Part 3 (1/2)

I felt nothing but a sense of duty I had been to five funerals in the previous two years and had been steeled by seeing people whohed and joked with, played and eaten with, dead in a casket Revenge was ood that day; otherwise I couldn't sleep Work does not always constitute shooting soin' (writing your set na-it's all work And I was a hard worker

3

THE WAR

In the fall of 1980 the war between the Eight Trays and the Rollin' Sixties was in full swing Five casualties had accrued on our side, eight had fallen on their side Even though people die every day in South Central and byand the viciousness of these killings thatcommunity stop and take notice Escalation was the order of the day Entire streets were turned into armed ca andup” could be carried out with not so athering to choose a riding party or group of shooters to invade ene out cn the mission) This particular war is of the uted the politics of gang relations in South Central-a significant factor in the developion today

Once the Eight Trays had really fallen out and our intent at the Rollin' Sixties' destruction was obvious, the entire Crip coan to side with one set or the other We became, in effect, superpowers, not unlike the former Soviet Union and United States Sets e'd had small skirmishes with or who favored the Sixties over us sided with thehborhood sets ”Neighborhood” or ”N-hood” is the naeles, including Lynwood, West Covina, and Coe part of the Crip community, quite possibly cohout the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics They are like Soviet republics, but not necessarily united, as each is of a different culture, with a diversity of custohborhoods had only ever been loosely associated; however, with the brutal escalation of the war, they becaainst us and our allies

Sets began to predict the winners, a virtually iht for territory or any specific goal other than the destruction of individuals, of huh terror and suffering so that they'd co set to fuck with Their goal, I'm sure, was the sae were hit The aggression displayed in 1980 was unprecedented We set a decibel level in violence that still causes soe today

What most folks miserably fail to realize is that our wars are no less coht to either suppress or liberate a country The difference is not legality, but cause Sohteous and in accord with hu wars fall somewhere in between I can quite easily justify the retaliation on ene one ofof noncombatants

Retribution is a natural reaction It's easy to persuade the general public of your ”righteousness” when you controlare in the precarious position of having soap for misinformation Who fired the first shot? Who knows?! But, too, who cares, when one of theirs is lying in a pool of blood with his brains blown out This question beco where sooal becomes the elimination of the shooter or as many of his comrades as possible This inevitably leads to war-a full-scale mobilization of as many troops as needed to achieve the desired effect: funerals

It was in this season that I was captured for an in my 'hood I had taken my li'l brother's ten-speed out this day, as I was only venturing around the block to Shadow's house Tiht had fallen, and I was left in the dangerous position of having to get back ho as our 'hood was now being clocked by not just the Sixties but their allies and our new ene journey and cursing ht a strap, Ifast toward the dark side street of Halldale, I noticed four occupants in what appeared to be a blue T-bird; they were parked on the left-hand side of the street facing me I slowed to a precautionary coast and strainedinto Upon further observation I realized that the T-bird belonged to my homeboy Sleepy This h of relief fell over ain

But then I noticed hand gestures co with , I flipped them off as I approached the front of the car Unbeknownst to er For they had seen the carload of shooters bend the corner with their lights off moments after I rolled out of Shadow's driveway into the street They sat motionless and waited for me to be cut down

I never saw the car until it was parallel withdown the barrels of five weapons under the unfriendly faces of my ene-they wanted soe

”Look, look,” exclaimed an overly excited voice froga, shoot him!” another faceless voice shouted

Too late By now I had reached the front of Sleepy's car and was diving behind it in an attean Sitting parallel with Sleepy's car, they proceeded to riddle the car with bullets I lay in the dirt and hoped they wouldn't have the heart to exit their car and see if I were hit or dead It see stopped I knew for sure the homies inside the car were dead

I waited until I heard the shooters' car screech away before I began tofrom behind Sleepy's car This had been a close call Death, it see ly more serious Had they used the shoot-first-ask-who-later policy, I would have been killed

From the sound of their weaponry they had so an M-I carbine and souns I later found out the identity of the shooters, as well

Getting up slowly so as not to be tricked into the screeching-tire trick-where a soldier would be waiting with a weapon when I e in the car and estruck to find that everyone was still alive Sleepy was sitting in the driver's seat Next to hihed in at a hefty 340 pounds Her arms measured twenty-two inches around We often used her as a disciplinary board for unruly ho Lynn was Gangster Brown, and to his left sat his younger brother, Fatty

They had been sitting there for so PCP When they saw me dive behind the car, they slid down in their seats Miraculously, no one was killed, though all had suffered buckshot strafing and glass cuts fro s

They pulled thee-and that's exactly what it was It's a how in a matter of seconds a car of such expense can be reduced to a hunk of Swissthere in the street surveying the dae, Sleepy could not believe what he saw We counted twenty-eight bullet holes in the body of the car, not including the individual buckshot dents Fatty had taken a large-caliber shot right through the bib of his hat Everyone was bleeding on the ar were bloody What held the, they were not in total control of their faculties

I was not on PCP and was visibly shaken I had no sedative By nowto take its toll ona body every otherbrains and blood splattered all over me Death, or the fear of death, became my constant co; the cant stop, won't stopto stir Sleepy into a retaliatory mood proved fruitless He and the others were too intoxicated to mount any serious defense and see but their wounds and Sleepy's car This goes back to what I have already explained about h all of the victims in this case were in the military, none were actual combat soldiers When struck, they had no immediate inclination to strike back Often they'd relay the assault to the combat division, and a counterattack would then be carried out Combat troops, on the other hand, would have assenated spot before the sht instant recognition to those involved as a serious group of cats bent on upholding their prestige

Disgusted at their lack of concern, I mounted the bike and continued one about four houses, a purple Duster sped toward me and fired one shot Either the driver or the shooter-or perhaps both-were inexperienced in the technique of doing a drive-by, because I didn't even feel the closeness of the bullet My forward motion and their speed in the opposite direction had obviously thrown the shooter's aiet-causing his shot to go somewhere behindThe car kept straight but picked up speed, probably thinking they had actually done so My pace had been momentarily broken, but I never disot to h she had heard the shot, she had not knohat had happened Surprisingly, she was not accosted and asked to identify herself Had the shooters found out that she was h our war had not yet reached the level of kidnapping and executing fa talked about as an inevitable consequence in our headlong escalation

This, too, pointed up the inexperience of these shooters If they were on Sixty-ninth Street, that meant they knew I lived there, and their intentions were to try to catchto my house My combat mentality was still at its peak froot to whereI yelled at her to ”take her ass in the house,” and that ”didn't she know there was a Godda on out here?” She stared for aup Li'l Monster's bike, I had a thousand thoughts running through my head Once in my room I sat down on the end of my bed to devise a plan in the ht away, but tonight there seemed to be a lull in our co I phoned Sidewinder in an atte party of able soldiers and was shocked at what I heard The very same car that shot up Sleepy's car had also rode on Sidewinder and sohties 'hood; their initial attack had taken place on Seventy-first Street But this wasn't the shocker, for it was cohborhood The surprising neas that in their attempt to shoot one of our holewood Fa into our 'hood to shoot Sidewinder and the hohties and didn't get the chance to do any daed When asked what they did with the Blood, Sidewinder responded, ”We sent him to his Maker”

Noas depressed It see up the phone I lay back on er brother, Li'l Monster, had been captured for an ar with Li'l Harv and a woman named Speedy-a close associate of the 'hood and a firiven six months in camp I wished he was there because he'd be down to launch an attack froht here But Bro was not there and Crazy De was still in the Hall shi+t I felt trapped I had to do so

I retrieved my double-barrel from beneath the dresser and checked it forthe shotgun-which had been sawed off for stealth-across the handlebars, I peddled west toward the borderline that separated our 'hood fro my combat black I crossed Western Avenue and entered their 'hood on the left flank, in what today we call the first parallel I made my way cautiously up Sixty-ninth Street to Horace Mann Junior High School Ru place, for they had still failed to procure a park for theirplace

I circumvented the school on its left side, which was on Seventy-first There I parked my bike and traveled on foot I hopped the school fence with the shotgun in ot to the lunch area I was disappointed to find no one there Had they been at the school, this is where they would be found, because the lunch area was covered with a roof

Moving now on instinct, I continued through the lunch area and out to the alohich had been constructed to allow school to continue while the adan to hear music in the distance The closer I caot ”Finally,” I said toslowly toward the area I believed the ilant eye out for sentries or stragglers who ht announce my presence and blow my surprise attack And, of course, the very real possibility existed that if I did not strike swiftly, causing e and confusion, they could ht only two shells, both 00 At each corner I crouched and peeked fro I had learned frootiated each corner I found no one there Where were they? Then a terrifying thought occurred to ave theround-level position

But the sound disproved my theory: it was an even-level sound and not, as I had surht was confiralows They were not even in the schoolyard, but outside its gate, parked on Sixty-eighth Street, talking as they played the car radio, beer bottles on the hood and roof of the car Luckily for me, they were on my side of the street, for had they been on the other side I would not have been able to h the fence, but ets were in the street This put about seventeen feet between us I had 00 buckshot, which would compensate for the distance; but my weapon was sawed off This meant that my shot would bethat my transportation was clear across the school, I debated whether I should expend one or both barrels Expend one and use one to securethe tre to realizeh and shouted, ”Gangsta!”

BLOOM, BLOOM!

I let loose one and then the other in rapid succession, then turned and ran back through the bungalows and the lunch area and finally reached the fence on Seventy-first Stopping to put the shotgun in un out instead and ducked behind a trash bin to let the car pass It was occupied by two older civilians When I got back up and shoved the gun in my waistband, I jumped ”Ahhh!” The barrels were still hot and burned un in my hands, I scaled the fence

I ran back to where I had left the bike and, Goddaan to panic, because Western Avenue, the first parallel, was over a block away Surely, I thought, the survivors would be in the vehicle looking for their assailants-and they'd be armed Besides, I had no shells

I turned onto stay as close as possible to the lawns in case I had to run through a yard Once I got to the first parallel I felt better, but no safer The barrels had cooled down enough now to put the gun in my waistband, so I hid the weapon Finally I made my way down our driveway and into the house

I reloaded the shotgun and laid it against the stereo speaker I then turned on the TV and watched the ”Benny Hill Show” I felt ster Brown and I were traversing to a party in the 'hood, an undercover car pulled to a stop beside us Both police officers exited the car and approached us

”Monster, what's up?” said the first officer, with a fake appearance of friendshi+p

”Nothing,” I said with asbut hostility exists between us and them, but some officers try to put on a jovial show of cos relationshi+p with them

”Listen,” the officer continued, ”auto detail wants to talk to you about a stolen car Now I know that ain't your style and I told them that, but you need to come on down to the station and iron it out”

My instincts said run, but I didn't