Streets

2. Breathe and Release

Mob City Correctional Facility
Built 8 years ago houses over 400 inmates most of which have been wrongly accused and are housed with murderers, thieves and rapists.

The warm air hits his skin and even though he now has his freedom the pure fact he spent 4 years behind bars for nothing is what resonates most with him. His brother's death still sits in his heart and he can still see it as if it happened yesterday. The sound of a car horn brings him back to reality as his best friend Marcus hops out his car facing him, "Benny get the molasses out ya ass nigga!" He smiles and walks to the car as Marcus walks up to him and gives him a hug. "Damn man it's really been 4 years. Took them pigs 4 years to realize you innocent." Benny shrugged and walked to the passenger side of the car and hopped in as Marcus got in the driver seat and began their travels through the city to get back to the grove.
Benny sees a lot has changed, he doesn't even want to think about the past. How could he not though. His brother is dead and even though his mother has kept in touch he didn't want to see her. He didn't want to bring her life down as much as he already has. That's why he chose to live with Marcus, at this point after what happened he deserved to live on the southside. "Yo!" Benny again is snapped back to reality, "You good bro? You was spaced out for like 10 minutes." Benny sighed, "I don't know it just...feels weird being out." Marcus understood, he had family locked up however they needed to be locked up. "It's all good bro, you just need some good food and a studio to get back to the music and uhh, big dawg wanna holla at you." Benny looked at Marcus and then back at the road. He should have known telling Marcus he was gonna need some money which meant he was gonna have to finally join the ranks of MCG. Which meant severing ties with GCK, Grove City Killers. He barely was affiliated but his brother was their youngest member much against his and their mothers wishes.
Showing up to the grove brought back many memories mostly good, except driving past that corner store, the memory of his brother being shot dead still haunts him. Right on the pole in parking lot was a shrine, pictures of his little brother and he fought back the urge to get out and cry. He cried enough he thought. Now he has to try and move on. "Welcome home man." Benny didn't even feel at home, soon as he saw the first degraded houses with crackheads sitting on the street or poor folk sitting on porches enjoy the day breeze. He knew he was back in the southside, groups of men dressed in black with the deep purple flag signally they were in MCG territory. A gang that has a tight grip on this city doesn't even realize that it has rivals almost next door.
They pull up to the Tookie Projects, an apartment complex filled with the gang members and their families, the soldier lived in the apartments while the higher ranked members reside in the houses in the back. Getting out the car, members started giving the welcome call, whistles and hoots. One member, Benny remembered his name being Bear, comes up and talks to Marcus, he looks up and takes a glance at Benny, "You ready?" Benny shrugged, "Do I have a choice?" Marcus gave him the look, as if saying please just behave man.
Walking toward the house that stood in the middle of the four houses that were at the back of the apartments, the middle house has another level being the biggest house in the tookie projects, it's where the MCG leader lived. It's also where his brother and little sister lived along side their grandmother. The leader being D, also known as Darnell. He was ruthless when he needed to be but mostly everyone in the gang and whoever lived in the territory respected him like he was a king. Benny and Marcus walked up with a few of the higher ranked members behind them. He just wanted to get this over with. Getting to the bottom step the door opened and out came Darnell, tall and lean, a dark knight to be feared. Around his neck the signature flag, bottom row of teeth covered in a gold custom grill. "Benny, what's up nigga. Been trying to get you up in here." Benny was know as sharp shooter, he has all knowledge on guns, his grandfather before he passed was a retired vet, taught him everything he knows. "Yea, well I'm here now." Benny never wanted to be apart of the gang life, he thought it was pointless. No one has your back not even on the inside, once you locked up them dudes in there could care less.
They continued the conversation inside, D's house was nice, and of course his grandmother made it look more like a home than a gang members house. Sitting in the living room, a thick haze of weed smoke in the air, Benny sat across from D, wondering what he had planned for him to be initiated. "Everyone went through initiation. And it's not easy, you want my respect. You need a body on your hands." Benny didn't show it but he had internally began to panic. It was bad enough he had his brother's death on his conscious he didn't want another person as well. "Now we aren't crazy ass niggas,when you slide a body it's gonna be on a opp. On the east side with them trailer park ass white bitches, there's a dude they call Big Xanax." Marcus chuckled to himself and Benny continues to listen. "He sick, steals from us, tries to rape our women, just last week mothafucka tries to kidnap my little sister, I ain't having that. He lucky he been breathing this long." Benny nodded in understanding, even though he wanted nothing to do with this life. He has no other choices. "Bet. When you want this done?" D looked at him, "Now." There was no time to punk out and he couldn't even if he wanted to. Benny had a mission and coming back a failure was not an option.