Shawn decided that he’d visit his mom and kids at night when he could slip in and out unnoticed more easily. It was just his luck that his money-hungry babies’ mom, Marquetta, saw him entering his mother’s building. She had a long-standing chip on her shoulder. She felt that Shawn should be sharing his money with her, although Shawn’s mother was the legal guardian to his kids. Seeing him with Sicily sent her into a jealous rage. So she picked up the phone to call Crime Stoppers about the ten-thousand-dollar reward on Shawn’s head.

An hour later Shawn decided to leave. He had an eerie feeling as he stepped down off the building’s stoop. Looking around, he summed it up to a case of nerves as he climbed into the passenger side of Sicily’s silver Tahoe. They pulled onto 8th Avenue from 141st Street. Police cars came from every direction and surrounded the truck. The officers jumped out with their guns drawn.

Beads of perspiration spontaneously popped up on Shawn’s entire body. “What in the fuck is this?” he wondered aloud.

“Oh Jesus,” Sicily panicked loudly. “Oh God, Shawn, what do you want me to do?”

“I want you to shut up so I can think!” His heart was beating so fast he thought that it would burst through his chest. All he could envision was the inside of his last prison cell. I can’t go back to that place, he thought.

A voice came over a loudspeaker. “Step out of the vehicle with your hands in the air.”

“I should’ve stayed my black ass in Virginia,” Shawn muttered, pulling a gun from the passenger’s-side door pocket.

Sicily’s eyes widened. “What are you going to do with that, Shawn?” she asked, afraid that he was about to use her as a hostage.

“Not going back to prison for a murder that I didn’t commit.”

“Shawn, please let me get out,” she cried.

“Go on! Get out now. I’m not holding you.”

“Then what are you planning to do with that gun?”

“Don’t worry about it. Just get far away from the truck. Listen, I need you to tell my mother and my kids that I love them. Make sure when you talk to Sincere that you tell him I said ‘Death before dishonor.’”

Sicily extended her hand to Shawn. “Please put the gun down and get out with me. There are too many jakes out here. You cannot win a shootout with them.”

Shawn pointed the gun at Sicily. “Get out,” he ordered.

Shaking, Sicily slowly opened the door, making sure that her hands were visible as she emerged from the truck. As soon as her feet touched the pavement, the cops ordered her to the ground. Remembering what Shawn had said, she moved away from the truck, then dropped to her knees.