GANGLAND

by K'wan

  “Hey Lou-Loc,” Sharell greeted him trying to hide the shakiness in her voice. Lou-Loc could tell from the way her eyes were red and puffed out, that she’d been crying.

  “What up, girl?” Lou-Loc hugged her, “You a’ight?”

  “I’m trying to be strong,” she said, wiping her eyes.

  “I know that’s right, how’s my boy?”

  Sharell had to fight off another wave of tears. “They tore my baby up something awful, but he’s still alive thank the Lord. He’s awake, but in a lot of pain so the doctors have him doped up. He asked me to send you in when you got here.”

  “A’ight, guess I’d better go check him then. You and Snake go on and relax, I’ll be back.”

  Lou-Loc got up from his chair and made his way towards Gutter’s room. The corridor to Gutter’s room was a pale blue, lined with plain wooden doors. All of the doors were the same wood brown with cheap tin lining. The only distinctive features were the cold gray numbers etched on the outside. Lou-Loc strolled through the hall peering into the various rooms inspecting the occupants. All of the patient’s faces held the death mask Lou-Loc had become so accustom to. Some would make it and others wouldn’t. That was just the way shit worked in the hood, actually life in general was kinda like that he reasoned. People were born just to die. Sometimes Lou-Loc wondered what the point of it all was.

  Lou-Loc stood outside of Gutter’s room, opening and closing his hands. He constantly wiped his hands on his sweats, but the moisture never fled. For some reason, he couldn’t shake the visions that were bombarding him. They were visions of the time he spent in the hospital with his mother. Some of the patients harbored that same skeletal glare as she did towards the end. It was painful for Lou-Loc to watch his mother waste away like that. After his father was murdered, she was the only person he and his sister had left. She did as best she could with her government checks, but they just weren’t enough. That was one of the main reasons that Lou-Loc started hustling. He had to man up, and hold his family down.

  Lou-Loc stood in front of the door and tried to put on his game face. It was hard, but he knew he had to be strong for his brother and the set. When Lou-Loc opened the door, he almost broke down at what he saw.

  Gutter was laid up in one of those cast iron type beds. There were bandages wrapped around his entire torso as well as one of his arms. He was hooked up to all kind of tubes and devices to monitor his vitals. To see this once proud warrior so helpless brought a lone tear to Lou-Loc’s eye. Just as he was about to lose his nerve and back out, Gutter turned around to face him.

  “You just gonna stand there or come holla at ya nigga?” Gutter said groggily, trying to muster a smile.

  Lou-Loc took up a seat at Gutter’s bed side. From this close he got a better assessment of the damage. The would be hit men really did a number on Gutter. His face and arms were covered with bruises and scrapes from falling through the window. The bandages that covered his wounds were soaked through and caked with dried blood. The fucking nurses probably hadn’t changed the dressing in a while. That’s how they did you when you don’t have any insurance.

  Gutter noticed Lou-Loc giving him the once over, and spoke up. “Fucking Brims tried to do me in, cuz.”

  “Mutha fuckas can’t fade you, G. You’re invincible,” Lou-Loc patted Gutter’s hand. Gutter tried to laugh, but broke out into a fit of coughing. “Easy, soldier,” Lou-Loc said softly, “we need you healthy. We got big plans, you and me. You gonna fuck everything up by dying, punk.”

  Gutter regained his wind and began speaking again. “I think it was them LC niggaz, Cuz. I recognized that kid, Scales. These busters done started some shit,” Gutter managed to get out before he started coughing again.

  “Don’t even worry about it, cuz. We gonna hit these faggots and we gonna hit em hard.”

  “The contract,” Gutter coughed.

  “Nah,” Lou-Loc shook his head, “I gots to be here wit my nigga. Fuck Anwar.”

  Gutter gripped Lou-Loc’s arm so hard that he flinched. “Business first.”

  Lou-Loc started to protest, but when he saw the look in his friend’s eyes he didn’t. This was important to Gutter. Lou-Loc wanted to believe that his friend would pull through, but in reality, it wasn’t likely. The boy was in bad shape. If this was to be Gutter’s last request, he would not be denied.

  Lou-Loc’s thoughts were interrupted when Gutter coughed out a word: “Freedom.” He said it so low, that Lou-Loc almost didn’t catch it.

  “Freedom,” Gutter said again. “When this bullshit is done...” Gutter’s words were cut off as he was rocked by another fit of coughing. It seemed like he was having a hard time catching his breath but after a few minutes he was good. “You gotta get outta this, Loc.”

  “Cuz, you know that ain’t an option. I’m gonna Crip until they lower me into the ground,” Lou-Loc boasted. He was trying to get Gutter to smile but his face was very serious.

  “Look at me,” Gutter flung the covers off him as best he could so that Lou-Loc could see the extent of his injuries and it didn’t look good. “These niggaz tried to finish me, but I ain’t mad because this is the road I chose to walk. I might die in this hospital, and if that’s what Allah has willed then so be it.”

  “Cuz stop talking crazy.” Lou-Loc told him. He couldn’t bare the thought of being without his best friend and crime partner.

  “I’m serious as a heart attack. I wouldn’t say this in front of Sharell, but I’m fucked up homie,” Gutter confessed. “I’m in a bad way and I don’t want this for you. I’d break my heart for the homies to have to escort ya lil sister to your funeral. I don’t want this for you Lou-Loc. Do something with your life.”

  “And what about you, Gutter?” Lou-Loc asked, with tears forming in his eyes. “What are you gonna do when you get out of here?”

  “You mean if I get outta here,” Gutter corrected him. “Loc, you of all people know how I get down, so you know if I make it through this I’m going right back to the trap and gonna bust on the first slob I catch. I’m gonna gang bang until Allah calls me home.” Gutter tried to sound like he wasn’t worried but Lou-Loc knew better. He saw something in his friend’s eyes that night that he had never seen before, fear. “I gotta tell you something. I was gonna surprise you, but I don’t know if I’ll get a chance to tell you later. I’m going to give you the number to a bank account where I got some paper stashed and I want you too…” Gutter started coughing again. This time blood spilled over his lips and he was clearly in a lot of pain. All sorts of alarms started going off and the machines monitoring his vitals started beeping frantically. Not knowing what else to do Lou-Loc called for the nurse.

  The doctors and nurses rushed in like linebackers, knocking Lou-Loc out of the way so they could attend to Gutter. Lou-Loc wasn’t sure what was going on but it was scaring the hell out of him. Gutter went from seizing violently to not moving at all and Lou-Loc knew something was dreadfully wrong. He tried to peer over the doctor’s shoulders to see what was going on but the nurses rushed him from the room so they could work. The nurses slammed the door in Lou-Loc’s face and left him in the hallways feeling like he was trapped in a bad dream. This couldn’t be happening.

  Sharell came streaking down the hallway, with Snake Eyes hobbling behind her. The look on Lou-Loc’s face filled her heart with terror. “Lou-Loc, what’s going on? Is Kenyatta okay?”

  Lou-Loc just looked back and forth from her to Snake Eyes. He tried to form words, but his lips wouldn’t cooperate.

  “Damn it, tell me something,” she grabbed him by the front of his shirt.

  Finally he found his voice. “Try to stay calm Sharell. The doctors are working on him. He had some kind of seizure.”

  “Father God, please no!” Sharell dropped to her knees and started bawling. Most of what she was saying was gibberish. She was just rocking back and forth rubbing the iced out cross Gutter had brought her for her birthday. With Snake Eye’s help, Lou-Loc was able to get her to her feet
and into one of the chairs in the waiting area. The trio sat in the waiting area hoping the doctors would bring them some positive news. Martina was blowing up Lou-Loc’s pager, but he ignored it. He sat with his friend trying to be strong for Sharell.

  Finally, the thin balding doctor wearing blue scrubs came out of Gutter’s room looking exhausted. “Who’s here for Kenyatta Soladine?” he asked.

  Seeing that Sharell was in no condition to handle whatever news the doctor had, Lou-Loc stepped to the plate. “That would be me.” He said walking across the waiting area. Seeing the doctor’s uneasiness at his gangsta appearance, he extended his hand and introduced himself. “I’m his brother, St. Louis Alexander.”

  The doctor relaxed a little and spoke in a hushed tone that only Lou-Loc could hear. “Your brother’s not doing too good,” he said wringing his hands together, “We’ve managed to stabilize him for the moment, but his vitals are very weak. You and your family are welcomed to stay, but there isn’t much you can do for him at this point. My advice would be for you to all go home and get some rest. We’ll call you should his condition change.”

  Lou-Loc thanked the doctor and made his way back over to Sharell and Snake Eyes. After speaking to the doctor, he felt a little better, but he knew Gutter wasn’t out of the woods yet. Snake Eyes and Sharell looked at Lou-Loc with expectant eyes. He didn’t want to alarm Sharell any further, so he figured he’d just tell her a half truth.

  “He’s stable.” Lou-Loc said with a huff. “He’s still real weak, so we can’t see him anymore for a while. They got your number already, Sharell, and I gave them mine. They’ll call us if anything changes.”

  “Oh, praise God.” Sharell said wiping her eyes. “I don’t know what’s wrong with y’all, Lou-Loc. When are gonna get out of this life? It’s all genocide.”

  Lou-Loc was in no mood to be lectured, but he understood that she was going through something, so he tried no to be short with her when he spoke. “Listen, Sharell. I know you don’t dig how we get down, but sometimes the end justifies the means. We ain’t trying to live like this forever, especially me. Everybody comes around in their own time.”

  “I didn’t mean to sound like I was screaming on you,” she said composing herself, “I’m just scared. I mean, that’s my heart laid up in there. I couldn’t go on without Ken and Lou-Loc you know I love you like a brother, so if anything were to happen to either of you I’d lose it.”

  “Don’t even think like that.” He cut her off. “Me or that nigga in there ain’t checking out no time soon. What kinda nigga would I be if I wasn’t there to be best man at y’all wedding?” He pulled Sharell close and hugged her. “Quit that crying,” He whispered in her ear, “everything gonna be blue. I’m gonna have Snake Eyes take you home while I go handle a few things.”

  “Lou-Loc, I know you. Just let it go. Getting at them boys who shot my Ken ain’t gonna do nothing but make it worst. Let it go,” she pleaded.

  “Sharell, don’t you worry your pretty little head about me doing nothing stupid,” Lou-Loc smiled at her. “I just got some stuff that needs to be attended to so I can free up some time to be here for Gutter. Now you go on and get the car while I rap a taste with Snake Eyes. He’ll be along in a minute.”

  Sharell was still suspicious but she did like Lou-Loc asked and went to fetch the car. As soon as she got on the elevator the smiles faded and the two Crips immediately went into war mode.

  “What you scheming on, cuz?” he asked.

  “The lives of these faggots who touched my brother,” Lou-Loc said with ice in his voice. “These mutha fuckas got themselves an asshole full of trouble for what they done, and that’s on Harlem.”

  “Just tell me what you want me to do, cuz,” Snake Eyes told him. It had been a while since he’d been active in combat, but for his brother he would gladly pick up his gun and do what he had to.

  “I need you to go up to Hunts Point and see my man Wiz at the auto shop. Tell him to get my toy ready ASAP. When you get done with that hit my pager. I need to have a meeting with the homies to let them know what’s up then I got some shit that I gotta handle.”

  “You know I’m wit you, cuz. Let’s put the work in on these niggaz.”

  “Nah, brother. You ain’t a combat soldier no more. I need you to be there for Sharell because she’s gonna need a shoulder to lean on and my hands are gonna be full.”

  “Cuz, don’t do me like that. Gutter is my family too and I got a right to be a part of this,” Snake Eyes demanded.

  Lou-Loc didn’t want Snake Eyes in the middle of what was about to go down, but he had just as much ride to ride out as anyone. “Have it your way then. I’ll call you with the details. Right now I gotta breeze.” Lou-Loc slapped his home boy a five and headed for the stairs.

  “What you gonna do, cuz?” Snake Eyes yelled after him.

  Lou-Loc turned around smiled. “What I do best, my nigga.” With that he was down the stairs.

  CHAPTER 14

  The sun shone brightly through Satin’s bedroom window that morning. As the warm rays moved and danced over her sleeping face, she began to stir. Satin loved the sunshine. That was the reason she had a large picture window build into her loft. The owner was a friend of her aunt Selina, so he didn’t complain about the remodeling.

  Satin sat up in her round king sized bed and welcomed the new day. She arched her back to stretch, and exposed erect brown nipples peeking through her sheer night gown. She slid her long brown legs off the side of the bed and rubbed her manicured feet back and forth over her area rug. There was something about the smooth feel of the smooth Persian material on her bare feet that felt good to her.

  When she recalled the details of her date with Lou-Loc, she couldn’t help but smile. She had been a little skeptical about the whole affair, with him just popping up and all, but he turned out to be a perfect gentleman. He held all the doors for her, complimented her on her outfit, and never once tried to coax her into intimacy. He got a ten for the evening.

  Satin padded across her hard wood floor to her walk in closet. She didn’t have to work today, so jeans and a T-shirt were the order of business. Satin laid her clothes across her bed and headed for the shower. Before she made it to the bathroom, the phone broke her stride.

  Satin answered the phone with a pleasant hello, and was delighted to hear the gentleman’s voice on the other end. “St. Louis,” she sang, “what the deal, papi? I didn’t expect to hear from you so soon.”

  “I didn’t disturb you, did I?” He asked.

  “Nah, I was up. Thanks for the good time.”

  “No, thank you. It was different, but I enjoyed it. What you got planned for this morning?”

  “Not much. I’m off today, so I’ll probably just chill, and catch up on my reading. Why do you ask, you got something planned for me?”

  “Can I see you? Maybe take you to breakfast or something?”

  Satin wanted to shout, “HELL YEA YOU CAN SEE ME!” but she knew she couldn’t play herself. Instead she responded, “Nah. But if you wanna come over, I know how to cook a little.”

  At first Lou-Loc was preparing himself for a rejection, but he was pleased to hear that she was willing to see him. “A’ight,” he said coolly, “but since it’s ya place, let me cook for you?”

  After getting her address, the two hung up. She felt like jumping for joy, but instead she bolted for the shower. Lou-Loc said he’d be there in a half hour, so she didn’t have much time. Guess she’d save the jeans for another day. She wanted to look good for Lou-Loc. Martina’s time was just about up, she just didn’t know it. Hurricane Satin had arrived, and she planned on staying for a while.

  *

  Lou-Loc pulled his car over on West 8th street and hopped out in front of a pay phone. He dropped a quarter in and punched the number pad. His cell was in working order, but he made it a point never to talk business on it. To do so was just as good as indicting yourself.

  After two rings, a female picked up. “Hello?” She b
arked in a husky voice. “Who the hell is this, and what ya want this damn early?”

  “Hey, Kiki,” he said pleasantly, “this Lou. Ya brother around?”

  “Yea,” she growled, “that no good nigga in there sleep.”

  “I need you to wake him up, ma. Tell him it’s important.”

  “He need to have his ass up anyhow. Mutha fucka should be out job hunting instead of laying up on me and shit.”

  “You know how it is in the hood, Kiki.”

  “I got ya hood, nigga. So what’s up, Lou, When you gonna come knock the bottom out this here?”

  Lou-Loc shook his head. Every time he saw or spoke to Kiki, she was trying to hit on him. At the Blue & Gray barbecue they had last summer, she even went as far as to grab his crotch when Martina wasn’t looking.

  “Now, Kiki, you know I can’t handle that good loving of yours. You’re too much woman for me, ma,” he half joked. Kiki was almost six feet tall, and built like a line backer. She had knocked out quite a few females, as well as a few men. Lou-Loc had never just come out and told her he wasn’t trying to fuck wit her because the girl didn’t take rejection well. There was no doubt that he could whip her in a fist fight, but her skills with a razor almost surpassed his own. Plus she was a down ass chick, and he didn’t want to hurt her feelings.

  “Yea, a’ight.” She said slyly. “One day I’m just gonna have to get you loaded and take what I want, wit yo pretty ass.” There was no doubt in either of their minds that she meant what she said. Kiki put the phone down, and screamed for her no good, lazy, dope selling, fake ass gang banging brother to come to the phone. Kiki was a female, but her four letter vocabulary was more vulgar than most of the homeboys.