“I feel you,” Anthony said wondering where Slim was going with what he was saying.
“Straight up, Ant, I was in the gym in my building working out. These two men, one a big time real estate investor and the other a stock broker, were talking. They’ve seen me plenty of times and have never spoken to me, but when they saw me talking and working out with the same financial advisor they used, they wanted to get to know me.”
Anthony noticed the grin on his friend’s face. “I know you said fuck their asses.”
“Hell, nawl! I rubbed elbows with them honkeys like I was supposed to. Shit, the real estate fucker has come in handy by plugging me with people who could help me find the property I’ve been looking for, property all over the states.”
“Making your money work for you the legit way, huh?” Anthony asked.
“A person doesn’t last in the game forever, homey, so from my mouth to your ears, I’m putting things in the works to get us all out and paid. It won’t be long, either.”
There was a knock on the door, and Anthony got up to answer. In walked Reese, Shaun and Noonie. They all showed each other love by giving dap. Once their signature handshakes were done, Slim told everyone to help themselves to a drink.
Slim let the men mingle, and they talked about two things—women and money. It was that way with hustlers, it was what fueled them to do what they do, sometimes one more than the other.
They were all on their second drink when Slim brought them to order. The men sat on the sofa and loveseat, and Reese on the lounge chair as Slim stood.
“I brought all of you here because we need to tighten up on our business. We’ve been hit for our drugs and not just some small amounts. It’s enough to put a dent in our operations.”
Reese interjected, “Ain’t much we can do when it’s the police hitting our shit.”
Slim replied, “Yes, it is. We had a snitch in our camp, and that is what brings crews down. Police can’t do their job without the help of the streets.”
Shaun said, “That’s my bad, Slim. Even though that nigga had been around our people for years, Feet, may that lil’ nigga rest in peace, was telling me that it was something funny about Parker. I should have been up on that.”
“Yeah, you should have,” Slim told him in an even tone. “Look, I didn’t call you men here to pass any blame or judgment. We are all a chain and a chain is only as strong as the weakest link. So with that said, everyone needs to be strong. Before I continue, I want to know if anyone has any complaints or gripes of the way things are going. Open floor, my niggas. If anyone has anything to get off their chest, let it be known.”
Noonie said, “How long is Antwan going to be in Detroit, and what if the Russians find out about us making money on that end?”
Slim said, “Ain’t no need to worry about that. He’s running shit there making money for us. Money that is going toward a retirement fund for all of us.”
The men let out a slight laugh. It didn’t bother Slim because that’s the way they were. They were all brothers in a sense, and Slim knew the words, retirement fund, sounded funny, so he explained. “The game don’t last forever, so I’m preparing for that end. The money he’s making us is for all of you. Reese and Antwan, being a captains, gets a slightly higher percentage and all of you lieutenants get the rest.”
Anthony asked, “So when do we get it?”
“That’s to be seen. I’m just letting you all know that we will not end up like all those fools getting locked up and all their money getting seized. Look at Big Will. Back in the day, he was one who everyone looked up to. He was like the Donald Trump of the game here in the city, and what happened?”
“His ass is sitting in the fed joint doing thirty years,” Reese said.
Noonie added, “And his family is out here starving, from his momma to his wife and kids.”
Slim said, “That’s right. Now that nigga was said to have millions, and now his ass is locked up until he’s old and crippled. His daughter is tricking from one petty baller to the next, and his wife got strung out on heroin by some wanna-be pimp. Nah, I’m not letting none of y’all go out like that. We have to have a time line to getting out, and that’s why I have joined teams with the Fuentes’ and Bone’s crew.”
Reese, who didn’t care too much for getting in bed with rivals, said, “I don’t mind fucking with them Russians since we’re getting the prices on the low, but coping with them busters, I never really swallowed that shit, boss man.” Reese added the words boss man to show his respect for Slim, not his decision.
“We needed that to get the price. The Russians knocked the Italian mob out the drug game and will keep them out, and we control everything. Dealing with the other crews also keeps down killing. Hell, I put Feet’s blood on our hands. I feel that the detective had the hit put on Feet for killing his people so we can’t do anything but chalk that one up to the game.”
The men in the room shook their heads at the fact that they had to let that go. They knew Slim was right, that there was no way they needed to go against the biggest gang in Chicago—the boys in blue. Reese, on the other hand, was sitting quietly at the comment, knowing that Feet’s blood was on his hands, but he knew it had to be done. No matter what Slim said, he felt as if Feet could get cold feet and decide to give up what he knew on the crew for a reduced sentence, and that would land them all in prison.
Slim’s phone, which was on vibrate, buzzed. He took it from his hip and checked the message. It was Trish letting him know that she was all moved in. He clipped the phone back on his hip, then said, “Speaking of the Russians, they have a package for us.”
Noonie said, “It’s not time to re-up, yet.”
“I spoke to them about the problem we’ve had with losing product and money. So they are giving me some product on the side. LaTanza and Bone know nothing of this.”
Reese chanted, “Mo’ money.”
“That’s right, Reese, and I need you and one other person to pick it up. I’ll give you the information, and I want you to take one of these guys, not a non-thinking soldier. I can’t have any problems when you meet them.”
“Give me the info, and it’s done, when?”
“They’ll hit me up, so be on call and ready to roll.”
“Bet,” Reese said relishing the moment to meet the Russians.
Slim expounded more to the men about the future and ways to save money and ways to be smart while on the streets. He also told them that they were earners and while they are still in the game, they needed to get money. That they needed to recover what they lost and to get on the soldiers to make that money.
The meeting ended, and Reese told Slim that he’d take Shaun with him. Slim was cool with that since Anthony had just been knocked by Styles, and Noonie needed to be at home with Chantel since Noonie Jr. was sick. The men left, and Slim headed to his home where his woman was waiting.
* * *
Shaun didn’t want to meet with the Russians to pick up the drugs, but Reese looked at it as a chance for him to get in good with the men who controlled most of the underworld of Chicago. Just in case Slim decided to get out the game the Russians would be familiar with him and may be willing to deal. It was almost eight o’clock, and the sun was setting as it took them a moment to find the ranch style house that was away from other homes. It was on thirty acres of land, and if it weren’t for being in the city limits, the two south side gangsters would have sworn they were on a farm as they drove up the long gravel road that led to the house.
They exited their rented Toyota Avalon and admired the S-Class Mercedes and the seven series BMW that were parked in the driveway. Both cars had a dealer’s plate leading Reese to believe that the Russian was an auto dealer. Reese knocked on the door, and to his surprise, a thin built Russian, who looked to be in his late twenties, answered the door. Reese and Shaun expected the man to be in his forties or fifties, but it didn’t matter as long as he was connected.
“You must be Reese. My people
say you would be a large, well built, man. I am Ivan. Come, come,” the man waved for them to enter rustic home.
“Thank you,” Shaun said as he and Reese entered.
Ivan said to Reese, “I mean no disrespect calling you a big man. Actually, in my country you would be considered royalty. Big and strong. I would be considered weak because of my small stature.
“I bet you didn’t like being considered weak,” Reese said as he and Shaun followed Ivan to a family room that had a country feel to it. Several trophies of deer, elk, caribou adorned the walls and a polar bear rug the floor—all big game.
“That is true, Reese. That’s when man has to prove himself. I killed my first man when I was fifteen during a robbery of a thieving politician’s home. I was sent to a Siberian prison where I learned to be a man.”
Shaun added, “Prison will do that to you.”
Ivan grabbed a bottle of liquor from the mantle of the fireplace and poured the men two hefty glasses of the vodka. Normally Shaun would have mixed the drink with some cranberry juice, but out of respect for the foreigner, he didn’t bother asking.
“You’ve been to prison, no?” Ivan asked Shaun.
“Yes,” Shaun replied, not going into details.
If this wouldn’t have been business, Reese would have called Shaun out for lying. He knew Shaun was fronting, that the only time he’d done was a forty-eight hour hold in Cook County jail.
Ivan held his glass up suggesting a toast, Reese and Shaun followed suit. They downed the liquor then Ivan said, “I must admit prison is a bad place to be. It can change a man.” Ivan stared into the air. “Ahhh, I still remember my second night there as if it just happened. Two men came to me. Faggot wanting a piece of my young teenage ass. I knew if I let them, then my time in prison would be spent in horror. Every man who enjoyed boy pussy would have taken a liking to me so when the lead man came to me, I played as if I wanted it.”
Reese looked taken aback.
Ivan smiled. “It was a plan, my comrade. I was skinny little boy and very afraid, but there was a beast that resided in me. One that I didn’t know until that night. When the man confronted me, I kissed him deeply in the mouth. The most repulsive thing I have done in my life, yet the smartest,” Ivan said as he, without looking, reached for the bottle and poured himself more vodka.
“The smartest,” Reese said.
“Yes, because he let me put my hand behind his head like I was enjoying it and that’s when I used all my might to hold him as I opened my mouth as wide as I could and bit down on his throat like a polar bear would do seal. Tear out windpipe. When his partner tried to help, he’d forgotten that his friend had a knife in his belt. It was exposed to scare me. I had grabbed the knife, and when the other man went to attack me, his heart received the rusty blade.” Ivan shook his head, bringing himself back to the present saying, “Enough about me. I do that sometimes at the mention of prison, but that memory does keep me sharp.”
“I guess so,” Reese said as he held out his glass for some more of the vodka. “Let’s talk business.”
“Sit,” Ivan said as he gestured to the leather sofa.
Reese sat on the sofa with Ivan, and Shaun in the lounge chair that was facing the living room. Shaun was nursing his glass of vodka as the two faced each other discussing business, and to his surprise, two young ladies came walking in the home. One was attractive, but the other was stunning. She was wearing expensive jeans and pumps with a silver shimmer top. Her jet-black hair flowed down her slim frame that sported perfectly round thirty-six c breasts that were purchased—courtesy of Ivan, of course.
When Ivan noticed the women he stood, Reese and Shaun did the same.
“Mariska, come,” he waved.
When the stunning one walked toward Ivan, it didn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that she was Ivan’s woman.
“Mariska, this is Reese and Shaun, business partners of mine. Reese and Shaun, my woman,” he introduced.
“Nice to meet you,” she held out her hand and shook both men’s hands.
“I thought you two were going to club?” Ivan asked.
“We are, but it is early,” Mariska said. Shaun noticed that her accent wasn’t as heavy as Ivan’s, leading him to believe she hadn’t grown up in Russian like her man.
“And where to?” he asked as he turned his back to everyone to retrieve the bottle of vodka.
Mariska glanced at Shaun and smiled when she said, “Bon V, you know me and Francine love that place on Saturday nights.
Shaun caught the hint, but wondered if this was a ploy by the Russian to test Reese and him to see if they would consider following up on the hint.
“Have fun and be careful. Now, let me finish with my business.”
After pouring themselves some of the vodka, the women left the men to tend to their business.
Ivan and Reese talked more, and Ivan glanced at his watch. The men had been inside his home for forty minutes—long enough.
“Well, let me check and make sure the money has been wired to the account,” Ivan said as he unclipped his cell from his hip. He checked the account and all seven hundred and fifty thousand was there. He then dialed and spoke in Russian which made Shaun a little nervous. He glanced at Reese who was calm. Reese always felt that if it was his time, it was his time, so he never worried about meeting his Maker. His thinking was it all has to end someday, and that’s why he lived life to the fullest.
Ivan ended his call, stood and then said, “You may leave now, my comrades. It has been a pleasure, and I look forward to doing business with you again.”
Reese and Shaun stood. Reese’s brow furrowed when he asked, “Uh, you got your end in the tune of seven hundred and fifty K. Now where is our end?”
Ivan smiled and said, “Leave the rental you came in. The two vehicles outside have your product inside of them. The drugs are hidden to where the vehicles must be taken apart to find them. They are also wrapped to where no police canine can pick up the smell. Proper paperwork is in the vehicles from my car lot. Go on, you will have no problems, and your boss already knows how to get the drugs out. His people has done before.”
Ivan hugged the men and led them out of his home. Once they were on his porch, Reese told Shaun, “I got the Mercedes.”
They were about to drive off when Shaun saw Mariska in a bedroom window. She was smiling at him, and then she waved. She had been changing clothes and was wearing only a lace panty and bra set. He did nothing, not wanting Ivan or the big Russian, who was walking out of the garage to the Avalon, to see him. Once they were on the road, Shaun muttered, “I ain’t never been into white women, but I would love to fuck that sexy Russian.
* * *
Shaun and Reese had delivered the car to the warehouse as told by Slim. The workers got all the cocaine and heroin out of the hidden compartment of the luxury vehicles. It was midnight, and Shaun had just arrived home. Teresa was sitting on the couch talking on the phone when he walked in.
“Hey, baby,” she said as she covered the phone.
Shaun didn’t reply. He got on his knees, hooked his fingers around Teresa’s shorts and panties and pulled at them. Without hanging up she raised her butt off the couch a bit to ease the taking off of her panties.
Shaun whispered, “Don’t hang up.”
He began to kiss Teresa’s thighs as she kept her phone conversation going and when he reached her love she began stuttering at the tongue lashing he was giving her. He covered her with his lips and moaned as he savored her juices that began to flow, and the vibration was too much for her to handle. Teresa dropped the phone and told her man that she wanted him in her. He stood and she watched him undress. He then slid all of his thickness inside her, closed his eyes, and started to dig deep as he thought about Mariska’s and the way she looked in the window. He pretended it was she that lay on the couch underneath him. She was all that was on his mind the past few hours, and it was her forbidden fruit he wanted to take the chance to indulge in even th
ough he knew what risks were involved.
* * *
It was now August a month since Shaun and Reese had picked up the drugs from Ivan, and they did as Slim told them and flooded the streets with the good product which brought the fiends out in full force. Shaun had talked Reese into letting him get rid of the ecstasy, and he agreed since Shaun was more of the club pretty boy type and he’d work well with the white club managers they were dealing with. He had people skills almost as well as Greg, who was still laying in the hospital in a coma.
Shaun was in his Lexus GS heading north on the Dan Ryan Expressway. The cut Headlines by Drake was pumping through the premium speakers as he weaved through the light traffic toward the West Loop section of the city. His cell rang, and he glanced at the screen. It was Teresa. He answered, and she told him that she decided that she was going to stay at home tonight instead of going out with Cookie. Shaun told her that he had business to take care of and that he’d be home later. He ended the call and thought about the lie he’d tell her when he arrived home which, if all goes well, won’t be until the morning.
Shaun arrived at the 1100 block of West Randolph Street. After finding a place to park, he looked himself over in the rearview mirror to see if he was good. He patted his natural and used his thumb and forefinger to smooth down his perfectly lined goatee that showed up well on his light skin. He reached inside his center console and grabbed a pill. He tossed the party drug in his mouth and washed it down with the bottled water that was in the cup holder.
Shaun walked inside the Bon V, a popular nightclub that had over 7,500 feet of space to party, and the other two times Shaun had been here, he could see why people came to Bon V, which means “Good Life” in French. And with all the exoticness and sex all over the place, Shaun realized he was missing out on something. He was used to a lot of the clubs that were frequented by only people of his race, which was cool to him, but the clubs downtown were full of young men and women, mostly white, who partied hard. He saw men dancing with women and women dancing with women. There were some black there and the ones he talked to, he could tell had money or were on their way to making money. They realized he had money when he ordered himself a drink, gave the woman a fifty then walked off without getting his change.
The Corner III (No Way Out) Page 15