Animal 2 by K'wan Read Free Book Online Page A

different.”
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    The three amigos found a quiet alley to set their little fire. Cain squirted lighter fluid all over the bag and the trash can they’d thrown the clothes in.
    â€œBe easy with that shit,” Ashanti said, noticing Cain splashing the walls.
    Cain ignored him and fished around in his pocket for some matches. After tossing the match into the can, he stepped back and watched as the fire slowly built. The fire wasn’t burning fast enough for him, so Cain decided to speed up the process. Before anyone could stop him, he threw the entire container of lighter fluid into the can. A small explosion rattled the trash can and probably woke up the entire neighborhood.
    â€œWhat the hell is going on down there?” someone shouted from one of the windows. They looked up and saw an older lady leaning out of the window. When her eyes landed on the flaming garbage can, she shrieked, “Lord Jesus, it’s a fire! I’m calling the police!”
    â€œOh, shit!” Ashanti said, and took off running.
    They darted up the block, laughing and cracking jokes as if they hadn’t just almost burned down an entire apartment building. Ashanti was irritated with Cain for throwing the lighter fluid into the flames, but he had to admit it was funny as hell. They were all scared shitless.
    They had just turned the corner when there was the sound of tires screeching. Ashanti dived out of the way seconds before the brown Buick jumped the curb, but Cain wasn’t so lucky. He bounced off the hood and landed in the street, dazed and in a world of pain. Two men jumped from the car, one blackand one Hispanic. Abel made a beeline across the street, but Ashanti and Cain got snatched up.
    â€œLook what we got here,” Detective Alvarez said with a smug grin, yanking Ashanti off the ground by his arm. He was a tall Hispanic man who wore his hair cut in a low Caesar. He made up half of the duo known on the streets as the Minority Report. They were hard-nosed cops who were known to use dirty tactics to make cases stick.
    â€œSomebody left their trash lying in the street.” Detective Brown pulled Cain to his feet and gave him a rough shake. He was a short black man, with a stocky build and a box-cut Afro that he’d had since the eighties. He was the more serious of the two detectives.
    â€œDamn, I think you broke my leg, blood!” Cain yelped.
    â€œFuck yo leg, lil’ nigga.” Detective Brown shoved him against the car and began patting him down. Luckily, they’d agreed to only bring one gun out, and Abel was long gone with that. “Where’d your friend rush off to, pretty boy?”
    â€œUp your ass,” Cain spat.
    â€œOh, you a funny guy, huh?” Brown kneed him in his injured leg but had a firm grip on the back of his neck so he couldn’t fall. “I got a few jokes of my own.”
    â€œWhat you want with us, now, fam?” Ashanti asked Alvarez, as he was frisked.
    â€œSame thing we always want, to put your deranged little ass in prison until you’re old and gray,” Alvarez said.
    â€œAin’t worked out for you too well yet.”
    Alvarez shoved Ashanti. “You’ve been lucky until now, Ashanti, but shit birds like you always slip eventually. You see what happened to ya man Animal? He slipped and got his wig split.”
    â€œAin’t you got no respect for the dead?” Ashanti asked.
    â€œFuck no, especially not a murdering piece of shit like Animal. He almost got me and my partner killed. My only regret is that I wasn’t the one to put the bullet in the back of his head. But that’s OK, because you’re following right in his footsteps, so I’ll be able to put a bullet in the back of your head instead.”
    â€œNigga—” Ashanti tried to spin but froze when he felt the gun on his cheek.
    â€œWhat?” Alvarez barked, pushing the barrel deeper into his face.