Payback Ain't Enough

by Clark, Wahida

  “Ladies, how y’all doin’?” he asked.

  “What’s up?” the one with the short blonde haircut answered. Lisha didn’t say anything. She just looked at me and smiled. I pulled her to the side.

  “Can I talk to you for a minute?” I asked her. “You owe me an explanation.”

  She twisted her face all up. “I don’t owe you anything, Dark. You’ve been gone for seven years. What the hell I look like explaining something to you?”

  “You said I was his father. I didn’t know that. And you sure didn’t tell me. How come you never said anything? Explain that.”

  She sucked her teeth and rolled her eyes. “Dark, you probably got mad kids running around here and ain’t claiming any of them, and you don’t have to claim this one. My son is fine. He has a daddy. I don’t need you to start messing things up.”

  “Messing things up? Oh, so you want to ride my dick, but you don’t want me to be a father to my son?” I wanted to punch this bitch in the mouth.

  “Good-bye, Dark.”

  She turned and walked into the barbershop. I started to go after her, but then I thought about my son and froze. Was he in there? If he was, what would I say to him? Was the nigga playing daddy to my son in there?

  I glanced over at Cisco, and he was engaged in conversation with the chick with the short blonde fade. She had tits and ass for days, a pretty dimpled smile and nice thick lips. I wondered if she and Lisha were bumping pussies, and if so, who was the man?

  I turned my attention to the barbershop window and tried to see inside. It was crowded in there, and I didn’t see Lisha. Upper Cuts stayed packed. I’m Seven Mile all day, but I would never get my cut on that hot ass strip.

  “Dark, let’s bounce,” Cisco ordered, obviously trying to flex his muscle for the lady.

  I was still looking in the window. When I spotted Lisha she was digging in her purse. A little man was standing next to her, trying to get her attention. He then held his head down, and it looked like he was playing a video game. Li’l Man was undoubtedly mines. Now that I was seeing him for the first time, I didn’t know how to take it. I heard Maury’s voice loud and clear: “When it comes to eight-year-old Damon, you are the father!”

  “Nigga, I saw you drooling all over her!” Cisco shouted, fucking up my concentration. “They both was fine, wasn’t they? But check this out. Tomorrow night, they having an all-white party out at P’s. We rollin’ up in there. I told ol’ girl I would meet her there. And I’m thinking about throwing you a going away party.”

  I didn’t know why this nigga couldn’t get it through his thick skull that I wasn’t going nowhere. But fuck it. I could show him better than I could tell him. I turned my attention back to the window. I wanted to roll up in the shop, but she had a point. I had been gone for seven years, and didn’t know her situation. So I decided to respect her wishes, for now. But we definitely had to have a sit-down.

  THE FOLLOWING NIGHT AROUND eleven we headed for the club. I had on a simple white tee, white Brioni slacks, and white-on-white Gucci tennis shoes. Cisco was rockin’ a white-on-white Armani suit, white gators, with ice on his wrists, fingers and around his neck, draped like lights on a Christmas tree. To put the icing on the cake, we were gliding in a white-on-white stretch Mercedes limo. Cisco called the chick who he met in front of the barbershop whose name was Princess and told her to be outside. I was hoping that Lisha would be with her.

  When we pulled up, I got excited when I spotted her and Lisha. There were so many honeys out and about, that if Princess wouldn’t have had that short blonde fade they would have been lost in the crowd. Niggas and bitches were everywhere. I knew they were wondering who was up in here flossin’ like this in the ride because everyone stopped what they were doing and all eyes were on the stretch Benz.

  “Aiight, my niggas. It’s showtime!” Cisco announced. It was me, him, Rob, Mac, Mook, Darnell and Dread chillin’ in the limo.

  The driver looked around, trying to find a park. “Yo, don’t pull up in the parking space. Stop in the middle of the street and let us out,” Cisco commanded.

  The limo driver obeyed and did just that. Big Darnell and Dread got out first, since them niggas was supposed to be security. I was trying not to laugh. They had on dark glasses, black suits and earpieces. They were rubbing their burners as if they were nervous. The rest of us got out, and Cisco waited until last. By the time he stepped out of the cocaine white Benz, the crowd was right up on us.

  I spotted Lisha and Princess in the crowd and waved them over.

  Both were sexy as hell, wearing skimpy white dresses leaving very little to the imagination and strutting in stilettos that made my dick jump. Lisha looked me up and down, and her silence said it all. I knew I looked good enough to eat.

  “You rollin’ with me or what?” I put my arm out, Lisha grabbed it and Princess grabbed Cisco’s. Then out of nowhere some more dimepieces came out of the woodwork on some groupie shit. Cisco let them roll too, and we ended up with an entourage of about fifteen deep. The VIP Section was already shut down, but Cisco dropped enough dough and they made us a VIP Section. Security roped off the section, and waitresses damn near half-naked quickly filled the area with bottles of expensive champagne and drinks. Our night had officially begun.

  The females that had latched onto us outside were all competing for first place. I just sat back and scoped these bitches setting themselves up to end up getting drunk as hell and then tricked by the end of the night. I relaxed and watched the whole shit unfold as I rested my hand on Lisha’s leg and threw back a glass of Bacardi Dark. After a few drinks, Lisha was loosening up. Back at the barbershop she had her nose turned up, but now she was whispering in my ear telling me about the bullshit plans she had for us.

  Cisco immediately announced that he had the next round for everybody in the VIP Section. He was determined to floss harder than any other nigga up in there. And there were some niggas who could go hard. I saw Wiz Khalifa, Amber Rose, several Pistons players enjoying themselves, Dwele, and of course, the haters who were always on deck, mean muggin’ Cisco. I had to pull Rob and Mook to the side and point out some niggas that they needed to keep an eye on.

  Once Lisha got drunk, her lips got loose and she began telling me all about my son who I knew nothing about, Damon Mills Rashawn. He played football, had dry skin and may need braces. He loved hot dogs and potato salad, just like me. He called her last boyfriend and his fake daddy, Christopher. She told me that the nigga had been in his life since he was three years old.

  She then went on to tell me that she and the chick she was living with had been together for a little over a year, and after I left her days earlier they had a knock down drag out fight. I didn’t like the idea of her and that bitch doing that dyke shit around my son. It had to stop.

  “Dark, the dick was soooo good. I’d take an ass whipping over that dick anytime. I hadn’t been dicked down in sooo long.” She was hanging over me and rubbing all over my chest as she yelled over “Black and Yellow.”

  I couldn’t give her all of my attention because I was watching Cisco make it rain on four chicks, including the one he had dancing on his lap. He was talking mad shit about how he runs this city and if anybody needed a job to come see him. Niggas was watching him and whispering. I told Lisha to get her little girlfriend and leave because we were getting ready to go.

  “We just got here,” she whined. “I didn’t even get a chance to dance with my baby daddy.” She laughed and continued to touch all over me. “You can’t be ready to go.” She was whispering in my ear and nibbling on my earlobe and then she slid her hand between my legs. Under any other circumstances I would have found me a spot to get my dick wet, but I felt some shit was about to jump off so I had to shut that shit down.

  I moved Lisha’s hand and stood up. “I’ll catch up with you later, Lisha. Yo, Cisco. Let’s get out of here, man,” I yelled as I got up on him.

  “Dark, all this pussy up in here and you talkin’ about let’s go?
Fuck wrong with you, nigga?” Cisco was drunk as hell, stumbling and yelling and shit.

  Rob must have been feeling me because he said, “Niggas in here saying that you ain’t nobody and you all up in their spot flossin’ and shit.”

  “Fuck they mean I ain’t nobody? I’m the fucking King of the ‘D’.” Cisco stood there getting louder, bottle in one hand, glass in the other, and spilling shit on everybody.

  “Let’s get out of here before shit start gettin’ crazy. You know the drunker these niggas get the froggier they gonna feel. I can’t enjoy myself knowing that shit ’bout to go down. You see them niggas behind you?” I asked Cisco.

  “Man, fuck them niggas! How I’m gonna be flossin’ too much? This is my city!” He turned around, put his cup on the table, reached in his pocket and threw up a stack of dollars at the niggas behind him, makin’ it rain on them broke muthafuckas.

  “Come on, man. I need to talk to you outside.” This nigga was drunk and acting stupid, and I figured that would at least get him moving. Everybody else was already up and waiting on Cisco.

  He stood in the middle of the floor and the four niggas that were sitting behind him got up. Cisco announced, “My name is Cisco, and I run this city, muthafuckas! Drinks on me, niggas!”

  Everybody started cheering except for me and the haters. I didn’t see shit funny because I had watched them all night watch Cisco and none of them muthafuckas had cracked a smile. I paid for the drinks, and finally we were on our way out of there. As we made our way out of the club Cisco was shaking niggas’ hands and kissing bitches on the cheek, as if he was running for president. Then I noticed the same niggas that were watching us all night had strategically spread out and were following us. My senses immediately shifted to high alert. As we reached the door, the one with the front tooth missing bumped into me.

  “Fuck you doin’?” I asked the nigga.

  “Nigga, fuck you. Y’all pussies been up in here trying to floss all night.” He scowled.

  “Trying?” I laughed. “That’s why your pussy-ass is so mad, ’cause we was trying?”

  “Y’all ain’t shit!” he spat, spit flying.

  “Nigga, fuck outta here with that bullshit,” I spat back, causing the bouncer’s attention to divert our way.

  “Break that shit up and take it outside!” the big Tiny Zeus Lister-looking bouncer growled out as he put his arms between us. I continued to stare this nigga down, refusing to be the first to back down. Realizing he wasn’t fucking with no slouch, he scrunched up his ugly-ass face and slowly backed up. I turned around and Cisco was standing behind me like I was his mother and the other bitches on his team had the look of fear pouring from their eye sockets.

  “These niggas gonna be a problem. Let’s get the fuck outta here,” I said as I turned to walk out the door.

  “Man, fuck them niggas! We out having a good time,” Cisco said in his drunken slur as we headed for the stretch Benz.

  I turned and looked at him as I thought to myself, How this silly muthafucka get to be in charge? I picked up my pace, anticipating the opportunity to rock my burner. Just as I turned back around, a gray Dodge Charger with tinted windows and 22-inch rims pulled up alongside us. The back window slowly rolled down and a pump shotgun emerged from the crack. Then two cats from the ride jumped out. One from the front-passenger side and one from the back-passenger’s side. I gripped my piece tight, bracing myself for whatever. The other niggas on Cisco’s team looked as if they were about to shit on themselves.

  “So what the fuck is this?” Cisco asked, standing firm in his spot like his ass was bulletproof.

  “Nigga, you know what this is. Y’all bitch-ass niggas in our world. Come up off y’all shit,” Snaggletooth yelled out.

  Cisco chuckled and barked, “Nigga, suck my dick!”

  “You hear this nigga?” Snaggletooth turned and looked at his boy while pointing at Cisco.

  The next thing I heard was the clicking of the shotgun. I gripped my gun tight at my side and before I could blink my eye, a shot hit Darnell in the leg. He doubled over in pain. The roar from the shot caused the partying crowd to start screaming and ducking, giving me the diversion I needed, so I pushed Cisco to the side, grabbed Darnell up and used him as a human shield so I could bust off some shots.

  Snaggletooth jumped over the hood and took cover, as shots rang out from the backseat. Cisco was crouched down on the side of the car leaning on the door breathing heavy. The other niggas scattered like roaches. I fell back on the ground and let off until my shit was empty, hitting the cat in the backseat as his head fell up against the glass. I heard the car go into gear and then speed off. Cisco rolled over, then jumped up shooting causing the back window to shatter. They sped up and were gone.

  I looked around to check the damage. Darnell was dead with a hole the size of a baseball in his chest, and the other niggas were emerging from behind parked cars as sirens blared in the background.

  “Let’s go, nigga,” I yelled out as we all piled in our ride and pulled off.

  As we assessed everyone we realized that Mook was also hit. He had a small hole in his side. The rest of them niggas were scared and trembling.

  Cisco, on the other hand, wanted to say a prayer for Darnell. After that he wouldn’t shut up. “See, that’s the shit there I’m talking about! Y’all niggas need to take a lesson. Y’all ’sposed to be the muscle, and y’all muthafuckas froze up,” Cisco kept repeating. Nigga’s faces were tight, and the smell of fear leaked from their pores.

  “Y’all niggas is pussy,” I stated with venom dripping from my vocals. I looked at my hand. My knuckles were bloody from falling to the ground. I looked out the window thinking to myself as the driver raced through the streets, Time to get rid of this dead weight.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  MIA

  That bitch Shan! I could just fuck her up. That was just plain trifling! How you gonna drop your baby off at midnight? I was pissed yes, because I wanted to have Briggen all to myself. On the flip side, it was crazy and cute seeing him in the daddy role with his son. I had never seen that side of him. He still hadn’t shared with me what happened that caused him to pack a bag and come running to my house. When I hinted at it, he just nixed me off.

  I was willing to bet that, just like with myself, Sharia and Tami, once he felt that he got all that he could get from you and he’s a little bored, good ol’ Briggen was quick to toss a bitch to the side.

  He and the baby had been at my home for three days. His son was beginning to cramp my style. I wasn’t used to having a baby roaming around on my white suede carpet. I had to cover it up with plastic runners real quick.

  “Look at how you are acting. You don’t even come off as the mommy type,” Briggen had the nerve to say to me.

  “He’s not my child, Briggen. Don’t you think that has a little something to do with it?”

  He laughed, “That’s a lame excuse. If you are supposed to be my woman and I come to the table with kids, you are supposed to be able to step into the mommy role.”

  It was my turn to laugh. “Your woman? You got jokes. I haven’t been looked at by you as your woman for a long time. I never gave up thinking that there was a chance for us. And there will always be a place in my heart for you. Plus, you know I was trying to have your baby, but you made sure that never happened.”

  “I’m going to my man’s funeral, and then I have to take care of something. Can I count on you to watch my son or not?” he asked me, not even acknowledging my feelings that I had just shared with him.

  “Of course you can. I’ve had your back from day one, more than all of those other bitches you had in your corner, and you know that.”

  “Mia, I’m not talking about having my back more than other bitches. I just need a babysitter.”

  SHAN

  I had the house for four days all to myself and I had enjoyed every minute of it. I missed Li’l Anthony and was surprised that his daddy didn’t come bringing him back. I guessed from her
e on out it would be a battle of the wills.

  I started my business plan, and my first event was a month away. I had noticed that there were a lot of old heads who liked to get their party on. So, for my first event I was bringing in Frankie Beverly and Maze, Cameo and Charlie Wilson to add that flava. I had booked the venue and had hired a street team to pass out flyers at all the salons, barbershops, bars and local mom-and-pops. I even paid for some ads on the radio stations during prime time.

  But then I had this brainstorm. It said, “Go for it!” Since Halloween was coming up I was going to do something for the young heads. I needed to get some rap artists to come through and perform. I was on the phone for days making calls, only to learn that people didn’t want to deal with you if they didn’t know you. But the good thing was that money is a universal language and I was speaking it fluently. Before I knew it, I had an all-star lineup. Shit, I was geeked, and I was feeling myself.

  BRIGGEN

  If it wasn’t for the fact that I was enjoying the time taking care of my son, I would have already taken him back to Shan and put my foot in her ass.

  And Mia? That bitch had been talking about how she’d been down with me for years, how much she loved me and how she was the only one that got my back, but the bitch was jealous of my son. What kind of shit is that?

  I had my boys’ company come and put up surveillance cameras in her crib. I left her to babysit because I needed to see how she was going to treat my son and couldn’t wait to play the tape back. It didn’t make sense to drag him out to a funeral. I wish I would have thought about surveillance cameras and had them installed in my own damn house. The first chance I get I’ma make that happen. But the business at hand was after Melky’s funeral I had to sit down with his cousin Wise. Just like me, he had beef with Choppa’s family and wanted to talk to me about it.