"I can't believe dis tha' ma'fucka you had to answer to," an aggravated King said to Lucky as they sat in the truck watching Frank and his men talk outside of a bar.
"He had money, I was broke," Lucky shrugged, "don't underestimate him tho, it's a reason all these hired guns around him."
"I see dat," King huffed, reclining his seat back. "I would've done his ass in tha' moment I laid eyes on him but I respect your craft and patience."
"Gotta have patience doing some hot shit like dis... don't need none of dis shit coming back to bite me in tha' ass. One and done, das it," Lucky asserted then leaned back when one of Frank's minions cruised by.
"Been out here for a month and he's always changing shit up," King stressed.
"He feels tha' vibes. Half these guns around him are new, he ard knows his time coming."
"Dumbass did it to himself, fucking with my damn daughter. Don't he know who I am?" King rhetorically asked. He was beyond irritated.
"Everybody knows, why you think his ass sent Ava dat fake gift when he thought he killed me? I'm just glad yo ass ain't try to do him in after tha' shit happened. They def would've blitzed yo ass."
King chuckled, "I move smarter than dat now, woe."
Lucky cut his eyes at him, "mm-hmm," he started the engine and followed a few cars behind Frank's right-hand man.
King checked and rechecked his clip a few times before screwing the silencer on. "Would be better to just take tha' bastard out."
"Dat ain't how I operate," Lucky simply said. "Hit his muscles first before we fish him out. Dudes get paranoid once everyone around 'em starts falling like dominoes. I like to pluck 'em one by one."
"Sound like young me," King chuckled.
"Whatever,"
Amused, King retrieved the AK from the backseat.
Following the car for an hour, Lucky backed into the alley. "Got them jawns on your shoes?"
"Duh," King said before putting the mask on.
The passenger opened the door first and stretched his legs as a cigarette hung out the corner of his mouth. The backdoor opened as well as the driver's door and the men in suits, headed towards the run-down door.
Lucky whistled.
Looking around until their eyes met, before the men could react, bullets were piercing every part of their body. Body after body dropped.
Tossing King the keys, Lucky jogged toward the abandoned car. Popping the trunk, he snatched out the bag of cash and tossed it between the bodies. Tossing the match, he hopped into the driver's side and sped off with King leaving in the opposite direction.
***
"How you learn to cut bullets like dat?" King decided to ask Lucky as they sat at the table sharing a box of pizza. It's been three hours since the incident and the news outlets seemed to be trying to keep things under wraps.
"Once I realized I couldn't leave any type of dna, had to start thinking like a military assassin," he casually answered.
"Let's hope he doesn't realize you out here, as your old handler, I'm sure he'd remember your M.O," King reminded.
"I don't ever do kills tha' same. Sloppy people do dat, everything is always different, even down to tha' type of guns I use."
"Let me mind my business then," King chuckled. "We gon' keep dis shit between us... fuck around and scare my daughter off if she knew how you get down."
"Which is why I told her to ask me to stay years ago. Dis shit brings out tha' worst in me, das' yo fair warning," Lucky stared intensely at him.
"I got a dark side, you ain't scaring me," King shrugged, "but I understand."
"I ain't even on dat with you, OG."
"I know what you're referring to and das why I made dat statement about you keeping a picture of Ava and your daughter under your pillow. If you gon' do evil, don't let dat shit have power over you, das what I meant."
Lucky nodded, "I guess I did right asking you to come."
"Guess so," grabbing the bottle of Gatorade, King stared at Lucky momentarily then tilted his head, "how long does it usually take you to do shit like dis?"
"If it's a contract, four to six months. Solo shit, depending on tha' person and where I'm at, three to four months."
King calculated their timeframe then nodded, "guess we got about two months left then."
Lucky shrugged, "I'm very detailed about my shit OG, so I 'ont know... might be three. Could be four, we'll know once we get tha' rest of tha' patterns down."
"I ain't rushing, just not tryna miss tha' holidays," King clarified.
Lucky nodded, "Yeah I know... I ain't tryna do it either."
"You always have safe houses like dis rented for shit like dis or are we in one of your old spots?"
"I was a young bol doing big boy shit, I had no choice but to have a few spots I could crash at."
"So what do you do about DNA after a job is done?" King queried.
"You scared?" Lucky smirked.
"Funny."
"Don't nobody know about my spots, we good."
"I ain't worried about dat, I'm just trying to get a deeper look into what you had to deal with before you met my daughter... dis is a dangerous and lonely way to live," King said.
"Dangerous? Nah, lonely? Yeah... but I'm out just cleaning up a mess."
"I see," King replied, "let's make sure we get yo ass back home in one piece."
Lucky smirked, "you about to see why I got paid for dis."
10-year-old Lucky
It was another busy night in the streets of Philly. Someone's car had been broken into for the third night in a row. Distant gunshots could be heard from the next block over and young Lucky just lay in his dark room with a face full of tears as he listened to Camille's father put his hands on Zoya. Lucky was tired but what could he do? He was exceptionally smaller than the coward he got a kick out of abusing his mother.
She didn't deserve that but for some reason, she put up with it.
Camille wasn't even three yet but as far as Lucky was concerned, he'd never leave her alone with the monster they had to live with. He often asked God to help but he never answered any of Lucky's prayers. Wasn't he supposed to protect kids? Lucky was certain that's what he was told but God was letting him down for another night.
Just when he was thinking about rolling over, his bedroom door busted open and then quickly slammed.
Fear paid him a visit temporarily until he saw the blood covering his mom's face. Rage came.
"We're going to go away for a couple of days, okay?"
Lucky was confused but knew not to question his mom. Usually, she'd put the monster out, he was confused as to why she was the one leaving this time. "Ard," sitting up, he lifted a sleeping Camille and grabbed his special bag.
Zoya pushed the dresser behind the door and then rushed to the window, "come on, Ra, it's cold."
"I'm coming," he mumbled. If he were older, he'd kill that monster with no remorse.
Into the brisk air, Lucky remained close by Zoya's side as they walked through an alley. He had no idea where they were going but anywhere was better than home.
"Ra?!" Zoya shook Lucky awake.
"Yeah, ma?" He sat up and looked around the dim train.
"We're here, come on, I got your sister," she stood.
Groaning, he stretched before following behind. From block to block they walked until they made it to Zoya's job.
Lucky was confused, "Ma?"
"It's fine," she smiled before nudging him forward.
Shrugging and too tired, Lucky followed her towards the back and some tall man came from the cut.
"Hello," he squatted in front of Lucky.
Lucky eyed him.
"Ra," Zoya hit his arm, "what I tell you about shaking hands?"
Still eyeing the man, Lucky grabbed his sister and walked away.
"Ramsee!"
"It's fine, I'd be upset if I were him... damn Zoya, he got you good, man."
"I'm fine, he mixed his damn meds with alcohol again. He fucking bipolar," she shook his head.
"Bipolar ain't got nothing to do with him hitting on you, he got serious issues."
"I don't need a lecture," she stated simply.
"You know where everything is, I'm gone, see you in the morning," he approached Lucky again.
Staring at his fist, Lucky bumped it but didn't smile at him.
"I'm out, get some sleep."
"Uh-huh," closing the room door, Zoya turned to Lucky and folded her arms. "Ramsee."
"I 'ont know dat nigga."
"Hey," she grabbed his arm when he stood, "you crazy?! What'd I tell you about your language?"
"I'm tired... sorry," he sighed. "Sorry."
"I'm tired too, I ain't being rude to people. That's my boss, Ra."
"I'm sorry," he stressed.
"Mm-hmm, scoot," she waved her hands.
Laying back, Zoya climbed in behind him and placed Camille in front before placing the blanket over them.
"Ma?"
"Yeah?"
"We can just leave, you know dat right?"
Zoya sighed, "Go to sleep."
"Goodnight," he mumbled.
"Goodnight."
***
"I— I'm up," Ava grumbled as Zora lay beside her whining. "I'm up."
"No you ain't," Kairo spoke, inviting himself into the room. "Wake your butt up," he tossed the pillow at Ava as he checked on his niece.
"Go away you annoying creature!"
"Shuuuuut up," he threw another pillow before sitting down. "Wassup? You okay?" He asked.
"Just tired," she sighed, sitting up. Two weeks and no word from Lucky was beginning to bother her.
"We not falling into dat funk, I got breakfast and then we going for a walk on tha' beach with tha' mutts," he told her.
Ava groaned, "away from me."
"Away from dat hairline," he said then busted out laughing when she flicked him off. "Love you too, get on up," he slapped her leg before standing.
"You are definitely a replica of Luck, I 'ont like dat," she squinted at him.
"Dat is my brother," he tapped the side of his head before leaving out with Zora and the pups. "GET UP!"
"NO!" She laughed, "Jesus!" Huffing, she tossed the covers from her body and sat up.
Taking a moment to get herself together, she got up and headed into the bathroom.
Meanwhile, Kairo was downstairs eating but keeping an eye on Zora as she fed herself the scrambled eggs he cooked for her. The pups were off enjoying their food from the list of things Lucky left for Kairo. He couldn't figure out why Lucky was so stuck on mixing human food with dog food for the pups but it seemed to be what they were used to and clearly safe.
"I know your mama trying to act like she ain't sad about your daddy being gone but I know she is," Kairo spoke to Zora.
Baby girl was too busy stuffing her mouth and babbling to pay him much attention.
"I'll make sure she's good tho," he added before taking a bite out of the biscuit. "What do you think about Kellz?"
Zora stared at him with her bright eyes as she scooped more eggs up.
"You like her?" He queried.
Zora smiled.
"Me too... you think I should get a crib for us or wait until we finally decide to get married?"
Again, Zora smiled at him.
"Why am I asking you dis stuff?" Laughing at himself, he resumed eating just as Ava entered the kitchen and Zora reached for her.
"ZoZoooo!" Ava cooed.
"Un-uh," Kairo grabbed her arm before she could get any further. "Eat lil girl and let my lil stinka butt eat."
"You are not tha' boss of me."
"But I am bigger," he smirked.
"Kai, if I wanted to, I'd choke you," smacking his arm down, she walked over and smothered Zora's face in kisses before grabbing her plate. "Your God-dad is annoying, Zo."
"I'm right here," Kairo spoke with a mouthful of pancakes.
"Duhhh," laughing, Ava sat at the kitchen island. "How long are we gonna be on dis walk?"
"Until I'm good and ready to come back inside, problem?"
Ava squinted at him. "If you are trying to be discreet about keeping an eye on me, you are doing a terrible job."
"As long as you believe dat," he smirked, "now let me shhh, I'm talking to my niece."
"She does not want to talk to you," she quipped.
"Please," he imitated her voice, "we have our own lingo, ain't dat right?" He smiled at Zora.
Giggling, she offered him a fistful of eggs.
"See," he grinned at Ava, "we see each other."
Ava rolled her eyes, "I'm in for a long day."
***
"I love me some Jorja Smith and Amber Mark music but I also love Afrobeats," Assyria said as she and Essence lounged in the living room binge-watching the Avatar The Last Airbender series on Netflix.
"Jorja dabs in that genre, I've heard like two songs."
"I know but I like tha' neo-soul style."
Essence nodded, "I can see dat."
"Syyy, I'll be back in like two hours," Renae said as she made her way through the living room with her notebook.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm hosting a small girls' talk with the ladies at the detention center."
Essence sat up, "Are you like a motivational speaker?"
Renae laughed, "I am flattered but professionally, no."
"Yes, she is," Assyria cut in, "we've all told her plenty of times she does not need a degree behind her to be one. She's been doing stuff like dis since before I was even born."
"Do you talk to all types of girls or do you just stick to like JDC?"
"All walks of life, but my target audience is for those who need the extra help to get back on the right path," she answered, grabbing her sneakers. "I'll see y'all later tho, Sy stop eating all that junk food and order some food."
Assyria grinned, "We had subs earlier, dis is our snack, mom."
Renae shook her head, "y'all snack just your daddy, what's for dinner then? You know I'm not cooking until tomorrow."
Assyria shrugged then glanced at Essence, "I guess we'll order something when you get back."
"Are you hungry?" Renae turned to Essence.
"I'm fine, I'll let you know if she tries to starve me."
"Girl," Assyria plucked her, "tryna steal my mama."
Renae laughed, "that is very much impossible, I think your uncle is stopping by soon. Gotta check something for your father... now I'm leaving," laughing at herself, Renae headed out.
"She'll be back,"
"What you mean?" Essence quirked a brow.
Assyria pointed to Renae's purse on the sofa arm.
As if on cue, Renae rushed back inside, "I lost my purse."
Holding it up, Assyria chuckled, "take like two minutes to breathe before you pull off."
"Look at you sounding like me," reaching over, Renae planted a kiss on her forehead, "I'm gone for real this time."
"Mm-hmm."
Amused, Renae thanked her on the way out.
Essence went to lie down until she noticed the odd look in Assyria's eyes, "What's wrong with you?"
"Um... my mom has dis lil memory situation dat occurs like every few months... I think it's starting again."
"Memory problem? Like... y'know... elderly stuff?" Essence whispered as if someone would hear.
"Long story short, it's something dat happened dat caused it like before I was even a thought. Usually, it happens when she's..." Assyria paused and stared off momentarily, "I knew it."
"What?!" Essence's eyes widened.
"It happens when she's overwhelmed or loses control of stuff in her life... like... what's tha' word? Stress."
"Ohhhhh," Essence slowly nodded, "what would she be stressed about? Isn't your dad on a business trip? Do you think she's thinking he's cheating or something?"
Assyria stared at her crazily. "If she was... it's not dat," she quickly said then sighed, "I could be reading too deep into it tho. She's fine, I'm overthinking."
"Are you sure?"
Pondering briefly, Assyria nodded, "she was rushing, forgetting something is expected. Yeah, I'm sure."
"Well, just in case, I'ma pray for her tonight."
"If you want," she stood, "I'ma grab tha' takeout binder, got a lot of stuff to choose from."
"You always say, yet we eat the same stuff every week," laughing, Essence paused the show and followed Assyria into the kitchen. "I think you just like flipping through the pages for aesthetics."
"What's wrong with dat? Everything meshes perfectly together in a color scheme."
"You have a problem,"
Assyria laughed, "I do not. Do you not understand how therapeutic something is when it has such a vibey pattern to it? Take tha' house for example, everything blends perfectly well."
Essence leaned against the counter, shaking her head, "You ever wondered if you have OCD?"
"You love trying to diagnose me, I just like things to look a certain way. Can't help dat it runs in tha' family, we are neat freaks."
"OCD," Essence coughed.
"It's giving hater," Assyria smirked at her, "you are such a hater!"
"Am not!"
The pair laughed.
"I can only imagine what your room looks like," Assyria shook her head as she opened the binder.
"My room looks how I need it to look."
"Not better than mine."
"Wayyyyy better,"
Assyria scoffed, "you suck at lying."
"I-" she laughed, "Sy, I don't have time for your antics."
"Don't get mad 'cause your house ain't popping like mine."
"Whateverrrr," she sang, heading back into the living room.
Amused, Assyria shook her head, "What are we eating?!"
"I want seafood this time, tired of Mexican."
"Hmm..." flipping the pages, Assyria began reading the menu to herself. She wasn't in the mood for seafood but since she's been choosing what to eat all week, she figured she could compromise this once.
***
"The last time we spoke, you told me you were attending your younger sister's wedding... how did that turn out?" Reign's Life Coach questioned once she got situated at her desk.
"It wuz... good. Tried to talk with her but she wasn't up for it."
"What do you mean?"
"I apologized for what happened and it kaaz an issue... but den we also had a moment our last night and danced."
"Rewind back to the talk, why are you still apologizing? I thought you said you apologized after everything came out?"
Reign nodded, "I know... I nuh... don't know, I just feel like maybe if I keep saying it, she'll finally let di grudge go."
"Well see..." she paused, "when you put it like that, I can only see why she would be so on the edge. If you already apologized multiple times before, why are you doing it again? To her, and I'm just assuming, it may feel as if you are shoving it down her throat in a form of mockery at this point. Has she told you that she's forgiven you?"
"Yeah... dah mi lickkle sister, I just feel like I owe her like a million apologies."
"Nope... it's becoming redundant. You may think that's what she wants to hear but by constantly apologizing whenever you're around her, all you're doing is reopening her wounds. It's like a child touching something that they're told not to but they won't learn the lesson until they hurt themselves. You are the curious child and in this case, hurting yourself is Ava. You won't learn your lesson and let things flow naturally until there's a lesson you'll have to learn."
Reign sighed, "I tink everything is better tho... we had fun during di last night."
"But you are here because you feel like you two should be rekindling things now, correct?"
"I mean..." Reign paused, "why not? We had a good time, why not work on our relationship again?"
"Sometimes when a person is hurt or feels betrayed by someone they love, the best thing anyone could do is give the victim time to come around when they are ready. What is the rush about?" she asked.
"Deh iz none," Reign mumbled, "part of mi feels as if mi divorce is warranted karma... I'm just... I had assumed dah if she realized I wuz suffering enuff, she'd come around."
"Hmm... so you feel like now that you've had a few roadblocks or bad luck, your sister should be happy about your... karma, somehow feel better, and welcome you back?"
"When yuh she it like dah..." Reign sighed, "Mi marriage is over, di least I can do is fix mi relationship with mi sister."
"Life does not work like that, Reign. You cannot have this side of your life going through heavy motions, ignore it or try to run from it and think that the grass is greener on the other side just because you want it to be. If life was that simple, I'd have no job."
"So wah am I supposed to do?"
"Focus on you... you have a lot of self-work to do. The only type of relationship you should be focused on is making sure you're sane enough and in a peaceful state to be a mom to your daughter and possibly cordial with your ex. When you are done with fixing what's broken inside of you, then maybe you can try your sister again."
Staring at her for a moment, Reign sighed, "Guess I ave some work to do."
"You can handle it."
***********************************
hmm... thoughts?
Happy Spooky season! Aka the best month of the yearrrrrr 🎃🎃