Married to the Game

by King Benjamin

  “Don’t try to be sweet. I’m still mad,” she said.

  “Oh, you fronting on me like that? I can’t even get a goodbye kiss?”

  “You don’t wanna go up in the spot with the lipstick and another women’s scent all on you. You might wanna get your mack on,” she teased.

  “Stop playing and give me some lip,” Jay said he leaned in for a second time and got what he wanted.

  “Next time, you better believe I’m going. I don’t care what you say,” Michelle decided after giving him a kiss.

  “When I come back I’m putting my cape on so you better be naked,” Jay warned before heading out.

  “Oh! I get to play with Super Nigga tonight?”

  “Damn right,” Jay replied as he left the room.

  When Jay left, Michelle finished up on the computer then turned on the television in her bedroom. Looking at the time, she turned to local news to see what was going on. Michelle didn’t watch the news like a regular person would. She had a way of dissecting the broadcast and grading the anchor’s performance that day. If someone seemed a little off she’d ponder over their personal lives and even go so far as creating fictional conflict as if she knew them personally. It was her eternal desire to always fish for a story expressing itself in the only way possible. When the breaking news story flashed on the screen, Michelle’s heart skipped a beat as Bones’s and Jazzy’s faces came on the screen. The report went on to say that one of the men at large was now dead of a gunshot wound and the other was believed to be still at large and possibly in the same area of West Virginia. Michelle immediately reached for her cell phone to call Jay.

  Chapter 6

  Gunner and Ray Ray were riding in his white Range Rover coming from shopping out at Somerset Mall when Gunner received a call from Kelly. He didn’t want to answer because he knew what she wanted. Since having the baby, Kelly was more demanding of his time. She wanted him to be home more to help out and he was trying as best as he knew how, being that he’d been stuck in his ways of running the streets since before puberty. Gunner was still trying to find the balance between family man and hustler. The connect had hit him off with a proper package and Gunner came right back as promised. The flow was picking up fast and Gunner could see that this was going to be a beautiful business relationship. He let Kelly’s call go to voicemail.

  “You better answer Kelly call boy. Fuck around and get home and she gon’ be standing by the door with her dukes up,” Ray warned.

  “Kelly gotta chill man, shit, I can’t be two places at once.”

  Gunner was glad to have a son but he was still getting used to all the responsibly. Throughout the ten plus years they’d been together, Kelly had three abortions trying to wait on Gunner to get his life in order to the point he could promise to be there to help raise their children. When Kelly turned thirty she decided she couldn’t wait any longer and Gunner agreed. Now that Keith Jr. was here he wanted to do better than he did with Butter. He wanted to make up for lost time with his daughter but he also wanted to make sure he didn’t repeat the same cycle. Kelly called right back as he knew she would.

  “I’m on my way home soon,” Gunner answered.

  “You don’t understand baby, I been up all night with this child. I just need to lay down for a minute and rest.”

  “I do understand and I’m moving as fast as I can,” Gunner said.

  What he couldn’t tell Kelly was the fact that he was out shopping for her an anniversary gift. Ray Ray had also done a little shopping and Gunner bought Butter some shoes he was gonna take to her house before he went home.

  “Are you gonna be home for the day when you come or you gonna stay for an hour and leave back out?”

  “I can’t say for sure if I’m gonna be leaving out again,” Gunner explained as he turned on Beaconsfield to drop Ray Ray off to his car.

  Just then, they both noticed the unmarked police car flashing the blue and red lights behind them as they drove past Ray Ray’s Camaro trying to stash their weapons.

  “Where them bitches come from?” Ray Ray said.

  “Right, damn let me call you back. I’m getting pulled over,” Gunner said.

  Ray Ray pulled up the arm of the console and slid the trap door open. He and Gunner tossed the guns inside and slid it back closed while Gunner pulled over to the curb. The two men sat calm and cool as police exited both sides of the unmarked car. When Gunner spotted two familiar faces his mind started to race. “What these dick suckers want?” he fumed.

  Ray Ray glanced in the rearview and spotted homicide detectives Hatchet and Lorenzo with guns pointed as they approached from both side of the truck.

  “Hands up, hands up! You know the drill, let me see ‘em!” Hatchet, the black officer, yelled.

  Gunner and Ray Ray obliged as the doors were snatched open and they were yanked from the truck and tossed on the hood.

  “What can I help you with today, Lorenzo?” Gunner said as he was patted down.

  “Shut the fuck up! Where them guns at? We know y’all keep ‘em close,” Lorenzo questioned.

  “It’s illegal for a felon to be in possession of a firearm sir,” Gunner said with a smirk.

  “Shut your bitch ass up and spread your legs.”

  When Gunner saw Hatchet putting cuffs on Ray Ray that’s when he grew concerned. Hatchet and Lorenzo had been trying to get Gunner since he and Jay beat the murder case years ago. They knew they’d never be able to convict the Van Dyke Down Crew of all the murders they were responsible for, but all it took was one and they were committed to putting the remaining members behind bars.

  “Say goodbye to your shooter, he’s coming with us,” Hatchet said as he hauled Ray Ray to the unmarked car while Lorenzo searched the truck.

  When Hatchet had Ray Ray secured, he came back to help his partner search the truck.

  “What’s this all about man?” Gunner said, frustrated with how they tossed his things out on the curb with no respect.

  Lorenzo stopped for a minute and rose up to look at Gunner.

  “Murder, what do you think it’s about?” he shot back.

  “Psssshhh,” was all Gunner could say as he kept his hands on the hot hood.

  The search came up empty and they eventually let Gunner go, but they assured him Ray Ray was in deep trouble and might not be home for dinner.

  ****

  Jazzy’s unexpected death caused Bones and Oshiwa to flee West Virginia almost immediately, taking nothing but drugs, guns, and one suitcase full of clothing with them. They traveled north knowing they had to get as far away from the south as they could now. Police would be combing every inch of the surrounding states hoping to catch up with Bones. He wanted to kill Rell for what he’d done. It wasn’t so much that he cared about Jazzy, but Rell had single-handedly ruined his drug operation and his only source of income. They tried to reach Rell several times before leaving West Virginia but after a couple hours passed, it was much more important to just get out of town.

  They landed in Darby, Pennsylvania, a small town right outside of Philly. With the fake ID’s they secured in Kentucky they were able to rent a hotel room until they could come up with a plan and stable location. The first few days, all Bones and Oshiwa did was lay up in the hotel room drinking, smoking and having sex. It quickly began to feel like prison for Oshiwa being cooped up all day every day with no direction. Weeks later, Bones wasn’t saying much about their next move, and as time passed she started to realize for once, Bones didn’t have a plan. But the immobilized feeling was eating at Oshiwa as she watched Bones sitting on the side of the bed smoking a blunt. He just seemed dazed and confused. Too much time was being wasted. She couldn’t take it anymore.

  “Baby, you gotta get your head back in the game,” Oshiwa blurted out.

  Bones turned and looked at her in an offended manner.

  “Fuck you talking about?”

  “I’m just saying, I know we in a fucked up situation, but we can bounce back. We ain’t gotta go out l
ike this. I mean…look at how we living right now. Look at how we been living for the past year. I know this ain’t what you broke out of prison to do. Like, you a fucking boss dude. What do you wanna do now that you out here?”

  Bones stood up and began to limp around the hotel room still smoking. Oshiwa’s words began to stir something inside of him as she continued.

  “We do what we wanna do; we ain’t no fucking lay down and die type of muthafuckas. I got your back on whatever, you already know that, but I know you came home to live, not be a prisoner in the fucking free world. That’s why I’m asking you like, what do you wanna do? What do you really wanna accomplish before it’s all said and done? Don’t shit last forever, Bones. All we got is here and now.”

  Bones passed her the blunt as the wheels of his mind began spinning like a carousel.

  “You know I hear you bitch, talk that shit. I need to hear it. I hear you loud and clear,” Bones nodded and began psyching himself up mentally.

  It wasn’t over, it was just the beginning. He refused to go out like a sucker.

  ****

  Jay was starting to realize that starting a label from the ground up was going to be a lot harder than he expected, especially starting from a small town in North Carolina. He’d been talent scouting a couple weeks now and he’d come to realize that the south had a completely different sound than the Midwest. So much so, that it was hard for him to distinguish what was hot and what wasn’t. What he felt he needed at the time was someone with an ear for music and better yet southern hip hop. For now, all he could do was continue to mix with the locals until something panned out.

  His phone rang as he pulled in the driveway and it brought a slight smirk to his face because it his boy E and he knew why E was calling.

  “I’m still coming muthafucka!” he answered, pretending to be annoyed.

  “What?” E replied confused.

  “I know yo’ ass calling me to see if I’m gonna come back home for your birthday and shit. Nigga I’m a man of my word.”

  “Nigga I wasn't even calling about that,” E said.

  “You a lying ass.”

  “No bullshit. They got Ray Ray today nigga.”

  Jay’s mood quickly went from joyful to gloomy.

  “Damn, straight up?” Jay said getting serious.

  “Yeah nigga, I just got off the phone with Gunner. Say they rode down on them on the block. Hopped out and went straight for Ray Ray and slapped the cuffs on ‘em.”

  “I’m surprised Gunner ain’t called me. What’s the charge?”

  “They got ‘em on a body dog.”

  Jay’s heart sank hearing the news. Ray Ray was like family to him and this was the last thing he wanted for anybody in his circle but just like him, Ray Ray knew the risk and he was sure that the young bull wouldn’t panic.

  “Damn man…we’ll talk when I get to the city but let me know if he gets a bond and if y’all need some help.”

  “You know I will. Oh yeah, by the way, you seen that shit that was floating around news about ol’ boy?”

  “Bones? Yeah, I saw it. Bitch ass nigga was right in my backyard and I didn’t even know it.”

  “You be careful down that way my nigga,” E said.

  “I’m sure he got the fuck on now, but Michelle is still a little nervous, you know?”

  “Yeah, I bet. I’ll hit you when I got more info on Ray.”

  “Alright. One,” Jay said ending the call.

  After hearing the news that Bones was still at large, Jay tried to convince Michelle that part of their lives was over forever. The truth was he would never be able to believe it himself as long as Bones was alive. He didn’t think a jail cell would even suffice. One of these days, Bones would have to die.

  ****

  Gunner had been running around trying to finish the errands that Ray himself was supposed to do and trying to get in touch with Ray’s family to let them know the situation. When he finally got home his phone was dead and he still had a bunch of calls to make. He plugged the phone up to the charger and his lawyer Dan finally returned his call.

  “It’s not me this time, it’s Ray,” he told Dan.

  “What’s the charge?”

  “The trying to pin a body on ‘em, Dan,” Gunner explained.

  As the two of them went over the details of what Gunner knew at the moment, he also explained that he was working with a new bail bondsman and Dan asked for the number. Gunner realized he’d stored the bail bondsman’s number in his trap phone which was still in the truck. He called out to Kelly.

  “Baby, can you go get my other phone out of the truck?”

  Kelly rolled her eyes as she walked outside. He knew she’d be upset about him just getting home. Gunner and Dan made small talk while Kelly went out to the truck to grab his other phone.

  “So how’s the wife treating you these days?” Dan asked.

  “Man, she want me to be here with her and my son all day and she don’t understand why that can’t happen.”

  “Hey, what’ve I been telling you all along? You gotta make time for what’s important G.”

  “I know, Dan, I’m doing my best.”

  “Apparently not,” Dan chuckled. “Anyway, what do you think we’re looking at here with this Ray situation? Is it something serious or them fishing again?”

  “I don’t even know yet. I’m waiting to hear from him.”

  “Don’t worry about it. I’ll go see him tonight,” Dan assured him.

  Kelly was taking way too long to go outside and get his phone off the front passenger seat. Knowing her nosey ass, she was probably snooping around in his truck. Just then, Gunner remembered that he’d left Butter’s shoes in the truck with intentions to drop them off tomorrow. When Kelly came back inside she was holding the phone in one hand and the bag with Butter’s shoes in the other.

  “Who the fuck kids’ shoes is these?” she demanded to know with a fierce look in her eyes.

  Chapter 7

  Michelle was excited to learn that the trip back to Detroit had been bumped up a couple of days. She couldn’t wait to get back and see Leslie so they could hang out like old times while Jay visited his friends. Jay failed to mention the reason for his change of plans but it didn’t matter to Michelle as long as they were together. The good thing was, they were sure to beat the holiday travelers now flying in a week before the Fourth of July. Still, there were complications and annoyances as usual, like the overly aggressive and loud final boarding calls and the stiff officials that treated everyone like they were smuggling drugs or a terrorist.

  Michelle suggested they fly first class but Jay reminded her that he was paying for an auto transport so they wouldn’t have to rent two separate cars. They were on a budget with her off work for the summer and him starting a new business venture. She understood and agreed, but she continued to poke fun at the fact that they landed in seats right behind a whiny toddler.

  “How much you wanna bet there are no whiny toddlers in first class?” she whispered in his ear.

  “Shut yo’ ass up, you don’t know that,” Jay responded.

  Michelle giggled.

  “You know I’m right; don’t get mad.”

  The flight attendant made the final announcements before takeoff as Jay and Michelle settled in for the quick one-hour flight to Michigan.

  “So what you and Leslie got planned?” Jay asked for the first time.

  “A few things. You knowing I gotta go to Hell on Earth before we do anything. I miss that food so much.”

  “Damn, I know they tired of seeing y’all,” Jay teased.

  She punched him.

  “Shut up, I haven’t been there in forever.”

  Less than ten minutes into the flight, it happened. Right across the aisle from where they sat. A slim, brown-skinned woman with a worn out weave, who looked to be in her mid-thirties, decided she was going to take off her shoes and clip her toenails right then and there. Jay and Michelle looked on in amazement.

&nb
sp; “Oh my God…oh…my… God,” Michelle vented.

  She couldn’t believe the nerve of this chick as she went on without a care in the world. Jay’s face was torn up in dissatisfaction.

  “Ain’t this about a stanking ass, muthafucking bitch!”

  “Shhhh,” Michelle tried.

  “Shhhhh my ass!” he said louder, causing everyone to look up and see what the commotion was.

  He leaned over Michelle’s lap to get the woman’s attention.

  “Aye!”

  The ghetto chick looked up and over at Jay almost as if she was daring him to confront her about her actions. Jay shook his head defiantly.

  “We don’t wanna see that!”

  “Who is we? ‘Cause all I see is you complaining,” the woman responded, rolling her neck with heavy attitude.

  Jay turned around to the people behind him.

  “Do y’all wanna see this bullshit? Raise yo’ hand if you wanna see a hoodrat—”

  Just then, a flight attendant popped up to see what all the commotion was about. Luckily for everyone, she was able to defuse the situation, asking the woman nicely to stop clipping her toenails while she was on the plane. Everyone was glad Jay spoke and rest of the flight went smoothly.

  ****

  Since Ray went to jail on a Friday he didn’t get in front of a judge until that Monday morning. He stood boldly in front of the judge with a look of complete disdain for his authority as Dan Marsh and the prosecutor went over the specifics with the judge. The prosecutor was asking that Ray Ray be held without bond because of the serious nature of the charges, but Dan had a completely different outlook on things.

  “Your honor, my client is twenty-five years old and has no criminal record with the exception of some petty juvenile offenses. He has strong family support and would like nothing more than to clear his name and have his day in court.”