Changed Man

by Roy Glenn

  “Uh, huh, Black.” Lisa sat up straight and gathered her robe together. “I don’t know nothing about it.”

  Bobby sat down next to her. “I heard different.”

  “Who told you some shit like that?” she asked nervously, but then her eyes narrowed. “Ain’t nobody told you that shit but Jemisha.” Lisa looked at me. “What, she come crying to you, Black, sayin’ I did it?”

  “What were you and Whitey arguing about?” Bobby asked.

  “I told him that I didn’t want to see him anymore.”

  “That why he said he would kill you?”

  Lisa laughed. “He said he would kill me if I told anybody his dick wouldn’t get hard no more,” she said, and we all fell out laughing. “Whitey got high blood pressure and he’s taking them pills,” Lisa laughed harder. “Now he can’t get it up.”

  “That’s what the argument was about?” I asked and tried my best to stop laughing.

  “I’m serious, Black. That’s all it was about. Jemisha just told you that shit cause she’s mad at me.”

  “Why she mad at you?”

  “’Cause I stopped fuckin with her a long time ago. I know that’s your girl and shit, Black, but I was only fuckin’ with her to get at Whitey. You know, ’cause he was workin’ with some shit before he got on them pressure pills.” Lisa raised her right hand to testify. “I swear on my grandmother, Black, that’s all this about.”

  “Let’s go Bobby.”

  “That’s all it was about?” Bobby asked as he and Lisa stood up.

  “I’m serious, Bobby. It was all about this pussy,” Lisa said, and patted that fat cat.

  “You know, I know all about that,” he said and stepped a little closer to Lisa. “So, when you need somebody to come hit that pussy right, call me,” Bobby said and suddenly Marquez Hernandez came busting out of the closet with a gun in his hand. Lisa ran into the bedroom.

  “Stay away from my woman!” Marquez yelled, raised the gun and began firing.

  Bobby didn’t have time to move, but it didn’t matter because Marquez missed every shot.

  I raised my gun, fired once. It hit Marquez in the head.

  “Now why he do some dumb shit like that?” Bobby asked as we approached the body. I kicked the gun out of the way and knelt down next to Marquez’s body.

  “I don’t know, Bob,” I said and suddenly Lisa came charging out of the bedroom firing.

  “You killed my man!”

  She missed every shot.

  Bobby shook his head. “Dumbass.” Then he shot her.

  I stood up. “Hoe shit!” I shouted. “Something kept telling me that this was gonna turn out to be nothing but some bitch ass hoe shit!”

  “Nothing but,” Bobby said.

  “Hoe shit!”

  “This might have been some hoe shit, but that ain’t all there is to it.”

  “I know. Somebody hired them niggas to kill Whitey.”

  “Fuck that, Mike. Somebody is trying to kill you!”

  “I know!” I looked at Bobby and knew that he was just as mad about this shit as I was. I thought about the ocean and inhaled deeply. “I know that, Bobby,” I said calmly.

  He laughed a little. “Let’s get outta here,” Bobby said and started for the door.

  I looked at Lisa and Marquez, and then I followed Bobby out the door. “How you know they ain’t trying to kill you?” I asked, but I was thinking that they didn’t need to die over this shit. Then I thought about killing Jemisha for setting it in motion.

  “Because this is your shit. Only reason I’m getting shot at is because I’m the nigga ridin’ with you.”

  I got in the car with Bobby knowing that he was right and that I had nobody to blame for Lisa and Marquez being dead but myself.

  “I should have known better, Bobby.”

  “We did, remember. We both agreed that it was nothing but some hoe shit, but—”

  “But it wouldn’t hurt to ride by there. Yeah, yeah, I remember us saying that shit, but look how it turned out.”

  It ended up doing more than hurt Lisa and Marquez, they were dead because I made a bad decision.

  “So, the question still stands,” Bobby said.

  “It does. But nobody’s shot at us tonight. At least not yet.”

  “True, but that don’t mean it’s over,” Bobby reminded.

  “So, what do you wanna do now?” I asked, and he just looked at me like I should have known better.

  “What’s the point of owning a tittie bar with a private room just for us, and our choice of dancers and we ain’t regulars,” Bobby said, and I couldn’t argue with his logic.

  It wasn’t long before we were walking in Cynt’s and Lo-Lo was handing me a drink. Anya was dancing for somebody, but the second she saw me, she stopped dancing. Me and Lo-Lo watched as Anya picked up her clothes and headed straight for our private room without bothering to get paid for the dance.

  While my girls danced for me, I thought about where I was, how I got here and more importantly, how I could have avoided it.

  That was simple.

  When King told me that Vance and them were shooters for hire, I should have concentrated all my attention on finding out who hired them.

  And I definitely should have let King tell Jemisha that Whitey was dead. If I had, Lisa Benson and Marquez Hernandez would probably still be alive. Going there first and letting her play me made us waste two days on nothing.

  “On hoe shit!” I said aloud and Lo-Lo leaned forward and put her hands on my shoulders.

  “You say something, Black?”

  “Just thinking.”

  Lo-Lo eased her hand behind my head and eased her nipple in my mouth. She fed me one nipple and then the other before she went back to dancing and I went back to thinking about how Jemisha played me.

  And she did play me.

  I don’t think Jemisha thought that I would kill her, but she knew that by telling me that Lisa Benson might be involved would, at the very least, be unpleasant for her, if not extremely painful.

  It was stupid … and it was careless, and I couldn’t afford to do stupid and careless shit.

  Not anymore.

  I had to be the source of fuckin’ wisdom, not the cause of the chaos, I remembered promising myself because I was the boss of this Family and there were people that I was responsible for. I had to be smart, and that meant that I couldn’t let my feelings influence my judgment.

  And definitely not pussy. That shit was out.

  From this point forward, I needed to be focused on finding out who hired Vance and them to kill Whitey. That was the only way to find out if they were trying to kill me too.

  I needed to make it out to the island to talk to Kasim to find out what was going on with him and Whitey. And I needed to talk to Angee to find out what was up with Crazy Nicky and Johnny Boy. All that shit was much more important than what I was doing.

  I stood up. “I’m gonna get outta here,” I said, and my girls stopped dancing.

  “You goin’ home?” Bobby asked.

  “No. I’m gonna go back to the Residence Inn.”

  Anya and Lo-Lo gave me that, what about us, look.

  I nodded my head and they quickly left our VIP room to get their stuff so they could leave with me.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Late that next morning, I called Wanda and asked her to come pick me up at the hotel. There were a lot of things that I wanted to get done that day. I had a lot going on in my world, but long term, this was the most important.

  “Where do you wanna go that Bobby couldn’t take you?” Wanda asked when I got in the car with her.

  “To see Angee.”

  “Oh,” she said and since she knows how Bobby feels about Angee, Wanda started the car. But I knew that there would be many more questions. “I understand why Bobby isn’t going with you, but is there a reason why I’m going and not Nick or Freeze?” she asked as she drove us out to Yonkers.

  “One, because I wanted to talk to you
about something and two, there are certain things that I need you with me on.”

  I looked at Wanda as she drove, and I knew that there was something that she should already know, but I needed to tell her. “Wanda, you are the smartest person I know. You always have been. So, I count on you to see shit I don’t see, to know shit I don’t know and to keep me from making careless mistakes. If this thing is gonna work, Wanda, I need you.”

  “Damn right, you need me,” Wanda said quickly and laughed. “And you know I always got you. I always have, and I always will.”

  “I know you do.”

  “But we’re getting bigger, Mike. And that means we need to be much more organized.”

  I laughed. “Organized crime, what a concept.”

  “I’m serious, Mike.”

  “You always are,” I said, and Wanda punched me in the arm. “Ouch. Hitting me with them damn monkey paws.”

  “But seriously, Mike.”

  “So am I, them damn monkey paws hurt.”

  We both laughed and then Wanda continued. “And since we’re getting bigger and more organized, I just think that we need to spend some time talking about what everybody’s role is in this Family.”

  “We can talk about that if you think it’s necessary, but the simple version is that if you see that it needs doing and I’m not doing it, you need to see that it gets done.”

  Wanda glanced at me as she drove and then she pulled over. She put the car in park and turned off Prince. “What?”

  “Say that again.”

  “Say what again?”

  “What you just said; say it again. I want to make sure I’m hearing you correctly and that I understand what you mean.”

  “I said that if you see that it needs doing and I’m not doing it, you need to see that it gets done,” I said and turned Prince back on. Wanda turned it off.

  “Okay, I get that. And you’re the boss of this Family, right?”

  “Right.” I reached for the radio and Wanda raised her hand like she was going to hit me if I touched it. “What?”

  “I just wanna make sure I understand what you’re sayin’. Is that all right?”

  “Yeah, Wanda, it’s all right. Now get to your point, please.”

  “So, if you’re the boss, and my job is to do the things that you’re not doing, does that make me underboss of this Family?” Wanda asked.

  I laughed, but she didn’t. “Yes, it does and no, it doesn’t.”

  “What does that mean, Mike?”

  “It means that I see you more as my consigliere, but the same logic applies; if you see that it needs doing and neither me or Bobby are doing it, then you need to see that it gets done. Is that clear enough for you?”

  “Yes,” Wanda said and started the car.

  “Good. Now, tell me what’s up with Jay?” I asked, and Wanda gave me that look.

  “You know I wasn’t finished, right? But it’s okay,” she said, and I knew we’d be talking about it until we got to Angee’s and probably on the way back. “He’s taking Vickie’s death pretty badly, so he hasn’t been coming around all that much. I mean he still does what he needs to do and if I call him, he comes, but like I said, he’s taking it pretty bad,” Wanda said, and I understood because there were times when I am still pretty fucked up about it.

  “Him and Vickie were close, so I’m not surprised.” Then I thought about me and Wanda not paying enough attention to our friends when they need us to be paying close attention to them. “But we need to keep an eye on him, make sure that he doesn’t go off the rails.”

  “You’re right. Do you think that we should get him to talk to somebody?” Wanda asked.

  “Yes, Wanda, I do. You saw a grief counselor and they helped you deal with it,” I began and thought about my grief counselors, Felicia and Cortisha. “We need to do the same for him.”

  “I’ll talk to him,” Wanda said. “But, getting back to what we were talking about before …” Wanda laughed. “You know me, Mike, I just need to be sure I understand what we’re talking about.”

  “Okay.”

  “Now, you said that if I see something that needs doing, and you’re not on top of it, that I need to do it.”

  “Yes.”

  “Do I need to talk to you about it first, or should I just do it because I think it needs to be done?”

  “It depends on the situation; I mean there are some things that we need to talk about, but for the most part, no.”

  “No, I do need to talk to you, or no, I don’t need to talk to you?”

  “No, you don’t need to talk to me. Do what needs to be done and tell me about it after. I trust you and your judgment.”

  “Are you going to make an announcement or something to let everybody know my position?”

  “No.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because I don’t need to.”

  “Why not?”

  “You didn’t have a title before just now and you tell everybody what to do, including me and Bobby.”

  “But you don’t always do what I say,” Wanda said and shook her head as she parked outside the pizza shop that Angee and his crew hung out.

  I’d known Angelo Collette since we were in junior high school. We were both on the same path, but traveling in different directions. He became a soldier for Vincenzo Adalberto and I went to work for Andre. We’ve done some jobs together, made some money, but more than that, Angee was my friend.

  There were a bunch of white boys standing outside. They all stopped what they were doing to look when Wanda pulled up in front of the pizzeria and parked.

  “You know what they’re saying, right?”

  “What?”

  “Fuck are these mulignans doing here,” Wanda said in her Italian accent and turned off her car.

  “Probably,” I said and got out.

  “Relax everybody, it’s just Mikey,” Joey said and then he saw Wanda get out of the car. “Wow!” he said and looked at me. “Sorry, Mikey. I didn’t mean any disrespect.”

  “None taken, Joey,” I said.

  “What about me?” Wanda asked. “Don’t I get an apology since it was me that you disrespected?”

  Joey bowed at the waist. “I’m sorry. But geez, Wanda, a guy can only take so much.”

  I shook my head. “Angee around?”

  “He’s inside.”

  “Thanks,” I said and started for the door, but one of Angee’s crew, a real dick named Paulie stepped in front of the door. I don’t like him, and he doesn’t like me. I knew that one day we would have to settle our differences.

  “You’re in my way, Paulie.”

  “You’re lucky Angelo likes you,” Paulie said,

  “And even if he didn’t, I would still kick your ass. Now get the fuck out my way.”

  Paulie stepped aside and opened the door.

  “One day, Mikey,” he said as me and Wanda passed him.

  I stopped. “And on that day, I’ll kick your fuckin’ ass.”

  “We’ll see.”

  I stepped to his chest. “We can see right now.”

  “What? You two fruits getting ready to kiss or something,” I heard Angee say from behind me.

  “No, Angelo,” Paulie said and stepped back.

  “I didn’t think so.” Angee glanced at me and then turned to Wanda. “How you doin’, Wanda?” he asked and put his arm around her.

  “I’m fine, Angelo. What about you?”

  “I’m good … wondering when you’re gonna get tired of this guy and come away with me?”

  “Never,” Wanda said flatly and then she smiled and bowed slightly. “I mean you no disrespect, but you know that I will never leave Mike for any reason.” Wanda paused. “Doesn’t matter how handsome you are,” she flirted and both me and Angee laughed.

  “Got you a good girl here, Mikey. They don’t make them like this no more.” He took Wanda in with his eyes and then he shook his head. “So, what’s up, Mikey?”

  “Some place we can talk?
”

  “Let’s walk,” Angee said and we followed him out of the pizzeria. “So, what’s up?” he asked again once we had gotten away from his crew.

  “I need to know what’s up with Crazy Nicky and Johnny Boy eyeballing my spots?”

  “Do you really need to ask me that, Mikey?”

  “I guess I don’t,” I said and immediately started thinking about how I was gonna try to fight them off.

  “Luca Giovanni gave his approval and everything.”

  “Oh, shit,” Wanda said, and I had to agree with her.

  If we had to go to the mattresses against Crazy Nicky and Johnny Boy, we’d get crushed. We’d lose a lot of good people trying to fight them off, but in the end, we’d still lose the spots and maybe our lives.

  “But it ain’t gonna happen,” Angee said and Wanda and I both stopped dead in our tracks.

  “What?”

  Angee pointed at me. “You were done, Mikey. You hear me?” Then he got in my face, pointing. “You were done. Fat Luca gave his blessing and the only reason you ain’t knee deep in the shit now is that Greasy intervened on your behalf.”

  “Who?” Wanda asked.

  Greasy was the name me and Angee called his Uncle, Anthony ‘Big Tony’ Collette. I had known him just about as long as I’ve known Angee. In all that time, he always insisted that I call him Uncle Tony too. He was a made guy in The Curcio Family and I looked up to him; me and Angee both did. It was Uncle Tony that taught me how to shoot, how to pick a lock, and how to break into and hot-wire a car.

  “He did? What’d he do?” I needed to know.

  “Fuck should I know. I wasn’t there. All I know is that Greasy said for me to tell you not to worry,” Angee said and I got worried. I looked at Wanda and could tell that she was worried too.

  “What does that mean?” Wanda asked, and I wondered if we had just traded Crazy Nicky and Johnny Boy for Big Tony.

  “It means don’t worry,” Angelo said to Wanda and then he looked at me. “And one more thing, Mikey.”

  “What’s that?”

  Angee leaned closer and so did Wanda. “He said to tell you to say thank you next time you see him.”

  “That’s it?” Wanda needed to know.

  “That’s it,” Angee said.

  Wanda turned to me. “What do you think it means?”