Married to the Game

by King Benjamin

  Out of bullets now, Rell took off on foot through Grand Central Park. Ray took off after him trying to keep from taking innocent lives as people scattered about screaming and panicking.

  Once inside the park, Ray saw a clean shot as Rell passed the water fountain. Ray fired his last three rounds striking Rell in the back as the bullets lifted him and propelled his body into the water fountain with a big splash. Blood quickly turned the water crimson red as sirens rang out in numbers. Ray knew that Gunner was probably gone and he had to fend for himself if he wanted to make it out of this one. His dashed through the crowd of running people until he made it up to the people mover station. He jumped the turnstile and ran up the stairs just in time to catch a train pulling in. The disarray was all over his face as he stepped inside with his heart pounding in his chest.

  The six passengers on the train had heard the shot and took it that Ray was lucky to escape the mayhem as he began to sweat profusely. Still holding the murder weapon in his waistline, he rode the train while he brainstormed his next move. All but two of the passengers got off at the next stop. Ray was left with two teenage passengers on the train and he knew if the police stepped on he’d stick out like a sore thumb. Without overthinking it, Ray pulled out his pistol.

  “Give me the fucking shirt!” he ordered one kid who was about the same size as Ray.

  The kid’s eyes grew big as bowling balls as he quickly obliged, snatching off his shirt and handing it to Ray. Ray took off his shirt and replaced it with the kid’s knowing the police would have a description of what he was wearing. As the two kids sat curled in a corner of the train scared shitless, Ray just watched them like a hawk until they came upon the next stop. With the gun hid in the original shirt he stepped off the people mover and dashed down the Trapper’s Alley stairwell. He wiped the prints off the gun tossed it in the trash can right before he appeared on the Greektown streets.

  He blended in with all the other patrons as he spotted a taxi nearby. He rushed to the taxi and climbed inside. He slid the Arabic driver a hundred dollar bill.

  “Just get me the fuck away from downtown!”

  ****

  Gunner didn’t make it far after he let Ray out of the car. The bullet that had pierced through his abdomen from Rell’s gun made sure of it. Gunner only let Ray out because he believed he was about to die and he wanted his death avenged as his dying wish. As he drove a mile down to Receiving Hospital he could feel himself getting light headed and woozy as the loss of blood began to take its toll. Right as he turned on St. Antoine street he felt his energy fading to an all-time low before he passed out and went crashing into the emergency entrance sign.

  Chapter 14

  For the past few days, Michelle had been floating on a cloud. This was the life she always knew she would obtain one day. Even though she’d risked everything, including her career as a television journalist to get to this point, she could honestly say she was happy through and through. Finally, she was in a place where she could let her guard down and firmly accept the fact that Jay was truly in love with her and he did plan to spend the rest of his life being her man. They both still had so many goals and dreams but they could now combine those dreams and go after them as a team.

  Nothing ever felt more real, more right, than the day Jay dropped down on one knee and looked into her eyes with such hope and desire as he proposed to her. From this day forward, Michelle vowed to do everything in her power to help Jay become successful as he removed himself further and further from his past street life. As she drove home from work she envisioned their dream house with their two kids—a boy and a girl—running around playing in the backyard. She envisioned their wedding day with Leslie as her matron of honor, standing by as she had so many times before. The two of them had been talking and planning since the day Jay popped the question.

  Now that the second semester had started, Michelle turned all her attention back to work and bringing the best out of her athletes. When she got home, she noticed Jay was there. She wasn’t expecting him to be home because he’d planned a meeting with a local movie producer and he wanted to pick the guy’s brain and learn all he could about the business, knowing he would face some challenges. But as soon as Michelle entered the bedroom she could feel the negative energy in the air as he silently packed a suitcase on the bed.

  “Going somewhere?” she asked a bit confused.

  “I gotta go to the city. Gunner got shot,” he explained without looking back at her.

  “Noooo!” Michelle sounded.

  “Yeah, I got the call about an hour ago.”

  “Why didn’t you call me?”

  “I didn’t wanna bother you at work until I knew more about what’s going on. All I know right now is he’s at Receiving Hospital.”

  “Do you want me to come with you?”

  Jay just shook his head.

  “I think it’s better if you stay here,” he finally replied.

  Michelle didn’t understand why she had to stay behind. Gunner had become someone she cared about just as all of his other close friends. Why wouldn’t he want her to be there, unless…

  “Wait a minute, Jay. Are you going to check on your friend or are you planning to do something else?”

  The last thing she needed right now was for Jay to start moving backward. They were too close to home base now. Jay sighed deeply and stood up, turning to face her for the first time. He walked up and met her in the middle of the bedroom floor. He placed both arms on her shoulders.

  “I’m just trying to protect you, Michelle. I don’t know what’s going on but you know them niggas ain’t changed like I have. They life is still real as fuck and I don’t want you walking into nothing that could’ve been avoided. I told you I would never put you in a situation again, and I mean that.”

  “I know that, but if that’s the case why don’t you stay here until you learn more about what’s going on? I don’t want you walking into nothing crazy either.”

  “My best friend is lying in a hospital shot up baby. I need to be there.”

  Now it was Michelle’s turn to let out a deep sigh as she went and plopped down on the bed. She wanted to be understanding of the situation so she tried her best to conceal her anger and worry.

  “I just thought this part of our life was over,” she finally said.

  “What part?”

  “The part when I’m scared of something happening to you in Detroit.”

  Jay came and sat down next to her.

  “That part is over, Michelle. I would just feel better if you stayed here. Can you understand that?” he spoke in a soothing tone.

  “I guess I don’t have a choice.”

  “Look at me.”

  Jay grabbed her chin and led her eyes to his. “I’m never gonna put you through that shit again. Okay?”

  “Okay,” she nodded before he kissed her lips.

  ****

  The news of the bloody shootout in downtown Detroit was all over the local news channels. The manhunt was on for a suspect spotted fleeing the scene but the description was vague. A young black male, mid-twenties, a hundred and sixty to a hundred and seventy pounds, fit the description of hundreds of thousands of local residents. Later that evening, police were able to identify Rell from his fingerprints and realized he was wanted for murder in West Virginia.

  Bones knew it was only a matter of time before the police connected the dots and realized that the only real connection Rell had to Detroit was himself or Oshiwa. This realization sent Bones into a frenzy. Doe and Rell had one chance to get this right and do it cleanly without a trace back to him and they had screwed it up horribly. He’d been having Oshiwa try and get in touch with Doe for the past few hours but Doe wasn’t responding. Oshiwa was trying to get Bones to realize that if they weren’t about to pack their bags and flee immediately then he needed to calm down.

  “Don’t act like we don’t still need that nigga, I’m just saying. If the heat really about to come down that means I can�
��t move! Who else gon’ hold shit down while you ready to blow this nigga top off?” she went on.

  “Fuck that nigga,” Bones persisted and he paced the floor.

  “Whatever. He wasn’t the shooter anyway. The nigga you really pissed off at is lying on a slab and ain’t nothing we can do about that.

  “Should’ve done that shit myself.”

  “Now you just talking stupid.”

  “Shut the fuck up! Okay? Just shut the fuck up!” Bones snapped.

  The feeling of the walls closing in again had Bones on high alert and beyond frustrated. He hated knowing that his life would always be like this. Constantly ducking and dodging the law trying to grasp every little bit of freedom he could before his number came. When he got like this Oshiwa grew exasperated trying to get Bones to stay focused. She felt unappreciated and abused, knowing her role in the big scheme of things held shit together. She held one hand up in surrender. She wasn’t about to fight with him today.

  The doorbell rang and it startled them both. Bones grabbed the AK-47 that sat in the corner just for surprise visitors. He sent Oshiwa to check it out and she pulled out her pistol as she crept to the front door leaning sideways, stepping cautiously. She peeked through the front blinds but didn’t see any cars out front or in the driveway. Guardedly, she made her way to the peephole at the front door. Bones stood close by with the Chopper gripped tightly as she glanced outside. Her shoulders immediately relaxed spotting Doe’s face on the other side of the door.

  “It’s Doe,” she informed as she opened the door.

  Bones sat the Chopper back down in the corner and Doe came in looking weary.

  “How you get here?” Bones asked immediately.

  “My girl dropped me off a few blocks over. I walked the rest,” he explained.

  “Why you ain’t answer my calls? I been calling you all day,” Oshiwa said.

  “I had to dump that bitch. I think the police been calling that muthafucka!” he replied in anger.

  “Why you say that?” Oshiwa asked.

  “Shit, who else would be calling me from Rell’s phone?”

  “Psshhhhh,” Bones released, shaking his head as he plopped down on the loveseat.

  This shit couldn’t get any worse.

  “It was a burnout anyway. They can’t trace that muthafucka back to me,” Doe explained.

  “It don’t matter. What the fuck you think your name is locked in as in Rell phone?” Bones replied.

  Doe hadn’t thought about that and it showed on his face as he paused, unable to come up with a decent response for a minute.

  “So what, I’m not the only nigga that go by the name Doe in the city,” he finally replied as he leaned against the wall across from where Bones was sitting.

  “My man, you taking this shit pretty light for a nigga that just barely made it out of some hot ass shit alive.”

  Doe shook his head defiantly.

  “I ain’t taking shit light nigga. It is what it is. Rell had the drop and didn’t handle his fucking business.”

  “You was there. Why you didn’t back ‘em up?” Bones shouted.

  “I wasn’t there to be the shooter, I was there to be the driver nigga. He had the drop. That shit was supposed to be quick and easy.”

  “Sounds like you bitched up to me.”

  “Naw never that,” Doe replied. “And check this out Bones, I just put my life on the line for you nigga. That ain’t my beef. Niggas need to be more thankful for the niggas out here putting in work,” Doe shot back.

  Bones was appalled. His forehead furrowed as he stood to his feet.

  “So what you saying?”

  “I’m saying, I ain’t with all this barking at me and shit ‘cause yo’ manz didn’t do the job you sent him to do.”

  Doe had no fear in his eyes as he saw Bones approaching with his fist balled up. Bones towered over him in size but Doe was ready for whatever.

  “Oh yeah?” Bones replied as he sized Doe up.

  Oshiwa saw things about to boil over and quickly jumped between the two of them.

  “No! No! No, y’all not about to do this shit. We all we got,” she reminded them.

  The men engaged in a stare off that could’ve killed a weaker man’s spirit. The tension between them was coming to a head.

  ****

  Jay arrived at the Metropolitan Airport and had Niecey Girl pick him up and take him straight to the hospital. She was just as concerned about Gunner who had become like a brother to her throughout all the years he and Jay had been tight like glue. He’d been calling Kelly since he arrived in the D but her phone was off and so was Ray’s. He did get in touch with E but he wasn’t of any help, not knowing much more than he did when he first made the initial call to Jay. Gunner was the one friend Jay didn’t think he could take losing. As much as they both knew the risks the game held, he prayed often that Gunner made it home safe.

  When they walked through the hospital lobby they quickly spotted Gunner’s mom, a few cousins and a couple of his employees sitting in the waiting area. The strained look of all the worry and anxiety this situation had brought on could be seen in his mother’s eyes. As soon as she spotted Jay a lone tear escaped from her eye and it made his heart sink. The only thing that gave him hope was the hint of a smile that was attempting to spread on her face as she stood to reach out and hug him.

  ****

  Gunner woke up to find his wife and his daughter by his side as the pain in his abdomen stabbed at his mid-section. He thought he was seeing things when he spotted the two of them standing side by side. He focused his vision until he could see Kelly’s tear-stained face clearly. Never had Gunner put her through so many traumatizing situations in such a small time frame, and he could see the desperation in her eyes. She was desperate for him to wake up and realize he had too many people depending on him to keep going on like this. Desperate to understand how he could have held such a deep secret for all these years and desperate to know how almost losing his life after taking custody of his daughter would affect his thinking from here on. He cleared his extremely dry throat.

  “I’m glad y’all came. I think if I woke up and seen anybody else I would’ve been disappointed.”

  “How you feel now Daddy?” Butter asked, her eyes lit with joy now.

  “I’ma be okay baby. How did you get her?” he asked Kelly.

  “Your mom is downstairs. She said we could come up first.”

  Gunner never had a good relationship with his mom since he decided he would live out his life as a gangster and a drug dealer. He was raised right but never took to the traditional way of doing things. The disconnection between them had not only kept Gunner and his mother apart from one another, Gunner’s stubborn temperament also kept her away from her grandkids.

  “She probably don’t even wanna come up. She just glad I’m alive,” he assumed.

  “Don’t say that. You know your mama loves you.”

  Without Kelly, Gunner was forced to reach out to his mother for help with Butter. She quickly stepped in at the time when he needed her the most, putting their differences aside. Just when Gunner thought he was about to get some order in his life, here he was lying up trying to recover from an attempt on his life.

  “I know she loves me. She just don’t fuck with me unless I’m talking what she wanna hear. If it wasn’t for my daughter being in the situation she in, we still wouldn’t be talking.”

  “Your mother just wants you to do better with your life and so do I. You got a lot of people that need you,” Kelly said looking at him with her eyes bucked in all seriousness.

  Gunner knew what she wanted to hear. He could look in her eyes and see that she was waiting for him to give her some kind of indication that he was ready to get out of the game.

  “Kelly, I love you and I need you. I know I haven’t been the best nigga in the world but I tried my damnest to be a good husband. I was young as hell—”

  “We don’t have to talk about that right now,” she int
errupted.

  “I’m not gon’ say nothing my daughter can’t hear. She knows I love her and she knows I love you. You know I’m not the same man that I was ten years ago. But some things never change.”

  He shifted in the bed as he winced in pain. “It’s like when a man decides to become a police officer. He knows the job is risky. He knows he could go to work and never come home one day but that doesn’t stop him from wanting to do the job he believes he was called to do. He goes out and gets married, has kids and raises them, lives his life, all with the understanding that this could all be over in the blink of an eye. But you gotta follow your calling baby because it’s who you are,” Gunner finished with pleading eyes.

  Kelly couldn’t believe her ears. She was flabbergasted by the fact that her husband honestly believed he was born to be a drug dealer. She believed when Jay started to make his exit, and E started to talk about leaving the game, Gunner would see the light but obviously, she was wrong. She just shook her head thinking she should’ve never stayed as long as she did. She had a son to think about now. But she loved this man so much it was still hard to walk away.

  Just then they heard a tap at the door and Gunner looked up to see two detectives standing at the threshold. He stayed calm, knowing a visit from them was to be expected. He still didn’t know what happened after he let Ray out of the car. He didn’t know if Ray was dead, alive, or incarcerated. The day’s events all came rushing back to him and he knew he could be in some shit depending on what Ray had done. He prepared himself to stick to the code. He didn’t know anything and hadn’t seen anything.

  ****

  Jay was relieved to find out that his best friend had pulled through. The doctor said that if his wound had been a couple of inches over to the right Gunner would’ve been wearing a piss bag because his bladder would’ve been seriously damaged. He also had a broken thumb from the car crashing in front of the hospital. He still wouldn’t be able to see his friend until he was moved to ICU but just knowing he would be okay did wonders for his mental state. When Jay spotted Kelly coming out of the elevator he was shocked to see her holding Butter’s hand. She released Butter’s hand to embrace Jay as she walked up to him.