Dirty DNA (G Street Chronicles Presents) (19 page)

Someone was dismantling everything my father
built and I had the misfortune of finding out who and why before
they came for me and my brother. I knew that shit was bound to
happen soon. They already tried once. What was going to stop them
from trying again? I was too wired to fall right to sleep and Neko
didn’t seem like himself at all. We smoked and drank the rest of
the bottle of
Remy
until the sun came up.

The Stadium Nightclub

Queens Chapel Road

NE Washington, DC

I had finally drifted off to sleep when I
awoke to Neko shaking me. Once I was able to focus on him and what
he was trying to say. I sat upright on the love seat where I had
fallen asleep. Neko was handing me his cell phone and I could read
on his face that it wasn’t a good call. I looked at the screen on
the phone and recognized NiQue’s number. Before I could get the
phone to my ear I could hear her sobbing on the other end of the
receiver.

“Hello.” I whispered groggily into the
phone.

“YaYa they got him.” She cried, barely
audible.

“Where are you? I am getting up and getting
dressed right now.”

She told me she had just left the police
department and wanted to know where she could meet me to talk. I
didn’t know who was following her or would hurt either me or my
brother. I couldn’t have her come to the hotel and lead niggas
right to me. I told her to meet me at the Jaspers in Largo. Between
her sobs and sniffles, she agreed to meet me in an hour as she hung
up.

Neko took the phone from my hands and
retrieved the duffle bag he came in with the night before. He sat
the bag on the coffee table which was positioned between the couch
and love seat where we had been resting. He began pulling items out
of the bag and pulled out a nine millimeter glock and sat it on the
table. He gave me a menacing look when he saw me glaring at
him.

“I’ll be ready in a few minutes. You know
you need to get ready to leave, so don’t slow poke around.”

I couldn’t believe he was still talking to
me like he was pissed at me. I started to tell him he better watch
who he was barking on, but before I could even get my mouth open to
tell him he better check himself, he looked at me square in the
eyes. The look he gave me, made me shiver. If looks could kill, my
brother would have murdered me. He walked off into the bedroom and
I heard the bathroom door close and the shower come alive. I guess
that was his way of saying he was riding out with me to meet NiQue.
Once Neko was done showering and changing, I had already picked out
a pair of
Seven
jeans and a casual blouse. I didn’t want to
wear anything too flashy or that would draw any un-necessary
attention to me. I bathed quickly, got dressed, and headed to the
front area of the room. Neko had already let Epps know we needed to
leave. I felt like my brother had stepped into Daddy’s shoes and
had taken charge. I was relieved that he had taken the reigns, but
he seemed cold and sinister towards me and I wasn’t feeling it.
Before he could walk into the hallway, I grabbed his arm.

“I’m sorry Neko. I was supposed to protect
you and take care of you; not put you in harm’s way.”

“I know YaYa.” He said dryly and walked out
past me into the hall and towards the elevators.

I could feel my blood beginning to boil
because he wasn’t going to keep treating me like this shit was all
my fault. I know he was feeling a certain kind of way about Daddy,
but he had to know I wasn’t feeling real good about any of this
either. I couldn’t handle him treating me so cold. We exited the
hotel and drove in silence. It wasn’t a long ride because it was a
rainy Saturday afternoon which kept most of the travelers indoors.
We arrived at Jaspers and met NiQue at the curb as she was heading
inside. She had on a pair of
Jackie O
shades even though it
was rainy and cloudy out. That meant she had been crying, high, or
both. We were seated and ordered drinks and appetizers. I wasn’t
very hungry, but I ordered something anyway. I couldn’t just sit
and wait for NiQue to say something. I had to know what
happened.

“So, what do the Feds think happened?” I
asked trying to break the ice.

The waitress walked back to our tables
carrying our Mimosas and sat them in front of us. NiQue waited
until she had walked off before she started to speak.

“They think it’s just another body dropping
in the hood. They don’t care. Trinidad Avenue got niggas dying
daily. They don’t give a fuck about one more.” Her voice was
weak.

She stirred her drink with her straw
nervously.

“He was all I had.” She continued.

“We understand.” I said thinking about my
father.

“At least you have each other.” NiQue shot
at me with hostility in her voice.

The waitress came back with the appetizers,
momentarily breaking up the tension.

I knew that NiQue was taking shots at me,
but under the circumstances I was willing to take it. She did just
lose her brother. I understood her pain. She had the right to lash
out. She just needed time to wrap her mind around what had
happened. I just didn’t want her thinking it was my fault. Even
though deep down inside, I had the sinking feeling it was my fault.
I knew the whole mess had something to do with what was going on
with me and my family. The waitress placed the appetizers on the
table and took our orders for the main course. Once we had ordered
and the waitress had finished making eyes with Neko, I focused my
attention on NiQue again. She was pushing the celery around the
plate that came with her buffalo wings.

“What did any of this shit have to do with
me and my brother YaYa?”

I had just about enough of being questioned
by everyone; the police, Neko, Dread and now NiQue. What made it so
bad is that I had no fucking answers and they were all expecting me
to have some type of explanation or game plan. I had nothing but
frustration building. My anger, and my sorrow for all the lives I
had impacted with this shit, was almost unreal. I wanted someone to
make it all stop. Just hit rewind on the hands of time and take me
back to before all the madness started.

I snapped out of my thoughts and looked
NiQue and Neko in their eyes. With the disappointed look they both
gave me, I made up my mind that I wasn’t going to just let people
think I was losing my grip. I had to remain calm and try to focus
on getting out of this shit alive.

“I am trying to figure out who did it and I
may have an idea.” I lied.

I stared at the last two people on earth who
loved me and told a big fucking lie. There was no turning back
know, they were counting on me to finish this shit. How the fuck
could I finish it if I couldn’t even figure out who amongst us
hated me that much to cause the chaos.

“You will have to stay with me in the hotel
so we can be together. I will arrange to get you both rooms.”

NiQue’s eyes became cold and calculating.
“So, what are we going to do, just post up in a hotel while you
pretend you know what is going on?” She snapped.

I was stunned with her hostility. I had done
nothing but try and protect them. I just wanted to keep them close
to me so no harm would come to either of them.

“No!” I stuttered.

“I just thought it would be better if we
stuck together because obviously whoever is after us knows we are
vulnerable apart. Plus, we would have Epps and his men there to
protect us.”

“Face it YaYa, you have been too busy in
that nigga Dread’s face to even try and figure out who is killing
everyone we love!” NiQue was pissed. She didn’t care who was
looking at her.

It was all coming out now. She wasn’t upset
about what was going on with people trying to kill us, she was
pissed about me and Dread.

“Look NiQue, I know you are hurting just
like the rest of us, but Dread has nothing to do with this! I think
you should keep your voice down before people get suspicious.” I
said looking around nervously. It was too late; people were already
looking in our direction.

“Oh, shut the fuck up! “She yelled at me.
Pushing away from the table and standing up, peering down at me.
Her eyes were like daggers.

“You know what your problem is YaSheema? You
are a spoiled little bitch that tries to use that over-worked pussy
to get whatever you want. Well do me…no, do “us” a favor and use
that rotten twat of yours to find out who killed my brother! You
know you actually are a manipulative bitch. I thought when you let
me fuck you it was because you actually loved me. You only did that
shit to please yourself. You never thought twice about how I felt
about you.”

NiQue’s outburst had the entire restaurant
watching our every move. I couldn’t sit there taking her verbal
attack any longer. Before I knew what had come over me I had jumped
up and lunged at NiQue. I smacked her so hard my hand stung from
the impact. Neko jumped up and got in between us before NiQue could
retaliate.

“Have both of you lost your fucking minds in
here?”

He grabbed me firmly by my arm and pulled me
to the door of the restaurant. I was screaming and hollering for
him to let me go the entire way. There was no way she was going to
put my business in the streets like that and get away with it. I
was through playing with her. I knew she was going through her own
hurt and pain, but she had crossed the line with her bullshit. The
last thing I heard my best friend say as Neko pulled me out of the
doors was the most hurtful shit anyone could ever say to me and it
let me know my friendship with her was over.

“I hope the niggas who are gunning for your
ass find you and bury you with your scum bag of a father, and that
whore of a mother of yours bitch!” She spewed.

It took everything in me not to break free
from Neko and whoop her ass in the middle of the dining area where
she stood holding her bruised face. I looked at all the patrons who
had just come to Jaspers to have their lunch, but who were looking
at us in horror; and shot NiQue one last glance before storming out
the doors. She had the nerve to have a smirk plastered across her
face. She looked extremely satisfied with what she had done. As
soon as we got in the car, Neko’s cell phone began to ring. He
answered it before the first ring was finished.

“What kind of shit was that you were trying
to pull in front of all of those people he started to yell into the
phone? Do you understand that we are in the middle of a war with
God only knows who, and the police are just dying to bag one of our
asses, and you go and pull some stupid shit like this.”

I knew Neko was talking to NiQue. I, on the
other hand, was behind the steering wheel wishing I could just back
over that bitch with my car. She was supposed to be like my family
and the shit she exposed was not even forgivable.

“Look NiQue, I want you to get some clothes
and go check into a hotel somewhere. Once you get there call me and
let me know where you are. I will be there as soon as I get YaYa
back to the hotel safely. You two are tripping, making a scene in
front of all of those people, and both of you bitches got some
explaining to do.” He hung up the phone and just looked at me like
I was crazy.

“Why are you still sitting here like that
shit didn’t just happen? Drive the fuck off before those people
call the fucking cops.” He said sternly.

I did as my brother said and backed out of
the parking space and pulled off. I felt uneasy. I knew he wanted
to ask me about what she had said about us fucking and about our
mother. I could barely compose myself enough to drive, let alone
answer any questions about my bitch of a mother and her
disappearance, and me and NiQue sleeping together. I drove all the
way to the hotel in silence. I didn’t even notice that we had
company the entire ride back to the hotel. I was sizzling on the
inside. I pulled in front of the hotel and hopped out. Just as the
valet was coming to park the car, Neko took the keys from my hands
and got in the driver’s seat.

“Where are you going? I asked. I really
didn’t need to ask because I already knew the answer to that
question. He was going to question NiQue about all the shit she
said today and I couldn’t let him find out anymore.

I started to sob. “Don’t leave me!” I cried
out. “I can’t be alone. Too much has happened to us and I cannot
handle this shit on my own.”

It felt good to tell the truth. I had
finally let down my guard a little bit and told Neko just enough to
try and make him stay and not get the rest of the story from NiQue.
His eyes softened from seeing me cry. I had put up a front so long
that he could see that I was scared, tired, and confused because I
was crying. He gave the keys to the valet and escorted me to the
doors of the hotel.

We walked through the lobby to the front
desk and got another room just below mine. We registered him under
another name because the police were looking for him to question
him about the shit with my father, and other niggas might be
looking for him to get to me. My mind was racing a million miles a
minute. I was trying to think of how I could avoid explaining all
of the shit NiQue had said at lunch. Neko was all I had left in the
world, and I needed him to remain on my side. I didn’t know how he
would look at me if he really found out that what NiQue said was
all true. We rode the elevators up to my floor and we walked pass
Epps.

I gave him a nod and he nodded back, letting
me know that everything was safe. I used my keycard to enter
through the doors and I could tell that housekeeping had been in to
clean the room. The room was neat and looked as though no one had
stayed there. I dropped my belongings on the coffee table and
flopped on the couch, kicking off my shoes. I ran my bare feet
through the plush rug. Neko made his way to the bar and poured
himself a drink. He made his way back across the room and sat in
the recliner across from the sofa where I was seated. I knew it was
now or never because the moment had come to give him some type of
explanation for what NiQue had exposed. I wasn’t going to volunteer
any info if I wasn’t asked.