Street Dreams

by K'wan

  She and Baron had been seeing each other for a little while now. He would take her shopping and trick all kinds of paper on her. She figured that she had herself a winner. Sometimes she would be suspicious of Baron. Joyce was far from dumb; she knew Baron had girls on the side. But his interest in Trinity always made her leery. Lately he had been asking all kinds of questions about her. How's she doing, where she likes to eat, where she was taking her GED test? Joyce just figured that Baron hadn’t gotten over Trinity yet. Joyce would have to get extra nasty with him to take his mind off the stuck-up bitch.

  The black truck came to a rolling stop where Joyce was standing. Joyce snatched open the passenger side door and jumped in. She leaned over to kiss Baron, who was behind the wheel, but he pulled away. She should’ve been used to it by now. He told her it was because he didn’t want any of his enemies to know who his girl was, but he really didn’t want her nasty mouth on anything other than his dick and occasionally his ass.

  Joyce didn’t mind Baron's strange ways. She understood that it was dangerous on the streets. If people couldn’t get at you then they would try for the ones you loved. Joyce thought that Baron really cared for her, but what she didn’t know was that he had an ulterior motive for keeping her close.

  “What's up, ma?” Baron asked, looking at the road.

  “Chilling,” Joyce responded. “I thought you wasn’t gonna get to see me today?”

  “You know I can’t stay away,” he lied. “Listen, I can’t stay long, but I came down to ask you a favor.” “What kinda favor?”

  “Don’t worry,” he said, stroking her cheek. “You know it's some paper for you.”

  “How much?”

  “A few grand, for a few minutes.”

  “Look Baron, I ain’t really wit that gang bang shit. I mean I did it two or three times, but—”

  “Joyce,” he cut her off. “You know I wouldn’t share my loving with nobody else.” At least not now, he thought to himself. “I just need you to do this thing for me. When you get done we can take that trip to Cancun you’re always talking about.”

  At the promise of money and an expensive trip, Joyce was ready to play ball. “Okay, what is it?”

  “That's my girl. Listen close, Joyce, cause I’m only gonna say it once.”

  25

  That night Rio had three unexpected visitors. He was sitting in back of the center with Trinity when Shamel came looking for him. From the look on his friend's face he could tell that he had pressing business to discuss.

  “What's up, Mel?” Rio asked.

  “Need you on the ave, yo,” Shamel said.

  “Everything a’ight?”

  “I don’t know. There's some people here to talk to you.”

  “Who?”

  “Just come on, Rio.”

  “A’ight. I’ll be back, boo,” Rio said, addressing Trinity.

  “It's cool,” she said, standing to leave. “I gotta run home to cook dinner for Billy anyway. Call me when you get done.” Trinity kissed Rio and went her way.

  Reluctantly he followed Shamel to the avenue to see what was going on. When Rio reached Columbus, J was leaning against a car waiting for him.

  “Sup, J?” he said. “What you doing over this way?”

  “Need to holla at you, kid,” J said, pulling on his cigarette.

  “Everything cool?”

  “That all depends on you. Why don’t we get in the car and talk?”

  Something about the J's tone of voice was making Rio uneasy. He didn’t figure that he had anything to fear from J, but the way things were going he couldn’t be sure. He hated to think it, but if J did have something up his sleeve, the glock that Rio had in his waistband would start barking. To Rio's surprise, two other Capos were waiting for him. Rio nodded to the men as he slid into the ride.

  “What's up, brother?” Big Paul asked from behind a pair of sunglasses.

  “Trying to live,” Rio said, still trying to figure what was going on. “What brings y’all down this way?”

  “Business,” Jake said.

  “Yeah,” J cut in. “We got some things that we need to talk about.”

  “What kinda things?” Rio said, resting his good hand on the spot where his gun was tucked.

  “Well,” J started, “we heard about the little tit-for-tat game that you and Truck have been out here playing.”

  “I’m afraid that I don’t follow you, J,” Rio lied.

  “Rio, you can play dumb all you want, but I didn’t just hop off the train from Georgia. We know you sent your boy to take off Truck's money. Just like we know that he's been trying to muscle your people.”

  “Okay, what if I did? Y’all came to do me in?”

  “Hell no,” Jake cut in. “It ain’t even that serious. We know Truck can be an asshole. We came down here to talk to you about where you stand in the grand scheme of things.”

  “Okay,” Rio said, relaxing a bit, but still keeping his hand close to his gun. “I’m listening.”

  “This is how we figure it,” J said. “Since Prince got killed, this whole organization has been in a shamble. We’re all supposed to be a team, but everyone is going for self. You got certain cats that we roll with trying to branch out and do other things, Capos feuding with each other. Prince is probably turning over in his grave behind this.”

  “Yeah,” Rio said. “This shit has gotten crazy, but Truck is the one causing it all. I’m just trying to do what's best for my people.”

  “We know that, Rio,” J continued. “That's why we’re here now. We figured that it's time to restore some kinda order to this little thing of ours.”

  “How do you purpose we do that, J?”

  “Can’t you read between the lines, boy? We want you to step up and fill Prince's vacancy.”

  “Me?” he asked, surprised.

  “Yes, you,” J said. “Rio, you’ve always been a good kid. You follow directions and you know how to keep a low profile. You’ve been squeezing money out of a project that until recently brought in mediocre profits at best. You’re running things down here accordingly while Truck is uptown acting crazy. We figure that you’ll be the face of authority, but we can still kinda coach you on the sidelines. Advisors of sorts.”

  “So,” Rio continued. “What do the rest of you guys think?”

  “As far as I’m concerned,” Paul said, “I’m cool with it. Truck is destroying what Prince has built and I don’t like it. Prince was always good to me. The color of my skin never mattered to him. But Truck is a different case. Son of a bitch tried to send some of his peoples down to my bar and muscle me. They found out the hard way that we ain’t your average white boys.”

  “And what about you and Breeze, Jake?” Rio asked.

  “Breeze,” Jake said, “that's always gonna be my nigga, but he thinks too much like Truck for my taste. We’ve had a good working relationship for a while now, but I ain’t the snot-nosed kid that I was when we first hooked up. I need a spot of my own and if I can get it by voting in your favor, then so be it.”

  “Okay,” Rio said. “What about the other Capos?”

  “I spoke to Marco and he's with us,” J assured him. “The only ones we might have some trouble outta is Gino and Breeze.”

  “Don’t worry about Breeze,” Jake said confidently. “He might not totally agree with the move, but in time he’ll accept it. He's got no choice. Gino, I can’t speak for.”

  “I hear that he's leaning toward Truck,” Paul added.

  “If so, fuck him,” J snapped. “This shit has got to end. If Gino decides to roll with Truck, it’ll hurt us, but it won’t stop us.”

  “If worse comes to worse, I’ll have a few of my boys roll through there and chain his ass to the back of a Harley,” Paul joked.

  “The way I see it,” Jake said, “Truck could prove to be our biggest obstacle.”

  “Hmm, he's got a point there,” Paul said. “Him being Prince's boy and all, we gotta handle him different. What do you think, J?�
��

  “You know,” J said, sighing. “Me and Prince been best friends since before most of you’ve been alive. When he died a piece of me went with him. Everybody's playing like they don’t know who ordered the hit on him, but I got an idea. When I know for sure, that ma fucka is dead as shit!” J didn’t say anyone's name, but the men assembled could read between the lines.

  “I feel you, J,” Rio said. “I loved Prince too and I’d like to see the ma fucka responsible for this put in a box.”

  “They’ll be time for that later, kid,” J assured him. “Right now we need to know what you’re gonna do?”

  “Okay,” he said, getting serious. “I accept the terms of this agreement.”

  “Then it's settled,” J said, pulling out a bottle of yak and four shot glasses. “You the man now. Rule wisely and justly. Remember those two things and ya might grow up to be somebody, Rio.” J made sure everyone's glass was full before he continued speaking. “If Prince was here I’m sure he would’ve agreed with our choice of his replacement. Gentlemen, let us raise our glasses and toast to the new prince of the ghetto.”

  “To Rio,” they all said in unison, before draining their glasses.

  Rio wanted to shout with delight, but he had to play it cool. He thought that he would’ve had to do some maneuvering to step up, but it had proved to be easier than he thought. Soon the word would spread to every corner in the city that Rio had been named Prince's successor. Those who remained loyal would prosper. Those who sought to challenge him would be punished. Rio was one step closer to his and Trinity's dream.

  Trinity was awakened bright and early the next morning by a knock on the door. She snatched her bathrobe and shuffled her way to the door. She was tired of all the traffic coming in and out of the house. It wasn’t so much Billy, but her brother Richard. Crackheads loved to run in and out at all times of the night. She would be glad when the end of the month came. The lady had called Rio a few days prior to inform him that the apartment would be ready then. Wouldn’t be soon enough for Trinity.

  When she looked through the peephole she was surprised to see Officer Brown standing in the hallway. She wondered what he could want at this hour of the morning? Well, she wouldn’t find out standing there.

  “Hey, Officer Brown,” Trinity said, cracking the door.

  “Hello, Trinity,” he said trying to muster a smile. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

  “Nah, it's okay. I had to get up anyway. What's up?”

  “Well…Uh…I kinda need to talk to you.”

  “Oh God, what is it now?” she said, fearing the worst.

  “Trinity, there isn’t any easy way to say this.”

  “Just take your time.”

  “Trinity, they sent me here to bring you in for questioning.”

  “Questioning?”

  “Yes, they want me to ask you about your father's disappearance.”

  “I told you that I don’t know anything.” she insisted.

  “I know, Trinity, but Detective Stark thinks you do.”

  “That's crazy!”

  “I know, but he's hell-bent on putting Rio under the jail.”

  “Officer Brown, I don’t know anything about what Rio is or isn’t doing in the streets,” she said, trying to collect herself.

  “Trinity, I don’t think you understand where I’m coming from. This guy wants Rio bad. I mean, he was in his ass before, but since Prince is outta the picture, it's ten times worse.”

  “What does Prince's death have to do with Rio?”

  “Trinity, whether you know it or not, Rio was being groomed to be the next big thing. Now that Prince is out of the way, he's a sure bet to take over his operation.”

  “No, you’re mistaken,” she lied.

  “Trinity, you better wise up. If I were you, I would try convincing Rio to take an early retirement. If he doesn’t, they’re gonna make sure he ends up either in jail or the ground.”

  Trinity sized up Officer Brown, trying to figure out if he was playing on her. She looked into his eyes and saw genuine concern. “Why are you risking your career to help me?”

  “Because,” he said sadly, “I care. Trinity, you don’t know how tired I am of seeing young black folks get railroaded. Now, I ain’t no fool, so don’t get it twisted. I know who Rio is and what he's doing. If he catches a bid, then he brought it on himself. But you’re different. You’re just a girl who got involved with the wrong kind of dude. I don’t knock you for whom you’ve decided to love, but if you care for him as much as you say, then get him to step down.”

  “Okay,” she said nonchalantly.

  “Trinity,” he said, grabbing her by the shoulders. “Quit saying okay and listen. Let Truck have his father's empire. Take your people and get outta here. When I go back to the precinct I’m gonna tell Stark that you weren’t home. Take my advice, Trinity.” Officer Brown released her shoulders and left her to think on what he had said. He hoped that she would listen, but in his heart he knew that she wouldn’t. He just hoped that when the shit hit the fan they could bring Rio in wearing chains instead of a bag.

  Trinity sat on the couch, her thoughts racing. If what Officer Brown was saying was true then staying in the game might be detrimental to both of them. Trinity wanted to get out of the projects more than anything else, but she loved Rio too much to risk losing him over something material. The last thing that Trinity wanted was to see Rio get locked up, but at this stage of the game, getting out wouldn’t be that easy. Maybe it would be best to let Truck step up while she took Rio and left. It shouldn’t be too hard to pull off. Prince's throne was vacant so let his bastard of a son fill it. As long as she and Rio could get away free. Little did Trinity know that the bargain had already been struck.

  Truck took the remains of his crushed cellular phone and hurled them at the wall. The cracked plastic burst against the plaster and went flying all over the place. He had just gotten the word from J about the Capos nominating Rio for leadership. All the scheming and planning that Truck had done just to have it ruined due to a damn democracy. But what J and the other Capos failed to realize was that they weren’t the government, they were criminals.

  Truck was tired of playing games. If J and the others wanted to side with Rio then they could die with him. There was no way that Truck was going to let a billion-dollar-a-year empire slip through his fingers. He snatched his coat from the arm of the chair and headed for the door. When Truck snatched the door open, he was surprised to see a face from the past standing there.

  Baron stood in the center of his team, giving them last-minute instructions. “Y’all make sure everything goes smooth,” he told them. “I don’t want my package to get so much as a scratch while you’re bringing it in. Joyce,” he said, looking at the shaken girl, “are you ready?”

  “I guess,” she said sheepishly.

  “I don’t need you to guess, ma. I need to know that you’re ready?”

  “Yeah, I’m ready.”

  “Listen,” he said, stroking her face. “Don’t worry about it. Nothing is gonna happen. Before you know it, this will all be over with and everything will be back to normal. I need you with me on this.”

  “Okay, Baron.”

  Baron watched the misguided girl leave and shook his head in disgust. Little did Joyce know she had almost outlived her usefulness. It was a shame what some chicks would do for a few dollars. Once she did this last thing for Baron, she would be cast out with the rest of the trash.

  “Man, fuck do you want?” Truck asked angrily.

  “Well, hello to you, too,” Peterson said, inviting himself into Truck's place. “I just came to see how you’ve been.”

  “Bullshit. What you really came down here for, Detective Peterson?”

  “That's Agent Peterson,” he corrected. “I’m with the Bureau now. I hear you’ve been a busy little beaver though.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Truck lied.

  “Come on, you know the Feds know everyth
ing. Listen, I’m not really here to trade lies with you. I need a favor.”

  “What kind of favor?”

  “The same kinda favors that you used to do while you were locked up.”

  “Man, I ain’t wit that shit.”

  “Oh, I think you are. Or would you like me to tell the homeys what you did to survive ten years behind the wall?”

  Truck thought about what his life would be like if the word got out about his extracurricular activities and decided to hear Peterson out.

  “Okay, what do you need?”

  “A bust. I think you’ll like who the target is.”

  “Why is that?”

  “Because I hear that Rio has been quite a pain in your ass for some time.”

  “Listen, nothing would please me more then to get that ma fucka outta my hair, but it ain’t that easy.”

  “Don’t bullshit me, Truck. I know that both of you worked for Prince.”

  “Yeah, but we can’t stand each other. I’ve got about as much chance of earning Rio's trust as you do.”

  “Well, you better think of something. This thing that you boys got going has become bigger than just the local police. We caught wind of it, not too long ago. We were just trying to gather intelligence before we made a move. The locals just made it easier by alerting us to their operation. The moral of the story is, we’re looking to pin a RICO charge on someone. Now, they want Rio bad, but they’ll take you as the booby prize.”

  “I don’t know what to tell you then,” Truck said, beginning to waiver.

  “Okay, Truck,” Peterson said, pulling out his phone. “I guess you and me are going downtown then. Afterwards, I’ll be sure to tell your father's crew how helpful you were.”

  “Okay, okay,” Truck said, beginning to panic. “I can’t get you Rio, but what if I got you someone close to him? Someone that could give you the goods on Rio for real. I’m talking murder and trafficking. Interested?”

  “Okay, Truck. Start talking.”