by K'wan
“Yeah, he’s tucked away as snug as a bug in a rug,” Born said.
This caught Buda by surprise. “Tucked away? I thought you said Diamonds was going to die.”
“And he will, but the when and how ain’t our concern. Though by now I’ll bet he probably wishes he was.” Rolling laughed sinisterly.
Hearing the news that Diamonds was indeed alive made Buda dizzy. Had it not been for the table holding him up he probably would have fallen to the floor. Diamonds was the one person who could dash Buda’s plans, and him, straight to hell. “You gotta kill him. Keeping Diamonds alive puts us all at risk,” he said nervously.
“If I might interject?” Minister raised his finger. “I can understand your concerns over Diamonds. I’ve spent time in his company, and I can tell you he’s not quite like anyone I’ve ever met. But at this point he’s no longer a threat. My people are seeing to that.”
“And who are your people again?” Buda prodded. Minister ignored the question and went back to sipping his water. “Look, y’all don’t know Diamonds like I do. So long as there is breath in his body, he’s a threat. If you were smart, you’d put him down and be done with it.”
“And if you were smart you’d focus on more immediate problems,” Rolling countered. “It’s time to make a move on my brother.”
This made Buda smile. “Sounds good to me. I’ll have my people start on the reconnaissance and within a few days we should have his patterns down and figure out the best time to hit him.”
“We don’t have a few days. This has to go down tonight,” Rolling told him.
“Tonight?” Buda shook his head. “Too soon. Big Stone is a careful dude. He keeps no set routine and when he is out and about he’s surrounded by shooters. He never lets his guard down.”
“Normally everything you’re saying is true, but tonight will be different,” Rolling said. “My brother is throwing my niece a birthday celebration at his restaurant, but the party is a Trojan horse. While the kids are out front celebrating, my brother will be in the back trying to play United Nations with the power players he feels are still loyal to his cause. A few years ago Big Stone would’ve never risked bringing those kinds of men in such close proximity to his family. He feels the devil nipping at his heels and he’s getting desperate. Desperate men make costly mistakes. Big Stone has unknowingly herded all the cattle into one pen for us to come through and slaughter.”
Buda mulled over the information he had just received. Rolling’s conniving ass had laid out one hell of a plan, but there was something he was overlooking. “This shit got the potential to really hit the fan. We knock these old niggas off, their people surely gonna come gunning for us. Knocking off an enemy at a time is one thing, but trying to wipe everybody out at once is an open act of war.”
“Can’t be no war if everybody has already negotiated terms of surrender. Diamonds saw to that before his untimely retirement.” Born smirked.
“What you talking, man?” Buda was confused.
Born looked from Rolling back to Buda. “You mean you didn’t know? Me and ya boy Diamonds ain’t been cool but a minute, but in that short time I learned something about him: the muthafucka was smart. He understood that you could catch more flies with shit than you could sugar, so shit is exactly what he stirred up. Diamonds got into the ears of the disgruntled and under-appreciated number twos and threes, such as myself, and convinced us of a brighter future with us as the new number ones. How do you think he hooked into me?”
“He fixed the fucking fight!” Buda exclaimed, the pieces finally starting to come together.
Rolling clapped his hands. “Give the smart kid a cookie. Diamonds laid out the perfect plan, and had he stuck to the script I’d be about to open up the heroin pipeline instead of you. The moment I caught wind of him catching feelings for my niece I knew he had become a liability, and couldn’t risk him not doing what needed to be done when we moved to take my brother out. This is why he had to be replaced.”
For a long while all Buda could do was sit there dumbfounded. Diamonds was a man who always kept an extra ace up his sleeve, and this situation proved it. The things that troubled him were: How did Rolling and Born seem to know more about Diamonds’ master plan than his second in command? If the New Yorkers knew, it was possible that members of Diamonds’ crew had been aware too. Was Buda the odd man out? Suddenly he didn’t feel as in control as he thought when he’d first taken up the mantle of chief.
“So, what’s up, Buda? Your people gonna do this or what? We may not get another shot cleaner than this one,” Born said.
“Yeah, it’ll take some doing, but we’ll make it happen,” Buda told him. “But listen, if we do this then I’m going to need something for me.”
“Giving you everything that was promised to Diamonds isn’t enough?” Rolling asked.
Buda shrugged. “We’ll call this the icing on the cake. The minute I lay your brother out, you have to lay mine. Diamonds has to die.”
“Buda, I keep trying to tell you that I no longer speak for Diamonds’ life,” Rolling reaffirmed.
“Then you need to get word to whoever does,” Buda shot back. “My hold on the crew will never be absolute so long as he lives.”
Rolling cast a glance at Minister, whose face remained neutral. “How about we revisit this conversation when my brother is off the throne and I’m on it?”
“Then our business here is concluded.” Buda stood up from the table. “Call me later on with the time and the place and your brother is a done deal.”
* * *
“You do realize Big Slim is never going to sign off on you killing Diamonds to appease Buda,” Minister said after Buda had gone. “His beef with Diamonds goes back too far and cuts too deep for anyone to have that pleasure but him.”
“Of course I know that. I’ve found that empty promises keep dumb-ass niggas like him motivated.” Rolling laughed. “You know I can’t help but wonder what Buda would think if he knew the heroin we’re going to be hitting his crew with is being imported from the man they ripped off to start building Diamonds’ empire, Big Slim.”
“You know what they say: everything comes full cipher.” Born painted an imaginary circle with his finger.
“So you think they’ll really be able to pull this off?” Rolling asked Born.
“I’m pretty sure of it. Even without Diamonds leading them they’re still the hungriest pack of dogs I’ve ever seen.”
“Something I still don’t get,” Minister interjected. “If Buda and Diamonds were supposed to be tight, what would make him stab him in the back like this?”
Rolling’s voice was icy when he answered, “Sometimes you get tired of waiting your turn.”
PART
III
SAINTS & SINNERS
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“Can I ask you something?” Power asked from the passenger seat of Knowledge’s car. They had ben riding around for the last two hours trying to get a lead on the bandits who had killed Oscar and Pat.
“Sure, what up?” Knowledge changed lanes without signaling. They were heading south on Lenox Avenue.
“When are you gonna retire this shit?” Power asked, speaking of Knowledge’s car. It was a 1993 booger-green Acura Legend that appeared to be on its last legs.
“Ain’t shit wrong with my car,” Knowledge said defensively.
“Ain’t shit right with it either! Homie, you riding around in this got Big Stone looking bad, like he don’t take care of his people,” Power joked.
“See, that’s the difference between me and you. I don’t care about other people’s opinions,” Knowledge told him.
“Well, you should. One day you’re probably gonna be running this whole shit and appearances are important. At least pull out your Range once in a while.” Power was speaking of the truck Knowledge had purchased a year prior. It was a 2005 fully loaded Range Rover. He had spent a grip on it, but hardly drove it.
“And have every eye in the hood on me? No
thanks.”
“Then what’d you drop all that bread on it for if you ain’t gonna show it off?” Power asked.
“Because I can,” Knowledge told him flatly. In Knowledge’s position the ability to move unseen was one of his greatest assets, which is why he chose to spend most of his time driving the clunker. The Acura was an unremarkable vehicle that didn’t warrant a second look, so by the time anyone noticed him it was already too late. The only reason he had even purchased the Range Rover is because Big Stone had pressured him into it. Much like Power, he was always on Knowledge’s back about appearances and perception.
“So, you make any progress on finding these guys yet?” Power asked.
“Not a whole lot, and Big Stone is on my ass about it. In all the years I’ve been working for him this is the first time I can ever remember seeing him this rattled.”
“I can’t say that I blame him, man. The whole city is buzzing about these dudes and the shit they been putting down. Everybody is on edge thinking they’re next.”
“Yeah, all that chatter and not one solid fucking lead as to who they are.” Knowledge was frustrated. His inability to track down the bandits who were hunting New York bosses was beginning to make him question himself.
“Don’t be too hard on yourself, Knowledge. These dudes are slippery as hell, but we’ll find them,” Power assured his friend.
“We?” Knowledge gave him a questioning look. “Power, I appreciate you standing in for me and babysitting Pearl for a few hours, but I ain’t trying to pull you back into this shit. Especially after all you had to do to get out.”
Power and Knowledge had been running the streets together since they were kids. A few years prior they had gotten caught up in a sting. They were both looking at time, but Power knew Knowledge was on Big Stone’s radar and being groomed for great things, while he had nothing and no one. Power ate the charges so that Knowledge could go free. After doing his time, Power turned his life around and went straight. He had a steady job cutting hair at the barbershop and sold a little weed on the side for extra money, but outside of that he wasn’t in the game anymore.
“Dawg, I told you when you came to see me the other day that the only thing that could bring me out of retirement is a nigga trying to hurt you, and that’s exactly what these muthafuckas are trying to do. I can go back to cutting hair when this shit is over, but right now I got my brother’s back.” Power held out his fist.
“Solid.” Knowledge gave him dap. If there was no one else in the world he could depend on, he knew Power would always be in his corner. He took comfort in having his partner back with him.
They ended up getting caught at a red light on 145th and Lenox. Knowledge drummed his fingers impatiently on the wheel, waiting for it to change. As he was checking out the scenery his eyes drifted to the gaping hole that had once been Pops’s bar. The fire had destroyed the place, leaving nothing in its wake but memories of the landmark. Knowledge had had some good times in that bar and he was sorry to hear that it was gone. Looking at it also reminded him of the last conversation he’d had with Pearl on that corner.
It had been the same day they found out two of her friends were caught in the fire, and they had taken Pearl to the hospital to visit with Marissa, the friend who survived, while Big Stone and Knowledge were on another floor giving Pops the third degree. Pearl had taken the news of her friend dying pretty hard and had run off. Of course it had been up to Knowledge to track her down. He found her at the remains of the bar, talking to a dude whom Knowledge had seen before in passing. He was a country-sounding dude with long dreads and jeweled teeth. Knowledge had learned from Pearl that his name was Diamonds. She claimed that he was an old friend, but from the way Diamonds was recklessly eyeballing Knowledge over Pearl it had felt as if there was more to it than that. Thankfully their brief confrontation ended without violence, but something about the man had been nagging at Knowledge ever since. It hadn’t dawned on Knowledge at the time, but Diamonds fit a loose description that had been given by a homeless man who had witnessed Pana’s execution. Teeth that sparkled like glass, had been his exact words. Knowledge had been hoping to cross paths with Diamonds again, but he hadn’t seen a trace of him since. He’d considered asking Pearl about him, but didn’t want to raise suspicions.
“Yo, the name Diamonds mean anything to you?” Knowledge asked Power.
Power thought on it. “Doesn’t ring a bell. Is he somebody I should know?”
“Nah, I just asked because I know a lot of information passes through that barbershop you cut hair in. He’s some nobody nigga who I caught pushing up on Pearl, but something about the boy don’t feel right.”
“I always say trust your gut. If he don’t feel right then he probably isn’t. You think he’s tied up in this shit?” Power asked.
“I won’t know for sure until I do some more digging. Just the same, keep your ear to the street for me.”
“You got that. So, where we off to now?”
“To follow up on the only real lead I’ve had since this shit started.” Knowledge went on to tell him about the horn-playing girl who had been a part of Oscar’s murder.
“A bitch playing a trumpet? That ain’t something you see every day in New York,” Power pointed out.
“I know, which is why I’m hoping that makes it easier to narrow it down.”
“Any ideas on where we should start looking for this chick?”
“Not yet, but I know who can put us on the right track. Only one dude I know in the city who makes his coin off being able to read women’s minds.”
Power gave him a disbelieving look. “God, I know you ain’t suggesting we go see that powder puff? Come on, man, you know he makes me uncomfortable. I don’t like the way he looks at me.”
“Well, you can wait in the car. I need to see this dude. If anybody knows this chick, it’s him. Or at the very least he can put us in contact with somebody who does.”
“If you say so, I’m with you, but the sun is still up and you know nobody sees him until sundown, like he’s some kind of freaking vampire. What makes you think he’ll be willing to break his rule to meet with you?”
Knowledge reached into the glove compartment and pulled out an envelope. “Because I come bearing gifts.”
* * *
Hades was quickly becoming one of Spanish Harlem’s best-kept secrets. It was an after-hours spot where you could get a cheap drink as well as indulge in illicit vices. You wouldn’t know it, though, because it was well hidden. It was one of those places that everyone talked about but no one, other than those who had been inside, could verify its existence. Knowledge had been there once, but quickly found that he didn’t have the taste or the stomach for the things that went on there. Had he not been so desperate to get a lead on the girl with the horn he would’ve just as soon avoided the place altogether.
“You coming inside?” Knowledge asked Power, once he had parked the car.
Power peered out the window at the spot. “Not unless you need me to watch your back?”
“Probably not. These dudes are pretty tame unless pushed, so I should be good.” Knowledge got out of the car.
Knowledge’s entrance was announced by the ringing of the tiny bell that hung over the front door. There was an old man behind the counter, shoveling a loaf of dough into the oven. The reason Hades was so hard to find was because it was an actual functioning bakery. People came in and out of there all day long getting fresh-baked bread and pastries, but had they known what Knowledge knew they would’ve thought twice about eating anything that came out of those ovens. Bread wasn’t the only thing they baked in Hades.
Knowledge stopped and nodded to the old man in greeting.
“In the back,” the old man responded. Knowledge had called ahead, so they were expecting him.
He passed through double doors that led him into the storeroom. There were boxes lining the shelves marked FLOUR, SUGAR, and for other baking ingredients but Knowledge doubted half the labels
depicted what was actually in the boxes. The man he had come to see was a dabbler in all things, but pussy and pills were his cash cows. When he reached the door at the other end of the storeroom, Knowledge’s nose picked up on the faintest traces of liquor and sex, likely still lingering from the night before. He had just raised his hand to knock on the door when it swung open and he was confronted with something that made him cringe.
It wasn’t Knowledge’s first time meeting the doorman/bodyguard, but no matter how many times he saw him he could never get used to his appearance. He stood about six-foot-seven and was built like a truck. His large block head bobbled on his shoulders as if it were too heavy for his neck. A scar shaped like a lightning bolt stretched from his flat forehead and stopped just above his droopy eye. He bore a striking resemblance to Frankenstein, which is how he had acquired his nickname.
“Frank,” Knowledge greeted him with a curt nod.
“Sup, Knowledge?” Frank replied in a voice that sounded like an old car engine trying to turn over.
“Your boss is expecting me.”
“Yeah, he said you’d be coming by. He’s getting himself together and said I should let you in to wait.” Frank pushed the door open for Knowledge to pass through it. “If you need anything, I’ll be right outside,” he said, closing the door behind him.
They called the room an office, but it was little more than a wooden table, some chairs, and a file cabinet. Knowledge doubted that anything aside from bakery business went on in there. The fact that he was received in the office told Knowledge that his host was leery of his intentions. Knowledge would expect nothing less from a man who moved like he did. He was a friend to no one except those in his immediate circle.
Knowledge didn’t have to wait long before the door opened again and his host finally showed himself. He was a tall, athletically built man with smooth caramel skin and girlish lips. He was shirtless under his gold kimono and matching pajama pants. His processed hair was wrapped in a silk head scarf that was tied to the front Aunt Jemima–style. Pinched between his freshly manicured fingers was a thin joint off of which he took slow drags. Despite his less than masculine appearance, Christian Knight was a man you did not want to end up on the wrong side of.