R.I.C.O.

by C. J. Hudson

  “Well, I’m damn sure not scared,” she said. “Just let me know where to be and what to do.” Sunny nodded her head in satisfaction. She then turned her attention to Kim.

  “Well?”

  “Well, what?” Kim asked as if she didn’t know what her friend was talking about.

  “Bitch, you know what,” Jazmine spat. She was losing patience with Kim and didn’t try to hide it.

  “Who the fuck are you calling a bitch?”

  Jazmine’s jaw twitched. Her hands balled into fists. She took a step toward Kim but stopped when Sunny grabbed her arm. Sunny took a deep breath and addressed her longtime friend.

  “You know what, Kim? I need to holla at you for a minute.” Grabbing her by the hand, Sunny led Kim away from the rest of the girls. When they were out of earshot, Sunny looked Kim in the eye and laid it on the line.

  “Look, Kim, I know that I’m asking a lot of all of you. But I need to know where you stand. Either you’re down with the fuckin’ team, or you’re not. If you don’t want to be involved with this, I understand. But if you’re not, then you can’t be a part of this crew. We will always be friends, but I can’t have you a part of this operation if you can’t get your hands dirty like the rest of us.”

  Kim took a deep breath. She weighed her options and decided that the money and prestige that came with being down with Sunny’s crew far outweighed the risks of being included with it.

  “Okay, Sunny, I’m in,” she finally declared.

  “My bitch! I knew you was a down-ass broad.” Sunny threw her arms around Kim’s neck and led her back over to the crew.

  “A’ight, bitches, my girl is down to do the damn thing. Anybody got a problem with that?”

  Although none of them said anything, the other three girls had their doubts about Kim. Her hood pedigree wasn’t what was in question. It was her heart that they had concerns about. Before any of them could voice their opinion, Sunny’s cell phone rang.

  “Hello?”

  “Yeah, it’s me. I’ll be there in thirty seconds,” the voice coming from the other end said. Sunny nodded and ended the call.

  “Who the fuck was that?” Jazmine asked.

  “You’ll see in a few seconds,” was all Sunny would say.

  Approximately thirty seconds later, Joy pulled up. Confused, all the girls looked at Sunny as Joy got out of her car and approached them. Jazmine and Butter recognized her from the party, but Dani and Kim didn’t remember her at all. As soon as she got close to them, Joy studied each one of them. Her eyes lingered a little longer on Dani than it did the rest of them. A sly smirk appeared on her face just before she started to speak.

  “So, this is your crew, huh?” she said, nodding her head. “Well, let’s get down to business. Did you tell them what was going down?”

  “Yeah, I told them. I didn’t tell them how we were going to go about executing the plan, though, because neither you nor my father has told me,” Sunny said, folding her arms.

  “Stop being a smart-ass, Sunny. We didn’t tell you because we didn’t want to have to repeat it. The more you run your mouth about shit like this, the more susceptible you are to getting locked the fuck up because you never—and I mean never—know who’s listening.”

  “You seem to know a lot about shit like that,” Dani said. “You about that life or something?”

  Joy cocked her head and looked at Dani. There was something about her that didn’t sit well with Joy. She’d seen how Dani had stormed away from the party and thought it odd that she was now hanging out with Sunny. Not only did she have firsthand knowledge because she was a woman, but she’d also learned from her experiences on the job that women tended to hold grudges. The fact that Dani was even in Sunny’s presence smelled foul to her.

  “Don’t worry about what the fuck life I’m about, little girl. Just play your position and stop asking so many stupid-ass questions,” Joy said, frowning. “Now, I’ve been studying this broad for a while, so I know her habits. I know where she works, what time she gets off, and most importantly, I know where she’s going to be tomorrow evening.”

  A wicked smile creased her lips as she looked at each one of them in the eye. As a trained police officer, Joy could see inside the heart of individuals. It didn’t take her long to form an opinion about the other four girls. Jazmine was solid. There was no need to worry about her. She hadn’t noticed it before, but the more she stared at Butter, the more convinced she was that the young lady had a screw loose. The look in her eyes screamed that she was bloodthirsty. There was no need to question her gangsta because it was evident that fear didn’t reside in her heart. It took her less than three seconds to figure out that Dani was a sneaky bitch. She didn’t trust her as far as she could throw her and was going to tell Sunny the next chance she got. Kim, in her opinion, seemed scary. She tried to put up a brave front, but Joy saw the cowardice in her heart. She decided to bring her concerns to Sunny’s attention.

  “Sunny, I need to talk to you for a minute,” she said, walking away before Sunny could object. Sunny rolled her eyes and followed behind Joy.

  “What’s good?” she asked when they were out of earshot.

  “Sunny, are you 100 percent sure that you can trust these bitches?”

  “Joy, why are you asking me some shit like that?” Sunny asked, avoiding the question. After giving Sunny the rundown on her opinion of each member of her crew, Joy asked Sunny again if she could trust them. She was still skeptical when Sunny told her that she could vouch for them, but she let it slide. The only other thing she told her was to keep an eye on Dani. Sunny agreed to take her advice, then the two of them walked back over to the rest of the girls.

  “Okay, bitches. Here’s the plan, and I’m only gonna say this one time, so listen the fuck up.”

  * * *

  Although she never wanted to be a mother, Carol did come to love and care for her son, Deuce. Every Thursday night, she had a standing reservation to have dinner with him at a local eatery that had a game room. Malik didn’t have a problem with Carol seeing her son, but he did impose a stipulation. He had to be present whenever she spent time with him. Carol didn’t like it, but she wasn’t in any position to argue with Malik about it. Carol watched as her son played one of the video games. She and Malik were sitting across from each other, trying to remain civil in the other’s presence. Malik had been raising Deuce on his own ever since he was born, and he resented Carol for it.

  “He’s really getting big,” Carol said.

  “Yeah, he is,” Malik said dryly.

  Carol looked at him and smirked. “What the hell is your problem?”

  “I don’t have a damn problem. I just wish this hour would go faster.”

  “Oh my God, Malik, you act like I don’t have a right to see my own son.”

  Malik looked at her like she had two heads.

  “Carol, I didn’t say you didn’t have a right to see your son. Stop jumping to fuckin’ conclusions.”

  “Whatever,” Carol said with an attitude.

  She didn’t feel like arguing with her ex, so she occupied her time by scrolling Facebook posts. She had just gotten deep into her nosiness when she felt Malik’s hand run up her thigh. Immediately, her eyes went from her cell phone screen to the lustful gaze of her ex.

  Typical, she thought. Just a minute ago, the nigga was talking reckless. Now, he’s trying to crack for some ass.

  “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

  “I just thought that you might want a little company tonight.”

  “Oh, really?” Carol panted lightly.

  It had been a while since she’d last been laid, so maybe it wouldn’t be the worst thing to let Malik crawl between her legs again. Still, she wouldn’t make it easy for him.

  “Nigga, you got some damn nerve. Ain’t you got a bitch?”

  “Yeah, and? What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her ass. Now, are you gonna give me some of that or not?” Malik asked as he pushed her skirt up and sl
id his hand between her legs.

  Carol’s breath caught in her throat as Malik moved her panties to the side with one finger and slipped another one inside of her moist vagina. Carol moaned slightly, reminiscing about all the times Malik had brought her to orgasm after raging orgasm.

  “If I let you smash, what are you gonna do for me?” she asked, trying to squeeze something other than a piece of stiff dick out of their arrangement. Malik quickly pulled his fingers out of her.

  He looked at her and smirked. “Look, don’t try to fuckin’ hustle me. I ain’t giving you shit but this dick.”

  The smug look he gave Carol made her want to take out her service pistol and pistol-whip him. But his thuggish attitude turned her on like it always did.

  “You know what? Fine, then, cheap-ass nigga. But don’t make this shit a habit.”

  Malik smirked, knowing now that he could get the pussy whenever he wanted. After Deuce had used up all the quarters they had given him, he returned to the table.

  “Did you have fun, little man?” Malik asked him.

  The child nodded his head excitedly. He was smiling from ear to ear. He always liked it when he, his mother, and his father were together. At 10 years old, he had trouble understanding why they couldn’t be together all the time.

  The only time he’d asked his father about it, Malik didn’t have an answer for his son. It caught him off guard that Deuce had even thought about something like that.

  “Baby, how would you like to go back to Mommy’s house and play some more video games?” Carol asked.

  “Yayyy,” the young child said, overjoyed.

  Carol kissed her son on the forehead and hugged him. She looked around to see if anyone was looking before grabbing Malik’s crotch. She leaned in and whispered into his ear. “Don’t think that I’m gonna give you some ass every time you let me see my son,” she said, as she grabbed her son’s hand and headed for the door.

  “Deuce can ride with me. You can follow us,” she said.

  As Malik watched Carol’s ass sway from side to side, his already-hard dick grew even harder. He couldn’t wait to slide his pole into her warm, wet walls. As Malik followed Carol to her residence, thoughts of the wild and freaky sex they used to have invaded his mind. Carol was, by far, the best piece of ass that he’d ever had. The only reason that he hadn’t tried to screw her more was that he didn’t want the potential complication that could come with bedding his ex. But now that his girl wasn’t putting out regularly, he figured that Carol’s good pussy was worth the risk. By the time they reached Carol’s place, his dick was so hard he thought that the head would pop. Malik was so horny that Carol had to fight him off once they got inside of her place.

  “Damn, hold up a second, you cock-hound muthafucka,” she mumbled through tight lips. Carol led her son into the living room and turned on the television. She had already planned to ask Malik if Deuce could go home with her for a couple of hours, so she had the X-Box all set up for him. She had no idea what kinds of games he liked, so she bought five of them and hoped that he would like one. Deuce looked through the first two games and smiled. However, when he came to the third game, he really broke into his happy dance.

  “Thanks, Mommy,” he said with a massive grin on his face.

  “You’re welcome, baby.”

  Carol didn’t even get a chance to see which game had him so excited. Before she could, Malik was dragging her into the bedroom. The two of them were just about to reach their sexual peak when the bedroom door burst open. The couple froze as Sunny, Jazmine, Dani, and Kim walked through the door. Butter, much to her dismay, had been tasked with staying with the child. More than anyone else, she wanted to bust her gun. After quickly pushing Malik off her, Carol instinctively reached under the mattress to where she kept her spare gun. But, much to her surprise, it wasn’t there.

  “Lose something, bitch?” Jazmine asked, pointing Carol’s own gun at her.

  “What the fuck is going––?”

  That was as far as Malik got before Sunny pulled the trigger on her silenced .45 and put a hole in his head. Dani looked on in shock as Malik’s body tumbled to the floor.

  “What the hell did you do that for?” she asked.

  “Because I fuckin’ felt like it. You got a problem with it?” Wisely, Dani kept her mouth closed.

  “Look, I don’t know what the hell this is about, but I’m a fuckin’ cop and––”

  “Bitch, shut the fuck up,” Jazmine yelled. “We know that you’re a damn cop.”

  A confused look morphed on Carol’s face. She knew that Cleveland had some hard-core criminals in the city, but it was beyond stupid to come into a cop’s place of residence and commit a murder right in front of her. Something was very wrong with this picture. She wouldn’t have to wait long to find out what was going on, however. Carol’s eyes nearly popped out of her head when she saw Joy walk into the room. Simultaneously, thoughts of her son ran through her mind.

  “Deuce!” she screamed and bolted for the door. Her journey was cut short as Sunny smashed her in the head. Carol crashed to the floor, holding her head. Joy calmly walked over to her and kneeled beside her.

  “You don’t have to worry about your son, Carol. He’s fine.”

  “What the hell, Joy? What’s going on here?”

  “Come on, Carol. You know exactly what’s going on here. We both do. The last time I talked to you, you were scared shitless that Captain Moore was going to call you into his office and feed you to internal affairs. How do I know that you won’t run to the captain and tell him about our little ‘arrangement’?”

  Carol’s eyes got wide. She was in grave danger, and she knew it.

  “Hold on a minute, Joy. I told you that I wasn’t going to say anything.”

  “That’s what you said. But you seem to forget that I have the same training and skills that you do. Your words may have said one thing, but your eyes said something different.”

  “Come on, Joy. We’ve known each other too long for you to even think about doing me like this.”

  “Carol, all that shit sounds good. But I’m not going to jail because you don’t have the balls to keep your mouth shut.”

  Carol scanned the room and damn near urinated on herself. The stern faces staring back at her indicated that they would show no mercy. Having no other choice, Carol lunged at Joy and attempted to wrestle her gun away from her. It was a feeble, last-ditch effort to save her life, but her pursuit was in vain. Joy simply snatched the gun away from her reach and slammed the butt of it into her skull.

  “You dumb bitch,” Joy said, shaking her head. Carol knew Joy well enough to know that she wasn’t bluffing. Her life was nearing an end, and she knew it.

  “Oh God, Joy, please . . . please. I don’t want to die,” Carol sobbed. “Please don’t kill me.”

  Joy looked down at her and smirked. “You’re my friend, Carol,” she said sarcastically. “I’m not going to kill you.”

  Carol breathed a sigh of relief. For one brief instant, she actually thought that her life was going to be spared. That thought instantly disappeared, however, as Joy walked over to Kim and handed her the gun.

  “She is.”

  Kim looked around, shocked before pointing at herself.

  “Who? Me?” she asked, her mouth hanging open.

  “Not me, bitch. You.”

  Kim wasn’t the only person there who was shocked. Sunny, Jazmine, and Dani all looked at each other in amazement. Not even Sunny knew it, but Joy had planned this. From the very beginning, she didn’t like or trust Kim, and she was especially concerned about the cowardly trait she saw in her. It was time that she found out what Kim was all about. This was a test, and for Kim’s sake, she had better pass it. Joy grabbed Kim by the face and spun her head around so that the two of them were face-to-face.

  “Stop stalling. You wanted to be about this life—prove it. Shoot this bitch.”

  When Joy released her face, Kim turned to look at Sunny, who just shrug
ged. There was nothing she could do to help, but even if there were, she wouldn’t have. She wanted to see if her friend had it in her to do some gangsta shit. With all eyes on her, Kim raised the gun. Her hand trembled as she aimed. Her finger twitched as she waited for Joy to tell her that she didn’t have to perform such a heinous act. But all Joy did was fold her arms and wait. Finally, after ten agonizing seconds, Kim dropped the gun to her side.

  “I’m sorry, Sunny. I can’t do this shit.”

  “Bitch, give me my muthafuckin’ gun. Sunny, I told you this bitch was soft!”

  Sunny looked at her friend through disappointed eyes. She knew that they were asking a lot of Kim, but to be in the game, you couldn’t be afraid to do what needed to be done.

  “Damn, Kim. I thought you was down. Dani, shoot this bitch.”

  It took Dani less than three seconds to take the gun from Joy and blow Carol’s brains out. She didn’t have anything personal against Carol. But if she were going to get in good with Sunny and her crew so that she could ultimately take them down, then she would have to go with the flow.

  “Now, that’s what the fuck I’m talking about,” Joy yelled. “Somebody who ain’t scared to push somebody’s shit back,” she said, staring directly at Kim.

  Although she still didn’t trust Dani, she did admire her willingness to do dirt when called upon. Kim dropped her head in shame. She couldn’t believe that she had the opportunity to endear herself to her new crew and choked. If she could do it all over again, she would pull the trigger and work it out with God later.

  Next time, I’m blowing a muthafucka’s brains out, she thought to herself. She watched as Dani passed the gun back to Joy, who pointed the gun at Carol and pulled the trigger. Then they all watched as Sunny fired two shots into Carol’s corpse. Sunny then turned her hot glare on Kim as she made her way to where she was standing.

  “Here! Blood on our hands, blood on yours. Put one in this bitch.”

  Kim aimed and pulled the trigger, but to Joy, it didn’t matter. When the chips were down, Kim couldn’t deliver. It didn’t take a whole lot of courage to put a bullet in someone already dead. Joy knew that, and unfortunately for Kim, so did Sunny. Jazmine then fired two shots from her gun into Carol’s dead body. The ladies then walked out of the room and made their way toward the living room.