Altered Destiny: A Hustler's Choice

by Sherylynne L Rochester

  She nodded understanding a little.

  “Now, sometimes things or workers come in and want to place nuts and bolts in this hole, when it should have been in this hole like the designer specified. Then, they may want to add a window and take out a room. This alters the designer’s plans. But, he can’t do anything or change it because it was already done and they never consulted him about it. When he found out he either sat back or made up different plans to get it to where it needed to be. Either way the workers took action into their own hands and made structural changes that altered the original design. By them altering the original design the building could either be messed up or worse it could collapse due to heavy storms or just because the screws were not in the right place. Then, there would be no more building. The design the designer made and planned would be no more.”

  “So, God is the designer. You are the worker. The storms are the devil and his cohorts. You thought you knew best and took it into your own hands and did what you saw fit. You placed bolts and screws in other places, you added windows that God never wanted, and you removed rooms that were necessary for your success and life. Now, the only way to stop the building from being destroyed is to admit to the designer you did wrong and you want to correct it. Tell him the sins you committed like placing things in and taking things out of the building that should not have been there or taken out, all because you thought you knew what was best. Say to him ‘help me to make the building right once again and he will give you another set of plans which is Jesus who will make it just right.”

  She rolled her eyes.

  “Choose right before it is too late, Sasha. Choose wrongly and you will see death.” The man got up and headed out the diner’s front door, but before he did he said a few last words. “This is your last warning, Sasha.” Then, he disappeared right before her eyes.

  “Boy, do I need a drink.”

  The waitress brought her food to the table. She asked the waitress to wrap it up to go. Sasha no longer felt like eating. Her head was spinning. She needed to get out of there fast.

  Chapter 30

  Later that night, Sasha was in bed with Adrian holding on to him

  for dear life. They had gotten very close during the last couple of months. She had really fallen for him. She loved him. He loved her back. He would listen to her as she opened up her heart to him. Why couldn’t they have met before T and S.D? Things might have been better for her.

  “That note scared me. I don’t know…it was like death was coming even closer.”

  Adrian shook his head.

  “So that is why I got that engine starter.”

  Adrian laughed. “Well, at least you are protecting yourself.”

  “Who is doing all these things? It’s not T because he’s calling meetings left and right. He’s even accusing me.”

  “I don’t know. I have no clue. This guy is good. I think he noticed we were tailing him. He just dropped out of sight. So I need you to just lay low for a while. I don’t want anything or anyone to hurt my baby.”

  She smiled and kissed him.

  * * *

  The assailant laid low for a few more weeks. Once he saw that he was in the clear he made his way back. He began to kill as many people as he could. He was making his rounds. People in the game were not safe. He had killed a number of T’s street hustlers, those that joined up with T. He even killed Ice’s killer. But, what hit T the most was Delance’s disappearance.

  “What do you mean he is gone?” T asked.

  “We were suppose to meet up at the shop, but he never showed. So I went to his place and his girl was like she had not seen him. So I hit him up on his cell. No answer. So I let it be. The next day I called again, nothing. I went to his girl’s house and still nothing. She said he didn’t come home.”

  “So you think he’s missing or something happened to him?”

  “Yeah!”

  “Maybe he went to take care of some stuff.”

  “It ain’t like Delance. He always hits us up.”

  T paused and checked his phone. Another call was coming through.

  “Hold on. I got an unknown call. Let me take it.”

  “Go ahead.”

  “Who is this?”

  “Your worst nightmare?”

  “Who?”

  “You wondering about your boy, Delance? Well, we got him.”

  “Who has him? Who are you?”

  “Oh, you will know who it is soon enough, trust me.”

  “You took something so precious to me and I’m going to get it back, but that will be another time. What I do want is an exchange.”

  “Exchange?”

  “Yeah, give me $1.5 million and I’ll give you Delance back.”

  “What? You’re kidding.”

  “Not at all. I want $1.5 million or I’ll send him to you in pieces.”

  “I ain’t sending you anything. Do what you have to do.”

  “Cut his finger off.”

  T heard Delance grunt and scream in pain.

  “I ain’t joking man. I’m serious.”

  “Me too.” T hung up the phone and clicked back over to the other call.

  “They got him?” said T.

  “Who?”

  “The ones that have been giving me headaches.”

  “Man, what are we going do about it? Everyone is biting the dust. Except Sasha, King, Park, those that were in S.D.’s crew, and me. We are the only ones left. I think we all better lay low, you hear?”

  “Nah, I’m not. You can do whatever. I am standing my ground. Out.”

  T sat in the chair dazed. His mind was racing a mile a minute. He had tried very hard to find out who it was that was causing so many problems, but they covered their tracks all too well. They were good. All his men were dying and only he and a few were left. He figured what their fate would be. They had gotten the hustlers who did not matter and then they would work their way up to the top. All of T’s muscle men were gone except one. Now they are making their way to the leader. He was ready. He was not going out without a fight and some fun.

  As a top drug dealer you do get some perks, especially if you invested it in something. T had invested his money into Suicide Records. Suicide Records had the hottest artists. They had hits that stayed on the charts for months.

  Suicide Records was throwing a party that night. T made it his business to be there. He was making sure he would go and represent. He needed this time to relax and get his mind off things.

  T picked up his phone and called one of his girls. “Let’s go out tonight. Pick you up around seven-thirty.” Tonight he would not worry. He would have his fun before everything broke loose.

  * * *

  “Still flatlining,” the nurse said.

  “Let’s try it one more time,” the Dr. said.

  * * *

  Sasha was going to Suicide Records party as well. It was a needed break for her. Adrian, Sasha, Stacey, and a few of Adrian’s guys were ready to party. They were excited. As soon as they arrived at the club they started dancing. They had the usual V.I.P. treatment, champagne, food, and whatever they needed. This was the night to forget about everything.

  The DJ had the crowd going and enjoying the night at the hottest club in New York City. Celebrities graced the building and danced the night away. It was a party all would remember.

  After dancing with Adrian for a little while, Sasha got the chance to talk with rapper Lavish and singer Lovely who were both from Suicide Records. Lavish and Lovely were the hottest couple in the industry and were Suicide Records top acts. Sasha, Lovely, and Lavish were up in V.I.P. They were hitting it off very well. Sasha was impressed and happy to be able to be with such “high-class” people. This is what she had longed for. This is why she worked so hard, just so that she could be here and do extravagant things like this. All the warnings and what was happening meant nothing at this point. She was definitely living the life she had said long ago that she wanted to live.

  T sto
od with a beer in his hand looking out into the crowd. He was definitely enjoying himself. He was moving to the music a little and liking the atmosphere of the club. He had his hot girl on the side dancing all over him and he was among the rich and famous. He loved it.

  Everybody was having fun with no cares in the world. Everyone was dancing and talking and having a good time. There was no nonsense or drama. Not once did business or what happened before cross her mind until after she’d finished speaking with Lavish and Lovely.

  A man came up to Sasha. “Sasha?”

  “Yes?”

  “Here this is for you.”

  Sasha took the note and began to read it. “Meet me near the bathroom. We need to talk in private. Don’t tell anyone I’m here. It’s very important. ~King.”

  King had been hiding away after he got word that T was going to kill him. He was not afraid of him or death, but he was told to lay low and he did. Sasha was having fun, but her fun began to slip away as she turned to attend to business. She walked down the stairs and headed to the bathroom where he asked to meet her.

  She spotted him in the back and he signaled for her to come.

  “What’s this about King? We’ve been looking for you.” She was ready and prepared for whatever he was about to do.

  “Look, I asked you to come here so that we could talk.”

  “What King? What do you want?”

  King leaned up against the wall and she stood in front of him. “Well, I was thinking about everything that has happened this past year. You know it is going on the one year anniversary of S.D.’s death.”

  “Oh that’s right. How could I almost forget?” Sasha said trying to seem sad. “But what are you doing here T is looking for you to kill you. Are you behind everything that has happened lately?”

  “Well, I was thinking over everything that happened. I just wanted to hear your side of the story. You know, about S.D. and how he died.”

  “King, look, put all that behind you and leave. If T knew you were here…”

  “Look, just tell me please and I’ll leave you alone.” She paused for a moment. “I am hurt and sadden by S.D.’s death and just don’t want to relive it. It was so long ago and that was a day that I don’t want to remember. I almost got killed myself you know.”

  “Really.”

  “Yup, if it wasn’t for T then I would have been dead. Spunk placed the gun at my mouth ready to kill me.”

  “He did?”

  “Yes.”

  “So tell me exactly what happened.”

  She sighed. “Well, if I remember correctly, I think that night he was on the phone with you and we heard some noises downstairs. Glass from the window had been broken. S.D. went to check it out. It was scary, you know.”

  King nodded his head listening to what she had to say. He wanted to get her side of the story and play with her mind a bit.

  “So S.D. went downstairs and after a few minutes I followed. I called out to him. Then, he was shot and he died. Then the murderer came and put the gun in my mouth ready to kill me. That’s when T killed him. He saved my life.”

  King listened to some more of her story. She was telling the truth, but she wasn’t telling the whole truth.

  “I was just going crazy. Seeing S.D. like that broke my heart because I loved him. I did and—”

  “Like you loved T and Adrian?”

  She was surprise at his remark. “What do you mean by that?”

  “Nothing. So S.D. was dead huh? Are you sure about that?”

  “Yes, he was dead.” Sasha then stopped and thought about it. They had never check the body. He was shot in the chest and not moving or breathing so they had assumed he was dead. “He had blood all over him. He wasn’t moving—”

  “But, are you sure he was dead? Did you check the body? Did you check for a pulse?”

  Sasha paused.

  “I’m sorry Sasha. I just wanted to know how my boy died. He was a brother to me. And it is still affecting me.” King then walked away heading out before anyone noticed him. Before leaving he turned and said, “you played with fire and now you will get burnt.”

  Sasha was puzzled. What was he talking about, she thought. Sasha became worried. She did not know what to think. King had accomplished what he came there to do. He put more fear in Sasha.

  Chapter 31

  “Where did you go?” Stacey asked as she waited for Sasha to come out of the bathroom.

  “To see King.”

  “What?”

  “He sent up this note saying he wanted to meet in private. He asked me about S.D. ”

  “Why?”

  “I don’t know. He said something about S.D.’s one-year anniversary and things like that. He’s probably just having a hard time with S.D.’s death. Let’s just get back and party.”

  “You gonna tell T.”

  “Look…don’t worry about it. He’s just upset about S.D. death.”

  “You know he could be behind everything that has happened.”

  Sasha paused and thought about. “We will worry about it tomorrow. Let’s just have some fun.”

  Back in the V.I.P. room everybody was drinking, dancing, and trying to talk loud over the music. Girls in scantily scad dresses were all up on the men in the room. Sasha saw one girl grinding on Adrian. She quickly made her way over there. She stood in front of them and gave them both a glare. Then, she grabbed the girl by the hair and yanked her off of her man. “Don’t disrespect me like that.” She, then, threw her on the floor and kicked her.

  “Baby, don’t—”

  She cut him off. “Don’t baby me. How dare you?”

  “She was just dancing that’s it.”

  “Don’t let it happen again.”

  Adrian grabbed her and kissed her. She backed away and started dancing with some other dude. She was grinding and dancing all over him. “How you like it now?”

  “Ok...ok...you proved your point.”

  T came over, grabbed Sasha and started dancing with her, she did not object. Adrian was furious now.

  “Remember how we use to have fun like this.”

  “Yeah”

  “Those were good times, huh?”

  “Yeah.”

  “It’s been crazy lately huh?”

  “Yup!”

  “Girl, talk to me.”

  She stopped dancing. “There’s nothing to talk about.”

  “Oh, so you gonna treat me like that.”

  She backed away, but T grabbed her. Adrian was ready to lunge at him, but Sasha put up her hand to let Adrian know everything was ok.

  “Look, we stopped a long time ago. You decided you wanted this lifestyle more than me. You treated me like crap.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “I already explained that to you. Let’s just keep it on the business end. Ok!”

  “Whatever.”

  T took another sip of beer, looking into the crowd as Sasha walked over to Adrian. She turned her back to T as she faced Adrian. He wrapped his arms around her. She allowed the music to take her away while she felt safe in the arms of Adrian. She opened her eyes and looked into the crowd. Then, she noticed the face again. She looked at T who had noticed it, also. The man they had seen in the window so many times before was at the club. He was looking at them both.

  Sasha quickly got out of Adrian’s embrace and went to T.

  “What’s the matter?” Adrian asked as he followed her over to T.

  “It can’t be?” T said.

  “What?” Adrian asked.

  Stacey saw the look on their faces and joined them. “What’s up guys?”

  Neither Sasha nor T said a word. They just looked at the guy in the crowd. He had a huge smile on his face. He pulled out a gun, pointed it up in the air, and shot it off. Everyone screamed and ducked for cover. The music stopped and people started running. He shot off the gun again. Everyone was pushing towards the exit. He pointed his gun at T and shot him in the arm. T went down. Everyone in the V.I.P room ducke
d for cover and scurried out of there heading quickly to the streets. Sasha helped T up and they were able to get to the exit.

  They ran down the stairs and into the parking lot. Lavish and Lovely hopped into their limo with the rest of their crew and speed off. T, Sasha, Adrian, and Stacey were stuck. Their tires had been slashed.

  “It was him,” Sasha said.

  “Who?” Stacey asked.

  “S.D.!” T answered.

  “What? He’s dead,” said Adrian.

  “No, I saw him. The guy who fired shots in the club, it was S.D.” Sasha said.

  “No, I think you were just seeing things,” Stacey said, trying to calm Sasha down.

  “No, I wasn’t. What are we going to do?” Sasha asked in a panic. “Our tires are slashed.”

  Before they could make a decision on what to do or where to go, the man they had been seeing stood in front of them. He pointed his gun at all of them. Adrian quickly drew his gun so did Stacey and Sasha. Everyone around them pulled their guns, they were outnumbered.

  “It can’t be,” said T.

  Sasha and T were now looking at S.D. The last time they had seen him was in Italy supposedly dead and now here he was in front of them, front and center.

  “Get in the car,” King said.

  “No,” T said.

  “I just want to talk to you two. We have a lot of catching up to do.” S.D. said with a grin. “Why don’t we all go some place to talk?”

  “We ain’t going anywhere,” Adrian said.

  S.D. shot Adrian in the leg. “Mind your business. This has nothing to do with you.” Then he pointed it at Stacey. “You want some too?” She quickly dropped the gun and held her hands up, realizing she was outnumbered. “Thank you! Now shall we go?”

  T and Sasha still did not budge. T stood tall still holding his arm that had been shot. S.D. had had enough and signaled for the guys to grab them. They did as they were instructed and threw them into the van. They were going someplace special.