by K'wan
“Leave that girl alone,” Shai shooed Honey away and pulled Star to him protectively. “It ain’t nothing but some fabric and thread. If she messes it up, we’ll replace it. Ain’t that right, baby girl?”
“Umm hmm,” Star agreed, hugging Shai’s waist protectively and smirking at her mother.
“You keep thinking that hiding behind Shai is gonna save you from an ass whipping and you’re going to learn a very painful lesson, young lady,” Honey warned the little girl.
“My teacher says parents can get in trouble for whipping their kids. They got laws against that,” Star sassed.
“Well you tell that bi…”
“Honey!” Shai cut her off. “Paula, can you take Star out to the lawn to get a snack? Honey and me will be down in a few minutes.”
“I don’t wanna go down with, Paula. I wanna walk in with you and mommy like we practiced!” Star started doing her princess wave. She had been working on it for days.
“We can do it later, sweetie. I gotta talk to your mom for a sec. Grown up stuff.” Shai pinched her cheek.
“Y’all always gotta talk grown up stuff,” Star huffed and folded her arms.
Paula seeing anger flash in Honey’s eyes interjected. “Star, come on with Auntie P. We’ll go find Mikey, Mark and Mercedes. I brought them a big stash of blow pops and sour patch before we came. I’m sure they’ll share it with you.”
“Yes, hood candy!” Star pumped her fist. “Come on before they eat it all, Auntie P!” Star grabbed Paula by the hand and nearly dragged her out of the room.
“That little girl and her mouth are gonna make me catch a case!” Honey fumed.
“She got it honest,” Shai teased.
“You need to stop that.”
“Stop what?” Shai asked, confused.
“Stop acting like everything she does is so fucking cute. Ain’t nothing cute about a disrespectful kid!” Honey snapped.
“Honey, Star isn’t disrespectful. She’s mischievous. There’s a difference. Now if you wanna see disrespectful, look at Paula’s bad ass kids. You ever hear how she lets them talk to her?” Shai was only kidding, but Honey didn’t take it that way.
“So what, you judging my friends now like yours are any better? Hmph, I’d rather have a bunch of babies than a bunch of bodies, but you and yours wouldn’t know anything about that, right?” Honey said slyly. The minute the remark left her mouth she wished she could have it back. She hadn’t even realized that Shai had moved until he was looming over here, with her arm clutched tightly in his hand.
“First of all,” he sneered, “I was only joking, trying to make you laugh. And second of all, you watch your fucking mouth when it comes to things you don’t know shit about.”
“Get off me. You’re hurting my arm!” Honey tried to hide the panic in her voice.
“Better a bruise to your arm rather than a bullet to the back of your head if the wrong person hears you talking outta your ass. There is power in words!” Shai hissed. “Baby girl, you ain’t been a square long enough to forget who I am and how this life we’ve chosen works.”
“You’ve made your point, now get your damn hands off me!” Honey jerked away from Shai and went to stand by the window.
Shai saw the tears dancing in the corner of her eyes and felt like a world-class dickhead. “I’m sorry, ma,” he moved to comfort her. She was resistant, but didn’t stop him from embracing her. “I’m not sorry for checking you, because you do need to watch your mouth, but it could’ve came out a little better. I got a bunch of shit on my brain, so I been kinda short with everybody.”
“Well I’m not everybody, I’m your fiancé.” Honey shot back. “I know you got a lot on your plate, Shai, but you’re not the only one going through something. Look at me,” she gestured at her body. “I’m fat, pregnant and ugly. You think this shit is easy for me?”
“Don’t say that about yourself, Melissa,” he called her by her real name. “Pregnancy got you a little thick, but it’s all in the right places.” He ran his hands over her curves. “As a matter of fact, we got a few minutes before we make our entrance, so how about you let me show you just how much I appreciate that pregnancy weight?” He began fumbling with Honey’s dress, but she pushed him away.
“Boy you must be crazy. I spent too much time getting this hair done to let you sweat it out.” Honey fluffed the curls of her sandy blonde weave. “But on a serious note, I’m over this pregnancy shit, Shai. I don’t know what I was thinking about by letting you gas me to get pregnant again after ten years since my last kid.”
“Didn’t take no gassing; you just saw my vision.” Shai got down on one knee and kissed Honey’s stomach. “This life growing inside you is one of four little kings you’re going to bless me with. When my sons become men, I’ll send each one of them to a different corner of the world to claim as their own, and by the time I die, the Clarks will have inherited the earth.”
Honey smiled down at him lovingly. “You always were the dreamer.”
“This ain’t dreams, baby. They’re prophecies,” Shai said seriously.
“Well while I got you in the proper position, you think about a wedding date yet?” Honey asked.
“Here we go with this again,” Shai stood up and dusted his knees off. “I thought we talked about this already? Shit is crazy right now because everybody is still getting used to the shift in power. We’re in transitioning right now, but as soon as things get settled we can talk about it.”
“Shai, you’ve been at the head of your father’s organization for three years. How much transitioning you need to do?” Honey looked him up and down.
“Melissa…”
“Melissa my ass,” she cut him off. “Shai, these are the kinds of word games you play with one of your side bitches, not the woman you profess to love. I’ve carried your secrets and your seed, haven’t I proven myself worthy yet?”
“Baby you know it ain’t like that,” Shai said sincerely.
“Then help me to understand what it’s like, Shai. From where I’m standing, it looks like I’m just another dumb bitch waiting on an empty promise.” Honey’s voice was heavy with emotion. “You think I don’t see it, Shai? Being the boss is slowly stripping away the sweet and honorable kid I fell in love with, and I don’t know if this new you has the same set of values. If I’m chasing a dream, then keep it one hundred with me and let me go. Don’t hold me hostage on false hope.”
Shai scooped Honey in his arms and tilted her chin so that they were looking into each other’s eyes. “Baby, you must have an incredibly low opinion of me if you think I’d let go of my rib because the stakes got a little higher and the money is a little longer. Everybody else loves me because I got it together, but you loved me when I was still trying to figure all this shit out. The fact that I gotta tell you this and you don’t already know means I’m slacking.”
“Never that, Shai. You take good care of me, Star, and everybody else who needs a blessing. That pure heart of yours,” she tapped his chest, “is what made you stand out amongst the rest. It ain’t never been about titles or finances between us, Shai. I just wanna make sure I’m protected.”
“And you are, babe. You and Star will never have to worry about money again another day in your life. I’ll see to that.”
“I believe you, Shai, never doubt that, but what happens to us if you go away and all this goes up in smoke? Two people shacking up don’t hold no weight in court when assets are being seized, and the girlfriend is the first one the FEDS attack when they’re trying to bring somebody down, but a wife can’t be forced to testify against her husband.”
“You must’ve been binge watching Law & Order reruns again,” Shai joked.
“You’re laughing, but I’m serious, Shai. This ain’t corner-boy shit you’re handling. You’ve got more enemies than just the ones on the streets, and I’m more worried about the gangsters waving indictments than I am about the ones waving guns. This life you inherited brings a lot of time with it. If
we’re gonna play,” she took his hand in hers, “we need to be playing to win.”
Shai mustered a smile. “You’re always three steps ahead, aren’t you?”
“And that’s why you’re with me. The queen protects the king at all costs.” Honey kissed him. “We can finish talking about this later. I don’t want to keep our guests waiting any longer.”
CHAPTER 5
Tech sat on a folding chair in the backyard trying his best not to look uncomfortable. He had donned a white button-up shirt, black jeans and a pair of white Air Force Ones. Swann had told him to dress up, but he didn’t own any dress clothes outside of two white button-up shirts that he kept on standby for funerals. He was a street nigga, and nearly his entire wardrobe consisted of hug-the-block attire.
He was seated at a table in the rear of the yard, just off the driveway that lead to the main house, with some of the other soldiers and a few lieutenants. Whoever did the seating arrangements made sure to keep the undesirables as far away from the regular guests as possible, because Swann would’ve probably needed binoculars to even see what kind of food they were serving at the heart of the yard. When Swann invited Tech to attend the baby shower, he didn’t exactly expect to be welcome into Shai’s inner circle, but he didn’t expect to be stranded in no-man’s land either. It was probably for the best. Amongst the high profile guests, he would’ve stuck out like a sore thumb. They were sheep and Tech was a wolf.
“This shit is hella boring,” Jewels said, reminding Tech that he was sitting at the table. He was a brown skinned cat, with a handsome young dude of about Tech’s age who had a thing for jewelry, especially bracelets. His signature gold Bengal bracelets looped up his right arm from wrist to nearly elbow. Like Tech, he was a budding soldier trying to prove his worth to the Clark clan.
“It ain’t that bad,” Tech told him, snatching a glass of champagne from the platter of a passing waitress. He sipped it and frowned at the lack of the kind of punch he was used to when attempting to get faded.
“Spoken like a nigga who ain’t never been to a real Clark party,” Jewels cracked.
Tech looked at him. “Jewels, you ain’t been down that much longer than me, but you stay talking shit like you a part of Shai’s inner circle.”
“I might not be now, but I will be in a minute.”
Jewels assured him. “Unlike the rest of y’all lil' niggas, I got the memo that it’s a new day for the Clarks, and I aim to prove that I’m fit to get money under the new regime.”
“Speak for yourself, but I kinda like the freedom of being an independent. One source of income is as good as another, so long as the numbers make sense,” Tech replied.
“I hear you, but that’s small time thinking.” Jewels leaned in so that only he and Tech could hear what was being said. “I did that independent shit for a while, and got my marbles from it, but that cash is sporadic. You gotta go out and chase your business. When you fucking with the Clarks, business comes to you. Having this shit on your resume is like having gone to M.I.T!”
“So, you say.” Tech brushed Jewels’ speech off.
“So I know,” Jewels retorted. “My nigga, let me give you some real spit: Shai got at least one thousand niggas who’ll move in a wave when he gives the say-so, and that means only a few stand out. You wanna get on Shai’s radar then you gotta set yourself apart from the rest, and that means doing what the rest of these muthafuckas won’t!”
“You talking like you ‘bout it,” Tech teased him, knowing it would only get Jewels more riled up.
“Fucking right I am! You think you the only shooter the Clarks got on payroll?”
“I ain’t a shooter, I’m a killer.” Tech corrected him.
“Same shit! Bottom line is that my gun go off too!”
“We’ll see,” Tech dismissed him. He was just giving Jewels a hard time. Tech actually liked the young dude. He was a little chattier than Tech was used to, but if he walked it like he talked it, Jewels would make a welcome addition to the Dog Pound.
Jewels continued to chatter, but Tech only half listened. He was too busy doing recon. He watched from a distance as actors, athletes and politicians mingled in the same circles as criminals, and a chuckle escaped him. Outside those gates he doubted if some of those people would have even spit on each other if they were on fire, let alone be eating hors d’oeuvres and laughing like everything was all good. Yet here they were with their false faces and plastic smiles, waiting to kiss Shai’s ass.
“Fuck y’all two little criminals over here scheming on?” A brutish looking man with a salt and pepper afro and a goatee to match approached Tech. This was Big Doc. He had been one of Poppa Clark’s enforcers and now busted heads for Shai. Big Doc was one of the few of Shai’s inner circle that didn’t treat Tech like trash.
“Ain’t nothing, just shooting the shit with my man.” Jewels flashed a toothy grin.
“Seems like that’s the only thing you ever shoot is the shit,” Big Doc teased him. “Take a walk, while I wrap with Tech for a sec.”
“You got it, B.D.” Jewels got up and went to harass one of the waitresses for another drink.
“You straight, lil’ homie?” Big Doc asked Tech when Jewels had gone.
“I’m straight,” Tech told him.
“No you’re not.” Big Doc sat in the chair next to his. “You look about as comfortable as a hooker in church. Drink this.” He placed the glass he was carrying on the table. “It’ll ease your nerves.”
Tech looked at the brown liquid suspiciously.
“Hennessey,” Big Doc answered the question on his face. “Don’t act like you don’t drink it, because that’s all you corner boys drink these days.”
“Man, I ain’t no corner-boy. I’m a shooter,” Tech said proudly.
“I ain’t talking about what you do professionally. I was referencing where you spend most of your time. I be seeing you and your crew all times of the night, skulking like some damn vampires. Y’all might wanna stay out that building on Eighth Ave, though. I hear it’s getting hot on that block.”
Tech was surprised by Big Doc’s familiarity with his routines. “What, you been following me or something?”
“Only for the first few months you started hanging around,” Big Doc admitted. “Once I seen you had the potential to be about something, I cut it back to the occasional ride by just to check up.”
“Man, you’re one suspicious old dude,” Tech smirked.
“You don’t live long enough to get gray hairs by being trusting,” Big Doc capped.
“Well, now that you’ve let me in on your secret, what’s to stop me from changing my routine?” Tech asked slyly.
“I should hope you would. When you play like we play, you should never be that easy to find. You do too much of the same thing twice, and that’s dangerous, kid. But even if you do get yourself some sense and decide to change up how you do things, trust and believe I’ll always be able to find you. Wherever you are, no matter how deep in the cut you think you are, for as long as you’re standing next to Shai, I’ll always be able to lay hands on you.”
“Damn, if I didn’t know any better I’d say that sounded like a threat.”
Big Doc chuckled. “Lil’ buddy, you ain’t did enough in your life to use them kinds of words with a man like me. No disrespect. I ain’t threatening you, Tech. I’m just being upfront.”
Tech nodded. “I can respect that.”
“As I knew you would.” Big Doc reached into his pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. He tapped one out for himself, then offered the pack to Tech. The youth gratefully accepted. “You see that cat right there?” He pointed to Shai, who had just appeared on the lawn from the rear of the house with his lady on his arm. “I love that lil’ nigga - love him enough to smoke a hundred dudes in broad daylight and happily go to prison for it. Do you know why?”
“Because he keeps your pockets fat.” Tech chose the obvious answer.
“Nah, man. I came up under his dad, so I had
bread before he stepped up. The only reason I ain’t retired yet is because I know Shai still needs good people around him to keep his head on straight. Like I said; hustled with Poppa Clark so I been knowing Shai since he was knee-high, and before any of us lived in a big house. When you got roots like that with someone, it’s not a friendship anymore; you’re family. Contrary to what any of y’all on the lower rungs may think of the new king, I happen to know how he was bred, so I can speak on what’s in his heart.”
“So you’re saying you’d throw your life away for him because y’all got history?” Swann asked, starting to catch on.
“No, because Shai represents the future. We need him to win or we all lose.”
“That’s some heavy shit,” Tech said.
“And it only gets heavier.”
“What up, fellas?” Swann walked over and joined them. He gave dap to some of the soldiers who were lingering about before taking a seat with Tech and Big Doc.
“Ain’t shit, just giving fresh fish a crash course on what’s expected of him,” Big Doc told him.
“Oh word? If that’s the case then you should consider yourself lucky, Tech. Next to Tommy, Big Doc is the best teacher in the game,” Swann said.
“Next to Tommy?” Big Doc drew his head back. “Young nigga, who you think it was that gave him that killer edge? Poppa taught Tommy how to boss up, but it was me who showed him the art of laying niggas down. Quiet as kept, I gave him his first gun long before Poppa did, but had it ever got out the O.G. would’ve had me killed,” he laughed.
“You’re right about that. Poppa didn’t fuck around when it came to niggas trying to corrupt his kids, especially Shai,” Swann agreed.
“Then how the fuck did he end up a kingpin?” Tech asked. It was an innocent enough question, but he had obviously struck a nerve.
“I’ll leave Swann to fill in those blanks. Get with you later, youngster.” Big Doc got up and left the table.
“I’m sorry, Swann. I didn’t mean no disrespect.” Tech said sincerely.
