Page 4 of Always Been You

Terror

W hat would you do in the back of a car tasked to kill another man, or death would be yours?

That was the exact situation I found myself in.

It was crazy how shit could turn upside down at lightning speed.

I was a hustler through and through. A damn good one.

No one could beat my work ethic. My only problem was that I was sitting under a nigga who failed to respond to another man.

A nigga named Slash and his goons came out of nowhere and wanted to take over our territory.

They came in with guns blazing, and for the last few months, there were bloodbaths on the street.

Instead of my boss, Brick, facing that shit head-on, he ignored it, while blood painted every corner.

Niggas I loved and even family members lost their lives.

I wanted a truce. An alliance. Anything to stop the bloodshed, because if blood kept spilling, no one would make money.

So, I did what any man would who just wanted to keep his family fed.

I approached Slash, and he said he would somewhat honor my wishes.

My truce with Slash came with one stipulation: Kill Brick or I’m dead.

“Time to go.” Big-headed Lou, Slash’s favorite goon, said from the front seat.

Hell nah. I wasn’t a bottom nigga who took orders.

That’s precisely what Slash was trying to make me.

I heard of niggas attempting to come into another man’s territory and try to push them out.

They would keep the people in place doing what they do best. I was a distributor.

I ran up money like crazy. Not a hired killer.

He was right, though. It was time to decide.

Today, I was on the verge of becoming exactly what they were pushing me into.

That was the only way out. I wrapped my hands around the nine, screwed my silencer on, and before taking a second thought, I pierced Lou’s skull.

The second goon in the driver’s seat reached for his weapon.

Before he could get it out, he met the same fate.

I hopped out of the vehicle in no time, tucking my weapon.

I would tell Brick one last time what that nigga Slash was on, but after that, I was separating.

I would be my own man because, really, I already gave him more than I owed him by trying to get his attention multiple times.

Had he not been so negligent, we wouldn’t have gotten to this point.

I tried to cross the street to Brick’s place, and a car whipped past me.

I jumped back. Muthafuckas were flying so fast in the residential area that they damn near flattened my ass.

I saw the window roll down and Brick and his female stepped out of the house simultaneously.

It was like a scene from a movie. Everything slowed, and I saw a hand reach out of the vehicle and start spraying.

She mowed Brick and his chick down. Loud popping sounds filled the entire neighborhood before the tires screeched, and the car pulled away.

All I could make out was that it was a woman.

My heart pounded in my chest. There was no way they made it through that. Damn, Brick had more enemies in one. I realized then how cold this fucking game was, and if I wanted to make it, I had to be colder than any of these niggas were willing to be.

Two minutes passed, and I heard sirens blaring.

I couldn’t be anywhere around that shit when they pulled up.

I jogged through the backyard of one of the neighbors and hopped a fence.

I couldn’t be caught with this gun on me.

It may not have had Brick and his girl, but it damn sure had two other bodies at the scene on it.

I couldn’t get caught with this, and they were damn sure going to be on that stop-and-frisk shit.

A nigga like me didn’t stand a chance walking the streets after something like that happened.

The sirens got closer. I walked back and forth, knowing I had to make a move. I didn’t wear gloves, so the gun residue was still on my hands. I wasn’t going to prison. Not today. Not any day. My phone rang in my pocket. It was Bars.

“Yo! Did you hear that shit on the scanner?” He was amped up.

“Nah. What happened?” I played it smoothly.

“I can’t even drop that shit over the phone. Where you at?”

“Man, over here by a chick’s spot. I got so drunk I let her drive me. Now I’m on my feet. Meet me at the Kroger on Corunna.”

That was just far enough away that I could get there if I hurried and far enough away from the scene not to seem directly involved. Bars was my nigga, but the way I just saw that shit happen, I couldn’t trust anybody fully.

“Damn, how the fuck did you let that happen, bro? She must have been bad as fuck.”

“Slippin, nigga.” I replied, hearing the sirens die down.

“Aight, I got you. Give me like 15.”

We disconnected. That was perfect because if I ran, I could get there in ten. I hopped a few fences, and by the time I got there, I had just enough time to wipe the sweat from my brow and feel normal when he pulled up.

“Nigga. They say somebody lit Brick’s ass up!” Bars said before my ass could fully hit the seat.

“Nah, for real?” I asked.

“Dead ass, my nigga. I heard it on the scanner, and I was like I know that’s Brick’s spot, even though his crazy ass would never let us come by. Then, as I was coming, Shavetria called and said that shit was all over the news.”

I pulled a blunt from his ass tray and lit it. My fucking head was spinning.

“Damn, nigga you hear me?” Bars gauged looking at me.

“We in the same car, bro.” I shot back.

He gave me a strange look. “You did that shit, bruh?” he asked.

“Nah, I ain’t have shit to do with that,” I answered honestly.

“That was the first thing on niggas lips. When my girl called, it was already spreading like wildfire because you were telling niggas how Brick had been on bullshit.”

“Well, I bet you them same niggas won’t say that shit to my face. I don’t give a fuck what nobody gotta say.”

“That’s what I know, but if some shit did go down and it was you or him, nobody could blame you.”

I wasn’t going to repeat the shit, so I just sat quietly. I was fucking jumpy as fuck. Bar's line of questioning made me feel like this nigga could have been wearing a wire or some shit. I knew him for a few years, but what’s friendship in a game like this?

“Aye, take me home.” I sat up when I saw him about to jump on the highway. I wasn’t on no hang out shit.

“Shit, I was going to bring you by the trap. We gotta pick up.”

“I’ll get that shit tonight.”

We rode in silence, and he didn’t speak again until he turned into my driveway.

“So, what’s next? We damn near out. Everybody is already panicking.”

I took a deep breath. Just like that, death or not, life still goes on. Niggas would need work, and the streets would still need to be fed. I cracked a smile.

“Tell everybody it’s on me from now on.”

He nodded as I stepped out of the car. It was an unreadable expression on his face.

I knew of one connection, and if I could do nothing else, I could flood the streets because that was what I was already doing on a daily basis as a middleman.

I sat back and saw many ways the product could be improved, as well as how much money was being left on the table.

Yeah, Brick may have been dead, but the only thing a supplier understood was green.

I was trusted, and I could make them an offer they couldn’t refuse, only to give me the best shit.

“Aye, yo T.” Bars called on his way into the house. I doubled back to his car. “This shit is getting too hot for me, bruh. I’m gone get you the rest of the shit, and you take it from there.” He handed in his resignation like a two-week notice.

“You gotta do what’s right for you. This shit ain’t for everybody.”

“You stay dangerous, nigga. It’s a lot of shit getting ready to come yo way if you really do this.”

“I ain’t worried.”

“You say that, but niggas are going to be talking. They already are.”

“And I ain’t got a damn problem closing they mouth.” I ended our conversation and walked inside my house.

Never would I allow another nigga to dictate my life or my movements. From this point forward, it was on me, and if any nigga had a problem, I wasn’t ducking shit.