“Yeah… come on, Cho. Let’s get this money.”
Odesa Court was an apartment complex that was separated from the Dome by a baseball field. The three of them walked down the street, admiring the scenery of lovely ladies waiting for the second half of the game to begin.
When they reached Odesa Court, they approached the huge crowd of people huddled in front of one of the apartment buildings. Cho surveyed the entire area. Most of the faces were familiar and if something popped off, there were four ways to run. He was strapped and wanted to stay on point. Swervo was strapped too, but his mind was on the dice game. They greeted everyone they knew and Swervo got in the game. Cho side betted, but his main concern was watching Swervo’s back.
Initially, Swervo was losing. But out of nowhere he got hot, hitting 12 points straight, betting everyone around the board before he crapped out. Then everybody else crapped out, and he had the dice back within minutes. He hit eight more points. He was throwing all types of numbers, and his concentration never left the dice.
Leroy was side betting with Swervo and was talking cold cash shit. Swervo hit another point. He went around the board collecting his earnings, then stooped down and started to school the dice. Cho won too and was getting his winnings from the guys that he bet when he felt his phone vibrate. It was Pimp.
“Damn! Where the fuck y’all at? The game is over,” Pimp said.
Cho looked at his watch. Damn. Time flew. They had been gambling for over an hour. “Man, Swervo down here striking the shit out these niggas. We in Odesa. Hurry up so you can get some of this money… oh yeah, who won the game?” Cho asked while putting his cash together.
“They did. I had 28 and 11 though.”
“That’s cool. I’ll see you in a minute.” Cho had his phone resting on his shoulder. He put his money in his pocket and moved to put his cell back on his hip when he realized his phone clip had fallen. In the few seconds it took to bend down and pick it up, he heard Swervo say, “What the fuck?”
Before Cho could pull out his nine, a nigga had a Glock .40 to the back of Swervo’s head.
“Don’t none of you niggas move! Y’all know what time it is!” he grunted. At the same time, three more guys pulled out and started shoving their guns in niggas’ faces.
“Everybody kick that shit out! We don’t wanna hurt nobody,” one of them shouted. So many dudes had been coming and going from the dice game that Cho hadn’t paid these muthafuckers any attention.
“Kick all that shit out! What? Y’all think this shit a game?” another dude yelled as he hit one of the gamblers across his head with the butt of his .45.
They took everybody’s cash and jewels. Somebody had to put them on this game, Cho thought. He tried to be slick and just hand them a few dollars out of his pocket that he had grabbed quickly. It worked. There were so many people that they didn’t have the time or the manpower to search everyone thoroughly. They didn’t even feel his gun. These niggas is amateurs.
Once they were satisfied with their take, they signaled to the guy who had the gun to Swervo’s head. He hadn’t moved the whole time. He kept his eye out while the other three collected the loot. He shook his head, signaling them back.
He whispered to Swervo, “Nigga, you coming with us” and jerked him as he started walking backwards, using Swervo’s body as a shield between him and the people standing around. “If anybody tries anything, I’ma push this nigga’s shit back!” he yelled. He never took his eyes off of the crowd. Cho was keeping his eye on the robber, though, just waiting for the right time to pull out. He wasn’t trying to chance Swervo getting shot.
As they exited from the opposite side of the court where Cho, Swervo and Leroy had entered earlier, the robber broke out in a big smile. They had made a successful heist and were about to get away cleanly, but something came over him. He felt powerful, a power that he felt so often after the completion of a robbery. The rush of having another man’s life in the palm of his hand and being the master of that man’s destiny — sometimes it got the best of him and sometimes it didn’t. This time, the rush overwhelmed him and he pulled the trigger.
Everything started to move in slow motion. Cho saw the spark and watched chunks of Swervo’s brain exit the opposite side of his head. He tried to yell “No!,” but nothing came out. He ran towards the robber, letting off shot after shot. Others began to shoot, as well. But the stick up boys managed to get away.
Cho stood over Swervo’s lifeless body. He was speechless. He couldn’t believe it. This shit can’t be real, he thought.
He wanted to stay but the hot gun in his hand brought him back to reality. Swervo was dead and Cho had to flee the scene. He looked at Swervo one last time.
“I love you, my nig.” And he ran off.
The shots were heard for blocks and everyone who had been playing the let out for the basketball game was now running to their cars in a panic. There was complete mayhem. Police were monitoring the area but because of the heavy traffic, they couldn’t get to the scene. Cho fought his way through the crowd and finally made it to his car. He slid the gun under the driver’s seat and shut the door, then stood between his car and the one beside it and pissed on his hands to get rid of any gunpowder residue. He wiped his hands dry with his shirt and doubled back to find Pimp. He called him on the phone.
“Yo. Where you at?”
“Man, I heard the shots and got outta there. I hopped in the car with Candy, and… ah Sacha right?” he asked, trying to make sure he got the girls’ names right. He had met them on his way to the dice game. “Where y’all at?”
Chit chatting with some females had saved Pimp from witnessing the death of his brother. He had no idea that Cho and Swervo were involved with the shooting.
Cho tried to keep his composure. “A yo tell ‘em to bring you to the Amoco on Orleans Street by Old Town Mall. I need to holla at you.”
“Alright, cool. I’ll be there in about 10 minutes.”
“Later.” They hung up. Cho watched the ambulance arrive, but he knew they weren’t going to be able to bring Swervo back. So he got in his car and pulled off. Tears started falling from his eyes. He didn't understand the turn of events. Everything was going fine. How couldn’t I see that these niggas were on that tip? How’d I slip like that? Who the fuck are these niggas? How am I gonna tell Pimp? This nigga gonna wild out.
“Shit! What the fuck? Swervo!” he screamed. So much shit was going through his mind. His heart was racing. As he pulled into the gas station, he saw that Pimp was already there, engulfed in what seemed to be a funny conversation with his new lady friends. As he pulled beside them, Pimp noticed he was in the car alone. Once they made eye contact, Pimp could see the puffiness and redness around Cho’s eyes. He knew what it meant but did not want to believe it.
“Where’s my brother?” he asked calmly. Cho just looked at him. He could not put the words together. “Yo, where the fuck is Swervo?” he shouted. The tone of his voice made the girls stop their conversation and focus on what was wrong with Pimp.
“He’s gone,” Cho said under his breath. “There… was…” He searched for words to explain, but he couldn’t get it out. He looked down and took a deep breath. Cho tried to fight the tears but couldn’t. He wiped his face and
