Chapter Twenty-three
It was just another typical day on the block in the inner city of Sandusky. The sun was beaming down, and it was extremely humid. Even the breeze that would occasionally blow in by way of Lake Erie was on pause. That sweltering summer heat didn’t stop or slow down the hustle, though. If you smoked crack, shot dope, took pills, or chose to drink a fifth of cheap rock gut gin every single day… Whatever your addictive poison of choice was, the weather was never a factor. Just like the mailman, come rain, snow, sleet, or hell, getting high was a mission that could not be stopped. Even more committed than the postal carriers of the world, the crackheads, dope fiends, pill poppers, and drunks never took days off. Not Sunday, holidays, or nights. Truth be told, those days, folks even went harder.
Doing what they do, Nolan was holding down a spot on Vine Street, shaking the bag. Bone Capone was posted up over on West Osborne, doing the same. They were making money hand over fist. Although they were not located far from each other, there was no competition. As far as they were concerned, there was more than enough money and drug addicts to go around. Unfortunately for one set of neighborhood dealers, they failed to share their sentiments. Jayce had warned them about the infamous crew that had long since migrated from Toledo, but those words were just that to Nolan and Bones… words. They were there to make money, not friends. And any distraction to that would be eliminated.
* * *
“Yeah, guy, what up, doe?”
“What up, doe, with you, my nigga?” Nolan placed his cell on speaker as he emptied the contents of a sandwich bag filled with weed. He was glad Bone Capone had called so they could touch base on the ticket. Having banged all day, Nolan knew he was about at point zero and would need to re-up soon. They had sometimes been going six days straight, at least fourteen hours a day since arriving. The struggle was real, but the come-up was official.
“It’s been kinda slow my way, but you already know me. I’ma make this shit do what the fuck it do.” Bone Capone’s past credibility to get money in even the worst situations was never in question. The only one that could stop his shine or grind was God.
“So, listen, Bone. Why don’t we call it for today and hit up the park or something? I like money just as much as the next man—shit, probably more. But real talk, we been going hard like a motherfucker since we touched down.” Nolan finished rolling up and lit the blunt. After hitting it strong a few times, he went on. “Day after day, I been watching all these people flood this city headed over the way. A nigga like me wanna see that shit firsthand again. That shit be off the chain.”
Bone Capone couldn’t contain his laughter. “Dawg, again? You act like you ain’t never been to Cedar Point coming up. That shit be too hot during the day. And besides, you can see them dusty-ass bitches any day.”
“Man, are you serious? Up until I was like twelve, I ain’t even leave off the block unless I was over my granny’s crib. My old girl or pops, whenever he showed his face, wasn’t on no tip like trips and shit. Matter of fact, when my mother was on, we was lucky even to eat that week. And as for them females, hoes ain’t never a factor in my moves.”
It was nearing three in the afternoon. The intense morning rush was well over, and it was the end of the month. And after all that Nolan had revealed, it didn’t take much convincing for Bone Capone to agree to call it for the day. They called Jayce informing him of their plans so he would know both spots would be temporarily dark until the next day. Bone Capone’s older cousin knew the fellas had been putting in long hours and deserved a break and some downtime. Truth be told, he’d expected them to fall off way before now and head back to Detroit. But his family and Nolan had proven to be solid soldiers in the game.
After changing into some of the new’fits they’d gotten from the mall, Nolan hit up his boy telling him that he was ready to roll out and hopefully get with some hoes. Meeting halfway, the two Motor City natives hopped in a cab, destination Cedar Point Amusement Park. Unfortunately for Nolan, that spur-of-the-moment excursion away from the grind gave him a flashback to the first time he and Bone Capone hung out there. That afternoon would soon become the gateway to two occasional lifelong headaches. In between the fun and excitement of the bright lights, roller coasters, and food, it was there that he linked up with not one, but two females that worked at the park. One chick he and his homeboy nicknamed Popcorn, since that was what she sold at one of the various concession stands. She was born and raised in Sandusky and had another job as well. The other girl they jokingly referred to as Snoopy because she worked in the Snoopy and Peanuts area of the park. This was a summer job for her. She stayed with her aunt, who also worked at the park. Cedar Point was so gigantic the girls had not met each other and were none the wiser of Nolan’s playboy antics.
Never one to be cheap, he hung out with Popcorn some days and Snoopy on others. When he ate good, they each ate good. When he would go splurge at the mall, he’d make sure he would look out for them too. Used to having nothing, he found it was hard to see the next person struggle, especially a female he was dealing with, regardless of whether he truly loved them. Of course, his heart was with Kapri, but she was the next state over in school, still playing hard to get. So for fun, he knocked Popcorn and Snoopy off to pass the time.
* * *
A few miles away from the long bridge gateway to the amusement park, Bone Capone instructed the driver to pull over. Doing as he was told, the middle-aged bearded man turned into the crowded lot of a liquor store. Once he parked, Bone Capone gave him a few dollars to stay put until they returned. He and Nolan then got out of the rear seat heading inside of the store. The game plan was to purchase a few shot bottles of Paul Masson and Henny to take on their adventure. The already-weed high pair didn’t want to get drunk, but to just have a nice little buzz while getting on the rides, having fun, and talking shit to whoever they were near. The store was packed with customers probably with the same idea knowing the prices for booze inside of Cedar Point was sky-high. And also, in Nolan and Bone’s case, they were underage and knew they’d get carded at the various concession stands. But at the local stores, the owners lived by the motto of “money talked, and bullshit walked.” So, since they had cash on hand, and plenty of it, they were good to go.
With a few bags of chips and cookies and a bottle of cold water to satisfy their current munchy status, Nolan paid the clerk for those items along with the shots. In a good mood, ready to turn up, Nolan and his homeboy strolled to the exit talking about the females the self-proclaimed player had on his line, hoping he didn’t run into either one later. Not paying attention, Nolan accidentally shoulder bumped a guy in passing. He and Bone were exiting the store while the flamboyantly dressed guy and his two friends were coming in.
“Shit, damn, my bad, dude. I ain’t see you,” Nolan swiftly remarked, not even bothering to make eye contact.
“Yo, pretty boy, watch where the fuck you going!”
“Nigga, say what?” Nolan paused. His normally mild-mannered expression changed. The teen was not immediately looking for any trouble, but definitely was not willing to avoid it either.
“You fucking heard me. Y’all fools come from Detroit think y’all running shit around this bitch. But, naw, that ain’t the case.”
It was then that Bone Capone, like Nolan, was ready to put in work. From the East Side of their hometown, they were both trained to go. “Whoa, pussy-ass nigga, who the fuck you think you talking to? You must wanna end your day somewhere at Urgent Care.”
Nolan irately double downed on his manz statements of impending violence toward not only the dude he’d bumped but also his two sidekicks as well. “Yeah, and if you keep running off at the mouth talking that Detroit bullshit, you gonna catch more than these hands, you and these funny-style fuck boys you rolling with.”
“You hold the fuck up.” Conrad was prepared to show he was just as hard as the two young hustlers he’d easily recognized as the dudes that had come to town and set up shop in what was once their sole territory. The fact that the Old English D baseball cap-wearing Nolan and the arm-tatted warrior Bone Capone were standing tall at this moment meant nothing to the Toledo native. As far as Conrad was concerned, his little cousin, his homeboy, and he were in Sandusky from jump selling product in that area. So, even if theirs was weak, so damn what? They had set down stakes first. “You young niggas think this shit a game. We play for keeps out this way. It’s do or die.”
Nolan smirked. He found Conrad’s statements of who did what and when humorous, as did his boy. “Oh shit, now I get it. You that bitch-made sissy all the custos been talking about. They said you be out here crying like a baby that y’all ain’t making no money. Yo, Bone, these them Toledo faggots. Yeah, boy, the streets been talking.”
“Oh, shit,” Bone Capone joined in on the joke as the other people in the store looked on, wondering what was going to happen next. “So, this that whack-ass, old, dried-up lame running off at the mouth like I won’t smack the dog shit outta him.”
“What you say about my family?” one of Conrad’s homeboys finally found the courage to speak up.
“Word is you was somebody’s bitch behind them bars. Yeah, that’s you. You piss sitting the fuck down,” Nolan interjected, ignoring the shorter of the three men who was trying to get loud.
Threatening to call the police, the store owner urged the five irate black men to leave his business and move off of his premises. Not wanting to spend the night in the Erie County Jail, each group did as was asked, but not before vowing certain bloodshed the next time their paths would cross. Nolan and Conrad stood toe-to-toe, ready to do battle despite the promise of seeing the cops.
“Yeah, nigga. The next time I see your ass, you better be ready.” Conrad flexed with his crew behind him, acting as if they were ready to do something.
“What up, doe?” Nolan tossed the bag with the chips and small bottles of liquor into the open rear window of their still-awaiting cab. With murder on his mind, he turned his baseball cap to the back. Not caring if the guy was strapped or not, he was on the verge of socking Conrad dead in the mouth to ensure things popped off. “Why wait, gay boy? I’m ready now. So, what’s good?”
“Yeah, what’s good with all you lames? Me and my manz will air this parking lot out right damn now.” Bone Capone didn’t have his pistol nor did Nolan. Yet, he was good at reading people and could easily tell ole boy with all the mouth and his crew weren’t holding either. But just the same, he knew he could back them down with words. With absolute certainty, he saw pure coward written across all three of their supposedly tough asses, especially the one with an eye patch. He appeared to be the biggest pussy of them all.
“Stop fronting like y’all about that life and shit,” Conrad continued to try his luck, even though he was shaken.
Before the apparent leader of the pack could get any more words out, Nolan’s fist clenched and connected with his jaw. The force of the blow knocked Conrad to the pavement. Had it been the other way around, Bone would have been right in the mix—guns, knives, throwing hands, whatever. But that was far from the case with Conrad’s people. It was as if they were frozen as Nolan ran up their homeboy’s dental bill even more.
And with that brutal exchange of bloody blows leaving Conrad leaking from the mouth, the store owned stepped out into the parking lot. Phone in hand, he once again demanded peace . . . or else. Thankfully, without further incident, the man got his wish as the two opposing crews parted ways. Conrad and his boys headed back to the hood to not only tend to his wounded mouth and bruised ego but also to concoct a concrete plan to regain their territory, while Nolan and Bone Capone calmly went on their way to the amusement park to have a good time as planned. Nolan used the bottle of water he’d purchased to rinse Conrad’s blood off his knuckles once they arrived at the ticket entrance. He then made sure to tip the cabdriver an extra twenty for holding them down back at the liquor store when he could have just as easily pulled off, wanting to avoid being caught in between possible gunfire.