by Asia Hill
“Ain’t no $8 bags, nigga. If you want this shit, come with all my money or don’t come at all.”
“Aw, come on young blood, hook me up.”
“NEXT!”
I laughed because that nigga was a fool.
“Money Man, I’m about to break out and check on the other spots. I’ll be back.”
I jumped in my car and hit the streets. I was missing my girl; I still haven’t took my ass up there to see her yet. Yeah, I know I was bogus. That visit might break her down. Shit me too! I pulled over because I saw a familiar face.
“What’s good, stranger?”
“What’s up, parking spot thief.”
I must admit shorty was looking all right in all-white STRUT jeans with knee-high Timbs. Her Pelle Pelle was cute as shit, too. Even her micros were fresh.
“What’s crackin’, girl?”
“Apparently nothing, since you gave me your friend’s number instead of yours.”
“I know, that was my bad. Take my number.”
I felt guilty for giving her my number, but I wasn’t doing shit wrong. I just needed a friend to talk to. Nothing was going to make me mess up what I got going on with Ju. I loved her to death.
“So LJ, what brings you outside in the cold?”
“I was running around checking on a few spots.”
“Spots? You serve?”
“I do me. Why?”
“Shit! Maybe we can get some money together.”
“Get in, ma. It’s cold as shit out here. Where your car?”
“On the block, why?”
“Hit some blocks with me.”
We rode around and talked for hours. Shorty was cool as fuck. I learned that her brothers and cousin had all been murdered, and she was taking care of her little sister. I felt bad for her. I didn’t really tell her none of my business. She was cool but I ain’t know her like that.
“Ma, you hungry?”
She smiled and shook her head.
“Well what you want?”
“I want some Wendy’s.”
I shot up to Wendy’s on 87th and Stoney Island.
“What you want?”
“A number 3 and a pink lemonade.”
(Mia)
This nigga was fine and about his business. I had to make him mine. He didn’t said anything about having a girl, so that was a good thing. I couldn’t believe how open I was with him about my brothers and my cousin. I didn’t say their names because my family was into everything in this city. Chicago’s real small. They might have done something to him or somebody he knew. He was a great listener, and I needed that. I had so many things on my mind. How was I going to kill Jaw and those Eastside bitches? I needed JoJo to abort that damn demon child she was carrying. I had to figure out a way to get Lil Man outta our lives. Yep, I had a full plate. Did I even want this man to distract me from reality?ring ring I heard his phone ringing. Normally I wouldn’t have answered it; but since we were into the same business, I knew he wouldn’t have minded. It might be about some money.
“Hello?”
“Who the fuck is this, and why are you answering my man’s phone?”
Aw, shit! So much for him not having a girlfriend.
Chapter 12
Boo
It had been two weeks since I’d heard from Ashley. I was dying to know if she traced Lil Mama’s phone. My boy didn’t give me my damn money back, so I buried a stranger. I had been so concerned with the whole Lil Mama situation that I hadn’t notice until now that my pockets were slimming down. It took Heidi to put me back on point. She came busting through my door looking like the Grinch who stole Christmas. She had on a lime green jumpsuit with some knee-high boots on and a big ass fur.
“For real bitch?”
“What?”
“Where are you going looking like a big ass apple jolly rancher?”
“You a hater! This is Roberto Cavalli, and it’s fresh off the runway.”
“Whatever! Where you going?”
“Get dressed. It’s Christmas Eve. We’re going to this party downtown.”
“Naw, I’m not in the mood. Ju in jail, Lil Mama’s missing, and Tiki’s dead. It’s just all too much for me.”
She stared at me as if I was crazy.
“Boo, Lil Mama’s dead. Let’s move on, baby.”
I hadn’t even told her what Ashley and I had been working on. Now was the perfect time.
“Sit down.”
After about 30 minutes and a few outbursts, I was able to get out the whole story.
“That lil bony bitch. I’ma kick her ass. Got us worried like this.”
Heidi was fuming.
“Chill, Heidi! There’s a reason why she disappeared. I just gotta wait for her to get at me.”
I thought for a few seconds, and then it hit me.
“She had cameras on her car, Heidi. We need to get to the tow yard.”
“Bitch, it’s cold as hell out there; and as you can see, I’m rocking this new shit. I’m not going to no damn tow yard.”
“Yes you are. You better change. I know you gotcha hoe bag in your trunk. Now hurry up.”
Thirty minutes later, we were at the pound looking at her mangled car, if she did in fact survive that crash. I know she fucked up. Her car was totaled. While I was looking through her car, I saw Heidi out of the corner of my eye stomping her feet as if she had an attitude.
“How are we gonna get the camera footage now, genius?”
I was about to curse her ass out when I saw a button to the trunk that spelled camera. When I pushed the button, a small SB chip popped out.
“Now can we go? Bitch, I’m freezing.”
“Man, ain’t nobody tell you to put on them thin ass leggings with that little ass T-shirt.”
“This this is my morning-after gear.”
“Morning after what? Let’s go!”
I was dying to see what was on that chip. We grabbed something to eat and headed back to my crib. I didn’t know what to expect. Shit, Heidi was more anxious than I was. There was so much footage on that chip. We sat there for hours. Lil Mama was watching the police detective; often!
“Heidi, why the hell was she following him like that?”
I was so confused. The detective dude had even met with Lil Man a few times.
“Heidi, something ain’t right.”
Finally, we were at the day of Tiki’s funeral.
“Okay, Heidi look. This is where she left the funeral in a hurry. Look at the camera’s view. She’s swerving. This must be when she was on the phone with me. Oh God.”
The dash cam showed Lil Mama swerve into oncoming traffic. We saw a big ass ball of fire. The car even flipped a few times. All that and the camera was still rolling.
Heidi jumped up, and said, “PAUSE IT RIGHT THERE!”
“Damn bitch, you scared the shit outta me. Why you yell like that? What you see?”
“Unpause it and look at the figure running towards the car.”
When I unpaused it, I saw a familiar face running towards the car. Three seconds later, I saw that same person dragging Lil Mama’s limp body from the car. I was shocked.
“I can’t believe this shit. Heidi, hand me my phone.”
(Dirty E)
I’ve been riding around solo. I missed my dawg. Tiki was my ace boon coon. I woke up today as if it was just a regular day. In all actuality, it was Christmas. I’m not going to lie, I cried like a baby. I was so lost. I knew that I was going to murder that bastard. I just couldn’t catch his ass. It was a long shot, but I called the one person that knew where he was.
“Hello?”
“You lucky I didn’t kill you bitch. My bestie died because of you and that nigga. Tell me why I shouldn’t kill you.”
It was quiet on the other end for several seconds. For a moment, I thought I had fucked up by going so hard.
“It wasn’t my fault that Tiki died.”
“Do you know that he just shot at me, Re, and Poohman?”
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“No, I ain’t know that, E. I can’t talk on this phone. If you agree not to hurt me, I’ll help you get him.”
“Why should I believe you? Remember you were trying to have me killed?”
“Correction, I was going to kill you myself.”
I had to pull the phone away from my ear and look at it. The nerve of that hoe.
“Yo, you got balls for real.”
“It ain’t that, E, it’s the truth. I don’t expect you to sympathize with me. Y’all killed my brothers and my cousin.”
She was talking reckless on this phone. For all I know, she was recording the call to try and set me up.
“I ain’t kill nobody. If you gon’ meet me, pick the spot and be there. I need to talk to you.”
“Meet me at Jackson Park Hospital.”
“Why there?”
“I got a doctor’s appointment.”
“What time?”
“1:30 p.m.”
“Bye.”
I needed her to lead me to Lil Man. After she served her purpose, I was going to kill her ass as well.
Twenty minutes later, I was sitting in my car in the hospital parking lot. I really didn’t think that she was going to show up. I was about to pull off when I saw her walking towards my car. I popped the locks so she could get in. I started laughing because she made no effort to even touch the door. Smart girl! I zipped my Pelle up and hopped out. I ain’t even gon’ lie, seeing her again was like a breath of fresh air. She was glowing.
“Merry Christmas, E.”
“Fuck you, JoJo.”
“You were the one trying to kill me.”
“How you gon’ plot against me with that nigga, Lil Man?”
“I didn’t know you first. Let’s get that out of the way. I just wanted to find out what happened to my family, and then things got outta control. I had nothing to do with Tiki dying.”
I believed her, but so what. She was gonna die.
“So, perhaps all of that is true. Why are you still around that nigga? He’s going to die. If I can help it, it’s going to be painful.”
She put her head down, and I could sense that this wasn’t gonna end well for her.
“E, I’m pregnant.”
“It ain’t mine.”
I had to laugh at that shit. That shit was funny.
“For real, it’s Lil Man’s.”
“You gave that dirty ass nigga some pussy?”
“It wasn’t even like that. He sort of takes what he wants.”
“Damn, What you gon’ do?”
“Find a way for him to die, and keep my baby.”
“Maybe I could help you with that, but I need you to help me get him.”
“I know how you get down E. I’ll help you, but I don’t wanna die. I bit off more than I could chew dealing with him. I just wanna take my baby and move away.”
The more I stood there and listened to her, the more I actually felt sorry for her. Lil Man fucked my life up by killing my friend. If I could choose as to who I wanted more, it would be him.
“JoJo, what he planning?”
“He called his cousins from out west to help him. They planning on robbing Jaw’s trap spot in Englewood.”
“Oh yeah?”
“He was the one that called Crime Stoppers and told them that JuJu was the one that killed Tae and Tiki.”
“Anything else?”
“Watch your back. That detective dude wants the money that y’all stole from Pancho. He told Lil Man to hit y’all cribs and look for that money.”
Damn, I didn’t think that Lil Man would try and go that hard. I gotta get up with Young and ReRe.
“A’ight JoJo. I’ma check into this shit. If you’re lying, I’m telling you now that I’m going to kill you and that bastard you carrying.”
“Oh, I’m not lying; but if anybody wanna come after me because of Lil Man, I’ma change their minds. I’m trying to survive.”
“I hope you do!”
Chapter 13
Young Meech
I had to get a handle on myself. Today was a bad day for me. It’s Christmas. My auntie, Tiki, and my girl were all dead. I wanted all of this to be a dream. After killing Lil Man’s people, I felt nothing. I won’t feel any better until I put that nigga in the ground. I didn’t ask for this life. Now it seems as if there’s no way out. I had big shoes to fill from the very beginning. My heart was so cold. Man, I’m only 15. I never wanted to be a kingpin. I really wanted to be a ball player. But that was then and this is now. I was going to torture and bury Lil Man and everybody that he loved.cough cough
“You a’ight? Drink this water.”
“Thank you, baby.”
“You look better.”
“I feel better.”
“So what’s the plan?”
“Detective Malone is going to do his best to try and bury Ju, Re, and Dirty. We just have to get to him first.”
“We? Do you know what you’re saying? We are about to go after a cop?”
“If we don’t, they’re going to spend the rest of their lives behind bars. I’m not going to let that happen.”
“Why not call ...?”
“No! Boo is already under his radar for killing A. We’re going to do this together; and then after that, you can go get Lil Man. Without them two, the state has no case.”
Well then, we needed to handle this as soon as possible because Lil Man’s ass is mine.
“When you gon’ call Boo?”
“Together we are easy targets. After I eliminate the problem, we can go back to doing us.”
“She is going to kill me when she finds out I have you with me.”
“You are right about that.”
(Lil Man) (Christmas Night)
“KeeKee, y’all ready to do that thang?”
“Nigga, which thang? You said tonight that we were breaking into cribs and robbing trap spots.”
“We are doing it all. First we’re gon’ hit the trap spot. After we get in there, shoot everything living. We are taking money and work. You guys can have all the drugs. I want the money.”
Baby Dro spoke up: “Hell naw. Why do you get all the money?”
“Because y’all sell drugs, dummy. I got a baby on the way. I need the money like right now.”
I guess I said something that was funny because KeeKee started cracking up.
“Nigga, who gave you some pussy? You still wet behind the ears.”
“Nigga, I’m grown. My dick spits, so fuck you!”
We needed to begin moving before those niggas made me mad.
“At 11:00 p.m. we are gon’ hit the spot. Let me call my girl and check on her before we roll out.”
All three of my cousins burst out laughing. What the fuck was funny? This was going to be a long night.
(Jaw)
“Money Man, I’ma come over there and let you off for the night.”
“I’m cool. I got weed, my bitch, and my gun. Merry Christmas. Why don’t you shoot up to the county and see your girl?”
“Damn, you right. I’m slipping. Come to think about it, she ain’t called me in like a week. I’ll holla at y’all when I get there.”
Just as I was about to leave, I saw Outlaw bobbing up the street on his way back to the spot.
“Where have you been?”
“I went to the liquor store to grab something to drink, but fuck all that. Check this out. How come that nigga, Ice who you had running the spot around here is now talking about sticking up the spot?”
I was kind of surprised. Here I was giving the nigga a pass for stealing. Now he wants to rob us? Wait ‘til I tell Poohman this shit.
“A’ight, look, be on point. Money Man, send your girl home. This ain’t no place for her right now.”
She quickly spoke up, “Um, Jaw, no offense, but I’m not just some pretty face.”
She went into her book bag and pulled out this big ass gun.
“I know how to make this thang talk.”Click Clack
> “We ready. Let them niggas come!”
Man, Joe, she cocked that motha fucker like a pro.
“Damn shorty, I see you. Money Man, where you get her from?”
He just smiled.
“Yeah bro, she’s my rider. Let them niggas come. We gon’ bring the 4th of July to December.”
This shit was about to get real. If that’s what Ice was really on, then his ass wasn’t ‘bout to make it to the New Year!
“Let me go see my girl real quick. I’m bringing Poohman and Young Meech back with me.”
Money Man looked puzzled.
“Young Meech? Is he kin to King Meech?”
“Yup.”
“Aw, hell yeah. Let’s get it. Anybody who’s thinking about running up in here must really wanna die. Let’s help ‘em.”
Chapter 14
JuJu
Throughout the previous week, I was sick to my stomach. Some girl answered my man’s phone. I was so hurt I couldn’t even call back. The crazy part about it was that the girl that answered the phone said that I was going to be replaced. She was lucky that I couldn’t get to her. I called the one person that I knew could get to the bottom of this.
“Hello? Who is this?”
“This me, Re.”
“Ju? You out? Whose phone you got?”
“Ashley’s friend gave it to me.”
“Oh, that’s cool. How you been, boo?”
“I’ve seen better days. I beat a few hoes up for trying me.”
“That’s my girl. You don’t sound right. What’s really good?”
I forgot how well she knew me. I debated on telling her the problem. Re was crazy. Things could go left really quick. If I tell her that Jaw was cheating, she was liable to hurt that boy. Oh well, he did it to himself.
“I called Jaw’s phone and some bitch answered the phone. She told me I was being replaced.”
“Her name is Mia.”
I was stuck. How the hell did she know?
“Re, you knew?”