One Way To Heaven

by J. M. Benjamin

  “You told him we need at least two clean throw away whips to travel in?”

  “Yeah, he said he should be able to get everything up and runnin’, it’s just gonna cost more. I won’t really know how much until I talk with him in person, you know he don’t like talking over the phone.”

  “Okay. Speaking of phone, you need to get you a clip or something, so you’ll stop leaving yours. And why were you late getting back?”

  Heaven’s question reminded Anita of her close encounter.

  “I thought I was being followed,” she announced.

  Her words drew immediate attention to her from her crew.

  “What?” Heaven was the first to speak.

  Anita played the entire tape back for them.

  “That’s a prime example why you need to keep your phone on you at all times. Luckily it was a false alarm, but still we can’t afford no mishaps or bullshit period right now, so like I said, everybody just tighten up,” Heaven warned before continuing her meeting…

  Chapter Four

  Watchful eyes turned their attention to John-John and Peedie as they entered the establishment known as Easy Street. They bypassed security at the door as if they owned the place. Peedie nodded to a smiling, voluptuous waitress who waved from behind the bar while John-John shot a murderous stare at a man he thought was looking at him to hard for his taste, leaning up against the bar. People raised their glasses, tipped their hats and waved as the two men floated through the local hangout.

  “What the fuck you lookin’ at my boy like that fo’ Slim?” Peedie snarled as soon as he got within ear distance of the man he addressed by his street name. He had caught the exchange between him and his partner.

  “Nah it ain’t like dat Peedie.” Slim became fidgety. His eyes immediately zeroed in on the bulge poking out of Peedie’s shirt. That was enough to cause him to lower his gaze in submission. What little confidence he had when he saw John-John walk through the door had disappeared at the sound of Peedie’s voice and the print just above his waist. Word around town was that John-John had been creeping with Slim’s girlfriend and this was the first time he had seen him since the rumor mill began. He knew he may not have been the smartest man in the world, but he did not believe he was the dumbest either. There was no doubt in Slim’s mind that the switchblade in his right front pocket was no comparison to the gun he knew was underneath Peedie’s shirt.

  Both John-John and Peedie watched as a defeated Slim slowly removed his hand from out of his right pocket. They continued towards the back the moment they saw him come up empty handed.

  “Bitch ass nigga,” John-John mumbled as he shook his head.

  “What the hell was all that about?” Peedie asked once they were out of view of Slim.

  “I’m laying pipe to his bitch.” John-John response was nonchalant.

  Peedie let out a gust of air. “Man this fool ready to die over some pussy. These tender dick niggas kill me.”

  “Fuck him,” John-John retorted.

  “Well is the pussy any good?”

  John-John couldn’t help but burst out into laughter.

  “You shot out dawg!”

  “What? Well is it nigga?” Peedie was serious.

  “Yeah it’s straight.” John-John smiled at his partner then threw his arm around his neck and gave him a manly hug.

  “It’s nice to see you two love birds looking so happy,” a voice chuckled right before the sounds of a cue ball breaking a rack of pool balls could be heard.

  Neither one of them found humor in the statement. They immediately straightened up and returned to their normal stoned faces.

  An orange ball and purple ball found their way into separate pockets on the table from the break.

  “Man lighten the fuck up. Ya’ll always so damn serious when you get ‘round me,” the man playing himself in pool chimed after sinking the blue pool ball into the corner pocket. It was not strange to see their boss shooting pool by himself. They were used to it. Just like they were used to him telling them to loosen up. Although they had all known each other equally a long time, and were all in the same age bracket, John-John and Peedie did not view the man as their equal. He was their boss and they worked for him, simple as that. They got paid to do a job, which they were fine with, and worked hard for their pay. They would play around or joke amongst themselves but never outside of that. What they did for a living was not a game and they maintained that at all times around the man they worked for. Ever since he had presented them with the opportunity to be a part of his team, when they were wondering what they were going to do once they got out of prison, it had been strictly business between them and that’s the way John-John and Peedie liked it.

  The man shook his head. He knew his words had fallen on deaf ears.

  “So tell me something good?” he changed subject.

  “Another dead end,” John-John stated.

  “What’chu mean another dead end? What happened?”

  John-John and Peedie’s boss missed his intended shot.

  “The fuckin’ broad spotted us somehow and we had to fall back.” Peedie took over.

  “How the hell did that happen? How she knew ya’ll was following her?”

  “We don’t know.” Both men shrugged their shoulders.

  The man scratched the back of his head then grabbed his forehead. “Why the fuck we can’t find out where these bitches stayin’ and keeping that shit at?”

  “We been tailing these hoes for months, being careful like you said, so we don’t drop the ball,” John-John reminded his boss.

  “Yeah you right,” the man shook his head.

  “They never take the same route to wherever they go and they never driving the same car. The routes they be taking down some of them back roads would easily get us spotted,” John-John continued.

  “Man, the next time, I think we should just grab one of them bitches and make ‘em talk,” Peedie cut in. His frustration was obvious.

  “What if she doesn’t?” the man said dryly.

  The comeback was familiar to Peedie. It was the same one John-John had given in the car. Peedie remained silent.

  “Exactly,” Peedie’s boss continued. “That’s why you don’t get paid to do the thinking,” he added.

  Peedie knew he had set himself up and swallowed what came behind it.

  “Fuck it. No need stressin’ over this shit, we’ll get ‘em.” The man threw the pool stick on the table.

  “Let’s go get a drink, on me,” he said walking towards the bar.

  John-John and Peedie followed.

  “I said the same shit to yo’ ass in the car,” John-John reminded Peedie, just loud enough for him to hear.

  “Fuck you,” was all Peedie could conjure up under his breath…

  Chapter Five

  Anita had just stepped out of the shower when she heard the ring tone she had set for the specific caller. She rushed into her bedroom and snatched the phone up.

  “Wassup sexy?” she answered.

  “Dang, I was about to hang up. I let it ring six times,” Re-Re’s southern drawl chimed into the receiver.

  “My bad baby, I was in the shower,” Anita chuckled.

  “You bet not had no other bitch up in there witchu’,” Re-Re warned.

  “Nah, she been left,” Anita joked.

  “Nita, don’t play wit’ me. Don’t make me cut one of them East Florence hoes.”

  “Girl, relax. You know you the only one I fucks with,” Anita assured her. And it was true. She was feeling and had fallen for Renee Jackson aka Re-Re the first day she laid eyes on her at The Hut out in Hartsville. When her cousin Corey had introduced her to Renee, she knew she was into women, aside from the rainbow bracelet she wore stating the obvious. Renee was just the way Anita liked them, short and stacked. At 4’11, Renee’s caramel complexion looked like it belonged overtop of some vanilla ice cream with nuts on top. Her last name was appropriate because her nose and petite lips could pass for relations to
Janet and Latoya Jackson. Her brush cut fit her oval shaped face and her deep brown eyes resembled almonds. She wasn’t top heavy but wore them well. Her thighs and calves were strong and thick from her cheerleading days. She was built like a miniature version of Jessica Rabbit. Standing at 5’6 herself, Anita loved the way she towered over Re-Re and loved the way the strap-on slid perfectly inside her clean shaved peach when Re-Re bent over and arched her back a little. But most of all she loved the way her body felt when it was up against Re-Re’s smooth skin. Anita was a sucker for a well put together physique and in her book Re-Re had the total package.

  “Anyway.” Re-Re dismissed Anita’s comment. “Am I gonna see you tonight?” She asked instead.

  “I don’t know,” Anita ran her fingers through her Mohawk. She prepared herself for what she knew would come next.

  “What’chu mean you don’t know, I thought you said.”

  “I know what I said last night, but something came up. I’m telling you now, I don’t know.” Anita’s tone was somewhat harsh.

  “Well, fuck it then!”

  “What do you mean, well fuck it then?” Anita repeated. Her words could only be heard by the dial tone because Re-Re had already hung up on her. She shook her head and dialed Re-Re’s number back. After one ring she was sent straight to voice mail.

  “That was some childish shit you did, but it’s cool, don’t even worry about it.”

  Anita left her voicemail then hung up and rolled over off the bed. When she looked up, Mia was standing in her room’s doorway.

  “Trouble in paradise,” Mia stated rather asking slyly.

  Without any reaction or response, Anita walked over to the door and closed it in Mia’s face…

  Chapter Six

  Heaven cruised down the back dirt road of the quiet country town she had been calling home for a little over a half of a year to clear her mind. Lately, she had been stressed-out. She found herself in deep thought more often than usual. She hadn’t had a decent rest in months and it started to take a toll on her. It seemed like every time she closed her eyes images of what had lead to her being a fugitive of justice invaded her mind. She was all too glad to be free, but at what cost was what weighed heavy the most on her heart. Distant memories skipped through her mind. As images of her life flashed before her eyes, Heaven couldn’t help but miss her right hand crime partner, the one man she ever truly loved and her hometown. A sense of sadness swept through Heaven at the thoughts. She smiled at the scene that played in her head of her and Earth in the two- bedroom suite in Atlantic City’s Bally’s hotel casino as they counted and bagged up all the money they had washed that weekend. As the scene fast forwarded, Heaven’s smile slowly faded as images of her and Chill’s first encounter at the club transformed into his head laying in her lap as he breathed his last breath right before he uttered those unforgettable words to her. Heaven rubbed her stomach. Her sadness quickly escalated into anger at the thought of the miscarriage she had due to all the stress she had to endure. Heaven wanted nothing more than to annihilate the person responsible for how her life was playing out. She knew the stakes were higher than ever now. There was no doubt in Heaven’s mind that she would have to return to New Jersey someday, but on what terms was the million dollar question she was searching for the answer to. The sounds of Drake’s new album blared out of the speakers of Heaven’s car as she accelerated. A cloud of dust trailed behind the car as the speedometer approached one hundred. She was going nowhere fast in deep thought while zoning out to the music. Revenge was all Heaven could think about as she gripped the steering wheel tighter. By now, the speedometer read 120. In no time, it rapidly climbed to the 160 max on the dashboard. The residue and debris from the dirt road began to hover over the vehicle like a sand storm. Heaven was now in a blind rage. Out of nowhere, an image of Monty appeared in front of her. The boom from the gun pointed in her direction was enough to break the trance she had been in, causing her to slam on breaks. The car began to swerve from left to right as Heaven continued to grip the steering wheel tightly. She hadn’t realized she had been doing 155 miles per hour. She fought to maintain control of the vehicle as she watched the speedometer decrease. As her speed dropped to forty, Heaven’s car fishtailed and spun out of control. She was able to come to a screeching halt just seconds before the car slammed into the large tree on the side of the dirt road. Heaven’s heart rate increased from the close call. She shoved the car into park and banged her clenched fist on the steering wheel.

  “FUCK!” she yelled at the top of her lungs.

  Now more angry at herself than anything.

  Tears began to trickle down her face. She immediately wiped them. Tears or any sign of weakness was not an option for her. Heaven glanced over into the rearview mirror and stared back at herself. Between replacing her long bronze toned hair with a shorter oriental black do and the lines under her eyes from all the stress and restless nights, she barely recognized herself.

  “You gotta get this mutha’ fucka and end this shit,” she said aloud.

  Then she nodded in agreement as to confirm what she had just told herself right before she put the car back in drive and pulled off…

  Chapter Seven

  Shell and Sonya sat across from each other engaged in a card game of casino. Sonya had noticed the dazed look on Shell’s face as she scooped up one of the cards off the table. She knew what the look stemmed from. She too had been feeling the same way for the past few months.

  “Don’t worry ma-ma, it ain’t gonna be like this forever,” she said to Shell in an assuring tone.

  Shell sucked her teeth and sighed out of frustration. “I hate this down south shit,” she broke out into a tantrum. “I hate everything about this slow ass hick town.”

  “Yeah, me too,” Sonya agreed. “But you know it’s only temporary. You know Heaven workin’ on gettin’ us up outta here, we just gotta fall back until she puts it together.”

  “Fuck that! I’m tired of all this fallin’ back and laying low shit. This shit is for the birds.” Shell slammed her cards down on the table. “We down here in west bubble fuck, cooped up in the crib depending on some bama we don’t even know that’s related to a chick we really don’t know either. I mean Anita cool and all, but she ain’t been through thick and thin with us like that. How crazy is that,” Shell stated.

  “You’re absolutely right, but what other choice do we have?” Sonya pointed out the obvious. “Who else can we turn to or where else can we go? Had it not been for her, who knows where we’d be.”

  “Home!” Shell blurted out. “Come on Sonya, you can’t tell me you don’t miss Jerze. We ain’t no sit in the house Joan Crawford southern belle bitches. We in the street chicks. We could’ve did this shit back home on the outskirts or something. Shit, I miss the game. I miss the excitement and all that shit. It’s like I’m dying down this bitch from boredom, like I’m in rehab or something going through withdrawal. I’m fuckin’ homesick like a mutha’ fucka, you feel me.”

  “Shell I hear what you’re sayin’ and I feel you. But did you forget the reasons why we’re down here in the first place? I don’t think you realize just how real shit is. Ma, we broke Heaven the fuck outta jail and murdered a bunch of mutha’ fucka’s in the process on some terrorists shit? That ain’t no play play shit. We done passed the life in prison sentence. If they catch us, they gonna finish our asses, so we only got two options, carried by six and be put in the dirt on our own terms or judged by twelve and be put in the dirt on theirs. When the time comes for us to return back to New Jersey, which you know it will, it’s only one way, ain’t no turning back.”

  Sonya’s words hit home. Shell took it all in. She hadn’t really sat back and looked at things from the perspective Sonya had just pointed out to her. She frowned behind the thought. Sonya reached across the table and placed her hands on top of Shell’s.

  “It is what it is.” Sonya flashed a half smile.

  “Fuck that, I still wanna go back home.” Shell matc
hed her smile.

  All Sonya could do was shake her head because she too was also ready to return home and face whatever music was playing…

  Chapter Eight

  Mia was removing the strap on dildo from around her waist when her hands were stopped in its’ tracks.

  “You sure you can’t stay for another round?” the girl asked coming up behind Mia.

  “Nah, I really can’t.” Mia glanced at her watch then broke free of the girl’s hold to resume what she was doing.

  Tsk! I could’ve did that myself,” the girl caught an attitude and stormed back over to the bed.

  “That’s what you shoulda did then instead of fuckin’ textin’ me,” Mia shot back. She shook her head and let out a light chuckle. “Besides, you had other options,” she slyly added.

  “Whatever Mi.”

  “Yeah you’re right, whatever. Next time text somebody else if you’re gonna complain about valuable time I took out to come see yo’ ass.”

  “You’re mouth is so disrespectful,” the girl retorted. “You talk to me like I ain’t shit.”

  “That’s not true. I respond back to whatever you say. Don’t talk slick and expect not to get it thrown back your way. You got me fucked up ma. I’m not that other bitch, I’m that bitch.” Mia checked the girl.

  The girl rolled her eyes. Her actions pissed Mia off. “Matter of fact, here take yo’ shit. You don’t never have to worry about me comin’ back over here or sayin’ shit to you.” The girl grabbed hold off Mia’s wrist as she tried to hand her the strap on.

  “I’m sorry.” The girl looked up at Mia with apologetic eyes.

  “Yeah aight.” Mia made an attempt to pull away.

  “Mi, seriously, I am. I mean, I’m so used to hoes and nigguhs comin’ at me sideways that I’m always ready to check ‘em. But with you it’s different. Nobody ever kept it real with me the way you do. I don’t want you to stop comin’ over and I’ll take what I can get until I can have more. I want more,” she ended seductively. The girl then raised the strap on and wrapped her lips around the head of the dildo. She looked up at Mia with lust filled eyes as she took more than half of the ten inch dildo into her mouth. Mia watched the performance.