TEARS OF RAGE

Chapter 20

The most dangerous thing that a man can do, is to ignore the timeline that documents his life.

Mistakes are often made, which leaves the gateway to the grave open.

But most men fail to understand the importance of vigilance until tragedy arrives to visit them.

As Swaylo was out trying to give Dorian a memorable birthday celebration for his schools' Halloween dance, Kirkwood Kenny sat parked outside of his grandmother's apartment; waiting for an opportunity to send him on a one-way trip to the cemetery.

Karen Carmichael sat behind the steering wheel, waiting to prove that her information was accurate.

With his baseball cap pulled low, Kirkwood Kenny used the time to ponder over how he would handle eliminating Swaylo and escaping from the city without being apprehended by the police.

There were a lot of potential obstacles confronting him, but if murder was the solution needed to achieve success...

Then Kenny was prepared to let his enemy have it.

He had to figure out a way to draw Swaylo out of hiding, and he did not have much time to do it, he reasoned.

The longer he allowed Swaylo to breathe, the higher the odds of capture increased.

There was too much at stake to risk leaving a potential witness living, to one day testify against him, he brooded.

After more than two hours of waiting, Karen pointed out an elderly black woman dressed in a white uniform, walking down the sidewalk.

She was two buildings away from her apartment when Karen asked if he wanted her to ask about Swaylo.

He nodded with a smile.

It was a dirty game, but his primary concern was self-preservation, not who had to suffer...

The old woman had salt and pepper hair pulled back in a tight bun.

Her attention was preoccupied with extracting her house keys from her purse, as Karen made her approach.

Kenny could hear the conversation through the crack in the tinted window of the passenger's side window.

Obscured behind the dark tint of Karen's car windows, Kenny surveyed the area around him.

Two buildings to the rear of where they were parked, a group of more than a dozen drug dealers, 'hood rats, and gamblers were loitering about a lot.

Music was blasting from a stereo system, and he could see a few familiar rivals posted up amongst the crowd.

He knew that once he made his move against Swaylo, his friends would attempt to aid him.

He would need to move with stealth, he decided.

When Karen returned to the car and slid behind the steering wheel, she was smiling like a cat that had eaten its owner's canary.

The idea of being involved in a mission with Kenny had her feeling giddy.

Men like him did not trust anybody...

To be involved in his circle of trust was an indication that he regarded her like a thoroughbred bitch, she thought.

"He's not there right now, but his grandmother told me that he doesn't get off from work until around five o'clock."

She took a glance about the area, to see if anyone was paying them any extra attention.

No one seemed to notice them, or venture close enough to peer past the tint.

"That's only about another hour, do you want to continue waiting?"

"Nah. I've got a few errands to run anyway..."

he replied, wiping a cool hand down his face.

"Go ahead and handle your business with your kids. But let's go get that rental first. We can meet back up at that MacDonald's around eight o'clock."

Karen gave him a look of uncertainty.

"Don't leave me," she stated with a smile.

Her eyes were bright with a gold-digger's greed.

It was clear that she had her heart set on the weekend in Miami, that he had promised her.

"Never that, ma... I wouldn't have invited you if I didn't want you to roll with me."

Satisfied with his pledge to take her with him, Karen pulled away from the curb with her head bobbing to the music blasting from her stereo.

In a world where money, power, and reputation determined a person's position in the streets...

Status carried a lot of weight with a woman who sought fame and recognition.

There was no ceiling to her greed, and Karen had a plan to cater to his every need.

This was her chance to lock down a bona fide hoodlum, with enough clout in the city to make her a 'hood diva, she reasoned; her gaze fixated on Kenny.

He had that aura of danger, something that advised other men that disrespect could result in death if he chose to implement punishment.

That certain type of persona that telegraphed to other men that he was not to be trifled with...

For as long as she could remember, Kenny had always been the type of man who commanded a lot of respect in the streets.

Being with him could raise her own status if he chose to keep her as his trophy piece.

Men like him did not maintain intimate relationships...

But, what Karen failed to consider was that within the realm in which men like Kenny lived, there was no room for feelings of tenderness.

It was too easy for a girl to allow greed and emotions to cloud her judgment.

And, illusions of love could be dangerous...