It was my first executive meeting.
Mom would be proud.
We sat around a polished table in a swanky crib—whose crib, I didn’t know. The room was long and rectangular with dark hardwood floors and real artwork on the walls. It felt like a cross between an upscale boardroom and a classy dining room. We drank whiskey as we waited for Diamond Tony to start the meeting.
I’d learned more in my first few days as an executive than in months of street dealing. Tony’s executives were no different than the executives of a Fortune 500 company. We were the leaders of the organization, the advisers to the CEO. All the dirty jobs went to the underlings. The closest an executive ever got to the street was when he took his turn running the stash house. Otherwise, it was white collar all the way.
So far, my main job was to drop off cash at businesses that laundered money for Tony. Vinny came with me. We stopped by a beauty shop, a pawnshop, a deli, a bakery, and Chaos—no surprise there.
Problem was, I didn’t see Tony’s name on anything. Every transaction was in cash and every agreement was verbal. Tony had no formal ties to the business owners. I bet he hadn’t even met most of them.
“It’s time,” Diamond Tony said.
Everybody hushed. His mood was intense today. I was pretty sure I knew what the meeting was about.
“We’ve had a lot of business to lock down these days, but everybody did their part. Even our newbies.” He nodded toward Ray-go and me. “I want to catch you up on the plan for dealing with the Bloods.”
Marcus took it from there. “We’ve got a snitch in the Bloods. He’s going to tell us the location of their next meeting. Then our guys will go in with guns blazing.”
Ray-go frowned. “That could be a while, right? I doubt they’ll be getting together this soon after the shootings. They’ll be lying low.”
“Lately they’ve been meeting in busy public places—bars, restaurants,” Marcus said. “They feel safe there.”
Tony snorted. “They ain’t.”
My gut tightened. Tony was going to shoot up a public place. Taking revenge on the Bloods responsible for the drive-by was one thing, but catching innocent people in the crossfire was another. I couldn’t let that happen.
“We’ve got floor plans of their main hangouts,” Marcus told us. “All we need is half an hour’s notice, and our guys are good to go.”
Damn. If it was a last-minute thing, how would I ever stop it?
There was only one option I could think of.
“I want to . . .” My voice sounded weak, so I cleared my throat. “I want to be there.”
Tony shook his head. “I want to keep my execs’ hands clean. No unnecessary risks.” He turned back to Marcus as if the conversation was over.
I didn’t let it go. “Those fuckers shot my girl in cold blood. I want to be there. I want to pull the trigger myself.”
“You used a semiauto before?” Tony asked.
“No.”
He smiled. “It don’t matter. It’s mad easy.” He pretended to pull a trigger with his index finger. “You just squeeze and—pop, pop, pop!”
The execs laughed.
“Okay, Darren,” Tony said. “I respect that you want to do the job yourself.” There was a glint of admiration in his eyes. “Fact is, I’m the same way.”