by Renta
Harrison was the first to break the silence. “Unfortunately, you’re not under arrest, Ms. McDade.”
“What!” My soon to be ex-boss exploded. “Surely you’re not about to allow this—this criminal to just walk free?” His eyes bounced back and forth between me and the agents.
When no one replied, I gathered my things. “I’ll be back for the rest of my things tomorrow. I’ll make sure to have my lawyer with me.” My eyes rolled over Agent Harrison. “Just in case,” I added. Jefferson’s pale face flushed beet red when I turned my heated gaze toward him. “I’ll be contacting Human Resources as well as the main office in New York to inform them of your conduct here.” I made my way to the door, but before I was able to leave, Agent Harrison stepped in front of me blocking my departure.
“You know we will get you, right?”
In spite of my nervousness, I was able to hold his stare with an indifferent look. “You finished, Agent Harrison?”
“No, I’m not—I know that from the video you either didn’t have nothing to do with this bank being held up, or you’re the best actress I’ve ever seen.” He smoothed his tie and glanced over at the video that was still playing in slow motion. “Either or, I know—two things for certain. You know those men that committed this crime, and as soon I can confirm it, I’m gonna nail their asses to a wall in a federal jail cell, and you’re going down with them for obstruction!” Harrison seethed.
I winked at him as he stepped out of my way. “By the way, agent, whoever said that those were men wearing those mask?” I asked as I made my way out the door.
Right as it was closing, I could’ve sworn I heard someone say, “Son of a bitch!”
****
~Assata~
Lovey turned at the sound of the fired shots. “What in the world is wrong with you, Chile!” she demanded.
I made my way in her direction. If I wasn’t dead, I wanted to be. I never wanted to be separated from these two again, and that was my sentiments exactly when I hugged Lovey for the third time that day.
She hugged me as tight as she could and whispered, “I love you so much, Chile. Ya know that don’t cha?”
I pulled away so I could stand face to face with my queen. “Yes, ma’am, and you know you’re my first love, too, huh?”
The corners of her lips quirked. “Chile, Moose was ya first love. You loved that woman more than life. You’ve always been a big ole mama’s boy, Satta.” Her eyes studied me. “But you know who your real true love is, baby?”
For some reason, my heartbeat quickened with that question. Confusion held me captive, but the more I searched Lovey’s eyes it was as if Jazzy’s face was materializing within her pupils, that shit rocked me.
Lovey smiled at my reaction. “Go get your heart, son, she’s crying for you. She—”
Before she could finish her spiel, I was already shaking my head, being stubborn was just my nature. “Naw, Queen, I’ll pass on that. Maybe she is crying for me, but she twisted a knife in me that’s too deep to pull out.” I dropped my head unintentionally. The revelation exploded in my internal like a virus on a mission.
Lovey used her fingers to lift my head up. “Chile, you’ll never be able to figure a woman out. I’m not saying all of us are the same, but the good ones—” she paused and opened her palms, my eyes widened as a yellow caterpillar appeared on it. Lovey continued to watch it while it soaked up the sun. “—a true woman, Assata, is like the lady in that fairy tale Snow White. She’s dead to the world once she finds real love. There will be numerous men that want her to belong to them because they know her worth.”
Lovey closed her fingers around the caterpillar and looked up at me. “Many men will kiss her, they will do all things to arouse her, but loyalty—her heart won’t allow her to respond. Her respect for self won’t allow her to live life until that specific man kisses her.” Lovey opened her palm and to my amazement, a beautiful yellow and black butterfly rested inside of it. “Only then, Chile, will she respond, and live to her fullest potential.” The butterfly flapped its wings and hovered about Lovey’s open hand, Lovey smiled down at it. “It’s time that you leave this place, Satta.” The hurt in my eyes must have shown through because Lovey looked up with a sad smile. “We’ll meet again, Chile, but your work isn’t finished yet.”
Desperation was like a snake crawling through my veins. “Why though, Lovey, why can’t I stay here with y’all? It’s nothin’ left for me out there. Please, mama let—” My plea got caught in my throat as the sky suddenly turned pitch black.
I looked up and became transfixed as a red tint blended with the darkness. I turned my attention back to Lovey, but Lovey had vanished.
Panicked, I turned and came face to face with the barrel of Shy’s .40. “I never did thank you for riding for me out there, Bleed.” His eyes were as black as night skies as shadows played over his face. “I love you, nigga, and good lookin’ on bein’ a real nigga. Take these and make sure you use ‘em well!” He smiled wickedly and pulled the trigger.
Boc! Boc! Boc! Boc!
My whole body burned as my mind exploded, and my eyes opened all at once. “Well, isn’t this nice.” A man with electric blue eyes smiled up at me.
Chapter Three
The Game of Chess
“Check, playboy, it’ll be checkmate in three more moves,” I called to Ice-Berg.
We’d met at Lovey’s spot because it was a place he already knew the location of. Lovey had stayed in that house for sixty-something years, everybody knew where Big Mama stayed. She wouldn’t relocate for nobody, no matter what we said to persuade her. “When God wants me, He’ll take me no matter where I rest these old bones at, Chile,” she’d say.
So, it wasn’t a secret where niggas could get at us at. I barely knew homie, it wasn’t like we were cool, but ever since shit turned sour, we had no other choice than to join forces. Them pussy ass Russians had my brother and the only person that could lead me to ‘em was Ice-Berg’s bitch, Bella. Ever since Freedom called me a few days ago informing me of what went down at my lil’ brothers spot, I’d been on the hunt for that boy Russia’s head.
I begged Freedom not to alert the authorities because that would only get my lil’ nigga killed, and truth be told, some shit was just best left in the street. I’d met up with Ice-Berg to discuss our strategy and somehow ended up playing chess, mentally and physically!
I watched Berg study the board intently before a crooked smile formed on his lips. “Outta check,” he exclaimed after taking my knight with his bishop.
‘Damn, I didn’t anticipate that move,’ I thought as I rested my face in the palm of my hand and held my pointer finger against my temple in deep thought. The more I observed his setup, I understood his strategy, one false move on my part would cost me not only a pawn but also my queen.
“Say, Goose, I don’t understand you sweet dick ass niggas out here. You tell me you caught the woman whispering on her phone at three in the morning, and when you pulled her coat tail she hung up acting all ‘noid and shit, right?” he inquired before he took a sip of the amber liquid in his glass. “So, why not whack the bitch and eliminate the possibilities of the slut taking down the entire operation? Come on, cuz, you can’t be that lame.” He laughed and downed the rest of his Brandy. “Homie, that hoe is the law, if she moving like a snake in the middle of the night, that means either two things. The hoe got another nigga she fuckin’ and she’s about to set you up or she workin’ for them people. My bet is the latter, you acting like you the folks or something, fam,” He objected as if that was some cool shit to say.
Without looking up from the board, I discreetly touched the butt of the burna that was tucked in my waistband. The thought of uping it and rockin’ his ass to sleep made love to my senses. But I decided to give him a pass because I understood that the young guns of this era didn’t know how powerful their tongue was.
I took the tool off my waist and laid it on the table, barrel aimed in his direction, then looked u
p at lil’ daddy. “Checkmate in two moves, young-gun,” I concluded as I lined my queen up with my rook.
Homie looked skeptical because his knight was in position to take my bitch. The queen seemed free in comparison to the bishop he stood to lose. He looked up at me quizzically as I leaned back in my seat and rested my hand on the butt of the .357.
“Bruh, the problem wit’ you, young niggas is when it comes to a female, you tend to focus on her assets more than her morale. Niggas focus on the bitch with the fattest ass rather than the one with the deepest mind.” I toyed with the trigger as I spoke the gospel to the young brotha.
He was just one of a million cats that observed with his dick, thought with his heart, and disregarded his brain when speaking in terms of a pretty face and some wet pussy. I studied his body language as his eyes found my finger softly caressing the trigger of the pistol.
I saw his nervousness battle with his composure as he considered my intentions. “It’s because boys become so focused on how good the nut will feel that they forget that just as pussy gives life, it takes life as well—” I spun the burna on the table and Ice-Berg’s tension eased noticeably.
He played it off by returning his attention to the game, but I continued to psychologically beat his ass, that’s the real objective of chess! “Yet, one never considers that the woman with the deepest mind could rule an empire with him. Her loyalty will transform him in ways that only a real bitch can,” I jeweled him, but obviously, the cat missed the hint because just as I thought, he took my queen.
I smiled at him and took the bishop with my rook. My other rook was already one row in front of his king imprisoning it to his death. I stared at him he was still oblivious to the danger he was in. He pushed his knight directly in front of his king, but the last moment he recognized his blunder.
“Ain’t that a bitch!” Ice-Berg spat.
I laughed and checkmated his ass with the other rook. I snatched the burna off the table before giving him food for thought. “My, nigga, don’t ever disrespect me by suggesting I’m a rat. I’ve rocked niggas to sleep for less.” He thought on it for a second then nodded in respect. “Dig, Ice-Berg, you must always know what typa female you’re rockin’ wit’. The purified truth is she’s only gonna do one of two things—” I tucked the pistol back into my waistband as he began to set the board up. “Pay attention nigga, I’m giving you a life preserver—" I got his attention. He paused with one hand on a chess piece and his eyes on me, alert. I looked deep into his soul when I gave him a valuable piece of game. “She’s gonna either sacrifice herself for you, or she’s gonna sacrifice you for herself.”
****
~Kamika~
“Girl, this spicy tuna roll is delicious!” Johnson exclaimed.
We were at a sushi bar on the West side of Fort Worth, and she’d been stuffing her face with raw fish since we’d been seated. Not long after she’d warned me about the plots of our superiors, we’d started kicking it. Tracy Johnson was cool, but a little too chatty for my taste. The mere reason I even associated with her was because I knew she’d be a valuable asset, she’d keep me informed on the gossip at the station. I had a lot on my mind, so my appetite was almost nonexistent, but Tracy rambled on and on about how they’re talkin’ about trying to get Obama care eliminated as if she thought those white folks were going to leave a remembrance of a black man being in office in place.
She spoke on how bad things were since Trump been in office, but no matter how much I hated the prejudice son of a bitch, one fact stood firm in my mind, the employment rate had skyrocketed by sixty percent; that’s forty percent since the eighties! Yet, I could care less about politics at the moment, I stared absently at my plate. The seaweed wrap was barely eaten. I wasn’t sure if it was merely that time of the month for me or if my conscience was having a debate with my heart. Nevertheless, I felt shitty about what I was about to do to Goose. It’s not like I didn’t care for the man, he was just too dangerous to not be taken off the streets, but more so, what other choice did I have? Those fed boys had me in a corner, and I just wasn’t cut out for prison.
“Kamika—girl, you’re not listening to a thing I’m saying, something has your mind, or someone has it.” Tracy startled me from my thoughts.
I was so lost in thought I must have lost track of her rants. She stared at me as if she was offended because she didn’t have my undivided attention.
“Huh?” I countered with the most innocent look I could muster. “Oh—girl stop being foolish, I heard everything you said,” I lied. She looked at me with her lips twisted and a, ‘what the fuck ever,’ expression on her face. “What!” I laughed and picked up my fork before I glanced in her direction.
She leaned back in her seat, crossed her right leg over her left, and crossed her arms. Tracy was a plus sized woman with a pair of double D’s that made the posture resemble a lecturing aunt. She narrowed her almond-shaped eyes and bounced her right leg. “You’re thinking of your boyfriend, aren’t you?” She assessed my reaction before reaching forward, grabbing her glass of water and taking a sip. “There is trouble in paradise, huh? Girl, let me tell you something about men, they’re only loyal to two things, their mamas and home-cooked meals!” She snapped her fingers and sat her cup down on the table.
I’d never put her in my business so she couldn’t have known that she was valleys away from the truth. I wonder how she’d react if she knew not only was my boyfriend a part of the infamous Kreek Circle, but I also was in alliance with the Federal Bureau of Investigations to take him down. I had to laugh at the irony of the entire situation.
Tracy must have thought she was speaking the gospel because she didn’t break a stride in her sermon. “A man will only respect you as long as you don’t show him the character traits of the things he’s always feared in a woman in the first place.”
That shut me down completely. She touched a soft spot because Goose had once told me something almost identical. Tracy nodded her head understanding that she’d reached something in me.
“When will I be able to meet this mystery man anyway? We’ve been kicking it for weeks and I’ve yet to meet the man that was able to steal the heart of the infamous detective with brass lower lips.” She smiled at me expectantly.
Out of respect, I gave her a somber smile. “Soon!” I took a bite of my food just to buy time.
Obviously, Tracy wasn’t going for it because she narrowed her eyes once again. “Baby girl, how old are you?” she inquired.
I figured that was a much safer topic than my treachery, so I humored her. “I’m twenty-nine, soon to be thirty, August thirty-first. Why do you ask?” Curiosity got the best of me.
Tracy picked up her fork and stabbed the last piece of the tuna roll she had. “That means I’m five years older than you, so cut the crap—” she replied before placing the food to her lips. “—your dude is either a street dude that you think I’ll judge you for or either you’re lying about having a man period!” She then placed the food in her mouth and winked.
****
~Ice-Berg~
I studied the board intently, but Goose had my mind racing at a hundred miles an hour. I’d just learned that even though he looked younger, the man was forty-four years of age. Yet that wasn’t what had my thoughts rushing like an underwater current, the man’s intellect was on some other level shit.
“What you gonna do, young gun?” he interrupted my concentration.
I glanced up at homie before looking back at the chessboard and moving my pawn up threatening his. I had him down to three pawns, a king and a rook to my queen, one pawn, and both Bishops. There was no way he’d beat me. He observed the board, he had his pawns lined up back to back, one protecting the other. There was one row between him and getting his queen, but my queen protected the back row and a bishop aimed its pistol at the row that he needed to transcend in order to be successful, and my king sat next to my queen like a lion and his lioness.
“You wanna know the unique thing �
�bout a pawn, homie?” he proposed as he moved his king up to the last pawn in the line, which was also the most important in his protective strategy.
The Brandy I’d been downing had me feelin’ myself as I pushed my other Bishop across the board. “I bet you’re gonna tell me after you get yourself outta check, huh?”
I smiled, he knew he was dead, yet, his composure never slipped. I studied fam, his dreads hung wildly about his head and face hiding his eyes behind a jail cell of hair, yet, I could feel him staring at me. Homie had three fingers of Brandy beside him that he hadn’t touched since he’d poured us both a shot. I was already on my third shot.
Goose noticed me staring at the glass, chuckled lightly, and positioned his king behind the last pawn. “A pawn is a child with unlimited possibilities, yet their worst attribute is their lack of intelligence, they only have a one-track mind.” He finally took a sip from his cup before he anticipated my next move. “There warriors that only knows how to go forward unless they’re killing someone, but if they survive beyond their predicted life expectancy, they’ll grow up to save your life one day.” He philosophized.
I pushed my queen all the way to the end of the board. My plan was to force his king away from the second pawn beside the first, that left them without protection. I reconsidered my angle, ‘follow your first thought’ my gut spoke to my mind. I pushed my queen up. “Check.” Goose nodded and pushed his king beside his pawn, I moved my queen directly behind his king. “Check,” I called again, but he merely pushed his king in front of the pawn, directly behind the other two. I saw his intent and took a gamble, I pushed my queen two squares over, my intention was to push my queen back to the last row.
