- It was my birthday today and I turned 17. When I woke up in the morning , I went down stairs to the basement and check the laptop. When I opened it , it didn't turn on. It read "Missing disk drive". I turned it off and turned it back on to make sure. It said the same thing again. "Mom", I yelled upstairs. When I went to her room she was gone. I specifically told her NOT to go in the basement and she it anyway. Now she's gone again. I got dressed and loaded up. When I got in the car , I checked surveillance from my phone. She left about 45 mins ago , into an all black SUV with a bag. I got the license plate , but my laptop was useless without another disk drive. I drove to Marc's place since Chris had been staying there since his house jacking.
- Marc lived in Collingswood. It wasn't too far of a drive to get there. I went around back since I knew they were in the basement. I seen the camera turn its lense towards me as I walked down the side of his house , meaning that they were there. When I got inside I got straight to business. "I need a disk drive", I said. "Look Jabriel , were tired of helping you. We feel like we're being used as instruments instead of friends. One favor , that's cool. But all of this? It's too much your asking for. Plus we don't get money to fund this whole operation and the police came to my door asking about you." "How much do you need? And what did you tell them ?", I asked while standing up. "I told them nothing. I said you came here a couple nights to sleep and after that you vanished." "Good. How much do you need for the equipment?", I asked in a moment of relief. "At least $12,000. Most I would charge 20 but I'm buckling it down for you." "$20,000 is fine. I need the disk now. How do you want it ? Cash or wired ?", I said as I pulled out my phone. "Cash", he said as he handed me a new disk drive. I went to my car and gave it to 'em.
- " I need you to pull up information on this license plate " , I said as I showed him the photo of it on my phone. " What's tags " , Chris asked as he opened his laptop. " D 9 4 6 Q 3 Z ". He recited it to confirm it was that. It was registered under my moms name. Catherine Johnson. Why would she get in the back of her own car ? That she didn't even tell me about. " Show me traffic cams and angles around the area. I wanna see who was driving it ", I said as I tried to think more about the situation. He did more typing on his laptop before showing me. " Zoom in " , I said as I looked closer. It was my pops. He couldn't see me but he was driving around my moms ? Bullshit. I called him from my "other" phone. It just rang. No one picked up. I called again , still no answer. " Where are they at now ? " , I asked as I looked on the screen. " We'd have to cross reference the time frame to the vehicle model and license plate. It would take a minute , but we could get it done " , he said as he started on the search. I knew we wouldn't be able to find my dad because of his device , but I was hoping my mom was still visible. It showed they'd been driving around to different places. So I got in my car and drove to West Philly , the only part of Philly they didn't go. It made since to hide in the one place you didn't go.
- They gave an address in West Philly off of 52nd and Thompson. When I got there , I seen the car parked. I walked past it and still felt the heat of the engine , meaning they'd probably just got here. I grabbed my pump out of my trunk and walked up the stairs. I tucked it under my coat so you couldn't really see it. I walked up the steps inside the building with the shotgun pointed at the top. There were 2 doors. One with an "A" and another with a "B". I went in alphabetical order and opened "A". I walked throughout it and it was empty. Just a bunch of nothing. I tried to open "B" but the door was locked. I knocked on the door then walked into and closed the door to see what would happen. None came. I sat the shotgun down and climbed out the first bedroom with and walked on the outside across the B's window. My mom and dad were in the living room. My moms was pacing back and forth. My pops was on the computer. I jumped across the line to the other bedroom window. I jumped over the window so they wouldn't see me. I opened it quick and quietly.
- Once I got inside , I pulled both my M9's out and made my way to the living room. My mom saw me first and put her hands up. My pops just looked at me then stopped typing. "Hands up", I said as I walked in front of the room. " So your going to shoot your parents ? " , he asked as he sat back as if this was a relaxing situation. " If I need to do it to get answers , then by any means necessary " , I said as I clicked off the safety , I took a deep breath then shot past his head. He put his hands up but he looked out the corner of his eye to a black object on the table. It was a electromagnetic disturber. If you move it across any electronic it shuts it down and deletes it system. He seemed to have wanted me not to see what was on the computer. " It was for you own good " , my moms said. " No. It was for y'all own good. I need to know the truth and now. Not as hints. Not in clues. The full story. What have you been keeping from me and what does Gena have to do with it. " , I said as I came up closer. They looked at each other for conformation that it was alright to tell. My mom started first.
- " 17 years ago. Before you were born. I met your father. We became friends and begun to like each other " , she said then took a pause. " And ? " , I said as I still had my guns pointed at each of them. " I lived in Philly and your mother lived in Cherry Hill " , he said as he sat up with his hands still in the air. I shot at the wall again , " I don't have time for long chats. Get to the point , my patience is running low ". " I worked at a lab at the University. Everyone admired my work , even the now chief of police , Burt Griffith. Damon Philips father , James Philips , wanted to use my work as a tactic to hide his dirty work but I wouldn't agree. So he sent his in his daughter that he just adopted , Gena. I fell in love with both her and your mother. One day I caught her digging through my work files at the University. When I questioned her she said she wanted me to use it for the better good. Wondering how , I left her take some prototypes and she disappeared. Until Philips was caught harboring blackmail filed. Then she popped up begging me to help her get rid of the proof by using the actually device. When I declined her father sent me to rough me up and talk but I didn't. He was sent to jail for fraud and more as they found more blackmail files. By then your mother was pregnant with you and we used the device to hide", he said. " Then why'd you leave us and disappear again " , I asked as I put my guns back inside their holsters. " 6 years ago , when he died in prison , Damon took over control of his fathers company and shares completely. He swore vengeance on me after I didn't help his father. Gena saw your mother that day and followed her back to our house. When I got there she'd had you and your mother captive. So I gave her the device and she took me. I left your mother more than enough money in our accounts to run so she did. When we got to where Gena had taken me , there was a scuffle. Ending in me being shot in the chest. I lost so much blood they thought I was dead when they got to where I was hiding afterwards. But they knew all too well it wasn't over until my body was there. I disappeared after that. They just wanted the device , but they can't use it. " , he said as he put his hands down. " Why not ? ". "Cause I'm the key. The system has to go through several locks before unlocking the device. And I'm the only one who could decipher it. Once Damon found it hopeless he cut Gena off of all ties. That's why she moved into the hood. By then she'd had Jamie already and after your fight in the street she saw an opportunity at getting back. " , he said. " Which led to all this " , my mother finished his statement.
- " So how'd she get Malik in on it ? " , I asked. " Simple. She kept giving his parents jobs. Which led to them owing her favors. She promised them a million dollars in the end. Any person in the hood would do the same , even if it meant turning on your closest friend " , he said standing up. " We didn't want you to know this so we could handle it on our own , but you kept pushing. That's why we tried to clear the records and block out files. To make sure you didn't know because their watching you. Which means they'll be here any minute. Let's go. " , my mom said. After he whizzed the computer and tossed it out the window we walked to the door. As soon as my mother opened the door , she got shot back into the house. A 6 foot man with a Tombstone Double Barrel shotgun was right there. He had two others behind him. So we pulled out our guns and started busting back at them as we stepped back into the living room. It was an all out shootout. My moms was still laying on the floor by the door gurgling blood out her mouth from the shot to the chest. We flipped over tables as cover and started shooting back and forth. My pops was behind the couch next to me. Bullets starting flying through the table so I told my pops to cover me as I ran into the next room. Once I was in there I reloaded and tried to peak out but someone with a P90 was behind the kitchen counter shooting right at the door way. I yelled for my pops to stay put. I jumped out the window onto the ledge and started shooting through the living room window hitting one guy until he dropped. The shotgun guy bust at the window and shattered all the glass. I needed to get across to get my shotgun and make this fight even. My pops came from behind the couch and started shooting at both of them forcing one to get down and cover as the other dropped. I ran across the ledge trying not to fall and jumped to the window. Two of the bricks broke and I slipped down , holding on to the inside of the window with my wrist until I dropped one gun inside to free my hand and reloaded the other mid air with the same hand I was holding it with. Someone walked through the bedroom door and I shot them 4 times. The shooting was still going until I seen someone peeking out of the living room window across the ledge. I shot at it until I had no more bullets as I pulled myself upwards and dove through the window of the bedroom.
- I reloaded both guns then put them in my holster. I picked up the pump and made my way out. I busted on guy who in the hallway and opened the door. I seen my mother laying there dead. As I was about to cross , three more guys came up the steps , going into the B apartment. I shot one in the back , cocked again , shot another as he turned around and swung the pump to the others face. He hit the wall and the gun dropped. I speared him through the wall. He pushed me off and into the other wall. I wasn't going down easy in this fight , it was the one and all. I started swinging and clocking him right in the face. He uppercut me and I stumbled back. We grabbed each other as we rushed. He slammed me but I pulled him down and flipped him as I fell to the floor. I jumped on top of him and started punching him in the face. He reached for a knocked over lamp and hit me in the side of the head with it. I rolled off of him. He picked me up and dropped me on his knee, cracking my ribs. Then he had me in a chokehold. I lifted him up on my back and fell backwards with all my weight to fall on him. He let go and I sat up against the wall trying to regain my breath. I tried to pull my guns but he grabbed them and toss them down the hall. "Scared to fight like a man", he asked as he stood up. " Nope but I hope you not afraid to die like a bitch " , I said as I got up and speared him over the couch. We both fell. He got up with a piece of glass in his hand and I grabbed the window sheet. He came at me and I wrapped his hands and swung the glass out. He kneed me in the gut as then in the nose. I grabbed his leg the third time and lifted him backwards in the wall , then slammed him through the table. I took a piece of glass and stabbed him saying , " This. Is. For. My. Mom. "
- I stumbled backwards into the wall and slid down it. I didn't see my pops , but I seen blood where I last saw him. He must've been shot. I had a broken bloody nose , fucked up body and one hell of a day. I heard footsteps coming in as well as police sirens in the distance. At the door , it was Gena. " Wow. This is quite a mess you did. " , she said as she crossed her arms and looked at me. " You did this. Not me. You sent your men after us " , I said as I was breathing heavily. " No , she didn't. I did " , said Damon Philips as he came from behind her. I should've known he was alive considering that Scott "took him out". "The police are already here. You can't get out of this one.", I said hearing the police men storm up the stairs. " Still not seeing the big picture ? Get him boys. " , she said as they came in. I was confused. "You see these men here , are cops. And you my good friend are a cop murderer." , said Damon as he shook his head. "Should've thought this through. Could've been on the winning side", said Gena as she walked out and shook Captain Griffith's hand. " As a 17 year old , your considered an adult in this jurisdiction. You my friend are going away for a long long time" , said Damon. Then he walk out. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say or do can and will be used against you in the court of law. You have a right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one , one will be appointed to you. Do you understand these rights you have been given ? " , said the officer as he lifted me up off the wall and put handcuffs on me.
- I was given little medical treatment , only to cover up the external wounds not internal. " State of Pennsylvania versus Jabriel Johnson , counselors you may start your case " , said the judge. In trial they had pictures of the people I killed. Shatima , Felisha , Micks , Rhodes , Malik , Malik's parents , Brionna , Felix , Madison , all of them. They even had text messages from my phone sent to Scott telling him to kill the rest of Will's crew. They even found Scott's teams' bodies. When the prosecution called their witness , I couldn't believe this shit. " The prosecution would like to call Marc Rhodes to the stand please. This is the late heroic Officer Rhodes' cousin. " I never knew his last name but I thought he was cool because of Chris. After his statement of bullshit the prosecution called their next witness. " I would like to call Christopher Watkins to the stand ". He got on the podium and swore before God to tell the truth. He said I paid him $20,000 to keep his mouth shut. Even plaid the conversation about the cops coming to Marc's house. They cropped out some to make me seem even more guilty. They even charged me with illegal possession of a firearm.
- The trial took 8 hours to be decided. I was found on guilty on 22 counts of murder and 8 counts of manslaughter. I was sentenced to death and put on Death Row. It's a shame how life can do you. Rather or not you indeed to or not , you always fall into darkness. It's your choice to stay or find your way out. I tried to find my way out but only to dig myself back deeper into the darkness. Learn from my experience to just stay the same. At least I made my name known in the end. I made something out of nothing.
Sincerely ,
Jabriel Shabazz Johnson
