The Benz ignited and Dodo slowly pulled away from the curb with Crystal looking my way, waving magnanimously at me. It was the end of a generation, the EBV girls: Edenwald Blood Vixens. We were nothing to play with back in the days; now it felt like we were a dying breed. Tina dead. Meme and La-La locked up, and a few others dead too. I felt like the last bitch standing.
I walked away feeling nostalgic. What happened to all of us? We used to be tight like a mayonnaise jar. Now we were all scattered in different directions, most of us struggling, surviving while few of us were making it.
I really hoped to see Crystal again.
I had this rhyme inside my head that I was ready to spit. It was about old times:
There was a time when we used to shine like Chicago crime
Thought we were gonna age together like fine wine, we were so lifted
Too high to ever come down, the stratosphere was our mile high
BX we rule, the streets we moved . . . any beef comin’ through
We devoured like cooked food, we were the five points on a crown
It’s hard to see time split us by, when we were solid like concrete
Unbreakable like Alicia, platinum like Keyshia.
Tina was the beast; La-La and Meme were dynamic in these streets,
Crystal was the prettiest to be, and Sammy and me,
We ran like kings, fuck queens . . . now things are no longer what they used to be
Time made us enemies; distance made us a memory, damn,
I want things to go back the way they used to be
When EBV was forever on the scene.
Chapter Eighteen
Tango
Tango remained hidden in the dark like a shadow, being still and quiet like a church mouse. But he was no mouse. He was a killer on the hunt. He was armed with two twin 9 mm’s fully loaded and cocked back. He remained obscured in a rundown Chevy up the block, watching the area like a hawk.
For a week he stalked his prey and planned to execute the hit very soon. He needed the money and couldn’t afford to make any mistakes. The man he planned to hit was a dangerous figure in the underworld. One mistake could cost Tango his own life. Tango needed the money badly and had to execute the kill just right. It was do or die. He wasn’t thinking about his parole. He was concerned about survival.
Clad in all black, wearing latex gloves to conceal his prints, and keeping his identity a mystery with a ski hat pulled low over his eyes, he watched Dodo climb out of his pricey Benz and walk into the legendary Tosca Café on East Tremont Avenue. His Benz was parked across the street. The area was populated with people, but it was the one chance Tango had to strike. Traffic was sparse. It was 11:00 p.m. and everybody was either where they needed to be or on their way there soon.
Tango departed the rusty Chevy and made his way toward the burgundy Benz. He pulled out a Slim Jim from his jeans and looked around to see if anyone was watching; there wasn’t a soul in sight. He proceeded to break into the Benz using his skills and within seconds, he popped open the locks and broke into the car. His plan wasn’t to steal the car, but to lay low in the back seat. It was dark and the back seat of the car was roomy enough to conceal himself inside without anyone noticing. The black he wore helped his cover.
Hours passed and Tango was a very patient man. He didn’t move an inch. He was like a statue lying on the floor cloaked by darkness and feeling the cold seeping through. He refused to move. He wanted to have the element of surprise. Dodo wouldn’t see it coming. It would be unexpected. His breathing was labored and his eyes wide open.
After several hours of waiting and hiding, finally there was some activity. The driver door opened, but unexpectedly, the passenger door opened too. A young woman climbed into the seat while Dodo slid behind the wheel. There was laughter and conversation.
“You my number one bitch, right?” Tango heard Dodo say to the female passenger.
“You know it. I love you, baby,” she replied.
“You better. I take care of my woman.”
“Yes, you do, and I’m gonna take care of my man.”
The ignition started. The people in the front seat were unaware that they had unwanted company lurking in the shadows of the vehicle so closely. Tango remained undetected and cautious. They couldn’t even hear him breathing. The radio was playing and the Benz started moving. As Dodo drove, the female passenger, Crystal, unbuckled her seat belt, smiled seductively, and leaned her face into his lap. She unzipped his jeans and removed the growing thing she desired to place between her full lips.
“You always know how to treat ya man,” Dodo said.
“Sssshhh, baby, and just drive while I do me,” she whispered.
Crystal jerked his dick with her manicured fist and then wrapped her lips around his erection and sucked him off. Her head bobbed up and down in the driver’s seat while Dodo cautiously navigated his prized Benz through the Bronx Streets. The slurping sounds of dick sucking echoed to where Tango hid. He wasn’t moved by it. He had a job to execute and he figured now was a better time than never.
Abruptly, Tango popped up like a jack-in-the-box, emerging from the back seat and startling Dodo and Crystal. He thrust the gun to the back of Dodo’s head. Crystal popped up with her eyes widened with fear.
“You move and you die,” Tango said coolly.
“Oh my God. Oh my God,” Crystal exclaimed frantically.
Tango pointed the second 9 mm at her head and she panicked. “Chill out, bitch.”
“Please, don’t kill me.”
“I said shut the fuck up!” Tango advised her to do through clenched teeth.
Crystal muted her whimpering and looked like she was ready to pee on herself.
“You know who the fuck I am?” Dodo exclaimed.
“Just drive where I tell you to,” Tango calmly said to him.
“You a dead man, muthafucka,” Dodo continued to taunt him. “You’re dead!”
Tango smirked. He knew Dodo’s threats were empty to him. He had the advantage. He had the gun. He had the upper hand and harsh, threatening words didn’t scare him easily. They didn’t scare him at all.
Tango instructed Dodo to drive to a secluded and dark area in the Bronx, a street named Edgewater Road. It was a place not too far from Hunts Point. It was an industrial-looking place by the Bronx River with scrap metal yards, truck routes, and dozens of industrialized businesses stretching for several blocks. It was late and everything was closed down for the night. It was a ghost town until dawn cracked the sky.
Tango made Dodo park on a barren block, in front of Sal’s scrap metal yard. The Benz sat nestled between a cement truck and a rundown box truck on the block meager with cars. He still pointed both guns at their heads. He made them shut off the engine and sit. Dodo was fuming, but the barrel of the gun pressed against the back of his head made him vulnerable.
“Who the fuck are you?” Dodo demanded to know.
Tango didn’t answer him. He glanced at the frightened woman. She was beautiful but teary-eyed. She sat frozen in the passenger seat refusing to take her eyes off the man who held her at gunpoint. Tango leaned closer to Dodo and lowly said to him, “This ain’t personal, but only business.”
Hearing that, Dodo knew what was about to come next. And before he could cringe for impact or react, multiple shots went off, lighting the car up in a flashing, bright light.
Bak! Bak! Bak! Bak! Bak!
Five shots in the head and point-blank range made Dodo slump over the steering wheel with his blood and brains spattered all over the dashboard and windshield. Crystal madly screamed from seeing her boyfriend’s murder. She tried to eject herself from the car, but she was too late. Tango aimed and fired, striking her multiple times also in the back of the head and back. She hardly managed to get the car door opened, but her body lay drooping from the passenger seat toward the cold pavement. The entire front seat was coated with blood and decorated with death, as two bodies lay contorted for homicide to investigate.
Tango exi
ted the car in a calmly manner. He looked around; there wasn’t a person in sight and no security cameras watching. He had picked the right area to kill them at. He didn’t want to kill the girl, but she was at the wrong place at the wrong time; he considered it a casualty of war. She was an unforeseen dilemma. The bitch had to go.
Tango made his way up the block like he was taking a walk in the park. He tossed both guns in the Bronx River and planned to burn his clothes. They had specs of blood on it, and anything involving that night it was going to be incinerated. Today, DNA and forensics could incriminate the sharpest criminal. The good thing, he was $5,000 richer. He already had plans for the money: get himself his own place and have Mouse and her daughter move in with him.
Chapter Nineteen
Sammy
I could hear Power cursing and ranting in the next room. He was furious about something. Something bad had happened. He had been on the phone for an hour talking to various people while I was in the bedroom doing my nails and watching cable. We had just finished fucking when his cell phone rang. He saw the name on the caller ID and immediately picked up. It was one of his trusted lieutenants on the other end.
“What?” I had heard Power shout out. “When the fuck this happened? Dodo!”
He had sprung up from my side and gone into the other room. I minded my business, but by the tone of his voice, I knew he was upset and angry. I heard the name Dodo. I had no idea who the fuck he was. My assumption was he was killed last night. I put on my panties and bra and was about to get dressed when Power burst into the room with this sullen look about him.
“Everything okay?” I asked.
“No, everything is not fuckin’ okay,” he snapped at me.
“I was just asking. I’m sorry to even ask.”
“You getting smart with me?” he barked.
“No, I wasn’t.”
He glared at me. He looked like a changed man suddenly. Whatever happened last night he took it to heart and was trying to take it out on me. I didn’t want to argue with him. The past few days had been good with him. I had quit dancing at Crazy Legs and he was taking care of me. But I was also looking for other means of employment /income. I was trying to get back into the studio and record my demo. Power promised he was going to manage me and take me to the top. I heard it all before and I wasn’t about to get caught up in the hype. I wanted to believe him, but when niggas get in their foul moods they start acting funny and promises start to vanish.
Power was in this nasty funk. His attitude became ugly. He started tossing things around, breaking shit, and cursing loudly. He was extremely angry. I figured it was best to stay out of his way. I was leaving. He saw me getting dressed and barked, “Where the fuck you going?”
“I’m leaving,” I spat back.
“Leaving where?”
“It’s obvious you are in a foul mood, but you ain’t gotta take it out on me. Look, I’m sorry whatever happened to ya friend, but don’t blame me,” I said to him.
“You were listening in on my conversation?” he exclaimed.
“No, but you was speaking loud enough for the whole neighborhood to hear.”
He scowled. He charged my way. I braced myself, but he didn’t attack me. He came in my face. “You know what, bitch, get the fuck out then! Leave, bitch!” he shouted heatedly.
“Gladly,” I screamed back.
I started to grab my things in the bedroom and rushed to get dressed. Power started tossing my clothing at me. I swear, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, a case of bipolar at its worst. My shit was scattered all over his bedroom. I snatched up my jacket and shoes, and rushed toward the door with an armful of clothing. I was heated. I was done with him. But the minute I got to the door, Power came running behind me. He was now apologizing.
“Baby, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to take it out on you,” he said with a look of regret aimed at me. “I got some bad news.”
I didn’t want to hear it. He cursed at me. He disrespected me. He called me out of my name and I was supposed to take his bullshit? No!
“Baby,” Power cried out. He grabbed me by my arm trying to stop me from leaving. I jerked myself free from his feeble grip. “Sammy, I need you right now!”
I stopped my exit. I sighed and slowly spun around to face him. This man was over six feet tall and weighed a ton, but the look in his eyes was sincere like a little puppy. He was a notorious figure in the underworld, but yet, he could be as warm and cozy like a teddy bear and funny and intelligent, and he had me opened. I was falling in love with him. When he shouted “I need you,” something came over me. I needed him too.
He stepped forward with his body action looking apologetic. He reached for me; I hesitated in walking toward him. He continued with, “I’m sorry; it’s just some serious shit went down last night and I overreacted toward you. My nigga Dodo was murdered brutally, shot five times in the back of his head.”
“Oh my God,” I uttered.
“Shit is hectic right now. They found him dead with some bitch in the car,” he informed me. “Niggas is ready to retaliate.”
My man needed me. I accepted his apology. It was me now reaching for him and pulling him into my arms to console him. It was no doubt Power was a gangster and a coldhearted killer himself, but the murder of a man named Dodo had him teary-eyed and distraught. I didn’t get it. I was sure Power had seen death before, probably many times over, it came with the game, so why was he so upset about this one?
Power was on his knees in front of me. I was standing over him. He had his arms wrapped around my legs and he let the tears flow. He was crying like a baby.
“Who was Dodo?” I asked.
“He was my cousin and we were close,” he explained tome.
Now I was really saddened.
Power grieved briefly while he kneeled down in front of me. It was a thing to see. I knew he didn’t cry much, and if so, it was definitely not in front of people. It would be considered being weak in front of the wolves. But he let himself go in front of me. I respected him for that. He proved to me that he wasn’t just a coldhearted and emotionless man; he had feelings too, feelings that he displayed in front of me.
I was pleased. And I was going to be there for him.
I spent the morning with Power, but when noon came around he left to handle his business in the streets. I was left alone in his Manhattan apartment, but I needed to get back home to my son. I was worried about Power, but Danny needed me too. Power was on top of the food chain and his clique, the Young Gangster Crew, was at war with the Bronx Mafia Boys. It was bloodshed on the streets and shootings were occurring every day. The police had their hands full; the neighborhood was besieged with violence and terror and they were calling Edenwald “Eden War.”
I couldn’t wait around Power’s place worrying about him. He was a grown man doing grown-man business and he was able to take care of himself. I left and took the train back to the Bronx. If Power needed me, he had my cell phone number. I had other priorities to take care of.
When I got home, the streets were talking heavily about the murders. Dodo was well known and respected and YGC was out in full effect ready to avenge their fallen homeboy. The police were out too, trying to maintain order in a place that felt lawless.
The minute I walked into my building lobby, I was greeted by Kawanda and her friend, Brandy, stepping out of the elevator. The minute Kawanda saw me she hit me with the news.
“Sammy, you heard?” she said.
“Yeah, some nigga named Dodo got killed,” I replied nonchalantly.
“Crystal too,” she said.
I thought I heard her wrong. “What?”
“She was shot in the car wit’ Dodo,” Kawanda told me.
It felt like I got hit by a Mack Truck. The news came so sudden that it almost knocked me off of my feet. Crystal was my friend, my bitch, EBV. We grew up together and now she was dead. My nonchalant attitude suddenly altered into tears of pain and disbelief. I couldn’t believe Crystal was dead. I
couldn’t believe someone murdered her. But then again, I could believe it. She wasn’t the first friend murdered and, it was sad to say, I knew she wasn’t going to be the last.
I cried. It was a coincidence that she was murdered with Power’s first cousin. But by who? Whoever killed them both, they had a world of trouble coming their way.
Chapter Twenty
Mouse
Tango was so good with her, my daughter, Eliza. He played with her and treated my daughter like she was his own. I smiled. I could tell my daughter liked him too. She laughed, he laughed, and I smiled broadly. I loved every minute of it. It was a great thing to see, my daughter looking like she had a father in her life. Tango was also coming through with his promise. He had money coming in, and with it he took me and my daughter out to eat at Olive Garden. He told me to order whatever I wanted, and I did. I ordered the shrimp Alfredo and their well-known bread. We had wine. We talked. We were celebrating his new job. He was making me feel like a whole new woman. I haven’t eaten dinner this good in so long that when it went into my mouth, I almost came from the cuisine.
Like promised, Tango moved me out of Erica’s place and we stayed at his mother’s home for a week until we got our own place. Erica was upset; she tried to persuade me to stay, telling me that we made a good team together, but we didn’t. It was all bullshit. She was the one making money, not me. I was being paid peanuts, and it was my legs spreading and my lips sucking. Cream had nothing to say. He was too pussy to intervene and I didn’t know what Erica saw in that bastard. It was clear as day that he was using her, and it was even clearer to see that she was using me.
I met Tango’s mother and she was sick. She reminded me of Erica’s grandmother. We stayed in his small bedroom, but it was comfortable. Tango made sure of that. If we were hungry, Tango fed us. He bought a bunch of DVDs for us to watch, and some kiddy movies to entertain my daughter. He was doing a lot for us. He was showing me that he really cared and wanted to be with me. I fell in love with him. And when my daughter would fall asleep, we fucked on the floor while Eliza had the bed to herself.
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