Chapter Fourteen
Flamboyant was sitting at the table waiting for Toni to arrive. This meeting was going to be very important. He had to make sure that he had protection for his people out in Del City. There was no way in hell he could let something happen to any of his team members without some form of retaliation. But before he got violent he had to make sure Toni would back his play. As he sat and sipped on a flute of Krug, he thought about how mad Gunna and Wave were.
I won't be able to contain those two fools much longer,
he thought as he sipped some more champagne.
Toni strolled into the restaurant and joined Flamboyant at his table. “How are you doing today, Mr. Flamboyant?”
“I'm good, and yourself?”
“As long as I wake up every morning I know I'm in the best possible position. I'm very proud to say that I am blessed. Now, what's with this emergency meeting?”
“I got a few problems that I might have to deal with violently. I wanted to make sure that you can still protect me and mines before I make my move.”
“I assume that this problem is above being resolved peacefully? If I remember correctly, you only resort to violence when it's absolutely necessary.”
“Correct. One of my team members lost two good men last night. If I said he was upset that would be putting it mildly. He's ready for war.”
“I see. How can I be of service?”
“I've moved a li'l outta the south. This particular move is out in Del City.”
“Del City? This problem has something to do with that shooting that happened last night?” asked Toni.
“Yeah. My man Gunna made some moves out that way and was doin' lovely until some of those Del City niggas pulled that bullshit last night.”
“And you feel you have to retaliate?”
“Definitely.”
“I understand. I can protect you out there. I'll make the arrangements when we're finished here.”
“Thanks, Toni.”
“It's business, Flamboyant. I understand that sometimes these things are going to take place in the game. I don't really like the violent aspect of this but it is what it is. You have to remember that you have to know when and how to distribute violence without letting it interfere with your business. If you don't, then you've let the violence become a liability instead of an asset. I say this because I want you to be careful going into this, Flamboyant. Too much violence will attract the attention of people we don't want looking into our lives.”
“Who? The feds?”
“Exactly. My people and I have pretty much free rein with the locals. If the FBI becomes involved that's an entirely different ballgame. So be careful, and always remain in control of this situation.”
“I got you, Toni. Good lookin',” he said as he downed the rest of his champagne.
“Now, is there anything else we need to discuss? I have a busy day ahead of me.”
“Nah, I'm good for now. I should be gettin' at you within a week or so to get hooked back up.”
“No problem. So, until we see each other again, take care of yourself, Mr. Flamboyant.”
“You too, Toni,” Flamboyant said with his normal cocky smile on his face.
* * *
“I'm telling you, girl, it was a sign for real. Take it for what it's worth. It's not meant for y'all to get back together,” Taj said as she relaxed on Shayla's bed.
“I know, girl, but for a minute there I really felt like it was going to happen again. I was feeling him more and more. It was like Trevor had consumed my every thought. And when Marco pissed me off I was damn near positive that I was about to do something way the fuck out,” Shayla said as she sat down on the end of the bed next to her best friend.
“Thank God you didn't do something you would regret.”
“You're right. All that nigga had to do was ask me once to go back to his place. If he would have I swear it would have been on and poppin' for real!”
“You mean to tell me that you were actually that mad at Marco?”
“Now that I think about it, I wasn't that mad at him. I was really trying to find a reason to get back with Trevor. I know I still care about him. Hell, I can honestly say that I still love the damn man. The fact remains, though, I'm in love with Marco. Even though he pisses me the fuck off with all of that dope dealing shit, he's my boo and I won't be the one to fuck up our happy home.”
“Good for you, girl. I wish nothing but the best for you and Marco. But I want you to be absolutely positive about the decisions you're making.”
“I am.”
Shaking her head no, Taj said, “I don't think you are.” Before Shayla could interrupt Taj continued, “The next time Marco pisses you off, I mean really gets under your skin, are you going to go running out late night to meet Trevor in a park for a talk? And if you do and he does suggest something sexual, are you going to fall weak and go off and fuck him 'cause you mad at your man?”
Shayla was sitting next to her friend, shaking her head no as she listened to Taj speak.
“You're shaking your head, but that's exactly what you did last night. If Trevor wouldn't have called and canceled that lunch date y'all might be somewhere fucking right about now. Look, I'm not trying to check you or anything like that. Like I said, I just want you to be happy, whether it's with Trevor or Marco. You are the only person I'm concerned about here. You get mad at Marco about his drug dealings and whatnot; you act like you forgot what Trevor does. Right now it's like you're giving Trevor all of the slack instead of your man. Remember, I'm looking at the game from the outside, so it's clearer to me, girl. You're like the chess player who's about to miss a crucial move. I see it, but I can't tell you because it's your game. I love you, Shayla, and I know you're a good person. I also know that you don't want to hurt nobody. The only way that's going to happen is if you choose to stay with your man and continue to make the best of y'all's relationship.”
“How can you say that, Taj? What about Trevor? I could be hurting him by not seeing him anymore. I could be missing something that's really special by not giving him a chance.”
“A few minutes ago you were sitting there telling me that you weren't going to be the one to fuck up y'all's happy home. Now here you are telling me that you could be hurting Trevor by your decisions. In all honesty, you don't know what you want or who you want to be with. For real, I think a part of you wants to have them both.”
Shayla smiled sadly and said, “Now wouldn't that be like having the best of both worlds.”
* * *
After meeting with Toni, Flamboyant went back to the south side and met with his team. They were gathered back at Prince's house waiting for their man to give them the green light to go defend their man Gunna. Flamboyant came inside of the house, faced his team, and said, “Gunna, Wave, and Ken, find out what needs to be learned then go handle this shit fast and furious like. I don't need this shit to be lingering after the work's put in. I got y'all protected, but only for so long. If this shit goes on too long then sooner or later them alphabets gon' come into play, then we lose. I'm not tryin' to lose.”
Gunna smiled at his man and said, “I got this, my nigga. âLose' ain't a word any of us understand, you know that.”
“It is what it is! Let's get at them niggas and dead this shit so we can get back to makin' this fuckin' money!” Wave yelled excitedly.
Flamboyant stared at Prince for a few seconds. When Prince gave him a slight nod of his head he smiled and said, “Handle this shit then, my niggas. I'm outta here.”
When Flamboyant made it back home he smiled when he saw Taj's Cherokee parked in his driveway. That meant his baby was home. Through all of this drama he was still worried about how upset he had made Shayla. Now that everything was in order all he wanted to do was make up with his girl.
He parked his car in the garage and went inside of the house. He heard Shayla and Taj talking in the bedroom as he entered the house. “Hey, what y'all doin' in there, plannin' my funeral or somethin'?” he joked as he entered the bedroom.
Shayla frowned and said, “I should be, but it looks like I'm going to have to keep on dealing with your ungrateful ass.”
Before he could respond Taj said, “Well, boys and girls, that's my cue to skedaddle. Y'all be good. Call me tomorrow and tell me all about how he makes up for his boo-boos, girl.”
“I will.” Shayla laughed.
Flamboyant walked Taj to the door and asked, “I'm in the dog house big time, huh?”
“It's not as bad as you think. Pay more attention to your girl, Marco. She needs that more than you think.”
“Good lookin' out, Taj,” he said as he closed the door behind her. He went back into the bedroom to see Shayla lying on the bed. He sat down next to her and asked, “How was your day, babe?”
She shrugged and said, “The same. I went to school and then I hooked up with Taj and we came over here and kicked it. What about you? Did you get all of your business taken care of?”
“Yeah, some foul shit went down but everything is everything for the moment. Look, babe, I know you hate it when I have to get in 'em streets or have to go take care of some business, but that's what I do. That's how we eatin', babe. You know I try my best to not let that street life interfere with our time together, but sometimes that shit is unavoidable. I'd rather be with you twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week if I could, but that shit ain't gon' happen. I've set the bar way up, babe, so in order for us to continue to maintain this type of lifestyle I've got to stay on top of everything at all times.”
“I understand, Marco, but sometimes I want you to say âfuck that money for now; I'm trying to be with my girl.' It seems like you can't do that, though. It's like money runs your life. When you don't have any drugs you're making calls, and setting up meetings with that Toni person. When you do have drugs you're making sure that Prince, Milo, Wave, Gunna, and Ken are, as you like to say, âproperly stocked.' While they're making the money you still find ways to be involved in everything except for me. That shit has really started to bother me. I love you and I know you love me, but you're going to have to find some ways other than buying me shit to show me and make me feel wanted. Show me that I'm special to you. Show me that I mean more to you than that money. Show me that it's all about me sometimes and not all about the flossing and that money!”
The pain and sincerity in her voice damn near broke him down. He slid next to her and said, “I won't lie to you and say that I'm gon' make everything better in a day, babe, but I will promise you that I'll try my very best to pay more attention to you and your needs. Believe me, I love you more than anything in this world, Shayla. I'd kill for you; I'd die for you. I won't lose you over some stupid shit. You're right, I'm that nigga so I can run shit my way and not let the streets run me. From this point on I'm going to do just that, but there will be times when I will have to go make some moves. Times when we might have something planned. That is a part of the game, babe; it's unpredictable. Gunna lost two of his peoples. Some niggas came and shot up his spot out in Del City. Shit like that ain't a part of our day-to-day operations, babe, you know what I'm sayin'? Shit like that gots to be handled with the quickness.”
“I understand, Marco, and I would never purposely or selfishly get in the way of you taking care of your business. It's when it becomes excessive that fucks with me. Your people don't be getting shot every day, do they?”
He laughed and said, “Nah, but I feel ya. From this moment on shit's about to change.”
She smiled lovingly at her man and asked, “You promise?”
He returned her smile and said, “Promise.”
* * *
When Toni arrived at Charlie's home, Charlie was sitting down, watching television. “How was your meeting with your man Flamboyant?” Charlie asked as Toni sat down and got comfortable.
“Everything is good, I guess.”
“You guess?”
“Yeah. Remember when you told me about King asking you for some extra protection?”
“Yeah, out in Del City. Why?”
“Flamboyant just asked me for the same thing. Seems like that shooting that happened out there last night has something to do with the both of them.”
Charlie stared at Toni for a minute and said, “Maybe it's a coincidence.”
“Come on with that shit. You don't believe that shit and neither do I. I think we're going to have to pay a li'l more attention to our ponds, Charlie,” Toni said seriously.
“I agree. We can't let them fuck thangs up for us. Them
chicos
would shit out all them damn beans they be eating if this money slowed up.”
“The question is, how long are we going to control this situation?”
“I'll get at King in the morning and set up a meeting. After I've finished feeling him out I'll figure out how we'll deal with this mess.”
“Do you really think it'll be that easy?”
Charlie smiled. “Nothing is ever easy. We have two of the most money-gettin' niggas in this state on our line. They're dependent on us. If we don't supply them with what they need, they don't eat. Don't forget, we're the ones runnin' this shit, not them.”
“I know, I'm just sayin'.”
“Relax and let me take care of this. I'll get at you after I've gotten at King.”
Toni stood up and said, “Yeah, you do that. In the meantime, I'm keeping everything strictly business as usual.”