The Finale (10 page)

“Stop talking in circles, Hal. Just tell me,” he stated seriously.

“She came to town, but she brought Toy with her. They followed me from the restaurant, but I shook them.”

Malek closed his eyes because he remembered Halleigh had specifically tried to tell him that someone had followed her, but he thought she was paranoid and overreacting.

“That next night they followed me from my job, and I refused to lead them back to you and the baby, so I just pulled over. I found an abandoned lot and I got out. I had started carrying one of your guns because I was terrified. I've been terrified since the day we got here, but I was tired of running, tired of being followed. I was tired of being the victim. They tried to get me to lead them to you. I refused, and Toy hit me. I just reacted and I shot her, Malek. I killed her, and then I killed Tasha for setting me up.”

“And the cop saw it,” Malek finished, putting two and two together.

Halleigh nodded. “She saw everything. She said if I didn't help her get you, then she would throw me in prison for the rest of my life. I could never bring myself to harm you, but I can't go to jail either, Malek. So I ran. I just thought if I got as far away from here as possible, it would fix things.”

“Come here, ma,” he said as he pulled her onto the bed he was sitting on. He wiped her tears away. He could only imagine how Halleigh felt. Having taken many lives himself, he knew Halleigh wasn't built for murder.

She broke down in his arms. “What am I going to do?” she asked.

“You're going to do exactly what they want you to do. You're going to cooperate with the police,” he said in a low but sure tone.

“What?” She looked up at him in confusion. “Malek, they'll throw you in jail.”

“Look at that little boy over there,” he said, pointing to their son. “He needs you, Halleigh. You're his mother. You didn't ask for any of this. You just took on the role of being with me. I would never make you pay for that. I love you too much to ever see something bad happen to you. I can handle whatever the cops have coming my way. You just promise me that you'll always take care of my son.”

Halleigh was hysterical crying and snot running down her nose. “I can't, Malek. I can't do that to you. This isn't supposed to be how we end. I need you.”

“And I need you, Hal. I need you to be strong, baby girl. You're my world, and I need you to trust me. This is the only way. I'm a man, and I can stand behind all of the decisions I've made in my life, but before I let them take me, I need to know that you can hold things down for me while I'm away.”

She nodded as he held her face. “I will try for you, Malek. I will do whatever you need me to do.”

“I've got some money put up. It's not a lot, but it's enough for you and the baby to live for a couple years. Nothing extravagant, but it will pay for rent and food for a while until you can get on your feet.”

“I don't want to do this, Malek.”

“You have to, Halleigh.”

As Malek schooled Halleigh on how to survive without him, she almost tuned him out. She didn't want to believe this was happening, but this was real and there was no avoiding the inevitable. She was grateful she had a man like Malek, who was willing to take responsibility for the situation, but it didn't stop the sadness that plagued her.

So many thoughts went through Malek's head as he drove down the highway along with Dayvid. They were just getting back from visiting the coke connect, and Dayvid was officially plugged. Malek had introduced him to the “birdman” and put him in a position of power, just as his deceased mentor, Jamaica Joe, had done for Malek when he was younger.

He kept visualizing Halleigh's face when she told him Rodriguez was blackmailing her. The hurt in her eyes was like daggers to his heart. He never second-guessed his decision to give himself up for his girl's freedom. He knew that when he walked in his own house it could be wired, starting off a domino effect that would land him in jail for a very long time.

Malek's heart began to ache as he thought about his son growing up without him. Nevertheless, it was better than his son growing up without both mother and father. He'd always told Halleigh that he would keep her out of harm's way when they relocated to Baltimore, but he'd failed to do that, and the guilt was weighing heavy on his soul.

“Remember everything I have taught you,” Malek preached to his protégé. “You are too smart to stay in this game long enough for it to consume you. Don't be like me and let the allure of the money keep you in. Make money and exit. That's the key. Timing is everything.”

Dayvid just sat back and listened closely as Malek hit him with a few last words of encouragement and instructions.

Malek dropped Dayvid off to his block and watched as he exited the car. He grabbed him just before he got completely out and hugged him tight.

Dayvid was confused and didn't know why Malek was acting so funny.

“I love you, my nigga,” Malek said as he held on to Dayvid for a couple of extra seconds.

“Love you too. What's up, nigga? Why you acting all different?”

Malek released him. “Don't worry about it. Just be safe out here, all right? And one more thing.”

“What's up?” Dayvid looked at Malek dead in the eyes.

“If I'm not around, I want you to look after my son and Halleigh just as I did for you.” Malek looked forward, avoiding eye contact with Dayvid.

“I got you,” Dayvid said as he exited the car.

Dayvid was taken off guard by Malek's comments, but he decided not to say anything about it. He noticed that Malek seemed to be stressing lately, and decided to address it at a later time.

Just before Malek pulled off, he caught a glimpse of the pinky ring he had given Dayvid and smirked. He knew Dayvid would hold it down in the streets and carry on his legacy properly. With that thought, Malek smiled and pulled off, headed home.

Malek knew that the next time he talked to Halleigh, she would be wearing a wire, and he would have to incriminate himself to get her off the hook for murder. He prepared himself mentally as he was about to voluntarily walk the path of self-destruction.

Halleigh sat in the unmarked van on her block, three houses down from her and Malek's home. She clenched her jaws tight, and water filled her eyes as Rodriguez put the wire on her. She was shirtless, with nothing on but a bra, as Rodriguez applied tape on her chest to position the microphone right.

“Nice rack,” Fuller said as he stared at Halleigh's plump breasts.

“Fuck you!” Halleigh said as she gave him a cold stare. If looks could kill, Fuller would have been circled in chalk.

“You wish,” Fuller said with a sinister grin. “Look, you have to get him to say something about him supplying kilos of dope to his runners. If he doesn't say that, the deal is off.”

“I know what the fuck I have to do! I hate you!” Halleigh said as she continued to give Fuller a deadly stare.

“Yeah, yeah. Just remember what I said. If you don't follow through with this, you will never see your son, except through steel bars. It's your choice.”

Halleigh knew Malek was sacrificing himself for his family, and the fact that she was about to help Fuller put him behind bars made her sick to her stomach. She had left Malek Jr. with a babysitter, not wanting him to be around when this disaster went down.

“Okay, you're done,” Rodriguez said as she tapped the microphone to make sure it was on.

Halleigh snatched her shirt from the seat and began to put it on, shaking her head from side to side. She knew the countdown to Malek's demise had begun. If she had to sacrifice herself for Malek, she would have. But Malek Jr.'s well-being was at risk. So, with the permission of her man, she had to do what she had to do. It was show time.

Halleigh stepped out of the van and slammed the door as hard as she could. As she walked to her house, so many different emotions began to run through her body as she felt the burden of the situation weighing heavy on her soul—hatred for Fuller, and guilt for herself.

“How did I get myself into this shit?” she whispered as she entered her house and waited for Malek.

 

 

Malek pulled up to his home and turned off the ignition. He took a deep breath and prepared for what was ahead. He was determined for his son to have a normal life and not have to go through the hardships that he himself had encountered. And to do that, he had to give himself to the law.

He stepped out of the car and glanced down the street. He noticed two vans with plumbing advertisements. He already knew the vans held policemen waiting to move in on him. He quickly focused on his house and headed that way.

“Hey, baby,” he yelled as he stepped through the door. “I'm home!”

Halleigh appeared from the back with tears in her eyes and her hands over her mouth, trying to stop from crying aloud. She ran into his arms, and he embraced her tight.

Malek kissed her on her neck. In the lowest tone he could muster, he whispered in her ear, “I love you, Halleigh. Always have and always will. Let's get this over with, okay.” He stepped back from her.

Halleigh let her tears flow freely down her cheeks as she nodded her head in agreement.

As soon as Malek nodded his head, giving her the green light to start the rehearsed conversation, she did.

“Malek, you have to stop selling drugs. I'm tired of this life,” she said just as he had instructed her to the night before. Halleigh's voice began to crack, and she ran her fingers through her hair in frustration. She mouthed silently to Malek, “I can't do this.”

But he smiled at her and put his hand on her shoulder, helping her through it. “I have to flip a couple more kilos, and then I'm done,” he said. “My dope connect, Scar, wouldn't like if I just stopped buying from him. It's not that simple.” Malek smiled inside, knowing he had just incriminated Scar by saying his name. If he was going to go out, he was going out with a bang.

Detective Fuller sat in the van, earphones on, listening to their every word. He chuckled to himself at Malek's remark about Scar.

“That nigga think he's slick,” Fuller said to himself. He immediately thought about how he would edit that small portion out of the wiretap before turning it in as evidence.

Fuller was patiently waiting for the right time to rush in with his squad and put Malek in handcuffs. He looked down at the duffel bag that contained four kilos and stepped-on cocaine that he would eventually pin on Malek. With the drugs and the wiretaps indicating that he was a heavy drug supplier, Malek was sure to spend a long time behind bars.

Scar's money had slowed up drastically, which meant that Fuller had seen his cut from the drug business slow up too, and he wasn't having it. Fuller wanted Malek off the streets just as bad as Scar wanted him off the streets.

“Come on, Malek, tell on yourself a little bit more.”

 

 

“I just hit my spot off with a kilo a piece.” Malek clenched his teeth tight, knowing he was telling on himself. But when he thought about what he was doing it for, he had no problem with doing so. Malek would tell on himself a thousand times and serve a million years, if it meant that his son would have a good life and Halleigh stayed free.

Halleigh cried as she stood there looking into Malek's eyes.

Malek had said enough to satisfy the police, so he grabbed and hugged his woman and kissed her. “I love you with all my heart, and you are the love of my life.”

“I love you too, Malek.” Halleigh gripped him tight and buried her face into his chiseled chest. She tiptoed and whispered in his ear, “Let's just leave town. Let's run,” trying to exhaust every possible option to change the inevitable.

Malek quickly shook his head no. He would've considered it if they didn't have a baby to bring along, but he knew that being on the run with a baby was immoral. He couldn't bring himself to have his son caught up in the web of the treacherous street life he had created.

“I'm tired of running, Hal. I got us into this, I'ma get us out.” He looked deep into Halleigh's eyes and added, “Tell my son that I will always love him.”

Those words broke Halleigh's heart, knowing that Malek wouldn't be able to tell Malek Jr. that himself without being behind bars.

Malek pulled his gun from his waist and placed his other hand on Halleigh's cheek. It was the most difficult thing either of them ever had to do.

“We will be together again,” he said.

Malek flashed back to years ago when they'd first met in high school. He thought back to a time when she was pure and innocent. He would trade his life to give Halleigh back her innocence. The ills of their hometown Flint had forced them to move to Baltimore, and even there, trouble found them.

He walked out of the door with gun in hand. “Bye, Halleigh,” he said.

Halleigh saw the look in Malek's eyes, the pain that was embedded deep within. She didn't fully understand what that pained look meant, but she would soon find out.

 

 

Scar sat back smoking a kush-filled cigar and thought about how business would pick up, now that Malek was on the road of destruction. Fuller had just phoned him and let him know that the master plan was in motion, and that Malek would be behind bars before the night's end.

Scar already had his goons in place to rush Malek's block and give his old workers an ultimatum: Get down or lay down. He had just checkmated Malek after a long battle of mental chess. The only thing left to do now was to wait for Fuller's call to confirm the arrest.

“Victory feels so good,” Scar said as he watched the young lady go up and down on his shaft, making it disappear and reappear over and over again. “Damn, Mrs. Fuller, that feels good,” he crooned as his toes began to curl.

He looked at her shapely naked body and admired her smooth skin while she pleased him. He reached over and smacked her buttocks, making a small wave flow, enticing him even more. The view was mesmerizing and made his pipe even harder.

While Scar's partner was handling business for him, he was banging out Fuller's wife. Scar, at that point, felt on top of the world. He had a dime piece sucking him off, bringing him to the brink of an orgasm, while his main rival was about to be nonexistent, making him the king of Baltimore.

 

 

“Move in! He's coming out of the house,” Fuller yelled into the phone. He smiled. He was about to lock Malek up for a very long time. He was satisfied with the recordings he had and was ready to snatch Malek up.

Fuller looked closer at Malek stepping off of the porch and noticed that he had a gun in hand. “He has a gun!” Fuller screamed into the walkie-talkie as Rodriguez slid the van's door open.

Fuller's squad had already rushed Malek with their guns drawn, but Malek had his gun drawn also and pointed at the oncoming crew. Fuller jumped out of the van along with Rodriguez, their guns out.

“Drop the fucking gun!” one of policemen said as they slowly approached Malek.

“You drop yo' mufuckin' gun! I'm not putting down shit!” Malek yelled as he pointed his gun at each officer.

Fuller cautiously approached his crew and put his red beam on Malek's chest, ready to blast at any sudden movement by Malek.

Malek gripped his gun tight. He had no intentions of going to jail that day. He had planned to go out blazing, just like Jamaica Joe would have. Malek was about to go out like a gangster, no doubt.

Fuller closed one eye and aimed straight for Malek's head. “Drop that gun! You don't want to do this!”

“Fuck you!” Malek screamed, spit flying out of his mouth. His trigger finger began to itch. He saw Fuller's face and locked his aim on him, feeling deep hatred for him. The cops had blackmailed his girl and caused all of the pandemonium. He hated him deep down in his soul. The more he thought about leaving Halleigh and his son, he grew more irate.

A single tear dropped from Malek's left eye—a tear not of sadness, but of pain. “I'm from Flint, Michigan, mufucka!” Malek's grip grew even tighter, his index finger resting on the trigger. “Do y'all know who the fuck I am? Huh? I'm cut from the cloth of Jamaica Joe! Fuck all y'all!” Malek screamed, ten guns pointed at him.