Page 228 of The Ninth

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.

Our feet in black Air Forces thumped softly as we ran towards the neighborhood. My eyes scanned for anybody waiting in the shadows as Duke ran and sent the go text. We ran for a hot minute, only making it to the actual neighborhood once we heard the gun fire starting. Just like we hoped, the niggas that were spread out popped out, running in that direction to help.

As we started to round an apartment building, I stopped. This caused Duke to bump into me as I pushed him back slowly. There was a gang of niggas waiting right there at the entrance, folk. I could see the back of the house down the way. We gotta go this way to get to it, which means we about to make our debut.

“Don’t die on me, bitch,” I joked to my only remaining brotha.

He chuckled, “Never that.”

I popped around the corner, shooting before my eyes could even land on the target. The switch stunned niggas before they could even get it in they mind that they needed to shoot back. Duke came up next to me, single shotting multiple niggas in they dome that dropped to the earth still alive. They laid on the ground twitching like some worms in a petri dish.

Both of us booked it right out in the open towards the house. We didn’t have the time to stand and shoot back and forth with niggas. We out here with no masks on, ready for niggas to know it’s us. If they catch wind in that house we coming, they fasho gon break away. Them the main niggas I need.

As if I jinxed it, A nigga standing against a tree two houses down peeped us. I slowed up, thinking he was going to shoot at us. Instead? The nigga dashed towards the house. His ass looked like a black flash racing to go snitch just like a funky bitch.

“I’ll get his ass,” Duke grunted, kicking into gear.

I was running full speed and this nigga still cleared me. I held hope watching the gap between the two of them close every second. This shit meant as much to me as it did him. My head nodded up and down watching him up his pistol with the silencer. As soon as folks was about to hit the backyard, Duke fired once, dropping him.

We both pressed on to the house without stopping. The body was in my path, so I just ran right over that nigga with no respect. Both of us dropped low at the same time, creeping in the shadows against the back.

The house sounded full. Niggas was constantly looking out the blinds, opening the back door and shutting it. This is definitely all of them that we needed. If I had a mothafuckin atomic bomb, I would—

“You ready, gang?”

“Yeah, c’mon.”

Duke ran around to the garage door while I went up the back steps. Multiple shadows moved across the glass. I heard several voices and many laughs. A nigga knew it deep in that mothafucka, on granny. This may be bogus as hell, but...

I tucked my pistol, quickly taking the AR off my body. As soon as the bitch was positioned in my hands, I let it go and shredded the backdoor plus the window on it.

“AGHHHH!”

“AH, SHIT! I’M HIT!”

“FUCK!”

My left foot came up, kicking the door right under the handle. As it swung open, I begun shooting again. About six niggas was waiting at the kitchen entrance, pointing at least eight blicks. One thing they gotta know about this AR is it’s going to cut through anything. They ducked back around the corner which did them no good. The bullets cut right through them walls.

I knew by now Duke made it into the big ass house. I could hear him shooting it out with several niggas. Eager to keep going, I tried to pop around a corner but had to spin right back into the kitchen. Like twenty bullets cut down the hallway, all of them almost going into my fucking body.

Quickly, I decided to switch positions. I laid against the opposite wall to face the firing squad niggas set up for me. After quickly switching clips, I stuck the AR out around the corner, dumping that mothafucka any and everywhere. One mothafucka got lucky and skimmed my knuckle with a bullet. It’ll be his only time.

Once I cleared them, I was able to move through that entire side of the house. It had two separate staircases which is why Duke and I split up.

Obviously these niggas knew we was coming and they was ready. That shit wasn’t like shooting fish in a barrel. More like bobbing for apples. I was caught off guard or almost domed more times than I liked. These niggas just couldn’t keep up.

As nerve wrecking as almost dying was, I felt nothing but joy. Each time I stepped over a nigga it was someone I was hoping was in this bitch. The nigga who had the camcorder. The niggas who really set Kenan up for the duffle bag. The two niggas that chased Cassie and Kenzie but got away. It felt like I was cleaning the streets.

Eventually, every fucking body on my side was laying still and bleeding out. I still made my way downstairs and back towards the kitchen with my pistol pointed. Ain’t no telling if a hoe ass nigga done hid to escape that. I checked every crevice of this bitch like pest control. I know Duke did the same. Speaking of.

He stood in the kitchen facing me as I crept down through the living area. Dude ain’t broke a sweat or anything. Meanwhile, I was swiping my forehead. He chuckled silently as I smiled, standing up straight and about to speak. I lowered my gun; happy this shit was over and me and my brotha were about to be on our way back to DR.

In one swift movement, a shorty in just a t-shirt came into view. She stood in the hallway right between me and my brotha. He was in the kitchen still and me coming from the family room. Her back was to me. She didn’t see me when she popped out. Her pistol was already upped before I could do so myself. She let four shots off directly into my brotha’s chest.

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.

My heart thumped loudly in my ears as my eyes widened. I watched him fall back with his arm raised. In sync, we both shot the bitch. Duke’s bullet cut through her chest as mine went through the back of her head.