“My bad, girl.” Nu-Nu’s words brought Kafisa back to the present. “I’m just goin’ on and on about nothing. I’m just glad to see you, is all.” Nu-Nu reached out again, catching Kafisa by surprise, and gave her another hug. “We straight,” she whispered in Kafisa’s ear, just loud enough for her to hear.
Kafisa returned her hug. She let out a sigh of relief. Kafisa was glad Nu-Nu hadn’t continued with her innuendos and aroused the suspicion of Halimah and Laverne. Although she had nothing to hide, she didn’t feel like explaining the situation to her girls, especially since there were more important things to discuss.
“Y’all get in with me. Let’s ride. Let me show you the sweetness of the South,” Nu-Nu suggested.
Both Halimah and Laverne looked over at Kafisa. Kafisa nodded and made her way to Nu-Nu’s Lexus. Minutes later Nu-Nu was cruising through the city of Columbia, bumping the latest Dirty South music.
“So, give me the lay of the land,” Kafisa said. It was time to get down to business. “Let me know how they movin’ out here and tell me what you into.” She turned toward Nu-Nu.
Nu-Nu glanced over at her, then peered in the rearview mirror at Laverne and Halimah before she spoke. “Well, there’s a few locals that be doing their thing, but the real big dope boys are from Miami,” she began. “Then you got the Jersey and Philly boys across town, who stay beefing over their areas. That’s where Jameel be at when he come into town. There’s pretty much a major figure from every borough, including where you from, who out here, gettin’ it. Me and my homegirl, Niecy, usually get down together and get our stuff from one of the New Yorkers, anyway, because they seemed to have the best work and be consistent.” Nu-Nu flicked her blinker and hooked a right turn.
Kafisa peered out the passenger-side window. She recognized this area, since she had once dwelled here. She drew her attention back to Nu-Nu, not wanting to miss anything.
“We pay twelve hundred an ounce for some good, hard shit and bust it down and make nothing under two bandz and a half. And we buying like four or five ounces a pop a week,” Nu-Nu stated proudly. She had no way of knowing that though it was a source of pride for her, what she was accomplishing in the streets did not and could not impress Kafisa and her team. It took everything in Kafisa’s power not to laugh at Nu-Nu’s proud drug accomplishments, but Halimah and Laverne couldn’t hold their chuckles in.
Nu-Nu peered back at them in the rearview mirror for a second time. “What’s so funny?” she wanted to know.
“Nothing,” Kafisa answered for her girls. She turned around and shot them both disapproving looks, like a mother would her disruptive kids.
“We meant no disrespect, ma,” Halimah said, apologizing for her and Laverne’s laughter.
“It’s cool. Y’all straight,” Nu-Nu said. Her Southern drawl was undeniable. “But that ain’t what we really wanna do, though,” she admitted.
Kafisa listened attentively.
“We want to be able to sell weight,” Nu-Nu explained.
Kafisa smiled on the inside. Nu-Nu’s words were like music to her ears. “Really?” Kafisa asked.
“Yeah, me and my homegirl wanna sell weight,” Nu-Nu repeated. “Bring New York to them. That’s where the money’s at. I mean, you only gonna get double or something, not even that, but the money is in the quick flip, right?”
Kafisa nodded. “Absolutely.”
“Exactly!” Nu-Nu exclaimed. “I already got the numbers in my head too,” she added.
Kafisa chuckled. She didn’t believe Nu-Nu knew what she was talking about. “What do you mean?” She was curious to know what Nu-Nu was thinking.
“I mean, if I ever get my hands on some birds, I’ma do it like this.” Nu-Nu began to break down her game plan. “Say you cop two bricks for twenty-one a piece and sell them for twenty-eight a piece right off the bat. That’s a fourteen-thousand-dollar profit right there. Or say you come and sell ounces to the younger kids wholesale, twelve hundred an ounce or a thousand. If you sell thirty-six ounces at a G a whop, that’s thirty-six thousand right there. If you sell them for eleven or twelve hundred, that’s about forty-three thousand a key.”
The way Nu-Nu had broken it down had Kafisa intrigued. Nu-Nu had not only Kafisa’s undivided attention. She also had Halimah’s and Laverne’s ears. Neither Kafisa, Halimah, nor Laverne had ever hustled in the South, or anywhere other than Brooklyn, for that matter, so they were soaking it all up. They all did quick tallies in their head and came to the same conclusion. You could move weight just as quickly as you could move work on the ground level.
“That sounds cool and all, but how many joints you think you could move if you had them?” Kafisa asked.
“Shit!” Nu-Nu let out a light chuckle. “As many as I can get my damn hands on,” she remarked.
“Get the fuck out of here.” Kafisa matched her chuckle. “So, you mean to tell me, if you had one hundred keys, you could move them?” Kafisa challenged.
“No, that’s not what I’m sayin’,” Nu-Nu replied.
“Oh, I knew you were buggin’.” Kafisa grimaced. She wondered if linking up with Nu-Nu was a bad idea after all.
“What I’m sayin’ is that me and my homegirl, Niecy, could move a hundred of them things if we could get our hands on them,” Nu-Nu explained. A huge smile appeared across her face. “But we’ll never know this, because unless them shit fall outta the sky or a motherfucka hit the lottery, a bitch gonna be ouncin’ it out here till she die.”
Nu-Nu’s last remarks caused a thunder of laughter from Kafisa, Halimah, and Laverne.
“Shit. I’m serious! Y’all laughing,” Nu-Nu said.
Kafisa was the first to cease her laughter. Her tone turned serious. “What if you could get your hands on that much shit?”
Nu-Nu looked over at her. Something in Kafisa’s eyes made Nu-Nu pull over. “What the hell are you talkin’ about?” she asked Kafisa. She and Kafisa were now eye to eye.
“First, before I answer your question, let’s establish something,” Kafisa stated. “One, don’t ever talk to me like that again. Okay?” Her stare became sterner.
A sense of inferiority swept through Nu-Nu. Kafisa’s words caused her feelings for her to resurface. They took her back to that place when she was cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs for Kafisa. Rather than argue, Nu-Nu shook her head, acquiescing. She had a strong feeling that neither her feelings for Kafisa nor her pride was worth more than the answer she believed she was about to get to her question. “I give you my word. And I apologize for the disrespect,” Nu-Nu replied.
Kafisa nodded and smiled. “Apology accepted.” She grew serious. “Now secondly, after I answer your question, what I say goes.”
Nu-Nu didn’t hesitate to nod her agreement to that condition. She already knew that would be something she’d have to conform to, and she was fine with that.
Kafisa noticed that Nu-Nu was unfazed by her second demand. That pleased her. She believed Nu-Nu would take her lead. “Let’s just say you just hit the muthafuckin’ lottery and shit fallin’ out of the fuckin’ sky,” Kafisa finally answered.
There was a dead calm in the car for just under a minute, until Nu-Nu’s delayed reaction kicked in. Nu-Nu’s near window-shattering scream echoed throughout her Lexus. Kafisa put her fingers in her ears to minimize the excruciating sound. Halimah and Laverne followed suit.
“Girl! You bet’ not be shittin’ me!” Nu-Nu said, regaining her composure.
“No, you better not be shittin’ me!” Kafisa rapidly fired back.
Judging by the look on Nu-Nu’s face, Kafisa knew her tone was strong enough to convince Nu-Nu that this was not a drill. It was the real thing. She had fallen into a money pot and finally had a chance to deepen her pockets without dealing with some shady-ass motherfuckers.
Kafisa made her first request of Nu-Nu. “Now, call up your homegirl, Niecy, so we can meet her and get this shit flooded in the South.” She then reached up and lowered the volume of Nu-Nu’s mixed CD. She reclined her seat a
nd watched as Nu-Nu pulled out her phone and dialed her road dog, Niecy. Niecy picked up on the first ring.
“Yo, Niecy. There’s people I need you to meet. Holla at me at Tasty’s. We on our way now.”
“Okay. I’ll be there in an hour or so.” Niecy hung up the phone.
“Everything is set. Let me show you where the real ballers and shot callers play at,” Nu-Nu said as she put her phone back in the middle console.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way. Let’s do it.” Kafisa looked back at Halimah and Laverne with a big smile on her face, letting them know things would be looking all the way up sooner than they had thought. Then Kafisa turned up the volume of Nu-Nu’s mixed CD.
Chapter Nineteen
Tasty’s Gentlemen’s Club was packed when they arrived. It was doing the damn thing! Strippers flipped upside down on poles, and others paraded around the room half naked, while men and women filled the place, stuffing what little clothing the strippers wore with predominantly one-dollar bills.
Kafisa was not surprised to see just as many women in the establishment as men. Hanging out in strip clubs had become the new thing for females. Kafisa remembered that when she attended college, this club had been called another name, but she couldn’t recall what it was. She knew it wasn’t a strip club back then, though. Just from the outside alone, she knew it was not the same place it had been.
Nu-Nu had told her it was the new hangout spot for all the local hustlers on all levels in the surrounding area and for money-chasing chicks from all over too. On that particular night, motorcycles, high-priced cars, high-maintenance chicks, and good-looking guys were in force outside and in. It seemed as if the nice weather had brought the whole city out. It felt good to Kafisa to be back around her old college stomping grounds. She thought she recognized some faces from school, but she wasn’t sure.
Damn, I miss the ole days, she thought while one of the club promoters ushered them inside, enabling them to skip the line wrapped around the building. The crowd of agitated and horny club goers waiting impatiently to see some ass and titties gave them all dirty looks. Nu-Nu ignored the stares and strolled past the crowd and into the club like she owned it. Kafisa knew she was trying to impress her. Although it was her intent to keep a low profile while trying to open up shop, she liked how Nu-Nu rolled. Back home, she would have done the same thing. All eyes were on them as Nu-Nu led the pack.
It was apparent to Kafisa that on a Thursday Tasty’s was where you wanted to be if you were getting money and liked to turn up and show out. The ambiance alone makes you want to spend money, empty yo’ pockets in the establishment, thought Kafisa. A large gold genie’s lamp hung from the ceiling, giving off a red glow, which created a sensual atmosphere. The walls were covered with red velvet fabric and pictures of exotic dancers mounted in gold frames.
The bar stretched across the back wall of the spacious room, facing the tables, chairs, and stage. It was fully stocked with every type of liquor imaginable. A curly-haired, brown-eyed beauty stood behind the bar, barely clothed and ready to serve drinks. The stage was a runway and stretched across the front of the room. Everyone had the same view as their neighbor. Access to the stage was easy, so each person could tip his or her favorite stripper accordingly. Two bouncers were seated at each end of the stage, ready to wrestle anyone who overstepped their boundaries and ignored the rules.
As they made their way to Nu-Nu’s reserved section, Kafisa couldn’t help but notice that in every section, whether next to the stage or in VIP, bottles were being popped. Sexy females in provocative outfits were coming from every direction, with sparklers and bottles in hand. After what seemed like forever, due to the size of the club and the bottle poppers, they finally made it to their elevated VIP section, built against the right wall of the club.
“’Bout muthafuckin’ time! It took forever to get in this bitch,” Niecy told Nu-Nu. She did a quick scan of Kafisa, Halimah, and Laverne.
“Bitch, we here, ain’t we?” Nu-Nu shot back.
Niecy rolled her eyes. She could tell right away that Nu-Nu was in an “I’m here to impress these peoples” mood. Niecy looked at the strange faces before her again, then looked back at Nu-Nu. This better not be some bullshit, she thought.
“These my peoples I was tellin’ you about.” Nu-Nu began to introduce her invited guests. “This is Halimah.” She pointed. “That’s Laverne.” She paused and turned toward Kafisa. “And this is Kafisa,” she announced boldly. She wanted to make sure Niecy knew this was who she really wanted her to meet.
“Hey, everybody.” Niecy gave a wave with her hand. “Excuse my rudeness, but this bitch been slow forever and a day since I’ve known her.” Niecy chuckled.
Her words removed whatever tension might have been lingering. The New York in Kafisa, Halimah, and Laverne was ready to come out. They had all thought that they were going to have a problem with Niecy. They were all glad when she clarified the reason for the look on her face and her demeanor when they first arrived in the VIP section.
“It’s cool,” Kafisa said, accepting her apology on behalf of her crew. “Besides, I know exactly what you’re talkin’ ’bout,” Kafisa added with a wink.
“I like her already.” Niecy laughed. “What y’all drinkin’?” she then asked. “I got two bottles of white to get us started, but if y’all drink dark liquor, I can order something else,” she offered.
Kafisa looked around the club. This time she took a better look. It didn’t take her long to figure out who was who and what was what. She knew if she wanted to make her presence felt and have every hustler wondering who she, Halimah, and Laverne were, she had to set the tone.
“We drink Cîroc,” Kafisa replied. “No disrespect to you, but that’s not enough for us.”
Niecy’s face twisted a bit. “Okay, balla.” She threw her hands up, as if in surrender. “Well, the way my baller account set up . . . ,” she joked. Niecy looked over at Nu-Nu, who was just standing there with a humorous grin on her face.
Kafisa let out a light chuckle. “Don’t worry about it, ma. I got us.”
Ten minutes later, everybody stopped what they were doing and watched as six of the club’s baddest chicks came through like a soul train line, toting a dozen bottles of vodka and champagne, accompanied by sparklers. Kafisa had personally requested that the club’s baddest girls bring their bottles out. She had tipped healthily to ensure that this would be the case. Kafisa was pleased when she saw the attention their section was receiving. They all sat there while the sexy women of all shades poured them all their first drink, except for Niecy. It was actually Niecy’s fourth. When she arrived, she had already had a drink in hand. As time went by, however, they all nearly matched in terms of the amount of alcohol they had consumed.
“Who, me?” Kafisa heard Nu-Nu say, pointing to her chest. Her words were a little slurred. When she turned and looked in the direction Nu-Nu was facing, Kafisa saw a huge, dark-skinned, bald-headed brother, with a shirt two sizes too small on and enough jewelry to light the club back up if the lights shut off, motioning for her to come over to his section.
“Who’s that?” Kafisa asked.
“That’s Blue. Them the Florida boys I was telling you about,” Nu-Nu answered. “But what he tryin’a holla at me for?” Nu-Nu rolled her eyes. “I don’t fuck with ’em.”
Kafisa shook her head. “He tryin’a holla at you because he tryin’a figure out how the fuck we can afford all these bottles I just ordered,” Kafisa said, clueing her in.
Nu-Nu giggled. The liquor had made her a little relaxed. “Ooh! My bad. I guess it’s the country in me coming out.” She quickly sobered up and stood. Within minutes, Nu-Nu was in between the dark-skinned brother named Blue and another brother, who was two shades lighter than Blue and a few inches taller than him.
Kafisa pretended not to watch as the two men’s gold teeth glistened as they talked to Nu-Nu and periodically looked over at Kafisa. She played her position like the boss she was, and sipped on he
r drink while her girls and Niecy partied. Before she knew it, Niecy had been summoned by another brother, who, she informed Kafisa, was from Charleston, South Carolina, and had the town on lock.
Before the night ended, both Niecy and Nu-Nu had made their rounds to every VIP section in the club. So far so good, thought Kafisa as she accepted the check from the waitress. Including taxes and the gratuity, the bill came to $5,600.00. Kafisa pulled a monstrous knot of hundred-dollar bills out of her D&G clutch. She counted out sixty bills and handed them to the waitress.
“Don’t worry about the change, sweetie.” Kafisa winked at her. She then retrieved one of her business cards from her clutch. “If you ever get tired of doing this, hit me up.” Kafisa stared the waitress in her face.
The waitress broke the stare. She had a huge smile plastered on her face. “Thank you. And thanks.” She slipped the card in between her breasts and stuck the six grand into the check wallet.
Kafisa stood. Halimah and Laverne followed suit. Kafisa noticed that they had three remaining full bottles and two halves on the table. She leaned in to the closest group of dudes standing by their section. “Hey, y’all can have all this if y’all want.” She offered the bottles of liquor with a wave of her hand. The dudes declined. She knew they would. Just like she knew the move would draw the attention of others who were within earshot or who had been eyeing her body language.
Mission accomplished, Kafisa said to herself as she led the pack away from the table. She floated through the club, stone-faced, as she made her way to the club’s exit.
“I had a feelin’ I’d be seeing you soon,” she heard someone say just as she reached the exit door.
This time, despite the club’s music, she recognized the voice. When she looked to her right, she saw Jameel posted up on the wall right before the exit. Kafisa stopped in her tracks. “Why we keep bumping into each other? Are you following me or something?” Kafisa asked. She wanted to smile, but she knew all eyes were still on them, and she wanted to be sure that she maintained her status.
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