Chapter 56 - going back to the hood (Part 4) - Decision

Once we reach there, seems like Mariam and Amin is here as well including Hardware. Mariam look really pissed and she said to me

“That bitch!! She doesn’t even want to talk to me!!”

“Uh huh…” this is not a good idea, when Damien is around.

“Hey Mar…just stay here with Mika got it.?” Mariam is curious

“Is Damien here?”

“Yeah…”

“Hey Hardware”

“yeah?”

“Do you bring that gun?”

“Yeah…but that is crazy a shotgun?”

“Yeah…I’m pretty sure he is not alone…”

Mariam hold my shoulder

“Just don’t get crazy got it…”

“Yeah bro…just watch your back…”

“Thanks, Mika, Hardware look after them for me”

They nod and I went in.

The place, there is no once wanted to take it, overgrown ivy, and plants have taken the place. That remains of the destruction still lingers.

Once I reach at the main living room, where there was once a spectacular view of LA itself, now Damien is sitting down at the place where he always hangs around.

“Yo homie…” Damien greeted me

“Yo…” I sat where I always be standing on the side of the wall. It was a short pause, I know that the emotions and feeling that I have right now, it painful to remember when Darrel died just in front of this room itself.

“Funny right homie…that time, I felt its just a dream….”

“Yeah…it did….”

“Just want to know who is that hot chick that always with you in Malaysia?”
“that’s Sylvia…”

“Homie, she is a keeper…just like Nat…”

“Yeah…I know….”

“Damn homie…you getting better with your life….”

“homie…you getting close homie….just let it go….”

Damien stand up, and holding a gun to his arm.

“Thats a nice gun with you….”

“that is some crazy piece of equipment you have there…” we both laugh and Damien said to me

“I just found out that part when Darrel was a scapegoat, and I found out that the one that we trying to take down and everyone in this damn town is a part of it…” 102 was a really dangerous group, we basically rule this town.

“Homie…you know people doesn’t want us to, Darrel understand that you know…”

“Its just that its not fair, when all of our guys is not spare from that day but we survive…”

“And lived to tell the tale!!! Homie there is some of our guys still living until today!! What the hell homie, Darrel wanted us a better life and let it go!!!”

“Then!! What about you, you said yourself, that you wanted closure here!!”

“But not like this homie!!! Come on homie!! Not like this!!”

“You getting weak homie!!! That bitch Nat really change you homie, you were cold blooded like a real killer!!!”

“What the hell this part you wanted to say!!? What the hell is going on now homie!!!! You got a new life and what the hell you throwing that all the way!!!! What do you think Darrel going to see this!!!” Suddenly a thunder and its raining now, I could feel Darrel is crying now.

Damien look at the skies with thunder and lightning, he said to me

“Remember what Darrel said to us when we are not in an agreement…” I just wanted to settle this not dragging for this.

“Yeah I remember, settle with your fist and your guns” he is really wanted to settle it.

“This is the wild west homie…both of us are like outlaws…a cowboy eh…” he is arming his gun. He really is aiming that gun to a duel. I’m getting ready my gun and in an instant I take the shot but I realise something piercing my chest and my gut…I’ve got shot.. sonava… that really pissed me.

“You really wanted to do this homie!!”

“Damn homie…that shot will knock some guys out but you still bleeding and going…” I took my shotgun and fired at him. We take the shot like those gun slingers fighting. We both looked at eye to eye but I know that I’m at disadvantage because I can’t kill him, and I’m not going to kill him.

“Homie there is only one way, take that shot to my head…” I shot at his arm but he avoid the shot and shot again at my arm. Then I lunge at him and knock his head, and punch his face. But with my body bleeding and my vision is getting blurry. I can’t beat him, this is the first time that I really can’t beat him.

“Come on homie!!! Where is the mad dog that I know!!!” He keep punching and beating me down. It was an obvious where would be the fight will be.

“I don’t think you going to fight back, just go to hospital homie…” shit I can’t move a muscle, damn I’m bleeding right now. My vision is blurry. I’m getting sleepy.

“Yo Homie!! You still damn weak man!!”

“Shut up!!!” This part of this is when we both are training for who will be the best. I always know that Damien is better in a fight than me, I’m just good in surviving rather than getting it done.

“Hey guys!! That’s not how you homie getting it done!! Settle it with a mind that you wanted to convince…” Darrel..I remember that part

“Hey Alex…you are the only one that Damien could listen to”

“You know that he is not the type to listen, he is getting better at fighting compared to me”

“But you are tougher than him…listen Alex….when the time when Damien is getting lost from his path, drag him homie, drag him back to the right track….”

I woke up, and I’m in my crib…Mariam is with me, Amin is resting. Looks like they are resting. Mika is resting really close to me.

“Hey Alex…thank god you manage to survive that…what happen?”

“I can’t convince him, my voice didn’t reach him..dammit..”

“That was a lucky miss…Damien purposely miss your internal organs its just a flesh wound”

“Yeah I know…”

“But I know something really happen right?”

“…….”

“Damien wanted to die, right?”

“Yeah….he wanted to kill all those that involved and betray Darrel then kill himself…that asshole, he doesn’t look at me”

Damn my arm still hurt.

“Looks like you manage to lived eh kid…” that voice, I turn around its Detective Tracy.

“I told you not to get involved with this kid…”

“like I will ignored a buddy that is trying to kill himself…”

“Its that so…anything that he wanted to do again?”

“Mr Tracy, remember you told me if anything that you need help, I’ll pitch in right?”

“Yeah…what about it?”

“Damien is on a warpath of being a vigilante, his path is killing but my path is stopping him…”

Mr Tracy smile at me and suddenly someone entered the room. Its Mr Hawk!

“Mr Hawk..!”

“Hey Cheveyo..damn son, that Damien really hurt you…but its nothing right?”

“Yeah…I can’t stop him with normal means…he has to be stop, I ain’t giving up on him”

“Yeah, I know plus thanks for saving my daughter…”

Mariam and Mika wakes up, Mika took my arm while Mariam greet Mr Hawk.

“Uncle Hawk!!”

“Hey Mar!! Nice to meet you again…and may I know who is this young lady?”

“Ummm another candidate of Alex….” Don’t get it worst Mar!!

“Hahahaha that’s my boy…he is getting close to being a man”

“Stop it, she is just a friend of mine that I help”

“Nah just joking with ya, Naomi told me about her, so about Nat…”

“I’m not ready yet to me her…I need to save Damien…if I want to save Nat…”

Mr Hawk smile at me and hold my shoulder.

“Son…unlike Damien, you have something that he doesn’t have…”

“……..” what would that be?

“Friends, comrades look around you the people that you save…”

“……”

“I know why Puan Mas believed in you….don’t forget why I called you Cheveyo…”

“……yeah….” I stand up and I agreed with Mr Tracy proposal

“Looks like we’re going to work together with the cops this time…” Hardware were kind of awkward about this but with all of this problem.

“Good, and one thing ‘Soro’ is around…he has a target as well, and Maruk sent me a message ‘that kid ain’t gonna kill anyone, at least this will help you slow things down with dangerous people”

“Soro eh….i rather not wanted to meet him…”

“I could relate…..he is like the death reaper himself…but someone wanted to talk to you…”

“That is pretty lame fight there…” it’s Soro

“Shut up…”

“I’m taking down, the big guns that has connection with Damien’s target, you just make sure that Damien of your’s is not my prey…or else”

“Another round?”

“Not sure after this, we’ll settle with fist…”

He hung up.

“Gives me the chills when talking to him….”

“Yeah bro, that guy is really something, he is not human…no human being could be like that….”

“Anyway, what did I miss?”

“Well you have asleep for the whole day…that dinner luckily have been postpone, after that incident that had with Damien, he took another target and this time is the leader of the De Santo Gang, seems the gang now in chaos…I’m running out of ideas”

“I remember what he said something about the whole town itself is the traitors…”

“Whole town….that’s it!!” Mr Tracy seem found out something. And he open his files

“Damn man, why I don’t figure this out!!” Seems like the Mayor of LA itself Mayor Samuel Kingston. Wait a minute shit!!

“Damn, Kingston….Stone…..its Boulder!? Sonava he is the traitor!!”

“What the hell is going on?”

“Boulder is one of the 2 digit number of 102 gangs..dammit why don’t remember him before?”

“Then you are?”

“I was called 13th…”

“Uh huh…kinda of a big shot then…” Mr Tracy is teasing me.

Mariam suddenly hug me again

“You stupid!! Just don’t do that again how the hell am I suppose to answer to Nat again!! Wa!!”

“Jezz Mar, I’m not dead yet!!”

“Huah!!! I’m tired” Mariam pull Amin and Mika out from the meeting.

“Thanks Mar…” Mariam wink at me

“Mr Hawk I wonder….”

“Yeah?”

“What did Damien talk to you about?”

“he was looking at some files about connection of the heroin transaction, which is related to my research for drug issue in LA”

“Uh huh…”

“Then he suddenly warn me about….”

“What?”

“Tell Alex to stay out of the way…or else Nat is next” that really blowing my top.

“Well then now most of the target is connected, he must preparing again for the next target”

I remember Darrel taught something. “You have something that Damien don’t have”

“I’ve got an idea but its going to be big though…”

“Yeah?”

“But I need your help if I could make this happen…”

“Yeah? What about it?” Lucky this takes months

“Seems like I need to clean LA by convincing all of the gangs to side with me…”

“Ummm how the hell you plan to make it happen?” Mr Tracy could not believed what I’m going to do. But Mr Hawk understand what am I planning

“Try to check the crime rates and occurring within the place where Damien take out the target…”

“Uh huh….damn….so you mean…”

“Yeah, by uniting all those gangs and change them to be the people of the community…”

“Then start here in Compton then…”

“Yeah…”

“So this is your decision then? By leading by example?”

“yeah…”

“Then what about Soro?”

“I rather not getting involved with him….”

“Yeah, good then the LAPD will work with you then…”

We both shake hands and I wanted to talk with Mr Hawk.

“Mr Hawk…”

“Yeah?”

“I found it…”

“What the dream that you face?”

“Yeah…its horrifying….”

“She is into cloning right?”

“Yeah….”

“But she does regrets it right?”

“Yeah…its just that…I’ve got a feeling that I’ve been modified..”

“No Alex, you are genuine is just that the method that your mom use on you is the one that I worried about…”

“yeah…”

“You know what Alex…”

“Yeah?”

“I could see in Nat’s face, she look really upset and explaining to me about when she found out that you did not respond to her…”

“…..”

“I trust you son…there is something within you that Nat was drawn with anyway…but when are you going to meet her?”

“Uh…I’m not ready yet….”

“Same dumb head like Nat…” huh

“She is also was not ready to meet you as well…”

“She did huh…”

“Yep, anyway get rested, I’m glad that you are safe…Damien’s dad beg you to saved him…”

“I plan to…”

Mr Hawk hug me and leave the my crib. But now I have a problem, with Mar and Mika took my bed, Amin took my couch now I have to sleep on this damn stretcher…