There Can Only Be One

by Hood Rich

  By November, I had twenty hustlers working under me, along with the Misfits. By December the twenty had doubled to forty, and I had copped five more duplexes cheaper than I’d copped them from Jeffrey. Along wit’ the heroin, I had them popping the cocaine mixed with Meth that Andrea had invented. It had the fiends going crazy just as they had on our old traps. Money was coming fast and often, at first it was kind of difficult for me to keep up with, until my sister, Kesha, convinced me to take business management classes online. It wasn’t long after that I was rocking and rolling at a fast pace. I had to conquer my trap, I didn’t know what I wanted to be at that time. I just knew that I wanted to be a Don like my father was.

  I wanted to run shit and have a bunch of men and women working under me. I wanted to control my slums, and rebuild them so that they honored me as, king. I felt that with me in control things would flow so much better. Instead, of strong-arming the businesses in my hood by forcing them to pay a certain wage every other week, I used them to help me to wash my dirty money. For every thousand that they turned over for me, I’d give them ten percent. Once the money was in their accounts it would remain there for two months. Then I’d have it wired into my swiss account that my father had set up for me.

  Another one of the stipulations was that every month they would have to take part in the monthly picnic I threw for the families in the hood. I’d have the restaurants come together and bring out some of their best dishes to Washington Park. Then me and some of my crew would barbecue for the hood, and pass out school supplies, clothes and shoes. Not that cheap shit either, I made sure my people were happy and smiling. On the fifteenth of every month, in our hood, the restaurants would have to offer each mother a free breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I would, of course, reimburse them, I guess it was my way of showing love to my mother from afar.

  I set up a team of older women, that formed a coalition that assisted single women, and struggling families with rent and groceries. We also paid for their children to attend summer programs and camp. As long as it was proven that the mothers were struggling, and trying their best to make ends meet, my group of supportive sistas stepped up to the plate and made sure they were taken care of. I didn’t like seeing women struggle in my ghetto, it hurt my heart. I also hated the sight of a dirty kid. I never could stomach that. Out of every hundred thousand that I made at least ten percent was given back to my ghetto, I made sure of that.

  Paper once again, wasn’t with my game plan. One day, in December I’d shut down and rented out the local boys and girls club that was on Burleigh and Sherman Avenue. Me and my crew took over the big Gymnasium, and downstairs. We were handing out clothes, and school supplies for the children. I was downstairs hooking up about ten, single, struggling mothers with clothes, gift cards, groceries, and even cash if I felt they needed it. I’d brought twenty thousand in cash with me and I was dead set on making sure I didn’t leave with a single buck.

  It was Christmas time and the traps had been real good to me in the last three months prior, so I wanted to give back a little. It was on my heart to do so. I’d just been handed one of the sistas bills that was standing in front of me with tears in her eyes when Paper showed up high and drunk as a sailor. He bumped a few of the women out of the way all rude like and forced his way to the table where I was and pulled on his nose.

  “What’s been good my nigga? Why you acting like you ain’t fucking wit’ me or something?” He curled his lip, and leaned his neck right, then left.

  The dark-skinned sista behind him raised her left eyebrow and looked him up and down. “Uh, excuse you, there’s a line and it starts behind me. Thank you very much.” She attempted to move him out of the way to regain her spot.

  Paper looked into her face and sucked his teeth. “Bitch, I’ll smack the taste out yo mouth if you don’t get the fuck out of my face. I ain’t soft on you hoes like this nigga, right here.”

  She lowered her head and took a step back. Picking her two-year-old daughter up and holding her in her arms. “Look, I’m sorry. He was helping me, though. Can you please hurry up, so I can finish with him?”

  Paper sucked his teeth and snickered. “Now hoes wanna fall in line and shit. Just like I thought.” He turned his back on her. “Anyway, back to you. What’s good?”

  I took a gee out of my pocket, all hundred-dollar bills. I took them, and the bill and handed it to the dark-skinned sista. “Here you go, Ma. That should cover this bill and leave you wit’ a lil’ change to buy something nice for yourself. I appreciate you.”

  Her mouth dropped open. She covered it with her hand. “But, my bill was only a hundred and sixty dollars. I thank you so much. Can I please give you a hug?” She began to make her way around the table.

  Three hittas from my crew closed in on her. I held up a hand to stop them and shook my head. “It’s good, come on. I need one, too.” I held my arms open for her.

  She stepped into my arms and held me tight while her baby remained on her hip. “Thank you so much, Rich. I’ll never forget this.” She kissed my cheeks and wiped it off with her thumb.

  As she started to leave, she kept on looking back over her shoulder at me. She mouthed the words thank you two more times.

  “Make sure you get yourself a plate and some of the other things we got going on downstairs. Be safe out there,” I hollered.

  Paper slammed his hand on the table, looking up at me. “A’ight nigga, that bitch gone. You gon’ answer my fucking question now, or what?”

  “Bruh, first you need to calm yo’ ass down. You can’t come in here with your head all up your ass. This is our people. We’re being a service to the community, right now. You can either get in line or fall back. I’ll holler at you when I’m done serving them.” I looked over his shoulder at a heavy set sista that had two kids by her feet.

  She had long, weave braids. Her roots were thick and coming undone. I knew right away that I was going to give her enough paper to get her hair done. Her children ran around her feet as if she were a light pole and they were playing ring around the Rosie. She looked stressed out, and on the verge of losing her mind. I felt sympathy for her right away. She handed me her bills, and I began to look them over.

  Paper took a step back, wiped his face with his hand, bucked his eyes and jerked his head backward. “Are you fucking kidding me, right now, Rich?”

  I saw that all of her bills added up to a lil’ more than five hundred dollars. I gave her an even stack, and a two-hundred-dollar gift card. “Sista, make sure you go downstairs and get the kids some toys. We’re also having a raffle where five people can win a shopping spree. Make sure you sign up. I got a feeling you might win.” I winked at her.

  She blushed and lowered her head. “I’ll make sure I do that, Rich. Thank you, baby.” She grabbed her children’s hands and made her way out of the gym.

  A red-boned, heavy-set chick stepped forward and handed me her bills. She had a twin stroller with a boy and girl on each side of it. They were sleeping. A four-year-old little boy held her hand, while he played with his Black Panther mask.

  “Paper, I ain’t ignoring you, bruh, but I gotta do this first. Me and you can sit down and holler in like two hours. That’s when we’ll be feeding everybody. I would love to hear what’s on your heart, man, fa real.”

  Paper sucked his teeth, nodded his head, and looked down the long line of women. “All these bitches preying on you. I can’t believe you saving these hoes.” He made a disgusted face, waved off and left the gym.

  All the females in the long line mugged him until he disappeared through the doorway. They shook their heads. The gym was noisy from all the children running around. It took me two more hours to make sure that every mother who showed up was taken care of. I wound up coming out of twenty thousand when it was all said and done. If I’d had to spend more I would have. Nothing hurt my soul worse than seeing a woman struggling to make it in the cold-cold world.

  * * *

  That night, I pulled up to, Paper�
�s crib, and rang the doorbell. His Benz was out front, so I knew he was there. I’d neglected to call first because I knew how his temper was. If he felt, I had snubbed him he was going to act as if he didn’t want to fuck wit’ me, until he calmed down. By me showing up unannounced it would force him to meet our misunderstanding head on. Behind his Benz, I noted there were four other trucks in his driveway, and two cars in front of his house. I rang the doorbell again. Seconds later, Heaven, answered it wearing a tight, Nine West skirt dress that hugged her curves.

  She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms in front of her. “What you want?”

  I looked past her shoulder into the house. I had to ignore how she was coming at me or I would have said something real disrespectful to her. After being around all those sistas that day, I just didn’t feel like calling her out of her name or bringing her down to size. I was in a serene place. I wanted to stay there, mentally. “Where the homey at? I need to holler at him for a minute.”

  She sucked her teeth and slapped her hand on her hip. "He don’t wanna talk to you. He down there handling bitness with his stick-up kids. I’ll tell him you came by.” She attempted to close the door, laughing.

  I stuck my Jordan in it, pushed it open, and grabbed a handful of her skirt dress, pushing her up against the door. “Bitch, don’t think it’s sweet because I’m trying my best to overlook your childish ass. You testing my patience, right now. Take yo’ ass in there and tell my nigga, I need to holler at him. Hurry the fuck up.” I released my hold and stepped all the way into the hallway.

  She closed the door behind me, straightened her skirt dress, and locked the door. She was about to walk off when she turned on toes and stepped into my face. Licking my chin. “Damn, Rich. You already know I’m tryna fuck in yo’ bitness. Why you be ignoring me so much? It drives me crazy.”

  I held her out of my face and turned my head. “Shawty, you, bugging. I don’t even get down like that. You fucking wit’ my nigga. You should have more respect for yourself, and him. Now go and do what the fuck I said.” I grabbed her arm and led her in that direction.

  “Get the fuck up off of me, Rich!” She yelled yanking her arm away from me. "Paper, don’t give no fuck about who I mess wit. He don’t care about nobody but himself.”

  I pointed in the direction of the back of the house. “Shawty, that’s between y’all. I ain’t fucking wit’ you on that level. That’s all there is to it.”

  Paper strolled from the back of the house with two .40 calibers in his hand and a half of mask covering the lower portion of his face. His eyes were bloodshot and glossy. They were wide open. I could tell he was high. “What the fuck going on up here?”

  Heaven ran to him, and grabbed his arm, pointing back at me. “That nigga was all over me before you came up here. Grabbing all on my ass and shit. Asking me when I’m gon’ let him hit this pussy. He got mad when I told him that it belongs to you, and only you.”

  Paper looked down on her, then over to me. “Dat,’ shit true?”

  I scoffed. “Come on now. You know better than that. When have you ever seen me push up on a woman all aggressive and shit? That ain’t even in my nature.” I mugged, Heaven with hatred, I wanted to slap the taste out of her mouth.

  Paper looked me over for a long time. He grabbed Heaven by the throat and threw her into the wall. He slapped her across the face twice, splitting her lip and bussing her nose. “Bitch, you ain’t supposed to be opening the door for nobody without consulting me anyway. That’s what the fuck I be talking about.”

  She crawled around on the carpet with blood dripping from her mouth. “I’m sorry, daddy. I didn’t mean to disobey your—" Before she could finish, Paper kicked her in the ribs so hard that she wound up on her back. He raised his house shoe and stomped her in the stomach. “Shut up, bitch!”

  She curled into a ball, after vomiting all over the carpet. Tears ran down her face and blood dripped out of her nose. Paper kneeled and grabbed a handful of her hair. He balled his fist ready to slam it into her face.

  I pulled him up. “Bruh, chill, shawty done had enough. Look at her.” I pointed down to her.

  She curled into a tighter ball, groaning in pain and holding her stomach. “I’m sorry, Paper, I’m so so sorry.”

  Paper smacked my hand away and took a step back. He cocked his foot and kicked her in the back so hard that she flipped onto her stomach, screaming in pain. “That’s my, bitch. I buy that hoe everything she wants. If I wanna kick the shit out of her I will. Matter fact.” He took one of the .40 and cocked it. Before punching her in the face he’d place the other one back into the small of his back. He pressed the barrel of his gun to her forehead. “This bitch is old news anyway. She ain’t shit but a pull me down-a hype.” He sucked his teeth and looked down on her with anger.

  “Paper, come on, bruh. She just a female. You ain’t gon’ prove shit by killing her. We need to get on to bigger and better thangs. Give her a pass.” I pleaded on her ratchet ass behalf.

  Paper shook his head. “Naw, bruh. You see, me and you different in that sense. I don’t give a fuck about these hoes, and you do. I’m tired of this bitch, pussy. The head is old news, plus I gotta a lil’ seventeen-year-old, bitch laying in the weeds. Blame this one on you. You ignored me for a bitch tonight, so she gon’ pay the price.” He lowered his eyes.

  Boom!

  Heaven’s head jumped one time as it exploded all over the gray carpet. Paper grabbed her by the ankle and drug her into the hallway where he dropped her. “Say, bruh, grab me one of them black plastic hefty bags. I’ll be in the bathroom.”

  I thought he was talking to me, but then five dudes appeared in the hallway with their shirts off. They were heavily tatted. Their eyes were just as red and bloodshot as his. One of them, a short muscular one, brushed past me and snatched Heaven up by the throat. He threw her on his shoulder and carried her into the bathroom. While another one brushed past me with a black garbage and a chainsaw in his hand. I stood there in the hallway frozen for a long time. I was thinking that Paper had officially lost his mind. He’d killed her for no good reason. Then told me that it had been my fault. I was lost and didn’t know what to do. I looked over the trail of blood that led to the bathroom and shook my head.

  Paper came out of the bathroom with a smile on his face. The chainsaw was revved up. He looked over his shoulder. “Make sure you cut that bitch into fifty pieces. Let that blood run down the drain and keep that water on cold. I’ll be back in a minute.”

  He walked past me and waved me to follow. “Come on, nigga. Me and you need to talk.” He pulled his nose as if he was jonesing for a hit.

  My mind was spinning like crazy, I bounced off the wall and followed behind him. We wound up in his den, he closed the door, and stepped in my face, looking me in the eyes. He smelled of gunpowder and copper. Traces of, Heaven’s blood was sprinkled all over his forehead and cheeks. I looked into his eyes and felt myself getting heated. I was hoping I didn’t have to kill my nigga this night.

  “You been acting real funny ever since we hit that lick wit’ yo’ old man. Fuck, you think you better than me or something?” He asked, looking me up and down.

  I moved him out of my face. “Nigga, what, cause you just offed a female I’m supposed to feel some type of way? That shit don’t hold no weight wit’ me nigga.” I flared my nostrils.

  My heart was pounding in my chest. I didn’t understand how me and Paper had got to that point of animosity that fast. But, there we were if I knew any better, I had to be on point. Them drugs were fucking wit’ his head, bad at this point. He took a .40 off of his hip and cocked it back.

  Then he stepped back into my face. “Nigga, I’ll smoke you, right here and right now. You don’t know who you playing wit’ no more. I ain’t the same Paper that you’re familiar with. He raised the gun and aimed at my face.

  Chapter 6

  I looked into the barrel of the gun, then into his eyes. The palms of my hands were sweaty. My heart was pounding so ha
rd, I could feel it in my ears. I clenched and unclenched my jaws. Sweat appeared on my forehead, sailed down the side of my face and dripped off my chin.

  “Paper, you are real high, right now. Now the number one rule of the ghetto is when you pull a gun on a nigga, especially a killer, you better pull the trigger.” I took a step forward, grabbed the barrel and pressed it to my forehead. “Bitch, nigga, if you gon’ pull the trigger, pull the muthafuckin’ trigger, or get it out of my face before I hold this transgression against you.”

  He cocked the hammer, ripped the half of mask off his face, and threw it to the ground. He grabbed the handle of the gun with two hands. ‘You ain’t my nigga no more, Rich. The money done changed you. You was my, right hand. I should blow yo’ fucking head off.” He took a step back and extended his arm.

  I was fuming by this point. I was ready for him to pull the trigger because if he didn’t, I was going to come back and kill this nigga. There was no way around it, I would not let it slide. Images of him lying in a casket started running through my mind. His face was full of holes from a shotgun blast. I was clenching my jaw so hard it felt like my teeth were going to crack.

  He held the gun for about thirty more seconds, then smiled, and dropped it to his side. “I’m just fucking wit’ you, nigga. I had to see if you still had that heart, I’m familiar with. You been acting a lil’ soft lately. That ain’t like you.” He put the gun on his waist and pulled his shirt over it.

  I cocked back and punched him right in the jaw so hard, he fell over the table and banged his head on the arm of the couch. He struggled to get to his feet before he could I was on his ass. I straddled him and rained down five blows into his face, busting his nose, and mouth. “Fuck, nigga, don’t you ever put no muthafucking gun in my face like it’s sweet! Nigga, I oughta kill yo’ bitch ass.” I snapped and backhanded him across the face.