by Nene Capri
Kiam’s chuckle was followed by a half smile, he liked Cantrell’s heart. Maybe in the next life the little nigga would be a shot caller, but not in this one.
Kiam’s Nine came off his waist spitting something real hot. Cantrell’s head exploded in a spray of skull and blood. His body toppled over in the chair and crashed to the floor.
Vic shot up out of his chair, dashing to the counter where he had placed his trey-eight on top of the microwave. Before he could reach his strap, Kiam aimed his nine milli and opened up his back.
Vic’s face slapped the floor and he groaned in pain. He tried to crawl but his legs no longer worked.
Kiam walked around the table and stepped over Vic on his way to the counter. He searched the drawers until he found what he was looking for.
Walking back over to Vic, Kiam tucked his banger back down in his waist and knelt down beside the paralyzed and dying man. He rolled Vic over on his back and plunged the butcher knife in his heart. Blood squirted out three feet in the air.
Kiam stood back up and looked at the two young workers who were still seated at the table frozen with fear. “I don’t do insubordination, either,” he stated. “Remember that, and what happened to them won’t happen to you. Do I make myself clear?” Their heads bobbled vigorously up and down.
“Alright. From now on y’all are in charge of this trap. Get the dope out and torch the house. We can open another spot down the street somewhere. And remember what I said about my coins,” Kiam reemphasized. Then he turned and looked at Gator.
“Pick ya mouth up off the floor, homie. It’s just another day in the life of a G,” he said, strolling toward the door with his nuts hanging low.
Across town, his female counterpart was on her G shit too.
Chapter 9
Blood Money
Lissha moved around her three bedroom apartment preparing for the arrival of her Blood Money Crew. When the bell rung, she had just taken the last piece of chicken out the pan and placed it on a platter. Wiping her hands on the dish towel, she moved to the door and she opened it wide.
“What’s up, ladies,” she asked as Bayonna, Treebie and Donella piled into her living room.
“What’s up, momma?” Bayonna returned the greeting, giving Lissha a half hug.
“It smells good up in here.” Donella placed her purse on the coffee table and headed to the sink to wash her hands.
Treebie did her usual. “Damn bitch, I see food but nothing to drink,” she remarked.
She pulled two bottles of 1800 from her oversized Gucci bag and started laughing.
“This bitch,” Lissha sighed, closing the door and shaking her head.
“Put some music on so we can make this meeting both business and pleasure,” suggested Treebie as she strolled to the kitchen to grab four shot glasses.
Lissha attached her iPod to the Bose Sound Dock, it was on and popping. Beyonce’s Love on Top came blasting through the speakers.
Honey, Honey/ I can see the stars all the way from here/ Can’t you see the glow on the window pane/ I can feel the sun whenever you’re near/ Every time you touch me I just melt away…
Everybody’s head started bopping and their hands and feet were moving to the beat.
Bayonna put chicken wings and potato salad on everyone’s plates and brought them to the living room. Donella grabbed the ice bucket and filled it up. Minutes later the Blood Money Crew was seated Indian style around the coffee table in the living room.
Treebie poured the first round of drinks and held her glass in the air, offering a toast. “To the takeover.”
Lissha and the others clinked glasses and took the shot to the head. Slamming the glasses on the table in unison, they all did a little shake with their bodies, then poured and downed another.
Once they felt that first buzz they began attacking their food.
“This shit is good as hell,” Treebie said, showing her chicken no mercy.
“You know how I ride for my bitches, I got you.” Lissha snapped her fingers and did a dance in her seat.
The crew joked back and forth as they devoured the food. After they finished eating and cleared the table, Bayonna pulled a Ziploc of weed from her purse and started rolling.
Treebie hummed along with the music and went back to pouring. Within minutes they were good and fucked up.
“So what’s on the menu?” Treebie asked, sitting back and lighting up her third blunt.
Lissha grabbed the remote and turned the music down a little. “Well, I introduced Kiam to Gator. That shit was craze.”
“What you mean?” Treebie blew out smoke and passed the Kush. Then she listened attentively.
Lissha took a couple hits and then continued. “That nigga, Kiam, ain’t shit to be played with. He put Gator on point, which was the first time I ever saw that nigga reaching for a clue.”
“Damn,” Bayonna gushed as she took the blunt and started pulling hard on it. “So, is it going to be a problem between them or what?”
“I don’t think so. But we gotta make sure that Gator falls in. We gotta have Kiam’s back no matter what. Daddy says he needs this transition to be smooth.” She reached for her drink, and took a few sips.
“And on our end, if Kiam can take over and put the streets under his foot, that will free us up to do this other shit we got cooking outside of him and Daddy,” Lissha explained.
“Have we made any progress?” asked Donella, leaning in for Bayonna to blow her a gun. When that hot smoke hit the back of her throat she started coughing and choking.
“See that’s why I don’t fuck with you. You can’t hang. Bitch, you act like you just started getting high yesterday, silly ass rabbit.” Treebie said, shaking her head.
“Fuck you, she tried to blow my head off. Fucking around with y’all I’ll leave up out of here with my lungs in my purse.” They all burst out in laughter.
When the clowning ceased, Lissha turned serious and answered the question that Donella presented to her. “Yeah. We real good. I got with Spank and he told me about a few card games coming up with some intense money. If shit is like he says, we can hit them muthafuckas and be in and out.” This was their thing outside of the business with Big Zo.
“What’s Spank’s cut?” Treebie shot back.
“He don’t want shit from one of the spots. That one is personal. Spank got wind that them niggas be running some card tricks, they beat his ass outta fifty bands. He want them niggas put on they ass. But if we hit the other two, our split is sixty/forty.”
“Fuck outta here! We going in, we taking all the risk, then that nigga want forty percent to sit at home and scratch his nuts? Nah, fuck that.” Treebie wasn’t feeling it at all. She poured herself another drink.
“I agree. Maybe thirty but not forty,” said Donella, who usually just went with the flow.
“I don’t have a problem with it, he’s doing the ground work,” Bayonna reasoned.
Treebie cut her eyes over at her. Bay was the least tenured of the crew, and she was the only one of them that Big Zo hadn’t recruited himself. LiLi had brought Bay in three years ago after recognizing that she had what it took to be down with them.
As far as Treebie was concerned, Bay was still on probation so she often discounted the young girl’s opinion.
“Yeah, but Spank ain’t gonna be the one standing there with his dick in his hand if them niggas get active,” Treebie hotly contested.
“Look, I already approved the amount.” Lissha cut back in. “We gotta show them it’s real, then we up the price on em’. Let’s do these couple jobs and then we can have something to bargain with. Right now we just riding on our word.”
“You’re riding on your word. I’m riding on my rep. We do one job— the free one. We kill everything moving except one witness to tell the tale after it’s over. Then we make that nigga bow to our demands or he can get it too.” Treebie looked at Lissha seriously. When it came to the money she didn’t play.
Lissha took a few sips o
f her drink. She kept her eyes fixed on Treebie. “Why you always want to kill somebody?” Lissha asked.
“I think you need counseling and some fucking Prozac.” They burst out laughing again.
“Nah, on the real I feel you. And you’re right. One on the house and the rest will cost him,” Lissha agreed. “The first lick is going down Friday night so everybody be ready to roll. Salute.” They brought their glasses together.
Just as the glass left Lissha’s mouth her phone started vibrating on the table. When she looked down at the caller ID, it read Daddy. She grabbed the remote, paused the music and put her finger to her lips, gesturing for them to be quiet.
“Hello,” she answered in an eager tone.
“Hey, baby girl,” Big Zo’s voice flowed into her ear.
“Hey, Daddy.” She tried to perk up from her drunken state.
“What you up to?” he asked trying to feel her out.
“Nothing much. Just sitting here chillin’ with the girls.”
“Hey, Daddy,” Treebie yelled out teasing Lissha.
Lissha kicked her under the table and waved her hand.
“Is that Treebie?” asked Big Zo.
“Yes, and as you see, she’s loud as usual.”
“Tell the girls I said hello, then excuse yourself and go somewhere private so we can talk.”
“Okay.” She dropped the phone to her waistline. “Daddy said hello ladies.” She relayed the message as she got up and went toward the bedroom.
“Hey,” Bayonna and Donella chorused as she walked away.
Closing the door, she dove on her bed. “Okay, go ahead. I’m alone.”
“So what’s up with Kiam? Is he getting around the city good?” Big Zo went right into code talk.
“Yeah, I took him on a few job interviews. You know all this application shit is new to him, but he met all the right people,” Lissha related.
“Okay, good. Make sure he gets the wardrobe he needs. Tell him I said ‘shop around’ and don’t just go with the first thing he sees.”
“Okay.”
“We just need a couple more months and everything should line up.”
“I know, Daddy. I’m doing everything in my power to make sure I keep shit in line for you.”
“First of all, watch your mouth. Second, I heard different. You know ol’ boy called and said he was caught off guard by your surprise party.” Big Zo was speaking of her not telling Gator about Kiam.
“I know, but I wanted to make sure everybody was legit,” she explained.
“I understand. But don’t grow a fucking brain in the middle of progress. Do what I tell you. I got this. I need you to hear and obey. Save judgment calls for real important shit like when you can’t reach me. Other than that, do what I tell you.”
Lissha was quiet. She already knew she had rocked the boat but she was not in the mood to hear his mouth.
“LiLi,” he called out.
“Yes,” she answered feeling like she was five years old and had wet the bed.
“I know I put a lot on your shoulders, but I need you to be my eyes, ears and hands. We have to be on the same page or none of
this shit is going to work. You got me?”
“Yes. I got you.”
“I love you, baby girl. Be careful. And make sure that you come to visit me soon. I need to put something in your ear.”
“I love you too, Daddy. I’ll be down next Saturday,” she promised.
“Alright. Good night.” He disconnected the call.
Lissha put her phone down on the bed and rubbed her hands over her face. She had to quickly regroup so she could go back out there to the girls without looking like she had just gotten chastised. When she emerged from the room she had a big smile on her face. She got the remote, pumped the music back up and grabbed the bottle and took it to the head.
“Well, damn,” Treebie remarked with her head cocked to the side.
“Let’s get fucked up. I don’t want to know my name in the morning,” Lissha said, taking the bottle up once more.
Treebie knew that the sudden change in Lissha’s attitude meant that Big Zo had got in that ass. She suspected that he had something cooking. It was only a matter of time before he had Lissha doing sneaky shit that might put them all in a jacked up position. But one thing was for sure and two things for certain, Treebie was not that bitch. She was already making moves to separate herself from Lissha and Big Zo’s operation. She just needed to sit back and let her tactics materialize.
Chapter 10
The Heist
Friday night came fast. The Blood Money Crew was in Treebie’s basement getting suited up. Lissha stepped into her third pair of sweat pants while Treebie pulled on her second hoodie. Bay and Nella was already geared, lacing their boots. Thick, loose-fitting clothing helped disguise the girl’s weight and gender.
Lissha, Donella, and Treebie pulled their hair back into tight ponytails and tucked it under fitted skull caps. Bay wore her hair in an extremely low cut that only a cold broad like herself could rock without looking butch. She covered her hair with a skully too, and they all pulled their head gear low over their brows. The bottom half of their faces was covered with black half-face masks. Nothing showed but the slits of their eyes.
Lissha strapped on a bullet proof vest and waited for the others to do the same. There was no way to predict how marks would act once you run up in their spot so the girls covered all angles.
Treebie walked to the lock boxes and spun the combination. Every time she opened the door to her arsenal chamber, a smile came across her face and her nipples stiffened. If she had a dick, that too would’ve been rocked up.
“These some sexy bitches,” she stated as she reached for her Carbon.
She picked it up and caressed it before swiping her bullets and loading up. A twinkle of anticipating danced in her eyes as she looked to her left at Bayonna and passed her a Calico.
Two months shy of turning twenty-three years old, Bay was the baby of the crew. She was a diminutive chick but her heart was colossal. Her method of operation was no words, only action. The others called her the silent killah because when it was time to rock, she grew a pair of big balls; she didn’t let air slide when they threw down on a spot. And if a nigga uttered one wrong word, Bay’s Calico made it his last without reasoning.
Donella was next to Bay, tightening up her vest. Amongst the crew she was known as The Negotiator. Whatever information she couldn’t get with words and her sex appeal, she negotiated with her banger. Her Glock .50 made a muthafucka spill his guts in one form or another.
Treebie was the live-wire of the crew. She would much rather bust her gun than talk shit out. It was like she was more turned on by the killing than the hustle. When Treebie ran up in somebody’s spot their futures weren’t longer than the time it usually took her to click clack one in the chamber.
Lissha, on the other hand, was the most level-headed. With a team of women that weren’t afraid to bust a gun then come home and drop a grand on the Mac counter, she knew she had the deadliest crew on the streets. By day, they were the baddest by the coldest definition. But by night, they were the wrong bitches to fuck with. And tonight would be no different.
“Check your weapons, ladies,” Lissha said. “Make sure they’re cocked and locked.”
Once everyone affirmed that their guns were ready, she passed them each a voice distorter. One by one, they fitted the contraptions around their throats. After a quick check to make sure everything was in place they moved to the counter and opened the four small containers.
Each woman carefully placed a pair of blood red contacts in their eyes. They allowed a moment for them to adjust, and then they looked each other over.
“We go in this muthafucka as four and we come out as four,” said Lissha. She had given this short pep talk dozens of times before. It was part of their ritual but it was not to be taken for granted.
She looked around and read her crew’s body language. Satisfied with
what she saw, Lissha said, “Let’s get it.” “Blood Money!” They chanted in unison.
When they got to the spot they were targeting on Wadepark, they rode by to make sure everything appeared to be as Spank said it would be. From what they could tell, it was legit. They parked a half a block down, eased out of the car, and then moved in the shadows of the night.
Moving up to the door they all went into beast mode. Treebie did the secret knock. A minute or so passed before they heard the door locks click open.
It was on!
They forced their way inside. Treebie pulled her gun and blasted the first two fools to stand up. She watched their bodies drop, then planted herself firm in the middle of the room.
Donella went to the left and Bayonna went to the right. Lissha took up the rear, closing the door.
The startled doorman opened his mouth to say something and got his face blown off. Lissha popped two more in his chest and watched him slide down the wall. She stepped over the man’s body and planted her back firmly against the door.
The card players were in clear murdering range. They sat stock still, staring at the red-eyed intruders.
“I need all that shit on the table in a big bag, or I’ma put me a muthafucka in a black one.” Lissha’s distorted voice commanded respect.
“Hurry the fuck up. Donella yelled out. She waved her gun around the table, daring someone to test it.
“Hold up, nigga, do you know whose game house this is?” A fat yellow skinned brother at the head of the table yelled out.
Without pause Bay let off in his chest sending him hard to the floor. “The next sound I hear better not be anything but paper or plastic. Get that shit packed the fuck up!” she barked, tossing two large shoe bags on the table.
“These niggas think we playing,” Treebie spat. Her eyes peered and her breathing thickened. The evil in her soul beamed through those red contacts making her appear bizarrely unnatural.
“Hold up, nigga. We got you.” The dude at the other end of the table shouted. He and the two cats next to him began clearing the money off the table and shoveling it in the duffel bags.