Shyt List 5: Smokin' Crazies The Finale' (The Cartel Publications Presents)

by Reign (T. Styles)

  Ramona hopped off of the toilet, opened the door and walked up to the woman. “I don’t mean to scare you, but someone out there is trying to kill me. I can’t go out there right now or they’ll get me. I need your help. Can you please go and tell the police?”

  Ming tilted her head. “Why would they do that?” Her response seemed out of order considering what she just said. “I mean, what did you do to warrant your life being taken?”

  She realized her mistake. Ramona backed into the stall and Ming followed her. She tried to reach for her weapon but Ming had already pierced her intestines by way of stab to the navel. She didn’t stop there. To be sure she was dead, she slit her throat. Injured, Ramona slid face down on the soiled toilet bowl, until the last breath spilled out her body.

  When the deed was done, Ming quickly exited the bathroom, ran into the mall and out the exit. When she got outside, she didn’t see Bricks or Swoopes and immediately felt a sense of abandonment. It wasn’t like they hadn’t plotted in the past to get rid of her before. At one time they claimed she was too irritating and not as smart as they were. Maybe this was their opportunity. She was glum because she thought she was finally getting through to Swoopes. Thought he finally realized how much she loved him. What a fool.

  When her phone dinged, she looked down at it and saw a message that changed everything. “Throw me in the trash. You are about to run into an outsider.”

  Ming’s eyes gaped open and she tried to catch her breath and remain calm at the same time. It was code for somebody was on to them, probably a cop. Although she was scared, it felt good to have an answer for their dismissal. Swoopes didn’t abandon her.

  Quickly she located a storm drain, threw the phone down and kicked it inside. When she was done, she walked deeper into the parking lot, knowing they probably needed her to get away from the mall to be rescued. She didn’t make it too far before detective Connie Griswald pulled up in front of her.

  With major attitude, she parked her unmarked police car and eased out. Flashing her badge she said, “Ming Chi, I’ve been looking all over for you.”

  Ming placed her hands on her hips, leaned forward and spit in her face. “You found me, pig! Now what?”

  Griswald was ensued with anger. Not only had she disrespected her badge, she disrespected her body with her fluids. It was obvious that the only thing she understood was pressure. Griswald forcefully grabbed Ming by the forearm, slammed her against the car and slapped the cuffs on her wrists.

  “What are you doing, Pig?” Ming laughed. “I hope you know you’re about to end your career! You haven’t even read me my rights!”

  “Whatever you say, sweetie.” She retaliated. “But until then, I’m taking you downtown to answer for the death of your uncle Yao. And the Eight Ministers of AFCOG.”

  RUFUS

  Rufus’ compound was surrounded with large trees and acres of land that went on for miles. Originally it was created to conceal what he was doing on the premises, selling young girls for profit. Now he appreciated the serenity, as he tried to think of a way out of the nightmare he got himself into.

  Over the past few days, he beefed up security to a level that almost made it difficult for even him to do his dirt. Ten security guards surrounded the gate leading into the property, five shielded the front of the compound and six safeguarded him inside the premises. For extra protection, vicious attack dogs patrolled the grounds looking for anything or anybody who wasn’t supposed to be there. The way he had things running, there was no way Yvonna or her clan could infiltrate the property, without causing themselves bodily harm.

  He was watching television in the living room when he got a call from Abel Pickling. She said she was in front of his property but could not enter because his goons denied her access to the premises. He started to confirm their decision, since she showed up without an invite. Eventually he changed his mind because she and Ramona were the only upper level management people alive, who worked for AFCOG. Yvonna systematically managed to pluck everyone off one by one.

  “Let her in.” He told the guard on the phone. “It’s okay.”

  “No problem, sir. She’s on her way up.”

  He hung up and addressed the guards inside of the house with him. “Give us some privacy.”

  “You sure?” One of his men asked.

  “Positive.” He nodded.

  They immediately left him alone and Rufus paced in place. Something about Abel rubbed him the wrong way. On second thought everything about her rubbed him the wrong way. Abel Pickling was an unbalanced individual with hunched over shoulders, baggy eyes and a face resembling a bulldog. Although she was by far the most unattractive woman on earth, she was serious about her money. That alone made Rufus trust her because she was just like him. There wasn’t a thing she wouldn’t do no matter how grimy it was.

  Once he asked her to deliver a child to a pedophile in South Dakota. The man was just released from prison and was banned from being anywhere children roamed and that included the local malls. Since he was sure police were watching him at all times, he requested the child be brought to a car he rented. Parked in a warehouse district, Abel delivered a twelve-year-old little boy to him in the car. She sat in the front seat while he raped him without and ounce of remorse, as she read the newspaper.

  When Rufus opened the door, he shivered. No matter how many times he saw her, he could never get over her grim appearance. Wearing a long black coat with a wide hood, she looked like a witch. “Finally you meet with me,” she said as disdain masked her voice. She pushed past him and stood in the middle of his living room. “I’ve been waiting to see you, since it’s obvious that you’ve been dodging me.”

  With Abel it was important to maintain control of the situation, or else she’d run all over him. “First of all you aren’t to talk to me like that.”

  She walked up to him and slapped him in the face. Before he could fire back, she smacked him on the other cheek. “Ramona’s dead. They found her in a public bathroom at the mall and it’s all your fault.” She pointed her decrepit finger at him. “Had you protected her, had you protected all of us, none of this would have happened.”

  Rufus didn’t know whether to be livid that once again, Yvonna succeeded at picking off a member of his crew, or the fact that she placed her clammy hands on his face. “Abel, I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but if you ever put your hands on me again, there’s going to be problems!”

  “If you don’t listen to what I have to say you’ll have problems anyway.” She threatened. She made herself comfortable on his couch without an invitation. “Get over here, Day. We must discuss a plan of action. It can no longer wait.”

  It was clear that the control he had over AFCOG was over. She didn’t fear or respect him. Wanting to get her out of his house, he wriggled his body in the recliner and stared at her. “What do you have in mind, Abel?”

  “I’ve had my assistant follow her. She follows her in the darkness and reports back to me daily. Which is how I was able to tell you about her friends.” She coughed and a yellow piece of phlegm flew from her mouth and fell onto her coat. “Tissue?”

  Disgusted he pointed to the end table next to her. “It’s over there.”

  She grabbed a few pieces and said, “Like I was saying, my assistant Grey is really good, which is how I was able to tell you about her friends Bricks, Ming and Swoopes, as well as provide you with their pictures.” She rubbed the mess off of her clothes and threw it on the floor. “But we’ve since lost her and don’t know where she is. Anyway, she has a kid. Her name is Delilah and right now she’s staying with her sister Jesse.” She coughed again. “She delivered the kid to her some time ago.” She was an ugly woman but she certainly wasn’t dumb. “If we kidnap this child, I’m sure we can get Yvonna to come out of hiding, and when she does, we can finish her off.”

  At first he was certain that nothing Abel said, would make him feel better, but he was wrong. Even though he had Charles Bank on the case, if he cou
ld coax Yvonna to turn herself over to him by stealing her child, he could save some money and some energy in the process.

  “What if it doesn’t work?” He crossed his legs. “You’re assuming she has a heart and that she cares about the child.”

  “She loves her. If you remember, that’s what got all of this madness started in the first place. Maybe you should’ve left them alone. She came after you because she’s afraid that as long as you live, she won’t be able to lead a fulfilling life with her child. Let’s make sure she’s right.” When Tyisha walked into the living room, with a man following her, Abel looked at Rufus. “I see you’re still making money, by any means necessary.”

  “Not as much as I use to.” He stood up and walked the pedophile to the door. The freak handed him five hundred dollars and left without as much as a bye to the girl. Tyisha not knowing what to do stood in front of him. Her eyes were heavy and she seemed despondent. “Go wash up, and when you’re done, get in my bed. You need your rest.”

  When Tyisha walked away Abel said, “You love testing the goods don’t you?”

  He nodded.

  “One day that nasty trait is going to get you killed. I promise.”

  BRICKS

  Jay Z’s latest CD played on the car stereo, as Bricks and Swoopes sat in a stolen black Caprice. They were on a mission. After following Terrell Shines for twenty minutes to a strip club, that he waddled inside half drunk and out of his mind, they were waiting for him to reappear so they could attack.

  When Swoopes told Bricks his idea included kidnapping the doctor in an effort to help Yvonna, at first he wasn’t interested. The last thing he needed was getting caught by the cops, and risking an opportunity to finish what they started. But Swoopes was persuasive, and he convinced him that unless they were taking Yvonna to be committed, she would get worse before she got better.

  “Why you think Yvonna would get wit’ a nigga like him?” Swoopes asked, leaning back in the passenger seat, smoking a blunt. When it entered his left lung, he hit his chest and coughed. A puff of smoke flew out of his mouth and disappeared into the air. “Seems like a square to me.”

  “She probably wanted something from him.” Bricks dug into the large Cool Ranch Doritos bag in his lap. “Why would any bitch of Yvonna’s caliber fuck a square?” He licked his finger to get the seasoning off.

  Swoopes looked at him and shook his head. “Man, them the gayest chips to ever be made.”

  “Fuck is you talkin’ ‘bout, cuz?”

  “Any chips that you have to lick your fingers to enjoy,” he pointed at his hand, “is a bit soft if you ask me.”

  “Nigga, stay the fuck outta mine and worry ‘bout you.” Although he hated the comment, he would refrain from finger licking for future references. “Oh, and next time you and Ming decide to fuck all hours of the night…don’t.”

  Swoopes was in mid smoke when Bricks made his comment. “Look, nigga, don’t get mad at me because you outta sorts with your shawty.” He placed the blunt against his lips and pulled. “The way we been cooped up, ain’t nothing left to do but fuck.”

  Bricks laughed. “You right about that shit.” He ate a few more chips. “So ya’ll official? You and Ming.”

  Swoopes passed him the smoke and leaned back. “I haven’t had a girl in months.”

  “What you talkin’ ‘bout, you was dealing with that broad Crystal in Vegas.”

  Swoopes recalled her face. “Crystal was around but she was weak. She didn’t have her own mind, that’s why I didn’t give a fuck when she got slumped.” He watched a stripper rush to her car with two bodyguards following her. She must’ve been a star he thought. “If she was strong, I could’ve seen myself with her for real, but she wasn’t. At the end of the day, she lost herself in me.” He thought about Ming and how she needed something from him. “Ming is a different story. I get the impression that she wants love, because she deserves it, not to please me. I respect that. I respect her. ”

  “You crazy.”

  “I am crazy.” Swoopes announced. “And I’m use to it now. At first I’d get into my feelings when people said that shit about me but now I shrug it off as truth.”

  When they saw Terrell hobble out of the strip club with his keys in one hand and a stripper’s ass cheeks in the other, Bricks and Swoopes eased out of the car. He was so busy laughing it up in the dancer’s face, that when he came up for air, he didn’t see the knuckles coming at him full speed ahead. When he finally realized his fate, he dropped to the ground and the female with him took off running in the opposite direction. In a joint effort, Bricks and Swoopes picked him up, popped the trunk and threw him inside. Terrell was dizzy in the darkness trying to figure out what was happening and why. He wasn’t even sure who accosted him because in the frenzy, he didn’t see their faces. But when he finally saw them, he wasn’t happy about it.

  “What the fuck do you niggas want?” He screamed the moment the trunk popped open. They were in the driveway of his home. Although it was in a residential neighborhood, the other homes were not close by, allowing them to hide under the night’s cover. “This shit is gone too far!”

  With the absence of words, Swoopes stole him in the face silencing him momentarily.

  Terrell pressed his bloody lips with his hands and looked at Bricks. Maybe he would be more reasonable. Removing his hand from his face he asked, “Do you want to tell me what the fuck is going on?”

  This time Bricks took the liberty by slugging him in the eye. Terrell placed one hand over his swelling eye and the other on his protruding mouth. If he had a third hand he would’ve placed it over his crotch because they were liable to do anything at the moment. It didn’t take the good doctor long to realize who was in charge and it damn sure wasn’t him. “You know what’s going on, nigga.” Bricks advised, shaking his hand. The last blow pressed his knuckles in the wrong way. “You being kidnapped.”

  “And don’t even bother asking why because we bet you already know.” Swoopes added, peering at him.

  Taking his hand off of his mouth, in a submissive tone he said, “Can I talk now?” Bricks nodded once. “Why you doing this?”

  “Because when we asked for your help,” Bricks advised getting angry all over again, “you didn’t give it, so now we taking it.”

  “Well what you need? Because whatever it is, you don’t have to do this shit.” It was a miracle! Suddenly the doctor was on some Good Samaritan shit. “Whatever you do, please don’t hit me anymore.”

  “We need medicine.” Bricks responded, looking around. “And we need it tonight.”

  “How am I going to get medicine this time of night? I’m not a pharmacy.”

  Swoopes was about to hit him again until he flinched, and protected his eyes. When he let his guard down, he stole him in the mouth again instead. “Can you please stop hitting me?” He yelled. “That shit hurts!”

  “When you stop fucking around, you can go ‘bout your business.” Bricks responded. “Now we out front of your house and I know you got a prescription pad in there somewhere.” He observed the glazed over look in his eyes. “You probably using the shit for your personal use. We don’t give a fuck. All I care about is you writing one up for Yvonna, enough to last her a long time. And then we gonna go get it filled, together.”

  “Even if I do that…”

  “You mean when you do that.” Bricks corrected him.

  “When I do that, Yvonna is not going to take her meds. And if you gotta go this far, you already know that. I was with her for years and she never did what was good for her.” He tried to reason with both of them but all he was doing was making them angrier. “I’ll do it if you want, I’m just letting you know.”

  Bricks hated to admit that he had a point. Immediately he thought of another plan.

  “Don’t worry ‘bout why the cow goes moo.” Bricks advised as Swoopes looked at him sideways. “Just go in that mothafucka and get what the fuck we askin’ for.”

  Without another word, they grabbe
d him out the car by his ears, and pushed and pulled him into his house. They found his prescription pad in his office and watched him scribble several prescriptions for her. Bricks and Swoopes didn’t know what was needed, so Terrell could’ve faked them out and gave them anything. But it was obvious that the way he looked through his medical reference book and referred to her chart, which was still in his office that he cared. When he was done they drove to a 24-hour pharmacy and Bricks went inside while Swoopes guarded Terrell. Thirty minutes later, he had the medicine they needed.

  Once Bricks climbed back into the car, from the back seat Terrell asked, “So are ya’ll gonna let me go now?”

  “Yeah,” Swoopes, who was sitting in the backseat with him, responded. Then he reached over Terrell’s body, opened the car door and shoved him out with his Nike Boot. “Get the fuck out.” Terrell rolled out into the street, missing an oncoming car by inches.

  When he was gone, Swoopes locked the door and climbed back in the front, as Bricks continued to drive. “I got one question and one question only for you.”

  “Shoot.” Bricks said, merging onto the highway.

  “Did you really tell that nigga not to worry about why the cow goes moo?”

  “Nigga shut the fuck up!” Bricks laughed.

  The Next Day

  When Yvonna woke up, after being drugged with two Benadryl’s and a healthy glass of Merlot, she was sitting in a dark room on the floor, with Bricks, Ming and Swoopes standing over her. “What’s going on?” She asked rubbing her head. “And why are ya’ll looking like that?”