Marlon James - A Brief History of Seven Killings

I walk back to the woman and kick her two time. Then me grab her left hand and drag her backside all the way back to her yard while the people follow. The boy bawl out for him mother. She not moving so me tell a woman to bring a bombocloth bucket of water now. She run and bring it back quick. Me dump the bucket ’pon the woman and she nod and cough and scream. Me grab her hair and pull her head up so she can see me face.

— You have half hour to leave yah so, seen? And me never want to see, smell or hear ’bout you again, seen? Me see you, me kill you, you brother, you mother, and you daddy and all you other pickney, seen? Thirty minutes and get out of me bombocloth territory, or me’ll make you watch me fucking kill him.

Then me turn to the people.

— And hear this. Any one of you help her, any one of you even talk to this bitch, watch how fast me send you packing too.

Me put the damn boy in the cell with the other men who shoot up the Singer. One of them gone mad already, talking to himself and shit him pants while him talk ’bout how the radio in him head won’t believe him dead. Him talk day and night, and in the morning he talk about how the naked man duppy with blue fire wrap around him skin and long shark teeth was eating him flesh all night and covering him mouth so he couldn’t scream. And when the duppy done eat, he just open him mouth and cover him face with spit so thick is like Jell-O. Me say, pussyhole, you know why you life going get cut short? And him just say Jah live, Jah live, Jah live.

Three p.m. me tell the people set ’pon the mother house take out everything and burn it right in the street. Leggo Beast in the jail begging and pleading and weeping and wailing and saying is Josey Wales recruit him and the white man who train them was CIA. CIA man wearing brown pants and shades even at night take them into the high bush up in St. Mary, it must be St. Mary because we go east and up in the hills, and he show we how to load and cock an M16 and an M9. Point the rifle muzzle in a safe direction. Cock the bolt and open the rifle, no, cock the rifle and open the bolt. Return the charging handle to the forward position. Place the SAFE level on selector — no, place the selector lever on SAFE. Check the chamber to ensure it is clear. Insert the magazine, push it upward until the magazine catch engages and holds the magazine. Tap upward on the bottom of the magazine to ensure it is seated. Depress the upper portion of the bolt catch to release the bolt. Tap the forward assist to ensure the bolt is fully forward and locked. The man who talk like Speedy Gonzales show we what to do with a C-4, see? You mold it like a piece of putty, no? Like so and you put this wire in the putty and the mechanical sinting, the blasting cap and then have a long wire to make it explode and you click then boom, hombre . And since they give me cocaine and heroin it make me want to kill people and fuck woman, man and dog but if is heroin you cocky won’t stand up even though you want to breed a gal so bad. Some night them lock we up in a room tight and make we sweat because you fucking Jamaicans have no drive, no soul, no dedication, you’re nothing like the Bolivians or the fucking Paraguayans who learned a lot more in the space of two fucking weeks than you fucking jackasses will do in two years. And the Jamaican who fly down from Wilmington the third week with two big army-splotchy suitcase touch the white man shoulder and say, Easy pardner, chillax my brother, is revolution we building, while he go off with Josey and Speedy Gonzales who only talk English when he want we to know he still mad about the Pigs of the Bay. Josey talk Spanish with him. Yeah he can talk the Spanish, is truth, is truth, me hear him. Don’t believe what him say, all of we hear him. And is one month we training, day and night in soldier uniform and one night Josey walk in the room and just shoot a boy in the head because him say him nah do it. Josey go off with Speedy Gonzales and the two of them reasoning for a long time. After them done reasoning we go out after midnight to take a cart off the wharf, which did full of more gun, including gun that me see you have now, Papa. You have gun from that shipment too. And the white man saying you guys’re all that’s saving Jamaica from chaos so you gotta do God’s work. Save order from Chaos. Save order from Chaos.

Save order from Chaos

Save order from Chaos

Save order from Chaos

Save order from Chaos

Save order from Chaos

Tony Pavarotti gun-butt him.

The first time they give me the cocaine them turn me into man that want it so bad, Jah know, me would open up me battyhole and make white man fuck me in it for another line. Jah know . Tell that to the jury me say to him to cut him off with all that batty fucking business, but me mark how him perplex me. Half of what come out of him mouth, not just what him say, but also how him say it didn’t originate in Copenhagen City.

This CIA business — stupidness, especially since me see all the white man who come here with Peter Nasser and none of them say them was with no CIA. But that sorta lie seem like them no have no mental skill to think up something like that. Is like when a little boy open him mouth but what flow out sound like TV. This make me think deeper for a while, after all the Singer did sing that Rasta don’t work for the CIA. All me know ’bout the CIA is they from America and would like JLP to win more than PNP because communism so bad in Cuba that mother already killing they baby.

But why would the CIA take it so serious that they would try to kill him? After all, him is not no politician and him don’t have no government. Why not send James Bond or them special agent instead of three ignorant fool from the ghetto? Me ask Josey Wales what the bombocloth them a talk about, and he say if me too stupid to not know that when boy drowning he will clutch any straw, which sound like something me would say, and then he drive out, like this is pickney business he too big for. Me decide to not talk ’bout how him just call me stupid, as if is not me did pull him out of 1966 with my own hand. And how him always boasty but lately he getting just a little too big with me, like me ’fraid to cut his bad-breed part-chiney self back down to size. Me look ’pon him and think it but me don’t say it. Me ask how can me be sure he really don’t have nothing to do with the shooting since so much man say him involve and he say, Brethren, if me was trying to kill the Singer, the pussyhole would be dead now.

Believe him or don’t believe him, me don’t know. Plenty black man don’t like the Singer, but they mostly wear shirt and tie and work on Duke Street. What don’t sit right with me is the new thing in him face, and the hissing teeth saying whether I believe or not he don’t care. Me scratch me head trying to find it, the year, the month, the day, the hour when this man pass me out and think him badder than me. And when a good number of rudies in the ghetto notice. Me is the last to know that rudie don’t call themselves rudie no more. Now them is shotta. And they not no gang no more, now them is posse. And them answer phone call from America. Few nights ago me send message with Tony Pavarotti to the Singer and the manager. Meet we at McGregor Gully, me say, and make we once and for all do justice.

We deep in McGregor Gully, so deep the stink change. Leggo Beast and the two man tie up with the madman mouth in a gag because me can’t stand to hear him talk. Tony Pavarotti kick each man in the back of the knee and they fall to ground. Two other man stand with Pavarotti. On the other side three woman and three man who answer to me. Verdict leave to them, judgment leave to me. Then we hear the sound of two vehicle coming to a stop before the four lights shut off. My two man come out of their car first. The Singer and him manager follow.