by April Nicole
“Calm down! What the hell you just say?”
“I think Keno dead!”
“What? Go back and check to see!” Johnny yelled into the phone.
“I can’t do that.”
“What the fuck you mean you can’t? You just gon’ let your partner die like that? Man, where you at?” Johnny asked, turning the key in the ignition. He was in shock hearing his top shooter was probably dead.
“I’m west off Grand River.”
“Alright, I’ll be there,” Johnny said and pulled off, arriving to the westside within 15 minutes. Malachi never gave him an address to his location. So, he cruised up Grand River trying to find him, but he spotted four police cars and two ambulances instead. He drove by slowly to be nosy and saw the yellow caution tape plastered around the building. He thought to ask what happened to see if the tape was for Keno. “Excuse me, what happened here?” Johnny asked as he rolled the window down.
“Keep it moving sir,” the female officer said and continued motioning the traffic to pass by. Johnny was determined to find out what happened to Keno, so he parked his car in the middle of traffic to retrieve his wallet. He pulled out two crispy hundred-dollar bills and flashed them at the woman officer who was ignoring him.
“Excuse me!” Johnny yelled.
“Is there a problem?” the officer asked. She began to walk over to Johnny’s car with her hands on her belt. She needed to see why this man was holding up traffic. Soon as she got closer, she withdrew her gun because she saw him reach below.
“Hey, hey. You don’t have to do that. I just got to know where my son is?” he said, waving the money in his hands.
“You trying to bribe an officer?”
“No, just please tell me if you seen this boy.” Johnny showed the officer the photo he had of Keno.
“Yea, they just rushed him to Receiving Hospital a few minutes ago,” she said, looking at the picture.
“Good looking, alright. That’s all I wanted to know.” Johnny slid the officer the money and pulled off before she could refuse. He rang Malachi over and over and kept getting voicemail. “Where the fuck is this nigga at?” Johnny said, cruising up the street. Then Malachi rang him back five seconds later. “Yo, where you at?”
“I’m in the Cornerstone Apartments,” Malachi replied, trying to catch his breath from all that running he just did. He did not want to get cornered or caught, so he made an escape to the apartments, sitting on someone’s porch.
“Alright, I’m about to pull up. We need to get to Receiving as soon as possible.”
“Why, because my father’s there?”
“No, because of Keno and speaking of which, we need to visit your father,” Johnny said.
“Cool, I will meet you on Temple St,” Malachi said as he got up and began to walk in that direction. Johnny met him on the corner of Third and Temple St and proceeded to Receiving Hospital. On the way there, the ride was entirely quiet. Whenever Johnny was quiet, nothing was going to turn out good.
As they both walked into the hospital lobby, Johnny stopped at the front desk and
asked the receptionist which rooms Delano and Keno, whose real name was Keon, were in. At first the receptionist refused to give any information on the new patients since they were not allowed to have visitors at the time.
“Fuck it, I didn’t want to do this, but I guess.” Johnny sighed as he reached into his back pocket for his wallet. He pulled out another two crispy hundreds, but the receptionist refused.
“No sir, I can’t take that kind of money. It’s against the policy,” she bellowed, knowing damn well she needed the extra cash to pay rent for this month. Since she was considered an essential worker, she was required to work overtime during this pandemic with no raise.
“Oh well, I guess I will just stuff this back in my wallet then,” Johnny said, placing the money back into his wallet. He could smell the desperation roll off her pores. He knew that woman was in need, but he wasn’t going force her to take it.
“Wait! Make it $300 and I’ll give you the pass. Just make sure you have a mask and gloves.” She hinted towards the masks and gloves sitting on the top right corner of her desk.
“Cool,” Johnny said, giving the woman the $300 she asked for.
“Keon Phillips is in room 349 and Delano Harris is on the second level in room 220,” she said as her long nails that were covered with pink shellac click clacked on the keyboard.
“Good looking!” Johnny turned around and pulled Malachi away from the desk and grabbed the first open elevator. “Listen, you go to Keno’s room and I will meet you there. It’s something I need to do first.”
“Alright,” Malachi responded.
“I will see you in a few,” Johnny said as the elevator stopped on his level and he exited off. He headed towards Delano’s room and as he grew closer, he could hear distinct laughter coming from the television in his room. He bent the corner and there Delano was sitting in the bed eating a cup of red Jell-O. He had on his hospital gown, with his leg positioned inside a sling in the air, watching Good Times and laughing at the hilarious sitcom. “What grown ass man I know still eat a cup red of Jell-O?” Johnny asked upon entering the room, making sure to close the door behind him.
“Nigga what? This hospital food, this all they feeding me right now. How the fuck did you find out I was here?”
“You know, motherfuckas talk in the streets. I had to come check on my big brother, you know,” Johnny said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice and pulled up a chair closer to him. “So, what the fuck happened to you? Why you got yo’ leg cocked up in the air like that?”
“Man, this bitch Kairo shot my damn dick off. She also killed my new bitch in front of me. She heartless man,” Delano cried, thinking about the excruciating pain that grew between his legs. Although he was dosed up off OxyContin, he was still able to feel bits and pieces of the pain coming and going.
“Well you just gained yourself another enemy.”
“What the fuck you mean?” Delano’s face tensed up. He didn’t know his little plan to blackmail Johnny into giving up the cartel turned into shit. It backfired, and Candice lost her life because of it.
“Just what it sounds like. I thought we were brothers.” Johnny paused before saying, “You know what, I guess water is pumping through our veins after all. You think I don’t know about that little set up you did earlier?” Johnny stood up over Delano’s bed, clenching his jaw. “I can’t believe my big brother would betray me for some damn cartel.”
“Nigga what the fuck is you talking about?”
“Don’t try to act like you don’t know. Nigga, Candice and her nigga said you was behind this,” Johnny confessed, clenching his jaw every time he thought about it.
“I ain—mmm!” Delano was saying before Johnny took a pillow and placed it over his face. He smothered him with all his strength. Delano was weak from the medication the doctors gave him, so he could barely fight back. All he could do was kick and scream in the pillow that was suffocating him. Finally having enough of Delano’s wails, Johnny withdrew the gun from his back pocket. “Now you must die in the eyes of the enemy.”
POW! POW!
Two gunshots rang out, causing blood to splatter along the walls behind the hospital bed. Delano’s arms fell to the side as his lifeless body laid there getting colder with every ticking minute. In the midst of Johnny killing Delano, Malachi silently walked into the room. He witnessed his own uncle murder his father.
“WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU JUST DO?!” Malachi screamed.
“SHHH! I thought I told yo’ ass, I will fucking meet you upstairs,” Johnny said, turning around startled. He knew Malachi had seen what he’d done.
“Keno just died. I was just coming to tell you, they removed his body. What the fuck you do that for?” Malachi demanded an answer from the man he thought was his uncle, but he was staring at a cold-blooded killer. Tears began to stream down his face. He could not believe what he’d just witnessed.
“Malachi, Malachi,” Johnny yelled out, but he was not hearing him. “Alright, since it’s going to be like that, I bet you won’t talk if you’re dead,” Johnny said, pointing the gun at Malachi’s forehead. This woke him out his trance and he grew angry.
“So, you just gon’ shoot me? I thought we were family?”
“We are blood first, but I won’t hesitate to kill you right here. I just killed my own brother, you think I won’t kill his son too?”
“Brother?” Malachi said, confused by what Johnny just said. “Okay, okay! I won’t say nothing, you got my word. I promise,” Malachi lied. He was willing to say anything to get out of Johnny’s way. Of course, he sounded less convincing to the point Johnny did not believe him.
“Let’s get out of here before the nurses come back and check on him.”
Johnny grabbed a very scared Malachi by his arm, looking both ways out the door before they left to go out. They rushed onto the elevators and ran to the car. Johnny pulled off so fast, that he hit a couple of cars that were parked close by.
SCURRTTT!
The tires burnt onto the pavement as Johnny drove to get out of dodge. Malachi sat in the passenger seat silently crying.
“No word gets out about what you saw,” Johnny said, looking over at a very distant Malachi. He didn’t understand his pain, he was cruel and cold hearted. After all, he did have his own father killed. “Hey, you hear me?”
“Sure, whatever,” Malachi responded nonchalantly.
“Well to ensure you won’t talk, I have to cut your tongue or remove an eye,” Johnny said as he was pulling up to his warehouse. This for sure caught Malachi’s attention.
“You can’t be serious?” he asked in disbelief. He was now starting to regret disobeying his father in the first place.
“Serious as a heart attack.”
“Oh, hell no!” Malachi screamed and jumped out while the car was still moving. He lost his balance and fell onto the ground.
“Nephew, stop running! That’s a pussy move.” Johnny parked his car and motioned his men to catch Malachi.
“NOOOOO! NOOOO!” Malachi kicked and squirmed. He didn’t want to experience this pain he was about to feel. He had no idea what was about to come. Johnny spit on the ground and had his men drag his nephew inside the warehouse.
“Attention everyone!” Johnny said, getting the attention of the workers. “This here is my nephew Malachi, and he broke quite a few rules. He has to pay the price of being a witness to two murders. I must remove the left eye,” Johnny said as one of the men came with a scalpel in his hands.
“Uncle please, I won’t say nothing! Please don’t take my eye!” Malachi begged and pleaded, trying to break free from the men’s tight grip, but there was no stopping Johnny’s madness.
“Too late!” Johnny said and jabbed the scalpel into Malachi’s left eye. The people in the warehouse gasped and covered their eyes.
“AGHHHHHHHHHH! GOOOODDD DAMN IT!” Malachi screamed, gaining strength to break free, and grabbed his eye. Blood poured from his eye socket. He was indeed missing his left eye.
“Don’t you ever say anything or I will pluck out your other eye!” Johnny laughed and dropped the scalpel with the bloody eye attached to it on the ground.
“The show is over, get back to work!” one of the guards said, scaring the women. They hesitated for a minute out of fear they were going to find a bullet lodged in them. Some of the women scoffed, but they knew what was best for them.
Malachi fell to his knees crying hysterically in pain. It was a tragedy losing both his father and his eye in the same day. He was filled with anger and fear, for he was betrayed by his own flesh. Johnny was someone he looked up to. Malachi was not expecting Johnny to betray him the way he did. For the first time in his life, he regretted not listening to his father.
“Oh my goodness!” Jackie, the nurse, screamed and ran to console Malachi. “Come, let’s get your eye to stop bleeding.”
“Jackie, I can’t,” Malachi whined, barely having any strength to stand on his feet. He was so weak in the knees that he could barely make it. He was truly grieving from the heart. Hurting both emotionally and physically from the events that tormented his mind.
“Come on, you have to be strong,” Jackie said, encouraging Malachi as they walked back to her office.
“Jackie, I got to get the fuck out of Detroit,” Malachi said.
“And where you gon’ go?”
“I have a plan. Do you believe in Voodoo?”
“No, not really.”
“Then come with me to New Orleans.”
“New Orleans? What’s there.”
“The Voodoo queen. She is going to help me kill Johnny.”
“Boy, shut your mouth. That man can’t be killed, he like a damn immortal god,” Jackie whispered, placing the gauze over his eyes. “People been trying to kill Johnny for years!”
“We will see about that! I bet I will be the first to succeed.”
“Ok, I’m just say—”
“Saying what?” Malachi said, offended by Jackie’s smart remarks. He felt like she was mocking him, like he wasn’t capable of killing anyone. When he was indeed dropping more bodies than she ever could imagine.
“I’m just saying, be careful.”
“Jackie, you don’t have to worry about me, ok? He won’t even see me coming. Jackie, on my dead daddy, I promise.”
Malachi meant every word that proceeded from his mouth. Murder was on his mind and he was going to kill Johnny, even if it meant he would serve the rest of his life in prison.
Kairo’s Revenge
Two days later…
“AGGGHH! Ohhh!” Kairo moaned in pain as another Braxton-Hicks contraction soared through her stomach. She was sitting at the table eating the healthy meal the Voodoo queen had prepared from her garden of herbs.
“What’s the matter?” the Voodoo queen asked, as she sensed something was wrong with the babies. Kairo was damn near in tears each time she felt a contraction. “Are you alright?” she asked, touching Kairo on her back. Soon as she touched her, she had a vision. “Trouble is coming dear. Something has happened to my nephew.”
“Yea, I shot him in the dick after I caught him cheating,” Kairo admitted, still wincing in pain. She was not aware of Delano’s death. Simply because nobody knew, not even the Voodoo queen, and the Voodoo queen knew everything.
“No chile, something greater has happened to him. It feels like death has occurred. I’m not certain. I need to talk to the gods on this one,” the Voodoo queen said and walked out the room.
“Come on girls, mama really don’t feel good today,” Kairo mumbled to herself as she rubbed her stomach. She was only five months along and was having signs as if she was further along.
“Madam Marie Laveau!!!” Shepard, the house butler, came rushing in. He was an older man who was tall and slim. He looked no older than 60, but still managed to keep up with his household duties. Kairo could sense it was an emergency by the tone in his voice.
“She just left to her garden, what is it Shepard?” Kairo asked with her eyes closed to mask the pain.
“Some boy is here, he wishes to speak with her.”
“Send him in.”
“Yes, Miss Kairo.” Shepard bowed and fetched the guest who was standing outside in the rain. Five minutes later, Shepard returned with the gentleman who happened to be Malachi. Kairo was not expecting to see him, and he certainly was not expecting to see her.
“Malachi?” she said, surprised. She was certainly not expecting to see her stepson standing before her. She scooted to the edge of her seat, getting up, and wobbled her way over to see if that was who she saw. His eye was covered with a black eye patch and his clothes were drenched from the rain. “Well son, come here.” Kairo reached out and grabbed him. He was shocked to see her. After all this time, he thought she was dead.
“I thought you were dead!” Malachi said, shedding a few tears of joy.
“Dead? Why did you think that
?”
“I haven’t seen you in almost a year,” Malachi responded, embracing Kairo back. He held onto her tightly, not letting her breathe.
“Ok son, I got to breathe now.”
“Ok, my bad, my bad!” Malachi said, loosening his tight grip.
“Well I’m very much alive, as you can see. These are your sisters.” Kairo rubbed her swollen belly. “What happened to your eye?” she asked out of concern. This was not how she left him in Detroit.
“Johnny took it, after I witnessed him killing my father.”
“He killed who?” Kairo asked with a tremble in her voice. She certainly wasn’t expecting to hear this news.
“Johnny killed Delano!” the Voodoo queen screamed as she entered back into the room. She wasn’t even finished with her ritual before she came back screaming about her nephew. “He killed him! He killed him! I knew he was rotten from the fucking core. And you coming here is only going to make matters worse. So why don’t you go back up north where you belong.”
“Don’t talk to my son like that,” Kairo snapped. She was ready to go to war defending Malachi.
“Ma, I got this.”
“Nah, she not about to turn you away like you the fucking enemy,” said Kairo with an attitude.
“Well he is considered an enemy of mine once he joined forces with Johnny. That is who is and always will be a common enemy to the south.”
“What?” Malachi said, turning to walk towards the Voodoo queen, leaving puddles of water from being drenched. The main person he came to see for help was rejecting him. “But I came all this wa—”
“I know why you came and no, I’m not helping you. You are on your own.”
“But you’re my family. What else am I supposed to do?” Malachi was distraught. His plan was backfiring right in front of him.
“And why can’t you help him?” Kairo chimed in. She, too, didn’t understand why the Voodoo queen would turn her back on her own great nephew.
“Mind your business Kairo. This ain’t got nothing to do with you,” the Voodoo queen snapped.
“But Malachi is my bus—AGGHH!” Kairo screamed in fetal position as a contraction jolted across her belly again. This was some news she was certainly not expecting to hear, that her husband was killed. To see her stepson standing before her getting rejected by his own flesh and blood burned a hole in her heart.
