Obsession

by Treasure Hernandez

  “How it’s looking out here?” he asked, giving his young soldiers dap.

  “Shit been jumping like the playoffs,” Jay said. Jay was Ralph’s best worker/soldier and mentally ahead of all the other workers.

  “That’s what I like to hear.”

  Just then Ralph heard a woman’s scream. He looked over toward the next building and saw two men beating up on a nice-looking couple. “Who the fuck is these clowns over there making the hood hot?” he asked, looking at his crew.

  “Nah, I don’t know them niggas,” Jay announced.

  “Fuck wrong with these niggas?” Ralph huffed as him and his crew headed over toward the next building.

  Lucky searched the unconscious man’s pockets, removing anything of value. Once he had all the man’s goods, he walked over and snatched Hawk off the woman. Hawk had attacked the woman like she was a man.

  “That’s enough!” Lucky barked.

  Hawk looked up and saw a group of men making their way over to them, angry looks on their faces.

  “What the fuck going on over here?” Ralph looked down to the couple then back to the two men.

  “None of your fuckin’ business.” Hawk spat on the ground right in front of Ralph.

  “This my hood right here,” Ralph said, pointing at the ground. “Everything that goes on in here is my business. Now I’m going to ask you niggas nicely”—he paused—“get the fuck up outta here!”

  Hawk sighed loudly and hog-spat in Ralph’s face. “Fuck you and your hood!”

  Ralph wiped his face and swiftly removed a rusty-looking .357 from his waist and pointed it at Hawk, who reached for his waist, but two shots to his chest had already put him down before he got a chance to draw his weapon.

  Lucky ducked down and got low as he ran back toward his Camaro. He sent four reckless shots over his shoulder, as he quickly hid behind a parked car. Two of his four shots had hit and killed two of Ralph’s men.

  Ralph and his crew quickly scrambled away from the scene after the gunshots finished ringing out.

  Lucky looked over and saw Hawk laid out on the concrete. “Fuck!” he cursed as he hopped in the Camaro and peeled off.

  Tiffany stood in the shower and let the warm water run all over her body. For the first time in her life, she was finally happy. She had a real man in her life, not somebody with ulterior motives. Not only that, but Quick and her got along real well together, and she found herself falling more and more in love with him every day.

  She dried off and stepped out the bathroom butt naked. She walked in the room and saw Quick sitting on the bed playing Madden.

  “You still playing that game?” Tiffany smiled as she shook her head and began to lotion her body.

  “Muthafuckas is cheating,” Quick said as he saved his season and cut the game off.

  He watched as Tiffany finished lotioning up her body. Once she was done she threw on a pair of boy shorts and walked over to the closet and pulled out her work uniform and laid it across the bed.

  She looked up and saw Quick staring at her. “Why you looking at me like that?”

  “We need a bigger place.” Quick looked around at how packed the small closet was.

  “I’m okay, baby.” Tiffany walked over and hugged and kissed Quick. “I don’t mind staying here as long as I’m with you. I’m fine.”

  “I know, baby. I just think it’s time for a change,” Quick told her. He didn’t want his girl cramped up in a one-bedroom apartment. And little did Tiffany know he didn’t want her working at IHOP any more. No girlfriend of his had to work in no fast-food restaurant; that’s the reason he worked so hard, so the people he loved didn’t have to.

  “When is your next day off?”

  “Tomorrow,” Tiffany replied as she put her uniform on.

  “A’ight, bet. Tomorrow I need you to go out and find a house that you like.” Quick kissed Tiffany on the lips, grabbed his jacket, and headed out the door.

  Tiffany smiled in the mirror as she finished up her hair. She had never had anybody care for her as much as Quick did. If it wasn’t for him, she didn’t know where she would be right about now. All she knew was, she was thankful to have a good man like Quick in her life, especially when she needed him most.

  Tommy Gunz and Kat sat in the IHOP parking lot waiting for Quick’s new girlfriend to arrive. The two of them had been sitting there patiently for the past two hours. The one thing Tommy Gunz couldn’t figure out was, if Quick was making so much money, why was his girl waiting tables at IHOP?

  “You sure that nigga Lucky was telling us the truth about Quick’s new girl?”

  “Yeah. Lucky don’t play when it comes to his money,” Kat told him. “Besides, him and Quick been fell out long before me and you came up with this plan.”

  “But why the fuck would he have his girl working at IHOP?” Tommy Gunz asked.

  Kat sighed loudly as she pulled out her cell phone and googled the number for the IHOP they were sitting in front of.

  “We about to find out right now,” Kat said as she dialed the number and waited for an answer. “Yes, hello. Can I speak to Tiffany please?” she asked politely.

  “She didn’t get here yet, but she should be here within the next ten, fifteen minutes,” the woman on the other line said.

  “Thank you so much,” Kat said, ending the call. “Yeah, we at the right spot,” she said to Tommy Gunz with a smile. “She should be coming through here any minute now.”

  Tommy Gunz lit up another cigarette as he continued to click the hammer on his .357 back and forth. He made a mental note to inflict as much pain on Tiffany as possible for making him wait. His pockets were feeling light right now, and he was getting desperate.

  Two minutes later, a chick with a short haircut and a healthy ass strolled through the parking lot.

  “I think this is our girl right here,” Tommy Gunz said, motioning his head in the woman’s direction.

  Kat looked at the woman and smiled. “Yeah, that’s her.”

  “How you know?”

  Kat applied some lip gloss to her already shiny lips. “Because I know what kind of women he likes, and that’s definitely her.” Immediately she visualized Quick having sex with Tiffany the way he used to have sex with her, and just the thought of that made her angry.

  “Shorty is looking a’ight,” Tommy Gunz said as he watched Tiffany strut inside the restaurant.

  Kat sucked her teeth. “I’ve seen better,” she said, not liking Quick’s new girlfriend one bit.

  Kat and Tommy Gunz waited for another thirty minutes before they entered the restaurant, where they were escorted to a booth over in the corner. The two kept a close eye on Tiffany, Tommy Gunz’s mind on the money, Kat’s on inflicting pain on Quick’s new girlfriend.

  “We got this muthafucka now,” Tommy Gunz said out loud. “Now all we have to do is let her lead us to the money.”

  Quick stood in a dark alley, leaned up against his car, as he watched Major Pain beat the blood out of a Spanish cat that owed Turf a few thousand dollars. He never understood why someone would play with a person’s money that they know would kill them if they didn’t pay up. He continued to look on as Major Pain went to work on the man.

  “You better tell me something,” Major Pain huffed, breathing heavy.

  Just as the man went to reply, Major Pain quickly kicked him in the face. “Don’t waste my time. If you open up your mouth, something good better come out of it.”

  “All I need is another week,” the man pleaded with his hands together as if he was praying.

  “Another week?” Major Pain punched the man in his face repeatedly, until Quick came over and stopped him.

  Quick searched the man’s pockets and found $1,500 in cash. He stuffed the money down in his pocket then gave Major Pain the go-ahead nod.

  Major Pain screwed the silencer on his .380 as the man continued to beg for his life and fired two quick shots to the head, silencing the man forever.

  “Come on, let’s get
up out of here. Turf wants to see us,” Quick said as he headed for his whip.

  “Nah, you go ahead without me. I’ll catch up with that nigga later. I got something I need to handle real quick.” Major Pain gave Quick dap and hopped in his BMW and pulled off.

  Quick walked up to the lounge and was immediately met by security. The bouncer was about to search him, but then he realized it was Turf’s main man.

  “Sorry about that,” the bouncer quickly apologized, not wanting to lose his job.

  Quick nodded at the big man and entered the lounge. Soon as he stepped inside, the women flocked to him like he was a celebrity.

  “Where you in a rush to?” a light-skin joint asked, grabbing Quick’s hand.

  “Yo, you gon’ be right here?” Quick asked, removing his hand from hers.

  The woman nodded yes.

  “A’ight, bet. I’ll be right back,” he said as he turned his back on the woman and continued on through the crowd. Quick snaked his way through the crowded lounge as Nicki Minaj’s new song blasted through the speakers.

  Quick finally made it to the back of the lounge, where Turf and Goliath posted up talking to a few honeys.

  “What’s good, slim?” Turf said as he gave Quick dap.

  “Chilling.” Quick noticed the woman on Turf’s arm giving him the “what’s-good eye.” He ignored the woman’s hungry look and helped himself to a drink.

  “What you think about this place?” Turf said, nodding toward the crowd.

  Quick looked at the packed house, full of drunk partygoers. “Shit popping in here tonight,” he said.

  “I just bought the place,” Turf said with a grin. “And I want you to help me run this joint.”

  Quick gave Turf a disbelieving look. He noticed the girl on Turf’s arm still eyeing him. “Word? You bought this whole place?”

  “Yeah, it’s time to start expanding and building our brand in the streets and in the business world as well,” Turf said as he cuffed the woman’s ass. “And I think you are a little more business-minded than Major Pain.”

  “You are so rude,” the girl on Turf’s arm said. She sucked her teeth. “How you just gon’ have a conversation and not introduce me to your friend?”

  “My bad. This right here is my new young thing, Tosha,” Turf said. “That’s my man Quick.”

  “Nice to meet you, Quick,” Tosha said, shaking his hand, looking into his soul.

  Before Quick could say another word, some big, steel face-looking man approached.

  “Bitch, what the fuck is you doing over here?” the man yelled. “You suppose to be in the house watching the kids, not out running the muthafuckin’ streets.”

  “The kids are at my mother’s house!” Tosha yelled back. “What’s the big deal?”

  The man turned and smacked the shit out of Tosha. “Fuck you mean, what’s the big deal?”

  Tosha’s head snapped back as blood flew from her mouth, and she stumbled back into Turf, who shoved her off him.

  “You just going to sit there and let him hit me like that?” Tosha yelled at Turf, mad ’cause he wasn’t protecting her.

  Turf waved Tosha off as he continued to sip on his drink and bob his head to the beat that bumped through the speakers.

  Embarrassed and her face throbbing, Tosha lunged toward Turf, but a right hook from Quick dropped her dead in her tracks.

  When the man saw his wife hit the floor, he quickly turned and charged toward Quick, running full speed. He tackled Quick like a linebacker, and the two men went crashing to the wet, sticky floor.

  Immediately Turf bust a bottle over the back of the big man’s head, forcing Quick to close his eyes as shattered glass showered his face.

  Goliath and Turf then went to work on the big man, tearing him up. They stomped him out then watched as security threw the big man and Tosha out like they was trash. Turf and Goliath laughed like nothing ever happened and continued to get their party on.

  Quick made his way over to the bathroom, so he could stop the bleeding from his face. He busted in and pushed a nerd-looking man from in front of the mirror, and he began to check his wounds. The glass from the broken bottle had caused minor cuts on his face. He was mad that he didn’t get a chance to put in any work on the big man before the bouncers tossed him out the lounge. He splashed some water on his face then dried it with a paper towel.

  Just as Quick was about to exit the bathroom, he heard at least thirty gunshots go off. From how the shots sounded, he could tell that at least three different guns were being fired.

  Quick removed his 9 mm from his waistband as he eased out the bathroom and saw people running for their lives, trying to get out of harm’s way. He pushed people out of his way as he tried to make his way toward Turf.

  He looked down and saw the big man laid out with a bullet in his head and a machine gun not too far from his hand. On the floor a few feet away from the big man was Turf laying in a pool of his own blood, his gun also a few feet away from his hand. And above him stood a crying Goliath. In his hand was an empty Desert Eagle.

  Quick made his way over to the scene and saw Turf laying on the floor with a smile on his face. “You a’ight?” he asked, trying not to look at the red spot in the middle of Turf’s stomach.

  “I’m good,” Turf said. “I laid that big nigga the fuck out.”

  Before Quick could say another word, paramedics came rushing in and rushed him out of the lounge on a stretcher.

  Goliath quickly picked up Turf’s gun and made a mental note to get rid of it.

  “Fuck!” Quick cursed as he watched them wheel Turf out of the lounge on the stretcher.

  Major Pain pulled his BMW into the driveway of the house he was looking for. He tucked his .40-cal. in his waistband before stepping out of the car and heading toward the from door. He rang the doorbell and patiently waited for an answer.

  Seconds later, he heard a woman’s voice yell, “Who is it?” then a series of locks being unlocked.

  Nicki opened the door and sucked her teeth when she saw Major Pain standing on the other side of her door. “Fuck you doing here?” she huffed, looking him up and down.

  “I just came to apologize,” Major Pain said. “And thank you for saving my life.”

  “Well, you ain’t welcome.”

  The way Major Pain had walked out on Nicki really hurt her feelings. All she wanted to do was help him out, and all she got in return was a nasty attitude and his ass to kiss.

  “How dare you show up to my door after how you treated me, when all I was trying to do was help you out.”

  “I’m sorry about that,” Major Pain told her. “Give me a chance to make it up to you.”

  “And how do you plan on doing that?” Nicki asked, folding her arms across her chest.

  “Can I come inside so we can talk?” Major Pain took a step forward.

  Even when Nicki wasn’t dressed up, she was still dead sexy. All she had on was a silk robe and a head scarf and she still looked beautiful.

  Nicki reluctantly stepped to the side so Major Pain could enter. Something was telling her not to let him in, but her heart told her otherwise. “You hungry?” she asked as she stepped in the kitchen.

  “Yeah. Whip the god up something real quick.” Major Pain pulled an already rolled blunt from his pocket and placed fire to the tip. He wasn’t used to a woman being nice to him for no reason; they usually had an ulterior motive. So when Nicki had saved him that night, he figured she was just helping him in hopes that he would look out for her with some cash.

  Nicki placed two plates down on the kitchen table. “You have to eat at the kitchen table around here. I don’t allow people to eat in my living room,” she told him.

  Major Pain helped himself to a seat at the table and saw turkey bacon and pancakes on the plate in front of him. “Yo, good looking,” he said with a smile.

  “Good looking, my ass,” Nicki said, returning his smile. “I’m still mad at you.”

  Major Pain laughed as the two
sat up all night talking and getting to know each other better.

  “Jackpot!”

  Lucky stood in front of the courthouse, along with Sosa’s main girl, Erica. Erica was a well-built, dark-skin chick with a nice body. Not only that, she had a good job. She was a doctor. Erica wore a long, silk-looking weave that came down to the middle of her back, and in the front, she had a neat bang. She wore all black—black jeans, black heels, and a black spandex shirt.

  “Damn! What’s taking this nigga so long?” Lucky looked down at his watch. Erica and him had been waiting in front of the courthouse for an hour and a half.

  Twenty minutes later Sosa strolled out the courthouse with his signature bop. “My nigga, what’s good?” he said as he gave Lucky dap followed by a hug. Erica hopped in his arms. “You know they can’t keep a good nigga down.”

  Sosa had been locked up for the past eleven months, and finally his lawyer talked the judge into giving him bail.

  “Come on, let’s make moves from in front of here,” Sosa said as the trio hopped in the awaiting Benz truck.

  Lucky hopped in the front seat, while Sosa and Erica slid in the back. One of Lucky’s young goons drove.

  “So what’s the plan?” Lucky asked, turning around to face Sosa.

  “These crackers got me by the nuts,” Sosa said in a disgusted tone. “I only have one option. I have to run.”

  “You think that would be best?” Erica asked in a concerned tone.

  “It’s either run or rot in a cell.”

  “Fuck it! We running then,” Erica said.

  Sosa looked up at Lucky. “I’ma need you to hold shit down. You the man now,” he announced. “Run shit how you see fit, as long as that money keep on flowing in.”

  “I’m on it.” Lucky nodded. It was crazy how shit happened in the hood. Two years ago when he’d first started working for Sosa, he’d never imagined that Sosa would wind up handing his whole empire over to him.

  “When you leaving town?”