Chapter Nineteen:

Good Die Young

Lakeda zipped through Los Lados, rushing into the LLPD Headquarters where she saw Strika sitting on a bench with a cup of water in his hand. Tessa was sitting next to him, shuddering despite being 80 degrees today, looking wasted away. She held a mug of tea in her hands. Strika downed the water and wiped the lingering tears from his face. Lakeda looked around at the LLPD. Everyone here was a human—mostly white, mostly male and all human. She sighed and walked over to Strika who got up to hug her. She hugged him back, sighing sadly. She glanced at Tessa when she let go, who looked guilty. Lakeda sat down along with Strika, sitting there in a long silence.

"Did they call his parents?" Lakeda asked after a while. Strika nodded and shivered. His father had left work early to see what had happened and shortly after, his mother came along also. He remembered their names, Aaron Ca'Nine and La'Rhola Ca'Nine. The police commissioner had told them what happened in a separate room and Strika saw La'Rhola break down in tears and Aaron sit down, in a state of unbelievable shock.

"You gave yo statement?" Lakeda asked.

"Y-yeah," he muttered. He looked up, seeing the cop who shot Laquan walk by with two other officers. He was in plainclothes now, his head low. He was shorter than both him and Laquan, especially Laquan. He was fair skinned with a full head of black hair, on the younger and thinner side with hazel eyes. Strika glared at him, feeling his eyes grow hot and bright. Lakeda grabbed his hand, squeezing it.

"Then let's go," she said, not wanting to be here. Tessa looked at them and Strika cleared his throat.

"Call yo parents Tess," he said to her lowly, "Just…go home."

She nodded quietly, looking down at her mug of tea in her hands. Strika got his backpack and walked out with Lakeda. She touched Strika's face, gently turning his head to her.

"I'm sorry," she said, "I'm so sorry, Strika."

Why didn't I fuckin' stop 'em? I'm fast enough. I just…froze up. Shit.

"It ain't yo fault," she insisted, "Don't get in yo head about this…it ain't yo fault…you were tryna help…"

Strika looked back at Tessa sitting in the headquarters, feeling both a pang of resentment and a wave of pity for her.

"Let's go…" she sighed, clutching her purse, getting ready to sprint. Strika swallowed hard and got into his running stance. They both zipped off, through the city, Lakeda being so much faster that Strika knew it was foolish to attempt to keep pace with her. She reached Section-77 in one minutes, while Strika reached there in five. They both stood outside the housing projects for a moment, looking at it. As Lakeda wondered what the future would hold, Strika kept thinking about seeing the life escape Laquan's eyes. They both entered, heading towards the elevator. Strika blinked slowly as the doors slid shut.

He took a shallow breath as they got off and headed into the apartment. Lakeda shut the door behind her and Strika went into his room immediately, not saying a word. He paced up and down, shaking his head, allowing himself a few more tears. He laid on the bed, tossed and turned, got up, texted people and then looked in the mirror for a long time. He then looked at the photo of him and his father. We're so much alike and yet…I'm here and you ain't. He inhaled sharply, taking off his hoodie and shirt, looking at the scars on his chest and stomach. His phone started to blow up with texts from many people—shocked, distraught, upset, worried, angry and depressed texts from a multitude of folk. The one that stood out the most to him had been Belilah's text.

Belilah: the day in the life of a black skinned mon.

I'm sorry

Strika

R.I.P Laquan Ca'Nine

Strika remembered visiting his father in the Pokemon Center. His body completely, mangled from a ground type using Rock Slide carelessly on him. He was beyond saving. His last words lingering thick in the air.

"You already know how this was gonna end."

Strika sobbed a bit, sitting back on the bed and laying down, closing his eyes. He wanted to sleep the day away. He turned off his phone as the dozens of texts began flooding in.

Crystal warmed up some banana pudding and chicken nuggets, placing it in front of Taheha. She could barely speak or read, for she hadn't learned anything or started school yet, barely toilet trained. Maria had watched her until she got drunk and let Taheha wander around in the house, aimlessly, looking for food or entertaining herself by watching the tablet. She had learned a few words from watching children's shows and Talon taking what little time he had to teach her a few things. Now that he had money and Taheha had no need to stay with their mother, who'd been useless in the grand scheme of things. Besides upgrading his wardrobe to something a bit better than raggedy overused clothes, he also brought fruit, fruit snacks, pudding, chicken nuggets, chocolate cookies, vegetables and fun-sized packs of chips. Taheha nibbled happily on the nuggies, cooing a soft "thank you," to Crystal.

"No problem," she said, sitting next to Taheha, sighing.

Talon was with Alto, in Sandy's former traphouse, weighing fresh yayo. Crystal had been looking a bit faint these days, but she seemed to be hanging on and seemed a bit happier with Taheha here. Alto's phone buzzed and he checked it, sighing darkly.

"Bruh…" he muttered as he placed a baggie of coke on the scale, "…Laquan…"

"Laquan? The basketball player? Wha'bout him?"

"He got killed," Alto said, "Cops."

Talon looked stunned for a brief moment and then closed his eyes, gritting his teeth. He was Jazmin's brother's best friend. He could only imagine how Strika was feeling.

"Fuck…nigga…" Talon muttered, swallowing hard. His countenance became saddened and slightly angry, "What happen?"

"Someone videoed it—"

Talon shook his head, waving Alto's phone away, "Ion wanna see that. I've seen enough of that shit, bruh."

He cut the cocaine, sliding it in the baggie and weighing it again. Altogether, it was sixteen grams. Crystal walked over to the kitchen where they were at.

"How's yo grandma?"

"She iight…" Alto said, sighing, "I mean…her memory high key shit. But otherwise…she iight."

"Who you got watchin' her?"

"My big sis came into town," Alto said, "She gon' watch her a bit before leaving tomorrow. I need a break, bruh. Gotta do a lot of shit."

"Yeah, I feel ya," Talon said, sighing. Crystal observed them and yawned a bit.

"Y'all niggas done?" She asked.

"Yeah it's sixteen grams," he told her. Crystal nodded and picked up the baggies, setting them on the counter and taking out a pan, a pot and baking soda. She filled up the pot with water, warming it over the stove, setting a timer. Alto lit his bong, taking a rip and blowing the smoke into the air as Talon walked into the other room, checking on Taheha. She was now munching happily on banana pudding. She quirked her lips at Talon, who smiled back, reaching into his bag and giving her a favorite plushy toy. She hugged it, setting it next to her and continued to eat her pudding as he went back to the kitchen. Crystal poured the cocaine into the now adequately warm water, letting it sit for a bit. She then poured the baking soda into it, transferring it into the pan, letting it cook up as it boiled. As she cooked up crack, Alto passed Talon the bong and he took a hit, coughing a bit and passing it back.

"When you think the funeral gon' be?" Alto asked between coughs, "Laquan was that nigga."

"Ion know," Talon said, clearing his throat, "Prolly by the end of the week. Cops really ain't shit bruh. These niggas are useless as hell. Niggas be slanging, shootin', kidapping and rapin' motherfuckin' students and they like fuckin Rayquaza Charles, but let just a random nigga walk somewhere they ain't fuckin with, then bop bop. Utter fuckin' trash."

"Fuck 'em for real tho," Alto said, taking another hit, followed by a few shallow coughs, "They be hasslin' niggas for no fuckin' reason. Just be walkin' on by and hit 'em with a, 'yo can I see some I.D.' Ol' blue lives matter headass niggas, ol' bootlickin' ass. And I'm actually fuckin' blue so they can kiss my whole ass with that bullshit."

Talon sat down, sighing, "It ain't ever easy, bruh."

"Yeah," Alto said, "I actually got my ass pulled over by some Jenny when I was tryna renew my gran's EBT card. Askin' me 'ain't you supposed to be in school', like bitch if don't get yo square head, lookin like you made in a lab headass away from me…I ain't finna deal with none of that bullshit."

Crystal had finished cooking, rapidly chilling the solids and started cutting them up with a razor blade, bagging them back up. She walked over to Talon, giving him nearly one fifty, as she took an 8-ball for herself and began smoking it. She gave the remainder of the baggies to him and he placed them in the hidden compartment of his trusty duffle bag. Crystal sighed as the high began to quickly creep up on her. She sat on the countertop, taking another hit of the pipe as Talon leaned back in his chair, lighting a cigarette.

"The cops corrupt as fuck too," Alto continued, "But I guess…you already know that?"

Talon scoffed, taking a drag, "Ain't to my benefit ultimately. It's for theirs."

"And ion know 'bout you, but I think all of them on some sort of fuck shit. All of 'em, even the nice ones. Them niggas on some fuck shit too."

"Nah I feel ya," Talon said, taking another long drag, "All of them on some fuck shit."

Crystal took another hit of her pipe and sighed longingly, feeling a bit better than she was earlier. She checked her phone between hits. Talon sat back up straight, letting the cigarette hang out his mouth as he reached back into his duffle bag and showed Alto that he had obtained a handgun: a Smith & Weezing. Alto wasn't surprised as he set down his gun, looking at it. He had one as well, locked in his grandma's backroom drawer: a silver 9 mil. He checked the clip, seeing that it was loaded. The safety was on, however.

"I was wonderin' when the fuck yo ass was gonna get strapped," Alto said, "A flamethrower might cook a nigga, but a bullet will absolutely kill a nigga."

"Ion even know how to do that flamethrower move anyways," Talon said, "Ain't like it's useful for me, either, with my meh special attack stat."

"Nigga…get some choice specs or a choice band if yo gon' also get yo'self a gun," he said, "But…why today of all days tho, bruh?"

"X-Large talkin' about pullin' up on a nigga," Talon said, sighing, putting the gun carefully back in the duffle bag.

"Bruh…nah…" Alto shook his head, "You a good hustler, but you ain't no shooter, my guy. You gon' get murked if you tryna roll with niggas who be blastin'."

"Ay, listen, if I learn, I'ma be Lector Trode with the chopper."

"Nigga…you ain't no Lector Trode with the chopper, you Sheiza at the last quarter, witcho bad aimin' ass self. I hope you ain't tryna go with X to pull up on no niggas, bruh."

"He said err'body has to come thru," Talon said, taking a drag.

"Who y'all tryna murk," Crystal asked, feeling nice.

"G-Dos," Talon said, "He had his shooters pull up on X at his own house and try to mow his ass down. They shot up the whole fuckin' place."

"Oh…damn…" Alto went to the cabinet, tippy-toeing as he opened one, "Is X, iight? Damn bih, don't y'all got anything in here other than fuckin' …the fuck? Fruit Spheres? Cinnamon Squares? What kinda bootleg shit is this?"

"Nigga…if you don't shut yo ass up and go the fuckin' deli…" Crystal muttered, her ears going flat against her head.

"Das why yo ass gettin' fuckin' skinny, eatin bootleg ass cereal and all that crack you be smoking—anyways. X…he…good?"

"Yeah he fine," Talon said, "Word on the block is that he fucked up them niggas who tried killin' him, no cap. He broke one's face and put another one in a coma."

"Deadass?"

"Well the nigga woke up, but he was in a coma at least," Talon said, taking a short pull of the cigarette, "Ain't remember shit tho."

Alto laughed a bit, "Daaaaa-daaayum, straight goonin', this nigga X. Man's got hands for real." He paused for a second, tapping his chin, "But he tryna pull up on G-Dos?"

"Yeah."

"Is this nigga retarded?" Alto asked, "G-Dos got mad shooters and…he ain't slippin' my guy."

"X-Large's operation is just as large as G-Dos. G-Dos just operates from the coastline. But he tryna expand into the city, particularly Los Lados and East Lados."

"Damn…" Alto sighed, "It's a hostile takeover he tryna do. Usurping nigga's…I mean, technically, this is a drug kingdom and X kinda is the monarch."

"…The fuck does usurping…mean?"

Alto sighed, "Taking, seizing, appropriating, bruh…"

"Oh," Talon mumbled and nodded, taking one final drag, then putting out his cigarette, blowing out a wispy cloud of smoke.

Alto looked up G-Dos on Poke/Gram. He had a decent following and was always posing with his girl, Mille Lotus. He showed Talon. G-Dos had long, straight blue hair, sun-tanned skin and sharp ruby red eyes. His bottom half was that of a Gyarados' tail, making him a merman, also having fins for ears. But he could easily change in and out of that merman shape to a human-shape when he wanted. He wore iced out watches and chains and his huge fangs were tipped in diamond. His girlfriend, Millie Lotus, was also a mermaid, who could change her shape to be human if she wanted. She was fair skinned with long strawberry blonde hair with scarlet highlights. She sported elaborate pink eyebrows that she (painfully) trimmed down to a more "acceptable," length. Her bottom half was that of the Milotic's tail.

"…Dis nigga apparently don't like seasonin' on his food, datin' this pale Milotic chick," Talon said, not impressed with her obvious beauty.

"She kinda bad tho," Alto admitted, "She just corny as fuck."

Talon shrugged, still not impressed, "Niggas think they made it when they snatch up a pale ass Milotic chick. It's cool tho…X gonna give it to him."

Alto snorted in low laughter, "C'mon bruh."

"Nigga I'm serious," Talon said, "Fuck him. X…got his own issues…and ion too like it myself, but G-Dos is a whole ass instigator."

Taheha wandered into the kitchen finished with her food, wanting to do something.

"Tal-tal," she said, going over to him, "I'm done. I'm done."

Talon sighed, "Yeah, Taheha." Crystal set down her pipe and picked up Taheha, keeping her away from the kitchen. She walked outside with her, leaving the two to finish bagging up coke and whatever else that was necessary. She stood outside in the lawn, holding Taheha. Crystal looked up at the sky as she did, her eyes clouding over a bluish-white. The clouds thickened and went from a pure white to a soupy gray. Within several seconds, it began to snow: an incongruous sight in the summer. Taheha looked amazed, distracted from going back inside. People were poking their head out their windows, looking at the snow in a mixture of amazement and unimpressed exasperation. The snow was now starting to become a light hail.

"Goddamn ice-types, leave the fuckin' summer alone," someone yelled from across the street.

Crystal ignored them and set Taheha down, so she could touch the snow for herself.

Talon walked over to a silver escalade that was in a procession of other cars—six other cars to be exact. Zanny was standing outside of it, smoking a cigarillo. He gave Talon a pound and bro hug. Already sitting in the escalade was Big Smoke, who was going to be the one driving. They were all on 18th Avenue and it was near midnight. The streetlights were dim as usual and Talon watched as some of X's boys were loading up briefcases into the trunks and the backseats of the other cars.

"Yo," Zanny gave a nod of acknowledgement to one of them, "Sup, Claw."

The young man who went by the moniker of Claw looked up at Zanny, giving him a quick nod. The bottom half his face was concealed with a bandana. He had dark skin and brown eyes with mop of curly hair that he never bothered shaping up. But his most obvious feature had been the pincers that emerged from either side of his head, being of the Pinsir-lineage. Claw instructed a couple of X-Large's shooters to go into the cars and wait up. He got into the black convertible, with his main man and sharpshooter, Victor Volt, also known as Vi-Vo. He was light skinned, with crazy orange-yellow eyes had red rings around them. He boasted a head full of dark blue hair that was cut into a low fade. His most distinctive feature, other than his bizarre looking eyes, had been the jumper-cable railgun horns that grew out the top of his otherwise normal head. Talon wondered why he didn't see many bug-types out and about and this was why: they looked too…uncanny, not human enough to blend in with the human population and the everyday mundaneness of their world.

"Hurry up nigga," Claw grumbled, "Yo slow dusty ass, we ion got all night."

"Nigga fuck you," Vi-Vo said, getting into the convertible, "You got the strap?"

"Always my G," Claw said.

Talon saw as X-Large was pulling up with his own car: his red sports car that he prized over everything else. In the passenger seat was a purple skinned, blonde haired woman who was curvy in all the right places to some great extremes, which made Talon wonder if she got work done. She was lovely, which was X-Large's usual taste. It took a moment for him to realize she was of the Jynx-line.

"He at his big ass house by the coast," one of X's boys said to him, before heading back into another car, this time a low rider. X-Large nodded and when he revved his engine that was the signal for Talon and Zanny to get in the escalade. The top closed, instead of being open as he usually had it. One by one, the cars pulled out, following in a smooth sequence, with X-Large leading the charge. Talon and Zanny checked their guns as Big Smoke followed the procession. He cracked open the tinted window when Talon lit a cigarette, taking a drag. Big Smoke checked the glove compartment: his gun was there and he sighed in relief, closing it after he made sure.

"So we…gonna kill this nigga?" Talon asked, apprehensively.

"Yup," Zanny said, taking a hit of his cigarillo and coughing a bit, "Yup."

"…You ever murk someone before?"

"Nah, but I shot a nigga before," Zanny said, "It's crazy the first time around."

Talon swallowed hard and Zanny looked at him.

"Nigga you better not be havin' second thoughts…"

Talon took a hard, long drag of the cigarette, "Ay bruh…I ain't ever done this shit before. Yeah nigga I'm kinda thinkin' this shit over."

"I blew someone's head off," Big Smoke said, looking at the rearview mirror.

"Really?" Talon asked, his eyes becoming huge saucers.

Big Smoke laughed, "Nah bruh, I'm fuckin' with you. Ain't never shot anyone, but I did pull the strap on a nigga, just to scare his bitch ass off."

"Listen bruh, just do what you gotta do, and whatever you do, you better shoot straight. Ain't no friendly fire in this bitch, iight?" Zanny warned.

"Y-yeah, I gotchu," Talon said, checking his clip once more and taking a deep breath, exhaling slowly. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, he thought. Big Smoke did a left turn, following the five other cars, driving effortlessly.

"This yo car…?" Talon asked.

"Yep, got it last week," Big Smoke said, "Still makin' payments on this shit tho, but it's mine."

"Daaaaaaaaamn, stylin," Zanny said, taking another hit, "Doin' big things. Nigga I'm tryna get like you, sheeeiiit!"

Big Smoke laughed a bit, "Yeah…"

Talon looked at his phone, seeing distressed texts from Jazmin about Laquan and Strika. He swallowed hard again, turning off his phone and location. I'm busy…I'll….hit her up back later…

Within thirty-minutes, they were on the freeway, heading towards the waterside: Scion River. There were a lot of waterfront properties out here and it was a decent haven for water-types. In truth, the coastline was a gorgeous sight. At midnight, downtown Scion City could be seen across the still water—a city of pure light. Talon stared out the window, astonished at such a vista. Sometimes the city be bangin', sometimes it's not, he thought, taking a drag of his cigarette. Big Smoke checked his side mirror and then his rearview mirror. There had been no cops following them and he was keeping up with the other cars ahead of them. When they were off the freeway and into the local roads, Big Smoke and the other cars made a right turn half a mile off, into a rather quiet neighborhood, where people were walking their dogs and jogging at night. X-Large slowed down, rolling through at a cruising speed.

"Welcome to Coast City," Big Smoke said, rolling down the window and hanging his hand out, "Ain't really a city…just a boujie ass hood."

The cars slowed down to a crawl, splitting off into directions and surrounding a waterfront brick house with a well-tended lawn. The watercourse had split off into a separate channel around this part of Coast City, like a canal that would lead out to the main body of Scion River. When they parked, X-Large was the first one out, snapping his fingers to the woman in his passenger seat. She got out, chewing gum and opened the trunk, handing him his semi-automatic.

"Block the exit routes," he told her.

The woman nodded, blowing a bubble with her gum and the popping it. She kicked off her heels, jogging over to the canal. She reached the edge of it in a few minutes. As she did, his other shooters got out their cars, strapping up, locking and loading. Talon took a deep breath, feeling his heart race. He flicked the cigarette out the window and got out. His forehead became shiny with sweat and he was trembling, but he steadied himself regardless. They all dispersed, some in the topiary bushes, others in the front, others flanking and the rest taking their places by the canal, their guns pointed at the home.

With that, the woman inhaled deeply and rubbed her hands together. She pressed her palms against the surface of the water, freezing it instantly. The ice crept along the surface, reinforcing itself, freezing over completely in a matter of seconds. When she finished, she spat out her old gum and popped in new one, chewing loudly. She subsequently lifted the side of her cocktail dress, withdrawing her own handgun that was strapped to her leg and held it with both hands, pointing it towards the house. Talon was the last one to raise his gun, tentatively taking the safety off. With that, X-Large lifted his arm, clenching his left hand into a fist. The foundation of the house started shaking violently as he stomped his feet in a rhythmic beat.

And they all started firing.