Invincible: A Novel (21 page)

Jake screamed, “Aaaaaaaaahhh fuck,” and slammed his fist on the wheel. The cop was right behind Jake on the loudspeaker.

“Pull over. Pull over. Pull the vehicle over.”

Jake mashed on the gas harder. By this time another cop had joined the chase. Sirens were flashing and whoo-whooing. At that time, Jake didn’t know what it was, but he couldn’t help but to think of the words to Biggie Small’s song, “Suicidal Thoughts.”

When I die fuck it I wanna go to hell / ’cause I’m a piece of shit it ain’t hard to fucking tell …

Jake saw a club and the parking lot was packed full. This might be his only chance to get away, he told himself. So he threw his bag on his shoulder, put his .38 in his pants, mashed the brakes, and jumped out and left the car in drive so that it kept rolling. He ran toward the crowd. When he got to the crowd, he fired a shot into the air causing havoc, which made people stampede out of the lot running for safety. It caused enough of a diversion to get away.

Jake tucked his gun in his pants and tried to blend with the crowd. He saw that he was passing by a familiar face he did not want to see at the moment. It was Monster, but he hadn’t spotted Jake. Monster was busy trying to find his cousins. They had just came home and he wanted to make sure they were all right.

Jake heard Monster say to one of his homies: “Yo, go make sure Dollar and Lil Red a’ight, my nigga. Motherfuckers is flipping out here!”

“A’ight, Monster,” the dude said.

Jake kept his gun tucked in his pants, but his hand was on the grip. Then Jake heard, “Yo, Monster, this shit is crazy, cuz.”

“Word niggaz, this shit is poppin’! Who the fuck popped off out here?”

It was Dollar and Lil Red. Jake couldn’t believe it.

Monster said, “I don’t know, my niggaz. One of these wild-ass niggaz. They made it hot, though. Police all over this motherfucker.”

Jake looked and noticed Monster was right. They had the place surrounded. Jake felt like he wasn’t going to make it out and he was on the verge of passing out.

“This motherfucker got some balls coming here,” Lil Red said, pointing to Jake.

Monster wanted to pull out his .357, but it was too late. Jake had his gun out pointing it at the three of them.

“What the fuck is up now, niggaz?” Jake asked. “You got a big fucking mouth, Red! You do, too, asshole!” Jake was referring to Monster.

Monster replied, “Fuck you, nigga,” and reached for his gun.

Jake let all three of them have it. He emptied the rest of the 9mm on them and dropped to the ground from his loss of blood. He tried to get up and run, but his body wouldn’t do what his brain was telling it to do. Jake saw police closing in, looking for who fired the last few shots off. Then he heard, “Freeze! Put it down.”

Jake looked, and to his surprise the cops weren’t talking to him. It was homeboy who Monster had sent to find Lil Red and Dollar. He had seen Jake pop his peeps and he drew his gun to let Jake have it. He was too slow though and didn’t see the cop standing right next to him. With all the people scrambling to get out of there, all the commotion and screaming, Jake made use of the opportunity to blend in and slide off with the crowd. He managed to get out of the lot.

“Yo, J.B., get in, nigga!”

Jake thought he was bugging. It was Reggie in a gray Chevy Impala. Jake hopped in.

“Yo, J.B., what the fuck, nigga! Are you crazy? You trying to go to jail or get killed out this motherfucker? Yo, you got to slow the fuck down, son. I just seen that whole shit, nigga. You crazy!”

“Yo, Regg, I’m shot. I need to get to a hospital and not our hospital. Bring me out of town please, my gee.”

“Jake, where you shot at? I seen you shoot and nobody shot back.”

“I got shot before I got there, twice in the shoulder. Regg, get me out of here. I need a hospital.”

Jake was tired and couldn’t hold his eyes open.

“Yo, Jake, try to stay up, homie,” Regg said. “It ain’t good to go to sleep while you’re bleeding.”

“Yeah, I hear you, Regg. I’m good.”

Then Jake closed his eyes and thought about his daughter.

When Jake woke up he was in a hospital bed. The last thing he remembered was Regg coming out of nowhere. Regg startled Jake.

“I see you up now, big homie. They said you was gonna make it through. They had to pull them two slugs up out you, though. How you feel, my gee?”

“Like shit, Regg, but on some real shit, I owe you. If you ain’t show up when you did, I don’t know what would have happened to me.”

“Yo, Jake, you loose as shit you know. I seen that whole shit go down from when you pulled up with them pigs on your ass. I see why they call you Mr. Invincible. I mean I heard how you did at that dice game. They said you did some wild shit in a cab trying to kill a couple of dudes one day, but that shit I seen you pull takes the cake.”

“Yo, get me outta here, Regg. Do you still got my bag?”

“Yo, Jake, chill out. We a couple of towns away. You safe and your bag is safe. I got you. I’m going to hold you down, homie.”

“Listen, Regg. I’m glad you showed up when you did because I wouldn’t have made it if you didn’t. As a man I’m grateful for that. I want you to take half that money in the bag, but
anyone around me doesn’t seem to stay alive. So I would be grateful if you got me out of here and let me get your car.”

Regg shook his head. “Yeah, I feel you, homie. I’m going to get you up outta here, but you could have your money, fam. I’m good. I helped you because you was in a tight spot and you a good dude. I felt you would do the same for me. As far as a motherfucker deading me I can hold my own. Worry about yourself. You the one laying in a hospital bed, not me, my gee. If you wanna buy my car off me, cool, but I don’t want nothing else from you. I’m straight. You ready to move now, Jake?”

“Yeah, Regg, let’s get outta here. I’m fucking paranoid. I don’t want to sit still. I gotta keep moving.”

Jake was getting out of bed while he was talking and removing the tape and tubes attached to his arms.

“You think you should be ripping off that IV like that, homie? You really trying to walk outta here half naked like that?” Regg asked.

“Why the fuck not? If I’m alive, this little IV ain’t what’s holding me up and my ass could use the air,” Jake said half jokingly.

“Let’s move, then.”

Jake and Regg bounced out the hospital and got in Regg’s car.

When they got a few miles from the hospital Regg asked, “Where you headed, Jake?”

“I have no destination. I’m gonna just keep it moving, Regg. Can’t think of nothing better to do.”

“Well, Jake, the car gonna cost you fifteen stacks and I’m gonna get out in a few blocks. If you need a handgun you shit out of luck, but I do keep a sawed-off twelve-gauge in the trunk and that will cost you a stack. I also got some weed in the glove box but consider that a gift on me.”

Jake wasn’t feeling Regg. Something wasn’t right, but he couldn’t pinpoint it. “What was you doing at the party, Regg? Last I remember, you weren’t fucking with Dollar or Lil Red.”

“If you know I don’t fuck with them, Jake, then you should be able to figure out why I was there, my gee. I was gonna put that work in, but you did it for me.”

Jake felt funny and knew something was wrong. His instincts were telling him not to trust Regg.

Then all of a sudden Regg pulled the car over and said to Jake, “Get out of my car.”

“What you say, Regg?”

“Get the fuck out the car and leave your bag of money, Jake, before it happens to you.”

“What’s the matter, Regg, I offered you half of the shit!”

“If you stay in this car with me I might be the one to have to kill you.”

“Fuck you talking about, Regg?”

“I’m talking about taking your shit. Now get the fuck out before you lose your life,” Regg said while putting his pistol to Jake’s head, forcing him out of the car. “I’ll leave you with a couple of stacks, though. I’m sorry, Jake, but you know how this shit be. I just got home. And I’m used to having cash. You know how we do for this money. When you see a come up you got to take it. I ain’t tryin’ to shit on you, I just need that paper.”

“You sure that’s what you wanna do, Regg?”

“I don’t want to do it, but you know how this shit is.”

He threw Jake about fifty thousand out of the bag and left him standing on the street.

BACK TO THE BEAST

Jake couldn’t believe Regg robbed him and left him half naked on the road. “At least I’m alive! Thank GOD,” Jake said to himself. He found a plastic ShopRite bag to put the money in and walked a few blocks. He saw a yellow cab just sitting there and hopped in.

“Where you headed to, buddy?” the driver asked.

Jake realized he had no place to go and no one to turn to. “To be honest with you, my man, I don’t know! Just take this.” Jake handed him two hundred dollars. “And drive. Let me know when that runs out.”

“You all right, young man? I see you just got out of the hospital. Where’s your clothes at?” the driver asked with a curious look on his face.

Jake answered, “Well, my man, no I’m not all right, and it’s a long story.”

“Well, you’ll have plenty of time to tell it.”

Jake looked up and the cab driver pulled his chain badge out of his shirt and his gun from his waist. He got on a walkie-talkie. “It’s him! It’s him! I got him!”

“Damn,” was all Jake could utter. Then he just closed his eyes. He knew it was over. He was on his way back to jail …

———

As he walked into work, Frazier couldn’t believe who he saw getting processed. He couldn’t resist the temptation to go over and talk to him. “I guess you’re back here with me now. I’m gonna make sure you have a pleasant stay, Jake.”

“Fuck you, Frazier! You lucky I didn’t blow your fucking head off!”

“You’re a bum shot, Jake! You know damn well you’re the lucky one to be alive, but I’m going to see what I can do to change that. I’ll be back, Jake, don’t you go nowhere,” Frazier said jokingly.

Jake got processed and sent to a cell, which took a total of eight hours. He knew they was trying to bust his balls with the bullpen therapy. Jake wondered what plans Frazier had for him, but he came to a conclusion to just fall back and let whatever was going to happen, happen. He was glad he was in a cell and not a dorm. The pressure of having to watch his back from all angles 24/7 would have made him flip. Jake knew that by this hour the whole jail knew he was back. Even though a couple of years had passed, it was the same grime balls and wild motherfuckers running around. Jake overheard some bum-ass
dudes in the bullpen talking about how you can do some of your state bid right there in the local jail.

He got a good night’s sleep despite being in jail. He was tired. He had been ripping and running and his body had been through a lot. It was morning and Jake was in the part of the jail where they held the hard-core criminals and dudes going to the feds. It was a more laid-back atmosphere: instead of roaming around free in the dorms, he was in a cell block where he was locked down twenty-three hours a day, which meant he only got one hour of rec.

When the time for rec came, Jake went to the yard to see what was popping; to find out who was doing what in the joint. He knew who was behind the 300 Crew and he knew he wouldn’t be receiving any mystery letters. Jake knew the talk of him poppin’ Lil Red, Dollar, Monster, and Mitch was all over the jail, so he wanted to find out who he was gonna have a problem with right away. As Jake got to the yard he saw a few familiar faces but he saw no force to be reckoned with. He saw Cory and Ike who seemed to have taken the place of Dollar and Lil Red. Everything else seemed to be running the same.

Jake figured it was Frazier who manipulated the 300 to work in the joint. He picked who he could use and anyone he couldn’t he had his crew put pressure on; his plan was excellent.

Jake looked up and saw Frazier walking toward him as he was spinning the yard (walking around the track). “Can I talk to you, Jake?” Frazier asked.

“Your house, not mine,” Jake answered as he stopped to hear what he was gonna say.

“Listen to me, Jake! I’m willing to put our recent history behind
us because I can understand why you was upset. Shit, if I was you I would have did the same thing. I’m not trying to make your time any harder while you’re here. That shit I said in bookings, I was fucking around with you.”

“Okay, Frazier, I can go with that! I don’t want no problems,” Jake stated and stuck his right hand out for Frazier to shake. Frazier reached for Jake’s hand. Jake had no intentions of letting Frazier slide. He was sizing him up. Frazier was just about the same height as Jake but he weighed about thirty pounds more. He looked like the kind of black man you didn’t want to tussle with, like a diesel James Evans. You could tell he worked out a lot. His traps and arms made his shirts fit him tight. When Frazier’s hand got in Jake’s grip, Jake already knew what he was gonna do.

Jake punched him in the throat with his left hand while holding Frazier’s right hand as hard as he could. The blow instantly caused Frazier to buckle and drop to his knees. He couldn’t breathe. Then Jake pulled Frazier’s face down, smashing his knee into Frazier’s nose as hard as he could. Then he spun his neck around in a sharp 360-degree motion causing Frazier’s neck to snap, killing him instantly.