Free A Hood Legend by Victor L. Martin Page A

was glad that it was over. He had more important things to take care of.
    Menage pulled into his garage at ten minutes to five. As soon as he stepped out of his car, Vapor and Vigor ran up to him, whining and fully agitated. He knew something was wrong.
    â€œWhat is it boys, huh?” he whispered as he pulled out his .380. Before walking into the house, he quickly scanned both his front and back yards. Nothing appeared suspicious but he trusted his dogs. He rushed to his bedroom, picked up his MP5, slung it over his shoulder and went into the living room. He switched his TV to the surveillance channel with Vapor and Vigor still at his side. He checked each camera as he slammed a fresh thirty-round clip into the Mp5. It all went down too fast.
    On the last camera shot of his front yard, he noticed four men trimming his bushes. It took two seconds for him to realize that they weren’t due until Tuesday and that the van wasn’t out front like it was supposed to be. He tried to figure out what the deal was but the camera suddenly revealed two of the men rushing toward his glass door carrying Uzis. They stopped inches from the glass and bringing the guns up to their chins, they opened fire. The glass shattered in tiny fragments as the deadly stream of lead ripped through the living room. Sheetrock began to fly, as the bullets tore ragged chunks from the wall. The eighty-inch TV exploded as it too came under fire. Menage had dove over the couch and into the kitchen before the first shot was fired. Finally the shooting stopped and he heard the sound of broken glass under boots. He knew they were reloading, but what about he other two? “Fuck!” Menage cursed as he pointed the Mp5 blindly over the counter, sending a barrage of bullets in the direction of where the men had entered. His military training now took over.
    The first man was hit in the neck, stumbling backward through the shattered glass door, spewing blood as he fell down dead. The second man caught a few rounds in the chest and the impact took him high off his feet like a rag doll. Gasping for breath, he slowly tried to get back on his feet and make it to his Uzi just a few inches away. He knew he was still vulnerable to the man who had shot him and he was surprised that he didn’t pick him off while he lay struggling to get to his feet. His plan of surprise didn’t work, and he figured that Menage thought he was dead. Well, he’d sure as hell make him pay for that mistake, he vowed, as he got to his knees.
    The first man now lay in a steady streaming pool of blood. Clenching his teeth, the second man reached for his Uzi and set out to finish the job that he and his partner had started. He hesitated as a quick movement caught his eye. His mouth dropped in pure horror. Vigor lunged at him swiftly and silently, his fangs fully bared. The man screamed, and seconds later the dog broke though his weak shield of forearms, bit into his neck and gave him a deadly bite to the jugular.
    At the front door the other two now stood. Giving each other the go-ahead, they raised their Uzis and shot through the lock. Kicking in the door, they slowly eased down the hallway, Uzi’s held under their chins. There was total silence; the thick carpet made their steps light and undetectable. Menage was still in the kitchen behind the counter and had heard the men kick in the front door. He loaded the Mp5 with its last clip. Vapor lay next to him, tense and alert. He growled softly, sensing the two men in the house. “Easy boy, easy,” Menage said rubbing his head. Where was Vigor? Thinking the worst, he blocked his thoughts out of his mind. He then threw the huge plastic saltshaker over the counter, causing it to fall onto the glass from the shattered TV. His plan worked. One of the men ran into the living room, pointing his blazing Uzi from left to right. Glass shattered as he now fired into the kitchen and then back into the living room. Menage never