No Room for Mercy (61 page)

“Got it right after we killed ole girl from Mickey D’s.
You got all your shit?”

“I been ready.”

“Cool. Let’s dip on these hoes. Toodie ‘nem think
they gone catch us slipping, but I ain’t the mutherfuckin’
one to end up on the fuckin’ news,” sixteen year-old
Pepper said as she and Simone jumped down the stairs and trotted out
the home and hopped into Pepper’s 2005 two door black Mazda
RX-8 on chrome wheels.

“Roll one up for when we hit the highway,” Pepper said as
she peeled out from in front of her and Simone’s apartment.

Pepper bent a few corners and pulled up in front of Malik’s
dope house on the opposite end of Fox Park where she saw his work van
out front and several workers standing on the sidewalk. She then eyed
a dude she knew had power in Malik’s crew, a dude everybody
called Jay-D. “Yo,” she called out. “Where that boy
at?”

“Ain’t nothing shakin’,” Jay-D responded.
“You know like I know you wanna get the fuck from ‘round
here,” he added as he held onto a thirty shot .226 rifle.

Pepper wanted to tell Malik that she would be out for a minute, but
she decided against it and pulled off. The tension was ratcheting up
in Fox Park and all was on her mind now was getting out of the ‘hood.
She was headed towards Jefferson Avenue when she spotted Toodie’s
Navigator approaching from the opposite direction.

“Shit!” Pepper hissed as she watched Toodie extend her
hand out the back driver’s side window to flag her down. “Get
Roscoe ready, Simone,” she said as she opened the sunroof.

“Si,” Simone replied as she pulled her twelve gauge up
from between her legs and racked it.

Pepper slowed beside Toodie’s Navigator facing the opposite
direction and scanned the inside of her jeep real quick. Dead Eye was
behind the wheel. Big Bounce was in the front seat and Q-man sat in
the back beside Toodie.

“Sup, Toodie?” Pepper asked as she gripped her Glock.

“Where you headed, girl?”

“Going check this thing out across the way.”

“Where ‘cross the way at?”

“Now you dippin’ all up in mines,” Pepper remarked
as she eyed Toodie.

“See you? You make a bitch wanna fuck you up out here.”

Pepper didn’t respond. She only eyed Toodie, watching her
motions to make sure she didn’t up with a weapon. Arguing
wasn’t her thing. She now knew where she stood with Toodie so
there was no need to say another word. Toodie wasn’t about to
buck though; she was high off her blunt and kicking back in her ride
just cruising the neighborhood with her boys. She’d put in work
earlier and wasn’t up for more gunplay, not with Pepper at
least, not right now.

Simone emerged from the passenger side at that moment and said, “Yo,
you got something to say, say it so we can be out and handle our
business.”

“Whatever, chick. I ain’t trippin’ with it. Y’all
heard what happened tonight, though?”

“We saw it on the news.” Pepper responded, her eyes
steadily scanning the interior of Toodie’s whip for any sudden
motion.

“Them Gomez boys y’all been scoring from? They clicked up
with the Holland family over in Saint Charles. That’s who been
running shit over there. Anybody on Gomez team gone get dealt with
soon enough,” Toodie said as she stared down into the interior
of Pepper’s Mazda. “
Peppi, quién puede con?”
(Peppi, who you rolling with?)

“
Hablamos cuando vuelva.”
(We talk when I get
back.) Pepper said as Simone jumped back into ride and she peeled
out. “
Cómo Toodie sabemos todos que la gente
apellido?”
(How Toodie know all them people last name?)
Pepper asked Simone.

“
Ella debe haber alguien en el interior.”
(She
must have somebody on the inside.) Simone said as she lit the blunt
she’d rolled. “Where we going, Pep?”

“I got a safe house about an hour north of here in Louisiana,”
Pepper responded as she cruised pass McDonald’s and jumped onto
Interstate-44.

“Damn, you just full of secrets ain’t ya’?”
Simone asked as she took a toke off the blunt and passed it to
Pepper.

“
Me han enseñado por uno de los mejores, Simone. Uno
de los mejores.”
(I been taught by one of the best, Simone.
One of the best.)

*******

“I told you we shoulda bum rushed her shit right after we hit
Doss.” Dead Eye said as he eased up the street. “She gone
side with them mutherfuckas over there in Saint Charles if she get
the chance.”

“Pepper ain’t on nobody side,” Toodie responded
casually as she sunk back into the seat.

“While they gone y’all wanna run up in they spot?”
Big Bounce asked.

“You ain’t saying nothing, esse.” Dead Eye
responded. “Let’s do it.”

“Q, what’s up with your man taking one for the team?”
Toodie asked as Dead Eye wheeled her jeep through the neighborhood,
the entire click scanning the area for potential retaliation to their
hit in Saint Charles while armed to the teeth with AK-47s.

“Hard-headed. I told ‘em stay out the door. His mom’s
coming down to claim his body in the morning. It’s nothing. We
gone hit Pepper shit or what?”

“Nahh,” Toodie responded. “They ain’t got
nothing in there. That li’l bitch ain’t dumb. She took
all her shit and gone lay low for a minute. We’ll deal with
Pepper when the time comes—if it comes. Bend the block on them
Gomez boys”

When Toodie and her click neared Malik’s trap, they all saw
right away that the set was on lock. Malik had soldiers up and down
the street two blocks out. It would be suicide to ride down through
his set so Toodie had Dead Eye turn off three blocks down and they
left Fox Park and headed over to Toodie’s house in Crestwood to
kick back and plan their the next move.

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

THE UNSAID TRUTHS

Naomi sat on her patio with Martha beside her the evening after
breaking the news of Doss’s death to the family. The sisters
had a long discussion with the young five, Naomi and Martha consoling
them and explaining best they could that their father was involved in
illegal activities, but to not let what he did on the streets inside
other states distort the man they knew in Ponca City.

The family secret could was now out in the open, no longer hidden
from any its members, save for Tacoma, Malyasia and Malara, who were
too young to comprehend. Naomi had made the decision to come clean
with her children in order to allow them to come to their own
conclusions concerning their father and his sudden death. Lying would
only perpetuate matters in her eyes so she gave her children the hard
truth—their father was a gangster—and Dawk, Bena and Tiva
were a part of it as well, and still were. She didn’t go into
detail what all Doss and the big three were involved in, only telling
them to think back to the life Martha lived in Ghost Town, envision
her stories, and to multiply those stories seceral times over.

Knowing their Aunt Martha’s history, the young five understood
right away what their mother was conveying—their father sold
drugs and killed people for a living. It was a bitter pill to
swallow, especially for Walee, who’d held his father in high
esteem. The sixteen year-old was conflicted. He loved his father, but
was disappointed in the things he’d done.

Walee couldn’t be mad though; he’d never seen that side
of his father. All he had was a daddy that loved him; and that would
be the way he would remember and honor his father. What his father
did off the ranch was his business in Walee’s eyes. He loved
his father right or wrong, had forgiven him, and he would miss his
father very much, but he told himself he would do his best not to
become the man his father was when he was alive.

As far as Dawk, Bay and Tiva were concerned, they had always been
rowdy, but Walee never knew the full scope of the depth of gangster
his oldest brother and sisters’ possessed and adhered to. He
admired them in a way because they, too, had never put that side of
their life on display, save for a few fights here and there around
town. The big three got a pass also from Walee. His only wish was
that Bena would pull through so he could tell her how much he loved
her, something he hadn’t said to his oldest sister in quite
some time.

Spoonie and Tyke had nothing but glowing memories of their father.
Their father was a man who coached their softball team, helped out in
the design of the park where they played, and encouraged them to be
the best at whatever they did in life. He was their friend. A man who
watched ESPN with them every night he was home, even though he wasn’t
a huge sports fan, and he never grew bored. When they wanted their
room decorated in Disney characters when they were younger, they
remembered their father agonizing over finding the right color paint
they wanted. When they became vegetarians, it was their father who
made certain they had a delicious meal whenever he grilled out.

If Spoonie and Tyke had to tell it, their mother was wrong, their
father wasn’t a gangster—he was their best friend, wish
granter and protector. They forgave him for his transgressions
without hesitation and would miss him dearly. As far as Dawk, Bay and
Tiva were concerned, Spoonie and Tyke were prepared to battle those
who’d hurt their sister. They were angry at the people who’d
hurt Bay, not their family.

Kimi was heartbroken. She was ashamed of her father for personal
reasons. How would her friends in college view her was her thinking.
She had a boyfriend she loved, and a host of friends who held her in
high esteem. What would she tell her friends when they learned her
father was dead and they asked how did he die? She was angry at her
father for getting killed, as selfish as it was.

Kimi, however, knew all along what the deal was with her father. Had
known for some time, but she’d chosen to look at the situation
through veiled glasses. That was her fault. And by going along for
the ride she knew she had no one to blame but herself. Her daddy was
a gangster. So what? ‘
Don’t ask me about it. Just know
he’s dead and I loved him more than I love myself’
,
was a statement she was rehearsing over and over again in her mind
because she would never reveal the truth about her father and the
business she had resigned herself to for family’s sake. As far
as the big three were concerned, they had it in them along, Kimi
knew, she only hoped that Bay would survive so she could shadow her
sister, not in her occupation, but to help her heal and just to let
her know that she loved her with all her heart.

Koko, like Kimi, had an inkling that it was much more to her father’s
story. She was mad at everybody from Mendoza to DeeDee to her mother.
They’d lied, but did they really? Because she’d known the
unsaid truth for a good while; she knew through observation. Washing
dollars? And where was the money coming from really? She’d seen
the numbers just like Kimi and they weren’t adding up by any
means.

From her grandfather on down, Koko understood that she came from a
bloodline of criminals. What they did and had been doing she could
accept, she just didn’t want to be lied to anymore, because if
she was going to continue on in the family business, she wanted to
know all that was going on, if only to be able to better deal with
troubling times like these; knowing was a must for Koko, it was the
only way she could be able to handle her responsibilities. She had
more conversing to do, she knew, and her way in would be through her
Aunt Martha.

Dawk, Bena and Tiva were some slick ones, beasts in her eyes if they
were able to keep up with Mendoza and his kind. Koko wasn’t
ashamed of her family in the least, she was proud that they’d
put it all on the line in order for them to live a life many only
dreamed. The consequences were heavy, but Koko believed that this
would be the last time her family would ever have to experience such
tragedy because everything was now out in the open. And as far as her
mind could see, the Holland-Dawkins family always rode together,
right or wrong. Whatever it took to stay on top, Koko would be down
for it, forget everything else.

Besides aiding in the burial of her father, Koko was hoping that Bay
made it through; she wanted to tell her sister that she wasn’t
mad at her and she would never judge her for actions. The words, ‘I
love you’ were ready to pour from her lips. She just had to
tell Bay how much she loved her, because she hadn’t gotten the
chance to say those three words to her father before he’d left
the ranch and she would never be able to tell him again. What Koko
had taken from this tragedy was to never take a day for granted. She
was the last one to leave her mother and aunt’s presence,
expressing her love before she and Kimi gathered Walee, Spoonie and
Tyke and went into their father’s private room to listen to his
old albums and reminisce about the good times while beginning to deal
with the reality of the tragedy at hand.

Naomi watched as Koko left the area and turned to Martha. “Tiva
called me right before we came out and talked to the children,”
she said as she poured a glass of wine. “They’re going to
induce a coma on Bena for a day and try and drain fluid off her brain
to help with the swelling. We’re all leaving in the morning to
go there to Saint Louis.”

“Where’s Dawk?”

“I had a talk with him earlier. He’s at a hotel in Saint
Louis waiting to meet with the Asians. Junior and Tiva are at the
hospital,” Naomi answered just as Mary emerged from the home
and walked towards the table.

“Mary told me in the kitchen she was ready to talk,”
Martha said as she crossed her legs and eyed her sister meekly
approaching her and Naomi’s table.

Mary sat before Martha and Naomi and said, “I want to apologize
for the things I said last night. I was out of line given the
circumstances.”