Page 64 of For the Love of City
“You talking a lot of shit. You the FEDs or something? My people ain’t supposed to have me with a random that’s gonna jeopardize what I got going on. And dealing with you ain’t about to fuck up me getting out of here.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it. I’m here to help.”
“So what, you got information too? See I knew you was in here for a reason. I told them I had info on the street shit that City and Trigga doing. I don’t know details but you know they can get to sniffing. Lyric was smart to not say everything but Iknow once I get out she gone come running back so I can get what I need. She know she miss me.”
He was really grinning and I looked at him lost as to how he was believing anything he said. I guess when hope was all you had to get you through the day; you clung to anything that gave you a reason to open your eyes.
Welp, that’s over.
That grin dropped off his face as my hands went quickly around his throat. Not enough to break his hyoid but enough to render him immobile. He was trying to fight but his body was upside down with his head still hanging over the side of the bunk. I quickly wrapped the sheet I’d knotted up just for him around his neck and let it replace my hand.
“I’m so glad you finally shut the fuck up.”
I shook my head at him as I wrapped the free end of the sheet around the metal bar of the bunk, over the length of the mattress and then tied it to the opposite end. His body was now hanging off the side of the bed, his neck tied to the post as his body weight forced it to tighten around his neck. I’d already sized him up so the height of the sheet was perfect to ensure that it would look like he’d done this to himself. Investigators would say that he tied the sheet at the foot of the bed first then basically sat down so that gravity would do the rest of the work.
I stood up to my full height and saw his medium brown face start to darken as his body fought for air. I knew that it would take longer than the ninety seconds it had been since I got him rigged for him to die so I left him with the parting words I was supposed to deliver.
“City wanted me to remind you he owed you one. But the big bosses gifted him your death as a thank you for never folding. Something your bitch ass could never claim. That lame ass nigga that you swore you were gonna take Lyric from? He wanted to be the one to do this but, his damn face is too recognizable so Ihad the pleasure of ending your life. You fucked over the wrong ones, lost a real one, and your inability to fucking apologize cost you your life. Oh, and your fucking music sucks, bitch. I doubt anyone will even be streaming that whack ass shit once word gets out. Try to make better tracks in hell. I know the devil is a cruel taskmaster and you ain’t gotFinesseto write your shit for you. You got about seventy-three more seconds before your lungs give out. Repent fast, bitch. Doubt you’ll see them pearly gates but last ditch effort and all.”
I pat his shoulder and smiled for real as he tried to find the strength to fight me but he ain’t have it. I was glad to get that off my chest so he had some shit to think about while he made his trip south.
While he was twitching I tucked the cell phone that I had hidden in a pocket sewn into my boxers. I remade the bottom bunk so that it looked pristine, since there was technically no roommate assigned to be in here with D-Mill. Any forensic evidence would find hairs from a few dozen prisoners since they were slack as fuck with laundry and the water wasn’t hot enough to get shit really clean.
When that was done I glanced at my watch and saw that it was almost time for this nigga to be dead. He had made a futile effort to stand on the bottom bunk but the way I’d positioned him on the side of the bed meant he couldn’t get to it. His legs kicked out again but it was more of a death throe. A last ditch effort to preserve life that wouldn’t bear fruit.
As soon as he stopped twitching, the corner of my mouth ticked up into a smile. Then I remembered what the fuck I needed to do when I got out of here and stopped playing around. I moved around the bunk not worried about what I touched since I no longer had fingerprints. I took the prison jumpsuit I’d been wearing and switched it out for my freedom clothes. With a quick alteration of my appearance, my locs were tucked tightinside of my shaggy haired wig and into my shirt, my features were altered and my skin was lighter. I adjusted the pants that didn’t quite fit before pulling out the phone and sending the signal that the job was done. My prison clothes were tucked into the guard uniform I now wore and within seconds I heard the soft click of the room door opening. I checked the hall even though I was sure the coast was clear but no one would look out for me better than me. I kept my head down, face away from the cameras even though I knew they were playing on a loop. No one in the bunks could talk about D-Mill’s roommate because I hadn’t left the cell in the time I’d been there. I could go up to three weeks without eating and I had a special straw that had been smuggled in for me so that I could drink that shitty faucet water to maintain. I only made my presence known when danger was imminent, which was how I got my name.
Within minutes, I was in the officer hallways and then into a meeting room where I met the person who’d helped make this possible. His big ass stood there looking shocked before he finally spoke up.
“Is that you under all that shit?”
“Yeah, why you ask?”
“Cause, fuck, you really are good at this.”
“Of course I am.”
Ori just shook his head at me as though he expected me to have humility about my talent. My ass might not say much, but I for damn sure knew what the fuck I was capable of. My entire family was killers, one a bona fide sociopath. This shit was in my DNA.
He only nodded then headed toward the door as we walked out side by side. To anyone we came up on it would look like two members of law enforcement discussing a case. Of course, the lazy fucks in this part of the prison were normally asleep around this time so we didn’t run into a problem.
When we were outside I breathed in a deep breath of air for the first time happy to get that stale ass prison smell out of my nostrils. We walked to a waiting black SUV and Ori got in the driver’s seat.
“‘Preciate you handling this. My little cousin knows his ass is the face of a fucking NFL franchise but he wanna be a killer and shit. Lyric done turned his ass to the dark side.”
I tilted my head because I could detect a note of joy in his tone. “You sound happy.”
“Can’t say I’m mad about it. His mama was the only one from my mama’s family that really gave a shit. Which is why he and I are good. His mama got a lil’ streak in her too. But he needed to keep his hands clean and away from this shit. I doubt he knows much about it to be real.”
“Can’t imagine him hanging up the cleats to run a criminal empire.”
Ori shrugged like anything was possible. “He got the right one by his side if it comes to that.”
His words made me remember that he really had other shit he needed to be focused on. “Speaking of—”
He damn near snarled as he cranked up the car and headed out of the parking lot. I already knew the guard wasConsortiumaffiliated and they waved us right on through as we drove by. Since no one would be investigating a suicide of a prisoner, they wouldn’t need to account for who came in and out tonight.
“Bruh, let’s get the fuck outta here before you start that. I already got Jada talking about we need to fly in a caterer from the Big Island to cook authentic food and she found someone in Eritrea she wants to hire.”
