Part 17 (2/2)
”Cuz, is it Hoova-Gangsta or what?” asked Macc to the crowd
”It's Gangsta-Hoova, if anything!” soas what it's like!”
At that, ho weapons, and running to their cars Some stayed in the back of the truck and rode with the Hoovers When we pulled away from St Andrews Park, the caravan was sixteen cars deep, with the Hoovers heading it up The week that folloould be one filled with ruust 27, 1984 As we headed out we ran into Ping from Santana Block, who had two females with him After we explained to him that ere on our way to the races, the females asked if they could ride with us I said no, but Li'l Harv si them roll with us We introduced ourselves as Monster and Li'l Harv, which is all it took for theht Tray They were Sixties and never told us
When we got to the races, which were largely huge Cripto eat from Golden Ox across the street They declined and alked over to the restaurant to get some food In front of Winchell's Donuts we met up with Li'l Marstien and Godfather froster, Twin, and Mondo froone Harv was upset, as he felt they owed us some pussy for the ride I said ”fuck 'em” and settled doith my pastrami sandwich I hadn't taken two bites before I was frozen stiff with fright
”Aw, shi+t!!” is all I heard Li'l Harv say
And daht in front of us was Li'l Fee-Tyquon cox-and at least twelve other Sixties dressed in all-black suits walking towardin the driver's seat with the door wide open, eating on the pastraer seat By soht past and never looked our way The slightest look to the left would have meant a bullet to the head My weapon was not even reachable fronized not only Li'l Fee, who looked like a reptile with al on his ht me the horrible news of Tray Ball's death while ere in YTS Back then, only a year before, he was talking that ”Tray love” shi+t, using seiance as Thirties was not to the ”3” but to the ”0,” which automatically allied them with the Sixties and Nineties On his own, Crazy Keith was likable But now I saw his true colors
”Cuz, let's go We can get away!” said Li'l Harv, excited, relieved, and happy that we had escaped
”fuck that,” I said, reaching for my 38 under the seat ”You know they up here lookin' fo' me”
”Yeah, but they ain't seen you We can-”
”Shut up! Listen, take ive these niggas what they co ot out and he slid over into my seat
I went into the alley the sa slowly out There I sao cars parked, both drivers facing the sa the drivers, but opted for bigger fish instead I eased back into the alley and waited for the group to co and talking aet about twenty-five feet before standing and taking aier
Some ran, some fell, and others hollered One turned and fired back It was Li'! Fee But he had a revolver and was out-gunned I squeezed off nine rounds then broke across the alley, dropping the clip and pushi+ng in a fresh one I fired four more shots before the others found the heart to return fire The big blue du five rounds and discarded the empty clip, then slammed in another one and continued an my retreat
Their shots ca tires and screams all around us A siren wailed in the far-off distance The Seventy-seventh Division of the LAPD is less than five er and able to stand and run, I bolted to where I'd told Harv to wait He was gone!
I ran back around the side, taking fire fro their wounded, and out onto Florence Avenue Luckily, I saw Whiteboy Eric and flagged hi in my car in front of Tray Ball's house I opened the door and iusted at his cowardice I left hiht about Crazy Keith The next ot April's nu Harleot in touch with her and asked where Keith lived She claiht that evening Before I hung up she said, ”Monster, don't kill hih my whole body If she had set up Twinky, had she been that cool about it?
I called Stag and ran down the previous night's episode He was hot I told hi and he was all in Just then Tamu rolled over
”What was that all about?”
”Nothin' really Just gettin' at Stag”
”About what? And what did you do last night?”
”Oh, just shot a few people”
I knew that would stop her fro questions, and it did
I took a shower and watched some cartoons with Keonda She asked if I'd take her to the park and I said I'd see She was so pure, so clean, so honest We contrasted sharply I hoped then that she'd never know her father was a monster, a hunter, and often the hunted I watched her more than I did the cartoons Fatherhood How? When? And rassland with a sandbox and swings In actuality, it was afactions in South Central It was a target area for rivals and a cenorant She was oblivious to all that s
”did you hear ry?”
”No, I'?”
”Nothin',” I said, and went on watching Keonda watching TV But I kneas wrong I just didn't want to tell her I didn't want to worry her I was back in the thick of it and knew that after tonight there'd be no turning back My neighborhood right, hborhood
At 7:30 PM Stag and I rolled out in the red Toyota Tercel for undercover purposes I had the 38 inWe headed north on Western Avenue Our intentions were to correct Keith with e to others and space back to the 'hood
We pulled to a stop on Thirty-ninth across fro west Crazy Keith pulled to a stop in front of her house facing east He was in Baby Brother's white '61 Chevy We waited to see if he would notice us He exited the car with a bag that appeared to be a forty-ounce bottle of beer and began walking up to April's house The very real possibility existed that April could be setting us up-after all, eren't the best of friends-so we moved cautiously
When his back was turned we left the car and began to creep up on hi that saved hi our names He turned in surprise, so we had to play off like ere just seeing how easy it was to get hi that he had been clocked last night with his cohorts in pursuit ofthe top on the Olde English
”E-T-G, R-S-K!” I said without hu him I was a Rollin' Sixties killer His fake s to switch-hit, hoping to find so, or at least a reprieve I'm sure that at that point he suspected I knew, as I had said it
”Cuz, what you got against me?” I asked Keith April excused herself and went into the house ”Or, what you got against my 'hood?”
”Nuttin', Monster, you and me been cool You know I ain't beefin' wit' you” He was taking big gulps of the forty, perhaps his last drink
”Keith, Keith, Keith,” I began, doing the Michael Corleone scene with Rocco, who had set Sonny up ”I saw you Now don't lie to me”
”Cuz, they said it was just business That's on the 'hood, they said it was strictly business-”
”Who said that?”
”Li'l Fee and the Ray
”Yeah, it was us, the Sixties, and the Raymonds But cuz, it wasn't nuttin' personal”
”So it's just business when I blow your fuckin' brains all over this muthafuckin' porch, huh?”
”Uhuh”
”Huh?!”
”Naw, Monster, wait I knohere they be hangin' out at All of 'eht now They tryin' to start this syndicate thang on the west side and say you a probleo It's for the betterment of the Crip Nation!”
”You believed that punk shi+t? nigga, you out yo' fuckin' mind They can't kill me, fool, I'm already dead, rabbed Keith by the collar, putting the barrel to his temple I watched the sweat pour down over his face
”Monster, wait, please as I ain't doit' them”