Chapter 36

The Partner

Hoes couldn’t run up on a nigga for the night and catch a “come-up.” The designer tricks were back to seeing the local booster for their fashionable wear. Dudes stood on the corners holding meetings about what they used to have and what they used to push. The game was seeing the darkness, and the damage was putting Earl in a very tense place. From all the money he’d robbed and all the work he’d stolen, he could open a spot of his own, but he knew he had to be careful how he ran his shit.

Earl decided he had to re-group, and in the interim, he and Eddy became a real couple. He picked her up from school, and she went home to cook his meals and wait for him to return.

Her luck was finally changing for the better. After a few weeks, she quit her job and became whatever Earl wanted her to be.

“Breito, what are you going to do with all this shit in the closet? I can barely get to my clothes because of these damn duffel bags and knapsacks.”

“Move it out the way, and put it back when you finished.”

“Easy for you to say. Why don’t you start selling this shit? I bet you got enough in there to take me on a cruise,” she teased.

“And who am I supposed to sell it to? Your husband?”

“Sell it back to some of the niggas you got it from. You become their suppliers with their shit.”

Earl smiled, knowing she meant well, but the game wasn’t predictable.

***

Eddy turned to Earl before she went bed. “Think for a moment, Breito,” she said. “This shit is just taking up space, and there are niggas out there just looking for connections. You can re-bag it with your own seal and call it Tech-9 if you want, but you could make the money. When you get the return, go see your pops and Ms. Maddy to keep the steamboat rolling.”

“How long have you been meaning to have this conversation with me?” he asked innocently.

“You really want know?” She laughed. “Since the day I came to your room to clean it and saw the duffel bag.”

“Ah, so that means all these weeks you haven’t been after my body and sexy smile?”

Eddy, strutting toward the bed, began stripping off her clothes until she was standing there wearing only a satin and lace bustier with matching panties.

“I’ve always been after your body, especially when I would hide in the closet and watch you and Eve doing the nasty. It was the way your dark skin looked next to her light complexion. Right now I’m getting horny just thinking about it.”

Earl waited patiently for her to get closer before he pulled the clip from her hair and watched her tresses fall neatly down her back. He loved her boldness. She didn’t hide from anything, and she had no qualms with doing all the things he thought exciting.

“What’s your pleasure, mami?”

“I haven’t completely decided yet,” she answered, taking off his wife-beater. “How about you lie back and I’ll work it out on my own.”

She pushed him gently toward the bed and began rubbing the head of his penis through his silk boxers. Then she dropped to her knees and bowed her head.

“Damn!” Earl tangled his hands in the mess of curls in his lap. For every bob of her head, he hoisted his hips to meet her stroke.

“Mami, stop. Please stop. I’m about to explode.”

Words like that were an aphrodisiac for Eddy. She wouldn’t stop, no matter how many times he cried out. She gripped his waist and held him in place until he gave her every drop of his liquid.

Relaxing in the afterglow, Earl thought about Eddy and the extent of their friendship. He really wanted to talk to her now rather than play. “What would you do if this was your shit?” he asked, gesturing toward the closet.

Eddy rolled over and sat up in bed. The smirk on her face said she’d thought about all that too. Her eyes danced as she spoke, explaining detail by detail how to work things.

“That dude, Young Gotti, he lost more than everybody when Quinton first came back. I’d be where that nigga hangs out, feeding him slowly and putting the idea in his head that we could make it happen. I’d use his resentment against Quinton to my advantage until he started badmouthing those muthafuckas too. Once he flips and niggas start to see him climb, it’s over. My team of soldiers would be the niggas Quinton threw away.”

“You’re forgetting one thing, Edd—Those soldiers you are talking about flipping are the same ones I beat, robbed, and shot, and whose workers I murdered.”

“No, I didn’t. First of all, we’re talking about me, and this is my operation, not The Dread’s.”

Eddy stopped talking long enough to let her words sink in. The light went on, and Earl understood exactly what she was saying.

“Gotti would become my point man,” she continued, “especially since you never got a chance to get at him. He was just swindling from the till. I’d let his balls drop from his stomach, and then I’d steal those shits from him if he ever tried to steal from me.”

Earl laughed. “Just how would you make him fear you? With your beauty?”

“No, that’s how I’ll get him to listen. With the heavy weight of a nickel-plated gun and one of the most dangerous natty dreads on my side, we can’t lose,” she whispered seriously.

Earl leaned back, giving full thought to her plan. It was good enough, but she hadn’t factored the NYPD into the equation. They would certainly be up on any new superstars rising from the rubble.

“Let’s say I give you a chance to make this happen. You have to think about the risk. There can’t be any hesitation or second-guessing me when I tell you something. If I say run, pick up and run. Don’t look back, don’t stop to pack, just move. Do you understand?”

“Breito, I—”

“You will move when I say. No excuses, no explanations, just do it. Or we can forget about doing this.”

Eddy was stunned. Earl had always been gentle and soft with his requests. He’d always given her a chance to voice her opinion. She just nodded.

“I’m letting you have your chance for a host of different reasons. Some are pure greed, others are because you’re smart, beautifully sexy, and I believe you are a hustler waiting for your chance. Here it is. For better or worse, we’re in this together.”

“Thank you!” She giggled. “I can be everything you need me to be.”

“Nah, mamacita, just be what the streets require when you’re in them, and be what your man expects when we’re in here like this.” He pulled at the tiny fabric covering her triangle.

***

Gotti wanted to change his nickname to Depression. That was how bad things had gotten. No one wanted to fuck with him. He couldn’t get a loan, and he couldn’t get any product to hustle his way back out. He was down to the last few pieces of jewelry his girl was willing to part with to keep them afloat. He hated Q for embarrassing him and stripping him of everything. The only thing that kept him going each day was the fact that he would one day see them all cave and fold. He just wished he could be part of their destruction.

Eddy was standing next to her broken down Volkswagen Beetle, pretending to be stranded, when she spotted Gotti heading her way. Damn, she thought, money must be what makes a man, ’cause he is looking worse than my car.

Gotti no longer cared about his appearance. His hair was fuzzy and matted, his clothes looked like he’d been sleeping in them, and he smelled like a chimney.

“Excuse me, can you help me?” Eddy called. “I got a flat, no money for a tow, and no way to get home.”

“Nah, baby, I ain’t got no money to help, but if you got a spare, I may be able to help you out.” As he worked, he tried to place her beautiful smile, but it eluded him.

Gotti made light work of changing the tire.

“Thank you so much,” Eddy said. “I’ve been standing here for almost an hour, and it’ll be dark soon. My worthless ex-boyfriend sold me this car, and I’ve had bad luck with it ever since. I don’t have money today, but if you call me, I can give you something for your trouble, handsome.”

Gotti knew he was anything but cute right then, but he accepted the compliment and the number. “No payment necessary, but maybe when things are a little better, we could get a few drinks and talk. Maybe hanging out with a beautiful woman will change my luck,” he joked.

“Thanks for the compliment, but if you want drinks, there’s a spot across the street. Let’s meet there tomorrow about six, and I can properly thank you for your help.”

“That sounds like a plan, pretty lady. I’m Gotti. And you are?” He thought she looked just like Eve, but she was younger and maybe even a little prettier.

“I’m Gotti’s new lady luck. You can call me Lady E,” she joked. “No, for real, my name is Endira.”

“Well, Lady E, nice to meet you, and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

***

The next day, after Eddy explained her plan to Gotti, he didn’t hesitate to move with her. At the least, he figured, he’d get some work and some pussy. That was until Eddy made it clear that the arrangement was pure business. The moment the smile disappeared, he knew for sure she had to be kin to Eve. She was a dead ringer for Eve. Damn, he thought, down to the cold-ass stare.

***

It didn’t take long for the streets to notice the new-and-improved Young Gotti. In a few weeks he had turned thing into a gold factory. He was undercutting prices, offering two-for-one deals, and taking no consignment. He was back riding high in a bigger truck. The clothes and jewels he wore made many envious, but no one dared to test him. They knew the hunger it took to come back from where he’d fallen. They knew this time he was prepared to defend his success by any means necessary. He walked with a new attitude and heavily taxed niggas who laughed when he was struggling.

Earl and Eddy’s intricate plan had paid off.