Mission
Ihad my YNs all through the country looking for that bum ass nigga, and they was coming up short, making me mad daily, to the point that after I finished at the store and picked Amir up from school, we went and looked for our damn selves.
And was still coming up short. The more time passed, the more the nigga was going to pay for this shit, and I wasn’t mad at that at all.
Amir asked to get a snack on our search, and I stopped at a corner store and slid him my card to get what he wanted while letting Keith and Sammy know what was going on.
When Amir got back in the car, he handed me my card and opened his bag of chips.
“You know what, Dad, I wish it was a way you could check cameras.”
I looked at him, confused. “What do you mean?”
“You know, like on TV, when the police is looking for somebody, they check the cameras through the city.”
My mind had been so busy, I didn’t even think about that shit. I looked over at Amir and smiled at him.
“You a smart lil’ nigga, you know that?”
Amir nodded. “I do.”
I laughed. “Can you go to Katie’s for a lil’ bit? I need to see ’bout that.”
“If it’s getting Islah back, of course.”
I nodded, and we headed over to my cousin’s house while I tried to call the police chief.
I even had Keith try to call him for me so I could skate to Katie’s house.
When we got there, she was already outside, doing some nigga’s hair on her sidewalk.
We hopped out, and Amir ran up to her, hugging her before he ran to the back to play with the other kids.
“Islah home?” she asked.
“Nah, but I’m ’bout to see ’bout something to help me.”
“Handle ya business. I will bring him home later.”
I nodded, and I walked back to my car and pulled off, still callin’ the police chief, and that nigga still wasn’t picking up.
Before I pulled up on him, I went to the store and walked straight into my office without speaking to anybody.
I went into my closet, pulled out a small black duffel bag, pulled my picture down, and unlocked my safe when Keith walked in.
“You get a hold of him?” I asked.
“Nah, but I called his office, and they said he should be home by now.”
I poured money into the duffel bag, closed the safe, and hung the picture back up.
“Bet,” I said as I walked outta my office, outta the store, and back to my car.
I kept trying to call the nigga, I even called his bitch ass son and didn’t get a response from him.
I wasn’t worried about it though, cause thirty minutes later, I was pulling up to his house and parking right in front and knocking on his door. My duffel bag was clutched in my hand.
A few seconds passed, and the door opened, and his bitch ass was staring at me.
“Hank, I’ve been calling you,” I said with anger in my voice.
“Come in,” he said, stepping to the side. “Let’s go to my office.”
I walked in, and he closed the door behind me and led me to his office. Once he closed that door behind him, he walked around me and took a seat behind his desk.
“I thought you were done with the street shit,” was the first thing he said to me.
“This ain’t no street shit.”
I pulled my phone out and sent him a picture of Gio and Islah.
“I need you to check the city cameras and shit to see if you see this nigga with my girl, and I need to know what direction, what side of town, something.”
Hank looked at me as if he wanted to laugh.
“I know you didn’t come all the way to my house for some bullshit like that.
That shit takes time. We are backed up in every department at the police station right now, and you want me to look up your bullshit.
And my son told me about the burning car.
I don’t sound like you are done with the street shit… ”
He tried to continue on, and I slammed my fist on his desk.
“Shut the fuck up and listen. My wife is missing, with my baby in her fuckin’ stomach. Her mad ass ex has been stalking her around the fuckin’ city, and I need to know where the fuck she’s at so I can get her.”
“Like I said, we are backed up.”
I threw the duffel bag on the desk. “Half a million in that bag says otherwise.”
Hank stared at me for a second. “Let me make a call.”
I stepped away from his desk and walked over to his window, giving him space to talk. As I looked outside at his oversized backyard and his pool at sunset, my hand started to itch. I looked down at it, and it almost felt like I could feel Islah’s touch.
I missed my baby. I needed her back in my life. I needed shit back to normal.
My thoughts were all over the place when my phone rang. I pulled my phone outta my pocket, and it was Amir calling me.
“Wussup, son? You okay?”
That nigga was sniffling, and I could hear Katie in the background telling him to hand her the phone.
“Cuz, Cuz?” she repeated.
“Yeah, what the hell is going on?”
“Amir’s grandma just called him and told him his mom was killed; the police are at the house.”
I sucked my teeth.
“Iight, tell him I will be there in a lil’ bit. I am almost done here.”
“I got you.”
I hung up with her and walked back over to Hank.
“Give me a day or two, and I will try to have something for you.”
“That shit ain’t good enough. You have to have it by the end of the night.”
He threw his hands up in the air.
“I will see what I can do.”
I nodded and walked over to his door. As I grabbed the doorknob, I stopped and slightly turned to him.
“Aye, Jada Bates case?”
Hank raised a brow at me.
“I have an officer working that case now. They are still at the house.”
I nodded. “Tell them to stop working on it.”
“So I am supposed to make it go away?”
“With that money sitting on that desk, yes, you are.”
I walked outta his office and his house, and did the dash to be by my son’s side.
On my drive to him, I thought about his mama, how she looked at me, how she caused her death for playing with me, knowing damn well I’ve done way worse to people I didn’t know.
I finally made it to him, and before I could get through my cousin’s raggedy gate, he was already on me, hugging me tight.
“She’s gone, Dad… My mom is gone.”
I held him tight while rubbing his back, letting him cry on me.
“I know, son… I know how you feel. But you know that she loved you, and we will get through this.”
Amir looked up at me and nodded, and I walked him to the car.
Once we got in, he asked could go to his grandma’s house. I wanted to say no, but I agreed.
She didn’t live far from Katie. It didn’t take as long to get there, but when we arrived, the street was already full of cars, and people were at her house.
Once I parked, and before Amir hopped out, I stopped him.
“Listen, we are not gonna be here long.”
He nodded. “I know, it’s a lot of people here.”
We hopped out and took the lil’ walk to Mrs. Bates’ house.
Once we got in the yard, all of Amir’s cousins rushed over to him, giving him hugs, asking him if he was okay.
I let him talk to them and walked up the porch, speaking to a few of her aunts, giving my condolences before walking into the house to see her mama with a bunch of family around her, handing her tissues and wine.
“Mrs. Bates,” I said softly. “I am sorry for your loss.”
She looked up at me and wiped her tears. “Are you really?” she said with an attitude. “She told me y’all was supposed to be getting back together. If she were with you and not in that neighborhood, my daughter would still be here!”
I had to hold back my laugh. That bitch was really out here planning a life I didn’t know shit about.
“I am sorry to tell you, Mrs. Bates. No, we weren’t. I—”
“What do you mean, y’all weren’t getting back together! My daughter don’t lie.”
I nodded. “But she did—”
“Well, I hope with her being your son’s mother, you are paying for her funeral.”
I backed up, laughing. “Like I said, I am sorry for your loss.”
I walked out the door and yelled for Amir so that we could leave. As we walked outta her gate, Mrs. Bates came out yelling.
“I will be sending you a text with how much I need.”
I laughed. “And it won’t be answered.”
I hopped in the car and pulled off. Amir was actually laughing.
“What are you laughing at?” I asked.
“That family is a lil’ crazy. I didn’t think you had to pay for it.”
I nodded. “My boy is smart. You come from money, so you have money. You don’t let people use you. But if you want to do something for your mom, I will pay for that.”
Amir nodded. “I would like to get some flowers or something like that, maybe her picture on a chain.”
I smirked. “I got you, son. Take-out and a movie tonight?”
“Sure,” he responded. “You find Islah?”
“I am waiting for some news now.”
We picked up some chicken and fries and went back to the crib. After getting changed, we went down to my man cave, opened our food, and put on Dead Presidents.
I was repeating the movie by heart. Amir looked at me, crazy, never seeing it before, and was surprised that I knew the words.
After we ate, I looked over at Amir, and he looked sad. I hated that for him. I hated Jada’s actions, which got her taken from this world and away from her son.
“Aye,” I said, getting his attention. “Are you too old to lay on your dad?”
He smirked. “Any other day, yes, today?... no.”
I opened my arms, and he came over and lay on me.
“Thanks, Dad,” he said low.
“I got you forever,” I responded.
As we watched the movie, Hank called me.
“Wussup,” I said, picking up quick.
“Our cameras caught him going west on I-20.”
“What is in that direction?” I asked.
“California.”
“Fuck!” I blurted out.
“Are you good now?”
“Fuck no! He took my girl back to fuckin’ Cali.”