Animal 2 (20 page)

“You OK?” Ashanti rushed to Fatima to check her injuries, which he was thankful to see were minor, but she was terribly shaken up.

“Yeah, I'm fine, baby,” Fatima said, allowing Ashanti to help her to her feet.

“You've got more lives than a cat,” Ashanti said to his mentor.

“I guess that's a blessing for you. Seems like I'm always saving your ass.” Animal embraced Ashanti. “Did you miss me?”

“Fuck no, I was just getting used to the title of being the hardest nigga alive,” Ashanti joked.

“Wait, is this Animal?” Fatima asked in wide-eyed shock. She had heard many tales of the brokenhearted killer, but seeing him in the flesh was surreal.

Animal greeted her with a nod. “The one and only.”

“I heard you were dead,” Fatima said.

“I get that a lot.” Animal cracked a half smile. “We can exchange pleasantries later. Right now, we need to get gone before the police come.” A flicker of movement caught his eye. “Move.” He shoved Ashanti and Fatima out of the way, just as several bullets tore through the floor between them.

Ty came from behind the smoky wreckage of the motorcycle, armed with Chess's abandoned machine gun, letting off shots. “You fucked up putting your nose where it don't belong, stranger.” He let off another burst, sending Animal scrambling for cover behind a crate. “Before I kill you and this bitch nigga you tried to save, why don't you tell me who you are so I can make sure they spell your name right on your tombstone?”

Animal popped up from behind the crate, holding his Pretty
Bitches. “The name is Animal, cocksucker.” He fired twice. The first bullet hit the motorcycle's gas tank, soaking Ty's clothes in gasoline. The second one struck the ground, igniting the flammable liquid.

Ty danced like an extra in Michael Jackson's “Thriller” video as the flames licked his skin. He crashed into a pile of boxes, setting them and the wall on fire. Hungrily, the flames ate at the side of the warehouse and began nipping at the ceiling.

Animal stood over the suffering Ty and shook his head sadly. “Ashes to ashes, muthafucka,” he said, before putting two bullets in Ty's head and taking him out of his misery.

“See what you get for fucking with a real nigga!” Ashanti shouted at Ty's corpse.

“Stop playing, and let's get the fuck outta here. I gotta get back to Gucci,” Animal told him.

“Where is she?” Ashanti asked.

“Somewhere she shouldn't be, and I don't wanna leave her there alone longer than I have to. Let's make a move.” Animal led them to the warehouse door. The three of them left the burning warehouse like they had the devil on their heels. As soon as they made it out into the night air, they were blinded by flashing red and blue lights.

“This is the police. Get your fucking hands up!” someone shouted through a bullhorn. There were so many flashing lights that there was no way to tell how many of them were out there. It was clear that there would be no escape this time.

“Oh, shit, it's the boys!” Ashanti shouted.

“What are we gonna do?” Fatima asked nervously.

“I ain't going back in a cage for nobody. Die, pigs!” Animal raised his Pretty Bitches and started dumping at the police.

•  •  •

As soon as Alvarez and Brown pulled up to the front of the warehouse, they spotted the dead body lying outside the door. “What the fuck?” Brown said.

“Call it in,” Alvarez told his partner. While Brown made the call, Alvarez leaned over the backseat. He undid one of Zo's handcuffs and chained him to the door. “In case you get any big ideas,” he told him before getting out of the car.

Slowly, the two detectives crept toward the body, guns drawn and alert for danger. Brown kneeled down beside the boy . . . or what was left of him. His face had been ripped apart by what looked like tire treads. From inside, they could hear a machine gun rattling off, which sent them scrambling back to the safety of their car.

“Fuck that, I'm not going in there until backup comes,” Brown said.

“Now, that's something we can agree on,” Alvarez replied.

As if in answer to their prayers, the first of several blue-and-white units came screeching to a halt near their car. The two detectives straightened themselves and went to meet the uniformed officers.

“There's a possible homicide suspect inside, and I'm not sure how many people he's with or what's going on. What I do know is that they're working with some heavy fire, so proceed with caution. Fan out and surround the building,” Brown told them. He was the senior officer on the scene and therefore the one in charge.

The officers did as they were told. Within a few minutes, the building was surrounded by a sea of blue uniforms. The two
detectives led a handful of the officers toward the warehouse entrance, ready to go in. Suddenly, the doors burst open, and three people came rushing out.

“This is the police. Get your fucking hands up!” a bullhorn blared. The spotlights illuminated the fugitives.

Just as Brown and Alvarez had suspected, Ashanti was at the center of the disturbance, but when they saw who he was with, both of their jaws dropped.

“Is that Animal?” Alvarez asked, in shock.

“Still think I'm crazy?” Brown raised his gun. He'd been trying to tell his partner for years that he didn't believe the young killer had truly perished in the shootout that had almost claimed all three of their lives, but he was always dismissed as being obsessed.

“I'll never doubt your gut again, partner,” Alvarez told him. “I say this time we put him down for good,” he whispered.

“That's cold-blooded murder,” Brown pointed out.

Just then, Animal opened fire and sent them running for cover. The detectives ducked behind a patrol car as bullets ripped through the hood.

Alvarez looked at his partner. “It doesn't seem like he's going to give us a choice. Let's end this once and for all.” He came up from behind the patrol car and opened fire.

•  •  •

Animal stood there, showing no fear, lighting up police cars and officers. His face was hard and determined as he blasted cop after cop. Ashanti was in a state of shock when Animal opened up on the police. Shooting out with cats in the streets was one thing, but this was the law! He was being pulled to the point of no return.

“Fuck it,” Ashanti said, and fired the .357. He had wasted most of his bullets trying to fight Ty and his men off, so it wasn't long before the .357 clicked empty. “I'm out!” he shouted, tossing the empty gun.

“Get inside the warehouse,” Animal ordered, blowing the leg off a uniformed officer who was trying to creep in on his left.

“The building is on fire,” Ashanti pointed out.

“You've got a better chance in there than you do out here,” Animal said, ducking a bullet that whizzed past his ear. He returned fire, knocking down the cop who'd shot at him. “Go, Ashanti!”

“What about you?” Ashanti asked.

“Like you said, I've got more lives than a cat. Get inside. I'll be right behind you,” Animal told him.

Ashanti didn't want to leave Animal's side, but he knew he'd be more of a distraction than a help, standing there defenseless. He grabbed Fatima by the hand and led her back inside the burning warehouse.

The dozens of police officers on the scene provided Animal with more than enough targets, but he was focused on two in particular. He let off the Pretty Bitches, trying to tear Brown's and Alvarez's heads off, but they managed to make it to the safety of a patrol car. He had spared the detectives' lives when he'd had the opportunity to kill them, and they repaid him by constantly hunting him. The game between them was going to end that night.

Alvarez popped up from behind the car and took a shot at Animal, but his fear kept him from aiming, so the shot went high. Animal returned fire with two shots of his own. There
was a thunderous sound, and Animal moved just before a spray of buckshot tore up the ground where he'd been standing. Animal returned fire, backing up toward the warehouse entrance.

Coming to Ashanti's rescue had taken Animal out of the frying pan and put him into the fire. He was outmanned, outgunned, on the losing end of the fight, and he knew it. He could hold the police off for a while, but it would only be a matter of time before they were all overrun and killed. After all the things he'd done, Animal knew that there was no way the police were going to take him alive, and even if they wanted to, he wasn't going out like that. He would rather die than spend the rest of his life in a cage and away from Gucci.

Someone grabbed Animal from behind and pulled him deeper inside the warehouse. He had expected it to be Ashanti and was surprised when he was confronted by his father. He was holding Fatima around the neck, with his hand over her mouth. At his feet lay Ashanti.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Animal asked.

“It would seem I'm saving the lambs from the slaughter,” Priest told him. “You just couldn't resist disobeying me, could you?”

“I couldn't leave my homie,” Animal told him. He looked down at Ashanti's body. “Is he dead?”

“No, just unconscious. He was a bit unnerved about my presence, so I had to subdue him,” Priest explained. “It's bad enough that you three knuckleheads are trying to get yourselves killed at every turn, but you're involving innocent people in your bullshit.”

“Three?” Animal was confused.

“I'll explain later. We haven't got much time.” Priest released Fatima. From his robe, he pulled a small black box. He placed the box against one of the shelves and punched in a series of numbers that started a countdown.

“What is that?” Animal asked suspiciously.

“A fuck-you present from us to the police. Always leave your enemies with a fuck-you present. Now, pick Ashanti up so we can go. We haven't much time,” Priest told him.

“How the fuck are we going to get out of here? There are police crawling all over this place,” Animal said.

Priest simply smiled. “The Black Lotus will provide us with the window we need. Just be ready to move when I say so.”

•  •  •

“We've got them trapped,” Brown said excitedly. For years, he had dreamed of the moment when they would finally take Animal down.

“Move in!” yelled a beefy police sergeant dressed in a bulletproof vest and a cheap suit. The moment he poked his head up from behind the car, it exploded.

“What the fuck?” Alvarez shouted as pieces of the sergeant's brain splattered on his leather jacket.

The night air was suddenly filled with low whistling, as high-caliber slugs tore through police cars and flesh. The officers who were foolish enough to try to run away were cut to pieces, while the others huddled behind cars and whispered silent prayers that they would live through the firefight.

“Sniper!” someone yelled.

“As if this shit could get any worse,” Brown said, creeping around the car and out of the way of the sniper fire.

No sooner had the words left his mouth than the warehouse exploded, knocking him off his feet.

•  •  •

Brown wasn't sure how long he'd been unconscious. He was awakened by a paramedic shining a light in his eyes and asking him if he knew his name and where he was. He saw Alvarez talking to their captain, standing behind the paramedic.

“What the fuck happened?” Brown sat up.

“We got our asses kicked,” Alvarez told him. “How you feeling, partner?”

“Like shit.”

“That means you're feeling about how you look,” Alvarez joked.

“Did we get him?” Brown asked. When he saw the look on his partner's face, he knew the answer. “How the fuck did he get away?”

“When the building blew, he slipped away in the chaos. We thought we might've gotten lucky when we found some bodies in the wreckage, but none of them was Animal or Ashanti.”

“That's one slippery little fucker. Well, at least we got Zo-Pound. I want to put the screws to him personally,” Brown said.

“We
had
Zo-Pound,” Alvarez corrected him.

“What do you mean,
had
?”

Alvarez held up the empty handcuffs. “I guess his last name really
was
Houdini.”

“Nigga, we gladiators, and there are only two ways out of the arena: on a stretcher as a corpse or on the shoulders of your comrades in victory.”

—Lakim

A
NIMAL HAD BARELY CROSSED THE
threshold of the church when Gucci threw herself into his arms and hugged him as tight as she could. “Thank God,” she breathed into his neck. The whole time he was gone, she had feared the worst. When she heard the news broadcast on the radio about the shooting, it didn't help. Although they didn't mention anyone by name, she knew in her heart it had something to do with Animal. “I thought I'd never see you again.”

“I told you that I'm back for good. I ain't going nowhere this time,” Animal promised her.

Gucci looked past Animal and noticed Ashanti, with a guy and a girl she didn't recognize. The girl looked frightened, but the dude looked confused.

“ 'Sup, sis.” Ashanti hugged Gucci tightly. The last time he saw her, she was in a hospital bed, fresh out of a coma.

“What's up, lil' bro? I see you still can't keep yourself out of trouble.” Gucci returned his embrace. “Who are your friends?”

“That's my man Zo—he nodded at Alonzo—“and this is Fatima.” He pulled her to his side. “She's my girlfriend.”

Gucci was surprised. “Your what? My goodness, how long was I in that coma?” she teased.

Kahllah entered the church, looking worn and tired. In her arms, she cradled a Barrett M82. She gave Animal and Gucci a look but didn't say anything when she passed them. She disappeared somewhere in the back of the church, slamming the door behind her hard enough to rattle the already-broken stained-glass windows.