Dirty Work: Part 1

“He came to me in my dream. He was trying to tell me something, something he felt I needed to know,” Kid told them.

Both men were baffled by his comment. It was the saddest day of their lives.

Kid looked away for a moment and wiped the tears from his eyes. He then collected himself. “Who did it, and why? I want to know everything.”

Kid listened intently as Papa John went into detail about everything, first saying to him that it was Maserati Meek who murdered his brother, that there was a shootout and Kip died with a gunshot wound to his neck. He then explained how Kip came up with the idea to rob money from the drop. He talked about Maserati Meek and how he could never be trusted. Papa John brought up Jay P and the failed hit, the murders they did, the money. He didn’t hold anything back. He felt that he owed it to Kid to tell the whole truth.

“Kip died in war,” Papa John stated.

Kid sat there listening with an expressionless look, taking it all in. His brother lived a thug’s life to the fullest. It was no shock to him, though. Kip took plenty of risks, but at the end, it cost him his life.

“We gonna find Maserati Meek, Kid, and we gonna body that nigga. I promise you that,” Devon finally spoke. And it was a promise he planned on keeping. “It might take some time, ’cuz that nigga got an army and now he’s on point. But sit tight; we got this.”

Suddenly, Kid stood up tall and healthy on both his legs, balled his fingers into a tight fist, and slammed it into the wall, creating a gaping hole.

“What the fuck, yo!” they exclaimed together.

Devon asked with bewilderment, “Nigga, you can stand?”

“Kid, what kind of freak shit is this?”

“Kid, you need to tell us somethin’. Start talkin’, man, ’cuz”—Devon shook his head quickly—“I’m fuckin’ freakin’ right now.”

“I’ll explain later, but now, we hunt down the man that murdered my brother and we make him pay. I want him and everything close to him to suffer,” Kid said.

Devon and Papa John stared at him in a trance. Just a moment ago, he was a disabled, chess-playing nerd who read books and played video games. Listening to him talk, they figured his brother’s death had momentarily made him go crazy.

“Kid, what are you talkin’ ’bout? You ain’t built for this shit,” Devon said. “Trust me, bruh.”

Kid shot back, “Don’t tell me what I’m built for, Devon. You have no fuckin’ clue who I am and what I’m about.”

“We lost Kip. We not tryin’ to lose you too,” Papa John said.

“Don’t worry about me; I know how to handle mine. This entire time y’all thought y’all were looking out for me, I was the one looking out for y’all—especially Kip.”

Both men were clueless. He definitely was going crazy. Maybe that’s how he was able to walk, by going crazy.

Kid asked, “Y’all remember Uncle Junior and his peoples?”

Devon nodded. “What about them?”

“That’s my handiwork.”

Suddenly Kid had the attention of Devon and Papa John.

“Uncle Junior was a threat to my brother, and like every other threat before and after him, they needed to go.”

“You killed Uncle Junior?” Papa John asked.

“Outside the lobby of his building in Marcy Projects, him and two other niggas,” Kid said. “And there was Jay P in Connecticut and many others. I tried my best to protect my brother. This is my fault. I should have bodied Meek a long time ago.”

When Devon asked why he remained in the wheelchair, Kid replied, “Because who would ever suspect anyone in a wheelchair?”

Kid had always planned on telling his brother that he could walk, but as time went on, he procrastinated more and more. Kid felt the day of his accident had brought them even closer together, and that Kip enjoyed being his caretaker.

Kid had started walking again five years earlier. The doctors had said his condition was permanent, but they were wrong. He did suffer from a critical spinal injury, but it wasn’t damaging enough. Therapy did help some, but his will to walk again helped him even more. Each day was a battle until finally, he could feel his toes, then his feet and shins, and he moved each piece of him slowly but surely.

Kid told Devon and Papa John everything, leaving both men in utter shock. He had been playing possum the entire time.