It's Like Candy (34 page)

“Niggah, don't you come in my home disrespecting me and this family's name, because you don't know the first thing about being a gangsta or respect. You think running around here making noise for yourself is supposed to make you tough. You're a bitch niggah inside. It ain't always about the gun. You know, Russell, when I look at you, I see this scared, powerless little boy like when you were young, five years old, and you were afraid of your own shadow. I remember a scared eight-year-old boy running home to mama trying to escape bullies, hiding behind his uncles. Your mother would be spinning in her grave if she saw how her own flesh-and-blood son came out. You're running this family's name into the ground with the continuous
drugs and bloodshed you advocate on the streets. I woke up from that a long time ago, and it's too bad you can't do the same. You're still that insecure and powerless little—”

“That's enough, old man!” Russell shouted as he pulled out a Glock and pointed it at Pumpkin's head. “You're family to me, but you keep disrespecting me and I won't hesitate to blow your brains out on that kitchen floor. Now, enough of the games and our little family reunion. Where's the bitch?”

“I'm alone,” Pumpkin replied.

“Uncle Pumpkin, don't play wit' me. I know that bitch that robbed Eric is up in here. We just wanna talk to her.”

“And your version
of
talk is having a gun pointed at my head,” Pumpkin commented.

“Fuck it! Yo, Link, you and Critter search this dump and find that bitch,” he instructed.

Link and Critter started searching from room to room while Russell remained in the kitchen.

“You will never learn, will you, boy? Your cousin is happy. It's not your fuckin' business! He already forgave her, so why can't you?” Pumpkin asked.

“Because that bitch and her crew disrespected him and me. I gotta be the one to uphold this family's notorious reputation, even if means killing that bitch,'cuz you and my bitch cousin aren't man enough to do it. And you know me, Uncle Pumpkin; I'm crazy enough to do it, too. I ain't that scared little boy anymore, running behind you and Yung Black.”

Pumpkin stared tensely at his nephew as he slowly moved himself near the kitchen drawer, trying to retrieve a hidden loaded single-action .22 caliber.

“It's a new day for me, Uncle Pumpkin,” Russell exclaimed.

Critter ran upstairs moving aimlessly from bedroom to bedroom searching for River with a .380 gripped in his hand. He turned over furniture and kicked down doors, but his heart was saddened by his
actions, because this was Uncle Pumpkin's crib, and his family had practically raised him when he was young. But he was on a mission. Yung Slim was on the rise, and he wanted to be his right hand.

“Yo, I can't find this bitch, Slim!” Critter shouted.

“Keep lookin' . . . that bitch is hiding in here somewhere,” Yung Slim shouted back.

“C'mon, Uncle Pumpkin, just tell us where the bitch is at and we can make this easy,” Slim said.

But Pumpkin remained quiet as he slowly gripped his weapon discreetly.

Critter went into the last possible room she could be in, and as he walked in—
Whack!
He got hit upside his head with a broom stick. Critter screamed out as he fell back, squeezing two shots off in the air.

River ran past him and darted down the stairs, but ran into Link, who smacked her across her face, dropping her to the ground.

“What the fuck?” Yung Slim exclaimed as he turned his head.

“You'll never learn, Russell,” Pumpkin shouted as he sprang into action and pointed his gun at Russell.

Russell turned around, shocked. “Uncle Pumpkin, you fuckin' crazy or what?! You don't even know this bitch!”

“Let her go, Russell!” Pumpkin shouted.

River struggled to get free from Link's tight grip. Critter came down the stairs clutching his face, visibly upset over the sudden attack on him. He stared at River, and said, “You a feisty fuckin' bitch!”

Smack!
Critter hit River like she was a man.

“Fuck you!” River spat back.

Suddenly everyone's eyes were focused on the showdown between Yung Slim and his uncle.

“Uncle Pumpkin, I didn't come here to hurt you . . . but are you ready to give your life for this bitch? She had Eric set up and beat, and right now, she got two men parked outside your front door, and she's setting you up, too,” Yung Slim proclaimed.

“Is not for you to judge, Russell. It's his life and that's his woman. And I promised to protect her,” Pumpkin replied, slowly moving toward his nephew with the gun gripped in his hand. “He wants to change, and you won't allow it.”

“Niggah, is you fuckin' serious? Yo, take that bitch outside and put her in the fuckin' truck,” Yung Slim instructed. “Uncle Pumpkin, I'm gonna show you power. Critter, make the call.”

“Russell, I said no!” Pumpkin shouted.

 

Big Red and Twinkie
were still parked outside waiting to see what was transpiring.

Twinkie looked at Red, and said, “You know we gotta kill this bitch. She can link us to too many things. And I ain't goin' down for a bitch, Red.”

Big Red nodded. “I already got everything planned out. We about to retire from this game after we pull off one more big score.”

Suddenly both men heard distant shots coming from the house.

“Ah, shit, they shooting!” Twinkie shouted.

“Call it in!” Red shouted, leaping from his unmarked car.

As Red stepped out of the car with his Glock gripped in his hand he noticed from his peripheral vision a figure coming quickly toward them. But before he could turn, multiple rounds were fired into the car striking Twinkie in his chest as he was about to exit the vehicle.

“Twinkie!” Red screamed, taking cover as he shot back.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Red hit the man point-blank five times.

“Twinkie—Twinkie, answer me!” Red cried out. He got on the horn and exclaimed, “Officer down! I repeat, officer down at One Hundred Forty-Seventh Street and One Hundred Twentieth Avenue!”

Red then turned and noticed two men leaving the building, carrying River as a hostage. He ran over, and shouted, “Freeze, NYPD!”

“What the fuck!” Critter shouted.

River was shocked, staring at Red's face. “You're a cop?”

“I said put the guns down, now!”

“Fuck you!” Link shouted, and opened fired, but he missed and was quickly mowed down by Red's Glock.

Yung Slim came out and he and a few other soldiers opened fire at Red. Red quickly took cover, hoping backup would arrive soon.

“Get in the truck!” Yung Slim shouted.

He grabbed River by her hair and dragged her to the truck as he continued shooting at Officer Gibson, a.k.a. Big Red. Critter quickly got in the driver's seat and pulled away hastily.

“Shit! Shit! Shit!” Red cried out as he peered over at his partner of five years who was slumped out of the car with his gun still gripped in his hand. “Damn, Twinkie.”

 

“Who the fuck are you!
You police, too, bitch?” Slim shouted, pointing the gun at River.

“No!” River cried out.

“Shit! Yo, Slim, we just killed a cop, they gonna be all over us,” Critter exclaimed nervously.

“Fuck that cop! I'm gonna take care of this,” Yung Slim snapped, pulling out his cell phone.

“Snowman,” Yung Slim greeted.

“Yung Slim, it's always good doin' business with both Beau-monts in one day,” Snowman proclaimed.

“What you mean by that, Snowman?” Yung Slim asked.

“Your cousin just left here a few hours ago with some purchase. I assume you're well aware about our business dealings for the past year now,” Snowman said.

“Fuckin' snake. I told that niggah no outside business,” Yung Slim barked.

Snowman chuckled at Slim's remark. “A small family feud between the two cousins, I assume.”

“Nuthin' that I can't take care of. But some shit just went down between me and some cops. It's really bad. You owe me, Snowman. I need this taken care of,” Slim said.

“You're too hot, Slim. I'm hearing about you through all my peoples on the streets. You're at war with Rome. Why couldn't you let the boy be? “

“Snowman, you and my family go way back. I need this taken care of. You gonna leave me out to dry? After the tons of money I've made for you over the years, even while I was locked down. I ran that prison for you, don't forget that. I'm a commodity to you, Snowman. You need me as much as I need you.”

“Young blood, I don't need anyone. I've been in this game long before your daddy even thought about fuckin' your mama,” Snowman replied. “But I owe you, and I never forget about friends. Come to the warehouse tonight.”

“I'll be there.”

After Yung Slim hung up, he turned to River, and said, “You and my cousin are some snake-ass muthafuckas . . . y'all probably do deserve each other.”

“Where we headed to, Slim?” Critter asked, pushing the Denali to sixty down the Conduit.

“To see the Snowman,” he replied.

Hearing that name made Critter extremely nervous.

As Yung Slim beefed with River, his phone went off again. It was Karen this time.

“Hey, baby,” she greeted him.

“You got that info for me, boo?” Yung Slim asked.

“You know I got you. I got Reality's info. His real name is Bobby Johnson, and his family resides in Queens. He was paroled four years ago. Rome has a younger brother in Brooklyn, a crack dealer who goes by the name Sleepy,” Karen informed him.

“Damn, you're good, baby. That's why I love you. Didn't I tell you I was gonna look out for you? I got what I owe you plus a little extra.”

An hour later,
the block was flooded with marked and unmarked cars, even Emergency Service Unit vehicles blocked off the street. Uniformed officers canvassed the area, as detectives and Crime Scene Unit personnel looked for witnesses and tested for forensic evidence at the crime scene. And above their heads, a police helicopter surveyed the entire neighborhood with its blinding blue spotlight in search of a black Denali truck. They had a dead cop on their hands, and that meant all the toys came out in searching for the suspects responsible.

Red kept his composure as he gave scant details to the police captain about what had transpired. He told the captain that he and Officer Steward got a lead from an informant about drugs and guns being moved out of the house that they were staking out. He explained that they got a lead on a deal happening, and were watching everything go down until something bad happened and he informed his superiors that two suspects came out shooting. But he neglected to give his fellow officers a vivid description of the suspects who fled the scene in a black Denali. His excuse was that it happened too quickly for him to give accurate information. He was nervous about River. She now knew his true identity as a New York City cop, and he feared she might snitch on him if captured.

Red was an extremely dirty cop. He'd been on the force for seven years, and had hidden behind his badge and gun the majority of his career, robbing drug dealers and scheming to get money.

Three men were dead, including Officer Steward, the suspect who fired four rounds into the cop's chest, and the owner of the house, Ronny Pumpkin Beaumont.

The captain looked at Officer Gibson and the other officers, and exclaimed, “I want a full investigation into this case. I want to know why one of my officers is dead tonight. And why no one knows a
fuckin' thing! I want every fuckin' rock turned over. I want every snitch, informant, or any niggah with an arrest record or priorspicked up and questioned before dawn. I want this case closed and the men responsible processed on Riker's Island before I lay on top of my wife.”

Everyone nodded and quickly got to work.

Red was furious. His partner and right-hand man was dead.

 

Eric pushed his scion down the conduit
on his way to Brooklyn to meet up with his connection for a sale. Willie agreed to meet him at the same location on Logan Avenue, right off Atlantic Avenue.

Eric was unaware of what had occurred with Russell and his uncle a few hours before. His mind was focused on River's safety and trying to leave town in one piece after he made this deal with Willie.

He thought about Donald and Rahmel but stopped himself from getting too emotional. Donald had understood that he was in the game and that shit happens. But Rahmel was a civilian, and he had gotten his life right with God and his wife. Eric was furious that his death was so tragic and appalling.

“Fuck it, I'm gonna do this and I'm out,” he told himself. “Fuck this family!”

As he drove, he thought of what River said to him about her younger sister, and ironically he suddenly remembered where he'd heard the name Starr before.

“Oh, shit!” he muttered, remembering that Starr was a sixteen-year-old girl that Critter had in his apartment a few months back.

He instantly knew he had to get at Critter to find out more information about Starr. He wanted to reunite River with her younger sister. And he thought to himself, it had to be fate for them to link up and for him to forgive her. The events that encircled them were too ironic.

He pulled up to the buildings on Logan Avenue and already noticed Willie's car parked in front. Eric stepped out, removed the duffle bag from the backseat, and headed toward the entrance. Before
went inside, he canvassed the area around him, looking for anything unfamiliar. Snowman's words about walking into a setup made him nervous. When he felt everything was okay, he proceeded into the building.

Wil lie was alone, as usual, waiting for Eric's arrival. He smiled and greeted Eric with a dap and hug.

“You never let me down, E. You got my stuff?” Willie asked. “Let's make this quick,” Eric said, passing Willie the duffle bag. “I got everything you asked for.”