by K'wan
“Number four eighty-eight,” the nurse called, looking over her clipboard. Sharon stood and with Reese’s help made her way to where the nurse was standing. “You can wait here for her, ma’am, she’ll be right out,” the nurse told Reese and led Sharon to the back.
Patiently, the three girls waited while Sharon spoke with the nurse. Yoshi and Billy tried to be calm, but Reese paced the waiting room. When they heard the back door open, three sets of eyes locked in on it. Sharon came out, followed by the nurse, who was rubbing her back and whispering something to her. Reese took one look at her little sister’s face and collapsed.
Tionna felt like the world had just cocked over and taken a shit in her lap. Not only had she played herself by fucking Don B., she had allowed herself to be fucked on camera. She ended up with two thousand dollars, but she still felt like a two-dollar whore.
“Everything okay?” Gucci asked her friend.
Tionna looked at Gucci and tried to say something, but all that came out were sobs. Feeling like she could no longer stand up on her own, she collapsed into Gucci’s arms. “He ain’t gonna get away with this,” was all Tionna could manage to say over and over until Gucci placed her in the backseat of the car.
CHAPTER 35
Silk sat on her grandmother’s couch, watching Law & Order, as she had been doing for the last week and change. Since China’s death she hadn’t wanted to see anyone, not even Tech. He had been calling her nonstop since the fatal night, but she’d just let her phone die and hadn’t bothered to recharge it. Her grandmother was in Atlantic City for the weekend, so she had the place to herself. She planned to sit on the couch and smoke until she was numb, or passed out.
A funny noise outside her door caught her attention. When she got up to see what it was, the front door came crashing in and the house was suddenly filled with blue uniforms. Silk didn’t even think, just reacted, when she grabbed her gun off the table. “You want me, pussies, then here I am!” Silk barked before opening fire. The first two officers into the apartment caught it the worse. They were dead before they hit the ground. Their partners returned fire, but Silk had already made it to her grandmother’s bedroom and locked the door.
With sweaty palms she grabbed the cordless phone off the base and dialed Tech’s number. While the phone rang, she curled up in the corner and trained her gun on the door. “Come on, man, pick up,” Silk said nervously.
“Yo,” Tech answered after the first ring. All he heard was heavy breathing and banging in the background. “Who is this?”
“Big brother,” Silk said, sobbing.
“Silky, what’s wrong?” he asked nervously. In the background he heard what sounded like a door being broken down. “Silky, talk to me.”
Tears welled in Silk’s eyes but she could still see the blue of their uniforms. “Game over, big brother,” she said and placed the phone on the bed.
“Silk, what’s going on? Silk?” Tech shouted frantically into the phone, but Silk was already gone. Before the phone went dead he heard a bloodcurdling scream and gunshots.
Animal and Gucci navigated his new BMW through the hectic morning traffic on their way to the airport. In a few hours they would be landing in Texas, where Don B. and Stacks would be waiting for him. He had never been to Texas, but it was where he would be making his residence until things cooled off in New York.
He had gotten word of the downfall of his once-great team and it hurt him to no end. China and Silk were dead, Brasco and Ashanti were locked up, and Tech had vanished. Animal smiled, knowing that they would never catch the elusive Tech; and even if they did, he would take at least three pigs with him on his way out. This just left him. All the police knew was that he was called Animal, but other than that they didn’t have any information on him. He had never been arrested, didn’t have a driver’s license, and, aside from his brother Justice, there were only two other people who actually knew his real name, and one of them was sitting right next to him.
“So how do you think you’re gonna like Texas?” Gucci asked.
Animal shrugged. “I can’t really say, but I’m gonna learn to like it, seeing how things done got all complicated out here. I just wish you would stay for more than a couple of days.” He took her hand in his.
“I can’t believe that bitch nigga Rock Head is not only a creep but a snitch, too,” Gucci said heatedly. She didn’t know how Animal had been able to find out, but he had gotten the wire that Rock Head was the one who had thrown them all under the bus. He had even gone as far as trying to pin everything on Animal.
“The Lord will settle up with him,” Animal lied. He had already put the word out that he had twenty stacks on Rock Head.
“Better him than you, right?” Gucci said.
“Right,” Animal replied. He happened to look into his rearview mirror and saw that there was a police car following them. Gucci must’ve felt him tense, because she looked behind them. No sooner than she had done so, they threw their lights on.
“Animal, just be cool.” Gucci rubbed his arm.
“Baby, I ain’t fit for no cage.” He pulled his gun from between the seats.
Gucci’s eyes began to water. “Animal, please don’t do this with me in the car. I don’t wanna die.”
Animal pulled over to the side of the road, but left the car running. Over the loudspeaker, the police officer ordered the driver to get out of the car with his hands up. Animal looked from the gun in his hand to the girl sitting next to him. The beast inside him screamed for action, but the eyes of his lady pleaded for calm. “Gucci, do you love me?”
“Yes,” she said.
“Enough to be here when I get out?”
“I can’t promise tomorrow, Animal, only right now.”
“I’ll take that and work from there.” He smiled. Slowly, Animal got out of the car and placed his hands on the hood.
Gucci watched through the mirror as a female officer got out of the driver’s side and approached her man.
“You got any drugs or weapons on you?” the female officer asked while patting Animal down. Animal remained silent. “Oh, you’re a tough guy, huh?” She grabbed his nuts.
“What the fuck.” Animal spun around and found himself eye to eye with Officer Grady. “That shit wasn’t funny.” Animal lowered his hands.
“You had to know I was gonna get you back for that shit you pulled with them handcuffs.” She smiled. “They’re on to you, baby. You’ve got about twenty minutes to a half to get on that plane, before they think to have the airport checking for you.”
“Grady, you know you could lose your job, at the least, if this shit gets out.”
She thought on it. Quite unexpectedly, she kissed him on the lips. “For all the fun we’ve had, I’d say it’d be an even exchange. Now get your ass outta here.” She slapped him on the ass and headed back to her car.
“Grady,” he called after her, “how did you know I was on my way to the airport?”
Officer Grady smiled. “Young boy, I’m always gonna have my eye on you. Now, you hurry up and get that pretty girlfriend of yours to the airport before you miss that plane.” Officer Grady got back into her squad car and pulled off.
When Animal got back in the car, Gucci was staring at him in shock. “What the hell was that all about?”
Animal threw the car into gear. “Just an old friend paying back a favor,” he said, downplaying it.
Gucci looked at him funny. “Nigga, you must think I was born yesterday. A female cop pulls up and lets a wanted man go, after kissing him on the lips. You gotta come better than that. See, this is the bullshit I was talking about when I said I didn’t want to fuck with no street nigga . . .”
Gucci went on and on, but Animal never reacted. He was too stunned by what had just happened to even feed into what Gucci was saying. Most people would say that Grady’s being the cop that stopped him was luck, but he knew better. It was his blessing working overtime.
Tech sat on the small bench watching the sun rise, as
he always did when he was stressed. It was strange watching it from the other side of the water, but it was no less soothing, and his mind needed all the soothing it could get.
He was surprised that Rock Head had lived, but he didn’t know why, since it always played out like that. The good died young and the worms inherited the earth. Tech had every intention on dealing with Rock Head, but he knew that in this one he shouldered just as much blame as the snitch. His whole team had been taken out of the game in one shot, proving the old adage that nothing comes from the streets but the pen and death; there is no pot of gold at the end of the concrete rainbow. His only joy in all this was that little Animal had made it.
Soft footfalls crunched the leaves behind him, but Tech never took his eyes off the sunrise. He was too tired to turn around and face what he knew was coming. “I’m glad they sent you,” he said, then continued his daydreaming.
“I wish I could say that it made two of us.” Swann came to stand next to him. Tech knew that if he looked over his shoulder he would see Angelo looming. “You always did have a hard head, Tech.”
Tech looked up at Swann. “You know how it is when you’re young and chasing paper; you were my age once, Swann.”
Swann nodded. “Yeah, but I always knew to play within the rules. When you don’t play by the rules, you get benched. I’ll be mindful of your face for the sake of your people.” Swann raised his gun to let Tech know that it was time.
“You know I ain’t gonna go quietly, right?” Tech cocked the slide on his gun.
Swann smiled at the young man he had come to have so much love for. “I wouldn’t expect you to die anything less than a soldier’s death.” Swann took a few steps back to give him some room.
Tech sighed. He’d always known he would go out how he lived; he just wished it hadn’t been so soon. “A soldier’s death it is, then.” Tech rose quickly, but not quickly enough. Swann hit him six times before Tech finally went down. As Tech lay on the ground, bleeding out, his last thoughts were of how big the party was going to be to honor his passing.
EPILOGUE
Tionna almost didn’t answer when her phone rang. Since she had put out the rumors about Don B. being a rapist, she had been getting all kinds of weird phone calls. She didn’t care, though: her thoughts were on making him suffer for how he had tried to play her. She was glad she did pick up the phone, because it was Duhan’s lawyer calling to tell her that the jury was about to come back from its deliberations. She broke a world record getting to the courthouse to support her man. She looked around for Sharon’s little ass, but luckily for her, she was nowhere to be found. She’d been MIA since the afternoon of their fight. Tionna couldn’t wait to bump heads with her again for being the cause of her having to spend two days in jail.
When the bailiffs brought Duhan out of the back, she waved and tried to get his attention, but he looked over her as if he didn’t even see her, which she thought was strange. Paying it no mind, Tionna crossed herself and prayed for the best as the jury was led back to the box. She held her breath as the forewoman stood up to read the verdict.
“Guilty on all counts.” The words hit Tionna like physical blows. There was no way he could’ve been convicted, the lawyer had promised her as much when she’d made the last payment. The room suddenly began to spin and the next thing Tionna knew she had collapsed face-first in the aisle. Two court officers had to help her get back in the seat. When Duhan’s eyes landed on her, Tionna mouthed that she would be there for him, to which he smirked. Through tear-streaked eyes she watched her man being led off again for only the judge knew how long.
Tionna was the one of the first people in the visiting room the next morning. She had worn one of her sexiest outfits, and Boots had laced her hair and done her makeup before she left that morning. She sat with her back erect and her chest poked out, letting all who could see know that she was down for her man. When Duhan came strolling over to their table, she stood up and spread her arms to receive him.
The strike was so quick that Tionna didn’t even realize she’d been hit until the back of her head slammed against the chair behind her. Through a haze of pain she saw Duhan rushing her and the COs rushing him. Duhan snatched her to her feet and breathed into her face.
“You dirty bitch, do you think I wouldn’t find out about you?” He shook her so violently that it was impossible for her to answer him. “And you didn’t even have the respect to keep it quiet, you dumb bitch!” Tears had welled up in his eyes. “I knew you wasn’t nothing but a high-price whore who I should’ve left in the gutter where I found her.” Duhan spit a green wad of phlegm into her face, drawing an “ooh” from everyone who had seen it. The COs grabbed him up, but not before he was able to kick Tionna in her ass and send her crashing into the next table.
All Tionna could do was lie there and count the aches in her body as she tried to make sense of it all. She knew that the story could’ve only gotten back to Duhan through Don B., but she couldn’t understand their connection. The next day she would find out.
Tionna was at her new job, as a receptionist in a law firm, when she heard the Miss Info recap come over the radio. She loved to hear what the journalist had to say because it was always interesting dish, this day especially. She reported that a superstar rapper had been seen around town with Sweet Tea, one of the newest stars of his adult film company. She went on to say that Ms. Tea’s movie would be available for download in the spring and pictures of the two together could be seen on her Web site. The thought that formed in Tionna’s mind was too outrageous, but she decided to humor herself. She logged on to the office computer and clicked on Miss Info’s site. Her jaw went slack when she saw an enlarged picture of her and Don B. at Times Square. The funny part was, that skimpy red dress looked even more whorish on film.
It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out how Duhan had found out. This was an offense that he would never be able to forgive, and Tionna knew it. Don B. had cost Tionna her reputation and her man, all for two thousand dollars, hardly an even exchange on her scale. To add insult to injury, she got home to find that a mysterious fire had broken out in her apartment and claimed everything but the clothes on her back. Thankfully, the kids weren’t home when it happened. Though Tionna knew that Don B. was behind it, and even told the police as much, it was never proven. Just like he’d said, she found out how the Big Dawgz played.
Ms. Ronnie was nice enough to open her house up to Tionna and her kids until the Section 8 program was able to find her another apartment. It was supposed to be a temporary arrangement, but it ended up lasting six months. Ms. Ronnie was cool about it, especially since Gucci was spending most of her time in Texas with Animal.
It’s like Don B. had said: Animal was a star in the making. The mix tape he and Soda put out was killing the South and starting to get a quiet buzz on the East Coast. Several different record labels had become interested in Animal, but he was a Dawg now, and when you became one of Don B.’s, it was until death did you part. Gucci fronted like it was nothing, but Tionna knew she was overwhelmed. It wasn’t often that you became the better half of someone who would be leaving a lasting impression on the world. The last Tionna had heard, they’d talked about getting married. Of course, the wedding would have to be out there because the investigation was still pending in New York. Detectives Brown and Alvarez didn’t like to be beat, so they put him on their shit list along with Shai.
One day Tionna came in from work and Ms. Ronnie informed her that she had received a letter from Section 8. “I hope they’re writing to tell me they’ve found me an apartment.” Tionna fanned the envelope.
“Well, open it up and find out,” Ronnie said, lighting a joint. She watched as Tionna read the letter twice. “Well?”
“It says they’ve got a two-bedroom for me in a building called the Marquis,” she told Ronnie.
“What the hell is the Marquis?” Ronnie asked. It didn’t sound like any of the buildings in Harlem.
“I guess we’
ll find out soon enough, because it says I can move in two weeks.”
Table of Contents
Cover
Title
Copyright
Acknowledgments
Prologue
Part 1 Welcome To The Block
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Part 2 The Boss Bitch Is Back
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Part 3 Loyalty
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Part 4 What’s Done In The Dark
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Epilogue