| |
Kesha was in her bra and jeans as she got ready for the night’s mission, strapping on her Kevlar bulletproof vest and loading up them thangz. While she was busy handling the mentioned tasks, Te’Qui observed his reflection through the mirror attached to the nightstand. Te’Qui was far from the skinny brown-skinned, ten-year-old kid that he used to be, running the streets with his deceased homeboy, Baby Wicked. He now stood a full six-foot-one and had a body covered in muscles and veins. There wasn’t an area on his form that didn’t have ink on it.
Te’Qui had a small Uzi .9mm tattooed on his forehead between his eyes, seven red teardrops going on either side of his cheeks and an image of Baby Wicked on his back along with his birth date and death date. He had X’s on his thumbs which added up to the number 20, symbolizing his allegiance to the notorious Outlaw 20s Bloods Gang. Te’Qui wore his mother name, Chevy, on his neck, his father’s name, Faizon, on left peck, Glocks on the lower half of his stomach with RTBG in the middle of it, dripping blood. There were also a host of other tattoos on his body, but these were the ones that stood out.
Since Te’Qui’s best friend and road dawg, Baby Wicked, had gotten smoked over dealing, he vowed not to fuck with the crack game ever again. Instead, he became a jack boy, robbing the same mothafuckaz that were slinging poison in the streets. Sometimes when he’d hit a dope boy, he’d drive through the streets tossing cash out of his whip, putting the slums in a frenzy. The way he saw it since he was bringing death and destruction to the hood, this would be his way of giving back. Sure he could have done more for the communities of the niggaz he’d hit, but he wasn’t trying to draw police attention to himself. The mothafucka wasn’t stupid.
After the deaths of his parents, Te’Qui went to stay with his grand parents. At home, he was the good little choir boy who got straight A’s in school and attended church with his grand parents. But when night fell on the city, he fled to the streets where he was the gangsta his environment groomed him to be. After his grand parents passed away from natural causes, Te’Qui made the streets his permanent home.
“You ready to go, baby?” Te’Qui asked Kesha with a smirk on his lips, staring down into her eyes as he held her in his arms.
“Yes, bae,” Kesha flashed him an even bigger smirk. She was a slim-thick chick that stood a full five-foot-seven. She had rich chocolate skin, dimples and an easy smile. She also had thick eyebrows and thin dreads that spilled down her back. She was hood to the bone, and just as dangerous as the nigga she claimed to love more than life it self.
Te’Qui and Kesha broke their embrace and tucked their red ski-masks. They made their way toward the door, but Kesha suddenly stopped. Te’Qui turned around to her with a frown fixed on his face, holding on to one of her hands.
“What’s wrong, momma?” he asked concerned.
“Oh, baby, I gotta throw up.” Kesha’s cheeks ballooned and she held her hand over her mouth, with her eyes bulging.
“You sho’?” Te’Qui asked, placing his hand on her shoulder.
Kesha nodded and sprinted off to the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind her. Te’Qui listened as she lifted the lid on the commode and threw up into the bowl. She threw up over and over again, sounding like she was going to hurl up her insides. Te’Qui heard her breathing hard. Looking underneath the slight opening of the door, he could see her shadow. She was on her knees hunched over the commode.
Concerned with his lady, Te’Qui approached the bathroom and knocked on it. His forehead was creased as he leaned up against the bathroom door.
“Y-Yeah,” Kesha called out.
“You okay in there, ma?” Te’Qui asked her.
“I-I’ll be fine, baby. Gimme a sec’ and we on ‘em niggaz. You heard?”
“My baby always on her shit, I ain’t worried about that.”
“Okay.”
“Take yo’ time, ain’t no rush.”
Te’Qui leaned his back against the wall on the side of the bathroom door. He then folded his arms across his chest, tapping his foot as he waited for his lady. A moment later the door clicked unlock and Kesha flipped the light switch off, walking out of the bathroom.
“You good, lil’ momma?” Te’Qui asked her.
“Yeah.” Kesha smiled.
Te’Qui studied her for a while and then said, “Yo’, I think you might be pregnant. We gon’ get chu a test from CVS once we finish this mission, alright?”
“Alright,” she nodded. “I think you might be right. I have been feeling nauseated lately.”
“Okay. I got chu faded once we handle this shit.” He pulled her close, kissing her on the forehead and lips. He then took her by her hand and walked out of the bedroom.
***
“Hold up.” Te’Qui told Kesha as he stared out of the passenger window at the house they were looking for.
“This the house?” Kesha asked as she brought the car to a stop and looked at the same crib that Te’Qui was looking at.
“Yep, there’s the truck. It’s parked in front of that old-ass Buick Lasabre.” he informed her as he looked down at the picture of the vehicle they were hired to obtain. It was a white 2000 Chevrolet Tahoe. Besides its smoke black tinted windows and twenty-four chrome inch rims, Te’Qui didn’t see what the big fuss was about the truck. For the amount of money he was getting paid to snatch it, the nigga that hired him could have copped ten of them mothafuckaz. Te’Qui didn’t know his employer’s reasoning behind wanting the Tahoe nor did he care. The nigga was paying him thirty stacks to bring him the truck, and that’s exact what the fuck he was going to do.
“Babe, park around the corner from this mothafucka. We gon’ go through the backyard of that house.” Te’Qui commanded his lady.
Kesha did like she’d been told. She and Te’Qui had already done their homework on the thirty something Mexican couple that lived in the house they were going to hit. The woman went to night school while her man worked a third shift at a packaging company and slung a little coke on the side. The couple had two Doberman Pinschers in their backyard, but Te’Qui was positive they’d could get pass them. Once they’d taken care of the hounds, he was sure they’d be leaving with the truck that night.
Kesha and Te’Qui pulled out their red ski-masks. They pulled the masks over their faces and jumped out of the car. They threw their hoods over their heads and made hurried steps up the block, looking around to make sure that there weren’t any eyes on them. Once they didn’t see anyone, they continued towards the house they’d staked out. They made their way through the yard of the house, creeping on the side of the house and eventually making it into the backyard. Once they made it to the end of the yard, they came before a gate, which divided the alley and Armon’s house. Hunched down from where they were they could see a couple of mean-ass Doberman Pinschers partroling Armon’s backyard. One was brown and the other was black. They both had clipped tails.
Te’Qui tapped Kesha and said, “Do yo’ thang, lil’ momma.”
“I got cha, lil’ daddy,” Kesha responded and pulled a small, slender bamboo branch from out of the confines of her hoodie. She loaded two darts stained with a sedative into it and brought the bamboo to her full lips. She blew into the end of the bamboo branch twice, hard. The darts flew out of the hollow branch so fast that they appeared invisible. The dogs yelped and looked around for who had shot them, but they didn’t see anyone because Te’Qui and Kesha was ducked down and cloaked in the darkness.
“How long you say before those darts take effect?” Te’Qui whispered to Kesha.
“A minute or two,” Kesha answered.
“Alright.”
A total of two minutes had passed with Te’Qui and Kesha watching the dogs. The hounds were walking around the backyard like they hadn’t been shot with anything. Te’Qui’s forehead creased as he wondered why the dogs hadn’t fallen asleep yet. Right then, he pulled back the sleeve of his sweatshirt and looked at his watch. Three minutes had passed since the dogs had been shot. He then looked back up to see the Doberman Pinschers staggering around on wobbly legs, before they eventually collapsed in the grass.
“There they go, come on,” Te’Qui tapped Kesha and they scaled the gate, jumping down onto the gravelly ground inside of the alley. They then hopped the fence into Armon’s backyard and made their way up the steps of the back porch where the back door was. Te’Qui stood beside Kesha as she kneeled and picked the locks of the back door. Once she finished, she stood erect and pulled the door open. She then handled the lock of the last door standing between them and their assignment.
“Alright, baby, she’s wide open.” Kesha stood up and told him, smiling.
“I see. Good job, lil’ momma.” Te’Qui dapped her up. He then pulled her into him and kissed her hard and romantically. When he pulled back from her, they were both smiling. “You ready to do this?”
“Fa sho’.” she responded.
“Watch my back.”
“Watch my front.”
With that having been said, Te’Qui and Kesha pulled out their guns. Te’Qui took the led and pushed the door open, gently. As he and Kesha made their way inside of the kitchen, they clocked Armon, his wife, daughter and their grandfather eating dinner at the dining room table. Before they could make their move, the wife had spotted Te’Qui. Her eyes got as big as saucers and she shrieked.
“Aaaahhhhhh!” she screamed hysterically and threw her hands to her face, trembling uncontrollably.
At that moment, Te’Qui and Kesha rushed the dining room. When Armon saw them coming, he jumped to his feet and snatched the butcher’s knife out of the pot roast. He threw the knife at Te’Qui’s head and he moved to the side, dodging it. The shiny metal knife spun around in circles, gleaming as it flew passed his ear.
Thock!
The butcher’s knife stabbed into the wall and Armon took off running. Te’Qui aimed his gun at Armon’s calf as he ran. At this time, the man’s wife was pulling her terrified daughter into her arms. Te’Qui pulled the trigger of the gun and a bullet ripped through Armon’s calf, splattering blood everywhere. Armon threw his head back wincing and hollering aloud. He fell to the carpeted floor and turned over, face balling as he held his calf with both hands. His blood seeped between his fingers and spilled onto the carpet.
“Aaaah, fuck! Shiiiit!” Armon clenched his teeth as he tried to combat the pain in his wounded leg.
“Thought that ass was gon’ get away, huh? Not on my watch, pussy!” Te’Qui said to Armon as he hastily approached him, gun pointed at him. He was going to pop that ass in the collarbone if he tried to get away again. The last thing on his mind was killing him because he needed the keys to the Tahoe if he was going to get paid.
“Everything is going to be okay. Y’all just stay calm. You hear?” Kesha asked the wife and grandfather, gun rose in case anyone tried to jump fool in that mothafucka. The wife nodded her understanding, while the grandfather just stared at her. “How ‘bout chu, pops? You picking up what I’m sitting down?”
The grandfather still didn’t respond.
“This yo’ father?” Kesha asked the wife.
“Y-yes,” the wife nodded rapidly.
“Fuck is his problem?” Kesha held both of her hands on the gun as she held the grandfather at gunpoint.
“I-I don’t know. Check-check his hearing aid, it may be down.”
“Nah, fuck that! You check his hearing aid.” Kesha demanded.
The wife said something to her now crying daughter to comfort her before kissing her on the forehead. She then got up from the chair and walked over to her father, turning the volume up on his hearing aid. While the wife was doing this, Kesha clocked the old man hard. She could tell that he was an old school Chicano gangster from his tattooed arms and shit. The tattoo teardrops on both of his cheeks and the prayer hands on his neck stood out the most to her. Kesha couldn’t help thinking about how many people he’d probably smoked. She was sure he’d put in a hell of a lot of work for his hood.
“You turn them bitchez up?” Kesha asked about the volume on the old man’s hearing aids.
“Yes.” the wife responded as she sat back down and pulled her daughter into her arms.
“What’s his name?” Kesha asked the wife.
“SylvRuth.” she answered.
“Okay,” Kesha said and then turned to the grandfather who was just staring at her. “SylvRuth, I want chu to stay calm in this mothafucka. All of this will be over as soon as we get what we came here for. No one has to die. Is that understood?”
SylvRuth nodded.
“Good.”
“Alright,” Te’Qui said to Armon as he stood over him with his gun pointed down at his head. “Gimme the keys to that Tahoe parked in the driveway, and you and yo’ family will be left be. That’s my right hand to God.”
“Fuck you! My dead brother left me that car!” Armon winced continuously as he held his bleeding leg.
Te’Qui scowled and pressed his gun to the back of homeboy’s skull and said, “My nigga, you gon’ either come off that, or you gon’ make me do somethin’ I really don’t wanna do to yo’ family. You feel me? Don’t take it there, homes! I don’t need that kinda shit on my conscience.”
While Te’Qui was going back and forth with Armon, the grandfather was pulling something out of his waistline. The wife, who was still holding her daughter, peeped what he was doing but she didn’t say a word. At this time, Kesha was staring at Te’Qui and not paying the grandfather any attention. Seeing the grandfather pulling a gun in the reflection of the pitcher of ice tea at the center of the table, Kesha brought her gun around in time to see him pointing his gun at her.
Blowl! Blowl! Blowl! Blowl!
The grandfather dropped the gun and he danced in the chair as he took several shots, eventually topping over in his chair. He crashed to the floor wearing bug eyes and an open mouth.
“Grandpaaaaaa!” the daughter called out to her grandfather with her hand outstretched. Tears cascaded down her cheeks and her bottom lip quivered.
“Noooooooo!” the wife hollered out in tears, seeing the grandfather gunned down.
“I told you! I warned you both, but he wouldn’t listen.”
Te’Qui looked over his shoulder at Kesha wondering what the fuck happened. They exchanged nods. They had already agreed they wouldn’t kill anyone there unless they tried something, so Te’Qui already knew that the old man had tested his lady’s gangsta.
“Ahhhhh! Ahhhhh! Ahhhhh!” the daughter screamed over and over again, hysterically. Her mother pressed her face against her bosom and rocked her as she cried her eyes out.
“Mi padre!” Armon frowned up and tears spilled down his cheeks. Seeing his father lying there dead fucked him up.
Te’Qui nudged the back of Armon’s head and said, “You see that? Huh? You see that shit? Now, gimme the keys to that truck out there, or yo’ wife’s next.”
“Fuck you, puto! I’m not finna give you shit! Suck my cock!” Armon spat heatedly, looking up at Te’Qui.
“Alright, my nigga, you remember you did this to yo’ self!” Te’Qui told him. He then looked at Kesha and said, “Put one in his wife’s thankin’ cap!”
“Please, no! Ahhhhhh!” the wife shrilled as Kesha grabbed her by her hair and slung her to the floor. Her daughter fell beside her on the floor, still crying from seeing her grandfather murdered in cold blood.
Kesha then pressed her sneaker down against the wife’s chest and pointed her gun at her forehead.
“Sorry,” Kesha said to the wife before she acted on her man’s command.
“No! Stop! Wait, I’ll give you the keys!” Armon told Te’Qui over his shoulder.
“Good boy.” Te’Qui smiled and ruffled his head. “Now, where them keys at?”
Armon took one of his bloody hands from off his wounded leg and removed the necklace from around his neck which held the key to the Chevy Tahoe parked in the driveway.
Te’Qui snatched the keys and stashed them in his pocket. He then threw a pair of zip-cuffs down beside Armon and ordered him to put them on. Afterwards, he told Kesha to put zip-cuffs on Armon’s wife and daughter. Kesha tucked her gun and pulled out the zips, restraining the mother and daughter’s wrists with them. Once she finished, she stood upright and walked over to her man.
“What about the keys to the Blazer?” Kesha asked. She’d just recalled seeing the Blazer parked behind the Chevy Tahoe they were hired to steal.
Te’Qui turned to Armon. “Where the keys to that piece of shit parked behind the Tahoe?”
“It’s in my right pocket,” Armon nodded to his right pocket, and Te’Qui pulled the keys out of it. He handed the keys to both vehicles to Kesha and told her to pull the car out while he held down the house.
“Once you pull out the Tahoe, take that bitch to the location. You know where I’m talkin’ ‘bout, right?” Te’Qui asked her.
“Yeah, bae, I got chu.”
“Good.”
Kesha kissed her man goodbye and went off to handle her business. Once he heard her toot the horn of the Tahoe and drive off, Te’Qui knew that she’d carried out the assignment he’d given her. Once this signal was given, Te’Qui kicked Armon across the chin and knocked him out cold. He then ran out of the house and hopped the backyard fence, jumping down onto the graveled ground of the alley. Next, he scaled the gate of the house who’s owners weren’t home and darted to the front of the house where he procured the car he’d came there in. Jumping behind the wheel, he fired up the car and sped off to his next destination.
***
Calhoun, the nigga that had hired Te’Qui to steal the Chevy Tahoe, stood out on his porch taking pulls from a Black & Mild and blowing smoke into the air. He glanced at the time on his cell phone and then looked back up, wondering what was keeping Te’Qui and his girl. The young thug had called him half an hour ago and told him that they were on the way.
“Where this mothafucka at?” Calhoun asked no one in particular.
“They still haven’t come, baby?” a feminine voice said from his rear. He looked over his shoulder and found the silhouette of his wife who happened to be holding their newborn child. The only thing that could be made out about the mother and her daughter were their silhouettes.
As soon as Calhoun’s wife posed the question, Te’Qui and Kesha pulled up one after another. Te’Qui rolled down the passenger window and leaned over to holler out of the window.
“Yo’, where you want me to park this mothafucka, Blood?” Te’Qui inquired.
“Pull into the back, at the garage door,” Calhoun motioned with his hand. As Te’Qui followed his instructions, he turned around to his wife. “Close the door and go to bed, baby. I’ll be back inside inna minute.”
With that having been said, Calhoun’s wife shut the door and went back inside. Once she was gone, Calhoun pulled his robe around his waist tighter and tied it around him. He then flicked his Black & Mild to the ground and mashed it out under his house slipper, leaving black ash and burning embers behind. Next, he jogged up the steps and grabbed what looked like a leather bowling bag stashed behind the balcony. He then headed to his backyard, hearing the slamming of car doors as he went along. By the time he rounded the corner of his house, he saw Te’Qui and Kesha looking in his direction, waiting for him.
“’Sup, man? I was beginnin’ to worry,” Calhoun said to Te’Qui, walking past him.
“Shiiiit, I’m pushin’ a stolin’ ride, I hadda take a couple of back streets to stay off the radar. You feel what I’m sayin’?” Te’Qui asked him.
“I feel you, big dawg,” Calhoun switched hands with the bag he was toting and lifted the door of his garage. He then stepped aside and told Te’Qui to drive the Tahoe inside. Once he did, Calhoun and Kesha walked inside behind him. Calhoun closed the garage door behind them and sat the bag aside. He then grabbed a jack and pulled it over to the Tahoe, pumping the pole of the jack up and down. It took about fifteen pumps before the jack had the truck’s back wheels off the ground. Once he’d done this, he popped open his tool box and removed a couple of tools, which he used to remove the muffler of the SUV.
Te’Qui and Kesha exchanged glances, wondering what the fuck Calhoun was doing. Te’Qui then turned to him and said, “What chu doin’, my nigga?”
“You’ll see, youngsta. Gimme a sec’,” Calhoun walked the muffler over to the iron table at the corner of the garage. He put on a pair of workman gloves and protective eye wear. Next, he picked up the electric chainsaw and pulled its trigger, causing the jagged edged blade to spin around. The sound of the spinning blade filled the air. Sparks flew everywhere as he used the saw to cut open the muffler. He sat the saw aside, pulled his eye wear back at the top of his head and then pried the muffler open. A smile spread across his face as he feasted his eyes on six blocks of dope wrapped in aluminum foil.
Calhoun picked up one of the blocks and turned around to Te’Qui, smiling. “You see, the truck I couldn’t give a rat’s ass about. This is what I was really after.”
“That’s what’s up. Now, where that paypa at?” Te’Qui asked, rubbing his hands together greedily. Calhoun pointed to the bowling ball styled bag on the ground and he picked it up. Holding it against his body, he unzipped it and marveled at the stacks of blue faces stuffed inside of it.
“You can count it up here, if you want,” Calhoun told him.
“Nah, I trust you. We outta here, G,” Te’Qui dapped up Calhoun and he and Kesha made their departure.
***
Te’Qui jumped out of his old school box Chevy and slammed the door shut behind him. He made his way around the grill of the vehicle and headed for the entrance doors of Rite Aid, hands stuffed into the pockets of his sagging jeans. He’d just crossed the threshold of the establishment when his shoulder was clipped by a man wearing a royal blue Nike sun visor cap and matching Nike basketball jersey. Instantly, a frown enveloped Te’Qui’s face and he turned around scowling, pulling his jeans upon his ass. Right there on a spot, he got into a fighting stance. He planned to knock whoever had bumped his shoulder the fuck out if they bucked on him.
“Yo’, my nigga, watch where the fuck you goin’!” Te’Qui mad dogged the man as he clenched his fists.
“Nah, nigga, you watch where...” The man’s words died in his mouth once he saw who he’d bumped. The disdained expression dropped from his face and he took his hand from underneath his jersey. “Te’Qui? Is that chu?”
“Poochie?”Te’Qui took a closer look at the man and narrowed his eyelids.
Poochie adjusted the visor on his head and smiled, saying, “Yeah, it’s me! I ain’t seen yo’ ass in a minute, fool! What that shit do, my boy?” he switched hands with the bag he was holding and slapped hands with Te’Qui.
“Ain’t shit, dawg. How you been?” Te’Qui inquired as he took a step back and gave his old running buddy the once over. He could tell by his red nose and constant sniffling he was still snorting cocaine like a mothafucka. There weren’t any doubts about it.
“Everythang is copacetic. You know a nigga workin’ for Quervo now, so I stay witta grip. Know what I’m sayin’?” Poochie pulled on his nose and exposed the diamond and gold handcuff he was wearing and smiled. He then held up the gold necklace that was dangling down his chest.
The necklace held onto a gold dog milk bone which was flooded with diamonds and boasted his name, Poochie.
Te’Qui appeared to be astonished when he saw all the jewelry Poochie was stunting in. A year ago the nigga was posted up inside of a gas station asking people to pump their petro for spare change. Now here he was bragging, boasting and shining like new diamonds.
Te’Qui pulled into the Valero gas station off of Avalon with YG’s - Why You Always Hatin? Rattling his trunk. Leaving his old school box Chevy running, he hopped out of it and walked around it pulling his sagging red Dickies upon his ass. He made it to the bulletproof partition which the clerk sat behind and paid for his gas as well as a pack of Newport shorts. After he pocketed his change, he walked back to his Chevy, seeing someone shuffling around it. He thought it was his homeboy Poochie who he hadn’t seen in a while, but shook that thought from his head. You see, the dude he’d clocked was shabbily dressed and he could smell him from where he was. His homeboy Poochie was a clean cut, snazzy dressing nigga that was known to keepa pocket full of money and some fly-ass jewels around his neck. So he couldn’t be him...or could he?
“Yo’, my nigga, fuck you doin’ around my car?” Te’Qui frowned up as he approached his hood classic car.
“Oh, I don’t mean no disrespect, homie. I was just tryna see if I could pump yo’ gas for whatever spare change you willin’ to bless me with.” the shabbily dressed dude cracked a dimpled smile. He smiled because he knew how important it was to be in high spirits when trying to earn a couple of dollars in the streets. He found out rather quickly that people were more likely to give their money to someone with an upbeat personality than someone who appeared to be sulking.
Te’Qui narrowed his eyelids into slits and leaned forward trying to get a good look at the nigga standing at the rear of his vehicle. “Yo’, Poochie, is that chu, Blood?”
The man narrowed his eyelids and closer too. “Te’Qui?”
“Yeah, dawg, it’s me.” Te’Qui smiled broadly and approached Poochie. He slapped hands with his old road dawg and embraced him, patting him on his back. His face scrunched up as he got a whiff of him. Poochie noticed the look on Te’Qui’s face and a look of embarrassment crossed his face.
“My bad, fam. I know a nigga fonky and shit. I look bad, too. You see my threads,” Poochie looked over his tattered clothing. When he looked back up at Te’Qui, he could see the hurt and hopelessness bleeding from his eyes. He wasn’t used to seeing his man like this. Poochie from off of 25th and Griffith was looking tore up from the floor up.
“It’s alright, my nigga. I’ve been where you were. This is just a minor setback for a major come back.” He told him as he watched him remove the nozzle to pump the gas into his car. While he was doing this, they chopped it up about the past and the present. Once the gas was done pumping, Poochie placed the nozzle back into its rightful place. When he turned back around, Te’Qui was holding out ten one-hundred dollar bills. Poochie couldn’t believe his eyes. He thought that he’d get a couple of bucks from his child hood friend, but not a g-stack.
“Thanks, dawg. I really appreciate this,” Poochie said as he stuffed the money into his pocket.
“Don’t wet it. You gotta pardon a nigga for being nosy, but I’ve gotta ask...what happened in yo’ life that led you here?” he folded his arms across his chest.
“Well, you know I was already out here willin’ and dealin’, right? One night my curiosity got the best of me and I tried the shit. I wanted to see what it was about this shit that got niggaz hooked on it. Well, my ass found out. Now, I’m stuck on it. Doin’ any and everything I have to to get high. A nigga like me that had the world at the palm of his hands fucked it off chasin’ after some gotdamn coke. Who woulda thought?” His eyes grew watery and he shook his head, feeling ashamed that he allowed himself to go out over some drugs.
“Hold up.” Te’Qui reached inside of his vehicle. He then looked around to make sure that there wasn’t anyone watching him before he pulled out a small Ziploc of coke. He pulled Poochie closer to him and stuffed it in the pocket inside of his jacket. “That ain’t much, but it should hold you until you get cho self anotha fix.”
“Thanks, man.” Poochie dapped him up.
“You ain’t gotta thank me, Blood. I’m just lookin’ out for a friend. I’m sho’ you’d do the same for me, right?” Te’Qui asked as he jumped inside of his whip and pulled the driver’s door shut.
“Most def’.” he nodded as he stuffed the Ziploc further down inside of his jacket’s pocket.
“That’s what I know. Now, look, I want chu to do me a favor.”
Poochie leaned down to the driver’s window and rested his arms upon the windowsill. “Anything, my nigga.”
“Don’t spend alla that loot on yo’ habit. I want chu to get cho self some clothes, somethin’ hot to eat and a place to hole up for a while. Okay?”
“I got chu, dawg. I’ma do just that. I’ma pay you back to. I may be broke as a joke right now, but once I get right, I’ma repay you for lookin’ out for a nigga. Mark my words.”
“I believe you, homeboy. No doubt.” He dapped him up and told him to stay up before pulling out of the gas station. Poochie stood where he was looking at Te’Qui as he drove off. Once he was out of sight, he pulled the small Ziploc from out of his jacket’s pocket and looked at it in the palm of his hand. He then closed the bag inside of his hand and ran off into the night to get high.
***
Man, it’s crazy how a nigga can be down one minute and then up the next. The drug game is bipolar as a mothafucka. That’s why I stay on this ski-mask shit. A young nigga can’t see his self shedding blood, sweat and tears while working a spot or corner for the next nigga. I ain’t no hoe! Fuck I look like clockin’ figures and then lettin’ some other mothafucka check my dollas? Motha fuck that! Ain’t nan nigga out here gon’ pimp me!
“I see you, lil’ daddy, doin’ yo’ thug thizzle out here in these streets. I ain’t mad at chu, loved one.” Te’Qui cracked a smirk which caused Poochie to smile broadly. He knew how niggaz like him loved to have their egos stroked and he didn’t mind doing it. You see, to him, a real nigga should be able to salute another nigga’z accomplishments. He was proud to see any black man come up, whether it was on some street shit or some legal shit. “Get yours, and then some. You feel me? ‘Cause ain’t nobody out here gon’ give you a damn thang.”
“You ain’t never lied, niggaz ain’t gon’ give you shit. Well, every nigga out here besides you. You always looked out when I ran into you. A nigga was fucked up out here in these streets, boy, so I ‘fore sho’ appreciate every goddamn dolla you blessed me with. You feelin’ me, dawg?”
“Sho’ you right.” Te’Qui nodded.
“I don’t know how I could ever repay you, G. For real, for real.”
“I can think of a way you can pay yo’ debt, if you know what I’m gettin’ at.” he smiled and rubbed his hands together greedily. He had a hunger in his eyes as he licked his lips. That nigga Poochie knew this look well. Te’Qui had came up with a scheme to get some money.
“You still on that kick doe shit, dawg?”
Te’Qui shrugged and said, “Aye, you know my M.O. You know any niggaz out here I can put that fiyah to and make ‘em drop it like it’s hot?”
There was a moment of silence as Poochie stared at Te’Qui, wondering what he should say to him. Once he came to his conclusion, he went on to speak. “Nah, I don’t know anybody you could knock over, but I’ll get at chu should I come across any. How’s that?”
“Oh, fa sho.”
Te’Qui watched as Poochie pulled his iPhone out of his pocket and went straight to his contacts.
“Shoot me yo’ line,” Poochie told him, eyes focused on the screen of his cell phone; its illumination shining in his face being that the foyer of CVS was dimly lit thanks to a couple of lights in the ceiling having blown out.
As Te’Qui gave Poochie his telephone number he studied his outfit as well as the jewelry he had on. In addition to the icy gold handcuff on his wrist and the iced out dog bone, he had huge square diamond earrings in his lobes and a gold, blue face Rolex watch, scarcely surrounded by diamonds. For the first time in his life, doing something scandalous to someone he had love for invaded his brain. He wanted to pull out and make Poochie’s ass drop it like it’s hot, and leave his ass right there in CVS’s parking lot in his boxers. Now, as bad as he wanted to do something that foul, he wasn’t going to execute those thoughts in his head. He had mad love for Poochie. They came up on free lunch together and ran the streets as adolescents. He, Baby Wicked and himself were like the Three Musketeers at one point. So, he couldn’t bring himself to lay his 2-1-1 game down on him.
Nahhhh, Blood, how the fuck that look, me makin’ this fool Poochie break himself? I’m fucked up, but I ain’t that fucked up! You can’t burn every bridge you cross. Besides, I’m sure he’s gon’ eventually bless me with a money move in the future.
“Alright. I locked you in,” Poochie announced as he slipped his cellular back inside of his jeans. When he did this, Te’Qui took note of the Glock in his waistline. “I’ll holla at chu once I get somethin’, pimp. It’s the least I can do for one of the realest niggaz in the streets, ya heard?”
“All day.”
Poochie dapped up Te’Qui. In that moment, Te’Qui saw his nose dripping a mixture of snot and blood; a result of sniffing too much mothafucking coke. The nigga loved cocaine, and Te’Qui was sure he was going to die of an overdose one day if he didn’t give his nose a break from it.
“Take it easy, my nigga.” Poochie walked away sniffling and touching the moisture he felt below his nose. When he looked he saw traces of blood in his green snot which was on his fingertip and thumb.
“You do the same, homie.” Te’Qui watched Poochie’s back as he trekked through the parking lot, heading for a black on black BMW truck with all gold trimmings. That bitch had limousine tinted windows and gold rims. Te’Qui openly admired the SUV and saluted his nigga’z accomplishments.
Poochie fired up his truck and zoomed out of the parking lot banging RJ’s Get Rich. Once he’d disappeared before Te’Qui’s eyes, the young gangsta bopped off into CVS to get what he’d come there for in the first place. A home pregnancy test.
***
Te’Qui posted up outside the bathroom door waiting for Kesha to deliver the results from her pregnancy test. She’d been in the bathroom nearly twenty minutes so he couldn’t help wondering what the hold up was. The suspense was killing him so he decided to see what was up with her. He was just about to knock on the door when he heard the lock coming undone. He stood in the doorway as the door was pulled open and he found himself standing face to face with Kesha. She looked up into his eyes and smiled hard as she held up the white stick. Te’Qui took the stick from her and looked at it. A smile spread across his face once he saw the blue plus sign on it.
“Oh, shit! I’m gonna be a father.” Te’Qui said excitedly, like he couldn’t believe it.
“That’s right.” Kesha nodded.
“And you gonna be a...”
“A mom.” She nodded.
“I love you.” He said as he looked into her eyes.
“I love you even more.” She matched his gaze and threw her arms around his neck, kissing him.
Te’Qui was on his way home from a welcome home party for his homeboy Shottie when he first met Kesha. He’d pulled to a stop light when she’d crashed into the back of him. When he glanced up into the rearview mirror and saw an old school Buick Regal on them chrome thangz, he just knew it was a nigga as G as him behind those tinted windows and would more than likely want to show his ass. With that in mind, Te’Qui grabbed the paperwork to his vehicle out of the glove-box and snatched his Glizzy from underneath the driver’s seat. After he tucked his shit on his waistline, he jumped out of his car mad dogging, hard as fuck. Approaching the rear of his vehicle, he glanced at the bumper and his shit was dented. His head snapped into the direction of the car of the mothafucka that hit him, wondering why the fuck he hadn’t gotten out yet. Just as he was about to approach the car, the driver’s door of the Regal swung open. The first thing that came out of the Buick was a pair of thick, shapely legs accompanied by short top burgundy Chuck Taylors. Right after came the head and body of a gorgeous woman. She wore her hair in dread locks and the 4Niners jersey she had on showed off her flat stomach and the diamond piercing in her navel. Te’Qui couldn’t take his eyes off of her. Little momma was visually stunning.
Kesha approached Te’Qui rubbing the back of her aching neck and wincing. She looked at the damage to both cars before casting her apologetic eyes into Te’Qui’s direction.
“I’m so sorry. This is my fault. This is what my ass gets for tryna text and drive,” Kesha told him, feeling sorry for rear ending Te’Qui’s car. She then looked him over to see if he had been injured. “Are you okay? Should I call an ambulance?”
“Nah, I’m, I’m...” Te’Qui stuttered having been struck stupid by Kesha’s beauty. He then shook it off and continued with what he had to say. “I’m good. Are you alright, though?”
“My neck is killing me, but I’ll be fine. I’ma head over to emergency once we get this taken care of. Limme grab my insurance papers out of the glove-box so we can exchange info. I’ll be right back.” Kesha walked off with Te’Qui eyes glued to her skin tight black jeans, watching her bodacious ass swing from left to right. He admired the sculp of her bottom as she reached inside of her vehicle through the front passenger window to grab her insurance papers out of the glove box. He observed her place some papers on the hood of her car and jot something down on it. Once she finished she advanced in his direction, looking over the papers. Kesha gave Te’Qui her insurance information and took down his for herself.
“Again, I’m sorry about all of this. I’ma call my insurance company as soon as I get home and let ‘em know what happened.”
“I appreciate that; good lookin’ out.”
Silence fell between Kesha and Te’Qui as they stood in the street staring into one another’s eyes. Suddenly, Kesha decided to break the ice again.
“Listen, I feel awful about this. How about chu let me take you out to dinner to make up for it. What do ya say, huh?” she touched his hand affectionately, while holding his gaze and hoping he’d agree to go out with her.
“It’s all good. You ain’t gotta do that. I’m sure yo’ insurance company will take care of me.” He held up the paper containing her car insurance information.
“Please, I insist. Besides, it’s the least I could do. I mean, look at cho shit. If I was you, I woulda jumped outta my car and beat my ass.” She glanced at the dented bumper of Te’Qui’s car and then focused her attention back on him. She looked at him with sad eyes and a pouty lip; fingers interlocked implying she was begging him. Te’Qui pretended to think it over a moment before answering. He was feeling Kesha but he didn’t want to come off as thirsty. Once he figured he’d made her sweat long enough, he nodded his head and agreed to go out to dinner with her. As soon as he did a big ass smile spread across Kesha’s face and she jumped excitedly. She pulled her cellular from out of the back pocket of her jeans and programmed Te’Qui’s telephone number into it. Once she’d locked his digits into her cell phone, she gave him a friendly hug and promised she’d call him soon to set up a date and time for them to go out for dinner. This was one year ago.
Te’Qui scooped Kesha up into his arms and carried her down the hallway. He kicked open their bedroom door and walked her over to the bed, where he laid her down. He slither between her legs and cupped her face as he kissed her. Slowly, they began peeling off one another’s clothing until they were nude. That night they made hot, sweaty, passionate love and fell asleep, afterwards.
Later that night Te’Qui woke up to find Kesha asleep with her arms around him. He smiled when he looked over his shoulder and saw her beautiful face. He removed his arm from around her and slid out of the bed, causing her to stir awake, looking at him through narrowed eyelids.
“Where you going, bae?” Kesha asked him and yawned, stretching her arms.
“I gotta piss, I’ll be right back. Go back to sleep.” Te’Qui kissed her on the forehead.
“I love you.”
“I love you more.”
Kesha smirked and puckered her lips for a kiss. Te’Qui chuckled and smiled before kissing her. Afterwards, she lay back down in bed and fell right back to sleep. Te’Qui covered her with the sheets and headed inside of the bathroom, flipping on the light switch and shutting the door behind him.Once Te’Qui relieved his bladder and washed his hands, he walked back inside of his bedroom. He picked up the remote control and turned on the flat screen which was mounted on the wall. As soon as the television set came on it cast a light on Kesha and the bed. Te’Qui looked to see if the illumination had disturbed her but it hadn’t.
Te’Qui walked back to the bed with the remote control. He picked a club flyer up from off his dresser that someone had left on the windshield of his car while he was in the super market with Kesha a few days ago.He sat the remote control down in place of the flyer and propped himself up in bed with his pillow. He used the light shining on him from the TV’s screen to look at the flyer again.
On the front of it there was a big time drug dealer known around the city as Enzo. The nigga was holding a bottle of Ace of Spades in either hand and had four of the finest bitchez Te’Qui had ever seen in his life with their hands on him. The flyer was advertising the kingpin’s birthday bash which was going down tomorrow night. As T.J. continued to study the flyer a jovial expression spread across his face. A plan had formed in his mind that would make his bank account even fatter.