Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang.
For Arcane it was a very unpleasant evening. He stared out of his window, gazing at the shining, luminous moonlight that struck through his bedroom window from atop his mother’s townhouse in Philadelphia on an unforgiving October, Tuesday night. Tears could have fluttered in his eyes like sad raindrops trickling down a hill. Instead he sobbed and he sighed. He was not going to cry. He could not cry. It was embedded in his human nature, deeply drilled in his gene cells to remain cool-headed at all times. And it was so not like him to ever lose his complacency.
Not even a near fatal shooting of his closest friend: home boy, ace-boon-coon, road dog - could drive him to loose his sang-froid - who was shot four times earlier that day over a female. Arcane knew her well. Her name was Tracy, although she preferred the name Goddess. That’s what they called her on the streets. She wasn’t a Muslim, but she had a assumed another name to be referred to as, one that she had thought described her. And not many of the fellows disagreed that this name did describe her. She looked like a goddess, Arcane thought. Her shape was thick and petite. Most males in her neighborhood, Jordan Street, thought her to be attractive. She was tall and she knew how to dress very well. Always something expensive and sensual. She was sensual. Arcane knew better than to blame her for the incident. She was not a trouble maker. But trouble followed her constantly, like a shadow. Know way to dodge it. Being gorgeous did have its downfalls. The depressed teenager knew what the situation had been. Jaybird and Goddess had fallen deeply for each other. He liked her way before Roger did. And when she found out, she was overwhelmed. They spent all hours together drooling over each other. Any place you went - there they were, either holding hands or kissing. Most people had thought that they made a lovely couple. Roger had grown very jealous of this and her leaving him. Jaybird thought that they were just empty threats. “You gonna get yours done! You can’t play me. She’s mine.” Not on this Tuesday.
When he spoke he was drunk with rage and passion. His eyes-watery red, veins popping out of his eyeballs. For love had betrayed him. The latest word was that he probably would not make it. One of the gun shots had penetrated the side of his lungs. It was hard for him to breath. Now he was in the professional care of Albert Eienstein Hospital. And Goddess would stay there until he either got better or until he died. Arcane did not want to see his close friend just yet. Not like this. He wasn’t ready. But in the back of his mind he knew that something had to be done. Justice had to be served. “Arcane,” said his mom as she opened up his room door. “Justice. He came to see you.” “It’s okay mom,” said Arcane. Let him in.” Justice was just as hurt as Arcane was. A vein bulge out of the right corner of his forehead. “What up kid?” He said nothing. “Some real fucked up shit, about Jaybird, I mean.” Justice pulled his .38 out of his side pocket waving it at Arcane. It’s aluminous reflection shining off of metal objects in the young man’s room. Arcane’s eyes widened. His head bowed and his fists tightened. “Who did this?” Justice sucked his teeth and turned away from him. “You sure you wanna do this?” “They shot Jay. That nigger got to get paid for what he did. You riding with me or not?” Arcane stood and looked at his wall. His lips poked out as he licked them. “Yeah I’m down son. I ain’t got no piece though.” “I got you if you down.” “First I gotta see Jaybird.” “Then we go?” Asked Justice. “Yeah,” said Arcane. “Then we go.” They both exited through the living room door. A ragged and out dated Buick Skylark was waiting for them. The driver was a Caucasian male. He had a short haircut and Gel made the center part of his hair stand up. The silver car was old and rusted. The only thing knew about it was the Pioneer sound system and the 14 inch rims. The seats were ripped and torn and there was a hole in the front windshield. A tiny hole small enough to fit a pencil through, and cracks that spiraled out of the hole. It was a bullet hole. “Yo, dones. I got heat and I got weed on me.” Said Adam. “We going to 14th Street to get them niggas or what?” Adam lived for excitement.
“Patience,” said Justice. “We going to see Jaybird at the hospital. Make this right turn here.” When they arrived at the hospital Adam found a parking space. It was close to the hospital entrance. Justice and Adam left their weapons behind in the vehicle. They had walked towards the hospital. When they arrived at the receptionist desk, Arcane had approached the white lady who was sitting behind the desk. Her glasses magnified her eyes by a complete inch. She had freckles on her neck. Her smile was pleasant and it had appeared naturally. Just as natural as the sun’s glow over the horizon when it rises. “Yes,” she said to them. “May I help you?” “I’m here to see a friend. He was admitted a few hours ago,” said Arcane hurriedly. “Name, please,” she insisted. “Look,” interrupted Justice. “Jaylean. About six foot seven. Light skin. Thin.” “A moment please,” she said smoothly. “Let me check the records.” She typed into the Compaq, Tower computer. She was still typing when Goddess had noticed Justice. “Hey you guys,” she said while waving to them. “Jaybird has just went into surgery.” Tears fluttered in her eyes. Desire had pulsed through theirs. She was so beautiful, Arcane had thought to himself. Her black dress was long and had a slit on both sides of her voluptuous legs. Her black pumps showed perfect toes and her dyed, burgundy, straight hair fell a bit below her neck. As she moved, her hair glided through the air elegantly. The top of her chests were visible and curved and round. She was surely a centerfold piece. Jaybird was a lucky man indeed. “How are you?” Asked Justice. His eyes watery and his head down. His jeans were damp from earlier tears that had fallen from his eyes. “Hanging in there?” She sighed. “This is so tragic. We were about to see a movie. He had went back to the car because he had forgotten his wallet,” she said.
Tears streamed from her lovely face and coursed into her bra. “This is so fucked up, you know? Why Jaybird? Why him? Why not me?” She could not suppress her grief. Adam looked away. Justice kept his face down to avoid showing pity. Arcane could feel the vibrations of her trembling through the floor. He put his arms around her and held her. “It will be okay. He’ll get through this. I know he will,” comforted Arcane. He wasn’t sure if it was true but he wanted it to be. She looked into the depths of his loving, wooden brown, deep set eyes. “I know he will too. He has to be,” she wished. “The seventh floor,” said the receptionist. “He’s in surgery now so you will have to wait to see him. Sorry.” They ignored her. They had sat in the lobby. Justice buried his face in his hands leaning over his denim jeans, his elbows supported by his legs. Goddess was filled with tears. Adam stared into space with a blank look on his face, as if he didn’t grasp what was fully happening here. “Let’s get these son’s of bitches,” said Justice. “Now!” He demanded. “Waiting here ain’t gonna make Jaybird get up and walk out of this hospital. These motherfuckers need to pay the price for what they did. It’s time for me to get some motherfucking revenge. Yall niggas’s with me or not?” “Let’s get these bastard’s,” said Arcane. “Gotta go Goddess.” She did not respond.
The young men exited the door. As they did, Justice pushed a man out of his way who was wearing a security uniform. The man did not attempt to approach Justice over it. This was Philadelphia. He was a smart security officer. “Excuse you,” said the uniformed man. Justice and the others ignored. “I’m driving,” said Justice. “I know exactly were to go and how to get their.” “My car. I’m driving,” argued Adam. Justice yanked him up and pushed him against another vehicle. “Fuck that shit. I don’t give a fuck! I just wanna get these niggas’s. Take your fucking panty hoses off niggas. You down to do this shit or not?” “Get the fuck off me,” Adam pushed away. “Drive then, shit! But I’m sitting in the front.” “I need the front, Adam,” said Arcane. “I know his boys and who he rolls with.” “Fuck that. I ain’t sitting in the back of my own ride.” “Chill out niggas,” said Justice. “We all gonna be happy when this shit over and done with.” Adam sat in the back of the Buick. Arcane sat on the passenger side while Justice drove the vehicle. The rims were so shiny that they were not hard to spot. They were there. On the corner of 14th Street and Market Street. Waiting. Pay backs Ain’t Sweet The silver Buick automobile with chrome rims that flashed the city’s lights sat and waited for the young men’s prey. The idea of killing another human being danced around in Arcane’s mind and laughed at him. He knew that he was not ready.
Something inside of him that seemed and felt like loyalty was telling him that this was justice being served and it had to be done. He knew what he had to do. Even if was the last thing he ever wanted to do. His forehead beamed with tiny beads of sweat crawling down his flesh. His hands trembled with fear-fear of the unknowing. He was scared. Even more fearful than that he was also lost. If he couldn’t live by the way of his own judicial system which proved to be a failure in finding justice in his own communities then the law of justice he and his friends lived by had to be the only way-the only fair way that justice could be served. It was so unfair. They took on the positions of lawyers, police officers, judges - even as executioners. That night, they were prepared to be all of the above. Justice never took his hand off of his .38 caliber. He was ready to use it. Looking over at Arcane, he grimaced a smile and handed him a revolver. The gun was shiny and in perfect condition. Arcane’s eyes opened up instantly. Justice was amused. “We going to get these fuckers or not?” Questioned Justice. “Yeah, we gonna get them,” said Arcane, letting out a slight sigh. If God was testing him any night, it was this Tuesday, which was about to be a Wednesday night in a few more hours. “They got to pay!” “I heard that,” said Adam, sinking his teeth into a Slim Jim. “I’m down for whatever the fuck.”
It was true. He feel the excitement tremble in him and shoot through his body like a jolt of electricity. He was infatuated with the streets that way. To him it was like being in a gang movie. He always thought of himself as the Al Capone. He wanted action always. Justice just wanted justice to be served. It had never been for him. He traveled back in time to when his dad beat up his mom so bad she passed out before his very eyes. She was blanketed by blood. Tears filtered in his eyelids. They never prosecuted his dad for some reason. Justice was not served by the system. Instead it was served by chance. His father drank himself to death out of depression and sorrow for what he had done. This left Justice all alone and because he had no close family he could go to at the age of sixteen, he was forced to provide for himself. Always alone. He never had a shot at finishing high school or attending a university. The straight A student had become a B, a C, a D, and then shortly followed his F’s.
At the age of 18 he did not feel the need to finish. He was only a junior then. Arcane tried to convince him to finish. He even offered him to stay with him until he finished. His mother did not mind, as long as she was helping her own. But Justice boldly refused. The time he spent with his self was what he wanted. And he lived his own lifestyle. Not one set by someone else. The bullshit lawyers and judges were always against him, it seemed. Or perhaps they never completely understood. No one had truthfully understood. “If you wanted to, you could really do something miraculous with your life Justice. Don’t choose to waist it,” warned his junior year math teacher. “Why you are one of the brightest kids in here. I really see that in you.” But after he had met Alex, everything in his life was downhill. It only seemed uphill to him at the time. Adam was a completely different egg. His step dad was loaded with money.
His mother drove a Lexus to her job, leather interior and shiny wheels. Her house was in comparison to most other houses in his neighborhood but it was such a nicer neighborhood than his friends. His only problem in his circumstance was fitting in. He tried hard. Too hard at times, but somehow he was accepted. Minutes had passed before the Navigator pulled up to the edge of the poorly lit street. The moon howled and made the night seem more frightening. “There they go,” said Justice. “Let’s blaze the whole crew.” “Know,” said Arcane. “Only the one who shot Jay.” “Think nigga,” said Justice. “We leave bodies, then we leave ourselves as targets for the next nigga avenging this asshole. We get all their sorry asses now.” “No,” reiterated Arcane. “That wouldn’t be justice, now would it Justice.” “Did you hear me nigga?” “Yeah, I heard you,” argued Arcane. “But I just want Roger.” “Then we get the other niggas and you get Roger.” “I think I can live with that.” “Fine.”
Justice pointed his .38 out of the car window and Arcane held the four fifth tight in his grip. “Now,” said Justice. Justice slammed on the pedal and the car soared down the dark and leery street. He pulled up inches away from the gang. Gunshots fired from the car and protruded through the gang member’s flesh. Arcane did not fire. He noticed that Roger was down along with the other’s. He opened the front car door and hopped out-gun in hand. He pointed it at Roger, a dark skin man with a noticeable dent on his forehead. His shoulder bled and his mouth tittered and twitched. He drooled spit that dangled from his mouth. His finger nails were dirty and shoes were worn out. He gasped. “Hey, what’s this nigga? What the fuck is going on?” He asked, as if he was surprised to see their faces.
“Don’t ask me that shit!” Yelled Arcane. “Why’d you do it nigga? Why did you shoot Jaybird?” “I didn’t shoot nobody named Jaybird nigga. What the fuck are you talking about?” Arcane slammed the rear of his gun into the side of his forehead. It bruised but blood did not squirt out like he wanted. He swapped at him again. “Don’t lie to me fucker. You shot him.” Roger was dazed and he feared for his life. He slowly tried to crawl away. It was know use. He didn’t have the energy. “Why?” Screamed Arcane in blind fury. His finger shaking rapidly on the gun’s trigger. “I don’t want to die man. I didn’t do it.” Arcane felt what he did not want to feel. Pity for him and sincerity in his voice. He knew in his heart that this man was not the killer that he was after. He lowered his gun to the ground as he looked around.
There were dead bodies with bullet wounds pierced into them. The scattering of blood entrails on the unforgiving concrete grounds. And for what? He wondered. Gun shots smoked from Justice’s gun onto the victim. The undeserving victim suffered massive wounds and was going to die. He was the wrong person. Arcane was paralyzed with an overcoming guilt that coursed through him as natural as the blood in his veins. Justice had anger tattooed on his face. Adam had a blank look on his. He appeared lost and there was no sign of right or wrongdoing. Only the sign of death. “We got to get out of here,” bellowed Justice. “Come on. The shots was loud and I hear sirens.” “He’s right,” agreed Adam. “And I ain’t going to jail.” They rushed to the vehicle and Adam assumed the driving seat. Justice took the front seat and Arcane hopped into the back seat. Adam pressed his foot against the pedal and they sped quick into the empty city.
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