An excerpt from NO REDEMPTION FOR THE DEADby Robin Eduardo
A lone silhouette on a rooftop located far away from downtown Manhattan watches as a tattered figure stumbles along the sidewalk in front of his tenement. It was late evening, and the drug dealers were about to close up shop. The young man leans forward and smirks as he rests his elbows on the ledge of the low wall that encircled the top of the building. "Motherfucker better be coming to me." Pee Wee mumbles to himself as he eyed one of his ‘boys’ step toward the prospect in competition with the other dealers on the clock that evening. "Good." Whispered Pee Wee, secure that a transaction would be made between his crew member and the addict. On his block alone there were at least five other dealers looking to sling their shit to the dozens of dope fiends wanting to make a purchase on the mean streets of the Barrio. Most of the dealers were junkies themselves, and posed little threat to Pee Wee’s crew of young entrepreneurs. For one thing, they were heavily armed and ran their neighborhood without much interaction with the police. In fact, the police were hardly ever present unless a shooting occurred. Even then, Pee Wee was confident he had nothing to fear from anyone. He carried himself with a swagger and air of invincibility. Pee Wee watched as his crew member approached the stranger, and inquired what he might be looking for. He heard his man inform the newcomer that he had "D.O.A"; Dead On Arrival, the latest and most sought after brand of heroin available. "Bitch better not be lookin’ for no freebie, Carlito!" Pee Wee called out as he took in the stranger’s dress. "I don’t run no charity!" He grumbled, tired of the begging that often occurred with the desperate junkies looking for their next fix. Pee Wee watched intently as the transaction took place, only instead of money being exchanged into his man's outstretched hand, the addict lunged and bit down in a spray of blood! The shocked victim’s eyes darted up to Pee Wee’s location and screamed for backup as his attacker leaned in for another bite. This threw Pee Wee off, he was not used to such cowardly behavior from one of his men. Pee Wee drew his gun from out of the back of his waistband and aimed at the aggressor, shooting him in the shoulder as the stranger continued to claw and snap his jaws as the two men struggled in the street below. The stranger didn’t flinch as the bullet found a home in his shoulder, a spray of blood exited from the man's back, but he just kept chewing on his prize despite the red liquid pouring out of the wound. As Pee Wee rained more slugs down upon his target, it didn’t slow the man’s inhuman desire to literally eat the flesh that he managed to tear from his victim’s hand. Pee Wee tried to divert the junkie's attention by throwing down several baggies of dope, but the stranger ignored it. Pee Wee was incredulous by what he saw. How can this man keep taking so many bullets and keep on moving? Pee Wee kept shooting, trying to take care that he didn't injure Carlos, who was desperately fighting off his attacker. Carlos kicked the man down to the sidewalk. The psycho rose again and began to advance in Carlos’s direction. Pee Wee continued to shoot from the roof top, and finally dispatched the attacker with a bullet to his head. The stranger slumped to the sidewalk as blood poured out of his skull and spread across the sidewalk in a crimson pool. Carlos ran down an alleyway between the buildings and disappeared as a crowd gathered around the dead man. Pee Wee was angry that Carlos couldn't handle the situation. Obviously the man was high on something, otherwise he couldn't have taken so many bullets and keep coming at him. But Carlos was scared, and needed to answer for that. A few minutes later Pee Wee, Carlos, and the rest of the crew gathered in a nearby basement to assess the damage to Carlos’s hand and to discuss what exactly had happened. Carlos would not be seeing a doctor, nor would he pay a visit to the hospital to treat his wounds. This was part of the unwritten code of the street. You simply wrapped the injury up as best as you could and continued about your business. Carlos’s own grandfather back in Puerto Rico had lost a finger in a childhood accident and never received medical attention, so why should he? They had plenty of drugs available to treat the pain, and the whole ordeal gave Carlos even more street credibility in the eyes of any witnesses to the event. Already he was considered a badass, and neighbors gave him a wide berth whenever he was conducting business. It was why Pee Wee preferred to have him on the clock. Carlos was not one to be messed with. But Pee Wee was also upset by the display of weakness and wanted answers. Carlos was losing credibility fast. (To be continued) ************************************************************************************ You can follow the author, Robin Eduardo at her blog at: preludetoredemption.blogspot.com
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