RIPPED & READY (PART 79)

RIPPED & READY (PART LXXIX) 

          After fifteen minutes of silence, the three of us emerged from the apartment, passing the door which was riddled with bullet holes. Along with the police presence, a crowd of onlookers had gathered – it was about 10:00am in the morning and the sun’s brilliance beamed down from above – it was calm after the lead the storm.  One of my neighbors, skinny Sheila (my nickname for her), walked over towards us and wrapped her arms around both Joseph and myself.

          “Oh, my God, I’m glad the both of you are alright,” she said.

          Then, two Mexican police officers made their way over through the sea of spectators from the complex.  The taller of the two asked everyone present if they had seen anything and, like most people who resided in an area known for gang activity, nobody spoke up.  When no one volunteered any information, he strolled over to Collin and inquired and you know Collin wasn’t giving up any details – especially since he was in the dark like everyone else.

          “Naw, man, I was too busy dodging bullets,” Collin told him without blinking an eye. 

          The shorter officer asked him to stay put because he had more questions for him.  “So, who lives in the targeted apartment,” he asked without any emotion. 

          “They do,” Paul Petty answered, with a willingness that reminded me just why I didn’t like him.  He was an arrogant pompous ass hole without tact.  I remember when Joseph and I moved in, I overheard him saying “There goes the neighborhood,” and I wanted to walk over and pound his face in.  He had red curly hair, wore black horn-rimmed glasses, and his gut made mine look like a six-pack.  It literally spilled over the top of his trousers like a waterfall. 

          Joseph cut his eyes at him and said, “Always willing to do your part as a good citizen, aren’t you, Paul?”

          “You know it, Joseph,” he responded stupidly not knowing that Joseph’s question was a rhetorical one. 

          “Unfortunately, no one can enter the residence until after a thorough investigation has been completed,” the taller one said.

          “Now ain’t that some shit,” Collin said disgusted.  “So, they’re ass out until ya’ll finish nit-picking the area, huh?” He asked, agitated (Collin didn’t trust cops).

          The short cop walked over to Collin, eyed him up and down, and said to him “You sure you didn’t have anything to do with this, you look like a gang banger, son?” he asked, trying to stir Collin up.

          Collin backed away from him, and copped a B-Boy stance, crossed his arms, and nodded his head up and down, challenging the officer.  I hoped that he didn’t blow it because I needed him in the worst way.  Collin twirled the toothpick  around in his mouth, and scoffed. 

          “Whatever, “got-dayum” law man.”

          When officer shawty moved forward towards Collin, the taller one put his arm out and stopped him before he could take another step. 

          “Louie, we don’t need any more trouble here,” he said, looking at both Collin and his badge-buddy. 

          “Yea, Fruity, we don’t need any more trouble here,” Collin said, eyeing the short cop down. 

          “Collin, chill with all that man, we don’t need to even go there,” I told him, pulling him back by the arm. 

          Officer Louie rolled his eyes at Collin – he was thoroughly ready to start some shit and I wasn’t about to let Collin walk into avoidable trouble. 

          Collin kept nodding his head up and down in that (yea, muthafucka way, daring the cop to say something).

          “Dayum” I wish he would just quit acting up.

          After taking our brief statements, both Joseph and I were allowed back into the apartment to gather up some of our necessary necessities (our wallets and Joseph’s book bag, a few days change of clothes and undergarments, and our cell phones).

          Once outside again, I asked the officer if our things would be secure because there was no way I could afford to buy another stereo and television.  The taller officer assured us that things would be kept secure.  The manager of the complex, Huey Majors, was beside himself. 

          “I just knew you two were going to be trouble, but because of Affirmative Action we had to let the two of you in,” he said.

          Both cops and the three of us looked at one another and shook our heads. 

          Officer Louie asked Huey to take his ass back over to the sidelines with the rest of the spectators if he had nothing more to offer than a racist rant.  He looked at the officer in disbelief. 

          “I cannot believe you talked to me like that,” He said, gripping his chest as if he had “tid-days”. 

          The only thing worse than an over dramatic queen was a white over dramatic queen.  (Uh, huh, racism existed in the Gay community too; don’t act like I’m the only muthafucka who knew that one). 

          “Marco, what the hell have you gotten yourself into, boy,” Anita asked out of the blue. 

          Hell I had forgotten she was even there, but I had some questions to ask her about her cousin Peewee.  Luckily for us we didn’t have to deal with the loose cannon of the two because Darrius’s ass was still on lock down. 

          I was at a crossroads here and any prior alliances I may have had were all null and void.  Anita had some explaining to do because I was sure I had told her about all the shit that had taken place in my personal life – between Pops and Denise’s nasty asses and then the whole Peewee Darrius thing, hell her ass wasn’t as innocent as she was pretending to be (Why in the hell did she just happen to be outside when all this shit went down?). 

          “Anita, let me just say this,” I said, looking around to make sure I wasn’t in ear shot of any cop, “Your cousin’s have been making my life a living hell, and you need to come clean, sistah,” I told her. 

                    “Marco,” she said in shock, “You don’t think I had anything to do with this, do you?” she asked, searching my face with her eyes, waiting for a response. 

          “At this point, baby-girl, I don’t know what to believe, all I know is there have been too many twists and turns happening and I want to get to the bottom of this,” I told her. 

          She looked at me with this hurt look on her face, “You hurt my feelings, Marco, I cannot believe you think I had anything to do with this shit,” she said, completing her sentence. 

          Feelings…

          Feelings…

          Fuck her muthafucking feelings…

          I needed to get to the bottom of this and I also needed to find out where my sister was.  I called her number up on my cellular phone.  She answered on the third ring. 

          “Danita, where are you?” I asked in the commanding brotherly tone. 

          “I’m with Elijah, Tootchie’s cousin,” she said. 

          Now I wasn’t too keen on her being with another gang banger, but I would rather she was some place safer than the family home – especially with Pops and these other niggas lurking about. 

          “Yea, alright, you stay your black ass over there and do not go home under any circumstances,” I told her. 

          “I’m grown, I can go wherever I …”

          I cut her ass off mid-sentence, “Look, don’t start that I’m-grown-and-can-do-whatever-I-like-shit with me, Danita; this is some serious ass shit going down and you aren’t as grown as you think you are,” I told her. 

          She scoffed. 

          “Danita, I’m not playing with you, if you and moms are safe, I can concentrate fully on this bullshit our old man is tied up into some way,” I told her.

          “What does daddy have to do with this?” she asked.

          My sister wants to study law after she graduates from high school – a good ass profession choice because she always did ask too many “got-dayum” questions. 

          “Quit it with the twenty-twen, Danita, I don’t have time for it right now, just keep your ass with Elijah,” I reminded her again of what I had asked her to do.

          This sinister brew was getting thicker by the minute – if you listened carefully you could actually here the dominos falling rapidly. 

          Pap-Pap-Pap