Street Symphony: A Tainted Love Story

by Treasure Malian

  “This is one of the agents on the night watch, and so is this one. She pointed to the two photos. Only two guards, so this should be easy enough, right?”

  Kory and Nadja nodded in agreement.

  “Wrong! They have a secondary safe house, near this one. There are more agents there. They radio each other frequently and if one of the agents we take out don’t come through the radio; they send in reinforcements. What that means for us is our window is really small. Get in, take the guards out and the witness in three minutes.”

  “Three minutes,” Nadja repeated.

  “Yea. Listen to me, when it comes to cases like this, they prepare for the worse, worse case scenario. When I say reinforcements will come, they will come in the boatload. All it takes is a delay in the response from the agents on watch. It’s imperative we get in there and out in three minutes or less.”

  Kory ran her fingers through her hair before leaning forward and resting her elbows on the table. “Okay, and how do you suppose we get this down in three minutes?”

  “It’s three of us and three of them. Nadja, how much did you pay Terrence?” Sym questioned.

  “Five bands. Should I have given him less?”

  Sym shook her no as she studied the contents he compiled for her.

  “We might have to give him more. He really came through.” She flipped the folder shut after seeing the proof she would file away in case she needed to use it against Judge Haywood at a later time.

  She pulled a map from the envelope. Nadja and Kory was one step ahead. They were sure to get a map of the area once they got the location from the Judge. She unfolded it and spread it out on the table. She retrieved a pen from her bag before looking down and studying the map.

  “The safe house is right here. There is only one road that leads to the house. The entire area is wooded.” She spoke while making markings on the map. “We’ll drive the car to this point and walk from here. It wasn’t mentioned whether or not guards are patrolling the woods. We will move as if there are so that we won’t be in for any surprises. Since we’ll be in the dark about that, I think this is the best spot for us to park. In the event there are guys on patrol, we can’t run the risk of them hearing the car or seeing the lights.”

  Nadja and Kory were always amazed at how Symphony really got to the Nitty Gritty when it came to prepping for jobs. She was a fast thinker and super quick on her toes, which proved to be extremely helpful in their line of work.

  “Sis, you got all that from just looking over the information we got from the Judge?” Nadja asked.

  Sym nodded. “Judge Haywood was generous. He gave all these details in hopes of keeping his dirty little secret; a secret.”

  “Well, the ride from here to New Rochelle isn’t so long, and I know you want to make this move at on the late shit. What time is good for us to leave here?”

  Symphony glanced down at her watch before taking a few steps around the room. She was calculating something, pondering over the many outcomes.

  “Well leave here at eight. By the time we get there, the late night guards should be settled in. We want to catch them off guard.”

  “Sounds good.”

  “Ya’ll did great at getting this information. Thank you,” Sym praised them for a job well done. They paid the Judge a visit without her and got more than enough information to get the job done. She couldn’t have done a better job herself.

  With that out the way, Symphony thoughts drifted back to Derrick.

  “You good?” Nadja asked, after noticing the change in Symphony’s attitude.

  If it were just the both of them, Symphony would have gone on about how she felt as if she was on the verge of a breakdown. However, Kory was present and unaware of everything that transpired after the death of Derrick, so, Sym had to put on a brave face and push through it.

  “I’m good. Ready to take this nigga out, and get this money,” she boasted.

  “Same.”

  Kory stood from her seat and began putting the papers back into the folders.

  “Let’s get ready,” Sym instructed once the folders were locked away in the file cabinet.

  She and the girls left out of the room and headed down the hall to another room; that was used as an Arsenal and changing room. The room had a floor to ceiling walk in safe which housed weapons, which ranged from handguns to grenades. Amongst the weapons were Teflon vests and a host of other things the girls acquired through the many connects they’ve made throughout the years.

  The girls changed out of the attire they had on into sweats and hooded sweaters. They had to look the part, in addition, to being prepared.

  “We’ll stick around here and go over the plan a few more times before we move out,” Sym stated, while pulling her vest from the shelf it rested on.

  Chapter Nine

  The ride to New Rochelle was quiet. Much quieter than they intended it to be, but each of the girls was off in their own world thinking about how this night could end. They’ve been successful up 'til this point but the thought of something going wrong always lingered in the back of their minds. They knew the risk that came with what they did for a living but for them, the payout made it all worth it. Sym was in the backseat. She could never drive right before a job because her nerves were always all over the place. She did well at making it seem as if she was unbothered but deep down, every time they set out to handle business, she was a wreck. The last thing she wanted to do was lose her sister or best friend behind something that was her fault.

  She was the reason why Nadja and Kory were involved in that line of work. They want to make sure she’s good, so instead of them allowing her to go out there on her own, they joined her to ensure that someone always had her back.

  “Sym, get out of your head,” Nadja glanced back at her best friend and spoke.

  She knew something else was on Symphony’s mind. Something that didn’t have a thing to do with the task at hand. She needed her on her game and focused. Whatever was bothering her had to take a back seat. Their lives depending on it.

  “I’m good,” Symphony assured her.

  Kory was driving so she couldn’t look back at her sister, but she did glance at her through the rearview to see her expression. She seemed unbothered, but then again Symphony had a great poker face.

  They crept up to the spot that they agreed would be the rendezvous point, where they would leave the car. Kory shut off the engine and the girls reveled in the silence.

  “Let’s move,” Sym encouraged.

  The ladies filed out of the car with their guns at their sides ready to shoot down anything moving in their path. In Military fashion, Symphony gestured for them to move forward, and they did, after pulling the ski masks down to shield their identities. They trotted forward through the woods in complete silence. The twigs beneath their feet crunched as they all silently prayed that the noise wouldn’t alert the guards of their presence. A few feet away from the house, they crouched down behind trees to shield their bodies. Kory looked to Sym and waited for the sign for her to go. From where they were, they could spot one officer. Since they knew there was another, but didn’t know where in the house he was located; they had to improvise.

  Symphony nodded at her sister. It was her silent way of telling her to go ahead. She looked on like a hunter scoping his or her prey as her sister approached the house. A flicker of light coming from inside the house caught Symphony’s attention. There were three silhouettes when there should have only been two. Something was terribly wrong. She emerged from behind the tree to stop Kory, but it was too late.

  She watched as the guard’s body hit the ground.

  “It’s more boys here,” Sym warned Nadja as they sprung into action and went behind Kory.

  The mood was tense as they stealthily approached the house. Sym’s heart rate sped up, and Nadja’s nerves were evident after hearing that it was a possibility that they were outgunned.

  Once they reached Kory, where she had taken out the first
guard, Sym and Nadja helped her drag his body around to the side of the house before making their way to the back to enter it.

  “There are more than two people in there,” Symphony admitted while grabbing Kory, who was ready to bust in the door.

  “We can’t turn back,” Kory sighed.

  Sym knew that, and so did Nadja. They had accepted the job and no matter what they had to complete it.

  “I know. Be careful and stay alert. I love ya’ll,” she muttered.

  “Nobody dying tonight,” Nadja added.

  “Exactly,” Kory pulled her tools needed to pick the lock from the pocket of her sweater and got the knob off of the door with ease.

  Kory crept into the house with Nadja and Symphony following behind her. They split up as discussed. Symphony headed in the direction she thought she saw the shadows. She figured if anyone was going to have a bad night, it would be her since it was her fault they were out there in the first place.

  She ascended the stairs with her back pressed against the wall. She heard talking coming from the left side of the hallway and proceeded in that direction once she landed at the top of the stairs.

  With one hand on the door knob and the other gripped tightly on the trigger of her gun, she prepared herself to open the door.

  Pop Pop

  The sound of a gun going off caused her to freeze momentarily. Their weapons had silencers. Fear worked its way to the surface as she imagined her sister or Nadja being on the receiving end of those gunshots. She took a step backward just as the door swung open.

  Poot, poot

  She left off two shots quickly taking down the two guards who rushed out the room in an attempt to find out where the shots came from. She stepped over their bodies and entered the room. Briskly, she looked around making sure the room was empty before retreating, and praying that her girls were good.

  She couldn’t go downstairs to check what happened down there. Her job was to clear the upstairs. Sym tip-toed down the hallway while pressing her ear to each door, in search of signs of life. When a room was completely silent, she inched the door open just to double check. Fortunately, the two men she took out were the only ones upstairs.

  She headed back toward the stairs and bumped into Nadja on her way down.

  “You good?” She inquired.

  Nadja nodded. “I got that nigga, no biggie.”

  Sym hugged her quickly before they headed down in search of Kory, and the witness. The last place to check was the basement. Slowly, they descended the stairs that led to the basement. It was quiet, an automatic sign that something was wrong. The fact that Kory hadn’t shown her face and the basement was the only place in the house that wasn’t searched; they knew. Whatever was waiting at the bottom of the steps, they were ready for. At least, that’s what they thought.

  “Put down the weapon,” the guard spoke with the barrel of his gun pressed against Kory’s head, stopping Sym and Nadja dead in their tracks.

  Sym could see the fear in her sister’s eyes and it pained her heart. She heard the instructions he gave, but she didn’t listen. There was no way she was lowering her gun when he had a gun trained on her sister. She allowed her eyes to scan the room, and that’s when she found the witness in the corner with his eyes nearly popping out of his head, looking like he shit himself.

  “Lower your fucking weapon,” The guard barked.

  Symphony adjusted her stance and tightened the grip she had on her gun. Nadja inched forward and did the same.

  “That’s not the way this ends,” Sym chuckled.

  “He called backup,” Kory blurted out.

  The guard shoved her while pressing his gun harder into her temple.

  Sym’s shoulders dropped as a sense of defeat overcame her. She wasn’t given up, but she now knew that the situation went from zero to one hundred. Regardless of the outcome, she was going out with guns blazing. Nadja glanced over at Sym in search of instructions. Sym’s body language told her all she needed to know. They weren’t retreating.

  “Sounds like none of us are making it home in time for breakfast,” Sym joked and let out a nervous chuckle.

  “For the last time, put down the guns. It’s over. Your only choices are to walk out of here in cuffs or body bags. Take a pick.”

  Sym shrugged, “Neither sounds appealing to me.”

  She looked at Nadja then over at the witness. Nadja smirked, and slowly lowered her gun.

  “See, your friend here understands how it works. You should follow her.”

  “Doodah, I love you. I’m sorry, we gonna have a repeat of what happened your first time at the gun range,” Symphony used Kory’s childhood nickname while telling her in code what was about to happen.

  During Kory’s first visit to the gun range, she nearly shot Nadja’s ear off, while waving the gun around and not keeping it trained on the target paper. Kory knew from that alone when Sym took the shot; she needed to move her head a little away from the guard. Because he stood behind her and they were nearly the same size, if Sym was an inch off, she would hit her sister. Good thing she had a great shot.

  “You made it all better that day, big me. Tonight won’t be any different.”

  “Oh, cut the shit and put your gun down. I will shoot her right now.”

  Sym laughed.

  “Come on, fam. Put the gun down,” Nadja moved her free hand toward Symphony’s arm knowing that the gesture would cause the guard to shift his attention to her, to see her movement.

  Once her hand came in contact with Symphony’s arm, his eyes darted in her direction. Those were the two seconds Symphony needed. She pulled back on the hammer and sent a single bullet flying through his skull. Nadja spun behind Sym and let off two hitting the witness in his chest twice.

  “You good?” Sym asked Kory.

  Kory rubbed the side of her face, wiping away the blood splatter that landed on her. Kory nodded before leaning over and picking her gun up from the floor. She aimed at the witness, who was slumped in the corner with two holes in his chest, and let off two shots for good measure.

  “Let’s go,” Sym grabbed her arm, and they all turned around and ran up the stairs.

  “Stop,” Nadja yelped just as Sym went to open the back door. “I saw movement out there. We got company.”

  Kory sighed and put her hands on top of her head.

  “What we going to do?” She asked more rhetorically than anything else.

  “Chill, we are definitely equipped for this shit,” she spoke while checking her clip.

  Kory paced and mumbled something inaudible under her breath.

  “We gotta split up,” Nadja groaned.

  The thought alone was frightening, but they knew it was their only shot at evading the boys.

  “Son,” Kory started while blowing out a frustrated breath.

  Symphony had tuned them out. She was staring through the window studying the movement she too saw. She took mental count of the number of bodies she’d seen and calculated the approximate number of rounds they had.

  “Listen, walk out with your hands on top of your head. Count to five. Do the one Mississippi shit and run to the left. As you move, count to five again in the same manner, and that’s when we’ll split.”

  “What’s the point in that?” Kory inquired.

  “We need to start in the right direction so they will gear all their firepower that way. Once we split, they’ll be low on ammo and forced to reload while pursuing us in different directions. We’ll have a head start. Try to refrain from shooting unless you have to. We need our ammo,” Symphony instructed.

  They looked at her as if she had lost her mind but knew better than to question it. Sym nodded at them before taking the initiative by being the first to step outside the house with her gun tucked behind her back and her hands above her head. Nadja and Kory followed behind her.

  “Put your hands where we can see them,” an agent instructed once the girls stepped onto the back porch with their hands behind their heads.
>
  By that time, the girls had got to five and took off running.

  Tat, tat, tat, tat

  Bullets whizzed past their heads as they bobbed and weaved through the wooded area.

  “See, ya’ll on the other side!” Sym yelled over her shoulder as they split and went their separate ways. She pulled her gun out from the small of her back and let off a single shot behind her.

  Her heart pounded against her chest cavity, but she didn’t let up. She pushed herself while feeling as if her legs were going to give out beneath her. She cursed herself as the sounds of gunshots faded. Because the sound wasn’t nearing her, it meant she was nearly in the clear and Nadja or Kory, maybe even both of them weren’t. The good thing was that they studied the map long enough to learn their way around, and knew different routes to the rendezvous point like the back of their hand. She prayed like hell they all made.

  After a few more minutes of running, she spotted the car and let out a huge breath.

  “Fuck!” She barked while banging on the hood of the car. She spun around and aimed her gun, ready to let off on anyone who wasn’t Kory or Nadja. She looked to the left, then to the right, and behind her, before pulling herself from against the car, pacing with her finger still resting on the trigger.

  A sound coming from the left caught her attention; she spun in that direction with her gun aimed, only to spot Nadja emerging from the woods looking winded.

  “I never been so fucking happy to see you,” Sym admitted.

  “They were on me. We gotta move from here,” Nadja suggested.

  Symphony shook her head no. “Nah, I’m not moving till Kory get here.”

  “You know, I would never leave Kory out to hang, Sym. Use your head, though. They were on me. We won’t be no good to Kory if we play sitting ducks. We gotta move. Kory will improvise, have faith in everything you taught her.”

  “Fuck!” Symphony wailed. “Nadja, I know how right you are, but I can’t bring myself to leave my sister. Go ahead. Kory and I will catch up with you.”

  “Sym, I been there when you were out here popping niggas all willy nilly, with no knowledge on how to do this shit. You think I’ma walk away from you now? If you willing to risk it all, we going to risk it all together.”