by K'wan
“Because I can’t!” Chucky snapped. “You don’t think I’ve tried to get your tramp ass outta my system? I don’t know what the fuck it is, but you’ve got more of a hold on me than any drug ever did. I’m sick over you. In the beginning it was just about payback for what your daddy did to my brothers, but then it turned into something else.”
“What does my father have to do with any of this?” Persia asked confused.
Chucky swooped in and grabbed her by the cheeks. “Don’t play stupid, bitch!” He rained spittle in her face. “Your daddy gunned my brother down like a dog on the street! Don’t act like you didn’t know. You were there. We both were.”
“You’re out of your mind. I don’t know anything about . . .” Persia began, then her words trailed off. Her mind went back to when she was a little girl on the playground. She had been talking to her father, telling him what she wanted from the store when the car pulled up and she saw a man holding a gun. In her mind she could see the muzzle flashes, before the man who had been trying to kill her father hit the ground. Everything was a blur after that, but she could remember as she was being pulled away from the crime scene seeing a boy in the back seat of the car. He was staring at Persia’s father with hateful eyes, the same hateful eyes that were now locked on her. “The boy in the car. It was you, wasn’t it?”
“Yes,” Chucky said emotionally. “I loved my brothers more than anything and your father and Monk took them from me.”
“So you put me through all this over something that happened over thirteen years ago that I didn’t have anything to do with?” Persia was stunned. Chucky had made her life a living hell since the day he walked into it and now she understood why.
“It had everything to do with you! I wanted to hurt your daddy the same way he hurt me and I knew there was only one way to do it. I had to touch the thing he loved most in the world: his precious princess,” Chucky told her.
Persia’s head spun as none of it made sense. “I don’t understand. Why not just kill me?”
“I had planned to, but first I wanted you to suffer,” Chucky admitted. “I wanted to break you down until there was nothing left of daddy’s little girl and then I was going to snuff your lights out. Then something happened that I never expected. I fell in love with you,” he said sincerely.
“If this is how you treat people you love, I’d sure hate to see how you treat people you don’t,” Vaughn said from the ground.
Chucky knelt down and put his gun to Vaughn’s head. “You shut your fucking mouth! You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I know it takes a bitch-ass nigga to break down a good woman,” Vaughn spat.
Chucky laughed and removed his gun from Vaughn’s head. “Is that what she has you thinking, that I’m the only monster in this movie? You got a high football IQ, but you’re short on common sense. How well do you really know this bitch you’re trying to defend?”
“If this is the part where you drop the bomb on me about Persia being an ex-addict, save your breath. I already know and it don’t mean shit to me,” Vaughn said.
“I see she’s told you some of her secrets, but has she told you all of them?” Chucky taunted Vaughn.
“Chucky, don’t,” Persia pleaded.
“What’s the matter, Princess P? You don’t want your boy toy to know that in addition to being a crack whore, you’re also a murderer? Well I should say attempted murderer since your pet dog missed his mark.”
“Fuck are you talking about?” Vaughn asked.
“I’m talking about your bitch trying to have me clipped. Tell him, Persia. Tell Vaughn how you tried to have me killed.”
Vaughn looked at Persia. “Baby, is that true?” When Persia lowered her head in shame instead of denying it, Vaughn knew that it was. The revelation surprised Vaughn. He had always known Persia was from the street, but he never would’ve expected that she had it in her to try to have a man murdered.
“Don’t look so sad, Vaughn. You ain’t the only one this sneaky bitch played for a sap,” Chucky taunted. “In fact, I probably did you a favor by busting in here like this. I’m a poor nigga and she tried to have me killed when she was done with me, so there’s no telling what she’d have done to a rich nigga like you once you let her get close.”
“Fuck you, Chucky! I wish Li’l Monk had murdered your ass!” Persia spat at him.
“Well he didn’t, which is good for me and bad for you.” Chucky pulled her off the chair and started pulling her toward the door. He stopped and picked up Vaughn’s pants and began going through the pockets.
“Where are you taking her?” Vaughn asked. He struggled against his restraints but couldn’t get free.
“Me and my bitch are about to take a little road trip.” Chucky took Vaughn’s cash then threw the wallet at him.
“Please don’t do this,” Persia pleaded with him.
Chucky yanked her to him and kissed Persia roughly. “I told you, baby. You belong to me and nobody else. Now let’s go.” He pulled her behind him.
“I’ll find you, Persia! I promise, I’ll find you and make this nigga pay!” Vaughn raged. He struggled against his restraints but couldn’t free himself. He felt so helpless knowing Chucky was about to abscond with the woman he loved and there wasn’t anything he could do about it.
Chucky pulled Persia along toward the front door, thinking of how great life was going to be for them. Even though she had tried to have him hit, he forgave her. In Chucky’s twisted mind she was just being a scorned woman and trying to pay him back for what he’d done. It didn’t matter; they would get through it like they got through everything else. Persia was in her feelings over Vaughn, but once he got her down to Florida and showed her what kind of man he would really be she would forget all about her boy toy.
Chucky had just twisted the handle of the hotel door, unlocking it, when it came flying open. He was barely able to move out of the way to keep the door from hitting him in the face, but he couldn’t avoid the heavy boot that crashed into his chest and sent him flying into Persia, knocking them both onto the floor.
Persia hit her head on the arm of the sofa when she fell and for a few seconds the room spun. Through the haze of pain she saw several armed men and a woman come into the room and fan out. When she looked closely at the girl she thought her eyes were playing tricks on her. “Meeka?”
Meeka moved toward Persia with a knife in her hand and Persia instinctively scrambled back. “It’s okay, I’m not going to hurt you.” She knelt down and cut Persia free, while she watched her with frightened eyes. “Are you okay?”
“I don’t understand, what is all this? How did you find me?” Persia rattled off questions.
“Because she’s been following you for the last couple of days,” the leader of the group spoke up. He was a handsome man, dressed in a black turtleneck and black pants. Holstered under his arms were two large guns with rhinestone handles.
“Following me? Why would you be following me?” Persia asked.
“To get to him.” Meeka nodded at Chucky who was just beginning to stir.
Chucky was trying to crawl for the gun he had dropped when Frankenstein grabbed him by the back of the neck with one of his massive hands. He lifted Chucky in the air and began to squeeze.
“Careful, Frank. We don’t want to damage our parcel,” Christian warned.
“Found another one.” Boogie came out of the bedroom, pushing Vaughn in front of him. He had cut his legs free but left his hands tied. He shoved Vaughn, causing him to fall onto the floor near Persia. “Oops.” He snickered.
“Boogie, is it too much to ask of you to show even the slightest bit of tact from time to time?” Christian asked, clearly irritated.
“Sorry, boss.” Boogie said sarcastically. He was actually hoping Vaughn fell hard enough to hurt himself. Boogie had lost a stack by betting on the Giants the night before.
“Are you okay?” Persia touched Vaughn’s face.
“Yeah, I’m good, but wou
ld you care to tell me what the hell is going on?” Vaughn looked at the armed men in the room.
“I’ll spare you the boring details, but the short version of it is that there is a price on Chucky’s head and my associates and I have come to collect,” Christian said flatly. “The reason I had Meeka following you around is because I knew that wherever you were, Chucky wouldn’t be far behind and it would seem that I was correct.”
“So are you going to kill us too?” Persia asked fearfully.
Christian gave a throaty laugh. “Sweetie, I’m a businessman, not a monster. Normally I would’ve been forced to take you out as well, because witnesses can make things unnecessarily complicated, but you’ve been given a pass. I promised your friend Meeka that no harm would come to you and I am a man of my word.”
Persia looked at Meeka. “I guess I owe you.”
“Regardless of what I’ve chosen to do with my life, I’m still the same girl you used to run around and get into trouble with. We’re friends and that’ll never change.”
“Thank you.” Persia hugged her.
“I think we’ve taken up enough of your time, kids. We best be going. Chucky has a date with destiny.”
“I ain’t going nowhere! Get the fuck off of me!” Chucky struggled helplessly in Frank’s grip.
“Frank, would you please shut him up? I can’t even hear myself think.” Christian clutched his head dramatically.
“With pleasure,” Frank said and slammed Chucky face first into the wall, knocking him out. Frank then stuffed Chucky in the large laundry sack he was carrying and tossed him over his shoulder.
“Thank you. Boogie?” He turned to the man with the thick glasses. “Could you please call Ramses and tell him we’ve got something that belongs to him.”
“Sure thing.” Boogie pulled out his cell and stepped to the side to make the call.
“So what now?” Vaughn asked.
“Well, we can handle this one of two ways: you can call the police and tell them what happened, and in that case I’ll have to disappoint poor Meeka by paying you both a second visit. Or you can forget we ever met and go about your life as if this never happened,” Christian said.
“Then I guess you were never here,” Vaughn said.
“You are a wise young man, Mr. Tate.” Christian smiled. “Come children, let’s go.” He led his entourage toward the door. He stopped short and turned to Persia. “Please be sure we get invitations to the wedding. After all, we are extended family now,” he said and left.
“What did he mean by that?” Vaughn asked Persia.
“I have no clue.”
CHAPTER 42
Li’l Monk sat outside the house Kunta had brought him to, chain smoking cigarettes. His mind was a jumble of thoughts and none of them were good. When he’d set out on his mission of revenge against those who had wronged him, he knew that he would have to leave his feelings on the table to do what needed to be done, but it didn’t make it any easier on him, especially the step he was about to take.
There was a thumping sound coming from the trunk of the car, snapping Li’l Monk out of his daze. His passenger was getting restless. He reasoned that he couldn’t blame them considering the ride was involuntary. Normally such barbaric tactics would’ve gone against his moral code, but in matters of life and death morals sometimes went out the window. It would all be over soon.
It was just before daybreak when there was finally signs of movement in the house. A woman came out wearing spandex, a pullover fleece, and track sneakers. She took a few moments to stretch on the front steps before taking off into a brisk jog down the block. He was glad she was gone because Li’l Monk wasn’t sure if he had it in him to do what he had to do while she was in the house. Checking the clip in his P89 to make sure it was full, Li’l Monk slid out of the car and started across the street.
As luck would have it the woman neglected to lock the front door when she had gone for her jog. Li’l Monk turned the knob and slipped inside. The house was relatively dark except for the first pink rays of the sun that were just starting to shine through the picture window. Li’l Monk moved silently across the living room, making his way to the stairs. He knew the master bedroom was located on the second floor. He crept up the stairs, passing a room with a closed door. Li’l Monk took a second to peek inside. The bed was empty and still made, meaning it hadn’t been slept in. He wondered where the occupant was. Had she known that the shadow of death would pass over her house that night, and made it a point not to be there? And if she had, would she have tipped him off? It was a bit late to worry about it by that point.
Li’l Monk continued to the master bedroom and found the door cracked open. He peeked inside and saw a lump lying under the covers. He had caught Pharaoh slipping! He had waited for that moment for so long and now that it was at hand, he found himself nervous. “Get it together,” he whispered to himself as he approached the bed. “This the front desk with your wake up call, muthafucka!” he snarled and dumped four shots into the bed. When he snatched the covers back to deliver a head shot he didn’t find a body, only a few shot-up pillows. He had been duped!
Li’l Monk ducked just as something whistled through the air where his head would’ve been. He turned and found himself confronted by a man wearing pajamas and holding a baseball bat.
“You picked the wrong house to rob, buddy!” Richard swung the bat again.
Li’l Monk dove out of the way just as the baseball bat smashed through the nightstand. He was trying to get to his feet, but Richard was on him again. This time when he swung the bat, his strike rang true and hit Li’l Monk in the arm, knocking his gun into the hallway, and tumbling down the stairs. Richard swung again, but this time Li’l Monk was ready. He grabbed the bat midswing and a struggle ensued.
Their fight spilled out into the hallway and Richard pinned Li’l Monk’s back to the staircase banister. Richard was far stronger than he looked. Li’l Monk kneed him in the balls, and yanked the bat free. Before he could swing it, Richard tackled him and sent them both spilling down the stairs and into the living room. Luckily for Li’l Monk Richard took the brunt of the fall and was slow to get up. This gave Li’l Monk time to recover his gun. Richard had just managed to get to his knees when Li’l Monk pressed the P89 to the back of his head.
“Game over, Pharaoh.”
Richard sat at the base of the stairs with his hands tied to what was left of the banister. He was scared to death, but tried his best not to show it. “What’s this all about?”
“I think you know what this is about, Pharaoh,” Li’l Monk told him.
“Why do you keep calling me that? I don’t know any Pharaoh,” Richard said. He was rewarded by a slap in the mouth from one of Li’l Monk’s powerful hands.
“You know just what I’m talking about, pussy. I know everything now, including how you tried to have me killed!” Li’l Monk spat. “I was loyal to you and Ramses and the one time I needed y’all on my side you threw me to the dogs, and I just wanna know why? I worshiped you niggas and as a reward you tried to off me!”
“Kid, I’m a teacher not a killer. I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Richard insisted.
“I’ve got to give it to you, you’re good. I would’ve never guessed that a square-ass nigga like you was really the notorious Pharaoh. You’re better at keeping your secrets than you are your word. Does Ms. Michelle know what you’ve been up to? How about Persia? How are they going to feel when I smoke your ass and everything comes out?”
“Listen,” Richard began in a calm voice. “I can prove to you who I am. If you go upstairs and grab my wallet off the table, my driver’s license is inside. That’ll prove I’m not who you think I am.”
“I’ve got a better idea. Hold tight for a second.” Li’l Monk walked out the front door.
Richard knew he didn’t have much time. He wasn’t sure where Li’l Monk had disappeared to, but he knew that he wouldn’t be gone long. If he didn’t get free by the time he came back,
it was game over. He had just managed to free his hands when Li’l Monk came back, but he wasn’t alone. There was a woman with him. Her hands were tied and there was a pillowcase over her head. At first he thought that it might’ve been Persia, but he could tell from her hands that the woman was too old to be his stepdaughter. He had no idea who it was, but he wouldn’t have to wait too long to find out.
When Li’l Monk saw that Richard had freed one of his hands his eyes flashed with anger. “What, were you planning to run off? Were you gonna leave your family here to take your medicine for you? You’re just as much of a coward as you are a snake, so let me see you crawl on your belly.” Li’l Monk shot him in one of his legs.
Richard howled in pain, clutching his bloody leg. “You shot, me! You fucking shot me!”
“That’s just a flesh wound. Before I take you from this world I want you to admit it. Admit it to me and yourself who you really are, Pharaoh!” Li’l Monk demanded.
“I keep telling you, I’m not Pharaoh!” Richard whimpered.
“Well I know someone who’ll say different.” Li’l Monk snatched the pillowcase from the woman’s head and revealed that it was Queen, the old timer he had seen at the funeral. He remembered Neighborhood telling him that she was one of the few people who had ever seen Pharaoh’s face.
Queen blinked, letting her eyes adjust and looked around the room. When she spotted Li’l Monk holding the gun, she began backpedaling. “Please don’t kill me.”
“Calm down, Ms. Queen. I ain’t gonna kill you,” Li’l Monk assured her. “I apologize for my rough handling of you, but I didn’t think you’d come with me willingly.”
“Well if you ain’t gonna kill me what the hell do you want?” Queen asked suspiciously.
“I need you to identify someone. Who is this?” Li’l Monk pointed at Richard.
Queen squinted and studied Richard’s face. “He looks familiar, like I might’ve seen him somewhere before, but I can’t say that I know him.”
