The Owner of My Soul Vol 2: Chapter 12, Chapter 13 and Chapter 14
CHAPTER 12
IT’S JUST BUSINESS
The
next morning came about and we were heading to the office. The four of us
decided to ride together since we were heading to the hospital right after this
anyway. When we got to the building, we went to the conference room and noticed
Dre, Chris, Yvonne, and Latoya already here. I looked at my watch.
“Anxious?”
I asked them.
“You
can say that.” Toya said.
“I’m
sorry, I have a bum memory sometimes.” Will began. “Yvonne, what do you own
again?”
“The
SJ Network. Daddy gave it to me.” Yvonne replied.
“Wow!”
Will said.
We
set up, getting ready for our presentation and all that good stuff. Slowly, the
conference room started to fill up with all our siblings. We greeted everyone
as they came in. It was about 7:50
when Dad, Ma, Uncle Tevin and Aunt Keasha finally came. They were the last
ones. We all sat down as Dad and Uncle Tevin closed the doors and circled
around the room.
“From
the way it looks this is the entire family.” Dad stated.
“I
don’t see anyone missing.” Uncle Tevin confirmed. “Well, I’d like to say good
morning to all of you. Most of you I haven’t seen in quite sometime so it feels
good to see ya.”
“I
agree.” Dad agreed. “We’ve asked ya to come here today because as ya know Tevin
and myself are the majority owners of SJ Enterprise.”
“What
you may or may not know is that Natasha and Nakeasha are the minority owners.”
Uncle Tevin added.
“Now,
for the majority of you, y’all don’t know about our new CEOs of SJ Enterprise.
So we wanted to take this opportunity to not only introduce them, but to let
them outline plans, status and take in all questions and concerns.” Dad said.
“So,
without further ado, the CEOs of SJ enterprise; Kenneth Johnson and William
Smith.” Uncle Tevin introduced us.
We
stood up and had mixed love. The ones that applauded were the ones that knew already
and the ones that didn’t mind. That was about 35% of the individuals here.
“Thank
you, everyone.” I said. “Thank you Dad and Uncle Tevin.”
“Before
we begin, I just want to take the time to say it’s hard standing here before
all of you in a position that I’m sure
most of you don’t agree with us having.” Will said.
“With
that being said, we want to inform all of you of the things that’s been goin
on.” I said. I lowered the screen and turned on the projector.
“From
this graph, you can see our earnings before our tenure.” Will said.
“On
this graph, you can see our earnings now.” Everyone gasped and applauded.
“Thank you.”
“Point
blank, we were picked because we were the perfect fit for the position. We’ve
expanded in our original things and started other projects that are seeing very
good success.” Will said.
“So,
with that all out, does anyone have any questions?” I asked. Almost all hands
were raised. “Ok, ummm…. Dwayne?”
“The
question I have is how much power do you actually have? Does everything we do
have to be approved by you?” He asked.
“No,”
Will replied, “everything will be handled just like before. We do have the
power to close down businesses, turn down ideas, fire employees, and just about
everything else imaginable. Will we actually use it? Prolly never.” Will looked
around. “Latoya, you have a question?”
“With
everything increasing, why haven’t we seen any of the money?” She asked.
“This
is actually not in our power,” I replied, “it was actually decided by Dad and
Uncle Tevin. Everything is as a company. All the businesses under Johnson
Enterprise will have all earnings go into JE’s account and same as Smith
Enterprise. What this does is prevent having to keep track of hundreds of
accounts. Now, with this system, what it does is make a pool for everyone to
pull from with limitations. For example, if Damion’s libraries pull in $2
million dollars a week, then he can’t pull out no more then $4 million. What
ever your earnings are, you can double that amount to pull out.” I looked
around, “Michelle?”
“If
I wanted to expand, would I have to go through you or can I take care of it
myself?” She asked.
“You
have to go through me.” Will replied. “Expansion is one thing that takes
company approval because of funding.”
“You
know what,” David jumped in, “I’mma just say that this is pure bullshit.”
“David.”
Dad spoke.
“No,
I’m the oldest and I’m not CEO. Me and Devin deserve that shit yet these two
mothafuckas get the job.”
“David….”
Ma began.
“Nah,
allow us.” I jumped in. I looked David in his eyes. “You know Dad originally
wanted you to run the company. Then all of a sudden you get lazy. Hell, you’re
barely making it in your own businesses.”
“Devin,
David, I don’t think y’all understand just how prepared we were today. If you
wanna call us out, then we gon put y’all on blast.” Will said. He pulled up
some more slides. “As we all know, Devin and David own a variety of convenient
stores and McDonald chains. McDonalds aside because we all know how well they
do no matter the owner, their convenient stores have averaged a lil over $10.4
billion dollars annually.”
“That’s
pretty decent numbers being you have over 20,000 worldwide.” I added.
“By
far, y’all have the most of one store then anyone here.” Will continued. He
then showed another slide. “If you look at these numbers, you can see that
y’all have been in business a lot longer then the rest of us, yet earning the
least amount.”
“Damion’s
bookstores make 4x the amount y’all do and he has only a 2500 worldwide.” I
added. “It’ll be embarrassing and not fair to compare you to us considering
we’re a much bigger store, but considering what you sell, you should be doing
better then most of us.” Will showed another slide. “This is what we noticed.”
“You
started off well when you were really involved and then started getting lazy.
That’s when your numbers started dipping. If you’re Dad, you’re thinking if
David and Devin have such little interest in their own businesses, why trust
them with ours?”
“Ya
had a jump on us, yet you got cocky and now yo ass is expectin a handout.” Will
stated. “Better go on wit dat bullshit.” I looked at Dad and he nodded and
smiled.
“I
could say it better myself, but I think they got the point across.” Uncle Tevin
said. “Point is y’all haven’t seen the numbers first hand, and we wanted to
present them to you.”
“May
I have a word?” Ma requested. Dad nodded. “To me and Keasha, it doesn’t matter
who your mother is. All of you are our kids. We love you equally and
unconditionally. We don’t want y’all to think that we’re on board with this
just because Kenny and Will are our oldest biological sons. That’s not the case
and no where near being true. The four of us agreed to do this mainly because
it was best for the company. With that being said, when the four of us retire,
Kenny and Will shall be the sole owners of SJ Enterprise.” The room started
sounding like a court room with whispers to each other. I wish I had a gavel.
“Aye,
shut up.” Dad stated. No need for a gavel.
“Besides
David and Devin, who else has a problem with this?” Uncle Tevin asked.
“As
long as our everyday operation won’t be touched, then I think a majority of us
is ok.” Latoya spoke.
“That
won’t happen.” Will assured them. “We find it pointless to fix somethin that’s
not broken.”
“Any
other questions, concerns, gripes, moans, or groans?” I asked. We looked
around. No one had anything. “We’ll end our piece with this final statement.
We’re all related and we all have an agenda. Will and I are CEOs because of how
far we can take SJ Enterprise as a whole.”
“We’re
not here to look over anyone or hold anyone’s hands.” Will added. “We don’t
want anyone to think that we’re going to change anything. Hell, we’ve been in
this position for a good lil minute and y’all haven’t noticed because of how
much we haven’t been in your business.”
“We
want all of you to know that we have y’all backs in any and every thing ya do.”
I finished.
“If
that’s a fact,” Damion began, “I’d like to talk to request expansion.”
“Thank
you, someone finally steps up.” Dad stated. “What’s on your mind Damion?”
“I
would like to not only open up another 400 bookstores nationwide, but I’d like
to form a collaboration with our CEOs here.” He stated. Will and I looked at
each other and then at Damion.
“What
kind of collaboration?” Will asked.
“I’d
like to put a section in each Da Zone in the world.” He requested. “I know you
have a book section in each one, but I’d like to make it my exclusive section.”
Will and I looked at each other and smiled.
“Why
the hell didn’t we think of that?” I said to Will. “You know what, I’m all for
that. How big of a section we talkin?”
“Haven’t
put too much thought into it, but I say we discuss it.”
“Absolutely.”
Will agreed. “Let’s set up a meeting. Anyone else wanna collaborate with us?”
They all looked around the room at each other. More then half of the
individuals in this room raised their hands. “Outstanding. We’ll send out an
email to everyone stating when this meeting will be held. I think we’re in a
good position to really do some damage out here.”
“I
agree.” I agreed.
“This
is what I want to see.” Uncle Tevin spoke. “I want to see everyone working
together. SJ Enterprise is a family business and we want family to work
together to keep us a float. Don’t know if y’all noticed, but our fathers have
moved into this city to challenge us.”
“They
already have our sons.” Dad added, “and now they’re looking to add a few more
people to their roster mostly from people in this room. But you know what,
Tevin and I are looking to do whatever it takes to make sure we remain the best
in the world.”
“That
goes for us as well.” Aunt Keasha spoke.
“With
that being said, this conference is adjourned and we’ll be in contact with all
of you to give everyone a State of the Company report.” Dad said.
“Thank
you for coming and we have high hopes for all of you.” Uncle Tevin concluded.
Everyone stood up and gathered their things. Will and I began getting our stuff
together. Michelle, Rachelle, Lester, and Terrance approached us.
“Kenny,
Will, may we talk to you fa a minute?” Michelle asked.
“Absolutely.”
Will replied. “What’s on ya mind?”
“We
want close down a few of our private businesses and start a joint business.”
Terrance stated.
“Wow.”
I said. “I mean if that’s what ya wanna do, we’re wit ya. In fact, I don’t
think ya need our approval for that.”
“Well,
you don’t know the businesses we plan on closing.” Lester said.
“We
want to close down 6 of our 10 companies.” Rachelle began. “The six we’re goin
to close happen to be in the top 15 of SJ earnings.” Will and I got wide-eyed
and looked at each other.
“Why
would ya wanna do that?” Will asked. “Why not just do the joint company without
closing down anything?”
“We
feel that’ll put too much of a burden on us. We went through our business plan
and realized that doing this, we can not only generate the same income, but
make even more.” Michelle explained. Will and I looked at each other again.
“Well,
if you feel this will workout for the best, then we’re behind ya all the way.”
I said. “Thanks for letting us know.”
“You’re
in charge and we accept it.” Rachelle stated. “From what I’ve seen, y’all are
untouchable.”
“Thanks.”
I smiled and finished packing up. “Well, I have to run to the hospital. I’ll be
contacting y’all about everything.”
“We’ll
be waiting.” Michelle said. I nodded. Will, Candace, Sydney and I walked out
and went to the car. It was a lil after 9. I drove straight to the hospital.
“You
said his surgery is at 10, right?” Sydney
“Yea.”
I confirmed. “We’ll get some McDonalds when we get there.” I looked in my rear
view and saw Candace laying on Will; both knocked out. Sydney
“What
are you thinking of?” She asked me.
“If
we look like them.” I looked at my mirrors to ease my paranoia.
“I
think we do. I think we’ll end up looking like your parents.”
“Ya
think so?”
“Without
even thinking about it.” She kissed my hand. “I have a question for ya.”
“What’s
good?”
“You’re
goin to be heir to the Johnson Company throne. What do you plan on doin with
your basketball, acting and rapping careers? Your father gave his all up when
he started the company.”
“You’re
right. I guess I haven’t thought about it.” I stated. “I have years to figure
it out, so I’m not goin to stress over it now.”
Her
phone started ringing. She answered it as I was pulling into the hospital
parking garage. I saw Ma’s car, but remembered she rode with Dad to the office.
She may or may not be here yet. I found a parking space and woke up the two
sleeping birds. We went into the hospital and started looking for Ma. We
spotted her and Aunt Keasha by the surgery room.
“What’s
Ma doin here?” Will asked me.
“Don’t
know, but I wouldn’t mind asking.” I replied. I looked at Sydney
“Hey,
y’all, surgery is bout to begin shortly.” Ma said to us immediately.
“How
long will it take?” I asked.
“About
an hour.” She replied.
“What
ya doin here, Ma?” Will asked Aunt Keasha.
“Had
to pick up a few things, so I chose to drop her off.” She replied. “Hey, I
gotta run. Let me know how the surgery goes.” She kissed Will and hugged the
rest of us. As Aunt Keasha left, nurses were entering the surgery room.
“We’re
bout to get started. Y’all have a seat in the waiting room or in your rooms,
and I’ll get ya when we finish.”
We
nodded and walked away. We got into our rooms and I lied down on the bed. Sydney
“Good Morning, sports fans. I’m Rick Wilford alongside Wilma Upstart.
We kick off this edition of Sportscenter with breaking news in Cleveland Cleveland
“This event is a huge disappointment. For our brightest, most talented,
and by far the biggest icon in sports to have a public incident of this
magnitude is unacceptable. I have no other option but to suspend Kenny Johnson
for all preseason games and 5 regular season games. He will be also fined
$500,000. As commissioner, it is my job to assure that an incident like this
never happens again. I’ve taken it upon myself to hand this suspension down
because I know the Cavaliers won’t do it.”
“We’re joined with NBA analyst, Adam Trace. Adam, do you feel this is
too harsh?”
“Absolutely. It was an off-court incident that was started by the
Bengals and I don’t feel he should have been suspended for that long, if at
all.”
“What does this do to the Cavaliers next season?”
“Not much. With Will Smith still very active, this doesn’t have a lot
of effect on their season. It does make their second game, which is against the
Tiger Claws, quite interesting. We may see Will’s undefeated streak come to an
end.”
“That does sound like a possibility. Is there any way he can have this
overturned?”
“Absolutely not. With the new rules, any punishment handed down by the
commissioner is untouchable. It can’t be overturned or anything.”
“Son
of a bitch!!!” I yelled. I stood up and took my phone out. I called Will.
“What’s
good?” He answered.
“I’ve
been suspended.” I said with anger all through my voice.
“You
what?”
“I’ve
been suspended for five games.” I repeated. “I’mma kill that bitch.” Sydney
“You
got suspended for that bullshit?” Will said. “How the hell am I goin to beat a
determined Tiger Claw team without you?”
“I
don’t know.” I sat back down. “I can’t believe this shit.”
“Look,
I know they say once the commissioner hands down punishment it can’t be
overturned, but I think if ya told Dad, he might be able to do somethin.”
“I
hope so. I’mma hit you back.”
“It’s
on.” I hung up wit him and before I could call Dad; he text me. I read it and
nodded.
“What’s
it say?” Sydney
“He’ll
handle it.” She sat down next to me.
“I’m
sorry that happened to you.”
“It’s
not your fault. It’s completely mine. I knew I shouldn’t have done anything.”
“She
provoked you. It’s not like you to back down.” I nodded in agreement. She
hugged me. “Don’t worry, I’m sure your father will help in this matter.”
“You’re
right.” I kissed her. “Let’s get somethin to eat.” She nodded. We stood up and
headed to McDonalds downstairs. I looked at the time. It was still breakfast
time. I ordered two steak, egg, and cheese bagel meals with orange juice and
two extra hash browns. We brought our food back to the room and popped in a
movie. We started watching Underworld Evolution and ate.
Halfway
into the movie, Ma calls my cell. I answer it.
“Kenny,
just wanna let ya know that Andrew is in stable position and should be waking
soon. You may see him when you’re ready.” She told me.
“Thanks,
Ma. How well did it go?”
“Perfect.
It’ll now depend on if his body accept it. I doubt it won’t, so he should make
a full recovery in about two to three days.”
“That’s
good.”
“Yea.
Let me go and I’ll expect to see you down here shortly.”
“Absolutely.”
I hung up wit her and sat up.”
“We’re
goin?” Sydney
“Yep.”
She got up and put her shoes on.
I
put mine on and we left hand in hand. We first went to Will’s room to see if he
wanted to come. I knocked on his door. No answer. I knocked twice more. No
answer. I looked between the door and the floor. No movement. I assumed they
were sound asleep. “I’ll text him.” I said. We continued heading towards
Andrew’s room. We walked in. I saw him in such a peaceful state. He didn’t have
any machines hooked up to him, so it looked like he was able to breathe on his
own. I got a chair and sat next to him. I took his hand into mine and smiled.
CHAPTER 13
DECEPTION AND ENDLESS PURSUIT
Andrew
finally awoken around 4pm .
The first person he saw was me. He smiled and looked at Sydney
“How
you feelin, big guy?” I asked him.
“Tired.”
He replied.
“You’re
goin to be fine.” I looked at Sydney Sydney Sydney
“Nice
to meet you, Andrew.” She held his hand and smiled. “I’ve heard a lot about
you.”
“Nice
to meet you, too, Miss Sydney.” He said, politely.
“Please,
call me Sydney.” She told him.
“Are
you in any pain?” I asked him.
“Not
really.” He replied.
“That’s
good.” I pulled out my phone and read my text message. I smiled and stood up.
“I have a surprise for you.” I walked to the door and opened it. KJ walked in,
smiling. Andrew’s face lit up.
“KJ!
You came to see me!” He said, joyfully.
“Of
course. You’re my nephew and all.” He sat next to him and had a few autographed
paraphernalia. “All of this is for you. When your father told me I was your
favorite player, I couldn’t wait to see you. I’m glad you’re doing well.”
“Thank
you. I’ve wanted to meet you for a long time.”
“Tell
ya what, y’all talk fa a lil while and Sydney and I will be back. You hungry,
man?” He nodded. “We’ll try to get some food for ya.” We left out and tracked
down Ma. She had a piece of paper in hand and was heading in our direction.
“If
you’re bout to ask me bout food, I have the menu for him right here. What do
you think he wants?” She asked.
“Honestly,
I don’t think it’ll matter.” I told her.
“Would
ya accompany me?” She asked us.
“Yea.
We were giving them some time to talk anyway.” We walked next to her. “It’s
strange. I just met him not too long ago. Just found out about him, yet it
feels like I’ve known him all my life. What’s even stranger is that I never
realized how incomplete I was.”
“What
do you mean?” Sydney
“Ever
since he was born, I felt incomplete, but so much was goin on that I was easily
able to make excuses. Now I feel complete even though there’s even more things
goin on.” I explained. Sydney
“I
swear if you don’t stop becoming your father I will scream.” Ma said
sarcastically. “He fought for you because he felt incomplete.” I laughed.
“Why
am I not named Kevin Jr. again?” I asked, sarcastically.
“You
look a lot like him, but there’s a lot of me in you.” She replied. We made it
to the cafeteria to get Andrew food. I picked out things that I would get. I
got a tray cover and waited on Ma. This was her break, so she got herself
something to eat.
“You
still on that unnecessary diet?” I asked her.
“It
depends on how you look at it. I eat a lot of salads and sandwiches because I
like to. At the same time, I have a lot of options of other foods that I do get
a taste for but don’t get.” She explained.
“If
anyone needs a diet, it’s me.” Sydney
“If
you don’t shut up.” I told her. “You look gorgeous. You’re a lil thicker but it
actually makes you even more gorgeous then you were if that is possible.” She
smiled.
“Y’all
are too much.” Ma said. “Look, I’mma go to my office and handle some work while
enjoying my beautiful salad. If ya need me ya know how to reach me.” She headed
the opposite way we were. With food in hands, we headed back to Andrew’s room.
Upon
entering his hallway, we saw a male nurse leave a room. I started thinking to
myself if it was his room or not. On top of that, the nurse looked familiar.
The closer we got to Andrew’s room, the more it seemed to be. The door was
still open. I dropped the tray and ran to the room. Sydney Sydney
When
I no longer heard gun fire, I peaked outside and left the building. I saw him
at the far end of the lot. I started running towards him. He noticed again and
started heading to the left. With nothing in my way, I started going at top
speed. He was getting closer and closer. I jumped on top of a car and started
car hopping. When I was about even with him, I dove down and tackled him. The
impact broke his collar bone. Without saying a single word, I started wailing
on him with hard rights. Blood gushed out his nose and mouth. I had questions,
but didn’t feel like asking them. I kept punching and punching and punching. I
stopped and stood up. I picked him up by his head and rammed it into the
concrete column. I did three times more. I watched him fall onto the ground and
stood over him. Anger filled my soul. I started stomping him in the face. I
then kicked him purely with the toe of my foot. I’m sure he was dead after
that, but I kept kicking him til I was sure. I stopped and looked at his bloody
body. I started searching him for anything. I ended up finding a business card,
his cell phone, and a small pocketbook.
When
I got back to Andrew’s room, KJ was on the other bed. Ma noticed me, already
with tears in her eyes. I knew what it was before she told me.
“I’m
sorry, sweetie.” She said to me.
“How
this happen?” I asked her.
“He
was poisoned. KJ was tranquilized which is why he couldn’t stop him.”
“How
does someone get by security like that?” She could tell I was beyond hurting.
“No
one got by security. That nurse was a real nurse. He actually worked here. He
must have been working fa someone else.”
“Did
you catch him?” Sydney
“Not
by word of mouth cuz I was too busy fucking him up.”
I
walked to my son and looked at his lifeless body. I couldn’t believe it. As
fast as my son entered my life, he was takin out of it. I had tears come down
my eyes. I can tell Sydney and Ma left me alone with him. I held his hand. I
lost my son. I shouldn’t have left his side. I promised I wouldn’t leave his
side. I rested my head on his arm and just cried. I let it all out as I knew
this was goin to be my only chance. Who would want to kill you, Andrew? I
thought about it and wished I could see into his mind. My ability only goes so
far. The person mainly has to be alive.
I
took the business card out my pocket and looked at it. All that was on there
were a phone number and the letter I. I looked at the cell phone. I looked at
the recent calls. One number was constantly showing up. It looked like the same
number that was calling Tops before I killed em. I glanced at that number for a
hot second, so I’m not sure. All I know is, it was the last received call 5
minutes before I chased him down. I then looked at the pocketbook. On the first
page was a checklist. Nope, just a grocery checklist. Next page was a poem or a
flow. I read it. Man he’s garbage. I turned some more pages and it started to
look like a dead end. Then I came up on something:
Name is Andrew Johnson whom is coming out of surgery. Will be in room
43A.
Inject SKR-213 into blood stream. Escape without being detected.
Call Ice upon making it out of the parking lot. Pick up money and gun.
Call Ice upon spotting Sydney
Call Ice when dead. Pick up money and passport.
I
must say this guy is an idiot for keeping this on him. Secondly, I need to find
out who the hell Ice is. This whole plan makes no type of sense. I put
everything back in my pocket and took my son’s hand.
“I
don’t know who did this to you, or more importantly who’s pulling the strings.
Mark my words, I will find out and send them straight to hell. I’m sorry I
failed to keep you safe. I’m sorry I broke my promise and left your side.” I
stood up and kissed his forehead. I turned around and headed out the door. Sydney
We
headed to Will’s room. I banged on the door. Nothing. I banged again and kept
on banging. Finally, Candace came to the door. Yea, they were sleep. She looked
like I woke her up.
“What’s
wrong?” She asked, seeing the sadness and anger in my face.
“Where’s
Will?” I asked.
“Right
here.” He said, approaching the door. “What’s up?”
“We
need to go.”
He
looked at me and studied my demeanor. He nodded. Sydney and I came in and
waited on them. Two minutes later, they were ready to go. We all left out and
went straight to the car. I had Sydney
“So
what the move is?” Will asked.
“Since
I have his cell phone, I’m goin to use it to call this Ice person.” I stated. I
pulled out his phone. I looked at the recent calls and the business card. The
numbers were different. “Hmm. I should prolly call the recent call first.” I
called the most recent number. The guy that answered was the same guy that
called Tops. I talked to him normally. “Who are you?” I asked.
“Griffin
“I’ll
call Ice in a minute. Andrew is dead.” I said.
“Good.
With phase II complete, we can move on to phase III. Meet me at the O’Reily
parking garage in 15 minutes for your money. I’ll inform you of the next
steps.”
“I’ll
be there.” I hung up. I started thinking. “Either he’s really that stupid or
he’s setting me up.” I said aloud.
“What
do you want to do?” Will asked.
“We’ll
go to the O’Reily garage and see what’s up. Drop us off. Will, I need you wit
me, dawg.”
“You
know I’m wit ya.” He said.
“What
do you want us to do?” Sydney
“Stay
close and out of sight. We’re goin to walk in there to make sure the car
doesn’t get tagged and it’ll give us a chance to scope out things.” I
explained. We came up on the garage. Will and I got out and walked in. We
looked around, staying out of sight the best we can. We went into the building.
I called the guy again. “I’m here, where are you?” I asked when he answered.
“Go
to the far end by the big number 1. I’ll be there.”
As
he said that, I looked around and saw the number 1. I then saw a man with a
cell phone in hand and talking. The words I was lip reading were matching what
I was hearing. I couldn’t see too much facial features, but I knew it was at
least him.
“I’m
on my way.” I hung up wit him. “That’s him.” I told Will. He looked and saw
him. We started heading out the otha door to not be seen. We circled around the
entire parking lot and came up on his blind side. He pulled out his phone and
looked to try and call me, getting impatient. Will held a gun to his head.
“Shit.”
He said.
“Looking
for me.” I said, standing directly in front of him.
“You’re
not Griffin
“Aren’t
you the genius?” I came up and punched him as hard as I can. He fell to the
ground and into the light. His hat flew off. I got a real good look at his
face. I recognized him.
“You
know him?” Will asked me.
“Yea.”
I admitted. “You’re Ronda’s brother.” I stated. “What the fuck are you doin?”
“What
I’m being told.” He replied. I thought about it. Will kept the gun on him. I
got an idea. I called the voicemail of Griffin
“Hello,
this is Griffin
“Good.
Let me speak to Joke.” The voice requested. I muted the phone.
“Joke,
huh? Perfect name.” I crouched down and was bout to put the phone to his ear.
“You say what I tell you to say.” I put the phone on speaker and put it towards
his mouth.
“Yea,
this is Joke.” He said.
“Can
I be heard?” The voice asked. I shook my head.
“No,
you’re good.” You can hear a lil movement.
“Listen,”
the voice was clear and crisp. It was Ronda. “I’m ready to move on to the next
phase. Give Griffin
“Tell
her you understand.” I told him. I unmuted the phone.
“I
understand.”
“I’ll
see you in 15.” She said as she hung up. I closed the phone and picked Joke up.
“Where
are you supposed to meet her at?” I asked.
“I
don’t remember.” He replied. I nodded. Will shot his foot. Joke sat down and
yelled in pain. “At 115th and Bravo. The Alkaline Apartments.”
“What
apartment number?”
“I
can’t remember.” He foolishly replied. I pulled out a knife and stabbed him in
the dick, possibly the balls. He started crying and really yelling.
“812.”
He cried. I nodded. Will shot him in the head 4 times. I called Sydney
“Where
to?” Sydney
“Alkaline
Apartments.”
“I
know where that’s at. Dwayne was talking bout moving there.” She said.
“Your
ex?” I asked.
“Yea.”
I
started thinking about it. I think he’s involved. We got to the apartment
complex 14 minutes later. Will and I got out and went up to apartment 812
“Kenny!
How’d you find me?” She asked, shocked.
“You
neva were that clever. Your brotha is dead.” I pulled Dwayne and threw him onto
the couch. “Have a seat Ronda.” I told her. I closed the door.
“What’s
this about?” Will asked for me. She didn’t say anything. I smiled and smacked
her across the face. She held her cheek.
“I
believe he asked you a question.”
“You
know what this is about.” She stated. I looked in her eyes.
“Are
you fucking kidding me?” I bursted. “You trippin ova that shit way back then?”
I pretty much forgot about it. I had to really think about what the hell she
could be sore over.
FLASHBACK:
This goes back when Monique and I were dating. It was the day I found
out about all the scripts being formulated. Ronda wanted me to come see her and
like an idiot, I agreed to. When I got to her house, I knocked on her door.
“I’m so glad you made it.” She said as she invited me in. I looked at
her up and down. She looked like she was ready to seduce me.
“You look nice, but I think you’re a lil too naked.” I told her.
“Yea, a lil.” She closed and locked the door. “Please, have a seat.” I
sat down and she sat right next to me. I admit, she did look good, but I wasn’t
goin to give in. “So how you been?”
“Off da chain, and yourself?”
“Ok, I guess. I’ve missed you so much. I didn’t realize how much in
love I was with you.”
“Ronda, could we please not go there?”
“Why not? After all, it was you that broke my heart.”
I sighed, “You just had to go there.”
“Cuz you know it’s true. If it ain’t, say it ain’t.”
“Ronda, you know damn well I’ve offered and offered and offered. But
noooooo, you didn’t want to take things that far. You just wanted me to be your
“pleasure boy.” Someone you can get yo “O” wit. We had good times and a lot of
fun, but baby girl, I’ve moved on to a more permanent thang. And………”
“And what?” She cut me off. “You just want to forget everything we’ve
been through? All the mind blowin sex we’ve had? All the times I let you do any
and every thing to me?”
“NO! All I’m sayin is it’s not goin to happen anymore. I don’t want to
forget a single thing we did together. I just don’t want to continue doing it.”
When I told her that, she looked away from me and started crying. “Why all of a
sudden you’re takin it like this? When I was very much available, you didn’t
want a part of me.”
“Cuz I know how you are. You’re nuttin but a dog, a playa that has mo
women then hair. If I got wit you, I knew you would cheat on me in a heartbeat.
I rather have you cheat on yo girl wit me then be the one you’re cheating on.”
“You were just scared to take a chance. Do you honestly think that
Monique didn’t know what she was getting into when she chose to get wit me? So
many people warned her, yet she trusted her heart. Now she has the man that
stands before you. If you trusted your heart, you could be in the same
position. Once a playa, always a playa is one quote that is nothing but
bullshit. Yet you chose to believe it and look where it has you. I don’t cheat
because I want to. I cheat because I have to. It’s the only thing that’s made
me happy, at least before Monique. She has nothing to worry about because I’m
happy with her.”
“Meaning the second you become unhappy, you’ll be right back on the
path of Cheathood.” She stood up and turned her back to me.
“That’s where you’re wrong. When I’m unhappy, she’ll put her time
towards me to make sure I’m happy. Unlike the rest of these gurls out dare, she
loves me for me and not for what I can do for them. I’m not a free ticket to
paradise, so I don’t intend on being with someone that’s only looking for
material.”
“You’re a dog and always will be a dog.”
“You’re alone and always will be alone.” I told her. That definitely
made her cry some more.
“You just had to take it there.”
“Don’t even try to put the guilt trip on me. You can find anotha chump
fo dat.” I then looked at the man comin downstairs.
“I already found that chump.” She said as she walked towards him. “Meet
my fiancé D.” She pulled off his shirt and showed his tattoos. “I don’t know if
you know what this one means, but it shows that he was in and ran the pen.”
I then flipped her and him the bird, “I don’t know if you know what
this means, but it represents me not caring, not scared, and just plan ol’ fuck
you.” I stood my ground as he approached me. He was about 7’ tall and had way
more muscle then me. Of course, he did serve a sentence.
“I got 5 years because of someone like you. Someone that thinks they
above an ass whoopin, God, and untouchable.” He said to me, tryin to intimidate
me.
“Sorry to hear that, but I got my reputation fo niggaz like you that
gets in my face.” He had a smirk on his face.
“You know what, I’m not goin to kill you. I’mma just beat the living
hell outta ya.”
“Thank you, sir. Just for that, I’m not goin to kill you either. Just
have you live wit the shame you got yo ass whooped in front of your girl.” I
smiled and so did he. I waited to see what he was goin to do. I then saw Ronda
in the corner of my eye. She had a vase in hand and was goin to hit me in the
head wit it. I moved and knocked it out her hand. That was the distraction he
needed as he swung and caught me in the jaw. I fell back and sat right on the
couch. He then caught me again in the chest and again in the jaw. I felt my lip
with my tongue and spit on the floor. It came out red. I smiled.
“Do you find something funny?” He said.
“Yea, I do.” I gave him a lil “love tap” kick in the leg. He looked
down and made a face.
“What the hell was that?”
“I don’t know, I just found it funny.” He bent down and was goin fo my
neck. I then saw my opening. With quickness, I gave him a jab and a right hook.
He stumbled back just enough to allow me to get up. I then went off on him. I
swung constantly with rights, lefts, uppercuts, jabs, and hooks. He stood,
cross-eyed, and dazed. I cocked back a good punch and swung. The impact sent
him into the wall 15 feet away. “Now that was funny.” I started laughing and
looked at Ronda. “Hmm, what am I to do wit you?”
“Rape me.” She suggested.
“Good idea.” She smiled in approval. I approached her and grabbed her
by the neck like I was goin to rape her. I then lifted her in the air and
listened to her gasp for air. “If you ever do something like this again in your
miserable life, I wont be this generous. For the last time, I AM DONE WITH
YOU!!!!” I then tossed her into the chair. She coughed and gasped for air. I
unlocked the door and walked out.
Ain’t talked to her since.
PRESENT:
That
shit is like ancient times to me.
“Why
do you think I’m sore about it?” She asked me. “For years I had to deal with
the pain, anguish and embarrassment. How can I not be sore about it?”
“It’s
called moving on.” I told her. “You’re dwelling on somethin that’s ridiculous.”
“You
took everything from me that day.”
“How
so?”
“You
took my boyfriend and my would be son.”
“So
he actually died?”
“Yes.”
She got sad and tears came down her cheeks.
“I’m
sorry to hear that, but you brought that on yourself.” I then thought about the
second thing she said. “Hol up, what son?”
“The
one I was carrying. The one you made me miscarry with your disregard for my
safety. You have no idea how it feels to get attached to someone and then have
them taken away from you before you get a chance to show how much you love em.”
She cried. My eyes widened and I started to slowly walk to her.
“Are
you fucking kidding me? YOU are the reason that I do know how it feels. YOU
killed my son over some bullshit that YOU started. I can’t believe the
testicular fortitude. You deprive me of my son and now sit here crying for
sympathy? I promise you I will make you pay for that shit. Your brother was the
start.”
“I
just wanna know one thing.” Will jumped in. “What is your part in this?” He
asked Dwayne. He didn’t say anything. Will shot him in the shin. “I love making
people talk.” He said to me. I smiled as Dwayne yelled in pain.
“I
just wanted my son back. I was the financial party.” He replied.
“Is
that why ya wanted Sydney I. “One more
question, Ronda. What was your whole plan?” She took a deep breath.
“Originally
it was goin to be Monique, but that marriage ended. I was goin to make my move,
but Sydney
“First
of all, I was never your man.” I rectified. “Secondly, what did Andrew have to
do with this? If Sydney
“Wait,
wait, wait.” Dwayne pleaded. “Andrew was the decoy. He was goin to be the
reason you distance yourself from Sydney
“You
killed my son and thought I was goin to get wit you. That’s the most beautiful
thing I’ve ever heard.” I said. I approached her, smiling. “I’ve never been so
flattered.” She had a smile from ear to ear. I got real close to her and was
about to kiss her. “Still so gullible. I had my gun to her chin and pulled the
trigger, shooting her through her head. We left the apartment and went back to
the car.
“Are
you ok?” Sydney
“Yea.”
I sighed. “Let’s go home. I have a funeral to plan.”
CHAPTER 14
THE END?
It
was the day of Andrew’s funeral. I didn’t have a wink of sleep. I had my eulogy
prepared and couldn’t wait to get this day over with. I had four hours still before
the funeral. I sat on the balcony and watched the sun rise. Sydney
“I
used to think that writing a poem or a heart broken song was one of the hardest
things to do. You were never sure what you wanna say because of all the
emotions flowing in your body. Now I know that the hardest thing to do is write
a eulogy about your child. Not just any child, but one you knew about for three
days. What’s worse is I only actually really talked to him on one of those
days. I didn’t even get a chance to tell him I love him.” I paused for a
moment. “I’ve lost best friends, family members, and even pets, but all of that
combined can’t compare to the way this feels.” Tears streamed down my face. “He
didn’t get a chance to see me play. He had no idea how good I was and what
skills he was goin to get from me. He didn’t get a chance to go to Six Flags or
to a real basketball game. Even worse, he didn’t get a chance to meet his
brothers and sisters.” Sydney
“But
you did give him something. Before he died, he got to meet his father. He got
to see the person he always wondered about but never got a chance to see. He
may have not seen one of your games, but he did meet his idol. Your brother was
the biggest thing to him, and you introduced them to one another. I’m not
saying he’s in a better place because I’m sure he feels there’s no better place
then right here with his father. What I am saying is for the past couple days,
he’s never been so happy. He died knowing who his father is and the truth about
why he wasn’t apart of his life. When you do this today, don’t dwell on the
things that you didn’t get a chance to do. Brag about the time you did spend
together. Let it be known that you made the biggest impact on his life.” I
didn’t think about it like that. She kissed me on my cheek. She then turned me
towards her. “I know he didn’t get a chance to say it, but I’m sure he loves
you too. I’m sure he loved you even though you weren’t there.” She kissed my
lips. “I’ll let you be alone.” She got up and started to walk back into the
house.
“Sid?”
I called. She stopped and turned around.
“Yes.”
“Could
you please stay with me?” I requested. She smiled.
“Absolutely.”
She came up to me and curled up on my lap. I held her and cried on her
shoulders.
At
the funeral, the priest was saying his piece. I looked down at the casket and
started thinking back to when I was younger and attended my Great Grandfather’s
funeral. As I listened and thought, I could feel a presence. Maybe I was
feeling Andrew. Then again, it felt real. It felt like someone was watching. I
snapped out of it when I heard my name called. I walked forward and was
prepared to give my eulogy.
I
cleared my throat. “For those of you that don’t know, Andrew Williams was my son. I
remember the day I found out. I thought that phone call was the front cover of
a book of drama. It ended up being the missing piece of my soul. For years I
felt that a piece of me was missing. When I met Andrew, I knew that he was that
missing piece. I felt like I known him all his life even though I only spoke to
him for a day. That day I took advantage of the time we had and spoke to him as
long as possible. Upon talking to him, I found out his favorite player was my
brother, KJ, because he never seen me play. I immediately introduced him to KJ
after his surgery.” I
cleared my throat again. Tears were falling from my eyes. “I’ve been a father to four
beautiful children, but it shoulda been five. I’ve attended many funerals, but
this is one that should be the other way around. Drew is my oldest son. It
should be him standing here and me in that casket.” I sniffed and cleared my throat
again. “I
loved Andrew before I knew about him and I love him even though he’s gone. I
never been as happy and as complete in my life then the day he entered it.
Andrew, I know you’re looking down on us and I know you’re thinking the same
thing we are. As you watch over us, we’ll always keep you in our hearts, our
prayers, our memories, and our thoughts. Be good, my son, and I’ll see you when
I see you.”
Before
leaving the podium, I see a woman by a tree, way in the back. I somewhat
recognized her, but I think she noticed me noticing her first. I stepped down
and went towards her. She tried to walk away.
“Hey!”
I called. I jogged and grabbed her arm. “Who are you?”
“Nobody.”
She replied.
“Do
you come to anyone’s funeral?”
“I
know the boy.” She sniffed. She’s been crying.
“How
do you know him?” I asked her. She didn’t say anything. I grabbed her arm and
turned her around. “I said how do you……” When I saw her face, I immediately
knew who she was.
“I
know him because I’m his mother.” She sighed.
“Monique?”
I was speechless. “How are you still alive?” That was the first question I can
think of. Terrible.
“I
wasn’t dead. I ended up in a coma.” She replied.
“So
you change your face a lil bit and your hair. Didn’t think I’d recognize you?”
I asked.
“Honestly,
no I didn’t. I’ve walked by Sydney
“Well,
if you know someone well enough, there’s not a thing that person can do to make
em unrecognizable.”
“I
see.”
“So
why were you tryin to run from me?” I asked.
“I
didn’t know what would happen. You banished my entire family as it is. I didn’t
know how you were goin to react to me keeping him from you.”
“Why
did you?”
“Come
on, Kenny, ain’t it obvious? Look at Tierra. She doesn’t even love me anymore.
I couldn’t risk that happening with him.”
“Why’d
you block out anything I was?”
“If
he found out you were the famous Kenny Johnson, he wouldn’t wanna stay with
me.” She replied. “I’m sorry that I kept him from you, but I couldn’t live with
losing both my children.”
“You
coulda at least told me. It could have prevented some thangs when we presumed
you were dead.”
“I
know. I see that now.” She looked at her watch. “Looks like I better go. The
president only allowed me two hours here.” She kissed my cheek. “It was nice
seeing you again.” She turned and walked away.
“Mo?”
I called. She stopped and turned around. “I’ll lift the ban.”
“Why?”
She asked.
“I
think y’all have suffered enough. Your family except for your father may
re-enter the city at will.”
“Thank
you. I hope to see you around.” She said.
I
watched her walk away. I turned around and saw them about to finish up. I ran
back and put my flowers onto the casket. I couldn’t watch anymore. I left to go
sit in the car. Will knocked on the window. I unlocked the door and he got in.
“How
you holdin up?” He asked me.
“I’m
ok.”
“Good.
That eulogy was beautiful.”
“Thanks.”
I sighed. “Guess who I ran into.”
“Who?”
“Monique.”
He started choking.
“How’s
that possible?” He asked.
“She
didn’t die. She went into a coma.”
“Did
you get the answers you been wanting?”
“Yea,
it’s just like I thought. I lifted their ban. Except for their father.” I
confessed.
“I
thought about it.” He started shaking his head. “Life is getting crazy.”
“I
heard that.” I saw Sydney
“I’m thinking about pro…” We then heard a loud
explosion. Sydney
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