In Due Time...

||Present||

3 years later
Damien

I was rolling down the streets of Chicago with my homeboy Tez, going to handle some "business". "Shit, it's a little hot today ain't it?" Tez said "Man I ain't bout to talk to you bout no fuckin' weather." He chuckled and I just stared out the window thinking about that night.

"Nia imma catch you at the store alright?" I said before leaving Nia with Quincy. I didn't want to stay in that uncomfortable atmosphere more than I needed too. When I made it to the corner store, I walked in while the Asian store clerk just stared at me. I looked at him, shook my head, and kept it pushing through the isles. I grabbed Nias' favorite snacks Snickers, Twizzlers, Purple Doritos, and I couldn't forget her Muncho Mango Arizona or else she'd kill me.

I continued browsing seeing if I missed anything, when two male figures dressed in black with ski mask on their faces rushed in with guns pointed straight at the clerk. In that moment time felt like it was moving slow. I ducked to the floor and didn't move a muscle, I barely even breathed. I took a peak around the corner but quickly shifted my head back "EMPTY THE DRAWER MAN!" One of the men screamed "NO, LEAVE!" The clerk screamed back. The bantering only continued for a second before the gunshots popped off. I closed my eyes and covered my ears. Once the shooting ceased the men ran out the store. I peaked around the corner again to see the man laying flat on the floor still faintly breathing but bleeding heavily, but I couldn't move. My feet felt glued to the ground, my body felt as if it was melting into the floor. Moments later, amongst the ringing in my ears I heard LAPD sirens going off . My body jolted up, I flung myself towards the back door of the store, but it was locked. When I made a run for the front a gun was pointed directly at my face "PUT YOUR HANDS UP WHERE I CAN SEE THEM!" The officer said I did as I was told "ON THE GROUND!" I followed his every order. I was scared and afraid, but innocent. "I AINT DO NUN!" I screamed "I SWEAR!" I pleaded. The officer handcuffed me and told me "SHUT THE HELL UP!". A lot of things were racing through my mind. This situation was never something I was apart of, I was always an outsider staring in, but now? I'm front and center. The officer stood me up and took me out of the store where I continued to shout my innocence. When I was sitting in the LAPD cruiser I looked over into the crowd, but the first and only face I could see was Nia's. She stared at me with confused eyes, which seemed to ask 'How?'. Tears slowly started to roll down her brown cheeks and my heart slowly started to break. My best friend, my rock, felt just as helpless as I did. When the police cruiser started to take off my eyes kept hold of Nia's. When I looked out the back of the car she was following behind sprinting, but then.. she fell, and so did my tears that I tried so hard to hold back. Damn.

"We here." Tez said and snapped me back into reality. We were in front of a rundown apartment building that looked vacant. Multiple homeless people laid outside staring with empty eyes. We hopped out the whip, I grabbed a glock while Tez went to the trunk to grab the "package" . I made sure the glock was loaded before stuffing it into the back of my pants. I nodded at Tez to let him know everything was good to go.

We walked into the building where two men stood waiting for us. One was tall and a bit heavy set. He was dark skinned with a thick beard and had a ugly mean mug. The other wasn't as tall and was skinny. He was also dark skinned, he stood with his arms crossed and his head cocked to the side. "You brought what Reem asked fo'" I said. The skinny one chuckled a bit and said "We got it, but do you got our money?" "You think we toting a briefcase for fun nigga?" Said Tez which made the skinny one start sizing Tez up. This man can never shut up. "Look you show us what you promised, and we got yo cash dawg." I said to hopefully clear the tension. "Go get the package K." He said to the big one. K went to their truck and came back out with two duffle bags and placed them on the floor in front of us. I looked at Tez who handed me the briefcase and he bent down to check the bags. When he unzipped the bag there were multiple bricks of cocaine. I looked up switching eyes between the both of the men to make sure we weren't being bluffed. After that Tez gave me the ok. I was in the process of handing them the case when people came in rushing behind Tez and I with guns pointed at the Two men. They instantly raised their hands in the air. "This how it's gon go." I started "My Unc Reem has a message 'Stop selling on his fuckin turf or he shutting your whole lil party down' and you better listen." I said to them. I took my glock out and placed it on the ground between them "Only one of y'all can deliver the message, choose wisely." I said before walking out with Tez behind me and tussling sounds began behind us. When we got to the car a single shot went off, I shook my head and we pulled off.