The Diamond Empire--A Novel

by K'wan

  “Hank, why the fuck you always sticking up for that junkie bitch?” Buda asked.

  “Just because she strung out don’t give you no right to treat her like a dog!” Hank snapped. “Besides, with all the dirt we do up in this house the last thing we need is her mad enough to call the police on us. We’ll all be fucked then.”

  “That bitch knows if she even think about calling the cops I’ll kill her and everybody she loves,” Buda promised.

  All Hank could do was shake his head because he knew Buda was a man who was beyond reasoning with. The threat of Mousey calling the police wasn’t likely, but Hank would never reveal his real motive for always looking out for the junkie. Hank had a soft spot for Mousey because he used to be her. Few other than Diamonds knew about Hank’s battle with addiction. There was a dark period in his life when he had done some things he wasn’t proud of in order to get his fix.

  “Y’all snag that bag?” Buda asked.

  “Yeah, I was in the kitchen repacking all the shit before you started your Ike Turner shit,” Hank told him.

  “Good man. Where Goldie and Snake?” Buda asked.

  “Goldie had something to take care of and Snake caught it in the battle. Dude we moved on got the drop on him,” Hank lied. He didn’t tell Buda what really happened because the last thing they needed was to create more tension among the group.

  Buda shrugged. “What’s a war without its casualties? Let’s go finish bagging this shit up.”

  * * *

  Vita sat perched on the washing machine near the kitchen window lost in her own thoughts, while the men helped Hank repackage the drugs they had stolen from Big Stone’s runner. Lucky had returned from dumping the car and was leaning against the stove, rolling up a blunt. Every so often he would cast a distrustful look at Buda, who was laughing and popping shit like he didn’t have a care in the world. Vita had seen that look before, and she had a good idea what was going through his mind. He would bear some watching.

  In truth, she didn’t particularly care for any of the new faces who had joined their crew. Even when they were still pulling capers in New Orleans none of them, with the exception of One-eye Willie, had ever really been a part of what they had going on. To Vita the men were just little more than muscle, loyal to whoever was paying them at the time, and if Buda wasn’t careful the same snakes he had brought into their home would end up biting him, which might not be such a bad thing.

  Buda had never been the easiest man to get along with, but he had gotten far worse when he became the leader. Under Diamonds their moves had been calculated and quiet, but Buda lacked that same tact and patience. It the week since Diamonds had gone missing, Buda had caused a shit storm in the street. Instead of taking his time eating the meal Diamonds had laid on the table for them, as had been the plan, Buda had been killing and taking more out of greed than necessity, trying to gobble it all down at once. He was a mindless brute who had inherited more power than he was capable of handling, and Vita had a bad feeling that it would only be a matter of time before his bullshit got them all either killed or thrown in prison for the rest of their lives.

  What bothered Vita more than Buda risking their lives unnecessarily was how he had taken Diamonds’ disappearance. On the surface, he appeared to be just as broken up over it as the rest of them, but it didn’t feel right. His grief seemed rehearsed, less than genuine, and that struck her as odd, knowing how close they had been. It was possible that Vita had been reading too much into it, but her gut said she was on to something. Either way, she would be watching him like a hawk until she got to the bottom of it.

  Roughly two hours had passed and there was still no sign of Domo, and she didn’t know if she was more irritated or worried. She hadn’t missed Buda’s insinuation that Domo was going to see another chick, which shouldn’t have been her concern, but it bothered her. The more time she spent around the youngster, the more he was beginning to grow on her, which is why she had started to push him away.

  Vita had never been a woman big on attachments of any kind. As a child she and her family never lived anywhere for more than a few months to a year before getting evicted or having to relocate due to something one of her junkie parents did. It was always a new neighborhood, new school, and new friends, and this taught her not to hold on to anything too tight because it wouldn’t last. This was especially true when it came to relationships. Diamonds had been the closest thing to a boyfriend she ever had and even with him the lows outweighed the highs. He treated her like little more than a toy to be taken in or out of the box whenever he felt like playing with it. Still, she loved him as she had no other in her life … and then Domo came into the picture.

  The hooligan from Newark was a conundrum that she hadn’t quite figured out yet. He was young, broke, and almost comically inexperienced when it came to lovemaking, but he was genuine, which was something Vita wasn’t used to. For all his flaws he seemed to genuinely care for her and it scared Vita shitless. After what she had been through with Diamonds over the years Vita was emotionally damaged and no longer trusted her heart to be able to lead her in the right direction. What if she let her guard down and gave herself to Domo, only for him to toy with her as Diamonds had? Then again, what if she pushed him away, only later to find she had robbed herself of a blessing? There were so many unanswered questions in her head that it made her dizzy.

  “Man, I gotta admit that I was a little skeptical when you hit me about coming to New York, but after what I’ve seen so far I should’ve got out of dodge with you niggas years ago,” One-eye Willie said, looking at all the drugs on the table.

  “This is only the start, my man. We’re about to own this city!” Buda boasted.

  “Yeah, this is a pretty sweet situation Diamonds set up. Too bad he ain’t hear to reap the benefits of his groundwork,” Lucky said offhandedly. The room suddenly got quiet, as he had hit a sore spot. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”

  “It’s all good, Lucky. The wound is still pretty fresh, but time and cash heals all.” Buda slipped a rubber band around a stack of money and tossed it on the table.

  “So, y’all plan a home-going yet?” Willie asked.

  “Home-going for the dead. We ain’t got no proof Diamonds passed on yet, and until we do I’d appreciate it if you boys wouldn’t be so quick to put him in the ground!” Vita said angrily.

  “Vita, you still on that?” Buda looked at her. “The writing is on the wall, baby girl. I don’t wanna believe it either, but it’s been over a week and no sign of him.”

  “I tend to agree with Vita,” Hank added. “Even if it went as Buda suggests, and fools did manage to catch him slipping, ain’t no way he would’ve gone quietly and for damn sure not alone. I spoke to our guy on the inside and ain’t been no new casualties reported besides the few bodies we laid down.”

  “You tip him off to the fact that Diamonds gone missing?” Buda asked suspiciously. He already knew the answer, but wanted to see how Hank would play it.

  “Nah, I ain’t no fool. I just made some inquiries about the state of their crew. Played it off like I was doing recon for the big move,” Hank told him.

  “Smart man. We still don’t know how far we can trust these New York niggas, and I don’t want them knowing more about what we got going on than they need to.” Buda had learned a long time ago not to let his left hand know what his right was doing, and both of his had been quite busy lately.

  “Maybe somebody snatched him and he’s being held somewhere,” Vita suggested.

  “Then where’s the ransom note?” Buda asked. “Listen, do y’all think I haven’t been up day and night looking at this from all possible angles? Don’t nobody wanna be wrong about this more than I do, but all we got is what’s in front of us. Regardless of what your inside man is telling you, it don’t change the fact that someone has done us a great injustice. Maybe it was Big Stone, and maybe it was somebody else. I say we make ’em all bleed to be sure our brother’s passing is felt!”

>   “Now that’s some shit I can get with!” Willie said excitedly. “We been knocking soldiers out since we arrived in New York. When do we get to hunt the big game?”

  “Sooner than you think, my friend.” Buda said with a sly grin. “Now if we’re all done here, I gotta head back to Manhattan. I got a date with a bitch who’s just dying for me to stick this cock to her.”

  “I’ll ride with you,” Vita said, much to Buda’s surprise.

  “I never figured you down for a three-way, but if you’re game so am I,” Buda told her suggestively. He was hoping to scare her off so she’d change her mind about tagging along.

  “Don’t flatter yourself, fat boy. I left my ride downtown, remember?”

  “Right.” Buda chuckled. “For a minute, I thought you’d finally opened your mind up to a Buda sandwich.”

  “Not on my worse day. I’ll wait for you outside. There’s too much testosterone in here for my taste.” Vita walked out of the kitchen.

  “I swear, that girl is even more sour than I remember,” Willie said once she had gone.

  “Probably since she ain’t had a good dicking since Diamonds,” Hank joked.

  “So you say. Ain’t nobody but me been peeping how close she playing that young boy?” Willie asked.

  “Who, Domo? Nah, man. They been flirting a bit, but I doubt it go further than that. His flesh probably way too tender for her fangs,” Hank pointed out.

  “You say that because you don’t see what I see. When y’all gonna stop doubting my vision?” Willie pointed to his glass eye.

  “Well, ask that marble rolling around in your head when you’re finally gonna get laid. I think you’re the only one who ain’t had no pussy since we been in New York,” Lucky teased him.

  “I’m gonna leave all you dry-dick niggas to it.” Buda got up from the table. “Hank, walk me out.”

  “What’s on your head?” Hank asked once they were out of earshot of the others.

  “How much you trust our guy on the inside?”

  Hank shrugged. “About as much as I can trust any muthafucka who’ll double-cross his own. I thought it stank to high shit from the moment Diamonds brought that janky nigga Born to the table. I trust his partner Rolling even less. Any man his age who dresses like he stepped out of a nineties rap video gotta have some funny shit with him.”

  “You having second thoughts about the deal?” Buda asked.

  “Second and third,” Hank admitted. “I’m thinking we should put this deal on hold until we can figure out exactly where everyone stands.”

  “Normally I’d agree but the ball is already in play. Doodles and his people are supposed to be hitting us with the first official shipment tomorrow night,” Buda informed him.

  This surprised Hank because he wasn’t aware they’d locked in a delivery date yet. “Well, when were you planning on telling us about it?”

  “I just found out this morning,” Buda lied. “Can’t blame them for being anxious. The lane is wide open right now with Pana out of the way, so I figure this is as good a time as any to lay to all the territory we spilled all that blood to clean out.”

  “Buda, don’t you think you’re moving a little fast?”

  “No faster than Diamonds. Hell, look at how quick we swept through Miami. Diamonds took that bitch in half the time it’s taking us to move on New York.”

  “Diamonds also had a plan in place before we did anything. You’re just reacting to what’s being thrown out there,” Hank pointed out.

  “What more planning do we need than to take all this shit and lay out whoever touched our brother in the process? You starting to sound like an old wet nurse, Hank. Maybe it’s time for you to step back and let the fresh blood handle the dirty work.”

  “Or maybe it’s time for you to think about what’s good for this crew, instead of just what’s good for Buda,” Hank shot back. “Look here, boss; I know you the chief of the shit now. It’s your right by chain of command, and I might not like it but I respect it. But you know this ain’t how we move. One mind,” Hank tapped his forehead with his index finger, “one heart,” he tapped Buda’s chest with the same finger. “That’s how Diamonds set this thing up to work.”

  “And look where it got him,” Buda replied. “Hank, you a wise old bird and the best adviser a man can ask for in matters of money, but we at war. This is my area of expertise, so let me do what I do. Now if you don’t like the way I’m running this thing, you more than welcome to bring your complaints to the big table and challenge me for leadership. Just know that nothing short of death is gonna take me from this position now that I finally have it. You feel me?”

  “Nah, I don’t feel you, but it is what it is. You the chief now, right?” Hank’s voice was laced with sarcasm. “If there’s nothing else, I best get these drugs to the stash houses.”

  “Actually, nah. That coke ain’t going to our spots uptown. It’s going to Newark. I promised it to Domo and his people,” Buda informed him.

  “Another executive decision, huh?” Hank asked sarcastically. “Since when you start trying to look out for Domo? You know you can’t stand him.”

  “I ain’t gotta like him for him to be useful. Right now them young dudes is hungry, so why not set ’em to work? It ain’t gonna do nothing but make the team richer.”

  “Right, Buda the team player,” Hank said dryly. Buda was heaping the bullshit on so thick that the stench threatened to choke him.

  “Have Lucky or Willie drop it off to them whenever they get a chance.”

  “Whatever you say, boss. Since I’m off the clock, I’m gonna go check my bitch and get something to eat. That is, if it’s okay with you, chief?”

  “Hank, get the fuck outta here before you make me do something stupid,” Buda grunted. It seemed that Hank was challenging his authority more and more lately, and Buda didn’t like it. Hank was an elder statesman in their crew and his word carried a lot of weight. If he started putting ideas in the heads of the others it could complicate the plan Buda had so carefully laid out. Buda couldn’t have that. Hank had always been a good friend to Buda and Diamonds, but in the new order of things a man like him was too dangerous to run around unchecked. Since Hank couldn’t seem to fall in line, maybe it was time for him to simply fall.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Vita sat outside on the hood of Buda’s car, watching the exchange between him and Hank through the side window of the house. She couldn’t hear what they were saying, but from Hank’s body language she didn’t feel like it was a friendly conversation.

  When Buda came out of the house his mood seemed darker, if that was even possible for someone who always seemed to be angry. “Everything okay with you?”

  “Right as rain, baby girl.” Buda snickered, as if he had made a joke to which only he knew the punchline. “Let’s make a move.” He jumped behind the wheel.

  “So, that looked to be a pretty big score Goldie and them took off,” Vita said once they were in traffic.

  “Big enough. Most of it I’m sending to Newark for Domo and L.A. to move, but even off what we keep it’ll be at least a few days before we need to see Eddie again,” Buda told her.

  “Speaking of him, anybody seen him? I noticed he’s been MIA since Diamonds disappeared,” Vita pointed out.

  “Knowing him, he probably thinks we’re looking at him over what happened to Diamonds,” Buda said.

  “Why aren’t we?” Vita asked. “He was hotter than fish grease that Diamonds cut him out of that heroin deal. I wouldn’t put it past him to try and pull a ho move.”

  “It’s possible, but I doubt it. We’re putting money in his pocket off this coke shit so it wouldn’t really make sense for him to slit his own throat,” Buda said. In truth the thought had crossed his mind, but he didn’t want Vita to know it. Eddie had cut off all contact with Buda, dealing with him only through middle men whenever the crew needed to re-up. If he shared this with Vita or the any of the others they’d likely want to go at him with guns blazing, bu
t Buda still needed Eddie.

  “I’d be willing to bet my left tit that Eddie knows something about all this shit. I think I’m gonna take a few of the boys and pay him a little visit.”

  “Best let sleeping dogs lie, at least for right now, V.”

  “Buda, you know don’t nothing move in this city that he don’t know about. I ain’t saying we gotta press him, but at the very least it’s a conversation that needs to be had.”

  “You right, and I’m two steps ahead of you on it. Just trust in your boy that I got this under control,” Buda assured her. “I need to have a chat with him before this dope comes in anyway, so I can make sure there ain’t gonna be no misunderstanding when we open up shop.”

  “Misunderstanding?” Vita gave him a look. “If I recall correctly, Diamonds already set him straight. We was welcome to them blocks we killed Pana for, so long as we bought cocaine from Eddie’s people. That dope plug Diamonds came up on is a separate issue, and Eddie got no claim or say on it.”

  “Still, best play nice until we figure out where everyone stands,” Buda told her. Little did she know Buda was planning on baking a cake for Eddie’s arrogant ass too. Buda hated Eddie, because he failed to show Eddie the same respect as he had Diamonds. He treated Buda like a worker, and it irritated him. He’d thought about just out-right killing him, but that would still leave his uncle Michael to deal with, and Buda’s wasn’t quite ready to handle a fish that big … at least not yet.

  “Seems like that’s all we been doing lately, playing,” Vita said with an attitude.

  “Come on, V. Don’t you go getting all sour on me now too. I’m having a hard enough time adjusting to this new position, and it don’t make it no easier when it feel like everybody bucking against me.”

  Vita spared him a glance, but her face hadn’t softened.

  “Baby girl, I don’t wanna be big chief no more than any of you want me running things, but it don’t change what is. Why do you think Diamonds made me his second instead of Hank, or even Goldie? Because he knew when the time came I’d be the one who was able to tuck his feelings and do what was best for this crew. Diamonds was a damn fine leader, and there ain’t no way I’ll ever be able to bring the things to the table that he did, which is why I gotta run this thing as I see fit. But at the end of the day we still a team; one mind and one heart,” he repeated Hank’s words. “Trust me, it’s all gonna work out.”