“HELLBENT” (vers.4)

I remember that fateful day

In little North Hollywood

Two Warriors dressed in black

Did what I wished I could

They hit a B of A

On another scorching day

I heard the roar and buzz

Of choppers overhead

This wasn’t “gang related”

There was way too much lead

My ears were cocked and throbbing

So I answered from the streets

Turned on the news

To get a good view

It was way beyond belief!

But for those who seek to be legends

It was all colors and sounds

Like hours of LSD

But with rapid booming rounds

They had hit other banks

With the force of Sherman Tanks

Then they were down my street

God - they were big!

Shit – they were packed!

Two dudes I’d like to meet

Whether you’re a Savior

Or a Soldier

Much younger

Or much older

If you’re living in L.A.

You’re looking over your shoulder

I don’t care what you say

That was one “helluva day”

Those guys didn’t come to play

It was better than Christmas!

But only in L.A.

I watched it on tv

Close up in view

I understood their motives

I think most people do

Now Bonnie and Clyde

Even they had to hide

But they called each other “Honey”

But no matter how you say it

Or how many times you play it

We all just want the money

But some are just misunderstood

Just can’t escape from the Hood

So they label you “no good”

And place you in rotting wood

But there is one thing I know

Life’s a bitch

Unless you’re rich

Ask any 9 to 5 soul

So these men of armored steel

Named Larry & Emil

Braced with AK-47’s

Did their best

In their Kevlar vests

Man – it was OUTLAW HEAVEN!

Now I give credit where credit is due

So I salute the North Hollywood Blue

But please understand

The Beast in the man

Cause one day it could be you

So those blacked masked strangers

Who spit in the face of danger

Kept four hundred cops at bay

For a total of 41 minutes

On a sizzling summer day

And they took my breath away!

So I watched them get pummeled

From over two hundred bullets they say

But they held their ground

Like Pit Bulls from a pound

Yet all the electric sounds

Would have blown most mortals away

They were NEVER outgunned

Just suffocating from the sun

The cops say they killed Larry

But remember this is Hollywood

So I can tell you that’s a lie

I watched him march up Archwood

The street he chose to die

He was eerily calm

Not at all afraid

Just a little pissed off

Like a lion in a cage

As he walked up the street

Thick black shoes donned his feet

But he just kept blazing away

He was a true Gladiator

So he knew this was his last day

Then his AK jammed

He probably growled “god damn”

But he knew he was the Man

So he motioned towards a pistol

With his gloved right hand

He knew it was do or die

No time for any “good byes”

Or even time to ask why?

At least he knew he tried

He had the gun and he knew it

It took major balls

As he drew it

Then he went down so hard

Inside a little green yard

He landed on his face

With Dillinger’s style and grace

And marked a phenomenal place

That history can never erase

He was bigger than Al Capone

At least he didn’t die alone

Or too far from my home

Where so many memories still roam

Please God – just remember

Don’t forget him in December

Just cause he didn’t surrender

Shot the shit out of every tire & fender

Didn’t wanna waste money on a public defender

But he too was once a boy

Guns his favorite toy

But he never knew his dad

I find that awfully sad

Now Emil stood alone at his car

Just like Pablo Escobar

Or any powerful Czar

His volley of rounds

Making ominous sounds

Like screams from raging guitars

I thought of Jimi Hendrix

And the poetry of “Purple Haze”

No – Emil was not a monster

He was a Stallion in MY PARADE

Or Robert DeNiro on a stage

We can all relate to his rage

He was braced with his AK47

So bloody hot

He needed a 711

But man, I’ll never forget him

He didn’t panic or even flee

Like some two bit petty thief

Or a junkie who seeks relief

Though he faced millions alone

His image on tv

He had the courage of 103

He reminded me of my valiant dog, Comrade

So he was no enemy to me

It was really something to see

Glad I bought the DVD

Once again Emil took his aim

Like a “goodfella” for hire

Just like best buddy Larry

He mostly shot cars and tires

So he haunted and he taunted

To give the cameras what they wanted

And he was wasn’t even daunted

Braced for a private war

As I’m sure he did before

So he faced the cops

Never missing a beat

“C-mon Motherfuckers

I’m still on my feet!”

He was solid as steel

His pulse I could feel

It was almost unreal

I’ll remember you, Emil

He raised his weapon high

Still not afraid to die

And he didn’t care

Like a kid on a dare

As he blasted all around him

More cops began to surround him

As he stood alone in the battle

More cops than he could see

I closed my eyes

And realized

Damn! I wished that were me!

He was a cop’s worst nightmare

A Hell Raiser through and through

The epitome of the term “HELLBENT”

And what you can do if you choose

He took hits from all directions

Ignored the sun’s reflection

Each time the bullets struck him

He just seemed to shuck them

To the press he was Medieval

To me – he was Evel Knievel!

A massive Rottweiler soldier

Who would die before it was over

Then one cop got a lucky shot

Emil was hit in the foot

He fell to the pavement

In complete enragement

And I could hear the sounds

Of baying “demons and hounds”

Then he was shot in the knee

Once, twice, then three

And he was only 33

That’s pretty young to me

And they let him bleed

Cause the cops were so embarrassed

Of a rebel who tried to succeed

But it took many rounds

To bring the “Supernatural” down

He left behind a widow

And two little boys

You know they’re gonna grow up

And make their own noise

They’ll read for many years

In all the history books

Of their father and his friend

Who battled to the very end

And died the closest of friends

Their memory will never end

But the cops who let Emil bleed

Just planted another mad seed

But his boys should always remember

Hold your heads up high

Daddy only wanted the money

Didn’t mean to make you cry

I’ve seen people die for less

But it will never make the press

Maybe that’s good I guess

You can ask me twice

But I’ll never confess

Cause even Charles Manson

Can get on the internet

Now of course the cops, they tried

Glad no one else died

But those two really hung in there

For more than just a while

Both of them had families

And people who made them smile

So much hunger in the city

But the rich don’t have much pity

But no matter how you call it

If there’s Protocol

You should follow it

You don’t just let a man die

Or slowly bleed to death

Or push paramedics away

As he struggles for his last breath

You should look for the Cross around his neck

If it’s not there, then he should be “Blessed”

Even that a layman can guess

Even in a bulletproof vest

A heart beats against a chest

The money was insured

So their deaths were absurd

So I’m just spreading the word

Cause there is more than what you’ve heard

So get on the internet

There’s so much you can get

The cops don’t want released yet

Kind of makes me upset

Either way you decide

It was “political homicide”

Now there’s two sides to every coin

I know which side I’ll join

But nothing should die for money

Cause even bees give you honey

But both were tough as nails

Or bullets frozen in Hell

But poor Emil

He wasn’t well

In body or in mind

If someone had even cared

Who knows?

He may have been kind

But they sure left a story

Of their destined “criminal glory”

I hope God forgives them

Cause I know someone misses them

As they lay that day

So still on the ground

Only Emil’s heart

Beat a wicked sound

Lots of people ask me why?

Many say, “who were those guys?”

But if I had been there with them

I know they would have laughed

And shrugged their metal shoulders

As I asked for their autographs

But now I’ll never know

I dream about it though

They both had guts and glory

Gave the whole World a great story

But after they passed from this Earth

Even the silence was gory

They didn’t intend to kill

Their craft was a mastered skill

I gave them props for their will

Better off dead than in jail

People searched for bullets and dollar bills

Cause we all wanna live in the Hills

But still – I really did pray

For them both to get away

Count their money

Buy some beer

Or a cabin in the lake

Then just disappear

But I’ll always feel compassion

In a strange sort of fashion

Cause we all wanna live in a Mansion

All they wanted

Was chaos & confusion  

To be sure they’d get away

There should have been a body count

But they didn’t want it that way

Too bad the world just can’t realize

Though those men were armed to the teeth
No one else lost their lives

On that day, they only had each other

Like two Most Wanted “outlaw” brothers

But they both came from their mothers

I hope they’re hugging each other

So put out an APB

There’s more the world needs to see

If you want, just ask me

May have been crazy

Maybe just bold

No matter how you play it

Men will die for the “motherlode”

So raise your fists high

For those who see gold

And give all the libraries

Stories to be told

And take the whole damn Universe

Back to the days of Patty Hearst

Cause men like that

Have hearts that burst

Guess ya gotta catch ‘em first

They were not rapists

Or child pedophiles

And as I watched them all the while

I couldn’t help but shout

“Do it, boys – Hollywood Style!”

Their main reason?

Just another mean season

There was a method to their madness

A  retribution, but no address

But even in the end

Just plain sadness

But both were aware

Of the crosses they had to bear

And why it happened all along

Hope “Eminem” writes their song

He probably sent them there

That wicked little blonde

But those who live by the dollar

Are sometimes just corporate collar

Or barely a high school scholar

But we know we’re all gonna die

So why not dream and aim high?

To the world – they are pop culture

To the law – a terminal ulcer

Bandits with black masks

Remember that if anyone asks

But some men just never find

A true piece of mind

Or a good paying job

With a boss who’s very kind

It can make you lose your mind

If you give it enough time

Even though the devil did tempt them

You can’t deny them “redemption”

Bu it’s still just another day

Of life and death in a way

And somewhere in a Gangster’s Heaven

They’ve found a 711

And I know there is a Golden Throne

That stands in an “outlaw’s dome”

To me, they were a Masked Battallion

To the cops – they were probably Italian

Illegitimate sons of Ma Barker

Who came to shoot or die

Under a relentless California sky

And somewhere in the midnight air

The spirits of Gunmen wait there

And if you can see through the clearance

It won’t be their last appearance

They did what outlaws do

To us – no rhyme or reason

God Bless all the Gangsters

Cause Hollywood always needs ‘em

I still visit the street with the little green yard

Where Larry went down so very hard

And the street where Emil lay as he bled

Still visions and sounds inside my head

Now they’re as big as Marilyn Monroe

Who still sleeps in crypt 33

But Christ – what a way to go!

Hey guys – save a bullet for me!

Sometimes ya just don’t know

Sometimes ya know ya should

And that’s the underground motto

Of the Kevlar armored Gestapo

That stormed North Hollywood

Maybe they were dangerous

Or maybe just driven

But I really hope and pray

They’ll both be forgiven…

Dedicated to Larry and Emil

1.23.06

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Written by Honey Shepard, an author and resident of North Hollywood, California that witnessed the even firsthand.

You can contact the author at loved2death@adelphia.net