Down by Law

by Ni-Ni Simone

  “You don’ know if he coppin’ or not,” Yvette snapped. “He might just be saying hi to Face.”

  “And what you taking up for Flip for?” I asked. “I knooooow you not checkin’ for him.”

  “No. I’m not. I’m just saying y’all need to stop doggin’ him.”

  Me and Munch jerked our necks back and looked at Yvette like she stank; then we each flicked our wrists and waved our hands. “He’s a fiend,” we said simultaneously.

  “Whatever,” Yvette snapped. “Let’s get back to planning our double wedding.”

  “I’m marrying Ralph Tresvant.” Cali snapped her fingers. “Yes! What! Don’t play me.”

  We all fell out laughing, and just as I was about to confess my love for Ke’Ron Green, Face stepped over to us, winked his eye at my friends, then looked at me. “I need to holler at you for a minute, lil sis.”

  I frowned. “Can’t you wait until I get home later? You see I’m kickin’ it with my friends. You see this.”

  Face chuckled, but not a funny chuckle, an edgy one that let me know he was serious. “I said I need to holler atchu real quick.”

  I sucked my teeth as I raised up off the park bench and jumped to the ground. I looked back at my girls and said, “Give me a minute.”

  Me and Face walked for two blocks before I finally said, “Ummm . . . helloooooo . . . I know you didn’t stop me and my friends from kickin’ it to come and take a stroll with you. You could’ve called one of your skeezers for this.”

  Face frowned as we made a left turn into Eighteenth Avenue School’s playground. We hopped up on the short brick wall and sat down. “What’s up with you?” I pressed. “’Cause I don’t have much time. I got a wedding to plan.”

  “A weddin’?” He flicked his wrist, like what I said was ridiculous. “Look, ever since you told me about them dudes trying to move in on me I’ve been trying to decide if you were a big enough girl to chill with me or not. Move up to the major leagues.”

  I looked up at him out the corner of my eyes. “Major leagues?”

  “Yeah, major leagues.”

  “And what you want me do? Cuss out another chick for you? What? Go to her house this time? Face, did you beat up another broad? Didn’t Queenie tell you about your hands?”

  “See, it ain’t even nothin’ like that.”

  “Then what is it? Don’t tell me somebody else is pregnant? Why is you exploding in everybody? You nasty. And Queenie and Daddy both told you to use condoms.”

  “Yo, would you chill?”

  “I’m chilled.” I paused. “What, you want me to hold your stash for you?”

  “Are you gon’ let me talk?”

  “I wish you would, ’cause I’m tired of sitting here wondering what you want. Talk.”

  “I want you to come ride out with me and assist me on this drop.”

  A drop? My eyes scanned his face. He was serious. I did all I could to not grin. But I couldn’t help it. My smile was lit from ear to ear. No matter how many times I begged him, Face never let me ride out with him before. The most he would let me do was handle his irrelevant chicks by cussing them out. Or take me out to the vacant lot and teach me how to squeeze off a round or two. But that was it. No drops. No licks. And no hits. Until now.

  I wanted to scream out, “Yes!” Then jump up and moonwalk across the brick ledge. But I didn’t. I played it cool. After all he was checkin’ for me. I didn’t come looking for him. “I don’t know if I need to do that,” I said, leaning back, reaching in my side jeans pocket and taking out a candy cigarette.

  “What?” He frowned and then laughed. “Stop playin’, son.”

  “Word to the mother, I’m not playing.” I took a chalky pull and blew a puff of powdery smoke into the air. “All the times I asked you to let me ride and you played me for your boy K-Rock.”

  “K-Rock is my homie.”

  “Well, then ride out with him. I’m good.” I crossed my legs and stuffed the rest of the cigarette into my mouth, turning the chalky stick into stiff gum.

  “He’s already on the drop. And he agreed that you should ride out with us. You would be our element of surprise.”

  My eyes grew wide and my heart thundered in my chest. K-Rock did what? I almost drooled. “Oh really.” I mustered up a fake frown.

  “Yeah. Plus you ready. You handled your business the other day without hesitation so I think you can handle this.”

  “You think so?” I nodded. “A’ight, so what you want me to do?”

  7

  You be illin’

  At 11:47 PM, Face looked at me for the third time and said, “You sure you ready? ’Cause, word is bond, you cannot be freezin’ up. You said you wanted to be a big girl so I need you to be about this big money.”

  Me and Face was in the cut, parked in a small alleyway. We sat in his black Monte Carlo, with the lights off, and I promise you I wanted to take my fist and throat bust ’im. Make ’im cough his tonsils up. And yeah, I was scared as heck. It was one thing to imagine what a drop would be like, but it was a whole other level to be about it in real life.

  However.

  I didn’t need Face sweating me like this. I needed him to hype me up. Make me feel like I was that chick. Instead, he made my stomach queasy, like I had diarrhea.

  Sweat bubbled on my nose and brow. I wiped it with the back of my hand, then turned and looked straight at Face. “First of all, I don’t like how you comin’ at me, all wild and crazy, like you doubtin’ me. And second of all, if you didn’t trust me then you should’ve left me at home. ’Cause me and Yvette got a bag of weed to smoke. And I got school tomorrow. Now either you wanna do this or you don’t. ’Cause you gotcha boy up the street.”

  I pointed through the windshield at K-Rock, who’d just stepped outta his car and was kickin’ it with one of the Down South dudes who’d moved in on Face’s block. “And he’s all ready for the kill. But you sittin’ here and sweatin’ me like you on your period. You need a maxi pad or somethin’?”

  “I don’t know who you think you talking to, but I ain’t Schooly. So you better watch yo’ mouth and chill wit’ all that. I’m just making sure you know that once we get outta this car, that this not a game.”

  I swallowed the nerves I felt tingling my throat and twisted my lips. “Yo, look, is you ready?”

  “I’m ready.”

  I tossed Face his ski mask and slid mine over my face and neck. “Well, let’s go get ’em.”

  We eased out the car and tipped a few steps down the block. I was doing my best not to give in to the nerves dancing around in my stomach. I squeezed my inner thighs tightly, as we walked up behind ’em. There were three dudes, including K-Rock, chopping it up and handling business. K-Rock was to pretend that he was buying the pounds of weed and that he was just as surprised as the other dudes when we snuck up behind them.

  Click-click! Pop-pop!

  Face bust two shots in the air and er’body froze.

  “ER’BODY HIT THE GROUND! FACE DOWN!” Face yelled and they all hit the concrete.

  “Ice,” Face spat quickly. “Run the car real quick. Check the glove compartment. Under the seats, the sides of the doors, and the trunk. Take everything you see!”

  The car was a silver Audi 5000, kitted up. Truthfully, we should’ve just taken the car, stripped it, and taken it to the chop shop, but obviously Face didn’t think of that. And there was no time to toss a monkey wrench in the plan, so I did as I was told. In the glove compartment was a nine and a thirty-eight. Under the seats was pounds of weed and two more guns. And in the trunk was two pots of gold at the end of the rainbow: one duffel bag full of money, mostly hundred-dollar bills. And another duffel bag filled with raw dope.

  Cha-ching!

  When I hopped out the car, I saw one of the dudes on the ground inching his hand around toward his boot. I rushed over to him, kicked away his hand, then kicked him in his side. “Word is bond, you ’bout to have two choices: this three-fifty-seven to the dome or this forty
-five in your throat!”

  Click-click! Face readied the gun.

  I carried on, “Now try some sucker shit again and see don’t yo’ mama be dressed in all black.” I snatched a twenty-two from the side of his shoe.

  I looked up at Face and could tell by the way his eyes shined that beneath his ski mask he was grinnin’. “Hurry up. Run they pockets!” he spat.

  I hit up all of their pockets, including K-Rock, ’cause I had to make it seem like he wasn’t a part of the plan.

  I snatched wads of money, baggies filled with vials of crack, and two more guns. Afterwards, I made them take off every stitch of jewelry they had on: gold watches, gold chains, and rings. “And spit out them grills too!” I said and out came two diamond-clustered grills on the ground. I tossed everything into the duffel bag.

  A few seconds later, we were back in the car. We tossed the ski masks into the street, and sped off into the distance.

  I swear I’d never felt no high like this before. I felt like I was . . . on top of the world. Walking on clouds. Like I was in Oz. I couldn’t believe I’d just pulled that off. Truth be told, I wanted to go again. My heart thundered in my chest and although I wanted to ask Face how he thought I was, I couldn’t stop smiling long enough to speak.

  When we got back to Da Bricks, K-Rock was waiting for us in our building. We didn’t make no eye contact with him; instead, we were silent, and walked quietly to our apartment.

  Marvin Gaye’s “Sexual Healing” serenaded us as we walked into the living room. Daddy was holding Queenie’s hand and leading her to their bedroom, leaving the turntable spinning.

  Me and K-Rock followed Face into he and Schooly’s room. Schooly was sleeping or at least pretending that he was.

  Face flicked the light on, and just as he started grinning at me, K-Rock gave me a hug so tight that I didn’t ever want him to let me go.

  God, he smelled delicious.

  I wrapped my arms around him and sank my head into his hard chest.

  I wonder if he have a six- or an eight-pack.

  “Yooooooooo, Icy, you be illin’!” K-Rock smiled.

  Icy? Did he just call me Icy? That is soooooo hot. . . . I think I wanna change my name.

  “Word is bond, you the illest lil sis in the world.”

  Illest lil sis . . . ? I dropped my arms, held my head up, and stepped out of his embrace.

  “Word up,” Face said. “You did that. I was so proud of you, I ain’t know what to do. I got another drop I’ma need you to hit up with me! Straight up.”

  Face yanked one of the duffel bags from the floor, while K-Rock picked up the other.

  I stood there, tapping my foot, as K-Rock and Face divvied up the goods. I was getting pissed by the moment, but instead of spazzing out I simply said, “Y’all tryna play me or somethin’?”

  They both turned and looked at me. Even Schooly quickly opened his eyes and then closed them back.

  Face and K-Rock looked surprised. “Nah, Icy,” K-Rock said. “Wassup?”

  “First of all Ke’Ron, my name is not Icy. It’s Isis. And what you mean, wassup? Wassup?” I frowned. “You know what time it is!” I held my hand out.

  “Oh my bad,” Face said. “Let me hit you off real quick.” He handed me a fifty-dollar bill, a gold chain, and a ring.

  Oh. Hell. No. He didn’t.

  And just when I didn’t think it could get worse, K-Rock handed me a gold watch and said, “I thought about keeping this for myself, but here you go, Icy.”

  I slid the money in my pocket, but everything else I tossed alongside of Schooly. “I know you not asleep, Schooly. And you can have all that.” Schooly opened his eyes long enough to sweep his new jewelry collection under his pillow and then he turned toward the wall and closed his eyes again.

  I lifted a nine and thirty-eight from the dresser. I didn’t know if the guns had bullets in them or not, but I still pointed ’em anyway. “The way I see it, just like I told them soft mothersuckers tonight. You got two choices. This nine or this thirty-eight ’cause one thing y’all not about to do is play me out. I was an equal part of the drop and I want some of that money. Now y’all fools can have the dope and the weed, but that money, I need at least twenty bills outta there. Period.”

  Face frowned. “Yo, you buggin’. Put them guns down.”

  K-Rock smiled at me and I hated that all I could think about was how beautiful his teeth were.

  “I ain’t puttin’ nothin’ down, until you put my money up. You got at least a hundred grand in that bag. Now don’t let me get Queenie in here ’cause you already know she’ll keep all the dope, the weed, and take half ya money just on G.P. Now try me. I said twenty bills, but since you have pissed me off even more. I need twenty-one.”

  They laughed.

  “You think this is funny?” I knocked the safety off the guns. “And you think I’ma put back on my ski mask? And this is how you handle your business? Oh, you dead wrong. And K-Rock, don’t let Face supe you up. ’Cause Face already know how I gets down.”

  “You trippin’.” Face shook his head.

  “No, you trippin’. Now cough it up.”

  I watched them count out twenty one-hundred-dollar bills. “Now hand them to Schooly.”

  Schooly turned over and sat up. Face handed him the money.

  I put the safety back on the guns and set them on the dresser. I took all but three bills from Schooly. “You can have that.”

  Then I turned back to Face and K-Rock. “Nice doing business with you.” I pointed to the rest of the goods. “Now back to your regularly scheduled program. Nah mean.” I hit ’em off with a smile. Walked back to my room, tossed the money on the bed, and giggled as I stretched my arms out and landed on it.

  8

  Sucker MCs

  “ISIS, THE POLICE HERE!”

  “Whatchu talkin’ ’bout, Willis?” poured from the TV as Schooly flung my room door open, freakin’ out. Tears a blink away from fallin’ from his eyes.

  I was in the middle of getting dressed for school when my heart fell through the floor.

  I pulled Schooly into my room and pushed the door closed. Drew in a breath. And held it. Until it kicked its way outta my mouth.

  The cops.

  I wanted to die. Right now. Right here. I couldn’t believe it.

  “Where is Daddy and Queenie?”

  He hunched his shoulders. “They ain’t here. And I’m scared. What you and Face do last night?” Schooly’s eyes wildly combed me from head to toe.

  Sweat bubbled across my brow, my nose, and my palms felt clammy. I whispered, “We did a lick, that’s it. Some dudes was tryna move in on Face’s turf. And we handled ’em.”

  “They still breathin’?”

  “Yeah, they breathin’. Unless somebody else sent the grim reaper. But we didn’t.”

  “You sure?”

  I hesitated. “Wait. What? I know you don’t think they here for me?! Do you?!”

  Schooly shook his head. “No. I don’t think they here just for you. I think they here for you and Face.”

  “Don’t be sayin’ that!”

  “Well, that’s what I think.”

  My stomach was balled into a knot that grew tighter by the moment. “Face here?”

  “Yep. He’s in our room asleep.”

  “We gotta wake him up!”

  I placed my hand on the knob, but before I could twist it, “POLICE OPEN UP!” blared from the other side.

  “Schooly.” My eyes bugged and my breathing was heavy. “Why they sound so close? Did they knock the door down?!”

  “No! Not this time. Last time I got hit upside the head when the door flew off the hinges. I wasn’t gon’ let that happen again, so I opened the door for ’em. They standing in the living room.”

  “The living room?!” My stomach bubbled and dropped to my feet. “You let them in this house and yo’ behind just had me confess?! What, you workin’ wit’ five-oh? They gotchu wired or somethin’?!” I mushed him on the si
de of his head and an ever-ready stream of pee split in two and zipped down both of my legs. I squeezed my inner thighs to hold back what I could. But, I knew at any moment that Schooly and I would both be standing in a puddle of piss.

  I placed my palms on the sides of my temples and squeezed.

  Think . . . think... think...

  When I couldn’t get a thought through I looked around my room from the faded white walls covered with smeared fingerprints and hip-hop posters, to my twin-sized bed, my wicker throne chair, the single dresser wit’ the lopsided drawers and the clothes bursting from the top.

  There was nowhere to hide in here.

  The closet.

  No. Queenie said don’t ever hide in the closet. Pigs always look for you there.

  The window.

  We’re on the third floor. I could jump.

  I ran over to the window. There was no way I could get through the black iron security bars and even if I could, the cops had the courtyard blocked and their blaring blue lights lit up the morning sky.

  “I can’t go to jail!” Tears filled my eyes and I felt like taking my fist and pounding Schooly in his slow head with it. I promise you, even though he went to a special school, I never believed he was all-the-way retarded, until now. “Ugggggggggg! What the heck is wrong with you?! You not stupid. You a lil slow, but you not stupid. You don’t open no door for no freakin’ cops. Whyyyyyyyy would you do that?!”

  “OPEN UP! AND COME OUT WITCHA HANDS UP!” The police hammered against my bedroom door and I knew from the last time they rammed the front door down and dragged Daddy out, that it was only a matter of seconds before they’d be doing the same thing to me.

  Before I could decide what to do, “FREEZE! GET ON THE FLOOR AND PUT YOUR ARMS WHERE WE CAN SEE ’EM!” filled the room and the familiar sounds of shufflin’ police boots muddied the air. Me and Schooly both hit the deck. I held both of my arms out. And Schooly did his best.

  One of the officers walked over and stared down at us. “Get up! And turn around. Slowly.”

  We did. And faced a room full of at least ten cops in dark blue uniforms and guns drawn. “Put your guns away,” the lead officer demanded.