King

by Johnson, Tremayne

  The last one is Trigga. Trigga is six feet tall with skin the color of night and a shiny baldhead. He has a missing tooth in the front of his mouth and a chip on his shoulder. Trigga wears a permanent ice grill that could burn a hole through a rock. He's a firearm specialist who once served in the army, but was discharged for reasons nobody knows.

  This is Rahmeek's crew and they're known in the streets as the BMC – (Brownsville Murder Click). It didn't matter what these dudes did in the hood, there were never any witnesses that came forth against them.

  I assembled my team of shooters and let them know all about the plans I had for them. I didn't have to reveal my true intentions because as long as they knew that we were getting some money it didn't matter who or what we were robbing.

  We started out in Jersey. One of our first hits was Prince and Zabu's spot in Plainfield. It's a bodega on the main strip near the projects run by a couple Spanish guys.

  We knew they had the work stashed in the bathroom in a safe that was built into the wall. Wisdom, Rahmeek, and I went in while Trigga and Hammers stayed in the car on the lookout.

  As soon as the door shut we made it clear what we were there for.

  Rahmeek grabbed the female customer who stood at the counter and shoved the barrel of his nine-millimeter to her head. ''Papi,'' he said, looking at the store clerk, ''do me a favor and act like you know what the fuck this is!'' He said, calmly.

  Papi's eyes swelled when he realized what was happening. He reached for something behind the counter and Rahmeek let his hammer fly quickly dumping a searing slug through his cranium. The left side of his brain flew out the gaping hole on the side of his head and splattered the plastic partition that held the cigarettes. His overweight body fell over the counter and blood leaked from his mouth.

  We then made our way to the back room. Rahmeek held the young lady in front of himself like a shield. I kicked open the wooden door and two shots whizzed by my head. I instantly took cover along the wall and fired three rounds into the room, missing the targets. Rahmeek stepped through the door shooting recklessly cutting down the two men inside. He tossed the young lady to the ground and put a bullet between her eyes, execution style.

  After we searched the entire store, we found the hidden bathroom with the wall that housed the safe, took the contents, and fled the scene in a hurry. All together we came away with two hundred fifty thousand in cash and two kilo's of heroin. I let the BMC split the money up between the four of them and I kept the drugs.

  We did the same thing at all the other spots Prince and Zabu controlled on the east coast. For a month straight we were hitting their stash huts making it look as if it were Reemo and his team.

  We ran into a slight problem when we hit one of their drug houses in PA. This time Rahmeek and Wisdom waited outside while me, Trigga, and Hammers went in. Unfortunately Trigga never made it out. Some trigger-happy bitch caught him off guard and filled his torso with numerous hollow point bullets. We had to leave him there because the situation got ugly real fast. I felt sorry for him, but that's part of the game we play. He was one less man they had to worry about splitting the money with.

  After we ran through most of Prince and Zabu's drug quarters we started on Reemo's spots. Reemo's stash spots and drug houses were a little easier to take control of because he kept a bunch of young dudes running them. Most of the time, we didn't even have to kill anyone. We just shot a few niggas, ducked taped a couple of bitches and everyone got the point.

  After every hit, we made sure they thought it was the Africans who did it to them.

  The cards had been dealt and all I had to do was sit back and examine how these niggas played the game.

  Chapter Sixteen

  My King stamp got the streets in a chokehold. I have to admit, the Africans definitely have the best dope on the coast. There are a few other stamps circulating the streets, but none come close to King.

  The word was out and Reemo was losing a lot of money over some beef he didn't even know he had. He sent a message through one of his people that we needed to sit down and talk. I knew exactly what he wanted to talk about.

  We met up one afternoon at a lounge in Harlem. I brought along Rahmeek and Wisdom just incase things got out of hand. We sat at a table in the rear of the lounge waiting for Reemo to arrive. When he came in the waitress showed him to the back.

  ''Reemo, what's good?'' I asked, sipping from my glass of Hennesy.

  ''King, this shit is gettin' out of hand. I didn't know these fuckin' Africans was rollin' like this. They hit all my spots. These niggas are fuckin' my bread up King...I need some more info on these dudes.'' He said, frantically as he rocked back and forth in his chair.

  I studied Reemo's demeanor and his body language, he didn't seem like the fed type to me, but I still wasn't going to reveal my hand. I had to be cautious.

  ''Reemo, I gave you all the info I had on them. What else do you suggest I do?''

  ''I mean damn, King...you seem kinda calm for a muthafucka to be in the middle of a got damn war!''

  ''Reemo, I been taking losses just like you have. The sooner we eliminate these bastards the faster we can start to get our paper rolling again.'' I tried hard to convince him that I was in the same boat he was in.

  ''I jus' don't see how you do it King.'' He said, shaking his head.

  We had one last drink together and he got up and left.

  ''King, you need to let me handle that bitchassnigga!'' Wisdom said, watching Reemo leave out the lounge. The look on his face said it all.

  ''Nah,'' I said, nodding my head. ''I got it taken care of.''

  I got a call from Malikah later on that night and she told me that she was staying at a hotel in Connecticut and asked if I could come by. I didn't sense any danger in her voice, so I went ahead and drove up there to see her.

  When I got to the hotel I saw her car parked in the parking lot. I went around to the back to check and see if anything fishy was going on. Everything seemed ok to me so I called her and told her that I was downstairs. She gave me the room number and I went up.

  Malikah greeted me at the door and tried to give me a kiss, but I brushed her off.

  ''You don't want my kisses anymore?'' She asked, walking to the back of the room.

  ''Malikah, I'm going to ask you a question and I would assume that you would give me a truthful answer.'' I said, taking a seat in the wooden chair next to the bed. She looked at me waiting for the question. ''Are you married to Prince?''

  Her eyes squinted and she pulled a cigarette from her purse.

  ''Yes, I am married to him, and?''

  ''So, why didn't you tell me this before, Malikah?''

  ''What's the difference, King? Are you trying to say that you would have never gotten involved with me if I told you we were married?'' She asked.

  ''I don't know Malikah, but I think you should have been honest and up front with me. Why don't you wear a ring?''

  ''It's not about material things with him and I. It's deeper than that.''

  ''How deep?'' I questioned.

  ''In short, Prince basically rescued me from a dramatically abusive relationship with my father.''

  ''So what's this secret you've been keeping from him for so long?''

  ''When Prince and I first got together I became pregnant with his child, but at seven months I lost the baby. A while back when I was younger, doctors told me that I would never be able to bear children due to the extensive damage done to my uterus after my father continuously raped me, but I never told Prince this information.'' She said, smoking on the cigarette. ''Prince always stressed to me how he wanted kids and I always told him that I would carry his seed. He recently found out that I had been lying to him all this time after he went through some of my medical documents. That's why we had the big fight you witnessed. It's just an ego thing with him. He would never hurt me.''

  ''That's not what it looked like to me,'' I said, getting up from the chair and sitting next to Malikah on the bed.


  We sat up all night and Malikah told me that Prince was upset because all of his spots were getting robbed. I could tell that she wanted to ask me if I was involved, but she didn't know if that would be crossing the line. I suspected she knew I was involved because she started volunteering information on his organization. Malikah told me that Prince and Zabu were holding onto millions of dollars in cash.

  Quietly she and I formatted a plan to rid them of that money. I couldn't understand why, but for some reason I trusted Malikah and I knew she would be the key to gaining power of their outfit.

  The next day I drove out to Brooklyn to visit Jay-Roc at MDC. He was still being held there until it was time for him to be shipped out. No telling where they would send him he could be sent anywhere in the country. I figured I would go see him and try to bring some sort of calmness to our condition.

  When I got there I was escorted to a booth as I was the first time and I sat and waited for him to come out.

  When Jay-Roc stepped out he looked a few pounds heavier than before. He sat down and we eyed each other for a while. We picked the receivers up at the same time.

  ''Shit is all fucked up, King,'' he said shaking his head in frustration. I didn't even know what to say to him. ''What shit lookin' like on the streets?'' he asked.

  ''It's a war out there right now, Jay-Roc, I'm trying to figure out what the fuck is going on. The feds are knocking niggas off left and right, bodies popping up all over. I know you got the word on your man, Lou?''

  ''What's up with that shit, King? It's like...ever since you got in power all my people are going down,'' he said. ''Now I hear you got a new team out there. I know what the word is on Lou, but I don't believe it. I don't believe that shit about Shareeka either.''

  ''The crazy shit is, Lou tells me that Reemo is the one working with the feds. Honestly, Jay-Roc, I don't know who or what to believe. That's why I move the way I move.'' I replied.

  ''Well, you the King, nigga, handle shit however you see fit. And don't think that I'm blaming you for anything because we both know that we all bear responsibility for the success and failure of our team. Do me a favor though, despite all the nonsense that went down in the past year, I want you to know that you still my nigga.'' He stood and looked down at me. ''King, whatever happens out there jus' make me one promise?''

  ''What is it, Jay-Roc?''

  ''Be safe out there on those streets,'' he said. ''Watch your back, never second guess yourself and suspect everything. Go wit' your heart.''

  ''I got you, bro.'' I said, and we both put our fist to the partition and I left out.

  After visiting Jay-Roc I felt a sense of relief about the entire situation. Even though things were still not as they should have been, I knew I had my boy back on my side. I made sure the lawyer followed all the proper procedures and filed all the paper work necessary for Jay-Roc's appeal. He told me there is a strong possibility of him getting a new trial. It was going to require patience and a lot of money, but I would do whatever it takes to have my boy Jay-Roc back on the streets with me.

  As far as my home life is concerned, Asia started acting real funny these past few weeks. I was seeing less and less of her and was starting to get very suspicious of her actions. These days it was hard for me to trust anyone.

  As I do every night, I checked my stash that I kept in the house. I counted out two hundred twenty five thousand, but before I left the house this morning it wasn’t even two hundred there. This wasn't the first time money had been missing, but I didn't want to accuse Asia. Now I had no choice but too. I stayed up all night waiting on her to come in. It was 3:45am by the time she came through the front door. I was livid.

  ''What the fuck are you doing out until four in the morning, Asia!'' I screamed as she came through the door. She tried to ignore me and walk past to the bathroom. I grabbed her by the arm and turned her towards me. ''I know you heard what the fuck I just said to you?''

  ''Oh, now you're concerned about me?'' She sassed, rolling her eyes and snatching her arm from my grasp. ''Fuck you, Deon...I know you out there fuckin' around on me. Don't worry about what the fuck I was doing or who I was doing it with at four in the morning!'' She yelled back.

  ''Bitch! Who the fuck do you think you talking to?'' I shrieked furiously. This was not the first time Asia disrespected me and I couldn't take it anymore. ''Don't you ever try to fucking play me you stupid bitch!'' I reached out and clawed her throat, slamming her back against the wall.

  She swung and and slapped me across the side of my face real hard. My first reaction was to swing back. With my free hand I planted a firm palm to her cheek. I let go of her neck and she slid down to the floor crying. ''Get the fuck up, bitch and get out of my house!'' I roared.

  ''Deon, please...don't do this,'' she begged as she wiped tears from her face. ''I love you, we need to talk.''

  ''Fuck talking...I'm tired of talking to you, get the fuck out!''

  ''Fuck you Deon, you ain’t shit! You gon' pay for puttin' your fuckin' hands on me you bitchassnigga!'' She screeched, stomping to the back room.

  I followed, she tried to put clothes into a bag, but I wouldn't let her.

  ''Leave that shit and get the fuck out!''

  ''I need clothes, Deon...'' She cried.

  ''You ain’t taking these clothes,'' I said, knocking the arm full of clothes she had to the floor. ''You better go buy new ones with that money you stole from me.'' she looked at me and guilt was written all on her face. She didn't think I would find out. ''Hurry up and leave, Asia...before I fuck you up!

  ''Fuck you! I ain’t going nowhere!'' She shouted.

  I took hold of the back of her shirt and dragged her 130-pound wailing body through the house. She was screaming and yelling at the top of her lungs. She tried her best to stop me from throwing her out, but I was too strong for her.

  I pushed her out the front door and slammed it shut.

  I could hear her screams coming from the other side. ''You fucked with the right one you punk ass nigga...I'ma make your life a living hell, Deon!'' she hollered.

  The next thing I heard were tires peeling off. She was gone and at the moment I didn't give a fuck. I don't need that bitch she needs me. I made her into what she is now. There was no way she could survive without me; it's her loss at the end of the day. I'm the muthafucking King!

  Chapter Seventeen

  Following the night Asia and I broke up it seemed like everything started going downhill. Two of my spots in the Bronx were raided. I took a loss on some work and the police confiscated one hundred twenty thousand in cash.

  Now I had the problem of worrying about niggas telling to save their own asses. On top of that, Hammers got shot in a gun battle with the police out in Brownsville. They said he was in critical condition fighting for his life and as of this morning the Africans made it clear to me that I could no longer get any more product until things calmed down.

  I was stressed out and had to do something because I couldn't let this situation affect my capital.

  I sat back in my plush leather recliner and puffed on the skillfully rolled marijuana filled cigar. My mind wandered and I considered everything Malikah and I talked about.

  Reemo and his soldiers had been going to war with the Africans, but they weren't strong enough to bring them down. Zabu was taking his people out left and right. It was time for me to go after them. Prince and Zabu wouldn't expect me to come at them the way I planned on doing. The element of surprise is a significant strategy of war and I was becoming a master of the art.

  My Brooklyn and Harlem spots always generated the most profit so I was fortunate that they were still up and running without any problems.

  When I pulled up to Jefferson Avenue, Lou was there talking to a few young dudes. Besides his arm being wrapped up in a sling he looked like he was recovering pretty well. When he saw me parking he ended his conversation and walked over to where I was.

  ''King, what's good? He said, leaning against the car in front of
mines.

  ''I don't know, you tell me, Lou,'' I answered with a stern look on my face. The tension in the air was thick and I really didn't know how to take Lou. ''A whole lot of shit is in the streets about you, Lou. I truly don't want to believe it, but from the way shit went down how can I not?'' I said, watching him closely. I could see he had a pistol tucked in the waistline of his jeans so I moved cautiously.

  ''King, I told you what it is; I'm not the one you need to be worried about. Anyway, the reason I came through is because I have something to give you.''

  ''What is it?'' I asked, watching his every movement.

  He reached his hand into his pants and I took a slight step backwards placing my hand on my gun. When he pulled out a piece of paper my nervous instincts eased and I reached for what he was handing me. ''What the fuck is this shit?'' I asked, staring at a set of directions and a bunch of numbers.

  ''That's where Jay-Roc's money is stashed. Shareeka told me he had a couple mill put away,'' he replied.

  ''And what am I supposed to do with it? Shareeka's gone and the feds got Jay-Roc, incase you didn't know.''

  Now I had some understanding of why Lou and Shareeka were messing around. Their intentions may have been to steal Jay-Roc's money and if they could succeed in getting rid of him the two of them could split it down the middle, but why would he come to me with this?

  ''I don't know,'' he paused. ''Jay-Roc your man ain’t he?'' he asked.

  ''Yeah,'' I replied. ''I thought he was your man too? I guess a little bit of money and some pussy changed that.''

  ''Listen, King, I figured since Shareeka is dead and Jay-Roc is out the picture maybe the two of us could split this money up.'' He said.

  I looked at him like he was an alien. This nigga had the audacity to ask me to help him get my boys money after he fucked his wife and probably was the main reason all this shit happened.