Demolition Lovers [ruby da cherry]

Stab

"Did you say who was gonna meet us there?" Oddy asked, his hands on my headrest. Both men were in the backseat, Jericho claiming it'll keep me from being distracted. Oddy had earlier tried getting in the passenger seat and I had to hold in a laugh when Jericho told him 'no' like a parent telling their kid not to go near the deep end of the pool.

"Jamie and Bill. Take a left after this light, Shira," Jericho's hand crept up from the backseat to point in the obvious direction.

Oddy kissed his teeth. "Man, fuck Bill."

"Didn't know y'all had beef."

I made a left turn. "Eh, it's one sided, I guess. I gave him an O to sell for me a few years ago an' he smoked it."

"Almost there, keep goin' straight for another few miles. I'll tell ya when to stop."

I drove until I heard an 'alright', right near a guarded off creek about a block from a small park. The streetlights were dim, the many trees that surrounded absorbed the limited brightness they provided. I pulled over right behind the corner and parked, then shut the engine.

"They should be here soon," Jericho said.

I took a deep breath, the excitement and nerves catching up to me. A steady, hard pounding at my rib cage had restricted my lungs and prevented the intake of air from reaching the bottom. Oddy put a hand on my shoulder. "You okay?"

I leaned forward out of his grasp and looked back at him. "I'm fine."

Jericho raised his eyebrows, and just before anyone could say anything else, a black SUV drove a few yards in front of us and parked. A big guy and a little guy got out, prompting movement from the backseat. I figured the little guy was Jamie and the big guy was Bill, but I didn't bother to ask such an asinine question. Jericho slipped out of the car first, with Oddy following him in a seemingly deliberate five second delay. Either that, or his useless ass wasn't fully paying attention. I watched as Jericho slipped the black backpack off of his shoulders and handed it to the little guy, who didn't even bother looking at it before climbing back into the SUV, holding the bag close to his chest. After a few seconds of indistinct and hushed chatter from the remaining three men, they all got into the car and drove off.

I wasn't supposed to follow; instead, I was instructed to quickly drive to the spot where they'd end up in about 25 to 30 minutes. It took a little under 15 to get there myself, through speeding and taking short cuts, then the rest was just a waiting game. I did as I was told by Jericho I don't know how many times, and turned the car off after parking across the street from whoever's building they were about to pull up to. I sat slouched and pressed back into the seat, trying to be as if I wasn't there. I wasn't afraid of someone seeing me and starting shit, I was more so concerned with not fucking anything up. For myself and, I guess, the others. If they die, I probably won't get my money.

The area was pretty sketchy -- though my neighborhood wasn't the best, it at least wasn't as dangerous -- and I wasn't about to take any chances and risk losing 2k before I even got it. I gripped the unfamiliar gun given to me by Jericho and stared into the dusty, empty cupholders in the center console until I became nothing and disappeared up into the oblivion. No one would be able to see me if I didn't exist.

That empty state lasted for about twelve minutes before I got a call on my work phone and was brought back into myself. Oddy's name illuminated the dark interior and I immediately answered. "Yeah?"

"Yo, where y'at?" he asked, sounding like he was out of breath.

I looked across the street, the same empty cars and static scene presented itself in front of me, unchanged from when I had first gotten there. I figured they were on their way. "I'm at the spot, where are you?"