by Brick
“I don’t know really,” Anika spoke.
“And we really don’t care,” Phenom added. “Need you and the gang to get ready for tonight. The bosses are requesting a meeting with you. They don’t know that we know they’ve met with Dante. So they think the meeting is about us coming back to claim our reign and hold on the A. I’ve been telling our eyes and ears to put word out that you came to take the seat Dame vacated since he was your kill, nephew. Think you can handle that?”
Trigga gave a curt nod and jumped up when he heard a loud thump from the kitchen. Phenom smirked and shook his head. Even when Trigga wasn’t training us, he was training us. We all waited in silence as Ghost rounded the corner. A dark purple hoodie covered her face. Black baggy jeans and wheat-colored kiddie Timbs were on her. She stopped when she saw us all standing looking at her. She slowly pushed the hoodie back revealing freshly done braids and bright eyes.
“Why didn’t you come through the kitchen window?” Trigga asked her. The bass in his voice let us all know he wasn’t pleased that she didn’t do exactly as he’d told her.
But what surprised us all was when she looked up at him and answered, “Because you expected me to.”
I looked at Trigga and for a while he just stared her. Then a slow, easy smirk adorned his features. “Good girl. Never do what a nigga is expecting you to do, not even me. Good girl.”
My heart warmed when Ghost only smiled, pulled out her iPod, turned her volume up, then placed her headphones on as she took a seat on the couch.
“Hey, hey,” Trigga snapped her fingers to get her attention.
“Yeah.”
“Did you get that information I told you to?”
“Yeah.”
“Well?”
“Well, dang, daddy, you said not to speak on it if you wasn’t alone so I ain’t speaking on it ’cause you ain’t alone.” She lightly sighed, rolled her eyes playfully, then tossed her book bag to him. Obviously none of us knew what the two of them were talking about. Trigga looked in the book bag and grinned before zipping it back up and tossing it over his shoulders. I tried to reach for the bag to see what was in it but he smacked my hand away.
He turned his attention back to his uncle. “Now, you were saying something about a meeting?”
“Yeah, you and your crew of misfits here are going to make a grand entrance at this here meeting tonight,” Phenom explained.
“You know most of these men, Kwame. Men who used to break bread with Dame so plenty of them want your head on a platter for killing their money and product supplier,” Anika added.
“Yeah, and most of them niggas was shady as fuck then too,” Big Jake added folding his beefy arms as he stood wide legged.
Trigga nodded in agreement. “True deal, and since we ain’t got Prodigy on the inside anymore, we’re pretty much fucked on what goes on with them behind closed doors now, huh?”
Phenom gave a curt smirk. “We never get fucked, nephew. We do the fucking, feel me? Get’cha game face on and be ready to roll in an hour. Me and my woman gotta make a run. This here is your show, nephew. Your crew. Make these niggas bow even though they don’t want to, feel me?”
Five minutes later, Anika and Phenom were gone and Trigga turned to me. “A’ight, this is what it is: I’ma walk into this meeting on time as a fake show of respect for these nigga’s gangsta. You know make them think I respect them as old head OGs from the street. That will be my act of respect.”
I had to ask, “Then what?”
He nodded, keeping that backpack Ghost had given him close. “This is where y’all come in as my act of defiance. Y’all come in twenty minutes later. No sooner, no later. Twenty minutes. That’s to let them niggas know they don’t scare me, don’t run me, and never will. You feel me?”
We all nodded in agreement.
“And what about Ghost?” Gina asked.
“She knows what her agenda is. She’ll be safe.”
“Then let’s get a motherfucking move on,” Big Jakes booming voice thundered.
I could only shake my head with a smile. Finally, we were the niggas with an agenda, only we intended to be smart in carrying out ours.
Chapter 19
Trigga
“All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when we are able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must appear inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.”
The minute hand on my watch kept my attention as I gave a mental countdown for the show and repeated the words of Sun Tzu in my mind. Ghost and Chyna were back at the main house taking care of business that they couldn’t handle with us here. Ghost was too young to go to the meeting and the fact that Chyna was here, we wanted to keep her hidden from Dante for a bit while teaching her about ATL. My mind stayed thinking on those two’s safety while both of my hands fisted on my thighs, making the chains I had inked on my forearms with different words of teachings pop out. Jake sat next to me in the driver’s seat of our silver and black Bugatti, with Speedy parked behind us with Baby G and Ray-Ray in the blacked-out military-grade luxury SUV. Jake and I were both dressed like businessmen.
Me, I had on a black fitted suit jacket, with a hoodie designed in it. Underneath was a crisp white tailor shirt that was open at the collar and rolled up on my arms. I stuck with dark denim fitted jeans and leather black military-style Timbs that looked unlaced at my ankles. Jake, was dressed in a similar fit, but without a jacket, opting for a simple vest. His low-cropped waves were perfect in their circular style and we both had on shades.
Bling sparkled at our ears. My locs were carefully braided into a knotted ponytail, done by Baby G. We were swagged up and decked out. Smelling tight and ready for war. We hid our weapons London style. That meant that even though we were dressed like money, we kept things all the way street, with weapons hidden on us since we knew we would get a pat down. If London had taught us nothing else, it taught us how to adapt.
In the SUV, Speedy was hooked up like us, except he had on a jacket with no hoodie and his braids were gone and replaced with a bushy ponytail. Baby G and Diamond decided to put on deep purple matching bandage dresses that pushed up their tits and made their asses fatter. Diamond explained that the kings of the past would wear either gold or purple, and since they didn’t want to put on all gold, they decided for the purple with gold accents and bling. They let Ghost and Chyna pick out the accessories and bling.
The points of our looks were to deceive and distract. The goal was to piss people off. To make all the bosses, who we all knew hated that we even were alive, think that we had taken the money they lost and used it to build our empire. Like a lion hunting in the middle of a storm, lightning exposes the prey and anger always reveals knowledge.
Thinking on that, my clock kept ticking. Time was of the essence. I sat rubbing my hands together, working on my thoughts. Kendrick Lamar blasted and Jake’s booming voice had me breaking out of thought to check what the homie was saying.
“Yo, you think after everything, we can finally get some peace?” Jake seemed to asked me but I could tell he was on some mind shit.
“Maybe; you know how this life is,” I simply responded. Shit, I knew not to put all my money on one thing. After London, a nigga knew we’d never have peace, even in the grave.
Jake gave a sigh and ran a hand over his waves, glancing at me. “Yeah, you’re right. Just saying, think we can get made like Phenom and Anika. Feeling like all we been doing was running. Life wasn’t perfect with that nigga Dame, but we had chill days. Just need some chill days feel me?”
My homie was on some heavy deep shit right now and I could get why. “What up, man?”
“Naw, nothing really, just thinking,” Jake said.
When a nigga who ain’t used to thinking starts thinking that’s when you know you need to get your nigga right. Had to make sure he wasn’t on some other shit that may get us killed. He did that shit before and ha
d me acting out of character, but he was my blood now, my brother; had to look out for a nigga who always was looking out for me.
“Check it, what up. Don’t get pussy because we going inside this joint. Everything is everything. Once this shit is handled, we’ll get to just chill set and keep our backs protected feel me?” I tried to encourage.
“Yeah, I know, man; trust I know. Just thinking on Gina is all. Baby girl needs that peace. After everything, all the shit, we gotta look out for her; I gotta look out for her.”
I eyed my homie and knew he was on some heart shit. Wasn’t nothing I could do about it though I understood it on some level, because Baby G was like my sister. So he was right on that, she needed to be protected.
“Yeah, I hear you, man—” I was saying until Jake cut me off.
“I mean, me and baby girl just gotta you know, chill for a bit, maybe just I don’t know, get out the game all the way so she can have something normal like?”
“Normal like what, motherfucka? Told you, no matter what we do, we can go be doctors in Egypt or some shit, niggas will always gun for us feel me?” I cut back in, almost getting heated ’cause the nigga was pissing me off.
“Yeah, man, I know, but shit, she deserves it. I learned in the church that it’s a season for everything; come on, brah, just get on my level and understand where I’m coming from,” he pleaded, watching me with a stern look like something I had seen in my uncle’s eyes with Anika.
All I could do was nod my head, because I had promised to protect and be down for everyone in my crew. If that was what he and Gina needed, wasn’t shit I can do but try to give them jewels and gold, so they could have privacy and peace once this was over. A part of me quickly echoed that I was tired. Tired of all the shit.
So, I held my fist out to give my nigga dap, a homie I’d always hold down in this life and next and he gave me dap back.
“It’s icing, man. Whateva y’all need I’ll work to get it. Especially for Baby G,” I reassured him.
Jake turned back in his seat, his huge, muscled, and bulky form rising with each quiet breath he took and I knew he was going back into his killa mode. “Guess it’s time, brah.”
Checking how Jake held the familiar cross that his grams gave him, I gave a slight nod. We all understood that this shit was on a whole new level, the big times. Which is why Jake covered us all in prayer before we headed to Buckhead. Code stated in a boss meeting that we couldn’t touch each other, but with Prodigy being taken down for popping off at the mouth like he did, we knew anything could happen.
“Yeah, bro, down for whatever. Pull up and let’s be about this shit because my fingers are itchin’.”
Pumping his breaks to signal Speedy, we watched the SUV turn down a street way near the St. Regis Hotel and we pulled up in the back of the hotel. The sound of Future sounding like a wet cat in a pool from Jake’s cell had him connecting it though our speakers as Speedy hit us up.
“Ay, bruv. Watch ya circuit a’ight? And don’t get your ass kicked to fast before we can get in there, ah ha!”
Both Jake and I laughed as Speedy clowned us. Gina’s soft, raspy voice cut through and commanded both of our attention because it was still so light.
“Jakey and Triggy! Bring that magic but don’t knock some heads off too fast, and don’t take so long ’cause I get bored ’n’ shit den lose ma focus,” Gina softly whined.
How she said it made me laugh. I was about to tell her that my name had an “a” on the end and not a “y” as I usually do, but right now, I didn’t feel like it. So, I leaned forward, giving Jake dap then took off my seat belt ready to bring the show. “A’ight, Baby G, I got you too. Let’s handle shit.”
I moved to open the door but stopped when Diamond spoke up. “Still though, be careful.”
It was kinda strange how she said that, though I knew she was talking to the both of us, something more was there like, like li’l shawty was saying something more specific to me.
“We will. Just do what you two . . .” Laughing, I adjusted my shades and continued, “You three do. Let’s ride out, BJ.”
Coming to St. Regis was something I wasn’t expecting. I thought these goons would be at Magic City or some shit, with asses shaking, money raining, and pussy in our laps. But, nah, that wasn’t the case. Jake and I were some black kids standing in an old world moniker of the South hotel. The fact that we were in the back had me feeling some type of way.
One, I knew this was because all of us were on some illegal shit, but two, I could feel my skin color was the reason as well, if you get what I’m saying. We were led by two burly guards. Each cat was the same hulking height and build as Jake, but he had an inch or two on them. One looked like the Rock; the other looked like Booker T from WWE.
We let them pat us down, and Jake returned the favor. We were then led from the back of the lobby on through a bustling, hot kitchen. That led us to a back room in the basement of the hotel that revealed a gambling hall, no, more like a casino with broads sliding down poles and offering us drinks while hostesses of every shade and hue came by us and took us to the back of a private room, where the various twelve street dons sat around a huge dark oak meeting table. The surface was so shiny that I could see the ugly faces of several demons reflected within the niggas before me.
Armando, the head of the Latin Kings, Nicola, the head of the Russian Cartel in the south, Valentino, head of the Italian Cartel, Kim, head of the Dragons a.k.a Asian Clan, and Stiff, head of the Black Sicilians sat smoking cigars with a familiar gold imprint around the base with the other dons. One I had seen that crooked cop, fed, whatever the fuck he was portraying his ass as, S.B. smoking when he took down some Jamaicans back in London. A smirk flashed on my face as I took that little note to head. Niggas were choking down Dante’s dick, I saw.
With Prodigy having been axed, I knew everyone here was confused as to why his seat was now filled by a pretty, feminine Jamaican queen. Word on the street was that after Rasta J stepped down to let Prodigy take over, it was his daughter who now stepped in her rightful place, and supposedly, she was a wild card. But I knew it was only a replacement chosen specifically by Anika. But no one ever would know that link.
So my eyes gazed over her caramel skin, where her locs fell over swollen breast then her cushy, plump lips as she puffed from her cigar and leaned back like a queen. Legend was her name and lethal with arsenal was her MO. While I sized up the room, the massive double doors behind us almost closed, but I glanced at Jake. Jake nodded and I primped the arms of my jacket then dropped my hoodie back. Jake stopped the doors from closing all of the way and stood between them watching us and watching the other people in the hall behind us.
Silence filled the large room and I stood stoic, saying not one damn thing as I waited on them to address me. I may not be that nigga who was rising up the ladder of Dame’s world anymore, but I was still that silent killa. Niggas addressed me first and not the other way around. So I listened to pins drop, scoping the only open chair left. Not fazed at all by the disrespect in the room, I walked to it then rested my hand on the back of it, refusing to sit.
“This moolie is gonna sit down one day,” cut through the silence and had me eying the source. Valentino.
Stiff, who called himself having beef with that nigga because Valentino didn’t like his ass either regardless of them both having Italian blood, gave a nasally snort. Anika had told me about the beef between those two when she and Phenom gave me the rundown of each street king. But as Stiff tapped the ashes off his cigar and leaned in close to whisper something to Valentio, it was clear that regardless of their beef, I was their common enemy.
Power was everything, so I continued doing me and playing the game of the new kid on the block. A smirk played around my face in that moment. “Lords, I would have brought gifts but we all remembered how that turned out before right?” I joked, making reference to the poison Dame had fed many of them before to get to the number of Lords we had sitting today.
> Eyes cut me like daggers, and each one of them became targets for me as I sat.
“What can I not do for you all today? I guess you all wondering if it’s true? That I’m now king of Dame’s world?” I leisurely asked. I noticed the cigar in front of me in amusement. I wasn’t about to put that shit anywhere near my lips which is why it stayed exactly where it was.
“So you’re Phenom’s blood?” a don asked.
I knew my unk’s representative was in the mix so it amused me that they would ask that. Slick move.
“Is he really serious here? Why is that kid so cocky?” I heard another one of the twelve dons ask.
This was a female, who I turned, gave a wink to, and looked down at my dick. “Because of that and am I? And Phenom? Shieet, nigga nothing but a legend, a ghost to me, so if he is, he is. If he ain’t he ain’t but that nigga got mad power and I respect it,” I calmly said and turned back to address the whole room.
The sound of Jake moving to the side to allow a waitress in with a bottle of Conjure and a glass for me had me waving her off. A clear mind was needed with these motherfuckers so I was good. By the way, I liked how they played me. No disrespect to Conjure, but these motherfuckers were sipping Dom, while they offered me a different type of drink? Yeah, the fuck right on that shit. Come at me another time.
Motioning with my hand, I waved for the waitress to come to me. Mami was dressed in blinged-up pussy imprint showing boy shorts and a bra. Her red hair spilled down her shoulders like crinkled waves and I noticed how Valentino was copping her. Nigga was known for hating black men, but loved him that black puss.
My fingers drifted in her hair as I spoke low to her. I watched her honey and bourbon skin flush slightly red, the moment my voice dipped into a drawl for her. I knew everyone at the table was pissed at how I was playing them, but I really couldn’t give two shits and a handshake. What I was doing, was telling her to bring in extra chairs for my crew. As she sashayed away, I tilted my head to the side to watch how her left and right ass cheek seemed to play soccer with each other and jiggle just right. Shit was sexy but I really wasn’t copping her.
