Changed Man

by Roy Glenn

  “I hate to have to ask you this, but do you know anybody who might have done this. Anybody Whitey had beef with?”

  “Not that I know of, Mike. Whitey was careful not to mention too much about y’all’s business. Said it was better for me that way.”

  “He was right,” I said and Jemisha pushed off my chest and sat straight up.

  “There is somebody.”

  “Who?”

  “Lisa Benson,” Jemisha said and Bobby buried his head in his hands and I wanted to because he used to fuck Lisa Benson. I hoped this wasn’t some love triangle shit.

  “Who is Lisa Benson?” I asked and hoped it was another Lisa Benson.

  Jemisha looked at me. “Come on. Both you and Bobby know who Lisa Benson is.” And then she looked at Bobby. “Especially you, Bobby.”

  Bobby took a deep breath and drained his glass, and I knew it was the same Lisa Benson.

  Jemisha turned up her glass and brought it down empty. “Lisa Benson is the other bitch my husband is fuckin’. Fuckin’ her good too, I guess.” Jemisha poured herself another drink. “I know y’all ain’t waitin’ on me. Y’all help yourselves.”

  Bobby grabbed the bottle. “Why you think Whitey was fuckin’ her good, Jemisha?” he asked and poured us a drink.

  “Because he stopped begging me to call her over so the three of us could get together and she stopped calling begging me to let her come over to suck this good pussy,” she said and looked at me.

  “You really think that’s what this is about?” I asked.

  “I don’t know, Mike. All I know is that I heard them fighting on the phone yesterday. And I heard Whitey say that he would kill her if she did.”

  “Did what?” I asked.

  “I don’t know. I didn’t ask him.”

  “You know if she was fuckin’ with anybody that might have wanted Whitey dead?”

  “Sorry, Mike, I didn’t keep up with who my husband’s step off was steppin’ off with,” Jemisha said.

  Since she wasn’t hugged up on me, I stood up. “I need to go, Jemisha.”

  She got up, steadied herself and made a move straight for my chest. “What I’ma do now, Mike?”

  I put my arm around Jemisha and started slow walking her toward the door. Bobby poured himself one more glass of Courvoisier, drained it, and was at the door in time to open it before I got there.

  “Whatever you need,” I said and moved my arm on the way out the door. “Just let Freeze know.”

  “Sorry for your loss,” Bobby stepped between us and said.

  “You come by tomorrow and check on me, Mike. You know, let me know if you found anything.”

  “I will,” I lied. I’ll send Freeze tomorrow to check on her.

  Bobby was quiet in the hallway and in the elevator. It wasn’t until he got in the car, that Bobby began laughing and since the shit was funny, I did too.

  “If I said it once, I said it a thousand times; hoes ain’t shit.” He started up the car. “You just told her that her man is dead and she’s telling you how good the pussy is.”

  I laughed. “I’m sure that wasn’t what it was about.”

  “Bullshit. You come by tomorrow and check on me, Mike,” Bobby imitated. “You come by tomorrow and get this grieving pussy, Mike!” Bobby shouted. “That’s what she was saying.”

  “Fuck all that. Like I said, she sees Freeze for whatever she needs. If that’s what she’s about,” and knowing Jemisha like I did, it was. She was a pretty girl with extraordinary sexual skills, and was used to having a man take care of her and her kids. “Fuck her.”

  “I believe that’s what she wants,” Bobby said.

  I shook my head and laughed. “But fuck all that. You used to fuck Lisa, she the type that would send niggas to kill Whitey?”

  “No,” Bobby said flatly. “She ain’t got the heart or the juice,” Bobby laughed, “Or the money. Three-man hit squad ain’t free.”

  “But the new guy said one of them been there before to see Whitey, so he knew them.” I shook my head. “I don’t think it’s about that.”

  “I don’t think it’s about that either. But it wouldn’t hurt to ride by there, see if she knows anything,” Bobby said, and we drove to her apartment building. When we got there, Bobby knocked on the door, but nobody answered, so we left.

  “Where you wanna go now?”

  “Let’s ride out to Angelo, get that shit over with,” I said as we left the building. As we got closer to Bobby’s car, I saw a car coming down the street fast. When the gun came out the window, I yelled, “Get down!”

  We lay motionless as bullets rained over our heads. Once the car drove on, we got up.

  “You all right?” I asked.

  “Yeah, you?”

  “Yeah, I’m all right,” I said. “But there just might be something to this Lisa Benson shit.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  “Still wanna ride by Angelo’s?” Bobby asked when we got in his car.

  “Hell no. We need to get on top of this shit, quick. Take us back to Whitey’s. I need to talk to King.”

  On the way back, I thought about what just happened. I just wasn’t willing to accept that Whitey was dead over some pussy. But then I thought more about it. Mutha fuckas been killing and starting wars over pussy since the beginning of time. So, like it or not, I had to consider that that’s exactly what this was.

  And if that was the case, I had to also consider that this was about Jemisha. Like I said, Jemisha was a pretty girl with extraordinary sexual skills that was used to having a man take care of her and her kids. This could all be about her getting Whitey out of the way, pointing the finger at Lisa Benson, and all that crying was just an act put on for my benefit.

  But the shit doesn’t make any fuckin’ sense to me. Why try to kill me and Bobby?

  “You still fuckin’ Lisa?”

  “No, it’s been a long time since I hit that ass,” Bobby answered.

  “You think that was meant for you?”

  “I don’t know.”

  We arrived back at Whitey’s to talk to King. By the time we got back, things had returned to normal and you couldn’t tell that four men died in there that night. Bobby and I wandered around for a while, but we didn’t see King anywhere. Bobby saw Stylisha and she told him that King was in the office. When we walked in the office, King was sitting in what was now his chair and had a very satisfied smile on his face.

  Since it was that kind of a night, I also had to consider that King paid them niggas to smoke Whitey. Mutha fuckas been killing for position just as long as they been killing over pussy.

  King sprang to his feet and practically came to attention when me and Bobby walked in the office.

  “Relax, King, it’s just us,” Bobby said. “Sit down and relax.”

  “I was just—”

  “It’s all good,” I said and sat down. “You know anything about Whitey and Lisa Benson?”

  “I know he was fuckin’ her,” King said.

  “You know if she was fuckin with anybody other than Whitey?” I asked, and King looked at Bobby and pointed.

  “Yeah, but I ain’t trying to kill me over it,” Bobby said.

  “Wait a minute. What?” A confused King asked.

  “We just came from her apartment and somebody tried to kill us,” I said.

  “So, other than me,” Bobby began, “Who else was this hoe fuckin’?”

  King thought for a second or two before he said, “Marquez Hernandez.”

  “I’ve heard the name before,” Bobby said.

  “Stick-up kid. Him and his boy, Bone Crusher,” King advised. “I wouldn’t put it past that dumb nigga to lose it over some pussy, but not Marquez.”

  “Marquez,” I began. “He got anything to do with the other shooters?”

  “No.”

  “Who the fuck were they?” Bobby asked.

  “Jason Vance did some work for Whitey a couple of months back.”

  “What kind of work?” Bobby ask
ed.

  “All I know was that he smoked somebody for Whitey.”

  “What about the other two?” I asked.

  “The other two were Dalton Ferric and Jamar Garfield. According to Ed, they’re shooters for hire.”

  “We need to find out who hired them because I just ain’t buying that this shit is all about some pussy,” I said.

  “Anybody else Whitey have beef with?” Bobby asked.

  “Wyclef Ali.”

  “Fuck is that?” I asked.

  “He’s a gambler and a dealer,” King said.

  “What’s that about?” I needed to know.

  “Ali owes Whitey money.”

  “How much?”

  “Ten G’s.”

  Bobby looked at me. “Mutha fuckas have died for less.”

  “And Kasim.” King paused before he continued. “Whitey was trying to make a move into the heroin game and this nigga Kasim fronted him some product that Whitey put in the street. My understanding is that it didn’t go well.”

  “This mutha fucka, Ali, he in this heroin game too.”

  “I can’t say for sure,” King said.

  I stood up. “I’m gonna need somebody to step up and run this joint for me, King. You up to it?”

  “Yeah, Black, I’m up to it.”

  “I know you are,” I said and extended my hand.

  “Thank you, Black. You won’t be disappointed.”

  “I know I won’t.” I started to leave but I stopped and faced King. “And tell Ed Weather I need him to go to this other spot that Whitey told me about and sit on it until I get over there to check it out.”

  “You want him to take over the spot?” King asked.

  “Not right away. Just tell him that if anybody asks, he’s there to protect my interests,” I said and left the office with Bobby and he drove us back to The Late Night. King had just dropped a load on us that was serious enough to follow up on. When we arrived at the club, Hector Villanueva, a drug dealer that bought product from Andre was in there.

  “What’s up, Black?”

  “What up?”

  “I need to talk to you,” Hector said.

  “Not now. I got something going on right now.”

  “Yeah,” Hector said as I passed him on the way to the office. “I heard about Whitey.”

  I stopped. “You know anything about that?”

  “Naa, just that he got popped. But if I hear anything, I’ll let you know. But I really need to talk to you.”

  “Give me a minute to get with my people and I’ll be right with you,” I said to him and continued toward the office. When I got there, Nick and Freeze were in there burning one.

  “What’s up, y’all,” Freeze said coughing and passing the fatty to Nick. He got up from behind the desk.

  “What up,” I said and sat down. “You hear about Whitey?”

  “Naw, what happened to Whitey?” Nick asked.

  “He’s dead,” Bobby said.

  “You know who did it?” Nick asked.

  “Yeah. It was a hit,” I began. “Jason Vance, Dalton Ferric and Jamar Garfield were the shooters. They’re dead.”

  “I know Ferric,” Freeze said and then he laughed. “At least I did before he got dead.”

  “See if you can find out who hired him to kill Whitey. Vance knew Whitey, so make sure this wasn’t something personal between them,” I said and both Freeze and Nick stood up.

  “Not you, Nick. I got something else for you to do.”

  “What’s that?” Nick asked.

  “I need you to find Wyclef Ali and bring him to me.”

  Freeze laughed. “That pussy nigga shouldn’t be hard to find, Nick. All you gotta do is find out where the hot boys are and that’s where you’ll find that bitch nigga.”

  “I don’t give a fuck where you find him, just bring him to me and yes, I do want him alive; understand?”

  “You know I do,” Nick said and looked at Freeze.

  “What?” I asked.

  “The two of them been comparing body counts,” Bobby said, and I laughed and then stood up.

  “Make finding who killed Whitey everybody’s top priority.”

  “Where we going?” Bobby asked on the way out of the office.

  “We gonna look for Marquez Hernandez and this mutha fucka Kasim.”

  When I left the office, I walked around the club looking for Hector, but I didn’t see him anywhere. I was about to grab Bobby so we could hit the streets, but on the way out, I saw somebody that I wanted to talk to.

  “Hello, Nina,” I said as I walked up behind her.

  “You startled me,” she said in a voice that made my dick stiffen. “How are you, Black?”

  “I’ve been doing well. What about you?”

  “I’m fine,” Nina said.

  “Yes, you are,” I said as Bobby walked up behind me.

  “You ready to go, Mike?”

  “Yeah, give me a second,” I said and turned my attention back to Nina.

  “You have to go?”

  “Yes. I have some business that I have to handle.”

  “I understand. You’re a very busy man.” Nina picked up her highball glass and finished the vodka tonic she was drinking. “I was just getting ready to leave as well.” Nina handed me her coat and I helped her with it.

  “We should get together sometime,” I said as we walked outside.

  “I’d like that,” Nina said. “Can you get me a cab, please?”

  I looked at Jap and pointed. He immediately rushed into the street to get a cab for Nina. I walked her to the car and held the door open for her. “How can I get in touch with you.”

  Nina kissed me on the cheek. “I’ll find you,” she said and got in the cab.

  I closed the door, thinking about how fine she was, how badly I wanted to fuck her, and how little I wanted to play the game of cat and mouse that she seemed intent on playing.

  When Bobby came out of The Late Night, we went to a few places and talked to some people about what was going on in my house and where I might find these niggas, but none of the usually talkative people felt very talkative. So, we came away with nothing.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “So, what do you want to do now?” I asked as we came out of Sweet Nectar’s.

  “I was thinking about calling it a night and looking for some hoes to fuck,” Bobby said as we walked to his car.

  “I’m for that,” I said thinking that Whitey getting killed and somebody taking a shot at me and Bobby was a coincidence, when we were startled by what sounded like a shotgun blast. When the next one blew out a car window, we took cover.

  “You see where that came from?”

  “No,” I said, and we started to get up slowly, but we had to take cover quickly as the shooters opened up with semi-automatic weapons. For the second time that night, we were on the ground with somebody shooting at us. It was starting to get old. And then the shooting stopped.

  “They think they got us,” Bobby said.

  “They’ll be coming.”

  We both got to our knees and peeked over the hood of the car.

  “Over there!” Bobby yelled when he saw four men coming toward us with AKs. We began firing and one of the men went down. The other three men returned fire and scattered as me and Bobby kept firing until our clips were empty. We took cover behind a car to reload our weapons as the remaining shooters regrouped across the street.

  “You ready?” I asked.

  “Let’s do it,” Bobby said and we both came up blasting.

  When the men came at us firing, I fired several shots as me and Bobby ran for better cover from those semi’s. We dove for the ground as the three men kept firing. When they stopped to reload, we returned our attackers’ fire. I fired, and my first shot found its mark before I dropped back for cover. One of Bobby’s shots hit another man and he went down. Then he took cover.

  With only one shooter remaining, we came out from cover slowly and looked around; both with our weapo
ns ready to shoot. When the last man rose up and fired twice, Bobby fired and hit him in the arm. He went down, but when he raised his weapon to fire, I shot him in the head.

  Now that the shooting had stopped, people got brave and started coming out of Nectar’s.

  “You know them?” I asked as we looked at the four men we had just killed.

  “Never seen them before,” Bobby said, and I could hear the sounds of sirens in the distance. “We should go.”

  “You think?”

  Once we were in Bobby’s car and had driven away, I asked the same question that I asked before the shooting started.

  “So, what do you want to do now?”

  “I already told you. I’m calling it a night and looking for some hoes to fuck,” Bobby said as he drove. “That little bit of shooting didn’t change that.”

  “I didn’t think so,” I said and got comfortable as Bobby drove us to what we were now calling Cynt’s.

  When we got there, the place was packed. There were naked women everywhere and niggas were dropping paper on them like the shit was free. I went by the gambling room and it was the same thing. The room was full of players and there was money on the tables. That was when I saw Cynt coming toward us.

  “Mr. Black, Mr. Ray, how are you gentlemen doing tonight?” she asked and kissed Bobby on the cheek.

  “Lovin’ the looks of this,” I said.

  “I’m glad you’re pleased,” Cynt said and turned to Bobby. “What about you, Mr. Ray? Are you pleased?”

  “You know that it takes a lot to please me,” Bobby said, and I walked away and headed for our private room.

  I wasn’t in there long before Anya came in with a glass of Remy and asked me if I wanted her to dance for me.

  “Yeah,” I said and took the drink from her. Then I grabbed a handful of Anya’s juicy ass and sat down. “But go get Lo-Lo first. Then both of you can dance for me.”

  “Whatever you want, Black.” Anya said and did as I asked.

  Anya came back with Lo-Lo and a bottle of Remy. Lo-Lo poured me a drink, they stripped and began dancing. After a while, Pink Diamond came in with Jenae and I knew Bobby wouldn’t be far behind. They both got naked and started dancing with each other when Bobby came in. He stood and watched them kissing and grinding their bodies against each other.