The Legend of Johnny Hustle: Crown Me King

by Zach Tate

  Like a crowd gathering at a rap concert, a bunch of Roxy’s old girlfriends called each other out the windows to see the new and older Patricia. They swarmed her. When they asked her how she was able to ride around in limousines, she pointed to me. “My man takes care of me, girl. I live in a high-rise downtown. We rich,” Roxy bragged.

  “Move out of the way! Move outta my way!” a shorter, older replica of Roxy made her way through the crowd.

  “Hi, Mama,” Roxy said to her mother.

  “Patricia, where you been?” She cut her eyes at me. “And who’s this? What he got you doing to be looking like this.”

  Roxy’s smile turned into a frown. The Roxy she knew was an abused little girl, but the one I knew was a streetwalking queen.

  I jumped in, defending my woman. “Mrs. Muckle, all your daughter has to do is wake up in the morning and I’ll give her the world. And if she stops waking up, I’ll visit her grave until the day I die. She don’t want for nothing, and she will never need nothing.” I looked over to Roxy. “She’s too smart and too beautiful to ever have to live in the projects.”

  “Oooooh,” the crowd responded.

  “I guess he told you. All up in the Kool-Aid and don’t know the flavor,” someone from the crowd mumbled.

  “Bye y’all,” Roxy said, in a tone that told me she was never going back.

  She stepped into the car and I followed. When the tinted windows protected us from the mob outside, Roxy’s mother screamed, “Wait! Wait, come back.”

  Roxy looked at me smiling. She got her breathing together and laid her head on my chest. “I love you, Johnny. Love you so much it’s scary.”

  I smiled. “You safe,” I said, hoping she knew the truth when she heard it.

  From Yonkers, the limo took us to Co-op City in the Bronx. We stopped at 100 Alcott Place, and I grabbed my two boxes and headed up the elevator. When Mrs. Walker answered the door I heard, “Daddy, it’s Christmas. It is Christmas, Daddy.” Little Mimi jumped into my arms.

  Mrs. Walker arranged for Mimi to leave Happy House in Harlem for a day so that she could stay with me. I handed Mimi the two boxes. When she opened them, she found a smaller sized platinum key, a short fur coat, a gown, and a pair of shoes. I got her dressed. I borrowed a brush and comb from Mrs. Walker and we were out the door.

  Mimi clung to Roxy, remembering her even though no one else could recognize her without her contacts and blonde hair. Kids are smart that way. Joy did Mimi’s hair while she sat with Roxy, and like a big family, we rode back downtown.

  I was running late, so I called the hotel from the car and told them to send my two guests down to the lobby. I then gave a speech to everyone in the car. I told them that I wanted them to make me proud because the guests were very important people.

  The car approached the side entrance to the Marriott. My two guests stood with their gowns on, looking for the mystery man they never saw before. When I stepped up and introduced myself, the two women yelled out in surprise. Red’s mother and aunt lusted after me and almost feinted when they saw the limo.

  “So, you’re the nice man who gave us an all-expense paid trip to New York?” said Red’s aunt in her Texas drawl.

  “Whew, my daughter has impeccable taste. Where is she?” asked Red’s mother, who could have easily passed for her sister.

  “It’s a surprise.” I then pointed to the limo. “My family will be joining us. They’re already inside. Just give me a moment and I’ll be right there.”

  I took the elevator to get Red’s coat and my new video camera. I then went to the lobby and grabbed the gifts I had for Red. The bellboy carried four dozen white roses and a half a dozen for little Mimi. I then returned to the spacious limo and handed out roses to everyone.

  The car made a left onto Seventh, then a right at 42nd Street. He worked his way back to 52nd Street between Broadway and Eighth Avenues. When Red’s mother noticed that we were pulling up to the Little Shop of Horrors Broadway show, she asked, “Where’s Terri?”

  “Terri? Oh, Red?” I asked. “She’s inside waiting for us. It’s a three o’clock show and we’re running late. The show’s about to start and we have front row tickets. So let’s go.”

  “A stern man. My Terri has picked one that’s just like her father,” Red’s mother said as we were escorted down to our seats.

  The immaculate theater had a sea of seats. The well-dressed crowd stared at us like we were celebrities. When the lights dimmed, announcing that the show was beginning, I had a job on my hands trying to explain to everyone where Red was.

  The show started and I could see that Red was a great actress. As she did her five-minute part, her mother almost fell out of her seat with pride. She kept telling people in the audience that Red was her daughter; the people in the audience asked her to be quiet. Me on the other hand, I was sitting there worried that one of Red’s marks would recognize her on stage and yell out, “She robbed me before.”

  When the show was over, the cast did a curtain call and bowed for the audience. I stood, with the spotlight on me, and handed Red her dozen roses while the audience applauded. Although she wasn’t the star, all eyes were on her. Seeing her mother triggered a river of tears.

  After the show, I handed Red her clothes and she changed into them. After receiving praises from the acting staff, she was more concerned about Joy and Roxy’s criticisms than her mother’s and aunt’s. I detected a level of tension and was grateful that her mother’s plane was leaving at eight that night.

  At six o’clock we were seated at The View atop the Marriott. When little Mimi saw the revolving floor she wanted to spin around with it. As we ate, Joy kept calling me ‘daddy,’ and then Mimi was calling me ‘daddy.’ Red’s mother watched how Red and I kissed, and then saw Roxy and I kiss. I was sure they would have a lot to talk about on the plane ride back to Dallas.

  After dinner, Red and I said our farewells to her mother. Her aunt slipped me her phone number and winked at me on her way out the door. After that, we headed to the Bronx to drop Mimi off. The girls wouldn’t let Mimi go and wanted her to stay with us. There was no social worker in New York that would have approved of that, so I promised Mimi that I would see her every month.

  $$$

  On the way back down to the Marriott, the driver told me that Sharieff wanted to see me at the Touch of Class car base. When we pulled over at the base, Sharieff was getting out of a new Lincoln. He wore a black tux with a white scarf draped at his lapels.

  “Long time no see, homeboy? What’s wrong, you don’t like money?” I was slightly annoyed and paranoid. I didn’t really know the man. “Looka here. Tomorrow most businesses are closed, but I got one greedy bastard who’s gonna be open. He collects rare coins. Got a loft down in So-Ho, easy job. Either you, or your boys, can show up at twelve, and we can split a hundred and fifty grand if you deliver the goods. I don’t need to know who you use, and they don’t need to know who I am. All I know is, I gamble with a bunch of rich, fat, Jews and Crackers. They money insured, and some of dem like to get robbed. Tomorrow, one of dem needs to get robbed. If you take the job, give me a call when you get the goods. I’ll deliver seventy-five big ones in cash. After the New Year, I got another one for you.”

  I thought about my nephew and said, “I got to make a call Sha, this is short notice.”

  He pulled a NEC cellular phone out of his inside pocket. The contraption was the size of a VHS tape. “Here,” he said, handing me the phone. “The chip in it is burnt, so you get unlimited calls until February. Call me tonight and let me know.”

  We shook hands. When I got back into the limo door, the girls were naked—wearing nothing but their furs. ”Merry Christmas,” they yelled in unison.

  I held up one finger to stop the women and dialed Webb’s number. (Business had to come before pleasure). When I heard him tell me to speak, I said, “I got a job for you and I need you to—”

  I was cut off by him saying, “Not on the phone fam, not on the phone. Where you a
t, duke?”

  I gave him the address to the Marriott. He told me that he was on his way. When I pulled the phone from my ear, Joy snatched it away. In her country accent she said, “You are almost like God to me, and I will worship you because you already put this girl in heaven.”

  She bent her head down, removed my manhood, and put it into her mouth. Roxy turned the music up and did a striptease right in the back of the limo. Red kissed on me, ripped my shirt open, and sucked all over my chest and neck. During that ride, I successfully performed the method that Red taught me to keep from cumming.

  $$$

  Later that night, Webb and Jason were in my living room. Joy walked around naked and stared at Jason’s blue eyes to see if they were really real. Red sat next to me during the meeting and wouldn’t leave my side.

  “Duke. What’s the problem, duke? It’s Christmas, fam, is you illin'?”

  “Job in SoHo. Y’all like to do that robbery thing. I got a few lined up from my partner. If you in, I give him a call and he gives me the address. According to him, you walk in, and you walk out. The mark just hands it over.” I thought about the incident in the hotel room and added, “You don’t have to kill nobody.”

  “Do you know the layout, what’s the situation?” Jason asked.

  Filled with aggression, Webb cut in. “Homey, you always talking, homey.” He looked at me and said, “How much we get paid is all I need to know; hell yea we in duke, is you illin fam? Is you illin?”

  “According to my partner you get twenty five large apiece if you deliver all of the coins to me.”

  Webb stood. “Duke we in fam—we in. Just don’t call my celli talking too much, fam—don’t talk too much. Give me the address on the phone and that’s it, fam. The Federalies could be tapping my line, fam.” He turned to Jason. “Let’s go, homey.” And to my relief, my crazy nephew went home.

  “You sure you know what you doing?” Red asked when the door closed. Webb spooked her.

  “Not at all sweetheart, not at all,” I replied.

  I picked up the cell phone and called Sharieff. After he gave me the address, I transferred it to Webb, praying that no one got killed the day after Christmas.

  We all sat in the living room that night getting drunk from Bottles of Moet. The ladies told me what I meant to them and how much I touched them with the gifts. After they thanked me verbally, the video camera was loaded with a fresh tape, and we didn’t stop pleasing each other until the tape stopped recording.

  The next day, I was so hung over and exhausted that my eyes didn’t open until one o’clock.

  Gloria walked into my bedroom with Joy and a briefcase. “An older man dropped this off. When security stopped him, he told them to take it up to you. He didn’t know what room you were, in so I brought it up. Then he jumped into a new Lincoln; security has the plate numbers if you need them.”

  Red pulled the covers over her head, and Roxy lay hugged onto me as she slept. When Gloria told me what time it was, I jumped out of bed. She handed me a robe. I walked out into the living room where brunch was on a food cart for all of us. She handed me a Christmas card, looked into Red’s bedroom, which she almost never used, and said, “Honey, I know you tired, but you promised. I promise I’ll do all the work.”

  I couldn’t believe my life, but once again, a deal was a deal. When she took her clothes off and laid the condoms next to me, I smiled while thinking about her transformation. She went into her regular routine of sucking on me and fingering herself until she came. Then she slipped the condom on. To my surprise, she made slow and passionate love to me. Her experience paid off because she had three orgasms to my one.

  When we finished, she wiped me down with a hot towel. In all honesty, she said, “You got some good stuff honey, and I’m not in love with you, but I’m addicted to that stuff there.”

  I was glad that I could please her. As if I had perfect timing, my phone rang and I told them to send Webb and Jason up.

  The two men walked into my suite well dressed in suits, so I figured that they didn’t do the robbery.

  “What happened?” I asked

  Webb opened his full-length shearling and rolled out a plastic wrapping that held 50 rare coins. “It’s time to get paid, duke. That’s what happen, duke, that’s what happened.”

  I walked into the bedroom, moved Roxy over, and opened the briefcase to find $75,000. I removed $50,000 and headed back to the living room.

  When I handed the money over, Jason started counting the money, but Webb stopped him. “Homey—homey? That’s fam, homey,” Web said and they left.

  Later that night, Sharieff came by the hotel. I sent his coins down with Red.

  I was bringing the New Year in the right way, and once PeeWee returned with my cash, I would reach a place where no one I knew ever reached. I was going to be a millionaire.

  15

  The Union

  1989 was ending on shaky grounds. On New Year’s Eve, I came to the conclusion that I had to get Joy and Roxy out of the suite. They were fighting like cats and dogs. Early that morning they argued over something simple. I sat between them, and Joy explained things to me. “Daddy, we been inside for too long. I need to make money for you, daddy. I need to work.”

  If I were a pimp I would have known that. I would have probably been a broke one too.

  I settled things with the girls. I wanted to see for myself if things were cooled down on their strip, and then I had a thought. Where the fuck is PeeWee? He hadn’t called, and I hadn’t gone to the Hilton like he instructed, so that’s what I did.

  “I need to see PeeWee,” I said to the manager of the hotel.

  “Who?” the effeminate male asked, turning his nose up to me.

  “You know, PeeWee, the guy up on the eleventh floor.” I leaned in closer and whispered. “The man who gets everything for the top clients.” I wasn’t convincing him. “Remember me? I was with the band Culture Shock? We had the whole tenth floor?”

  Recognition set into his face. “Oh yes, you arrived with the band. You and another Negro fellow?”

  I let the race comment slide. I was there to pick up a million dollars. “Sure, that’s who I’m looking for. Up on the eleventh floor. PeeWee, you know, the guy who knows the Hilton family and helped you guys get all the awards.” I knew he was going to be reprimanded as soon as PeeWee found out.

  The manager waved security and then placed both of his hands behind his back. “Sir, the man you described is wanted by this establish for not paying his bill. Based on our error, he occupied a suite for a week without paying his, or the band’s bills.” I turned ice cold. “As I can see by the sudden change of your demeanor, you were probably scammed by him as well. But I assure you that the fellow has no affiliation with the Hilton establishment. Our interaction with him was a one time affair.”

  I got hustled! Cock-sucking PeeWee hustled me.

  I walked out of the hotel deducting how much I lost, and realized that PeeWee was setting me up the whole time. Don’t get mad, get even, Yoda’s words entered my mind.

  “I’m not trying to hear that shit!” I yelled in the street, trying to drown out the voices in my head. Based on my actions, the people passing on the street probably figured me as a typical native New Yorker.

  $$$

  I tried to get into a good mood, but thoughts of PeeWee had me steaming. I was going to hurt him real bad when I caught him.

  Later that, night the ladies and I were all dressed for the Marriott’s New Year’s Board of Directors party. We were dressed in style. I wore a new Calvin Klein tux. The ladies wore gowns by Diamond Girl.

  At ten o’clock we headed down to the huge ballroom. We walked through the large tinted glass doors. The spacious place was packed. The dim room with expansive chandeliers was filled with the aroma of cigars, champagne, and a multitude of fragrances. The thick red carpet under my feet made it feel like I was walking on air. I was slowly changing the mood PeeWee gave me. I looked around and felt proud of how
I had risen. I even wished my mother could have seen the accomplishments I made. As a hustler herself, I’m sure she would have been proud.

  By eleven o’clock, Roxy and Joy started mingling. Too many men tried to get their attention. I was proud of them both. Red started a debate with a businessmen about how sure she was that there would be a war in the Middle East someday. She was my shining star and I loved the way she had the ability to handle herself in any environment. I made short comments, but in the middle of her debate, I was introduced to someone else who changed my life.

  “Johnny, this is Arnold Bond, chairman of the board of Marriott Hotels,” the maitre‘d said, introducing me to a tall handsome White man who could have passed as a Robert Redford look-a-like.

  I was on the verge of giving the man my birth name, but I decided to have some fun. “Please to meet you; just call me Johnny Hustle,” I said, shaking his hand.

  “Oh well, you need no introduction, my good man. I’ve heard volumes about you, and I’m glad that you provide a service that makes large hotels work.”

  With no expression on my face I asked, “And what service is that?”

  The man looked around and then leaned in like he had a secret. “Listen, let’s spare the formal bullshit. There isn’t a successful hotel in the world that can stay in business unless they provide every need for the customer. This is New York, the greatest city in the world, and the most visited. If we have a guest who knows he can come alone during business trips, powder his nose, and spend his time with a fine lady without the risk of going to jail? Why he, and everyone he knows, will be coming back to that hotel, and no one knows what happened except him and the middle man.”

  “Well, since you put it that way, I’m glad I could be of service to you,” I said, truly appreciative.