“Okay, well according to these records, she provided a substantial amount of information that started the whole investigation on you and those other men in your organization.”
“But how could she do that when she didn’t hardly know nothin’?”
“Well, it has also been noted in these records that your wife provided a significant amount of information, too. I have a copy of a signed affidavit with her testimony right here.”
“Word! Let me see that.” I grabbed the piece of paper outta his hand.
Now as I began to read all the shit Kira told them crackers about me, the love I had for her in my heart started turning into hate. I mean, I’m really bugging! This hoe was sleeping in my muthafucking bed. Laughing and grinning in my face and serving my ass up to the police right under my nose. My own fucking wife! I can’t believe this shit! I mean I know I done did some foul shit in our marriage, but I know I didn’t deserve this. Not a fucking life sentence. Especially after all the shit me and her done been through. Kira was my partner. My dawg! My right hand. I trusted her with everything, ’cause I knew she had my back, regardless of what happened. But I see shit done changed now ’cause she told them where all my new stash houses were, who was running them, who was in charge of cooking up all the dope, and who made the pickups. She even told them about the shooting gallery me and my squad used to have, and about the cat I used to cop my machinery from, even though he’s long gone now. She couldn’t tell ’em how that nigga got put to rest, ’cause I ain’t never tell her. So I guess I did something right.
But all and all, this whole thing is still fucked up. And I see right now that I’m gon’ have to put an “H” on my chest and handle it ’cause it’s on, now! Shit is about to change for that bitch and she don’t even know it. I can’t have that hoe running around on the streets like shit is lovely, because it ain’t. And since I’m hurting right now, she gon’ hurt too!
But before I get my soldiers suited up to do her ass in, I’m gon’ get her stank ass to pitch this ball I’m trying to throw Papi’s way. Since she’s the only one who can make this mission possible. Now’s the time to go through with the plan.
“Ayo Burgess,” I said and then I slid the piece of paper back across the table.
“What’s on your mind, Ricky?”
“Well, you know that in order for me to get this thing poppin’ with Papi, I’m gon’ need my wife to set up shop on the outside?”
“Yes, I’m aware of that.”
“Okay, so I’m gon’ need you to call her at her salon and tell her the deal. ’Cause, I done tried like a hundred times to get her to come down here so I can lay everything out, but she ain’t bucking.”
“So, what do you want me to say to her?”
“I just need you to call her and tell her that I’m gon’ call her in about ten minutes after you do, so it would be in her best interest to accept my call.”
“But, what if she gets irate with me?”
“Just tell her that I know everything and that if she don’t accept my call and listen to what I gotta say, then she gon’ have trouble.”
“Ricky, that’s coercion. I can’t deliver your message in that fashion.”
“Okay, well, just tell her what’s going on with the investigation with Papi. And that I can get my sentence cut to almost nothing if she helps me.”
“Okay. I can do that. Now, is there anything else?” Burgess asked me as he wrote his notes down on paper.
“Nah. But when you talk to her, just let her know how important this thing is.”
“I will,” he assured me and then started packing everything back into his briefcase.
“You gon’ call her after you leave here, right?”
“Yes. As soon as I get into my car, I am going to phone her, so don’t worry. I’ve got that part under control.”
“A’ight, Burgess. Good looking out.”
“No problem. But, don’t forget to call my office sometime next week. That way, I can bring you up on the progress in the investigation.”
“A’ight. I will,” I told him.
He finished packing and left.
I had to sit there and wait for a C.O. to come and take me back to the block. But before that happened, I sat back and thought about how I was gon’ come at Kira with the shit I had just found out. And then I thought it would be better to play the game her way and see how she could handle it with me on the sideline. Even though I didn’t know the answer to that question, I knew I was gon’ find out in a few minutes.
***
“Millennium Styles.”
“Hello, may I speak with Kira?”
“This is she.”
“Hi, this is Mark Burgess. Your husband’s attorney.”
“Yeah. What can I do for you?”
“Well, I have a message for you.”
“What’s the message?”
“Ricky’s in desperate need to speak with you.”
“Okay, now tell me something I don’t already know.”
“Listen, Kira...”
“I’m listening,” she interjected.
“Your husband has a huge chance of getting his life sentence overturned by his judge. But in order to make this happen, he’s going to need you to help him.”
“And what does he need me to do?”
“He’s going to need you to contact his old connection, Papi Santos, and try to set up a meeting with him of some sort.”
“Wait a minute! Is he crazy? I’m not getting involved with that shit! That man is crazy!”
“We’re all aware of that. But you’re the only one who can do this. And besides, Ricky’s already aware of your involvement in his case. So we both know that you’re no stranger when it comes to helping the authorities.”
“And so what does that mean?”
“Listen Kira, just accept your husband’s phone call because he’s going to be calling you in about ten minutes.”
“To say what?”
“He can explain it better than I can.”
“All right. So is that it?”
“Yes. That’s it.”
“Well, you have a nice day.”
“You do the same, Kira.”
Ten Minutes Later
I finally broke down and accepted Ricky’s phone call. But while I was waiting for the operator to connect us, I locked myself in the back office of the shop so I wouldn’t be bothered. I was a complete nervous wreck because of the fact that he knew how much I had helped the Feds out with their investigation against him. And for the first time, I was beginning to feel ashamed and embarrassed about the way I had betrayed him. What will I say in my defense when he confronts me with it? I mean, how am I going to justify what I did? This is some serious shit I’m about to go up against.
“Hello,” Ricky finally said.
“Yeah,” I replied in a nonchalant way, trying to feel what mood he was in.
“I see you got my message.”
“Yeah, I got it.”
“Well, before I get into what I need you to do, I just wanna let you know that I ain’t even mad about what you did. A’ight?”
“Yeah. A’ight,” I said. But deep down inside, my gut feeling was telling me something totally different. I mean, why is he being so damn calm about all this? Is it because he needs me? Or is it because this is truly how he’s feeling at the moment? But, if you ask me, something just ain’t adding up here, and it will surface.
“Okay. Now that we got that out of the way,” he continued, “Are you gon’ help me get out of here?”
“Do I have a choice?” I asked because truth be told, I ain’t feeling him or this conversation at all.
“Look Kira, don’t play no fucking games with me. Now, are you gon’ help me or not?”
“What do you want me to do?”
“Well, I’m gon’ give you the number to Papi’s store, ‘cause I want you to call him on three-way. Now I’m gon’ do all the talking, so just sit back and listen. Because I’m gon’ set
everything up. A’ight?”
“A’ight,” I told him, which of course gave him the green light to continue on with what he had to say. Almost instantly after he gave me the number, I called Papi and got him on the line.
“What’s good, Pop?” was Ricky’s way of greeting Papi. He does this because Papi has always been like a father figure to him ever since he came on to the scene.
“Oh, my God! Ricky, is this you?” Papi asked him in his thick Hispanic accent.
“Yeah, it’s me.”
“Well, tell me what’s going on? Because I had some of my people out trying to find out what went down out there in Virginia. But nobody ever gave me no straight answers. So, are you all right?”
Ricky sighed heavily and said, “Nah, I ain’t all right. Them crackers got me tied to a murder beef. They gave me a life sentence for it.”
“Ahh, Ricky! That’s not good.”
“I know. That’s why I’m getting my lawyer to straighten things out. And to make sure it’s done right, I’m gon’ need some serious dough.”
“How much do you need?”
“For now, I’m gon’ need around $150K.”
“Wow! That’s a lot of money, amigo. And I would love to help you, but business here at the store hasn’t been that good lately. It seems like no one has moneda to buy food anymore,” Papi commented and then chuckled.
Now, I’m guessing he did this to bring a little humor to their conversation. Then Ricky said, “Well, I already got a little something put up. But if you can help me on the other end, I can get the rest up myself.”
“Who would you get to do the shopping for you?” Papi wanted to know.
“My wife, Kira.”
“Well, have her call me.”
“She’s on the phone with us right now. I got her to call you on three-way.”
“Hola, mi amor.”
“How are you doing, Mr. Papi?” I said in a respectful tone.
“Well, I’m not doing too great. Seeing my son in trouble like this really upsets me.”
“I’ll be a’ight, Pop,” Ricky interjected. “Just as long as I can get shit popping.”
“Well, Kira, call me because Sosa and my nephew Miguel are back in Costa Rica, working. But, they’ll be back within two weeks. So, I will prepare something really nice for the both of you when they return.”
“Okay. That sounds good. But when is the last time you talked to Russ?” Ricky added.
“He came by here yesterday with his fiancée, Jessica. You know, they just had a little girl?”
“Nah. I didn’t know that she was pregnant.”
“Yeah, she was. The baby is hermosa , so beautiful. And they made me the padrino, the godfather,” Papi continued as his accent got thicker.
“That’s wassup! Well, when you see him again, tell him I said to get at me. ‘Cause I’m gon’ need a favor from him, too.”
“Okay. I’ll let him know.”
“Well, a’ight, Pop. I’m gon’ bounce right now, so I can holler at my wife before the time on my call runs out. But I’ll be getting back witcha before she comes up there to see you.”
“Okay. Yeah. Call me.”
“A’ight. Thanks.”
“No problem. And I’ll talk to you soon,” Papi replied and then hung up.
***
Immediately after I clicked Papi’s line off, Ricky wasted little or no time to say,
“Did you hear that Kira? We got less than two weeks to get shit popping! I’m gon’ get Burgess to call you back so y’all can set up a day when you can go out and meet with them other people.”
“What other people?”
“Stop playing stupid! You know who I’m talking ’bout.”
“Oh, them,” I said with no interest at all.
He continued by saying, “Oh yeah, and so you know, Papi is always at his store in Northwest on M Street. Not the one on New Jersey Avenue. A’ight?”
“A’ight.”
“Oh and I’m gon’ let you know up front that them people is gon’ want you to cop a brick or two. And they gon’ probably want you to wear a wire, too.”
“A wire!” I snapped at him. “I ain’t wearing no damn wire on my body to go and see Papi. Are you crazy?”
“You wore one on me!”
“No the fuck I didn’t! That’s a damn lie.”
“Look, Kira, I ain’t trying to argue with you. ’Cause I know for a fact that the shit ain’t gon’ work if they don’t get him on tape.”
“Well, we’re going to have a problem then because you and I both know how Papi and his people are. I would come up missing behind doing some shit like that. I mean, it’s bad enough that I’m helping to set him up.”
“But you ain’t got a choice.”
“What the hell you mean by that? I have a choice!”
“Listen to me, bitch!” Ricky screamed at me. “As of right now, your freedom to make choices just got revoked. Now I don’t wanna hear nothing else about what you ain’t gon’ do, ‘cause, you gon’ do it. And if you don’t, I swear on every one of my seeds that you and your cousin Nikki gon’ come up missing. Y’all will get hunted down like dogs. And shit ain’t gon’ be nice. So you better think long and hard about whatcha saying because there ain’t gon’ be no turning back.”
Now, before I could retaliate on this bastard, the time on his phone call expired. So I hung my phone up and lay my head back against the headrest of the office chair because I was pissed. And to have this piece of shit tell me that me and my cousin Nikki going to come up missing if I don’t help him get Papi busted, bugged me the fuck out. He honestly just scared the hell out of me because I know for a fact, that there’s people out here who owe him favors. So if and when any one of them are summoned, they will carry out his wishes without any questions asked.
What I got to do now is try to figure out a way to get out of this whole thing because either way it goes, I can get axed by Ricky’s people or Papi’s. I’m fucked all the way around the board. But, I do have one thing working for me and that is the fact that I have exactly one week to come up with a plan. So, I’m going to have to be very creative. And since I know I ain’t gon’ be able to do this alone, I’m forbidding myself from telling Nikki that her life is in danger. She would not know how to handle it. Somebody else is gonna have to come into play. And it’s gon’ have to be very, very soon.
Getting My Swagger On
All last night Nikki begged me to ride with her, her friend Syncere, and some other guy out to Pentagon City for a little shopping trip. So this morning, I finally said I would go. And like a flash of lighting, she and her little entourage was parked outside of my apartment waiting patiently for me to come out.
Now Nikki had already given me the heads up on how good this other cat looked, and she had also told me that he looked like he had dough, too. So I was all for that. But what I liked most about her description of him is the part where she said he was tall, chocolate and handsome with a six-pack. And even though I ain’t in the market for another man, ain’t nothing wrong with going out with a cat when the tab is on him.
Before I walked out the house, I took one last look in the mirror that sat on the back of my bedroom door to make sure that the Christian Dior tank top and wrap-around skirt I was wearing looked spectacular around my curves. And once I realized that they were, I threw on my Christian Dior sunshades and made my exit.
When I got outside, I noticed all eyes were on me. And I loved it! It sent my confidence level about thirty feet in the air. I know I must’ve been working it.
Now once I stepped foot in Syncere’s Range, Nikki immediately introduced me to him and his friend whom I sat next to in the back seat.
“Syncere and Mark, this is my favorite cousin Kira. Kira, this is my boo, Syncere, and his friend, Mark,” she said.
We all spoke to each other in unison. And once Syncere got us on the highway, conversation time for Mark and I started up, even though Nikki and Syncere couldn’t hear us. They were to
o busy up front talking over the blazing sounds of a Funkmaster Flex mix tape.
“You look real nice,” Mark complimented.
“Thanks. And you don’t look bad yourself,” I replied as I began to admire his white-ass teeth. I mean, damn! Has he ever missed a dental appointment?
“And thank you,” he said. “So, whatcha trying to cop at Pentagon City today?”
I smiled and said, “I don’t know. But I could stand to get another Charles David handbag or a new pair of Bottega Veneta boots for the fall.”
“You got cheese like that?”
“Nope. But I’ve got plastic,” I told him.
“Well, maybe you won’t have to use it.”
“And what are my chances?”
“I can’t say.”
“And why not?”
“Because it all depends on what happens from now until we get there.”
“So what, I’ve got to be on my best behavior?”
“No. I just want you to be yourself. Now, will that be hard?”
“Well, that won’t be hard at all because I’m always being myself. I can’t see it any other way.”
“So, where’s your man?”
“I don’t have one. But, I am on the verge of getting a divorce.”
“Do you have any kids?” Mark wanted to know.
“No,” I replied, refusing to let on that I was six weeks pregnant. “Do you?” I switched the question around to get the spotlight off me.
“No, I sho’ don’t.”
“How old are you?”
“Thirty-one.”
“Thirty-one! And you don’t have any kids,” I responded like I was surprised.
“Not that I know of.”
“But you do have a woman, right?”
“Yeah, I got one.”
“So, where is she now?”
“Probably at work.”
“What does she do?”
“She goes to college.”
“Which one?”
“Rutgers.”
“Oh, so you live in New Jersey?”
“Sometimes.”
“And where are you when you’re not in Jersey?”
“I’m here with my peoples.”
“Who, Syncere?”
“Yep.”
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