Chapter 1
King
The moment I got the call from Kennedy, was the moment my world stood still. If it weren’t for the blaring honk of the car behind me, reminding me that the red light I’d been waiting at, had turned green, then I would’ve remained stuck. There wasn’t a fiber in my body that could absorb, digest, or accept what Ken had just told me. Someone had taken Magnum. Why was all I could ask myself. Why would anyone want to snatch an innocent fucking child? And not just any child … The child of Pistol “P” Carter.
The act was bold, brazen, and reckless. Whoever responsible either didn’t understand the magnitude of their actions or either they just didn’t give a fuck. I had a feeling that it was the former and not the latter, because I didn’t personally know a single nigga in Philly that I believed had the balls to do some shit like that. Magnum was my family and those that knew me, knew that I’d leave Philly in ashes behind my family. The act pretty much told me one of two things: hat they were either ready to die, or ready to try and kill me.
Now moving with the traffic and with those thoughts racing through my mind, I sped over to the hospital as quickly as I could without causing an accident. I needed to be by Kennedy’s side and I also needed any piece of information that she could remember that would lead me directly to whoever was responsible for taking Magnum.
When I pulled up to CHOP shortly after, it was chaotic and surrounded with police. Police were everywhere. They had the area taped off, along with officers surrounding the perimeter to make sure the wrong people weren’t getting in or out. My eyes wandered quickly around the lot and surrounding area for a parking spot. When I couldn’t find one, I pulled up right near the entrance of the lot and threw my shit in park. I hadn’t even gotten all the way out my truck when I heard a random officer call out to me.
“Sir! Wait a minute sir!”
I ignored him and quickly ducked under the caution tape.
“Stop!” The officer demanded. His voice was close and apparently, he’d taken off behind me because a few seconds later, I felt a firm grip around my arm. I snatched back and spun around angrily.
“Get the fuck off me!” I demanded through narrowed eyes. “That’s my family over there. The baby that was taken. His mother called me and told me to come.”
My adrenaline was racing, and I was growing irritated that he was wasting my time by stopping me. Every second counted when a person had been abducted. The first 48 hours were critical, and the countdown had already begun. The Philadelphia Police weren’t solving shit. The only person that was going to get Magnum back was me.
He eyed me briefly while hesitating.
“I’ll escort him over,” he finally told the group of other officers who had swiftly rolled over to assist him.
They nodded and slowly began to back off.
“You can follow me,” the officer said, motioning with his hand. I remained silent while I quickly walked behind him.
We didn’t have to go far. I heard Kennedy before I had even spotted her.
“She’s right there,” I pointed in the direction that I was to go and then let the other attending officers know that I was okay to enter.
I heard Kennedy before I'd even spotted her. The sound of her voice pulled at my heart. Her sobs were hoarse and dry. It was the type of cry that no longer produced tears. Even though I couldn’t confirm the role I played, but somehow, I felt responsible for her pain. Responsible for Mag being taken. I’d been so eager to avenge my cousin and take care of his family, but I couldn’t seem to get shit right. All I felt like I was doing was making things worse.
I followed the officer’s directions and navigated through the mob of officers. A few seconds later, my eyes landed on Kennedy. Despite being visibly distraught she somehow managed to calmly answer all the officer’s questions. When she spotted me her dull eyes flashed a glimmer of hope. She knew that those police weren’t going to be Mag’s savior. She and I both knew that I was the closest thing to that.
“You okay?” I asked as I rushed over to her and threw my arms around her tightly.
She swallowed her cries and shook her head profusely.
“No. I’m not,” she finally choked out after nearly ten seconds of burying her sadness into my chest.
“And who are you?” the pale-faced officer with ginger hair asked me while I did my best to comfort Kennedy.
Hearing the question, she pulled out of my embrace and faced the cop.
“This is his family … I guess you could say his uncle.” She sniffled and used the backs of her hands to swipe at her dampened face.
I observed her and felt my heart contract again. Her face was flushed with dried tears leaving an ashy trail down the sides. I wasn’t able to imagine what she felt as I too was consumed with a mixture of emotions that paled in comparison to hers. Dread, hopelessness, and anger were a few of emotions consuming. What I felt mostly however, was fear.
See, anger would have me tearing through the city with my gun and drum hanging out the window. But I was a different type of man when fear took over. Fear would create a new monster. I didn’t like the feeling because I felt exposed and vulnerable. Like nigga's had me all figured out. I was scared of what would happen to Mag and I would do anything to keep him safe. Those facts gave whoever took him the upper hand. I could either shrink, cower, and give in to whatever demands his abductor had in place or I could move at the beat of my own drum.
I knew I had to move a certain way to get Magnum back quickly and unharmed. Since it wasn’t safe for a fucking infant, it wasn’t safe for nobody. I was about to drape the city in black.
Comments