Always Unique (6 page)

“What happened?”

Kennard blew out a jaw full of pent-up air. “I had always dipped and dabbled in the dope game,” he said. “When Kyra was seven months pregnant and asked me to give it all up for the sake of the baby, I promised her and myself that I would give up the game the day our baby was born. I’d step into the family business: boxing. My grandfather had been on me to get back in the ring anyway.”

“I didn’t know you used to box.”

Kennard nodded his head. “I’d always been good with my hands, but preferred the business side of the sport more. That’s why I became a promoter. Anyway,” he said, “Kyra agreed to my terms. And in preparation for my retirement I stepped up my game to another level and got deep in the streets. Got my weight up to an all-time high. Then everything changed.…” He bit down on his bottom lip so hard he almost drew blood. This was the first time in the nine-month romance that Unique had ever seen Kennard so vulnerable.

“Babe, are you sure you want to talk about this?”

Again he nodded. “They kidnapped her. They took her and my unborn baby.” As if he was looking back into time, he continued, “I know she went kicking and screaming. Kyra was a fighter.…” He paused, looked up at Unique, touched her cheek, and said, “Just like you.”

Unique listened with a compassionate heart. She rubbed his back to try to ease the pain but clearly it was impossible to do.

“I got a call later that night. Half a million dollars.” He looked at her. “That’s the value they put on my family.”

The question vaulted from her mouth at its own volition. “Did you pay the money?” Unique asked, then regretted it immediately. Was she thinking about Kennard right now or herself?

“I would have given them anything to get my family back,” he said. “Even if I had to take the
money
myself. Of course I paid them.”

The room became monastery quiet. The next question loomed in the air.

“Then they killed her,” he said.

Those words pierced through Unique like an arrow.

“Shot her in the stomach and left her in an abandoned building to bleed out. That shit damn near killed me, too.”

Unique couldn’t imagine the pain he must’ve felt when he learned that the woman he loved, and the unborn child he had been anxiously awaiting the arrival of, had been murdered. It was incomprehensible.

A wry smile appeared on his face. “But I kept my word to her: gave up the dope game and got knee-deep in this boxing game, and ended up with all this.” He spread out his arms. “Now I have you and another baby on the way. Life really couldn’t be better.”

Right,
she thought as he kissed her on the lips.
Couldn’t be better.

A VICTIM OF CIRCUMSTANCE

Over the next week Kennard doted on Unique. As far as he was concerned, nothing was too good for her—or good enough. Outwardly, Unique basked in his generosity—flowers, candy, notes, jewelry, clothes, food—but inside she felt like a heel for keeping secrets from him. Her conscience ate at her like a tiger dining on slices of raw meat.

But she’d already made up her mind. Now, the shoe was on the other foot, and she had to do what she thought was best for her and her new family.

In Unique’s eyes, it was a real blessing in disguise that the big sellout fight was less than two weeks away. The upcoming festivities kept Kennard extremely busy. This was being called the fight of the decade and Kennard was milking it for all that it was worth. Set to take place in Madison Square Garden, the sheer magnitude of the event kept him away from Unique more than usual.

The timing couldn’t have been better. Unique hated not seeing him until late at night, but the time alone was perfect for putting her own business in order. After playing and replaying the pros and cons in her mind over and over, she decided that the only logical option was to heist Shummi’s diamonds. She liked Shummi a lot and the man had never done anything to her, but what else could she do? Her back was up against the wall. It was the only way to get Fat Tee off of her back and out of her life.

And with that being said, today was the day it was about to go down, and she had solicited Tyeedah and her little brother for help.

All I can say is love makes a person do some strange shit!

Unique waited on Fifty-second Street for the courier to pass. She had his schedule down pat like the finale to a tango. Once she saw him bend the corner, Unique knew there was no turning back. It was about to go down. She felt bad that she had to do this but was relieved that this was going to finally be over once and for all.

Once Unique saw the courier, she spoke into her Bluetooth. “There he goes: blue jeans, camouflage jacket, and a Jets baseball cap. Game on, Playboy.”

“Roger that,” Lil-Bro said from a motorized scooter. He confirmed he had seen the target. “I got him.”

Unique quickly hopped into a pedicab and instructed the guy to take her to Fifth Avenue. The man maneuvered the three-wheeled passenger bicycle with great precision while she still had the courier in sight. He started weaving in and out of the afternoon traffic, seemingly unfazed by the congestion and poisonous exhaust fumes and diesel fuel he breathed in from the clusters of cabs and buses polluting the atmosphere. Lil-Bro was in and out of traffic as well, trailing the courier on his moped. Traffic came to a halt but it didn’t stop him. The courier, used to sharing the crowded streets with many modes of transportation, didn’t think anything of the moped on his tail.

In between buses and alongside cabs, Lil-Bro rode that motorbike like he was in a triathlon, trailing the courier like he was racing for the medal.

In the process of coming to the surprise stop, Lil-Bro ran up beside the messenger and bumped the back wheel of his bike by mistake, causing him to lose control of the bike and fly over the handlebars and hit the concrete.

“Oh shit!” Lil-Bro said, quickly stopping his own moped. “Man, I’m sorry!” He added, as innocently as possible. “I was texting and riding, man … you know how that shit is.” Lil-Bro got off his bike and began to help the man off the ground. “I feel bad, man. Hope I ain’t bruise your ego.”

The jewel mule, upset from the fall and even more distracted by Lil-Bro’s grungy-looking appearance, never felt the needle prick the skin on the back of his neck as he was being helped up. Lil-Bro was so swift that he should have been a nurse or a doctor the way he pulled it off. Unique watched and even she missed the sight of the syringe. She had to admit Lil-Bro was smooth.

Instinctively, the courier felt for the satchel that was still safely around his neck. “Yeah, I’m good,” he said, getting back on the bike, trying to get his focus back on his route.

Lil-Bro’s role was vital—when he took that syringe filled with the date-rape drug and injected it straight into the courier’s bloodstream, everything was going as planned. “On the road again,” he said into his Bluetooth to tell his sister and Unique. “Coming your way now, Big Sis.” He let the girls know that it was all about to unfold.

After two more blocks, the double dose of the date-rape drug began to take effect quicker than they thought. Judging by the way the courier was riding he had a low-tolerance for narcotics. He swerved and then almost fell off the bike, which let the trio know that the courier was well ahead of schedule. The messenger seemed to be discombobulated and it was clear that he was going to go down soon. Unique was close by, trailing behind him in her bicycle-drawn carriage. It was time for her to be rid of her chariot and be on foot. She alerted the driver, “Pull over here up ahead.” She paid him and got off. “Game on, girly!” she said to Tyeedah.

Another block away, Tyeedah was also on foot, waiting for the messenger to bend the corner and when he did, people were lined on both sides of the streets in the middle of rush hour.

As soon as the courier hit the ground, Lil-Bro darted in front of a Nissan and caused an accident himself, running smack-dead into a yellow cab and making himself fall to the ground and appear injured. Some people saw him and stopped to look, but most people minded their own business and went about their merry way. Unique looked over her shoulder and couldn’t believe how nobody really was paying attention. “You gotta love this city,” she murmured aloud.

“Girls, you’re on your own,” he said into the Bluetooth, but he kept it moving, not looking back. He’d done his part.

By now, the courier was on the ground, clueless as to what was going on or what happened to him. As soon as he fell to the hard concrete, Unique and Tyeedah went into action.

“Oh my God, somebody call an ambulance!” Unique exclaimed, right after Tyeedah had grabbed the courier’s bag from around his neck and headed to hail down a cab. He was too out of it to even try to put up a fight. In fact, he was sweating and about to pass out.

The minute somebody else stopped, she left the bystanders there to deal with the poor diamondless guy.

She couldn’t believe it was as easy as taking candy from a baby, or in this case, taking carats from a rabbit. Unique smiled; she couldn’t believe how simple it was. She mixed into the crowd and hopped in the cab, and she and Tyeedah fled the scene like bandits.

LET’S GET DOWN TO BUSINESS

An hour later the girls were in a booth, waiting on Fat Tee. Tyeedah had refused to allow Unique to go alone to deal with the jackass. The coffee shop was crowded with patrons trying to boost their already high and unhealthy caffeine levels.

“That’s him.” Unique nodded to Tyeedah. Fat Tee walked in, wearing a wrinkled Willie Esco jean outfit that looked like he had slept in it. The girls didn’t even have the common courtesy to motion to him; they let him look lost as he searched the coffee shop for Unique. Once he laid his eyes on them, he grinned that aluminum smile as soon as he saw Unique. Then he headed over to where they were sitting.

“Damn, girl, that’s what I always loved about you, Unique,” he said, plopping down in the booth seat on Tyeedah’s side, opposite of Unique. He was excited. “Anything you put your head to, you make happen. You are one of the most ambitious people I know, I will say that,” he said, feeling the vibe that Unique had really pulled off getting him his million dollars. “You know I give props where they are due.”

Unique just sat there with no emotion toward Fat Tee as he tried to act like a big shot.

“Who’s your friend?” He looked Tyeedah up and down and licked his lips. “Fine ass. You know the freaky things I’d do to you, girl?”

Tyeedah glared at him, and her nose flared like someone had just dropped a bag of shit next to her. “Not in your wildest dream or nightmare for that matter,” she responded, shutting him down.

Unique never offered a name; Fat Tee already knew too much for his own good. Fat Tee kept eyeballing Tyeedah, obviously feeling himself, but Unique wasn’t bothered by that. “How about you let me take you down south with my friend,” he said with an exaggerated drawl, painting his crusty, purple lips with his tongue.

Tyeedah snorted. “If you were dying of starvation, I wouldn’t even allow you to eat out of my ass.”

Not sure whether he should take the remark as a compliment or a diss, Fat Tee was at a loss for words. His mouth parted but no words came out; the look on his face was priceless.

“Let’s get down to business, don’t nobody have time to be shucking and jiving with you. This is not a leisure session, this is a business meeting,” Unique said, and handed him a Bergdorf Goodman shopping bag, which contained the knapsack with the diamonds in it.

Fat Tee looked confused and asked, “What the fuck is this? Ain’t no million fucking dollars in here.”

“Actually, it’s more than a million dollars,” Unique said dryly. She looked around to make sure no one had heard his loud voice before she spoke again. “Just open it up and look in the bag.”

When he did, the sheen from the diamonds seemed to lighten up the entire room. His eyes did a double take. “What the fuck is this?”

“This fool can’t be as stupid as he was acting,” Tyeedah said to Unique.

“What does it look like?” Unique asked Fat Tee mockingly.

“I know what they are,” Fat Tee acknowledged, “but what the fuck I’m supposed to do with them? I asked for cash.”

There were over a hundred diamonds in the pouch, all either nicer or just as nice as the ones that Shummi showed to her and Kennard. Unique’s mental appraisal of the jewels was that they were worth way over a million dollars.
Damn, I’m so wanting to get this nigga off my back that I’m slipping.
In fact, Unique was disappointed in herself that she wished in hindsight that she had taken out a few of the diamonds for herself; at least she could have given Tyeedah and Lil-Bro a couple for their help. But she just wanted to get Fat Tee out of her face, out of her life, and on his way.

“What the fuck you think you’re supposed to do with them? They are fucking some of the best diamonds available,” she informed him. “You still a hustler, right?” she said sarcastically.

He looked at her like she was asking him the most stupid question. “Until the day I die. But that don’t have shit to do with the fact that I asked for cash. Hell, you might as well have given me fuckin’ euros that I have to go to the foreign currency counter to exchange. I wanted cash.”

Tyeedah sucked her teeth and added, “Again, are you sure you a hustla? Or a pimp? ’Cause it’s a little confusing to me.”

That comment bothered Fat Tee, and he used his neck to motion to Unique. “She knows my résumé in the streets?”

“Résumé? I can’t tell? You asking her what you gonna do with some diamonds. Who knows? Shit, you stalking ladies for money and shit—ain’t no real hustla raping and extorting no woman for money,” Tyeedah said, wanting to give him more than a piece of her mind.

Unique spoke up before this got out of control. “Just like coke, dope, weed, guns, or whatever you moving these days, you hustle these but the return on these beauties is going to be so much more than anything you ever grinded in your life.”

“It didn’t cost you nothing, so the only thing you gotta recoup is that Chinese bus ticket you got to get yo ass up here and that roach motel you staying at,” Tyeedah said, dead serious.