Another Hood Love

by Jontu'

  I pulled up to the block and just sat in the car thinking as I smoked on a blunt of some true granddaddy purple. I loved to smoke cookies, but nothing would ever feel as good to me as some purple. Thinking of my first body had me shaking my head, because that wasn’t the only body and I knew that in this game, there would be more to come. Jah and I had stopped hitting licks after that one; we had ended up with much less than we were told the lick would pay, but it was still enough to put us on. We came off with two pounds of weed and about $15,000. We figured that Josh just wanted to lure us into the lick to where we wouldn’t back out once we knew he wouldn’t be there. With what we had, Jah and I sold the weed a pound a piece and split the cash down the middle. That’s how we met Big Ken; we had sold the weed to Tommy, copped some work with the cash we had, and hit the block. About two months later of grinding aimlessly, we were approached by Big Ken and we’ve been under him ever since.

  Jah

  I ain’t got time cus I run these streets, my money too long why you hatin’ on me, I be on my grind and I run these streets, so it’s about time that I flood these streets…

  I was sliding through the North side on my way back to the East listening to Dej Loaf and Young Klep; it felt good to see niggas from my city making moves. I had been cattin off all morning and I should have been in the hood three hours ago. I had gone to go chill with this little bitch last night, and I ended up getting caught up over there all night. My intentions weren’t to even stay there over an hour, but Kari had other plans; she was 20 and freaky as hell. Little mama was cool; she had her own spot and worked at a dental office. I had met her a couple weeks ago at the gas station; she was a little dark-skinned cutie with a fat ass and some big titties to match. She had two kids by two different niggas, but that wasn’t any of my business.

  I was supposed to meet up with Laela after I left from Kari’s, but after a minute I could see that Kari had plans to keep me longer than I had expected, I turned my phone off after Laela’s fourth call and kicked back as Kari gave me a strip tease and did that little fruit roll up trick on my dick. She had even made some dinner, so after all that excitement, a nigga passed out. I just prayed that Lae wasn’t out here on the block when I got over there. I knew I would hear her mouth but as long as I could prolong it, the smoother my day would go.

  I pulled on the block and let out a deep breath when I saw that neither Laela nor Jaeda were outside. I just knew if Jaeda was there, she would run back to Lae the second I pulled up. I planned on just telling her that I stopped at home to change and fell asleep soon as I got out the shower. I knew she wouldn’t have driven all the way to the house to come check and see if I was there, so I was in the clear. As I stepped out the car, I grabbed my weed and my Phillies and crossed the street to where my niggas were at. I dapped up the Squad and nodded my head to the other niggas out there. It was the beginning of the month, so it was cranking; all we had to do was sit back and let the money come to us.

  I watched as this broad Triece that I dealt with every now and again pulled up with her patna and hopped out. I was expecting two bricks of some Actavis from her, and she was right on time because my nigga had just called trying to come cop. I walked up to Triece as she approached me and grabbed the bag from her as she kissed me on the cheek; she never wanted cash for getting me the syrup, she just wanted groceries for her kids so I had a knock that would come through and let me buy his food stamps, I always gave Triece the card and let her get $275 worth of food each month.

  Soon as Triece pulled off, a green Audi pulled up and parked on the opposite side of the street; even though it was the middle of the day, I couldn’t see who was behind the tints. I stepped back onto the curb and checked to make sure my hammer was on top of the tire of the car in front of me. We were all watching the car to see who it was. I had never seen the car over this way, so I was most definitely on alert. After a few moments, two niggas hopped out the car and I recognized one of the guys as Mess’ right hand man; his name was Mikey, a 22-year-old loud-mouthed hot-headed nigga that played tougher than he really was. I already knew it was going to be some bullshit, so I prepared for the worst. I knew any wrong move and my niggas would bust his head, so I wasn’t too worried.

  “Oh okay, I see y’all out here getting money,” Mikey slapped hands with his patna, and they both laughed as they approached the curb.

  “Can I help you niggas with something?” I asked as I stepped forward.

  “Nah I just was coming by to see how I was going to redecorate the block when me and my niggas moved in.” I looked behind me at my niggas as B stepped up beside me.

  “I’m only going to give you niggas 30 seconds to get the fuck off my block before I show you how to leave,” said B as he pulled his .45 from his waist.

  “Nigga yo little ass gun ain’t scaring nobody, they ain’t stop making guns when they made yours, bitch ass nigga!” yelled Mikey as he took a step back; his voice roared with authority, but his eyes showed the bitch in him.

  These dumb ass niggas came to a gunfight empty handed. I was about to teach these niggas a lesson in respect. I grabbed my banger from the tire and bust past that loud ass nigga’s head; my next shot was into his patna’s leg. In the second that he hollered out, Mikey froze and I grabbed him by the shirt, and started raining blows on his face. This nigga wasn’t even attempting to fight back, so I made his bitch ass strip. I looked over and B was making the other nigga strip out his clothes too.

  “Ayo Bernie, come here my nigga!” I yelled to one of the knocks on the block. I grabbed the clothes I had just stripped off these niggas and threw them in his arms.

  “Merry Christmas my nigga,” I said as I pulled the keys and threw them to my little nigga Tae. “Here Tae, gon’ head and take her for a spin, but make sure she don’t pop back up.” I knew Tae would ride that whip until the wheels literally fell off. We had beaten the shit out of them niggas, and I had the young niggas make them get up off the block. This nigga Tone’s wild ass was talking shit to them niggas the whole time they were shuffling up the street.

  “Fuck them niggas thought we were,” I said to B as he shrugged his shoulders and walked off. I pulled my phone and saw that I had five missed calls from Laela and a few messages. I dialed Big Ken’s number and filled him in on what had just transpired in the least amount of words. After I hung up with him, I shot Laela a text and let her know that I was on my way to her. I prepared myself for the war.

  Laela

  I can’t stand a broke bitch that ain’t bout shit, I can’t stand a broke a nigga that ain’t got shit, I’m on a money making mission what you bout bitch, I’m on a money making mission what you bout bitch…

  I pulled up to the nail shop slapping Young Ro “What You Bout” as I parallel-parked while trying to scan the block for Jaeda’s car. She was supposed to be meeting me at the shop. I was ten minutes late already, and it looked like she was late too. I sat in my car puffing on the last of a cookies blunt right as Jaeda parked on the opposite side of the street. I reached in my backseat to grab my flip-flops and got out of the car just as Jaeda had stepped on the sidewalk.

  “Hi sister!” Jaeda damn near busted my eardrum as she leaned in to hug me. We had been so busy that we barely had time to just chill and have that quality sister time. I missed my baby sis’s company day in and day out, but we were on a moneymaking mission and sometimes we just had to sacrifice certain things to reach our ultimate goal. Today was sister day though – no Squad, no boys, and no school. The guys’ graduation was in a couple of days, so we decided to go get pampered and do a little shopping before we went to dinner and a movie.

  “What’s good baby girl?” I greeted my sister.

  We walked in and I scanned the shop just to see who was in there.

  “I take you and sister over here,” my regular nail technician said as we walked in and took a seat in the spa chairs along the wall.

  “So what did you get Jah for graduation?” Jaeda asked as she was rolling her pants l
egs up to put her feet in the water.

  “Bruh I got him this clean ass 49ers coat the one that looks like the letterman jackets with the leather and wool, shit cost me like $700, but I got him a wett ass Burberry watch and Gucci Oud, and the Tom Ford Extreme cologne.” I said while shaking my head. “Shit, I had to buy him a Gucci carryon bag just to put the gifts in; what you get Tone ugly ass?” I laughed as I thought about how juiced Jah would be to see what I had gotten him.

  “Girl don’t do my boo, but that’s hella funny because I got Tone ass the same damn colognes,” Jaeda chuckled. “I also had copped him some Mimosa python red bottom sneakers, and I bought him a few Nordstrom gift cards so he can go shop for himself – you know I hate being in them damn stores.”

  We talked a little more as we were getting our pedicures about random things and what was going on in the streets.

  “Those niggas from the Ville making shit hot. I wish they would take a seat, fucking with my damn money,” I said, getting heated just thinking about it. They had shot up one of our blocks just last week and hit an innocent bystander. Niggas was trying to fonk with us and didn’t even have any kind of aim or game plan shit. So Rico had a few of his little shooters ride through the block and light that shit up. We had taken down Mess’ right hand man G and a couple of their other workers, but I was ready to get at Mess my damn self. It wasn’t many of them, but I knew if we left Mess around then we wouldn’t get any kind of break; that nigga was a pain in my ass and I was tired of hurting shit. Oh well, soon this shit would be a distant memory and we could get back to moving mean.

  As I was sitting at the table getting my nails filled, I noticed three girls walk in; they weren’t shit to look at though, your regular dusty ass group of broads that thought it was nothing to step out in public in leggings and headscarves.

  “Ugh,” I said under my breath as one of the girls started staring in my direction a little longer than I appreciated. I mugged the bitch and turned back around to make sure Mai wasn’t fucking up my rhinestones; I didn’t have time to be foolish with these dust buckets. Jaeda had her back turned, so she couldn’t even see the group of girls. As my nails were drying, I kept catching the bitches steady looking in my direction. I sent Jaeda a text:

  Me: Peep these ugly bitches keep tryna mug n shyt

  Jaeda: Ugh! Who Alvin n the chipmunks rite here?

  Me: Ctfu gurl yes. Tuh!!

  I laughed out loud as I looked back and saw the girls get up and leave without even getting their nails done. I reached in my bag to pay for me and Jaeda and headed out the door. As we stepped out the door, gunshots began to ring out and for a quick second, I froze until I realized they were aimed in our direction. I crouched behind a car as I pulled Jaeda down with me, and the both of us grabbed our matching pearl handle .40 cals out our bags and began to bust back at the niggas across the street as we ducked in between cars to get to my whip.

  We were almost to my car when I noticed a black Lexus coupe pull up, and the guys hopped in; the staring ass bitch from the nail shop was driving. I was pissed the fuck off. I glimpsed at the license plate and repeated it a few times as we hopped in the car and burnt rubber to the hood. I typed the plate number into my memo pad and dialed Jah’s number; I was out of breath and mad as fuck as I waited for Jah to answer.

  “Calm down Laela, we good and we already know where that hit came from, that ain’t no random shit and I recognize one of the guys was that nigga Mikey that fuck with Mess,” Jaeda said while rolling a blunt. Her ass was always rolling up some weed; I was about to start calling her ass Smokey in a minute.

  “What’s up Bae?” Jah said as he answered the phone.

  “Man some niggas just bust at us while we were leaving the nail shop!” I yelled into the phone, “I’m pulling up in the hood right now, where you at? Never mind I see your whip.” I hung up the phone and laid my head against the headrest after I parked, and waited for Jaeda to spark the weed. I needed something to calm my damn nerves.

  “Them hoe ass niggas made me chip the paint on my nails and lose a rhinestone, oh hell nah,” Jaeda complained with the silliest look on her face. I swear, her ass was always on playtime.

  “Shit, I have to change, my ass got on all white with black ass knees from crawling on them dirty ass Oakland streets, ugh.” I brushed my pants off, “I was only cute for 2.5,” I said, shaking my head. I watched as Jah and Rico walked towards us, and Tone pulled up next to me. Tone hopped out looking like a madman as he snatched Jaeda’s door open and pulled her out the car.

  “Damn nigga, we good!” I yelled out the window. I wasn’t scared, I was pissed that these niggas had tried me and my sister in broad fucking daylight, and for that I had something for them hoes and that hoe ass nigga Mess; fuck he thought he was doing.

  “So run it down to me what all happened,” Jah said as I got out the car and we all walked into the apartment, where the rest of the Gas Squad was sitting and waiting for us to arrive. I ran it down to them from beginning to end, describing the girls and the car they were in. After sending one of the niggas on the block to go grab Jaeda’s whip, we sat around getting high and planning our get back; so much for a nice relaxing day with my sister.

  Jah

  Mikey had shot at my girl and I was livid. Yeah my girl was just as active in the streets as I was, so I knew niggas was going to try her just as they were going to try me, but damn. Niggas shot at my bitch in broad daylight. I was riding in my little mobby, which was a 1999 Honda Accord with dark tints, a little after midnight with my nigga Tone and B. I wasn’t trying to let this nigga Mess sleep another night, but that nigga had got in the wind after that hit earlier but I had something for him. While we were in one car, Rico and Greg were in another car sitting in front of one of Mess’ baby mama’s house and Lexis and Sage were in front of his daddy house ready for me to give the word. If this nigga didn’t want to come out, we were going to bring him out.

  We stopped the mobby at the end of his girlfriend’s block as I sent a text to both Rico and Sage giving them the go ahead. I planned on shooting up the houses of everybody close to this pussy ass nigga at the same damn time. I was tired of playing with this mark, and he was going to see that Gas Squad really wasn’t shit to play with. I’m sure he would get all the news back to back, and he would without a doubt know we sent the shots; he could either come back busting or come trying to make a truce – either way, I was about to play dirty with the nigga. Either way he wanted to play it, we were going to air his ass out; niggas weren’t going to be taking shots at my girl and still be able to walk these streets for too long. We had already caught the nigga Mikey slipping; that nigga got aired out on the freeway two nights ago by my little shooters. The nigga Mess had an expiration date and he didn’t even know how close he was to it.

  As I sent the text, B cut the headlights off on the mobby and crept up the block of Mess’ girlfriend Bria’s house, which was the same bitch that made the call to him from the nail shop and drove them away from the scene. The bitch wanted to fuck with the big dogs; she was going to be ducking with them same dogs. I pulled my AR-15 with the 30 round magazine, or the 30 dick as we called it, and rolled down my window as Tone rolled his down as well; simultaneously, we began busting shots at the house to the right of us, I let the whole clip unload and then we hightailed it off the block. We drove a couple blocks away to a dark block, where we had one of the young niggas from the squad bust the street lights out earlier. Once B parked the car, I grabbed the gasoline out the trunk of the car and began dousing the car with it before striking a match and setting the car on fire. Once the flames set in, we ran up the block to where Tone had parked his Porsche truck, and we hopped in and pulled away from the block. We hit the corner before turning on the headlights.

  A couple minutes later, we were pulling up to a bando where this little broad I used to fuck with named Ericka was waiting for us. Once we got to her, we removed our clothing and changed into regular clothes, then threw them into a duffle bag
where she would dispose of them. After we hopped back in the car I saw Rico and Greg, and then the girls pull up as well; we all had the same plan and then we would meet up at our under spot that was out the way. Ericka’s parents owned a funeral home and she was going to toss the duffle bags in the incinerator so that there wouldn’t be any evidence left. We were playing it safe – no room for slip ups. As we were headed to the under spot, I sent a text to my cousin Shalaya:

  Me: Hey did u make dinner?

  Shalaya: Yea about 2 hours ago, I got u…

  Me: Good lookin

  I was speaking in code as I text her; the mobby was registered in her name and I had instructed her to call and report the car stolen. I had her go to the grocery store two cities outside of Oakland and report that when she came out the grocery store, her car was missing. They would be on the lookout for the car in that city first before they did in Oakland, which gave us time to do what we needed to do without having to worry about the police being too hot on our trail.

  Once we got to our under spot and once everybody made it there, I finally let out a deep breath. The only ones missing were Jaeda and Laela. I had made them stay at home tonight; they had already done enough and I just wanted to keep them safe for the time being. Plus, we had work that needed to be prepared to hit the block, so they were making sure that was taken care of. Me and Tone’s graduation was the next day, so in the morning we would all head back to the town to prepare for the big day. I really wish I could just hold my bitch tonight, but I know that would have to wait.

  As I lay on the bed in one of the rooms, I laid on my back in the pitch-black room as I stared up at the ceiling, thinking about the past and how far I had come, I was going to be a high school graduate in less than 12 hours. I had come so far and I know it didn’t end here. I had so much to be thankful for in my life, because I went through so much when I was younger that some days I just wanted to die; it wasn’t until my parents were killed that I finally got peace in my life.