Nieem gave Kalif the small plastic bag filled with Captagon pills dipped in heroin. All he asked was for the young hustler to test them out and see if he found that there was money to be made. On the way out of the restaurant, Kalif locked eyes with Ibn. Still no words passed between the two of them. Once back in his truck, Kalif stashed the pills. Before pulling off, he thought long and hard about whether he should reach back out to his father.
Chapter 19
It was a new day. The sun was shining bright. The birds were chirping, and Kalif had just awoken from some of the best sleep he’d had in what seemed like months. He didn’t know if it was because he had the entire king-size bed to himself or if it was the promise of making more money than he had the day before. After taking a piss, he cleaned himself and prepared to pray. Praying would normally take him no more than ten minutes, but Kalif spent well over an hour in deep thought and prayer.
Today he would start his fast, something all the mental professionals he’d ever seen had advised against. Kalif need to be on his medication not some days, but all days. And when taking those pills, he needed food in his stomach for them to be effective. It was no secret to most, and it was becoming more apparent to others, that Kalif was on the verge of becoming more unhinged as the weeks went by. Jada had attempted to keep him levelheaded, and now that she was gone, all bets were off. Still, Kalif kept his eye on the prize. He asked Allah to guide his hand in the next steps he would take. He asked Allah to rid his mind of impure thoughts and unholy urges. Kalif pleaded with Him to remove justifiably any persons that meant him no good or would bring him harm. Even though he was estranged from his family, he prayed for grace for them as well.
Once off the prayer rug, Kalif retrieved the bag of CDs from the nightstand. As he held the bag up, he imagined the implications of Nieem’s claims. He wondered if what he was holding would indeed get him and his boys off of craps and keep them there. After removing his cell from the charger, he called Amir. When he received a text saying that Amir was in class until eleven, Kalif then hit up Pit Boy. He asked him to get the fellas together and meet him on the block around noon. Pit Boy informed Kalif that he could consider it done.
Now that that was in motion, Kalif had to handle the next bit of business at hand. Snatching his duffel bags off the top rack of the closet, he repeated what Jada had done the day before. He placed as many of his belongings as he could into the three oversized bags. After realizing they would not be enough, he carried those to his truck and then found the housekeeper, who was making her rounds. Always happy to see Kalif, who tipped her weekly, she smiled when she saw the good-looking, generous young man approaching. Kalif asked for several garbage bags and told her that he was moving on. Although she was sad to see her favorite extended-stay resident go, she wished him well.
Once back in the room, Kalif picked up where he had left off and gathered the remainder of his items. Of course, he found some things that belonged to Jada. He could have been an asshole and simply discarded them, but that was far from his style. And doing that would bring him no great pleasure. He wasn’t mad she was gone. In fact, he was indifferent. He placed those things in a separate bag and threw that bag in the rear of his truck, with the others. When he swung by his house, which she was no doubt now staying in with her homegirls, he’d drop off the bag. After settling up with the front desk, he jumped into his vehicle.
From Sterling Heights, he drove into what would be considered the center of downtown Detroit. Kalif had to make a quick stop at the Thirty-sixth District Court. After clearing the metal detectors, he stood in line to pay a few tickets that were nearly due. When that task was completed, he pulled out of the parking lot and headed toward Metro Airport. He had nothing against Jada. And although she had never given him any reason not to trust her, Kalif felt it was wise to switch up where he was laying his head up. He knew women were emotional creatures and would put salt in the game at any time, even if they were unprovoked. When he was least thirty-eight to forty miles in the opposite direction of the old hotel, he wisely chose another hotel chain altogether. Then he paid the front desk to register him under an alias, claiming to be the stepson of one of the Pistons. Of course they obliged. Once he had all the bags transferred from his truck to room 217, he checked his cell for the time. It was almost noon.
* * *
Pit Boy was posted, as were Li’l James and Keys. Amir was on his way. Each wondered what was going on that had Kalif wanting to meet up. It had been well over a month since they’d all gotten together in one place, so this had to be about money. Or at least they hoped it was. A few minutes went by, and Amir was now waiting as well. Pit Boy checked the time as he led his dogs around the back to their kennels. By the time he had put food in all their bowls and given them water, Kalif was pulling up.
“What up, doe fellas?” Kalif called.
“What up, doe boss man? What it do?” Keys said. He was the first to give Kalif a fist pound.
After all the formal bullshit was done between the five men, it was time to put the business at hand on the floor. They all headed into Pit Boy’s basement and then stepped over dog toys and a few huge bags of dog food as they made their way over to an old oak table in the corner. Once they were all seated, Kalif pulled out the plastic bag Nieem had given him. He tossed it into the middle of the table so that all of them could see it.
“So yeah, I know traditionally we’ve always tried to stay away from pushing drugs, especially pills, to make our money. And before y’all get started, I felt the same way when the hustle was brought my way,” Kalif told them. “Everybody out here with pills and shit. But this is different. Much different. This shit gonna separate us from the rest of them lames.”
Amir reached for the bag. After opening it, he examined a few of the pills. Kalif encouraged the others to do so as well. Just as he had never seen a pill like this, they were lost too.
“Dawg, what are these?” Li’l James asked after sniffing them and holding a few up to the light.
“Yeah. What’s these markings?” Pit Boy rocked back and forth in his chair, almost falling backward.
Kalif let the suspense build up long enough. Then it was time for an explanation of the kind of pills these were. “So, y’all, take y’all phones out. Go to Google, or whatever y’all use to search with, and type in these letters. C-a-p-t-a-g-o-n. Then read. I’ma wait.”
Kalif dumped the rest of the pills out of the bag, then watched the other men. One by one, each of his crew members raised his head, with a smile and a look of astonishment on his face.
“So, um, yeah. What y’all think?” Kalif gave each of them a look. “Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Each pill is dipped in a low grade of heroin. A two-for-one high,” Kalif said, repeating what he’d been told.
After fielding question after question, Kalif asked for the general consensus about the pills. His crew members assured him that they were about to elevate their game. Even Amir, who was super hesitant about dealing drugs of any sort, was on board. Kalif reassured them that he had a solid, helluva connect, and that if he came up, they were going to come up as well. The deal right now was for them to split up the pills in the tester bag and then pass them out to people they knew who were hooked on them Percs and any other pills. Those addicts would be their targets. If they liked the crazy, courageous, and addictive high that the articles the crew had all read promised, then securing more bags would be forthcoming. The pill underworld game and the city would soon belong to them.
As they dispersed to put the product in the streets, Pit Boy pulled Kalif to the side. He told him that Jewels had come on the block the night prior, trying to be slick. “Yeah dawg, I don’t know what’s going on with you and ole girl, but her cousin was trying to pump a nigga for information.”
“Oh yeah?” Kalif shook his head and ran his hand across his face, glad he had switched rooms.
“Yeah, but you already know me. Even if I knew shit, number one, it ain’t none of my business. And number two, it
ain’t none of my business to tell. So instead of getting what she called herself coming for, I sent the bitch back with her mouth tasting like my dick and nuts.”
Both of them laughed, but Kalif still didn’t speak about Jada. As far as he was concerned, the only thing on his mind was getting on with Nieem. Anything else was and would be a distraction.
Chapter 20
Investment was the word of the day. Kalif had set his crew in motion in one of his ventures, and now he had to deal with the other. He made a few calls and told all the workmen who were not already at one of his houses to meet him there. With the possibility of lots of money on the horizon, it was time to pick up the pace of this project, complete it, and then move on to the next one. The basement bathroom at this house needed to be completed, as well as the rear deck and patio. And Kalif wanted a new two-car garage built, but that would be later on down the line, just in case he decided to keep the house and not flip it as he and Ibn had originally planned.
When he arrived at the two-story brick dwelling off of Dexter, Kalif was elated to see that the front landscaping was finished and the left portion of the roof had new shingles. After he pointed out this and that, the numerous workers had a clear understanding of what was expected of them and the time frame they had to get it done. He assured them that bonuses were possible if they came in before the deadline.
Kalif took notice of not only nosy-ass Jewels’s car in the driveway but Jada’s as well, which reminded him of something. After popping his car’s rear hatch, Kalif grabbed the plastic bag that contained her things. Using the key, he let himself inside the house. He was placing the bag on the dining-room table when he overheard voices upstairs. Without saying a word, he went back out just as quickly as he’d come in. Kalif’s business there was done. He jumped back in his truck and drove off, hoping to make afternoon prayers at the Wayne State mosque.
* * *
As she stared out the top window and watched Kalif drive off, Jada’s heart broke a little bit more. Not only had it been over twenty-four hours since she vacated the hotel room, and he’d not called or texted her once to check on her, but now he had just been here at the house and had not said a word to her. She knew full well that he’d seen her car parked up in the driveway. She couldn’t believe it. This had to be some sort of bad dream.
When she’d seen him pull up, she had automatically assumed he was coming to beg her to come back. Snatching the bonnet, the one that he used to complain about so much, off her head, Jada had run to check herself out in the mirror. The workmen there had talked to Kalif, and she hadn’t been able to make out what they were saying. But she’d known when the voices stopped. She heard someone unlock the dead bolt on the black steel security gate. Jada ran to the other side of the bedroom, sat on the edge of the bed, and pretended she was looking through her cell. She waited for Kalif to call out her name, but he didn’t. She stared at the door, waiting for it to swing open, but it didn’t. Jada was dumbfounded about what was taking him so long to make himself known. She tiptoed to the window, not wanting him to hear her footsteps on the wooden floorboards. When she got there, she was amazed, pissed, and salty. Kalif was getting back in his truck. And a minute later he drove away. Her feet seemed to be stuck to the floor. Her legs felt wobbly, and her mouth dry. He was really gone. He really didn’t give a fuck about her. Jada wanted to scream and shout. She wanted to tear something up. Instead, she threw herself on the bed and cried until she could cry no more.
Jewels and TayTay wanted to stay out of it. TayTay was an emotional wreck herself and was much too weak minded to help the next person. And her cousin had tried to gather intel the night before and had ended up with nothing but a sore throat to show for all her efforts. The rest of the crew members were off doing their own thing and were barely there anyway. After figuring out that she had to be her own support system, Jada finally stopped the tears.
Nursing a headache, she took a few Motrin and turned on the shower. Making sure the water was as hot as she could possibly stand it, she stripped down, stepped inside the shower stall, and stood underneath the three-nozzle showerhead. She stayed in there until the water turned cool, but her mind still wasn’t right. She could not fathom how, after all the time she had spent on Kalif and all the devotion she had shown him, he didn’t have it in him to at least ask why she’d left. That arrogant-ass, crazy lunatic. He ain’t shit! All he cares about is fixing these low-budget hood houses. I should burn this bitch to the ground! Part of her wanted to call him and curse him smooth the fuck out. But Jada fought her own emotions so that she could refrain from doing that. She had to have some pride left if she wanted to look herself in the mirror.
Distraught, she had to do something to make herself feel better. With her hair still damp and with no makeup on, she threw on a baseball cap and a tracksuit. Without a second thought, she decided to go to the mall and actually buy something extravagant instead of stealing it. Whenever Kalif had needed some extra money for whatever, she’d given it to him. This time she’d jack her funds off on herself and herself alone. Not saying a word to Jewels or TayTay, she left the house. When the workmen tried speaking to her, out of character, Jada ignored them and walked straight to her car.
With nothing in particular in mind to purchase, Jada slowly strolled through the mall. She stopped to get a few chocolate chip cookies and munched on them while window-shopping. Still upset, from time to time she had to fight back the tears, but she tried to remain strong. Having just finished off her second cookie, she heard her name being called. Looking over to the other side of the mall, Jada thought she had to be dreaming or having a nightmare. Before she could really focus, the girl said her name once more and this time headed in Jada’s direction. Surrounded by a group of her friends, the girl greeted her. “Hello, Jada. I thought that was you. It’s me, Stacy, Hakim’s girlfriend. Remember? I’m out here looking for a prom dress for our big day. What about you?”
Oh my fucking God! Not this troublemaker. Not now, of all times. Jada was stunned. She’d seen the young girl only briefly, so how Stacy could remember her name right off the bat or even place her face was beyond her. “Yeah, I remember who you are.” Jada had to force herself to speak. The last time she’d seen the girl, she’d wanted to slap her face, and not much had changed. The headache Jada thought the Motrin had cured was back, and this time it was twice as painful. I swear I hate this li’l bitch. I don’t see why Kalif was all in your face anyway. Look at you, trying to be all like you white or some shit. Talking all proper.
“Sis, you look so different, I barely recognized you. I can call you sis, right? I mean, after all things considered, huh?” Stacy had a huge smile on her face, which showed her braces. “And I hope y’all can make it to our prom send-off.”
Good ho. I ain’t here for your man-stealing ass to recognize. And fuck you, Hakim, and that funky prom! I hope somebody Carrie your ass! The normally high-profile diva caught a glimpse of her reflection in one of the store windows. She was so depressed from what Kalif had done earlier that she looked a hot mess and hadn’t even realized it. A far cry from how she had been put together the afternoon they met. Jada wanted to fade into the darkness. “Yeah, well, I gotta go. I was just running in here to get something real quick.”
“What? Some cookies?” one of Stacy’s friends interjected smartly, trying to be funny.
While the other girls in the small group giggled, Stacy did not. “Y’all shut up. Jada, I’m sorry about that. It’s just that you have some crumbs on your shirt and a small bit of chocolate or something on your front tooth.”
Jada looked down. Stacy was right. She did have cookie crumbs on her shirt. After brushing them off, she used her tongue to clean off her teeth, hopefully. Watching her do all that, the young girls giggled once more at her expense. However, this time Jada was not having it. This time she got enraged and ready to fight.
“You know what? Y’all some rude little bitches!” she barked.
Dressed preppy like S
tacy, each girl turned her nose up at Jada, as if she was no more than filth. Something in her snapped. It was like they were all Kalif five times over, saying she was not good enough to be with him. Stacy tried again to be the peacemaker and diffuse the situation, but for Jada, this only made matters worse. It reminded her that Stacy was the real reason that she wasn’t with Kalif anymore, and that she was out here in public, looking crazy.
“Look, we gonna go,” Stacy told her. “Tell Kalif I said hello and I hope I will see him . . . oh, and of course you real soon. Take care.” Stacy rushed her friends away before Jada had a chance to respond.
No, this little bitch didn’t just tell me to tell my man hello. Who in the fuck do she think she is? Her and her stanking friends standing around, making fun of me, like I’m the joke. I knew I hated that ho off rip. If Kalif wasn’t all up in that bitch face and her in his, shit would still be the same. She fucked up my entire life and future. No little Miss Perfect out here bragging about some dumb-ass prom. Shit! We’ll see if she even make it to that stupid shit! If my life gotta be fucked up, hers gonna be too! I’m done getting fucked over!
Jada snapped. Her mind was gone. She had needed help for some time now, but she had never sought it out. While she had been so busy helping Kalif with his mental health, she’d failed to maintain hers. Being paranoid was a condition both Jada and Kalif suffered from. And now it was rearing its ugly head. An emotional wreck, she was focused on revenge for something that she imagined took place. When her cell rang several times, Jada didn’t even bother to see who was calling. She was busy, on a mission.
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