Smoke
Smoke rushed out of M’Famous Ent. and to the parking lot as fast as he could, not even telling Kain and Triggamane what was happening or asking them to come along though they followed him anyway. A thousand thoughts raced through his mind as he thought about what could have happened to his cousin. He had listened on and heard a blood curdling scream, though he couldn’t tell who it had come from. As he tried to figure what to do he could only recall that C-Note had said that he was going home so he went out in the direction that C-Note usually took to get there. As he drove he saw shattered glass in the street not far from the building and he looked around for more clues and saw a group of people standing on a corner and looking down the street and he drove as fast as he could to get to it. He found his cousin lying between the doorway of his truck with several wounds and he couldn’t tell whether he was dead or not, but from the way he looked the chances of him being alive weren’t good. Even so, Smoke picked him up and sat him inside of his car praying that he could get some type of response from his cousin to signal that he was still alive. He placed his hand over his cousin’s chest, but his own heart was pounding so hard and his adrenaline pumping that he couldn’t tell if he could feel anything.
“Damn nigga don’t die,” Smoke said.
“We got to get him to a hospital Smoke,” Kain said. “We gon’ follow you, but mane we gotta go now. The longer he out here the less chance he got to live.”
Smoke agreed, so he let the seat all the way back that his cousin was in hoping that it would at least some how slow the bleeding, which seemed to be the biggest problem at the moment. He drove like he had never driven before as he refused to stop for anything even lights that were changing to red. They made it to the hospital and rushed C-Note inside screaming for help and soon the staff had taken C-Note off into the back and told Smoke and the other that they had to stay where they were. Hours passed without an update and Smoke and the others, which now included both C-Note and Smoke’s mothers along with most of the other members of their family and various members of M’Famous Ent. sat nervously as they waited for word of any kind. Though Smoke wanted to try to keep a positive outlook as he hoped his cousnin pulled through, his mind kept going back to all the blood that he had seen him loosing and the condition he seemed to be in. Smoke had tried his best to explain to everyone what was going on though he didn’t have all the details himself.
He knew one thing if nothing else though, and that was who was responsible. He had seen two men lying dead at the scene, and neither one of them was K, but in the back of his mind he knew that that wouldn’t be the case for very much longer. Smoke had never actually killed someone before, but then again he had never really been in a situation where he felt as though he had to. It was much different now though, and he would definitely make sure K got what he tried to give his family. He had left the identity of C-Note’s attacker untold because he had his own plans and telling everyone could compromise that.
After three hours of stress and anxiety for everyone waiting, a doctor finally emerged and asked for the family of Corey Ayers. Everyone stood up, though his immediate family were the ones who stepped to the doctor. The short African American doctor looked young, but also looked weary as though he’d seen too much tragedy.
“Mr. Ayers is currently in critical condidtion, but we were able to remove all of the bullets from his body,” the doctor said. “The wounds are pretty are severe, and include a punctured lung and a shattered collarbone.”
There were gasps as some of the people heard the seriousness of the harsh injuries their friend had suffered.
“There was also damage to one of his kidneys though it’s still hard to tell if it will be catastrophic,” the doctor added.
“Will he live?” C-Note’ mother, April, asked.
“Ma’am, honestly, that’s hard to say right now. So far he’s been unresponsive, but his heart is still beating,” the doctor said, which brought more gasps and whispers from the crowd.
“We will run some more test later to check out his brain activity,” the doctor stated.
“How long will that take to find out?” Smoke asked
“I’m not sure, we had to give him a lot of blood and we don’t want to move him around too much too soon. If he stabilizes in the next few days we’ll get around to it then, but I can’t give you an exact time.”
“What are his chances to make it?” Smoke’s mother, Gloria, asked.
“If he makes it through tomorrow there’s a really good chance he’ll pull through, but at the same time that doesn’t guarantee anything.”
“My baby goin’ be just fine,” C-Note’s mother said trying to reassure the others, but moreso herself. “He strong just like the rest of his family, and we goin’ all pull through this together and be stronger than ever.”
“That’s exactly what he needs from you all, strength and lots of prayers.”
“Can we see him now?” Gloria asked. “Not everyone just a few of us.”
“I’m afraid not ma’am. Policy is no one can see a patient in critical condition. If his condition upgrades, then you all can come, but not at this time.”
“There’s nothing you can do?” someone in the background asked the doctor.
“Sorry, there isn’t, but it’s for the best. What Mr. Ayers needs right now is rest more that anything else. We’ll keep a close eye on him and if he comes around we’ll contact you to arrange some type of visit.”
Reluctantly, everyone accepted the news, but they were comforted by the fact that C-Note was alive and fighting for his life.
After standing around and talking for a while longer everyone started going their ways and Smoke headed home with one thing on his mind. He made several phone calls to gather up some of the people he knew were more than ready to get some type of revenge for what had happened to C-Note. After about an hour Smoke was at home with ten goons who were ready for whatever.
“Aye, the nigga who shot up my people is a nigga named K,” Smoke said to the room of men. “Some of ya’ll have met the nigga before. We signed him to a record deal, but the nigga started acting stupid. Anyway, the shit that happened today started with that shit, and this sucka don’ went and shot up my nigga. He got an apartment in east Memphis and his real name is Kenneth Dorsey. We goin’ by his house first, and I know at least one of the broads he fuck with so we goin’ by there. If you can help it don’t kill the nigga off top. I got something real special for his bitch ass.”
The group set out with malice in their hearts on their way to K’s place. When they made it they carefully approached the apartment and when they kicked the door in there was no one inside, which really didn’t surprise anyone. No one would wait around at home after something like what K had done knowing there might be people looking for them. They walked around the apartment complex looking for K and asking people had they seen him. They all then went to the girl’s house, but there was no one there either.
With nowhere else to look at the moment, they just decided that everyone would be on the lookout for him around town. Also Smoke would find out where his mother and other relatives lived to see if he was hanging out around there.
Upset by the fact that there would be no way to release his frustration and anger on K that day, Smoke went back home alone. He sat up thinking about his cousin and praying that he pulled through this ordeal. He then remembered the problem that he had to deal with concerning Triggamane. Things were coming at him quickly and he wouldn’t be able to get a break anytime soon now that C-Note was out of the picture. He would have to shoulder more of the load, running the label on his own. It was already a handful with the things he had to do on his own, so without his partner it wouldn’t get any easier with everything happening on top of the pending project with Legend and his label coming up. Smoke knew that he could be easily overwhelmed. To make things even rougher he knew that the artists on his label were a lot of young and wild guys who would need hands on oversight and now he would have to step into that role, which would require much more moving around than he liked to do. He also knew that sooner or later the police would come sniffing around with their questions and so would the media, and all of that would fall in his lap.
Smoke went to his entertainment room and went to his bar to make himself a drink to calm his nerves a little. His phone rang and it was Alicia.
“You don’t know about the three day rule I guess,” Smoke said not wanting his somber mood to carry over into a conversation with Alicia.
“Yes, I know about ya’ll men’s three day rule,” Alicia replied with her candor that Smoke had quickly come to like. “Ya’ll can keep it. I need somebody to talk to.”
“I’m glad you called me then ‘cause I need somebody to talk to myself.”
“From your tone, you sound like yo’ problems are worse, so tell me what’s going on.”
Smoke caught Alicia up on the events that had taken place over the course of the day although he remembered to leave out certain details. Even though he liked her he barely knew her and was unwilling to tell her anything that he would regret later. As she had at the party, she shared her point of view on the situations and Smoke appreciated them as he had before. Alicia was wise beyond her years, and by the time the conversation was over Smoke had gotten an idea how he could handle things going forward.
His first mind though was to deal with K because he couldn’t stand the thought of him going around thinking that he had a chance to get away with what he’d done. Not to mention that there was a chance that K could be planning on attacking Smoke himself since he and C-Note were so close. And Smoke knew that his cousin had humiliated K in front of his own people. He would personally be out looking for K tomorrow as well, though he had to deal with the things happening at the label.
The next day Smoke spent most of the morning and early afternoon at the office and he had done some research on K since he had some of his information on his old contract. That allowed him to find other information about him on the internet and he found out where K’s mother and several of his other family members lived. Smoke left work left work early and got in contact with some of the people he’d had searching for Kwith the previous day. The word had gotten out in the steets that he had played apart in the attack on C-Note and that two of the dead men from the scene were his own cousins. The attack itself had been all over the news and Smoke had only managed the media by saying that he would hold a press conference on the events the next day and that he wouldn’t answer any questions before then. For some reason the police hadn’t showed up with any question, but Smoke expected that they could be showing up at anytime, especially with their history with M’Famous Ent. and it’s rambunctious artists.
Smoke continued to ride around on his search when he got the call he’d been hoping for. K had been found out at the house of a stripper that he was involved with out on the edge of Memphis. The girl’s house that K was over had sold him out for five thousand, and she was keeping him occupied until Smoke and his people got there. Little did K know that the girl had ties to C-Note as well, and saw it more in her best interest to give him up. Smoke called up all the men who he’d been with the night before and they all met in the parking lot of a store near the girl’s house. It was set up so that they could get him out the house and somewhere where Smoke could carry out the agenda he had for K.
Dusk began to set in a while later and they called the girl to be sure K was still there and to see when and where would be the best time to come in. The girl told them to wait ten minutes and come in through the front door.
Ten minutes later they were inside the small house and could hear the shower running in the bathroom and they quietly made their way to it. Five of the men rushed into the bathroom, where they caught K in the shower with the girl who began screaming as thought she wasn’t in on what was happening. K kicked and screamed as he was overpowered and drug out of he bathroom butt naked until he took several blows from pistols. He finally quieted down and once he saw Smoke’s face he realized exactly what was going on.
Smoke looked at K’s still swollen and bruised face with no sympathy. “Tie this nigga up with something. I don’t need him trying nothing stupid,” Smoke said.
They hadn’t brought any rope along so they had to do it with bed sheets.
“What ya’ll goin’ do to him?” the girl asked.
“Don’t worry ‘bout that shawty,” one of the men said. “You probably don’t really want to know anyway.”
K could only look on in disbelief that he had been set up again by a woman.
The men checked outside to be sure they could move without being seen and then drug K out and threw him in the trunk of a car and turned the stereo up to drown out any noise he might make. They drove K out to an old abandoned warehouse where they bound his wrists over his head. Smoke removed the gag from K’s mouth.
“Let me go out this shit you mothafu-,” K started to say before he was cut off by a vicious blow across the face with a pistol, which sent blood splattering from his mouth.
“Speak when you spoken to nigga,” Buck barked at K.
Smoke walked up and punched K in the stomach with as much might as he could muster which knocked the wind out of K.
“You thought you was just gon’ fuck us over and wasn’t nothing gon’ happen to yo’ ass didn’t you,” Smoke said cooly.
“Look what that nigga did to my face,” K cried hoarsely in his own defense.
“You had it comin’. You lucky it wasn’t me that showed up,” Smoke said and delivered another powerful blow to K’s body.
“Fuck all ya’ll niggas!” K yelled defiantly.
Smoke looked around the room. “Damn ya’ll goin’ let this nigga talk crazy to ya’ll,” he said which got the crowd rowdy and the men all began to deliver a brutal beating to K until they were all tired.
K was covered in bruises and bleeding badly by the time the men finished with him and that was when Smoke stepped in front of him with a hammer and a long nail.
“You tried to kill my family, so you goin’ get exactly what he got,” Smoke said and slammed the hammer into K’s collarbone.