Authors: Shareef Jaudon
“We gotta go! We gotta go!” I roared at my team.
We all put our backs to the Chevy with our guns pointed at the truck to cover our asses. The heavy bag was slung over my shoulder and rested on my back as I backed away from the smoking scene. I was ready to shoot anybody who got brave and hopped out of the truck to stop us, but the truck was still.
As we made it to our ride, Sway unclipped the bag from my back, lugged it into the back seat and took his previous spot inside the Chevy. I got inside next, slammed the truck in gear and held my foot on the brake pedal. Peck covered the truck with his shotgun and finally ducked down in the back seat.
I backed up fast, putting distance between us and the crime scene. My gun was lying across my lap as I whipped the getaway vehicle around and sped off the same way we came. I was headed to the nearby field that had an abandoned scrap yard on it. I picked that spot because it was secluded and offered cover from patrolling helicopters. We could switch vehicles, change out and make our escape without being out in the open.
“What’s the scanner sayin’?” I changed lanes.
“The police are still two minutes away. Only one unit is in route and the other two are four minutes out.” Peck reported.
Sway shook his head. “Goo
d. I don’t think the guards saw the truck cuz we pulled in behind ‘em.”
“Maybe
, maybe not.” I took my mask off. “I still need you two to duck down while I drive the rest of the way. They’re on the lookout for three armed men.” I slowed down for a stop sign.
Peck and Sway each slid their upper bodies from view and I cautiously obeyed all the rules of the road as I drove to the scrap yard. We got there in less than three minutes, but the good news was that we were about nine miles away from the scene of the robbery.
I pulled the truck into an enormous shed and parked right beside my Benz and Sway’s Denali. Just like we’d practiced several times before, we left everything except for the money in the Chevy. We left our coveralls, masks, guns, gloves and everything else in the cab. Sway put another explosive next to the gas tank as he jumped inside his truck. Peck and I proceeded to hop in my ride and we all left at the same time.
As we emerged from the industrial district, Peck looked out of the back window at the fire in the distance. Just like we planned, the Chevy and all the evidence from the crime were going up in flames.
“I can’t believe we pulled it off! I can’t believe it!” Peck pumped his fist in the air. “Do you know that we have over three million dollars in the trunk of your car right the fuck now?!”
I had to chuckle at the rookie. He was a little too excited, but I understood. When you grew up wanting and dreaming about money, the feeling you had when you actually got it was indescribable. It was a feeling that people who were born rich would never comprehend.
“I know Peck. I
t’s a good feelin’ huh?”
“Hell yeah man. I feel so good right now.” He rubbed his short hair and cracked a smile.
I looked over at him. “The getaway is greater than the takin’, so it ain’t time to party yet. We still gotta make it to Sabrina’s beach house.”
“Yeah
, that’s true man. I jus’ got a lil’ amped up. How long we got til’ we get there?” He put his seatbelt on.
I took notice of how he was trying to calm down and obey the rules of the road like I was.
“We got about another thirty minutes.” I merged onto the highway.
I opened the
center console and pulled out a pack of clove cigarettes. I would never tell the rookie, but I needed one to calm my nerves a bit. They always helped me relax after a tense situation. I reclined my seat about two inches, cracked the tinted window and lit one up. Peck glanced over at me with his young, blue eyes.
“Yo, can I have one of them. I need somethin’ to calm my hyper ass down. My stomach is tingling and shit.” He cracked his own window.
I tossed the pack to him along with my lighter.
“Knock yourself out.”
I turned the radio to a news station to see if our morning activities had made the cut. It took a minute or so, but the updates came on like I wanted. We both listened as a woman ran down the highlights. She mentioned the bomb threat of course and the robbery. The reporter said that an undisclosed amount of money was stolen, nobody was killed and the holice were still trying to ascertain exactly who and what they were dealing with. She mentioned the fact that explosives were used and the apparent thieves were of a professional grade.
I looked in my rearview mirror and spotted Sway’s truck right behind me. I knew that he was listening to the news as well and was just as pleased as I was.
Peck glanced at me. “I see why you like these things…t
hey’re smooth.” He inspected the cigarette.
“Yeah I only smoke cloves man. P
eople sleep on these shits. Ay, reach in the glove box and hand me a pack of Skittles.”
Peck opened it up and tossed a fresh ba
g in my lap.
“Damn, you got like eight bags in there. Who’d you get those for…Khari?” He looked confused.
I smiled. “Naw, I got those for me.”
The morning waves crashed against the beach as joggers ran up and down the sand. Sabrina still had her short night gown on with a pair of pink, fuzzy house slippers. She made coffee in the kitchen and the crew dumped the money on her dining room table. They all stood back to admire the mound of cash.
There were fifteen stacks of currency sealed up in clear plastic bags. Small, white tags were tied to each bundle with a figure written in black ink. Once they separated the packages and added up the total on each tag, the final count came to three million six hundred and forty thousand.
“How much is it?” Sabrina came in
to the dining room holding a tray of hot coffee mugs for the men.
“Three million six hundred and forty thousand dollars.” Tyce took
a mug from the tray.
Normally he didn’t drink coffee
, but he was tired from the night before.
Sabrina grinned. “You boys did good.”
Sway dug in his pocket and pulled out his cell phone after taking his mug off the tray. He was doing what he always did after a successful job. The first person he wanted to share the good news with was Ranae. He made it a point to end her worry and concern as soon as possible. In coded language he told her he picked up the groceries and was alright. The brief conversation ended and he hung up the phone and took a sip from his steaming cup.
Peck took a seat so he could be eye level w
ith the greenery. Sabrina gave him a cup of joe and introduced herself with a hint of flirtation in her voice.
“I’m Sabrina, Tyce’s sister. He’s so rude not to introduce me to you.” She made a mean face at Tyce.
“Oh, it’s nice to meet you. My name is Peck.”
“What kind of
name is Peck? I’m not makin’ fun of you or anything; I actually think it’s kind of cute.”
Tyce watched as the rookie
’s cheeks started to turn red. Sabrina was indeed pouring it on thick as she stood by him with her bare, bronze thighs all in his face.
“Ummm, my real name is Jonathan
, but I grew up in the Killz housing projects. I was the only white boy in the hood, so my friends started callin’ me Peck. It’s short for Peckerwood.”
Sabrina laughed after his explanation of his nick name. She put her hand on his shoulder.
“Well, it suits you. You’re a bad boy and bad boys shouldn’t have names like Jonathan.”
“He got a girlfriend Sabrina.” Sway nodded at her.
Sabrina sucked her teeth. “Sway, the only person married in this room is you. I got two men I deal with, but I’m as single as a woman on death row. Never mind him Peck, I think you’re a sexy young man and I’m not a woman who holds her tongue…especially not in my own home.”
Peck drank his coffee and
cleared his throat. He looked at Tyce to gage his reaction to his sister’s flirtation. Tyce only grinned at him.
“Ummm, thank you
. I think you’re sexy too, but I do have a girlfriend. If for some reason I don’t one day…I’ll remember what you said.”
“You better.” She winked at him. “Now, how much of this cheddar can I put in my piggy bank for hosting this little tea party Tyce?”
“I was thinkin’ that the crew can split up three point three mill and you can have the change. Is that cool with everybody?” Tyce asked the room.
Sway and Peck both nodded their approval. They all knew that having a spot to go to after a piping hot heist was priceless. Not to mention
that having someone they all could trust to have their back when they need it was rare too.
“I’m cool with that. Three hundred and forty thousand sounds good to me.”
Sabrina sat the tray on the table and grabbed her own cup.
Peck and Sway began to divide up the money while Tyce and his sister stepped outside on the patio. With the door closed behind them the two siblings shared a private moment.
Sabrina placed her cup on the ledge. “Bree told me what happened last night. I’m so sorry to hear that. My heart goes out to you. If you need to talk you know I’m here for you.”
Ty
ce looked at her. “I know and thank you sis. Right now I’m cool, but if I need you I’ll call or come by for one of those nasty ass veggie burgers and a vent session.”
She laughed and punched his chest lightly. “They weren’t that bad. But hey, high five on what you did to that punk ass nigga Thad! Everybody is talkin’ about that shit! Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and all the beauty shops in the world are talkin’ bout his ashy ass! They said his jaw is broke
n and he can’t sing for like six months at least. He released a statement saying he didn’t know his attacker and the allegations of an affair were false blah blah blah. Have you heard from Angelique?”
“Naw, not yet
, but she’ll pop up soon enough.”
“What are you gonna do?” She asked quietly.
Tyce looked out at the ocean. “I’ma do me.”
A full day passed after the job and all was good. The holice still had no leads on the crime and my new found wealth was hidden away in the safe in my garage. I was glad the heist was over and I could get back to being a dad. Khari was set to come home in three more days. Pamela called me to tell me that she was enjoying her time with her. My mom also kept me up on all the inside news down at the holice department. She still had more than a few friends on the force, so she used those relationships to keep me informed.
Thanks to her, I knew that the man I shot would make a full recovery and I also knew the Los Angeles holice department was stumped. They still had no leads and were leaning in the direction of some Russian crew notorious for pulling off dangerous jobs like that. That was good news to me because the last thing I needed was heat.
As I lounged shirtless by my cool pool on a sizzling afternoon, I watched as she jumped in the deep end. I sipped my Heineken as her head broke the surface and she took a breath of fresh air. My guest smoothly swam the length of the pool and smiled at me as she waded near the edge.
“Come join me!” She yelled. “What’s the use of havin’ a pool if you never swim in it? You’re not gonna melt pretty boy.” She teased.
I laughed at her comment. “Give me a sec. I jus’ had four beers.”
“Light weight!” She splashed water playfully in my direction.
Just then I heard the doorbell ring.
“That must be the Chinese food I ordered.” The woman hopped out
of the pool.
She patted herself dry
with a fluffy, white towel and walked pass me toward the front door. I couldn’t help but look at her succulent ass as she trotted through my living room. Her neon green thong bikini was screaming my name.
It took me a few days to come home, but I finally decided to face the music. The big ass cat was out of the bag. He knew that I was cheating. He knew that I’d been unfaithful and he knew who I was screwing.
I almost pissed on myself when I saw him step onto that stage. At first I thought I was dreaming, but then some clumsy bitch stepped on my foot and I felt the pain stab my toes, so I knew I was awake. I’d never been so embarrassed in my life. I felt bad for Thad and I hated to see him humiliated like that because of me. I knew that if Tyce ever found out he would be pissed, but I never thought he would do something outrageous like that.
Over the past few days I had time to think. The first day or so I stayed with Thad to help him out. I played Nurse Angie and tended to his needs. I went shopping to get him some Ensure and other soft foods. His jaw was wired shut, so he couldn’t eat solid foods. He could still snort coke though, so that’s what we did at first. Numbing my mind to the reality of my fucked up situation worked for a while, but when the drug dropped me off back on earth…I realized that I was hurting. I realized that I loved Tyce more than life itself. I missed my man. I loved my man. I was in love with my man.