Queen Hustlaz

by Falicia Love

  While they worked on the car, Thad and the crew had set up in the back, outside the shop.

  “Man, I swear I was being followed yesterday! That bitch better not have called the cops on me, or the next time I won’t be so easy on her,” Thad growled.

  “Man, you weren’t easy on her at all this time. What the fuck are you saying?” Chris interjected.

  “I tried to be, but anyway, what are we going to do about Orlando and his crew? The meet-up is next Saturday, and we need to formulate our plan. We have had to put this off once, so it needs to go down as scheduled. Has anybody heard from Blaze and Lonny? We sent them to check out Orlando’s shop, and I haven’t gotten an update from them at all. Have they checked in with you yet?” Thad asked Chris.

  “No, I haven’t heard from them at all. Matter of fact, I will call them now. Give me a few minutes,” Chris said as he walked off to call Blaze. Thad leaned back on his truck and pulled out a blunt.

  “Let’s stimulate our minds, gentlemen.”

  Everyone who smoked surrounded Thad, and they each matched his blunt. As they smoked, Chris was talking to Blaze.

  “Aye, man, we have been waiting on you guys to contact us. What’s going on?”

  “Oh, shit, bro, we been waiting on you to call us. I guess we had a misunderstanding. But check it: ol’ boy setup is sweet. He got a few guys that sit outside his shop daily. I don’t know if they are with him or if they are the police, but dude got to be aware that they are there. He smooth with his hustle, though. We followed him to a warehouse on the outskirts of Harlem. We figured that’s where he is hiding his merchandise. We followed him twice in the last few days,” Blaze replied.

  “Okay, so while you were following him, who was following you?” Chris asked.

  “Shit, bro, we weren’t followed at all. We made sure of that. Once we reached the warehouse in Harlem, we circled around twice and parked about a three-car distance from it. I doubt Orlando was followed. He left in a big rig that was parked out back of his tattoo shop. That’s how I know he knows he’s being watched. But his movements, in my opinion, are legit. If he knows he is being watched, he probably didn’t feel safe coming to meet y’all with the merchandise. I could be wrong, but my instincts are usually right,” Blaze replied.

  “That’s what’s up, bro. Just keep us updated,” Chris instructed.

  “All right, we got you!” Blaze replied.

  After they hung up, Chris walked over to where Thad and everyone else stood. “Oh, hell naw. Y’all done started the smoke fest without me? That’s beat up!”

  “Nigga, stop your fucking whining and come hit this fatty.” Thad laughed.

  Chris walked over and told Thad what Blaze had told him. Thad dapped him up.

  “My nigga, you are the real deal.”

  Keith stood back watching them and wished he had a bond like that with Thad. They treated him like an outcast at times, but he rode with them regardless. He was the quiet one out the bunch, but he was the mastermind behind a lot of their plays. He just didn’t get credit for it like he felt he should.

  Toby and Austin joined them a while later with some Grey Goose and Patron. They sat around and got fucked up all night. Thad decided to push his worries to the back of his mind. That night was about having fun; he would figure out what to do about Dana and Jeryca another time.

  * * *

  Dana, Farrah, Stephanie, and Jeryca woke up Friday morning with one thing in common: they each had serious issues with Thad and his crew. The previous night, Stephanie and Farrah had called Dana, and she invited them both over. She told them that Jeryca was already there, and they all needed to put their differences aside and discuss their common threat. Stephanie didn’t say anything to Jeryca, and Jeryca didn’t say anything to Stephanie. Farrah was so upset about the custody issue that she didn’t notice that the two girls weren’t speaking. Neither Jeryca nor Stephanie knew why the other person wasn’t speaking, but they didn’t care.

  Dana had been up all night listening to everything, and when Jeryca shared the information that she had learned about Thad’s upcoming hustle, Dana came up with an idea that each lady was more than happy to go along with. They were going to rob Thad and his crew. They had enough information between Jeryca and Stephanie to plan and execute the robbery successfully. Dana just had to get Debra and Brittany to agree to hold off on the custody case.

  “Farrah, Travis comes back today, right?” Dana asked.

  “Yeah, he does. I’m not sure what time, though,” Dana replied.

  “When he gets here, you and Stephanie take him shopping,” Dana instructed.

  “Shopping?” Farrah asked.

  “Yes, take him to a costume shop. Pick out wigs, masks, and bulky shape outfits for each of us. We will also need gloves, which I will get, but also take Travis to the toy store and buy four of these masks I googled this morning. They will change our voice up. They’re called Star Wars Rebel voice changers,” Dana said as she showed them the picture on her phone. Dana gave them $300 to get the costumes.

  “Jeryca, draw a map of how the house you were at is laid out, and we will go over it and memorize it. Farrah, call me around 12:30 p.m. so I can get off work. We got a week to get this shit together,” Dana said.

  Everybody had their tasks, and Dana drove Farrah and Stephanie back to Farrah’s house to wait on Travis. Jeryca stayed at Dana’s house and began drawing out the layout of Thad’s house.

  After Dana dropped Stephanie and Farrah off, she headed straight to work. She knew Brittany would get Debra to hold off on preparing Larry’s case against Farrah, but she didn’t know how she was going to explain why she was going to help them out of their problem.

  When she walked into the office, Debra was sitting in the office on the phone. Whoever she was talking to had her smiling hard. Dana whispered, “Is she in?” and pointed to Brittany’s office. Debra nodded and motioned for her to go on in. Dana knocked lightly and entered.

  “What’s up, boss lady?”

  “Shit, working on this damn case. It’s been working my nerves. What’s on your mind? You look like you’re up to no good,” Brittany said as she leaned back in her chair.

  “Well, I was confronted with a situation yesterday, and I devised a plan to deal with it,” Dana explained.

  “Well, spit it out then,” Brittany said, smiling.

  Dana told Brittany everything that had occurred, and when she finished talking, she looked at Brittany, who wasn’t smiling at all.

  “Dana, why are you even still interacting with them? They have fucked you over several times, and here you are still dealing with them.” Brittany got quiet for a minute then began speaking again. “On second thought, I’m going help you take Thad and whoever else with him for all they’re worth, just on the strength of how they tried you. But be clear, those bitches ain’t got shit to do with why I’m helping you. At lunch we will talk,” Brittany replied.

  “Okay, I’m all for that.” Dana walked out of Brittany’s office and into her own, but it was hard for her to work with everything on her mind. She couldn’t wait to get back at Thad. He had tried to run her off the road, which could’ve possibly killed her.

  * * *

  Farrah and Stephanie waited for Larry to pull up with Travis. He had been with his father for over two weeks, and she missed him like crazy. She couldn’t wait to hug him and smell him. He was all she had, and she wasn’t going to lose him to Larry. Around eleven o’clock, Larry finally pulled up. He had Keith with him, and this time he got out and brought Travis in.

  “Hello, Farrah, Stephanie,” he said as he walked in.

  Keith came in seconds later and spoke to both ladies as well. Farrah didn’t want to cause a scene in front of Travis, so she spoke back quietly. She couldn’t look at Larry, though, ’cause she really wanted to slam his ass, but she kept her cool.

  “Can we go in the other room and talk for a minute?” Larry asked.

  “Whatever you got to say, you can say it right here
. I will send Travis to his room, and I’m sure Steph and Keith won’t mind leaving us in here for a second,” she responded.

  Larry looked at her, shocked that she said no. What the hell was that all about? “You know what? Never mind. Here, take this money and make sure there’s food in here for my son. I’ve paid the rent up for the month, and your bills are caught up, so you shouldn’t need anything else,” he said in a menacing tone.

  Farrah felt more like a charity case than a parent. She looked at Larry hard for a second, then glanced at the money. She knew if she took it she would always be dependent on him, and she could no longer give him that power over her.

  “Keep it. We are good. I got plenty of food in there, and anything else I need I can get on my own. Thank you anyway, though. Y’all take care, okay?” she stated as she turned her back on Larry and started playing with Travis.

  “Fine. That’s cool with me. But you better not have my son in here hungry, Farrah!” Larry shouted.

  Travis looked at his father and began to cry. Farrah hugged him, completely ignoring Larry’s outburst. Larry stormed out of the house with Keith in tow.

  Farrah looked at Stephanie and started smiling, “One for me!”

  * * *

  After Dana, Brittany, and Debra met for lunch, she had a newfound respect for both ladies. Dana texted Jeryca, Stephanie, and Farrah, and told them they should meet and go over a new, revised plan. She wasn’t going to tell them who had given her the ideas, because she knew they wouldn’t respect it, but she was going to let Brittany explain her part in the robbery after it was over. They needed to know who was really behind their successful siege. Dana usually wasn’t with all the drama, but after all the problems she had recently endured, she felt what she was about to do was warranted. She was going to take all she could from Thad and Toby, and she felt good about it.

  Dana and the ladies had created a monster plan. Stephanie and Farrah had bought four chrome faceless masks with pull-over padded sweaters and pants. They also bought the voice disguisers. Over the course of two days, they scoped out the trap house and noted who came and left regularly.

  “Shit, look at all those boss niggas walking in and out of there,” Farrah said.

  “The money that is made in there is ridiculous. They don’t move the money until the third Tuesday of each month. I know where the safe is, but the only other person who has the combination to the safe other than Thad and Toby is Keith. We need to get to him,” Jeryca said, looking at Dana and smiling.

  “Oh, hell naw! It’s got to be another way,” Dana groaned, understanding what the smile meant.

  “Dana, we all are making some sort of sacrifice, so you got to do the same. You know Keith likes you, and we only have a few days to get the code,” Stephanie replied.

  “Yeah, Dana, stop acting like a goody two-shoes.” Farrah laughed. Dana rolled her eyes and bit back her comment.

  “Listen, you don’t have to sleep with him, but just act like you’re interested enough to where he will want to spend Saturday with you, and we will handle the rest,” Jeryca commented.

  “How can we get him involved in what we’re doing Saturday without him knowing who we are? That doesn’t make sense to me. We need to come up with another way to get the code.”

  “Dana, there is no other way!” Stephanie yelled.

  Dana dropped her head and thought about what they said to her, and other than Farrah’s snide remark, it did make sense.

  “Okay, I will do it,” she conceded. “Stephanie, while I make my move on Keith, you need to be planning out how you are going to get to Chris. He is the only one with a key to the locked room at the warehouse. That’s going to be our biggest hit, so we definitely need that damn key.”

  “I got this. I doubt he will pass on this good pussy! He has been texting me like crazy, so I will get back at him tonight, and I will arrange to meet him tomorrow afternoon. But I need to text Justin, this guy I met a few days ago, ’cause he is going to give me some Rohypnol, which will put Chris’s ass to damn sleep, ’cause ain’t no freaking way I’ma sleep with his nasty ass. But damn it, Justin may want me to give him some head for the med. The shit I do for the money!” Stephanie said, glancing at Jeryca.

  No one noticed the look but Dana, who instantly frowned and shook her head, looking at her through the rearview mirror. “You didn’t tell him what you needed it for, did you?” Dana asked curiously.

  “Hell naw, girl! I ain’t new to this. I told him I been having trouble sleeping, and he said he was going to look out for me. Damn, I told you I got this!” Stephanie rapped.

  Everyone laughed.

  “Look at who we have here. It’s Thad with his new lady. She is gorgeous, isn’t she?” Stephanie snickered as she glanced again at Jeryca. The look on Jeryca’s face was priceless to Stephanie. Farrah looked at Stephanie frowning, still unaware that Jeryca and Stephanie had unresolved issues.

  “Steph, what was that about?” Farrah whispered.

  “Oh, nothing, girl. I was just pointing out how much of a slimeball Thad is. He deserves what we are about to do to him,” she lied.

  “We all know he deserves this, and so do the rest of them. This lick will affect all of them, and I can’t wait to do this!” Farrah said, thinking about Larry.

  They knew that all the guys would take a loss from the robbery. They weren’t just going after money; they were going to break them down to the core.

  Jeryca remained quiet as she stared long and hard at the woman with Thad, who resembled Stephanie to the max. It was at that moment that she realized that it was that ho, and not Stephanie, whose picture had popped up on his phone that day in the truck. She instantly felt sick to her stomach about everything she did to get even with Stephanie, and it turned out she was innocent.

  They watched as Thad and the lady walked into the house. A few moments later, Toby, Chris, and Keith pulled up. Dana suggested that they leave and handle a few other things so the guys didn’t see them. They had staked out that place for two days and gotten enough insight on everyone’s movement around the area. They also knew who wasn’t going to be there Saturday. Thad and his guys had business to handle, and so did Dana and her entourage.

  They had decided to rob them at the last minute, but they had everything they needed, and it was as if everything else was falling in place on its own. They were amazed by how much information they had gained in so little time.

  Chapter Ten

  Sunday evening, Jeryca walked into the living room and found Dana looking through the newspaper.

  “What’s up, D? What’s new in the world?” she asked as she tapped the newspaper.

  “Nothing new at all. Just looking to see who got arrested over the weekend,” Dana replied, closing the paper and setting it down on the end table.

  “Nosy ass,” Jeryca said, laughing.

  “Yeah, that’s me,” Dana said as she shifted in her chair to face Jeryca.

  “Listen, we need to get a few more people on board so we can do a double lick,” Jeryca replied.

  “I’m listening,” Dana said. She had already made preparations for a few more arms to be available, but why not give the impression that it was somebody else’s idea?

  “Well, I think we can handle getting the loot from the house, but the warehouse is something else. We are women, and may need—no, let me rephrase that—will need a few strong arms. So, do you think we can work that out?”Jeryca asked.

  “Let me see what I can work out,” Dana said, loving how things were playing out.

  * * *

  Sunday night, like clockwork, Chris texted Stephanie:

  Girl, why are you ignoring me? he texted.

  Just had a lot on my mind, she replied.

  Damn I need to see your ass! You ain’t been home for days, he wrote.

  I know, but I will be back tomorrow. You want to meet somewhere? she asked.

  Hell yeah I do! Where? he texted.

  After Stephanie and Chris finished texting each
other, Stephanie called her newfound friend, Justin, and asked if he wanted to get up, and just like she thought, he said yes.

  “I love it when a plan comes together.” She laughed.

  * * *

  Monday morning, Dana waited outside Keith’s house for him to come out. Keith wasn’t an ugly man, but she found him goofy. He didn’t have any style. He wore thick glasses that made his eyes appear bigger than they actually were. He was five foot six with a thin build. He had no muscle tone at all. He was just average. On the plus side, he lived alone and carried himself in a clean-cut manner. She knew he was very smart, because they went to school and college together. He was a wizard with numbers, which, in Dana’s opinion, was the only reason Thad kept him around.

  When Keith finally emerged, Dana shook her head. She couldn’t believe she was about to do. Dana blew the horn and then waved Keith over.

  “Hey, how are you doing?” she asked once he was standing at her car window.

  “I’m good. Um, what are you doing here?” he asked.

  “Well, I’ve been waiting on you, to be honest. You’ve been on my mind lately. Everyone is going through their own situations, and I’ve been lonely. I thought we could get up and go out later.”

  Keith took a step back and looked at Dana, frowning. “Are you serious?”

  This threw Dana off a bit. “Are you seeing someone?”

  “No, I’m not, but I’m shocked that you’re asking me out, considering how much I chased you.” He laughed as he shifted from foot to foot.

  “I’m just tired of being alone. I hadn’t seen or heard from you in a while, and I guess it bothered me,” Dana explained as a feeling of sickness washed over her.

  “Is that right? Damn, if I had known that me falling back would have you wanting me, I would’ve stopped a long time ago,” he said, laughing.

  “Well, what’s up? Do you want to get up later or not?” Dana asked after swallowing the real reply she wanted to give him.