Still Hood

by K'wan

“Whatever,” she said, stepping into the trailer with Raheem’s eyes glued to her ass.

  Chapter 20

  “YO, THERE THAT NIGGA GO RIGHT THERE!” Charlie said excitedly, as if Sha hadn’t seen them already.

  “He ain’t got no security wit him. We need to move on his ass and smoke them pussies he walking wit!” Spider said anxiously. He was flicking the safety of his gun back and forth.

  “Hold up, y’all ain’t said nothing about killing!” Tina, who was behind the wheel, spoke up.

  “Mind ya fucking business and keep the engine running, bitch,” Spider snapped.

  “The both of y’all shut the fuck up and stop acting like some damn clowns,” Charlie quieted them. “Sha Boogie, what you trying to do?”

  Sha Boogie just stared at Jah. He took slow puffs of his cigarette and expelled the smoke before answering Charlie’s question. “Let’s ride.” With adrenaline pumping through them, the three men stepped from the car and made their way in True’s direction.

  “JAH, WHAT THE HELL IS your problem?” Yoshi asked, once they were out of earshot. Jah had led her out of the projects and over to the front of Gladys Hampton, on 131st Street and Eighth Avenue.

  “I could ask you the same, walking up to find that nigga, Stacks, groping my shorty!” Jah shot back.

  “First of all, you know how I feel about that ‘shorty’ shit, so please watch it. Second of all, wasn’t nobody groping me. Them niggaz was going to get drunk and asked if I wanted to come.”

  “And you was on your way back with them to get ya lush on, right?” Jah asked angrily.

  Yoshi took a step back and glared at Jah. “You must have a low fucking opinion of me, Jah. Unlike some of us, I don’t let business and pleasure overlap or intermingle. I’m here to do a job, not get drunk with Stacks Green and the rest of them hillbilly-ass niggaz. First you kicking the bullshit this morning, now you popping up at my job acting a fool. Jah, what the hell is wrong with you today?”

  The impulsive side of him roared for Jah to bark on her and let her know that there was still an animal lurking beneath the surface, but he resisted. Instead, he composed himself and spoke as calmly as he could. “Yoshi, I don’t mean to zone out on you like that, but I know how shit goes on these video sets. These rap niggaz be in violation, and I don’t know how I feel with you hanging around them all day.”

  “Jah, you know every time I do a video I get whoever’s starring to give you first dibs on security so we can be on set together, but you’re the one thumbing your nose at the jobs.”

  “Cause these pussy niggaz get under my skin. How many of these fake-ass thugs throw a little bread around and think they can have whatever they want? Come on, how many of these bitches have fucked Stacks or a member of his crew since they’ve been in town?”

  “And what does that have to do with me?” Jah didn’t answer, but the look on his face said a lot. “Oh, so you think I’m out there on some party-girl shit, huh? Baby, I told you that I hung that ‘China’ shit up when we got together. I can’t change what happened in the past, but I can change my mind-set and the way I go about shit.”

  Jah opened and closed his hands, trying to get them to stop shaking. “I know,” he said softly. “Its just that when I think of you maybe being with one of them other niggaz I just blank out.”

  Yoshi placed a hand against his cheek. Just feeling her skin against his quieted Jah’s beast. “Jah, for as long as you’re doing the right thing you don’t have to picture me with anybody but you. You gotta learn to trust me like I trust you.”

  “I’m trying, ma, but—”

  “But what? Jah, you know who I was when you got with me, like I knew who you were. I know at times it’s a hard pill to swallow, but we agreed we’d try. The same way you worry about me out here chasing niggaz, I wonder if you’re gonna come home at night. How many times have I sat up thinking I was gonna get that phone call telling me that you’d been killed out here? Trust is a two-way street.”

  Jah put his head down. “I’m sorry, Yoshi. Sorry for what happened earlier and sorry for being paranoid.”

  “Jah,” she draped her arms around his neck, “lets not build our relationship on apologies. We just have to do better with understanding what makes the other tick,” she kissed him tenderly on the lips. “Now, how bout I dip outta here early and we go home and have make up sex?”

  “I dig the way that sounds. Let me just tell Tech and Spooky …” Jah’s words suddenly trialed off and she could feel his heart quickening in his chest. When she went to ask him what’s wrong, she found herself thrown to the ground. Dazed, Yoshi looked up to see Jah drawing his gun.

  TRUE LED LAZY AND CHIBA through the crowd, occasionally stopping to sign an autograph or two. Lazy was a few paces behind him, talking to Chiba. Two young ladies had ran up on them and asked for autographs, not even realizing they weren’t actually a part of the group. The attention from the ladies took the sting out of the way Dena played him, but he was still tight. They had managed to make it out to the avenue through the throng of young men and women trying to get a glimpse of True. The store directly across from the video shoot only had White Owls, causing the trio to have to venture further up and away from the shoot.

  They had almost made it to 132nd Street when Chiba stopped short. Noticing that he was talking to himself, Lazy turned around and saw three men wearing bandannas around their faces making hurried steps in their direction. By the time True even realized something was about to pop off, Chiba was already in motion. Yanking the small .25 from his pocket, he began firing wildly.

  Charlie dove to the side, narrowly escaping one of the small bullets as it sparked off the ground. Sha Boogie returned fire with his 9, trying to lay True, who was now scrambling for cover. Spider noticed Jah standing off in the cut with his gun drawn and assumed he was an enemy. From a crouch, he fired two shots in Jah’s direction. Jah easily avoided the bullets, but one came dangerously close to where Yoshi was crouched, distracting him. When he turned to shout for her to take cover, a bullet grazed his neck, throwing him off balance.

  “Oh shit,” Lazy screamed, as he crawled under a car. From his vantage point he could see True and Chiba banging out with the other gunmen in the middle of the street. Chiba tried to run up on the gunman closest to him to get a better shot, momentarily moving out of Lazy’s line of vision. Lazy screamed for him to get down, but the sound of gunfire drowned out his frightened voice. Something heavy crashed into the car he had been hiding under, followed by Chiba’s body hitting the ground a few feet away. Lazy looked into his best friend’s eyes and watched in horror as the life slowly drained from them.

  “Die, niggaz!” Spider roared, firing everywhere at once. He wasn’t giving the trigger of his pistol a break, but his untrained arm hit more inanimate objects than targets. A flicker of movement caught his attention, causing him to turn and fire. There was a sound of a body hitting the ground behind one of the front pillars of the entrance to Gladys Hampton, but when Spider saw a female hand flop from behind it he knew that he had missed his target. He was about to move closer, but a wailing coming from somewhere near the lobby froze him in place.

  JAH LAY AGAINST THE WALL of the Gladys Hampton lobby, breathing like he had just run a marathon. His eyes were fixed on Yoshi, who was laying on the ground bleeding from a hole Jah couldn’t see, but he couldn’t force himself to go to her. Seeing his lover down tipped the balance between madness and sanity in his mind and Jah howled. Instead of moving to check Yoshi, he stepped from behind the pillar with his weapon at the ready.

  Spider saw Jah come into view, but there was something in the man’s eyes that made him hesitate for a second. This was all the time Jah needed to put a bullet through his head, and dump three more in his chest as he passed him. Thinking about nothing but the kill, Jah started walking towards Sha and Charlie, popping shots. People screamed and ran for cover as bullets lit the corner of 131st and Eighth, but Jah kept firing.

  Tina pulled to the curb and m
otioned for Sha to get in. Knowing when to bow out, he quickly did so. Charlie jumped out from behind a car and popped two shots at Jah. Jah acted like he hadn’t even noticed as he turned and fired on Charlie. Charlie and Sha were just thugs shooting guns; Jah was a skilled killer. The first bullet exploded Charlie’s shoulder, and he was saved from the second one when he fell behind the car. Before Jah could finish him, a car pulled up and Charlie’s remaining comrades pulled him inside and peeled off. Jah continued to fire at the car until his clip and his soul were empty.

  “JAH, GIMME THE HAMMER!” SPOOKY shook him.

  Jah blinked and looked up at his friend as if he didn’t understand what he was saying. At first he thought that the ordeal might’ve been a bad dream, but when he looked down and saw Yoshi laying unconscious in his arms he knew it was real. Her pulse was faint and she didn’t respond when he shook her. Her clothes were so bloody that he didn’t even know where to begin looking for the wound.

  “You hear me talking to you, nigga? Gimmie the fucking strap before the bulls get here!” Spooky shook him roughly. Finally realizing what was going on, he handed Spooky the gun and watched him disappear around the corner.

  “I’m sorry, baby,” he sobbed over her, and then listened as the sounds of sirens closed in on him.

  Chapter 21

  “I KEEP TELLING YOU, NIGGA, IF BALL’N WAS A sport, I’d be the fucking MVP!” Don B boasted, waving a bottle of champagne in the air, spilling a little on the group of girls who were hanging on his every word.

  “Of the season, maybe, but it definitely goes to me in the playoffs,” Stacks challenged, hoisting a bottle of Hennessy.

  “Y’all niggaz is crazy!” Cooter laughed. “Yo, hurry ya ass up, Soda. I gotta take a leak.” He banged on the bathroom door.

  “In a minute!” Soda yelled back.

  “That young boy is in there getting it in,” Stacks laughed.

  “I told y’all cats that I only deal in the finest quality of trim,” Black Ice said from his seat in the lounge chair, minus one of his girls.

  “I might have to see what that’s about, if Soda’s ass ever gets up out the pussy,” Cooter said.

  “All money down is a bet.” Black Ice stroked Cinnamon’s leg.

  The door creaked open and Dena stepped in. The hungry glares she got from the men assembled made her feel like a piece of fresh meat tossed to a bunch of starving lions. She gave a brief glance around the room and spotted her girls crammed together on the couch with some of the others. Without looking anyone in the eyes, Dena made her way over to the couch.

  “Ah, so we meet again,” Black Ice said to her slyly. “It’s a little cramped over there on the couch, but we got room for you over here.” He patted the chair.

  “I’m good,” Dena said, sitting on the arm of the chair closest to Mo. Though she tried not to look over at Black Ice, she couldn’t help it. He was fine as hell and looking like new money, decked out in shiny jewels. Though everything sensible within Dena told her Black Ice was no good, there was just something about him that she couldn’t resist.

  “So I hear you a big man in Texas?” Sharon asked Stacks in a flirtatious manor.

  “Shorty, I’m almost three hundred pounds. I’m a big man wherever I go,” he joked.

  “Being big just means there’s more of us to love,” Mo added.

  “I know that’s right, lil mama.” Stacks raised his bottle, to which Mo responded by raising her glass.

  Soda came out of the bathroom looking like he had just been in a fight, with Lisa close behind him. Her lipstick was smeared and her clothes looked ruffled, but she still marched across the trailer like she was the queen of Sheba and plopped on Black Ice’s lap. Whispering softly into his ear, she placed a small roll of bills into his jacket pocket. Dena peeped it all, but didn’t say anything.

  “Damn, Daddy, I hope you saved some for the rest of us,” Roxy said to Soda.

  “We country boys, ma. That means we go long and strong, feel me?” Cooter answered for him.

  “That’s probably cause you ain’t never ran into a thoroughbred bitch from Brooklyn,” Sugar added.

  “I know that’s right,” Mo cosigned.

  “I see the planet of Brooklyn is in here strong.” Don B moved closer to Roxy. Draping his arm around her, he tipped his bottle and refilled her cup.

  “If you don’t know, ya might find out.” Roxy hoisted her glass to toast Don B.

  “So what’s up, where the smoke at?” Sharon asked, sipping a plastic cup of straight Vodka. She was getting sauced up like she wasn’t throwing up a few hours prior.

  “You gets it in, huh?” Cooter said, giving her a seductive look.

  “All day, every day.” She matched his stare.

  “Shorty, is you even old enough to be drinking and smoking and shit?” Stacks asked, lighting a blunt of Haze Don B had rolled for him.

  “Hell yeah, I just turned eighteen the other day and a bitch is still celebrating,” Sharon lied.

  “Is that right?” Stacks was speaking to Sharon, but looking at Dena who just turned her head.

  “Fuck it, let her hit the weed,” Cooter said, disappearing into the bathroom. “Yo, it smells like straight ass in here!” he called out, causing everyone in the room to laugh. Soda just sat in the corner and blushed.

  “Shorty, you don’t talk much, do you?” Black Ice asked Dena.

  “The name is Dena, not Shorty. And I talk when someone has something noteworthy to say.”

  Black Ice smiled. “Ms. Dena, everything that comes out of my mouth is noteworthy, you just gotta listen.”

  For the next few minutes the occupants of the trailer smoked weed and drank, with everyone catching a nice buzz. Black Ice was finally able to get through to Dena to the point of making small talk. For as brash as he seemed, the man was actually quite intelligent and articulate, which surprised her. When she asked him what he did he downplayed it as being in adult entertainment, but the look she got from the girl named Cinnamon made her doubt the sincerity of it. Dena was about to probe further into his profession when Raheem poked his head in the trailer.

  “Yo, everybody stay put. Some shit just went down up the block,” he told them, while still trying to listen to his squawking radio.

  “What’s going on?” Stacks asked.

  “Somebody got shot. Is all ya peoples accounted for?” Raheem asked him.

  “All my niggaz is here,” Stacks looked around to double-check. “Don?”

  Don B looked around and it dawned on him. “Oh shit, True and Lazy are out there.” Don B bounded for the door, gun at the ready, but Raheem stopped him.

  “Hold on, my man.” He placed a hand against Don B’s chest.

  “Fuck that hold on shit, my lil brother might be hurt out there.” Don B slapped his hand away. Though the years had been kind to Don B financially, he was still a hood nigga who would let it go at the drop of a hat. Raheem knew that trying to force him to do the right thing wouldn’t work, so he tried reasoning.

  “Don B, if you go charging out there with that pistol it ain’t gonna help, cause the pigs is gonna slap them bracelets on you. My people are gonna make sure ya man gets back to you in one piece. Just let us do our job.”

  Don B continued to glare at Raheem through his shades. He had seen Raheem around the hood, so he knew he was a street cat, but he wasn’t a Dawg and couldn’t understand the bond they all shared. True was like family and there was no way he was going to trust his safety to an outsider.

  “Remo, Devil, put them fucking drinks down and go wit this nigga and check on True. If y’all niggaz was on ya job, shit like this wouldn’t happen,” he barked.

  Remo shot Don a murderous look, but Devil’s hand on his shoulder cut off whatever he was about to say. Remo wasn’t used to people speaking to him like that, even if he was on their payroll. He was a man first, and anybody that didn’t respect that got dealt with accordingly. Devil, on the other hand, was more sensitive to the issue. He and Don B had a history s
panning back to when his uncle Red was running the streets. Not only were they friends, but they hailed from the same set.

  “Don,” Devil addressed him. “I know you’re upset right now, but you need to calm down. You pay me and Remo for a service, so let us handle it. Come on, Remo.” Devil pulled him by the arm. Remo allowed Devil to lead him from the trailer, but made a note to himself to have a private conversation with the self-proclaimed Don when it was all said and done.

  “Don, you my nigga; can’t get no bigger, but you know ya boy hot and them people gonna wanna question everybody here,” Black Ice said, motioning to his ladies that it was time to boogie.

  “Do what you gotta do, Ice,” Don snapped. The anger wasn’t directed at Ice, so he didn’t take it personal.

  “My nigga.” He draped his arm around Don B and leaned in to whisper to him. “Don, I’m sure True is okay, but on another note I’m gonna put some eyes on these Texas niggaz just to make sure our investment is protected, no disrespect to you, of course.”

  The mention of money brought Don B somewhat back to himself. “I feel you, Ice, that’s why you’ll always be my nigga.”

  “Its nothing. Yo, call my phone and let me know if the 40/40 is still the order of business. If not, we can take ya boys to Shooter’s.”

  “That’s a bet.” Don B gave him a pound.

  Black Ice stopped short of the door and turned to Dena and her crew. “I suspect the police will be asking around about ID in a minute. That offer for a ride still stands.” He looked directly at Dena.

  “We good,” Sharon said, settling further into the chair, closer to where Soda was now sitting. He smelled like weed and pussy, but it didn’t seem to bother her.

  “Actually, I think we’ll take you up on that.” Dena grabbed Sharon by the hand.

  “Shorty, the party ain’t over just yet. We bout to shoot the next scene at the 40,” Cooter protested.

  “We’ll catch you down there.” Dena continued to the door, with Sharon still gripped firmly about the hand.