The Finale Page 8

  “I got her keys. There really isn’t a need for you to stop back,” Malek replied. He began to close the door. He hated the police, and his patience with her had expired. He had more pressing issues on his mind.

  “I have a few more questions for her,” Rodriguez insisted.

  Malek sighed. “She has your card. If I see her, I will have her contact you.” He shut the door in her face.

  Rodriguez stormed out of the building and immediately put in the call to her partner, Derek Fuller. Without a vehicle, there were only a few ways out of town, so she put a police detail on every bus station, airport, and train station in the city. There was no way she was going to let Halleigh escape. She would call out the entire Narcotics Unit of Baltimore before she let Halleigh slip through her fingers.

  Malek’s suspicion was aroused by the detective’s interest in Halleigh. She seemed to be too persistent in her effort to speak with Halleigh. Her sudden disappearance didn’t make sense, but his gut was telling him that this lady cop had something to do with it.

  That was the only thing he could attribute Halleigh’s sudden change of heart to. They hadn’t been having problems; in fact, he, had never loved Halleigh more. After almost losing her back in Flint, he cherished every moment that he spent with her now, and he knew that she felt the same.

  Something is up, he thought, now sure of himself that Halleigh needed his help.

  Something was nagging at him. He returned to his bedroom and read her letter again, trying to read between the lines.

  One line of her letter stuck out to him the most. “Watch those who are watching you,” he whispered as her warning jumped out on the paper.

  And like a light bulb coming on in his head, he thought, The cops are watching. He rushed into the hallway and down to the window that peered out over the street.

  For the first time, he noticed the unmarked squad car that was hawking his building. Fuck! He cursed himself. How long have they been on me? What the fuck they watching me for? A nigga ain’t moving bricks. And how long has Halleigh known? What do they have over her that will make her skip town?

  Malek was beginning to think that more had happened that night than a carjacking, and as he raced back to his apartment, he tried to figure out where Halleigh had gone. Think like her. Where would she go?

  Halleigh sat in the airport eagerly and nervously waiting for the delayed flights to resume service. She didn’t have time for this. A security breach had caused the entire airport to shut down, and she had been waiting for hours for them to resume ticket sales. She figured that Malek had gotten her letter by now, and she was wondering how he had reacted. She wished she could go back home and make everything nice, but it was a wrap for her life in Baltimore.

  As soon as she was able to, she was purchasing a one-way ticket out of the city. She figured she would go down south to North Carolina, where her mother was from and where her grandmother still lived. Even though Halleigh had never met the woman, she knew her name, and was hoping they could get acquainted once she arrived. If not, then she would just have to do what she did best: survive.

  At least down there she would be out of hot water. Maybe one day I can come back for my son, she thought.

  She felt herself becoming emotional at the thought of everything she was leaving behind. She went to use the restroom. Her eyes were red and puffy. She looked a hot mess. She couldn’t wait to get out of Baltimore, so she could have peace of mind.

  As she emerged from the bathroom, she looked toward the front counter. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw Rodriguez questioning one of the airline employees. Halleigh automatically knew that this was no coincidence. She was there looking for her. She knew that if Rodriguez was there, it was a good possibility that more cops were on the scene as well.

  Halleigh quickly ducked back into the restroom. Creating a commotion at the airport was the last thing she wanted to do, but she had to get out of there. She peeked out of the door, and while Rodriguez was distracted at the ticket counter, she slowly eased out, keeping her head low to remain inconspicuous. Walking as quickly as possible out of the airport, when she finally emerged outside, she ran to the first cab she saw.

  “Hal!”

  She stopped mid-step and looked up in disbelief when she heard Malek calling her name. She had one foot inside of the cab as she saw him pulling up behind her, blowing his horn urgently to get her attention. Shocked, her mouth dropped open in surprise.

  “Get in, Halleigh!” he shouted.

  She rushed over to his car and jumped inside. She ducked low, keeping her eyes on the side mirrors.

  Just as Malek pulled away, Halleigh saw Rodriguez emerge from the airport. “Go! Go!” she yelled.

  When she was sure they were out of any police radar, she sat up in her seat. Her son was crying from his car seat in the back, and his cries affected her, causing her tears to flow too.

  “You wanna tell me what’s going on now, Halleigh?”

  “How did you find me?”

  “I know you, Hal,” he said as he drove with one hand and touched her chin gently with the other. “You are me, ma. You ran, and I knew you wasn’t riding no bus or train. You think you’re too good for that.” He smiled mockingly.

  She shook her head and wiped her eyes. “You should have let me go, Malek,” she said softly. “You don’t know what’s going on.”

  “Then why don’t you tell me? I know the cops are watching me. Your letter told me that. But what is it that you are not telling me? We’re better than this, Halleigh. Your burden is supposed to be my burden.”

  “I’ll tell you everything. Can we just go somewhere, to a hotel room or something, so I can get my head together? Then we’ll talk, and I’ll tell you everything.”

  Malek and Halleigh checked into the Courtyard Marriot in Linthicum, and once they were safely inside with their child, it was time for her to fess up. Malek waited patiently for her to find her words.

  “You can tell me, Halleigh. Whatever it is, just say it.”

  “I fucked up,” she began. “When we first came here, you told me over and over again to let the past go. You told me that everything and everyone in Flint were dead to us, but I didn’t listen. With you in the streets all the time, I felt like I had nobody to talk to, no friends, no real life in Baltimore. So I called Tasha.” She paused to see what Malek would say, but he remained silent. His facial expression was blank, so Halleigh couldn’t read his emotions.

  “Keep going,” he said.

  “I invited Tasha to come to Baltimore about a week ago, and we met for lunch downtown. I thought she was my friend, Malek. I would have never told her where we were if I ever thought she would put us in jeopardy.”

  “Stop talking in circles, Hal. Just tell me,” he stated seriously.

  “She came to town, but she brought Toy with her. They followed me from the restaurant, but I shook them.”

  Malek closed his eyes because he remembered Halleigh had specifically tried to tell him that someone had followed her, but he thought she was paranoid and overreacting.

  “That next night they followed me from my job, and I refused to lead them back to you and the baby, so I just pulled over. I found an abandoned lot and I got out. I had started carrying one of your guns because I was terrified. I’ve been terrified since the day we got here, but I was tired of running, tired of being followed. I was tired of being the victim. They tried to get me to lead them to you. I refused, and Toy hit me. I just reacted and I shot her, Malek. I killed her, and then I killed Tasha for setting me up.”

  “And the cop saw it,” Malek finished, putting two and two together.

  Halleigh nodded. “She saw everything. She said if I didn’t help her get you, then she would throw me in prison for the rest of my life. I could never bring myself to harm you, but I can’t go to jail either, Malek. So I ran. I just thought if I got as far away from here as possible, it would fix things.”

  “Come here, ma,” he said as he pulled her onto th
e bed he was sitting on. He wiped her tears away. He could only imagine how Halleigh felt. Having taken many lives himself, he knew Halleigh wasn’t built for murder.

  She broke down in his arms. “What am I going to do?” she asked.

  “You’re going to do exactly what they want you to do. You’re going to cooperate with the police,” he said in a low but sure tone.

  “What?” She looked up at him in confusion. “Malek, they’ll throw you in jail.”

  “Look at that little boy over there,” he said, pointing to their son. “He needs you, Halleigh. You’re his mother. You didn’t ask for any of this. You just took on the role of being with me. I would never make you pay for that. I love you too much to ever see something bad happen to you. I can handle whatever the cops have coming my way. You just promise me that you’ll always take care of my son.”

  Halleigh was hysterical crying and snot running down her nose. “I can’t, Malek. I can’t do that to you. This isn’t supposed to be how we end. I need you.”

  “And I need you, Hal. I need you to be strong, baby girl. You’re my world, and I need you to trust me. This is the only way. I’m a man, and I can stand behind all of the decisions I’ve made in my life, but before I let them take me, I need to know that you can hold things down for me while I’m away.”

  She nodded as he held her face. “I will try for you, Malek. I will do whatever you need me to do.”

  “I’ve got some money put up. It’s not a lot, but it’s enough for you and the baby to live for a couple years. Nothing extravagant, but it will pay for rent and food for a while until you can get on your feet.”

  “I don’t want to do this, Malek.”

  “You have to, Halleigh.”

  As Malek schooled Halleigh on how to survive without him, she almost tuned him out. She didn’t want to believe this was happening, but this was real and there was no avoiding the inevitable. She was grateful she had a man like Malek, who was willing to take responsibility for the situation, but it didn’t stop the sadness that plagued her.

  Chapter Twelve

  So many thoughts went through Malek’s head as he drove down the highway along with Dayvid. They were just getting back from visiting the coke connect, and Dayvid was officially plugged. Malek had introduced him to the “birdman” and put him in a position of power, just as his deceased mentor, Jamaica Joe, had done for Malek when he was younger.

  He kept visualizing Halleigh’s face when she told him Rodriguez was blackmailing her. The hurt in her eyes was like daggers to his heart. He never second-guessed his decision to give himself up for his girl’s freedom. He knew that when he walked in his own house it could be wired, starting off a domino effect that would land him in jail for a very long time.

  Malek’s heart began to ache as he thought about his son growing up without him. Nevertheless, it was better than his son growing up without both mother and father. He’d always told Halleigh that he would keep her out of harm’s way when they relocated to Baltimore, but he’d failed to do that, and the guilt was weighing heavy on his soul.

  “Remember everything I have taught you,” Malek preached to his protégé. “You are too smart to stay in this game long enough for it to consume you. Don’t be like me and let the allure of the money keep you in. Make money and exit. That’s the key. Timing is everything.”

  Dayvid just sat back and listened closely as Malek hit him with a few last words of encouragement and instructions.

  Malek dropped Dayvid off to his block and watched as he exited the car. He grabbed him just before he got completely out and hugged him tight.

  Dayvid was confused and didn’t know why Malek was acting so funny.

  “I love you, my nigga,” Malek said as he held on to Dayvid for a couple of extra seconds.

  “Love you too. What’s up, nigga? Why you acting all different?”

  Malek released him. “Don’t worry about it. Just be safe out here, all right? And one more thing.”

  “What’s up?” Dayvid looked at Malek dead in the eyes.

  “If I’m not around, I want you to look after my son and Halleigh just as I did for you.” Malek looked forward, avoiding eye contact with Dayvid.

  “I got you,” Dayvid said as he exited the car.

  Dayvid was taken off guard by Malek’s comments, but he decided not to say anything about it. He noticed that Malek seemed to be stressing lately, and decided to address it at a later time.

  Just before Malek pulled off, he caught a glimpse of the pinky ring he had given Dayvid and smirked. He knew Dayvid would hold it down in the streets and carry on his legacy properly. With that thought, Malek smiled and pulled off, headed home.

  Malek knew that the next time he talked to Halleigh, she would be wearing a wire, and he would have to incriminate himself to get her off the hook for murder. He prepared himself mentally as he was about to voluntarily walk the path of self-destruction.

  Halleigh sat in the unmarked van on her block, three houses down from her and Malek’s home. She clenched her jaws tight, and water filled her eyes as Rodriguez put the wire on her. She was shirtless, with nothing on but a bra, as Rodriguez applied tape on her chest to position the microphone right.

  “Nice rack,” Fuller said as he stared at Halleigh’s plump breasts.

  “Fuck you!” Halleigh said as she gave him a cold stare. If looks could kill, Fuller would have been circled in chalk.

  “You wish,” Fuller said with a sinister grin. “Look, you have to get him to say something about him supplying kilos of dope to his runners. If he doesn’t say that, the deal is off.”

  “I know what the fuck I have to do! I hate you!” Halleigh said as she continued to give Fuller a deadly stare.

  “Yeah, yeah. Just remember what I said. If you don’t follow through with this, you will never see your son, except through steel bars. It’s your choice.”

  Halleigh knew Malek was sacrificing himself for his family, and the fact that she was about to help Fuller put him behind bars made her sick to her stomach. She had left Malek Jr. with a babysitter, not wanting him to be around when this disaster went down.

  “Okay, you’re done,” Rodriguez said as she tapped the microphone to make sure it was on.

  Halleigh snatched her shirt from the seat and began to put it on, shaking her head from side to side. She knew the countdown to Malek’s demise had begun. If she had to sacrifice herself for Malek, she would have. But Malek Jr.’s well-being was at risk. So, with the permission of her man, she had to do what she had to do. It was show time.

  Halleigh stepped out of the van and slammed the door as hard as she could. As she walked to her house, so many different emotions began to run through her body as she felt the burden of the situation weighing heavy on her soul—hatred for Fuller, and guilt for herself.

  “How did I get myself into this shit?” she whispered as she entered her house and waited for Malek.

  Malek pulled up to his home and turned off the ignition. He took a deep breath and prepared for what was ahead. He was determined for his son to have a normal life and not have to go through the hardships that he himself had encountered. And to do that, he had to give himself to the law.

  He stepped out of the car and glanced down the street. He noticed two vans with plumbing advertisements. He already knew the vans held policemen waiting to move in on him. He quickly focused on his house and headed that way.

  “Hey, baby,” he yelled as he stepped through the door. “I’m home!”

  Halleigh appeared from the back with tears in her eyes and her hands over her mouth, trying to stop from crying aloud. She ran into his arms, and he embraced her tight.

  Malek kissed her on her neck. In the lowest tone he could muster, he whispered in her ear, “I love you, Halleigh. Always have and always will. Let’s get this over with, okay.” He stepped back from her.

  Halleigh let her tears flow freely down her cheeks as she nodded her head in agreement.

  As soon as Malek nodded his
head, giving her the green light to start the rehearsed conversation, she did.

  “Malek, you have to stop selling drugs. I’m tired of this life,” she said just as he had instructed her to the night before. Halleigh’s voice began to crack, and she ran her fingers through her hair in frustration. She mouthed silently to Malek, “I can’t do this.”

  But he smiled at her and put his hand on her shoulder, helping her through it. “I have to flip a couple more kilos, and then I’m done,” he said. “My dope connect, Scar, wouldn’t like if I just stopped buying from him. It’s not that simple.” Malek smiled inside, knowing he had just incriminated Scar by saying his name. If he was going to go out, he was going out with a bang.

  Detective Fuller sat in the van, earphones on, listening to their every word. He chuckled to himself at Malek’s remark about Scar.

  “That nigga think he’s slick,” Fuller said to himself. He immediately thought about how he would edit that small portion out of the wiretap before turning it in as evidence.

  Fuller was patiently waiting for the right time to rush in with his squad and put Malek in handcuffs. He looked down at the duffel bag that contained four kilos and stepped-on cocaine that he would eventually pin on Malek. With the drugs and the wiretaps indicating that he was a heavy drug supplier, Malek was sure to spend a long time behind bars.

  Scar’s money had slowed up drastically, which meant that Fuller had seen his cut from the drug business slow up too, and he wasn’t having it. Fuller wanted Malek off the streets just as bad as Scar wanted him off the streets.

  “Come on, Malek, tell on yourself a little bit more.”

  “I just hit my spot off with a kilo a piece.” Malek clenched his teeth tight, knowing he was telling on himself. But when he thought about what he was doing it for, he had no problem with doing so. Malek would tell on himself a thousand times and serve a million years, if it meant that his son would have a good life and Halleigh stayed free.