A Hustler's Promise: Some Promises Won't Be Broken

by Jackie Chanel

  “I can’t take that, Rayshawn.”

  “Jay-Jay, I hope you don’t think I’m the same type of dude that you’re used to being with,” Rayshawn replied. “I’m giving you this because you need it more than me right now. Take the money.”

  This time Jaicyn took it and put it her pocket.

  “I’ll bring you a receipt for the phone bill,” she said because she wanted to make sure Rayshawn knew that the money was only going to be used for that.

  “That’s not necessary. I know you’re not trying to play me.”

  Rayshawn walked Jaicyn up the steps and out of the backdoor. It wasn’t snowing in Washington Heights yet but it felt like it could start any minute. He wasn’t wearing a jacket but he walked Jaicyn to the corner anyway. Right before they parted ways, he kissed her again.

  “Call me Sunday when you get back,” Jaicyn said breathlessly.

  “Alright. Get home safe,” Rayshawn answered.

  He watched Jaicyn head around the corner before he jogged back to the house. When he got back in the bed he thought about how her lips felt against his until he fell asleep.

  Chapter 4

  Early Saturday morning Rayshawn waited for King’s Mercedes to pull in front of his house. This trip to Cincinnati would be the biggest ever in his soon-to-come career. King rarely let anyone meet his drug connection. King was slowly revealing his plans for Rayshawn, little by little.

  When King had sat Rayshawn down and told him why they were going to Cincinnati, Rayshawn finally allowed his mind to comprehend why King had been taking his time with Rayshawn. He wanted to teach him everything that he knew because Rayshawn was eager to learn and could handle it. He needed a guy like Rayshawn working for him. Rayshawn would be appreciative, hard working, trustworthy, and most of all, loyal. King didn’t care why Rayshawn wanted to be a part of his team. The reason never mattered. Every boy who picks up a gun or sells a vial of crack has a reason.

  A black Nissan Maximum approached Rayshawn’s house slowly. He stayed on the porch, ready to bolt into the house because he didn’t recognize the car. Unfamiliar cars in Washington Heights usually meant one thing; drive-by. When the passenger side window rolled down, Rayshawn let out the breath he’d been holding. He jogged down the steps and climbed into the car.

  “What’s up with this car?” Rayshawn asked King. “What happened to your Benz?”

  “You don’t take a car like that on the road,” King explained.

  Rayshawn listened intently as King explained how two black men driving a Benz down I-95 at six in the morning would be too conspicuous. He soaked up King’s words like a sponge. No one in the game had more knowledge than Andre “King” Carter. He’d been running the south side drug game for almost fifteen years. He’d never been shot or arrested. Rayshawn wanted to know everything that King knew.

  “What about speeding?” Rayshawn asked.

  “Don’t call any unnecessary attention to yourself. Keep with the flow of traffic. All cops aren’t stupid,” King warned. “Most will notice things that are out of the ordinary.”

  “I got it,” Rayshawn nodded.

  King felt confident that Rayshawn did get it because Rayshawn had the ability to actually listen and retain information, something that most boys his age could not do. Teenage boys were the hardest to work with since they all seemed to think that they knew more than they actually did. King had stopped working with teenagers years ago because their lack of knowledge usually ended them up in jail or dead. That would not be Rayshawn’s fate. He was too smart and after today, too much of an asset.

  When they reached Cincinnati, King pulled into a McDonald’s parking lot and cut the engine.

  “Why are we here?” Rayshawn questioned.

  King took a deep breath. For the first time in six months, he wondered if he was doing the right thing by bringing Rayshawn into the fold. What he was doing was practically unheard of. His connection only dealt with King and he’d never brought anyone with him. They would not trust Rayshawn.

  “The men you are about to meet are serious about their business,” King warned. “They are not going to trust you, and believe me; they’ve killed for dumber reasons than that. Let me do all the talking. Don’t say shit unless I tell you to. These people will try to test you but this isn’t Washington Heights. You can’t prove your manhood to them. They will shoot you.”

  “Cesar and I go way back,” King continued. “He respects me and I respect him. Still, he isn’t going to like a stranger in his house no more than I would.”

  “So, I’m supposed to just sit there and look stupid?” Rayshawn said defiantly. He respected King and was happy that he trusted him enough to bring him along on this trip, but Rayshawn wasn’t going to sit back and let anyone mistake him for a chump.

  “No. You’re going to stand there and be quiet, like I said. How you look is your business. Just don’t say or do anything that will get us killed, understand?”

  King started the car and pulled up to the drive-thru speaker.

  “Order something to eat.”

  ****

  Twenty minutes later, King pulled into an elite gated community and Rayshawn’s eyes were wide as saucers. He had never seen houses so big before. When King pulled the Nissan into the circular drive of the biggest house in the neighborhood, Rayshawn almost pee’d on himself.

  “Who lives like this?” he mumbled. “This is incredible. Why don’t you have a house like this?”

  King laughed. “Because I don’t supply the entire Midwest with dope, that’s why.”

  Two young Hispanic men walked towards the car and motioned for King to get out. King greeted the brothers like they were old friends.

  “Hola King. Que pasa?”

  “It’s all good, Cortez. Came by to holler at your old man.”

  The one called Cortez peered into the car and frowned. He motioned for his brother to open the passenger door.

  “Who the fuck are you?” the other one yelled at Rayshawn.

  “That’s Rayshawn, Raul,” King answered. “He’s new to the team.”

  Both brothers eyed Rayshawn suspiciously as he stepped out of the car. Rayshawn itched to return their angry stare but he remembered what King told him and kept his face as expressionless as possible. Before he could blink, Raul pushed him against the car and started to pat him down. Rayshawn started to protest but King shook his head, reminding him to be cool.

  “Be gentle, Raul,” King joked. “It’s his first time.”

  Satisfied that Rayshawn wasn’t wearing a wire or packing heat, Raul backed away from Rayshawn.

  “Do we need to check you too?” he said to King.

  “You can if you want to but you know I’m clean,” King answered, only slightly offended.

  There was some slight tension as the brothers led King and Rayshawn into their house. Rayshawn wished that he had been able to pat them down. He knew they were carrying; he just didn’t know what they were carrying. He didn’t trust the brothers and the last thing he wanted was a bullet in the back just because he was the new guy.

  The four stepped into the huge foyer and Rayshawn stopped walking. He was awestruck by the expensive white marble floors and the marble fountain in the middle of the foyer. In any other house, a fountain would be tacky but the Grecian monstrosity fit right in with the rest of the décor.

  King had been coming to the compound since he was a kid and had long outgrown his amazement. He walked through the house like it was just a regular house that he’d seen a thousand times. Rayshawn stopped to check out everything he saw. He’d never seen twenty-four karat gold light fixtures and crystal chandeliers. He was mesmerized. When he stopped to get a closer look at a painting, King nudged him to keep moving up the steps towards the study.

  “Be cool.”

  “But that’s a Monet,” Rayshawn whispered.

  Cortez opened the door to his father’s study and Rayshawn expected to walk into a room straight out of “Scarface” or “New Jack City�
�. Instead he walked into a room that looked like any other family room, if a sixty-inch television and white leather furniture could be considered normal. Two young kids were sitting on the floor playing Resident Evil on a PlayStation. Cesar Valdez, the biggest drug connection in the mid-west, was sitting on a couch watching his grandsons shoot zombies. Rayshawn was expecting to see someone like Noriega or Escobar. Cesar looked like an old man from the east side of Washington Heights.

  “Hola Andre! Como estas?” The older man got up from his sofa and hugged King.

  “I’m doing great,” King hugged him back and sat when Cesar motioned for him to sit.

  “Glad to hear that. You want something to drink? I just got a shipment of Mexican tequila in last night. You can’t get quality like this in Ohio.”

  “It’s a little too early for tequila,” King replied. “Maybe later.”

  “Who’s the kid?”

  “Rayshawn Moore,” King answered. “He’s in training.”

  Cesar eyed Rayshawn. Rayshawn made sure that he didn’t make eye contact with the kingpin. Cesar chuckled.

  “You scared him, didn’t you?” Cesar said to King. “What did you tell the kid? That I was the big bad wolf?”

  “Something like that,” King laughed.

  “Don’t believe a word he says. No one is going to hurt you. You’re with King so this is a safe place for you.”

  Rayshawn finally made eye contact with Cesar. He didn’t look like a killer but Rayshawn still didn’t feel safe.

  “How old are you, kid?”

  “Sixteen.”

  Cesar flashed a stern look at King. “He’s young. Are you sure he’s ready for this?”

  “He’s the same age I was when you and Pops brought me in. He’ll be alright.”

  “Yeah, he will be.”

  “Is everything ready to go?” King asked.

  “Sure thing,” Cesar said. “One hundred kids are on the bus tomorrow to Washington Heights. And you’re taking three home with you today, huh?”

  Rayshawn quickly picked up on the code the kingpin and boss were speaking in. King’s re-up was on its way to Washington Heights. The only thing that didn’t get answered was where the money was and why they were taking three kilos of cocaine home with them.

  “And did you bring any more friends?” Cortez asked.

  “They’re still in the car. You can get them,” King replied.

  Cortez and Raul left the room. Cesar and King started talking about soccer while Rayshawn turned his attention to the fight between cops and zombies that the kids were playing. He used to love video games when he was little and the system that they were playing on was the best in the business. He wanted one. He imagined what Dayshawn’s face would look like when he came home with a brand new Sony PlayStation that he hadn’t gotten from a dope fiend.

  An hour later, Cortez and Raul returned to the study and said a few words to their father in Spanish.

  “You’re all set, Andre,” Cesar said.

  “Cool. Let’s go, Rayshawn.”

  “I know you don’t think you’re leaving this house without lunch,” Cesar said. “Maria knows you’re here and she will kill us both if you skip out of here without lunch.”

  King laughed. “Maria is my Godmother,” he explained to Rayshawn. “She used to keep an eye on me when my father and this one here would be out doing who knows what.”

  “Yeah, and she thinks she’s his mother,” Cesar laughed. “So unless you really do want to get shot, you better sit back down until she calls us for lunch.”

  ****

  After hours of being fussed over by Maria and her daughters and eating food that he couldn’t pronounce, Rayshawn and King hit I-95 with three kilos of cocaine in the trunk and full stomachs. Rayshawn was anxious to get back and tell his brother what his day had been like. Being in Cesar Valdez’s home was like stepping into another world. Everything was so different from Washington Heights. He knew that he may never get to be a kingpin like Cesar, but he wanted a life similar to what he had. He wanted a family that he loved and could share his life with.

  Before he walked out the door, Cesar had pulled him to the side and offered him some advice.

  “To make it in this business,” he had said. “Be respectful and honest. Be a man of your word and don’t be greedy. Listen to Andre. He’ll teach you everything you need to know.”

  “And,” Cesar had added, “marry a Hispanic woman and you’ll always be fed and happy.”

  Chapter 5

  Autumn stared across her bedroom at her best friend. Jaicyn was flipping through the latest issue of Vibe like she didn’t have a care in the world, but she felt Autumn’s eyes on her. She just didn’t feel like talking. She was already dreading going back to her apartment. She certainly didn’t feel like answering a bunch of questions about the fight she had with her mother the night before and why she’d escaped to Autumn’s in the first place.

  “Jaicyn ‘I don’t have a middle name’ Jones, if you don’t answer my question, I’m going to tell Cameron that you want him back!” Autumn threatened.

  “I told you,” Jaicyn sighed. “I had a fight with my mom.”

  “What?” Autumn screeched. “I didn’t ask you anything about your mother. I said, what’s up with you and Rayshawn?”

  “Oh, that.” Jaicyn wasn’t sure she was ready to talk about Rayshawn either but if she couldn’t talk to her best friend about boys, then she couldn’t talk to anyone.

  “Yes, that. You and him have been making googly eyes at each other for months. What is going on with you and him? Are you a couple or not?”

  Jaicyn had been keeping her feelings to herself for so long that she couldn’t hold back any longer.

  “Autumn, I like him so much!” The words rushed out of Jaicyn’s mouth so fast she surprised herself. “I thought he wanted me to be his girl but then King gave him a corner and now I can’t tell. He’s all about getting money now.”

  “When’s the last time you talked to him?”

  “I saw him the other day. He was on the block. I was going to go over there last night but I was so mad at my mother and I didn’t want to be around him and his boys with an attitude, you know.”

  “You better stay away from that block,” Autumn warned.

  125th and Marshall was dangerous. The only reason Rayshawn and his crew were given that location was because King’s car dealership was across the street and he’d be able to keep an eye on the situation.

  “Rayshawn won’t let anything happen to me over there. Besides, I don’t go over there a lot. He’s too busy to pay attention to me.”

  “Does he have a gun?”

  Jaicyn laughed at the very obvious question. “Of course. He’s a dope boy now. He probably has more than one gun.”

  Autumn grabbed the magazine off Jaicyn’s lap and leafed through it.

  “I can’t believe you like him like that, Jay-Jay. Rayshawn is such a thug.”

  “So.”

  “I know you think you’re grown and all, but a drug dealer, Jay-Jay? Nothing good can come from this.”

  “Thanks for the advice, Mom,” Jaicyn joked, “but it’s cool.”

  “Yeah, for now. How many boys do we know who are dead or in jail because they sold dope?”

  “Rayshawn’s different,” Jaicyn said softly. “This is different.”

  Autumn looked up from her magazine and stared at her friend. Jaicyn was acting different about this boy.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, Rayshawn is so much more than just another boy that I like. There’s something there, Autumn, and it scares me. When I talk to him or see him it’s like everything is perfect for that moment. It’s like I’ve found the person that I’m supposed to be with for the rest of my life. I think Rayshawn is my soul mate.”

  “He’s not even your boyfriend!” Autumn cried. “You just said you don’t know if he wants you to be his girlfriend. Now you’re saying he’s your soul mate. That’s crazy.”

/>   “I know what I’m talking about, Autumn. It’s not crazy,” Jaicyn pouted. “He’s my soul mate.”

  Autumn burst out laughing. Jaicyn sounded completely insane.

  “You’re fifteen, Jaicyn. No one finds their soul mate when they’re fifteen.”

  “I don’t think it works like that,” Jaicyn said, dead serious. “I really think that Rayshawn and I are supposed to be together and that’s why we keep fighting the feeling.”

  It was obvious that Jaicyn was crazy about Rayshawn. Her eyes lit up and her voice softened whenever she said his name, but what she was saying sounded so cliché. Even as she told Autumn what it was like when Rayshawn kissed her for the first time, Autumn wasn’t buying it.

  “Anyway,” Jaicyn continued, “Rayshawn asked if we wanted to go to the movies with them tonight.”

  “Who’s them?” Autumn asked even though she already knew.

  “Probably Little Man and the rest of the crew,” Jaicyn said.

  Autumn shook her head. She didn’t want to hang out with Rayshawn and his drug dealing crew.

  “I have to watch Kendall and Zack tonight.”

  “Oh, well, I’m going. I should probably be heading home anyway. Angelina’s probably left the girls home alone.”

  Going home and finding her sisters by themselves was always a huge concern for Jaicyn if she’d left them in her mother’s care. Angelina wasn’t using again, as far a Jaicyn knew, but that could change if the right person knocked on the door and said the right thing. Angelina wouldn’t hesitate to leave her five and six year old in bed since she knew that Jaicyn would be coming home.

  Jaicyn would never stay away for more than twenty-four hours. She’d be worried out of her mind. In fact, she’d been anxious to get home since she woke up that morning. Autumn knew it and the fact that Jaicyn had stayed a few extra hours to help her do her hair meant a lot to Autumn. She was actually kind of glad that Jaicyn was leaving. Autumn had plans for that afternoon that she hadn’t told Jaicyn about. She didn’t want to miss them.