Over the next forty-eight hours, I realized two things:
The stakes were higher than ever.
And there was no going back. When Diamond Tony made you an offer, you didn’t turn it down.
“You start and finish the day at the stash house,” Marcus explained my first day on the job. “We give you the money and the product, and you distribute it to your dealers. You check in on them a few times, see if they need any re-ups. Then you collect and drop it off at the stash house, where one of us execs will count it right away.”
“So this is the stash house,” I said, surveying the grimy walls.
“It is today. It’ll change soon. We used to change it every couple of weeks, but Tony’s taking extra precautions. We gotta stay a step ahead of the cops.”
I nodded, thinking that I could bring a raid on this place anytime I wanted. It would give the cops a sweet photo op, but I doubted Diamond Tony would stop by a stash house to count his money anytime soon.
I’d called Kessler yesterday and told her about my promotion to lieutenant. After several beats of silence, she’d asked, “Are you sure you still want to do this?”
I wasn’t sure about anything. But there was no point in telling her how close I’d come to quitting. It wasn’t an option anymore. “I’m doing it. We’re going to put away Prescott’s killer.”
“It’s not ‘we,’ Darren. Don’t forget that. I’ll do whatever I can to help, but you’re not a CI anymore. You’re on your own out there.”
She didn’t need to remind me.
Marcus’s deep voice brought me back to the present. “Wallop will be here soon to train you. He’s the lieutenant who does the southwest. Tony’s moving him to the northeast. You’re gonna take over for him.”
It took me a minute to process that. The southwest? The busiest and the most dangerous corners, right smack in the middle of Blood/Walker territory? “You’re kidding me.”
He gave me a flat look. “I don’t kid.”
It was true. Marcus had no sense of humor. “I thought you’d want someone with more experience there.”
Judging by Marcus’s expression, I wasn’t owed an explanation. “Tony’s decision, not mine. You want to take it up with him?”
I shook my head. “No, I’m cool with it.”
Wallop showed up soon after. He was short with a fat head and satellite-dish ears. I couldn’t picture him walloping anyone without getting flattened.
“You can follow me around today,” he said as we got into his car, an old Camry littered with fast-food wrappers and empty bottles. “Tomorrow you’re on your own. You got a car?”
“No.”
“Tony’s got a few beaters like this you can use. Cars that don’t attract attention. Marcus will hook you up. I keep my Camaro at home, see. Gotta keep it spotless for the ladies.”
Yeah, right. Wallop must be real popular with the ladies what with his big head and Dumbo ears.
As he drove, he went over some rules of being a lieutenant. No business talk on cell phones. No dealing directly with customers. No using a GPS in the car or writing anything down. No shop talk with anyone but lieutenants or execs. When Wallop was done, he didn’t bother to ask if I had questions; he just turned up the music. It thumped through the car, rattling the windows as we cruised down the freeway.
I turned it down. “So why are you switching to the northeast?”
“They need me there.” He turned the music back up.
That was bullshit and he knew it. The northeast was the quietest area of Tony’s territory. I wished I knew why a newbie like me was being put on the most dangerous corners. I hoped it was because Tony thought I was tough enough to handle them, not because I was the most dispensable.
It wasn’t long before I figured it out.
We stopped by the first corner, where Wallop stocked two street dealers, Busy and Steve. They were ranting about a confrontation they’d had with some Bloods last night. Wallop egged them on. He started talking war and guns and revenge and how they were gonna make everybody pay.
When we hit the second corner, Wallop supplied Two-Bit and P-Free with product, along with a totally exaggerated version of what had happened with Busy and Steve the night before. It was clear what was going on. Wallop was a hothead and an instigator. What these corners needed was a cooler. Somebody who knew that Tony called the shots and nobody else. Somebody who knew that street dealers had to stay on their game, not get caught up in the turf war.
It made perfect sense. I was the cooler.
Later that night, I called my dealers together. We met at the stash house once all the money had been taken elsewhere. I asked Marcus to stick around to give me extra street cred.
“Things are gonna change on the southwest side,” I told them. “Tony’s put me in charge now.”
They weren’t impressed. It didn’t help that I was younger than most of them.
“I don’t want to dis my man Wallop, but I’m gonna do things different. First of all, I’m switching you around. You’re gonna work with different partners from now on.”
That got them riled up. Steve started cursing. “Why you gotta do that?”
“Seems to me like you’re all getting too comfortable out there, and I don’t like it.” I told them the new pairs and their locations.
“I only work good with Steve,” Busy said. “We got a system going. I can’t work with P-Free.”
P-Free glared at him. “You got a problem with me?”
“This ain’t open to negotiation,” I said. “Tony told me to get the job done, and that’s what I’m doing. If you have a problem with me, you can take it to Tony.”
At the mention of Tony’s name, everybody went quiet.
That was the thing about being a lieutenant. When I spoke, I was representing Tony. It gave my words a lot of weight. I felt powerful.
I went over some new rules. Most of them were about staying out of trouble. Don’t carry guns. Don’t mess with the neighborhood mamas. Don’t talk back to the cops. Don’t start anything with the Bloods.
“Tony and his executives are dealing with the Bloods,” I said, and Marcus nodded. “If you start something on the street, you’re getting in their way. Do you hear me?”
The guys grudgingly agreed, but I could tell they were pissed off. If they weren’t so afraid of Tony, I bet they’d be spitting in my face right now.
I didn’t care. I didn’t need them to like me, just to follow my rules. The rules were for their survival.
And mine.
The Streets
There’s a pounding in my head
A hammer in my chest
I gotta rise to the duty
Gotta do what’s best
Every night on the streets
I hear a clock ticking away
Bloods could attack anytime
Will I live another day?