The Kiss of Death [Dave East]

10

SPADES AND DAVE DROVE IN UTTER SILENCE, the ride to the infamous Chinese restaurant was long. The radio was on as Spades pulled into the gas station, his tank close to E. Dave reaches to pull out his wallet but Spades quickly dismissed him. "Nah I got it." He popped open his side door. "Say less." Dave leaned further into his seat, pulling out his phone.

That's when he seen four missed calls from Lucks. He clicked his contact, holding the phone up to his ear. The call was now on its third ring when the doors to the connivence store opened. A man dressed in a blue and green flannel shirt with a grey sweater underneath stepped out of the store, seeming to have a verbal match with Spades. Dave couldn't exactly hear them, only distinct cuss words. Just as he was about to roll down and throw a couple of insults at him, he flashed his gun from his hip.

Neither Dave or Spades we're carrying. Dave turned his head in Spades direction. He wasn't cowering down. He was yelling back, encouraging the guy to put his gun away and fight with fist. A shot had went off, missing Spades and skinning the rooftop. Dave threw his phone down, sliding into the drivers seat. He revved the engine as Spades yanked the backseat door open, jumping in. Dave stepped on the gas pedal without a second thought, he turned left, pulling out of the gas station.

"We on E nigga! E!" Spades screamed over the gunshots, he jumped up but was forced back down by the shards of glass flying around. "Who the fuck was that?" Dave responded. "Rico!" Another gunshot rang, and this time it hit something vital. The back tire. Dave was forced to make a stop, the car door that was open hit the tree, making the door fall off its hinges. The car came to a halt, slammed against a tree. Spades groaned weakly, cradling his body.

"Dave. Yo, Dave, you good?" He called. No response. Spades felt his heart rate increase. "Fuck! Fuck! Dave!" He stood to his knees and began crawling towards him. The front window was busted, the parachute was activated and Dave was bleeding from the shards of glass. He reached forward, checking his pulse. It was weak but it was still there. He could hear faintly the sound of heavy feet approaching. Spades cussed lowly to himself, debating to leave Dave behind or fight. Three more rounds went off, Spades flew backwards into the seats, covering his head while shots rang.

One more went off before utter silence. Spades took a minute to think, before he heard.

"Fuck! Fuck! I'm out! Pass me the .44." He took the chance to kick open the doors, running to Daves side and tugging it. His limp body sluggishly tumbled out of the door, falling to his feet. Spades looked up quickly, Rico was now back at the gas station, speaking to someone who sat in an old 2006 red honda civic. This gives him about 15 minutes. Spades dragged Dave out of the car by his shoulders, taking him further into the set of trees. "Aye! The fuck you going?" Rico barked, chasing after them.

Spades grunted, lifting Dave's upper body over his shoulder. He trudged Dave along with him through the woods and thick set of trees with their feet scrapping along the ground that was covered in a mixture of leaves and mud. "Come on Dave, wake up my nigga!" Spades sang, he was breathing heavily as he carried his friend in the dark with Rico chasing after them. He's not sure what Dave's foot got caught on, but the both of them went tumbling down the slightly steep hill, landing in a puddle of mud water filled with old beer bottles and cigarette butts.

The conscious man lifted Dave's limp body out of the water, rolling the tall man beside him. Spades could hear heavy footsteps over him, followed by further sounds of someone else approaching. "Fuck! Where they go?" Rico screamed, frantically looking around. Spades heart was thumping in his chest, all they had to do was look down and it's game over. "They can't get that far, one of them is injured." Rick added. "Nah! Nah! You had your chance and you fucked it up! Own up to your shit. Let's go." The second voice was deeper, louder.

"Harde—"

"Let's go!"

The footsteps started dispatching in the direction it came from. Spades waited an hour or two before moving. Partially in hopes that Dave would wake up, and so he could catch his own breath. Over his head he heard car engines rumbling and then headlights came into view, quickly passing. As time went by, the night grew darker and colder. The mud was drying against their clothes and skin. He was slightly dozing off, what struck him awake was the ear piercing sirens and blue and red lights. He grabbed Dave by his arm again, throwing him over his shoulder.

They were now fifteen minutes into the walk when Spades felt familiarity with the woods. To solidify his theory, he seen old paint chipping off the trees. It was white paint in the shape of an arrow, it was used to help guide them to the halfway house. Dave suddenly got lighter. A low groan came from his body, and then his eyes parted slowly. "Get off me." Spades kissed his teeth, shoving Dave aside. The tall man stumbled on his feet a bit before stabilizing. With his adrenaline down, Spades arm suddenly hurt.

With the thought that he had pulled a muscle or hit it hard when they fell, he tried soothing the pain with his palm only to wince. He brought his palm to his face, shocked to see blood. "You were hit." Dave said lowly. "We go straight for a couple. There's gonna be a big opening in the field, then we take a left and keep pushing. There's gonna be a crib. Halfway house. Someone bound to be there." Spades clutched his shoulder as they carried on through the vast waves of trees.

As promised they stumbled upon an opening, eagerly the two turned left and carried on. They could tell they were close, there was light coming from somewhere. The house was finally in few. It was oddly big for a cabin, though it did still have its traditional style. Oak wood. The slights were on inside. Dave and Spades matched along, with Dave speaking encouragingly to his partner. They burst through the door, expecting to see a four or five people inside. But nothing. He just saw the lights were on, to the left was the kitchen. There was a plate that sat on the table with half eaten meals sitting on it.

To the right, the TV was on down the hall. It looked like whoever was inside, just up and left. The silence was broken by a gun clicking, then cold metal was pressed against Spades back. He shut his eyes, annoyed. "You know who the fuck I am?" He seethed, anger emitting from his body. "You know who the fuck I'm with?" He growled. "Don't give a fuck. You ain't got shit to do with this house, whatcha want?" He spun his neck around, relieved to see Dee.

"Spades?" She asked confused and shocked. She lowered the gun, tucking in into her jeans. "Dave?" She added. The pair sighed long breathes of relief, Spades showed her his wound. "Ima need your help." Dee took a minute to analyze the two. Covered in dirt, blood, shards of glass and they smelt of gasoline. "C'mom." She urged Spades up the stairs.

_____

"Aight bet." Dave hung up the phone, rushing up the steps towards the washroom. He could hear Spades muffled cussing and hissing, he pressed the door open slowly. Spades sat on the toilet seat, his shirt on the floor. The wound on his arm wasn't as bad as the blood made it seem. By the looks of it, the bullet must've grazed him. Dee poured the last bit of rubbing alcohol over his injury, quickly wrapping the gauze around his muscular arm. "I just called Cesar, he's on his way with Lucks to get the money." Dave stated. Spades nodded, groaning as he stood up straight. "Bet. We'll meet them there. Where's the keys at?" He asked Dee, but he was taken back by the odd look she gave him.

She looked at him like he had three heads sitting on his shoulders. "What?" He asked blankly, screwing yo his face. "What? Nigga, what?" She raised her eyebrow confused. "You just got shot at while you were on your way to meet with the triad. Y'all two not going back out there? You want something to keep you busy? Clean up." She bumped past Spades, a look of anger and annoyance on her face. He breathed out through his nose surprised that she cared.