A Hustler's Promise: Some Promises Won't Be Broken

by Jackie Chanel

  “Why am I here?” Niecy asked Jaicyn. “What do you want to know?”

  “I want to know where your man is,” Jaicyn stated calmly.

  “I can’t help you,” she said. “I don’t know where he is.”

  “Yeah,” Jaicyn said, “I figured you say that. I don’t believe you.” Jaicyn reached into her red Prada bag and pulled out her chrome .45. The metal glinted with the sunlight hit it. Niecy saw it and started crying.

  “Don’t start that crying bullshit,” Jaicyn said. “Tears don’t work on me. All you have to do is tell me where Marcello is. Do that and you go home. Keep saying you don’t know and I’m going to shoot you in your kneecaps and your elbows. How are you going to take care of your kids with no arms and legs?”

  “But I don’t know,” Niecy cried. “I haven’t seen him in a month. If I knew, Jaicyn, I swear I’d tell you.”

  “I don’t believe her. Do you believe her, Slim?” Jaicyn laughed. This was actually a little fun. She never had to question anyone before. But she watched too many cop shows to not know how to do it.

  “You have to believe me,” Niecy pleaded. “I don’t know.”

  “Maybe she doesn’t know,” Johnny said.

  “Yeah,” Jaicyn agreed, ignoring Niecy for the moment. “But she knows something.” She looked at Niecy again.

  “Where do you think he might be? Where does he go when he has to hide out?”

  Niecy shut her eyes and tried to think. It was easier when she couldn’t see the guns that Jaicyn and Slim were holding. She wanted to give Jaicyn the information that she wanted. She wanted to help.

  “It depends,” she said. “It depends on what he did. What did he do?”

  How was it even possible that this girl didn’t know why she was looking for Marcello? Everyone in Washington Heights knew about the shooting at the Red Room.

  “You don’t know?” Jaicyn asked.

  “No. Like I said, I haven’t talked to him. I stay out of Marcello’s business. What did he do now?”

  “He tried to kill me,” Jaicyn answered.

  Niecy shook her head in disbelief. How fucking stupid! She’d heard something about Marcello wanting to take over Oak Park. She didn’t think he was stupid enough to do something so stupid. No wonder King had sent Jaicyn and Slim to find him. Niecy knew exactly where he was hiding.

  “He’s probably in Cleveland,” she told Jaicyn. “He has family there. He has a cousin he stays up there with named Pokey. He sells dope in the Flats.”

  “How can we find him in the Flats?” Slim wanted to know. “His people ain’t gon give him up.”

  “There’s this club that Pokey sells dope out of called Cheetah’s. If he’s there then Marcello will be with him.”

  “Thank you.” Jaicyn put her gun back in her purse and pulled out a wad of cash.

  “Untie her,” Jaicyn ordered Slim.

  “You know you have to leave town, right?” Jaicyn said to Niecy.

  “Yeah, I probably will,” the girl said, rubbing her wrists that were sore from the rope.

  “Ain’t no probably,” Jaicyn said. “You have to leave. Here.”

  She handed the cash to Niecy who looked at her funny.

  “What’s this for?”

  “You’re going to need it to move. I said there was reward for any information about where Marcello was. I keep my word,” she explained. “I threw in an extra ten because you have kids. Take the money and get out of Washington Heights. We’re not going to hurt you but somebody else might if they think you gave up your man.”

  “He’s not my man,” Niecy corrected her, fingering the cash. With that kind of money she could pack up her kids and go wherever she wanted!

  “I don’t know what to say, Jaicyn,” Niecy said.

  “You don’t have to say anything,” Jaicyn advised. “Just take the money and leave this place. Don’t look back and think you did something wrong. If you need anything, you should know where I’ll be. Now get out of here.”

  Niecy walked out of the building unscathed. Slim looked at Jaicyn with a new level of respect. She knew how to get information out of people using methods that worked much better than physical pain. She knew how to get inside of their mind. Jaicyn’s talent was being wasted, running a crew. She was the type of person he and Blaque needed on their team.

  “So what now?” Slim asked.

  “Find Corey and Marcus and go to the Flats. You know what to do. Call me when it’s done.”

  Jaicyn zipped her bag and walked outside. The sun was setting and the sky streaked with all kinds of colors. Slim got in his Suburban and drove off. Jaicyn put on her sunglasses, hopped in her Mustang and followed him down the street.

  Six hours later, while she was lying in the bed watching re-runs on Nick at Night, her cell phone rang.

  “Hello,” Jaicyn said.

  “It’s done,” Slim said.

  Jaicyn smiled. “Good. Come home. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Chapter 30

  “Jaicyn,” Rickie called from the kitchen, “does Rayshawn like pecan or cherry pie?”

  “Neither,” Jaicyn yelled back. “He only eats apple pie.”

  Jaicyn’s apartment was a mad house. She had the bright idea of throwing a Welcome Home party for Rayshawn and things had gotten a little out of control. It was supposed to be a simple party but Sandy had turned it into something completely different.

  She even had two girls from her restaurant helping her cook dinner. Jaicyn knew that Rickie and Bobbie were probably more in the way than actually helping, but at least they were bothering someone else. They had spent the last three days getting on Jaicyn’s last nerves.

  As Jaicyn stood in front of her full length mirror admiring her tight black dress, thigh high boots, and gold jewelry, she knew she looked good. She’d picked out the dress after seeing a girl in a rap video wearing a white one. She wasn’t as tall as the girl in the video but the four-inch stiletto heel on her boots definitely helped. It had been a long time since she got to dress up for her man.

  Rayshawn was home. Life as she knew for the last six months was about to change and Jaicyn was a bit nervous about it. She had gotten extra comfortable in his roll and she didn’t see how she could just go back to taking orders from him. After Marcello and Pete were found floating in Lake Erie, Jaicyn’s street credibility had skyrocketed. All talk of taking over the Park had ceased. Jaicyn was a boss!

  But now Rayshawn was home and he expected Jaicyn to hand over the reigns without a problem. It wasn’t fair. Jaicyn knew that Rayshawn wasn’t going to be gone forever and that the job was temporary. She thought she was prepared.

  On the other hand, it had been a little over six months since Rayshawn had been in Atlanta and Jaicyn was happy to have him back home. She needed and wanted him home. She just didn’t want to give up her job.

  When Jaicyn heard the front door open she knew that Rayshawn, Little Man, and King had just walked in. She gave her hair another quick comb through and splashed on some perfume. A quick glance in the mirror confirmed that she looked stunning, like the diva she claimed to be.

  Jaicyn walked down the steps slowly in her boots, reaching the bottom just in time to hear Rayshawn say, ‘Where’s my girl?’

  “I’m right here,” Jaicyn answered.

  Rayshawn was crouching down and hugging Rickie and Bobbie but quickly stood up when Jaicyn came down the steps. Rayshawn’s eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw his girlfriend. The last time he had seen her she had come to Atlanta looking like she’d come from a gun fight, which she had. This was the Jaicyn that he knew and loved. He’d seen thousands of beautiful girls in Atlanta but none of them compared to the one who stood in front of him.

  “Damn, baby, you look beautiful.”

  The black dress hugged every single curve of her body. The gold jewelry made her hazel eyes sparkle and set off the golden highlights in her hair. Rayshawn pulled Jaicyn close to him and wrapped his arms around her waist. As they embraced
the small group of people ‘ooh’d and aww’d’.

  “Look at the lovebirds,” Sandy teased. “They are so cute!”

  With all the teasing and laughing, Jaicyn and Rayshawn broke away from each other and looked around, a little embarrassed by the attention.

  “Don’t be ashamed,” Autumn teased. “We know you missed each other.”

  “If you know that why are all y’all in my house?” Rayshawn asked, only partly joking.

  “Damn, Rayshawn’s gone for six months and he gets mad love when he walks in the house,” said a voice that Jaicyn hadn’t heard in a minute.

  “I’ve been gone way longer than him and I can’t even get a hello? That’s messed up,” Dayshawn said.

  Jaicyn looked over Rayshawn’s shoulder and saw his twin standing by the front door. She smiled as her sisters ran over to their ‘Uncle Dayshawn’ and hugged him too.

  Dayshawn rarely visited Washington Heights. He was a senior at Morehouse and had a rigorous schedule. Plus he loved Atlanta and hated Washington Heights. He always found a reason to stay there during breaks which suited Rayshawn just fine. He didn’t know what could happen to his brother in Washington Heights and decided that he was safer in Atlanta.

  “I guess the gang’s all here,” Jaicyn said as she gave King a hug. “Hold up, where’s Little Man?”

  “He stayed in Atlanta,” King answered. “He flew Keisha and the kids down there with him.”

  “Business must be good,” Jaicyn commented, knowing that she would get all the details later.

  There was a time and place to discuss business and now was not it. Jaicyn hoped that Little Man’s stay in Atlanta was permanent. She didn’t want her man to have to go back down there. Rayshawn squeezed her gently around the waist, assuring her that everything was okay. He was home and he planned on staying there.

  ****

  An entire week passed before Rayshawn finally made it over to the Park. After spending six months in Atlanta Rayshawn took a much needed break. He stayed in his apartment and played video games. He hung out with his friends while Jaicyn handled the operation. Now he was relaxed and ready to get back to work. Except now he felt like a stranger as he and Jaicyn walked through the projects.

  They stopped to visit with Marquise and his crew that worked a corner near Oak Park. Marquise had been working that corner for a long time and it never did much business, Rayshawn let the boy and his friends hustle out there and make a little bit of money that afforded them nice clothes, sneakers, and a small reputation. He was very surprised to see the block was very active and Marquise was there in the middle of the afternoon on a school day.

  The Park was the closest south side housing project to the interstate. Rayshawn had let that information pass him by, but Jaicyn wanted to capitalize on their location as much as possible.

  Work smarter, not harder.

  She moved some people around and taught Marquis and his small crew some new techniques. Now the corner was bringing in triple than it had before.

  Rayshawn was impressed.

  “Where’d you move Curt and Sonya?” Rayshawn asked as they crossed the courtyard.

  “Over to Queen Street.”

  “But we never had that corner,” Rayshawn remarked. “Sonny had that since it was closer to the Terrace.”

  “Actually, it’s closer to us. And now it’s ours.”

  “You and Sonny worked that out?”

  Jaicyn shrugged her shoulders and kept walking. “You could say that.”

  “What did you do?”

  “The same thing you would have done if someone had a corner that you wanted,” Jaicyn replied. Rayshawn wasn’t brand new to the game. He knew how things worked.

  “What else have you done?” Jaicyn picked up the obvious sarcasm but ignored it.

  “Just what you already know about. Pete’s out,” she snickered. Pete was definitely out. “Johnny’s with me. Shalon and Troy are down in the courtyard with Lil D and Cortez.”

  As they walked through the courtyard Rayshawn watched his girlfriend. Jaicyn moved through the projects like a celebrity. People stopped what they were doing to speak to her. What people had been telling Rayshawn for the last six months was true. Jaicyn was just like him.

  Rayshawn followed Jaicyn to the 200 building. At one point or another, Rayshawn had been in every building in Oak Park. He didn’t like one more than the other, they were all the same. But he never had any reason to be in the 200 building.

  “Where are we going?” Rayshawn asked as they walked up the stairs. Of course the elevator didn’t work.

  “To the office,” replied Jaicyn. “Where did you think?”

  “What happened to the 100 building? I set up there for a reason.”

  “I changed it when I found out about Pete. I moved the stash house too.”

  “To where,” Rayshawn demanded to know.

  “It depends,” Jaicyn answered casually. “We move it every couple of weeks. We have double the product coming in here and we can’t afford to get caught slipping. I don’t take chances like that.”

  She didn’t mean for her comment to be a diss but Rayshawn took it as one. He’d kept the same stash house for over a year and it never got hit. What the hell had Jaicyn done to have to move her product every two weeks? Who was watching her that closely?

  “I never had that problem before,” Rayshawn grunted and followed Jaicyn into apartment F. “I don’t expect to have it now.”

  “I don’t have a problem either,” Jaicyn fired back. “And as long as we keep moving it, we won’t.”

  Jaicyn flung her coat and purse down on the couch and sat down. She was sick of Rayshawn’s attitude. All she was trying to do was inform him of the shit that he’d missed while he was away. She really didn’t care what he liked and didn’t like or what he used to do. If he wanted things to stay the same and be done his way then he should have stayed his ass in Washington Heights. He’d been gone six months and things had changed. He should have been grateful that he still had a thriving business to come home to. Jaicyn could have run his shit into the ground.

  Rayshawn looked around the redecorated office. Jaicyn had changed everything, including his sanctuary! This was no place of business. This was a fully furnished apartment. In the old place there were a couple of tables, a few chairs, a fridge, and a desk. Little Man had brought a TV and a PlayStation but that was it. It was all they needed.

  Jaicyn had changed everything. Apartment F had living room furniture, an entertainment center with a forty-two-inch widescreen television and a new PlayStation 3 hooked up. There were bookshelves lined with PlayStation games and DVDs. It also had a fully stocked kitchen. Rayshawn would have bet a lot of money that the refrigerator was fully stocked and Jaicyn had a gourmet coffee maker in there too.

  “Whose apartment is this?”

  “Nobody lives here,” Jaicyn said, turning on the TV. “But I spend most of my time here so I made it comfortable. The computer and the safe are in the back room. There’s some leftover pizza in the refrigerator if you’re hungry,” Jaicyn added.

  Rayshawn noticed a pile of children’s library books on the floor and a few toys in the living room.

  “Are those the girls’ books?” he asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “You bring Rickie and Bobbie down here?”

  “Every once in awhile,” Jaicyn answered. “They don’t mind. They have friends here.”

  “Don’t do that anymore,” Rayshawn ordered.

  “Why not? They like coming down here.”

  “Because I don’t want them around this shit. They’re just kids.”

  Rayshawn wanted Jaicyn to just listen and do what he said. He shouldn’t have to explain to her why he wanted what he did.

  “Yeah, they’re kids,” Jaicyn countered, “but they aren’t stupid kids. They know what we do. Besides, they’re safer here than anywhere else. I have to be able to see them, you know that.

  “This isn’t the place for them and you k
now that, Jay-Jay.”

  Jaicyn shrugged her shoulders and turned on the television. Sure, the Park wasn’t the best place for her sisters to hang out but she didn’t trust anyone else with them except her. What if something happened to them and she wasn’t around? What if someone took them from her again? She’d die. Rayshawn should know that by now.

  “Don’t bring them down here anymore,” Rayshawn said again.

  “Whatever.”

  Jaicyn rolled her eyes. She was happy that Rayshawn was home but he was getting on her last nerve. He was trying to show her that he was in charge but when it came to Rickie and Bobbie, she was in charge. He couldn’t tell her what to do with her sisters.

  “Have you talked to Darius?” Rayshawn asked, taking a seat in one of the overstuffed chairs with a can of Pepsi.

  “No, why would I do that?”

  “So you can go back to work,” Rayshawn said and felt irritated when Jaicyn burst out laughing.

  “You’re trippin’. I’m not going back to working for Darius just because you’re back. I’m still a part of the crew, remember?”

  “So this is what you really want to do with your life, Jaicyn?” Rayshawn asked.

  “For now it’s what I’m going to do. Why not? You can’t run the Park by yourself. I thought we had a plan.”

  “My plan,” Rayshawn emphasized ‘my’, “wasn’t for you to be involved in this shit, Jay-Jay. Guns, drugs…this shit ain’t for you.”

  “You’re kidding, right?”

  Jaicyn waited for her boyfriend to answer and when he didn’t, she started to get upset. She’d run his “business” for six months. She’d doubled his profits and earned enough respect in the streets that people feared her more than they did him! How could he think for one second that she wasn’t right where she belonged?

  Jaicyn stood up and stood face to face with her biggest hater.

  “You have a lot of nerve,” she said slowly. “You’re home and I’m handing over the reigns even though I ran this shit ten times better than you. I’m giving it back because I promised you I would, but I’m not going anywhere.”