Hearing the word “rape,” it all began to make sense. “Jah, I didn’t know she was your girl. Yo, when them niggaz started tripping, I’m the only one that tried to stop them,” Rel lied.

“Do I look stupid to you?” Jah placed his gun to Rel’s eye.

“Please don’t shoot me, man. I’ll tell you where Slick is hiding,” Rel tried to bargain.

Jah grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him to his feet. “Not to worry, my dude, we already know where your man is hiding, and I ain’t gonna shoot you.”

“You’re not?” Rel asked, thinking it was a trick.

“Not at all, my brother. We’ve got something special for you,” Jah said, frogging him into the building while Spooky covered his back.

Scar watched from the bench, smiling, as the two men dragged Rel off into the building. What she had done was wrong, but no worse than what Rel had done. The way she figured it, the scales were now balanced. Tapping Sunshine to let her know it was time to leave, Scar made hurried steps out of the projects and hopped into a cab.

“This is some bullshit,” Rel said, standing on the roof of the projects ass-naked.

“What you talking ’bout, fam, you should be comfortable naked in your own house. This is your hood, ain’t it?” Spooky taunted him.

“Man, I thought y’all said you wasn’t gonna kill me?” Rel looked around nervously.

“I said we weren’t gonna shoot you.” Jah tucked his .40. “Your ass is about to get your first flying lesson.”

“Come on, son, don’t do me like this,” Rel pleaded. His eyes kept going from the fourteen-story drop behind him to the gunmen.

“I know damn well you ain’t begging? Spook,” he said and turned to his partner, “is this nigga begging?”

Spooky shook his head shamefully. “Sure sounds like it.”

“I can pay y’all. I got about two hundred grand stashed at Slick’s house. If you take me down to get it, it’s all yours.”

“Oh, we’re gonna take your money, but your ass is still out,” Spooky told him.

“Come on, man. Don’t do me like this,” Rel pleaded, with tears running down his face. “I got kids!”

Out of nowhere, Jah slapped him across the face. “Fuck yo seeds, nigga! Did you give a fuck about your seeds when you were fucking Yoshi?”

“Yo, Jah—”

Jah slapped Rel again. “I don’t wanna hear shit you gotta say. Blue sky’s are calling.” Jah nodded toward the ledge. “You better get going.”

“My dude, I can’t jump off no roof,” Rel said.

“You’ll jump, or we’re gonna put so much lead in you that they’re gonna need a metal detector to find you,” Jah assured him.