The Jersey Wars

Chapter 13 - A Blast From The Past

July 2013

The young man who stabbed me was found in a drug den on Ellis Avenue in Irvington. He'd been castrated as well as his eyes and tongue being cut out. Street justice is a fickle bitch I tell you. The stabbing itself took a lot out of me, but fortunately no veins or major arteries had been cut. Aside from some new scars, I'd eventually be good as new.

The past three months that I'd been hospitalized gave me some much needed time to think about my past and everything that I'd done which has gotten me to this point. We all have things in our past that we wish we could change, but to alter those things would essentially rob us of the experiences which in turn make us who and what we are.

Everything that we go through shapes and molds us in every way. It's a daily process that doesn't end until we die and that's what fascinated me as I went on this journey with you. Who would I be if I hadn't gone through everything that I went through during The Jersey Wars? The possibilities make my head spin.

A short knock on the room door interrupts my focus from TMZ. It's one of the crazy appetites I've developed in my old age....television.

"YUUUUUUUMMMM" I yell as a commercial comes on.

Tre walks in looking 20 years younger. He had kidney surgery six months ago and the doctors weren't optimistic about his survival. Tre always loved to prove people wrong.

"What's up young man?" I asked as he pulled a chair up to my bedside. Tre had visited me every day in the hospital since the stabbing.

"So you're finally out of here tomorrow ay?" Tre inquired with a good natured smile.

Nodding with a smile of my own I answered, "Yeah man and not a moment too soon. All of these years I've been trying different ways to lose weight. Who knew that I just needed to get stabbed eleven times?"

Tre laughed while replying, "I don't see too many people signing up for that diet plan."

Laughing back I responded, "Shiiiiiit, me neither!"

The laughter continued for a few seconds before Tre paused and said, "I have a surprise for you."

Eyeing him suspiciously I asked, "What kind of surprise?"

Tre shrugged and replied, "Call it an early welcome home gift. There's someone that I want you to meet."

Sitting up a bit in the hospital bed I joked, "Nigga you're not trying to fix me up again are you?"

This brought with it more laughs. Walking to my room door he called back, "Nah man, not this time."

Tre then opened the door and poked his head out, "Come on in young brother." He said to whoever was in the hallway and then backed up and let his guest enter.

My first thought (seriously) was that I was dead and seeing ghosts. It was KC back from the grave. I attempted to shake the cobwebs from my brain since I'd seen the man in his casket and in turn saw that casket get lowered into the ground.

"KC?!" I asked disbelievingly.

Chuckling lightly Tre replied, "Good guess. This is Jamison Wendell Levins Jr., KC's son."

Looking back and forth from Tre to Jr. I'm sure it looked like I was watching a tennis match, but this was too unbelievable.

"KC's son?! When did he have any children?! I asked.

KC's younger twin stepped forward, "My mother's name was Amber. She passed away a few years ago but was pregnant with me when my father got murdered. Before she died she told me all about my father and Ghost. In my attempts to find Ghost, I ran into someone who knew Mr. Stone here and after I introduced myself to him the rest is history. If you don't mind me asking, whatever happened to Ghost? He and my Dad were very close I heard."

My God the boy even sounded like KC. "Ghost was killed back in 97." I said to Jr., the lie coming off of my tongue as smooth as silk.

He nodded and his resemblance to KC almost brought tears to my eyes. This was too much for my brain to process at the moment yet I persevered.

"So what can I do for you young man?" I asked him.

The kid had to be about 6'7" or 6'8" and even though he was wearing a suit, the bulging muscles beneath it were clearly distinguishable. He was light complexioned with KC's face, eye color, posture, and even his vocal tone. Tre was right in thinking that I'd be surprised.

"Well," Jr. responded. "I was looking to get at whoever sent those killers after Ghost and my father. I'm something of a businessman myself now and with my current operation, it disturbs the sleep to let scoundrels of that sort continue to breath."

I looked at Tre who shrugged his shoulders and said, "I tried to tell him, but he wanted to hear it from you personally."

Looking back to young Jamison I said, "Son, your father's murder was avenged long ago. The culprits as well as the man who sent them have been dead longer than you've been alive. There's no one left to pay for anything you understand?"

Based on his demeanor I could tell that young Jamison was in the game, and doing very well for himself obviously. It was also apparent that the boy was educated.

A single teardrop fell from his eye as he said, "That's all I needed to hear Don JDC. I thank you for your time sir."

He then shook my hand and turned to face Tre, "Thank you as well Mr. Stone. Give Don Dunna my best."

Returning the sentiment Tre replied, "I will youngblood I will. If you need anything at all, don't hesitate to contact either me or my brother. Your father was not only a damn good soldier; he was a damn good friend too."

Jr. nodded once and said, "I'm sure that he was, and I'll definitely do that."

He went to leave the room and I called to him, "Jamison...."

The kid turned around and for a split second, he and KC were morphed into one.

"What do you go by?" I asked out of curiosity but already knowing the answer. "In the streets I mean...."

Looking me directly in the eye he answered, "KC....Junior." and exited the room.

Tre and I looked at each other. "I hope that boy keeps in touch." Tre stated sincerely.

Looking at the door that he left out of, I said, "For some odd reason I think that he will, one way or another. Do you want to know why I lied to him about Ghost?"

Shaking his head Tre answered, "Nope. I'm sure that you had your reasons."

And that's my story. We got to live the life that young people nowadays are perpetrating in rap music and dying over. Some of us got to walk away from it healthy and as rich men. Dunna took over for me when I retired.

Deciding not to continue in the bootlegging business, Don Dunna had opted on legitimizing the North Jersey crew and now, he owned the businesses that serviced and repaired all of the mass transit vehicles in the Tri-State area.

As Tre and I got back to preparing for my discharge, I was excited to be heading back to a boring and non-eventful existence, and if I had to pinpoint a particular time that assisted me in understanding what it was all about, it would of course be The Jersey Wars. Well, time for me to get back to it............

The End