by Mikal Malone
Most of our soldiers were between the ages of 16 and 21. Cameron said Dex liked them that way because they showed respect and above all else, they were hungry for that money. He said the older they got, the more rebellious they became and wouldn’t take kindly to women giving them orders. Once they reached that rebellious age he’d cut ‘em off but if they were good, he’d put them to work outside of Emerald City. He wanted as little distractions for us as possible. I respected his plan but Yvette didn’t give a fuck. She was ready to handle them no matter how damn old they were. And most, if not all, of the soldiers feared or respected Yvette. She could handle shit with the best of men.
While Yvette was briefing the soldiers, the others turned around and saw me standing there not dressed for the occasion.
“What you doing? Why ain’t you dressed?” Kenyetta asked, as she looked me up and down.
I had to give it to my girl, she was killing a red dress, Fendi heels with the red and black lace mink Fendi purse to match it. Kenyetta was 5’7” with dark pretty skin and Indian hair that fell to the middle of her back. Tonight she had it up in a classy bun. Men killed for Kenyetta but she belonged to Dyson, one of the members of the Emerald City squad.
“Yeah, what’s up with that, ‘Cedes?” Yvette asked after finishing with the workers who were now at the bottom of the steps manning the gates. “Go put your shit on. Dex and Stacy will be here in a minute,” she continued as she pulled out her compact to check her lipstick.
Yvette wasn’t the prettiest but with the money she earned and the power she had, she quickly became one of the most wanted women in the projects, along with the rest of us. She was a shorty with big titties and a phat ass to go with them. We joked all the time about her being one sandwich away from being overweight. She hadn’t always been that way. I guess running Emerald City’s gates and leading the soldiers took its toll on her body. She had a smooth amber complexion, and sported a short, spiky haircut. Her hair was always fierce regardless of what she had going on.
At 5’5”, she was the meanest bitch you could ever come across. I gave the soldiers leeway on certain shit but Yvette didn’t give them any on anything. She was in charge of security and made it clear that she wasn’t the one to be fucked with, skirt or not. She would carry any nigga anywhere if the money was fucked up or if they were caught slipping. Being the baddest bitch, it was only fitting that she fucked with the meanest nigga of the Emerald City squad. And Thick was the only man who could handle her.
When he came into the room, you couldn’t help but respect him. Even the scar on his face made you wonder about the life he led.
“Don’t start with me. I’m mad enough as it is,” I said brushing off their comments. I wasn’t in the mood to go into what happened with my two-faced mother.
“Don’t start with you? Bitch, tonight is our night! This is the only night we get recognized for the shit we go through in EC! Ain’t no other project being held down by bitches outside of Emerald!” Carissa insisted.
Carissa was usually laid back, but not when she felt passionate about something. She looked just like a young Salli Richardson, only better. Her skin was copper-colored and she didn’t have a flaw on her body. Not even a mole. She wore her hair in a jazzy bob, which brushed her cheeks every time she moved. She was beautiful.
The niggas gave her the most shit because she was short and cute and when they saw her, all they thought about was fucking. But just like we all dealt with members of the Emerald City squad, Carissa was no exception because she was messing with Lavelle. And the niggas around there knew if anybody loved their woman, he did. He wouldn’t have a problem putting two to any of these niggas’ heads who disrespected him or her.
“Go get dressed!” Yvette insisted. “Stacy just called and said she’ll be out front in a minute. They coming through the gate now.”
“I can’t roll, ya’ll. I’m serious,” I said tucking my hands back inside my warm pockets. “My mother can’t watch the kids tonight.”
“Please say you playing!” Yvette yelled. “Damn! Call her. I’ll see if she’ll do it for me.”
“Don’t waste your time. I tried offering her four large and she still said no.”
“So you ain’t playing?” Yvette asked in disbelief.
“Naw, I’m not playing, but I wish I was. She messing with Mr. Brown again and she think I don’t know that shit. You know his wife’s out of town this week at that Mary Kay convention.”
“Mom’s wrong as shit,” Kenyetta said shaking her head.
“Tell me about it. But ya’ll go ahead. Just tell me how it was,” I said, trying to hide the fact that I really didn’t want them to go without me. We did everything together. And I wanted to see if they would ride or die with me for real.
“Look, why don’t you let Tina watch ‘em?” Yvette asked.
She already knew the answer to that, so I didn’t even know why she let it fall out of her mouth.
Tina and her badass kids lived with Yvette from time to time when her mother who lived across the hallway put her out. Regardless, there was no way in hell I was letting her watch my kids. Besides, Yvette’s apartment was nasty and too junky for my taste. The last time I let Crystal stay over Yvette’s, she came back with bumps all over her arms and face. I think they were roach bites and I was mad as shit with Yvette. I got over it after awhile but I made a promise that it would never happen again. Yvette was my girl but she could take better care of her crib. I was surprised Thick’s big ass ain’t put her in her place yet.
“Naw. I can’t do that. You know I like Lil C to be at his own house, around his own things.”
“You spoil those kids rotten!” Kenyetta said. “And Lil C damn near running the place.” She giggled.
Before we could get into anything else, Stacia and Dex pulled up in front of the building in his silver Hummer. Stacia looked beautiful. Her white fur coat was the first thing I saw before her glossy lips started moving.
“Party night!” she screamed through the open window.
“No she didn’t get the white mink I wanted!” Carissa said. “Dex stay lacing her up!”
“I know. Don’t she look beautiful?” I added, trying to hide the fact that I was slightly jealous.
The cold air blowing through the window pushed her long hair into her face and teased her fur coat. Her honey brown skin was flawless. She was so beautiful that no one questioned why Dex chose her. We walked down the steps and by the soldiers who were already guarding Emerald city.
“Hey, baby!” I said as Stacia jumped out and gave us all hugs.
“Hey, you!” Stacia yelled back.
Dex came around to the passenger side to open the doors for us and we hugged him too. Stacia and Dex were living it up for real. They were the Beyoncé and Jay-Z of Emerald City and we adored them. Their relationship was the example we used when we talked to our men. They all made promises to move us out of Emerald City once we got things tight, but Dex kept his promise to Stacia.
They used to live there in Emerald City with us until he became the Chief in command and started pulling in six-figures a month. Although Dex got put on and eventually moved, he didn’t stop showing love to the rest of us.
He was there so much we started forgetting he even moved to Alexandria, Virginia with Stacia in their eight-bedroom castle-style home.
Dex showed his loyalty, but Stacia was another story. She used to come by all the time to sit with us on the steps of Unit C, like we did before they moved from the projects. We could talk to her about anything. From our relationships to our dreams. And if Stacia could make it happen or help us, she would. She always had the answers. When she left, it kinda hurt. Our group had been dismantled and it hurt even more when she stopped coming around as much. But when Dex started getting kidnap threats about Stacia, he told her to cut the visits short.
Sometimes she didn’t listen. She’d just dress down so people wouldn’t recognize her if they saw her sitting with us. But the moment anybody saw the fif
th girl posted up in front of Unit C, they’d know exactly who she was no matter how she tried to disguise herself. We all missed Stacia but understood that Dex kept his promise, and we wanted her to be happy.
Dex didn’t always have it that way. At one point, he ran hand and hand with Cameron, Dyson, Thick and Lavelle. But after Dreyfus, our supplier, came in blasting on Tyland Towers, a project a few blocks over from ours, Dex came up with a plan that sealed his position as the man of Emerald city.
They say Dreyfus was 6’3” and dark-skinned with smooth black hair. But no matter what he looked like, he was ruthless. He didn’t get involved with every little detail that happened in the projects and hated being bothered with bullshit. The only thing he demanded was that his money be right and on time, every time. About three years ago, The Tyland Towers crew failed to heed his warning.
When some stickup kids from uptown D.C. got the inside scoop from somebody on the inside as to where the warehouse was in Tyland Towers, they took full advantage. They got into the Tyland Tower crew for over two hundred thousand dollars in cash and product that night. And all of that shit was on consignment. When Dreyfus found out that Jamal, who ran Tyland Towers, let some niggas get into him for that much cash, he came through with ten niggas on Thanksgiving Day blasting.
He killed off all of Jamal’s troops and sliced his throat in front of his pregnant girlfriend Patricia. Then he called a meeting with all the captains from all the spots he supplied. Dex went to represent Emerald City because there was no lieutenant at that time. While they were there, Dreyfus reminded them of his policies, particularly not having his money fucked with, using Tyland Towers as an example. He vowed that shit would be worse if it happened again.
After the meeting, Dex came up with the idea of the gatekeepers. He called Cameron, Dyson, Thick and Lavelle, also known as the Emerald City Squad, and told them about his plan. Instead of them hating, they put the plan in action to ensure what happened to Tyland Towers didn’t happen to Emerald City.
The plan consisted of four gatekeepers running the largest unit, Unit C, at all times. Since all of Emerald City could clearly be seen from Unit C, one responsibility of a gatekeeper was to handle the approach.
The approach happened the moment security gave the wave that something wasn’t right with whoever was coming through. Two people handled that function. Another person handled security and the fourth handled the collection of the funds.
Dex’s plan worked so well that Dreyfus made him Chief of Emerald City. But when the money really started flowing, it became difficult for the EC squad to man the gates alone. More fiends were coming through, which meant more product and more responsibility. They hadn’t anticipated what would happen if things worked out so well, and because of it, they never trained anyone else on the Gatekeeper plan because they didn’t trust anyone.
That’s when Thick came up with the plan to put us out there. Since we were around them all the time, they trusted us and we knew Emerald City inside out. That was three years ago, and we’d been manning the gate ever since.
“Wow, girl, you wearing jeans?” Stacia asked tugging at the loop on my belt. “That’s different.”
“I’m not wearing jeans...I can’t go,” I said, avoiding the disappointment on my friend’s face.
“What? Why?” she asked looking at Dex, who looked more and more like money every time I saw him. The diamond earring in his right ear was so bright it almost looked like a flashlight.
“Damn, girl! Does your man know that? I just saw him and he ain’t say shit about that,” Dex asked with his raspy voice.
“Not yet, I can’t find him anywhere. You know how ya’ll take all day to get ready for the ball. He put more time into tonight than he did on me.” I laughed. “Well look, go ahead and have fun!” I didn’t want to continue to throw a pity party outside of Unit C and bring everyone down. “I’ll be aight.”
“We can’t leave you,” Yvette said. “You know that shit. How we gonna go to the Hustler’s Ball with one of the Gatekeepers missing?”
“But ya’ll look so nice. Seriously, ya’ll can go without me.” I really wanted them to stay and chill with me but I knew how bad they wanted to show off their outfits.
“Naw….we chilling with you tonight,” Kenyetta said as she hit my arm. “But damn, girl, I was gonna kill them in this dress tonight!” She pouted. “Dyson would’ve been mad at my ass when I came through them doors. He needs to be thanking you,” she continued as she opened her fur coat revealing her red dress. I could tell that if you shined the right light on it, you would’ve been able to see right through it.
“You? I wanted to show mine off too!” Carissa opened her coat revealing her short black Missoni dress under her fur coat, which cost over two grand. “They wasn’t gonna be ready for what I was gonna give.”
“Well since we’re having a fashion show,” Yvette said. “I was gonna kill ‘em in my dress too.” Yvette’s white on white look made her look sexy and sophisticated. The full-length fur coat set off her Emilio Pucci dress gracefully. They all looked like a million bucks. And for what? To stay home. “Anyway…go ahead, Stacia. We’ll see you later.”
“Well okay, guys,” Stacia sighed. “I hope ya’ll know you’re breaking my heart. How you gonna leave me with the guys alone?”
“You can handle ‘em.” Carissa laughed. “And keep a close eye on my man.”
“I’ll try,” she laughed back. “I’m gonna call ya’ll tomorrow!” Stacia said as Dex hugged us then opened the door for her. “Don’t forget about the cookout and bring my babies! All of them, Mercedes!”
“Okay…I will.” I waved.
“I have a surprise for them too.” She continued as she jumped in the truck and Dex got behind the wheel. “I love ya’ll!”
“We love you too! Have fun!” We waved as they drove to the party.
“Sorry, ya’ll. I know how bad you guys wanted to go,” I said, happy they decided to stay. I figured the least I could do was get them high. “Well since we got the soldiers at the gates tonight, let’s crack open the Ace of Spades I have in my apartment on chill. Plus Big Cameron left me a phat ass J too,” I continued as we walked up the steps.
“I’m with that shit!” Carissa said smiling.
“Me too,” Yvette added, linking her arm with Kenyetta’s. “As long as we got each other, I’m good.”
Even though we didn’t make it to the ball, we still had a nice time laughing and talking about old times.
We were still up at 4 a.m. when the phone rang. No one expected to hear what we did when I answered the phone. And the news would change our lives forever.
Chapter 2
Burying Friends
December, Wednesday, 10:37a.m.
Yvette
It was the worst day of all our lives.
We were watching our men carrying the caskets of Stacia and Dex, walking them to the hearse that would later take them to the place they would be buried. Everyone was still in shock, mainly because of how they were killed. The way it went down was scandalous. Someone had hid in the back of Dex’s truck, escaping detection by the gatekeepers. Whoever did it knew that no one would be inspecting Dex’s truck and used that to their advantage. It was against our law to inspect a squad member’s car or stop them at the gate.
They sliced Stacia’s pretty face over thirty times before stabbing her in the stomach. And what they did to Dex was unreal. Those mothafuckas actually partially severed his head from his body. They stole all their jewelry including the diamond earring that Dex bought the moment he became the man of Emerald City. But they didn’t just take the diamond out, they ripped his ear off. Because of how they did them, we all knew it wasn’t just a robbery. The shit was personal, but no one knew why. Dex and Stacia were rich, but they were good people, helping anybody they could.
Through it all, I couldn’t shake the fact that if we had gotten into his truck the night of the ball, they would’ve been burying all six of us.
Lil C not watching the kids had probably been the best thing that could’ve happened to us. I’m happy Mercedes ain’t believe in breaking promises to her son.
There were so many people paying their respects that we had to relive the funeral four times that day just to allow everyone a chance to say goodbye. All you saw were dudes dressed in jeans, white T-shirts, Timbs and blazers. There were flower arrangements everywhere including ones in the shape of Emerald City, Dex’s Hummer and every kind of gun imaginable. Two gold-framed pictures of Dex and Stacia faced the crowd.
The girls and I did our best to hold it together until the last funeral session. Due to the way they had been killed, all of the services were closed casket. Hearing and seeing how differently people felt about two people we considered family, punched us in our stomach every time. With every tear shed, and cry heard, we were broken down. It was like we were soaking up their pain, and trying to find a place for it in our hearts.
Our men did what they could to console us, but they were going through it too. But being tough like they were, they wouldn’t allow it to show. There were too many people there, most of whom they didn’t want to face later if they were seen crying.
Although no one said anything to me yet, I couldn’t help but feel fully responsible. I knew that eventually I would have to answer on how they got through Emerald City’s gates undetected the night of the Hustler’s ball. I was in charge! Shit! Why didn’t I just go back out on post instead of drinking? I just hoped that Thick wasn’t angry with me. I hated letting him down.
“You okay, baby? Don’t worry ‘bout this shit! We handling it!” Thick said as he pulled me to his crisp black suit and squeezed me tight.
There was nothing better than his strong hugs and deep dark voice to soothe me. I wanted him, right now. He made me feel safe. Suddenly I felt bad for being turned on considering we had just buried our friends, but I couldn’t help myself. I loved everything about him. Especially the feel of his thick dick when he moved in and out of my body, the way he fussed at me when he felt I was being weak and the way he always came to my rescue when I needed him. I couldn’t wait until we spent our lives together, and he kept his promise to pull me out of Emerald City for good. And I was patiently waiting.