New York's Finest (1st of the Trilogy)

by Swinson, Kiki

“It’s hell!” I blurted out. “Vanessa is taking him through the ringer. And she’s been provoking him lately so he can put his hands on her, so she can get him locked up.”

  “It’s gotten that bad?” my dad asked.

  “Worse!” Reggie commented.

  “Well, whatever you do. Don’t put your hands on that girl. You got too much shit riding on you to fuck it up behind her.”

  “I tell him that all the time,” I chimed in.

  “I hope he’s listening to you then. Because ain’t nothing worse than going to jail because you done whipped your woman’s ass,” my dad commented and then he chuckled. “It ain’t worth it.”

  “I got everything under control,” Reggie assured him and then he turned on the ignition.

  My dad kissed me on the cheek and stepped away from the passenger side door. “I’ma hold you to that,” he said. “Now y’all take care.”

  “A’ight,” Reggie said.

  “Love you,” I blurted out as Reggie drove off.

  Reggie wasted no time getting us back on the Cross Bronx Expressway. It was late in the evening and I was dead tired, so when he asked me if he’d be able to borrow my truck, I happily obliged. But before he dropped me off I managed to tell him that Marco would be in town tomorrow.

  “I thought he was going to be in South America until next week,” Reggie stated.

  “I thought so too,” I replied. “But he called and said he’ll be in town tomorrow. He also told me to tell you to be available, because he wants to have a meeting with you before he leaves.”

  “Did he say how long he was going to be in town?”

  “I think he said a day or two. Either way, he won’t be here long so please answer your Blackberry when I call you,” I instructed him. “So where are you on your way to tonight?”

  “Since Vanessa thinks that I’m going over to one of my bitches’ house, that’s where I’m going.”

  I was never shocked by Reggie’s candor, but he took it to another level with this remark. I backhanded him in his left arm. “You are terrible! You suppose to be the bigger person and prove to your wife that she’s wrong and that you don’t cheat. Maybe then, she’ll act like she’s got some damn sense. I told you a long time ago that a happy wife will give you a happy life. As long as Vanessa is happy and knows that you’re respecting her and you’re not out here fucking around on her with your mistresses, then everything at home would be peaceful and cozy.”

  Reggie sucked his teeth. “That shit doesn’t work. Remember we’re talking about Vanessa. That bitch is never satisfied with anything I give her. It seems like the more I give her greedy ass, the more she wants. You should see all the fucking receipts she’s got from Neiman and Saks. She’s probably got more fucking Giuseppe Zanottis and Christian Louboutins than you.”

  I burst into laughter. “Correction. No one in the city has more Zanottis and Red Bottoms than me. Remember Marco nicknamed me New York’s Finest. So I dress the part. And don’t you ever forget that,” I replied sarcastically and then I smacked him against his arm again.

  We both laughed because Reggie knew I loved expensive handbags, shoes and clothes, and for that reason alone I didn’t fuck with cats that didn’t drop at least ten grand on a shopping trip for me. Since I was now making my own dough with our business venture, I didn’t need a man to do shit for me. However, if they’re trying to take me out with plans to eventually get me into bed, then they would have to pay dearly.

  After Reggie dropped me off, I went inside of my apartment and took a long, hot shower. When I got out the shower I noticed my phone was beeping, which indicated someone had called and left me a message. I picked up my phone and realized that Damian had tried to call me twice, so I dialed his number back and put the call on speakerphone, that way my hands could be free to dry myself off.

  “What’s good?” he answered.

  “Nothing much. Returning your call.”

  “Yeah, I called you twice.”

  “I’m sorry. But I was in the shower.”

  “Why didn’t you invite me over so I could wash your back?” he said and then he chuckled. But I knew he was serious.

  “You know I’m not messing with you like that.”

  “Why not? You let those old niggas get at you.”

  “That’s because they pay like they weigh,” I chuckled.

  “My paper may not be as long as that nigga, Marco, or any of those other cats you fucked with, but I can pay like I weigh too.”

  “Come on now, Damian, you already know what time it is. We can’t fuck around like that, we’re like brother and sister.”

  “I ain’t never said that shit.”

  I chuckled once again. “No, you haven’t but you know it’ll be weird as hell going out with you.”

  “I don’t know why you be throwing me to the sharks. I keep telling you to stop messing with those old ass men before you get the worms, and start fucking with me because I can take better care of you.”

  After I finished drying off with the towel, I sat down on my bed and began to rub lotion all over my body. Meanwhile, Damian continued to express his feelings towards me. And what was so bizarre about the whole thing was that I was really enjoying it. He turned me on as I listened to him explain how he’d take care of me. And at one point while he was talking, I pictured him thrusting my legs open while I was naked and sucking the hell out of my pussy. I heard from a few chicks around the way that he gave some good head.

  “Damian, you know I got my chips stacked up pretty high, so I don’t need a man to take care of me. You could come ’round here and give me some head though,” I mentioned and then I laughed. I said it in a jokingly way, but I was serious as a heart attack.

  “I’m on my way now,” he replied.

  “Wait!” I screamed through the phone. “I was just playing. So you better not bring your butt over here.”

  “You better stop playing with me. You know I’ve been crazy about you for a long time now. And I would’ve married you a long time ago if you’d given me a chance.”

  “Damian, let’s not dwell on the past. We’re doing big things now so let’s focus on that,” I encouraged him.

  “Yeah, a’ight. But one day, I’ll get you to change your mind,” he insisted.

  I smiled. “I’m sure you will,” I mumbled. “So I hear you and Reggie are going to meet up tomorrow to handle some business,” I changed the subject.

  “Yeah, we gotta make a couple runs.”

  “So I take it you two are okay now?” I probed.

  “You know your brother ain’t the type of nigga that’s gonna apologize for the fucked up shit he does, so I’m not even sweating it. I let that shit go right after it happened.”

  He was right about Reggie. Besides saying “I’m sorry” to me or our parents, the words didn’t exist in his vocabulary for anyone else. “Well, do what works for you. So have you heard anything?”

  “Nah, not yet. But I gotta couple of people on it. Don’t worry, somebody’s gonna slip up and say something.”

  “I know.”

  Damian let out a long sigh. “Well, since you ain’t gon’ invite me over, then I’ma holla at you tomorrow.”

  “Yeah, you do that,” I told him. Immediately after I hung up with him, I sat back on my bed and imagined how he would be as my man. He was definitely my type. I loved a dark skinned man. Plus, he had the right height and a nice body. And to make his package complete, I knew he was sitting on a nice fat nest egg. He was my brother’s right hand man, so I knew he was raking in the same amount of dough as I was and even more. On a weekly average, we were pushing about five kilos of coke, which meant we were making at least $800k per week.

  What a lot of people didn’t know was that we got our coke raw and uncut. So we were able to step on it three times and that made us be able to triple our quantity, without damaging the quality. To the average user or someone coked out of their mind, it still felt like it was pure. It was easy math and we learned very quic
kly. And the most promising part about it all was that I was able to get our product through the airport customs without any hassles.

  Of course, I had my team of TSA agents working around the clock making sure my shit got through. We all knew if it weren’t for the shipping program that our airline had in place for major corporations who were in good standings, then we’d be up shit’s creek.

  This was how it worked: once or twice a month we’d get our shipments to come in under a well-known corporation’s name that had been using our airlines to ship their goods for a long time. Since they paid top dollar for us to ship their goods, we, in turn, didn’t x-ray or scan anything that came through our channels with their labels on it. And since me and my team knew this, we would get that company’s registration code and shipping labels and place it on the containers that concealed Marco’s coke so it could come through with ease. So far, we had been lucky. I was keeping my fingers cross that we could make a few more hits before our trail got hot.

  New York’s Finest Kiki Swinson

  Chapter 9 – The Boss Man

  We had the short run today from New York to Chicago and back. I was back in the city by six that evening. Marco was already in town and wanted me to come see him at once. I believed I had a ten-minute debate with him about me going home first so I could change. But he insisted that I come directly to his apartment on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. He assured me that he had something very cozy for me to change into. He should have known I wasn’t going to listen to him. I liked having shit go my way. Instead of going by his place first, I stopped off at mine as I had planned. I instructed my valet to keep my truck outside because I was only running in my apartment for a few seconds.

  While en route, my Blackberry rang. I couldn’t answer it because I was in the elevator and I knew the call would drop. So I ignored it. I knew it wouldn’t be important anyway because it was Vanessa. She either wanted to complain to me about how Reggie was still cheating on her or she wanted to warn me about how she planned to call the police if he hit her again. Unfortunately for me, her calls persisted. She called me four times straight, so on the fifth call I decided to answer it.

  She started wailing through the phone as soon as she heard my voice. “Naomi, Reggie’s in the hospital.”

  Alarmed by her outburst, I dropped my house keys on the floor directly in front of my front door. “What for? Is he all right?”

  “He was shot,” she continued to sob uncontrollably.

  I reached down and picked my keys up from the floor. “Which hospital is he in?” I panicked as I ran to the elevator.

  “New York Presbyterian.”

  “I’m on my way there now,” I assured her.

  Immediately after I hung up with Vanessa, I got back onto the elevator and headed back down to my car. As soon as I got in the car, I dialed Damian’s number.

  “Hello,” he answered with urgency.

  “Hey, I just got a call from Vanessa saying Reggie’s been shot,” I replied still in panic mode as I made a quick right turn onto 8th Avenue from 49th Street.

  “I know, I just talked to her too. I’m on my way to the hospital now,” he stated.

  “Alright. Well, I’ll meet you there,” I told him and then disconnected the call.

  I couldn’t tell you if my truck had wings or not, but after I sped down West Side Highway, got off at Exit 17 and merged onto Riverside Drive, I was on Broadway in less than nine minutes flat. It took me forever to find a good parking space. After circling the block several times, I finally decided to park my truck in the hospital’s parking garage, since it was the weekend and valet service was not available.

  When I entered into the emergency room area, my heart raced as I sprinted over to the information desk. There was this little Asian woman sitting behind the glass partition when I approached it.

  “How can I help you?” she asked me.

  “I just got a call that my brother, Reggie Foxx, was just brought in to the ER for a gunshot wound,” I explained.

  “Yes, he did,” she replied immediately. “Have a seat in the waiting area and someone will be out to answer any questions you may have.”

  “Can you at least tell me where he was shot? Or how he’s doing?” I pressed the issue.

  “I’m sorry ma’am, but I’m not at liberty to say,” she replied apologetically.

  Frustrated by this woman’s lack of compassion, I snapped and said, “You mean to tell me that you can’t tell me where my brother was shot?”

  “No. I’m sorry but I can’t,” she insisted.

  Right before I was about to unleash my rage, I was grabbed from the back. And when I looked and realized that it was Damian, I calmed down. “Hey come over here and have a seat before she calls hospital security,” he advised.

  I followed him over to the seating area of the waiting room. “Have you seen Vanessa yet?” I asked as I took a seat in a chair next to the window.

  “She’s in the back answering some questions for the doctor.”

  “Did you find out what happened?”

  “Not really. All she said was that some niggas shot him in front of this apartment building on 48th between Lexington and 3rd while he was trying to get into his car.”

  “Oh shit! That’s Midtown-East. He was coming from Malika’s apartment.”

  “Malika, with the Porshe truck?”

  “Yeah,” I answered.

  “I thought he stopped fucking with her months ago. And when did she move over to that side of town?”

  “When Reggie found out she was pregnant about six weeks ago. He put her up in that spot right before we got that shipment last week.”

  “Say word.”

  With tears falling down my face, I assured Damian that what I was saying was the absolute truth.

  “Wow! So this nigga’s got a baby on the way by Malika?” he pressed the issue as if he couldn’t believe what his ears were hearing.

  “That’s what he told me,” I replied nonchalantly.

  “I thought they’d never get back together after all that shit that went down with Vanessa finding out about them. I remember Vanessa tried to kill Malika when she caught all of us coming out of Sylvia’s Soulfood spot that night.”

  “Well, I don’t think they’re back together. He just said that he’s gonna look out for her while she’s carrying his baby,” I continued. I honestly wasn’t in the mood to discuss paternity issues and whether or not they were seeing each other again. What was near and dear to my heart was knowing Reggie’s condition, whether or not he was going to be all right.

  Thankfully, Vanessa came in the waiting room area a few minutes later. I jumped to my feet and met her in the middle of the floor. “Is he all right?” I wondered out loud.

  Damian was down on my heels. “Yeah, is he alright?” he chimed in as well.

  I could tell Vanessa had been crying a lot longer than I was because her eyes were blood shot red and visibly puffy. So when she opened her mouth, Damian and I both were waiting on pins and needles to hear what she had to say.

  “He was shot in the left shoulder and his left leg. He lost a lot of blood, so the doctor operating on him said he may need a blood transfusion. Other than that, his injuries aren’t life threatening so he should be fine after surgery.”

  I let out a sigh of relief. And without thinking about it, I grabbed Vanessa into my arms. She stood very stiff with her arms hanging by her side. And when I realized this, I let her go and stepped back from her. I wanted so badly to ask her what her damn problem was, but my mouth wouldn’t open. Damian, of course, saw this and grabbed me by the arm.

  “Come on. Let’s go back and sit down,” he instructed me.

  I turned around to look at him and when I looked at his facial expression, I noticed how he wanted me to get away from Vanessa as quickly as possible. I didn’t put up a fuss and followed him back to where we were sitting before this bitch walked in.

  Vanessa took a seat on the other side of the waiting room. I
watched her as she took her iPhone from her handbag and began texting someone. As time passed, the bitch continued to text her life away. She acted as if Damian and I weren’t even in the same damn room. I shook my head and turned my focus towards Damian.

  Meanwhile, my Blackberry rang. I looked down at the screen and noticed that it was Marco. I had forgotten that quickly that I was supposed to have met him at his apartment. I looked at Damian and sighed.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  “I was supposed to meet Marco before I got the call from Vanessa. And this is him calling me now.”

  “Are you going to tell him what happened?” he asked me with concern written all over his face.

  “I’m not sure. What do you think? I mean we don’t know why Reggie was shot. And you know Marco’s gonna ask,” I said and waited for Damian to give me the go ahead.

  Before he could respond, my phone stopped ringing. So I held it in the palm of my hand and debated on whether or not to call him back.

  “Nah, wait,” Damian finally spoke up. “Don’t tell him anything right now. Remember how paranoid he is and if he thinks we’re having problems out here, then he’s liable to shut our supply off and disappear from the face of this earth. So let’s wait until Reggie comes out of surgery and sees what he says.”

  “Well, what excuse am I going to give him about why I didn’t meet him when in fact I told him I would?” I asked curiously.

  “I can’t help you with that,” Damian replied facetiously. “But you’re a woman so I know you’ll come up with something.”

  I cracked a smile. This was the first time I smiled since finding out Reggie had gotten shot. I knew Damian made this remark to simply make me smile. I poked him in his side. “Don’t play with me. You know men are masters at the lying game.”

  “Nah, I doubt that,” he chuckled as he looked back over at Vanessa who was still texting someone. “I wonder who the fuck she’s texting,” he changed the subject.

  I looked at Vanessa with a disgusted look on my face. I figured that whoever she was texting had to be saying some pretty good stuff because she’d been going at it for close to forty minutes nonstop. I couldn’t stand the sight of her so I turned my attention back to my phone. When I did that, I immediately thought to myself what was I going to tell Marco? I knew he’d be pissed off if I stood him up. I knew he would even be more furious to know that he’d tried to call me and I wouldn’t answer his call nor call him back and explained my whereabouts. I sat there and wracked my brain trying to figure out what I was going to tell him. He was a man who always wanted answers no matter how bad it was. He detested liars and if he found out someone lied to him, he’d make their lives a living hell.