by K'wan
When Devil looked up and saw Animal coming in his direction he had to do a double take to make sure his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him. He had heard a million stories about what had become of the notorious assassin from him being dead to serving life in prison, but as he beheld him in the flesh, he realized that none of them were true. Men like Animal were like roach infestations, no matter what you did to get rid of them; they just kept coming back.
“Sup, Red Devil?” Animal greeted him by his full street name.
“Out here trying to make a dollar like everybody else,” Devil told him. “I’d heard they buried you in a dark hole for all time.”
“You know they can’t keep a good man down.”
“I don’t know if I’d call you a good man, but you are a resilient little fuck,” Devil chuckled. Animal’s face remained stone serious. “C’mon, man, lighten up. I know you didn’t come here to press me about that shit between you and Don B?” Animal had been one of the artists Big Dawg Entertainment had to pay as a result of the lawsuit over missing money.
“Nah, man. My bank account is actually looking real good about now, probably better than some of y’all nigga’s,” Animal mocked him.
“Then what the fuck you want? Me and you ain’t got no problems,” Devil said.
“Me and you ain’t got no problem, D, but I might have a problem with somebody inside this establishment you’re protecting. I need a word with one of the girls,” Animal told him.
“I ain’t never known you to be no lady killer, unless you was murdering the pussy,” Devil said. He was familiar enough with Animal to know when he was out for blood, which his face said he was that night.
“Never said I was gonna kill her…never said I wasn’t either. I’d be worried more about my own life than the life of some whore if I was you,” Animal told him, flashing the gun in his pants. “Now if them coins they throwing you to play watch-dog are worth it then by all means stick around and take your rightful place in tomorrow’s headlines. But if you’re still the wise O.G. that I remember, you’ll take the rest of the night off.”
Devil looked into Animal’s eyes and saw something that made him cringe…total emptiness. He was no fool; he knew Animal and his pedigree and no amount of money was worth him trying his hand against the young killer if he didn’t have to. Devil coughed dramatically. “You know what? I ain’t feeling so hot. I think I’m gonna take the rest of the night off.” He started down the block. He stopped short and called out to Animal. “Does this mean you’re back in the life?”
Animal weighed the question. “Nah, I’m just passing through,” he told him before disappearing inside.
*
When Animal passed through the door that Devil had been guarding he found himself standing in a dimly lit hallway, with another door at the other end. His red Converse squeaked beneath him as he moved across the hard wood floor.
Stein turning him onto Original Sin was the first solid lead he’d had since he’d set out earlier that evening with the flash drive. It pissed him off to know that the mother of his daughter had been sitting on the information the whole time and hadn’t said anything and he intended to call her out on it, but first he had to get to Momo and find out where he could put his hands on Luther. He still wasn’t sure how Graham or NYAK connected to the cartel, but Lilith wouldn’t have kept files on them if he didn’t play some sort of role in the grand scheme of things.
As Animal neared the door a slot opened near the top, and a pair of eyes studied him. He stood there trying his best not to look like it was his first time, while whoever was behind the door sized him up. He held up the card key Stein had given him for the person behind the door to see and held his breath. For all he knew he could very well be walking into a set up, but he had come too far to turn back. He could hear a series of locks being undone on the other side before the heavy door was pulled open and he was allowed to enter.
The inside of Original Sin was nothing like Animal had thought it would be. Based on the name and what he knew went on inside, he had expected it to be some seedy dive but it wasn’t. The large room, which was a common area, was tastefully decorated in very modern looking furniture and fitted with flat screen televisions on the walls. There was also a large bar, and several sofas where you could enjoy a drink or make your selection from Original Sin’s unique menu of vices. Women walked around in expensive looking lingerie, showing their wares to the respective men who may have been interested in paying for their services.
Keeping his head down, Animal made his way to the bar to order a drink and observe. He sat on a stool near the end, which gave him a clear view of the entire room through the mirror that covered most of the wall behind the bar. A scantily clad barmaid made her way up and down the bar taking the orders of the patrons on the benches. Animal tried to get her attention and she held her finger up asking that he give her a minute.
While he waited for the bar maid, Animal busied himself discreetly surveying the room. What made Original Sin different than most establishments of that nature was they only hosted the most exclusive clientele. From politicians and businessmen to thieves and killers, Original Sin would cater to them all, and they’d do so indiscriminately so long as they were members.
There was all kind of money floating around Original Sin that night, from the clean to the dirty. Animal even recognized a few of the faces from his days in the music business, but fortunately, they didn’t recognize him. Had this been a few years ago, Animal could see him and Tech running up in the spot and making everybody turn their pockets out, but that was a different time and he was a different man on a different mission.
“What can I get for you?” the barmaid startled Animal. She was a pretty redbone with thick lips and gorgeous eyes. Animal hadn’t even noticed her walk up. He was focusing so hard, on what was behind him that he wasn’t paying attention to what was in front of him. That was starting to be the story of his life.
“Hennessey, neat,” Animal told her.
“Coming right up,” the barmaid said and went about the task of making his drink.
Animal watched her as her fingers glided expertly across the bottles on the shelf, stopping at a bottle of Hennessey. As she cracked the bottle and searched for a nozzle to fit it with, Animal admired how her shape filled out the tight black dress she was wearing. She had a small waist that let out into a heart shaped ass and well defined legs. Animal couldn’t help but to wonder if drinks were all she served at Original Sin.
“Here you go, sweetie,” the barmaid placed a napkin on the bar in front of Animal before sitting his drink on it.
“Good looking out, baby,” Animal pulled his money out and was about to pay for his drink when she stopped him.
“That’s not how things work in Original Sin. Alcohol is probably the only thing that you can get for free in this place. Everything else you pay for. Didn’t anybody explain the rules to you before you became a member?” she asked suspiciously.
“I must’ve slept through that part at orientation.” Animal cracked a smile. “Consider it a tip,” he slid a hundred dollar bill across the bar.
The bar maid picked up the bill and held it in the light to make sure it was real. “I like your style, New Fish,” she snapped the bill and stuffed it into her bra. “So, what’s your vice?”
“My vice?”
“Yes, your vice. People don’t just come here because they enjoy the décor, everyone has a vice,” she rested her elbows on the bar and looked Animal in the eyes. “You’re eyes are too alert for you to be a drug addict, and you’re too pretty to have to pay for pussy, so I’d say you’re a gambler.”
Animal nodded in approval at her assessment. “In a manner of speaking, yes. I am a man who has been known to go all in depending on the hand I’m dealt.”
“I knew it!” she said proudly. “You don’t work in a place like this for as long as I have and not pick up a few things. I’ve been working here so long that I’ve learned to read men well enoug
h to know what they want before they ask for it.”
“That’s quite a talent,” Animal said, sliding a cigarette from his pack and placing it between his lips.”
The bar maid produced a long grill lighter and lit his cigarette for him. “One of many,” she said suggestively. “Working at Original Sin requires you know how to multitask.”
“And what else does working here require you to know how to do?” Animal asked.
“I take my dinner break at ten. If you’re still around I wouldn’t mind showing you,” the bar maid said.
Animal looked at her with predatory eyes and spoke in a sultry tone. “Normally I would eat your yellow ass alive, baby girl, tonight I’m craving a different flavor. Maybe another night though.”
“They say it’s always the pretty ones who break your heart,” the bar maid sighed. “Sin has got ‘em all from the old and sophisticated to the young and ratchet. Pick your poison.”
“I was thinking something a little more on the exotic side, like foreign. Y’all got any Asian girls working tonight?” Animal asked. “My homie told me about this Chinese chick he rocked out with that had a body like a black girl.”
The bar maid rolled her eyes. “You must be talking about Momo, and she’s Japanese,” she corrected him.
“Yeah, I think that was her name. She around?”
“Momo is here, but she’s up in the penthouse with her regular Thursday night client,” she told him.
“Penthouse?” Animal wasn’t familiar.
“The penthouse, as in the three private rooms on the top floor where you can take some of our more elite girls, if your pockets can stand the extra hit. You can’t get up to the penthouse unless you’re spending at least a stack,” the bar maid explained. “Damn, how is it that you’re a member of this club yet you don’t seem to know anything about how it works?”
“I told you, I didn’t pay much attention when my home boy was giving me the run down,” Animal lied.
The bar maid gave him a disbelieving look “And who is your home boy again?”
“Black…his name is Black,” Animal lied. He couldn’t very well say Stein for fear of raising uncomfortable questions about his relationship to the lawyer, but he could pull off Black. There was a dude named Black in every hood.
“Which Black?” the bar maid asked suspiciously.
“What you mean? I just told you his name is Black,” Animal stalled. Of all the barmaids behind the bar he could’ve ordered from, he had to get the nosey one.
“I mean, which Black as in Black from Harlem or you talking about Black from Red Hook?” she asked.
Animal hadn’t expected there to be more than one. This would be tricky. Animal knew he had to choose his reply wisely, because if he answered wrong, his ruse would be exposed and security would be on him in a heartbeat. He leaned in and said with a sneer. “You and I both know that the only Black who’s a member of this club is from Brooklyn. Now if you insist upon playing games, we can get one of your bosses out here and you can let them tell me why I’m being hassled when I pay my membership dues like everybody else.” Animal was taking a gamble, but fortunately, it paid off.
“Take it easy, pretty boy. I was just testing you. Better me then security, because they’d have probably taken you somewhere and whipped your ass for being in here feeling around like a newly blinded man. They don’t take kindly to perpetrators at Original Sin,” the bar maid told him.
“I’ll keep that in mind for future reference,” Animal said, throwing his drink back then slamming the empty glass on the table and motioned for her to pour him another. “Now if you’re done jerking me off, how about you tell me how a man would go about getting a date with this Momo?”
The bar maid refilled his glass. “I told you she’s doing her Thursday Night Special, which means she’s occupied with one client for most of the night,” she explained. “Don’t stress yourself out about it, pretty boy. There are plenty of girls in here who are just as bad as Momo. Why don’t you grab one of them and visit one of the romp rooms. The penthouse ain’t for everybody.”
Animal downed his drink and slid the glass back to the barmaid. “Like I said earlier, I’m a man who likes to go all in. Thanks for the yak,” he slid off the stool.
“Say pretty boy!” the bar maid called after him. “I never caught your name.”
“That’s because I never threw it,” Animal capped and walked off.
The bar maid continued to watch Animal as he moved through the room, checking out some of the girls and watching some of the guys intently. Something about him didn’t feel right and she knew her gut never lied.
CHAPTER 7
Talking to the bar maid confirmed what Animal had learned from Stein, that the girl Momo indeed worked at Original Sin. For a while, he was concerned that he’d been fed bad information and Stein had sent him off to chase another empty lead, but Stein’s information was on point. It was almost a shame that he killed him, but there was nothing he could do to change that now, nor would he if he could. Lilith and everybody connected to her were meat.
The barmaid had said that Momo was with her regular Thursday night client and he couldn’t help but to wonder if the client might’ve been Graham. If it was, then he’d be able to kill two birds with one stone. The more digging Animal did, the more he felt like Graham played a bigger role in the cartel’s operation than he had originally thought. What was more interesting was the fact that a company as big as NYAK would’ve gone through so much trouble to keep him out of harm’s way. There was a connection between the company and the cartel, and Luther was the missing piece. He needed to talk to the mystery man, but first, he had to find a way upstairs.
Animal worked his way around the room, checking out the ladies. There was no shortage of women trying to be selected for the night. The bar maid wasn’t lying when she said Original Sin had just about every kind of woman under the sun to choose from. A few approached Animal to see if he was ready to cash in his card, but they didn’t do it for him. To their credit, they were all fine, but he was looking for more than fine. He needed a girl of a high enough quality to get him upstairs to the penthouse. After nearly a half hour of trolling, he found her.
She was a natural five-nine, but inched closer to six feet in the gold stiletto thigh high boots she was wearing. The green sheer sarong did little to hide her body, which was something out of a young man’s dream. From the way her ass jiggled when she walked, it appeared to be all natural. Her skin was so rich and so dark that it seemed to drink up the light in the room. She walked through the room, oozing confidence, swinging her incredibly long weave. As sexy as she was, it was her smile that made Animal’s breath catch in his chest. He had never seen her a day in his life, yet his heart ached for her. The woman was nothing short of a goddess, and she would be his ticket into the penthouse.
Animal watched as both men and women alike threw themselves at this midnight goddess. A few dudes were on her with their Mack-rap, and heavy jewelry, but she sidestepped them like they were piles of shit. A young brother Animal recognized as a wide receiver from the New York Jets stepped out into her path. He said something slick to her, which Animal couldn’t hear, before popping open the knapsack he was carrying and flashing his money. It was some of the thirstiest shit Animal had ever seen, but it’s what passed for game those days. Animal thought for sure she would bite, and the baller would ruin his best shot at getting up to the penthouse, but to his surprise, she threw her head back and laughed. She said something to the wide receiver, that he clearly didn’t like and kept it moving, leaving him there to pick up his face. It was then that Animal understood it wasn’t money that moved her, but something else entirely.
Animal slid into one of the armchairs at an unoccupied table that would put him in the path of the goddess when she walked by. He threw his sunglasses on and adjusted his chain before making himself comfortable. He shut out the music and listened for the clicking of her heels on the hardwood floors as she drew near
him. Animal let her get halfway past him then made his play. “Say baby, when you make it back this way why don’t you bring me a bottle of Henny?” Animal capped without bothering to look up at her. It was a sucker’s bet, and the sure money was on her ignoring him and continuing on her way, but his luck had held yet again and he heard her heels stop.
“Excuse you?” the goddess sounded offended.
Animal tilted his head back to look up at her. “I asked if you can bring me back a bottle of yak, when you swing this way again,” he repeated his statement.
The goddess moved to stand in front of him and looked down. “What do you think, I’m one of the waitresses?” she glared down at him defiantly.
Animal removed his shades. It was important that she saw his eyes so that there was no misunderstanding about him. “No, I think you’re the woman I’ve chosen to share a bottle with for the night.”
The goddess was taken aback. “That’s mighty presumptuous of you. What makes you think that I don’t have better things to do tonight then listen to your ass talk shit?”
“The fact that you’re still here entertaining this conversation instead of brushing me off. Time is precious and real hustlers don’t waste it unless they got it to spare,” Animal shot back.
“You got a real slick mouth, youngster,” the goddess said with a smirk.
“That ain’t the only thing slick about me. Why don’t you go grab that bottle and come on back here so I can read you some quotes from The Diary of a Real Nigga,” it was a request, but came across as a command.
“The ride you’re looking to go on ain’t gonna be a cheap one.” She told him.
Animal gave her a stone-faced look. “Baby, if I was a nigga worried about money I’d have never even opened my mouth to you. Now why don’t you go get that bottle and clear your schedule for the next couple of hours,” he said confidently and turned his attention to one of the flat screens. He could feel the goddess staring at him, but he refused to acknowledge her until she did as he asked.