He spoke as if he had a crystal ball foreseeing the future. Why does he think I’ll give him anything? Is he crazy? Does he really think that I would give him all that money so he can go run off with his Doctor Dolittle bitch and have a merry life, while I have nothing? He must be mad. I won’t do it.
Quadir pulled over the car to the side of the road, put it in park, and took his foot off the brake. Raindrops began to drizzle, hitting the windshield with every breath he took.
“What?” Gena asked as she kept her eyes glued out the window, unwilling to face him.
“Gena, I want my money. Had I died, Gena, then you would certainly be the rightful owner of my hidden treasure. But you aren’t, and I just need you to do the right thing. I really, really, really need you to do the right thing.”
“Or what, Quadir?”
He looked at her strangely. “What do you mean or what?”
“What I said. Or what? If I don’t give you back your money and do the right thing, then what?”
Quadir thought for a moment. Ever since they had been together he had done nothing but provide for Gena, take care of Gena, and love Gena. To this day, he still did. He couldn’t believe that she was that selfish and that greedy, that she wouldn’t willingly give him back his paper.
“Then this is where we say good-bye. You go your way and I go mine.”
“Just like that, you’d let me go? You’d let me walk away with your money?”
“You know what, Gena, if I had to hurt you, or do anything outside my character in order to make you return my money, then I wouldn’t want it. I want my money; yes, I do. I hustled for that shit, I died for that dough-of course I want my money. But you have it now and I can’t make you give it to me. It’s not a pawn, it’s not an option, it’s not a deal. There are no deals here, Gena. You want to give me my money back, fine. You don’t want to give me my money back, then all that shows me is that all this time I was completely wrong about you. And if I’m wrong, then I don’t want to be right. You take it, have it all, if that’s what you want, but I swear to God, you’ll never ever have to worry about ever seeing me again. Ever.”
He spoke with true conviction in his tone. He wanted to be as forceful as possible without hurting her. He didn’t know if she believed him, but every word he spoke was the God’s honest truth. If she didn’t tell him where his money was, he had every intention of leaving her standing on the side of the road, he had every intention of moving on, even if it meant moving on without her.
She watched as the rain fell and listened to every word he spoke. Deep down, she knew he was right. She also knew that once she gave him the money, she’d probably never see him again. The money was his, all his. It wasn’t hers; he was right. And the right thing to do was to let him have it. If that’s what he wanted, then she would oblige him and give it back.
“It’s at 4-U-Self-Storage,” she whispered as she kept her head turned away from him. The last thing she wanted him to see was her tears. The little bit of pride she had was swallowed up by his demands and the reality that she would be left with nothing, not even him.
A Deadly Ringer
Excuse me, may I help you?” asked the storage night watchman.
“Yes, I’m looking for a storage unit,” replied Terrell in all seriousness.
“Oh, we have plenty. What size unit do you need?”
“No, you’ve already rented the unit I want.”
“I’m sorry, come again? I don’t understand.”
“I’m looking for a storage unit in the name of Gena Scott,” said Terrell, hoping and praying this guy was smart enough to just give him the storage unit number.
“I’m not following you,” said the guy as he brushed his blond hair back from his forehead.
Just then Terrell noticed a Range Rover pulling into the storage unit. He watched the truck park and noticed the girl and the guy immediately.
“Never mind, thank you.”
“I’m sorry, excuse me, you can’t go out that doo-”
Terrell silenced the night watchman with a gunshot to the head. The night watchman slumped down like a cartoon character. Terrell stuffed his body under a desk, placed a sign on the counter that read be back in 15 minutes, and walked out the door the night watchman had told him he couldn’t use.
Quadir pulled up to the storage facility and parked around the back. He peered around the nearly empty parking lot and thought twice about where he was parked. He backed the Range Rover deep into a wooded area next to the storage facility, parked, and then followed Gena around the various units until she came upon hers.
Gena led Quadir to her storage room. She used her key to unlock the lock, opened the door, and showed him the two suitcases filled with his cash. Quadir rushed over to the suitcases, opened them, and breathed a sigh of relief. His money was there.
“Let’s hurry,” he told her.
Quadir lifted the suitcases as they both headed for the door, only to find a stranger waiting for them.
“Going somewhere?”
I thought he was dead. Oh, my God, nobody dies anymore? What’s he doing here? Gena thought to herself, amazed at the dead man in front of her.
“Jerrell,” said Quadir, unsure, and knowing that Jerrell had died during their altercation in the motel room.
“Naw, nigga, don’t look so amazed; you act like you don’t remember me. Nigga, we grew up together.”
“Terrell?” asked Quadir, realizing it wasn’t Jerrell at all but his brother, his older twin brother, Terrell.
“That’s right, you do remember me. I used to fuck you up at the playground, nigga. You couldn’t hide either, remember? I’d find you and whoop your little ass and take your fucking lunch money.”
“Who is he?” asked Gena, still not connecting the dots.
“He’s Jerrell’s twin brother, the one that’s been after you. He must have thought you killed Jerrell.” Quadir added that line with mad sarcasm, hoping to catch Terrell’s attention. “Truth is, you should have been after me, Terrell. I’m the one who killed your brother, not her. And all that talk about the playground, just know it’s a new day, nigga, and I’ll murk your ass just like I buried your brother.”
Ice-cold blood ran through Terrell’s veins at the sound of Quadir voice. He stood toe to toe with Quadir. Their eyes met and Terrell saw no remorse. Quadir’s face was emotionless. He had no sympathy and no regard for what he had done and to top it all off, he had the nerve to admit that it was he who had in fact murdered his brother, without fear, at that. Who do this nigga think he is? Him and this bird-ass broad. I’m going to fuck her while he watches. We’ll see how cocky this motherfucker is then.
Quadir saw the gun first, and he reacted. He slung one of the suitcases toward Terrell, distracting him. Terrell caught the bag as Quadir dove into him, knocking the gun away and sending it sliding down the hall. The two of them fell to the floor and began to struggle. Gena knew that it was him. She knew that this had to be the man who had brutally violated her grandmother, the man who shot Gary, the man who shot Bria’s boyfriend, the man who killed Markita. And now she knew why. He looked just like his fucking brother; he looked just like Jerrell. He had been stalking her to avenge his brother’s death.
Terrell and Quadir grappled with each other, rolling around on the floor, jockeying for position while trying to free their hands. Each was occupied with not allowing the other’s hands to become free. Both men knew that they were in a life-and-death struggle.
Terrell threw a punch that landed squarely on Quadir’s jaw that stunned him and allowed Terrell to throw Quadir off him. He immediately began to crawl for his weapon. Quadir grabbed Terrell’s leg and yanked him back. He punched Terrell in his back and side and crawled back on top of him. Terrell elbowed Quadir in his stomach and rolled over, again knocking Quadir off him. Quadir threw a wild punch, striking Terrell in his chin. He followed that with a left cross that struck Terrell’s nose. Terrell swung and landed a solid blow on the side of Quadir’s head. This blow was followed by one that landed on Quadir’s ear. Quadir wrapped his hands around Terrell’s throat, determined to squeeze the life out of him. Terrell broke Quadir’s grasp by kneeing him in his testicles. Pain shot through Quadir’s body, causing him to cry out.