by K'wan
“Then you understand my position. Both of us are men willing to do whatever it takes to protect those we love, even if it means bowing out gracefully,” Animal said.
“So you’re throwing in the towel?” Shai asked in disbelief. Men like Animal would rather face death than concede defeat.
“No, just taking the high road on this one. Gucci is alive, and so are my friends, and I’d like to keep it that way. You give me your word that this is over, and I’ll give you my word that I won’t come after your family and make you watch them die,” Animal said.
“You threatening me?”
“No, Shai. I’m not threatening you. I’m just telling you how far I’m willing to go with this,” Animal said.
“And what’s to stop me from having all of you slaughtered right here and ending it?” Shai asked.
Animal motioned to Kahllah, who stepped forward and handed him an iPad. Animal tapped the button, burning the screen to life, and slid it across the table to Shai so that he could see what was on it.
Shai looked down at the information displayed on the iPad, and his eyes widened. Curious, Angelo looked over Shai’s shoulder to see what was on the screen, and he, too, found himself shocked. “What the fuck is this?” Shai asked.
“The information the Little Guy had on all the crime families, including the Clarks. This is the reason you’ll go along with my terms and agree to end this,” Animal told him.
“I take it this isn’t your only copy?” Shai asked.
Animal smiled. “Of course not. Right now, I have people on the streets with orders to take hard copies and discs with this information to every major newspaper and the FBI if we don’t walk out of here the same way we came in within one hour. Give me your word that this is over, and this information goes no further than us.”
Shai thought on it. “OK, let’s say that I did decide to give you a pass. It’s only good for one free ride. Your boys are still on the hook.” Shai motioned toward Ashanti.
“No dice. It’s a package deal or nothing,” Animal told him.
“Then I guess it’s nothing. Ashanti and his pal King James have been running around pissing on my name. Do you think I’m gonna give him a pass so they can keep killing my men and trying to muscle in on my turf?”
“The truce extends to all of us, King James included. You let them keep whatever territories they took over, and they won’t take any more. You’ll even be paid a restitution of five hundred thousand dollars for the pain and suffering you’ve been caused,” Animal suggested.
“And you can speak for King James?” Shai asked.
“No, but I can,” Ashanti said, speaking up. He knew that King wouldn’t like the fact that he’d negotiated behind his back but figured he’d get over it when he found out that they could finally get back to making money without being killed off.
Shai excused himself from the table and huddled with Angelo in the corner, whispering. Every so often, they’d cast a glance over at Animal, who was sitting at the table as if he didn’t have a care in the world, and Swann, who stood by the door nervously. He looked like he was ready to bolt, but Shai had two shooters positioned by the entrance to ensure that nobody came in or out unless he said so.
“Big homie, we ain’t got five hundred stacks to give this dude, and even if we did, I don’t think King James would be willing to part with it,” Ashanti whispered to Animal.
“Don’t worry about it. I was a millionaire before my little disappearing act, remember.” Animal gave him a wink.
After a few minutes, Shai came back to the table. “Animal, I don’t like you, can’t say that I ever have, but I respect you. You’ve always been a man of your word, and I trust that your word is strong enough to consecrate this truce and make sure all parties stick to it.” Shai extended his hand.
“I’ll do my part.” Animal shook his hand.
Angelo shook his head in total disbelief at what he had just witnessed. “You know what, kid, if life had dealt you a different hand, you’d have probably had a hell of a career as an agent. You just brokered a hell of a deal.”
“So tell me, is there anything else that I can do for you while you’re in here bartering favors?” Shai asked sarcastically.
“Actually, there is. I want my life back,” Animal told him.
THIRTY-THREE
“IT WAS THE STORY THAT rocked the tri-state area. Every news channel was reporting the story of murder, extortion, and corruption that had stretched from New York City to Puerto Rico. It was a story so twisted that some said it was straight out of a crime novel,” the reporter on the television screen began.
“Many of you may remember the story of the former street hustler, turned platinum-selling rapper, turned baby-faced killer and eventual fugitive Tayshawn Torres, who went by the street name Animal. He was arrested and convicted of the slaying of a Brooklyn man outside a Manhattan recording studio in what was deemed a robbery attempt gone wrong. During transport from the courthouse, an already strange case took an even stranger twist when Torres mysteriously vanished after a daring broad-daylight shooting that led to the deaths of several people, including a police officer, and almost claimed the lives of two homicide detectives. It sparked what was called one of the biggest manhunts since Larry Davis, but it eventually came to a bloody end when the bodies of Torres and his girlfriend, Gucci Butler, were found in the trunk of an abandoned car. The couple had been killed, gangland-execution style . . . or so we were led to believe. As it turns out, it was all a part of an elaborate hoax, orchestrated by a vicious drug cartel, based out of Puerto Rico and operating in New York City, and foiled by a member of the NYPD whom some are calling a hero and others a rogue.
“Torres found himself at the center of a plot to extort millions of dollars out of his record label, the notorious Big Dawg Entertainment. At the center of this plot was the former head of the San Juan, Puerto Rico, drug task force, Captain Herman Cruz. When Torres refused to participate, Cruz tried to have him assassinated, but the would-be assassin was shot dead, and Torres would later be charged with his murder. Fearful that Torres would expose the plot to the police, Cruz sent men to kidnap the young rapper en route to Riker’s Island so that he could execute Torres. The rapper was able to escape before the death sentence was carried out, but he still wasn’t out of the woods. He was a wanted man and a falsely accused cop killer.
“Fearful for his life if he turned himself in, Torres turned to an unlikely source for help, ten-year police veteran Tasha Grady. Officer Grady knew Torres from the multiple times she’d arrested him as a juvenile, and she was also one of his biggest supporters when he turned his life around for the better. In exchange for surrendering to her, Animal asked Grady to look into his claims. When she did, what she found was something out of a gangster movie. Knowing she had to keep Torres and his loved ones out of harm’s way until she could crack the case and have them testify in court to their claims, Grady staged the fake execution and leaked the report about the corpses of Torres and Butler that were found in the car trunk.
“By the end of Officer Grady’s investigation, nearly two dozen indictments had been handed down, and more were still coming. Among them were several political figures in Puerto Rico and a handful of New York police officers who had acted as muscle for the cartel in New York. There was no sign of Herman Cruz, who had disappeared at the height of the investigation and hadn’t been heard from since, but law-enforcement agencies vowed to keep looking.”
Animal’s name had been cleared of the additional murders that had been tied to him during his time as a fugitive, along with the escape charge, but he still had to answer for the shooting outside the recording studio. Because of the circumstances, he was granted a new trial. Animal’s lawyer, Keith Savage, spun a tale of impoverished circumstances, cruel society, and doomed love that tugged at the heartstrings of everyone, including the judge. When he was done, there wasn’t a dry eye in the courtroom. In light of the extenuating circumstances and in exchange for Anim
al not suing the police department, the judge reduced the murder charge to involuntary manslaughter and sentenced Animal to the minimum, one to three years, of which he would likely serve less than a year and come home on parole.
It was a quiet win for the streets.
• • •
“Yo, that’s the kid who gave me the CD that time,” Nickels Clark said. He and Turk had been sitting on the sofa in Shai’s office, watching the news broadcast with him. Swann had taken a leave of absence, so Shai had been keeping Turk close to him. He’d heard about what happened at Purple City, and his respect level for the young Turk went up. He pulled him off the streets and let him hang around with Baby Doc and Nickels. The boys had gotten so close Shai’s nickname for them was the Three Stooges. They were always getting into mischief, but it was mostly innocent things that boys did. Some joked that they were going to be the next generation to run the Clark family, but Shai hoped that he could keep them innocent for a time longer.
“Yes, that was the notorious Animal,” Shai told him.
“I never would’ve known that he was actually doing the stuff he was rapping about in his music,” Nickels said.
“I seen him in action. The boy is about that life,” Turk told Nickels.
“Listen to you two praising him like he’s Superman or some shit.” Angelo shook his head in disappointment. “This is the biggest crock of shit I’ve ever seen.” He turned off the television. Animal’s story had been playing on TV all week long, and he was sick of hearing about it.
“You know it, and I know it, but the people believe whatever the media tells them,” Shai said. He was standing near the window in his office, staring down at a table that held a display of dominoes stacked in the shape of his initials, SC. Nickels had done it for him. “Let it rest, Angie.”
“I still feel like a sucka for giving that bitch-ass nigga a pass. We should’ve earthed him and his faggot-ass team,” Angelo fumed. He felt like Shai had let Animal off too easily, and it could be seen as a sign of weakness.
“That’s because you’re a pessimist. You always see the glass as half empty.” Shai poured himself a glass of scotch. “Orchestrating this little circus of lies was a double win for the Clark family. Not only did I get the SD card with the Little Guy’s list of names and dirty deeds, but I finally got rid of the biggest headache I’ve ever had. With that bit of information on all the crime families, we’ve shifted the balance of power in favor of the Clarks. I may not be thrilled by the way it played out, but I’m satisfied.”
Angelo shook his head. “I still don’t see how you did it. Twisting this shit up so Animal walked away with a slap on the wrist and everybody else burned was the greatest magic trick I’ve ever seen. How the hell did you pull it off?”
Shai held up the SD card. “Technology, my friend. Most of the people who took the fall were on the Little Guy’s list. They were all shit birds who were already under the microscope and just didn’t know it. They were going to fall eventually, so I just gave a little push.” He plucked one of the dominoes, causing them all to topple. “And everything else fell into place on its own.”
“And the cop, Grady?” Angelo asked. “What’s her stake in all this?”
“She was the easiest of them all to get on board. Animal had been knocking the bottom out her pussy since he was sixteen years old. She had a soft spot for him. When I presented her with the options of either going along with the plan or being exposed as a pedophile and losing her pension and possibly facing jail time, it wasn’t a hard choice,” Shai said coolly.
“You’re a slick fuck, Shai. Real slick.” Angelo laughed. “I think the biggest question of all is how’d you play the Puerto Rico angle? How did you know about the stuff going on with Herman Cruz, let alone compile enough dirt on his organization so that a dead man took the fall for all this?”
Shai sipped his scotch. “For that, I had to make a deal with the devil. Isn’t that right?” He addressed the man who had been sitting quietly in a chair across from him the whole time. He was as black as a moonless night, with jade-green eyes.
“It sure is.” K-Dawg raised his glass and smiled wickedly.
• • •
“Man, why don’t you turn that off? It’s making me sick listening to it,” Detective Brown told his partner. They were parked on a street corner in their brown Buick.
“Yeah.” Detective Alvarez turned off the radio. “It’s a hard pill for me to swallow, too. After all the shit this little fucker has done, he gets a pass, that bitch Grady gets a promotion, and we get dick!”
Brown shook his head sadly. “The stories of our careers. I guess it isn’t all bad, though. Animal is off the streets for a while, and his buddy Zo-Pound will be joining him shortly. We can get at least fifteen years out of him for the Rick Jenkins murder.”
Alvarez’s face darkened. “Yeah, about that . . .”
Brown turned around in his seat and looked his partner in the eyes. He knew without him saying from the expression on his face. “Tell me you’re shitting me?”
Alvarez shook his head sadly. “Houdini.”
• • •
When Zo stepped out of the courthouse, the first thing he did was take a deep breath. He turned his face to the sky and let the sun shine on it for a few moments. He had only been locked up for a week, but it felt like a lifetime.
When he got knocked for the Rick Jenkins killing, he just knew it was a wrap. He had been careless and left clues that led back to him. That, coupled with the chick from the motel running her mouth, was the nail in the coffin. When he’d reached out to the lawyer King James kept on standby for them, he was told, “If they offer you anything under ten years, jump on it and say thank you.” Thing were looking grim for Zo-Pound, but then his luck mysteriously turned. The girl, Linda, had vanished without a trace, so they no longer had an eyewitness. In a stranger turn, some dude Zo didn’t know from a can of paint came forward, confessing to the murder, and he had the murder weapon in his possession to prove it. The gun and the confession were all Zo needed for his lawyer to get the charges dropped. Zo would always remember the day he got that bit of news as the first time he’d ever witnessed a miracle.
At the bottom of the courthouse stairs, Porsha awaited him, hand on her hip and lips twisted up. She was a welcome sight. Zo jumped down the stairs two at a time and scooped her up in his arms, twirling her like they were the stars of a Broadway musical. People stared and pointed, but neither Zo nor Porsha even noticed them. At that moment, they were the only two people in the world.
“Damn, I missed you.” Zo kissed her passionately on the lips.
“Not more than I missed you,” Porsha said. “When all that shit hit the fan, I thought I would never see you again.”
“You almost didn’t. Baby, how did they get the gun?” Zo asked.
“I gave it to them. You left it at my house the night you went to the store and never came the fuck back.” Porsha slapped him on the arm. “You know better than to be carrying around a dirty gun, Zo.”
“You’re one hundred percent right, and it’s a mistake I won’t make again. But it ended up working out. I knew you were crafty, ma, but not this slick with it. You’re my guardian angel.” He hugged her.
“You got an angel watching over you, but it ain’t me.” Porsha nodded at Frankie Angels, who was sitting on the hood of Zo’s Audi, idling at the curb. “It was all Frankie’s planning that got you out.”
Zo walked over to the car and wrapped Frankie in a tight hug. “You little fucking gangster, I never thought I’d be so happy to see your face!”
“Eww, get off me, old stink-ass jail nigga.” Frankie pushed him away. “When is the last time you had a shower?”
Zo lifted his arm and smelled himself. “Yeah, I am a lil’ tart, ain’t I? But fuck all that, Frankie, I owe you a huge debt. I would’ve rotted in there if you hadn’t swung this, ma.”
“Zo, when my back was against the wall, you did the same for me. I owe this to you,” F
rankie said. “But I can’t take all the credit. I got a little pull in the hood but not enough to make a man trade in his freedom. I had to reach out to an old friend for that.”
“Well, when you speak to this friend of yours, tell them I am eternally grateful,” Zo said.
“You can tell them yourself.” Frankie knocked on the back window of the Audi. The car door opened, and out stepped a beautiful light-skinned woman, with short-cropped red hair and alluring hazel eyes. “Zo,” Frankie continued, “this is my home girl, Evelyn.”
Evelyn extended her hand. “Nice to meet you, Zo, but you can dead the Evelyn. My friends call me Eve.”
• • •
King James wasn’t pleased about the fact that Ashanti had gone behind his back and played boss negotiating with the Clarks. He was a man of great pride, and if looked at wrong, the move could’ve been seen as a sign of weakness. To his surprise, the soldiers were actually relieved that the war with the Clarks was over and they could get back to the money. They praised King as a great leader for stopping the fighting, never knowing that it was actually little Ashanti who had brokered the peace. It was a secret they decided it would be best to keep among themselves. Everyone was happy, except, of course, Lakim.
“Yo, God, I told you that little nigga was getting too big for his britches. Who the fuck does he think he is?” Lakim asked heatedly.
“I’d say he was the man who saved our organization. La, you and I both know it would’ve only been a matter of time before Shai crushed us,” King said honestly.
“Fuck that, God. I was ready to go to the end with it,” Lakim said.
“I’m sure you were, my G. Don’t worry, though, I’m sure once word gets out what we did to ol’ boy, we’ll have our hands full with new enemies, and you can kill until your heart is content.”
• • •
“I’m coming, I’m coming!” Ma Savage yelled, as she shuffled in her house shoes to the front door. When she opened it, there was man standing on the other side, wearing a brown UPS uniform and a hat. The hat was pulled down low, covering most of his face, but she could still see the nasty scar near his eye.
