by K'wan
This time the hurt in Domo’s eyes was real. “Damn, it’s like that?” He’d always thought Pearl to be a cool chick, but now he wasn’t so sure.
“Domo, you know what I mean.” Pearl tried to clean it up. “Besides, you’re one of my baby brother’s friends. How would it look on me to be partying with you?”
Domo took a step back as if she had shoved him. His pride was wounded, but he did his best not to show it. “I hear that hot shit, Pearl.” He turned to walk away, but had a parting thought to share. “You know what? You’re absolutely right, Pearl. I ain’t a soldier in nobody’s army, because I got boss in my blood and can’t never see myself waiting on another muthafucka to feed me. I’m gonna go out and get it, because that’s how my mama raised me. One day you’re going to remember this conversation, bet that.” He stormed off.
“Don’t you think you were kind of hard on him?” Power asked once Domo was out of earshot.
“Please, I ain’t stunting that little wannabe gang-banger and his feelings. He’ll get over it,” Pearl said dismissively.
“I know that’s right!” Marissa gave her a high five.
Power smirked. “Y’all think y’all got it all figured out, huh? I’ll tell you like this: the same cats you meet on the way up are the same ones you meet on the way down.”
* * *
When Domo pushed open the door of the salon, it was with a little more force than he intended, which got him a dirty stare from the girl sitting at the appointment counter. He gave her an apologetic look and kept stepping. When he had first asked Pearl about his invite to the party he had only been joking, but her reaction had made it personal. Pearl always gave Domo grief about being a young street dude, but she had never outright tried to play him before that day. The only reason he didn’t disrespect her was because she was still Stoney’s sister and Big Stone’s daughter. The last thing he wanted was a late-night visit from Knowledge over some words. Still, the things she’d said to him resonated. He was tired of people looking at him as little Domonique. In due time, they would all see that he had as much potential to be great as anyone else. Pearl didn’t know it, but she had just lit the fuse to a powder keg.
He took his time strolling passed the different booths and eyeballing the ladies working them. Rouge definitely had some eye candy working its stations. He found his mother behind a counter with her back to him, while she packed away the tools of her trade. The younger girl who worked the counter with her spotted Domo and started to say hello, but he motioned for her to be quiet. He eased up on his mother and whispered softly, “Excuse me, love. I was wondering if you’d do me the honor of joining me for lunch?”
Carla spun, lips pursed to dismiss whoever was pressing her, but her face softened when she spotted her baby boy. “Domonique, you play too much.” She swatted at him affectionately. “What you doing here, boy?”
“I was just coming from a job interview in the neighborhood and wanted to see if I can grab a bite with my old lady right quick.”
Carla looked at her watch and then at what he was wearing. “A job interview in the middle of the day? Dressed like that?” She rolled her eyes. “Boy, you know your mama ain’t no square, so come correct.”
Domo thought about insisting his story about the interview were true, but his mother had always had an uncanny ability to see through his bullshit. “A’ight,” he began, “this older guy I know needed me to watch his back while he pulled some BS in a department store.” It was the truth, but not in its entirety.
Carla grabbed Domo by the arm and pulled him out of earshot of the young girl, who was trying to act like she wasn’t eavesdropping. “Domonique, what do I keep telling you about throwing stones at the penitentiary!”
“Ma, I told you I was only the lookout. I was in and out of the store in less than two minutes.”
“That’s even worse! If you’re simple ass had gotten caught you’d have done just as much time as the one who actually committed the crime, so you might as well have gone all the way with it!” Carla barked. She saw the look that flashed across Domo’s face and checked herself. “Look, I didn’t mean it like it sounded. You know I’d never encourage you to break the law. It’s just been a long morning; I’m tired and just in my feelings a bit.”
“Everything okay?” He noticed the troubled look on her face.
“Yeah, just dwelling on people, places, and things that no longer hold any weight in my life,” Carla said. Her conversation with Pearl had stirred old memories and old feelings. “But don’t try and change the subject. I’m serious about what I said, Domonique. I don’t want you out here playing in them streets. I know you’re a young man now and will have to figure out certain things on your own, but that doesn’t stop me from praying every night that you can hold on to your innocence as long as possible. This game can make killers out of good men and I couldn’t see that happen to my baby.”
His mother’s words rang with truth, and were appreciated if also too late. She knew her baby boy dabbled, but Carla really had no idea how far down the rabbit hole he’d plunged and he didn’t have the heart to feed her another lie so he just nodded. “So, you gonna let me take you to eat, or what?”
“I wish I could, baby, but I gotta get to my other job,” Carla told him, while finishing packing her supplies.
“Damn, Mama. All you do is work,” Domo said in frustration.
“Watch your mouth,” she scolded. “And if I didn’t work, who gonna keep the lights on?”
“I told you I’m down to help,” Domo reminded her.
“And you will, right after you finish high school and get a good job. For now, you handle the books and I’ll handle the bills.” She popped the handle of her roll-on bag. “I gotta hustle so I can make it to my next gig. Call to let me know when you get in the house.” She kissed his cheek and rushed off.
PART
II
THE HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN
CHAPTER SEVEN
Knowledge stood in the corner of the basement, leaning against one of the tall arcade games. His eyes followed the big man as he stormed back and forth, breaking whatever was in arm’s reach. In all the years he had worked for him he couldn’t ever recall seeing him quite this angry. As Knowledge observed the rant he could feel his heart beating in his chest, not out of fear, but anticipation. He knew what would come next. It was the only option they had left, but he still wasn’t sure if it was the right one.
“I can’t believe this shit!” Big Stone said in his husky voice, finally taking a pause from his path of destruction of his furniture. “That’s two more of my top people gone in the last twenty-four hours. These niggas must think I’m some kinda fucking sucker, huh? I’m gonna show them what it is, though, when I rain fire down on their bitch asses!”
Knowledge had just come back from Jersey and delivered the bad news he’d received from one of his informants. Another one of Big Stone’s packages had been hijacked. That made the third in the last week. He was upset about it, but that wasn’t what had sent him through the roof: his top money launderer had been assassinated. Oscar had laundered thousands for Big Stone on a monthly basis and now he was gone. One thing you didn’t fuck with was Big Stone’s money, and he had made tons of it over the years with Oscar.
“Stone, please try and calm down, man. We need to assess the situation before we rush into it,” Black cautioned. He was an older dude who had history with Big Stone that went back to the days when they were selling nickel bags of weed at parties. In his day Black had been notorious for his skills with a pistol, but getting shot six times forced him to come in off the streets and join upper management. In addition to being Big Stone’s voice of reason, Black also ran pussy out of several cathouses he and Big Stone owned around the city.
“That’s easy for you to say, Black. Ain’t nobody in the streets pissing on your name, are they?” Big Stone barked. “That’s the problem. I been too calm about this shit instead of in the streets taking heads, but it’s a new day!
I want everybody in this crew that’s able to hold a gun in them streets fucking shit up.”
“But we don’t even know who we’re fighting,” Knowledge said. The minute he opened his mouth he regretted it.
“And whose fault is that?” Big Stone turned angry eyes to Knowledge. “You’re supposed to be my eyes and ears on the streets, but lately you don’t see or hear shit. Was I wrong by putting you in positon as my number two?”
“Of course not, but—”
“But shit!” Big Stone cut him off. “Somebody is taking out bosses all over the city, but don’t nobody seem to know nothing. It’s like we’re under siege by damn ghosts! What’s it gonna take for me to finally get some results, me ending up like Pana?”
Pana had been the first domino to fall. He was a Spanish cat who commanded a small army of killers out of Washington Heights that had a reputation for brutality. People had been trying to knock Pana out of the box for years and all attempts had failed until recently. A group of unknown assailants had swept in and eradicated Pana and his entire crew in under twenty-four hours. Pana’s death sent a clear message to everybody hustling in the streets of New York: no one was safe.
“You know I’d never let that happen,” Knowledge told him.
“I don’t know shit except that you’re sitting on your damn hands while I’m losing money, resources, and respect. At least a dozen of our people have either been killed or abandoned ship since this shit started. I can’t say that I blame them, from the way we’ve been running things lately. Who wants to work for a boss that they feel like can’t protect them?” Big Stone asked.
“We did turn up something from Oscar’s murder, though I don’t know how helpful it is,” Knowledge offered.
“Well, don’t keep an asshole in suspense. Spill it, nigga,” Big Stone ordered.
“In addition to the four guys in the mask there was also a female with them.”
Big Stone gave Knowledge a look. “How is that helpful? You know how many niggas employ women in their crews these days?”
“But how many that play a brass horn?” Knowledge shot back. “One of the witnesses said that Oscar stopped to listen to a street performer playing a horn, which is how they got the drop on him.”
Big Stone smiled. “That’s the Knowledge I know. Now we got something to go on. Any ideas of who she might be running with?”
Knowledge rubbed his chin in thought. “Well, there’s Christian Knight. I know he has a girl working in his crew, and I hear he and his group have been moonlighting as contract killers, but this ain’t really his style. He’s more of a pill pusher and a pimp.”
“What about them other broads from down the way? What do they call themselves, Twenty-Gang or something?” Black asked.
“Nah, ain’t been too much going on with them since Eve disappeared,” Knowledge said.
“Now that broad was a piece of work!” Big Stone recalled. “Knowledge, I need you to get out in the streets and shake some trees. We need to get out ahead of this thing ASAP.”
“You got it, OG,” Knowledge assured him before heading back up the basement stairs.
“That boy has come a long way from when you first brought him in,” Black said.
“Indeed he has. I knew he was going to be special long before he did and that’s why I kept him so close all these years.”
Knowledge first came to Big Stone’s attention at the ripe age of twelve, and even back then he had been moving way faster than most kids his age. His father was a ghost and his mother was a smoker so most times he was left to his own devices. You could always find him in the streets committing petty crimes like shoplifting from supermarkets and boosting from stores, but then he got his hands on his first pistol and stepped his game up, dabbling in armed robbery. He had gotten away with taking off several neighborhood dealers, but his luck ran out when he got it in his mind to rip off one of Big Stone’s spots. When the gangster’s crew finally tracked Knowledge down and brought him before Big Stone to answer for what he’d done, Big Stone’s initial thoughts were to kill him and string his ass up as an example to anyone else who might’ve thought about trying it, but when he looked into the young man’s defiant eyes he saw something: himself. Having also had a rough upbringing Big Stone understood how desperation could sometimes push a man into making unwise decisions. So instead of giving Knowledge death, he gave him an opportunity.
Those closest to Big Stone thought it would send the wrong message to the streets, giving the kid who had stolen from him a job, but Big Stone never cared much about public opinion. He started Knowledge off small, slinging stones on corners, to see how far he could trust him. It wasn’t long before Knowledge proved himself to be not only a good earner, but a loyal soldier, and Big Stone never had to tell him to do something more than once. A year after coming to him Knowledge had gone from slinging on corners to giving out packages. He was a natural leader, and the corner boys followed him without question. After a while Big Stone began to realize that Knowledge’s talents were being wasted on the streets, so he brought him in out of the cold. Nearly a decade later, Big Stone knew that letting Knowledge live had proven to be one of the best decisions he had ever made.
“You okay?” Black asked Big Stone, noticing the far-off look in his eyes.
“Yeah, I’m cool. I just got a lot of shit on my mind,” Big Stone told him. “We been playing this game for a long time, Black, and I ain’t never encountered no shit like this. How the hell am I supposed to fight an enemy I can’t identify?”
“Don’t fret over it, Stone. This ain’t the first time we’ve had our backs against the wall and we’re gonna come out on top like we always do. Regardless of how this plays out, you know I’m with you until the end, like I always been,” Black assured him.
“Well, shit, don’t put us in the ground just yet.” Big Stone laughed.
“Speaking of things needing to be put in the ground, one of my little birds whispered a piece of new in my ear that I think you might find interesting. Your baby mama is back in town.”
“Zonnie? You have got to be shitting me!”
“I wish I was. I hear she’s been crawling in and out of dives around town trying to recruit girls for her escort service. She tried to press a few of mine and the only reason I didn’t have her put down was out of respect for you.”
“Hell, I wish you would’ve. It’d have saved me the trouble of doing it. I should’ve taken that bitch’s life instead of just her keys when I kicked her foul ass outta my place!” Stone went back to his pacing. “First my slimeball brother crawls out from whatever rock he is hiding under and then my low-down baby mama slinks back into town. This is a bad omen, Black … a bad omen.”
“I’ve had some of our people out trying to get a location on Rolling, but so far nothing,” Black told him.
“Yeah, he’s always been good at moving like a ghost. Just ask his kids,” Big Stone joked. It was common knowledge that Rolling Stone had fathered at least six kids and wasn’t in any of their lives. “Well, keep looking. I wanna know what that piece of shit is doing back in New York after I banished his ass.”
“What should we do if we find him? You want he should disappear again, this time permanently?” Black asked. He had never liked Stone’s brother and made no secret of it. Rolling had always been jealous of Big Stone, even to the point of once trying to orchestrate an attempt on his life. Black had foiled the attempt, which was how he had ended up taking the six bullets.
“Nah, man. For as much of a snake as he is, he’s the only sibling I got left living. Besides, I promised my mama on her deathbed that my parents would never have to bury any more of their children. So as long as my daddy is still alive, so is Rolling.”
“Speaking of your dad, how is Bo?” Black asked.
“Still as mean as a bear that been woke up early out of hibernation. I swear that man ain’t got a lick of love for nobody outside his grandkids,” Big Stone said.
“Sounds like the Bo I remember. See, y
ou a little younger, but I had the pleasure of knowing your daddy when he was in the streets heavy. Man, I tell you, that nigga was the definition of a soldier.”
Bo Stone was a gangster with a résumé that stretched back to the fifties. He had been one of the few old-timers who had been opposed to selling drugs, instead making his money through stickups, girls, and a host of other illegal activities. He’d predicted what drugs would do to black communities and wanted no part of them. When the Italians started trying to flood Harlem with heroin, Bo Stone had been one of the few to stand up to them. When they sent their people at him he would always send them back in bags. He was a one-man killing machine and eventually everybody got the message that no drugs would be sold in his neighborhoods. The people he protected praised him as if he were a black superhero. It was such an ironic twist of fate that his son Big Stone had grown up to be one of the biggest dealers in Harlem.
“Yeah, my daddy was a soldier, and now he’s just a pain in my ass. He’s supposed to be coming to Pearl’s party tonight.”
“That’s great!” Black said excitedly. Growing up, Bo had been one of his heroes.
“Speak for yourself. I got enough that needs handling tonight without having to hear a bunch of bullshit about how I’m bringing down the black community. These muthafuckas was getting high before me, and they’ll continue to get high long after I’m gone.”
“Whatever you say, boss. And what you wanna do about your baby mama?”
“Rolling is off limits, but that bitch fair game if she steps wrong. The last thing I need is her popping up and fucking with my boy’s head. I don’t want that bitch Zonnie nowhere near my son! You hear me, Black?”
“How could I not when your ass is screaming like a crazy person?”
“I’m sorry, man. I just got a lot going on in my head right now.” Big Stone took a seat on the couch. “On another note, did you confirm everybody for tonight?”
