Yellow Reggae

Three.

                                                                >>>>Jules.<<<<

  I watched intensely as my little sister put the pistol to one of my shotta's head. Her green eyes were angrily piercing into his peripheral as she pressed the gun deeper into his temple. The rest of the gang was at Pop's house whilst she and I handled the shotta.

  "Yuh pussyhole," Inni hissed. "Yuh think yuh can come near mi fambliy? Shooting mi bredda? Di blood?"

  I watched the shotta squirm and let out a merciful muffled moan. The sight of him begging for mercy after shooting me sickened me to the core. Inni nodded at me, gesturing for me to come and take my hits. I obliged, getting up off of the stray milk crate I was sitting on. I sent the guy a deadly glare. Quickly, I punched him with all 165 pounds of me. A pool of his blood leaked onto his clothes and onto my fist.

  "Yuh batty crease!" I spat in his face. This reminded me of a few years back. I heard him whimper. The sound of that burned me more, causing me to hit him in the Adam's Apple. I heard him choke, which made me smile, satisfied with the light work I had done. I looked at Inni, who was smirking evilly. "Finish him."

  With no hesistation, Inni blasted his brains out. I spat on him one last time before looking at my dear sister. She spat on my shotta before taking my hand to walk back to the house.

  "Who di rass sent di fool?" Inni yelled, referring to the shotta.

  "Indeed. Who sent him fi target di few of us?"

  She shrugged. "Nuh know." I shook my head. Whoever sent him out had a rude awakening once I found out who they were. "Come in, Jules! Pop's waiting fa us."

  I nodded, following my sister's lead. Of the whole family, Inni and I were the closest. We've been that way since we were children. When our mother was killed, we both realized we had no one else but each other and Pop. I loved Inni with all of my heart; especially because she reminded me of a light-skinned version of our mother with her lush black hair, piercing green eyes, deep dimples, and plump, baby pink lips. The only take-aways from her beauty is that she had my father's street mentality and she was a shotta.

  We arrived in front our townhouse in no less than few minutes. We waited onto the porch as I knocked on the door. After a second, Scorpion opened the door for us.

 "Ay, yuh back!" Scorpion greeted. He gave me dap before looking at Inni. A smirk drew along his face. "Ay, Inni. Yuh batty's on point in di jeans."

  Inni glared at him before shooing him away. "Piss off, yuh pum pum cheese!" I laughed as Scorpion crossed his arms. "I nuh like yuh!"

  "Yuh come 'round, Inni." Scorpion insisted confidently.

  I shook my head, making my way to the main room. Inni and Scorpion followed suit. Pop and all of his recruits sat around the cherry wood table. Pop stood up and gave me and Inni a joyful smile. His recruits gave me a simple nod. His latest recruits were scared of me. I couldn't blame them; although my 5'10" height was nothing compared to their 6'0" frames, I was street-hardened and they were just 16-year-old weaklings.

  "Wah gwan, mi son an' dawta?" Pop greeted, kissing Inni on the forehead and dapping me. "Did yuh handle di pickney?"

  "Yes, Pop. Mi shot him dead!" Inni exclaimed proudly. She demonstrated with her fingers how she shot the guy. "Jules got him hard twice! Jah, it looked painful."

  "Good gyal. Daddy taught yuh two well." Pop chuckled, sitting back in his vintage rocking chair. Inni and I both smiled. Pop pointed at the two vacant seats on the opposite end of the table. "Sidung."

  Inni and I sat next to Carlos, X, and Scorpion, awaiting Pop's news. Usually, if we sat in the main room, Pop had very important news pertaining to our gang-our family of shottas. I, Jules Bailey, am a shotta in Lucid, one of the many posses in Jamaica. The shotta life was no option for me, seeing as that I was born into this world where the motto is Punani, Money, Weed.

  Pop used his index finger and thumb to rub his goatee. He lit up a spliff, taking a long drag before letting the Casper-white smoke run from his lips. Pop was the Don of Lucid. He was like the Larry Hoover of Jamaica's posses. Notorious for his stealth and diabolical plans, Pop was a threat to mostly everyone. Exactly why Inni and I never got into altercations with anyone in school; we were un-fuck-with-able.

  "Di Serpents' Don has arrived in Kingston," Pop informed us. My once amused countenance turned into an agitated, angry one. I hated the Don of the Serpents. He did so much dirt to my family. He stared into my mother's eyes before killing her. All for money and power. "He come to kill mi an' take di place as di leading Don of Jamaica."

  "Dat pussyhole." I angrily hissed through gritted teeth. "We haffi kill him."

  "Indeed, son." Pop agreed. "Yuh Uncle Scotty seh Don Serpent called his henchmen fi try an' kill yuh, X, Carlos, an' Scorpion."

  My mind flashed back to the moment I saw the black car roll through the hood; how the stray bullet pierced my shoulder. How that girl frantically came to my aid. What was that girl's name? Mami? Yami? She was fucking beautiful--breathtaking, even. Kingston Beauty, I call her. It was truth; she was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen grace the streets of Kingston.

  "Christ, Jules!" I heard Inni say. I snapped out of my thoughts, looking at her. "Were yuh listening?"

  "Huh?" I said, dazed.

  "Yuh haffi stay away from Kingston. Kingston is danger zone. Sight?" Pop said, tying his dreadlocks into a ponytail. What about Kingston Beauty? There was no possible way I could not see her again.

  I sighed, waving the thought away. I barely knew her anyway. Who knows who she could be? "Sight."

  "Wait!" Inni said. "Wah 'bout Big Batty Princess? Di first tryouts are enna week!"

  "Mi sorry, mi dear Inni. Yuh may 'ave to skip out this year." Pop said to Inni.

  Inni ran over to Pop's side with a wet layer of salty tears resting at her bottom eyelid. "Pop, mi beg yuh. I know how fi fight fa mi self." Inni pleaded.

  Pop, who hates to see Inni cry, sighed loudly. He wiped away her incoming tears with his light oak colored hand. He kissed her forehead. "Mi think 'bout it, aright?"

  She smiled slightly. "Aright."

  Pop looked at the rest of us with a stern face; the face that earned his street cred in the first place. "As for unno yuh, remain skeptical. Di streets are dutty."

  In unison, we nodded. Pop took another drag of his spliff before dismissively waving us away. The recruits went home and Inni went upstairs, whilst Carlos, X, Scorpion, and I went out to the backyard with a few spliffs and bottles of Malta. X, being the hungry one, brought out a plate of oxtails.

  "Damn," Carlos said, shoving his spliff into his mouth before lighting it. "Can't believe di Don of di Serpents is here in Jamaica."

  X sipped on his Malta while chewing slowly on his oxtails. "Tell mi 'bout it. Yuh pops is gonna go wild!"

  "He is already." I replied with a long line of smoke emerging from my lips. "Yuh heard him seh he nuh want mi near Kingston nuh more."

  "Wah 'bout dat gyal back in Kingston? Dat sexy gyal dat was at yuh side?" Scorpion inquired, gulping his Malta.

  "Mi nuh know." I muttered.

  "X probably scared di gyal with di shotta ting." Scorpion chuckled. I glared at X, who shrugged nonchalantly.

  "Better if she know now dat yuh a shotta." X bluntly said, taking a hit of his spliff and sipping his Malta.

  I sighed hopelessly. Kingston Beauty, I thought to myself as I drank my Malta. I couldn't help but wonder about her. It had been four days since I met her, and somehow I couldn't get her off of my brain. Something about her intrigued me to the fullest. Maybe it was her exotic appearance; maybe it was her mystery.

All I knew was that I had to make it my business to see her in Kingston again. If I'm risking the consequences of defying my dear father's wishes to see her, she better be worth my time.