might end up in a shootout.
"Yusef are you listening? Can you please at least go talk to him?" Meech asks, "He's going to kill her."
Meech is standing in the room with Sterling and Lopez. It must be nice to be him. It must be nice to be loved the way he is loved. The fact that they went out of their way to rescue Meech says something. I wonder if he knows that there are two people in front of him right now and he's going to have to choose one of them. Knowing Meech he has no idea. He's never been the smartest person in the world. There was an innocence about him. It wasn't the kind of innocence that you might think.
"He's getting information from her. He wants to know why she was over there."
"He's torturing her," Meech says.
"Who are these? Your road dogs now?" I ask, "Lopez you ain't got nothing better to do."
Lopez gives me a hard look. It annoys the fuck out of me that he is with Meech. He's so goddam sexy and he knows it. I want to fuck him up for hitting on my cousin. I want to kill him for falling for my cousin. I'm being really petty right now.
"I'm right where I want to be," Lopez responds.
He looks over at Meech. The two of them exchange a long look. Were these motherfuckers in love? In Chiraq of all places? How stupid can you be?
Lopez was going to get my cousin killed.
"Well you need to be somewhere else," I warn him.
"I can't leave without Kenyatta," Meech says.
Meech wasn't getting the point. Ty wasn't someone to fuck with. He was playing a foul game. Ty wasn't the smartest person but he always put two and two together in the end. Meech should be worried about himself instead of trying to save his goddam sister.
I give him the only warning I plan on giving him, "You can end this. You know why she was there Meech because you were with her. Maybe if you go tell Ty..."
I don't finish but I'm hoping he's smart enough to get the hint. Maybe Ty would go easy on him. He had something to do with this. I was sure of it.
"He ain't talking to that motherfucker," Lopez says.
"Who's this motherfucker you saying? You calling Ty a motherfucker Lopez?" I ask, "Is that what you're doing right now?"
I give Lopez a weird look. There is this hate in his eyes. Don't get me wrong. Lopez was a savage. A lot of these savages have that look on their eyes but his was specifically towards his brother Ty. Even now I can see it. How have I not noticed this shit before. I never really caught it before. He looks pissed even mentioning it.
"Like I motherfucking said...he's not talking to Ty," Lopez responds.
"You being disrespectful Lopez."
"Fuck you," Lopez responds, "And FUCK Ty."
This motherfucker was losing it. Lopez gets in my face. He stares me down. I'm shocked this dude was running up on me. Didn't he know I was protected by Ty? Maybe that was the point. Maybe he wanted to go up against Ty.
I give him a hard look. Lopez was talking real tough all of a sudden. I wonder why.
"Ty is right in the room. Why don't I go knock on the door and you say all that shit to his face?" I ask him.
"Get him. I don't know why I'm talking to the dude that's holding his dick anyway," Lopez responds.
That's when Lopez mushes me in the face. He mushes me hard. His open hand pushes down against my face hard. It doesn't hurt but it's disrespectful as shit. Within a matter of seconds, I grab my gun and before I can even raise it Lopez has his gun in his hand too. We are both pointing it at one another at that moment.
"Whoa chill out," Sterling says at that moment.
Lopez doesn't even look back at him, "Shut up White boy."
"Lopez he's right what are you doing?" Meech tries to stop him.
"You ain't going to tell Meech to shut up are you?" I ask, "Meech get your boy."
"Lopez that's my cousin," Meech says.
"This motherfucker doesn't care about you," Lopez responds, "This man Yusef thinks he a big man now. He out here giving out kill scripts to people for Ty. I been across a lot of big men in my life. That's the thing. A lot of big men end up dead. Your face looks right for a t-shirt Yusef that Ty can wear. He'll be able to rep you when you're gone? What you think?"
I start laughing, "Really."
"Something funny?" Lopez asks smiling, "Give me a reason..."
"Let's break this down. We all know what's going on down here. No snitching. You in love with Meech."
"What's your point?" Lopez asks.
He doesn't even deny it. He's in love with Meech. It's hilarious.
"Did he tell you he used to fuck me all the time?" I ask at that moment, "By the look on your face Meech I would say he didn't. Oh yeah. Wait till I tell Ty about this. Wait till I tell Ty what Lopez is out here saying about him. It's going to be war."
"It's been war."
I'm not sure what he means by that. Lopez is acting real weird. What the hell was the history about this?
"Let's get out of here," Meech tells Lopez, "Seriously...man."
I give my cousin a hard look, "You messing with a dead man Meech. If you were smart you would choose Sterling. When we done with Lopez he ain't going to be able to walk a street in Chiraq. Hell he ain't even going to be able to fly over Chiraq. We got shit that will take down planes nowadays."
The comment about Sterling seems to piss him off. Lopez looks over at Sterling. That was his weakness. He knew just as much as I did that Meech shouldn't be with his ass. His insecurities are getting the better of him at that moment. I can tell.
He looks like he is about ready to kill me but shakes his head and says the most interesting thing, "You sure you the one with all the guns Yusef?"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Meech's reaction says it all. I got under Lopez's skin and he said something he wasn't supposed to. Meech grabs him and starts pulling him out.
Meech seems to catch him and pull him off, "Lopez. Let's go. "
Lopez finally agrees and is dragged out of there by Meech. Sterling follows close behind. I can't believe it honestly. I'm pissed off but interested at the same time. Exactly what guns were Lopez talking about?
The screaming in the room continues for a bit longer. I go over to the door and knock on it. I do it for Meech more than Kenyatta. Truthfully I didn't give a fuck about her but I hated the idea that my cousin
was upset about it so I figured I'd try to stop it.
"She isn't going to say what she was doing," I tell Ty, "What is this? Guantanamo Bay or something?"
Ty finally opens the door.
Only when Ty opens the door there isn't any screaming. He's wiping his hands. Its blood stained. I walk into the room. He finally put Kenyatta out of her misery. The sight is something crazy to say the least. Ty was a true savage though. Think he cared about blood? Think he cared about a little torture? Nope. That wasn't the case.
Ty is in the kitchen washing the blood off his hands. It wasn't the most sanitary thing to do but it's not like savages cooked in their kitchens anyway.
"She didn't say shit. Tough little bitch," is all he responds back to.
I lean up against the door and watch him.
"So what now?"
He turns to me, "You not going to like it."
"Meech?"
Ty nods.
"Bring me Meech."
"Ty my cousin has nothing to fucking do with this," I reply, "You don't even know what is going on."
"This bitch has been trying to make a move against me," Ty replies, "She knows I killed the family. If she knows then she told Meech. I know you care about your little cousin but he's making moves against me. I got to take him out. It's not personal."
That was the meaning of personal. It was literally the meaning of it. Ty is just telling me this like it means nothing. Meech was one the of the only people who has always been there for me. We have always been there for each other.
"What if I tell you someone else may be behind this?" I ask.
"You know something?"
"Lopez came to visit me while you were in there."
"Alone?"
There was no way in hell I was putting Meech in this.
"Yeah. Alone."
"What the fuck did my brother want?" Ty asks.
"He actually didn't come for you," I reply, "He came for me. He wanted some ass. He wanted to fuck me behind your back."
Ty looks over at me for a minute.
He turns away and shrugs, "Am I supposed to give a fuck?"
I'm breathing heavy at that moment. It was clear he didn't care. It was clear that I meant nothing to him at all. I just figured he would even care a little bit if his brother was trying to fuck me behind his back. I guess I was wrong. Still Ty needed me. I helped him make decisions. I was his partner. I helped him run these streets. Maybe I wasn't going to get someone jealous over me like Lopez got with Meech. Who was going to love me though? Lopez hadn't proposed to Meech had he? I was in a better position. Ty proposed to me.
Why get in my feelings about details? What mattered is that I was Ty's number 2.
"Lopez is turning on you," I state trying a different tactic, "He kept saying fuck Ty. It seemed deep and personal man. What the hell could have happened between you two?"
Ty shrugs.
"The kid. His son..."
"What about his son?"
Ty shakes his head, "Doesn't matter. Mind your business. What else did he say?"
"He said something about having guns now. I think Kenyatta gave Lopez the guns."
Ty leans up against the counter.
"Fuck."
I can tell he's hurt. For whatever reason Ty was really excited about Lopez getting out of jail. For some reason Ty really thought he was going to be able to work with Lopez. He was now coming to the conclusion that Lopez wasn't the person who he thought he was. Lopez had been plotting against him all along.
I walk over and pat Ty on the back, "Lopez isn't loyal. This whole thing with the Mexicans might have even been something that Lopez is up to. He's making a move on you."
Ty nods, "You're right. He is..."
"We can't let him get away with this. Lopez is the real threat here. Not Meech..."
"You're right. You're right."
"So what we going to do?" I ask Ty.
I'm excited. It's about time I get Lopez back for getting with my cousin. Lopez could have loved me if he wanted. He could have decided to get with me but as soon as he saw Meech he threw me out like I meant nothing to him. It's time for revenge. If I didn't mean anything to him then I was going to make sure that he wasn't in Meech's life as well. It was for the best. With Lopez gone it would be easier to convince Meech to get out of this lifestyle and go with Sterling. Lopez was the only thing holding him back now.
I was ready for Lopez. He was walking around all cocky like he ran things. He didn't run things. Ty ran things and through Ty I ran things.
"Bring me Meech."
"What?" I ask, "You just said..."
"Meech isn't a threat. I know that. Lopez is the threat. Meech trusts you. Bring him to the piers. Say you have a job. We'll kill Meech and send his head to Lopez. That'll teach him."
"Are you fucking joking? Lopez has guns."
"Who is Lopez? Rambo? What he gonna do with all those guns? One person against all my guys. All my guys are loyal. No one is going to turn on me. He has no one. He's going to want revenge for Meech. He's going to get sloppy. We kill Lopez then and we get the guns for ourselves."
"Why kill Meech? Lopez probably isn't going to leave that guy alone especially after he just got back from seeing the Mexicans."
"Meech trusts you right?"
"So what?"
"So he won't tell Lopez that he is hanging out with you. He always hangs out with. What's another day? Meech looks at you like a brother. He is dumb as fuck. He probably trusts you even more than Lopez. Why are we talking about this? Bring him to the pier so we can kill him."
Ty was right. Meech trusted me. He trusted me more than anyone and I trusted him the same. We were more like brothers than cousins. The idea of turning on him was shaking me. It was making me sick to my stomach.
I loved Meech.
"I can't do this. Not this," I tell Ty.
"You love me?" Ty asks.
"Of course."
"Prove it," Ty says, "Me and you are going to run these streets together. Remember? Not me you and Meech. You were going to have to cut that fat anyway. That's all we are doing. Besides...he gets to be with the rest of his family. He won't be alone."
I want to cry. I'm a savage though. Savages don't cry. Ty is watching me. He's looking at my eyes seeing how I react. He digs into my pocket and pulls out my phone.
He hands it to me.
I look at the phone. I'm hesitating but regardless I pull out the phone and send the same text message that I've sent a million times:
GET READY. IM COMING TO PICK YOU UP. WE HAVE A JOB.
~
"I don't know why you keep taking these stupid ass jobs at all times of night," Meech tells me, "Ty better be paying you double for this shit."
My cousin has on his same red hood. He has on that same goofy stare that he always has. I feel sick to my stomach doing this shit. It's killing me. I can't help but to look back and want to turn around. I'm driving in this car and I'm sweating. I'm trying my best to look normal but today isn't normal. Today is going to be the last time I'll see that goofy stare.
I'm a savage. I have to keep on going. It just...hurts...
I smile, "He takes care of me and I take care of you. Isn't that how it works?
"True. You always take care of me cous," he says, "Listen I want to apologize for Lopez. I didn't know what came over him. Honestly I didn't like it. The fact that he pointed a gun in your face was just disrespectful man."
"It's OK," I respond.
"No it's not," my cousin says, "Lopez is too into this lifestyle. Honestly you were right. I spent all day thinking about it. Sterling sits on the side but I notice him. You know? Even though he's not so in your face like Lopez. Sterling wants better for me. I know you've been trying to get me to go with him and get out of here. I'm really considering it this time."
Fuck.
I told him so many times. I wouldn't have to do that if he had listened to me. I told him to leave this place. I told him to use Sterling and get the hell out of here when you have a chance.
"Yeah?" I ask him.
He nods, "Yeah. I think I'm leaving. But you know I couldn't have come to that decision a lot. Kenyatta isn't picking up her phone. I know what Ty did to her. I know. You're the only one I have left Yusef. And I know I don't tell you this much but..."
"Don't say it," I say stopping the car.
I can go back. I can turn this car around now.
"I love you cousin," he says.
I stop the car. I'm just looking at the pier. We're almost there. We're close. I can see it. Ty said he would make this quick. He wouldn't bring his guys. He'd kill Meech personally out of respect. It wouldn't be a big nasty scene.
"I love you too Meech," I explain.
"Why'd you stop? Did the job get called off?" he asks me.
I am on the steering wheel. I'm sweating. That's when it happens. I cry a little bit. I start to cry. My cousin rubs me on my back at that moment.
"What's wrong?" he asks me.
"This lifestyle. The things you do for this lifestyle. All those things just came at me just now. The job didn't get called off. I'm just thinking that maybe I don't want to do the job. You know? Maybe I'm done with all these dead end jobs. Selling drugs, shooting up the Opps and all the other things. I don't want to do it anymore."
"You don't have to do it. We can turn around right here, right now. We can go home if you want. Maybe I can talk to Sterling. Maybe you can move away with us. Wouldn't that be nice? Start over."
I nod.
It was a nice thought.
"That's not me. I'm done with jobs though."
"You turning around."
"No. I'm not going to stop this job but this is going to be the last job cousin," I tell him.
With that I continue to drive towards the pier.
We arrive at the pier. It's a cold night. It's windy. We are in the windy city though. Chiraq has never been so cold as it was tonight though. I lead my cousin down a path where there are a lot of those shipping containers. There is a lot of cover. We go down the path and stop. There are footsteps. I stop and turn to my cousin.
Ty comes out. He has a gun in his hands.
"What's this?" Meech asks.
Ty looks at me. I look at Ty.
"I'm sorry cousin," I say looking away.
Ty must know what this means. He shakes his head, "So am I..."
That's when I see others come out. Ty is just as shocked as I am. They aren't normal people. They are the Bakersfield Boys. It isn't until I see some boots stop and Lopez walking over to Meech. Lopez puts a hand on Meech's shoulder.
"You can go wait in the car. You don't want to see this," Lopez tells Meech.
Meech shakes his head at me. He has tears in his eyes. Then I realize something. Meech never trusted me. He didn't trust me to come out here. I wasn't setting Meech up. Meech was setting me up.
To read the next chapter go to www.crushedcrown.com