“Hurry the fuck up!” Tippi screamed, anger pulsing through her every vein.
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King and Shayla were just about to walk out of the door when his cell phone rang. He dug it out his pocket and answered, “What it do?”
“They hit Nutta. He's out of here,” Tippi replied calmly. Before a stunned King could respond Tippi continued, “We're on our way to the southeast side to do some damage. Watch yo' ass, baby, 'cause these niggas is playin' for keeps.”
“Where y'all goin' on the southeast side?”
“It don't matter; you too far away for us to be waitin' on yo' ass. Take care of your girl, nigga. I got this.”
Before he could say another word Tippi hung up the phone. Shayla saw the pained expression on King's face and knew instantly that something was wrong. “It's Marco, isn't it, Trevor? What has he done?”
King stared at her for a few seconds before answering. He shook his head sadly and said, “He done fucked up for real, baby. He's goin' to die tonight.”
* * *
They say that sometimes everything in life happens for a reason. Tippi believed that and took it to heart. That's why she smiled when she saw Milo's Tahoe pull into the same gas station followed by two other cars where she was waiting for Cuddy. Tippi turned around in her seat and told her wolves, “Look, there go 'em niggas we lookin' for. We ain't got time to wait for my niggas so it's gon' just be us. Y'all cool wit' that shit?”
The three coldblooded killers sitting inside of Tippi's H2 all gave her a nod yes of their heads and began to load their fully automatic assault rifles. When it came to playing the murder game, Tippi's wolves were not to be fucked with. They were the best at killing.
Tippi smiled and had a look of timeless evil in her eyes as she said, “Breezy, you and Harry take out 'em niggas in those two cars right there.” She pointed toward the cars parked on the other side of Milo's SUV. “Me and Coop will hit those niggas in that Tahoe. Y'all ready?” Her question was answered by the sound of live rounds being chambered in each of her wolves' weapons.
They jumped out of the H2 with their guns blazing. This time Milo and his gorillas were the ones outgunned and outmatched. Once the gunfire erupted they didn't have a chance. Tippi and her wolves cut them down as if they were nothing. Just as quick as the shooting started, it ended. Tippi stepped to the driver's side of the Tahoe and smiled when she saw Milo's lifeless body sprawled over the steering wheel. She ran back to her truck and quickly pulled out of the gas station. She grabbed her cell phone and called Cuddy and Boleg. “Change of plans, nigga. I'm headed to the southwest side. They've been taken care of. Meet me at that Valero on the corner of Shields and Southwest Twenty-ninth.”
“We're on our way.”
* * *
After meeting up with Cuddy and Boleg, Tippi led the way toward Wave and Ken's turf. They rolled all over the southwest side and didn't see any of Flamboyant's team. “Damn, I wish I knew where that nigga Flamboyant lived. Fuck it,” Tippi said as she pulled out her phone and called Cuddy. “Did y'all let Keko and Spook know what's been poppin' off?”
“Nah, I thought you had already gotten at 'em,” replied Cuddy.
“Damn!” She hung up the phone and quickly dialed Keko's number. When Keko answered the phone Tippi told him what had happened to Nutta as well as what happened at the gas station. “It's a full-court press, baby, so watch yo' neck, fool.”
“Gotcha, li'l mama. What's up with King? He straight?” asked Keko.
“Yeah, he's out the way.”
“That's . . . Wha . . . what the fuck!” screamed Keko. Keko was standing in the back of the Summit apartments while he was talking to Tippi. Wave, Ken, and several of their men pulled into the apartment complex, jumped out of their vehicles, and began to spray every man in sight. Spook caught the first wave of gunfire and died instantly.
Keko saw what was happening and yelled into his phone, “'Em niggas are puttin' it down, Tippi. They got Spook! Get y'all asses out here now!” He dropped the phone and ran into one of the many apartments he had inside of the complex and grabbed an AK-47 with a couple of extra clips. Before he ran back outside he took a look out the window to see what was going on. What he saw scared the shit out of him. Wave, Ken, and their men were methodically moving from the front of the apartment complex to the back, blasting everything and everyone in their path.
Keko knew that he didn't have any win if he tried to go outside and confront them head-on.
The best thing to do is sit back and wait this one out,
he thought as he watched the bloodbath outside. He heard Wave screaming, “This the south side niggas! Fuck all you coward mothafuckas! This is for Prince and Gunna! Fuck the north!”
Keko shook his head and threw all caution out the window. “Fuck these niggas! This is the north!” He took a deep breath and eased out of the apartment and stepped into the war zone.
Wave saw Keko at exactly the same time Keko saw him. They both raised their weapons and began firing at one another. Keko smiled when he saw Wave go down because he knew that Wave was now a dead man. He turned his sights toward Ken, but was a split second too late. Ken sent a deadly volley of bullets from his assault rifle his way and caught Keko three times in his stomach. Keko fell back against the wall of the apartment building, slowly losing his life.
With tears sliding down his face, Ken stepped slowly toward Keko to make sure that the bastard who had just killed his best friend was dead. When he made it to Keko and saw that he was still breathing, he inhaled slowly and said, “Die, nigga!” Ken raised his assault rifle and pointed it toward Keko's head; but he wasn't paying any attention to Keko, who already has his AK-47 pointed directly at Ken's head.
They both pulled the triggers of their weapons simultaneously. Keko's head exploded from Ken's shot, and Ken's head was damn near decapitated by the round from Keko's AK-47. The bullet went straight through his neck and his head was barely attached to his neck as his life disappeared. The rest of Wave and Ken's men saw that they were down and immediately retreated to their vehicles and got the hell out of dodge.
By the time Tippi, Cuddy, Boleg, and Tippi's wolves arrived in Del City, Tippi knew they were too late. Police were everywhere and no one was allowed to enter the apartment complex. “Shit!” Tippi pulled out her cell and dialed King's number. When he answered the phone she told him about everything that had taken place since they last spoke to one another.
King was furious. “You mean to tell me that Keko, Spook, and Nutta got took? Come on, Tippi, tell me you lyin'!” begged King.
“This shit has gotten real bloody, baby. They took losses too. We smashed some of 'em niggas on the southeast side. And from what I can see, Keko and Spook got some of 'em niggas too.”
“Y'all get outta the way. I'll hit you back in a li'l bit.”
“I thought you was gone to Dallas.”
“Nah, fuck that shit! I'm still at the house. Drop off your people and come out here. Tell Cuddy and Boleg to come, too.”
“A'ight,” Tippi said as she ended the call.
Tears were sliding down King's face as he paced back and forth inside the bedroom. He turned toward Shayla and said, “Shay, please understand that what I'm 'bout to ask you is very, very important to me. I would never ask you anything like this if it wasn'tâ”
“You want to know where Marco's house is.” Shayla inhaled deeply and said, “Sky Island, baby.” She then gave him the address to the place she once called home.
King came and sat down next to her on the bed and said, “Shay, that nigga has killed my people today. That means he plans on takin' me too. I got to end this shit 'cause ain't no way I'm goin' to let that nigga get away wit' this shit.”
“I understand. Just promise me you won't miss his ass.”
He smiled and said, “Don't worry, I won't. Now, look, I want you to call Taj and have her come and scoop you up. I want you to stay wit' her 'til I finish this shit.”
“Why . . . why can't I stay here?”
“It's not safe, baby. Ain't no tellin' what's gon' pop off. I'd feel better if you were out of the way for a minute.”
He was interrupted by his phone ringing. When he picked up the phone he heard his aunt's voice. “Boy, are you a'ight?”
He smiled and said, “Yeah, I'm good, Aunty. What's up?”
“I'm sittin' over here watchin' the news and I saw all of this damn killin' goin' on and somethin' inside me told me to call yo' ass. Are you sure you a'ight?”
“Yeah, I'm good. Whatever you saw on the news has nothin' to do wit' me.”
“You sure?”
“Come on, Aunty, you know ain't nothin' gon' go on wit'out me lettin' you know what's the real,” he lied.
“All right, now. You be careful out there, boy. Them damn streets seem to have gone plumb fuckin' crazy.”
“Don't worry about me, Aunty. You know I'm the King of these streets.”
She smiled into the receiver and said, “Whatever, boy. Bye!”
Chapter Thirty-seven
Flamboyant sat parked in the exact same spot four houses down the street from King's house as he sat the day before, surveying his number one enemy's home. He was waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. His mind was made up: King was going to die by his hands tonight.
He checked his watch and saw that it was a little after nine o'clock. He wondered why he hadn't heard from any of his team members. He picked up his cell and called Wave. After not getting an answer he called Milo. When he got Milo's voice mail, he nervously dialed Ken's number. After getting Ken's voice mail he said, “What the fuck is goin' on?” He then sent text messages to each one, ordering them to hit him back as soon as possible.
They're probably out doin' their thang,
he thought as he focused back on watching King's house.
After about twenty more minutes of waiting he noticed three vehicles turn onto King's block: a Suburban, an H2 Hummer, and Taj's Mustang.
Looks like that nigga is havin' some kind of get
-
together,
he thought as he watched each vehicle park in the front of King's home. He reached and grabbed the two silenced P-89s that were on the passenger's seat. He checked and made sure that each gun had a live round in its chamber. “I'll wait, nigga, as long as I have to, 'cause yo' ass is mines tonight. One way or another, you're outta here, King,” Flamboyant said out loud as he stroked each of his pistols lovingly as if they were his lover's arms.
Once everyone was inside of the house, King listened again as Tippi told him everything that had taken place in the last couple of hours. Tippi also told him about Ken and Wave being killed by Keko. King smiled sadly and said, “My nigga went out like that, huh? That nigga was a straight rider for real. A'ight, listen, Taj: I need for you to take Shay to your spot 'til I can get this shit under control.”
“No problem,” replied Taj.
“How long do you think it'll be before I'll be able to come back home?” asked Shayla.
Tippi frowned but remained silent as King spoke to his girlfriend. Both Boleg and Cuddy noticed she was heated, though.
“I can't really say right now, Shay. Believe me, I plan on makin' that happen as soon as I can. Go on and get your stuff.” As Shayla went to do as she was told, King turned his attention to Boleg and Cuddy and said, “I want y'all to go post up over at that nigga Flamboyant's spot.” He then picked up a pen and pad and wrote down the address to Flamboyant's house in Sky Island.
“Damn, nigga, how did you get that fool's hookup?” asked Boleg.
Before King could answer Tippi said, “From his li'l girlfriend. I'm glad to see she's wit' the program after all.”
King ignored her and said, “Like I said, I want y'all to go sit on that nigga. If he's there when y'all get over there hit me and Tippi up so I can come over there to do that nigga. We've took too many losses! This shit has to end tonight.”
Shayla came out of the bedroom followed by Taj. “I'm ready.”
King stepped to her and said, “A'ight, let me walk y'all outside.” When they were outside in the driveway he gave Shayla a hug and a kiss and told her, “Hopefully this shit will be over and done wit' tonight, Shay. I'll give you a holla a li'l later on either way, okay?”
“Okay, Trevor. Be careful.”
“I will. I love you, Shay. You know that, right?”
“Mmmm hmm. I love you too. Don't forget.”
“Don't forget what?” he asked with a puzzled look on his face.
She smiled at him and said, “We were born to be together.”
He returned her smile and said, “Forever and a day, baby, forever and a day.” He kissed her again and watched as she got into Taj's car and drove away.
Flamboyant was sitting inside of his car fuming as he watched the display of affection that Shayla and King were showing each other. That fueled his anger and he was almost ready to jump out of his truck and run down there to blast both of them.
Calm down, baby, it's all good. Shayla belongs to me! Ain't no way I'm going to hurt her; oh, but that nigga is goin' to die slow, real fuckin' slow,
he thought, patiently waiting for his moment of truth.
Back inside of King's house, King told Tippi, “We need to bend some corners to make sure everything is everything around the way.”
“A'ight. I sent my wolves back to the northwest side and told 'em to stay on point 'til they heard from me. The block should be runnin' itself but, you're right, we do need to run, through.”
“Cuddy, make sure y'all get at me soon as y'all get posted up in Sky Island.”
“Gotcha, dog,” Cuddy said as he left King's house, followed closely by his road dog Boleg.
After they were gone Tippi told King, “You know the spot is gon' be way hot after all of this shit that done went down.”
“Yeah, I was just thinkin' 'bout that shit.”
“Have you talked to that fool Charlie?”
“I was 'bout to make that call now,” he said as he picked up the phone and dialed Charlie's number. After Charlie answered he said, “What it do, Charlie?”
“What it do? It looks like all hell has broken loose out there. Tell me you did as I told you and got out the way.”
“Nah, I'm still in the mix. Ain't no way I can shake the spot when my squad is out here dyin' for a nigga. Don't trip, though. The hunt is on. This shit should be over in a minute.”
“You are one hardheaded young man, King. Do you remember what I told you a war would bring?”
“Yeah, 'em alphabet boys. But this shit ain't on me, Charlie. That nigga brought the ruckus so it gots to be on.”
“That's true, but then again it isn't. You took the man's woman, for God's sake! So, in essence, you started this shit! But all of that is irrelevant now; what's done is done. Flamboyant is the least of my concerns. I'm more worried about how we're going to continue to get our money.”
“The heat will pass, Charlie. When it does we'll get right back to makin' that paper. As for that nigga Flamboyant, he should be a mama's memory by the time the sun comes up. Real talk,” King said confidently.
Charlie smiled and said, “We shall see. Be careful, King.” The line went dead.
As King placed the phone in the receiver he smiled at Tippi and said, “Come on, let'sâ” The front door was kicked in and King stood there, shocked, when he saw Flamboyant point his gun at Tippi and shoot her twice in her midsection.
“Aww, fuck nah!” King screamed as he went and knelt down next to Tippi.
Flamboyant smiled a deadly smile and said, “You take my niggas; I take yours. Now stand up and die like a mothafuckin' man!”
Tears slid down King's face as he got to his feet.
Ain't this a bitch. This punk mothafucka caught me slippin' at my own spot.
He wasn't armed and he knew that his chances of making it out of this alive were slim to none. He figured if he was going to die, he was going out swinging.
He lunged toward Flamboyant with every ounce of strength in his body. Flamboyant smiled and fired both of his pistols, catching King directly in his face, chest, and neck. King was dead before his body hit the floor right next to where Tippi was lying. Knowing that Tippi was King's number one killer, Flamboyant stepped over to her and shot her two more times directly in her pretty face. “Yo' ass won't be puttin' in no more work, bitch.” He spit on both of them and walked out of the house with a smile on his face.
Mission complete!
* * *
After checking on his team and hearing how Milo, Ken, and Wave were murdered, Flamboyant was miserable. He couldn't believe that even though he'd gotten rid of King, he had lost the last few heads of his team. “This shit is too fuckin' crazy!” he screamed as he drove toward his home.
When he turned onto his block he noticed that same black Suburban that had been over at King's house earlier. As he drove past the SUV and his home he realized two things: one, those were King's people waiting to kill his ass; and, two, the only way they could know where he stayed was if Shayla told them.
That bitch crossed me like that? She got to get it too!
He drove out of his neighborhood and headed toward Taj's house.
When he made it to Taj's home all of the lights were out. He got out of his truck and knocked on the door. After no one answered he went to the garage and looked under the door to see if he could see Taj's car. Once he realized that they weren't home he decided to go get a room and chill for the rest of the night. He suddenly felt very tired.
It has been a long mothafuckin' day,
he thought as he climbed back inside of his truck.
* * *
Taj saved both of their lives that night by wanting to stop for drinks at Pearl's on the Lake. If she would have gone straight to her house, both she and her best friend would have been murdered. Everything in life does happen for a reason; most times people don't know it.
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The next morning Flamboyant was awakened by the ringing of his cell phone. He grabbed his phone and smiled when he saw that it was Toni calling. “What's good, Toni?”
“I wanted to check on you to make sure that you were all right. I saw the news and this fucking city is on fire.”
“Yeah, I saw it too.”
“Where are you? We need to talk.”
“I'm at the Fifth Seasons.”
“On the north side?” Toni asked incredulously.
Flamboyant smiled and said, “Ironically, yeah. Why not? I don't have shit to worry 'bout. That nigga King is outta here.”
“Really?”
“Oh, fa' sho',” he said arrogantly.
“Like I was saying, we need to meet, but you're too hot to meet me so I'll come to you. What's your room number?”
“I'm in suite 2671.”
“I'll see you in a couple of hours, say eleven o'clock?”
“That's cool,” he said, and hung up the phone, and went back to sleep thinking about Shayla and how he was going to take her life.
* * *
Teedo, Charlie and Toni's hired gun, arrived at the Fifth Seasons hotel thirty minutes after Toni had spoken to Flamboyant. When he made it to the door, Teedo pulled out a blank key card and inserted it into the door's keypad. He then pulled out a small cell phoneâlooking device and attached two magnetized wires, one to the keypad, and the other to the device in his hand. He pressed a three-digit code and the green light on the door keypad flashed, indicating that the door to the suite was unlocked.
He turned the knob gently and quickly pulled the wires free from the door. He stepped inside of the suite and closed the door gently behind him. He then pulled out a silenced Sig Ruger 9 mm pistol, his favorite weapon. When he entered the bedroom part of the suite where Flamboyant was sleeping soundly, he shook his head. It never ceased to amaze him how easy it was for him to do what he was so damn good at. He saw Flamboyant's guns resting on the nightstand next to him and wondered if he should give him a chance at fighting for his life. After a few minutes of debating with himself, he decided not to play any games.
He stepped next to the bed and gently tapped Flamboyant on his forehead with his Sig. Flamboyant opened his eyes and saw the barrel of Teedo's gun pointed directly at his head and said, “What the fuck is this shit?”
Teedo smiled, shrugged his shoulders, and said, “Toni said you got to go bye-bye.” He then pulled the trigger twice and Flamboyant's head exploded all over the covers of the bed. Teedo turned and left the suite just as silently as he'd entered it.