“And depend on someone else to take care of me? Never and a day, boo. I’m a bitch that’s always gonna go out there and get it for myself. It’s not even my style to gamble my well-being on someone else’s dime.”

“Nah, I don’t mean lay up on a nigga. I’m talking about going half on something. Yoshi, if you were to just get your priorities in order, you could make some lucky cat real happy.”

Yoshi twisted her lips and said, “Red, I do things the way I do for a reason. Affairs of the heart can make the game too complicated. Besides, a dude that sells poison for a living can’t give me advice on morality.”

He laughed at that. “Good one, ma.”

The waitress had now returned and began placing their meals in front of them. Yoshi looked at her food and hoped Red wouldn’t think she was a low-class ho after seeing what she was about to do to her meal. Jah had sapped her of all her strength and she hadn’t had a chance to eat since yesterday afternoon. When she lifted the fork to cut into her eggs, she heard a shot.

Jah walked ahead, twirling the Dutch between his fingers, while Eight and Spooky continued to bicker behind him. He was so engrossed in his own thoughts that their voices sounded like overlapping murmurs. Missing a beat, the Dutch slipped from Jah’s fingers and hit the ground. Just as he bent down to pick it up, something whistled over his head. He felt the shot more than heard it as he dove to the ground and came up holding his .40.

A black minivan was coasting, with two shooters hanging out the window. Jah made out the stunned face of Slick, as well as that of Rel firing wildly from the rear window, but not hitting much of anything other than parked cars. Spooky was a trained soldier, so there was no need for Jah to shout a warning or even look in his direction. By the time Jah got off his first shot, Spooky had already let off three.

The windshield exploded in a spray of glass, causing both Rel and Slick to duck. Spooky was trying to lay down everyone in the car while Jah shot for the tires, trying to stop the vehicle. Slick and his crew had underestimated the youngsters and found themselves in a gorilla-type firefight. A bullet grazed Groovy’s cheek, spooking him into stepping on the gas. Even as the car sped away, Jah and Spooky continued firing on it, riddling the minivan with holes. As the vehicle bent the corner, they could make out Ralph’s face staring out what was left of the back window.