Unzipped: An Urban Erotic Tale (22 page)

“’Sup, Menace. This Lil Dray.”

Menace let go of his dick and sat up. Dray was a kid that Irish had been hell-bent on saving no matter what the cost. He’d come from a rough-riding family of twelve kids, and the boy had shot and killed one of his older sisters at the age of nine for pulling a knife and stabbing their mother. He’d been in and out of shelters
and foster homes, and had witnessed his brother get thrown off a roof two summers earlier. Lil Dray had come to Irish just nine months ago, right before his sixteenth birthday. He’d come to them cross-eyed and scrawny, but with a sunny smile and a killer’s heart.

Dray had been special to Irish, who always reached further and dug deeper for the really lost kids, the ones that society had written off. Irish went out of his way to rehabilitate Lil Dray. He’d given him a job, got him into a regular high school, and taught him by his own example what it meant to be a real man.

And just like Menace and a whole lot of other former street thugs, Dray had blossomed under Irish’s hand. The kid had resisted the lure of drugs and fast money for nine whole months, but now with Irish gone there was no street daddy left to guide him.

Menace frowned. “Lil Dray? Whattup, man? You straight?”

“Yeah, I’m good, man,” Dray answered. “I’m good. I just wanted to tell you it was real cool for you to come back to Harlem, nah’mean? Cool that you back at the center now and shit. Irish woulda wanted that, man.”

Menace nodded. He was back, but he couldn’t promise for how long.

“Yeah. I was hoping you would show up the other day,” Menace said. “I was glad when you did.”

“Yo, check this out, man,” Lil Dray said, his voice going deep and hard like a grown man’s. “I heard you been asking around about Mookie and his manz. You and Irish did a lotta good shit for me, so fuck what anybody else think, I’ma go ’head and say what I gotta say. I ain’t no fuckin’ snitch, but you need to put your eye on Yoda Green, man. One of my sisters be dancing over at Humpz, and she knows all about Irish and how he used to look out for me all the time. She was tight with N’Vee too, and used to help that crazy chick hide whenever Irish sent the cops around
looking for her. She could never understand why N’Vee was wildin’ so hard when she had a good family who had her back. But the deal is, my sister rolled with Yoda one time when he went to meet Irish. She said them two was real friendly with each other, and shit, and they stayed behind closed doors in Irish’s office for hours. My sister said when they came out they was shaking hands and grinning and shit like they was tight.

“The deal is, Yoda hates Mookie with a passion. He despises his fat ass and believes Harlem’s treasures are being wasted on that ugly muhfuckah. Yoda promised my sister she’s gonna be his top bitch when he pulls a takedown on Mookie, but in the meantime she can’t stomach his ass ’cause he’s one of the clowns who bum-rushed and smoked Irish! Him and the rest of them grimy Humpz niggahs Mookie got tied on a string. My sister said she’s positive that it was Yoda and his boyz Piff, Donut, and Tang who did the kick-door, and they committed the murders too.”

“Yo, man … Irish been gone a minute now, Dray. Why you just telling me this shit now?”

“’Cause my sister went down south the other day. I wasn’t gonna say nothing while she was still in Harlem, but she’s out now, man. Yoda and them can’t touch her. She’s out.”

Menace got real quiet but he was thinking harder than fuck. He gave Lil Dray big ups for the solid, and immediately hung up and pressed Pearl’s digits. He didn’t know exactly what that girl was scheming on, but this kind of information was the best reason he could think of to keep her from going up in Club Humpz without him.

He was nervous as Pearl’s phone rang and rang until it rolled over to voice mail. He pressed redial three times before deciding to text her and find out where she was. With his heart beating all up in his throat, Menace sent Pearl an urgent text message, then sat back to wait anxiously for her to respond.

• • •

The elegant five-star Primero Hotel in Midtown Manhattan was filled to maximum capacity. Mookie Murdock had rented its biggest, most luxurious suite on the top floor with a penthouse view. Yoda had gotten a smaller suite several floors down, and while it didn’t compare to Mookie’s lavish weekend pad, it beat the hell outta the hot sheet fleabag joint where Pearl had been doing most of her planning and scheming.

“We gone have us a damn good fuckin’ weekend!” Yoda had told Pearl on Friday when she arrived with her bags. She had one suitcase full of clothes, with her special gear hidden on the bottom, and another bag with shoes in it that also held tape, ropes, and three multiuse knives. The third bag was an oversized red Gucci purse with a thick black sweater bulging from the top. The sweater was just a prop to conceal the real deal, because the rest of the bag was packed with the miniature goodies that Carlita had helped her get through FBI supply channels. The hidden weaponry was lightweight and durable, but deadly and effective as hell.

Earlier, Pearl had waited anxiously in her filthy room until the messenger service called and said their deliveryman was downstairs and ready to pick up her packages. She’d given him a phat tip and told him to make sure her boxes got over to the Primero Hotel the next morning.

Yoda had left a key at the desk for her just like he said he would, and the moment she slid it through the lock and opened the door he pulled her close and began tickling her tongue with his.

Visualizing Menace’s smooth chocolate face, Pearl sopped up that tongue like it was an Astro Pop, sucking it and licking it and going along with the program like the professional she was. She
felt no guilt behind letting Yoda touch her. In her mind the pleasure he gave her came from Menace’s hands, from Menace’s lips, and Pearl had no problem playing this part of the game. Yoda was her key to getting in Mookie’s vicinity, and if she played her hand right and didn’t fold that shit too early, by this time tomorrow Mookie would have a spiked joint so deep up his rectum that his nose would be bubbling with shit.

But to her surprise Yoda flipped the tables on her.

They’d ordered a huge room-service breakfast, then fucked for about an hour until they were both exhausted. After taking a long nap they showered and headed out for lunch at an expensive Chinese restaurant around the corner from the hotel. Yoda was all smiles as he held the door open for her and pulled out her chair. Earlier, he’d offered to carry her big red Gucci bag for her as they strolled down the city streets, but Pearl had quickly said no and switched it to her other shoulder.

They ate a light lunch then walked back to the hotel, talking about everything under the sun. Pearl was surprised at Yoda’s level of conversation. From what she’d read in her father’s private files, he was supposed to be a mental lightweight, somebody who was dumb as fuck and could be easily flipped. But the more they talked about everything from the war in Iraq to the slaughter of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, the more Pearl realized that not only was Yoda intelligent, he was also very cunning and conniving.

“Nah, not that one,” Yoda told her, taking her hand. They were in the phat hotel lobby and Pearl was waiting for one of the five elevators to come down. She had looked up at the lighted floor indicators and saw that the last elevator was closest to the lobby and would arrive first. “That’s the penthouse elevator,” Yoda explained, pulling her gently back toward the first cluster of elevators. “You need a code just to get upstairs in that shit. I ain’t
big enough to put you in that one yet, but trust, I will be one day real soon.”

There was something slick in Yoda’s tone that got Pearl’s attention, but the full extent of his craftiness became apparent later that night as they lounged in his suite. Yoda ordered lobster and champagne from room service and continued to treat Pearl like a beautiful black queen. He nibbled her toes and sucked her fingers, and pulled off her pants and licked all behind her knees. Pearl sighed as Yoda peeled her panties off and kissed up the back of her thighs until his nose was in her pussy. He licked her out from behind, holding her ass cheeks open with both hands as he thrust his tongue into her wetness and licked and sucked her clit.

Pearl’s stomach muscles clenched as her body melted. She closed her eyes and bit down on her lip, coming up on her knees so he could reach every inch of her. She was just about to get hers, and was humping and grinding her ass all over his face when someone knocked on the door. Yoda tapped her hip and pushed her away.

“Room service!”

Pearl scooped up her panties and jeans and ran into the bathroom as Yoda answered the door. Her nipples were aching and her pussy was still popping. The enormity of what she had to accomplish over the weekend had her stress level way up there, and it only took her a minute or so to finish herself off with her fingers as Yoda took care of the waiter in the other room.

Pearl left the bathroom calm and focused.

“Yo, check it. I gotta go to a meeting in a few minutes, okay?” he said as they ate dinner.

Pearl tightened up again. She had been planning to drop a few innocent questions on him about Mookie and his gambling habits, but she wouldn’t be able to find out a goddamn thing if this niggah left her in the room by herself. She forced herself to
smile brightly and get herself together on the inside. No problem, she assured herself. She would simply adjust fire. She could use the time while he was in his meeting to take inventory of her attack bag and make sure everything was in order for the next morning.

“Cool, baby,” Pearl said sweetly. “Just don’t stay gone too long. I might miss you.”

Yoda grinned and took another bite of his lobster. They ate shit up, enjoying their meal. Yoda popped tabs on the Cristal and they drank together, with Pearl being careful not to down more than one glass of bubbly.

But one glass was more than enough.

By the time they were done eating Pearl felt herself slipping.

Her left eye was acting up and the room started getting hot. Yoda was looking at her funny. Whereas he had spent the entire day serenading her with sexy looks and sweet talk, it was nighttime now and Mister Yoda was talking big, stank shit.

“You know bitches these days is real slick,” he said, getting up from the table. He stretched for a second and then went to sit on the edge of the sofa. “Just a bunch of gaming-ass hoes. All they want is diamonds and pearls. But you know all about that kinda shit, don’t you, Karma? Diamonds and pearls?”

Pearl’s stomach lurched.

“I gotta go to the bathroom …”

Yoda laughed as she stumbled into the beautiful bathroom with the cool marble tiles. The room was spinning in sloppy circles and she had to concentrate extra hard just to get her fingers to turn the lock.

Yoda continued to laugh on the other side of the door.

Pearl staggered to the toilet and barely got her shorts down. She was in trouble, and she knew it. She had never felt this way in her life, but it wasn’t hard to figure out that “dumbass” Yoda
had peeped her game and slipped something on her. Probably some kind of date-rape drug. Something to take her down without a fight. Her mind was working just fine but her body felt like it had been put on ice. With sweat beading on her nose and between her breasts, Pearl dug in her pocket for her cell phone. The only person she could think to call was Menace, but as soon as she flipped her phone she saw there was a new text message waiting from him.

It said:
Yoda Green murked everybody. Where r u?

Pearl dropped her phone and almost fell off the toilet.

Every nerve in her body was on fire, and her heart pounded with rage. It took all her concentration to reach down and pick the phone up from the floor. Bracing one hand against the glass shower door, she barely managed to text Menace back.
Primero 727. Come …

A deafening thud vibrated the bathroom door. The phone slipped from Pearl’s hand again and sickness rose up in her with a rush. She grabbed at the toilet tissue and tried to wipe herself but her fingers wouldn’t do what she told them to. Yoda kicked the door again. Her brain screamed out a warning for her body to get moving, but the drugs had her and she just couldn’t. Yoda gave the door a brutal final kick, and this time that shit flew open. He charged into the bathroom like a tornado, swinging blows at her wherever he could land them.

“Yeah, trick!” Yoda yelled as he pulled her off the toilet and dragged her into the living room by her hair. Pearl tried to scream as fire bit into her scalp. Her shorts and panties were around her ankles and the skin on her legs and ass seared with friction burns as she was yanked across the carpet.

She couldn’t even scream as Yoda kicked her in the stomach, then reached down and flung her up on the sofa by her neck. She landed on her stomach, her face pressed into her Gucci bag.

“Every fuckin’ body thinks Yoda’s stupid!” he hollered. He flung her over on her side and capped her hard in the face. “Yeah, Miss Karma! Ya fuckin’ government name is
Pearl
! You’s
Irish’s
seed! N’Vee’s sister! You thought you could catch a niggah sleeping? Man, that niggah Scotch said you and N’Vee was twins but neither one of
y’
all ain’t no slicker than ya bitch-ass daddy was! That niggah was supposed to be hardbody but he never even saw me coming!”

Pearl lay there helpless and filled with disgust. Her father had trusted this niggah and ended up getting shit on in the ultimate way. Now he was about to shit on her too. She hadn’t missed the fact that Scotch’s name had come flying out of Yoda’s mouth either, but she couldn’t believe it. For almost eight years she’d been hoping and praying that niggah was worm food by now.

Pearl couldn’t do a damn thing. She could only moan and listen as Yoda’s whole personality changed and the maniac in him came out as he taunted her and described the details of how he had punked her father and banged her mother.

“That was ya shorty we put the flames on, huh? You shoulda heard how loud them little bitches screamed! And ya moms, that ho was
tight!
I dipped my dick all in that gray-haired puddy, girl! Just as hard as I banged it in yours! Yoda dee, yoda daa, yoda ah-hah! That old stuff ya moms had was so damned good! I fucked her while ya pops watched, and then I made her suck Mookie’s dick! Yeah, she sucked that niggah’s iron dick
clean
!”