Street Dreams

by K'wan

  Rio ignored the curses Sally slung at him and slammed his door. After making sure he locked it, he moved to his bed and got out his lock-box. He opened the box and looked at the chrome 9 inside. When he bought the gun he never expected to use it, but that was before. As soon as the sun set, his little pretty bitch was going to earn her keep.

  Truck hopped out on the corner of 107th with a baseball bat resting on his shoulder. The dudes he had working were standing around looking suspect. Truck sized the soldiers up and went to stand in the center of their circle. All three of the men tensed up, but none of them moved.

  “Fellas,” Truck said, flashing his freshly polished golds. “What's good?”

  “Ain’t nothing,” said Link, who was a skinny light-skinned kid. “We just out here grinding.”

  “Fo sho,” Truck said, spitting on the ground. “How we looking?”

  “Everything is straight on my end,” Joe said, handing Truck a wad of bills. “That's good money there, Truck.”

  “Right,” Truck said, thumbing through the bills. “What you got for me, Cee?”

  “I got eight for you now and the rest when it's finished,” Cee said nervously.

  “Y’all niggaz ain’t finished up here?” Truck asked, scanning the trio.

  “My peoples is done,” Link said, handing Truck his money. “You know I come on time, every time.”

  “My nigga,” Truck said, accepting the tribute. “You check on that thing for me, Link?”

  “Yeah, daddy.”

  “What was the verdict?”

  “Bogus as hell.”

  “Damn. Oh, well, can’t win em all. Yo, Cee,” Truck said, switching the bat to his other shoulder. “Let me ask you something and I’m only gonna ask you once. You switching my shit with yours?”

  “What?” Cee said, startled. “Hell, nah, Truck.”

  “I think you lying, man. See, I set yo punk ass up. I kept getting complaints about the quality of our product. At first I wasn’t even gonna follow up on it, but something about the complaints nagged at me. That's when it hit me,” Truck said, switching back to the other shoulder. “All of the complaints were coming from the times you were on shift.”

  “Nah,” Cee said, backing up. “I wouldn’t come at you like that.”

  “Bullshit,” Truck said, punching him in the mouth. Cee staggered but stayed on his feet. “Youz a creep-ass nigga, Cee, and you’re gonna answer for it.”

  “Wait, Truck!” Cee pleaded. “I got yo money, I swear.”

  When Truck swung the bat it whistled through the air. Cee tried to move, but he was too slow. All you could hear was a sickening crunch. Blood splattered on Link and Joe as Cee's skull caved in. The young man lay on the floor twitching, but Truck wasn’t done yet. He continued to rain blows on Cee's back and legs. Only when the twitching ceased did Truck's beating end.

  “Punk ma fucka,” Truck said, spitting on the corpse. “Y’all niggaz get rid of this body.”

  Rio woke up that night with a headache and a half. With all the liquor he had consumed, he was lucky he woke up at all. He checked his 9 to make sure it was loaded and cocked. After changing to darker colors, he was ready to hit the streets.

  Rio carefully made his way out of his bedroom with his gun in hand. He was in no mood to talk. If Willie came at him for round two, he was going to get one hell of a surprise. The time for petty chatter was over. Any more talking would be done over gun smoke. Fortunately, Rio was able to make it out of his house without incident. Neither Willie nor Sally appeared to be home.

  Rio stepped out of his building and took a deep breath. The cool night air seemed to clear his still drunk mind. It was early and Rio had a little time before Shamel would pop up. His stomach was flip-flopping from the booze so he took the time to put something in it.

  Rio walked up Columbus Ave lost in his own thoughts. He hated Baker for what he had done to Trinity, true enough. But murder wasn’t truly in his heart. Rio was a dreamer, not a killer. He’d leave it to those who were best suited to it. If Baker didn’t answer to Rio then he would answer to another later.

  Rio made his way to the chicken store on 105th Street, where the entrance and sidewalk held a sprinkling of neighborhood kids. Some were hustling while others were just standing around socializing. Rio slapped palms with those he was cool with and nodded at the cats he just knew by face. After ordering his snack box, Rio stepped outside to smoke a cigarette.

  Rio stood outside of the chicken joint, his mind on Trinity. He needed to find a way to get her up outta her house and away from her father. A flicker of motion caught Rio's attention. A young girl was walking up the block with someone who looked familiar to Rio. The figure kept to the shadows, making it difficult for Rio to get a good look at him. As Rio squinted against the glare of the streetlights, the man's features became a little more visible. It was Baker.

  As sure as Rio's ass was black, Baker was walking up the block with a girl that didn’t look to be more than fourteen or fifteen. The sight of the rapist with the young girl sent Rio's mind into a frenzy. Against his will, his hand dipped under his jacket and clutched the 9. It took all of his strength to keep the heater from barking too soon. Rio decided it would be best to just follow them and confront Baker in a quiet spot.

  Baker hung a right on 104th Street and headed toward Amsterdam Avenue. Rio followed almost an entire block behind, watching and waiting. Halfway down the block, Baker and the young girl cut into P.S.145's park. Rio peered from behind the brick wall as Baker led her into the shadows by the benches. Baker disappeared from sight, but it was no secret as to what he was up to. Rio had no intention of letting that monster take advantage of yet another girl. Baker's run would end with Trinity.

  Rio took the long route and slipped over the brick wall so he could creep on them. His palms were sweating so bad that he almost lost his grip on the pistol. As he neared the end of the park where Baker had disappeared, he could hear muffled whispers and giggling. He peeped around the final bend in time to see the young girl putting her mouth on Baker's penis. She worked her mouth up and down his shaft like a pro .The reality of it all was the girl was underage, and Baker was disease and Rio was the antidote.

  Rio eased along the wall until he was within spitting distance of Baker. He stared at the older man with pure hatred. Baker eyes rolled back in ecstacy, grunted and hissed as the girl sucked him off at various speeds. He was so caught up in the rapture that he didn’t even see Rio standing over him. The sound of Rio's hammer cocking split the darkness and caused Baker's head to snap to attention.

  “What the fu—” Baker began, but was cut off as Rio aimed the 9 at his heart. The girl looked at Rio wide-eyed, but eased backwards.

  “Shut up, nigga,” Rio hissed. “What we got here? Oh, you got you a young thang, huh?”

  “Li’l nigga,” Baker barked. “You better put that rod away, before I fuck you wit it.”

  “Big talk, you fat piece of shit. I think you’ll find that I ain’t as submissive as these li’l girls you take advantage of, chump. On ya feet, Chester.”

  Slowly and very carefully Baker eased his pants up and got to his feet. Baker had considered rushing the smaller man, but the shaky trigger finger and stench of liquor changed his mind. He just stepped to the side and glared at Rio.

  “You know,” Rio said, “I used to respect you, Baker. Now I see you ain’t nothing but a fucking monster. Why you like the babies, huh? You can’t get it up for bitches your age or do they laugh at ya li’l dick?”

  Baker laughed sinisterly. “What's the problem, Rio? Oh, you mad cause I’m fucking ya bitch? Boo hoo, nigga.”

  “Watch ya mouth, porky,” Rio said angrily.

  “What you gonna do?” Baker asked, pulling his knife. “Youz a gangsta, nigga. Do something.”

  “Put that knife away, Baker.”

  Hearing the shakiness in Rio's voice, Baker began to inch closer. “Come on, Rio. Buck!”

  When Baker thought he was close enough, he lunge
d for the gun. Baker slapped Rio's firing arm away, sending a wild shot off into the air. When Rio tried to bring his gun around, the unexpected happened. The young girl jumped on his back and locked her arms around his neck. The whole situation was going to shit.

  Baker used the girl's distraction to try and wrestle the gun from Rio's hand. The two struggled for control of the weapon and it suddenly went off. Baker's eyes bugged from his head as he spat blood in Rio's face. Baker made a muffled sound and collapsed. Rio just stood there staring as blood poured from Baker's gut and mouth. He had seen dead bodies before but never this close up. It was a sight that would stay with him for the rest of his days.

  Trinity jerked awake from a nightmare. She stared around her hospital room as if she was seeing it for the first time. A ghostly breeze materialized out of thin air sending a chill down her back. Something in the world was terribly wrong and Trinity felt it.

  A shriek behind him caused Rio to spin around with his pistol raised. The young girl was wailing at the top of her lungs about how he had killed her man. Rio tried to calm her, but she was past the point of reasoning. When he tried to clamp his hand over her mouth, she tried to take a chunk out of his finger. Seeing no other option, Rio grabbed the girl by her hair. Her brown eyes glazed over as he put the hammer to her chin and pulled the trigger. The girl's body jumped from the impact of the bullet that slammed into her skull, and she died in Rio's arms.

  Rio dropped the body and jumped back. He kept looking from the smoking gun to the two victims on the ground. His brain raced in every direction but the right one as he tried to understand what he had done. He was standing in a schoolyard with two dead bodies and the murder weapon. He was shocked, but he wasn’t stupid. Rio took off running.

  He found a pay phone on Amsterdam and tried to call the one person who could help him. His hands were shaking so violently, he almost couldn’t dial the phone. It took him three attempts, but he finally reached the person he was looking for. “J,” he said, out of breath. “Let me speak to Prince.”

  A few miles north, Prince sat on the phone listening. The more the panicked Rio became, the broader Prince's smile got. Prince hung up with Rio and reclined in his seat. Li’l J stared at his friend in utter bewilderment.

  “What's up, boss?” he asked. “You smiling like the cat who swallowed the canary.”

  “That was our boy, Rio.” “What he rapping bout?”

  “Hmm… seems like he's had an itch. Why don’t you go pull the Lincoln around? While you’re at it, call them Grave-Digger Boys and have them bring a kit to 105th and Amsterdam.”

  When Li’l J pulled the car up on 104th he spotted Rio standing across the street looking suspect as hell. He kept pacing and his cigarette shook whenever he tried to take a pull. All J could do was shake his head. In all truthfulness, he felt bad for Rio. That's the real reason he kept trying to sway Prince from recruiting Rio. The boy reminded him of his youngest son, Johnny. Johnny had been killed over a whore and a fifth of liquor.

  Li’l J idled the car and looked at his friend in the rear view. Prince licked his money-hungry chops at the thought of finally being able to rope his number one pupil. Rio had no idea what plans Prince had in store for him. Rio would play the game now whether he wanted to or not. Even though J felt bad for him, this was the price you paid when you slept with the streets. She was a jealous bitch who would always find a way to bind you to her. Rio would learn these lessons and more as he walked the road of the damned.

  J stepped out of the car and held the door for Prince. Prince adjusted the .45 that hung from a holster under his overcoat and moved to greet Rio. Rio hugged Prince back tightly when the two embraced. From the distraught look on his face, Prince knew he had him.

  “What's up, son?” Prince asked, grinning like a proud father. “What troubles you so much that you call me out of my house tonight?”

  “My bad,” Rio said sniffling. “I didn’t mean to take you from what you was doing, but I didn’t know who else I could call. Man…I did some dumb shit, Prince. Can you help me fix it?”

  “Rio, I got pull in this city and I can make a lot of shit happen, but these things cost.”

  “Prince, I feel you. I got some money saved up and I could — “

  “Rio,” Prince said, cutting him off. “I seriously doubt if you got problem-fixing money. Even if you did, I wouldn’t take it. You are as much a son to me as Truck or Melvin. If I can do this thing for you, then I will.”

  “Good looking, Prince.”

  “Where?”

  “In the schoolyard. Down by the end.”

  “J,” Prince said, with a nod of his head. Li’l J made his way across the street and into the schoolyard. After what seemed like hours, he was back with a grim look on his face.

  “Well?” Prince asked.

  “It's a bad deal,” Li’l J said. “One fat stud and a young girl. Ain’t too much of a mess, but it's ugly.”

  “Prince,” Rio said nervously. “Let me explain… “

  “Baby boy,” Prince said, cutting him off again. “You ain’t gotta explain nothing to me. I know your heart was in the right place regardless of what you done. Get in the car and wait on me.” Rio bowed his head and got into the Lincoln. Prince started across the street and motioned for J to follow him. When they were out of earshot, Prince spoke.

  “Dig it, J. Call them boys and have em clean that shit up. We gonna take Rio and get him cleaned up.” J nodded his head and went off to fulfill his boss's wishes. Prince took a slow stroll to the car and mentally went over his plan to bind Rio to him.

  After receiving Prince's orders, Larry and Lester Batis, aka the Grave Digger Boys, set out to do their work. The twins strolled around to the rear of their fifteen-passenger van and began to unload their supplies. They removed two dollies and two large boxes from the truck. They wheeled the dollies over to the area J had directed them to and began with their task.

  The first thing they did was get each body into one of the boxes. The girl went in easy, but Baker's bulk required both their efforts. Once the bodies were packaged, they began to work on the crime scene. They each pulled out packages of baby wipes and ninety-nine cent bottles of bleach. They throughly doused and scrubbed anything Rio might’ve touched and scrubbed all traces of blood away. The area didn’t really require much cleaning though. Come sunrise, the whole park would be teaming with students and faculty. Even if the police were to discover that something had gone down, there would be way too many sets of prints to trace back. After the clean up, the Grave Diggers wheeled their packages back to the van where they were loaded and transported back to the spot to be dismantled.

  Rio seemed a bit more relaxed on the ride back. Prince had handled his little problem with no questions asked. It takes some kinda cat to help you cover two murders and not even ask you why you did it. Rio knew he owed Prince a great debt, but he was yet to find out how great. “What's up, baby boy?” Prince asked.

  “Nerves a li’l bad, that's all,” Rio responded. “I ain’t never… well… you know?”

  “Sure, kid. It creeps all of us out at one point or another. Once you get over the initial shock, you’ll be peaches again.”

  “I dunno, Prince.”

  “Trust me, kid. You ain’t did nothing wrong. I blame that poor slob for getting himself croaked. If he hadn’t done what he done, he wouldn’t be stiff.”

  “I guess you’re right, Prince.”

  “Sure I am. Don’t worry about nothing, kid. A few greased palms and everything will be square.”

  “I owe you, Prince. Big time.”

  “Glad you feel that way,” Prince said with a grin. “Now let's discuss the method of payment. Getting something that big covered up don’t come cheap, kid.”

  “I got ya, Prince. I told you I had some money saved up and I could work the rest off.”

  “Not quite what I had in mind, but close.” Rio didn’t like where this was going. “Rio,” Prince continued, “you’ve been a good earner
for a lot of years. I think it's time you stepped up.”

  “Prince, you know I ain’t trying to—”

  “Nix that shit,” Prince barked with a wave of his hand. “You clean your ears out and listen to me, kid. You in a whole different league now. Ain’t no more part-time hustler. You’re in now. On this level we play by different rules. You asked me for something and I gave it, now I’m asking you for something. What's it gonna be, kid?”

  Rio heard the question, but it was more like a statement. Price had him by the balls in the worst kind of way. Becoming a Capo was never something Rio wanted for himself. But now it seemed as if he had no choice. If he refused Prince there was no telling what could happen. Prince could very well expose the murders he had just committed. What choice did he really have?

  “A’ight,” he said sadly. “I’m in.”

  Li’l J watched the exchanged with a heavy heart. He felt bad for the young boy. Prince was a sly character. He had walked Rio to the gates of hell and ushered him through. J had seen so many youngsters get roped up by slick-talking niggaz like Prince. It was sad to see one black man contribute to the decimation of another, but that was the game.

  Rio walked into his apartment building about three A.M. He walked down the hall and put his ear to the door and listened before entering. Through the fire door he could hear a soft melody floating on the air. He slipped into the apartment and spied his mother sitting on the couch. Willie's bandaged head rested on her lap as she stroked it lovingly. Sally was bent over Willie crooning a beautiful Billy Holiday classic. No matter what she did or who she chose to love, it wasn’t anybody's business but hers.

  He started to apologize to Sally but decided against it. Best to let sleeping dogs lie. Instead Rio crept through the darkness to his room. Rio locked his door, flopped down on his bed, and closed his eyes. No sooner had his eyes closed than they fluttered back open. The faces of those bodies in the park haunted him. He got up, shuffled through his jacket pocket and fished out a pill bottle. He looked at the purple and white tablets and shook his head in frustration. Prince said that just two of them would make you sleep like a baby. Rio had already downed four and still couldn’t relax.