Page 20 of Dom 3
The pastor started talking about peace, and about the fight between good and evil… about how sometimes God calls his soldiers home early. I listened, but my mind was already somewhere else. Every word he said about protection and loyalty hit different because Ramon had died doing exactly that, protecting our name.
Every so often the choir would elevate their voices again, and it felt like the whole building shook when they did it. Women fanned themselves with the printed programs that had Ramon’s face smiling on the front. Other people nodded their heads up and down with red eyes. I leaned back a little and scannedthe crowd. Every pew was filled. Half of Miami must’ve come through. The back doors were lined with security I recognized, ours and a few friendly faces from crews who knew how to move right to be in our presence. Nobody was tense, but everybody was aware. The ushers in white gloves passed down the aisles, offering tissues, fans, and water.
Carmen leaned over and spoke to me. “You can feel it in here.”
I nodded my head. “Yeah,” I muttered. “He was loved.”
Her eyes moved toward the casket, and she whispered something under her breath, that looked like it was probably a prayer. Her fingers brushed across mine for a second before she straightened up again catching herself from folding too deep into it. Miss Twyla’s shoulders started shaking, and O’Shynn pulled her close, whispering something low in her ear. Tone caught my eye from across the room and gave me a small nod letting me know it was all good.
The pastor looked out at the crowd again and said, “When a man gives his life standing for what he believes in, heaven takes note. Ramon stood for something. He loved his people. He loved his family. And that kind of love don’t die.”
A few people shouted “Amen” from the back. The choir started humming again, even louder this time, with their voices elevating higher with every note until everything just felt like grief.
The pastor’s voice faded into another song. The choir stood to sing again, this time‘I’ll Fly Away’,the upbeat version, the one that made people clap while crying is the one they sung. Peoples’ hands flew up, and voices broke in the middle of verses as they began to shout or speak in tongue, and the sound of the drums kicked in too. Carmen’s head tilted slightly to the side and her lips barely moving as she sang along under her breath.For a second, it didn’t feel like a funeral. It started to feel like a celebration.
Every soldier in that church sat straight, heads high, eyes forward. Not one tear fell from them, but I could feel the weight in the room. We weren’t just burying Ramon. We were burying peace. And even though the choir was singing about flying away, my mind was already turning back to the ground. Because after today, we weren’t done and right now, you could call it the King’s intuition, but I felt it in my chest… we had company.
When the pastor said his final amen, the whole church stood up to leave. The choir continued to sing low while the pallbearers stepped forward again. The sound of the drums and other instruments bounced off the walls as they lifted Ramon’s casket. Miss Twyla’s sobs started up again, cutting through the room. I stood up, slipped my shades back on, and reached for Carmen’s hand.
The air inside was hot from all of these people in black, and bodies packed too close to each other since it was barely standing room, that’s how packed it was. Tone and Dique moved toward the side aisles, with their eyes scanning. My people outside were already repositioning, keeping the street tight for the procession. The ushers swung the doors open, and the sunlight hit like it was ready to put everybody on fire. “Fuck,” I hissed at the burning son.
The casket rolled out first, with the pallbearers stepping slowly in the perfect rhythm. Outside, the sky had darkenedagain, but there was that one opening for the sun before the clouds caught that too. Miami weather was weird like that. It could be dry over here and pouring down raining right across the street. The crowd on the street was thick with neighbors, soldiers, and folks who just wanted to be seen near us. The black umbrellas opened, once again even though the drizzle was light now. Carmen stepped beside Miss Twyla holding her arm whispering something I couldn’t hear. O’Shynn stood to her other side. The choir had followed us out still singing soft with voices floating in the air.
I touched my earpiece, checking in. “We clear Manny?”
Manny’s voice came through the line, rough and tense. “Boss… something feels off. In the back alley a truck hasn’t checked in, and I also got movement behind the corner by the liquor store. It’s supposed to be blocked off.”
I slowed down with my eyes bouncing to Tone. He immediately caught my look, “Say that again,” I said to Manny.
“I said something isn’t right,” Manny repeated. “It’s too many parked cars with no faces that ain’t a part of the funeral or the neighborhood.”
Before I could answer, everything happened too quick. The first shot popped out like thunder followed by another with my people shooting those first rounds initiating the war when their eyes locked in on the targets. Then all hell broke loose. The screams could be heard rippling through the crowd as bullets flew through the air, with glass exploding from the church windows. My people instantly moved blowing anything down that didn’t look right like trained snipers. Me, Tone and Dique were firing with precision as people ducked and scattered behind cars, dropping to the ground, or ran for cover. The choir scattered too… they got the hell on. The sound of bullets echoed down the block like a fucking drumline.
“Lock this bitch down!” I growled into my mic of my earpiece.
Within seconds, the front steps were crawling with Royals. My people poured out of trucks and side streets, pulling civilians back inside the church. Smoke from gunfire filled the air.
Carmen froze mid step with her arm still wrapped around Miss Twyla while her free hand reached for her gun. “Fall back!” I told her. She hesitated, with her eyes wide ready to go down protecting our empire if she had to and I saw it in her eyes. I shook my head and gave her the death glare. “Carmen!” I shouted, grabbing her shoulder. “Take her inside and guard her, now! You don’t move until I come for you!”
She looked like she wanted to argue but saw the way my jaw locked. Her hand tightened around Miss Twyla’s arm. “Come on, let’s go,” she said, pushing the older woman back toward the doors. O’Shynn followed them, helping pull people inside as the church doors slammed shut. My people were positioned along the entryway, firing from cover. The street was pure chaos with bodies still ducking and cars screeching, with bullets flying so close you could feel them wisp by.
Tone yelled from behind a black SUV, “They comin’ from the rooftops too! They outnumbered though!”
“Light that bitch up,” I said, in a calm voice as I crouched behind the Bentley, firing two clean shots. One hit, one dropped, and another went down near the liquor store. Our roof detail security were taking their ass down one by one. One of the Cubans fell on the ground right next to me causing a loud thud. I didn’t even blink when I saw his skull crack open and head bust to the white meat. I laughed, “Pussy,” I said before spitting on his ass.
Dique ran up beside me, with a Glock in both his hands, laughing through the madness. “They thought this was gon’ be easy! Fuck these Cubans, we on they ass today.”
The smell of gunpowder started to burn my throat as brass shells filled the streets. The sound was deafening with how loud the automatic fire from both sides were, but I was born for this shit as glass shattered from every direction. I didn’t shoot reckless, I aimed with precision, just like I saw one getting ready to Swiss cheese the hearse that Ramon’s body had been lifted in. I cracked a half smile and slowly ran my tongue across my top teeth. “Nah muhfucka, you first.”
Blap, Blap, Blap!
He went down before he could shoot the first shot. I could see flashes from the rooftops, so I pointed toward the alley. “Tone! Go left! Push ‘em out from behind that corner!”
Tone peeped the scene. “Cover me, I’m on it!”
He and three of my other people moved quick cutting through the side while the rest of us laid down cover fire. The cartel was trained for this that’s why they didn’t panic or fold. Pressure bust pipes and this wasn’t that… we were in an active war, and you couldn’t be scared to die. This was what they did… protect the name and protect the family, and this is how most of their families got fed, even when they were dead and gone their families would always be straight, same for me. I wasn’t scared to die, but the goal was to live. I caught a glimpse of Carmen through the church doors. She was pressed against the wall near Miss Twyla, with her gun still drawn with her eyes focused. Even if she was scared, she didn’t show it.
Another round of bullets hit one of our trucks causing the windshield to crack. Dique ducked, popped up, and sent two rounds through the Cuban. “Got his fuck ass!” he shouted. “Yeah! Fuck nigga!”
