What Da Lick Read? The Triple Cross

by McCray, Sevyn

  “Well intuition is a mother fucker baby. I am happy that our team is like always, more than a few steps ahead of the game. I will keep you posted. I gotta head out, is there anything else I need to do?” She asked Ponchees as she prepared to hang up her BlackBerry.

  “Nawl, you seem to have everything covered.” He ended the call and stood up and looked out over his view of the gardens. He was happy to have Sam on his team too. He had met her years ago when Sillk was alive. She was over two decades younger than him, but she kept him on his toes. Atlanta was her home, she knew every knook and cranny and she handled watching over the business well, without giving Gigi the suspicion that she was being watched. Ponchees trusted Gigi, but she was still young and a female so it didn’t hurt to have other eyes and ears around making sure that everything was kept on the level.

  They say that it is always the ones closest to you that will try to get you. He had been through that many times in his early years and the only one that never crossed him was Black Sillk. He knew what Coach K must be going through. But it was all a part of the game. Even though he wasn’t backing up Gigi for a reward, Ponchees knew that he had to look out for Coach when all this was over. Coach had a loyalty toward both Sillk and his daughter Solitaire and that is what made him look out for Gigi. He was a real nigga and in the streets they are few and far in between. That bastard Poke was just trying to get at the biggest fish in the sea, which just so happened to be Gigi because she was supplying damn near the entire eastern seaboard. He didn’t care who she was affiliated with. But for anybody knowing Coach’s background, Poke had definitely picked the wrong one to cross.

  __________

  Khalil pulled up at the club. He looked at the parking lot full of cars and smiled to himself. If Sillk was alive this would be something that he would have come up with. Gigi had taken the old furniture warehouse and turned it into one of the hottest spots Atlanta had to offer. If you were not a native to Atlanta there is no way possible that you would know that this building was a former furniture warehouse. She had done so much to it. Gigi’s Pleasure Chest kept a crowd whether it was the middle of the day like now, or the middle of the night. When he had called Gigi once he left the restaurant and she didn’t answer, he headed over because he knew that he could catch her here.

  Khalil walked in the mirrored door and was recognized immediately. Security didn’t even pat him down. It was dimly lit and the music boomed from the state of the art sound system. His eyes adjusted to the light of his new surroundings and he walked to the bar. He hadn’t been in this place since her grand opening party two years ago. It was decorated nice then, but now she had definitely gone all out. The décor was now over the top. Khalil recognized a few faces and he nodded his head at them.

  The waitress came over to take his drink order He wasn’t real big on drinking, never had been. His only vice over the years was getting money and fine cars. He leaned over and whispered. “Baby girl, put me some Sprite in a whisky glass and keep them coming.”

  Concrete walked up behind him and touched him on his shoulder. He jumped, startled. How could a three hundred pound man walk so silently? “Gigi just seen you walk in. She told me to come down here and bring you up to the office.”

  Damn even his voice was quiet.

  Coach got up from the bar and followed Concrete through the club. As they walked through, he noticed naked women were everywhere. All nationalities were present and accounted for in Gigi’s Pleasure Chest. People were recognizing him even more as he moved through the club. He stopped shook hands, gave hugs and threw up the deuces to the people he knew. They made it to the back of the club and got on an elevator that took them upstairs to the floor that housed the executive suite and Gigi’s office.

  Gigi sat behind her desk. You could tell she had been handling some type of business. She had her iPad in her hands and her glasses on. Two of her homies were in the office with her. Khalil recognized them both. They were the head of the No Pressure fam’, brothers Toe-Toe and Nard. They were some of Perry Homes’ finest. Gigi did right when she came up. She made sure all of her people ate. Concrete got a chair from across the room and sat it in front of Gigi’s chrome and glass desk. She finally looked up from her iPad. “Hey Uncle K. To what do I owe this visit? You haven’t been in here since the grand opening.” She said as she got up from her desk and came around to give him a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

  Gigi sat back down and took her glasses off. “Uncle, you remember Toe-Toe and Nard don’t you?”

  “Yeah I remember them. How ya momma been doing? I haven’t seen her in a while. Tell her that Khalil asked about her.” He said as he reached out and shook both of the brothers’ hands.

  “Momma is straight, ain’t nothing changed about her. She was one of the first people to move back to the hood once they completed it. She is still the same, always on our backs.” Nard said speaking fondly of his mother.

  The brothers got up from their seats and moved toward the doorway and Concrete followed.

  “Gigi, I know these boys are like your brothers and they working with you so they might need to stay and hear what I got to say.” Coach K said pointing at the three men.

  They sat back down while Concrete stood up in the corner.

  “What’s going on Uncle?” Gigi said suspiciously wondering if Truth had told him about their relationship this morning at the meeting.

  “It’s dat nigga Slow Poke. He has let that cocaine eat his brain away because he is plotting, and I think that he is plotting on you. Now you know Poke has been my best friend for over twenty-five years so I know how to read him, just like these two brothers know how to read each other. Has he been coming around here lately?” Khalil asked.

  “I’m gonna be real with you Coach, it ain’t cocaine that is eating away at his brain. He is fucking with heroin. I know this because I got a house over in the Bluff that my lil’ cousin run and they say that nigga be over there all the time. He even has pawned his Benz a time or two.” Nard said.

  Khalil looked at him in shock and then he put his head in his hands. Poke was pawning his cars. No wonder his girl had put him out. Ain’t no telling what else he was doing? “Well I need you to watch him and watch yourselves. He got that shot gun house on Perry Blvd and that is where he staying. That’s y’all territory right there so y’all boys keep an eye out because since y’all are so close to him, he might get desperate and try y’all too.”

  “Nawl Coach, he ain’t gonna try us. We are trained to go. We will sit Slow Poke old ass right on down. He don’t want any problems. It’s No Pressure over here and fam’ come before everything. My momma told me that Slow Poke use to go with Ms. Solitaire. That nigga is slimy as hell for trying to rob Gigi. She is like his step-daughter. Niggas ain’t got no loyalty, they messing up the code for the last few real niggas left.” Toe-Toe said shaking his head.

  “Damn, I don’t even know what to say. Poke has never been high on my list of favorite people. But I do respect him, just because he was your best friend and one of my momma’s boyfriends. But shit we all know Solitaire was never a momma to me so that shit right there shouldn’t even matter. I know I can’t go around killing folks for no reason, but the fact that he is even plotting on me gives me reason enough to peel his potato.” Gigi rubbed her hands together.

  “You don’t need to be drawing any heat to yourself or your organization. Just let me handle it. We need you to stay calm. You got too many people depending on you. Ain’t that right boys?” Khalil glance around the room at the men who all loved Gigi. He knew all of them would put their life on the line to protect hers.

  Nard pulled his phone out of his pocket “Hey Coach let me get your number because I see now that some alliances need to be formed. We need to link up that Westside with the West End. I mean, shit we all are eating off of the same plate so to speak. I know our boys stay trained to go. All of us together would truly be a force to be reckoned with.”

  “See I like the way you are thinking
. I’m not in the streets anymore like you boys, but shit my kids are. I still got power and people listen when I talk so just get with me, because I got eyes and ears all over this town.” Khalil wrote down his number and handed it to Nard before standing.

  “Uncle K, I sure do appreciate you looking out for me. That means a lot.” Gigi got up and gave him a goodbye hug.

  “I will call you later. You boys be easy and don’t hesitate to use that number.” He walked toward the door and then paused. “Hey, what do y’all know about that nigga with the dreads from Hollywood Court, D.J.” He asked

  “We grew up with that nigga, he smart as hell. He stayed to himself though. A lot of folks can’t stomach the way that nigga face look with all that burnt shit, but he cool folks. He got that Lean game on lock. He got a fool plug with it. He is supplying the entire Westside.” Toe-Toe said to Coach K.

  “Yeah, he got a fool plug alright. Me” said Gigi.

  Everybody looked at Gigi as she burst out laughing.

  “Uncle K, don’t worry about D.J. It doesn’t get any more stand up than that. I think he in love with Real. But you need to keep an eye on her though. Yeah, I got units in the city. I learned this from Sillk. You gotta keep as many irons in the fire as possible.” Gigi said as she kicked her red bottom Louboutins up on the desk.

  Chapter 12: Sister, you been on my mind

  Reality sat on the sofa in the den. She had been lounging around ever since Pop-Pop dropped her off at the house hours ago. She hadn’t been home for a visit in quite a while, because she was always on the go. As she looked around the sunken den, all she could think about was how blessed she and her sisters were. Pop-Pop had rescued them. If he hadn’t come along that night there is no telling where they would have ended up. They probably would have gotten separated in foster care. Even though she had her place, this would always be home for all of them.

  She shook her head in disbelief because she was fortunate enough to be able to call this mansion her home. Reality loved all of it, with its vaulted ceilings and marble floors, formal living room and regular living room, formal dining room and regular dining room, game room, theater, long hallways, 6 1/2 bathrooms and 8 bedrooms, 4 car garage, swimming pool, tennis court and basketball court.

  In the early days they struggled just like everyone else, but Pop-Pop was a true hustler. His “get it by any means necessary attitude” had made him a millionaire over and over again. He always said that as soon as he got his hands on a bunch of money he was going to buy him a house big enough to put all of the places he had ever lived in on the inside of it, and that is exactly what he did. He found him some land and had it built from the ground up. Now Pop-Pop owned buildings all over the city that held anything that you could think of; dry cleaners, laundry mats, liquor stores, daycare centers, beauty salons, office buildings, restaurants, apartment buildings, townhomes, and houses. He had spent his money wisely over the years and now none of them wanted for anything. All he required was for them to stay in a child’s place and to go to school; they could have whatever their hearts desired if they met those two expectations. To say she was anything but blessed would be an understatement.

  Since both of her computers were missing, she chose to chill out for a minute and process everything that was going on. So much was happening all at once. She grabbed the remote off of the ottoman and turned the television perched on the wall off because she wasn’t paying attention to it anyway. She reached over and grabbed the decorative throw off the end of the sofa and balled up and covered herself. She might as well take a nap. She had not been to sleep in two days. Maybe her body was finally catching up with her. She closed her eyes and snuggled deep into the cushions of the sofa.

  “Bitch wake your ass up! You have been holding out on us. I seen dat nigga dropped you off this morning in a fucking Maserati. Ok den, I see you do be paying attention to your big sister.” Loyalty said loudly as she sat on the other end of the sofa with her little sister.

  “Girl, calm your loud ass down. You the one had the hot date last night with the Pro Bowler. So tell me about that.” Reality said shifting her weight and sitting up.

  “Honey, I’m gonna marry that nigga. We went to Two Urban Licks for dinner. The chef is one of his best friends. We sat down and got to know each other and he is just so sweet and genuine. He didn’t want me to go home and I didn’t want to go either so I spent the night with him. He has a condo in the Twelve. We stayed up talking and playing Uno. He didn’t try to touch me or nothing. I fell asleep before he did; he just covered me up and went into the other bedroom. When I woke up this morning, he had gone to Starbucks and got me a cappuccino and an egg and cheese bagel. K.J. is a real gentleman.” Loyalty said excitedly.

  Honesty walked into the den and plopped down in Pop-Pop’s favorite recliner and kicked her feet up. “Did I hear you say K.J.? Are you talking about K.J. Aziz who plays for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers? Is that who you went on a date with last night? Man, he is one of the best receivers in the league right now. But you wouldn’t know that because you are not into sports.”

  “Yeah, that’s him. I just don’t know what to say about him other than the fact that he is sweet, kind, funny, generous, and so affectionate. He makes me feel as if I’m the only girl in the world.” Loyalty swooned as she talked to her sisters.

  “Damn bitch, you in love already?” Honesty said. She was happy that the atmosphere was light in the house because she needed something to brighten her mood. She had been obsessing since this morning about who all knew about her and Gorgeous. She hadn’t even been to the stash house. She knew she needed to get the dope to all the workers and sell what she was gonna sell. Her thoughts were just all over the place. She couldn’t focus and she hadn’t talked to Gorgeous since this morning when she left her house. Her family was her everything and they had never kept any secrets between them before; especially between her and her sisters. It was weighing heavily on her brain. She wasn’t even thinking about the fact that someone was after them. Hopefully spending time with her sisters today would help her get back focused.

  “I see you are trying to get off the subject at hand. Who is the nigga in the Maserati?’ Loyalty asked Reality as she took her shoes off and tucked her feet under her.

  “That’s Jaimes. He is from the Westside. He’s my people.” Reality answered her nonchalantly.

  “Uh, Bitch we can see that. When did all of this happen? You been holding out on us real bad. You know we do not have any secrets.” The moment those words left Honesty’s mouth she felt bad.

  “We hang out all the time. I have liked him for a while, but I thought he looked at me like a little sister. That is who I get the Lean from. He stays in a lot because of his face, so we talk and chill. I feel like I have known him forever though. I can tell him everything, even though I don’t. So many people are shocked when they are face to face with him. They are taken aback because of the severity of his burns. But I don’t see the burns, I never have. That is why I can’t call him by his nickname.” Reality said to her sisters.

  “What’s his nickname?” Loyalty asked. She was so nosey.

  “Damn Jaimes or D.J.” Reality responded.

  “Oh I heard about him, those Gigi’s people. I have never seen him but she don’t have nothing but good things to say about him. They are real close” Honesty chimed in.

  Reality was quiet. She thought about what her sister had said. That seemed odd because Jaimes never mentioned knowing Gigi. He knew that her family was close, maybe they were fucking. She picked up her iPhone and started to text him when it started ringing. It was him. She picked up the phone and held it.

  “Hello, hey Bae, are you feeling better? Hello?” D.J. didn’t hear anyone on the line.

  “What’s up?” Reality responded nonchalantly.

  “I got some good news! Your computers were in your truck. Shawn just hit my line and told me that, so I’m on my way to pick them up. What are you doing? He said excitedly.

  “Just a
t Pop-Pop’s house chilling with my sisters.”

  “Is something wrong, why are you sounding so dry? I know you are happy about your computers, although I would have bought you two more.” Jaimes said into the phone. He was sensing that something was wrong with Reality.