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When I got back to the apartment, I put my bottle down on the coffee table, headed for the shower, and tried to pull it together. I love long hot showers; it is, to me, the greatest joy next to gettin’ pussy. With my head clearing, I began to think about how I was goin’ to exact my revenge. I might not be able to get Chilly, but I would tear threw his whole set. I would be their nightmare now, but they wouldn’t be wakin’ up.
All at once, I became very conscious of the fact that I was just one guy and he had an army. But I knew in my heart that I wouldn’t be alone. Freeze had my back, just like the old days. And for that, I felt like shit. I would be draggin’ Black’s organization into a war. Maybe even, Black himself. "How could I do that after what I did." I turned off the shower and came back to reality. If it was gonna get done, it would be me doin’ it. I would have to have a plan. Pick them off, one by one, in methods that were more creative. I put my pants back on and resumed the search for my guns. It wasn’t like I didn’t have an arsenal here. But it was the principle of the thing. There was a knock at the door. I looked out the peephole and didn’t see anybody. "Who is it?"
"It’s Gee, Nick. Please let me in." I looked again and still didn’t see her. I opened the door, stepped aside, and prepared to receive her. She took a step inside. I looked at her face. Her jaw was swollen and —
"Get in there!" the door swung open and there was Chilly. Gee stumbled to the floor. Chilly pointed the gun at me and grabbed her, jerking her back to her feet.
"I’m sorry, Nick," Gee whimpered.
"You stay right where the fuck you are! You move and I’ll kill you."
"You’re gonna try to kill me anyway, what’s the difference?"
"Right."
Chilly fired at me.
I didn’t move. It came close to hitting my arm. I don’t think he meant to hit me with that shot. It was meant to get my attention.
It did.
I wasn’t afraid to die. I just didn’t want to die like this, half-naked and unarmed.
Chilly looked at me and then at his wife. "Get over there with him. You two belong together." He pushed her in my direction. "Ain’t neither one of you worth a shit."
"You all right?"
"I’m okay," Gee said softly without taking her eyes off Chilly.
"How’d he get out?"
"Bail," Gee whispered.
"Don’t ask her nothin’ mutha fucka! You wanta know how I got out, you ask me!" Chilly screamed. "Cops can’t hold a mutha fucka like me on some bullshit tip like this! You two dirty mutha fuckas set me up!"
"Set you up?" I had to laugh. It might have been foolish to laugh at a man that’s pointing a gun at you, but that shit was funny.
"You two think you’re slick. Had this shit all worked out. Neither one of you mutha fuckas can be trusted. Your ho ass, out there fuckin’ everybody. And you nigga, everything they said about you is true. But I thought that was all bullshit. I thought you was old school. I came to you on the real, straight up business. Showed you more respect than you deserved. You took my money!"
"You took money from him?" Gee looked puzzled at me.
"Oh, he didn’t tell you? That wasn’t part of y’alls little plan? Stupid bitch! You always was a stupid bitch, Gee. This nigga been playin’ you! I gave him five grand to tell me where Jake was. But the difference between me and this nigga is that I have honor. I still wanted him to tell you where your brother was, just as long as he told me too. You ain’t loyal to shit are you mutha fucka? Fuckin’ my wife. You a dirty mutha fucka. Bobby shoulda killed your ass." He spit in my face and then moved the barrel of his gun against my forehead, in case I wanted to do something about it. "Yeah, y’all got a nigga set up."
"So I guess Jake didn’t develop that shit for you? So, all those people dyin’ ain’t your fault."
Now it was Chilly who was laughing. "I didn’t kill nobody. That’s on Jake. Who knew his sorry ass was a sorry ass chemist?"
"You practicin’ for your day in court?"
"I ain’t goin’, you are."
"Who killed Pamela Hendricks?"
"Let’s see, — didn’t she die from that bullshit her punk ass brother cooked up?"
"What about Lisa?"
"You killed her. Your finger prints were at the murder scene."