Tech couldn’t wait for the sun to go down so he could go about the task of handling the mission Swann handed to him. When his big homie explained the ins and outs of it, Tech was both surprised and honored. Gaining Swann’s respect and trust had been the goal since he started taking on jobs for the Clarks.
He wasn’t like the rest of the cock-suckers who stood around kissing ass, hoping that Shai would fart sunshine on their heads; Tech was determined to create his own light. Even before forming the Dog Pound with Animal, Tech had been in the streets putting in work. They weren’t hurting for money, but they weren’t where Tech envisioned them being either. This is where the Clark connection came in. Moving with Shai would put them in a whole different weight class, and open the doors for even bigger scores. The so-called heavyweights being connected would allow him to get close to where little more than suckling pigs waited to be roasted over a spit, and Tech was determined to become the grill master.
This latest task, which Tech figured to be his last obstacle into finally entering the Clark circle of trust, carried him into the bowels of Newark, New Jersey. Newark was only about twenty minutes from New York City, and boasted a vibrant downtown section, but once you crossed Springfield Avenue, it was like stepping into a Third World country where the natives were less than friendly. Tech pushed the stolen taxi through the blocks of empty lots and houses in various stages of decimation. All you had to do was read the graffiti on the walls to know where you were, but the body language of the young men and women hanging out and about told an even deeper tale. They were lost souls, fighting to hold onto what little the corrupt government had left them, and willing to protect it at all costs. Newark was a city Tech didn’t venture into unless he had to, but even those occasions it was always was in the company of a local tour guide and at least half a dozen homies. That night, though, he was riding two deep.
“You call her yet?” Jewels asked from the passenger seat.
“Who?” Tech asked, tearing his eyes away from a woman on the corner who was doing the dope fiend lean.
“You know who, the little bitch from the baby shower. What the fuck was her name again?”
“Belle,” Tech informed him, as he hung a right turn on Grove, “and no, I didn’t call her.”
Jewels gave him a disbelieving look.
“She called me,” Tech confessed.
“I knew it!” Jewels laughed. “Man if you had seen the way you and shorty were looking at each other… it was like something out of a movie, dawg. I almost shed a tear!” He wiped under his eye dramatically. “I kinda hope you do get in good with her so I can take a crack at that amazon-looking white bitch.”
“Funny you should mention it, because I’m supposed to see her tomorrow. You can be my wing-man and run interference with that old harp, Ruby.”
Jewels sucked his teeth. “First of all, nigga, I ain’t never the co-pilot; I do the flying. And second of all, I ain’t messing with that old broad Ruby. You better have shorty come to the block.”
“I tried that, but Ms. Ruby insists that if I wanna see Belle I gotta court her properly…whatever the fuck that means. Homie, we’ll go through there, spend about an hour or so making the old bird feel respected and then get out of there and into some gangster shit,” Tech promised.
“I’ll think about it,” Jewels said, then busied himself looking out the window. The streets were busy with activity. “Man, you know I heard they got these spots out this way where a bitch will fuck and suck you for thirty bucks!”
“For thirty dollars, she’s either an addict or something is wrong with the pussy. No thanks,” Tech declined.
“Nah, man. One of my boys told me he hit it up a time or three. Claims these Spanish bitches is some of the finest he’s ever seen. I say once we wax these fag, we got get our dicks wet.”
Tech shook his head. “Listen, can you get your mind off pussy long enough for us to complete this mission?”
“The two go hand in hand. Once we finish this mission and get in good with Swann, we gonna get all the bitches!” Jewels did a little dance in his seat.
“You can make jokes all you want, but don’t sleep just because we’re in Jersey. These Newark niggas are a different breed and we’re too far from home to call in a lifeline if this shit goes wrong,” Tech warned him.
“Nigga, please!” Jewels fished around in the back seat and came up holding a compact machine gun. “This is the only lifeline we’ll need,” he said as he cocked the slide. “These muthafuckas even peek at us wrong and I suggest you get out of the way because I’m gonna let this thing rock!”
“I’m going to hold you to that statement,” Tech said, steering deeper into the hood. When they were about five blocks from their destination, he pulled over behind a BP gas station and killed the engine.
“I thought you filled up before we left New York?” Jewels looked at him quizzically.
“I’m not getting gas, fool. I’m getting our trump card,” Tech told him, as he slid out of the car and walked back to the trunk. He gave a causal look around, working his key in the lock. It was more out of habit than fear of being caught. At that hour of the night and in that part of town, the police took their time responding to calls - if they showed up at all. When he was sure that his moment would be an intimate one, he opened the trunk and let his package breathe.
Wayne’s nostrils flared as he tried to take in as much oxygen as he could through his nose, because his mouth was covered in duct tape. His eyes blinked as they tried to adjust to the overhead streetlight. He’d been riding in the darkened trunk for the better part of an hour. The whole time he’d been praying for someone to open the trunk and give him a glimpse at freedom. His prayers had seemingly been answered, but the young face staring down at him ate away at what little hope he’d built. Wayne had seen the face before, but only once; he was staggering out of the bar half-drunk and a hooded youth approached asking for a light, and when Wayne reached in his pocket to accommodate him, everything went dark.
“Time for you to earn your keep.” Tech pulled Wayne from the trunk and pushed him towards the front of the taxi. He spun the man around and placed his gun to his forehead. “I’m gonna pull this tape from your mouth and you’re gonna behave yourself. Do you think you can do that? Remove your gag and you and me are going to have a civil conversation. Can we do that?”
Wayne nodded frantically. He didn’t know who the young man was or why he had been abducted, but he was willing to do whatever it took to see another day. As soon as Tech removed the tape, he began the tasks of trying to bargain for his life. “Please man. I don’t know what this is all about, but I’m just a driver.”
“Then drive muthafucka!” Tech shoved him behind the wheel and jumped in the back.
The ten minutes it took him to drive the next few blocks felt like the longest of Wayne’s life. His hands trembled nervously as the man in the passenger seat with the gold bracelets looping up his forearm glared at him silently. He couldn’t see the machine gun he’d been brandishing when Wayne got in the car, but he knew it was there somewhere, ready to lay him down if need be. His abductor, the one with the braids who snatched him, sat in the back occasionally feeding him directions - not that Wayne needed them. He had taken the drive more than once and knew his way by heart.
“Pull over,” Tech ordered on a block between Washington and Broad. On one side of them was a small bodega, where a few young girls in tight jeans were hanging out. On the other, an apartment building. Their position gave them a view of the darkened courtyard where several young men were congregating.
“Damn, shorty got an onion!” Jewels said excitedly, rolling down the window to get a better view of the girl he was eyeballing. “Light skinned, what’s good?” he called. The girl gave him a smile.
“Are you fucking stupid?” Tech barked from the backseat. “We’re here to handle business, not chase pussy!”
“You need to lighten up, man.” Jewels said as if it were no big deal.
“Wayne, you see that nigga out there?” Tech ignored Jewels and went back to scanning the courtyard.
Wayne strained his eyes against the darkness. “I can’t tell, man. It’s dark as shit and my eyes ain’t so good.”
Tech leaned forward and pressed his gun to the back of Wayne’s head. “This help you see a little clearer?”
“The one in the red hoodie,” Wayne said, pointing. “He does all his business out of the courtyard.”
Tech peered through the window at the man Wayne had identified. He was pacing back and forth, occasionally glancing at his phone as if he were waiting for someone to ring him. Tech had Wayne call and tell the young man that he was in the area and wanted to score some more dope. From his look of anxiousness, Tech reasoned that Wayne was responsible for putting more money in his pocket than that of the dirty politician he drove for.
“Make the call,” Tech ordered.
“Look man, I know whatever you’re cooking up for this dude ain’t good. I did my part and pointed him out. Now how about you let me go my way while you do what you gotta do,” Wayne pleaded. He wasn’t built to be an accessory to a murder.
“Let me see if I can make this simple for you, Wayne. Somebody is gonna have a conversation with the business end of my gun tonight. Whether it’s going to be the dude who sold O’Connor that bad bag of dope or you is your choice.”
Knowing that there would be no negotiating with his captor, Wayne pulled out his cell phone. “Hey Jake? It’s me…”
Tech drowned out whatever Wayne was saying on the phone and focused on the dealer who had been identified as Jake. His body language would give him a better idea of where he stood than Wayne’s words. Reading body language was something he picked up from Animal, and it paid off. Thinking of his protégé made him wish that Animal had come along for the ride. Animal and Tech had been to war together and he always stood tall. The jury was still out on Jewels. Tech watched Jake walk in through the back of the building after Wayne ended the call.
“We all good. He’s gonna meet us in the lobby.” Wayne informed Tech.
“Bet, let’s do this.” Jewels picked up the shotgun and double-checked to make sure it was loaded.
“Man, we can’t roll in there deep. It’s bad enough I’m showing up with a new face, but if I show up with two new faces he’s gonna know something is off,” Wayne explained.
“Fuck that. If you go into that lobby by yourself, I can’t see what’s going on. We go together or not at all,” Jewels said.
Tech weighed it. Everything in his mind told him that the setup was wrong, but it was his only window of opportunity. It was either take the gamble or go back and tell Swann he failed at his task. “I’m going alone. Jewels, you stay with the car and keep the engine running. I’m going to be coming out fast after I smoke this fool.”
“Aight, if you wanna play super hero it’s on you, but if you ain’t out in five minutes, I’m coming in busting.” Jewels chambered a round into the machine gun.
“Stay with the car!” Tech insisted, before sliding out. He was sure he could handle whatever was waiting for him inside the building, but the last thing he needed was to get trapped off in Newark. Once he handled his business, he knew the cats from the neighborhood would be on him like flies on shit. As he followed Wayne towards the building, he cast a glance over his shoulder. The last thing he saw before rounding the corner was Jewels getting out of the car to talk to the girl by the store. For the millionth time he wished he’d brought Animal with him.
*
Following Wayne to the building made Tech feel like he was walking the Green Mile to the electric chair. Wayne seemed shaky, but Tech reasoned he would be too if he’d been kidnapped and forced to set a man up to die. There were three or four scruffy-looking cats hanging out in front of the building, passing around a Black & Mild and drinking beers out of paper bags. Their eyes roamed over Tech and Wayne, likely trying to figure out if they were friend or foe.
“What up, blood?” One of them flashed a gang sign, noticing the red bandana hanging from Tech’s pocket.
“Mack’n,” Tech replied in an even tone, and threw up his set. This seemed to satisfy their curiosities and the two were allowed to pass without further incident. Though the lobby window he could see Jake pacing back and forth. He looked either nervous or anxious; Tech wasn’t quite sure which. When he spotted them, he slipped on a mask of calm, and hit the button on the other side to release the lobby door lock with a click. When Tech stepped inside and the door shut again, he noticed that he didn’t hear it lock. It was then that an eerie feeling settled in the pit of his gut. Too far to turn back now, he thought to himself.
“Yo, what the fuck did I tell you about coming through this joint unannounced?” Jake started right in on Wayne. It was obvious from his tone that he didn’t have much respect for the driver.
“Sorry about that. This was kinda spur of the moment. My man needed some work and I figure I’d put the money in your pocket instead of someone else’s.” Wayne explained.
“Ya man, huh?” Jake looked Tech up and down suspiciously. “How do I know you ain’t police?”
Tech matched Jake’s glare. “Homie, I came to spend bread, not waste my time answering dumb ass questions. Wayne said you was holding the best bag in town, but if this ain’t the case I’ll go holla at my man Red in Elizabeth,” he said, and started for the door. He didn’t really know anyone named Red, but there was always somebody named Red on a blood set.
“Hold on,” Jake called after him. “I ain’t trying to run you off. It’s just that you can never be too careful when dealing with new people, feel me?”
“Nah, I don’t feel you, but I ain’t here to pass judgment. We gonna do this or not?” Tech asked impatiently.
“Yeah, we gonna do this,” Jake sneered, opening one of the mailboxes.
Tech wasn’t sure why, but he looked to Wayne, who had conveniently edged back. It was then that he spotted something in his eyes - nervous anticipation. Tech reached for his gun, but the cold press of steel behind his ear made him pause.
“Not so fast, blood.” Tech recognized the voice as the kid who greeted him outside. He cursed as a hand reached around and relieved him of the pistol in his waist.
“What the fuck is this?” Tech asked Jake, who retrieved a pistol from the mailbox and was now aiming it at him.
“That’s what I’m trying to figure out.” Jake ripped the front of Tech’s shirt and checked him for a wire.
“Wayne, I came in good faith to spend some money and this is how your people gonna do me?” Tech tried to keep up his lie, but knew it was futile.
“Nigga, that’s about as weak a lie as my name being Jake. Jake is what we shout when the police on deck, so I knew you were full of shit the minute Wayne called me by that,” Not Jake informed him. “The way I figure it, you’re either police or a Jack-Boy. Either way you ain’t leaving this building… at least not on your feet.”
“That’s your word?” he asked, locking eyes with Not Jake. He talked the talk, never walked the walk. Not Jake wasn’t a killer; at least not yet, and Tech had no intentions on his final resting place being a random lobby in Newark, at the hands of amateurs. He was outnumbered and disarmed, but hardly defenseless. “A soldier’s death it is then.”
The kid standing with his gun to the back of Tech’s head never even saw his elbow coming until it was smashing into his nose, breaking it. His gun went off, sending a bullet bouncing off the mailbox and hitting Wayne in the throat. It wasn’t quite how Tech had planned on killing Wayne, but he’d take his victories where he could get them. Seeing the prey now becoming the predator caused Not Jake to hesitate for a fraction of a second, and that was all the time Tech needed to make him regret it. Moving with the grace of a ballerina, he spat a razor from his mouth into his hand and brought it down across Not Jake’s stunned face. He howled like a wounded dog, temporarily blinded by the pain that had exploded in his face. His vision cleared just in time to see Tech fleeing through the rear exit.
*
Tech had no idea where he was going, but it didn’t matter. He needed to get as far away from the dogs on his heels as quickly as possible. In his pitiful need to appease Swann, he abandoned his normal protocols and walked into a situation blindly. It was a mistake that was threatening to cost him his life.
When he spilled from the exit into the rear courtyard, Tech found that he had gone from the frying pan and into the fire. He was surrounded by an agitated group of young men, obviously put on alert by the sounds of gunfire coming from the lobby. They took one look at the panicked stranger and it didn’t take a rocket scientist to know he had been the cause.
“Grab that nigga!” Not Jake came bursting through the door. His hand was across his face where Tech had cut him. From the blood spilling between his fingers, you could tell it was a deep one.
A burly older dude managed to grab a fist full of Tech’s hoodie, and yanked him close. He smelled like a mixture of cigarettes and beer. Tech tried to bring the razor into play, but the man knocked it away. Tech struggled to break free of his grip, but the man was as strong as a bear. When he tried to get a better grip on Tech, he slipped out of the hoodie completely and took off.
The Newark thugs hurled profanities and bullets at Tech’s back as he zigzagged across the courtyard trying desperately not to get his head blown off. A few yards away, he could see the car parked across the street. Tech hit the black gate separating the courtyard from the street like the Amazing Spiderman and crashed into the grass on the other side. Coming from down the street, he could see the kids who had been in front of the building, all armed and out for his blood. When Tech got across the street to the car, he finally realized why Jewels hadn’t already jumped out and laid down cover fire - he wasn’t in the car. Tech didn’t need to see his enemies closing around him to know that his run was literally over.
Spots danced before his eyes when something heavy slammed into the back of his head. He went down to one knee, clutching his head. He wasn’t bleeding, but was growing a respectable knot. He looked up and saw at least a half dozen angry eyes staring down at him. Leading the mob was Not Jake. In the light, Tech could see the scar he’d gifted him. The gash across his nose was so deep it was a wonder how it was still attached to his face.
“Bitch ass nigga!” Not Jake kicked him in the stomach hard enough to knock the wind out of him. “You dead for what you did to my face.”
The next thing Tech knew, he was swallowed by the mob. They rained kicks and punches on every part of his exposed body. He reasoned the only thing that saved him from Not Jake just shooting him and getting it over with was because there were too many of them dog-piling on Tech for him to get a clear shot. The world swam and his ears began ringing from the repeated blows to the head, and he was pretty sure he was about to black out when something warm and wet splashed on the ground just below him. At first he thought it was his own blood, until he looked up and saw Not Jake’s body jerk. Not Jake twitched twice more as bullets slammed into his body. Coming out of the shadows, like an avenging black angel, was none other than Jewels!
“Get some! Get some!” Jewels snarled, busting the machine gun. The thugs scattered like roaches, but not before having half their numbers wiped out. When it was done, several dead bodies were scattered on the ground along with a rattled Tech. “I knew this shit was a good investment,” he said, kissing the machine gun.
“Where the fuck were you? I said stay with the car!” Tech barked, pulling himself to his feet.
“Relax, nigga. I had to take a leak. I been holding it since we left Harlem,” Jewels told him. “Yo, if we hurry, we can catch the ones who ran off!” He eagerly slapped a fresh clip in. “Me and you, baby. Let’s take these niggas to war!”
Tech looked from the direction the boys had fled in toward Not Jake’s corpse. “Nah, them niggas can breathe…at least for now. We’ve spent enough time here, and we still got one more stop to make.” He slid behind the wheel of the car.
“One more stop? Dude is dead, so what the fuck else could we possibly have to do in New Jersey?”
*
“But mama, why do we to go to Florida? I like it here.” Eight-year-old Alex was sitting on the edge of the bed, pouting.
“Because I said so!” Jane snapped, tossing a few things into a small suitcase. When she saw that she scared her son by yelling at him, she stopped and went to him. “Look, mama is sorry for being short with you. I’m just a little stressed. We’ll only be in Florida for a couple of weeks. Don’t you wanna see your little cousins?”
“No,” Alex said flatly.
“I’ll tell you what. If you go and get your underwear and things together like a good little boy, I’ll take you to McDonald’s to get a Happy Meal before we go to the airport.”
“Can I get an ice cream too?” Alex asked hopefully.
“Two ice creams,” Jane promised. That was all little Alex needed to hear to send him scurrying off to do as his mother instructed. With her son finally out of the way, Jane was able to go back to what she was doing, which was getting the hell out of dodge. Jane finished packing her suitcase and went into her closet to grab her shoulder bag from its hiding place, behind several boxes of shoes. She peeked inside and did a quick count of the bills. After what she had spent on their plane tickets — and the money she wired through Western Union to her sister in advance to agree to let her stay — she still had seventy-five hundred dollars left. It wasn’t exactly a retirement fund, but it would be enough to hold them over until she could find work and get back on her feet.
Jane paused when she saw a pair of headlights shine against her bedroom window. She crept over cautiously and peered out to see a taxi turning into her driveway. “About damn time,” she mumbled. “Alex, let’s go! Our taxi is here!” she called to her son, making her way down the stairs with her bags. She was moving so fast that she twisted her ankle and almost fell. Jane’s nerves were shot and she wouldn’t relax until she and her son were safely out of New Jersey.
Jane stopped short of the front door to leave an envelope on the table for her mother to find when she came in from work. Inside it was one thousand dollars and a note letting her know that she and Alex were okay. She felt bad about dashing off that way without at least an explanation, but she figured the less she told her mother, the safer she would be. When she got settled she would tell her everything, but at that moment, her top priority was getting herself and Alex out of town.
“Hurry up, Alex!” Jane yelled again. “Slow ass boy,” she grumbled. If he wasn’t downstairs by the time she loaded the bags into the taxi, she was going to drag him down. When she opened the door, she found a man standing on the other side, and from the looks of him, he wasn’t a taxi driver. Her last thoughts were what would become of her son?
*
Jewels watched Tech as he walked back to the taxi, every so often glancing around to make sure no one was watching. He opened the door and tossed a shoulder bag into the back seat, before getting back behind the wheel.
“What the fuck is that?” Jewels nodded to the bag.
“Tying up a loose end for Swann,” Tech told him, before throwing the car in gear and peeling off.
Tech spent the majority of the ride out of Newark in silence, lost in his own thoughts. Every so often he would see Jewels look over at him. He obviously wanted an explanation about their stop at the house and the bag, but Tech honestly didn’t have one for him, except that Swann wanted it done.
Tech didn’t want to admit it to himself, but he knew he’d fucked up. They had a rule in the Dog Pound - no women and no children. He had broken that rule in his quest to appease Swann. He’d never felt the need to gain the approval of another since he was kind of following Jah around and begging him to let him put in work.
“As long as you stay true to what you believe in, fuck what anyone else says or thinks. Once you stop being your own man, you might as well hang it up,” he could hear Jah’s voice ringing in his head. His former mentor was probably rolling over in his grave right about then. It was too late to give back the life he’d stolen, but he knew one day the deed would come back on him. Until then, there wasn’t much Tech could do but ride it out.
His eyes drifted to Jewels, who seemed content now that he had gotten to spill a little blood. When they’d set out on their little mission, he was unsure if Jewels would rise to the occasion, but Jewels had proven himself more than capable and willing. Despite his big mouth and inability to take anything seriously, he stood tall when his number was called and there was no doubt in Tech’s mind that he would do so again. He would make a welcomed addition to the Dog Pound. Now all he had to do was convince Animal of this, but first he would have to find him.