by Mikal Malone
Monie’s heart dropped to the pit of her stomach. She had waited too late and now she’d never know if they could be.
“Did you…I mean…was it good?”
“Fuck yeah!”
That hurt Monie a lot. “What do you like about her?”
She figured if she knew what attracted him to her that if he ever tired of Persia, him and her could be.
“She got a banging ass body for one.” He said. “You know I like my women fit.” It seemed like everything he said out of his mouth didn’t make her feel any better. “And I’m not sure what else it is yet. Outside of fucking her, I don’t know much else about her.”
“But ya’ll grew up together. Ya’ll practically cousins.”
“We not fucking cousins.” He scolded. “And don’t let me hear you say that shit again.”
“Okay.”
“Even though we grew up together, we didn’t know each other like that. I mean, we talked every now and again, but it was mostly about bullshit. I’m trying to see what she’s like outside of how we usually kick it.”
“I get it.” She said in a soft voice.
“Look, I gotta roll. I forgot I’m supposed to be picking her up.” He stood up and said. “But don’t lunch out on me again. I need you.” She smiled. “I mean, who else can put a nigga down as coldly as you do?”
When C had Wallace pull up in front of Carissa’s building he thought somebody was chasing Persia when she ran toward his car.
“What the fuck?!” They both said gripping their weapons.
She rushed in and threw her arms around his neck.
“What’s up, Persia?” He said. “Why you crying?”
“Kenyetta is dead! Somebody killed Aunt Kenyetta!”
Mercedes was cut out of my life for good!
-Carissa
I buried my best friend. My sister, and if God could take me right now in this moment, I’d gladly die with her.
“We ran out of juice. Do you have anymore?” Mercedes asked me as we stood in the kitchen of my Yacht.
“No.” I said coldly.
“How long are you going to be mad at me, Carissa? Doesn’t burying one of our sister’s change anything for you? I didn’t even get a chance to tell her I loved her and now she’s gone. Do you really want something like that to happen between us?”
Before I could respond to her Yvette walked in. “They out of juice.”
“FUCK THEM MOTHFUCKAS!” I yelled. “HALF OF THEM DON’T EVEN CARE THAT WE PUT OUR BEST FRIEND IN THE GROUND TODAY! ALL THEY CAN THINK ABOUT IS FUCKING JUICE!”
Yvette leaned on the counter and put her head down while Mercedes leaned on the refrigerator. Just then Toi came into the kitchen and said, “They out of juice.”
I was so mad all I could do was laugh. For that moment we all did.
“Did I just say something funny?” Toi asked.
“Naw. You good.” I told her.
“Look, I know you guys don’t know me like that, and I probably don’t deserve to say anything about Kenyetta because I barely knew her. But…I just wanted to say that I know before she died that she knew how much you all loved her. And ya’ll gotta keep her spirit together by staying on point.”
“What you mean?” I asked.
“I know ya’ll been falling apart. You don’t dress the way you use to and the glimmer in your eyes is not there anymore. It’s been gone for a minute.”
“She’s right.” Yvette said.
“Well look, I’ma leave ya’ll to it. I just wanted to say my piece.”
When she left I went up to Mercedes and hugged her tightly. We cried for a minute before Yvette jumped in and hugged us too. We were missing a part of our flow and there was nothing we could do to get that back. She was gone. She had passed and she would be missed.
After we had a good cry, we separated and held each other’s hands. I didn’t want to fight with my sisters anymore. They meant too much to me for this shit.
“So what are we going to do now?” I asked releasing their hands.
I needed answers because after all these years it didn’t make sense that Kenyetta would no longer be in my life.
“Well, we start by acknowledging that she’s not here anymore. That’s the first thing.” Yvette said. “It took us a long time to get over Stacia’s death because we kept expecting her to knock on our door, accept our calls or come sit on the steps of Unit C with us. Before we can do anything, we have to admit that she is gone.”
“I know we gotta do that, but I’m not ready to do that now.” I said.
“Me either.” Mercedes added.
Just when she said that, I saw Lil C holding Persia. She was crying in his arms and he held tightly onto her.
“Mercedes, how are we going to put an end to that?” I said nodding in the direction they stood. From the kitchen we could see their embrace.
“I don’t think we can.” She said. “It ain’t for us to say nothing. I guess we gotta let them be.
It made me mad that she was taking such a lazy attitude toward what was brewing between our kids. I didn’t want Persia dating a drug dealer, and I definitely didn’t want her dating Mercedes’ son. Don’t get me wrong, I love Lil C, but I also knew he was spoiled and would never be able to take care of her like she deserved.
“Mercedes, we can’t allow this. I don’t want him with her.”
Yvette said, “Can we do this later? Today is supposed to be for Kenyetta.”
“You need to talk to her!” Mercedes said. “She beating a dead horse about C fucking Persia. Drop it already.”
“I know why you taking the attitude you taking.”
“Why is that, Carissa?”
“Because you’re so use to giving him whatever he wants, that you won’t stop at anything, even if it means giving him my daughter.”
“Bitch, please! You act like your daughter too good for my son.”
“Well she is!”
“Persia ain’t nothing but a fucking whore!”
I gasped. I couldn’t believe she said that, but I really couldn’t believe Persia and C were standing in the doorway. Hearing what Mercedes had just said about her, Persia stormed away and C was right behind her.
“I want you off my boat! And outside of doing what we have to do to clean Kenyetta’s apartment, I never want to see you again.”
Mercedes leaned on the counter and said, “Come here.”
I did and she spit in my face, “BITCH, FUCK YOU!”
Mercedes was cut out of my life for good!
“Shit is changing with me. I’m at a point in my life where I can’t go back to doing what I was doing.”
- Lil C
C held a meeting with his primary crew, which consisted of Daps, Monie Blow, Lee Lee, Love, Nimali, Hinni and Dayani. C loved the Sri Lankan sisters because they were use to war and were trained in combat in their country. Seeing a body drop due to a command would be nothing for them and they would do it with ease.
C knew he made a wise decision by hiring all of the women. After the multiple attempts on his life, and after Kenyetta’s death, he knew nobody was off limits. Although it wasn’t said, he knew his mother thought Dreyfus had something to do with the death, but he would place money on it being Tamir. The only reason he didn’t say anything to her about it, was because he didn’t want her to worry more than she already had about him.
He spent the past week being there for his mother. Derrick was around for a couple of days, but after they started arguing, he left her again. C didn’t want his mother to have to go at things alone in her condition, so in between making deliveries to Tyland, he stayed with her at her apartment at the Harbor.
When she cried, it was her son’s shoulder that caught her tears. They had grown closer than ever and she was thankful to have him in her life. Now it was time to get down to business and C welcomed the change. Although he loved his mother, it was depressing being with her day in and day out, but he would do what he had to do.
In a
n empty apartment in Emerald City, C dispatched the women of his crew known as The Set. It was cramped in the small apartment but it was the only place C could find where he’d have an ounce of privacy.
“Monie, as far as you know, who would you say is in control of Tyland right now?”
“You are.”
“You know what I mean. They’re about to run out of product any day now and I got the package from Dreyfus. But before I do anything, I need to know who’s who.”
“Dreyfus ain’t tell you who to make the delivery to?”
“Yes…but I want to know who’s really in charge. I don’t wanna just be delivering packs. I’m positioning myself to RUN Tyland.”
“Did you tell Dreyfus your plan?”
“No, but since there was always an issue with packs coming up missing and money coming up short, he’ll appreciate me for it later.”
Monie took a sip of her beer and said, “I get it, well, you got five major players over there now. I mean, any nigga with a package to move think he in charge. But you can count the people with influence on one hand.” She paused. “The first one is Frost. He’s cool, but he afraid of being broke. He the type of nigga who saves up everything he makes, including his coins because he say he gonna get his own business one day.”
“Why they call him Frost?” Daps asked.
“’Cause he got a little grey hair on top of his head even though he young.”
Everyone but C laughed.
“Continue,” he said getting back on point. He wasn’t feeling the jokes.
“Okay…well from what I can tell I think he’s loyal, Cameron. He seems to be about his money and I don’t think you will have a problem from him or his men.”
“Alright. Who else?”
“Then there is Detroit. And yes he’s from Detroit,” Monie laughed. “He seems to be laid back but I don’t know a lot about him. From what I can tell, he’s about his money and he loves his mother.”
“Yeah, like seriously.” Lee Lee added. “On Sundays you can see him dressed in a suit taking his mother to church. Since I’ve known him he hasn’t missed a Sunday. I’m telling you now don’t look for him in Tyland on church day ‘cause you won’t find him.”
“He even missed a few days because she was sick before,” Love, said. “As long as his mother’s cool and he’s getting enough money, you won’t have a problem from Detroit.”
“Aight, well who else?” He asked.
“You got Nick and Docks and they’re troublemakers.” Monie said. “You gonna have a problem with them but it shouldn’t be anything you can’t handle.”
“Okay…anybody else?”
“Yeah, Priest.”
“Why they call him Priest?”
“I don’t know. I never found out. I can ask him if you want.” Monie said.
“Naw. What you know about him?”
“Just that he been bucking against Tyland Towers and your mother and them since Black Water got killed. Priest ain’t gonna let up easy, Cameron. He hate young niggas and feel they’re best suited for block work, not boss work.”
“Yeah, you may have to lay him down.” Lee Lee said.
“You want me to do it?” Daps asked.
“Naw. Hold fast.” C started. “Monie, set up a meeting with them for me. Tell all five of them I want to meet with them in Tyland tomorrow. Let ‘em know it’s about the future of the business.” He paused. “Daps, you go with her.”
“No problem, Cameron. You know I’m all over that shit.”
C and Persia had been seeing each other for the past week. Since their families didn’t want them to be together, they chose to be together in secret. After meeting with The Set, he called her and told her he was sending Wallace to pick her up and bring her to the Ritz. He was feeling her and he couldn’t deny that it wouldn’t be a lot that could keep them apart.
When C walked into the hotel room, he caught the solemn look on her face. Having seen it before, he feared the worse.
“What’s wrong?” He said taking off his fur coat. “You don’t feel too good?”
“Cameron, what happen to Mazon?”
“Mazon?” C said frustrated. “Why are you even asking me about him?”
“Because people are saying you killed him. Is it true?”
“You answer the question. How could I kill him when I was with you the night of the party?”
“Who said he was killed the night of the party?”
C had made a mistake he wouldn’t soon repeat. He figured her to be cuter than she was smart and didn’t think he’d have to formulate his lies. But more than anything, he didn’t think she’d trip him up on his own words.
C walked up to her and put his hands on her shoulders, “Babe, let’s worry about us. If the nigga’s dead this is the first I’m hearing about it. But I don’t want you getting all rowed up over no bullshit.”
“I thought ya'll were friends.”
“We were, but now we ain’t.” He paused and said, “I’ma go get in the shower. I got a few moves to make but then I’ma be back later. You staying with me or do you want me to have Wallace drop you off home?”
“I’m staying here. My mother too pathetic for me to go home.”
“Cool.”
C got in the shower and when he was done, he opened a few shopping bags he had Wallace bring in earlier that day. He rarely wore the same clothes twice. Once he was dressed, he walked into the kitchen part of the suite, he saw Persia rapping on the phone. When she saw him come in, she abruptly hung up.
“Who was that?”
“Nobody.” Persia lied setting her phone down.
“So we lying to each other already?”
He was mad at her but couldn’t deny that she was so fucking sexy. The white shorts she wore clung to her round ass and the thin t-shirt exposed the browns of her nipples. Her long hair was brushed calmly down her back and she had on just enough makeup.
“No, I’m not lying to you.”
“Okay who was it?”
Before she could even finish her lie, he snatched the phone out of her hand and saw Zulo’s name.
“I thought I told you to stay away from that nigga.”
“You did!”
“So why you not listening to me?”
“Cameron, it’s not that big of a deal.”
“You wanna fuck with this nigga or you wanna fuck with me?”
“You! Why you say that to me?”
“Because you better act like it.”
“Okay, Cameron. I got it.” She paused walking into the living room area to sit on the sofa. “So what time are you coming back? I don’t want to stay here all day by myself.”
“I gotta check on my mother first and then I’ll be back.”
“Cameron, don’t be over there all night. Last time you put me up in a hotel you said you’d come back but you never came.”
“My mother needed me that night and I had to stay with her.”
“Well I need you tonight. You gonna stay with me?”
C smiled and said, “Yeah, but if I ever find out you lying to me about anything, I’m cutting you off, Persia. I can’t have liars around me now. You got it?”
“Yeah.” She said standing up.
“Now keep it wet for me. I’ma be back when I can.
C was almost to his car when he ran into Derrick. He had Bucky with him and he felt like dropping him for the disrespect. He knew him and his mother were beefing and decided to stay out of it but even this was too much for him to bite his tongue.
Spotting C Derrick said, “Bucky, go wait in my car for me. I gotta rap to C.”
Derrick walked up to him and he said, “Lil C, can I holla at you for a minute?”
“Yeah,” C said watching Bucky walk to Derrick’s car. “We can step in my ride.”
Wallace was sitting in the car patiently waiting. “Wallace, step out for a minute. I gotta talk to Derrick.”
“Okay, before I forget, Kit wanted to know if you needed him for t
omorrow.”
“Did I call him?” C said.
“Naw…but I was just asking for…”
“Tell the nigga he fired. I’m done with him, he questions my authority too much.”
Wallace got out without another word leaving them alone.
“Be careful of how you treat your people, Lil C.” Derrick said.
“Cameron.” C said cutting him off.
“Cool. I can respect that. I wouldn’t want niggas calling me Lil anything either.”
“Good, now what the fuck do you want with me?”
“What I want with you? I thought we always had a bond.”
“I did too, but the way you doing my mother is filthy. And then you wifing some clucker?”
“Cameron…me and your mother have been having problems for a while. The only difference now is that we aren’t faking it anymore.”
“Yeah whatever.”
Derrick smiled already knowing how C was. “I heard a rumor that you taking over Tyland Towers.”
“For once the rumors are right.”
“I don’t think you ready.”
Cameron looked away not realizing that his words would sting him so hard. Had he thought about it long enough, he would’ve realized after his father died, that Derrick was all he had. He was the one who gave him the last pieces of what it took to be a man. So Derrick’s opinion whether he liked it or not mattered.
“Dreyfus must’ve thought I was ready, or he would not have put me on.”
“Dreyfus is mad with your mom’s, Cameron. You gotta think. Why would he put someone as young as you on? It doesn’t make any sense.”
“I ain’t got to think about shit.” C shot back. “He put me on and the why’s don’t matter to me.”