K'wan - Gutter

“That shit is all over the news,” Tito said proudly as he watched an Asian woman on the screen recount the shooting that evening in Harlem.

“Anybody reach out about Hawk yet?” Eddie asked.

Tito looked at his cell phone. “Yeah, niggaz been blowing my jack up all night, but I’m looping the calls.”

“Man, they gonna know we was behind that shit,” Eddie told him.

“So?” Major Blood spoke up. “Blood, Hawk was connected, but he ain’t have no real street power in years. Niggaz is gonna be tight for a while, but when we bring down Harlem and start the new unification they’ll get over it. Hell, we’ll be heroes!”

“Or dead men,” Eddie mumbled.

“I’m getting tired of your negative attitude, Eduardo.” Major pointed a finger at him. He was about to start ranking on Eddie again, but his cell phone made him hold the thought. He listened for a while, trying to decipher the caller’s slurred speech, then asked, “Lexi?”

SOUTH LIME AND EAST SAN LUIS

JUST BEINGso deep in enemy territory, armed and out for blood, made Gutter think of Lou-Loc. There had been times when he and Lou-Loc would arm up to ride, looking to gain stripes or push a dangerous enemy off the planet. Although the enemies they sought that night were dangerous, it wasn’t stripes that fueled him, it was revenge.

“You good, nephew?” Rahkim asked from the backseat.

“Yeah, man, I’m cool,” Gutter replied, continuing to stare out the window.

“Damn, it’s a bunch of niggaz out here,” Danny said, watching the homeys on the block watch him. The residents of South Lime eyed the strangers suspiciously.

“Shit, all that means is that it’ll be a higher body count,” Jynx told him. “These Lime Street niggaz ain’t ’bout shit, but the boy Reckless is as dangerous as a rattlesnake. If you see him, smoke his ass because he’s damn sure gonna try and smoke you.”

“I can dig it. Let’s just do this and get up out. I ain’t never been to the can in New York and I sure as hell don’t wanna go while I’m out here.”

“Don’t trip, lil cuz. Mad Man and them are gonna have the police tied up for a while so we got a window of time,” Rahkim informed him.

“Ain’t that the house right there?” Jynx pointed at a two-story stucco number. There were two young men standing in front, one of which they recognized as Major Blood’s nephew, Reckless.

“Yeah, there it go. And peep ya boy slipping,” Rahkim said excitedly. “We got the drop on ’em, nephew; all we gotta do is lay ’em down.” No sooner than Rahkim had made the statement there were gunshots in the distance. The element of surprise was gone and Reckless and his partner were now armed and alert to danger.

“Sounds like Tears and them done kicked it off already,” Jynx said.

“Then we might as well claim our fifteen minutes of fame,” Rahkim said, leaning out the window and leveling his gun. “What’s up now, niggaz!”

SONIC’S HATtook one high in the chest, spinning him. Criminal popped him once more in the back of his head, tipping him forward and through the store window. Bay bolted for the street only to have Tears clip him with the car. He was hobbled but still found the strength to keep moving. This is when Blue Bird stepped from the vehicle.

“Come here, muthafucka.” Blue Bird grabbed Bay by the front of his shirt. “Where the fuck you going, huh?” He slapped Bay twice in the face with his gun. When Bay crumpled to the ground Blue Bird shot him twice in the chest and looked around for his next victim.

Sports Band tried to run, but the PCP-charged Criminal was on him. Sweeping Sports Band’s legs, Criminal sent him crashing down on his face. Before Sports Band could fully roll over and plead for his life, Criminal aired him out.

The man in the Raider cap tried to run in the store, but the Korean owner had locked the door at the first signs of trouble. He turned around and found himself face-to-face with a grinning Blue Bird.

“Yeah, what that Hoover like?” Blue Bird demanded, pressing the hot barrel into Supersonics cap’s cheek. His eyes were wild and his movements jerky from the PCP.

“Man, we ain’t got no beef with Hoover.” Raider cap winced against the burning.

“Tough shit, dick head. Next time be more careful of the muthafuckas you let lay in yo hood.” Blue Bird shoved Raider’s cap against the storefront and pulled the trigger. Raider cap’s chest exploded in a nasty spray. Even after he was down, Blue Bird gave him two more for good measure.

Bo tried to use the element of surprise and draw his gun, but Tears was on him. He kicked the wheelchair over viciously, spilling Bo to the ground. “Hold that down, baby. The party is just about to get crunk.”

“Well, well, what do we have here?” Blue Bird walked up. He grabbed Bo by the collar and hoisted him back into the chair. “What up, cuz?”

“Man, you niggaz is tripping, you know who you fucking wit?” Bo jerked away from Blue Bird. He tried to sound tough, but couldn’t keep his voice steady. This wasn’t the first time he’d looked into Blue Bird’s eyes, but he feared it’d be the last.

“Gangsta Bo, you and yo peoples done finally stepped outta line.” Blue Bird patted him on the cheek.

“Blue, what you talking man, y’all the ones who outta bounds right now. You popped off for nothing.”

“Oh, I don’t call laying the homey Gunn nothing.” Tears stepped up. “Yo partner Major violated and now we gotta settle up.”

“What you think we should do wit this nigga?” Blue Bird asked no one in particular, as he rocked Bo’s wheelchair back and forth.

“Say, loc, let’s see how fast he can move this muthafucka.” Criminal kicked the chair.

“So what’s up, Bo, you think you faster than a streetlight?” Blue Bird positioned himself behind the wheelchair and rolled Bo to the curb.

“Come on, Blue, stall me out!” Bo pleaded, trying to stop the chair’s wheels with his hands, nicking his fingers up. Bo tried to climb out of the chair, but Blue Bird kept yanking him back down.

Blue Bird leaned down to whisper into Bo’s ear. “Don’t worry about it, homey. You won’t be alone in hell for too long.” Just as the light was about to turn green Blue Bird shoved Bo into the street.

Bo almost made it clean to the other side before his chair hit a pothole and deposited him onto the street. He looked on in horror as dozens of headlights bore down on him.

“Holy shit.” Tears winced as a Cressida flipped Bo high into the air. He didn’t even have the heart to look as the skidding Lincoln Navigator finished him off.

“Buck up, nigga, it ain’t that bad.” Blue Bird chuckled. “Let’s make it back to the car and hit the block. Don’t make no sense in Gutter and them having all the glory.”

“Man, he said Reckless belonged to him,” Tears reminded Blue Bird of Gutter’s order.

Criminal shrugged. “Then we kill everybody who ain’t Reckless.”

THOUGH RECKLESSand Major Blood were first cousins, they looked nothing alike. Whereas Major was stocky and high yellow, Reckless was rail thin with skin like polished onyx. After Maria’s death, Essie helped her parents to raise the orphaned Major along with her own child. Reckless grew up idolizing Major Blood and his exploits, and when he was old enough Major Blood turned him out to the life. Kill for kill Reckless hadn’t quite reached Major Blood’s status, but he was off to a damn good start, terrorizing the residents of L.A. and pushing his enemies off the map.

“So what’s the word from Major?” Mo-Mo asked, sipping his forty ounce.

Reckless shrugged. “You know my big cousin is on his job. We lost B-High, but he dropped that funky nigga Hawk, so it’s officially on with the homeys.”