Page 52 of Rah

That’s how Carlos was, though. He was friendly and laidback, for a man that sourced every high in the vicinity. To be a man on his level, he was a down ass dude and always understanding. That would eventually be his downfall.

“So, tonight, I need you to make this run to Indianapolis. I got a customer there waiting for ten bricks.”

Moses nodded. “Rah ran it down to me already.”

“Let me grab the bag for you. I can demolish this when y’all leave.”

I watched Carlos’ happiness with envy as he left his plate, stood, and disappeared into the back of the house with a bounce in his step that only a rich man with no worries had. I knew right then that I had made the right decision. I had to do what I had to do, even if the only people in the house that knew about it was me.

Carlos saw nothing coming as he bopped back into the living room carrying a large duffle bag. Carlos wasbusy at the dining room table, unzipping the bag and taking out the bricks. He was about to weigh them to ensure that they were the right amount.

He was focused. Moses was too. So, neither of them was expecting the two shots from my pistol that suddenly pierced the air. By the time the loud bangs got Moses’ attention, Carlos had hit the floor, pulled his piece from his hip, and begun to shoot back. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Moses fall to the ground. Yet, I continued to shoot. I watched bullets penetrate the expensive fabric of Carlos’ black Versace tee. Finally, a shot split his skull. Then I noticed the others all over his body. He released his trigger as he lost consciousness and fell face first onto the table.

“Urrrrrrrrrgh! Rah! Shit, I got hit!” I ignored Moses’ whining. I ran by Carlos as he died on the living room table.

I passed the drugs.

That’s not what I wanted.

“Rah! What the fuck?!” Moses barked. “Help me, man!”

I could hear the pain and shock in Moses’ voice as it shot towards the back of the house where I was. I fought to block out his yelping so that I could move as fast as I could. There had been about ten shots fired. Yet, over east in Chicago, that wasn’t out of the norm. People heard shots all day and never called the cops. Plus, I was sure that the brick walls of Carlos’ home had muffled the gunfire somewhat.

I didn’t want to play around, just in case. I charged into the guest bedroom. It was as if greed had given me superpowers. I was able to move the heavy, wooden bed with ease. Even in the darkness, I saw where the carpet was outlined. I took it by the corners and ripped it back. Floorboards appeared on the other side. Above Moses’ pleas for help, I could hear my heart beating outside of my chest.

Removing the floorboard revealed black garbage bags that I knew contained cash. I didn’t know how much. But, considering Carlos’ level in the game, I knew that it was more than enough for me. I grabbed the bags and was out of the bedroom within seconds. As I ran back into the living room, I looked at Carlos in disgust, disappointed that he was such a cool dude that he would let me see where his stash was.

In fear that the bullets would be matched to the ones inside of Moses, I snatched the nine from Carlos’ hands. I searched the floor for shell casings and picked up all the ones that I saw. The entire time, Moses called out to me for help.

I finally went to help Moses after sliding the nine into my back pocket. I could tell by the look in Moses’ eyes that he was pretty much done with me.

“You gon’ let me die?! For some cash, my nigga?!”

I reached for him and helped him stand. He grunted and winced along the way.

“We gotta get out of here. C’mon,” I told him as I damn near dragged his weak, frail frame towards the front door.

“Why didn’t you tell me what you was about to do?! I don’t wanna be in no shit like this, Rah! What the fuck, man?! DAMN! You killed Carlos! That was your boy!”

“Would you shut the fuck up before somebody hears you?”

I opened the front door, and was met with blankets of falling snow. Moses’ hoodie was drenched in blood that spilled from a hole in his stomach. To keep his blood from painting the steps and walkway, I took off my North Face and put it over him.

I looked up and down the block, searching for anyone standing outside. Yet, the snow was so heavy that no one would be out in that for hours.

As I helped Moses down the steps, all I could think of was how sloppy this shit was. I never expected Carlos to reactso quickly, or to even be strapped with us in the house for that matter. I couldn’t figure out how to get Moses to the emergency room without both of us getting locked up under suspicion. I wracked my brain trying to figure out what to do as Moses sat in the passenger seat of my ride wincing in pain. The coast was clear as I hopped into the driver’s side. I looked back at the house, realizing that I’d left it unsecured and the screen door invitingly open. I started the engine and pulled off anyway, hoping that some hypes or lil’ block boys would notice the house unsecured and have a fucking free for all, fucking up any evidence that I would have left.

Just as we reached safety, three miles away and close to the expressway, I noticed that Moses wasn’t fussing anymore. I didn’t hear his groans or cursing. Reluctantly, I looked over to see him lifeless, with his head against the window.

I pulled over into the next alley. I hopped out as snow flurries became heavy snow fall. As I opened the passenger side door, Moses’ body fell out. I caught him, just in time to keep his face from falling into the three inches of snow that had already accumulated on the ground.

Wondering where to lay him, I pulled the rest of his body out of the car.

KAHLANI

My phone blaring yanked me out of some good sleep. I groaned and cursed myself for always keeping it in the bed next to me. At first, I hit ignore, with my eyes still closed, trying to drift back to sleep. But when it rang again immediately, I snatched it up with irritation.

Seeing Rah’s name on the screen made my stomach drop. He never called me, unless he was looking for Moses. And since Moses had told me earlier that he was spending the evening with Rah, my heart started racing.