She recovered for about an hour before she was allowed to get dressed and meet her mother outside. Once she saw her, she walked around to the driver side of the car and got in. The ride home was completely silent. She hadn’t even asked how she felt. She figured she didn’t care since she’d gotten herself into the situation in the first place. She didn’t even have the energy to try to spark up a conversation, because she probably wouldn’t have joined in anyway.
Following the abortion, Johnny was afraid to touch her. But the truth of the matter was she wasn’t so anxious to have sex either. She’d be damned if she’d go through that shit again. Things between her and Johnny remained the same and she was extremely happy that they did. She’d have been lost without his love or the love of any man for that matter. Being fatherless screwed her up and pretty much set the tone for the way she’d searched for a replacement.
Chapter Seventeen
Sudden Impact
“You wild as hell, Romeo. Straight fool, nigga, you need to be down The Laff House doing stand-up.” Reed laughed at Romeo’s joke.
“I’m dead serious though, these wretched hoes are so thirsty, and they’ll do anything to get wit’ a nigga.” He continued, “This is real-life shit, no games.”
Reed continued to laugh. Laughing and joking with his small group of friends was just what he needed to clear his mind from the events of the past evening. He was hoping that they would update him on his nemesis, Brook, but he was actually glad that the conversation was staring out on a much lighter note.
“I’m surprised we got you out today since you’re all in love and shit. Damn, you ain’t even run through a few chicks first.”
Reed shook his head. “Well I’m sorry I couldn’t meet your standards but I’m good.” He paused when his cell phone began to ring. “Speak of the devil, here’s my baby right here.” He smiled before pressing accept. “Hey I was just thinking about you,” he spoke, showing almost every tooth in his mouth.
“Hello, who am I speaking with?” a professional male voice responded.
Reed looked at the cell phone to verify that it was Lucky’s number and then put the receiver back to his ear. “Who is this? You called me,” Reed replied.
“Sir, this is the Philadelphia Police. We found your telephone number as one of the last numbers dialed on this cell phone. Can we ask how you know Olivia Brandon?”
“Olivia is my girl. What is this about, Officer?”
“And what is your name, sir?” the officer asked.
“Reed, Chancellor Reed. Now what is this about?”
“She was involved in a shooting, sir, and she was taken to Temple University Hospital. We weren’t able to reach any of her family members so we began to call names of her call list.”
“What do you mean? She was shot?” he screamed. He was now on his feet with fear written all across his face.
“Yes, sir, she was shot while driving. You should go to the hospital as soon as you can. An officer will meet you there to ask you a few questions.”
Reed let the phone drop to the floor, immediately causing the battery and cover to pop off and fly in different directions.
“What happened?” Romeo asked, walking over to where Reed was standing frozen.
“I gotta get to Temple. She was shot in my car. I swear if this muthafucker Brook is behind this shit I will murder his whole fucking family,” he yelled, and bent down to pick up the pieces of his phone.
Romeo quickly grabbed his keys and followed Reed as he stormed out of the door and began making his way to Romeo’s car. Romeo got in the car and quickly started the ignition, trying to get him to the hospital as fast as he could. He didn’t even know what to say but he knew that he needed to find out what the hell happened. He hoped that Brook wasn’t truly behind it because somehow Reed would most likely blame it on him for not taking care of things faster. He decided to keep quiet until Reed sparked a conversation.
He dropped Reed off in front of the emergency room and took his car around the corner to park. After going to the ER, he wasn’t allowed in to see Lucky, so he stood patiently in the waiting room until Reed returned. Reed nodded into the direction of the door and Romeo followed.
“She’s in a fuckin’ coma, Romeo. Those muthafuck-ers shot into my car ten times, man. Ten fucking times! I know that nigga Brook is behind this shit! Probably thought it was me driving the car, fuck!” he screamed. “This shit is all my fault, man, all my fucking fault.” He shook his head.
“Damn, man, I’m sorry. Is she going to be okay?”
“She critical right now, man, so I don’t know. I left the nurses my number. Let’s get outta here. I need some air,” he said before walking out of the waiting room doors.
Romeo quickly followed him toward the street. As long as Romeo had known Reed he could only remember seeing him this distraught after the death of his mother. He’d actually said good-bye to his mother ten years earlier in the very same hospital. Reed’s mother, Jane, had a husband who abused her on a daily basis. For most of Reed’s life he’d have to sit and hear her, or watch her try to cover up bruises with makeup. Once Reed reached his teenage years he would hit the gym faithfully, vowing to get big and strong enough to take on his father’s strength. When Reed was eighteen he moved out of his mother’s house, and that decision would be one he regretted to this day, because his father, in a fit of rage, had murdered his mother and then turned the gun on himself. He could remember, as if it were yesterday, when Reed spoke of how he wished he could bring his father back to life just for the satisfaction of killing him. He hadn’t even attended his father’s funeral. It almost frightened Romeo to see Reed so upset because of past experiences.
After entering the car, Reed sat quiet for a few seconds before breaking the silence. Looking over to his left at Romeo he spoke in a low tone, “Do you have that .45 on you?”
Romeo turned to look at Reed, knowing exactly what he planned to do. Deep down he tried to quickly figure out what he could say to change his mind. “Yeah, I have it.”
“You know where he lives at right?” he asked.
“Yeah, I know the spot but—” He was immediately cut off by Reed.
“I need you to take me there right now. I don’t need you to try to talk me out of it either. If you don’t want to be involved you can drive me there and sit in the car but I’m going to kill this muthafucker. Not tomorrow, a week from now, but today,” he said with a serious tone and facial expression.
Romeo had never been one to back out on a friend, especially not one who had always been there for him. He understood Reed’s anger and hurt but he didn’t want him to end up back in prison or, even worse, dead. So instead of talking him out of it, he made a suggestion. “I’m not going to try to talk you out of anything, but I’m not sure it would be a good idea for us to go there alone, especially not with one gun. Let’s ride by and pick up some backup and a few guns.”
Reed looked at Romeo and, as angry as he was, Romeo was being more than logical. “Okay, let’s do that,” he replied.
Romeo exhaled, feeling a lot better about his response, and began the drive to gather up the things they needed to execute the man who, in such a short time, had caused so much havoc.
“Hey, baby, I’m going to head out with the girls. I need to do some shopping,” Raquel said as she walked over to where Brook was sitting in the living room with Tone, one of his best friends.
“You always shopping. Ain’t shit new, just text me periodically so I know you’re okay. I haven’t gotten word back yet about that nigga Reed’s condition.”
“Okay, I will,” she said before walking toward the front door. She blew Brook a kiss before opening and closing the door.
Almost instantly there was a loud boom, followed by shattering glass, and Raquel’s body was now lying on the floor inside the foyer with a huge hole in her chest. Both Brook and Tone jumped up and reached into their waistbands to retrieve their guns. Raquel lay on the floor, gasping for air before chokin
g up blood and grabbing at her chest.
Within seconds, Reed entered the house, stepping through the broken glass door, holding a Ruger semiautomatic assault rifle in his hands, shooting directly into the living room where Tone and Brook hid behind the sofa for cover. Romeo followed with two other men, George and K-Mack, accompanied by their own heavy artillery. As if his entire body was covered with bulletproof materials, Reed continued shooting without thinking about being shot. Romeo followed closely behind.
George and K-Mack made their way around to the side of the chair where Tone was cowering and both men pumped bullets into his body, killing him. Feathers from the inside of the sofa were flying in the air as if it were snowing inside of the large living room. Brook would every so often reach over the sofa and shoot blindly into the air until realizing that he’d used his last bullet.
“Come on, muthafucker, just get it over with,” Brook yelled from the floor.
Reed walked around the sofa and faced him as Romeo, George, and K-Mack stood behind him with their guns raised.
“You tried to kill me, you bitch-ass nigga. Should have made sure it was me behind the wheel and you wouldn’t be standing here facing the barrel of a gun.”
“Fuck you, nigga, it’s no need to—”
Reed shot Brook in the leg, cutting off his statement.
Brook gritted his teeth and moaned in agony. Reed stood in front of him, unmoved. He thought about Lucky and how she didn’t have anything to do with the situation that had led them to this moment. Reed allowed him to suffer for a few more seconds before shooting him in his head, taking off part of his face.
The four men immediately left the house, got into their vehicles, and sped off. Once they crossed the Benjamin Franklin Bridge they drove to an old warehouse, where their vehicles were waiting. The men exited the cars they’d driven to the scene and covered them with gasoline before sticking a cloth into the gas tank and lighting them both on fire. They entered the cars and went their separate ways, with Reed and Romeo together in one car.
“Are you good, man?” Romeo asked, concerned about Reed’s mental state.
“Yeah, I’m good. Could you run me to the crib to change and then back to the hospital?”
“No problem,” Romeo replied.
Chapter Eighteen
On a Mission
“I have the money,” Diamond spoke to the caller on the other end of the receiver.
“Good girl. Meet me at the Hustle Chop Shop down South Philly, you know where it is?” Justice spoke in a direct tone.
“Yes, I know where that is. Will you have my daughter—”
Click.
“Okay, now you have to make sure that you keep cool. If you act out of the normal, they will probably get suspicious and that could turn bad. So just be cool; hand them the bag only when you see your daughter. We will be close enough to get to you if something goes wrong,” Detective Jones, the female detective who’d been on the case from the start, said to Diamond.
“I hope that you’re right with this. I really do,” Diamond replied, afraid that things wouldn’t go as planned. “Here we go,” she said, grabbing the oversized duffle bag that was filled with marked bills.
Diamond left the hotel room located near the Philadelphia Airport. Going to the parking lot she got into her car and began the drive toward the chop shop as instructed. When she arrived her stomach was steadily doing flips. She was afraid to enter for fear of what was waiting for her, but she knew she didn’t have a choice if she wanted her daughter. She entered the building, which was empty.
“Hello,” she said aloud. Her voice echoed throughout the building.
“Stop right there,” a voice called out from the back.
Diamond stopped in her tracks.
Justice appeared from the back of the building, wearing a bandanna covering his nose and mouth, holding a large gun in his hand. “Slide the bag over,” he ordered.
“I’m not sliding anything over without seeing my daughter,” she yelled.
He began to laugh. “I see you still haven’t learned shit. You aren’t running shit over here, bitch. I will murder you and your fucking daughter.”
“How will I know if she’s alive?”
“Because I told you so, that’s how.”
“Why should I trust you? You have completely wrecked my life in a matter of days!” she yelled in anger. She knew that it probably was her best bet to follow their commands, but there was something in her that wouldn’t allow her to go down without a fight.
“Listen, you have two options: live or die. It’s totally up to you.”
Diamond took a deep breath before speaking, “Well, then I guess you’ll have to shoot me in the back because I’m going to walk out of here.” She was scared shitless but kept a straight face. She slowly began to turn around.
“Bring the fucking baby out,” he yelled toward the rear of the building. Another male all in black revealed himself, carrying her daughter in his arms, and she immediately cried when she spotted Diamond.
Diamond turned around and began to cry. She’d missed her so much and at this point she wanted to hurry up and give him the money and leave with her. Wiping the tears from her cheeks she spoke, “Okay, I have all of the money.”
“Slide it over,” he ordered again.
Diamond dropped the duffle bag on the floor and kicked it across the floor. Justice bent down to unzip the bag. He looked up at the man holding Dior and nodded. The masked man passed Dior to Justice and picked up the bag from the floor before disappearing into the rear of the building. Diamond began to walk toward Justice.
“Not so fast,” he said, raising the gun.
“I did what you asked me to do. I don’t understand.” She stopped in her tracks.
“I have a message for you.”
“A message?” she asked, confused.
“Yeah, a message from Johnny. You remember him, don’t you?”
“From Johnny? What the hell does he have to do with this?”
“Everything. He wanted you to feel the pain that he felt when his sister was murdered. His sister, my cousin, my blood.” He removed the bandanna that covered his face.
Diamond looked at him and suddenly his face became familiar. She remembered him and now everything that had happened all made sense. His name was Justice, the younger brother of Deidra, Mica and Johnny’s cousin. “I’m sorry about that. I never meant for Mica to be hurt,” she cried, trying to plead her case, hoping that he’d spare her daughter’s life.
“The tears are pointless. You took someone very dear to me and because of that you deserve to suffer. I could kill you but I’d rather you live with the pain of all the shit you caused. I hope it was worth it. Remember that line? The shit you said before you shot my cousin.”
“Please don’t hurt her; she’s all that I have,” she cried.
As she stood there she flashed back to the moment she’d met Johnny and Mica. She’d met Mica through her brother Johnny. Johnny and Diamond met after they both were caught stealing from the neighborhood Shop ’N’ Bag. There was a room in the back of the store where they were held until their parents arrived.
Diamond sat there quietly, waiting for her mother to arrive, and watched as Johnny cried buckets of tears. He must have been scared of an ass whooping or something because he was definitely a little extra with his reaction.
“Are you okay?”she asked, trying to get him to stop crying, because he was annoying the hell out of her.
“Yeah, I’m fine!” he replied, turning his face in the opposite direction.
“What’s got you so upset? I mean, damn, is the beating going to be that bad?” she asked, still not done probing him for information.
“Why do you care? You don’t even know me,” he replied.
“I know that but I’m tired of hearing you cry like a little girl, so I’m trying to make small talk to get you to shut up!”
“What?” he asked, turning to look at Diamond.
“You
heard me! Stop crying like a little girl,” she yelled.
He jumped up out of his chair and ran over to where she was sitting. Soon, they were rolling around on the floor, fighting like two cartoon characters. It was comical seeing them trying to hold the other one’s hands down. He wasn’t really that much stronger than her, but she didn’t really feel like fighting. She simply wanted him to shut up.
“Get your hands off of me,” she yelled, struggling to get her hands loose. “I knew you were a little girl. Boys don’t fight girls!”
“They do when girls don’t know how to keep quiet,” he yelled, not releasing his grip on her wrists.
“You know you like it, you like a girl who’s slick with the tongue,” she said, trying to make him lose his concentration.
“What?” He loosened his grip for a second, and that was all that she needed to get the upper hand. She flipped him over and was now sitting on top of him, holding his hands down.
“Now, why don’t you just give up? I got you now,” she said, looking him in the eyes as he tried to get loose.
Just then the door opened and his father and sister came in with the security guard from the store.
“What is going on here? Get off of him!” his father yelled.
She quickly got up and moved over to the chair that she had been sitting in before their fight started.
“Nothing, Dad, we were just playing,” he lied.
“Just playing my ass. You know how much trouble you’re in right now?”
“Yes, Dad,” he answered after getting up from the floor.
“Let’s go. Don’t worry, he’ll never steal anything from your store again,” his dad said to the security guard as they headed out of the room.
She felt sorry for him because she could tell that he was afraid of his father. It was a few weeks before she ran into his sister. She was walking to the corner store to buy a loaf of bread for her grandmother when she saw Mica. She looked at her strangely before coming over to talk to her. She thought for sure that Mica was going to want to fight since she’d walked in on her and her brother, but she was surprised by what she had to say.
Black Diamond 3: Lucky Chance (Urban Books) Page 13
