Chapter 13
Gruff pulled over and double-parked behind a van. “How your ribs feeling?”
“They a'ight,” Maxine replied, still in pain.
“A'ight, cool. I want you to wait here.” Gruff slid out the car and walked up to this young kid who was outside slanging. “Yo, what's good?” he asked the young man. “Can I get six for fifty-five?”
“Yeah, I got you,” the young'un answered, looking over both shoulders.
“A'ight, we gotta do this in the building,” Gruff said. “It's too many people out here.” He walked off in the direction of the building, looking over his shoulder. He grinned when he saw the young hustler following behind him.
Gruff snatched the young hustler into the staircase as soon as he entered the building. “Get over here, you little muthafucka!” he growled. He quickly stuck his 9 mm up under the kid's chin. “I need to fine Tone.”
“I don't know nobody named Tone,” the young hustler said, scared to death.
“Well, li'l nigga, you better tell me something, and you got to the count of three. Twoâ”
“Okay, okay,” the young hustler said, pleading for his life. “All I know is that there's a new main stash house out in Brooklyn.”
“Where at in Brooklyn?” Gruff asked through clenched teeth.
“In Flatbush. I got a pen in my pocket. I'll write down the address for you.”
“You better not be lying, li'l nigga. That's all I'ma tell you.”
The look on Gruff's face said it all.
“I'm not lying.” The young hustler handed Gruff the piece of paper with the address of the new stash house on it.
Gruff took all the money and work the young hustler had on him. “Get the fuck outta here!” he said, dismissing the young street punk. “I catch you out here again and I'ma clap you. You too fuckin' young to be out here any damn way.” Gruff grumbled all the way back to the car.
“Did you get that nigga's address?” Maxine asked, a thirsty look on her face.
Gruff flashed a rare smile. “Even better. I got the address to them niggas' new stash crib.”
“Let's do it.” Maxine was ready to get some payback on the crew that had shot her. “I'm tired of playing with these bitches. We fixin' to turn it all the way up out here on these streets!”
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Ice-T looked inside the book bag of cash. “Damn! This shit looking kinda short.”
“Nah, Greg said it was all there,” Nut said, slowing down for the yellow light. “If that shit is short, then just let me know, and I'll go handle that.”
“Oh shit!” Ice-T spotted Tone coming out of IHOP with a woman by his side. “There go that nigga Tone right there. Pull over.”
Nut quickly pulled up, stopped directly in front of the couple, and whipped out his .45.
“Nah, chill,” Ice-T said. “I just want to talk to him.” He slid out the passenger seat. “Stay in the car.”
As Tone and Serena walked up out of IHOP, he saw a car make a sharp stop in front of them. Immediately his hand gripped the handle of his .40-cal. He saw Ice-T getting out of the passenger seat.
“Baby, go wait for me in the car,” Tone said, never taking his eyes off of Ice-T. Once Ice-T was close enough, Tone said, “What's good?”
“I just want to talk,” Ice-T said, sticking both hands down into his pocket. “My bad about the other night. I didn't want it to go down like that.”
“Yeah, me either. But, hey, shit happens.”
“What's up with ya man, though?” Ice-T asked.
“Who Maine?”
“Yeah. What's his problem? I ain't never did nothing to that brother for him to be acting like that.”
“He just be buggin' sometimes.”
“Well, I know that's ya man and everything. That's why I wanted to talk to you.” Ice-T looked over both shoulders before adding, “I need you to calm that fool down, before I have him killed.”
“Listen, Maine is like a brother to meâ”
“I already know where you going with this,” Ice-T said, cutting Tone off mid-sentence. “I'm going to stay out of his way. I just hope he does the same.”
Tone nodded his head. “That's fair enough.”
“Heard you gotta go do a little time in a few days.”
“Yeah, I'm just ready to go in and get this shit over with.” Tone noticed the nasty look Nut was giving him from the car.
“You need anything, you know how to get in contact with me.” Ice-T gave Tone a pound and headed back to his ride.
“I don't know why you wasting your time talking to that clown,” Nut said. “His pops is the one extorting us.”
“Tone is cool,” Ice-T said. “It's the rest of them fools on his team that I can't stand.”
“So what you want us to do if we run across that nigga Maine again?” Nut asked, his eyes on the road.
“We bump into him again,” Ice-T said, thumbing through the cash in the book bag again, “and he act like he want it, we gon' give it to him.”
Nut smiled. “Say no more.”
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“Is everything all right?” Serena asked when Tone got to the car.
“Yeah, everything is straight,” Tone answered quickly. He respected Ice-T, and was hoping things didn't get out of hand with the two crews again, 'cause the next time someone was sure to get killed.
“Baby, can I ask you something?”
“Yeah. What's up?”
“When you go away to do this time, ain't nobody gonna be trying to kill me, trying to get to you, are they?” Serena asked seriously.
Tone chuckled. “Nah, baby. You gon' be straight. The most a nigga might try to do is get my pussy.”
“Well, you know that shit ain't gonna never fuckin' happen,” Serena said in a matter-of-fact tone.
“I look worried to you?” Tone asked with a smirk. He trusted Serena and was glad to have her on his team. He was just ready to go in and get his time started. The sooner he went in, the sooner he would get out.
“You better not be worried.” Serena said it like she was gonna slap him.
Tone answered his ringing cell phone as he slowed down for the red light. “Yeah, what's up?” he answered.
“Get to the stash house right this minute.”
Click!
Tone hung up the phone and made a quick detour. He didn't recognize the number, but he definitely recognized his father's voice.
“Where we going?” Serena asked.
“Gotta make a quick stop.”
By the look on Tone's face, Serena could tell that something was up, but she just sat back and kept quiet.
Ten minutes later Tone pulled up in front of a regular-looking house and placed the car in park. “Wait right here, baby. I'll be back in a second.”
Tone stepped foot inside the house and immediately covered his nose. “What the fuck is going on in here?”
“This is some bullshit, that's what's going on around here,” Detective Abraham said, pointing at all the dead bodies laying around.
Tone looked around and saw about twelve men who looked like they had been eaten by some kind of animal or something. “Who the fuck did this shit?”
“That bitch-ass nigga, Gruff.” Maine remembered that Monique's body looked the same way when he had found her. “He let his punk-ass dog eat 'em up.”
“Fuck!” Detective Abraham said loudly. “This the second major stash crib in a month. How the fuck does this nigga know where we operate at?”
“Nigga must got a inside plug,” Tone said, looking at all the chewed-up dead bodies laying around. “Whoever it is, we need to find him and soon!”
“Fuck it! From now on, only us three will know where the stash cribs are,” Detective Abraham said. “Well, you'll be in jail in the next forty-eight hours, so I guess just me and you will know the locations,” he said, looking over at Maine.
“I don't understand how nobody don't know where this fool live at,” Maine huffed. “Wherever I bump into that nigga at, it's going down. One of us is gonna get killed, either him or me.”
“Chill. You wildin',” Tone said, laughing at Maine's last comment.
“So what's good, son?” Detective Abraham asked. “When you go to do your time, this bitch still gonna be getting the work for us, right?”
“Yeah, I got everything set up already, and don't call her a bitch” Tone said checking his pops.
“Oooh shit! Excuseeee me,” Detective Abraham said, and him and Maine busted out laughing. “Let me find out shorty got you all falling in love and shit.”
Tone shook his head. “Maybe if y'all got y'all some business, y'all wouldn't always have to be all in mines.”
“You know we just playing,” Maine said, throwing two phantom punches at Tone. “If you feeling shorty, then do what you gotta do.”
“I
am
feeling her, more than I planned on, too,” Tone told them. “It's like she's perfect for me. I know it started out as a scam we was running, but she is a real good woman.”
“Well, you know they say everything happens for a reason, so if she makes you happy then I'm cool with it.” Maine gave Tone a pound followed by a hug.
“I'ma need you to look out for her while I'm away,” Tone told him.
“Whatever you need, you know I got you.”
“Just make sure nobody ain't trying to rob her or no dumb shit,” Tone said.
“I got you.”
“A'ight. I'ma holla at y'all before I turn myself in,” Tone said as he exited the stash house.
Once Tone was out of the house, Detective Abraham, a look of disgust on his face, huffed, “Pussy-whipped muthafucka! I could've sworn I taught that fool better than that.”
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When Tone got back in the car, Serena asked, “Everything okay, baby?”
“Yeah, everything is cool,” Tone said as he pulled off. “I'ma drop you off at the crib then I'ma go holla at Young Mike for a minute. I won't be long no longer than an hour.”
“No problem, baby. Handle your business.”
Twenty minutes later Tone pulled up in front of his house and let Serena out. “I'll be back in about an hour, a'ight.”
“Okay, baby,” Serena said as she leaned in for a kiss.
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Tone stepped foot inside the bar and quickly spotted Young Mike over at the bar trying to holla at a nice li'l light-skin thing. He needed to holla at Young Mike, and he also needed a drink.
“What's good, my nigga?” Tone said, interrupting Young Mike's conversation.
“Ma, I'ma holla at you later, a'ight,” Young Mike said to the chick. “What's popping, my nigga?” He turned and gave Tone a pound.
“You know I turn myself in the day after tomorrow. I just need you to look after Serena for me while I'm away.”
“A'ight. What you need me to do?” Young Mike asked.
“Just make sure she getting the proper money that she's supposed to.”
“You know I got you,” Young Mike said, giving Tone a pound.
As the two sat at the bar talking and having drinks, Gruff and Maxine walked up in the joint.
“I need a muthafuckin' drink,” Maxine said, her and Gruff walking right past Tone and Young Mike.
“You a alcoholic,” Gruff said as the two sat over in the corner.
“Remind me to buy Tiger a big-ass steak,” Maxine said, “because she been putting in some real work.”
“That's what she's supposed to do. She was the only family I ever had until I met you, and I'm the only family she got as well.”
“Aww, ain't that sweet,” Maxine teased, but Gruff didn't laugh. Instead, his focus was over at the bar.
“What happen?” Maxine asked, following Gruff's eyes.
Gruff had to do a double take just to make sure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him. “There go that bitch-ass nigga Tone right there.” He smiled.
Maxine, ready to put in some work, pulled out her .357. “Where?”
“Right over there,” Gruff said, holding Maxine's shooting hand with one and pointing with the other.
“Want me to run over there and push his shit back?”
Gruff told her, “Nah, we gon' catch him outside.”