Chapter Eleven
Nutta was loving it. He couldn't believe how much money he was making in Midwest City.
These Bloods be spendin' for real,
he thought as he counted out the $5,400 he just made. He jumped inside of his truck and picked up his cell to call Boleg. When Boleg answered Nutta told him, “Dog, you two fat fucks need to hurry up and get out here. I just finished the last of my pack and it's like seven niggas out here waitin' for some more.”
“We're on our way, li'l nigga. Tell 'em niggas to hold what they got; we'll be there in like fifteen.”
“A'ight, I'm 'bout to go gas up my truck. I'll get at 'em before I head toward the north. I'll get at y'all later on.”
“A'ight, dog, be safe,” Boleg said.
“Y'all too,” Nutta said as he hung up the phone. Nutta started his truck and blew the horn a couple of times as he drove down the street to where some of the Bloods were hanging out. He rolled the window down and told them, “The work's on the way. My people should be here in about fifteen. They'll meet y'all at the park.”
“A'ight, but 'em niggas need to hurry the fuck up, dog. It ain't like we got to be waitin' for they ass. We can go right up the street and get some work from them south side niggas,” one of the Bloods replied.
“South side niggas?” asked Nutta.
“Yeah, my li'l homeboy's relative got a spot set up down the street. But 'em niggas' zips are seven, but since you and your peeps got 'em for six we gon' keep fuckin' wit' y'all.”
“That's right. I'll get at y'all later,” Nutta said as he rolled his window back up and pulled away from the gang members. He picked his cell up and called Boleg. “Dog, did y'all know it was some south side niggas out there gettin' their serve on too?”
“Nah,” answered Boleg.
“Well, there is, so make sure y'all watch 'em fools. Their ticket is a buck higher than ours, that's why them Damus are still fuckin' with us. It's only gon' be a matter of time before they drop their ticket so they can get some of this fuckin' money.”
“Don't trip, we'll be up on that shit.”
“Y'all strapped?”
“Cuddy is. Why, you think 'em niggas on some grimy shit?”
“Ain't no tellin'. Better to be safe than sorry.”
“You strapped?”
“Always. I got two nines for they ass if they want some funk. But I'm on my way out so I'm good. Make sure y'all get at me before y'all get up outta that bitch.”
“Fa' sho',” Boleg said as he ended the call.
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King and Tippi were walking around Penn Square Mall doing a little shopping. Really it was Tippi who was doing the shopping; King was just carrying all of her purchases. “For a broad who likes to dress like a tomboy you sure are buying a lot of girly shit today,” King teased.
“Don't start with me, nigga. If you took the time to look, you'd see that it's a whole lotta woman under these baggy-ass jeans. Now, come on. I want to go Bath & Body Works. After that we can get the hell up outta here.”
“Good. It feels like we've been in here all damn day.”
“Yeah, yeah, just come on, fool,” Tippi said with a smile on her face.
When they entered Bath & Body Works King saw Shayla's best friend, Taj. He quickly let his eyes roam all over the small store. He knew if Taj was inside of the store the odds were high that Shayla was too. His heartbeat increased as he continued to look around the store. Since Tippi didn't remember Taj from the club the other night, he chose not to inform her wild ass. After confirming that Taj was alone in the store he watched as she went and paid for a few items. Taj saw him staring at her and smiled. He returned her smile and followed Tippi to the back of the store.
“Smell this,” Tippi said as she rubbed a little fruity-smelling lotion onto her wrist.
“It smells like peach.”
“I know. You like?”
“It's cool.” He then grabbed one of the other small bottles of lotions and began dabbing himself on the wrist to see how they smelled. After testing a few more he told Tippi, “You know what, I think I'm gon' get me a few of these. This apple and strawberry smells good. The peach is cool, too.” He smiled at her as he grabbed several different bottles of lotion.
“Look at yo' ass. I done got you showin' your feminine side, huh?”
He frowned, but before he could respond to Tippi's joke his cell rang. He pointed his finger at her nose and said, “You have just been saved by the bell. Here, go pay for all this shit and I'll meet you outside.” He then accepted his call. “What it do, Keko?”
“Same old shit, my nigga. Remember that small problem I told you 'bout when you was out at my new spot?”
“Yeah.”
“It looks like it's startin' to become a larger problem. My shit has actually slowed down in the last couple of days.”
“I thought you were gon' do you.”
“I plan to, but it looks like it's gon' be a li'l tricky.”
“Say no more; me and Tippi will be over there in twenty. We're out here at Penn Square. I'll holla at ya when we get there.”
“Uh-huh,” Keko said as he ended the call.
Tippi came out of the store and fell in step with King. She could tell by the way he was walking that something was up so she asked, “What's goin' down?”
“I don't' know yet. We got to bounce out to Del City and get at Keko. Looks like he's got a problem with a li'l competition.”
“Yeah? He's ready to go to war, huh?”
“You know how he gets down. Keko's always tryin' to go to war.”
As they left the mall and got into King's car Tippi asked, “What is your gut tellin' you at this very moment?”
“That I should close that spot down and make Keko stand down. Ain't no need to get crazy over this shit. It ain't like that's his main spot.”
“You trippin'! Didn't you tell me that he had that shit over there poppin' off like crazy?”
“Yeah, butâ”
“But my ass! Get yo' mind right, nigga. What the hell's gotten into you? You know how we get down. Just 'cause we ain't on the north don't mean we gon' let some fluke-ass niggas get in the way of us makin' this fuckin' money. If Keko wants to go hard, then let him move 'em niggas like we've always moved niggas who get in our way.”
“Don't get it twisted, it is what it is. I'm more concerned about the fact that we're not protected in Del City like we are on the north.”
“Why don't you handle that shit then?”
“It's not as easy as that, Tippi. I got to get at Charlie and see if it can be taken care of. First, I want to see what's what with Keko before I make that call.”
“I feel ya.”
When King and Tippi arrived at the Summit apartments, Keko was handling business as usual. There was a steady flow of traffic from the crackheads. King stepped to Keko and said, “Shit don't look no different to me, nigga. What's good?”
“Dog, 'em niggas across the highway are on my dick bad. They not only servin' the clucks, they got weight, too. Once they found out I was over here servin' these niggas zips for six, they started servin' they shit for five-fiddy. I lost like seven to eight of my best weight customers. I could match that shit, but why do that when I can cross the highway and move 'em niggas? I wanted to give you the heads-up before I made my move.”
“When you gon' get at 'em fools?” asked Tippi.
Keko checked the time on his watch and said, “As soon as the sun sets.”
Taking a look at his own watch, King said, “Like I told you before, this is your thang so I'm not gon' interfere with you doin' you. We don't have a blanket around us out this way so you got to make sure that you safe. I'm 'bout to make a call to see if I can get some coverage on you out this way.”
“Dog, that shit don't mean nothin'. I gots this shit! I know how to put in work, nigga! Them niggas got to be moved, G! This money is too fuckin' good to just let go.”
“I feel ya and I'm not trippin' wit' you. But I'm still gon' try to cover your ass. You're no good to the squad or yourself if you get knocked from some rah-rah shit. Feel me?”
“Handle your end, dog, 'cause I'm handlin' mine in about three hours,” Keko said with a determined look on his face.
“Girl are you sure Trevor's not messing with that girl he was at the club with?” asked Taj.
“I'm positive, why?”
“I just saw them at Penn Square and, girl, they looked like a couple to me. They were testing and buying all kinds of stuff outta the Bath & Body Works store.”
“Just 'cause they were shopping together doesn't make them a couple, Taj.”
“I know, silly. I'm just saying, they looked real comfortable with each other, ya know, like a couple. She didn't look as good as she did the other night, though.”
Shayla laughed. “What was she wearing, Ms. Fashion Police?”
“She had on some baggy-ass jeans with a wife beater. Girl, you could even see that she was wearing a pair of men's boxer shorts! T-a-c-k-y! The only good thing about her outfit was the jeans.”
“What can be good about a pair of jeans?”
“The girl was rockin' some jeans that looked like they cost a grip! Shit, I don't even have a pair of 'em bad boys yet and you already know!”
Shayla started laughing and said, “Girl, you are way out there for real. But, look, Marco just came in. Let me call you later.”
“All righty, then, holla,” Taj said as she hung up the phone.
* * *
By the time Boleg and Cuddy made it to the park they could tell the Bloods were kind of riled up. Boleg told Cuddy, “Watch my back, dog, these niggas look a li'l salty.”
“Don't trip, I'll blast all they ass if they even look like they wanna get outta line,” Cuddy said as he pulled out his heat: two twin Glocks. He flipped one off the safety position and racked a live round into the chamber. He was ready for whatever.
Boleg climbed out of his Chevy Suburban and calmly approached the small group of gang members. “What it do, my niggas, y'all good or what?”
“Nah, we need to holla, but some shit went down with some of the enemies a few minutes ago. The Ones are gon' be rollin' through any minute. Let's get this shit outta the way real quick,” said one of the Bloods, who was obviously the top dog of the group.
“That's cool. Who needs what?”
HK, the head Blood, said, “I got everybody's money, dog. We need like ten zips.”
Boleg stepped back to the truck and grabbed the purple Crown Royal bag. He came back to the group, gave HK the bag, and accepted the $6,000 HK gave him. HK emptied the bag in his hand and passed it back to Boleg. Boleg then put the money inside of the bag and said, “Y'all be safe out here, dog.”
“You ain't gon' count your ends, G?” asked HK.
“It's right ain't it?”
“Yeah, it's straight.”
“I know how y'all get down. I don't think you would try some sucka shit like shortin' a nigga. That's for weak niggas.”
HK smiled at the compliment and said, “Ya know that's right, dog. We'll get at y'all when we ready for some more work.”
“Fa' sho',” Boleg said as he climbed back into his SUV.
As they were leaving the park Boleg noticed three dudes standing next to an emerald green Chevy Tahoe staring at them real hard as they drove by. “You see 'em niggas, Cuddy?”
“Yep. I peeped them bitch-ass niggas.”
“Must be 'em south side niggas Nutta was talkin' 'bout.”
“Fuck 'em. If they get outta line they can get whatever,” Cuddy said as he relaxed in his seat and fired up a Black & Mild.
* * *
King and Tippi were back in his car headed back to the block. Tippi was sitting silently listening to King's conversation with Charlie. “Yeah, I need to see you as soon as possible.”
“Is there something wrong?” asked Charlie.
“Kinda, sort of, in a way,” replied King.
Charlie laughed. “Where are you?”
“About to get off of the Forty, headed north.”
“Okay, meet me in the parking lot of the Homeland grocery store on Twenty-third and MLK.”
“I'm not alone, Charlie. Tippi's with me.”
“That's fine. You'll see my car parked in front of the liquor store right next to Homeland. Come and join me and tell me about your problems.”
“I'll be there in less than ten minutes.”
“Good, 'cause I'm here already,” Charlie said as the line went dead.
When King pulled into the parking lot of the grocery store he parked his car several cars back from where Charlie's car was parked. He got out and casually strolled toward Charlie's vehicle. Once he was inside of the car he said, “What up, Charlie?”
“I guess that's what I should be asking you, Mr. King. You're the one who seems to have the problem.”
“It's not really a problem yet, but then again it could definitely become one.”
“Please explain.”
“A member of my squad has made some aggressive moves out in Del City. It's been very profitable for us all out that way, but now there's some other niggas tryin' to compete around my people's way. Before I let my man handle the situation I wanted to know if you could wrap that blanket you got on the north side around my mans out in Del City?”
“Del City? I thought you were solely working the north side, King.”