“Everybody shut the fuck up!” Eddie clutched his temples. When he turned back to Hollywood he was shocked to see that not only had the man managed to free himself, but was charging in his direction.
Eddie tried to raise his gun, but a swipe of Hollywood’s cast sent it flying across the room. Though Eddie considered himself a tough guy, he couldn’t fight worth a damn. Hollywood delivered a crushing blow to the side of Eddie’s head with the cast, knocking him to the ground.
“I told you that ass was done!” Hollywood snarled, slamming the cast into the side of Eddie’s head. He struck him again and again until Eddie lay motionless, with blood pooling beneath his head.
“Y’all all right?” Hollywood attended the ladies, who Eddie hadn’t bothered to tie up.
“I’m good,” Satin told him. “Sharell?” She turned to her friend, who wore a strange expression on her face.
“Something is wrong!” she gasped. There was a gush of fluid and blood spilling from between Sharell’s legs.
“She’s in labor,” Satin said, trying not to panic. “Shit, shit, shit! We gotta get her to a hospital, but how with those guys in the house?”
“No.” Sharell grabbed Satin by the shirt. “Take the Camry and go for help. Hollywood”-she turned to him-“warn Gutter. Don’t let them kill my baby!” she pleaded.
“I got you, Sharell. Just stay here. I won’t let them kill him,” Hollywood vowed, snatching up Eddie’s gun and heading for the stairs.
GUTTER BURST into the house with his gun drawn, expecting the worst, but it was surprisingly quiet. He made his way from the foyer to the living room, eyes scanning for enemies, but instead he found Pop Top, lounging on the sofa watching videos.
“What it is, homey?” Pop Top asked, not bothering to get up.
“Top, what the fuck is going on? Where is Sharell and why the hell is the door open?” He relaxed a bit seeing a friendly face, but was still alert.
“That nigga Hollywood probably forgot to lock it when he left. Why the fuck you acting so paranoid?” Pop Top asked casually. From the angle Pop Top was sitting at, Gutter couldn’t see the gun in his lap.
“Sharell didn’t sound good when she called me, so I thought something had popped off.”
“Man, you know broads be extra when they’re pregnant and missing their man. Put that damn gun away before you shoot a nigga by accident.”
Gutter still felt like something was wrong, but his friend managed to put his mind at ease enough to tuck the gun into his waistband. He was making his way to the living room when the basement door flew open and Hollywood came spilling out, with Satin on his heels.
“Gutter, it’s a setup!” Hollywood screamed, but Pop Top was already spinning on them with his gun drawn.
POP TOP opened fire with the.45, trying to lay everything in his path. He tried to murder Gutter, but Hollywood ended up taking the initial bullet, giving Gutter a fraction of a second to react. Without even thinking he clapped back with his.40, splitting Pop Top’s wig. With the traitor dead, Gutter turned his attention to Hollywood.
“Wood, talk to me?” Gutter cradled his head in his hands.
“I promised her I wouldn’t let them get you,” he coughed, dribbling blood down his chin. “I promised” were Hollywood’s last words before death claimed him.
“Wood?” Gutter shook him. “Hollywood!” he shouted his comrade’s name over and over, but he was gone. “Not another one,” Gutter whispered.
“Oh, God no,” Satin sobbed, startling Gutter.
“Where’s Sharell?” Gutter snapped.
“She’s in the basement… her water broke.”
“I gotta get to her.” Gutter stood.
“No, there’s more of them in the house!”
No sooner than the words were out of her mouth the window behind Gutter shattered. He looked up and saw three men he didn’t recognize barreling down the stairs. Rolling across the living room, Gutter blasted the first invader, sending him spilling down the stairs. Another man pushed open the kitchen door, and was rewarded with a bullet to the chest, sending him flying back the way he came.
“Get out of here!” he barked at Satin, as he laid another man down. The war was on and he had no intentions on taking prisoners.
GUTTER BACKED up, still firing the automatic pistol. It seemed like for every man he dropped three more took his place. The door suddenly imploded as the enemies, who were now surrounding the house, sprayed it. Among them he could see Major Blood, smiling triumphantly. It was a smile Gutter fully intended to wipe off his face.
Hollywood lay on his back staring vacantly at the ceiling. If it weren’t for the quarter-sized hole in his chest, he could’ve passed for someone who was just thinking. The whole time he had been down with Harlem he had pledged his life to the set and his reward was to die young, leaving a beautiful corpse. The house seemed to be swarming with enemies and he would be overrun unless reinforcements arrived soon.
“Just a few more minutes,” he whispered, tearing into his enemies.
chapter 45
SATIN MADE a mad dash through the kitchen, almost slipping in a puddle of blood left by the man Gutter had killed. The house was covered in it. Some were from the enemy, but most of it was from Hollywood, who had died trying to protect them. The dead man, still clutching his gun, stared at her through vacant eyes, while she fumbled through the kitchen drawer for the car keys.
The air was filled with the sounds of gunfire and screams of the dead, but she tried not to focus on it. She felt bad abandoning Sharell, but there wasn’t much she could do for her considering all that was going on. Her best was to go for help and hope that Gutter could hold out until she got back. Even though he was waging a losing war, Gutter refused to give up.
After finding the keys, she broke for the garage door. The entire garage was a hot mess. Faint rays of sunshine dotted the automatic gate from the bullet holes that had almost completely shredded it. Paint and other chemicals were leaking all over the place making it almost impossible to breathe. Clasping her hand over her mouth and nose, she made her way over to Gutter’s Camry, which had also been hit up, and prayed it was still operable. God had been good to her that day because it turned over with no problem.
Outside it sounded like the additional guns had joined the fray. Whether they were friend or foe, she had no way to tell.
“COME ON, muthafuckas!” Gutter snarled. He fired two more shots at the advancing soldiers and made a dive for the couch. No sooner than he was airborne, a hail of bullets whistled through the house. He had managed to avoid most of them, but a stray caught him in the leg. Gutter crashed awkwardly to the ground, but still managed to clear the couch. Taking a minute to examine his leg he noted that the bullet seemed to have passed through it cleanly. The bum leg would tip the scales against him, as if the battle wasn’t already lopsided, but it didn’t really matter. Kenyatta Soladine was a man who was used to beating the odds.
Gutter refreshed his clip, but that was the last of his ammo. As he crawled to get a better angle on his attacker, he came across the body of Pop Top, the betrayer. He had trusted him with the life of his family and obviously Pop Top’s greed overrode his morality. Not only had he endangered the life of Gutter’s wife and unborn child, but he’d cost Hollywood his own life. Gutter vowed that Hollywood’s death would not be in vain. Summoning
