The Sheisty Saga

by T. N. Baker

  “Really, and where is that?” asked the officer.

  “McDonald’s, and one day I hope to open a franchise of my own.” Ness couldn’t believe the bullshit coming from his own mouth.

  “All right, kid. Good for you. Just stay out of trouble,” the officer said, heading toward the building as he spotted the K-9 unit pulling up.

  Oh, shit, Ness thought as he opened his car door in a hurry, jumped in, and pulled off immediately before the dogs caught a whiff of what was really in the bag. Sweating bullets, he knew how close he had come to getting knocked. He started to laugh, thinking about how well he played that pig.

  “Ahhh, fuck!” Ness yelled, remembering what he had left behind. “Damn, why I ain’t take the fucking money?” Pulling his cell phone from his pocket, he dialed C’s cell.

  C-God saw Ness’s number come up on the phone and picked up, beefing, “You’s a stupid muthafucka. Why the fuck is you calling me from your cell, nigga?”

  “Yo, C, I know, but—”

  “No, nigga, obviously you don’t know! Go find a fucking payphone and–nah, you know what? Fuck all that. Just bring my shit to me,” he said with such authority in his disrespectful tone before hanging up.

  “Fuck you, nigga! You ain’t got your shit,” Ness yelled as he threw his phone in the passenger’s seat.

  “I ain’t giving that nigga shit.” He had a plan, and C-God was going to have no choice but to step down for Ness’s takeover or else he would die.

  Ness’s plan was simple: set up shop with the bricks and flip the profit. It would take some careful planning, but Ness had the overall scheme ready. He didn’t really know much about pushing weight, but Smitty did. Now all he needed was a few soldiers behind him, just in case C-God tried to get at him. Ness remembered the wild stories from back in the days about the fear C-God pumped into nigga’s hearts, but for the past few years, he’d been rolling with him, and all he had witnessed was his sharp-ass tongue. It was Mike who always pulled the trigger for him, and he had been dismissed.

  So, what next? Ness thought. After watching C-God get weak over a broad, Ness no longer respected his gangsta. Of course, he wasn’t gon’ straight sleep on the nigga neither, because it was always better to be safe than sorry. Establishing a squad that was ready for war was first on his list of things to do, you know, just to be on the safe side of the fence.

  Ness stopped at a payphone and called C back.

  “Yo, who this?” C answered his cell on the third ring.

  “Yo, man, it’s Ness. Listen, I ain’t got your shit, dawg. I went to the crib and the feds was all over the place. They had dogs and all types of shit, so a nigga just kept going.”

  “Yo, what the fuck? Did they get in my crib?” C-God asked.

  “They was running up in the building, I ain’t even get out the car. All I seen was police rolling deep and I got the fuck up out the area.”

  “So, yo, wait a little while, go scoop up Reg, then go back over there and check that shit out. It might not even be my spot they hit,” C-God ordered.

  “Nah, dawg. I ain’t going back over there,” Ness said.

  “What the fuck you mean, you ain’t going back over there?”

  “Yo, son, check this out. If they ran up in your shit, then nine times out of ten they still there, or they watching it, and I ain’t getting caught up in that, dawg,” Ness said standing his ground and refusing to let C-God punk him.

  “Yo, you bitch-ass nigga, what the fu—” Before C-God could finish his verbal lashing, the payphone operator asked for five more cents for the next two minutes, and Ness hung up.

  He was excited about his chance to finally make some real dough. Finding a tape, he popped it in and turned up the volume.

  Ness had one more important phone call to make.

  “Yo, we on, nigga. We working with ten of them things, nigga, and shit look sweet too!” Ness didn’t need to go into details. His partner knew exactly how it was going down.

  “That’s what’s up! So, yo, let’s get up in a little while and get this shit popping, a’ight?” asked Smitty.

  “Sounds like a plan,”

  Chapter 52

  It was shortly after seven a.m. when Mrs. Wright got over the initial shock of someone trying to murder her daughter. She didn’t feel up to it, but she knew it was necessary to call the family and Epiphany’s closest friends. Of course, as far as friends went, Keisha was number one, and then came Shana, who she was unable to reach.

  When Mrs. Wright broke the news to Keisha, she was devastated. After some encouraging words about Epiphany’s condition and the doctor’s reassurance that she would pull through this, Keisha managed to calm down long enough to get the details on what they believed had happened. Mrs. Wright questioned her about the guy who was murdered while visiting Epiphany, but she couldn’t remember his name, and Keisha couldn’t offer much help.

  “Keisha, you are the closest friend Epiphany has. You two are like sisters. I am her mother, so she tells me nothing, and if I do hear anything, I hear it from the streets. I know she talks to you, so I need to ask you something, and I want you to be straight with me, okay?” she asked Keisha in all seriousness.

  “Okay, I’ll do my best,” Keisha replied in a soft voice.

  “Was she still messing around with that Hinderson boy?”

  “Mrs. Wright, in all honesty, I don’t know. I wanna say no ’cause the last time we talked about him, she told me it was over. She found out about some girl he had gotten pregnant, and supposedly she ended it with him.”

  “Keisha, I just have one more question. Do you think he had something to do with this?” she asked as tears formed and her voice started to crack.

  “Mrs. Wright, you know C-God stepped to Tucker over some nonsense a while ago. He’s made threats, and as a matter of fact, he’s the reason why Tucker doesn’t feel it’s safe to stay at home with me and the baby. So, to answer your question, yes, I do think he had something to do with this. I don’t like him, nor do I trust him, and I strongly believe he’s absolutely capable of doing something like this.” Keisha was starting to get angry.

  “Even though she was pregnant?” Mrs. Wright questioned in disbelief. How could he be so coldhearted? she wondered.

  “Wait a minute. Epiphany is pregnant?” Keisha couldn’t believe her ears.

  “She was,” Mrs. Wright said sadly.

  “That bastard! How could he? Mrs. Wright, I gotta go. I have to call Tucker, but I’ll be at the hospital as soon as I reach him, okay?” Keisha’s eyes flooded with tears all over again.

  * * *

  Keisha arrived at the hospital alone, carrying “Get Well Soon” balloons and some flowers. She had only half an hour left before morning visiting hours were over. Seeing Epiphany was something she had to do, but her mind couldn’t stop wondering about Tucker. He’d been ignoring her calls all morning.

  He really might not forgive me, she thought. Regardless of the circumstances, she felt she was still the mother of his child, and there was no excuse for his behavior.

  She ran into Epiphany’s dad, who was standing at the elevator when she got off. Jay Wright looked like an exhausted madman. He showed her to the room and thanked her for coming before he headed out.

  As Keisha entered the room, she felt sick. She hated the smell of hospitals. To her, they represented sickness and death.

  Epiphany’s mom greeted her with a tight hug.

  “Where is Tucker?”

  Keisha’s heart dropped into the pit of her stomach. She didn’t have an answer, so she thought up a quick lie.

  “Loretta and my sisters weren’t able to make it back in time to watch the baby, so he stayed home with him,” she said, looking down at the floor.

  “Oh, okay. How is that handsome little boy of yours?” Epiphany’s mom smiled, but her eyes were still puffy and her voice was rather hoarse from her lack of sleep and the crying she’d been doing all night.

  Mrs. Wright was trying to make light of the s
ituation, but Keisha knew she was having a hard time dealing with everything. Epiphany was her pride and joy even though she didn’t always approve of the life she was living.

  “He’s doing great,” Keisha answered back.

  “Good! Well, I’ll give you a little time alone with Epee. I’ll be back shortly. Okay, sweetie?”

  “Okay.” Keisha walked closer to Epiphany’s bedside. Seeing Epiphany lying there like that brought Keisha to tears. Epiphany’s face was bruised up pretty badly. Keisha pulled up a chair and moved in as close as she could to the side of the bed. Taking Epiphany’s hand into hers, she began to talk to her.

  “Hey, E, it’s me, Keisha. I know you’re in bad shape right now, but you’re gonna pull through this. I know you will, because you know the world can’t make it without Epiphany J. Wright.” She let out a little laugh. “We just can’t do it without you, girl, so you better hurry up and get better before I go crazy. You’re my best friend and I love you, plus I need you to help me fix this mess with Tucker.

  “I’m in the dog house, and he’ll probably never take me back, let alone trust me. I should have never let Lea talk me into having strippers at my bachelorette party. I know it’s nobody’s fault that I fucked Damager, but if his ass wasn’t there in the first place, doing all them freaky things to me while I was drunk, none of this would have happened. And that damn tape . . .” She drifted off into a distasteful thought.

  “Anyway, I won’t get into that right now.” Keisha quickly snapped out of her daydream and changed the subject.

  “Girl, your godson is getting so big. He’s trying to walk now, and he’s got eight teeth. Ain’t that something? He’s a real cutie, though. I know all mothers think their kids are cute, but my son is just gorgeous, and I’m not just saying that ’cause he’s mines, neither. Seriously, girl.” She laughed.

  She looked at Epiphany’s swollen face and felt terrible for not calling and keeping in touch more. She really missed talking and spending time with her friends.

  “I tried calling Shana, but her phone has been disconnected. Her cell ain’t working either. It’s like she ain’t part of the crew no more. We’re all moving in different directions, but when I leave here, I think I’m just gonna stop by her house to see what’s up with her.” Keisha had more to say to her friend, but the announcements came on, saying that visiting hours were now over.

  “I gotta go now, but I’ll be back tomorrow,” Keisha said as she kissed Epiphany on the forehead and headed toward the door.

  “Keisha, wait,” Mrs. Wright called out as she spotted her walking down the hallway. Keisha stopped and turned around.

  “I just wanted to thank you once again for coming and remind you to tell Tucker to please keep his ears open in the streets. Oh, and remember I was telling you about the guy they found dead at Epee’s apartment? You knew him. I found out that he was one of her old boyfriends. His name was . . . something like Mahkai.”

  “Oh, no. Mrs. Wright, please tell me you don’t mean Malikai.”

  “Yeah, that’s him. Wasn’t he a friend of Tucker’s?”

  “Oh God, I gotta go.” Keisha bareley made it out of the hospital before she dialed Tucker’s cell. Again, she got no answer, so she waited for the beep. “Why aren’t you picking up your cell phone?” she screamed into the receiver. “Mali is dead, and Epiphany is lying up in the fucking hospital. Damn, T, I know you hate me right now, but they’re our friends. Please call me back.” Keisha hung up.

  Seconds later, her cell rang. Keisha answered before the first ring even finished, and she cried out Tucker’s name.

  The voice on the other end wasn’t him. It was Julius a.k.a. the Damager. Her crying kind of threw him off.He paused for a moment before he spoke.

  “Ahhh, is this Keisha?” he asked hesitantly.

  “Who is this?” she cried.

  “It’s Julius. Are you all right?”

  “No, I’m not all right, and please don’t call me anymore!” Keisha screamed, taking her anger out on him and abruptly ending his call. She dialed Tucker again, expecting the voice mail, but was thrown off when he answered.

  “What, Keish?” Tucker was short with her.

  “H–hello,” she stuttered into the mouth phone.

  “Yeah, what?” he replied.

  “Did you get my message?” Keisha asked nervously.

  “Which one?”

  “The one I just left about Malikai and Epiphany.”

  “Nah, but Momma D already told me about Mali. She’s fucked up over this shit. I just came from identifying his body, and I’m just as fucked up. Everything is fucked up. I gotta bury my best friend. I gotta take care of his funeral arrangements. Damn! I can’t believe this shit.” For a moment there was complete silence. “What’s up with Epiphany, though?”

  Keisha could hear the sadness in Tucker’s voice, although he was trying hard to act like everything was under control. She knew he was going through hell right now. She added her deepest regards first before telling him about the condition Epiphany was in.

  “Hmmm, so she gon’ be a’ight, right?”

  “Well, the doctors are hopeful. You know she was pregnant?”

  “By who? That nigga C?” he said, answering his own question.

  “I don’t know.”

  “She probably had Mali set up. She told that nigga C-God that Mali was going to be there.” Tucker jumped to conclusions about what he thought had happened that night.

  “Oh, come on, Tucker. That’s ridiculous, and if that was the case, why is she lying up in the ICU?”

  “Maybe the nigga was just using her, got what he wanted, then tried to kill two birds with one stone. Or maybe she was shot as part of the plan to look innocent. Who knows?”

  “What! Epiphany would never do something like that,” said Keisha, speaking in her friend’s defense. “Besides, she really cared about Malikai.”

  “Cared! What’s that supposed to mean? You supposedly loved me, but that ain’t stop you from getting it on with the next nigga, did it? I ain’t putting nothing past a bitch no more.”

  Keisha realized that Tucker was no longer talking about Epiphany and Mali. He was talking about her. “Bitch! You know what? l’ma let that go because you just lost your best friend. Yes, I played myself, but you better not ever fix your face to call me out my name again. I am your son’s mother, just in case you forgot, and regardless of what you might think of me right now, that part won’t ever change. So, while you try your best to make me feel worse than I already do, you need to ask yourself why I did what I did, Mr. Get-money-and-never-have-time-for-anything-else,” Keisha said sarcastically.

  “Yeah, getting money for what, though, Keisha? Could it be that six hundred thousand–dollar house we living in and the expensive-ass cars we got? Is that the money you talking about? It gotta be.”

  “No, I’m talking about the money that keeps you out of town all time, my needs neglected, and your black ass in troub—”

  “Yeah, the money that I was out there busting my ass for just to keep shit comfortable for us, while you go out and get fucked, right?”

  Keisha didn’t say a word. How could she? He was right.

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah, I didn’t think you wanted to go there. Where’s my son at anyway?”

  “He’s home.”

  “Well, listen, after the funeral, I want you, your moms, the baby, and your sisters to go on vacation or something. At least until shit blows over. Go back to Atlanta with them if you want. Your family came all the way up here for a wedding, and since you fucked that up, maybe you should just take them somewhere. Miami, Mexico, or even Disneyland. Wherever. I don’t care, just go somewhere until things calm down a bit. And, Keisha, I ain’t asking you; I’m telling you. I already lost my boy, and I ain’t trying to take no more losses, so make it happen, a’ight? I gotta go.” Tucker abruptly ended the call.

  “Tucker, hello?” Keisha repeated his name, hoping he was still on the line, but there was nothing but silence.
She was pissed off, but at this point, she didn’t feel the need to call him back just to argue. Keisha knew exactly what he was going through, ’cause she was going through it too. Because of her mistakes, they couldn’t be there for each other.

  Chapter 53

  Shana arrived home late in the afternoon, exhausted and in a not so pleasant mood. Not only did she lose sleep worrying about Chasity’s craziness and Smitty’s motives, but she was up and out early searching for a new place. Out of the six apartments she viewed that day, not one of them was to her liking. To make matters worse, when she opened the door to her small basement apartment, there was no “hello,” “how you doing?” or “how’s your day?” but instead beefing.

  “Yo, how the fuck you gonna go change numbers without telling a nigga? I got muthafuckas calling me for some important shit, and they can’t even get in touch with me ’cause your stupid ass done went and changed the number. Then I tried to get in touch with you on your cell, and you done changed that, too. And why you had the ringer turned off on the phone, Shana? Huh? What the fuck is up with that? I told your sneaky ass to tie up all them loose ends with whatever crab-ass niggas you was fucking with before I came the fuck home. Smitty said he tried calling me ’bout four times last night, and the phone just rang and rang. Shit, you even heard me tell the nigga to call, and you still went and did some stupid shit like that.”

  Shana wasn’t in the mood to argue, which was rare, because normally she would have been all up in K.C.’s shit. She never backed down from an argument with him, even when it got physical.

  K.C. lived for drama, so he made it hard for Shana to ignore him. He would go on and on until he got a response, and that’s exactly what he got. Shana listened quietly to him bitch about changing her number to her phones until her head felt like it was going to explode.

  “Shut the fuck up, nigga. So what I changed the numbers? They’re my fucking numbers anyway. You only been home what, a day and a half, and already you starting to get on a bitch nerves,” she yelled.