Chapter Six

On The Run

 

A light rain fell outside as Vida looked out of the window of a New Jersey motel that she and Tia checked into with Tia’s fake ID. They were right outside of New York so there would be no problem hooking up with Tonio.

Looking over her shoulder at Tia who was sleeping like a baby, Vida sighed and shook her head as she thought about their situation. Stressed out, she lit the Backwood full of weed and took a long pull as she turned her gaze back out the window. Her mind was consumed with all the shit she and Tia were now caught up in. Ain’t no looking back now, she thought as she blew a grayish cloud of smoke into the air. The future looked dark and hopeless, but Vida knew she had to deal with whatever came her way at this point. Thoughts of her grandmother came to mind as she continued puffing on the Backwood. She shook her head as she thought about how she’d promised her grandmother that she would change her life for the better. In reality, Vida had changed her life for the better but when Moe-Moe was kidnapped she had no control of the drama that followed. “Damn,” Vida whispered to herself. “I’m sorry, Grandma.”

“Who you talkin’ to, Vee?” Tia said in a groggy voice as she wiped sleep out of her eyes.

“Huh?” Vida turned to face Tia.

“Who was you talkin’ to?” Tia sat up, yawning and stretching.

Vida shrugged. “I was just thinkin’ out loud, I guess.” Vida walked over and sat on the bed beside Tia.

“What you thinkin’ out loud about?”

“All this bullshit that we done got into.”

Vida hit the Backwood long and smooth, holding the smoke in her lungs she passed the Backwood to Tia.

Tia hit it and closed her eyes as she held the strong smoke in her lungs.

“Vee, shit is what it is. We can’t trip off of what we can’t control.” Vida looked at Tia with a smirk on her face and shook her head. “What?” Tia blew smoke in the air.

“You wild as shit, Tee.”

“Vee, I’m just lookin’ at this shit for what it’s worth. We in too deep, boo… it’s all or nothin’.”

Vida nodded in agreement. “Yeah, you right.”

Tia passed Vida the Backwood.

Vida took a quick pull and said. “Fuck it.” She was high as shit now, feeling at ease. “We might as well try to hook up wit’ Tonio today and get out of this cheap-ass motel.”

Standing up, stretching again, Tia said, “Sounds like a plan to me.”

“I hope Tonio can help us, Tee.”

“You know main man got pull, I know he can help us.” Tia walked over to the TV and cut it on. On BET they were talking about the news of Lil Kim going to prison. Tia turned to the local news, nothing there caught her attention. However, when she turned to CNN her heart skipped a beat and she got a sick feeling in her stomach. Pictures of Vida and Tia were on the screen, the story was about how they were wanted for the murder of police officers in Baltimore and D.C. Tia cut the TV off.

“Why you do that?” Vida asked.

“We don’t need to hear that shit. We know all we need to know, they on our ass.”

Vida sighed and shook her head. “At least we look a little different right now.”

“Yeah, that should get us by for a minute in New York, it’s millions of faces all over the city.”

Tia headed for the bathroom. “I’ma take a shower real quick, when I get out I’ma call Tonio from the pay phone.”

“Bet,” Vida laid back on the bed, stressed out. Fuck it, she told herself. She thought about Tonio for a second and wondered if she and Tia could really trust him to help them out. Thinking about Tonio made Vida think about her ex-boyfriend Daddieo. Daddieo and Vida could never be cool again, not after Daddieo started fucking with No Draws. After a little thought Vida told herself that Tonio was the best shot she and Tia had if they were going to survive on the run.

 

****

 

Twenty minutes later, Tia was on a pay phone with Tonio. The pay phone was a few doors down from the motel the girls were staying in. While Vida kept an eye out for anything out of place, Tia explained to Tonio that she needed to hook up with him because she needed his help. Tonio had seen Vida and Tia on CNN but he still told Tia that she could meet him at his store in Harlem.

Tia looked at Vida and winked. Addressing Tonio, she said, “We’ll be there in a little while, Tonio.” She hung up the phone and tuned to Vida. “Let’s hit the city.”

 

****

In the back office of, Uptown Gear, in Harlem, Tonio’s urban clothing store, Tonio shook his head as he shut his phone and slipped it in the pocket of his Gucci jeans. He was amazed that Vida and Tia were in so much shit. He respected the girls and had love for them. If there were any way he could help them he would do it.

Lighting a fat-ass Dutch full of haze, Tonio took a seat on the soft, black leather sofa that sat against the back wall and grabbed the remote. He cut on the 60” plasma TV that hung from the wall of the plush office. He put the TV on ESPN and kicked his feet up on the coffee table as he enjoyed the haze.

A knock on the door grabbed his attention. “Yeah, come in.” Tonio shouted.

Tonio’s man, Born, came in the office and shut the door behind him. Born was sort of an enforcer for Tonio. Since Born wasn’t good at getting money in the drug game, Tonio paid him to collect money and put heads to bed if niggas got out of line. Born was good at that and had been good at that since his teenage years. He looked a lot like the Philly rapper, Beanie Sigel.

“What’s up, son?” Tonio said. He could tell that something was on Born’s mind. “What’s on your mind?”

“If it ain’t one thing, it’s another,” Born said shaking his head and taking a seat in the black leather chair to the right of Tonio. “Son we got a problem…” he rubbed his chin. “Word on the streets is a nigga got a hit out on you, kid.”

Tonio remained calm and blew smoke in the air. It wasn’t the first time he’d learned that someone wanted him dead.

“You know who got the hit on me?” Tonio leaned over and passed Born the Dutch.

“I’m on it, but I’m not sure who put it out yet.” Born took a long pull on the Dutch and held the smoke as he spoke.

Tonio nodded, understandingly. He wondered who had the hit on him. He was getting tons of money and knew for a fact that haters were around every corner.

“You know who took the hit?” He asked Born.

“I ain’t sure, but my man in Brooklyn on top of that for me right now.”

Born blew smoke in the air and passed the Dutch back to Tonio.

“I’ma have a name real soon and I’ma put a bullet between his eyes.”

Tonio smirked. “That’s why I fuck wit’ you, son. You ‘bout your business.” He took a pull on the Dutch. “How you come across this info?”

Born smiled, watching ESPN. “You pay me to come across info like this, right?”

“No doubt.”

“I got a man that take hits, he put me up on game, but didn’t have no names at the time. You know how the streets work.”

Tonio nodded.

“I’m by your side everywhere you go until I get to the bottom of this bullshit.”

Nodding his head in agreement, Tonio said, “Cool.” Standing up, Tonio walked to his desk and opened the top drawer. He pulled out a small Uzi pistol. The machine gun had a 25-shot clip. Checking the long clip, Tonio said, “It’s too hot outside to be ridin’ around in a vest so we gon’ have to keep our eyes open. I don’t wanna play no games.”

“Say no more, son.” Born lifted up his Gucci T-shirt and flashed his lightweight bulletproof vest. “But all that about not wearin’ no vest, I ain’t feelin’ that.”

“Yeah, I know, I know.” Tonio pulled out his cell phone and made a quick call. Once he was done with the call he said. “I gotta meet Romel a little later to holla at the connect. I don’t think-”

Born cut Tonio off. “Nah, son, I’m goin’ everywhere wit’ you. Fuck that. I don’t even wanna hear it.”

Tonio smiled and nodded his head. Born was loyal. “I respect that.”

“Good.”

“I got company on the way over here in a few. After that we gon’ slide to the spot and collect that money.”

“Cool.” Born said. “Who’s the company?”

“You saw them D.C. girls on the news this mornin’?” Tonio raised an eyebrow.

“The ones that killed them jakes?”

“Yeah.” Tonio sat on the desk. “They need my help.”

“Ain’t that Daddieo’s old girl?”

“Yeah. I got a lotta love for them girls. They wild as shit though. You were locked up when I was dealin’ wit’ them for real, but you’d love them.” Tonio smiled and shook his head as he thought about how wild the Hell Razor Honeys were. “Son, when I say wild, I mean they will smoke a muthfucka. I ain’t seen no broads like them in a long time.”

“You sure they ain’t gon’ bring us too much heat… shit, they got the feds on they heels.” Born said with a concerned look on his face.

“I thought about that, but fuck it, they need me so I’ma look out as best I can.” Tonio shrugged.

A knock on the office door cut into the conversation.

“Yeah, what’s up?” Tonio yelled.

The door cracked and a pretty brown skinned girl stuck her head in the office.

“Tonio, you got two girls out here lookin’ for you.”

“Send ‘em in, Niya.” Tonio nodded.

Niya disappeared and pulled the door shut.

Looking at Born, Tonio said, “That’s them right there. Let me holla at them alone for a second.

Born stood up. “I’ll be right outside the door.” As Born left the office he passed Vida and Tia. He spoke and couldn’t take his eyes off of them. Tia really caught his attention.

Tonio smiled as Vida and Tia stepped inside his office and shut the door behind them. He hadn’t seen them in a good while. Their new looks fit them well.

“Damn, you two look good as shit.” Tonio walked over and gave Tia and Vida hugs. Although he knew they were on the run, and that had to be stressful for them, he could tell that there was more to Vida’s stress by the cold look in her eyes.

“Have a seat.” He motioned toward the sofa.

Vida and Tia took a seat.

“Want somethin’ to drink?” Tonio asked.

“Nah.” Tia said.

Vida declined shaking her head.

Tonio took a seat in the chair to their right and said, “Well, tell me what’s up. What the hell is goin’ on wit’ y’all?”

Tia explained everything to Tonio, keeping it gangsta. Vida sat back and let Tia do all the talking. Tonio shook his head when Tia told him how Moe-Moe’s cousin was behind all the bullshit that had her and Vida on the run.

Still shaking his head, Tonio said, “That’s some foul shit.”

Tia agreed. “Yeah, I’m hip. So here we are.” She cut her eyes at Vida.

Now Tonio understood why Vida seemed so cold, she’d just lost her husband.

“I’m sorry to hear ‘bout your husband, Vida, I really am. I know how it is to lose somebody that close.”

Tonio paused for a second as he thought about how his old girlfriend had been kidnapped for $500,000. He paid the money and the dirty motherfuckers still murdered his girl. Pushing the painful thoughts out of his head, Tonio looked up at Tia and Vida and said, “I’m here for you. Whatever you need.”

“First of all, we need somewhere safe to lay low, and some new IDs. The ones we got are Baltimore joints. I don’t want shit to connect us to D.C. or Baltimore.” Tia said.

“I feel you,” Tonio rubbed his chin. “I can get right on top of that, that ain’t shit. I’ll get y’all some New York IDs by tomorrow.”

Vida finally spoke up. “Tonio, you think you could get us some passports?”

Tia gave Vida a sideways glance; she knew what Vida was thinking about.

Tonio smiled, nodding his head. “I like that, Vida. You thinkin’ big.”

“It’s no lookin’ back,” Vida shrugged. “They got us all over the news and shit. We can only run for so long.”

Tia nodded. “No bullshit.”

“I gotta check around wit’ a few people, but money will get anything you want. I’m sure we can get two passports, no problem at—.”

Tonio’s words were cut short by the thunderous sounds of gunfire outside of the office door. The gunfire made Tonio, Vida, and Tia jump. They all went for their guns instinctively.