A Gangsta Twist Saga (26 page)

After a week of traveling and doing what they did best, Taz was starting to understand why Won had told them that this trip would be the ultimate test of their stamina. All of the flying that they were doing was starting to catch up to them. After they had left Denver, they drove to Colorado Springs and completed a mission there. After that, they flew to Memphis, where they took care of a quick mission worth a couple of million dollars. After leaving Memphis, they drove to a small town near Nashville, Tennessee, called Madison. They drove into the town and checked into the local Days Inn. After they had their rooms, Taz called Won as he was instructed to do back when they were in Colorado Springs. Won gave him the details to the next mission and told him that they had a flight to catch in five hours out of Memphis.

After Taz hung up the phone with Won, he went and checked under the bed and grabbed their weapons.
For the life of me, I don't know how this fool be doing this shit,
he thought as he pulled the duffel bag containing their guns and the rest of their equipment out from under the bed.

“All right, my niggas, it's like this. We are to drive over to this house off of Lovell Street. It's about ten minutes from here. We park the truck down the street from 307 B Lovell Street and walk the rest of the way. This is a home invasion raid, and it's all about in and out. No one is inside of the house, so it should go pretty smooth. There are two safes in the bedroom. Keno and I will go hit it while y'all watch our backs. We're getting a ticket for this one 'cause there is a lot of drugs there. Once we come out with the chips, Red, you, Bob, Wild Bill, and Bo-Pete will then go in the back and grab the work. Me and Keno will be standing point while y'all are handling your business. After everything is everything, we'll then close the door and casually walk back to the truck. The street is dimly lit, so there shouldn't be a problem. Come on, let's do this.”

 

 

Tazneema and Clifford were having the time of their lives. They spent a weekend down in Dallas, shopping and wandering around the city. Clifford even took her to Six Flags out in Dallas/Fort Worth.

Tazneema felt as if she was on cloud nine. No one in her short life had ever shown her this much attention. Even though Taz had always been there for her, he just wasn't the type to spend a lot of quality time with a person. She understood that, and she had never complained. She loved Taz, and no matter what happened, she always would. Being with Clifford showed her an entirely different side of life, and she was loving it. “Baby, when we get back home, I've decided to move in with you.”

Clifford smiled and said, “Are you sure, 'Neema?”

“Positive. I love you, Cliff, and I want to be with you as much as I can, every single day.”

“Have you spoken with Taz or Mama-Mama about this?”

Shaking her head no, she said, “I don't have to. This is my decision, and my decision only. I don't need their approval.”

He smiled and said, “Well then, let's get our butts back to the city then, 'cause we got some moving to do!” They laughed as Clifford started packing his bags.

 

 

As Taz parked the truck, he noticed how dark Lovell Street was and said, “That nigga Won wasn't lying. This street is dark as fuck. Come on, let's get this over with.” He killed the ignition and jumped out of the truck.

As they walked down the street, they noticed that the street was damn near deserted. There were only a few houses on each side of the street. Taz scanned the houses until he saw the one he was looking for. “Three-oh-seven B Lovell Street. That's it right there, gee. The door should be unlocked, so we won't have to worry about making any noise kickin' it in,” he said as he led the way toward the house.

“Shit, it wouldn't matter any fuckin' way. Ain't nobody around this bitch to hear us if we did have to kick it in,” said Bo-Pete.

Taz stepped onto the porch and turned the doorknob to see that it was in fact locked. “Fuck! It's locked!”

“Kick the bitch in, dog, so we can do this shit and get the fuck out of here,” urged Keno.

Taz gave a nod of his head, pulled out his weapon, and kicked the door hard right by the doorknob. The thin door busted open easily, and they all rushed inside with their guns drawn.

The first thing that Taz saw was a small lady sitting down at the dining room table.
Oh, shit!
he thought as he raised his gun, pointed it toward her, and said, “Be quiet, ma'am, and you will not be hurt. Now, is there anyone else in here with you?”

The small-framed lady shook her head no.

“Okay, then. Watch her, dog,” Taz instructed as he led Keno into the back room. After moving some clothes out of his way, Taz spotted the safe concealed inside the closet. He quickly opened the safe and started filling up his duffel bag. After his bag was full, he stepped to the next safe and opened it also. He smiled when he saw all of the kilos of cocaine stacked neatly inside of it. After Keno's bag was full, they went back into the front and stood watch over the lady while Red, Bob, Wild Bill, and Bo-Pete went to the back room to retrieve the narcotics.

While they were standing watch, Keno stared at Taz and raised his eyebrows as if asking, what the fuck is going on? Taz's answer was a shrug of his shoulders, indicating that he didn't have a fucking clue.

A few minutes later, Red came back into the room, followed by Bob, Bo-Pete, and Wild Bill.

Taz said, “All right, ma'am, I'm goin' to need you to get on the floor. I give you my word that you will not be harmed. Just do as I ask.”

For the first time during the entire incident the small lady spoke. “I'm not worried, son. Y'all done got what y'all came for. I know you ain't gon' do me nothin'. You better watch out, though, 'cause the boys be watchin' this house from across the street!”

Taz tried his best not to show any surprise in his voice when he asked, “What boys, ma'am?”

“Them boys who's puts those drugs in my house.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

“This changes shit, gee. Go get the truck and pull up in front of the house, K. Go with him, BP. You too, WB,” Taz ordered, using the crew's initials instead of their names.

Keno, Bo-Pete, and Wild Bill walked out of the house with their weapons inside of their hands, cocked and ready, while Taz, Red ,and Bob stood at the door, watching the house directly across the street. All of the lights in the house were off, so Taz couldn't tell whether anyone was inside or not. It seemed as if it was taking Keno and the rest forever to come back with the truck, when in fact it had only been a couple of minutes. When Taz heard the horn blow, he turned and stepped out of the house, followed by Bob and Red. They jumped inside of the truck and sighed as Keno sped away from Lovell Street.

Mission completed, but Won has some fucking questions to answer!
thought Taz as he relaxed a little.

 

 

By the time they had made it to Norman, Tazneema was asleep. Clifford shook her gently and said, “We're here, baby. Why don't you go on inside and get some rest? After I get off tomorrow, I'll come back and we can get your things.”

“Okay, baby. I didn't know I'd be this tired. All I want to do is go to bed. Are you sure that you don't want to spend the night with me here?”

He smiled and said, “Yeah, I'm sure. Plus, it'll be nice getting a good night's sleep without worrying about being attacked in my sleep!”

Tazneema smiled and said, “Okay, I see how you are then! But wait until I move in. You're never going to get any sleep!” They laughed with each other, then shared a passionate kiss. “I love you, Cliff!”

“I love you, too, 'Neema. Now go on. I'll talk to you tomorrow.”

“Bye!” Tazneema said, and she went into her apartment. After changing clothes, she went into the bedroom and pulled out the pregnancy test she had bought while they were in Dallas. She knew she was late for her period, and she was terrified of the results of the test she was about to take. “Please, God, don't let it be! Taz will kill me!” she prayed as she began to urinate onto the pregnancy test.

After waiting for the amount of time written on the instructions, Tazneema took a deep breath to see if she was in the blue or the pink. The blue would indicate that she was not pregnant, and the pink would indicate that she was. She stared at the test with a weird look on her face as tears slowly slid down her face. The test results were in the pink.
Damn!

 

 

As soon as they were on the highway out of Madison, Taz pulled out his cell and called Won. When Won answered the phone, Taz quickly told him what had happened at the house on Lovell Street. After he was finished, Won asked, “Did you hurt her?”

“Nah, I tied her up and left the restraints kind of loose so she could easily slip out of them after we were gone.”

“Good thinking. Damn! That was not suppose to happen!”

“Who the fuck you tellin'? You damn right that shit wasn't supposed to have happened! Don't tell me that you're finally slippin' on us, O.G.”

“Nah, Babyboy, I'm on it. But like I've always told y'all, you will have to be ready for anything at any given time. As long as you are, if any surprises come up, y'all will be able to handle it.”

“True, but you got us so damn comfortable with how we get down that we really ain't expectin' shit like this to pop off.”

“I feel you. Go on and hit your next destination. Give me a call when you touch. I'm gonna make damn sure that everything is on point for this next one,” Won said seriously.

“I hope so, O.G. I hope so!” Taz closed his cell phone.

“Where are you now, baby?” asked Sacha as she tapped her fingers on top of her desk.

“In Baton Rouge.”

“Louisiana?”

“Yeah.”

“How long will you be there?”

Sighing, he said, “I'm not sure yet, Li'l Mama. What's with all of these questions? I was just callin' to let you know everything is everything. Damn!”

“Well, excuse me for caring! Bye, Taz!” she yelled and hung up the phone in his face.

Taz stared briefly at his cell before closing it. He got off of the bed and went into the bathroom of his and Keno's hotel room. They had made it to Baton Rouge early that morning, and to say they were tired would have been an understatement. The entire crew was completely exhausted. Taz had called Won after they arrived at the hotel. After retrieving the DVD, they sat and listened to Won's instructions with weary eyes. They all smiled when they heard Won say that the first of their two missions in Louisiana wouldn't be until late that night. That meant that they could get some much-needed rest. Even though they got to doze a little during their flights and brief road trips, there was nothing like getting some good old-fashioned sleep in a comfortable bed.

Everyone was in their rooms, sound asleep, at that moment—everyone except Taz. He couldn't stop thinking about how fucked up things had been in Madison.
What if they would have killed that old lady? What if the guys she had warned them about would have come out blasting?
These questions were running through his mind constantly.

He chose to call Sacha to try and keep his mind off of the Lovell Street mission.
And look what happened with that!
he thought as he smiled.
I done pissed my Li'l Mama off.
He grabbed his cell and called Sacha back. As soon as she answered the phone, he said, “I'm sorry, Li'l Mama. I'm tired as fuck, and I didn't mean to snap at you.”

Sacha smiled and said, “I understand, baby. I can't help it if I'm overly concerned about your well-being.”

“I know. But look, I really need to get some rest, so I'll give you a holla later on, okay?”

“All right, bye, Taz.”

“Bye, Li'l Mama.” He got back into bed and closed his eyes. As he finally started to fall asleep, his last thoughts were on Won. He hoped and prayed that he kept shit together. It was too fucking late in the game for mistakes.

 

 

Tazneema smiled as she unloaded the last of her stuff inside of Clifford's house. Clifford smiled at her and said, “Home, sweet home, baby!”

“You said it, mister! Now come here, because I have something to discuss with you.” Clifford sat down next to her on the couch. “Cliff, what I'm about to say to you doesn't have to affect our relationship negatively. No matter what decision we make, I'm still going to love you. Do you understand?”

“Not really. Can you be a little bit more specific, 'Neema?” She took a deep breath and said, “I'm pregnant.” She stared at Clifford briefly, then continued. “I want to have this child, but if you're not ready, then I understand, and I have no problem with getting an abortion. I'm happy as long as I have you in my life. I would never do anything to hurt you, but more importantly, I want you to know that I never want to lose you. So, what you think?” she asked nervously.

Clifford smiled at her and said, “I love you, Tazneema Good, and I can't wait for our child to be born!”

Her face lit up as she asked, “For real?”

Nodding his head yes, he said, “For real. I don't know why you would think that I'd want you to have an abortion. I love you, and no matter what, I want us to be together also.”

They hugged one another for a full minute, and Tazneema pulled from his embrace and said, “I'm going to have to tell Taz. He's not going to like this at all, but I'm sure after he meets you and sees what kind of man you are, you two will hit it off just fine. Taz can be hard sometimes, but he's a big softy when it comes to me.”

“I hope you're right, 'cause your brother seems to be a little intimidating, from what I've heard about him.”

Tazneema smiled and said, “Don't worry. I'll take care of him. Now as for Mama-Mama, that's another story.”

“Oh, God!” Clifford said as he slapped his forehead.

They both laughed and gave each other another hug.

 

 

“Bitch, have you talked to Taz?” asked Gwen.

“Yes, I spoke with him earlier. What's up?”

“I've been trying to call Bob all damn day and he's not answering his phone.”

“From what Taz told me, they were pretty tired, and they were getting some rest. Maybe Bob has his phone turned off,” Sacha said logically.

“Uh-uh. If it was turned off, it would go straight to his voicemail. That nigga bet' not be up to no bullshit.”

“Ho, go on with that silly talk. Bob is handling his business with Taz and the others. You don't have shit to worry about.”

“How come all of the sudden you're not worried about what they be doing when they go out of town? Do you know something I don't?”

Sacha smiled and said, “Maybe I do . . . and maybe I don't!”

“So, it's like that, huh? We're keeping secrets from each other now, bitch?”

“Come on, Gwen. You know that if I knew something that was important, I'd put you up on it. I trust Taz, and I know he's legitimate, so I've stopped worrying myself about their business. And you should too. Bob loves you and you love him. Everything is just how it should be.” Sacha felt bad for lying to her best friend, but she had promised Taz that she would never tell anyone of his secrets, especially Gwen, because if she said anything about it to Bob, he would have to answer to the rest of the crew for betraying them. So, here she was, lying to her best friend in the entire world for her man, her fiancé, the man she was planning to spend the rest of her life with.

 

 

Taz was just getting out of bed when his cell phone started ringing. “Hello,” he said groggily when he answered it.

“I hope y'all got some rest, Babyboy, 'cause it's time to get busy. Have you already checked out the DVD?”

“Yeah, we took care of that as soon as we got here.”

“Good. After you finish this op, you are to take the truck you have and head to Shreveport, check into any hotel you want to, and get some rest. Your next op will be early in the morning. Give me a call once you've made it there and I'll then give you the information for what needs to be handled out there.”

“So, we need to keep the equipment with us from this last mission?”

“Nah. I don't want y'all making that drive dirty. Once you get at me, I'll have everything set up. Someone most likely will be bringing you what you need.”

“All right, that's cool. Anything else?”

“This is the last leg of this mission, Babyboy. After y'all are finished in Louisiana, y'all will be flying out east to finish the last two ops.”

“Good, 'cause this shit is starting to wear on a nigga's nerves. Mistakes can happen when we're this fuckin' tired, O.G. I've been staying on top of everybody, but still, all of this flying is tiring a nigga out,” Taz said seriously.

“Hold on, Babyboy. This ride is coming to an end. Remember what I told you a long time ago, when we first started this shit?”

Taz smiled and said, “Yeah, you told me that when everything is everything, I would be rich and you would be in the position of power. And, as long as you had the power, I would have the power.”

“That's right. My position of power has gotten stronger and stronger over these last few years. We're almost there. Just a little bit longer and everything I told you back in the day will become a reality. So, make sure you handle this shit for me, Babyboy.”

“I got you.”

“Out!” Won said and hung up.

Taz woke Keno and told him to call the others and wake them while he took a quick shower. It was time to go back to work.

 

 

After work, Sacha went over to Taz's house to relax. She smiled as she pulled into the driveway and saw Tari's Altima parked by the garage. She climbed out of her BMW and went inside.

Tari was out back, watching Heaven and Precious run around the yard. When she saw Sacha come outside, she smiled and said, “Hey, girl! How are you doing today?”

“I'm fine. How about yourself?”

“I'm all right. I had the day off today, so I came to spend some time with my babies. I didn't want them to think that I've forgotten about them.”

“Those dogs are so spoiled. When I first started coming over here, they never showed themselves. But now, as soon as they smell my scent, they're all over me,” Sacha said affectionately as she watched Precious and Heaven out in the yard.

“That's a good thing, though, 'cause if they didn't like you, you and Taz's relationship would have been doomed!” They both started laughing.

“Have you spoken to Taz lately?” Sacha asked as she slipped off her pumps.

“A couple of weeks ago, before he left, we met and had a talk.”

“A talk? About what?”

Tari smiled and said, “You, what he does when he goes out of town, and Won.”

“Whoa!”

“Those were my thoughts too. He doesn't know whether or not he wants to get out of the game he's been playing for so long. He's giving it some serious thought now because of you. But he's still unsure.”

“He told you that?”

“Yep. I know how he thinks. Better yet, I know firsthand how Won thinks, and I know that even if Taz does decide to stop doing his thing, Won is going to try his very best to deter him from stopping. Won has something heavy up his sleeve, and Taz is a major part of his plans.”

“What makes you think that Won won't let Taz stop?” Tari shrugged her shoulders slightly and said, “I know Won, and I know the things that they've been doing for all these years are for a reason.”

“What's the reason?”

“That's something that Taz and I have never been able to figure out. Won is the only person who can answer that question for you. And I highly doubt if he ever will.”

Sighing heavily, Sacha said, “Taz asked me to marry him before he left, and he told me that he was going to get at Won and let him know that it's over and he wants out.”

“Taz has always been his own man, to a degree. You have to understand that Won has done so much for Taz and never asked for anything in return. All he ever wanted for Taz was for him to be successful. Taz is financially secure for the rest of his life, and it's all because of Won. If and when Taz chooses to tell Won that he wants out, I'm 99.9 percent sure that Won will use whatever tactics he can come up with to keep Taz in the game.”

“But why? If Taz wants to stop, why won't Won let him?”

Tari smiled sadly and said, “Because he gets to win!”

“Win what?” Sacha asked with a confused look on her face.

“Only Won knows the answer to that question, Sacha.”

“That's so unfair!”

“That's how it is.”

“So, are you telling me that no matter what, Won won't let Taz get out?”

“No, I'm not saying that at all. What I am saying is that when Won is ready for Taz to get out, he'll let him out. But only after he has accomplished whatever it is that he's after. And, baby, believe me when I tell you this. People don't just call him ‘Won' for nothing.”

“What's that supposed to mean?”

Tari stared at Sacha briefly and simply said, “He always, and I mean always, has to win.”