Eviction Notice (14 page)

“Thank you, Tionna.” Gucci hugged her tight.

“You ain’t gotta thank me, baby. You’re my sister and you know how family does for family.” She rubbed Gucci’s back affectionately. “Now get off me before you get makeup all on my blouse.” Tionna pushed her playfully.

“Damn, you could fuck up a wet dream.” Gucci mustered a smile.

“As if you’d know about a wet anything when you ain’t smelled a dick in years.”

“Must your mouth be so vulgar?” Gucci faked embarrassment.

“Bitch, please, like you ain’t grow up right across the avenue from me. And you know I ain’t said nothing but the truth about you being backed up.”

“And how would you know what my sex life is like?”

“Because that cheap-ass foundation can’t hide them pimples popping up on your big-ass forehead.” Tionna mushed her playfully.

“Don’t hate because I ain’t loose like you, Tionna.”

“I ain’t loose, I just know how to have a good time, which is what you need.”

“I’m cool.” Gucci waved her off.

“The hell you are. Look, my mother is gonna have the kids until Sunday so I say that me and you hit the town and turn it up like we used to do.” Tionna snapped her fingers.

“Tionna, I’m too old to be running around to ghetto-ass clubs with your ass. That was so five years ago.”

Tionna side-eyed her. “Bitch, knock it off. One of my homegirls from the job invited me to a birthday party she’s going to uptown tomorrow night and I just thought it’d be a good idea if we rolled. It’s supposed to be really nice.”

Gucci looked at her suspiciously. “Ain’t nothing nice going on uptown, especially if one of your hood-rat-ass friends are involved.”

Tionna rolled her eyes. “Marlene is one of the partners at the law firm I work for and she’s an older chick so she ain’t no hood rat.”

“Okay, an old-ass educated hood rat,” Gucci teased. “Where is this party and what’s the lick?”

“It’s at the Amsterdam Lounge,” Tionna told her.

Gucci twisted her lips. “Oh hell no, ain’t that where ol’ boy got shot a few years ago?”

“No, it was called something else back then, but some yuppies bought it and cleaned it up. It’s a really nice spot now. Anyhow, it’s a surprise party for a client of Marlene’s fiancé and she invited a few of us from the job to roll out. It’ll be a good look for me to get up under some of these lawyers and a good look for you to have some fun, because your sour ass ain’t had none in a while. Gucci, come on, for old time’s sake.”

“Tionna…”

“Please.” Tionna batted her eyes.

Gucci tried to hold her ground, but looking at Tionna and the silly-ass face she was making reminded her of all the fun they’d had growing up and how much she missed it. “A’ight, T. I’ll roll with you.”

“Aw, thank you, Gucci.” Tionna hugged her.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Gucci slapped her hands away. “But I’m telling you now: if this is some ol’ hood shit, I’m out!”

“Don’t worry about it, Gucci, we’re gonna have a grand old time, just like we used to.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Gucci mumbled. “And by the way, whose birthday party is it anyway?”

Tionna shrugged. “Some nigga named King James.”

CHAPTER 21

After hours of
bullshit and paperwork, the police finally released King James. They were trying to stick an assault charge on him but his lawyer had laughed them out of it. Lamar was a notorious piece of shit who was always terrorizing people in the neighborhood, so the lawyer argued that King had only been defending himself against Lamar and his goons. When it was all said and done, King was released with a desk-appearance ticket for disorderly conduct, which he was sure his attorney would have thrown out at his next court date.

King was glad they hadn’t tried to remand him, because he had a million things to do that night. He wanted to go home and wash the jail stink off him and jump into his clothes so that they could push out to Jersey and holla at Shai Clark. Unfortunately, his plans were further delayed when Lakim met him outside the precinct house and informed him of Sahara’s getting locked up too. Grudgingly, he got his lawyer to go back inside to see about springing the girl and her friend.

“Fucking chicks,” King cursed. He and Lakim were perched on stools at the Jumbo Burgers joint, waiting for the call from the lawyer about the girls. “It’s bad enough that I gotta pay this blood-sucking Jew to spring me on a bullshit charge, but I gotta turn around and pay him again to get these bitches out.”

Lakim took a bite of his turkey burger and shrugged. “You could’ve left her in there.”

“I started to, but shorty is still useful to me. Sahara is a bonehead but she’s a down-ass chick that’ll do just about anything I ask her to. How do you think we were able to get rid of that fucking rocket launcher stupid-ass Latif brought to the spot.”

Lakim laughed as he recalled the day the little fella had walked into the stash house with the rocket launcher wrapped in a blanket. “Sun was illing for that shit. That joint was mean, but if the police ever ran up and caught us with that, they’d give us like a thousand years in jail, word to mine!”

“That’s why I got it up outta there and convinced Sahara to hide it in her crib. That’s one of the benefits of fucking with a chick who don’t live with her moms,” King confessed.

“My dude, you mean to tell me that bitch was stupid enough to let you put that on her?” Lakim shook his head. “If her crib ever get rushed, it’s curtains!”

“Better her than us,” King said coldly. “But yo, we still good for tonight?”

“Yeah, my peeps said that the owner has already been putting it out to the girls that there’s gonna be some heavyweights in the house. Shai and his crew are gonna be there.”

“Good. I think it’s long overdue for me and Poppa’s youngest boy to have a chitchat.”

“True indeed. I got the whole squad on deck for this too. We rolling out like three cars on some real heavy shit,” Lakim informed him.

King thought about it. “Nah, clip that number by more than half. I don’t wanna give Shai the impression that we’re coming at him on some beef shit and create an unnecessary problem.”

“I don’t know if we should roll shorthanded like that. I know Shai is gonna have his whole crew in there, plus it’ll be other niggaz in the spot with their teams. We’ll be outnumbered if it goes down, God.”

“Numbers don’t mean shit when you’re rolling with niggaz who got heart. We’ll go six deep. Me and you will roll in with two of our strongest and have the other two floating around so our backs are covered if it does pop off. I’m on some peace shit, but I ain’t stupid either, feel me?”

Lakim nodded. “A’ight, so we’ll have Big Dump with us and Zo.”

King gave him curious look. “Zo-Pound coming out? I thought that nigga worked like twenty-three hours a day.”

“Yeah, Zo is serious about this life-of-a-square shit, but I convinced him to come out with us tonight and blow some steam off with one of these bitches. I’m proud of my baby bro for sticking with this work shit, but I miss hanging out with the li’l nigga.”

“A’ight, but as I’m thinking about it, let’s bring one more head to stay with the whip in case we gotta make a speedy exit.”

“I got the perfect man for the job, li’l Ashanti,” Lakim told him.

“You bugging the fuck out, sun. Ashanti is a baby.”

“A baby with a serious appetite for blood. All he do is play the block and plot chaos.”

“But he’s still just a kid, Lakim,” King pointed out.

“I hear you, but we were getting into shit when we were younger than him. King, by the time you were Ashanti’s age you was already upstate doing time on a body.”

“And it ain’t something I’m proud of, La. Sometimes shit happens when you’re living the fast life and I ended up getting my lumps and bumps early, but if I had it to do all over again I would’ve tried to finish school or something instead of getting caught up in this bullshit.”

“Me too, but that ain’t the hand fate dealt us, my G.”

“I hear you talking, La, but what if we try to put him down and he can’t handle it. This is grown folk’s business, God.”

“King, trust me on this one. You know how them li’l dudes was giving it up, running around with Animal and Tech, so I know the li’l nigga is ’bout it. King, I be watching this li’l nigga move and he’s seriously about his business. If he’s gonna do dirt anyway, why not snatch him up and try to school him instead of letting him fall to the wayside?”

For as much as King hated to admit it, Lakim made a lot of sense. He had been watching Ashanti for years and he just seemed to keep getting worse, especially since his crew had left him on his own. Ashanti was like a rabid dog preying on anything and everything moving, and at the rate he was going, it wouldn’t be long before somebody put a bullet in his ass or locked him away in someone’s prison until he was an old man. Ashanti definitely needed a guiding hand but King wasn’t sure if it was his.

King’s cell phone suddenly vibrated on the countertop. He flipped it open, listened for a minute, and hung up. “Let’s bounce,” he said to Lakim and dropped two twenties on the counter for their food and drinks. “Goldberg is about to pull outside with Sahara and her peoples. Let’s get them situated and go handle our business.”

“What about Ashanti?” Lakim asked.

King hesitated. “Fuck it, snatch the li’l nigga up, but make sure he understands that he’s just a spectator. Him riding out with us to Jersey will give me a chance to pick his brain and see where his head is really at. If he’s on some bozo shit, I’m kicking his li’l ass out on the turnpike.”

“Say no more.” Lakim smiled.

*   *   *

By the time
King stepped out of Jumbo Burgers, Goldberg’s black Lincoln was pulling up to the curb. Sahara stepped out of the car first, looking a hot fucking mess. Her hair was sticking up on the sides and there were dried tears on her cheeks. She was followed by a thick chick that King recognized as her friend Frankie. He and Frankie had never met in more than passing so this was the first time he had really gotten a good look at her, and he nodded his head in approval.

“Oh, baby, thank you so much.” Sahara jumped into King’s arms.

“Don’t thank me, I should bust you in ya fucking head for getting locked up,” King scolded her.

“It wasn’t my fault. We were just…”

“Save that shit, because I really don’t wanna hear it right now.” He waved her off and walked over to the car to speak with his lawyer. “Yo, I really appreciate you getting my shorty out, Goldberg.”

“No thanks needed, I’m only doing what you pay me to do. Oh, and you’ll be getting my invoice in a few days.” The lawyer smiled.

“So what was the deal with them anyhow?” King asked.

“Apparently they stormed into a high-rise building and beat up one of the tenants. The girl wanted to press charges, but apparently she had an open bench warrant that I offered to make disappear if she didn’t go through with it. I’ll most likely get it busted down to trespassing and the girls will probably have to pay a fine or do some community service.”

“Good looking out.” King stuck his arm through the car window and shook Goldberg’s hand.

“No problem, but let’s not make this a habit, James. I make my bones off the big cases and it really makes me look like I’m hurting when my colleagues see me handling project cat fights. The next time one of your little jump-offs gets into something less than a murder or drug case, call the Legal Aid Society because I don’t have time for this shit.” Goldberg threw the car in gear and sped off.

“Sometimes I wanna slap that nigga’s face off,” King mumbled as he rejoined the group.

“He does have a nasty-ass attitude. I don’t like the way he was trying to talk to us back at the precinct.” Sahara folded her arms.

“Shorty, you need to be glad that muthafucka bothered to talk to you at all, let alone get your simple ass outta jail. Do you know how much I’m gonna have to pay that nigga to take care of this shit?”

“I’m sorry, King. We didn’t go over there to get into a fight, but the bitch tried to pop off and we had to handle our business,” Sahara explained.

“Whatever, Sahara. I got too much going on tonight to be bothered with this petty shit. I gotta go home and get right so me and Lakim can head OT.”

“OT?” Sahara gasped. “King, you promised that we would hang out tomorrow night.” She was afraid that he was about to ruin the plans by pulling a no-show at his own surprise party.

“Why don’t you calm the fuck down. I never said how long I was gonna be gone. I got some shit I need to take care of across the water so I’ll be back in time.”

“Okay, baby, because you know I wanna make sure I show you a good time on your birthday.” Sahara draped her arms around King and planted kisses on his cheek.

“Chill, ma, I don’t wanna get none of my jail funk on you.” King gently pushed her away. Sahara’s breath was on fire but he didn’t want to hurt her feelings by telling her. “But on the real, Sahara, you gotta curb some of this chicken-head shit you’re out here doing. You can’t be a part of the King’s court and you out here getting locked up on crackhead-ass charges, feel me?”

“Yeah, and I’m sorry, King. Trust me, this is the first and last time you’ll have to rescue me from jail. Isn’t that right, Frankie?”

“Yeah,” Frankie said, but she was only half paying attention. Her mind was still on how to keep them from getting evicted.

“Shorty, don’t I know you?” Lakim sized Frankie up. He had been staring at her the whole time, trying to place her face.

“I don’t think so,” Frankie said in a less-than-interested tone. Lakim did look familiar, but Frankie had too much on her mind to dwell on it.

Lakim continued staring and flipping through his mental Rolodex. He knew Frankie’s face but just couldn’t think where. Then it hit him. “Yeah, I know you, shorty. You used to roll with Twenty-Gang!” Twenty-Gang was a group of all-girl criminals from Harlem, made famous by Evelyn Panelli, aka Eve, when she wiped out an entire group of dealers from the West Side and got away with it.

“Yeah, I used to fuck with them a li’l something, why?” Frankie asked with an attitude.

Lakim closed the distance between him and Frankie and looked her in the eyes. “You don’t remember me, do you?”

“No, should I?” Frankie took a defensive step back. She had done some wild shit when she was a young girl dancing in the shadow of Eve and Twenty-Gang, so there was no telling how Lakim was going to come at her.

“A few years ago a couple of chicks from Twenty-Gang caught me slipping and got me for some change. I remember you because it was your little ass who clocked me in the back of the head with the hammer. Small world, ain’t it?”

Looking at Lakim, Frankie did remember his face. Big Kiki, who was one of the OGs of Twenty-Gang, had taken her out to bust her cherry on what was to be her first lick, and they rode down on a chubby young dealer from the projects and robbed him for some work and some money. Lakim had shed the baby fat and grown facial hair but she remembered his dark eyes and the murderous look he had given her, which was similar to the one he was giving her at that moment.

Frankie rocked back on her heels and threw her hands up defensively. “My dude, I don’t want no problems with you over something that I did when I was young and dumb, but if you’re looking for a problem then I got one, because I’m not really in the mood to play games.” Frankie spat, which only made Lakim smile. She knew the brolic little man would tear her apart in a fistfight but she wasn’t about to back down.

“Be easy, La.” King placed a calming hand on his friend’s shoulder.

The tension in Lakim’s face drained away and he gave Frankie an amused look. “Shorty, I ain’t got no problem with you over that shit. If I had caught you when it was fresh, I’d have tore ya fucking head off, but I’m over it. If anything, you taught me one of the most valuable lessons I could’ve ever learned in this game.”

“And what’s that?” Frankie was still standing there with her guard up.

“Never trust a bitch!” Lakim laughed. “On some real shit, though, that was a dumb-ass stunt but it took balls to try and pull off, especially for some females.”

“Sometimes you gotta go all in and get it how you live,” Frankie said seriously.

“And how you getting it now?” Lakim asked.

“Any way I know how.”

“Well, considering the fact that you’re out here getting locked up over dumb shit, it’s obvious that you don’t know much.” Lakim laughed. “You got heart and I respect that about you, shorty. When you’re ready to get with some
real
niggaz and see some
real
paper, you need to come holla at me.”

“And what can you do for me that I can’t do for myself?” Frankie asked defiantly.

“Upgrade ya life,” Lakim said seriously. “But as ya girl Sahara can tell you, me and my niggaz ain’t about a whole lot of talking, we let our actions speak for us, so make ya next move ya best move and see about me.”

“Listen to you on ya Goldie shit,” Sahara teased Lakim.

“Ma, you know I keep it G all day. Holla at ya girl and let her know what the business is,” Lakim told Sahara while keeping his eyes glued to Frankie.

“I don’t need nobody to tell me something I can see for myself,” Frankie shot back.

“Lakim, if you’re done with your recruiting session, we’ve got business to handle, remember? Sahara, we gonna put y’all in a cab and bust a move,” King said.