The cost of vengeance - [23]

Now that I knew I had all night, I wasn’t feelin’ tired no more. I was gonna find Baby John if that shit took all night. I stopped in a bar to get a drink and got lucky. There was Baby John, seated at a table near the back of the bar with two honeys. Knowing how my temper gets, I started to just walk up to him and start blastin’, but that’s how I got shot the last time. So I took a seat at the bar, ordered a drink, and watched him; waiting for my opportunity to kill him.

I sat there watching him drop money on drinks for them honeys for damn near two hours. Since he’d just gotten out, I figured it was the money Kevin had paid him to kill my brother. I wondered if they knew that Miles was still alive; and if they knew, would they try again. I thought that I should have told Miles to request to be put in segregation, until this was over; but it was too late for that now.

I guess his money ran out, ’cause the honeys got up and moved on the some other mutha fuckas in the bar. Baby John sat there for a while and then he got up and started staggerin’ toward the door. I finished my drink, paid my tab and followed him out.

The fact that he was wasted would only make my job easier, I thought as I watched him walked down the street, bumpin’ into people, poles, and cars. When he rounded the corner I picked up my pace. The street was dark and there was nobody around that I could see. Then he did me a favor. When Baby John fell, I was on top of him. “What’s up, John?”

He looked up and saw me standing over him with my pistol pointed at this head.

“Why you stab my brother?”

“I didn’t have nothin’ to do with that. I didn’t even know your brother.”

I shot him in the leg. “Don’t lie to me, John. I know it was you that done it. Just tell me why?”

“I didn’t kill your brother, Rain.”

“I know you didn’t kill him, John. I talked to him today. So don’t tell me that you didn’t have nothin’ to do wit’ it, ’cause I know you did it.” I shot him in the other leg this time. “Last chance. Why you stab my brother?” I asked and put the gun to his head.

“Kevin Easely paid me to kill him ’cause you killed Jay Easy.”

“You tell me where Kevin is and I might let your drunk-ass live.”

“He’s at a house on Carpenter Avenue, down 219^th Street. I’m not sure which house it is,” he said quickly and I took the gun away from his head.

“Who’s there with him?”

“I don’t know. I swear, Rain, I don’t know.”

Now that he had told what I needed to know, I raised my gun and pressed it against his temple. “I thought you said you weren’t gonna kill me.”

“I lied,” I said and put two in his head.

I knew exactly which house it was: It was his grandmother’s house. Jay Easy took me there when we first got together. I parked on 220^th Street and walked down the block. I took a minute to think about what I was gonna do. I could wait here and hope that he came out, or I could go in after him. You know which one I went wit’. I started walking toward the door, when I saw a woman walking toward the house with a bag of groceries. When she got to the door and started fumbling around for her keys, I moved on her. I rushed up behind her and put my hand over her mouth and my gun in her face.

“You can live or die, it’s up to you.” She nodded her head. “I’ma take my hand away. If you scream or try to run, I’ll kill you. Understand?” She nodded again and I took my hand away. “Kevin in there?”

“Yes.”

“Who’s in there with him?”

“His grandmother and two of his boys.”

“Where are they?”

“Kevin and his grandmother are upstairs. His boys are downstairs in the living room.”

“Unlock the door. We goin’ in nice and easy, hear me?”

She nodded her head and unlocked the door. She went inside and I followed close behind her with my gun to her head. When we got in the house and approached the living room, I could hear his boys talkin’. “What’s up, Kendra? You bring the brew?”

When I got to the opening I pushed her on the floor and opened fire. I shot the first one in the chest. When I turned on the other, he had his gun out and took a shot at me. I fired back and ducked behind the wall while he fired away. When he stopped I came out from behind the wall and hit him with three shots to the chest.

I reloaded my gun and started up the stairs to get Kevin. When I turned around, there was Kendra, with the gun shakin’ in her hand. “Don’t do it.”

She closed her eyes and pulled the trigger. She missed by a mile; the recoil knocked her on her ass and she dropped the gun. She picked it up and pointed it at me again. “Don’t do it.” Her aim was no better. Not wantin’ to give her a third chance, ’cause she might have gotten lucky that time, I pointed my gun at her and shot her in the head.

I continued up the stairs slowly with my gun raised. When I got to the top, I checked the first room; nobody was in there. I closed the door and moved to the second room. There was his grandmother sittin’ by the window. I lowered my gun and turned to leave the room. When I did, grandma pulled a gun and started shootin’ at me. Her aim was better. I had to dive on the floor to keep from gettin’ shot. I hit the ground hard and I got off a shot. My chest felt like it had exploded. I looked at grandma; I’d hit her with a shot to the head. Damn-I didn’t want to kill her, but what choice did she leave me-but damn.