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A smile appeared across Pop's face as he stood a block away from the bus terminal. That smile quickly disappeared when he felt his Nextel vibrating. He looked at the phone and saw Nika's name flashing across the screen.
“Baby, I'm here,” he said, out of breath.
“Where are you? I don't see you,” Nika yelled into the receiver.
“I'm right outside the bus terminal,” he answered.
“Stay right there we coming out the terminal now I'm going to tell the bus driver to stop the bus,” Nika said excitedly. Before Pop could say another word a hard blow hit him in the back, causing him to drop to his knees. Instantly Pop's vision got blurry as he saw a Greyhound bus cruise out of the bus terminal. “Stop the fuckin' bus!” Nika yelled as she ran toward the front of the bus.
Once the door opened Nika kicked off her four-inch heels and ran toward her man who stood on his knees in the middle of the street.
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A huge smile came across Pop's face as he saw his woman running to his rescue. “Damn, I love that girl,” was Pop's last thought. Seconds later three shots to Pop's body sent his face crashing into the pavement.
“I finally got that fool,” the Chinese detective said as he slid his smoking .357 back in his holster, looking like Robo cop, then acting like nothing never even happened.
“
Noooo
!”Nika screamed at the top of her lungs.
“Y'all didn't have to shoot him, he already surrendered,” Nika screamed out as she cradled Pop's head in her arms. Seconds later little Brittany came walking up, carrying the duffel bag full of money.
She didn't say anything; she just looked down at her favorite brother laying in a pool of his own blood. “Nika, he did this so we wouldn't have to struggle no more,” little Brittany said, wiping the tears from her eyes.
“I know sweetie,” Nika responded as endless tears rolled down her cheeks. “But they didn't have to kill him he was already on his knee's goddamn!” she whispered.
“Just know he's in a better place now,” little Brittany said, looking up at the sky.
“Hello, miss, I'm going to need to ask you a few questions,” the Chinese detective said, placing a hand on Nika's shoulder.
“Get your fuckin' hands off me,” Nika growled as she hog spit in the detective's face.
“Come on, little Brittany, let's get out of here,” Nika said as she grabbed the little girl's hand, leading her to the corner where they disappeared in the backseat of a cab, never to be seen again in New York City.
Chapter Twentyâone
4 Years Later
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Nika sat watching all the kids enjoy themselves in the after-school center that she had been running for the past three years. It was truly a blessing to see all the kids playing nicely with one another and never wanting to go home.
She knew if Pop was still alive he would have loved it in Miami because she loved every minute of it. She just wished Pop was around to share it with her. In memory of Pop, when you stepped inside the after-school center there was a huge picture of him posted on the wall. Every time Nika looked at that picture she felt as if he was watching her from up above. Even though Pop was gone Nika made sure she kept his dream alive. If he was still alive she knew he would have been proud of her.
“I love you, baby, none of this would be possible if it wasn't for you,” Nika whispered as she blew Pop a kiss.
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After everything went down, Melissa moved to North Carolina where she became a registered nurse. She left the city of New York hoping to start her life over again with no thoughts of ever returning. She still thought about Pop and her sister every now and then, but most of the time she would pile herself with work so she didn't have to think about her past.
Two years into his bid Fresh got stabbed to death in the shower in an upstate correctional facility by one of Tito's old cell mates. Karma is real.
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Bamboo reigned supreme in the end and continued to make money in the city ... still living the fast life. His wife always begged him to leave the game, but the allure is too strong and the only thing that will take him out is death or prison.
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
Everybody wants to come-up in life. It all depends on how you go about coming up, and what you're willing and not willing to do in order to come-up.
The ball is in your court, either you gonna ball hard or fall hard.
Just ask yourself this one question.
How far are you willing to go in order to come-up?
Urban Books, LLC
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Knee Deep in the Game Copyright © 2010 Boston George
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All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without prior consent of the Publisher, except brief quotes used in reviews.
ISBN: 978-1-6016-2294-5
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This is a work of fiction. Any references or similarities to actual events, real people, living, or dead, or to real locales are intended to give the novel a sense of reality. Any similarity in other names, characters, places, and incidents is entirely coincidental.
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