Teri Woods: True To The Game III

“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.

Quadir’s wounds had closed, but they had not fully healed. His tissue began to pull apart from the inside, causing a searing pain throughout his body. He knew that he wasn’t going to last much longer, not going blow for blow with the monster he was battling. But, then again, he knew that he couldn’t lose. His life and Gena’s life were on the line. Not to mention that if he ended up at another crime scene, Amelia’s life too would be affected, and he didn’t want that. If his body were found, there would be some serious consequences behind it. Amelia would lose her license and probably even go to jail. Gena would lose her life, and that would definitely send her grandmother to an early grave. So many people depended on him at that moment. So many people were counting on him to be the man they always believed him to be. Was he truly gangsta? Was he really built to last? Were they all wrong for looking up to him, admiring him, wanting to be like him?

Quadir summoned every piece of strength that he had left in his body and swung at Terrell. The blow sounded as though it could be heard clear across the city. He followed it with another blow, and then another. He wanted to put this nigga to sleep. But Terrell had other plans.

Terrell growled and head-butted Quadir, opening a gash between Quadir’s eyes, just above his nose. Terrell knew that he was built to last. He wasn’t going out like no sucker. He wrapped his hands around Quadir’s throat.

Gena could hear Quadir gasping for air. She raced down the dark hallway searching for Terrell’s gun. Desperate, she dropped to her knees and scoured the floor until she found it. Quadir needed her. And despite what she had said before, she didn’t want him to die. She loved him. She wanted him to live. She needed him to live. No matter what happened between them, no matter what was going to happen between them in the future, she wanted him to live, even if that meant he’d be with someone else.

Gena raced back to where Quadir and Terrell were struggling and pointed the gun. She was scared to pull the trigger. Scared of hitting Quadir instead of Terrell. Scared of actually having to kill another human being.

Quadir’s eyes rolled to the back of his head and slowly he leaned forward. Terrell smiled, knowing that he was squeezing the life out of Quadir. There was nothing like killing a person with one’s bare hands. Quadir leaned forward until his and Terrell’s faces were nearly touching. And then he smiled. He was a built-to-last nigga.

Quadir opened his mouth and clamped down on Terrell’s nose with the ferocity of a hungry pit bull. He shifted his last bit of energy to his jaw muscles and bit until his teeth met. Blood ran down his chin as he rose and spat Terrell’s nose down the hallway. Terrell covered the bloody hole where his nose used to be and rolled around on the floor screaming in pain.

Quadir kicked Terrell in the head, then stomped his head down into the ground so that the back of it hit the concrete floor hard. He stomped again, and again, and then again. After the fourth stomp, blood oozed from the back of Terrell’s head, and he stopped moving completely. Quadir turned to Gena, who rushed into his arms.