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Once again, Terry and his men found themselves having a meeting discussing the possible options for their future. They sat in the living room smoking, drinking and talking.
“The good news is that our days of going through any more droughts are over. I got in touch with a longtime friend and he put me on with the illest connect in the world. The bad news is Syracuse is just too small for what I want to do.”
“So, whatchu sayin’? You want to leave the ‘Cuse?” Twan asked.
“We’re always gon’ keep our roots in the town, but real soon we’ll be sittin’ on twenty ki’s of raw coke, and our supply is endless. If we try to move that much work here we won’t last long. We’re all known in these streets. Maybe we should start somewhere fresh.”
“Somewhere like Rochester or Buffalo?” Jihad asked.
“Nah,” Terry answered. “That’s too close.”
“What about D.C.? It’s a lot of money out there,” Twan suggested.
“Yeah, it’s money out there, but them D.C. niggas is burned out. You might be cool with them one minute, and the next minute they’re putting a bullet in your brain all because they’re fucked up off that PCP,” Terry explained.
“What about Philly?” Boogs suggested.
“Shit, them niggas is crazy, too,” Terry answered dryly.
“Come on, T. You got crazy muthafuckas everywhere you go. You can’t avoid that. The real question is can we make a lot of money out there. Now I don’t know about other places, but I’m from Philly. It’s definitely money out there. My cousin is doing his thing in South Philly. I talk to him all the time.”
Terry paid attention to what Boogs was saying. He pondered over the option. “So, you think South Philly is a good place to relocate to?”
“Hell yeah! Do you know how big Philly is? It’s like one-point-five million people that live there. Do you know what that means? That means it’s a ton of fuckin’ money there...money that we could be touchin’.” Boogs rubbed his hands together greedily.
“Alright, I’ll tell you what. Call your cousin and let him know that we’re comin’ out there for a little vacation. While we’re out there, we’ll see if it’s a good fit for us.”
“You ain’t said nothin’. Matter of fact...” he pulled out his cell phone and sent a text to his cousin. Almost instantly he received a response. Boogs produced a bright smile. “He said come on down and he’ll pull out the red carpet for us.”
“Aaight, say no more. Everybody take care of your business. Just be packed up and ready to go by tomorrow morning. We’re going to drive our own cars, so we’ll meet up here at ten o’clock.”
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The next day Terry, Jihad, Twan and Boogs were on the freeway by noon. The drive wasn’t a long one. Terry set his navigation system to direct him to the Merriott Hotel. Once they arrived, each man checked into his own room. After settling in, they met up in Twan’s room.
“So, what are we gonna do?” Jihad asked.
“Shit, it’s only one-thirty. I’m tryin’ to see what’s poppin’ in the City of Brotherly Love,” Terry said.
“You know I’m with that. I’m feigning to hit the streets. Let me call my cousin, Reek, and see what’s up with him.” He pulled out his phone and dialed Reek’s number.
Reek picked up on the third ring. “Hello?”
“Wassup, cuz?”
“Who dis? Boogs?”
“You already know. What’s good?”
“I’m coolin’. I just came out. Where you at?”
“I’m at the Merriott Hotel near the airport.”
“Oh shit. You niggas was serious! Aaight, I’m in South Philly. I’ma be on Taylor Street. If you don’t see me, look for my Jaguar. I got a silver XJ. What ya’ll drivin’?”
“You’ll know it’s us when you see us. I’ma call you as soon as we hit the block.” Boogs hung up and told everyone that they were going to meet his cousin on his block.
“I need ya’ll to be mindful of some things,” Terry began. “No matter the city, everybody that hustles have one thing in common: we’re all very territorial. If it’s niggas on the block, then they’re trying to get that money. They ain’t going to let a bunch of out of town cats come on their block and take the food out of their stomachs. Especially out here in Philly. They’re known for pushin’ niggas’ wigs back without a second thought. That means when we pull up on that block, niggas is gon’ be staring. And we might even get some ice grills thrown our way.
“We got bigger plans than to get into beef with some dudes on the block, so don’t be muggin’ back. Not only are we trying to get a feel for the city, but we’re also campaigning. We need these dudes to see our faces and know that we’re big boys. So keep the bigger picture in mind.”
Satisfied that everybody was on the same page, it was time to go.
The cloudless powder-blue sky allowed the sun to heat Philadelphia to a comfortable sixty-three degrees. Just warm enough to urge people to put on something nice and go outside. Indeed, that was the case on Taylor Street. The dudes who were on the block hustling made sure their apparel was on point all the way down to the fresh out of the box sneakers. And there were plenty of women out there to admire the hustlers who were shining.
Reek leaned against the driver’s door of his Jaguar, while a cute young lady was complaining to him, basically clamoring for his attention. Reek was twenty-four. He stood at five-eight, with a slender frame that was toned like a prize fighter. He had a tan complexion, with full lips and chinky eyes that sat behind platinum and ivory Cartier frames.
The woman was complaining about not getting enough of his time when his phone vibrated. “Hold on a minute, Stacy.”
“Stacy?” she said with a shocked and disgusted look on her face. “Nigga, did you just call me Stacy?”
“I was just joking, girl...hold up.” He answered his phone. “Hello?”
“Waddup, cuz?”
“Waddup, Boogs. Where you at?”
“We’re haded down Taylor street now.”
Reek looked down the street. There was a Dodge Charger being trailed by a Camry heading towards him. “Is that ya’ll in the Charger?” All he could hear on the other end was laughter.
“A Charger? Nigga, don’t you ever disrespect me like that,” Boogs shot.
“Then you must be on the wrong block, because I don’t...” Reek stopped mid sentence when he saw the candy- red painted X5 followed by the matte black CLS 63 AMG, BMW 645 CSI and Range Rover Supercharged. Each vehicle looked showroom new and was complimented with aftermarket rims. “Pull over behind my car,” he said, then hung up.
“So, you’re just going to ignore me like that, Reek?” the lady continued.
“Look, shorty, you’re drawin’ right now. My peoples is here from out of town. Call me tonight.” Without waiting for a reply, he left her and walked towards the caravan of luxury vehicles.
Boogs hopped out of his SUV and gave his cousin a big hug. Boogs was dressed in a Polo knit sweater, True Religion jeans and wheat colored Nike ACG boots.
“I know this ain’t your whip. You ain’t doin’ it big like that!” Reek was all smiles.
“Come on, cuz. I’ll talk fly to you before I lie to you. It’s all mine’s.” Boogs, then, waved to Terry, Twan and Jihad, signaling for them to get out. They all came over and he introduced them to Reek. Everyone greeted him with a pound.
Their conversations flowed smoothly and everyone felt comfortable around each other.
Although, Terry, was relaxed, he was observant nonetheless. Not only did he notice people slow down to admire the line-up of cars, but he also noticed a few dudes who were using the streets as their place of business, eyeing them suspiciously. It was obvious that they were out-of-towners who were getting money, but beyond that, nothing else could be extracted.
Terry appeared to be engulfed in small talk, but he was actually studying this kid, Reek. His fresh brown Pelle leather jacket, crisp white T-shirt, hard denim jeans and Gucci boots were all new. He always maintained eye contact when talking and never appeared to be nervous. Those were all good signs. Terry needed to find out if he was respected on his block. There was no way he could consider making their mark in this area if their foundation, which would be Reek, was weak.
Several times during their conversation, someone called over to Reek. He excused himself and they went inside of his car for a few moments, then he came back as if he never left. None of this escaped Terry’s vision. The men that approached Reek did not appear to be addicts, and he knew that some type of transaction was going down.
“What you sellin’, weed?” Terry asked casually.
“I got some Piff if you want to burn somethin’, but I don’t sell weed. I sell eight balls.” His words were music to Terry’s ears. If he had been making his living selling weight on the block, he had to have a decent level of respect from the other hustlers.
“Let me holla at you real quick, Reek,” Terry said.
They stepped away and began to walk towards the Jaguar. Boogs smiled. He already knew what the conversation was going to be about.
“Wassup, T-Lova?”
“I wanna ask you a couple of questions, if you don’t mind.”
“Nah, it’s cool.”
“How many grams are you coppin’?”
At first, Reek was hesitant, but with one look into Terry’s eyes he knew that the question came from a man of business. “I’m buying eighths a hundred and twenty five grams.”
“Who’s the big boys in this area?”
“Shit, it’s a few niggas gettin’ money, but the bawh, Mack, and them SP cats is doing their thing. They’re the brick layers,” Reek informed Terry.
“Yeah? So, what’s up with them niggas? Are they thorough like that?”
“I’ma keep it real, the bawh, Mack, is a nut, and he got some certified cannons on his team. If somebody tries to take it there, they better be ready for war.”
“I take it that the streets is loyal to this kid, Mack, huh?”
“I ain’t gon’ say all that. The streets is loyal to whoever has the power. There’s niggas that don’t like him, but they still respect his gangsta. Plus, he keeps that work, so niggas ain’t got much of a choice other than to see him. Shit, I cop from him.”
“How much you payin’ for an eighth?”
“Coke is scarce right now, so I’m payin’ forty-two hundred.”
“How’s the quality?”
“It aint’ the best, but it’s enough to keep niggas comin’ back.”
“I got one last question for you. Is your loyalty with Mack and his SP crew?”
Reek brooded over the question for a moment, then gave Terry his answer. “My loyalty is given to those who want the best for me, and those who are loyal to me. I’m not a grimy nigga, so I’m not against SP or anything like that, but I understand that the relationship we have is strictly business.”
“I’ma keep it real with you. I’m thinking about coming down here to Philly and making a few moves. Boogs speaks highly of you. We can easily take your game to a higher level, but I need to know two things: if you want more for yourself than what you’re getting right now, and if you’re scared of these SP niggas?”
“I ain’t in this game just to float above water, I’m tryin’ to navigate the ship. And as far as being scared of Mack, SP, or anyone else, there’s nothing wrong with fear, anger, or any other emotion. Fear inhibits action. I’m far from a sucka. If I take action, muthafuckas gon’ die.”
Terry was beginning to take a liking to Reek. Spoken like a true G. I’m going to give you a chance to navigate that ship...”