"Me too," Killa-D stated, adjusting the Tech-9 machine gun betweenhis legs.
After the truck had circled the block twice, both men got out of the car. Killa-D looked up at the black night sky. He saw only a few stars shining high above. The street was empty and quiet. The weed-house didn't open until midnight, when the rush of late night marijuana smokers would pour in.
Moments later, the white Expedition pulled up in front of the row house and double-parked again. The passenger door opened, and Jay's worker climbed out of the truck.
At that exact moment, Killa-D and Snake both ran from behind a parked Cadillac, their weapons up and firing.
Jay, never saw it coming, and when he finally did, it was too late. BAP! BAP! BAP! BAP!
The flat hollow sound of small arms fire shattered the stillness of the night. Snake had emptied his entire clip into Jay's door and was inserting another clip, while Killa-D put a few rounds through the door, too. They turned and ran off down the street and into the covering of the darkness. Ironically, Jay's worker was not harmed. At the first sound of gunfire, he dove to the ground and lay motionless. When the gunfire had ceased, he jumped to his feet and ran for cover. Once sheltered, he then looked out and around nervously. He quickly checked himself all over for blood or wounds and when hefound none he sighed with relief.
He looked at the truck and was afraid to see what was waiting inside. He saw the two attackers fleeing up the street. Then he chased after them, using them as an excuse to avoid the truck. He saw them get into the brown Maxima and recognized both of their faces. Regardless, they acted as if they hadn't seen him when they started the car and sped down the street.
Jay’s worker turned and ran back to the truck. He saw Jay's body slumped down inside. He was afraid to open the door and look, but he didanyway. To his surprise, Jay was still alive, but barely. His body was filled with bullets and blood was everywhere. He was moving his left handand was mumbling.
People started coming out of their homes to see what all the commotion was about. A crowd of onlookers gathered around the bullet–ridden truck.
On this particular block, things like this rarely happened. After someone called 911, the crowd continued to stand around the truck; waiting, pointing and whispering in awe behind their hands, while Jay remained slumped down inside his truck barely clinging to life.
Twenty minutes later...
Snake parked his brown Nissan Maxima on the side of an old abandoned building near 50thand Aspen Street. Excitement was in his young eyes. He was almost positive he had killed the man responsible for murdering his older brother and cousin. That's why he had emptied the entire clip through the door; just to make sure.
Killa-D looked over at Snake and nodded his head in appreciation and admiration.
"We got 'em! We got that bitch-ass nigga," Snake said enthusiastically.
"Yeah, we got him," Killa-D said, as he reached down to his right ankle. Inside a black ankle holster was a chrome-plated .380 pistol.
As Snake continued to vent his enthusiasm, Killa-D eased the pistol from the holster. "Yeah, Snake. We got him," he said once again. Then, in one smooth motion, Killa-D raised his right arm aiming the loaded .380 pistol at Snake's head. Snake's eyes widened with shock and fear, but before he could respond, Killa-D tapped the trigger twice.
BAP! BAP!
Snake's eyes closed instantly and forever.
Killa-D watched as Snake's body slumped down to the side. He looked at Snake one last time before opening the door and getting out of the car, then calmly walking away. Killa-D was a veteran in the killing game - and the number one rule was never leave any witnesses around that would one day come back to haunt you…even if that witness was a friend.
Two blocks away, Killa-D got into his car, started it up, and drove down the street. He couldn't wait to tell Hood and Ron the good news.
Pamela was pacing back and forth across the living room. Every time sheheard a car, she would run to the window to see if it was Jay's truck coming to pick her up. She called his cell phone four times without getting an answer, only his voicemail. Her women's intuition told her something was very wrong. Jay was never this late for a date.
She called his phone again, but hung up on the forth ring before thevoicemail came on.
She walked over to the front door, opened it then stood in the doorway looking up at the dark sky. The calm breeze blew against her beautiful face. She looked around and not a single soul was outside.
Although the night was tranquil, she felt something was terribly wrong and remembered this exact same feeling when Norman and Mouse died. As the calm breeze continued to caress her face, Pamela’s hazel eyes welled up with tears, and then they slowly started to fall down the sides of her face.
Chapter Sixty-Six
Two days later...
Inside University of Pennsylvania Hospital, Jay's body had gone straight into a five-surgery marathon that took more than eighthours, by a team of dedicated surgeons. From surgery he had been rushed to the Intensive Care Unit and was monitored as a level threecritical-condition patient. Jay had been shot 19 times and it was considered a miracle that he was still alive.
The bad news he would face when he finally, if ever, awakened, was that three of the bullets had entered his spine, completely severing his spinal cord. So even if he managed to survive, which was doubtful - and regained full consciousness, which was equally as doubtful - he would never walk again.
Some of the doctors felt Jay would have been better off, in the long run if he had just died, rather than being confined to a wheel chair for the rest of his natural life.
Inside the hospital's family waiting room, Pamela, Veronica, Face, Reese, Tasha, Momma, and D.J., mournfully sat around with sad expressions. For the past two days, they had been doing a lot of crying andpraying. Jay was, after all, considered family, and it deeply hurt each of them to see a loved one in his condition.
What was even more upsetting was that no one, not even the finestdoctors in the city could determine the real outcome. The only thing the surgeons had all agreed upon and made known, was that James 'Jay' Anderson would be a paraplegic for the rest of his life. This meant he would have absolutely no control over anything below his rib cage.
Standing outside the Denrich Apartments, Gloria watched as the three movers loaded all of her belongings into a large U-Haul truck. She turnedand walked back inside the building, and then sat down in a comfortable chair in the small empty lobby. She reached into her pocketbook and took out apen and a note pad. After a long sigh, she started writing her farewell to Face, crying as her trembling hands wrote her heart out on paper.
After she finished the letter, she walked over to the open elevator, stepped inside and pressed the button for the fourth floor. Slowly, the doors closed and the elevator started rising. When it reached the fourth floor she stepped off and walked down the empty hallway. She stopped at Face's apartment door and just stood there, momentarily reminiscing about all the wonderful memories she and Face enjoyed beyond the door. A part of her wished it never had to end. But it did. And now it was time to move on; far away from the hurt and pain, and away from a love she craved but could never taste.
As the tears rolled down her cheeks, she kneeled and placed the hand-written letter underneath the door. She then stood up, turned away, and walked back to the elevator without looking back. At the last moment, before the doors closed, her inner longing overpowered her will and sheglanced at the door and wept.
When Gloria walked from the elevator, her emotions were in check before she went outside. The movers were waiting in their truck, so when she climbed in her car and slowly pulled off, the truck followed her down Belmont Avenue. Gloria Jones drove away in tears.
A few hours later, after visiting hours ended at the hospital, Face walked into his apartment. The first thing he noticed was the folded sheet of paper lying on the floor. He leaned down and picked itup. When he opened it and saw who wrote it, his heart seemed to drop in h
is chest. With all the things that had been going on in the last few days, he had completely forgotten that Gloria was moving back to New York. He told her he would see her one last time before she left, but now it was too late.
"Damn!" he said, as he walked over to the sofa and sat down. He began reading Gloria's letter...
August 9th, 1998 Dear Face,
I hope this letter finds you in the best of health and spirits. First of all, I just wanted to thank you for all the wonderful memories you gave me. Believe me when I tell you what we shared will stay with me for the rest of my life. I truly wish that things would never have to end between us. But I understand that some things were never
Black Scarface
meant to be.
Our lives were totally different even though we had so much in common. Still, I have never loved a man as much as I love you and I honestly feel that will never change. Thank you for being totally honest and straight up with me. I have so much respect for you, Face, words cannot express it adequately.
I understand that Tasha is the love of your life and no one can ever come between you two. She is a very beautiful woman and every time I saw you two together I thought to myself, 'there is a perfect black couple'!
Love is a powerful force, and you two have it. I hope and pray for both of you. Please be extra careful out on the streets. It seems as if each day is worse than the last.
I'll remember the advice and positive words you used to tell me. So, don't you worry, I'll remember to stay focused on my dreams. I promise you, Face, that one day I will be one of the best criminal defense attorneys in the country, mark my words. Just like you, I have big goals and dreams. I also won't stop until I succeed.
Love Always, Gloria Jones; a friend for life!
Face stood up from the sofa and walked back to his bedroom. He opened up the top drawer in the dresser and placed the letter inside then he closed the drawer and walked over and sat down on the bed. He let his thoughts take him somewhere far away. Then, the sound of his ringing cellphone snapped him from his daydream. "Hello?" he answered.
"Yo, Face. It's me," Reese said.
"What's up, Homie?"
"Guess what just happened?" Reese said excitedly.
"What is it Reese?"
"I was just down at the Sunoco station getting some gas when this young dude, about seventeen years old, walked up to me out of the blue." "What'd he want?"
"He said he saw everything that happened to Jay. He said he was right there when the two guys ran up to Jay and shot 'em up inside his truck." Reese said.
"Two guys?" Face replied, surprised.
"Yeah, it was two of them that shot Jay and he told me who they were too."
"Who did he say?" Face asked curiously.
"He said that the two men that shot Jay was a guy named
Snake..." "The guy who was found murdered inside his car the other night?" Face interrupted.
"Yeah, that's one of them," Reese replied.
"And who was the other person?"
"Killa-D: the same guy that works for Hood!"
Face sat back putting two and two together. He knew Jay had been a wanted man on Hood's list for a very long time. One of his men had finally caught up with him. The thought of Hood hurting another one of his loved ones had Face boiling with anger.
"Thanks, Reese. I'll see you in the morning. I don't want to say too much on these phones."
"Alright, see you in the morning," Reese said, before hanging up.
Face closed his cell phone and stood up from the bed, then he walked into the bathroom and opened the medicine cabinet. After taking two of his sleeping pills, he went back to his bedroom and fell back across hisbed.
Chapter Sixty-Seven
Three weeks later...
For almost a week Jay had been conscious and aware of his surroundings. The doctors had been closely monitoring his vital signs, hoping for no further complications. Their worse fear was infection from the perforationof his intestines by the bullets. So far, they had been lucky; the massive doses of antibiotics had so far successfully fought off any infection.
Jay needed major rehabilitation; the bullets had severed his spinal cord and he would never have any sensations - from the waist down.
For Jay, the news was a living nightmare. Knowing he would be unable to do all the things he had once done was slowly killing him.
Pamela walked into his hospital room and sat down in the empty chair beside the bed.
"Hey, Baby," she said, reaching out and grabbing his hands. "I'm sorry I'm a little late today, but Tasha needed me to help out with a few things down at the job."
Jay didn't respond. He just stared at Pamela's beautiful face without saying a word. For three weeks, Pamela had been right by his side. Everyday after she got off work, she would get in her car and rush to the hospital to be with him.
On the day Jay had opened his eyes, the first person he had seen wasPamela, looking at him through watery eyes and holding his gaunt handstightly.
"Look at me, Pamela! Look what they did to me!" he angrily vented with his face a mask of despair and his hands raised in supplication to her.
"Jay, please don't start this again. Baby, let's just move on," Pamela said, as she started sobbing.
"Move on to what?" Jay asked, his misery and selfpity overpowering his ability to accept what could not be changed. "I can't usemy legs anymore! And I can never make love to you again, Pamela. Never!" he yelled out.
"Jay, I don't care about that, I'm just happy you're alive! That's all that matters to me," Pamela cried out honestly. Jay looked deep into her watery hazel eyes and softly said, "Pamela, I'd rather be dead and in my grave than trying to live my life this way!"
"Jay, can you please stop talking like that? You're scaring me!" she said, wiping her tears away. "I told you I’m here for you forever, and I mean it. When you leave here, you're moving in with me and things will get better. You'll see."
"I'll just be a burden and you know it!" he snapped.
"You'll never be a burden, Jay. So don't ever think that," Pamela said. The knock on the door startled them both into silence. When they turned to look at the door, Face was walking into the room. Face went over and gave Jay a warm, friendly hug, then turned to his mother and hugged and kissed her.
"You alright?" he asked, sensing the tension in the air.
"Yeah, I guess," Jay said morosely then looked at Pamela. "Pamela, do you mind giving us a few minutes alone"?
Pamela gave them both a mystified look, before walking out of the room, and said, "Baby, I'll be right outside the door."
When the door closed behind her Jay looked up at Face and whispered, "Did you and Reese find out anything?"
"No just the same old stuff. Killa-D is Hood's top street lieutenant and enforcer. People said he's a cold-blooded killer and he loves thestrip clubs. But now he ain't been by the strip clubs in a while. We're stillwaiting," Face replied in a low voice.
"Look what that son-of-a-bitch-did to me, Face! I'm fuckin' paralyzed!" Jay whispered angrily.
"Jay, I'm sorry. Believe me, I am; but you need to stop doing this toyourself. At least you're still alive."
Jay closed his eyes and sadly shook his head. "I'm not alive," he whispered softly.
"Jay, I promise I’m ‘a get 'em for what they did to you."
Because they shared a strong bond, Jay looked at Face and could tell that he meant every word. "Can you promise me one thing?" Jay asked, finally. "What's that?"
"That you will bring me Hood's evil heart so I can flush it down thegoddamn toilet where it belongs."
Face smiled and said, "For you, Jay, I promise!" he replied, then turned and went for the door.
Jay called to him, "Face?"
"Yeah, Jay?" he turned, holding onto the door handle. "Thanks for everything, Soldier! You're one of a kind!"
Black Scarface
Face smiled and nodded his head, turned around, opened the door, and walked out into the hall. He hugge
d Pamela, kissed her and then walked down the hallway while she went back inside Jay’s room.
Tasha used the extra key Face had given her, and walked into his apartment. Every day after she got off work, she would drive straight over there to be with him. Most of the time they sat back talking about the new company and how it was coming along. In just a short time, the company was generating positive income and things were turning out a lot better than they had both expected.
Then, after they conducted business, they would retreat into the bedroom and make love all night long.
Tasha walked into the bedroom and kicked off her heels. Her feet were killing her from running around and standing up all day. She took off her dress and laid it across the bed, then walked over to the dresser andstared in the mirror. While admiring her perfect body, she removed her braand thong, then reached down and slid open the bottom dresser drawer. Inside the drawer were Face's neatly folded boxers and t-shirts. When she reached for and grabbed a pair of his white boxers, she noticed a folded piece of paper underneath them.
Tasha grabbed the note, stood up, and walked over to the bed. When she sat down, she unfolded the paper and started reading the letter. As she sat there reading Gloria's words, the tears slowly fell from her eyes. Finding out that Face had been with another woman washeartbreaking. And to know the woman was still deeply in love with him was even more painful.
Tasha read the letter three times before she folded it and placed it back inside the drawer. She promised herself she would never mention a word about it to Face. For now things were going well between them and Tasha wanted it to stay that way.
Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia...
Veronica stared at the naked older white man and smiled seductively. He was sitting on the edge of her bed and his entire body was covered in sweat from the intense sexual workout with his secret black mistress.
Veronica was young enough to be his granddaughter; and just like all of her other rich white clients, he too had become addicted to her sexualpowers.
Veronica got down on all fours and slowly crawled over toward him. She grabbed his hard dick and started kissing around on the head. "Okay, Anthony, it's time for you to cum again," she said, teasing, then swallowed his entire dick deep into her mouth and throat. As she performed her oral magic, she watched as her older white lover closed his eyes and sat back and enjoyed the wonderful feeling.
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