The Syndicate (17 page)

“We're on our way up,” I said shutting the bunker down.

As soon as I made it up top in the house, all I heard was yelling.

“What the hell do you mean it was nothing?” I heard Shanelle shout. “He was shot at! You almost wrecked the car and you look high, Cory.”

“Look, get out my face, Shanelle. You're not listening to me. We also got into a wreck because some Irish motherfuckers started chasing us outta nowhere.” Cory started to explain.

While I walked into the main living room, I glanced around to see two of the Forty Thieves standing by the front door. In front of them, I saw Jojo sitting on the steps with a bandage on his arm. His glasses were cracked and he appeared to have been in a fight. Naveen was at his side with a scowl on his face trying to help Jojo and Inez. My little sister looked to have been in battle herself. She too had some bandages on her, on her neck, wrists, and arms, as she stood in the middle against the stairwell trying to disappear, it seemed to me. Then, taking a look at my brother, I noticed that he also had some scratches on him though he looked better than Jojo and Inez combined.

I felt my jaw twitching in response to the madness.

“If the Thieves didn't call me, you wasn't going to say shit, nigga! What the hell is wrong with you, Cory?” Shanelle shouted pointing with her fingers.

Everything felt surreal.

I felt a hand on my shoulder that made me feel the presence of Mama in the room. I waited for her to say something, but realized that it was all falling to me. Turning, I stared in the face of my uncle as he pulled me back.

“Tell me what happened clearly,” I asked of him, keeping my temper at bay.

My uncle also seemed weary. He ran a hand through his salt-and-pepper hair, then looked my way. “First, some Thieves are bringing Melissa around the back with Lamont, so there's no issue there.”

Crossing my arms over my chest, I kept finding myself watching my brother's erratic movements while he and Shanelle argued. “Good, that's a blessing, Unc. So what went down exactly, I ask again?”

“Damn, I'm too old for this.” Taking a seat, Uncle Snap grabbed his clear Mason glass again and looked up at me. “You know why I hold on to this piece of shit glass huh?”

Shaking my head no, I moved closer to him listening.

“It's the last thing your mama ever touched to her lips. Back in the day as she aged and couldn't fight niggas as easily as she could in her youth, she'd mix a type of acid in different-colored Mason jars and pack 'em in her purse. She used to throw that shit on anyone who got in her way. The unused ones she'd give to me with my favorite lickah or moonshine.” Uncle Snap gave a sullen laugh before glancing up at me. “Anyway, nephew. The Thieves reported yesterday in their watching of the family that Cory left some apartment complex in midtown with Inez.”

Quirking an eyebrow, I frowned. “What complex? He doesn't have a spot down there and neither does Inez. Why was she with him?”

“Hold up off that just now and listen, nephew, because we need this handled now and quickly,” my uncle said taking a deep drink of some amber liquid from the glass. It was probably sweet tea and Crown Royal.

“I told you to beef up the security, forgetting we all still had at least a few of them watching us. But anyway, watching Cory, they followed up to Jojo's school,” he explained as a feeling in the pit of my stomach became heavy.

“They watched as Cory whipped through and ended up picking up Jojo who was being chased.”

“By who?” I quickly interrupted.

“From their intel, some preppy-ass kids,” he explained.

“Do they know why? Did they question them?”

Uncle said, while shaking his head with a deflated look on his face, “No. By the time they caught up with Cory, the kids had bolted off.”

I dropped down in a seat next to Uncle with a heavy heart. All this time, Mama had been sending Jojo to that prep school to give him a better chance at life. From what Uncle was saying, it didn't mean shit if Jojo was being attacked and harassed at the school. Everything that was going on wasn't making any damn sense for me. None. There was a thread that was off, a couple of them, and it was bothering me to my soul.

Disappointed at myself, I shook my head. “So, then what?”

“From how it sounds, Cory picked up Jojo and left two bodies behind him,” he explained swinging his glass around. “Inez patched Jojo up and they all stayed the night at that apartment in midtown. Then, today, on their way to the house, they were sideswiped by the Irish.”

“Back up though.” Scratching my head, I leaned forward with a tilt of my head and with an eyebrow rising in agitation. “Why the fuck was Inez there and why the hell were two bodies dropped?”

Raising his shoulders Uncle Snap dropped his hand splashing his drink with it. “Shanelle's been trying to figure that out. All Jojo will say is that he was being chased because they were pissed at him about some school shit. Won't say what. I gathered he's being bullied. Then, all Cory will say is he found them trying to kill Jojo and he handled it.”

“Wait, you don't kill people who are bullying. What the fuck shit is this?” I stood up, but Uncle grabbed my arm.

Stepping up to me, we stood face to face. Almost brow to brow. We hadn't had a moment like this in years, since I was a kid acting up. It's what had me dropping my resolve out of respect. That old man gave me a look of concern that put me in my place and had me shutting up to listen. “You're not hearing me. They were shooting at him, nephew. Since that's the case, he handled it. Must have gotten in a scuffle with them. Besides, he's not himself right now.”

“This shit is insane. Are you hearing yourself, Unc? Everyone is lying, then the Irish pop up and attack? I'm not chill with that,” I said pissed all the way off.

“I know, but one thing at time. We need to handle Cory,” Uncle Snap said.

“Why?” I snapped at him.

“You don't see it do you? The nigga is high,” my uncle said letting me go.

Turning, I watched my brother use the back of his hand to rub at his nose. He then flashed a curious grin, flipped Shanelle off, then stumbled back. Shanelle followed right after him, not giving a damn about his rude actions. Her pretty face was contorted in rage and she blasted out something he didn't like. I observed Cory's face flip into a mask I was very familiar with as kids. It was the same one he wore when he had to cope with attacking one of Toya's boyfriends. It was a look that, if I hadn't been watching everyone so closely, I would have missed. Especially when Inez became tense, tucking her body in as if someone was about to hit her and something akin to paralyzing trauma flashed across her face when my brother flipped his switch. Thinking back to the video. I recalled seeing Jojo mouth her name in anger.

As my mind worked its thing, my feet followed. Two strides forward, and I found myself snatching Cory up, and slamming him backward over a table. I followed with my forearm to his throat as I slung his heavy body up against a wall.

“The Irish really attack you, or you caused the car to flip because you were high?” I said in Tagalog so that only he and I could hear it.

Something in my brother's eyes softened to the man I knew him to be, but it quickly disappeared with his pride, flipping to anger. “Man, get off me with that bullshit. The Irish chased us down. I don't know what you're talking about with the rest of that shit, man.” Half of what he said was slurred and half was in Tagalog.

“Boss, the Irish is a factual thing,” one of the Forty Thieves said speaking up. “We took them from the wreckage and took care of the wounds, then brought them here.”

“Yet, this motherfucker is floating around, talking any kind of way to my fiancée and the rest of the family,” I said low turning my attention back on my brother. Taking a sniff, my lip curled in anger. “I smell liquor.”

“I'm in pain, Von! Chill, get off me,” Cory said struggling.

Checking him out, shit wasn't adding up. I noticed marks on him that looked old, shit that wasn't aligning with the wreck.

“Von, get off of him please. Please, we were in a wreck,” Inez pleaded, pulling on my arm.

It was then that Jojo stood up going off, “Why you always defending him? I'm tired of this bullshit, tell the truth . . .” he said then stopped, freezing his words.

Jojo then spun around and took two stairs at a time disappearing.

“Naveen,” was all I said for Navy to jet off and follow.

Placing my attention back on my brother, I felt him laughing under me as he tapped my arm. In his struggling the nigga made a vital mistake. His movements caused a bag of something that looked like Skittles along with Mist tablets for the e-cigarette to fall from his pocket. Motherfucker was basing!

I looked down at that shit then looked slowly back up at my brother, then back at the drugs. Back and forth I went until I felt my brother tense under me. This wasn't my little brother. Flashes of us as kids played around in my mind. In it, as we grew, I saw the small things that I used to ignore, like the weed he'd steal from our mother's boyfriends, or the little sips of beer or liquor missing from their cups while his breath smelled like a distillery.

I also saw his anger at not being able to protect himself or me for that matter from the whippings our mother would give us or the ass kicking her boyfriends with put on us until we could find safety at his old-ass father's home. Yeah, against the wall under my hold wasn't my brother at all. Nope, this was shadow of his anger, alive and in full color. Mama's death broke him.

“Stop playing. We're in some real shit with the Irish man. That . . . that's not mine.” He lied to my face. “Look, had I not gotten that message from you about the Irish, I would have been fucked up. We all would have been, right, Inez?”

“Y . . . yeah,” she said stumbling, looking down at her feet and not at me. “He found that with those kids.”

Something was off with her and it wasn't just the bruises that lined her pretty face. Keeping my hold on my brother, I used my free hand to gently grab Inez's chin then raise her face up at me. I didn't know why, but as soon as she started crying, I realized the truth of the matter, as the video replayed in my mind and pieces about my brother's own temper aligned. I learned as a child through Mama the valor of a man isn't always about his fist. Men who are uneducated, weak of mind, mentally incapable, or just plain dumb were the type of men who always resorted to using their fists instead of fighting with their mind. Since my brother,
my goddamned blood,
was on some dumb shit, I figured that I'd fall right in line with him. You know? To wake his stupid ass up since he wanted to act 'sleep.

Everything happened in slow motion. Blood or not, that I was about to kill my brother ran in my mind as my fist connected with his jaw followed with my foot against his chest. Yeah, the Irish were out of control, and I had every plan to deal with them. But, for right now, I had a junkie problem that needed handling.

I didn't know what to make of what I was looking at. I just didn't. These weren't the people Mama spoke so fondly of. These weren't the children who had it all together. The children Mama had raised wouldn't behave in such a manner. I didn't want to accept that the shit had hit the hand we fanned with, but what was playing before me was the downfall of all Mama had spent years putting together.

As soon as Javon dropped Cory, I knew for sure shit had changed. When Javon's foot connected to Cory's chest, I knew it was time to move in, but I didn't. I watched as Javon and Cory fought like two niggas on the street. Cory was like the Incredible Hulk. Seemed like the nigga bulked in size each time he inhaled and exhaled. I guess whatever he was high on made him a super nigga or some shit.

He threw a punch at Javon that made him stumble back, but he didn't fall. Javon righted himself then threw a combo of punches that bloodied his brother. Cory may've had unnatural strength in the moment, but the devil in Javon was bigger than the one in Cory. Javon rushed Cory, scooped that nigga up, and then took him down. It was like watching the best of the best in the WWE or MMA.

“Nigga, you must be out your mind to be putting your hands on her like you don't know what it is to be a man,” Javon growled after he had put Cory in a chokehold. “So you a junkie now, nigga?” Javon asked as he yanked him off his back and pretty much kicked him across the room again.

“Stop, Javon,” Inez screamed. “Leave him alone!”

She made a move toward Javon, but Shanelle stepped in front of her. Her hands were already fisted and she had placed herself in a defensive fighter's pose.

“Don't do it, Inez,” she warned her sister.

Inez nibbled on her bottom lip and eyed Shanelle down. Her fists were already balled by her side too. Her eyes were dilated and she held a look that said she was on the edge and threatening to fall over. And I knew neither one of them was scared to get down. Lord knew I didn't want to see those two go at it. Wasn't no need. But Cory needed what Javon was dishing out to him. That li'l nigga needed some tough love, and if I were ten years younger I would have taken that stupid nigga to task myself.

I watched Shanelle. She was watching Inez. She hadn't said a word or made a move to break the brothers apart. The look on her face said she was waiting for Inez to make a move or the wrong move. I knew Shanelle would fight for Javon. Had no gotdamn idea Inez and Cory were even fucking. They had kept that shit under wraps.

Dishes went crashing to the floor. Chairs fell over and Cory finally found his footing. The mask of anger and pain on Javon's face showed him in father mode instead of being a brother. Blood poured from Cory's nose as he snatched his shirt off and threw it. He was so damn high I didn't think he realized just what was happening.

“What the fuck you hit me for, Von?” he asked. “So you want to be that nigga now? Think since you running shit, think 'cause you're a kingpin or some shit you got the right to put hands on me now?”

“Shut the hell up, nigga. You out here being stupid so I'ma treat you like you stupid. You wanna be a junkie so I'll treat you like one,” Javon told him. “Put your hands on her again and next time I'm chopping those motherfuckers off.”

Cory's face twisted as he slapped his chest. “You see this shit, huh? You see what the fuck she be doing to me? All these gotdamn marks on my chest and back from her ass cutting me, coming after me for stupid shit. Why ain't nobody going after her? What? A nigga ain't got a right to defend himself from a crazy bitch?”

Just then Monty and Melissa walked in. “Holy shit.” Melissa gasped. “What the fuck is happening?”

Monty ran a hand through his hair, but said nothing.

“Do you hear yourself?” Javon asked Cory with a frown. “What the hell you and Inez got going on that you two trying to kill one another?”

“Everybody can't be perfect like you, nigga,” Cory shouted then threw his arms open wide. “I'm fucked up and I own it. It's me,” he said while slapping his chest. “Live with it or get the fuck from around me and mine.”

Javon's head jerked and he snarled. Cory picked up a glass and threw it at him. But Javon was quicker than he was. He closed in on Cory. Somebody had been washing dishes in the sink before all hell broke loose. The water was murky and I could still smell the faint hints of bleach in the air. Javon grabbed Cory by the back of his hair, spun him around, and then forced his face into the sink full of dishwater.

Inez screamed and ran for Javon. Before she could swing at him, Shanelle had tripped her up. Inez did a tumble over her head. Once she realized what Shanelle had done, she jumped up and ran for her, but Monty stopped her midflight. He bear hugged her and kept her in place.

“Ahhhhh, you stupid bitch. I'ma fuck you up,” she screamed at Shanelle, who only shook her head.

“I'll kill you, nigga,” Javon spat at Cory. “You understand me? Before I let you become this thing you're trying to become, I'll dead you myself,” he said then snatched Cory's head up.

Cory tried to catch his breath but, before he could, Javon shoved his head back into the water.

“Think you want to die, li'l bro? You wanna go visit that cunt we called a mother? Say hello to her in hell when you get there. Tell her she ruined her sons so badly that one of them has decided to become an abusive junkie so the other one killed him.”

I'd never seen that boy flip the way he was doing. I was half scared to touch him and too drunk to test my strength in the moment to pull him off Cory.

Shanelle rushed over to Javon. “Baby, stop. You're really going to kill him,” she said as Cory's flailing arms started to go limp.

Javon wasn't himself.

“Ay, nephew, you gotta pull back. Mama wouldn't want this. She wouldn't,” I told him.

“Javon, please,” Shanelle pleaded while touching his arm.

It was a gentle touch, one that seemed to quell the beast inside. I was sure that if I would have touched him, he probably would have swung on me. Javon snatched Cory's head from the water then slung him backward on the floor. Cory coughed and spit up water. Inez started kicking in Monty's arm. She twisted her body until she got one arm loose and swung on Monty. She hit the boy so hard he bristled but then caught himself. She rushed over to Cory, tripping over her own feet. Tears were in her eyes.

The worst kind of love was a junkie kind of love. I knew from experience, not my own, that when two addicts fell in love they not only shared love for one another but also shared their love for drugs. They were enablers for one another. I shook my head, disappointed and sadder than a motherfucker at this point.

“Why . . . why you do that, Javon?” she screamed as she cradled Cory's head in her lap. “I hate you,” she yelled. “I hate all of you. Baby, you okay,” she whispered to Cory who had started shivering.

He didn't say a word, just stared at his brother with a hatred I couldn't fathom.

“Get out,” Javon said coldly. “Both of you, get the hell out of Mama's house. You're done. I don't know either one of you. He's not my brother and you're not my sister. Get out.”

Shanelle's eyes widened. “Javon, baby—” she started but then stopped when he shot a look over at her.

That look silenced every other brother and sister in the room, including Naveen and Jojo who were on the stairs looking on. I had to respect Javon for doing what he was. He needed to apply this kind of tough love. I'd seen Mama do the same to many a nigga who had gotten beside themselves.

“Mama was out here every day putting her damn life on the line only for you two ignorant drug addicts to tarnish her damn legacy. Out here on drugs and selling that shit. I'm out here trying to keep all this mess together.”

Inez was wailing at this point. “He needs help, Javon, please,” she begged.

“I don't give a fu . . . Get out,” Javon spat, this time deadlier than before. “Get out before I drag both of you motherfuckers out of here.”

Inez gently laid Cory's head on the floor then stood. She moved toward Javon and Shanelle stepped in front of him.

“Stop, Inez, please. I don't want to fight you, sis, but I will,” she said.

“Fuck you,” Inez yelled at Shanelle then looked at Javon. “You so busy sniffing up that bitch's ass you ain't have time for him. When he was receiving awards and shit from school, you chose to go support Shanelle instead of him. Ain't shit he ever did been good enough for you. And you,” she said to Shanelle, “you don't care about nobody but him.” She pointed at Javon.

“That's not true and you know it,” Shanelle said.

“Inez.” Cory mumbled it. “Fuck 'em,” he said running a hand across his nose. “Help me up and get me out of here, baby.”

I felt like I was in a movie or some shit. Cory was Eddie Kang and Inez was crackhead Felicia. Shit woulda been funny except it wasn't. Inez did exactly what Cory asked of her. She helped him up. He stumbled then looked at Javon.

“You're dead to me,” he told him.

Javon's upper lip twitched and in a matter of seconds it felt like all hell broke loose again. I watched as Javon moved Shanelle and rushed at his younger brother again. The back door to the kitchen was already open since Monty and Melissa came through the back. I didn't know what to think when Javon tossed Cory outside and then shoved Inez out with him when she tried to swing at him. It was the most heartbreaking shit I'd ever seen.