Unique I

Chapter 7 - A Victim of Circumstance

Over the next week Kennard doted on Unique. As far as he was concerned, nothing was too good for her—or good enough. Outwardly, Unique basked in his generosity—flowers, candy, notes, jewelry, clothes, food—but inside she felt like a heel for keeping secrets from him. Her conscience ate at her like a tiger dining on slices of raw meat.
     But she’d already made up her mind. Now, the shoe was on the other foot, and she had to do what she thought was best for her and her new family.
     In Unique’s eyes, it was a real blessing in disguise that the big sellout fight was less than two weeks away. The upcoming festivities kept Kennard extremely busy. This was being called the fight of the decade and Kennard was milking it for all that it was worth. Set to take place in Madison Square Garden, the sheer magnitude of the event kept him away from Unique more than usual.
     The timing couldn’t have been better. Unique hated not seeing him until late at night, but the time alone was perfect for putting her own business in order. After playing and replaying the pros and cons in her mind over and over, she decided that the only logical option was to heist Shummi’s diamonds. She liked Shummi a lot and the man had never done anything to her, but what else could she do? Her back was up against the wall. It was the only way to get Fat Tee off of her back and out of her life.
     And with that being said, today was the day it was about to go down, and she had solicited Tyeedah and her little brother for help.
      All I can say is love makes a person do some strange shit!
     Unique waited on Fifty-second Street for the courier to pass. She had his schedule down pat like the finale to a tango. Once she saw him bend the corner, Unique knew there was no turning back. It was about to go down. She felt bad that she had to do this but was relieved that this was going to finally be over once and for all.
     Once Unique saw the courier, she spoke into her Bluetooth. “There he goes: blue jeans, camouflage jacket, and a Jets baseball cap. Game on, Playboy.”
         “Roger that,” Lil-Bro said from a motorized scooter. He confirmed he had seen the target. “I got him.”               
      Unique quickly hopped into a pedicab and instructed the guy to take her to Fifth Avenue. The man maneuvered the three-wheeled passenger bicycle with great precision while she still had the courier in sight. He started weaving in and out of the afternoon traffic, seemingly unfazed by the congestion and poisonous exhaust fumes and diesel fuel he breathed in from the clusters of cabs and buses polluting the atmosphere. Lil-Bro was in and out of traffic as well, trailing the courier on his moped. Traffic came to a halt but it didn’t stop him. The courier, used to sharing the crowded streets with many modes of transportation, didn’t think anything of the moped on his tail.
     In between buses and alongside cabs, Lil-Bro rode that motorbike like he was in a triathlon, trailing the courier like he was racing for the metal.
     In the process of coming to the surprise stop, Lil-Bro ran up beside the messenger and bumped the back wheel of his bike by mistake, causing him to lose control of the bike and fly over the handlebars and hit the concrete.
     “Oh shit!” Lil-Bro said, quickly stopping his own moped. “Man, I’m sorry!” He added, as innocently as possible. “I was texting and riding, man . . . you know how that shit is.” Lil-Bro got off his bike and began to help the man off the ground. “I feel bad, man. Hope I ain’t bruise your ego.”
   The jewel mule, upset from the fall and even more distracted by Lil-Bro’s grungy-looking appearance, never felt the needle prick the skin on the back of his neck as he was being helped up. Lil-Bro was so swift that he should have been a nurse or a doctor the way he pulled it off. Unique watched and even she missed the sight of the syringe. She had to admit Lil-Bro was smooth.               
     Instinctively, the courier felt for the satchel that was still safely around his neck. “Yeah, I’m good,” he said, getting back on the bike, trying to get his focus back on his route.
     Lil-Bro’s role was vital—when he took that syringe filled with the date-rape drug and injected it straight into the courier’s bloodstream, everything was going as planned. “On the road again,” he said into his Bluetooth to tell his sister and Unique. “Coming your way now, Big Sis.” He let the girls know that it was all about to unfold.
     After two more blocks, the double dose of the date-rape drug began to take effect quicker than they thought. Judging by the way the courier was riding he had a low-tolerance for narcotics. He swerved and then almost fell off the bike, which let the trio know that the courier was well ahead of schedule. The messenger seemed to be discombobulated and it was clear that he was going to go down soon. Unique was close by, trailing behind him in her bicycle-drawn carriage. It was time for her to be rid of her chariot and be on foot. She alerted the driver, “Pull over here up ahead.” She paid him and got off. “Game on, girly!” she said to Tyeedah.
     Another block away, Tyeedah was also on foot, waiting for the messenger to bend the corner and when he did, people were lined on both sides of the streets in the middle of rush hour.
     As soon as the courier hit the ground, Lil-Bro darted in front of a Nissan and caused an accident himself, running smack-dead into a yellow cab and making himself fall to the ground and appear injured. Some people saw him and stopped to look, but most people minded their own business and went about their merry way. Unique looked over her shoulder and couldn’t believe how nobody really was paying attention. “You gotta love this city,” she murmured aloud.
     “Girls, you’re on your own,” he said into the Bluetooth, but he kept it moving, not looking back. He’d done his part.               
     By now, the courier was on the ground, clueless as to what was going on or what happened to him. As soon as he fell to the hard concrete, Unique and Tyeedah went into action.
     “Oh my God, somebody call an ambulance!” Unique exclaimed, right after Tyeedah had grabbed the courier’s bag from around his neck and headed to hail down a cab. He was too out of it to even try to put up a fight. In fact, he was sweating and about to pass out.
     The minute somebody else stopped, she left the bystanders there to deal with the poor diamondless guy.
     She couldn’t believe it was as easy as taking candy from a baby, or in this case, taking carats from a rabbit. Unique smiled; she couldn’t believe how simple it was. She mixed into the crowd and hopped in the cab, and she and Tyeedah fled the scene like bandits.