The Streets Keep Calling (16 page)

“Mannie, talk to me, I hope you got some good news for me,” I stated after answering the phone and placing a few pieces of fried okra in my mouth.

“I know Breeze is with Trixy.”

“A few months ago, you were bragging that Breeze was about to make us some money. Then you came to me saying Trixy had given you all this information about Breeze. And now you're telling me these two are together. Mannie, do you really have any idea what the fuck is going on?” I'd heard way too many conflicting stories from Mannie. He was one inch away from being kicked off the fucking team.

“I know it sounds crazy, Biggs. Hell, it sounds crazy to me too. But word on the street is she housing that nigga,” Mannie replied.

“Have you been by the house, Mannie?”

“Of course. I went the same night I found out. I've been checking back every day since, hoping I could catch them. But I'm thinking they probably went into hiding a long time ago. Nobody ain't been to the house for days. The house is always dark and the mailbox is full,” he explained.

“We got to get that motherfucker quick before the cops come knocking on the door. Use Trixy. A woman is always weak. Go to her brother, mother, sister, cousin, aunt, or uncle to try to track down where she is. Once she finds out we've paid her family a little visit, she will hand Breeze over out of fear. Or, if you're really good, with a little force you should be able to get a family member to talk,” I instructed him.

“You know what, I got something better!” Mannie yelled, like he'd come up with a master plan. “Her son goes to the same school as my nephew. I think I'll pay him a little visit. Once we get him, we'll get Trixy, and you'll get Breeze once and for all. This shit needs to be handled and go away.” For once, Mannie was talking some shit I was trying to hear.

“Now, you're talking. Get the boy and wait for me. I need to deal with Breeze myself,” I declared, and hung up the phone.

 

The next day I headed down to Virginia. It was time my presence be felt again. Breeze had tried to weaken my throne. It was time he knew who was really in charge. With perfect timing, Mannie called my phone as soon as I got in the area.

“Yeah,” I answered. “Hope you got, good news.”

“We got the boy,” Mannie informed me.

“Wonderful, meet me tonight at ten near the docks.”

“Okay,” Mannie agreed.

 

I pulled up to the docks about thirty minutes early just to check out the scene. At seven o'clock sharp, Mannie pulled up. To my surprise, Mannie wasn't late. He and the little boy got out of the car and headed to the utility van I was driving. The little boy looked scared shitless. I felt somewhat sorry for him. He reminded me a lot of Jaden.

“Call Trixy,” I insisted, pointing to the TracFone I picked up earlier.

“Hello?” she answered.

“We got your son,” Mannie revealed.

“Ma,” Junior called out.

“Baby, it's going to be okay. Mommy is coming to get you. Mannie, please, don't hurt my son. I'll do whatever you want. Leave him outta this. He's just a child. You got babies of your own,” she whimpered on the phone in tears.

“The only way you'll ever see your son again is for a tradeoff. You get us Breeze, and Junior will be back in school by Wednesday,” he offered.

“Can I talk to my mom?” Junior asked.

“Of course.” I ordered Mannie with a nod.

“Ma,” Junior called out.

“Baby, did they hurt you?”

“No. Please tell Breeze to save me. I'm scared, Mommy. I don't want to die, Ma, please,” Junior begged.

“That's enough,” I commanded, and ordered Mannie to hang up the phone.

“What's up?” I asked Trixy with my hands held up.

“You know exactly who the fuck it was. It was Mannie. Him and Biggs got Junior. I don't know what they doing to my baby. He don't need to be in all of this bullshit. I feel like a fucked-up mother. This is all my fault.” She was weeping hysterically in my arms.

“Listen to me, Trixy, please,” I urged, holding her in my arms while attempting to calm her down. “Are you listening?” I asked.

“Yes.” She nodded.

“We're going to get Junior back. Just follow my lead. Everything is going to work out,” I explained while rubbing her back.

I felt like a fucking lowlife. Not only was my children's world fucked up beyond belief; now, I had another innocent child caught up in my motherfucking shit. I knew I couldn't let nothing happen to Junior. I would never forgive myself.

I was ready for war. The way I felt, I'd already lost so much at this point, I was like, “Fuck it. If it's my time to go, so be it.” A least I knew I would go down fighting. I figured Ma, Grandma, and my kids were probably better off without me anyway.

I jumped up, grabbed our things, and headed to Trixy's car. She followed me.

“Where are we going?” she questioned once we were in the car. I had decided to drive because she was in no position to.

“One of my spots. I need to handle some business real quick. When I stop by, I need you to stay in the car. I'll be in and out. It shouldn't take long at all. Cool?” I made sure Trixy was okay with being alone for a second before I went in.

I always kept a place that no one knew about. When I say no one, I mean no one, not even Tanisha or my mother. I'd copped that spot under a fictitious name so that nothing could be traced back to me. This is where I kept my drugs, money, scale, and all the incriminating evidence. While in the house, I thought about all the shit caused behind the drug game. When you compare the gain to the losses, that shit ain't even worth it. I shuffled through the house and collected $50,000 from various stashes I had hidden throughout. I placed the money in a duffel bag, then jetted out.

“Call Biggs and tell him that you ready to meet him, but he is to come alone,” I instructed Trixy as soon as I got back in the car.

Trixy called back the number that had called her earlier. I could hear Mannie through the phone. “You ready?”

“Yes, I am, but I am meeting with Biggs alone, not you, and no goons,” Trixy said just as I'd instructed, her. There was a pause while Mannie discussed Trixy's request with Biggs.

“A'ight,” Mannie said. Biggs had agreed to our request. “Meet him at the park nearest to your house at ten o'clock. You know where the spot is,” Mannie instructed and hung up the phone.

Although it was only a few hours away, it seemed like days as we waited for ten o'clock to roll around. Back at the hotel, Trixy couldn't stop pacing. I knew not knowing if Junior was safe was killing her inside. It had to be a terrible feeling. I tried my best to console her and assure her things were gonna be all right. But the fucked-up thing is that deep inside, I didn't even know if things were gonna truly be all right. I had a plan but any wrong move could blow the whole thing. I hadn't told Trixy about it yet, because I needed her cooperation, but under the current circumstances she was looking kinda shaky.

“Trixy, I got a plan, but I'm gonna need your help. You think you up to it?” I asked.

“I'll do whatever I have to, to keep the men in my life safe. Breeze, I'm worried about you just as much as I'm worried about my son,” Trixy confessed.

“Listen, I stopped by my spot and picked up fifty grand. I'm hoping we can use this as a bargaining tool with Biggs. I'll give myself up as a trade for Junior, but after you get Junior you can offer him the fifty grand for me,” I said, knowing the chance of Biggs actually agreeing was slim, but I had to do something.

“Okay,” Trixy agreed without hesitation.

“One more thing, here.” I handed her a gun. “You never know what he may have up his sleeve. Do you know how to use this?”

“Take off the safety. Put one in the head. Aim and shoot,” she said like a pro.

“Perfect,” I said, then looked at my watch, noticing the time. “Well, it's about that time. You ready, soldier?”

“Always,” Trixy said, then hugged me tight. “I love you, Breeze,” she whispered in my ear before letting me go.

I was thrown by her statement. I stepped back and looked her in her face, then parted my lips to ask her if she was serious. Before I could say anything, she placed her index finger across my lips. “Shh…don't say anything,” she said, then walked away.

I guessed she was right. Nothing needed to be said. I just took in the moment and got my mind back on the war we were about to face. I followed Trixy to the car and hopped in. I grabbed my gun and put it in my waistband. We pulled up to the park a few minutes early. It was dark and no one was in sight. Minutes later, we saw headlights turn on from a distance. We got out of the car and headed toward the lights. When we got near, Biggs hopped out of a black Navigator, with a gun next to Junior's temple.

“Biggs, let Junior go. He's too young for all of this,” I pleaded.

“I give the motherfucking orders around here. You got that?” Biggs spat back.

“We got it,” Trixy and I said in unison. All she wanted was to have Junior in her arms.

“Both of you need to strip down. I don't want any foolishness,” Biggs ordered.

“What!” Trixy stated.

“Bitch, you heard me,” he added.

I knew exactly what Biggs was doing. Making us strip was his only way of ensuring that we weren't carrying any weapons. While stripping down, I had no choice but to throw down my gun.

“Apparently, you do follow orders.” Biggs smirked, noticing I didn't hesitate to strip down to my boxers.

“Breeze is here as I promised. Could I have my son please?” Trixy pleaded.

“A deal is a deal. Head this way, Breeze,” Biggs demanded. I walked toward him as he and Junior started inching their way toward Trixy. When I was near, he released Junior, who ran into Trixy's arms. They hugged each other tight, and, for a moment, it seemed that Trixy had completely forgotten about me.

“I've been waiting for this day.” Biggs grabbed me and put his gun to my head.

“Wait!” Trixy yelled. Biggs's words must have brought her back to the situation at hand. “Run to the car,” she instructed Junior to be sure he was out of harm's way. Then she continued to speak with Biggs. “I want to make you an offer.”

“Yes?” Biggs seemed interested.

“I have money, and I'm willing to give it all to you if you will release Breeze. Not only that, if you let him go I promise you will never see our faces again,” Trixy said as she started laying stacks of money on the ground.

“It's about time I recoup some money!” Biggs replied as he walked closer to Trixy in order to retrieve the money from her.

“It's all yours.” Trixy put her hand in the bag once again to pull out another stack of hundreds, but this time she came out with a gun.

Bang!
One shot to the head and Biggs was down.
Bang!
Trixy didn't hesitate to shoot Biggs in the head twice to make sure that motherfucker was dead. I grabbed the gun from her and we quickly picked up most of the money from the ground. Once we were done, we rushed back to the car. Once inside the car, Trixy hugged Junior so hard his chest started to hurt. I pulled out and sped off, hitting the highway toward the Outer Banks.

Once we'd reached the Outer Banks I felt so relieved. We rented a beach house and relaxed, enjoying the ocean. We had been there for an entire week, just laying low. Funny thing was, I didn't miss anything about Norfolk. I had started to wonder if me, Breeze, and Junior could just run away and start over someplace. It seemed like it was all falling into place. It all seemed too easy. I watched as Junior played in the sand while I sipped a cup of hot orange and spice tea, and Breeze drank a Heineken. It was so relaxing, smelling the ocean air and listening to the waves crashing. I felt the timing was perfect; I needed to confess to Breeze and ask for his forgiveness.

“What's on your mind?” Breeze asked, noticing I was deep in thought.

“Breeze, let me start by saying, that I love you so much, and have for a long time.”

“Yeah, okay,” he said, wondering what was coming next.

“Well, I owe you an apology.” I took a deep breath, then continued. “Look, I'm the reason all that beef started on the streets. I told Mannie you had a new connect, and you were working with other people, and you were gonna take the streets over. I was so hurt that day we got into it that I let my emotions get the best of me. I wanted you to hurt like I was hurting, so I figured the only way to hurt you was to hit you in your pockets. I had no idea it would go this far. Will you find it in your heart to forgive me?” I asked.

This time Breeze had done to me what I'd done to him a week before. He placed his index finger across my lips and said, “Shh…say no more.” Then he gave me a soft kiss on the lips.

That kiss seemed almost magical. It was like no other kiss we'd ever had. It gave me the courage to tell him what I'd needed to tell him for some time. So, without even thinking, I began, “Breeze, I have one more thing to tell you.”

“What's that?”

“Junior is—”

“Freeze! Don't move! Get on the ground!” Before I could finish my statement, eight police officers had come out of nowhere and ambushed us.

Breeze and I did as they instructed and got onto the ground.

“Byron Miller, you are under arrest for the murder of Jonathan Stevens, also known as Mr. Biggs,” the cop blurted out.

“No, he didn't do it. Let him go! Please!” I begged.

“Yes, I did. I confess to the murder. Please take me away,” Breeze stated, and the cops quickly handcuffed him. I was in shock. I felt helpless as I watched them walk Breeze toward one of the cop cars and put him in the back seat. As they drove away, Junior and I held on tight to each other and cried.