Hustle Hard

by Martin Blaine

  My phone blared loudly. The caller ID registered private.

  “It might be this nigga here right now. Turn that shit down.”

  “‘Sup? Who this?”

  It was Bria.

  “Yeah. I’m good. We got a little situation, but we’re handling it. Don’t worry about nothing. I talk to you later. I can’t get into it right now. I gotta go.” I said hanging up.

  “Let’s go pay General Lee a visit. That’s the only place we can keep this girl and figure out our next move. Pass that blunt already.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  THE HIDEOUT

  He was in the middle of cleaning pistols when I knocked on his door.

  “Boy, you better not put that girl on my couch!” Lee shouted. “Next thing you know, they find her hairs in my place and my case is on Unsolved Mysteries! No way, not me.”

  “All right, Lee. So where the hell I’m ma put her, then? Fuck it. That corner will have to do.”

  I put her in a corner and propped a throw pillow behind her head.

  “How long you planning on staying here?”

  “Only a couple hours. Have you no faith in our legal system? I see you cleaned this place up, General Lee. Very nice. Anyway, it’s time to make the call.”

  I punched a few numbers and paced until Devlin answered.

  “Sup. You got anything to say to me, bro? That’s bullshit. I know what you did, Diablo.” I put him on speaker phone so all could hear.

  “Don’t call my phone talking crazy, J! You better learn how to talk to me!”

  “I know you’re not threatening me, D! Don’t do it, D! You know what happened last time, homie! What you know about my sister?”

  All we heard was static for almost a minute before he answered.

  “You gonna have to pay up to get her back safe, J. It’ll cost you fifty G’s.”

  “Yeah, all right. I would pay up but there’s one fact you overlooked in the scheme of things. Your niece.”

  “Maria…?”

  I shook her until she woke up, dazed and confused.

  “Madre de dios,” she said, rubbing her head. “Where am I?”

  “Your uncle’s on the phone,” I said before handing her the phone.

  “You okay, sweetie? Just do what they say, all right? Put him back on now.”

  I took the horn. “It’s clear that you don’t have a leg to stand on with that ransom shit. Meet me at Riverside Park in two hours to make the trade. Just you, me and the girls. Drive yourself over there, no chauffeur today, big baller. If I get even the slightest funny feeling, I’m backing out. And I pray you didn’t touch a hair on Julissa’s head, for your sake.”

  “What if I decide to tell the cops about your little plot, smart-ass?”

  “Well, that would make you a snitch. I know that it doesn’t bother you. Your rap sheet is longer than a roll of toilet paper. Who are they gonna believe, an All-American football star with a clean record or a career criminal?”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  HANDOFF

  The time was near. I had to think hard about the switch and be prepared. Devlin couldn’t be trusted. I joined Bria back at my house and sat on the edge of the bed, my head in my hands. Bria’s shoulder massage didn’t help much. I paced the same four feet.

  “He’s gonna have a trick up his sleeve. Guaranteed, we gotta be strapped.” I bleeped Nick.

  “Get your pieces. And bring your uncle’s van through and park it in the cut. Strap up heavy. Devlin’s gonna pull a stunt tonight at the park. I feel it in my bones. You two are gonna post up at the drop point about an hour before I get there. Be ready for war. Eric, you’re gonna hide on the roof over here…”

  I threw on a bullet-proof vest and wore a warm-up jacket over it. I needed a holster to keep two guns tucked close to my ribs and had three extra clips in the knee pocket of my Army fatigues, plus a combat knife strapped to my forearm concealed in my sleeve. I headed to Lee’s place with murder on my mind. When I walked in, I could tell right away that Maria was nervous. Lee grabbed her.

  “Get off of me, you bum!”

  He laughed as she ripped her hand away. I stood at the doorway and watched trying to hold the laughter in.

  “She’s only like, sixteen years old, Lee? Put her in check!” I laughed.

  She wiped her watery eyes. The three of us hopped in Will’s ride, heading for the meeting place.

  Something wasn’t right. Out of place. The wind didn’t blow the way it usually did. Summer turned to fall right in front of my eyes in the middle of June. I breathed easier when and Eric hit me up on the jack.

  “We’re in position, J. Our eyes are glued on you. We got you covered.”

  General Lee laid low in the ride while Maria and I stood underneath a rusty basketball rim. Maria made a nasty face when a barge full of garbage lumbered across the Hudson River, puffing smoke into the gray sky.

  My nerves were lit. I checked and rechecked my clip. I unlocked the safety a half-dozen times. I paced back and forth in front of Maria. It had her shook.

  “What the hell are you scared of?! It’s your uncle that’s a psycho! He’s the one that snatched my sister up! She had nothing to do with nothing!”

  She curled up on the court and cried. The guys bleeped me.

  “Cool out, fam. He’ll be here soon. Light that blunt up and cool down.”

  “Yo, I’m calm.”

  I lit up a stub of a blunt, it worked for a while. Then I heard a car rumbling in my direction. A German V8. It had to be Devlin’s Benz. He pulled up with one of his fat-necked henchmen. Julissa jumped out with her hands bound and mouth taped. Fat-neck held her arms tight in front of him. I started pacing again and got heated. He had the nerve to dress in his Sunday’s best to make the trade.

  “This must all be a game to you. I mean, is this the Player’s Ball or sump’n? That’s how you treat my sister? That’s fucked up. To think we used to be fam.”

  “Things change.”

  “Nah D, snakes shed their fucking skin.” I spat at his feet. He hopped back and his goon stepped up.

  “I thought I told you, leave your babysitter at home, D.”

  Big man cocked back to lay me flat. I didn’t trip. I stayed still like a statue. If he swung, I’d slap him with my heat and dive for my sister. Then my boys would light the blacktop up with shots till they didn’t move anymore.

  “Hold it!” Devlin said. “Let’s just get this over with. Hand her over, Jaden.”

  “Same time.”

  We brought both girls to the half-court circle and our eyes were deadlocked. The girls sniffled while the four of us bunched up tightly. I grabbed Julissa’s arm. Devlin grabbed Maria’s.

  “Are you okay?” I asked my sister.

  She didn’t even get a chance to answer before Devlin pulled his pistol and slapped it against my eyebrow. I didn’t plan for that one. I grunted and went down at half court. Julissa screamed. He cocked his hammer.

  “I’m leavin’ with both of ’em Jaden! You can’t do anything about it! You’re gonna pay me for what you took, J!”

  “You’re gonna regret this.”

  I couldn’t risk pulling my piece. He had his arm wrapped around my sister’s neck and a gun pointed to her head. From the corner of my bleeding eye, I saw Eric and Nick sneaking up behind them.

  “You’ll never get away with this. The cops come through every two hours or so,” I said looking at my watch. “It’s about that time, bro.”

  “That’s why I’m leaving and you’re gonna be sitting here with a stolen car holding your bleeding eye. Ha, ha!”

  “Ha, ha, ha,” I laughed when I saw Nick and Eric lined up parallel to them with hammers cocked.

  “That’s one of your big faults. You’ve got a big mouth. You should’ve left when you had the chance.”

  They turned around, their hands held high. I got up and popped Devlin twice in his mouth. One elbow to his throat had him coughing up blood on me. I buckled him to the ground with pu
nches to his kidneys. My partners made Devlin and his security strip to their drawers. We taped them all up, took their ride and hauled ass out of there without busting a single shot.

  I was in the ride with my sister. Nick pushed Devlin’s Benz and Eric rode shotgun. We raced down the West Side Highway. We hit a rest stop right before the 14th Street exit and decided how we’d dispose of the ride. Torching it seemed the best solution. After Eric picked up an empty Heineken bottle, stuffed a rag in it, poured some liquor from his flask into it, Nick hit the trunk button on the remote alarm. In the trunk were eight big brown bags wrapped in Saran wrap. It had to be coke. The packages were as big as Samsonite luggage.

  “Holy shit!” Nick said. “We can’t just let it burn, J. There’s gotta be like half-a-mil in there.”

  “That shit in there also almost cost Julissa her ass. If she wasn’t moving it for him, he wouldn’t have bagged her. I’m not sure if it’s worth the risk.”

  Eric put his two cents in, saying, “Most people have to invest in this shit. We didn’t have to pop a shot or spend a dime. It’s a one-shot deal. Just one or two of these packs will do our families right for more than a year. Yo momma don’t gotta work, duke! Think about it!”

  We stuffed the bags in Will’s ride then made tracks uptown, laughing watching Devlin’s Benz burn in the distance. We could see the smoke all the way up to 125th. It was all smiles on the way home. I had a future again. It felt good to have a future again.

  “What’s the first thing you gonna do with the money?” I nudged Eric and asked.

  “Armor up and throw some dollars at mom. She needs a break. She’s been working two jobs since I knew what a job was.”

  “I hear that. My mother’s clock is ticking. I need mad g’s to cover our part of her hospital bills,” I said.

  “Just give me the word,” Eric said. He threw his hand up in the air, waiting for a pound.

  “And Nick? What you gonna do with the gwap?”

  Nick stared straight ahead. He glanced at each of us for a second then he hooked a sharp left onto Amsterdam.

  “You should know that. I’m gonna upgrade all my studio equipment. Then flood the damn streets with my beats until everyone recognize. And you wanna tell me that other than helping your mom, you ain’t doing sump’n else…? Now you know y’all lying out y’alls ass…”

  We all laughed and kept it moving.

  “He did what? Took your fucking Benz? My coke…?”

  Rico sprang out of his leather chair and bitch-slapped both Devlin’s cheeks. Lightning outside his Midtown headquarters scared D almost as much as his boss did.

  “You’ve got two options, mi hijo. Either get my shit back or pay me my fucking money back. If you don’t within three weeks, I’m gonna dissect you like a damn pig. Comprende?”

  “I-I got it. I’m a get it back. Trust me.”

  “So Devlin, explain how you’re gonna do that.”

  “It’ll be nothing, boss. Me and my boys will get his fake gangsta ass.”

  Rico folded over laughing, then he rose up and blew cigar smoke in his face. Devlin coughed.

  “And what are you gonna do differently that’s supposed to comfort me, Devlin?”

  “We’re gonna take him out. I got a reputation to uphold whatever the cost, boss.”

  “Ha, ha! You mean what’s left of your rep. When you came to me five years ago, you were hungry. No, starving, dying to prove yourself. I gave you a chance and what did you do? You flipped shit faster than anybody on my team. But you’re slipping.” He rose to his feet and said, “Don’t fall off that edge. It’s a long, long fall. Now get out of my sight and make it happen, mi hijo.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  HUSTLING

  Eric sold two packs of white for the crew in two weeks. He was such a loyal guy, he split it between Nick and me like we each sold a third. It was nothing for him, really. He lived in the Polo Grounds and cops hadn’t stormed in on a dealer in months. He sat in front of his building and dished out most of the work. When the block got too hot, he took business to the basketball court, slipping in and out of shoot-around as camouflage. In his building alone, people drained him of half of the mountain of white he had stashed in his closet.

  I couldn’t help but recognize the potential of pushing drugs. The fact that it took only hours to make hundreds, even thousands of dollars, was too tempting to resist. The pressure of paying for mother’s vital operation forced me to dump my principles. I’d never sold a bag in my life but I was ready now. Four young gunners from the building held us down at all times. Eric and I were surrounded by security carrying Nextels for work.

  Things started to look up for Nick, Eric and I. Eric guided our bank from zero dollars to hundred grand in thirteen days. I arranged for us to meet over a game of basketball at 145th and Edgecombe. We kicked it while playing horse. Eric rushed to twist up a celebratory blunt before his turn came up. I sank the third shot and Eric was done.

  “Ta-da!” he said, holding the blunt up in air.

  “It’s for smoking, not for show. Light it up already,” Nick said.

  Eric puffed softly with the blunt hanging out of is mouth and snagged the ball after I missed a basket. He backed up to the three-point and screamed, “For the win!” He let it fly. It rattled off the rim and out of bounds.

  “That’s ‘H’, Eric,” Nick said.

  I snatched the rebound and said, “Let’s get down to business. Look, I know you want to buy all sorts of jewels and whatnot, maybe get a little coupe and everything but we shouldn’t spend much of that dough just yet.”

  “Nigga you must be crazy. I’m fittin’ floss up and down Broadway with this hard-earned paper. Have all the bitches running behind me like I’m they pimp, feel me?” Eric said.

  “Jaden’s got a point, E. Listen to the man. We done got the streets hot, doing stick-ups, bagging up folks and all that. We need to keep flipping the white and see this big-ass profit.”

  “Exactly, we should break off about five G’s each and keep grinding. It’ll keep us hungry,” I said.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  CAT AND MOUSE

  The next morning, I had Nick get his uncle’s van and loaded all the drugs up in the back. We had to put the work in a safe place but didn’t know where. Experience should’ve told us that we were asking for trouble pushing the wheels with nowhere to go, especially with all that coke. He read the worry on my face instantly.

  “What’s up, J?”

  “Something doesn’t feel right. Forget it. I’m just nervous. As long as we’re strapped up, we’re good. Ah shit! Why did you choose to head downtown on Broadway, Nick? Devlin lives on this block coming up.”

  “He’s too scared to show his face and test us.”

  “Maybe, but his people aren’t. This might be Cuban Rico’s coke. If it is, he’s gonna send people for his coke.”

  One minute later, we looked to the right and locked eyes with six or seven dudes hanging around an SUV. Devlin poked his head out of the driver’s side. I sucked my teeth. I knew we shouldn’t have come down Broadway.

  “Shit, Nick! Peel off!”

  “There go the muthafuckas right there! They probably got the coke! Vaminos!”

  I buckled up and made sure my pistol was loaded and off safety. Nick made the tires squeal making a hard right down toward Riverside, heading straight to a red light.

  “Fuck it! Take it! Make the left!”

  Nick turned and drove down Riverside Drive. We saw cops several yards ahead. We slowed and bet that the Boricuas would do the same. At the next light, the cops and Devlin’s crew stopped in the left lane. We were in the right.

  I looked straight ahead. The light turned green and we pulled off. Once they hit the sirens and took off speeding, Devlin bashed our bumper. I just barely stopped my brain matter from squishing on the dashboard.

  “Smash the breaks, nigga!”

  The loud crunch of metal, glass and plastic had me covering my ears. Then the shot
s popped off. Devlin’s crew blasted our side view mirror and let off three at the windshield. I returned four shots to the side of their car but they just swerved like I like throwin’ rocks or something. Nick leaned into his lane-switching like he was playing a video game.

  “We gotta turn around! The Bronx is the other way! Take us to my Uncle Paul’s spot!”

  Nick wrapped the wheel three times to the left and dipped up to a fork in the road. He made a U-turn. There was a line of motorcycles on the side.

  “Hit ’em! Knock the bikes in the street! That’ll slow ’em down!”

  I damn-near went deaf when Nick swung the front end right into six Harleys and spread them in the narrow street. Devlin made it over one but got hung up the second. Chrome and sparks were everywhere. They dragged a third bike. My plan appeared to be failing.

  Then they smashed into the last big bike and ran clean over it. Both right wheels lifted two feet into the air, hit a fire hydrant and flipped! They were helpless like a turtle on its back, tangled up in the seat belts. We turned up the radio, knockin’ old school Kool G Rap as we sped to the Cross Bronx Expressway.

  Bria and Dana met in the park the next afternoon with terrible news to discuss. They bought ice cream cones from a Mr. Softee truck parked on the side of the street. The bench they sat at was the perfect spot for shade.

  “Bria, did you hear about what happened down there on 143rd and Riverside yesterday?”

  “Nah, but I know for a fact that you know. What happened?”

  “It’s in the paper right here. The crazy shit about it is that your man might be involved.”

  “What? Give me that paper.” Bria said and read the news article.

  A passenger died, and another and the driver suffered serious injuries after a dangerous car chase at 5:50 pm, authorities said. The driver, Devlin Harris, 19, Enrique Chavez, and Ricardo Hernandez, both 21, allegedly were spotted chasing down an Econoline van down 143rd and Riverside Drive. They opened fired on the van, leaving 28 shell casings scattered across the street before they took the pursuit back up the one-way. Authorities said the assailant ran into a long line of motorcycles that slowed them down. They tried to plow through all the chrome and plastic and ended up going airborne as the debris formed a ramp that sent them flying into a fire hydrant. The SUV flipped over and they were trapped with fluids leaking into the cabin. Firefighters appeared on the scene and managed to save Harris and Chavez but Hernandez died before they arrived. The driver of the other vehicle is yet to be identified.