by Dorian Sykes
“It’s gon’ cost way more than this once they start going to court, so I suggest y’all two get nice and comfortable,” said J-Bo as he nodded at the leftover crack on the table.
“That should hold y’all for a couple of hours. I’ll be back to re-up y’all. I should know something by then,” said J-Bo.
Wink stood up and followed J-Bo to the door. “Bo, man, my bad. I don’t know what happened down there,” said Wink.
“It’s all good. You live and you learn. The first one was on you. This one’s on your boys. But you’re paying for both. You just gotta tighten up, that’s all.”
Wink nodded at these wise words, but they didn’t seem to stop the hurt of knowing he was still on ground zero. In fact, he was in the hole once they found out how much it would cost to spring Krazy and Trey. Wink watched as J-Bo disappeared down the stairs and out the front door.
Willie was standing at the window, looking down at J-Bo as he climbed in his yellow Porsche. “We should rob his little bitch ass,” said Willie as he watched J-Bo skirt off.
“And what’s that gonna solve? We’d still be broke, and Trey and Krazy would still be in jail,” Wink said, flopping down on the sofa.
“That bitch mothafucka sat up here and talked all that shit. He don’t give no fuck about us!” yelled Willie. “Trey and Krazy could get sent upstate, and all he care about is his money.”
“You don’t think I know this? But for real, he’s right. It’s our fault.”
“How you gon’ defend his ass when our boys is somewhere sittin’ in jail?”
“I’m not defending him. I just said that he’s right, and he is. How the fuck them niggas even get a gun, and where from? We was ’pose to be out there gettin’ money.”
Willie got quiet and turned back toward the window.
“You knew, didn’t you?” asked Wink.
“I ain’t know they had a gun,” said Willie.
“But you knew they were down there trickin’. Don’t lie to me!” snapped Wink.
“Yeah, Krazy told me not to tell you.”
“That’s some bullshit, and you did it. I already know it was Krazy who had the gun. Trey wouldn’t have no hammer.”
“So, what we gon’ do?”
“We not gon’ leave ’em in jail, that’s for sure. We gon’ have to sit here and grind up the money.”
Wink sat back and closed his eyes. He couldn’t believe they had fucked up that money. Just two more days and they would have been breaking bread, and he’d be that much closer to where he wanted to be, on top. No matter what happened, though, he wasn’t about to throw the towel in. Wink wanted it too bad.
He thought about his mom standing in the doorway with Gary looking over her shoulder. The thought of her putting him out made his blood boil, and it gave him the extra drive he needed.
Think, Wink. How am I gon’ get this money? Wink thought on that question all day, while Gator continuously brought custos through the spot.
Gator tried his old game of siccing two fresh pink toe turn-outs on Willie and Wink, but Wink shot that shit down immediately. His mission was money, fuck the rest.
“I see you learning,” said Gator. “That’s right. Don’t you be nobody’s fool in this world. You hear me?” asked Gator in a fatherly tone.
Wink nodded as he let the two skanks out the spot, along with Gator. Those words were stuck in Wink’s head as he sat on the sofa, eyes to the ceiling. Don’t be nobody’s fool.
There was a light knock on the door.
“Go ’head and chill. I got it, my nigga,” said Willie as he stood up to get the door.
It was Sheila from downstairs. She was Gator’s old lady. “Hey, y’all. Why the long faces? Y’all usually up here laughing and whatnot,” she said, stopping in front of the coffee table.
“It’s just one of them days.” Willie sighed.
“I know what you mean, baby. Which is why I came to get me two of them things.” She unfolded a crispy twenty and gave it to Willie.
“Let me guess. You ain’t want Gator try’na help you smoke yours up,” said Willie.
“How you know?” Sheila laughed. “Shit, I been holding onto that twenty all day. Couldn’t wait till his ass left.”
“Here you go,” Willie said, dropping two dime rocks into Sheila’s palm.
Her smile turned upside down instantly. “J-Bo know his ass is wrong as two left shoes and a fat bitch in Spandex.”
“What’s wrong?” asked Willie.
“These shits are micro-dots. One hit and they gone. Shit, Fat Mike got rocks twice the size of these around the corner.”
“What, you want your money back?” asked Willie.
“Nah, I’ma take ’em this time, but tell J-Bo he need to quit it.” Sheila tucked the rocks into her bra and started for the door.
Wink was soaking up everything Sheila had said, and a plan had hit him. He knew exactly how he was going to get that money up, and fast.
Chapter Ten
The good news was that the police let Trey go. They tried everything in the book to keep him, but the lawyer J-Bo sent down there was one of the best in the game. He demanded they release Trey because they had nothing on him. The victim, Robert, pointed Krazy out in a lineup as the man who shot him, as did Mandy. Trey was out, but the bad news was Krazy was stuck in jail on a $150,000 bond for attempted murder. The lawyer tried to pull some strings with the magistrate for a reduced bond, but the prosecution argued that he was a flight risk because he lived in another state.
J-Bo was dead set on not forking up any money to get Krazy out of jail. He told them it was a learning lesson in the game, and that Krazy wouldn’t do life. Wink wired Trey some money, though, for a bus ticket and fifty dollars to put on Krazy’s books. Gator picked Trey up at the bus station in downtown Detroit. He took him to the spot on Linwood so he could talk to Wink and Willie.
“My nigga, what it is?” Willie asked as he rushed to give Trey a hug.
Trey wasn’t feeling that hug shit. He pushed Willie back and focused his attention on Wink, who was lying across the sofa.
“I see you made it out. I hope you didn’t drop the soap,” joked Wink.
“Oh, you think that shit’s funny, huh? Y’all still up in here sellin’ for that ho-ass nigga, and he won’t even post Krazy’s bond,” said Trey.
Willie saw an argument about to go down, so he made his way over to the love seat. Wink popped up from his spot on the sofa with his face twisted.
“First off, you bogus as mothafucka, you and Krazy. Y’all jacked that money and for what? Some trick-ass bitch,” said Wink.
“I ain’t do shit. But I still can’t see how you sidin’ with J-Bo over me and Krazy. We ’pose to be your niggas.”
“It ain’t about sides. We can’t expect J-Bo to put up that kind of money. It’d be different if y’all got jammed up while handling business, then yeah, I’d be like yo, go get my man, but y’all fucked the lick up.”
“So, you just gon’ leave Krazy in jail?”
“You already know it ain’t in me to do no shit like that. I’m in here grindin’ twenty-four seven try’na get that nigga’s lawyer fee together. We owe his lawyer another seven grand for him to take the case.”
“And J-Bo won’t front us the money?”
“Fuck J-Bo! We gotta do this shit! Us three right here. We gotta put our heads together, let our nuts hang, and go hard for Krazy.” Wink looked from Trey to Willie. “We can’t depend on nobody but us. Now, I need to know if y’all with me.”
“I’m with you, my nigga,” said Willie.
Wink turned to Trey. “What about you?”
“Come on, Trey. Krazy needs us,” said Willie.
“I’m in, but soon as Krazy’s out, I’m out,” said Trey.
“We all out,” said Wink. “Not out the game, but we gon’ start doin’ our own thang.”
“That’s what the fuck we shoulda been doin’ from day one. We don’t need J-Bo’s sucka ass. All he doin’ for real is g
etting over,” said Trey.
“You don’t think I know that? But who else was gon’ show us the game? I done learned a few tricks, and once I learn a few more, we going solo. In the meantime, though, we gon’ continue to work this one trick, here,” Wink said, tossing Trey a rock.
“What you give me this for?” Trey asked, looking at the dime rock in his hand.
“You see how big it is?” asked Wink.
“Catch,” he said, tossing Trey another rock.
“You see how small that one is?”
“Yeah,” said Trey.
“Well, the second one is one of J-Bo’s. That’s what he got us sellin’ around here. The other one is from this nigga around the corner name Fat Mike. They both dimes.”
“So?”
“I know you ain’t that slow, my nigga. We can buy Mike’s shit and cut two dimes out of it. Then sell the shit outta the spot like it’s J-Bo’s,” said Wink.
“I like that,” said Trey.
“I was waitin’ on you to get out before we put the lick down, ’cause I holla’d at J-Bo about lettin’ us open up another spot. I figure if we can pimp two spots at once, we’ll have Krazy’s lawyer money in no time with cash to spare.”
“How many of these you got?” asked Trey.
“Ten right now, but when we get paid, we gon’ snatch a thousand dollars’ worth. That’ll double our money, and we’ll just keep flipping until we can find us a connect.”
“You know I’m with it. Fuck that nigga,” said Trey.
“Word,” added Willie.
“We just gotta be careful not to overdo it,” said Wink.
“You sound like you been thinking on this,” said Trey.
“Yeah, right. Nigga ain’t told me nothin’, and I been right here with him the whole time,” said Willie.
“Nah, I just wanted to make sure all bases were covered so there won’t be any more fuck-ups. ’Cause we gotta get this money up before Krazy’s next court date,” said Wink. He walked around the table and took a seat on the sofa. He leaned his head back and rubbed his face with both hands. Just two weeks in the game, and the stress was already hitting him. They hadn’t even had the chance to at least hit the mall and splurge like every other nigga did when they first got in the game. They were facing some grown man shit early in the game, and it was all because of two mistakes, which should have been avoided.
Wink took his hands from his face and sat up. He interrupted Trey and Willie by saying, “Yo, no more mistakes.”
Trey and Willie just looked at Wink like, Where that come from? But neither said anything. It was at that moment, right there in the front room of the spot, that they became men. Silence filled the room as they all were lost in thoughts of what they had to do to get Krazy out, and what they had to do in order to survive in the game. They realized that it wasn’t all about money, cars, and clothes. There’s a flip side to the game, and it’s called jail.
Chapter Eleven
Everything was going according to plans. Wink played off of J-Bo’s greed and talked him into opening another spot on the east side. J-Bo being the larceny-hearted nigga he was, quickly set up shop at this old cleaner’s on 7 Mile and Eureka Street. He bought the building a while back, thinking he could crank the cleaner’s back up. The Chinese couple who sold it to him were kind enough to leave all the pressing equipment. They just wanted out because they kept being robbed. The cleaner’s sat for two years, and J-Bo had finally found some use for it. Only difference was, they wouldn’t be pressing nothing except bills after they sold crack out of the drive-thru window.
J-Bo took Trey and Willie over to open the newfound spot. He was determined to get his money back out of that place one way or another. J-Bo showed them a few stash spots in case the task force decided to raid. He told them, if asked, to just say they were watching the building for vandalism. J-Bo thought he had all the sense when it came to running a crack operation, he put an OPEN SOON sign in the window and actually paid a few crackheads to do some minor repairs and cleaning to make it seem like the business would really be opening soon.
Things were going smooth. They had a bedroom set up in the back with a color TV and VCR, so Trey and Willie were chilling, just serving custos through the drive-thru window. Some custos would do a walk-through. They’d slide their money into the glass chute, then wait for their crack. It was a smooth operation, dead smack in the hood, so plenty of action was popping off.
Every morning, Willie and Trey would watch the pretty girls walk past on their way to Pershing High for summer school. They had to fight with all their might the temptations of taking the girls inside the cleaner’s and blowing their young backs outs. The thought of Krazy sitting in jail would keep them focused—that and the constant calls they received from Wink to check up on them.
“Let that shit ring. It ain’t nobody but Wink’s ass. He over there bored as shit. Wanna keep callin’ and fuckin’ with us,” said Trey.
“Yeah, but it might be an emergency,” said Willie as he stared at the ringing phone sitting on the front counter.
Trey waved his hand at the phone and said, “I’ll be back. I’ma shoot across the street to the store.”
“A’ight,” said Willie as he snatched up the phone.
“Osborn Cleaner’s, how may I help you?”
“Nigga, drop the act. Where Trey at?” asked Wink.
“Damn, do you know any other numbers to dial? You call me more than my bitch,” snapped Willie.
“That’s ’cause you ain’t got no bitch. Now stop playing and put Trey on.”
“He just went to the store.”
“A’ight, well, check it. When he gets back, tell ’im I said to catch a cab over here. It’s on.”
“It’s on?” Willie repeated excitedly.
“That’s what I said. Just tell ’im to hurry up.”
Wink hung up the phone and finished sorting through the half of rocks he was going to give Trey to sell out the cleaner’s. Wink had spent so much money with Fat Mike that he gave him a deal. Instead of a thousand dollars’ worth of dime rocks, he gave him twelve hundred and told him the more he spent, the more of a deal he’d give him. That was music to Wink’s thirsty ears. He put six hundred dollars’ worth of rocks into a baggie and made up three more the same size. He’d give Trey two and keep two.
It had been almost a week, and the cleaner’s was starting to show a consistent money flow on a daily basis. Wink thought that now was the time to start sliding their rocks into the mix of things before J-Bo could actually pinpoint and know how much to expect from the cleaner’s on a regular basis. Wink would slide his rocks in on the midnight shift after J-Bo had done his last pickup for the day. Wink had it all mapped out. He figured it wouldn’t be nothing to slide in two hundred dollars of his own rocks. J-Bo wouldn’t miss it because the night was hard to peg.
Trey showed up in a yellow Checker Cab. He had the driver hit the horn twice, then climbed out. He met Wink on the landing of the spot.
“Here, put this up,” said Wink.
“How much is it?”
“It’s six hun’d in each one. I got a little deal on it, so keep a hun’d off each one and give me back the rest so we can re-up and get Krazy’s lawyer this bread. He talkin’ like he ain’t gon’ be there at his next court date if he ain’t got his bread in hand.”
“How hard you want me to go with this shit?”
“Just do like two hun’d, and only at night. We don’t wanna blow the move.”
“What about the work? Is it any good?”
“I done passed out a few testers, and it’s actually better, so we shouldn’t have no complaints. And I got ’em the same exact size.”
Trey smiled, then extended his hand for Wink’s. “That’s what I’m talkin’ about. Let me get outta here. I got the cabbie waitin’. A’ight, one,” said Trey. He speed-walked across the street and jumped in the cab.
“Oh, shit. Pull off,” he told the Arab driver. Trey ducked low in his seat at th
e sight of J-Bo’s Porsche floating down Linwood in the direction of the spot. The cab passed the Porsche, and Trey sat up.
“You runnin’ from someone, my friend?” the driver asked, looking through the rearview at Trey.
“I paid you to drive, so drive.” Trey pulled the sandwich bags from his hoodie pocket and looked down at the crack. For once, he felt like he was holding something that belonged to him, and not to some nigga who was trying to work him like a sucka.
Trey didn’t want to get in the game to begin with. That was Wink and his crew pressing him to start hustling. But he felt like if he was going to be out there taking penitentiary chances, then he was going to be one of the best that ever did it.
He tucked the rocks back into his hoodie and sank into his seat. Trey thought about his mom and told the driver to drive down his street. He didn’t have the man stop. He just needed to see the house so he’d know she was all right. He was just like Wink—a momma’s boy and spoiled to death. He already knew both their moms had an APB out on them because neither had bothered to call home. Trey wanted so bad to go see his mom, but he could hear her pitching a bitch about how he shouldn’t be out there in the streets. She would beg him to stay home, she’d go to crying and some more shit... just a whole bunch of drama Trey wasn’t ready to deal with. Krazy needed him right now, and there wasn’t no way he was going to turn his back on him. Not for nothing in the world.
Trey felt guilty for Krazy being in jail. He didn’t know that he’d snuck his grandfather’s .25 along, but Trey felt like if he hadn’t went in the bathroom to finish up his head job with Mandy, he would have been out there with Krazy, and none of this would even be happening. That was the whole purpose of them splitting up the way they did. Trey was supposed to keep an eye on Krazy and run the downstairs, while Wink held it down upstairs.
Trey felt even worse when he thought back to the look on Krazy’s face when the guards came and told him he was being released. Krazy had a look on his face like, What about me? Trey had promised him and swore on his life that he wouldn’t leave him there. Trey swallowed the lump in his throat and mouthed the words “I promise” as if he were back at the jail, standing in front of Krazy.