The Family Business 3(46)
One of Popeye’s men spoke up. “Can I ask a question?” He was a big, burly guy who was almost the same size as Junior.
“Sure. What’s on your mind?”
He stood up and made his way closer to me, carrying an assault rifle. “I mean, other than the fact that we get to look at that phat ass of yours from behind as we go in the door, why should we follow you? What qualifies you to lead us?” He was now close enough for me to smell his body odor.
“Shut the f*ck up and sit down,” I ordered.
“Aw, what, did I hurt your feelings?” He laughed, and the other men joined in.
I glanced over at Sasha, who very casually nodded her head.
“You wanna know what qualifies me?” Before anyone could blink, I hit the funky-smelling dude with a quick chop to his throat that damn near crushed his larynx. I followed it with a swift kick to his gonads, which sent him keeling over like a fallen tree. By the time he hit the ground, I had his rifle in my hand, cocked and aimed at his face.
As he lay groaning on the floor, I asked, “You still want to know my qualifications?” He shook his head. “Good. Now, you can either follow my phat ass into battle and enjoy the view, or take your smelly ass back to DC. I don’t need any more distraction.” I turned to the men, who all looked stunned. “And that goes for any of the rest of you too.”
“You don’t have to worry, Paris. We’re with you,” Larry said. He had a sympathetic tone to his voice. Despite the hard exterior I was displaying, he must have been able to catch just a glimpse of the pain I was feeling for my father. I was working hard to suppress those feelings because now was not the time for weakness. There was serious work that needed to be done, in spite of LC being out of commission at the moment. After all, the war was just beginning.
Now that I had everyone’s undivided attention, I went back to explaining my plan.
“As you all know, we’re going after the man who put my father in a hospital bed and has killed more than a dozen of our men. This dude Brother X ain’t no joke, and he and his people have killed more men than I have sitting here in front of me, so if any of you wanna back out, let me know now.”
“Ain’t nobody backing out,” Larry announced. I looked over at him and saw the way his chest was rising and falling, his fists were balled up, and the veins were damn near popping out of his neck. He was ready for battle.
“Yeah, like Larry said,” Sasha added, gazing over at him.
Larry noticed the way she was devouring him with her eyes, and he smiled at her, letting her know the attraction was mutual.
“Okay, so if everyone understands, I want you to check your weapons and make sure you have plenty of ammo. We roll in twenty.” I tossed the burly man his assault rifle.
Sasha stood up and announced loudly, “I have to run to the bathroom real quick.” She glanced in Larry’s direction as she left the room.
In my peripheral vision, I saw her stop in the hallway, turn back toward our group, and make a beckoning gesture to Larry. Like clockwork, Larry waited five seconds and then stood up to say he was going to use the bathroom too. I just rolled my eyes. Leave it to my cousin to make a damn love connection half an hour before we went into battle. Part of me wanted to tell these fools they weren’t as slick as they thought, but now was not the time for lighthearted jokes. Their horny asses had fifteen minutes before I went looking for them.
“Before I continue,” I said, planting my hands on my hips. “Does anyone else have to go to the little boys’ room?”
Suddenly, there was a huge crash, and the floor shook like there was an earthquake occurring. Everyone started scrambling, and I instinctively ran up the stairway behind me, which led to a catwalk piled high with storage boxes. Crouching behind the boxes, I drew my gun, then watched in horror as another crash happened and a portion of the brick wall crumbled. A dump truck was now sitting in the spot where my men had just been. At least four of them were laid on the ground, killed by the impact of the dump truck and the wall falling on them. Thank God everyone had scattered after the first crash or there would have been more casualties.
I began firing my weapon when two men jumped out of the cabin of the truck. My soldiers, who were now dispersed throughout the room, starting shooting also. The men from the truck began firing back, and bullets were flying like fireworks from both sides. A swarm of at least twenty of X’s soldiers came out of the back of the truck with their guns blazing.
Ducking down behind the boxes, I peeked through them at the scene taking place below me, and watched as my men were taken out, one by one. I leaned back, trying to think strategically about my next move. If I stood up and started shooting, I was sure to end up dead, so as much as I wanted to blow those f*ckers away, I stayed put behind the boxes for the time being. It wasn’t long before the gunfire ceased.
“This way!” one of the invading men yelled, and they fanned out, stepping over the bloody bodies of my dead soldiers as they headed down the hallway. For a second, I was relieved that no one seemed to be headed up the steps, so I prepared to make my escape. Then someone yelled, “Check every room!” and I dropped back down behind the boxes in a panic. It was only a matter of time before one of them kicked in the right door and found my cousin. I had to get to her somehow.
Sasha
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