Chapter 30
The Jet
We was back on the jet and I ain’t even gon’ lie, the whole ride felt different this time ’cause we wasn’t just flyin’ back empty handed or talkin’ about what we was gon’ do no more.
We had all four of these muthafuckas laid out behind us, tied up tight, mouths duct taped, and still halfway out of it from what we gave ’em just to get ’em on the jet without no extra noise.
They ain’t come in fightin’ or talkin’ crazy. They came in dragged, handled and placed exactly where we wanted ’em.
Blood was already on ’em from the way we dragged these niggas, but I ain’t leave it at that once we got in the air, ’cause the minute one of them niggas started comin’ to and movin’ around like he was tryna figure out what was goin’ on, I got up out my seat and started beatin’ they asses.
Kay’Lo ain’t move from his seat. He just watched it happen, his eyes followin’ every hit like he was countin’ ’em in his head, and from the look on his face, he ain’t feel sorry for not one of ’em.
I let the first nigga drop back down, then stepped over him and kicked the next one in his side while he was still tied up, hearin’ the air leave his chest as he tried to curl up but couldn’t go nowhere.
“That’s for thinkin’ shit sweet,” I muttered, then looked over at the third one who ain’t even try to move no more.
By the time I went back to my seat, all four of ’em was quiet, laid out, and finally understandin’ this wasn’t no situation they was gon’ talk or fight they way out of.
I leaned back in my seat and took a sip from the bottle in my hand, lettin’ the liquor sit for a second while I looked over at Pressure and ‘Lo like this was just another day.
That’s how it always been with us, though. We handled shit, and never let it ride, ’cause we knew if the shoe was on the other foot, niggas wasn’t gon’ spare us.
Pressure was in his seat with one arm draped back while he smoked, and ‘Lo was sittin’ across from me, quiet like he been since we picked them niggas up. He ain’t say much, but I ain’t need him to, ’cause the way he watched them told me everything I needed to know about where his head was at.
They stole his money, and that alone was enough.
I looked over at him and smirked.
“Aye,” I said, tappin’ the bottle against my knee. “What the fuck you forgot earlier?”
He glanced at me, already knowin’ what I was talkin’ about, then shook his head like he wasn’t even about to entertain it.
“Nigga, mind your business.”
I laughed under my breath and leaned forward a lil’.
“You probably forgot to pack Toni dirty draws for the trip,” I said. “You know you be needin’ them for comfort and shit.”
“Bitch,” he shot back without even thinkin’. “Keep my wife and her damn draws out yo’ mouth.”
Pressure let out a laugh and shook his head.
“This nigga retarded,” he said.
For a second, it really did feel normal with just us sittin’ here talkin’ shit, drinkin’ and smokin’.
But that noise behind us kept breakin’ through. Yunique was cryin’ through the tape, shakin’ and makin’ them lil’ sounds like she was tryna hold it in but couldn’t. After a while that shit started gettin’ on my nerves more than anything else.
I turned my head and looked back at her, watchin’ how she was fallin’ apart now that shit was real. All that bold shit she had in her when she was helpin’ set Sha’Nelle up was gone, and now she just looked like somebody who finally realized she picked the wrong people to play with.
I stared at her for a second, then shook my head.
“You crazy as hell, you know that?” I asked, standin’ up from my seat.
She flinched when I stepped closer, her whole body tensin’ up like she thought that alone was gon’ stop what was comin’.
“You had ‘Nelle thinkin’ you was her friend,” I went on, lookin’ down at her.
“Callin’ her, checkin’ on her, sittin’ up in her face like everything was cool, but the whole time you was tryna line her up.
She told me she gave you eight hunnit to put down on that raggedy ass apartment…
and you turned around and tried to kill her. That’s some crazy work, mama.”
She cried harder, tryna shake her head, but I wasn’t hearin’ none of that.
“That ain’t even no regular backdoor,” I added. “That’s some low down shit right there, and the crazy part is you did all that just to end up right here anyway.”
I took the last of the liquor and swallowed it, then set the bottle down and grabbed the blunt from ‘Lo.
“You ever heard somebody talk about loyalty?” I asked her, crouchin’ down so she could hear me clear. “That shit supposed to mean somethin’. You don’t cross people that trust you like that, especially not over money that ain’t even yours.”
She kept cryin’, and I just shook my head again like she was irritatin’ me at this point.
“You know what,” I said, standin’ back up. “You deserve to get thrown from a jet for that shit.”
Her whole body jerked at that, and she started beggin’ through the tape, shakin’ her head like she was tryna undo what already been done.
I reached down and ripped the tape off her mouth, and the second it came free, she started goin’.
“Please… please don’t kill me… I told you the truth… you said you wasn’t gon’ kill me if I told you—”
I let her talk for a second, then let out a slow breath.
“I hear you,” I said. “I do.”
She nodded fast, thinkin’ that meant somethin’.
“But the more I think about it,” I added, tiltin’ my head. “The more I’m realizin’ you just ain’t fit to live after that.”
Her face dropped, and she started beggin’ again, louder this time, panic settin’ in for real.
Pressure looked back at me, hittin’ the blunt.
“I know this nigga ain’t about to do what I think he about to do,” he said.
I looked at both him and ‘Lo.
“She tried to get ‘Nelle killed,” I said. “That bullet could’ve hit a lil’ different, and we would’ve been plannin’ a funeral instead of sittin’ here with these muthafuckas laid out behind us.”
I kept my eyes on both of them, lettin’ what I said sit for a second, ’cause I wasn’t just talkin’ to hear myself. I was remindin’ them exactly what almost happened and how close that shit really got to goin’ left.
Pressure ain’t say nothin’ at first. He just took another pull from the blunt and watched me for a second, then his eyes slid over to Yunique like he was seein’ her for what she really was now instead of just part of the situation.
Kay’Lo leaned back in his seat with his jaw tight, and even though he still wasn’t talkin’, the way his eyes stayed locked on her let me know he was already past feelin’ anything about it.
Ain’t nobody questioned it or try to talk me out what I was about to do. It was just understood.
I turned from them and walked toward the door, knockin’ twice on the wall so the pilot knew what I needed, and after a minute I felt the jet adjust, droppin’ down just enough so I could open the door without fightin’ the pressure behind it.
I grabbed Yunique by her arm and dragged her up, ignorin’ the way she fought against it, ’cause at this point it ain’t matter what she wanted.
I got the door open, and the rush of air hit immediately, but I held Yunique firm while she screamed, tryna grab on to anything she could.
“Please! Please don’t—”
I ain’t say nothin’ else. I just pushed her ass.
Her scream cut off the second she disappeared out the jet, and I stood there for a second before I shut the door back and locked it. When I turned around, Pressure and ‘Lo was lookin’ at me, then at each other.
I walked back to my seat like it was nothin’ and sat down, pickin’ the bottle back up.
“Shit,” I muttered. “I ain’t feel like cleanin’ up four bodies anyway.”
And just like that, it was quiet again.
The Chop Shop
Now that I was back in Da Trill and in my element, I ain’t even gon’ lie, my head felt clearer than it had in days, like everything was finally back where it belonged and I could move how I was supposed to without holdin’ nothin’ back.
The shop smelled like it always did with a mix of metal, oil and somethin’ darker that never really went away no matter how much I cleaned, but at this point I was so used to it that it barely registered unless I actually stopped and paid attention to it.
I had gloves on, and my hands was workin’ overtime in this bitch. I grabbed one of these nigga’s arms off the table, lifted it and dropped it into the open trash bag at my feet before reachin’ for the other one without even lookin’ twice.
I bent down, picked up what was left near the table, and slid it into another bag, pullin’ the plastic up tight before settin’ it off to the side so I could keep goin’ without stoppin’.
The floor needed to be cleared, the table needed to be clean, and everything that wasn’t supposed to be sittin’ out had a place it was goin’, and I handled it one piece at a time like it was just another part of the process.
Behind me, Kwest was tied to a chair with his head droppin’ forward every few seconds like his body ain’t know whether to stay up or give out. His face was already fucked up, his lip split, one eye swellin’, and every time he tried to breathe too deep it sounded like it hurt him to do it.
He kept mumblin’ under his breath, tryna say somethin’, but it wasn’t comin’ out clear enough to matter.
I ain’t pay it no mind anyway.
I grabbed another trash bag and snapped it open, then reached down and picked up a leg from beside the table, liftin’ it like it ain’t weigh nothin’ before droppin’ it in.
The plastic shifted when it hit the bottom, and I pulled the bag up a lil’ to make room before reachin’ for the next piece without stoppin’.
“You know what’s crazy,” I said, glancin’ back at him for a second while I worked, “I ain’t even as mad as I should be.”
He tried to lift his head when he heard me, like he was tryna understand what the fuck I meant by that, but he ain’t have enough strength to hold it there.