Marlon James - A Brief History of Seven Killings

This is how you stop a screaming man. Punch him in the face if you want him to feel like a man or slap him across the cheek if you want him to feel like a girl. Josey Wales lift Bam-Bam off the ground with left hand and slap him with the right. Slap east to west then slap west to east and east to west again, like the man is him woman. Me scratch me head because me can’t think about how a wet slap must feel like, for me can’t remember when Josey Wales and Weeper come back. One blink they not here, another blink they appear like magic. Like Obeah. Josey still slapping Bam-Bam, telling him to stop cry like bitch before he really give him something to cry ’bout. The two man from Jungle say go suck your mother, and turn to rush him but Weeper whip out two gun like a cowboy gunslinger and say settle yourself, brethren.

Josey open a big box and plenty gun come out, most of them M16. Weeper open a little box and plenty white powder come out and Funky Chicken and me swarm the table, with Bam-Bam whimpering me me me. Weeper chop up a pile into umpteen skinny line. So he go first, then Funky Chicken, then me, then Weeper again, which make Josey Wales shout at him that he did say that he going to let go off that fuckery. Weeper say, Everything kriss, my youth, everything kriss. One of the boy from Jungle put him nose down on the table but the other boy say no. Weeper point him gun at the boy face and say don’t think me can’t shoot you and still find use for you body. He point the gun at the boy but the boy didn’t flinch. Weeper pull ’way the gun and laugh. I watch Josey Wales watching the whole thing. Josey Wales don’t take no line.

Midway through the third line of coke I gone further than where thinking can take me. Dillinger playing on a transistor radio, I didn’t know the shack have a radio but coo deh, a radio, and Dillinger gonna lick the chalice inna Buckingham Palace and chase Mr. Wallace . The railroad shack hot and stink with piss and ting. I done three line but Weeper keep cutting and the lines so thin that as soon as you sniff it gone. The two man from Jungle laughing loud and crying and singing the tune and waving him gun. And Weeper cut me a line and I sniff it in and it burn but sweet burn like a pepper burn and the shadows starting to jump off the wall and dance. Heckle and Funky Chicken look like fool but not me. I beyond wise and fool.

Little things can fill up a long hour. So Josey Wales say hold on, Joe, and I say me no name so, but me can’t remember my name so I take the name Joe, and I say just call me Joe, and it’s the sweetest name, sweeter than sweet. Ten minutes pass, fifteen minutes, one hour, one day, five year. I don’t care, whatever time pass too long and Weeper cut me another line, but say I not getting it unless I show him how to handle the gun. I tell him even a dumb pussyhole who come out of a batty can fire gun and he slap me, but I don’t feel anything. And is just so it happen. I don’t feel no slap, no pain and no bullet. I don’t tell Josey Wales. And when the shadows start to dance they tell me that we have to kill him, we have to kill the thiefing friend and him too, for he and the thief is brethren. And that make him just like the thief. I don’t know how much time passed, but the radio in my head sweet like fuck. He ask if me ready and me say how you mean? Nobody can touch me now, and my eyes see so far and so deep that me in Josey Wales’ brain then out and he didn’t even know. I know how they going to tell this story even now. I know which part get keep and which part get lost.

This is how it feel when you know that you could kill God and fuck the devil. Josey Wales say we set out soon, but I feel like we should set out now and ah grab me gun and think how I want to kill kill kill this pussyhole and nobody going get to kill him but me and I want to kill kill kill and it just feel so good, so raasclaat sweet every time I say Kill kill kill that the echo in the room sweet too. Josey Wales say time to go. Outside is two white Datsuns. Josey Wales tell we right before we leave how you playing both sides but you still a PNP stooge. And how you about to record a song that say under heavy manners and everybody know that is PNP slogan. And that you never change, but after this things goin’ change big.

This is how much time those two go over what we eight going do: three. Me forget the first time and the last time because me feeling this high different. Not that me used to any form of cocaine, but still me know this high different. Funky Chicken already acting bummy. I feel cold, and is not because the sun gone and early night already black and thick. Josey check him watch and cuss, we late to r’asscloth him say. Two white Datsun outside. Josey, Weeper, Bam-Bam and me get in the first. The rest get in the second.

Uptown. Uptown always say the same things to me when I come up here. Green light. We coming coming coming like lightning and thunder. I want another line, just one more line and I fly. A blue car come in front of we and seem to be going where we going. The car is the Piper and we is the rat. We follow the short manager all the way up to 56 Hope Road. Red light say stop but green light say go.

Josey Wales said no more line for you, work to do,

We in the car, the big beat jumping bass

No music in the stereo, naigger

Don’t need music for the S90 Skank, naigger

The short stump manager

Swerve out boasty on the road

Road Killer, coulda shoulda full ya full o’

Lead. Eight boys two Datsuns white

Like duppy jump out in broad daylight

Weeper notice him first

We laugh

Man leading we to him own judgment

Pied Piper, Weeper say

Don’t know what him mean, me ask what

Weeper mean

Nobody say but everybody laugh

Gun in my lap rubbing me, rubbing me,

And I want to fuck fuck fuck

Fuck this

In the middle of uptown

Running from Babylon

Uptown jam

Car on top of car on top of car on top of car

Kingston jam

Make we jam it right here and kill this pussyhole

Weeper look at me a way

He can see it

Nobody move

We so close to the stumpy manager we nearly touch

We should bump him, touch him

So that when time run out he

Would see we was coming

Two Datsuns white

Boys behind boys behind the man leading us to you

I rub the gun but this feel fool

Gun is not buddy, gun is just a gun

And I want to fuck fuck fuck

Fifteen and never fuck a ting

Bad man fuck from ten

Bust the cherry cherry bust

One day I saw my father fuck my mother

White Datsun number two in the back

Red car running up the rear

Two cars on two side, blue Cortina, no Ford Escort

Pink Volkswagen

Pink battyman in pink Volkswagen

And nobody moving

It not going to happen

It need to happen this need to happen I take two line

Three line four line

This going to happen

I think to grab the gun and start shooting

That would make people start moving

Weeper start looking

At me, you, ’low the bombocloth gun

Says something about cokehead

You is the cokehead, cokehead

Want to tell him what this fucking cokehead going

Do next but is cool runnings

Cool runnings, cool like a dead idea

Pink battyman in pink Volkswagen looking at we

Four men in a Datsun white

We off to kill, pervert, not to fuck

Point this gun to you pink pussyface

And boom sha-ka-la-ka

The riddim in me head crazy louder

Bam bam stylee

This car need to bloodcloth go!

And then it going

And the manager gone

Peel out like the rooster running

From sixty sexy chicken

Poof zip swoosh

He getting away