by K'wan
Swann shook his head. “Man, it seems like all you do lately is sit around the house. When is the last time you hit the streets?”
“I thought the idea was to keep me insulated from the bullshit?”
“I don’t mean like that, Shai. I mean when is the last time the king has left the castle to mingle with his subjects? I know you miss it; the sights, the sounds, the bitches throwing themselves at you.”
Shai smiled. “I can’t front, I do sometimes, but it’s too risky.”
“What is reward without risks? I know you love sitting in this big ass house, watching T.V., baking cookies with Honey, or whatever the fuck you do these days but sometimes it’s good for morale to let the soldiers see your face.”
“So, what do you suggest?”
Now it was Swann’s turn to smile. “I thought you’d never ask.”
CHAPTER 15
Two hours later, Shai was pushing across the George Washington Bridge, reunited with an old friend; his gold Lexus GS300. He hadn’t driven it in years, and almost felt funny behind the wheel. Shai had at least a half dozen cars in addition to the throwback, which was nearly twenty years old by that point, but that car had always been special to him. It reminded him of happier times.
“Yo, do you remember this?” Swann pointed to a small burn hole in the passenger seat where he was sitting.
“How could I not?” Shai laughed. It had been three days since Poppa Clark presented Shai with the car. He and Swann were coming back from a night of partying, and Swann had gotten so drunk that he fell sleep with the blunt in his hand and burned the seat. “Poppa threw me a good beating for your bullshit.”
“And grounded you for a week,” Swann added.
“The bullshit about it was that it wasn’t even my fault because I was dead sober. I was always getting in trouble for your bullshit.”
“Nigga, don’t act like I haven’t taken my fair share of lumps for you,” Swann shot back. “I corroborated plenty of your lies, which is probably why Honey hates me now. I’m surprised she even let you come out with me today.”
“My woman don’t let me do shit. I’m a grown ass man. But she wasn’t exactly happy about it,” Shai snickered. “She beefed a little, but she’ll get over it. I left her some shopping money before we broke out.”
“The quickest way to a woman’s heart is through her pocketbook,” Swann joked. “But seriously though, when you first met shorty, did you ever think you’d be damn near married to her and be expecting a kid?”
“Hell no,” Shai said honestly. “Honey was a wild girl, not really my speed, but the heart wants what the heart wants.”
“Indeed, it does,” Swann agreed. “I was skeptical at first, but I gotta admit that she has stood tall with you through some very trying times. She’s earned my respect.”
“Why do you think I wife’d her up?”
“Speaking of which; did you two kids set a wedding date yet?”
Shai cut his eyes at him. “Where did that come from?”
“Giselle,” Swann told him. “After we got home from the baby shower, she started talking that marriage shit again, so I know her and Honey been conspiring.
The only time she ever gets to rocking the boat is after talking to yo chick,” he said as he pointed at him for emphasis.
“Yeah, she did come at me on some set a date shit yesterday,” Shai confessed. “Lately she really been on this marriage trip. Haven’t I already given her the life and the loyalty?”
“Yeah, but it’s the title that’s the real prize. Any bitch can be a baby mama, wifey or even a fiancé, but it takes a certain class of woman for you to stand up and put it on God!”
“Thanks for putting even more pressure on me,” Shai said in a worrisome voice.
“My fault, Slim,” Swann patted him on the back. “Look, if you ain’t ready to marry Honey, then come out and tell her as much.”
“It ain’t like that. Honey been in my corner for years. It’s only right that I make it official, but I wanna do it when I feel like the time is right, not because it’s what she’s pushing for. That’s like you and Giselle been together probably three times as long as we have, but y’all ain’t tied the knot yet. You gonna do it in your own time, right?”
Swann got quiet.
“You do plan on marrying Giselle, don’t you?” Shai asked.
Swann looked at his best friend seriously. “Shai, I’m about to give you some real talk. I love Giselle. I let her into my heart and that’s a privilege another bitch will never have, but I ain’t looking to give nobody but Mara my last name right now. We getting big money out here, Shai, and things are going great, but I ain’t nowhere near where I need to be to get comfortable enough to ease up on this money. I pray that one day I get to stop and smell the roses with my lady and my kid like you and Honey, but right now I’m out here chasing this power and everything that comes with it. To be honest with you, I’ll probably end up a beautiful young corpse before a devoted husband.”
Swann just laid some heavy shit on Shai. The two of them had been down for so long that Shai had always looked at them as equals, but in truth, they weren’t. Swann had money and power, but he wasn’t a boss, because he still answered to Shai. This gave him food for thought and his next order of business would be figuring out a way to give Swann more independence, maybe even allowing him to start his own family.
“So, what’s the deal with Tommy and that white bitch?” Swann changed the subject.
“Beats the hell out of me. She looks familiar, but I don’t know for sure if I ever seen her before. She’s one of Ms. Ruby’s girls,” Shai told him.
“Then she’s either selling pussy or was casing your joint. You know Ruby and all them little hood boogers she takes in are scandalous as hell,” Swann half joked. “Not on no funny shit, but I didn’t think Tommy still had much use for women, considering his condition. You think he can still get it up?”
Shai gave him a look.
“Hey, I’m just asking.”
“Well ask him yourself the next time you see him,” Shai challenged.
“No thanks. Whether he’s got legs or not, Tommy is still a dangerous muthafucka and not to be played with.”
The two of them continued to chop it up about this and that, as they coasted through Harlem. It had been quite some time since Shai had revisited his old stomping grounds. He came into Manhattan frequently, but it was always on business and with an entourage. It had been ages since he and Swann had mobbed out two-deep, bending corners and taking in sights. It was a nice day, so Harlem was busy with activity. It seemed like every block they turned on, they knew somebody. Shai felt like the president as people waved and shouted to them in greeting. Shai pushed the car down 7th, across 125th and past White Castle. Harlem had undergone some changes, but he was glad to see one of his old haunts still standing. There had been plenty of nights when he had Swann had staggered into the burger joint, drunk and hungry after the club. The burgers tasted like sweet life, but he would always pay for it when he spent half the next morning bound to the toilet while the meal ran straight through him. Those were the days. It was cool being the boss of an organization, but sometimes he longed for the days when he was able to just hang out and shoot the shit.
They looped through a few more blocks before Shai navigated them to their destination. It was a non-descript little spot on 113th and Lexington Avenue, where you could grab a take-out plate that was sure to have you coming back. It was called Daddy’s House, and was fast becoming one of the key spots to pull up to in Harlem if you were hungry. The menu wasn’t much to look at, mostly soul food and burgers, but their fried chicken was the stuff of legend. Shai pulled up in front of a fire hydrant and clicked his blinkers on.
“Fuck is you, hungry?” Swann asked, noticing where they were.
“Nah, but it’s like you said - sometimes it’s good for morale to let the soldiers see my face,” Shai told him and hopped out of the car.
Big Doc sat with a gr
oup of hard-looking men at one of the tables outside the establishment. They were entrenched in a conversation about God only knew what, but from the way he held their attention, it must have been serious. When Big Doc spotted Shai, his eyes lit up. “Now this is something you don’t see every day,” he said as he stood and embraced Shai. “Fuck you doing down here in the slums?”
“Just strolling down memory lane,” Shai told him. “What up with you though, B.D.? Thought today was your day with your kid?”
“It is. He’s inside fucking with one of those video games,” Big Doc said.
“You know those games cause brain damage?” Swann added.
“No more than all that dro you smoke is rotting yours.”
“Dro was yesterday, haze is the thing of tomorrow. You better step into the new millennium, OG,” Swann capped.
“Haze, dro, kush…I can’t keep up with all these different kinds of weeds you youngsters keep popping up with. Back in my day, we kept it simple and called it all chiba,” Big Doc said with a chuckle.
The door to Daddy’s House opened and a group of school-aged kids filed out. In the lead was Baby Doc. He was the spitting image of his father, dark with cubed features, but he had a petite build like his mother. He was swigging an orange Tropical Fantasy soda, and shoving chips into his mouth. Bringing up the rear were Tech and Jewels. Tech wore a sour scowl, while Baby Doc and some of the other kids teased him about something.
“Well, if it ain’t the get along gang,” Swann joked as he rubbed Baby Doc’s head playfully. “What you little hooligans up to?”
“Just got finished taking your boy’s money!” Baby Doc said proudly, thumbing at Tech. “Kicked his ass three games straight in NBA JAM!”
“Watch your damn mouth! And what did I tell you about drinking these damn things?” Big Doc snatched the Tropical Fantasy from his son’s hand. “These things will make you sterile.”
“Quit believing in oldwives tales, B.D,” Shai spoke up. When the kids noticed Shai for the first time, they all rushed him, shouting his name and hitting him up for dollars like they always did. Shai pulled out his bankroll and began handing out bills in between warning them about the ills of the streets and telling them to stay in school. After handing out about one hundred dollars in singles, the kids dispersed to go for another round of video games.
“Shai, niggas like you make it two easy on them kids. Where’s the lesson in giving away money instead of making them earn it?” Swann questioned.
“The lesson is that a good king makes sure no man, woman or child goes without,” Shai capped.
“That’s deep,” Tech said, reminding them he and Jewels were even standing there. He wasn’t sure what kind of response he had been expecting from Shai, but the silent glare wasn’t it. “Thanks again for inviting me to your baby shower,” he said, more to break the uneasy tension than anything else.
“I told you I was gonna have you moving in different circles,” Swann said to rescue Tech from his embarrassment. “I tell my peoples all the time that you’re a young man with potential.”
“That remains to be seen. Swann, let me holla at you for a minute,” Shai said in a displeased tone.
Tech watched as Swann and Shai stepped off to the side so they could speak out of earshot. Shai’s body language wasn’t hostile, but it was rigid. The conversation only lasted for a few seconds, but it was long enough for them to come to an understanding.
“Yo, I’m gonna go in here and get something to eat. I’ll get with y’all in a few.” Shai gave Big Doc dap, then Swann. Tech held his hand out too, but Shai just looked at it and continued walking inside.
“Yo, what’s up with your man?” Tech asked Swann. The day before, Shai had laid a compliment on him, and now he was acting like Tech had cooties.
“Give me a second,” Swann said, tapping Tech’s arm and walking him down the block.
“I’m starting to get the feeling that your boy ain’t feeling me,” Tech said.
“It ain’t like that, T. Shai’s the boss, so all eyes are always on him. He’s gotta be real careful how he moves. I’ve seen a nigga catch a dime for talking to the wrong muthafucka. That’s why all the soldiers talk to him through me,” Swann explained. “Give Shai some time and he’ll warm up to you just like I did. But onto more pressing business. Where’s your little man? I had kinda hoped to talk to both of y’all about some work.”
“Who, Animal? I ain’t seen that little nigga in a few days,” Tech said.
“Everything okay between y’all?”
“Yeah, man. You know I can’t keep track of that strange lil’ nigga. He comes and goes at his leisure,” Tech lied. In truth, he wasn’t sure what was going on with Animal lately. Ever since the hit they pulled for the Clarks where Animal inadvertently blinded the victim’s elderly mother, something changed in Tech’s protégé. He had become more withdrawn and was more distant. Tech had even gone by his apartment that morning to surprise him with an order of his favorite meal (broiled eel from the Japanese market,) and to give him the play-by-play from the baby shower, but Animal was already gone. Where, only God knew, but if Tech had to guess, he was probably skulking around in that abandoned building with the band of misfits he’d adopted. He spent more time with those dirty ass kids than he did the Dog Pound. Tech had seen Animal in funks before and normally he would snap out of them within a few days if given enough space, but this was different. The more he stayed away, the deeper he sank. Tech wouldn’t admit it to the others, but he was really starting to worry.
“Well we ain’t really got time to wait on him to find his way back home. Need this done ASAP and it’s at least a two-man job. You got somebody else to ride out with you?”
Tech looked over his shoulder at Jewels, who was watching them intently. “Yeah, I can maybe scare somebody up. What you need, blood?”
“Someone to disappear.”
CHAPTER 16
After grabbing his food, Shai came back outside and rejoined his troops. He had his sleeves rolled up, enjoying the greasy fried chicken and watching the ladies go by. “Damn, sometimes I forget how much I miss this shit.”
“Then you need to get out here with us more often instead of being in the crib with your head stuck up Honey’s ass,” Swann said.
Shai sighed. “Man, there you go again. You starting to sound like a real hater.”
“Or a jealous girlfriend,” Big Doc added. “Shai, don’t listen to this nigga. Ain’t nothing wrong with monogamy.”
“Ain’t too much right about it either,” Swann shot back. “Variety is the spice of life. Sampling other pussy makes me more appreciative of the one I got at home.”
Big Doc gave him a look. “You sound dumb as shit. The object of the game is to win the prize at the end. You don’t win and keep playing. That’s madness.”
“Nah, that’s pimp shit,” Swann capped. “Look, you can let Shai talk that devoted boyfriend shit to you, but I know him better than that. That hound dog I used to turn these streets with is hiding in there somewhere. All it’s gonna take to bring him out is catching the scent of the right bitch.”
“I think you’re wrong, Swann. Shai has gotten busted enough times to have finally figured out that it’s safer for him to keep his dick in his pants.”
“Then put something on it,” Swann challenged. “I got a stack that says the hound dog I used to run these streets with is still hiding somewhere in there and all it’ll take is the scent of the right bitch to pull it out of him.”
“You’re on!” Big Doc said confidently. The two shook hands to seal the bet.
All Shai could do was shake his head in amusement while his friends wagered on the strength of his infidelity. His attention was drawn to the curb as a candy-red Hummer pulled in front of Daddy’s House and double parked. It was sitting on large rims with windows tinted so heavily that it was impossible to see who was inside. Music boomed so loudly from the speakers that it set off the alarm it was double-parked next to. Both Big Doc and Swann
stood at the same time, forming a barrier between Shai and whoever was in the vehicle.
The kids came out of Daddy’s House and lined up on the curb, pointing and trying to peer through the tints to see who was in the nice car. The driver’s side door popped open, and out lumbered a mountain of a man. He was high yellow with a clean-cut head and shoulders almost as wide as the vehicle. One of the little kids wandered too close, but a scowl from the man sent him scurrying away. He was known in underworld circles as Red Devil, or Devil for short.
Devil opened the back door first and out stepped two attractive young girls, one light-skinned and the other dark. They were both fine and dressed in tight clothes that showed off their curvaceous figures. Swann and Doc eyed the girls openly, whispering about what they would do to them if given the chance, but it was the third girl, the one who was riding shotgun, that caught Shai’s eye.
She was a leggy doll with skin like the color of almond milk, and rich black hair she wore in long boxed braids that swayed every time she moved her head. Dressed in tight jeans, doorknocker earrings and construction Timberlands, she was the embodiment of a B-girl. When the little kids caught sight of her, they all squealed and rushed her, begging for autographs and pictures. She smiled graciously and accommodated the children. Devil let the autograph signing go on for a few minutes before dispersing the children and heading towards the table where Shai sat, with the ladies trailing him.
“Who that?” Shai asked Big Doc and Swann.
“Man, where have you been; living under a rock? That’s Lady Monet. She’s one of Big Dawg’s newest artists,” Swann explained.
Shai had never heard the name Lady Monet, but he was familiar with Big Dawg. It was a record label started by a gangster-turned-rapper who went by the name of Don B. To Shai’s knowledge, they specialized in gangster rap, but Lady Monet looked more like a movie star than a gangster.
“Young Swann, what it do?” Devil ambled to the table where they were sitting and greeted him. He and Swann knew each other from the streets, as they were affiliated with the same gang.
