TYCE 3

by Shareef Jaudon

  The morning started off a bit weird. First Deputy Daphne wasn’t bumping her usual rock music choosing to ride to the work location in complete silence. Normally She’d at least let us talk to each other, but today she ordered silence inside the van. She said if she heard anybody talking she would turn the van around and throw that person in the hole for a week. We all wondered what the hell was her problem. I also noticed she didn’t have her massive lunch box riding shotgun either.

  As the work day progressed I noticed her attitude getting more agitated by the minute. Yesterday was completely different than today and by the afternoon I could tell something was really bothering her. I couldn’t help but notice she was staring intensely at me the whole day and as the shift came to an end she walked up to me slowly.

  “You’re a real bitch you know that?” She snarled at me pointing her finger in my face.

  Before I could respond we both looked to the right and saw a car with its flashers on slowing down as it approached our position. The green late model Civic pulled over behind the van and stopped suddenly. A woman with long brown hair, dark oversized sunglasses, wearing a flower print sundress got out and walked toward us carrying her purse.

  “Excuse me, do you have a phone I could use? My car just died on me.” She pointed back to her crippled vehicle.

  Daphne turned toward her. “No, I don’t have a phone and you’re going to have to return to your car. These are prisoners and I can’t have any civilians interacting with them for your own safety.”

  The stranded stranger continued to walk toward us and now she stood face to face with Daphne and me. The other women stopped working turning their attention from the trash momentarily.

  “I want everybody back on the van! Now!”

  Daphne yelled loud enough for everyone could hear.

  The woman continued her plea. “I know you have a phone on you. It will only take a minute to call Triple A, or somebody to come and get me.”

  “I told you to back away!” The deputy pushed the woman’s shoulder.

  All the girls now walked past the tense scene wondering what the hell was going on.

  “Don’t stand there gawking! Everybody in the van now! The shift is over!”

  Tasha and I were the only girls’ left outside. The rest of the crew followed orders and got in the hot ass van. I still wanted to know why she called me a bitch and I was planning on finding out as soon as this woman went back to her car.

  “You don’t have to fuckin’ push me!” The woman’s anger showed.

  Tasha and I stood there not really knowing what to make of the situation. All she wanted was to use a phone and we didn’t see why Daphne wouldn’t let her. She had a cell phone in her pocket and could of easily let her use it for a few seconds. Just then a call came over her radio that was attached to her thick black belt.

  “Base to away . Do you copy? Over?”

  Daphne looked down grabbing her radio.

  “This is away I copy.” She held the radio to her mouth.

  “You missed the head count check in. Are all your prisoners accounted for and are you in route back to base? Over.

  Daphne looked at me with hatred in her blue eyes. Her hands started shaking as she held the heavy radio to her cheek.

  “Base, I…I…I have a situation here. One of my prisoners by the name of Angelique Dupree is trying to esca….”

  Daphne halted her words as the stranded woman pulled a gun from her purse and pointed it at her head.

  “Don’t say another muthafuckin’ word you bitch.”

  The deputy froze. She was barely breathing.

  “Now tell the muthafucka on the radio it’s all clear now and everything’s fine.” The woman put the gun hard against her temple. “Angelique, grab her gun.”

  For a second I was in shock when she said my name but I quickly snapped out of it and obeyed the mystery woman who was now in charge and grabbed Deputy Daphne’s nine millimeter.

  The gun wielding woman poked Daphne’s head. “Say it!”

  Daphne clicked a button on the side of the radio. “Base it was a false alarm. Angelique Dupree is in the van and all prisoners are accounted for. We’re headed back to base ETA 25 minutes over.”

  “10-4 Deputy. See you at base in 25 minutes over and out.” The voice crackled from the speaker.

  The scared Deputy came face to face with the barrel of the gun as the woman moved the deadly weapon to the middle of her sweaty forehead.

  “Now that was a dumb thing to do. Do you want George and your dog to get killed? Huh!?”

  “N…n…no, please don’t hurt them. I…I…” Daphne stammered.

  “Shut the fuck up you stupid bitch! Get in the van and do exactly what you were told to do. In 30 minutes you’ll get to see your husband and you two can go back to living your lives, but if you pull some stupid shit like you jus’ tried to pull his ass will get a bullet in the back of his head and your dog will be chopped up into little kibbles and bits you understand!?”

  “Mmmhmmm, yes I understand.” She nodded rapidly.

  “Good now get the fuck on!”

  All the women in the van had their faces pressed against the glass. As Daphne made her way to the driver’s seat three of the girls slid the side door open and attempted to hop out to freedom.

  “Get the fuck back inside!” The woman with the gun stepped toward them.

  Immediately the three amigos cowardly returned to their seats with terrified looks plastered on their disappointed faces.

  “You too Miss thang. Get yo’ ass in the van!” The woman pointed at Tasha.

  She then turned to me and smiled slightly.

  “Tyce is on his way Angelique.”

  Suddenly I recognized the woman holding the gun. Beneath the long wig and dark sunglasses I saw the face of Sabrina, Tyce’s sister! My heart started beating a mile a minute with excitement.

  Tasha looked at me then at Sabrina. “I wanna go.”

  “What?” Sabrina cocked her head to the side.

  “I said I wanna go too.” Tasha maintained her stare.

  “Look, we aint got time for this Angelique.” Sabrina looked around.

  I ran to the passenger side window of the van.

  “Pull off bitch and don’t look back!”

  Daphne put the van in drive, but not before she gave me the most hateful look she could muster up. I didn’t give a fuck. She could glare at me all she wanted. The van peeled off from the side of the highway in a cloud of dust with 10 of the most homesick girls on the planet riding reluctantly back to jail.

  Once all three of us were alone on the highway Tasha, Sabrina and me took that opportunity to rejoice a little with a few passing cars as witnesses.

  “Oh my God! I can’t believe it’s you! When I finally recognized you I thought my heart was gonna stop! How’d you…I mean what?” I was at a loss for words.

  “It was all your man. Speakin’ of Tyce, I gotta call him now.”

  Sabrina pulled out her hidden cell phone and dialed Tyce’s number. He was getting on the highway as his phone rang.

  “Wasup sis? We good?”

  “Yep, we good. She’s jus’ waiting on you and we got an extra passenger.” Sabrina looked at Tasha.

  “Who?” Tyce asked as he changed lanes.

  “You’ll see when you get here.” She said with a hint of sarcasm in her light voice.

  Sabrina hung up the phone and gave Angelique a warm tight hug.

  “I’m outta here ladies. I’ll see you at the beach house a lil’ later.”

  “Thank you Sabrina,” I said sincerely.

  “Denada Angelique. A queen shouldn’t be locked up.” She said with a wink then jogged back to her Honda Civic and pulled off.

  For about 30 seconds Tasha and I were all alone on the highway, not believing what just happened. I was in shock and she was in too. We had no time to discuss the jail break cuz Tyce came swooping up in a gray van right on time.

  “Get in!” He leaned over f
rom the driver’s seat yelling out of the open window.

  We wasted no time jumping in the getaway van slamming the doors behind us. Tyce checked the side mirror for oncoming traffic before he put the gas pedal to the floor and sped away from the crime scene with his girlfriend and Tasha with him.

  “I can’t believe you did this baby! How did you pull this off? I had no idea you were planning this. I’m jus’ in shock right now!”

  I put my hands up to my face. I couldn’t believe I was riding down the freeway with my man and Tasha of all people.

  Tyce turned to me as he drove. “Come on now, you know I couldn’t leave you in there like that. I had to come get my baby.”

  Tears welled up in my eyes when I heard those words. I knew Tyce loved me, but in that moment I felt exactly how deep his love went for me.

  “Thank you baby. I love you.”

  Tyce smiled over at me. “I love you too, but hold the celebration for a sec while I make this call.”

  The van was turning down a deserted block and Tyce quickly maneuvered it several feet behind a Ford Taurus. He put the van in park and whipped out his Track phone dialing Daphne’s number. She answered before the first ring ended.

  “Hello!” She answered eagerly.

  Tyce spoke evenly. “You did good Daphne, I’m proud of you. Your husband George and your dog are proud of you also.”

  At the same time he was talking to her he was also texting Sway letting him to know to leave the warehouse and everything was cool.

  He continued his conversation. “Both of them are alive and well and waiting on you.”

  “Where are they?” She gasped.

  “They’re in a warehouse. The address is 4435 South Belmont Lane. Before you go rushin’ to them I need you to wait ten minutes.” He explained.

  “Why? Why can’t I see them now?” Daphne was starting to get hysterical.

  “Calm down boo. Don’t ask a lot of questions cuz I don’t give a lot of answers. I need you to do me a favor first.”

  “What the hell do you want now? I already let your little girlfriend go and now my career is ruined!”

  “You didn’t like that job anyway Daphne and you know it! That job is shit. Anyway, the favor I want you to do for me is to tell your mom Celeste Green, your little sister LeAnn, and your niece and nephew Ethan and Lilly who go to Sun Creek Elementary School Uncle Bad Guy said hello. Can you do that for me?”

  “You’re a fucking bastard!” She yelled into the phone.

  Tyce smiled. “I’m a fuckin’ bastard who knows your social security number is 657-45-2518 and if you take this any further this fuckin’ bastard will kill you last.”

  Daphne held her breath as images of her innocent family flashed in her mind. The last thing she ever wanted to happen was for her loved ones to get hurt because of her. That would be dreadful. In ten minutes everything would all be over and put behind her. She would never ever ever see that fucking bitch Angelique Dupree again!

  Reunion

  Sabrina’s beach house was immaculate. It was the perfect mix of luxury and tasteful ambiance. I could tell when I walked in that it was not decorated on a shoe string budget. Property like this one could easily run you six million or more. The front of the home had a few windows but the back was completely made of glass to allow your eyes to access the incredible view of the Pacific Ocean. Fifteen steps ran off the side of the deck leading you down to the sandy backyard and if you continued to walk straight ahead 300 hundred feet your toes would touch the water.

  Some people might say that going to a glass beach house after pulling off a jailbreak was suicide, but I figured this was the last place they would look. Daphne was just one person and; she couldn’t stop them from searching for Angelique even if she wanted to. The fact was this shit was just getting started. The corrupt justice system had backed me into a corner forcing me to spring my lady from jail. If I left it up to the courts Angelique would be spending her prime years in prison doing time for crimes she didn’t commit. Now I had to figure out what the next move would be.

  Me, Sway, Sabrina, Angelique and Tasha were all sitting in the living room on white leather couches reliving the last 24 hours. In some way we all played a part in the escape and Angelique was extremely appreciative.

  “I jus’ wanna thank you guys for having my back. I thought I was gonna be in prison for at least ten years. That shit was depressing as hell.”

  After showering for an hour Angelique was dressed in some clothes I brought for her from the house. I figured she was tired of wearing those county issued rags and would appreciate her body being back in her own outfit for a change. I also grabbed the diamond necklace I bought for her and she was now wearing it as she sat smiling on the couch.

  Sway went over and hugged her shoulders, “Awww sis it was nothin’ don’t sweat it. I see you made a new friend in jail. How did that happen?”

  Tasha looked up when she heard that comment, but let Angelique take the lead.

  “Ummm, I had no idea she was comin’ along. It all happened so fast.” Angelique looked up at Sway.

  I chimed in. “Why did you come Tasha?”

  She smoothed her black hair in place. “I saw an opportunity to escape, so I took it. If Angelique could be locked up for somethin’ she didn’t do then what would happen to me? I mean I really did do what they locked me up for aint no doubt about that.”

  “I can understand that, but what I can’t understand is why you actin’ all shy girl buddy buddy with me when you had to know what Omar was planning.”

  Everyone looked over at her waiting for a response.

  “Who’s Omar?” Sabrina took a sip of wine from her glass.

  “Omar is my dead ex best friend and she was his girlfriend.” I filled my sister in.

  “Ohhhh shit, now this is getting’ better and better. Ok now what was he planning? Don’t tell me he was tryna kill you.” Sabrina pointed her finger at me.

  “Yeah he was plannin’ on it, but I got hip.”

  Sabrina took another sip of her drink. “Damn Tyce. It seems like every nigga in California is tryna kill you.”

  I had to laugh at that one cuz it did seem that way. Sabrina had no idea how true her statement was.

  “What can I say sis? The world is full of niggas who wanna try me. It must be my good looks that make em think I’m soft.” I rubbed my cheeks and smiled.

  Tasha jumped in. “Tyce I knew you killed Omar in the bank, but when the police came askin’ me all kinds of questions I didn’t tell em shit! I kept my mouth shut and kept it movin’. That has to count for somethin’. And I promise I didn’t know he was planning on murdering you. I knew he was startin’ to get jealous, but I never thought he would try and clip you behind that shit.”

  I weighed her words on my mental scale. Angelique eyed me as I motioned for her to step outside on the deck. Once we were away from the others I expressed my concern.

  “Look babe, I don’t want this bitch to throw my plans off. I can’t have her plottin’ and shit while I’m still workin’ shit out you know?” I held her hand.

  She squeezed my hand back, “I understand babe, but if you look at it, she has a lot to lose too. And she’s right; she did keep her mouth shut about Omar. Plus she jumped in a fight I had in jail to help me out. Don’t get me wrong, we aint besties but I think she at least earned the benefit of the doubt.”

  “Alright, I’ma let her slide, but if she start actin’ funny she gon come up missin’. She can’t stay here. She gotta get off on her own.”

  Angelique raised her eyebrow. “Oh now trust and believe I’m done havin’ bitches around my man. I got enough of that with Dallas. I’m not about to have Tasha around you for one more minute than she has to be.”

  I smiled. “Yeah, the last thing we need is another crazy woman in our lives.”

  The humorous moment took a romantic, yet serious turn as Angelique kissed my lips softly. She added more pressure with the second slow peck then turned her head to the
side opening her mouth wider. Her tongue slid into my mouth as we kissed passionately not wanting to stop. It was a slow smooth kiss filled with love. It was the kind of kiss that only comes after long droughts without physical contact from your soul mate. After we temporarily satisfied our thirst for each other we finally parted lips and I looked into her glossy eyes.

  “Thank you for rescuing me.” She touched my face tenderly.

  I smiled down at her, “Naw babe…thank you for rescuing me.”

  Step It Up

  Dallas knocked on the front door of Tyce’s home for the third time, but he still didn’t answer. It was just after eight o’clock in the evening and him being a no show was putting a real cramp in her come back strategy. In her hand she held a big shopping bag full of baby clothes and various gifts for Khari. She hoped the expensive gifts would crack his hard exterior a bit; allowing her just enough room to slide in.