had not gone as planned. Eric felt that he had to call Busta and let him know about the situation. Lil’ Long was bleeding to death in his living room. Eric held Sophia and felt the fear in her. His thoughts were now on high volume.
“I don’t see either of them moving. Do you?” Sophia asked inching closer to where Kamilla’s body lay. She leaned over closer to get a better view, all the time holding tight to Eric. “Kamilla? Kamilla? Oh God, I think she’s dead. We’ve got to notify the police,” Sophia cried. Her mind was in a whirl and she did not know what to think or even where to begin. She looked around at the others and their faces registered equal turmoil and confusion.
“Five-oh is probably on their way already, yo,” Coco said. She looked at Deedee, gun pointed and still staring at Kamilla’s distorted body. “Yo, Dee, we better get rid of these burners. They’re hot. We’ve got to stash ‘em, yo,” Coco said gripping the arm of her friend.
Deedee seemed completely mesmerized by the whole thing as she turned to Lil’ Long. Coco pulled herself even closer to the girl. “What da deal, yo? You wanna finish him off?” Coco quietly asked but Deedee paid no heed to the question. She stood awestruck staring at Lil’ Long as he writhed in pain. “You’re either gonna help him or finish him.” The girl still did not respond. “Deedee,” Coco said, “wasn’t this the bastard that you said raped you, girl?”
Coco appeared to have ignited an emotion. For one beat, it appeared as if Deedee not only wanted to pull the trigger but to do it over and over again. Maybe she would have but Coco quickly added, “I think five-o is right outside the door, yo.” Coco could not pry the gun from Deedee’s grip. “We’ve got to get rid of all this heat. Five-oh will be here shortly, Dee.”
“Can you hear the sirens?” Eric asked. The room fell silent.
“Yep, I can,” Coco assured him. “Five-Oh is definitely on their way, yo.”
“It probably sounded like a war zone up in here.” Eric walked to the window, peeked then said, “Goddammit, one of my kind. Nosey neighbors already called the police.”
The others in the room gaped as the reality of the moment became pressing. There was still the matter of two bodies and some guns. Eric thought about it for a second before adding, “All right, listen up real quick-like. This is how we’re gonna do it. Pass all the guns to me.” He wrapped each gun in a towel and carefully wiped them clean of all prints. “There were only two? It sounded more like a dozen a couple minutes ago.”
“All this terrible noise,” Sophia said hugging herself. “This is getting crazier by the minute. I don’t like…” Sophia continued but was cut off by Coco.
“Lil’ Long had two gats,” Coco said. The others immediately turned their focus to her. “That’s his steeze, yo. He rides with those,” Coco explained with a cold stare that followed the trail of blood seeping from Lil’ Long’s body. She resisted the urge to squeeze off another round.
“Two gats?” Sophia asked.
“Two guns,” Deedee clarified.
“It doesn’t seem like he’s going to be shooting anyone else anytime soon,” Sophia said and attempted to avoid looking directly at Lil’ Long’s motionless body with no success. She saw that the downed street warrior still clung to his weapons of choice.
“Word. He’s laid out for the count, yo. He looks like he’s gonna bleed to death,” Coco added.
“Look who’s laid out now!” Deedee seemed to release her anger in the taunt.
“Rock-a-bye-baby,” Coco and Deedee said together with a high five. Deedee felt the tension ease but even with the adrenaline coursing through her, she still kept considerable distance away from his body. She did not want to venture too close to Lil’ Long.
“Hope the ambulance breaks down on the way over,” Coco said as she walked away.
Deedee mustered all the courage she had and allowed herself to lock onto Lil’ Long’s cruel gaze. In that repugnant moment, she saw the ghost of a smirk making its way onto his unsightly mug. It was as if Lil’ Long was giving her some kind of creepy warning.
“How does it feel now?” she asked but got no answer. That cynical smile stayed attached to his mug. In the midst of wrestling with the thought of killing him, Deedee heard her uncle’s voice.
“Everyone listen, this is the story. We were having guests over and this thug broke in trying to rob us. I shot him to protect mine. These are my guns and I have the right to use them. I was defending my guests, my property, and myself. All everyone has to do is please just stick to the story, all right?”
“Honey, honey, please! I mean, are you in your right mind? How‘re you gonna explain the guns, huh? This is not a project building. There are no armed looters randomly visiting you. There is absolutely no reason for you to be sitting in your living room with guns,” Sophia said worriedly.
“I was in the bathroom when he broke in. That’s all. He didn’t know that I was home so I surprised him. That’s it, sweetheart. It’s that simple.”
“I don’t like it, Eric,” Sophia said regaining her senses. The blow to her head had initially rattled her. “Why don’t we just tell the truth, Eric?” she asked. “The more you lie, the more you’re gonna have to keep lying in order to cover up the other lies.” Sophia appealed to Eric. “I’m just afraid somewhere along the line someone might...” There was a long silence as Sophia paused. It was as if she was the voice of their deepest fears. “What if one of us breaks down? Or some key thing is overlooked? Then what?” Everyone heard the question but no one dared answer. Sophia continued, “I just think we should tell the truth and take our chances.” She pleaded with Eric but he shied away from looking directly at her face. He looked to the floor instead.
Eric already had his mind made up. He had defended himself against a violent and illegal intruder, someone who not only wanted to rob his guests but who had also shot and killed Kamilla. Eric knew it was the best story and he defended it.
“The truth, honey, is that the police ain’t gonna hear anything I’ve got to say. They’re gonna hear what they wanna hear then they’re gonna start questioning and dragging this case out trying to bring me down. The cops, they’re all about bringing the next black man down. It’s not happening here,” Eric said hoping for a sympathetic ear. “Everyone just has to stick to the story. It’s easy. I mean, is everyone on the same page or what?” Eric asked looking at everyone’s face but paying close attention to Sophia’s body language.
“I’m with it. If we decide that’s it then that’s all that po-po is getting outta me, yo,” Coco said.
“Deedee, are you okay? Do you understand what is going on, sweetheart?” Eric asked. Immediately, she knew the reason for his inquiry. He wanted to make sure he understood the worried look that had spread across her face. He moved to comfort her. Wide eyed with alarm, she recoiled when Eric tried to touch her. He eventually was able hold her and felt her heartbeat slow down from triple time.
“But Uncle E...”
“It’ll be all right, sweetheart. Everything will work out,” Eric said patting his niece’s shoulder and nodding as he looked at Sophia. He knew she didn’t want it like this but this was the only way so no one would go to jail. If it didn’t go the way he planned then the question would be, was he prepared to go? The thought fast forwarded through his overactive mind and
