Love/Fate by Tracy Brown

Born had never looked back when he started making major moves. Some of their animosity had been resolved at Born’s father’s funeral. But still there was uneasiness between the two that had been hard to penetrate over the years.
    But up north, Born found himself relieved to see Martin’s familiar face. And Martin, being the live wire that he was, had established quite a reputation for himself. Born was happy to align himself with his childhood friend. And as the months slowly passed, the two of them bonded again in the prison yard, or the mess hall, and soon they were close once more. It was like old times again.
    During the time he spent in jail, Born lost sight of Jada, and had noidea how far she’d fallen after their split. But some news from home did reach him.
    Soon, via the ghetto grapevine, Born learned that his stronghold in the streets of Staten Island was no more. Chance and Smitty had allowed some new niggas to take over their neighborhood drug trade. And to make matters worse, Smitty and Chance were now working for the new kids on the block. They were a disgrace in Born’s eyes, because all they really had had to do was to maintain what he had already established. He was disgusted. Upon hearing this news, Born tried to stay to himself in order to avoid anybody pissing him off, and causing him to get in trouble. Any little thing was capable of setting him off. So he stayed away from everyone else, and kept his head in a book to escape. Martin was also irate because of the news that his boys—his brother most of all—had let the block go to some unknown. He and Born both wallowed in regret for making decisions that had cost them both their freedom and their empires. Born stayed in his bunk day after day, and only joined the other inmates when it was time to eat dinner. That was when all hell broke loose.
    Born had found out that the man who had killed his friend Bobby years prior, during his crew’s shootout with A.J., was now housed in the same prison dorm as he was. The guy was in for drug offenses, and Born wanted badly to keep himself out of trouble. So he had steered clear of the bastard, hoping not to catch any unwanted charges while he waited out his sentence. He figured that the guy, whose name was Ray, would get what was coming to him eventually. Born didn’t need the attention that an altercation with another inmate would surely bring. He was still sore about what was going on back home, and filled with worry for his mother, and how she was maintaining out there on her own. The last thing he was expecting was for some old beef to come and provoke his inner monster.
    But as he walked past Ray’s table in the mess hall, Ray tripped Born on purpose, and caused his food to go flying across the room as he stumbled, trying to regain his balance. Ray sat there and laughed right in Born’s face, and Born rushed the man with all his might. Ray wasn’t faringtoo well in the fight, and tried to pull out a makeshift shank he had hidden in his waistband. Born saw him going for it, though, and every ounce of anger, every ounce of rage, fueled his fight. He had never felt as strong as he suddenly was. His adrenaline pumped through his veins. They fought savagely, locked in a ferocious battle, as the correction officers closed in to break it up. By the time they pulled Born off of the man, Ray was bleeding from his stomach. Born was holding a bloody screwdriver he’d taken from his job as a porter in the administrative building. He had liked that job because it allowed him access to the visiting room, and to tools such as the rusty screwdriver that he’d used to stab Ray four times in the stomach. Born’s intention was to kill the man. That way he wouldn’t have to deal with him for the rest of his bid. He had known that, with all the bad news he’d received in the past few weeks, whoever he put his hands on would be in trouble. The officers tackled Born