Chapter 15


    "I can''t stand that disco bullshit!" vell irately snarled as he put on his red velvet jacket and checked


    his wavy hair in a mirror that was attached to the wall.


    "Do you want me to go up and tell Jimmy to y something else?" Lucius put on his ck Fedora.


    Pressing out his mustache, vell muttered, "No, we got more important matters to attend to."


    Above their collective heads The Trammps'', ''Disco Inferno'' thumped loud enough to where even the


    various malt liquor bottles that were scattered on the tables downstairs in the work area were clinking


    against one another.


    It was vell who was dressed to the nines in a red velvet zer, red velvet pants and matching


    tform shoes. Nita, who was performing her customary duty of staying seated and separating the


    cocaine, gave only subtle nces at her boss as to say she was somewhat jealous, while Marvin, who


    along with vell and Lucius, was cleaning himself up from head to toe for a night out on the town.


    Clear in a corner all to themselves were two fairly young white men who were both adorned in blue


    id, polyester suits. One of the men had a blonde mustache, while the other, who appeared as if he


    were straight out of high school, wore a pair of eyesses and long, dark hair. Both men were holding


    their own brown briefcase and shivering as if the room they were sequestered in was freezing cold.


    vell pulled himself away from the mirror and reached into his coat pocket to take out and count a


    cluster of hundred dor bills.


    "Hey, Marv, hand me one of those Cuban''s."


    At once, Marvin rushed over and handed vell a Cuban cigar before igniting the tip. vell puffed


    away on the cigar while rifling through his bills in a curious fashion. Suddenly, right in the middle of


    smokes, vell happened to nce over at the two white men who were huddled together side by side


    like frightened mice.


    With a grin, vell pointed at the men, "Boy, you two look like you''re about to fall to pieces. What''s the


    problem?"


    "Look, vell." One of the men stuttered before catching himself midway. "Excuse me, Mr. Diggs. But


    we really just need to hurry and get this over with. We have another drop after this one."


    Looking subtly surprised, vell asked, "What, you two peckerwoods don''t like being around us


    darkies for too long?"


    "No, sir, it''s not that, we just—


    "Blood, just cool out," vell motioned with his cigar. "This ce is the safest joint in the city. Besides, I


    got another transaction I have to clear up before we leave."


    "It''s just that with your friend getting killedst night, we just don''t need any other mishaps."


    Right then, the entire room grew eerily quiet. vell just turned his head in the other direction before


    pacing the floor.


    "Yeah...when we find the motherfucker who did that to Wendell he''ll wish to God he was never born. In


    the meantime, you two just hang loose."


    "But we— "The man said shut the fuck up!" Marvin yelled clear from the other side of the room.


    At once, both men became permanent fixtures of the wall that they were already attached to, quiet and


    unassuming.


    Giggling at the two, vellmented, "Damn, I bet if we were way out there in Beverly Hills they


    would be as cool as ms."


    At that very second, three knocks sted at the door. Marvin went over and opened it to find a tall,


    well-built, bald, ck man and the afro-puffeddy right behind him.


    "Come on in!" vell warmly greeted.


    With a cavalier smile on his face, the bald man with a perfectly manicured goatee entered into the


    room. Immediately, vell embraced the man who was wearing only a multi-colored dashiki, a pair of


    white cks and a pair of sandals. While his friend, whose face was swollen and her height slightly


    lengthened, wore only a red dress with sandals.


    "Man, I was wondering when you two was goin'' to get here!" vell eximed.


    "We had certain matters to attend to, mon." The bald man smiled in a deep Jamaican ent.


    vell then took a gander of the woman before turning up his nose and saying, "Damn, girl, what


    happened to you? You look like you''ve had one rough day."


    The youngdy just cracked a simple, blushing grin before ncing over at herpanion and


    dropping her head.


    "Akoni not speak too much, mon. She speak only when necessary."


    "It''s cool, blood, it''s cool." vell patted the man on the back. "I want you all to meet my friends, Akoni


    and Arthur!" vell announced to hisrades.


    Everyone in the room greeted the duo with the kind of respect that was expected of them, everyone


    that is except Nita, who remained at her trusty table with an eye targeted only at Akoni.


    "Uh...listen, we didn''t know that you were gonna bring over some foreigners." One of the white men


    stammered. "We weren''t told of any foreigners!"


    vell red at the two men with the most confounded look on his face. "What, are you peckerwoods


    racist or something?"


    "No, sir, we''re not, we just weren''t informed about any others joining in on this."


    "Calm down, my friends are real deal." vell led both Arthur and Akoni over to where two chairs were


    ced before having them take a seat. "You see, you honkeys don''t quite understand how business is


    conducted these days. This ain''t the old Al Capone days where some cannoli eatin'' motherfucker calls


    all the shots. This is 1977, the future. Times have changed. And you two corn-fed, college boy, faggots


    had better learn that and quick. I ain''t some nickel and dime porch nigga, Iwork worldwide!"


    The two white men just remained against the wall they were perched to in total submission. Meanwhile,


    there was Akoni, a woman of few words. She sat in her chair with her legs crossed in a demure fashion


    while her eyes seemingly examined the room in which she was gathered in.


    From one corner and edge of the room she meticulously studied until her eyes eventually connected


    with those of Nita''s, who in turn was staring continuously right back at her. Nita just wouldn''t remove


    her hard ze away from the mysteriously silent woman. It was as if they were mas attracted to


    one another. All the while, the men in the room carried on in a jovial manner. But there was something


    obviously amiss with the women, and only the women.


    Akoni kept her hands on herp while a polite smile graced her swollen face. Nita, who had her left


    hand on the table, next to her cocaine, had her other hand underneath the table, where her index finger


    was tickling the trigger of a nine millimeter. But the men kept on and on.


    "C''mon, man, let''s do this before these two pansies wet their pants." vell said to Arthur. "Now, if I''m


    not mistaken, you had some real serious shit for me and my clients."


    "I''m afraid I cannot do dat, mon." Arthur sat back and rxed in his seat.


    vell looked back at the man in a stunned re before sniggering, "I beg your pardon? Man, c''mon,


    me and my partners have another engagement to go to."


    "Akoni and I did note here for your money, mon."


    Still sniggering and snorting, vell asked, "What the hell did youe here for then?"


    Arthur just sat and looked up at vell in a clever style, as if he hadn''t a worry in the world.


    "We note for dat, mon, wee for something else."


    The smile that was on vell''s face quickly dissipated as he approached Arthur and said, "Hold on, we


    had a deal for some pure diamonds. Now, it''s time to pay up."


    "I bet these niggas didn''t even bring the product!" Lucius shouted.


    Drawing closer to Arthur, vell demanded, "Wipe that stupid ass grin off your face before I smack it


    off, nigga."


    Arthur just gazed up at vell, refusing to rub the look off of his face. "Wee all de way here for


    something else, mon."


    "Ain''t this about a bitch?" vell angrily yelled as he spun around. "I deal with these Jamaican


    motherfuckers for a whole month and this is what happens!"


    "Never trust these ind niggas!" Marvin said.


    vell turned back around and immediately whipped out his silver-ted pistol before pointing it


    directly at Arthur''s face. "You gonna give me my product, or—


    "You have her scent on you." Arthur blurted out.


    Everyone inside the room once more paused. It was a pause ofplete confusion; one that caused


    each person, excluding Arthur and Akoni, to nce at each other in total bewilderment.


    "What the hell are you talking about?" vell turned up his face.


    N?velDrama.Org: text ? owner.


    "You have her scent on you." Arthur repeated.


    "Who''s scent?"


    "De girl, Lyte," Arthur raised his eyebrows.


    Giggling all over again, vell nced back at everyone else. "Lynnie," he shrugged. "What''s she got


    to do with anything?"


    "I smell her all over you, mon. Akoni see herst night with your friend. We not here for your money, we


    want you to know that we smell her."


    "Hold up, you know where Lynn is?" Lucius belligerently walked over.


    "Stay loose, man." vell ordered Lucius before turning back to Arthur. "Are you trying to say that


    Lynnie had something to do with Wendell gettin'' killedst night?"


    "I say just dat, mon."


    "Ain''t that about a bitch?" vell furiously backed up. "Something told me not to trust that skeezer after


    she ran away from you, Lucius!"


    "That bitch just jumped out of the car and took off down the alley, for no reason!"


    "She not fear you, mon. No, no." Arthur spoke up. "It was Damerae that she feared."


    "Who the fuck is that," Lucius frowned.


    "He was supposed to finish de job, but he did not. So...I burn his very soul."


    "Okay, okay, that''s it," one of the white men stepped forward, "we didn''te here for all of this


    voodoo, shaman talk. We just came to do business and leave."


    "Shut the fuck up and get back to that wall!" vell pointed his gun at the two men.


    Without haste, both men retreated back to their favorite wall where they remained tight-lipped for the


    time being.


    "Now, you''re gonna tell me just what the hell is going on here, or I''m gonna put four slugs in that bald


    head of yours!" vell returned the gun back to Arthur.


    But Arthur continued to sit cool and rxed in the midst of an escting storm. He had the demeanor


    of a person that actually delighted in conflict. His look wasn''t so much cocky, but rather serene, as if he


    had the matter all under control.


    "I not want your money, vell. Ie for your soul." Arthur said.


    "I knew it!" Marvin shouted. "These Jamaican niggas are always into that voodoo bullshit!"


    "It was voodoo that happenedst year." Nita, from out of nowhere, uttered.


    vell turned his head and asked, "What are you going on about?"


    With her right hand still stuck up underneath the table, Nita slowly exined, "Last year, at


    Thanksgiving, something broke into this house and ate up all these Jamaicans. They never found out


    what it was that did it."


    "Oh yeah, I heard about that." Marvin added. "They found Isaac in there, too."


    "Ahh, Isaac...I knew him well." Arthur dropped his head.


    "You knew that nigga Isaac?" vell looked shocked. "Where was I when all this went down?"


    "You were out in Cali taking care of business." Lucius replied.


    Raising his head back up, Arthur replied, "Yes, he was very special to me."


    "That means that Lynn had something to do with it, too!" vell screamed. "And we had that bitch up in


    here! She was probably wired the whole time!"


    "But we checked her out!" Marvin insisted.


    "Man, the feds now have tiny ear pieces!" vell said. "She probably set Wendell upst night! That''s


    why no one can find her ck ass!"


    "Oh, but we will find her." Arthur said.


    vell slowly turned back to Arthur and said, "Wait a second, I now see how this shit is going down.


    You Jamaican motherfuckers have been trying to muscle in on my turf all this time. First, you send


    some wild animal to kill some of your own. Then you hire Isaac and Lynn as undercovers, but Isaac


    goes crazy on some of his own supply and the cops take him out. Then, what do you do? You have


    Lynnie not onlye in here, but you have her set my man Wendell up to get killed."


    But Arthur remainedpletely stalwart in his sitting and listening. Not once did he budge or even


    twitch while vell and the others ranted and rampaged about like several angry lions.


    "Look at you and her both." vell pointed at Arthur and Akoni. "You bothe up in here thinkin'' that


    you can just take what you want. You even have the same eye color."


    "They''re probably inbreeds!" Luciusughed out loud.


    "Shut the fuck up, nigga!" vell sted. "Then what do you do? You have the nerve to tell me what''s


    going to happen. Motherfucker, this is my town! I own these fuckin'' streets! Hell, I made my first five G''s


    at thirteen! My name is Godzi! I spit fire and motherfuckers die! I''m the motherfucker you should fear!


    First I''ll kill you two, then I''ll find Lynn and split her wide open!"


    Arthur''s sociable grin soon vanished. The man momentarily turned to Akoni, who was still studying


    Nita, before he refocused his attention back to vell.


    In a steady, slow tone, Arthur uttered, "You say you Godzi. Ie in many forms. Some see me as a


    ghost. Soon, you see me as something else. You not touch Lynn. Ie for your soul, vell."


    Right at that very second, the lights in the room began to blink off and on before the music up above


    abruptly cut off.


    "Have you ever seen an anaconda feast?" Akoni surprisingly spoke very slowly.


    At once, everyone inside the room focused their stuttering attention to the woman. With the flickering


    lights and the chatter of agitated dancers above on the top floor, the tension in the room became so


    thick that most of the people found it hard to even breathe at that juncture.


    "Before it feeds, it sizes up its victim. It moves ever so slowly when it tinks that its victim is at its


    weakest. At its most vulnerable. When de victim doesn''t suspect a thing. Dat is when the anaconda


    moves in and wraps itself around its victim before it swallows de victim whole. Dat is exactly what has


    been happening here. You all have been sized up."


    "We need to kill these niggas and quick!" Marvin whipped out his pistol.


    "No, no, wait until the musices back on, then we''ll plug them both." vell said before turning to


    the two white men. "Maybe you two were right; doing business with foreigners ain''t very smart."


    "We need to shoot them now!" Nita all of the sudden exploded from her table with her gun drawn.


    "Cool out, girl!" Lucius struck back. "It''s probably an electrical short or something!"


    Without notice, Akoni got up from out of her chair and just stood. vell, Nita, Marvin and Lucius


    immediately all pointed their weapons at the woman.


    "Sit your ass back down!" vell screamed.


    But the woman would not obey themand; instead, she simply lifted her dress up and over her head


    revealing herpletely naked body before the entire crowd.


    "What the fuck is this?" Marvin shrieked.


    "These motherfuckers are high!" vell hollered.


    Akoni''s body began to tremble before she threw back her head and started to moan, sounding as


    though she were in agony.


    Turning to Arthur, vell stammered, "What the fuck is she doing?"


    But everyone was far too busy paying attention to Akoni to notice that Arthur''s eyes had turned


    completely white all of the sudden. A hissing noise soon came from out of his mouth. Slobbering fangs


    began to extend as did his fingernails that were rapidly turning into ws.


    "Fuck this!" One of the white men yelled before rushing to the door and trying desperately to open it,


    only to find that it was seemingly locked tight; it wouldn''t budge for anything. "We can''t get out!" The


    other man sniveled.


    But all everyone else could do was stand and watch as Arthur ripped his own clothes off before


    dropping to the floor in a heap.


    "Fuck this," vell relented. "Shoot these motherfuckers!"


    At once, guns fired at the two, but something just wasn''t right. Rather than sumb to the effects of


    the bullets, the two foreigners'' facial and bodily features changed right before their eyes.


    "What are they doing?" vell continued to shoot. Lucius and Marvin took off for the door, but much


    like for their Caucasian counterparts, the door would not open for them either.


    "What''s with the door?" Marvin screamed at the top of his lungs.


    Completely out of bullets, Nita slowly stumbled backwards until her back hit the wall. Then, while


    witnessing the entire transformation, which in her eyes was both terrifying and fascinating all at once,


    she dropped her gun to the floor and murmured in a dull lisp, "I always knew this would happen."


    ***


    "Just give me a moment, ya''ll!" Jimmy urged everyone through the microphone. "We''ll have the music


    back up in a second!"


    The crowd was entirely too restless to be contained. Jimmy frantically fiddled and fumbled with one


    button after another at the turntable. But after so much trying, a sound began to erupt from the speaker.


    At once, Jimmy''s stomach that had been lodged down into his knees gradually picked right back up.


    "Here ites, everyone!" He excitedly announced.


    At once, the crowd of agitated dancers pped and cheered, that is until a type of music they weren''t


    ustomed to hearing started to y. The Mama''s and Papa''s'', ''Words of Love,'' just happened to be


    the selection. That alone sent the crowd not only into a frenzy, but also moring out the door.


    "Come on, ya''ll, give me one moment!" Jimmy pleaded before looking down at young Sammy and


    saying, "Man, go downstairs and check in the fuse room to see if any of the fuses are off!"


    At once, Sammy rushed off towards the basement door. Past the door the boy headed down the stairs


    and walked on until he saw the first door to his right. He opened the door and right away saw the fuse


    box.


    The boy examined each and every fuse that appeared to be working just fine. No sooner had he


    finished, a ruckus caught his attention; that ruckus wasing from clear down at the other end of the


    hallway.


    Leaving the fuse box wide open, Sammy skittishly began down the hallway towards the door at the


    end. He was always told by his uncle not to go anywhere near the door at the end of the hallway, but


    something was pulling him towards it all the same.


    The boy drew closer and closer before hearing the sound of people screaming. Those same screams


    were followed by roars. The roars alone caused Sammy''s entire body to tense up. He stood perfectly


    still just ten feet away from the door as the roars and growls from the other end echoed out into the


    hallway. Screams and yells of "help", and "God" would not cease. The shouts were followed by bumps


    against the door, as well as ss breaking. Sammy could hear the hinges on the door begin toe


    loose, that was when the child slowly began to pace backwards.


    His pace soon went from slow to fast the more he heard the angered roars and snarls of animals draw


    nearer to him. Sammy''s legs, that at one time felt stiff and unmovable, atst saw fit to awaken and


    carry the boy down the hall at a quicker pace. But before Sammy could reach the stairs, two glowing,


    orange eyes appeared before him.


    The eyes were part of what appeared to be a mist-like body that stood above the boy in the dimness of


    the hallway.


    Sammy, at once, just stopped and stared. It was all he could do, just stand in ce and be mesmerized


    by the being that seemingly dared him to make another move.


    "Man, what the hell are you doing down here?" Jimmy came tearing down the steps and straight


    through the apparition that Sammy was staring at.


    Caught up in its withering, ck mist, Jimmy swatted and swung until the mysterious fogpletely


    vanished.


    "Is there a fire down here?" He sniffed and smelled before gazing down at Sammy. "Little nigga, what


    are you doin'' down here? Did you check the fuse box? Folks are leaving!"


    But Sammy would not speak or move, he just stood with the most wide-eyed scowl on his face, as if he


    were about to cry.


    Jimmy grabbed Sammy by the shoulders and shook him. "What''s the matter with you?" He yelled into


    the boy''s face. "What are—


    Just then, something from the other end of the door at the end of the hallway crashed. It sounded like a


    crane exploding through a brick wall.


    Jimmy released Sammy before taking his nine millimeter from out of his back pocket and carefully


    proceeding down towards the door. The second he reached the door''s knob, Jimmy paused. He waited


    and listened for any other noises that may have turned up. Then, with as much caution as he could


    muster, he twisted the knob and pushed open the door to find nothing but severed body parts, blood


    and a hole where one of the walls used to be.


    Sammy crept up behind Jimmy. The two of them stood in mouth-dropping awe at the death that was so


    lavishly presented to them.


    From one corner of the room to the other were heads, arms, legs and fingers, while stered on each


    and every remaining wall was blood; blood that even somehow managed to reach the ceiling. Guts


    Jimmy ced a shaking hand on Sammy''s shoulder, and without even looking down at the boy, he said


    under his breath, "Well, Mexico...here Ie."