City of God (20 page)

He dreamed the same dream several times. Even with the protection of the
pombagira
, he was constantly on guard – he wasn't going to play into Kojak's hands. In one week, he had the dream seven times in a row and, to add to his desperation, that Saturday he heard from Sting that Wilson the Devil had been killed on the pitch next to the Doorway to Heaven. He had been surprised while playing footy by Boss of Us All in civilian clothes.

‘He could've thrown him in the slammer, man. He had him by the balls. But then he ordered him to the ground and pulled the trigger.'

‘Was he alone?'

‘Yeah. He swore with his foot on the stiff that you're next. And from the way he said it, it looks like the shit's really gonna hit the fan. Your days are numbered!' joked Sting.

‘Give me a lend of that rifle there!' begged Hellraiser in a worried voice.

‘I don't lend that to no one. But I can help you out with a forty-five. Know how it works? It's dead easy and whatever it hits, it kills. It takes dumdum bullets. C'mon, let's go down to the lake for a practice. We can swing by my place for a smoke first.'

Only Sting talked while they smoked two joints. Hellraiser remembered his dream. He paced around his friend's living room. He didn't know why Boss of Us All was so eager to kill him. He did everything at speed, and even drank a glass of water with the swiftness of a thief. They set off for the big lake. Before the lesson began, Hellraiser ordered the children playing there to scoot.

‘This shooter doesn't have a cylinder. It takes a magazine. Just press this lever here, see, and it comes out; to load it just stick it in here. To cock it, hold it here, underneath, and slide it back like this. If you just pull the hammer back, it doesn't cock, right? I'm givin' you a lend of this magazine here 'cos I trust you, otherwise I wouldn't. But keep your wits about you and don't let the pigs get it, OK man? Let's see if you got the idea.'

Hellraiser turned the gun over slowly in silence. He visualised his
pombagira
, looked at the almost cloudless sky, two butterflies coming and going between the almond trees, the kids heading away to the Eucalypt Grove. There'd always be things to get perfect in no time at all. He thought about asking his friend to help him ambush Boss of Us All, but he didn't feel comfortable about extending the invitation. Sting was a good pal, but they hadn't been friends long enough for him to help kill someone unless it meant he could rustle up some dough. If it were Squirt, he wouldn't even have to invite him – but if he could just stop dreaming about him for Christ's sake! He could always slip away from the estate, but the pain of chickening out would be endless. Berenice would like it, but deep down she'd think he was a wimp. Only the wind could be heard at that moment; it rustled the branches of the almond trees, the eucalypts, stirred the riverside grasses, made it hard for the herons to fly, and blew across his skin. The
pombagira
returned to his thoughts. She'd have to work some strong magic for him. He'd already buried
Boss of Us All's name on a piece of paper in the cemetery. Faith moves mountains – it would move Gávea Rock and place it over Boss of Us All's head. Now everything depended solely on his strength, his presence of mind. All he had to do was practise shooting with this thing he was holding. He took out the magazine, put it back, cocked the gun as Sting had taught him, took aim at the trunk of the most distant almond tree and fired. Bullseye, and satisfaction on Sting's face. He only missed two out of ten shots. He said that he'd already got the hang of it and that he wouldn't waste more bullets on the tree. He'd save the rest to pump into Boss of Us All's arse.

‘Go ahead and practise some more – there's stacks of ammo back at my place,' Sting assured him.

Hellraiser spent the rest of that Saturday at home, but in the evening he felt like taking a stroll. He didn't think Boss of Us All would still be prowling around that day, because whenever he killed someone he didn't show his face. He left home with the .45 cocked. Everything in his path was suspicious. He ran into the cool guys smoking a joint on the corner in front of the nursery. He heard Green Eyes saying Dirty Dick's death was a shame:

‘Dirty Dick was a good man. He wasn't cocky, always minded his own business …'

‘I don't know who this Dirty Dick guy is … How come he snuck off?' asked Jackfruit.

‘He'd lit a joint and didn't have anywhere to throw it.'

‘He could've just put up his hand and tried to talk,' said Acerola.

‘No way! Boss of Us All ain't interested in talkin'. He's been shootin' people left right and centre!' said Mango.

They hung around chewing the fat. Hellraiser warned them not to smoke in the streets when Boss of Us All was on duty. If
they wanted to have a smoke without any hassles it was fine for them to just turn up at his place. The dope heads mentally turned down his invitation. If the police suddenly showed up they wouldn't know any of them from a hole in the wall. By the time they'd explained who was who, the vultures would already be circling overhead. Hellraiser promised he'd kill Boss of Us All the next day. He swore so adamantly that only silence followed. The joint was already dying. Acerola glanced around, hoping to avoid unpleasant surprises. Hellraiser suddenly stared at Green Eyes and broke the silence.

‘How come you're black and you got green eyes?'

They laughed. Hellraiser finished off the roach, dropped it and stood on it. He left saying he was going to Teresa's to rustle up a couple of wraps of coke so he could stay up all night and surprise Boss of Us All when he was leaving work. The heads hung around a little longer.

‘This shit makes you really sleepy, you know,' said Acerola.

‘You really think Boss of Us All's gonna die tomorrow?' asked Jackfruit.

‘I'm not stickin' around to see,' said Acerola, laughing too much.

‘You're really shitfaced, man! You're gonna get home and raid the kitchen!' joked Orange.

Hellraiser drew close to the police station, his footsteps still shrouded in pre-dawn darkness. He'd spent the night getting wasted while Berenice slept. He bit his lips, checked to make sure everything was OK with his gun and visualised his
pombagira
. Outside, Saturday night was still in full swing with improvised sambas in bars, street-corner romances and potluck parties in people's backyards. Oblivious to the night, Hellraiser had snorted too much. Berenice had lain there, unmoving, unaware of everything that was about to happen. Her husband was going
to take out Boss of Us All. A cat on the roof had frightened him and he'd decided to turn out the living-room light so as not to attract attention. He'd knocked back a mouthful of brandy to perk himself up before heading out to finish off that shithead of a cop.

He positioned himself strategically so he could pull the trigger as soon as Boss of Us All went past. He couldn't miss from where he was. All he had to do was fire, then head up Red Hill, come back down through the neighbourhood of Araújo, circle back through The Plots, pass the Doorway to Heaven, go down Main Street and hide out at Sting's place. If there was a chase he'd head into the bush, because no policeman in his right mind would risk a shootout in the bush. He waited there for his enemy for more than three hours.

Boss of Us All had breakfast at the police station and said goodbye to his fellow officers with the smile of one who has done a good job. It was cold outside. He took his first few steps rummaging about in his trouser pockets to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything. Then he opened his bag, had a last look inside, spat on the ground, picked his nose, rolled the snot between his fingers and ate it.

Hellraiser had already taken aim. He was waiting for him to walk another thirty feet, then bang – he'd send the bastard off to rot in hell. His finger was already beginning to pull the trigger when a car went past, blocking his view. He started again with shaking hands, then held his breath and fired. Boss of Us All threw himself to the ground and crawled to a post. As he got up, he heard another shot and saw the sniper make a run for it.

‘Hellraiser, ya fuckin' cunt! Think it's easy to knock me off? Now we'll see who's who! C'mon, shoot then, go ahead and shoot me, ya faggot!'

The other policemen came to their pal's aid, and wanted to
take off after the gangster immediately. Boss of Us All objected, saying it was his business alone and he'd take care of it that very day. He went back to the station, got his machine gun, slung his bag into a corner and left, weaving his way recklessly through the alleys. He correctly guessed the route Hellraiser had taken, and waited in ambush in an alley near the Doorway to Heaven.

When he saw he wasn't being followed, Hellraiser crossed the street feeling a little calmer, but even so, the misfortune of not having hit his enemy caused him to shudder in the face of a failure that could cost him his life. He'd baited the bear. He had to get out of there as fast as he could. He stuck his gun in his waistband. Hammer had been a gangster but he'd got out before the shit hit the fan. He'd go home for Berenice and take her with him to anywhere far from there – he'd even go to São Carlos. He looked up and saw a heron flapping across the grey sky. The real fear of death comes only when you're about to die.

Boss of Us All had already seen him. He scratched his dick and waited for Hellraiser to get as close as possible. Hellraiser walked with his head down. If he'd killed the bastard the world would be different now. He'd buy ten wraps of coke, a crate of beer and a shitload of weed to celebrate. He raised his head and saw a woman pass an alley and start running, pulling a child along by the arm. He snapped back to the present. He cocked his gun, doubled around the block and fired. Again the policeman got away unscathed and this time returned fire straightaway. Hellraiser ran to the corner and stopped. He knew his enemy was alone. Now he'd exchange fire, even though Boss of Us All had a machine gun. With the speed of a bullet, he visualised his
pombagira
. Boss of Us All's face peered around the corner. Hellraiser pulled the trigger. Boss of Us All ran out into the open firing his machine gun, riddling the wall Hellraiser was hiding behind with holes.

Boss of Us All's attitude made Hellraiser hesitate for a fraction of a second, then he quickly sprinted to another corner. The policeman came after him, his machine gun spitting out bullets. Hellraiser broke into someone's backyard, jumped two fences and took shelter behind a post. A man shook a child's head, trying unsuccessfully to bring him back to life. A hail of bullets had torn through his chest, perforating a lung. The man cried out to people running past, begging them for the love of God to help his son.

Boss of Us All looked at the child in the throes of death, but fuck it – better the child than him. He wanted to tear the gangster's body to shreds. Instead of taking the same route as Hellraiser, he took off around the block at a speed his old body had not managed for a long time. He saw his enemy as he finished replacing the magazine. He took aim, held his breath, fired and missed. Hellraiser sent lead flying and bought himself enough time to flee the battle scene. He decided it was impossible to face Boss of Us All when he had a machine gun. He wove his way through the alleys, down Middle Street and arrived home. Boss of Us All tried to follow him, but gave up before he even got to the Bonfim. The shootout now over, residents began to appear in the streets again. A friend of the family carried the child's body to the clinic. Boss of Us All went into the Bonfim. He asked if anyone there knew where Hellraiser lived. His question echoed between mixed drinks, cachaça, beers. The drinkers' silence was swallowed dry. He downed a shot of brandy, walked back to the station, got more ammunition and went home.

Hellraiser woke up at around two in the afternoon and raided the kitchen. Berenice thought her husband had spent the night holed up with some slut. Her jealousy made her sulk, but even so she served him some food and went outside to talk with her friends.

Boss of Us All didn't spend long at home. He took his wife to the bus station. She was going to spend a month in their home state of Ceará. Before his wife had even got on the bus, he hurried back to the estate and roamed the steepest alleys carrying a long-barrelled .38 and his machine gun. He prayed to his
exu
to make Hellraiser a sitting duck in his path. City of God was creepy – empty streets, no kites or sun in the sky. The street market finished early and the day passed slowly. The street corners lay in ambush. Boss of Us All gave up his search and on his way home saw a boy leaving the clinic with his leg in plaster. He had broken it in a manhole without a lid while fleeing from the gunfire that morning. Hellraiser spent the rest of the day at home.

Monday dawned wounded. Rainy days seem premature, if not aborted. The cold brought with it the pleasures of laziness. It was nice to stay in.

As soon as Berenice woke up, Hellraiser asked her to buy provisions, dope and coke, with the intention of spending a week holed up at home. No way was he going to let Kojak get him. He'd eat, drink, snort and fuck his wife all week long. He figured Boss of Us All would cool down. He might even think he'd fled the
favela
. He was worried that some northerner might grass on him. Northerners, who all sucked up to their bosses, were also grasses. A worthless bunch. They'd have you believe they shat flowers.

The idea of leaving the estate to save his life lasted all week long, although he knew he couldn't move house as it would attract the police's attention. He'd become aware that the only physical space that belonged to him was his body. He had to preserve it, but if he left the estate he'd lose face. He'd be a coward if he chickened out, if he wasn't man enough to waste Boss of Us All or die in a shootout with him.

‘My husband died in a shootout!' Berenice would boast, or at least that's what Hellraiser misguidedly thought.