CHAPTER TWO

Bang and the goons kicked it on the front porch of The House of Pain, waiting for that nigga Voss to die off. They shot the shit while passing a smoldering blunt between them. Bang had just hit the bleezy and passed it to one of the goons, when his cellular suddenly rung. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled it out and looked at its screen. B.M. was on the display.

"Shit!" Bang said staring at the cell phone's screen, blowing smoke out of his nostrils and mouth.

"What's up, bro?" one of the goons asked holding smoke in his lungs before blowing it out in a cloud.

"It's my baby momma. I was supposed to slide out with her crazy ass to her mother's birthday party. I know this bitch ain't doing nothing but calling to cuss my ass out, and I don't feel like hearing that shit. I already know she gon' keep banging my line until I pick it up though so I may as well face the fucking music. Y'all niggaz be quiet for a second, man."

"Alright." The goon responded before passing the blunt to the other.

"'Sup?" Bang spoke into the cellular. His brows furrowed and his eyes shifted back and forth as he listened to what was being told to him. "Junior? How the fuck did that happen? Shiiiit. What hospital they taking 'em to? Ok. I'll see you up there." He disconnected the call and turned to the goons. "Look, y'all, I gotta go. Some shit came up with my son. Once that nigga down there is dead, y'all get rid of the body." Bang ran from off the porch, hopped the fence with one hand over to the sidewalk and ran across the street. He opened the door to his Charger, hopped in behind the wheel, and peeled off. The wheels of his tires screeched as he busted a U-turn in the middle of the street and sped off in the opposite direction.

"Yo, you think that nigga baby momma really called 'em, or was he front so he could get outta helpin' us get rid of homeboy's body?" the goon said, cupping his hand around the half smoked blunt hanging from his mouth and lighting it again. He sucked on the end of the blunt and blew out a cloud of smoke.

"Somebody called 'em, but I doubt it was about his fucking kid. I'm witchu. That nigga just didn't wanna help us with this goddamn body. Sorry ass motha-" the goon was cut short when his dome suddenly exploded, and his brain splattered against the house. He fell over the banister and landed hard on his back with a thud.

When the other goon saw his homeboy fall over the banister, his eyes grew big and he looked around for where the bullet had come from. He couldn't identify where the shot was fired from so he reached for the newspaper, which was covering his Uzi. He'd just snatched the newspaper from off his weapon, when the side of his skull exploded. His brain fragments went up in the air and rained down to the floor. The goon's body hit the surface, and right after came his blunt with its ember burning.

As soon as the last goon was laid out dead, there was ruffling in the bushes on either side of the house. Suddenly, Dough Boy arose from the left bushes, gloved hand holding a Glock with a silencer on its barrel. His menacing eyes were peering out of the holes of a burgundy ski mask. He made his way up the steps and onto the porch. He moved to each goon, kicking them in their side and watching them, to see if they'd move. They stayed still. At that moment, Yada emerged with a .45 automatic handgun with a silencer on its barrel. She was wearing a blue bandana over her head and over the lower half of her mouth. Her eyes were hidden behind black sunglasses.
She'd taken out the second goon while that nigga Dough Boy had laid down the first goon.
Yada motioned for Dough Boy to follow her as she opened the front door of the house. She moved inside of the house like a police officer, swaying her .45 from left to right. Once she figured out the upstairs was clear, she moved toward the basement door.

"Stand back, I got this!" Dough Boy told her, and went to aim his Glock at the key pad's lock. He thought he was going to fire a shot at the goddamn thing and it was going to short circuit. That way the iron door would open, and they could make their way inside. The nigga watched way too many movies!

"Hold up!" Yada outstretched her hand and motioned for him to lower his gun. "I think I remember the code for it," She looked at the floor, looking like she was in deep thought. Once she figured that she had recalled the combination that Jabar had punched in, she stepped to the key pad and punched in the number. The door beeped and flashed red. The combination was wrong. She tried again. Still didn't work. "Fuck, fuck, fuck!"

"Come on now! We gotta go! There are two dead bodies outside. Ain't no telling who seen what, and are going to blow the whistle to The Ones." Dough Boy told her. He was looking over his shoulder every five seconds, impatiently bouncing from foot to foot.

"Hold the fuck on!" Yada kept her eyes cast to the floor as she tried to recall the code again. Figuring that she remembered the combination that Jabar had entered, Yada punched in the number. The door beeped and flashed green. The iron door popped open.

Yada pulled open the door. Holding her gun with both hands, she crept down the staircase, carefully. Dough Boy was right behind her, gripping his shit up with both hands, creeping down the steps just like she was. When they made it down to the landing of the basement, they saw the Rottweilers licking Voss's blood up from the cement floor. Yada moved in, swaying her .45 from left to right, nozzle spitting flames. The dogs yelped painfully and fell out dead, holes in their skulls.

"We're here, baby! Me and Dough Boy! Hold on; we're gonna get chu outta here!" Yada tucked her warm gun into the small of her back and pulled the blue bandana down from the lower half of her face. "Dough Boy, you grab 'em, I'ma cut 'em down." She told her counterpart and unsheathed the bowie knife from her side. As she approached the end of the rope to cut her man down, Dough Boy looked around the basement until he found a blanket. He flapped it out and made his way toward Voss.

Yada waited by the radiator with the knife in her hand. Once she saw that Dough Boy was prepared to grab Voss before he hit the floor, she chopped the rope twice. The rope gave on the second swing, and Dough Boy caught Voss before he could hit the cement floor, covering him up with the blanket. The first thing he did was look at the gunshot wound in Voss's torso, which was on the right side, away from his vital organs.

"Good, good. You didn't hit anything that would have killed him instantly." Dough Boy announced to Yada. She walked over to them and placed her fingers on his neck, checking his pulse. Voss's eyes were rolled into the back of his head and his mouth was slightly peeled open. He was moaning, and in great pain, but he was still alive.

"Thank God. We've gotta hurry up so you can get 'em to the hospital. Come on." Yada pulled the blue bandana back up over the lower half of her face and pulled out her .45. She made her way back up the staircase, gun leading the way, and Dough Boy on her heels carrying Voss.

Yada and Dough Boy made hurried footsteps out of the yard and down the sidewalk, heading toward Dough Boy's Easter Bunny white Denali. Yada tucked her gun at the small of her back and pulled open the passenger door. She moved aside and let Dough Boy sit Voss down in the seat. He then ran over to the driver's door and jumped in behind the wheel, slamming the door shut behind him.

Yada pressed her finger against the ear bud in her ear and spoke. "Le, pull up, we're at Dough Boy's truck." At that moment, LeLe sped up the block and stopped, tires screeching. Yada peered over the windshield of the Denali. She held up one finger, signaling for LeLe to give her one minute. She wanted a moment with Voss before he was driven away.

"Baby, baby, baby," Yada called for Voss's attention but he didn't answer. He moaned and groaned. That's when she cupped his face and looked into his eyes. His pupil was moving around aimlessly, and he was still moaning. "Baby, focus, look at me," She sniffled, tears threatening to spill from out of her eyes.

Voss' eyes focused on Yada's tear streaked face. "Yada, is that-is that really you, baby?" He asked weakly. His left eye was swollen shut. He could see through his right eye, but his vision was tinted red from blood running into it. He continuously blinked it trying to keep more blood from getting into it.

"Oh, yes, yes, baby, it's me!" she sniffled again and tears slowly spilled down her cheeks. "Oh, my God, Voss, I love you. I love you so much, baby."

"Why-why did you shoot me, then?"

"I'm sorry, baby. I'm so, so sorry. But I had to in order to get Jabar to believe I wanted you dead. But everything is going to be ok, 'cause Dough Boy is going to see to it that chu get to the hospital. Ok?"

"O-okay."

"Baby, listen, I'm going to ask you something, and I need to know the truth. Can you do that? Can you tell me the truth, no matter what it is?" he nodded yes. "Baby, did you.did you kill my father?" Yada watched to see if his right-eye would twitch when he answered. But he didn't say anything and his eye didn't move. He was too busy moaning in pain.

"Hos-hospital," Voss croaked, wincing.

"Look, ma, that's a question better asked at another time. Right now, I need to get 'em to...