Chapter 10
I zipped my duffel bag and hoisted it over my shoulder to carry it downstairs. Deuce had come over to discuss the next mission we had to take. It had been a few months since we had anything pop up, so my brothers were ready for action. Of course, all of them eyed me suspiciously when asked if everybody was cool with leaving out tonight.
“You got some other shit you need to do, Maceo?” he asked, glaring at me.
“No.”
“You sure? ’Cause you and Shar love running off and shit. I’d hate to intrude on what y’all muthafuckas got going on.”
“Nigga, I said I’m good. Damn.”
“Lower yo’ fucking tone.”
“I’m not lowering a muthafucking thing. You keep forgetting that I’m a grown ass man. You not gon’ lil’ boy me.”
“Y’all need to cut this shit the fuck out,” Kerrion said, lighting a blunt. He looked at me. “Y’all do be dipping out and shit, Maceo. I’m just saying.”
“Look, what me and my lady have going on is none of y’all’s business.”
“You made it our business when you brought that shit up and never spoke on it,” Deuce snapped. “I’ma let you live though. You gon’ need us before we need you. Remember that shit.”
I’d waved him off, not feeling like arguing with his ass. This shit was gonna come back up again anyway.
Just as I hit the bottom step, the front door opened, and Shar walked in with a frown directed at me. She looked at the bag in my hand and crossed her arms. I threw my head back and sighed.
“What did I do now?” I asked.
“You put Charity up in a luxury hotel?”
I shrugged. “And? Wait, how do you even know that?”
“I saw her at Copper and Oak looking like new money. She claims she met a guy that wanted to spend some money on her.”
“What does that have to do with me? I ain’t that nigga. I bought her a few clothes and gave her a few dollars until she started getting paid. That’s it.”
“So she didn’t tell you if there was anything she could do to repay you, to let her know?”
“Shar… baby. What do you want me to do?”
“I want you to be smart about this woman. Something isn’t right about her. All week long, she didn’t have anywhere to go. Now, a day after you put her up, it’s a nigga spending money on her? And it wasn’t a little bit of money either. Everything on her was designer.”
“Well, maybe the nigga is a trick, Shar. I don’t know, and I don’t care.”
“He didn’t look like a trick when he met her for lunch.”
I laughed. “So tricks look a certain type of way?”
She glared at me. “See, you’re playing in my face, and I’m about to get mad.”
“You came in here with your face all balled up and coming at me with an accusatory tone. I thought you were already mad.”
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Maceo… I want you to stay away from that bitch. If she needs something and you feel so compelled to help, send one of the other guys. But you alone with her again? Fuck no. If she tries to fuck you, she’s gonna be more than homeless. She’s gonna be dead.”
I tried not to smile when she said that. My baby didn’t play about me, and I for damn sure didn’t play about her.
“I hear you, baby.”
“You better. I don’t trust her, and I don’t know why, but my intuition of bitches is never wrong.”
I simply nodded. “Are you over being mad at me?”
“I wasn’t mad at you.” She slumped over to me and wrapped her arms around my waist. “I just didn’t like the way that shit made me feel. I haven’t had to deal with a bitch coming to me as a woman about you, and I don’t want it to start.”
I dropped my bag and lifted her into my arms. She wrapped her legs around my waist and her arms around my neck.
“You know something?”
“What?” she asked.
“You’re a fucking brat.” She thumped the side of my head, and I laughed. “It’s cool, though. I like my women a little obsessed with me.”
“Boy, bye! Nobody is obsessed with you.”
“You would live in my skin if you could, and I’d let you.”
She smiled. “I just… I love you, Maceo. This wasn’t supposed to turn into what it is, but now that we have it, I don’t want to lose it.”
“I ain’t going nowhere, mama.”
“Better not. I’ll make my daddy and brothers jump your ass. If I’m really feeling froggy, me and my mama will join in too. Make that shit a family affair. And you better not fight back.”
I shook my head. “So you expect me to just get my ass beat?”
“Precisely.”
I walked her over to the couch and tossed her on it. She let out an obnoxious laugh as she sat up.
“Where are you going?”
“I have a mission with the family. I’ll be gone a couple of days. We leave in a few hours.”
She poked out her lip. “Okay.”
“Don’t look like that.”
“I just got used to doing missions with you. You’re about to go have fun without me.”
“You think this shit is fun?”
“Well, not fun. But it’s exciting for me, even in the face of danger. What would I have to do to join the organization?”
“It’s not an open application kind of thing, baby. This is strictly professionals and family. And before you start your shit, you are family. But our family has had extensive training for the shit we do. That shit started when we were kids. We were born and bred for this shit, Shar. It ain’t fun or exciting. What you do when you’re with me ain’t shit compared to the things I’ve seen and done. It’s some real fucked up people in this world, baby. You won’t be the same after taking a life. Ask Salima.”
My brother told me all about the nightmares his wife still had every now and then. There were still things she didn’t talk about regarding the three days she was held captive. Deuce tried everything to get it out of her. He went as far as asking Jaeda to hack her therapist’s computer so he could read the notes. That was where my sister drew the line.
Of course, he was pissed. Deuce was used to getting his way and having access to whatever he wanted and needed. While his heart was in the right place, he just had to accept that her kidnapping was some shit she had to process on her own first. I never wanted Shar to experience that. That was why she drove the van. She stayed in the cut until we needed her, and that was it.
“Look,” I said, leaning over the couch. “We’re only doing a few more of these side missions, then I’m out, and so are you. We’re gonna get married, and I’m gonna pump you full of babies. We can travel. You can spend what you want and do what you want, but that will be our life. You cool with that?”
She smiled as she cupped my face. “I’m cool with that. Just remember you said that when I blow a bag.”
I chuckled. “Have I ever given you a spending limit?”
“No, and don’t start now.”
“I got something for you while I’m away.”
Her eyes twinkled with excitement. “What is it?”
I pulled out my phone and went to my music. I scrolled until I found the perfect song for her. When the sounds of Glorilla and Moneybagg Yo’s “All Dere” came through the speaker, she grinned. I pulled a blunt and fat wad of hundreds out of my pocket as I rounded the couch.
“Come shake that ass for me, mama,” I said as I sat down.
She laughed as she stood to her feet. I lit my blunt and inhaled the potent substance as she started shaking her ass to the beat while I tossed the hundreds at her. I was sure some people would call that shit disrespectful, but Shar and I always had fun together. She loved to dance, and I loved to spend my money on her. I was a proud trick, and I knew that after the music stopped, I was getting a hell of a treat.
In addition to my brothers and Mia, we had about fifteen other family members with us for this mission. Jaeda was in the van working on the technical shit and surveying from above with her drone. This one was a sensitive rescue. Perry Daniels, daughter of a high-profile client, had been recruited to a cult about ten years ago. She’d recently gotten in contact with her father and stated she wanted to come home. Apparently, she’d just given birth to a baby girl. After enduring being beaten, raped, ganged, and damn near left for dead, she’d had enough and wanted out.
Jaeda had come through with the information on the cult leader while we were on the plane.
Brother Thaddeus Sage, formally known as Michael Blackwood, was a forty-five-year-old man, portraying himself as the second coming of Christ. He’d managed to convince a hundred men and women, some with families, to follow him. Joining his following meant turning over all money and property to him in exchange for his salvation. Jaeda had sent over videos of him and his preaching and teachings, and I had to laugh at the shit. It wasn’t a funny situation, but it was clear the nigga was acting. I guess we all believed in something, though.
We’d studied the layout of the compound in detail before we arrived. Perry had given clear directions as to where she and her daughter would be. The compound sat on a few acres of land in the middle of the fucking woods. I could have sworn I heard a mountain lion as we trekked through the foliage after parking the cars about a mile back. Because my father thought of everything, he’d arranged a cleanup crew for any casualties and transportation just in case more people wanted to leave too.
We just had to get past the armed guards. According to her, there were at least thirty of them standing watch at all times. They were the only ones allowed out after a certain time, and they were willing to die to protect Brother Thaddeus. That was fine with us. If they wanted to meet their maker, that was on them.
“I count about five of them niggas at the front gate,” Smoke said. “All of them are armed with AK-47s.”
Deuce nodded. “A’ight. Jae, you got the lights?”
“Almost. Just one… more… second…”
Literally, a few seconds passed, and the compound went black. We could hear the voices of the guards trying to figure out what the hell was going on.
Deuce gave the command. “Move in.”
Equipped with night vision goggles, we emerged from the woods with guns drawn. The men at the gates never saw us coming. One by one, the bodies dropped to the ground, as my siblings and I took them out. As we opened the gate, we could see people moving around with flashlights and whispering to each other. They, too, were equipped with the same AKs as the first set.
“It’s about fifteen of them headed y’all’s way,” Jaeda said in our ear. “Hold on, I got them.”
The next thing we knew, bullets went flying from the drone, and bodies dropped everywhere.
“That’s my fucking sister,” Smoke said.
No doubt he was the one that installed that feature for her.
Steel chuckled. “Show off.”
“Just say thank you,” Jaeda said with a giggle.
Mia snickered. “I guess that’s one way to get rid of that pent up frustration.”
“Fuck you, Mia.”
The rest of the family snickered at their banter. Clearly, we couldn’t take shit seriously when we were together.
“Y’all, shut the fuck up,” Deuce snapped. “Move in.”
We got ourselves back in business mode and made our way through the compound to where Perry was being held. As we walked through, I could see people peeking out windows. We finally made it to the trailer that was just as Perry described. While the others handled the rest of the guards, Deuce, Mia, and I headed inside with flashlights.
When we stepped in the front door, we were met with the looks of several terrified women and children. We lowered our guns, and Deuce stepped forward.
“Listen up. We aren’t here to hurt any of you. We’re looking for Perry Daniels.”
They all looked around, nobody saying a word. Then, a short, brown-skinned woman appeared from the back with a chubby baby bundled in her arms and a cloth sack on her shoulder. She looked like her picture, just with a little more weight on her and clear signs of abuse. She looked around at the women and children before turning to us.
“I’m Perry,” she said, barely above a whisper. “Did my father send you for me?”
“Yes. We need to go.”
She nodded as she came forward.
“Perry, you can’t leave,” one of the women said. “Brother Thaddeus?—”
“Fuck Brother Thaddeus!” Perry snapped. “If any of you had any sense, you would leave too. Think about yourselves… your children. Do you want them to endure what we did? I don’t want that for my baby, and neither should you.”
She walked out the door, Deuce following behind her.
“Look,” Mia said, surveying the room. “If you want out of this place, speak now or forever hold your peace. You don’t have time to pack anything. You just have to come as you are.”
A few of the women looked around, but none of them moved.
I shook my head. “We get it. You’re scared. I’m sure this place ain’t what you thought it was, but you don’t have to put up with this shit. Do y’all know the nigga y’all are following to Hell? You all have been hoodwinked. If you wanna stay, that’s on you, but think about this shit. You’ve been controlled, isolated, stolen from, and brainwashed by a man that uses you to stroke his own ego and line his pockets, all while claiming he’s the second coming. If you have any dignity left, take your children and get the fuck up outta here like Perry is doing.”
“We have the resources to help you,” Mia said. “You just have to want the help.”
Again, they all stared at us. Mia and I both shook our heads and turned to leave. As we made our way to the side of the trailer, we found our family surrounding a man in all white. This had to be Thaddeus. He stood there with his hands crossed at his waist, glaring at Perry who cowered behind Deuce.
“You’ve come into my home and disrupted my peace,” he said calmly.
Deuce kissed his teeth. “Fuck all that. We got what we came for, so we’ll be leaving.”
“You can leave. The woman and child are staying. Perry, come here.”
Deuce moved her further behind him. “You don’t know me, but I’m not a nigga that negotiates.”
“You’re interfering with God’s work.”
“I’m about to interfere with life and death. The safest thing for you to do is take your ass back to your little hut and pray to the God you serve.”
“She’s not going anywhere!” Thaddeus yelled.
My brother laughed. “Did he just raise his voice at me?”
“Hell yeah,” Smoke said. “Aye, man. My brother don’t like that shit.”
Before Thaddeus could blink, Deuce flicked open his favorite pocketknife and sliced his throat. Thaddeus’s eyes widened as he grabbed this throat. Blood seeped through his fingers, staining his all-white attire red. He dropped to his knees, gasping for air. Deuce squatted next to him.
“Don’t ever raise your fucking voice at me, bitch ass nigga. To think, I was gonna let you live.”
Thaddeus collapsed to the ground. His body twitched, then went limp. Deuce stood and looked back at me.
“Nobody else?” he asked.
“Nah, man. They ain’t trying to go anywhere.”
“Then that’s on them. The offer was extended. We’ll see if anybody else wants to leave. Offer once. If they say no, move the fuck on. Jaeda, send the trucks and crew in to clean this shit up.”
“Copy that.”
I sighed as we dispersed to the other trailers in groups. This was the part I personally hated. You couldn’t help a muthafucka that didn’t want to be helped or didn’t see a problem with their circumstances. I knew how tonight would end. This wasn’t a disbandment. Somebody else would be appointed, and the cycle would continue.