LITMIR.BIZ

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niggas’ problem? Swervo was my brother! I’ma kill them niggas!

      “All them niggas gonna die,” he growled out loud. “I put that on everything I love!”

      He grabbed the steering wheel tighter. Why did that shit go down like that? All that kept flashing in his head was the sight of a bright spark piercing Swervo’s temple and his brains coming out of the other side while the shooter looked on — smiling. Whenever Cho was alone, the event replayed in his mind. The shit still didn’t seem real. He thought back to that dreadful day in June.

      • • // • •

      It was a nice summer evening. The sun had finally set and a soft, mellow breeze accompanied the rising moon. The scene was live. Cars were bumper-to-bumper with their systems boomin’. There were no parking spaces for blocks, so the streets were jammed packed with people.

      The Midnight Madness Basketball Tournament always attracted a crowd. It was played at the Dome, an enclosed basketball court located in the heart of East Baltimore. NBA players like Sam Cassell, Carmelo Anthony, Steve Francis and Juan Dixon played alongside college ballers, and so did other hoop stars from the surrounding areas.

      It was championship time, so the who’s who in the city was in attendance. Women were dressed like they were going to the club. It didn’t seem much like people were coming to actually watch a basketball game. It was more like a block party.

      Pimp’s team had made the championship. They were playing against Steve Francis’ team from DC. The Baltimore/DC rivalry was intense. Even though Baltimore and DC were just 45 minutes apart, there wasn’t much love between the two cities. Each had to prove its dominance over its counterpart in every way imaginable, and today’s stage was the basketball court.

      The game had begun and it was a battle early on. Steve Francis seemed to dominate. Pimp had a few flashy dunks but by halftime, DC was up by 8 points.

      DJ Nelly Nell rocked the crowd during halftime. Cho and Swervo went out to mingle and meet some new faces. As they walked through the crowd speaking to familiar people and shaking hands, they came across Leroy, a short, slick-talking dude from Monument Street with a mouth full of gold teeth and a lisp that made him spit when he talked.

      “A yo, what sup wit’ chall nigguz?” he asked, giving them both a pound.

      “Ain’t nuttin, just checkin out the whores,” Swervo replied.

      “Yeah, it’s a lot of bitches out tonight. You should see these two I just got. I’ma have me a long night, you hear me!” Leroy said, grinning ear to ear. “But I’m about to hit this dice game so I’ma get up wit’chall later.”

      “Dice game… where?” Swervo loved to shoot dice. He felt like it was his calling. He swore that his stroke was the best in the city. How could there be a dice game and he not know about it?

      “Down the street in Odesa Court. You comin’?”

      “Yeah… come on, Cho. Let’s get this money.”

      Odesa Court was an apartment complex that was separated from the Dome by a baseball field. The three of them walked down the street, admiring the scenery of lovely ladies waiting for the second half of the game to begin.

      When they reached Odesa Court, they approached the huge crowd of people huddled in front of one of the apartment buildings. Cho surveyed the entire area. Most of the faces were familiar and if something popped off, there were four ways to run. He was strapped and wanted to stay on point. Swervo was strapped too, but his mind was on the dice game. They greeted everyone they knew and Swervo got in the game. Cho side betted, but his main concern was watching Swervo’s back.

      Initially, Swervo was losing. But out of nowhere he got hot, hitting 12 points straight, betting everyone around the board before he crapped out. Then everybody else crapped out, and he had the dice back within minutes. He hit eight more points. He was throwing all types of numbers, and his concentration never left the dice.

      Leroy was side betting with Swervo and was talking cold cash shit. Swervo hit another point. He went around the board collecting his earnings, then stooped down and started to school the dice. Cho won too and was getting his winnings from the guys that he bet when he felt his phone vibrate. It was Pimp.

      “Damn! Where the fuck y’all at? The game is over,” Pimp said.

      Cho looked at his watch. Damn. Time flew. They had been gambling for over an hour. “Man, Swervo down here striking the shit out these niggas. We in Odesa. Hurry up so you can get some of this money… oh yeah, who won the game?” Cho asked while putting his cash together.

      “They did. I had 28 and 11 though.”

      “That’s cool. I’ll see you in a minute.” Cho had his phone resting on his shoulder. He put his money in his pocket and moved to put his cell back on his hip when he realized his phone clip had fallen. In the few seconds it took to bend down and pick it up, he heard Swervo say, “What the fuck?”

      Before Cho could pull out his nine, a nigga had a Glock .40 to the back of Swervo’s head.

      “Don’t none of you niggas move! Y’all know what time it is!” he grunted. At the same time, three more guys pulled out and started shoving their guns in niggas’ faces.

      “Everybody kick that shit out! We don’t wanna hurt nobody,” one of them shouted. So many dudes had been coming and going from the dice game that Cho hadn’t paid these muthafuckers any attention.

      “Kick all that shit out! What? Y’all think this shit a game?” another dude yelled as he hit one of the gamblers across his head with the butt of his .45.

      They took everybody’s cash and jewels. Somebody had to put them on this game, Cho thought. He tried to be slick and just hand them a few dollars out of his pocket that he had grabbed quickly. It worked. There were so many people that they didn’t have the time or the manpower to search everyone thoroughly. They didn’t even feel his gun. These niggas is amateurs.

      Once they were satisfied with their take, they signaled to the guy who had the gun to Swervo’s head. He hadn’t moved the whole time. He kept his eye out while the other three collected the loot. He shook his head, signaling them back.

      He whispered to Swervo, “Nigga, you coming with us” and jerked him as he started walking backwards, using Swervo’s body as a shield between him and the people standing around. “If anybody tries anything, I’ma push this nigga’s shit back!” he yelled. He never took his eyes off of the crowd. Cho was keeping his eye on the robber, though, just waiting for the right time to pull out. He wasn’t trying to chance Swervo getting shot.

      As they exited from the opposite side of the court where Cho, Swervo and Leroy had entered earlier, the robber broke out in a big smile. They had made a successful heist and were about to get away cleanly, but something came over him. He felt powerful, a power that he felt so often after the completion of a robbery. The rush of having another man’s life in the palm of his hand and being the master of that man’s destiny — sometimes it got the best of him and sometimes it didn’t. This time, the rush overwhelmed him and he pulled the trigger.

      Everything started to move in slow motion. Cho saw the spark and watched chunks of Swervo’s brain exit the opposite side of his head. He tried to yell “No!,” but nothing came out. He ran towards the robber, letting off shot after shot. Others began to shoot, as well. But the stick up boys managed to get away.

      Cho stood over Swervo’s lifeless body. He was speechless. He couldn’t believe it. This shit can’t be real, he thought.

      He wanted to stay but the hot gun in his hand brought him back to reality. Swervo was dead and Cho had to flee the scene. He looked at Swervo one last time.

      “I love you, my nig.” And he ran off.

      The shots were heard for blocks and everyone who had been playing the let out for the basketball game was now running to their cars in a panic. There was complete mayhem. Police were monitoring the area but because of the heavy

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