“Fuck her, she bet not say shit to me when I get out.”
“You know she loves you, it’s just that—”
“I don’t care, Mama. I wanna see my cousin Kim but Sherrie can stay wherever she at,” Oshiwa interrupted.
“Kim is doing good now.”
“I heard. I talked to her a couple time since I been in here.”
“So what are your plans now?” her mom asked.
The two of them had talked on the phone numerous times since she’d been incarcerated but that was the first time her mom had thought to ask the most important question of all.
“I’m not gonna lie Mama, if I can find a way to put all this stuff behind me without having the police on my head and all that, I’ma do what I do. You know I’m not the one to sit on my ass and be broke for nobody.”
Her mom cringed a little listening to her hard headed daughter.
“Yeah, I know…I was just hoping you found an easier way to get your money ‘cause I don’t know how long you think this way is gonna last.”
“Don’t worry about me, Mama. I been taking care of myself and y’all for a long time ain’t I?”
Her mom nodded. She knew how many of her bills had been paid through Oshiwa throughout the years.
“Alright then, just trust the fact that I know what I’m doing. I’ll be out of here shortly and it’s going down.”
****
Since Oshiwa’s arrest and Bones’s departure, Doe was feeling like the city was his playground. Everyone including the hustlers that he had under his wing could notice the change in his demeanor. If they never believed Doe was meant to be a boss he was making them believers now. He moved throughout the city day and night now with free will to hustle and grind as he saw fit.
It wasn’t long before he was flaunting his newfound success in the clubs, popping bottles with the mover and shakers of Detroit. It was his way to get his name out there to the right people and elevate himself from middleman to “The Man.” As far as he was concerned, the money and drugs Bones had left him with was his for the keeping. He kicked back a few dollars for the first couple of weeks but after that, it was a wrap. The only person he was looking out for was Oshiwa as he waited for her release date. He wasn’t answering any calls that came from Bones or Pam.
If Bones wanted to come back to the city and risk going to jail just to go to war with him, he was more than willing to engage him. Doe wasn’t waiting around for his time; he was taking what he believed he deserved now.
****
Michelle and Jay were relaxing having a nice, quiet dinner at home. Things had cooled down in the city, at least for now, giving them both a huge peace of mind and giving Jay some time to focus on his manuscript, learning what he could about the movie business, and legalizing things. As Michelle sipped on her favorite red wine letting her food digest, she remembered what she’d been meaning to tell Jay all day.
“Oh! Guess what?” She smiled.
“What?”
“So I was talking to Leslie today and she told me that Brian said he thinks he might have somebody that is willing to look over your manuscript when it’s done.”
“Somebody in the movie business?” Jay said excitedly.
“Un duh!” she teased him.
“Well I thought he was going to be the one to do it.” He shrugged.
“Well, I mean as much as he does he’s not really into the hood life movies so he thinks it would be better to hand it off to someone who knows what to do with it.”
“That makes sense,” Jay agreed.
He was ecstatic to know he now had a writer and director and two film producers to help him with the project.
“I thought you would agree.”
“Let me ask you something though,” Jay said.
“Go ahead.”
“Do you think I should change the name of it?”
“I like The Hood Report,” Michelle said.
“Yeah, I mean, I like it because it got the whole reporter role in it that will put a spin on the story but…I don’t know. I think it could be better.”
Michelle had agreed to have her own character fictionalized in the story, knowing it would add the most spice to it. She was worried about facing more scrutiny at first if the movie went big but as she searched her heart she realized that Jay was about to be her husband and he was really a changed man. It didn’t matter to her what the world thought. They were in this together. As she reflected on the part of his life, a similar but better title seemingly popped in her head from nowhere.
“How about…The War Report? I mean, a big part of the story is this beef with the enemy and all that so it gives you the real meat of the story.”
“That’s it! I love it!” Jay shouted as he jumped up from the dinner table. “That’s it! That’s it, baby!”
“You like it, huh?” Michelle giggled.
“What? The War Report,” he repeated trying to get a feel for the new title.
“The War Report,” she replied, nodding her head slowly.
“Yeah…that’s gangsta.” He smiled.
“Thank you, thank you,” Michelle said, bowing her head as if she’d just received a standing ovation.
****
It wasn’t an easy thing to do, but as Gunner sat in the second row directly behind Ray and his lawyer Dan Marsh, he was confident that they had this case in the bag. They had done what needed to be done under the drastic circumstances that were presented. As the judge waited patiently, the prosecutor spoke to the family of the victim right above a whisper to keep anyone from hearing what was being said. Today Ray was set to start trial but all morning the prosecutor had been delaying the start waiting for the star witness to arrive.
Just five minutes ago his confidence had been dismantled when he was pulled to the side for a brief one on one with the lead homicide detective in Ray’s case. As he left the courtroom, Detective Lorenzo and Gunner exchanged a brief glance that no one but the two of them were probably aware of. As the prosecutor finished his talk with the family he humbly asked if he could approach the bench. After another brief, low volume conversation with the judge, the prosecutor went back to his table and the judge gave Ray a long stare down that made Gunner wonder what was about to happen.
“Will the defendant please stand,” he finally said.
Ray stood and glanced back at all of his friends and family spread throughout the courtroom. “It has been brought to my attention that the prosecution’s star witness was murdered last night. As much as I don’t like the position this puts me in I have to obey the law. The prosecution has asked that all charges be dismissed with prejudice in this case due to insufficient evidence.”
“Hell yeah!” Gunner shouted as a few more of his friends made a loud outburst.
“Order! Order in this court if you want to walk out of here today,” the judge warned.
Ray just bowed his head and took in the victory silently as his lawyer Dan gave him a pat on the back.
“You understand that dismissed with prejudice means that this charge could magically reappear in the future? Are we clear on that?” the judge asked Ray.
“Yes, Your Honor.”
“Good. This case is dismissed with prejudice sir, you’re free to go,” the judge finished.
Gunner stood up as Ray turned and did a George Jefferson diddy bop headed his way before he left the courtroom. They embraced briefly, glad to be able to put the murder charge behind them. It was the best feeling in the world to know they had beaten the system once again.
Chapter 18
It was just after sundown when Gunner and Ray pulled up and parked on the backstreets of Van Dyke and McNichols. Gunner turned the car off. They hadn’t even had time to celebrate Ray’s victory in the dismissal of the murder charge yet because there were still things that needed to be handled.
“I got some shit I need to talk to you about when we done here,” Gunner said as he sat behind the wheel of his Buick Lacrosse.
“O
kay bet, I think that’s him pulling up now though,” Ray said glancing in the review mirror.
Ray sat with his gun in his lap concealed slightly with his shirt strategically placed over it. Detective Lorenzo pulled up in a black Silverado 1500, which was his off-duty truck. He pulled the strings on his hoodie tighter to help conceal his face as he quick-stepped to the Buick and slid in the back seat.
“Sup?” Gunner spoke as he reached for the bag of cash on the floor.
“Let’s make this quick so I can get the fuck out of this neighborhood,” Lorenzo said.
“Shiiiid the quicker the better,” Gunner agreed, handing him a bag with twenty thousand in small bills.
“What’s up with all the fucking singles?” Lorenzo asked.
“That’s Ray’s money; you gotta talk to him about that,” Gunner said.
Since back in the days when Lorenzo was just a street cop he’d been trying to extort Jay and his crew. When it didn’t work he started trying to find a way to put them behind bars but somehow, they always came out on top.
It was only recently when he’d decided to take the “if you can’t beat ‘em join ‘em” approach. Dan, the lawyer, was the go-between to making an initial offer. Jay had corrupted Dan years ago and there was nothing he wouldn’t do for the Van Dyke Down team. Forty thousand dollars was Lorenzo’s price for obtaining the witness’s address. They gave him half up front and now that the job was done, this was the balance of the payoff.
“I get it how it comes to me, you know that,” Ray replied.
“Nice doing business,” Lorenzo said reaching for the door.
“Hold up, before you dip,” Gunner said.
“What’s up?”
“We got one more job for you.”
The detective eased his hand off of the door handle.
“I’m listening.”
“We need a cell number for that girl that’s locked in the county. First name is Oshiwa. She’s supposed to be linked to the dude that escaped from the prison on Mound Road.”
“You mean Bones’s bitch?” he asked for clarification.
“Yeah, Bones’s bitch.”
“And you wanna know what cell and what floor she’s on?”
“Yeah.”
“How are you gonna—”
“Don’t ask us shit about shit. Can you do it or not?” Ray snapped.
“Fuck you, watch your mouth!” Lorenzo fired back.
“Naw, fuck you!”
“Okay, you wanna be a tough guy right? Price just went up, fifty instead of forty,” Lorenzo barked.
“Chill out Ray,” Gunner reasoned.
“Yeah, chill out Ray,” the detective mimicked.
“Forty-five man, you get half now and the other half when it checks out.”
“Fuck it, give me the money,” Lorenzo says.
Gunner went in his pockets and put together $22,500 and handed it over his shoulder to Lorenzo in the back seat. If they could get this chic out of the way she’d be one less headache to watch out for in the future. Detective Lorenzo flipped through the money without actually counting it. He was in a rush to get away from such well-known criminals before he was spotted by some of his colleagues.
“I’ll be in touch,” he said, reaching for the door again.
He slammed the door harder than necessary and he hurried to his truck.
“Bitch ass,” Gunner mumbled as he started up the car.
They rode in silence down French Road for a while locked into their own individual thoughts until Ray remembered what Gunner said earlier.
“So what you wanted to tell me?”
“Oh yeah…” Gunner replied then fell silent.
“What’s up nigga?” Ray chuckled, seeing it was something weighing heavy on Gunner’s mind.
“I’m thinking I’m about to get out man,” he finally said.
“You about to get out of what?” Ray asked confused.
“The game man. I think it’s the only way I can save my marriage and raise my kids. On some real shit, you know I never thought about how much my kids would really need me around until Butter had to come live with me.”
Since the mother of his daughter’s death Gunner’s whole world had been turned upside down. The talk he had with Jay stuck with him this time because so much had changed. There was no solution to fixing the betrayal he exposed to Kelly but he knew if he didn’t change his life there was no way she’d ever consider getting back with him. Since the day she walked out the couple had been living separately. Although Kelly found it in her heart to help out with Butter, getting to know her more each day, the pain she felt was still very real.
“I don’t got no kids my nigga. I can’t even relate to your struggle but that shit sounds crazy. What you gon’ do now if you ain’t hustling?” Ray asked.
“That’s the hard part. I really don’t know but I gotta do this shit. I ain’t shit without my wife dog.”
Ray just looked at Gunner realizing the sincerity in his voice. He had to respect it if Gunner didn’t wanna take the risk any longer.
“You foreal huh?”
Gunner just nodded.
****
Jay was sitting in his home office reading a book about screenplays and script writing. The idea of trying to write his own manuscripts was starting to become more appealing. He had all these ideas for more movies after the one about his real life and he didn’t want to depend on other people to tell the story right. He figured with the time he had on his hands, it only made sense to acquire a new skill. His cell phone rang with a call from Gunner.
“What up G?” he quickly answered.
“What’s popping?”
“You know me, trying to make up a new grind,” Jay said.
“Me and you both. That’s what I was calling you about.”
“Oh yeah?” Jay said, a little in shock.
“Yeah, I gotta walk away from it dog, you was right. I sat up all night last night thinking about that shit. I don’t know what I’ma do but I gotta find something.”
“It’s a lot of ways you can invest your money dog so it just don’t dwindle down to nothing. You can start with buying up some of them cheap ass houses in the hoods that’s not all fucked up wild.”
Gunner had flipped a couple houses before but never got too deep into real estate. Besides the club he once owned, it was the only legit thing he’d ever done.
“I thought about that but I don’t know if I got the patience to be a landlord.”
“Just remember this ain’t just about you my nigga. For your family, you will find some patience, trust me.”
“That’s real,” Gunner agreed.
“Hit Dan up too. I know he got some ideas of his own he can share. That nigga got me investing money in stocks, bonds, and all kinds of shit.”
“Good idea, I’ma hit that nigga up tomorrow.”
“This some good news man.” Jay smiled.
“You gotta come celebrate with your boy. I’m ‘bout to throw a birthday slash retirement party round this bitch.” Gunner laughed.
“You know I’m with it.”
Gunner’s birthday was less than a month away.
“Tell Michelle she better come too.”
“Fasho. You think you can wrap up everything in time?”
“I don’t got no choice my nigga. It’s either now or never.”
Jay was overjoyed to see that his friend had finally seen the light. It was always his dream that the rest of his friends would make it out of the streets and they could all grow old and live life in the slow lane. First E and now Gunner. When he ended the call he rushed to find Michelle in the house to tell her the good news.
“Baby!” he said startling Michelle.
“Huh?”
“I just got off the phone with Gunner. He said he’s about to get out the game.”
“Really?” Michelle said in shock.
“Yeah, he’s foreal. I can tell.”
“Wow. What do you think changed his mind finall
y?”
“He just said he know that Kelly and the kids need him around. I think everything he been going through just opened his eyes.”
“This is really good news. I’m so happy,” Michelle said.
It was the best news she’d heard all month. For Michelle, Gunner getting out just meant Jay was that less tempted to get back in or risk his neck for something his friends got mixed up in.
“He’s having a birthday slash retirement party next month and he said you gotta be there.”
“Is it gonna be safe?” she had to ask.
“You think if it ain’t I would let you go?” Jay said appalled at the question.
“Then I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Michelle said honestly.
Everything was falling into place. Jay and Michelle could really see a bright future forming for themselves and everyone in their circle.
****
Oshiwa was released from the county just days before Detective Lorenzo was able to come through with the information her enemies needed. As she stood outside in the freezing cold holding her property bag waiting for Doe to pull up, she had no idea how close she’d come to the end of her criminal career as well as her life.
She’d forgotten to ask what Doe was driving but when the 2010 white Audi truck sitting on twenty-four-inch chrome wheels pulled up she was completely taken aback. Oshiwa tried her best to conceal that she was impressed. She didn’t even know if it was really his yet. He popped the locks and she slid into the passenger seat.
“This you?” were the first words from her mouth.
“Whachu think?” Doe asked as he mashed the gas looking at Oshiwa, smiling.
“Damn, business must be better than I thought,” she said.
“Yeah, you could say that. Surprised?”
“Actually I am,” Oshiwa admitted.
Since she had been on lock the two of them had not been able to talk extensively about the business side of things and especially about Bones. For all she knew Bones was somewhere collecting his profits and laying low as possible. That could not have been further from the truth.
“I got something to tell you,” Doe explained.
“Okay.”
“I kept the money that Bones gave me. That’s how I came up so fast.”
Married to the Game Page 13
