by Glenn, Roy
“But you don’t understand. Anastasia’s gone, Black. She took everything.”
“Hold up. You tellin’ me that Anastasia bounced with the money?”
“And the product. She took the money and the product. That’s what I been tryin’ to tell you. Anastasia took the money and the product and ran off with that nigga,” Herman began to cry again.
Damn.
Ain’t that a bitch?
Or should I say, ain’t she a bitch.
“How could she do me like that, Black? I ain’t no bad guy. I treated her good. Didn’t kick her ass, even though she needed it some times. Never called her out her name.”
“She took the money, Herman? The fuckin’ money!” I yelled.
“All you care about is the money, but I lost everything. I don’t have anything any more.”
“Yeah, Herman, that’s all I care about,” I lied. I really did feel for him.
“There’s nothin’ left for me now. Anastasia was all I had. I just wanna die, Black. I wanna killed myself, but I just don’t have nerve. I been sittin’ in this chair for I don’t know how long, with this gun, but I just can’t do it”
“Fuck that, Herman don’t kill yourself, she ain’t worth it.”
What was I sayin’? I was supposed to be killin’ him about this money.
“Kill me, Black.”
“What?”
“Kill me, Black. I just don’t wanna live without her. She took everything from me. She took away my future. Please, Black, just put your gun to my head and pull the trigger.”
“No!”
“You can use my gun, Black just kill me please,” Herman said and tried to hand me his gun.
“No! Nigga is you crazy? I may kill you about not havin’ this money, but I ain’t gonna kill you cause that bitch left you. What I need to do is find her ass.”
“No, Black, please, don’t hurt her. Please, I’m beggin’ you Black don’t kill her, kill me. I’m the one that don’t deserve to live.”
“Look Herman, I’m gonna get outta here man. You’re depressing the fuck outta me. I’ll be back to check on you, see if you know where she. I’m not gonna hurt her, Herman, I promise. Just don’t do nothin’ stupid, a’ight?”
Just as I turned to leave I heard Herman call me. When I turned around, he was pointing his gun at me.
“I can’t let you hurt her, Black! This stops here!”
I shot him.
Two shots in the head.
“Damn, Herman!”
I looked at Herman’s dead body slumped over in that chair.
I picked up my shells, got outta there and went back to Cézanne. “Took you long enough,” Cézanne pouted and folded her arms.
We drove away in silence, or at least I drove in silence. Cézanne on the other hand was goin’ on and on about how rude it was for me to leave her in the car and take so long. That went on until I screamed. “Enough!”
After that, I made it my personal mission to find Anastasia. It took me five month to find her. Her and her new man relocated to Dallas and got into the game. With a quality product that they didn’t pay for, they were able to be very competitive on price. Anastasia and new man were livin’ the life.
The life she sucked out of Herman.
One night me and Freeze paid them a visit. It was hot a hell down there. We didn’t kill them; I kept my promise to Herman. I just wanted the money. Freeze tied up Anastasia and held a gun to her head. “Now, if you don’t give me my hundred grand, he’s gonna kill her. But we’re gonna fuck her first cause I hear she got good pussy.” We stayed down there for two days; eating their food and suckin’ up there air, but we didn’t fuck Anastasia. It took him that long to get up the money.
I’ve always regretted killin’ Herman. No matter what he said or how he felt, he didn’t deserve to die. I really don’t think Herman was gonna shot me. It stops here. He wanted me to kill him. I wonder if it was because I was goin’ after Anastasia, and he thought I would hurt her or because he just wanted to die. Either way, I didn’t have to kill him.
After that my attitude about a lotta things changed. I began to see how drugs effected people’s lives and made them do shit that under normal circumstances they’d never even consider. Then something happened that changed my life forever. A very good friend mine, Vickie Payne, died smoking cocaine in my apartment.
My cocaine.
I’ve never done cocaine in my life, but I would always keep some around ‘cause some women would freak for it. That night, André gave me some pure; just chipped it off the block, bagged it and handed it to me. When I got home the next morning, instead of puttin’ a cut on it, I threw the bag on the coffee table and crashed on the couch.
I had been asleep a couple of hours I guess, when Vickie came in. She had a key to the crib, the whole nine, and that was cool. We had it like that and she was down with us. We talked for a minute then I passed out again. When I woke up I decided to get in the bed, but the door to my room was locked. I knocked on the door, but Vickie didn’t answer. After a while I kicked the door in. I found her lying on the floor naked, with the pipe still in her hand.
I called 911. Ambulance came, and so did the cops. They wanted to charge me, but André took care of that.
Chapter Eight
Nick Simmons
After Vickie died it was like something snapped inside of him. You wouldn’t know it to see him or talk to him, but that was when he really earned the name, Vicious Black. The first time I really noticed it, he had called me and said, “Come scoop me up, Nick. I gotta make a run.”
Whenever he said that, we knew he was going to either collect money for Andréor hurt somebody for not paying. And you hated to see Black coming, ‘cause you knew why he was there, and it was all bad. I picked Black up and we were on our way to see an old hustler named Wilson Goode.
“So what’s up with good old Mr. Wilson?” I asked.
“He owes Andréfifty large,” Black replied.
“For what? Wilson’s a pimp. How’d Andréget his hooks into him?”
“Says Wilson came to him, wanting to borrow fifty grand. You know at twenty-five cents on the dollar Andréwas more than happy to front it to him. When he couldn’t pay, Andréput that ass to work. But he’s been playin’ Andréoff for a couple of weeks now. Cynt said that Wilson was at her spot late one night and he dropped ten grand playing poker. Said he had some young girl with him.”
“Young girl and a old man, cause of trouble since the world began,” I said laughing.
“I thought it was a two faced woman and a jealous man, that was the cause of trouble since the world began.”
“Whatever, Black.” We both laughed.
“I know the little honey he got himself hooked up with,” Black said. “She’s a fine ass bitch.”
“Can I fuck her?”
“Don’t waste your time. She thinks she is too pretty to move. Wasn’t even worth the time it took for me to get undressed.”
“I hate it when that happens.”
When we got to Wilson’s apartment I knocked on the door, but nobody answered. “I know he’s in there. I hear them talking.”
Black stepped up to the door and listened for a second or two, then he put both of his hands on the door and pushed it.
“Move back.”
Then he took a step back and kicked it in. Black stepped aside and I ran in with my gun out. Black followed me in calmly with his hands in his coat pockets. There was Wilson and two very pretty young ladies. Both of them were naked, and all Wilson had on was his underwear. On the coffee table was cocaine. Some rock and some powder and two or three pipes.
“What the fuck!” Wilson shouted. “What the fuck you mutha fuckas doing here? And my fuckin’ door! Y’all gonna fix my door.”
When Black saw the dope on the table his eyes narrowed.
“Black! You hear me talkin’ to you nigga! Black! What the fuck is goin’ on here?”
But Black didn’t answer. He just stood there
staring at the dope.
“Andrésent us,” I finally said. “He wants his money.”
“I’m a get him his money, Black. I just need a day or two to make some things happen. You tell him that.”
“You two get dressed and get outta here,” Black said to the women.
“They ain’t gotta go nowhere. Y’all ain’t gotta go nowhere. They were just about to leave.”
“I ain’t gonna say it again.” And with that, both ladies got up and went in the bedroom. “Go with them, Nick.” I did so, gladly.
While I was in there watching the ladies get dressed, I could hear Wilson yelling at Black, but Black never said a word. Once I escorted the ladies out, Black took a gun and a silencer out of his pocket.
“Search the place, Nick. Find me some money.”
Black put the silencer on the gun, but the whole time he’s staring at the table. I put on my gloves and tossed the place.
By this time, Wilson’s whole attitude had changed. Now, with the ladies gone, he was beggin’ Black to give him a couple of days to come up with the money.
“I found this under the mattress,” I said, handing Black twenty grand.
“On the real, Black, I need that money to make this thing happen. Give me ‘til tomorrow, Black. I’ll make it worth while for both of you.”
Black stood up. I started for the door thinking that Black would just take the money and be back on that ass again tomorrow. But not this time. Black raised his gun and fired two shots to Wilson’s head.
This is how it went. Andréwould send Black to collect, and Black would kill them. After awhile, Andrésent Black away before he killed everybody that sold for him. that’s when he went to the islands looking for his father.
I remember one New Years Eve, Black closed all the gambling houses, in spite of the money he knew he’d make that night, and had a party for everybody that worked for him. Which was nice, or so we all thought. The party was held at one of the house that was run by Gary Banks. Like everybody else, Banks made a pledge to Black not to sell drugs, which to Black was rule number one.
The party was wild, with plenty of food, drink, and woman naturally. Everybody was having a good time, except Black and Bobby. They, for the most part, sat at a table in the back of the room and talked quietly amongst themselves. At one point in the evening, Black walked up to me at the bar and asked, “You havin’ a good time?”
“Yeah, man, shit, havin’ a ball,” I said to a very serious looking Black. I then turned my attention back one of the women that worked at the house. I began to walk off and take her upstairs to one of the rooms, when Black grabbed me by the arm.
“Nick! Have fun, but you and Freeze don’t drink too much tonight, I got something important I want y’all to do later.”
“No problem. Drinkin’ ain’t what I got in mind right now,” I replied then went on to handle my business.
At midnight everybody got together in the main room to drink champagne and bring in the New Year. Black said a few words, and then he went and reclaimed his seat next to Bobby. About three in the morning, Wanda went around and said goodbye to everyone and Black walked her to her car. When he returned he looked at Bobby and nodded his head. Bobby got up and the two of them started goin’ around room to everybody and handed each one an envelope. After receiving it, each one quietly left the house. I called Freeze over, “Something’s about to happen,” I said.
“What you talkin’ ‘bout, Nick?”
“Check it. Everybody’s leavin’. Either Black or Bobby hands them an envelope, and then they leave.”
“I know. Black just givin’ everybody a little somethin’, you know, breakin’ them off a little change.”
“Oh, okay, cool,” I said to Freeze, but I had a feelin’ that it was more than that. He waited until Wanda was gone, which meant he planned to do something that he wanted Wanda to have no part in. Black always has been very protective of Wanda and her involvement in the business. His waiting until she was gone only meant one thing.
After a while, almost everyone was gone. All of the women, which let me know the party was over, except Cynthia. Cynt is the only woman that runs a house for Black. In fact, the only people left were the ones who ran houses and a few of the guy’s that ran numbers or did loan sharking.
Jamaica walked over to the band and sent them home. He said a few words to Bobby and left with them. Once Bobby locked the door, it was on. Black got up and walked to the front of the room. “I wanted to thank everybody for comin’ out and spending the New Year with us.”
“We gonna get a bonus too, Black?” Banks yelled out.
Black looked annoyed by the question.
“Everybody is gonna get theirs, nigga, trust me,” Bobby said.
“I’ve known everybody in this room for a long time,” Black continued. “I even like most of you. I don’t know if y’all like me or not, and to be honest, it really doesn’t matter. What does matter is that you trust me, and that I can trust you. That’s what makes us a family; trust, loyalty, and honor.”
With that Bobby began walking around the room and continued to pass out envelopes. He stopped in front of me and Freeze and handed us our envelope. “You and Freeze go stand by Mike,” Bobby whispered before moving on. We got up and walked over to where Black was standing. He motioned for us to sit down and he continued talking.
“In order for us to continue to earn a livin’, we have all chosen to live by certain rules. Rules that were put in place to insure that we can do that. Rules that each person in this room has sworn to me that they will uphold over everything else.” Black started walking around the room. “Anybody who doesn’t follow these rules puts all of us in danger. I spent a lot of time thinking about this; tryin’ to give the betrayal of these rules a name. I even went to the library and did some research on the subject.”
Even though everybody laughed, this really didn’t surprise anybody. Black going to the library, I mean. Although he basically stopped going to class when he was fifteen, Black read everything he could get his hands on.
“The word I came up with is treason. According to the American Heritage dictionary treason means, the betrayal of ones country, by aiding the enemy. It comes from the Latin word traditio, which means a handing over. But I prefer the Columbia Encyclopedia’s definition better. Treason is the legal term for various acts of disloyalty. English law originally distinguished high treason from petty treason. Petty treason was the murder of one’s lawful superior, or the murder of his master by an apprentice. High treason was a serious threat to the stability or continuity of the state. Shit like attempts to kill the king, the queen, or to wage war against the kingdom. Especially cruel methods were used in executing traitors.
“Now to avoid the abuses of the English law, treason was specifically defined in the U.S. Constitution. Article 3 of the Constitution says that treason shall consist only in waging war against the United States or in giving aid and comfort to its enemies. And that conviction may be had only on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act or on confession in open court.
“The most treasonous activity in American history was the planned surrender of the fort at West Point to the British. It was to be carried out by a general, who I’m sure all of you have heard of, named Benedict Arnold. His plan was discovered when a British soldier was captured with a document detailing the surrender. I bet most of y’all didn’t know that,” Black smiled. “I know I didn’t.”
He was right, ‘cause I sure didn’t know that shit either.
“Nick, you and Freeze get a bottle and pour everybody a drink,” Black said. Once the glasses were filled, Black raised his glass. “By the way, several men were convicted of treason in connection with the Whiskey Rebellion,” Black laughed and downed his drink. “But they were pardoned by George Washington.”
Everybody laughed with him.
Now Black was standing right in front of Banks, and Bobby was standing behind him. “I like the British laws on treason bet
ter than the American. So, I consider selling drugs to be a serious threat to the stability or continuity of this organization. All of a sudden, Bobby grabbed Banks and held his arms. Black hit him in the face, once, twice, three times, four times. “Gary Banks,” Black said and hit him again. “You’re being charged—” Black hit him again. “With treason!” and he hit Banks again.
Bobby let Banks go and he fell to the floor. “Pick him up and tie him to a chair,” Bobby commanded as Black walked away. Freeze and I followed Bobby’s order and put Banks in a chair.
“Wait a minute, Black. I swear to you, I quit dealin’, man,” Banks said in protest, as we tied him up.
Black simply said, “Freeze.” And Freeze went to work on Banks. Freeze had learned his craft directly from Black; and Freeze was brutal. Betray—Mike Black—shit, Freeze lost his mind beatin’ Banks.
Bobby stepped up to me and handed me an eyedropper. “What’s this?”
“Acid,” Bobby said quietly.
The beatin’ went on for a good five minutes while everyone in the room looked on. Some people started to leave, but Black stopped them. He wanted to be sure that everyone there saw what was happening. Banks was gonna die that night and Black wanted to be sure all of them knew why. Then Black said, “Freeze.” And with that Freeze stopped.
“I swear, man, I quit dealin’,” said a now bloody Banks.
“I knew you were gonna say that,” Black said. “And I figured that it wouldn’t be fair if I were judge, jury and executioner.” Bobby cleared his throat. “Okay, Bobby thought it wouldn’t be fair. So, you are being judged by your peers. Once you’re found guilty, Freeze and Nick will execute you.”
Bobby walked over and pulled up a chair next to Banks. “What you have here is an opportunity to admit what you did and accept the consequences.”