Games Women Play

by Zaire Crown

Having slowed him up, she reached the sub-basement two floors ahead of Slim. She ran back into the garage rummaging through her purse for the keys. She hit the button and quietly thanked whoever invented the remote starter.

  The burnt-orange Cutlass was parked across from her Honda and Tuesday fired several rounds at it until she flattened the rear tire. The booming echo triggered the alarms to blare on a few of the cars around her, and if all the shooting didn’t draw some attention, this surely would.

  Tuesday really had to go because her gun was now empty.

  Just as Tuesday was pulling out of her parking slot, Slim appeared behind her car with his gun raised. She threw it in reverse then launched toward him. He was able to crack off two shots. The first shattered the rear window but the second went wide because he dove out of the way as he fired.

  She swung into the aisle then braked with screeching tires before she threw it into drive and hauled toward the exit.

  Again Slim appeared behind her, shooting as he ran. She was putting more distance between them but she heard a few of the bullets puncture the car and ricochet off the metal. One of his shots was close enough to bypass the driver’s seat and crack the navigation screen in the dashboard.

  Tuesday raced up the service ramp and went over the speed bumps hard enough to damage the Honda’s suspension. While pulling into the street, her last sight of Slim was him standing outside the building. He was breathing heavy, hunched over, with his hands on his knees.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Tuesday sped away from the Seymour not really sure where she was headed. It took her a moment to remember the Town Square apartment and she punched it there, doubting that whoever was behind the play knew she was keeping it. She used a lot of side streets and wasn’t followed, as far as she could tell. She was also lucky that the missing back window didn’t get her pulled over by police, since she had an illegal gun and a purse full of cash.

  She parked the Honda behind her building, where it couldn’t be seen from the street, then spent the first half hour pacing the empty rooms. The place came with two sets of vertical blinds, and Tuesday pulled them closed but was nervously peeking from the window every few minutes.

  She wanted to call somebody. Tuesday felt like she needed to tell somebody about the crazy shit that just popped off but couldn’t think of who. It was only then that she realized how incredibly small her circle was without Tushie. Tuesday literally didn’t have a friend in the world.

  After a while she walked to the closest store for soap, toiletries, and something to eat. This apartment was just supposed to be a place for Tabitha to get dropped off or picked up from, so it didn’t have the basics for living, since Tuesday never intended to spend any time there. Now she imagined she would have to stay at least one night while she figured out her next move.

  Upon returning, she sat on the floor cross-legged to a lunch of gas station hot wings, Doritos, and Fruitopia. After everything she’d been through, Tuesday was surprised not only to have an appetite, but that she ate voraciously. The energy she burned getting away from Slim seemed to have emptied her tank, so she refueled by devouring her meal and a couple of candy bars she grabbed as an afterthought.

  After lunch there was nothing to do but sit and think.

  She couldn’t believe how quickly her life had gone from sugar to shit over the past few days. She lost her car, her home, her club, her best friend, and very soon she might be losing her life. The situation at her condo prevented her from getting to the few racks she had stashed there, so she was basically stuck with the clothes on her back and the bag on her shoulder containing the twenty-seven G’s she took from her girl.

  There had been no time to mourn for Tushie back at the house, but now the image of her pretty chocolate face and soulless eyes haunted Tuesday. It was just beginning to sink in that she would never see her again, never smoke with her again while hearing some of that deep southern game in that beautiful New Orleans accent. Tushie was dead and Tuesday knew it was somehow her fault. This, combined with the fact that she lightweight snapped on her the last time they saw each other, was enough to bring her to tears.

  She got a hold of herself rather quickly because no amount of grieving has ever brought the dead back to life. Plus it was during her panic attack that she heard Tushie’s voice just as clearly as if she were standing next to Tuesday. This gave her consolation that there was a small piece of her girl that she would always be carrying with her.

  Instead Tuesday focused on the invisible enemies who did this and tried to see the motivation behind it.

  Tuesday knew there was a short list of people who wanted her dead and Face was at the top. The only problem with considering Face was that her deadline to pay him wasn’t up yet. The man had already admitted that he was more interested in seeing his money than seeing her dead. Plus she could think of no reason for him to kill Tushie.

  Dresden was another possibility. He was ruthless enough and could easily find out where any of them lived. He had even made threats against her and the team in the past. He could’ve somehow heard that the Caine lick went wrong and was now looking to wipe them out as punishment. Dresden’s crooked ass had enough contacts that it wouldn’t be shit for him to hire a couple of goons.

  It was plausible but Tuesday wasn’t ready to accept that because something in her gut still told her that this was part of a much more complicated plan.

  Tuesday felt that she owed it to the rest of the girls to put them up on what happened to Tushie. For all she knew, they might be in danger too and she wanted to give them a heads-up.

  Considering their relationship, it didn’t really surprise her when Baby Doll and Brianna didn’t answer her calls, but she did talk to Jaye. She told her about the crazy day she had: starting with finding Tushie then having some niggas waiting at her building for her. Jaye listened, stunned, as Tuesday explained how she killed one and got away from the other after shooting it out with him. Jaye also seemed to take it to heart when Tuesday warned Jaye to be careful because niggas might be coming after her too.

  Her conversation with Jaye lasted about an hour, and after that there was nothing to do but think some more. It was then that her mind went back to what happened in the elevator.

  Tuesday had never actually killed anybody before and the point of planning her licks so carefully was so that she wouldn’t have to. Sure, she talked a good gangsta in her office in front of the girls about killing Caine, but she always wondered if she could really do it when the time came. Talking about killing someone and actually shooting a person in the face at point-blank range were totally different things. She felt justified because she was certain that the bitch would have killed her had she not acted first.

  Justified or not, Tuesday had crossed a line today that would leave her forever changed. The last shred of innocence that she could claim for herself was lost.

  However, Tuesday doubted that she would lose any sleep about it because she also knew that in a case of life and death, it was a sin not to act. Every person on this planet has the God-given right to protect his or her life with deadly force. Survival is the first instinct of all living things and thankfully the human animal has not evolved beyond this. Even if the strictest proponent of nonviolence were to passively sit back during an attack on him and his family—when it be in his power to defend them—the world would not remember this man as a martyr. History would inevitably judge him as a fool, if not a coward. Life is too precious not to be defended by any means necessary.

  With nothing to do and no one to call, boredom led to sleep. Tuesday was out for about forty-five minutes when she was awakened by her phone ringing from inside her bag.

  Actually, Tuesday’s phone was lying next to her; it was the Tabitha phone still inside her bag. She went for it, eager to speak to Marcus even though she couldn’t tell him about what happened today.

  She clicked on to hear him speaking quickly and panicky before she could even mutter a hello: “She’s gone. She’s gone. Th
ey got her. She’s gone!”

  Tuesday never heard Marcus sound so distressed. He wasn’t making any sense to her so she tried to calm him down. “Whoa, baby, slow down! Who’s gone? What are you talking about?”

  He took a breath. “Dani’s gone. Somebody snatched Danielle!”

  Chapter Twenty

  It all made sense now. As soon as Marcus told her that Danielle had been taken, Tuesday was then able to connect the dots to see the bigger picture. It became clear why Tushie was dead, why they had tried to kill her, and who was responsible.

  Tuesday knew that Brianna wanted to run shit and there was plenty of animosity built up between them. Brianna had been openly pushing for the team to kidnap Danielle but Tuesday wasn’t having it, so they took the next logical step. She came after her, and went after Tushie, who was the one person who had Tuesday’s back. With her and Tushie out of the way, the team would be hers and Brianna could run it just the way she wanted—without all the damn rules.

  Tuesday cursed herself for not seeing this coming. She didn’t think Brianna had the brains or the heart to shoot a move like this, and Tuesday still wasn’t convinced that it was all her. She had underestimated her rival and that mistake had cost her friend’s life.

  The first thing Tuesday did was call Jaye back and demand to know if she had anything to do with taking Danielle. Jaye swore on the lives of everyone she knew and loved that she knew nothing about it, but did admit that she wasn’t surprised. According to her, Brianna and Doll were obsessed with the idea, but Jaye claimed to have no clue as to what they had planned. Jaye also swore that she would have warned Tuesday and Tushie if she’d known about the hit put on them.

  Jaye was humble and apologetic and Tuesday didn’t fault her for not seeing it coming—after all, Tuesday didn’t. Jaye said that she was down for whatever and if Tuesday needed her help she shouldn’t hesitate to call. Tuesday explained how she appreciated that, because without Tushie it felt good to know that there was still somebody on her team.

  Minutes later she stood out in front of her building waiting for Marcus with no idea of how she was going to explain this to him. It would be hard enough just to tell him that she had been lying about who she was and her motivation for approaching him; how could she possibly tell him that his little girl was gone because of what she had set in motion? She had been taken by the very people that Tuesday had put together and trained. Worst of all, how could she possibly convince Marcus that she started this just trying to smoke him out but real feelings had developed?

  When his Audi pulled up, Tuesday jumped inside not knowing what to say to him. Marcus was quiet, staring ahead as if he saw the kidnappers right in front of his car. He was gripping the wheel with both hands and the muscles in his arms made Tuesday think that he was about to rip it from the dash.

  “I’m sorry!” was all she could manage. Tuesday wanted to say more but knew this wasn’t the time. She could easily imagine those powerful hands reaching for her throat—and deep down she felt that he would have every right to choke the shit out of her for what she’d done. She tried but couldn’t think of any words to comfort him.

  “Tell me what happened?” she asked innocently.

  Marcus sat there, car idling, still unable to look away from whatever he saw in front of him. “I get a call from an unavailable number around twelve forty-five saying that they got Dani and if I go to the police she’s dead. Of course I think it’s some kinda joke, but just as I’m about to run to Bishop Burchram, the school calls me before I can even get out the door.”

  He paused, and because Tuesday could hear the pain in his voice, she didn’t press him. She allowed him to tell it at his own pace.

  “When I get to the school I see they’re closing down early; parents are already picking up their kids. They take me into the principal’s office and tell me that Dani got snatched right off the playground by two men dressed in black. They were wearing ski masks so nobody could see their faces.”

  “Brianna and Baby Doll,” Tuesday said to herself. What she said aloud was, “What did you do?”

  “I didn’t want to, but I had to tell them about the call I got or else the school would’ve called the police. I don’t know who these people are, but for right now, I have to take them seriously. I’ll most likely be getting a call soon. They’ll be wanting money.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “Whatever I have to do to get her back!”

  They went back to his house, where they spent the next hour anxiously waiting for the call. Tuesday knew there was nothing she could say to ease the tension so she didn’t bother to try. She just sat with him on the couch quietly squeezing his hand for support.

  She heard his stomach growl and offered to make him something to eat, but Marcus refused. He did kiss her hand to show that he appreciated the effort, and it made Tuesday feel even worse.

  Just then his phone shattered the silence and made Tuesday jump. It was from an unavailable number and he gave Tuesday a look to let her know it was them. While he spoke to them, she sat next to him nervously, wishing that she could hear who was talking and what was being said on the other end.

  Marcus said, “What makes you think I got that type of money?”

  Tuesday couldn’t hear the response but could guess that it had something to do with what she told them about his father. “Well, you know it’s gonna take me some time to put that together. It’s not like I can just pull it out my ass!”

  “Plus, I want proof of life!” he demanded. “For all I know, she could already be dead. Let me talk to her right now or you can kiss my ass from here to Kalamazoo!

  “Or else that same money you asking for will pay for the contract I put on your life. I’ll put a loaf on your head so goddamned thick that your own mother will knock your noodles out to collect it.”

  Tuesday was surprised to see him boss up on the kidnappers with Danielle’s life on the line. She knew that he was concerned about getting Danielle back safely but liked that Marcus wasn’t just going to let them call all the shots. It scared Tuesday but turned her on a little bit too.

  Going gangsta seemed to work, because they put Danielle on the phone. His voice cracked with emotion as he spoke to her: “Yeah, baby, I know you’re scared and I know you wanna come home. I’m coming to get you real soon okay, I promise. Just be good and do what they say and you’ll be home with me real fast, baby. I love you. I love you so much!”

  Tuesday saw that his eyes were glazed with tears; a few of them escaped from her own before she was able to blink back the rest. She felt his anger, felt Dani’s fear. Tuesday told herself that no matter what happened, she was going to kill the bitches responsible. It was bigger than what they did to Tushie and tried to do to her. Just getting the girl back wasn’t enough to satisfy Tuesday. She wanted blood behind this.

  Marcus started to say something more but she could tell by the way he was cut off that they yanked the phone away from Danielle. After that he was quiet for a moment and sprinkled in a couple of uh-huhs that let Tuesday know he was receiving instructions for the exchange.

  “I heard all of your demands and promise to do exactly what you say, but I need you to listen to me for a second.” There was a scowl on his face that was so intense and seething with rage that Tuesday thought he could have been turning into a monster. It was the first time she’d ever seen him look ugly.

  He said: “I just want you to know that if anything happens to that little girl, I’m going to find out who you are and kill your entire family. And no, I don’t just mean your immediate family, I’m talkin’ ’bout aunts, uncles, first and second cousins, grandparents. I’m even gone kill the people who ain’t blood but been around you so long that they call themselves fam.”

  The way he went in sent chills through Tuesday because, despite the look on his face, Marcus didn’t sound angry. His calm tone suggested that he was stating plain facts. He could’ve been listing the ingredients to a recipe rather than making vicious
threats.

  “And after I’ve killed everybody who’s ever known and loved you, I’m gonna save you for last, but I’m not going to kill you. No, this is where it gets fun. I’m going to take a sledgehammer to your spine, crushing every vertebra, until you’re paralyzed from the neck down. Then I’m going to snatch out your eyes, cut out your tongue, and pour acid into your ears. I’m going to leave you blind, unable to move, talk, or hear: basically a prisoner in your own body. And as you spend the rest of your life as a living corpse—in eternal darkness and silence, pissing and shitting on yourself with no way to communicate with the outside world or even kill yourself to end the misery—you’re not going to have anything left but the memories of everybody and everything you lost. All this because you fucked around and put hands on the wrong child.

  “I swear to whatever God you believe in, I will dedicate the rest of my life to this purpose. I will not rest, work, party, fuck, or make a new friend until this is done.”

  Marcus painted a pretty graphic picture, and while Tuesday didn’t know if it fazed whomever was on the phone, it sure scared the shit out of her. He was describing a fate ten times worse than death: a lifetime of shame, helplessness, and pain, with an inability to put an end to any of it. She understood that he was upset about Dani, but the fact that he could even conceive of such a torture made Tuesday look at him in a somewhat different light. It was obvious that he had a dark side that she didn’t know about.

  When he got off the phone, she had a million questions. What did they say? How much did they ask for? Did they threaten to kill Dani?

  She also wanted to know if he spoke to a man or a woman. Would Brianna be stupid enough to make the call herself or have someone do it for her?

  But before Tuesday could ask anything, he turned to her, his eyes ablaze with some combination of anger and confusion.

  He snarled at her. “Tabitha, tell me right now who these people are and what the fuck you gotta do with this.”