Who will

meet their destiny first?

Talia Rice

Also by Talia Rice

 A Daughter’s Worth
Sssh! Be Quiet!

Copyright © 2010 by Diamond Publicationz

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Brotherhood by Talia Rice

January 13th, 1998. Pendleton Correctional Facility

Pendleton, Indiana

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 A thick green vein popped out, visible in both of Dante ‘Destiny’ Parker’s iron

clad arms. His breaths were short and silent making the guard walking alongside him sneak

peeks at the inmate’s chest to make sure he was still breathing. The saying dead man walking

trickled into his brain. Fortunately for the guard, he was still breathing.

A strong stench radiated off Destiny’s body. Not the regular musty smell that a lot of

these inmates carry but a strong over-powering smell of something deeper – anger perhaps. It

covered him like a layer of Arm and Hammer deodorant. His walk, slow but steady made him

appear to be floating down the cemented floor. The closer they got to the gymnasium like

visitors’ room the faster Destiny’s square jaw clenched and released. The guard’s own heart beat

came blaring out of his chest; for this was only his second week of working at Pendleton. Lucky

for him, Destiny was in handcuffs; however he knew that if Destiny wanted to attack his Shaggy

shaped frame even with the handcuffs on that were being swallowed by his massive wrists, he

could have.

The sounds of civilization relaxed his nerves. Other guards would be around. He let out a

sigh through his wrinkled and ashy lips, making sure it was as silent as possible, while guiding

Destiny to the middle round table. Another menacing looking black man that appeared out of

place with what he was wearing but oddly comfortable with his surroundings sat waiting for the

inmate. His black eyes were pasted on Destiny. He could feel the hatred dripping off the man’s

suit that had to have cost more than his yearly salary. Damn were all black men angry, he

wondered. Before walking away he heard Destiny seethe out, “What the fuck are you doin’

here?!”

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 Raymond ‘Babyface’ Davis stroked his baby hairs aligning his chin. A permanent scowl

lined his lips as his eyes glared a hole into Destiny. Destiny’s face had filled out along with the

rest of his body since he had seen him last, which was at his arraignment for the murder of his

little brother. His voice held malice. “What the fuck are you doin’ here?!”

Babyface Davis chuckled. “Whass goin’ on D. See the bologna sandwiches they feedin’

you are doin’ you well.” Destiny stood ready to pounce on him. “Please, sit down. Don’t feel the

need to stand on my account.” It was more of a demand than a suggestion.

“Answer my damn question bitch!”

The smile outlining Babyface Davis’s eyes immediately extinguished. His lips tightened

to thin lines. “Is that how you address your visitors? I mean I came actually bearing gifts.”

“Get the fuck up outta here before I finish you off like your brother!”

Babyface Davis sucked at the permanent yellow stains on his teeth. “Wouldn’t happen.

You wanna know why? Look around you, three of the guards you seeing in this room works for

me. Your body will turn into Swiss cheese before a hair touches me! So I suggest you sit your

ass down before their fingers start to itch.”

Destiny glared at each one of the guards. Each gave a slight nod letting him know they

were watching him extra close. All of them had their right hand just inches away from their guns

ready to use them with sniper precision. He should have known that even in here Babyface Davis

would have watchers. He sat down.

His enemy seemed satisfied. Babyface Davis leaned forward. Both of his hands

intertwined in front of him. “Now…”

“I’m not apologizin’ for shootin’ your brother.”

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 Without missing a beat, Babyface Davis waved his hand in the air. “It’s nothing. I would

have done the same thing. You don’t fuck with a brotha’s sister.” Sincerity blanketed his eyes.

This did not seem to sit well with Destiny however. “So if it was dirt off your shoulders

then why’d you murder my fam?”

Babyface Davis held up his hand to ward off the guards from coming any further. “That’s

why I’m here. To let your stupid ass know I didn’t kill them.”

Destiny grew to a level of anger that he himself was not familiar with. “Damn you can’t

even be man enough to admit the shit? Worthless coward!”

It took a few extra seconds for Babyface Davis to calm himself. This bird was getting on

his nerves. He easily imagined his hands wrapping around Destiny’s thick neck and snapping it

into two. But what he was about to confess outweighed even that fantasy. He proceeded to run

down what really went down that night a month ago to the date. By the time he was finished, a

thick coat of sweat had covered Destiny’s body. It seeped through his thick orange jumpsuit. His

jaw muscles went to work again.

“Ay, no jokes playboy. Now why would I travel all the way down here, come to a place I

know my black ass should not be showing my face at, to tell you some lame ass joke?”

Destiny shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know, you tell me. Maybe you get off on doin’

shit like that.”

Babyface Davis’s bottom lip poked out looking like a wrinkled piece of pork chop fat. “I

knew you wouldn’t believe me so now I’m going to have to prove it to you. Within a week all of

your questions will be answered.” He got up; the legs to the chair scraped against the floor. He

situated his suit.

“Why you tellin’ me this anyway? Is this supposed to be your good deed for the year?”

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 “On some real shit, I would want someone to tell me who murdered my family regardless

if I was friends with that person or not. I know how the brain works. Don’t forget I worked this

place for fifteen years; the Geto Boys said it best in that song, My Mind’s Playin’ Tricks on Me.

You ain’t gotta tell me that you already figured out a way for payback, I can see it written all

over your face. It ain’t gone do you any good if it’s directed at the wrong people. Have your

enemies close and your friends closer, no homo.”

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Friday, July 2nd 1:11pm

Dante ‘Destiny’ Parker sat on the curb that meshed into the parking lot of Pendleton

Correctional Facility. His eyes scoped over white men in extra small business suits step out of

even smaller rides strut into the facility reeking of a cocky lawyer. Their Colgate smiles spread

across on their bland faces. Perfectly gelled hair slid toward the back on their heads. All looked

like they have stepped out of an Ambercrombie and Fitch advertisement. The women, they

handled themselves differently. They still held their noses far up on their faces but their eyes did

not carry the same blaze expressions as the men carried. They saw him before they even stepped

out of their clean rides and unsuccessfully watched him from the corners of their eyes thinking

he was not smart enough to see what they were doing. It was different now that there were no

bars in between them. Destiny huffed at them. The temptation to jump at them tickled his mind

but he let it go. If they only knew he did not want to have anything to do with any pale faced

woman, never had and never will. Inmates that came involuntarily throughout the years to

Pendleton wall-papered their cells with pictures of white women they left at home. Every visiting

day the area was swarmed with them, hair done up like black women, the way they expressed

themselves – language and little gestures mimicked them. Why not just continue dating black

women he asked over and over. He got the same ignorant answer, white women does whatever I

want them to do, no matter what it is; they down for everything. Destiny would shrug his

shoulders and keep it moving. He had nothing against white women, he just did not feel the need

to know them on that level.

Destiny rubbed at his chin focusing on the entrance to the parking lot. The bus was

supposed to have been there at one o’clock. He had been sitting in the embalming sun since

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twelve thirty. At least that was what they had told him. With each passing minute he started to

feel like he had been punked. It was a long ass walk back to the Fort. He did not talk to anybody

back home to let them know of his release date either. He wanted to slip right in the hood and

catch his target slipping like he did to his family eleven years ago. Who would have known he

would have been the one behind the gun. Destiny could feel the vein on the side of his forehead

pop out and start to pound. For eleven years all Destiny has seen was red. Lifting weights was

the only thing that kept him sane. Now the day that he had been waiting for since being indicted

came; he was going to put his street name into full HD affect.

A midnight blue Chrysler 300 pulled into the lot. Its windows were tinted, hiding the

driver of the slick ride. A hypnotic song banged out of its speakers. He could feel it pulsating

through his chest. It pulled right up on Destiny as he sat blocking his view. All of his features

met in the middle of his face. All the space in the lot, this asshole decides to park right in front of

him Destiny thought. His eyes penetrated through the tinted windows to see if he could see any

kind of movement inside. He was not afraid that it could be someone who knew him and wanted

to finish him off before he even got back to the hood. No one would be that careless and stupid

to do that right in front of the prison, unless they had a death wish. The straight shooters standing

at the corners of the building would not let the person even get the car in drive before they filled

his body with metal. The window that Destiny was eyeing rolled down finally.

“I still see you mean muggin’ hard! I’d thought your lil’ vacation would have mellowed a

brotha out!” Out of the darkness Auron, Destiny’s childhood friend since the first grade, came

into view. A toothpick hanging out of his mouth as always.

Destiny’s face softened. “What the hell you doing here?”

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 “What you think? To pick your black ass up! You think I’m gone let you ride back home

on a pissy Pendleton bus? Now hurry up and get in before some lawyer or cop recognizes me!”

Destiny took in Auron’s car before stepping inside the mini spaceship. “This a nice ass

ride, who you murder to get this?” Destiny asked half serious.

Auron held the same smile that he always sported for the ladies. Destiny always thought

the smiled resembled the Grinch but apparently that was what the girls fell for. He maneuvered

the car out. Destiny did not attempt to look back; he knew that he would be back soon anyway.

The town barely had a lick of anything worth acknowledging. Guess that was the reason

Pendleton was built in the first place. If someone was to escape their bright orange jumpsuits

would be easy to spot and there would be nowhere to hide. All the lazy guards would have to do

is point and shoot without even budging from the spot they rested.

Destiny had no clue that his boy had slid into a McDonald’s drive thru. He had slipped

into his mind, sweeping away some of the cobwebs and chilled in his own thoughts. His fingers

wrapped into a fist, his nails dug into his skin barely breaking the skin but he didn’t feel any of it.

It almost felt like he was dreaming this day. He was so taken by the result of what will happen

within the next hours that it felt as though he had smoked a fat blunt. A shove in the side of his

body made him crash back into the moment. His fists went up ready to throw a dangerous punch.

Auron glared at his best friend with unflinching eyes. His face held no surprise, just empathy for

what his boy was going through. Twelve years was not an easy bid especially when one’s whole

family was murdered and nobody saw it coming. Auron could only imagine what his boy was

thinking.

A static, incomprehensible mechanical voice broke the silence in the car. The pause

button was pressed and the sounds of life played a little too loudly in the background.

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 “I said hold the hell up!” Auron yelled at the speaker. “Ay, you want something?” The

yellow golden arches came into focus. Destiny’s stomach let out a loud growl. “Yeah your big

ass want somethin’, barely can fit in my car…ay let me get a number eleven, large!” Auron

pulled away before the mechanical voice could give the total.

“What the hell were they feeding you up in there? Ain’t no way in hell you got like that

off of dry ass bologna sandwiches!” he laughed.

“Shit this from lifting all them weights. And then I stole everybody else’s sandwiches!”

As quick as his smile appeared it disappeared just as fast. “All I could do…” His words ventured

off out the window with no sound.

A little girl, barely looking over the legal age to work held out her hand; her gum

smacked loudly in between her teeth. An impatient scowl covered every pimple on her face.

They could tell that she thought she was the prettiest thing that ever walked this earth and no one

could tell her different.

“Did you tell me the total?”

“I said twenty-three, eighty-seven but you drove off!”

Auron mumbled something explicit under his breath as he reached into his pocket and

pulled out a thick stack of twenties. A light switch went off in the girl’s head and her whole

demeanor changed at the sight. Her pea sized eyes that held boredom inflated into silver dollars

thirsty for him to become her captain save a hoe. Auron could hear the internal calculator

guesstimating in her head. He took out two twenties and threw them inside the window. His tires

squealed as he took off to the next window.

Destiny never thought fast food could taste so good. The chicken strips were full of steam

as he took a bite. The fries still had grease popping on them; he fed his mouth oblivious to the

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fact that he was burning his tongue. He was nearly done by the time Auron got situated with his

own food and was pulling out of the restaurant. Auron guarded his food from Destiny’s sticky

fingers. After awhile Destiny gave up trying. He leaned all the way back and allowed his eyes to

rest.

Destiny was back at home. Damn that was quick; where was Auron? Was he that

uncomfortable that he did not want to come inside? He tried with all his might to will the last

hour in his head; he came up blank with each try. A strong smell of fried chicken filled his nose,

distracting him. He turned his head toward the kitchen at the end of the hall. What looked like a

shadow glided across the tiled floor, but it disappeared too fast to confirm his suspension. That

smell bothered him though. Auron did not know how to boil water let alone fry some chicken so

who was in his kitchen?

“Mama! Where is my baby blue jacket?!”

Destiny snapped his neck up. His legs nearly collapsed at the bottom of the stairs as he

stood there looking at his little sister hanging over the banister. Red braids cascaded down her

face. It was hard for him to formulate the words.

“What the…” she started.

“What Joc?”

Destiny’s eyes met his mama’s. His heart jolted. Who was playing this sick ass joke on

him? Auron? Where was he at, hiding somewhere laughing his ass off?! As soon as he finds him

he was going to choke the life out of him. He had to be in on this, right along with Babyface

Davis. No telling what they got together and decided to conspire once he got out. Yeah, it all fit

now, Babyface Davis paid Auron to make him think he was not the one who shot his family just

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so he would not get in the way of his wrath! Can’t trust nobody anymore! He felt the vein pop

out again. The room turned hot like an incinerator. Inches, no more than ten was between him

and the first woman he ever loved – his mama. The same perfume she has worn as far back as he

could remember, Elizabeth Taylor’s White Diamonds filled the ten inches.

Loud yelling made Destiny avert his eyes toward the living room that suddenly appeared.

Both of his brothers and his daddy were watching a basketball game. Most likely the Finals.

Everyone appeared exactly how he remembered them. In fact, none of them aged; in the

twelve years something should have changed. But who was he to judge. He was home, with his

family and that made him smile.

His father, who he was an exact replica of, turned around and said, “What you doing D?

Bring your ass in here, you missin’ the game!”

Destiny’s smile became wider. That voice was music to his ears. His foot landed on the

blood red Oriental rug that had white doves on it. Were those doves moving? As soon as his foot

hit the rug, his family disappeared. Big drops of sweat started to pour down his forehead. A

lump settled in the pit of his stomach. His mama’s perfume still lingered even without the body

that it occupied. Indents from where his brothers and daddy was seconds ago was still in the

cushions. The tv no longer on. Destiny’s heart raced. Phlegm formed in the back of his throat

and stayed there - stagnant.

His sweat felt like acid. He blinked back tears. Once again they appeared as though

nothing happened. His mama stood in front of him this time lightly shaking his arm. He nearly

jumped out of his skin. How the hell did she get over here so fast? Where did they go seconds

ago? Her face was scrunched up partly confused and partly sad.

“D, what’s wrong?” she asked in a chamomile tone.

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 He blinked again. Aloneness. The air had skyrocketed until he could see his own breath

freeze in front of him and turn into condensation. He wanted to cry out or hit something. Sweat

was poring over his face now. His family flickered in front of him imitating a dysfunctional light

bulb. He tried closing his eyes to make it stop. It did but now he heard crying. He opened his

eyelids to his entire family on their knees. Each of their eyes was pleading for him to save them.

Destiny could not move. His feet were planted on that rug. Five doves flew around his ankles.

The more he tried to move the more his body stiffened up like drying cement. His father’s eyes

caused Destiny to stop, one single tear rolled down his cheek. His lips moved but no sound came

out. Destiny understood even without the sound. Bye D, we love you always. His sister’s yells

pierced his eardrums. Five shots followed.

Destiny shot up in Auron’s car. He was not quite sure where he was but he needed to get

out; he needed to save his family. His large fingers scrambled with the lock on the passenger

door. It would not budge which frustrated him even more. He nearly ripped the wood grained

handle before Auron had put his stiff arm in front of his boy to prevent him from jumping out the

window. He got the full affect of how strong his friend was right then.

“D,” Auron yelled. “It’s me! Mane, what you doin’! I’m driving! Wait til I pull over!”

Auron’s 300 started to swerve as he tried to switch lanes. He nearly clipped the back of a semi-

truck as he crossed the white line on the side of the road. Cars beeped angrily behind him; Auron

ignored them. Destiny continued to try and get out of the cramped space. He felt the air around

him close in and he needed air. Auron unlocked the door. He watched as his boy’s body hop out

of the car. His back was to him but he could still see his broad shoulders bob up and down as he

bent over gasping for air.

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 “D, you alright?” Destiny held onto his knees. His heart raced faster than what it

probably should be. He had to calm down before he had a heart attack on the side of the road.

Five minutes later Destiny was crawling back into Auron’s car. His eyes remained forward;

sweat still trickled down his face. All of the color had drained from his face.

“You was dreamin’, D.” Auron could not get himself to say anything else.

“My bad.”

Auron turned on the air at full blast. He was not sure if it was safe for him to continue

driving. His car shook as cars and trucks flew past them at seventy-five to eighty miles an hour.

He glanced every once in awhile in the rearview mirror to make sure there were no unmarked

police cars approaching. He has not had a valid license in two years; he was taking a risk of all

risks at picking his boy up in a different city, especially a city known for its prison and nothing

else. He did not want to come off as though he was in a hurry but he did feel like a sitting duck

out in the open for hunting season. Destiny caught him looking into his mirror. By then his heart

rate and went down to a better speed, enough for him to talk without getting winded.

“I’m good.”

Auron was not convinced.

“Fa real, I’m good. Lets go.”

Auron put his car into drive and pushed the engine. Destiny kept his elbow on the edge of

the window. His bottom lip poked out as he stared at his reflection. It did not even look like him

anymore. This was someone older than thirty, more vicious and heartless. Was that what he has

become? The outside was void of color. If only the world was as simple as black and white. As

soon as he became an adult, at least physically, life has been hitting him with boulders.

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 The situation was in the open now. Auron knew he had to be dreaming about his family

and their death. This was another reason he did not want to be picked up by someone he knew;

he did not want to be grilled with questions on how he felt or what he was going to do about the

situation. Talking was not going to solve shit. All talking did was make him re-live the moment

over and over. Too much anger causes one to slip and do something stupid.

“You hear me?” Auron said. “We gone get him.”

“I’ll get him, this is my battle.”

Auron shook his head in protest. “No, I’m not havin’ you back up in Pendleton. We’ll

do…”

“I don’t give a damn if I go back nigga! Ain’t shit waitin’ for me in the Fort but that

nigga! Nothing! He took that away from me. It’s time to get at him! Me! No one else! I already

decided that I would be cool with going back. Out here…” Destiny stopped and shook his head.

“…out here is hell! At least at Pendleton I had bars to separate me from this! Worthless shit!”

Destiny was talking more to his reflection now than Auron. “Out here is nothing,” he kept

mumbling. There was nothing left to say. Auron drove in silence. The next twenty four hours the

city was Destiny’s and Destiny’s only.

Everything had changed. Atkins Liquors was now a mini strip; gas station on one end,

Cap N’ Cork on the other. The old group of drunks was replaced by newer ones. They held the

same glazed over expressions. What was supposed to be the whites of their eyes were a dirty

yellow. Deep crevasses wrapped around their eyes hid their real age. Their skin congregated

down hanging off of their chins.

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 The brick building that held multi-colored handprints no longer existed; lush green grass

covered any evidence of that building existing.

At least The Legend was still the same. Destiny could almost see him and his boys posted

up in the parking lot doing their best to blend in with the older cats knowing their illegal butts

should have been at home watching tv or something. Destiny almost chuckled at all of the things

they attempted to do just to rush along adulthood. The older cats made them think being an adult

was cake; now if only…

Destiny stepped out of his little trip down memory lane. He noticed heads turning their

direction as they sat idle at a red light. He sank deeper into his seat. Maybe it was not a good idea

to have come back to his birthplace. Destiny started to doubt that Auron kept his release date a

secret. Everyone apparently knew Auron’s ride. Why didn’t he think about this earlier? Too

anxious to get down to business.

His thick eyebrows knitted together. Even with the cool breeze on, the air became thick

inside the car. Too thick to breathe in even with their nostrils flared and mouths hanging open in

the shape of Spaghetti-Os. Auron was tempted to roll down his window just a crack to get some

air circulating through there. He was not a claustrophobic but today things seemed to be

changing. He let out a sigh of relief when the light turned green.

Destiny continued to absorb the eastside. White boys in khaki shorts, multi-colored Polo

shirts, bleach white shoes matching their bleach blonde hair walked down Lewis Street, Poodles

in tow. Dark skinned, anorexic skinny men stood in curtain skirts glaring through thin eyes at

nothing in particular. Every two seconds they would spit at the concrete. Kids, far too many to

count, were running in and out of the house oblivious to mosquitoes flying in with them. Twelve

years ago no other race but his own resided around his neighborhood. It seemed as though he

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stepped into a bad rendition of We Are The World. Hanna Homestead even was immaculate. The

steel nets on the rims jangled as boys with their shirts off played a game of basketball.

“Shit weird uh?” Auron commented. Destiny would not have used that word. It all

appeared plastic. Destiny’s face transformed inward to something deeper and sadistically evil.

“I thought you said no one but you knew I was coming?”

Auron let out an exasperated sigh. “I told you…”

Destiny who had kept his face forward the entire time now swiveled his neck around to

look at Auron. His eyes were onyx black and held things in them that any person living outside

of the hood would not be able to handle or fathom.

“I know what you told me! You not hearing me! Why everybody lookin’ at your shit like

they know who in it?”

An ornery smile tugged at the corner of Auron’s lips. He waited for Destiny to start

laughing but it did not happen.

“What the fuck you laughing at?”

“Being locked up really made you paranoid didn’t it?” Destiny’s lips tightened. “Let me

show you something.”

At least five houses split between the east and south side of town was Auron’s. On the

outside they all appeared to be well kept homes. Destiny would have never guessed the houses

were used for different purposes other than living in. One was for money storage only. While

another one was to cook up his coke. A third was for weed, one for his own spot to stay in and

the last was his hideout spot supposedly equipped with everything he would need to lay low from

the cops. His own mama did not know about this house. Each house had a nice collection of

guns, just in case, Auron bragged.

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 Destiny held the same expression through the little tour.

“Most of these cats you seeing either work for me, or get they shit from me. Plus I help

out when I know someone needs shit. Everyone knows me, that’s why they eyeing my ride with

thirsty looks.”

“You don’t care that you bringing down your own people?”

Auron flicked his hand through the air. “Don’t give me that preachy holier than thou shit.

If it’s not me, it’s going to be someone else. Would you rather some white dude come up on the

block and sell this lethal shit to our people? Isn’t that worse?” Auron waited for an answer. His

logic did not sound too intelligent to Destiny but he understood that the regular nine to five was

not going to feed his family and give them what they need. For that Destiny respected him.

Auron picked up on his distracting thoughts. “Look mane, I know because of the situation at

hand you feelin’ like you can’t trust nobody. I get that, but everybody ain’t like him! He grimy,

doing grimy things. Apparently he don’t know you like I know you otherwise he wouldn’t of

even thought to do what he did, ya feel me?”

No answer; although Destiny’s facial features did soften up. They rode around until both

of them was sure they were not being followed before creeping into the alley at the back of the

two story beige paneled house that he spent most of his childhood in. The smell of fresh cut grass

seeped through the vents in his car. As though reading his mind, Auron said, “Do you know how

hard it is to mow some grass in pitch dark? We talking about two in the morning dark. I was

running into everything! Don’t get mad if some spots looking kind of bare.”

That got a half smile out of Destiny. By the time he spoke his voice was almost hoarse.

“Thanks Auron.”

“Least I can do.”

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 Destiny’s eyes went back to black pools of onyx. His skin tightened around his lips.

“How long he been missing?”

Auron closed one eye and looked upward as if the answer would be written on the roof of

his car. “About three weeks now. You need me to search some more?”

Destiny shook his head. “Naw, then he’ll know you was really just keeping tabs on him

for me and that might get you in trouble.” Auron was about to protest but Destiny cut him off.

“Let that nigga keep hiding for right now. I know a way to bring him out.”

Auron nodded. “I’ll holla at you later.” He was out of the car and grabbing the spare key

while Auron’s 300 maneuvered back down the alley snakelike. Behind him the sounds of the

basketball game getting heated was heard; every curse word was thrown around nonchalantly

like it was a part of everyday language. He got the urge to want to run upstairs and change into

his basketball shorts and pick up a game or two. He shook his head. With what he was planning

on doing he did not want to run the risk of someone spotting him before he wanted to be spotted

and he was sure that he was going back to prison within twenty four hours. It was his destiny.

The game of chess is a game of intelligence, patience and the ability to manipulate one’s

opponent. Always stay ahead by two steps; no less and no more otherwise the opponent will not

be able to be seen anymore leaving the hunter vulnerable.

All of the lights remained off while Destiny got reacquainted with his home. He could not

even call it that anymore. This house was more like a bad carbon copy of the original. A shell of

an animal after its insides was devoured by a bigger more violent species.

He had pictured this moment for eleven years. How would he feel sleeping in the house

that his family was murdered in? He recreated the scenario numerous times, each resulting in

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split wrenching anger. No matter how many times you dress it up, it still gone be the same, he

remember his mama saying throughout his childhood. He did not quite know what it meant but

now he knew. The weight was unbearable. He fought to stay standing, however the faint smell of

his mama’s perfume was the last feather needed for the tower to crumble. He collapsed right at

the back door. Eleven years. He did not cry once while he was locked up. Instead he held it in

like a man was supposed to. It was not the muscles his body formed from lifting weights that

gave him that extra weight it was years of stored tears. His whole body shook like it was

experiencing an exorcism. The more he cried the less his body weighed. Although it did not

make him feel better. This was supposed to have been a welcome home celebration with the

block party Auron promised him after getting out. One move had shifted his future.

He was not sure how long he had been lying on the kitchen floor. He stood up on limp

legs a little too fast. Everything started to spin into a gray blur. He grabbed onto the refrigerator

until it subsided. He convinced himself that nothing was down the dark hallway that lead him

past the living room, no traces of blood splatter embedded in the carpet. No bodies to step over

and identify. Nothing. So why was it so hard to move? His legs that felt like noodles before now

was feeling like lead. He balled his fists until his knuckles were void of color. A shot of pure

adrenaline surged through his veins. The breath that he had no idea he was holding was released

as soon as he stepped into the shower. Ripples of water splashed onto the shower door. Through

the beveled glass the outside world started to match how he viewed everything – distorted. He

barely could move in the narrow space. His elbows kept bumping into the wall as he turned

around. He stayed in any way until the water turned frigid. It felt good to be able to shower

without someone ‘standing guard’, timing a row of dirty bodies. In the winter a lot of musty

bodies walked around that place. Mysteriously the pipes would ‘act up’ and only cold water

21
would come out. Destiny was never one for being funky, his mama always made it a point that

all four of her kids never went anywhere, especially school, musty. Pendleton was no different, if

they lived in the hood like they claim they have all of their lives than a cold shower was normal.

Everyone at least once has had their hot water turned off. Destiny would climb right in like it

was nothing. He ended up with a lot of colds but he happily took that over mustiness any day. He

climbed out of the shower. Droplets of water ran off of him onto the bathroom rug. He climbed

on top of his comforter and stared at the ceiling. Before he knew it, sleep had taken over.

“Your move D.”

Destiny stared intensely at the chess board trying to contemplate his next two moves and

his father’s. “I’m not getting any younger. I feel the gray hairs…”

“Sssh!” Destiny whispered. His eyes remained glued to the board. If he breaks his eye

contact he will lose. His daddy was the champ at letting whoever he was playing against

defenses down, especially him. Destiny caught on though. His daddy had real competition now.

All of the outside elements were completely silenced. It took skill for a person to wipe away the

sounds, smells and sights. His first book he read to himself was Sun Tzu’s The Art of War. To

him that was the bible.

“You know it ain’t worth it.” His daddy’s words seemed to materialize from inside of his

head.

“Uh?” Connection broken.

His daddy smiled down at his son. “You heard me. And you know what I’m talking

about.” Within seconds his daddy’s facial expression became jaded. His eyebrows burrowed

together above his wide nose. They stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity.

22
 “I got to…”

“You don’t have to do nothing. D, you don’t have to prove anything to nobody. All you

are going to prove is your ignorance.”

“If I let that nigga go I will be proving my ignorance.”

“You think that is going to bring us back? Is that going to make everything better? You

know he didn’t know no better.”

Destiny slammed his open palm down causing all of the chess pieces to fly upward and

scatter. “He did know better! What do I have to lose daddy, uh? I already lost everything that

day! Don’t fix your lips to say you wouldn’t do the same thing!”

Bowing his head let Destiny know that he had been telling the truth. He leaned back in

his chair and started to twirl an ivory chess piece around. “You always were the hard headed

one. Umphf, just like me at that age. Thought I knew everything; nobody couldn’t tell me

nothing. Didn’t know how to pick my own battles.” Their eyes connected. A tumultuous dark

cloud hovered above them. A mirror image. “I love, you know that right? I never meant this for

your life.”

“I know. I love you too daddy.”

Destiny watched his daddy’s face closely. He did not see that the ivory piece that he was

playing with seconds ago had turned into a .48 Caliber pistol. His father handed it to him.

“Do what you gotta do D.”

Destiny opened his eyes. He stared at the shadows made by passing cars before looking at

the red numbers on the clock next to his bed – twelve ten. It was time.

23
1:00 am

Tap, tap, tap!

Rasheed shuffled over in the bed.

Tap, tap, tap!

“Rasheed! Get the damn door!” Rasheed’s girl, Becky, yelled. All Rasheed did was place

a pillow over his head to deflect the sound.

Bang! Bang! Bang! The knocking became aggressive. Rasheed shot straight up. He

wiped the sleep from the corners of his eyes and checked the time.

“Who the hell is bangin’ at my door at…”

A bush full of boxed created blonde hair sprouted up out from under a flimsy pillow.

“My door! This is my shit remember?”

“Shut the hell up!”

“I’m sayin’ tho, this…” The rest of her ranting was muffled by the pillow she placed

back over her head.

Rasheed dismissed her whining with a wave of his hand. He reached for his lucky .48

Caliber pistol. He called it lucky because it sent his problems away. He gripped the gun while he

stumbled barefooted and shirtless down the hall. His back leaned flat against the bare wall.

Becky’s ten year old son was gone with his daddy for the summer in Detroit. His bedroom

remained closed. Rasheed made sure not to step on the parts of the wood floor that creaked when

weight was put on them.

The tapping ceased for the moment. He was half tempted to crawl back to bed up under

the window air conditioner; however something told him to check what was up. No one but a

24
few people knew where he was currently resting his head. And he damn sure knew this could not

be a social visit.

Rasheed scratched at his half braided head. A thin coat of sweat was on his palm. He

quietly crossed the last few inches to the door.

“Who is it?!”

“Cuz man, open up. It’s C-Bo.”

Rasheed let out a burst of stale air through his lips. His grip loosened on his pistol. “What

the…”

“Cuz my mama’s been shot!” C-Bo was on the thin verge of tears.

“What?”

His cousin nodded his head while trying to catch his own breath. “She at Parkview now.

Somebody ran up in her shit and shot my mama man! She…” C-Bo’s one good eye became

glossy while his glass eye wondered aimlessly in the socket. It always freaked him out when

Rasheed saw that eye, ready to fall out at any moment.

“Who the fuck shot her?!”

C-Bo could not answer. Hiccups made him unable to form a sentence.

“Stay right here,” Rasheed ordered his trembling cousin. He rushed back to the bedroom.

Becky had already claimed his side of the bed. Her arms hung over the edge; a closer look

showed a trail of saliva had collected on his pillow. He slid his pistol under her pillow, and then

threw on a pair of jeans and a white tee that were left on the floor. His bare toe smashed against

the leg of the bed. His cursing woke his girl up.

“It’s after one, where you goin’?”

Rasheed continued to finish dressing.

25
 “Ra, I know you hear me!”

“My aunt been shot!”

Becky sat up. Her bottom lip fell to her chin. She looked to the brown sheets expecting an

answer or some comforting words to suddenly appear. Rasheed whizzed out the door without the

words appearing, not even a goodbye fell out of his lips or hers. Becky fell back onto her bed and

bunched up into the fetal position. Outside two car doors slammed shut followed by tires peeling

away.

Destiny held a calm that a Buddhist would envy. He was not sweating even in the

makeshift inferno he was standing in. Nerves had not taken over yet. It all came back to him so

easy. Easy as riding a bike. No worries. He had buried himself deep into the shirts and jeans that

he assumed were meant for a young child when he heard footsteps creeping down the hall. He

still did not break a sweat. If it came to an early showdown, so be it, yes he would be

disappointed because he would not be able to finish what he set out to do but at least the one that

mattered the most would be worm food. However he lucked out. Destiny would be able to carry

it out at least through another one. Another surge of adrenaline filled his veins as he heard him

pull away. Like taking candy from a baby. He waited another fifteen minutes before crawling out

of the cramp space. He did not notice until he walked past a mirror that he was smiling. He felt

like Ice Cube did on his hit Today Was a Good Day.

The door to the child’s room opened with ease. He closed it trying to leave things as they

were; not that it mattered. The bedroom was the last room on the right. The stale odor of weed

hung heavy in the hot air. Saliva started to form in his mouth. A blunt sounded good right then.

26
 Inside the room a pale white body lay on the bed. He should have known that he would

start dating white girls; a black woman would tear his butt up at first sign of laziness. Toothpick

legs were sprawled from one side to another giving Destiny full view of a strip of little blonde

hairs. The woman’s mosquito bites for breasts sat perched up on her chest, pink nipples erect as

though they were trying to point at him. One arm lay across her eyes while her mouth hung open.

A low purr floated out of her mouth.

A passing car’s headlights reflected off his face and continued down the street. Destiny’s

latex gloved hand reached under the pillow. Seconds later Becky opened her eyes to the hollow

end of a .48. Only a gasp managed to escape her lips. She started to push her body up against the

headboard.

“Don’t move,” Destiny ordered through clenched jaws. Becky froze. “You Rasheed’s

girl?”

Becky strained to lie but her eyes told another story.

“Is you?!” He said a little bit more roughly.

Whimpers flew out in a wounded pitch. She decided to resort to bargaining.

“Please! I’ll do anything! I’ll suck your dick, just don’t shoot me.”

Destiny rubbed at his chin as if really contemplating her offer. Becky’s heart slowed

down as she assumed her plan was going to work. Destiny’s sudden stillness caused her to stiffen

again. A car’s headlights lit up his face. Every violent thought became exposed in those dark

eyes. That was the moment she knew that she was not going to live to see her ten year old come

back home.

“Thanks for the offer but I need you to give Ra a lil’ message for me.”

“W-w-what?” Becky whispered.

27
 One silent shot to the dome ended another life.

By the time C-Bo and Rasheed stepped into the nearly deserted emergency room his Aunt

Kim was dead. C-Bo’s sister, Tameka, was being held up by surrounding family members. Pink

rollers tossed about her head. Some already fell onto the freshly waxed hospital floor. A

deafening screech Mariah Carey would not be able to reach filled the hospital halls. In the mist

of it all a distinguished young brotha stood to the side watching the woman unravel. His

expression was still but not emotionless. It seemed that he wanted to reach out and maybe hug

Tameka but he knew that would not help the situation.

Next to Rasheed, C-Bo called out to God and fell to his knees. God could not help any of

them now. Before he realized it he had started to walk toward the doctor. Splatters of blood were

seeping into his scrubs. He wondered if that was his aunt’s blood. The sight of it almost

immobilized him.

“What happened?” he managed to ask.

“You family?”

“Nephew.”

The doctor nodded after giving Rasheed the once over. Everything that he had moments

ago explained to Tameka was repeated. Rasheed barely heard any of it. His ears were invaded by

a vacuum sound. A sound similar to when he comes out of a dream and the sound of reality

comes in as a low hum and ends as a full on whooshing current. This was far from a dream

though.

“I’m sorry,” was the last words Rasheed heard the young doctor said. He looked into

Rasheed’s eyes out of respect and sympathy. Rasheed turned around toward his hysterical

28
cousin. All of his distant cousins and ‘play’ cousins had screwed up expressions. Uncertain about

what was going on and unsure about their own feelings about it.

“I wanna see her,” Rasheed asked barely above a whisper.

“We are cleaning her up right now. I’ll have one of the nurses come get you when we are

done. Is that ok?”

Did he have a choice, is what he wanted to say. Instead he nodded his head. He took over

holding C-Bo’s sister. Everyone else scattered in corners to grieve in their own way. Two pudgy

officers that had been lingering at the nurses’ station had started toward Rasheed and his cousin

however Rasheed stared at them with an unapologetic irritation. They stopped in their tracks and

fell back.

29
6:31 am. Saturday July 3rd, 2010

Rasheed put his key into the front door of his girl’s spot. Her car was still parked in the

driveway. Normally by six she would be gone to work. Maybe she called in so she could support

him in his time of need. Five hours of comforting family members wore him out. He could

already picture Becky in the kitchen fixing him breakfast butt naked with nothing but black or

red stilettos on. His dick instantly became hard.

However when he opened the door, the smell of bacon and eggs did not greet him. A

metallic smell wafted from somewhere. It was the same smell he had got introduced to hours

earlier when he went in to see his aunt Kim laying on a bed in the middle of a large futuristic

room. The smell became more putrid the closer he got to their bedroom.

His heart sank as his jittery fingers pushed the door all the way open. At first glance,

Becky appeared to be sleeping. Her creamy olive skin held no blemishes. His eyes stayed frozen

at her thighs. The sun had started to peek through the holes in the blinds. Hotness flushed his

face. Suddenly he started to panic. He stormed into the door less closet. Clothes flew past him as

he searched for it. Half of those clothes still had tags on them. Ambercrombie and Fitch, Macy’s,

Charlotte Russe along with a few other store names. That was supposed to have been her side

hustle, lift name brand clothes and sell them on the streets. However Becky got greedy and kept

most of them for herself so she could stunt hard alongside the sistahs on club night.

The large Nike box with the swoop across the top had not appeared yet. He kept

searching frantically as the sun started to creep further into the room. He was positive as he

searched that this was over the robbery him and Becky set up last week on his brother-in-law.

Rasheed felt that he deserved it. Willie ran around bragging about the ‘oooweee’ he had and the

money flowing in constantly from selling it. Rasheed had to do it, just to shut him up. Becky was

30
down, of course she was down to do anything. She willingly gave up her services while Rasheed

robbed him blind right under his gorilla shaped nose. He almost lost it when he saw how much

she enjoyed giving him head in the middle of his sister’s living room. Becky brushed it off and

broke him off so good that he forgot why he was mad at her in the first place.

Now he was caught, how he was not sure. The only people who knew about the set-up

were in this room and one of them was now dead. Did she become greedy and go back to get

some more only to run her mouth? He would never know. Only thing he did know was that he

needed to get…

There it was, the Nike swoop he was looking for. The tan box contained ten thousand

dollars and several dime bags. His heart started to go back to its regular beats. Then panic eluded

him. He needed to get out. Rasheed lifted the pillow next to Becky. Blood was already starting to

dry. The .48 was gone. His eyes scanned the room. Nothing. Maybe that was best. Without

taking anything else Rasheed snuck out the back with his tan box under his arm.

31
7:14 am.

C-Bo’s car was parked on the street in front of a baby blue one level house. The

neighborhood was still sleeping, recuperating from partying the night before. A few young thugs

in white tees stood down the street fishing for early business. Rasheed nodded at a couple of

them before stepping into his aunt’s house.

A white boxed fan blew in his face as he shut the front door. The dingy hallway carpet

held evidence of heavy traffic throughout the years. Going farther into the house Rasheed felt a

dank heaviness around him. The air smelled similar to Becky’s house. Rasheed thought he was

tripping or maybe the smell had latched onto his nose.

“Ay C-Bo where you at?”

Down the hall he could hear water running. Must be in the shower, Rasheed assumed. He

made himself comfortable on a blood red couch. The flat screen tv came to life as he pressed the

button. BET came into full HD view. A rerun of The Jamie Foxx show was on. He leaned back

trying to relax the muscles in his shoulders. Becky’s sprawled body popped up. His whole body

started to shake as his eyelids became heavy. He would be lucky if he would ever get some

decent sleep.

Rasheed’s body jerked itself awake. The tv was still on, only another show had replaced

the Jamie Foxx show. The volume was turned down too low to hear complete sentences.

Whatever he was dreaming about lingered still. He shook the fuzz out of his head only to have

his girl’s face once again invading his thoughts. He wondered if her body had been discovered

yet. The way her body was…

32
 A faint ringing played down the hall. Before he could get up to see what it was his phone

started to vibrate in his pocket. The number was familiar but he could not place a name with it.

“Yeah.”

“Rasheed, where’s my brother?” Tameka yelled through the phone. She was past

hysterical.

“I’m at his spot now. Ay C-Bo!” Rasheed headed toward the back of the house. He still

heard water running. How long was he asleep? His cousin should have been out by now. “C-

Bo!” he called out again. His shoes started to feel funny the farther he walked. The hallway was

dark so he could not tell what he was stepping in.

“What the…”

“What?!” Tameka called out. “What cuz! What’s goin’ on?!”

“Hold on!” Rasheed pushed the bathroom door open. “Ahhh damn!”

“What?!”

Rasheed grabbed his hair. He could not look directly at the scene. Tameka’s voice zipped

hauntingly through the phone. Bile started to drip from his lips, until his words were covered in

it. “What the…cuz! Cuz, wake up man, wake up!”

“Noooo!” Tameka screamed. A loud thud came through the earpiece and Tameka’s voice

became distant.

Water was overflowing out of the tub. C-Bo was on his knees, his hands were tied behind

his back pulling his bony shoulders back as well. His head leaned against the wall. One single

gunshot womb carved a perfect circle in his head. Pink tinged water rushed out of the tub and

past his shoes.

33
 His voice became a wavering whisper. “Cuz…why cuz? Wake up.” C-Bo’s body fell

forward as Rasheed tried to wake him up. His body had already turned an ashy purple. C-Bo was

bloated twice his normal body size. His skin felt rubbery and slimy. The whole scene tugged at a

familiar memory but he could not pull it out right then. It was irrelevant, his favorite cousin was

dead. This was not a case of coincidences. Someone was out for blood and he knew who was

behind the blood bath.

Willie sat on his leather couch next to his five year old son, Will Jr. The cherry flavored

blunt hung loosely from his lips as his thumbs punched at the PS3 controller in his hand.

“I’m killing you daddy!”

“It ain’t gone last long! Watch this young’n!” A thick cloud of smoke circled around

them. Willie blinked a few times to get the sting out of his eyes. Thankfully whoever robbed him

a week ago did not take his PS3 although a large amount of money and weed was taken but he

can regain that and much more so he was not tripping too much. He swore that white girl that

came out of nowhere had something to do with it but he could not prove it. He could not

remember her name to even start to ask around although her head game was vicious! Willie felt

movement in his red silk basketball shorts. His lips parted slightly in a crooked smile.

“I’m winning daddy!”

The front door to his house flew off its hinges. Wood chips sprinkled the living room.

Willie covered his boy with his flabby body. The blunt he had in his mouth fell onto his lap; it

burnt through his shorts and started working through his skin. Willie did not feel it. Will Jr. lay

with his hands to his ears under his father. Madden 2010 played still on the flat screen oblivious

to what was going on. Willie cursed himself for leaving his piece in the bedroom especially after

34
being robbed a week ago. He should have known they would come back. Out of the smoke

Willie found his brother-in-law Rasheed. It took him a half a second to realize that it was him. It

took another second for him to see the menace burning like a smoldering flame in his eyes.

“What you doin’ Ra?”

Rasheed seemed to float toward the couch. His hand gripped a nine millimeter. “You

thought I wouldn’t figure the shit out?!”

Willie’s eyebrows met on his forehead. “What the hell is you talkin’ about Ra?”

“First my aunt, then my girl, now C-Bo?”

“What happened to C-Bo?”

“Daddy what’s wrong?” Will Jr. whined.

“Go to your room Will.”

His son shook his head; his spaghetti arms clenched his massive arm. “No daddy!”

Willie’s voice filled the room like thunder. His son jumped up still clenching his small

ears. He eyed his uncle but Rasheed kept his fierce eyes on his father. He never saw his uncle

this way.

“Why you do it?” Rasheed asked lips tight.

“Do what Ra?”

“Stop callin’ me Ra! Only fam calls me that!” Spit congregated in the corners of his

mouth. Large drops of sweat popped out of his face giving him a light sheen. “You killed my cuz

over some petty robbery?!”

Willie’s face bent itself up. “How did you…”

“Yeah, that was me! That chick that broke you off? My lady, the one you shot this

morning!”

35
 His brother in law’s face bounced between anger and fear. He stood up.

“Sit your ass down!”

Willie put his hands up letting him know he was not going to try anything stupid.

“Sit down!”

He did as he was told. “Why you rob me? I’m married to your sister.”

“Smart ass niggas don’t go around bragging about they shit! You set your own self up!

Caught you slippin’. Anyway you not blood, never was and especially after what you did, you

never will be!”

“I didn’t kill nobody!”

“Than who you pay to do it?”

“Nobody! I’m not gone kill over ten g’s! Especially not my wife’s fam.”

Rasheed stepped closer so that his gun was only inches away from Willie’s face. Willie’s

bottom lip started to quiver. He chose to go out like a punk, Rasheed thought.

“I’m tellin’ the truth man. I didn’t kill nobody! You wouldn’t shoot me in front of my

son, your nephew would you?”

Rasheed smiled, showing all of his canine teeth. A shiver went up Willie’s spine.

Bang!

Right in between his eyes. Willie still stared at him even after being shot dead. “That’s

for cheating on my sister!”

In the corner of the living room, Will Jr. was crouched down. Tears dripped down his

cheeks like a broken faucet. His whole body shivered. His uncle stared at him with a look of pity;

he had to do it though. That was how things go down; little Will will learn soon enough why not

through family. Rasheed walked out of the house backwards. His sister would be pulling up any

36
minute. He put his finger up to his lips. His nephew nodded his head while the tears stopped and

mimicked his uncle. Will Jr.’s childhood just died along with his daddy.

11:00 am

37
 Rasheed paced back and forth in his childhood friend, Caprice’s apartment. Caprice was

out making sure the police was not harassing his sister or his nephew with questions. He also

wanted to make sure his nephew did not slip his name out of his mouth. He was sure Will Jr.

would not but it was better to be safe than sorry.

A bottle of Seagrim’s gin sat on the edge of the small counter in the kitchen. Half of it

was already demolished. The blood running through him already had started to feel warm under

his skin.

Moments later the front door burst open and in came Caprice. His friend was never

considered handsome by a long shot. His blue black skin held more bumps than a pubescent teen.

His nose spread across his face like butter. And a permanent scowl tattooed itself onto his face.

His mama told Rasheed that he was born with it. That scowl had managed to look worse as he

stormed into the kitchen with Rasheed. Their elbows bumped each other as they tried to

maneuver around the cramp space. He grabbed himself a shot glass from inside of a cabinet and

threw back several shots of the strong liquid. “Some shit is really going down.” Whatever it was,

Rasheed realized that it had spooked him. He watched him inhale more shots. “Dude was not the

one that killed your family,” he said matter-of-factly.

Caprice rolled his neck around and cracked his knuckles. Rasheed knew better not to rush

Caprice. Last time that happened Rasheed witnessed a beat down of all beat downs on a

neighborhood snot nosed wanna-be. Rasheed laughed while the wanna-be ran all the way home,

crying like a baby.

“Destiny.” The name slipped out of his mouth like a poisonous elixir and entered

Rasheed’s mouth. It swirled around in his mouth disintegrating his taste buds. 2010. How the

hell did he forget? His heart started to beat at an unsafe pace. How did…

38
 “You wanna know who has been whispering in his ear this whole time while he was in

the Pen? Ya boy.”

Rasheed scrunched his face up in confusion.

“Auron.”

That name hit him worse than a bullet could ever do. All of this time Auron knew

Rasheed had murdered Destiny’s family. He was keeping tabs on him like a pimp.

“So this is Destiny’s work, not Willie?”

“All of em, your aunt, Becky, C-Bo – all Destiny.”

Damn! He smashed his fist into the counter. Some gin bounced out of the shot glass in

front of him. Suddenly he realized why the way C-Bo was in his bathtub looked familiar, that

was how he had positioned Destiny’s family. Caprice burst through his thoughts.

“What you wanna do?”

Rasheed’s lips curled up. “Send a bitch to eliminate a bitch, ya feel me?”

Caprice understood completely.

Time stood still. Nurses curtsied past him, some even stole peeks at him but time for

Destiny still stood deathly still. It was not meant for Auron to get shot. It should have been self

explanatory that Auron laid low for a minute until he finished what he needed to finish. A black

man’s pride was also his kryptonite. Destiny saw it in Auron, even smelled his stupidity when he

pulled up at Pendleton, he just could not place the foul smell yet. Driving through the Fort had

Destiny convinced that the hood had changed in more ways than just physically. Didn’t Auron

learn anything about his situation? Being popular in the streets did not give a person immunity. It

only gave leeches, hatas, and thirsty heifas more reason to destroy a black man; that is only if he

39
gives them permission to do so. Most of them give it away without even realizing it. Then they

circle themselves with stupidity and greed in the form of friends and this happens – people get

caught slipping. Where were all of those bodyguards that he bragged about as though they were

his seeds when he got shot?

Destiny sat in an orange plastic chair staring up at the ceiling. He counted the dime sized

holes in the popcorn texture to keep his mind steady. To his right sat Auron’s mother, two sisters

and a few cousins. On the left side sat Auron’s baby mama; one of two baby mamas actually.

She was rocking a toddler on her lap. Her eyes bounced around nervously like a crack feign

looking for its next fix. Or maybe she was searching for the first baby mama. Sitting in between

the two families Destiny could feel the tension. It almost choked him. The young girl did nothing

wrong to began with. She did not know that Auron was still living with his first baby mama.

Auron made no effort to tell her either. Apparently word got around that some little girl was

bragging about being with Auron and dipping his whips around the hood. Next thing she knew a

group of females dragged her out of one of his trucks and beat the brakes off of the little girl,

leaving her in the middle of an intersection for dead. Straight foolishness. Destiny remembered

Auron visiting him and relaying everything that had happened and all Destiny could do was

shake his head while Auron thought it was the funniest thing in the world. A young girl almost

got killed because of his foolishness and he thought it made him look more like a man. Auron

did do something smart, he got rid of the original baby mama and hooked up with this one and

they were raising their daughter together and he still maintained a healthy relationship with his

other child as well. But his mama saw the situation differently. Clearly knowing that the second

girl did not know he was involved she still unleashed her anger on the girl instead of her son. The

child did not even know she had a grandma.

40
 “Excuse me, what’s going on with Auron?” Destiny asked blocking a doctor from

slipping through. The doctor turned his mouth in an ugly way then shrugged his bony shoulders.

He minds well had have been speaking French.

“What do you mean you don’t know?” The doctor scurried back through the swinging

doors with the word surgery written in white.

“Sir, I’m going to need you to stop harassing every doctor that walks by,” a Mormon

looking nurse ordered. Thick bifocals sat perched on the edge of her bird nose. He was surprised

she even saw him or anything for that matter. Her nose was on the verge of falling off.

“My boy is in surgery! Ain’t nobody coming out to tell me what’s going on!”

“I’m sure that when they have the chance to come out they will! Being out here is less

time they would be spending on your friend. Now please sit down.”

Destiny fought the urge to put his fist through the nurse’s bifocals. Not an ounce of

concern had been heard in her voice.

“Sir, do I need to call security?”

“I’m going to need you to stop harassing me!” Destiny sat back down. Auron’s mama

patted his arm softly reassuring him that everything would be okay. Although her face told

another story; any second and her face would crack into little pieces. Her bottom lip quivered.

Her eyes looked through him instead of at him. If she only knew he was the reason her son was

in here in the first place she would not be sitting next to him patting his hand.

“Mama, you want some coffee?” one of her daughters offered.

Their mama sat staring at her hands; age was setting in them. Her lips moved but no

sound came out.

“Mama!”

41
 “Kill it Aireana. She doesn’t want any.”

Word must have got back to the surgery team working on Auron that someone was

asking about him and was not planning on letting up until they received an update. A doctor he

had not seen before appeared from behind the swinging doors. He walked right up to Auron. His

hands were on his hips and fresh blood was on his scrub top creating a design.

“For Auron?” Destiny nodded. The family all stood up holding their breaths in the

process. Destiny remained seated.

The doctor maintained eye contact with Destiny. He let out a hot burst of air. “I hate to

say it but it’s not looking good.”

Auron’s mama clutched her mouth. Her legs collapsed from under her. Silent tears spilled

over the rims of his current girl’s eyes. Her daughter strained her neck to see her mama’s face.

The doctor continued. He held the same air of annoyance the beak nosed nurse had circling her.

“He’s losing a lot of blood. A lot. We’re trying to control that before removing the bullet. It

seems to be lodged in between a rib and trying to work its way up.” His eyes was questioning to

Destiny if that was enough information he needed. After a stretched minute he disappeared.

Destiny had not seen that the group waiting for his boy had increased while the doctor was

talking to them. Two of the boys he recognized.

One attempted to get a hug from Auron’s mama. She slapped his arms away. Hurt and

embarrassed he quickly recovered and turned at Destiny.

“You his boy right?” Destiny asked.

“Yeah man. This shit is crazy. Who…”

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 “Where the hell were you when this shit went down, uh? Playin’ with your toenails?

Then you come up in here tryin’ to give some whack ass sympathy? It should be you in there not

my boy! You better disappear real quickly!” Destiny stormed off.

“Is that suppose to be a threat?!” By then Destiny was gone.

Humid air slapped Destiny in the face. Vehicles zipped in and out of the hospital’s

parking lot. All of their faces obscured. He knew Rasheed got his message; there was one last

place to go now.

12:55pm. Lewis Street

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 Destiny walked up his front porch steps this time. There was no need to be sneaky. Inside

the grandfather clock ticked. No light shown through any window. However out of familiarity

Destiny could clearly see up the stairs to his right. He allowed his feet to climb the stairs. Each

step forward made him take a mental picture of the house he became a man in. A faint laugh

filtered out into the hallway. His sister’s high pitched laugh came from her room. Passing it he

could see her lying across her bed with the phone glued to her ear. As he went farther down the

hall the images of his brothers playing with a Nerf sponge basketball came into view. His mama

carrying a green basket full of dirty clothes strolled past. Her eyes held a familiar tenderness. She

blew him a kiss. He smiled. His father stood at the threshold of his room. A slight nod and a

serious expression pushed Destiny on until he was at his own bedroom door. It was closed.

Destiny glanced back. All traces of his family being there had disappeared.

He was not sure how he was feeling about the moment. He knew his fate even before

getting out of prison so he was not afraid of the outcome. The last twenty-four hours shed more

blood than he has ever witnessed and created. It did not bring his family back nor did it make

him feel any better. It just was what it was, how the circle of life had to go. Five tears for each

family member fell down onto his arm. Destiny quietly apologized to Auron before turning the

doorknob. He was walking in on his feet and was leaving in a body bag and he was content with

that. A shadow came across the opening at the bottom of the door. Destiny went in, unprotected.

Rasheed stood at the foot of Destiny’s bed. His .48 Caliber gun he thought he had lost

was in his left hand. It felt good to be reunited with it.

Destiny stepped farther into his room. His body felt as though it was splitting in two. He

glared at Rasheed. His body twitched slightly. He still looked the same as he did twelve years

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ago. Still bean pole slim with a light bulb for a head. He had more hair than before which now

looked like a bird’s nest.

“You happy now?”

“Why would I be happy, uh? My family is still dead, they ain’t coming back and now

neither is yours.”

Rasheed wiped a fresh layer of sweat off of his forehead. He was shaking more now.

Destiny stood absolutely still, which only made Rasheed even more nervous.

“You gone at least tell me why you did it?”

“Everybody worshipped yo ass! Even after you did what you did your family still walked

around braggin’ about how great your black ass was! If they knew half of what I knew about

their sweet oldest boy they would have easily disowned you!”

“You murdered my fam cause you were jealous? You an ignorant mu’fucka!”

Rasheed let out a sadistic laugh. “Funny that was what your pops called me after he

caught me dealin’ on the street! They all disowned me! Looked at me like I was disgusting! Over

a dime bag! Who put me onto that sellin’? D did!” Destiny could see Rasheed falling apart the

more he spoke. “Noses all up in the air like they shit didn’t stank! I had to do it. No wonder your

sister got raped.”

Destiny heard his knuckles pop as he balled his fingers into fists. Snot had started to run

out of Rasheed’s nose.

“Yeah get mad nigga! I said it. What you gone do? You ain’t got shit. Dumb ass gone

steal my gun and then leave it wide open in your crib? How does it feel to know you about to be

with your family, uh?” Rasheed laughed again. Destiny took a quick look at the clock. It was ten

after one in the afternoon. “You got something to say, D boy?”

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 “See yo ass in hell bitch!”

Bang!

Destiny felt himself fall backwards. A satisfied smile embraced Rasheed’s face. Ten

turned into eleven. Twenty-four hours was up.

1987

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 “What’s your name?”

“Rasheed,” he answered barely above a whisper. His knock knees looked as though they

had not seen a lick of lotion before. White socks with a green and blue stripe at the top was

pulled all the way up his legs. Velcro straps lay across Dollar Store bought shoes. It looked as

though he borrowed his puke green shorts along with his yellow shirt with a green alligator in the

corner from a younger sibling. His overly large head hung down heavily. Rasheed knew he was

being evaluated and patiently waited for him to finish.

“You just move here?”

Rasheed nodded. A purple ball came out of nowhere and hit the back of his head. A

group of boys snickered behind Rasheed not trying to hide their taunting. Rasheed sat still as if

not feeling a thing but the back of his head was stinging.

“You not gone say nothin’?”

“I-I…”

“Yall got a problem, uh?! Ain’t got nothin’ betta to do but act a foo’! Come here, let me

tag yall in the head!”

The laughing crew split up in different directions and ran out of the park. He shook his

head. “Cowards.”

Rasheed looked up at the first boy who ever stood up for him. The sun sat above his head

like a halo.

“I’m Dante.”

Rasheed nodded his head. Awe glowed all over his face. Dante laughed at his goofy

facial expression. He wrapped his arm around the timid shoulders of Rasheed.

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 “From now on you rollin’ with me Ra, coo’?” Rasheed nodded excitedly. He liked the

sound of the nickname. “Alright. First tho, we gone work on how you geared up. How you

expect to get your feel on behind the orange cheese at recess with what you got on?”

The new best friends walked to Dante’s house laughing the whole way there.

Monday night, July 5th, 2010

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 A bright powerful light burned through his eyeballs. Was he dead? If he was, why was

he feeling an unbearable pain all over? Unless it was hell. Hell is hot, isn’t that what DMX said?

Where was the eternal fire? He was pretty sure hell was not this bright, at least if he was going

by what his mama use to tell him when he was younger.

His head felt like a bomb had gone off in it.

“Hey! ‘Bout time you woke up!” a voice said. He tried to look where the voice had

supposedly come from. “Over here.” A large hand waved in front of his face. His eyes followed

the arm attached to the excited hand. Multiple blinks turned the black blur he was looking at into

a face.

“What it do my guy. Welcome back.” Auron’s mischievous smile lit up his face. Destiny

had never been happier to see that face. So he was not dead, or was he? He remembered leaving

the hospital with Auron basically dead.

Auron read his mind. “Naw we not in heaven. God ain’t gone let you go that easily.”

Destiny unsuccessfully tried to talk but ended up having a coughing fit. Auron grabbed

the clear water bottle from the side table. That was when Destiny noticed Auron in a wheel chair.

With uncoordinated precision Destiny managed to get the straw in his mouth. Half spilled on his

gown but it was alright, he was alive.

“I see someone finally came to from his beauty sleep.” Her breasts itching to bust out of

the top caught Destiny’s attention first. Her voluptuous hips swayed to an imaginary beat toward

the left side of his bed. Skin never tainted by pimples graced her. Large puppy eyes held a

flirtatious smile.

“I think my guy here is in need for a sponge bath,” Auron volunteered. Destiny nodded

his head in one hundred percent agreement.

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 The chocolate bunny’s pouty lips curved up. “You must be feeling good. Maybe you can

give yourself one.” Destiny scrunched his face trying to conjure up some unexpected pain. It

made her laugh. Even that was perfect. “I’ll see what I can do.” Both watched as her behind left

the room. They could tell she had no panties on, not even thongs.

“Damn that’s beautiful,” Auron said. He turned back to his boy.

“Ra,” Destiny mouthed.

Auron pulled out a paper from under him. He held it up so his boy could read the front

page. ‘Rasheed Amari Johnson Arrested After Leaving a Blood Trail’ it read.

“Smart move using his gun to kill all those people. An off duty cop just happened to be

driving past your crib and heard the gunshot. Thankfully Ra has bad aim. His fingerprints were

all over that gun.”

Destiny looked down at his arms, a sadness tugged at him from somewhere.

“Ay D, it’s over. They can’t link any of it to you.”

His family was still six feet under. Somehow Auron understood what he was

contemplating. It will take him a minute to get back mentally sane. He will make sure he stays by

his boy’s side through it all. Isn’t that what brothas was supposed to do? It did not matter that

they was not blood. Their brotherhood ran deeper. He was his brother’s keeper.

The door to Destiny’s room opened up. In walked Ms. Double D’s with a pink pale filled

with thick towels, soap and baby lotion in one hand and a large sponge in the other. All of her

pearly whites were showing.

“How about that sponge bath sexy?”

Destiny and Auron exchanged glances. “That’s my queue to go. I’ll holla at you later.

Take care of my boy.”

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 “Oh trust me I will,” she answered as she started to come out of her scrubs. Auron locked

the door as he rolled out.

Twelve years is what they sentenced

Dante ‘Destiny’ Parker to do for murder. Simple
bid, then he would be back tearing it up on his
eastside streets better known as The Bottoms
with his family and boys. Only life had
something else in mind. A year into his bid
Destiny’s family is murdered – execution style.
Two visits, one from his rival and the other from
his childhood friend confirmed that the one he
least expected was the one who pulled the
trigger five times and shifted his future.
Destiny’s release date could not have
come quicker. Equipped with rage the first
twenty-four hours turns the Fort into a city sized
morgue. He has nothing to lose. Whose destiny
will be prison and whose will be the cemetery?
Keep your enemies close and your best friend
closer.

Brotherhood doesn’t mean anything in the hood anymore….

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