They jumped on the elevator and rode down to the garage. Neither Maurice nor Angela knew what to say to Keisha so they followed in silence. They made their way over to Maurice’s Dodge Charger and jumped inside. They were pulling out just as two of Samir’s men were coming into the garage.

"We just missed them," one said to Samir on the phone.

"Follow them. And this time don’t fuck up," Samir instructed.

They ran to their car and jumped in, following behind Maurice and Keisha.

Maurice’s cell phone rang. It was Jamal. "Yo!" he answered.

"Yo, I just got off 95. I’m on my way down the way," Jamal told him.

"Is that Jamal?" Keisha asked.

"Yeah, hold on." Maurice said to his sister.

"No, tell Jamal to meet us at my apartment ASAP," Keisha said. She rattled off the address and Maurice repeated it to Jamal.

"Alright, I’ll meet y’all there," Jamal said before disconnecting the call.

"Enough of this 007 shit, Keisha. What the fuck is going on? You better tell me and you better tell me now," Maurice demanded.

Keisha took a deep breath. "Manny told me to use the key." Keisha replied.

"Okay… am I supposed to know what that means?" Maurice asked sarcastically.

"Manny planned for this day but he hoped it never came. I need to get something from the apartment and bounce tonight. Manny doesn’t think it’s over."

They drove to her apartment and hopped on the elevator. When they got to her floor and made their way down the hall, Keisha spotted D-Ball standing by her apartment door.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Keisha seethed as she marched over to him.

"Wait, Keisha. Before you go off on me, let me explain. I just wanted you to know I ain’t leave Manny and Kiree hanging. I took them niggas out and then I had to go because the cops were coming. I only came by to give you something. Manny told me if anything were to happen to him, to tell you to use the key." He reached into his pocket and put a piece of paper in her hand that had the same numbers written on them.

Keisha looked down at the paper that he placed in her hand. She frowned and shook her head as the tears came. "He’s still alive," she said as she looked up at him.

D-Ball nodded his head. "I know. I called the hospital to find out." Keisha unlocked the door and they all went inside. She instructed Angela to take her son in his bedroom and grab some of his clothes.

Maurice watched his sister as she pulled a gun from the safe and slammed a clip into it and checked to see if a round was chambered. Keisha caught the way he was looking at her. Keisha sighed deeply. "Manny always wanted me to protect myself. He said: A girl can’t be too safe in these crime ridden times. After I got pregnant with Kamir, he made sure I got my license to carry and took me to the gun range on a regular." Keisha explained as she loaded the second gun.

Maurice shook his head. "This shit is unreal…"

"No this shit just got real," Keisha replied as she threw the money in a duffle bag. She took out an envelope and opened it. Inside was a copy of a lease to a house in Glenolden with a set of keys. She tucked everything back in the envelope and put it in her purse. She looked around at the apartment they shared for almost four years. The memories of all the love and happy moments made in their home flooded her mind. She shook her head as she fought back the tears. Maurice grabbed the duffle bag.

"Angie, let’s go!" Keisha called out. D-Ball opened the door and stepped out first with Keisha behind him. He looked up the hall and saw the two men dressed in leather jackets, sun glasses and fitted hats. He had a split second to choose between grabbing his gun or pushing Keisha back into the apartment so she didn’t get hit. Just as the first guy fired, he practically closed lined Keisha back into the apartment but not fast enough before a bullet caught him in his thigh. Keisha screamed. Maurice tried closing the door but D-Ball was caught in the door way.

"Move! Move!" D-Ball screamed at Maurice. He pulled both of his guns from his waist and fired out of the door causing the gunmen to jump back and giving D-Ball enough time to scoot inside of the apartment. Maurice slammed and locked the door.

"Get my son outta here!" Keisha screamed to Angela. Little Kamir was screaming and crying once he saw his Uncle D bleeding from his leg. They made their way to the back bedroom. Keisha closed their bedroom door. She then opened the bathroom window and closed the bathroom door. Lastly she closed the back bedroom door where they all were.

"Take my son down the fire escape Angie, now! Get him out of here now!" Keisha said to Angie.

"What about you?" Angie said as she backed up to the window.

"I’ll be fine. Take D-Ball with you." Keisha said.

"Fuck that, Keisha! You go with Angie and me and D-Ball will stay," Maurice said as he snatched one of the guns from his sister.

"D-Ball is already hit and I’m not leaving you," Keisha said to her brother. She looked at D-Ball. "Thank you."

"Don’t mention it," D-Ball groaned as he hobbled to the window. They heard a shot outside of the apartment where someone was shooting one of the locks off. Keisha prayed like hell one of the neighbors called the cops. But she knew the chances of them getting there in time were slim to none. Angie helped Kamir out of the window. He cried for his mommy. Keisha told him she loved him. D-Ball was the last one out of the window and they made their way down the fire escape.

"I hope you know how to use that," Keisha said to her brother as she slid over to one of the walk-in closets in the room. The two were in a great position to get the drop on an ambush before an ambush happened; one was behind the bedroom door and the other was across from it. Thankfully it was dark so you couldn’t tell when coming in the bedroom if the closet door was opened or closed.

"Remember that game on the 8 bit Nintendo we used to play; Duck Hunt?" Maurice replied. He made his way over to the other closet. "Well, those niggas are the ducks. And I’m the muthafucking hunter." He backed inside of the closet and aimed at the bedroom door. Keisha backed into the other closet and crouched down also aiming at the door.

They heard when the gunmen entered the apartment. Keisha could hear her heart beating in her ears. Maurice kept his eyes on the door and said a prayer to himself. They heard when the gunmen kicked in the first bedroom door and then the bathroom. The door knob to the bedroom they were in turned and then opened slowly. Keisha thanked Manny for not putting the light bulbs in the ceiling fan like she asked him to for the last week. The first guy felt along the wall for the light switch and flicked it. When nothing happened, he eased into the room. The light from the bathroom allowed Keisha to see him but he still could not see them. She aimed her gun and squeezed the trigger twice. The first bullet spun him around and the second bullet hit him in the chest, knocking him down. Maurice stayed put knowing that there was another gunman. Hearing the first two shots, the second gunman shot wildly into the room in Maurice’s direction. Maurice took a hit and fell inside of the closet. Keisha screamed for her brother. She heard three more shots and then it was quiet.