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Hulie chilled on his front porch watching his runners serve dope by the handfuls. Lately, North Charleston had been booming because of new industry migrating into the underdeveloped, impoverished hood. The Boeing airplane plant had its hand in a lot of it, and it helped out the unemployed and the small business owners, but it also came with a price. It fed the addictions of many that were already well hooked on dope before they even came. Now, once they provided them with a job, that helped the pockets of the dope dealers, Hulie’s in particular.
He had his clipped .40 Caliber underneath the chair he was leaned back in. He also had another clip by the doorway going into the house, just in case something jumped off. He’d boarded up the back door earlier on in the week, cleaned the place up, gave his lookout Pops across the street a couple of stacks, then sent him on his way to some of his people’s house in the country for ‘bout a week or so. Hulie surprised him with a fishing trip, he’d fully paid for. It was well worth it though, Hulie was just simply returning a favor.
His money started to swell, he’d only put out a couple of bricks the other day, and he was already sold out. He kept business moving to his supplier, Deezo. Deezo noticed the increase, especially on Hulie’s end. He suggested that maybe Hulie should move. The spot was hot and if the Feds moved in on him, he’d rather them get the supply as opposed to the supplier. He was watching out for his own ass, and it made plenty of sense.
Hulie knew it made perfectly good sense, too. He started looking around for a couple of places. Upper scale neighborhoods were affordable but hard to maneuver. He could make the move easily, but it would cost him big trying to keep up a front. He liked the idea of living in a gated community, but he also knew they probably weren’t ready for him or his kind. The suburbs seemed to be the most logical move for him.
He pulled his skully up and noticed some of Q’s boys entering the store across the street. He slowly reached down for his gun. The owner still didn’t like him, and he made sure Hulie knew it, but mean mugging him every chance he got, especially since that shit had gone down with Q. They looked over his way before finally going inside. He kept his eyes beaded on them, so far, he hadn’t had any flack from them or anyone else since he’d fucked Q up. But somehow, he knew it the time would come, and he tried to stay one step ahead and ready at all times.
They walked back out after a while, jumped in their ride and hauled ass, not even looking Hulie’s way. Hulie thought it was strange, but that only further confirmed that Q actually did robe him, and they probably figured he’d got what he deserved. His phone hadn’t rung in a while. He hadn’t heard shit from Sunshine’s ass in a minute and because of that, he knew he was due. He frequently thought about Jabari but figured he was gone for good. He had to somehow make sure that was the case. The girl in the hotel would confirm that easily. All he had to do was give her a little dope, maybe some good old hard dick and she’d come around to seeing things his way.
“Hell, maybe I can clean that hoe up and put her ass to work,” Hulie said to himself. “Yeah, that sounds like a plan.”
Yeah, it was time to see that bitch anyway.
****
Sunshine tossed and turned in her bed trying to wrap her brain around the bullshit that was going on in her life. Q was lying in the hospital on life support, the base of his skull was ripped to shreds by a bottle and no one would tell her anything. His boys said that there would be revenge, she wanted to handle the business now, her way! But they insisted it would be done in due time. The only thing they asked from her, was once the deed was done, they’d get full immunity and she agreed.
She kept asking over and over if Hulie had anything to do with it, but they wouldn’t answer. They knew of her involvement with him, but she had that feeling though. This was the last straw, the money, the bodies the attack on Q...Hulie had to go down. She still wanted the money, but Q had convinced her that it wasn’t worth the stress anymore. She was leaning that way, tightening up and going legit. But not until she got Hulie for his involvement in this.
She picked up the phone and dialed the hospital to check on Q. The nurse on-call told her he wasn’t doing well at all. His family had already gathered, and they were waiting for a preacher. She had really wanted to speak to his mother, but she didn’t give in. Q and her wanted to surprise his mother with the relationship after it was solidified. But they never got the chance to and now it was too late. So, why would she even bother? She let it go and bitterly hung up the phone.
She sobbed softly for the rest of the day in her pillow, asking herself over and over amidst tears. “Why does shit like this always happened to me?”
****
Cleo walked up the driveway of Hulie’s place, checking out the chair propped up against the door and thought it was weird. But she paid it no mind, she just figured Hulie was on some ole bullshit. When she grabbed at the doorknob, he came stalking from around the back of the house with his gun cupped in his hands.
“Damn, girl...make some noise or something. You almost got capped!”
She was right he was on some ole bullshit. She shook her head at him as he peered around at her car. His paranoia was in full effect, and the goddamned weed he was smoking didn’t help matters. She gently grabbed him by the hand.
“C’mon...come inside,” Cleo requested.
Hulie followed behind her like an obedient child. She was the only friendly, familiar face he’d been seeing lately. She was the only he didn’t think was out to get him. Once they were inside Cleo opened up the curtains and walked into the kitchen and whipped up some canned roast beef and eggs, prompting him to eat. She could tell he’d lost weight, but he wasn’t falling for it, not yet. She had heard something or another in the streets about what had gone down with Q, but she dared not ask lest he spazzed and she really wasn’t feeling that right now. So, far, he didn’t have a clue as to who really robbed him and that was what she wanted to find out.
“Baby...any word on what happened to your money?” she asked.
Hulie looked up at her out of his crazed daze. “Naw...but, something’ll turn up...it always does.” He pulled her closer to him, sat her down next to him and caressed her hair. “Baby, I need to move and find a new crib. But, uh...I need you bad!” Cleo knew he was sincere because Hulie never asked her for shit. “I think I might have found a place downtown. Remember, when we talked about us living together?”
Cleo smiled, it was about fuckin’ time. Not only would she be able to avoid that sick ass nigga that was stalkin’ her. At the same time, she could finally get paid. Hulie was finally making that kind of bread. Hulie, on the other hand, needed a new lookout. Somebody he not only could trust but put the tim down on when he needed to. Besides, he needed to keep dibs on her brother, Diplite. He knew from word on the street and his snitch, Wood. That, that bitch Nikki was not only still alive, but also still had the loot. He couldn’t prove it, but he knew Diplite was in the picture some way or another. Keeping Cleo around would help him out big time.
He also felt that Cleo was good for him. Her schooling and her family’s reputation would make him look a whole lot better in front of them rich, well-to-do folks. He just had to stroke Mom-dukes the right way, that might be his only option.
“I’d make you happy, Hulie. I wouldn’t be in your way or nothing. I can cook, clean...” She stopped then thought for a moment. “But...I can’t work no streets...”
He kissed her. “Naw baby...you ain’t got to do that,” Hulie said thinking about Dondi replacing her.
He needed to at least keep somebody out there on those streets so he’d know what was going on at all times. It was one of those things that worked for him.
“I got to go home and pack.” She bounced up and rushed for the door. “I gotta tell my mother!” She blew a kiss at him as she rushed out. “I’ll be back later on, I’ll call you when I’m packed. You’ll pick me up, right? I mean with a truck or something, huh?”
Hulie smiled. ‘Damn, how much shit does this bitch have?’ he thought. “I will, but we still have to go see the place first, Cleo and make sure it’s big enough.” Hulie winked at her as she bounced down the steps into her car and sped off.
Hulie closed the door behind her and looked through the windows out into the streets in front of him. There were no changes, his runners were still making that money, but he did notice some dude in front of the store staring back at him...real hard. When he made eye contact the dude walked off, looking crazy.
‘Damn,’ he thought. “Hope that ain’t ball, but if it is...fuck ‘em. I ain’t got nothing in here...no more.”
He closed the curtains back and kept the blinds half cracked so he could still see outside as he sat back down on the sofa and started playing with his gun.
****
Jesse watched as Cleo jumped in her car. He thought maybe he had her to the point where she would cut Hulie off, but she didn’t. The only way he figured to handle this shit was to take that muthafucka out for good. Then, all she would have left was him and that muthafucka’s spot. He snarled up as Hulie stared his way, making eye contact.
“Yeah, I shoulda got your punk ass before, but now I won’t make that same mistake twice,” Jesse mumbled, as he dipped and became camouflaged by the crackheads and runners in the North Charleston sunset.
Cleo ran lights, two-three at a time on her way home. She fucked around and even took crackhead short cuts, dipping in and out of the torn-up hoods where tricks walked, and fiends stalked. The crazy thing was that she knew them all. As she gunned it down the street from her house, she happened to catch a glimpse of someone on the edge of the woods off to the side. Someone that looked vaguely familiar, was hunched over and crying. She slowed down and stared hard: it was Nikki, T-Black’s mother sifting throughout the ashes and debris that was left of her charred home.
Cleo slowed down and looked over at her. They exchanged glances but no words were said. Then Nikki quickly dipped into the woods out of sight. Cleo started to get out of the car and call her, but because she was caught up in her own emotions. All she did was shake her head and make a mental note to call her brother later and see if they still wanted to do the Cheraw thing. Right now, she had to stay focused, on her own grind. She pulled into the yard, jumped out of the car and ran up to her mother.
“I told you, ma...I told you!” she said excited.
Her mother looked at her like she was crazy, and as far as she was concerned, she was. She never had a clue as to what Cleo was blabbing about at any one time. But she knew one damn thing for sure, it was never nothing good that she wanted for her. Like school, a good job, even a good man, hell a decent man for that matter.
“Ma...” Cleo called out.
“What child, can’t you see I’m checking out this mail? Your father done fucked around and spent money...”
Cleo decided to just spit it out. “Hulie asked me to move in with him. He’s got this nice place downtown.”
“Move in...oh, I see...” her mother responded dryly and continued sorting through the mail. “So, when is all this supposed to be going on?”
“Now!” Cleo yelled, then turned on her heels and raced into the house.
“Now!” her mother repeated and stormed into the house behind her. “You kiddin’ me, right? We don’t even know him like that!”
“C’mon, Ma, we’ve been seeing each other now for a few years. You know that!” Cleo tossed clothes on her bed and started going through her drawers. “He wants to get serious.”
“Serious?” Her mother propped herself on the door. “What, are you crazy? He ain’t never been over here to talk to me or your father. He’s a two-bit thug and he lets you run the streets. Now, what kinda man is that, Cleo?”
“He’s changed.” Cleo reached underneath her bed and dragged out the two Louis Vuitton luggage sets and opened them up.
“Changed!” Her mother scoffed. “Is he still selling dope? What...no, don’t tell me...he got saved or something!”
“Ma, c’mon, he’s just making his paper like that to live comfortably just like anyone else. And you can’t blame him for that. He ain’t forcing no one to buy anything and it ain’t like they can’t get it somewhere else anyway.”
Cleo’s mother walked over to her very naïve dumb-ass daughter and sat her down on the bed. “Cleo, I know I haven’t been the best mother. Lord knows I’ve made plenty of mistakes when it came to you, but I’ve always had your best interest at heart.” She ran her hand softly around her face, then smiled. “I remember when you were coming up. You were so ambitious, we all thought you’d be an actress or something...even a model. You’re so, so pretty, from a mother’s perspective, I will say this child. If you move in with him...you’d be making a serious mistake. You hear me?”
Cleo smiled back at her mother, knowing that she was half-assed right and might as well come clean since they were having this...talk. “Ma, to be honest, I want to get some money out of him. Yeah, that’s right, just like he does me...then, I’ll cut him loose. I promise!”
“Promise?” Cleo’s mother shook her head. “A man like him don’t let a woman like you go until they’re finished with you. And no one else wants you. Trust me I know!” She did, her husband was the one man that used her. So, she returned the favor as best she could. To show for it she had a house, her own business and plenty of her own money in the bank. “I know you want yours, but at what price...girl?”
“C’mon, Ma, I ain’t gonna be like you...damn!” Cleo looked off. “I’m sorry!”
“That’s alright...I understand...but, I’m straight. It cost me a lot though, remember, you’re living in my paid for house.”
“Please let me travel this road on my own...this one time. I know what I’m doing.”
“I’ll let you go, but remember, he’s got one time to fuck up and I find out about it...”
“No, Ma, it ain’t like that.”
“I ain’t blind, girl, I see the bruises. I hear things...like I said, from this point on...one time!” She leaned in to kiss Cleo. “One damn time!”
“Okay, ...you got that!”
“Well, then...what all you taking? And where y’all going downtown?”
“Uh, I don’t know exactly where...”
“You what!”
“Ma...you promised.”
“As soon as you find out let me know. Me and your father want to come visit and make sure you’re okay.”
“Okay, but...I’ma need a bedroom set...if you don’t mind.”
“Damn, Cleo, he ain’t buying furniture or what? I thought you said he had money?”
“He does...living room, too...”
“Oh, hell no, fuck that!”
“Ma!”
“Damn, but I want my shit back in one piece.” She got up and walked toward the door. “He must be hustling backward or something. You better bring it back, Cleo or I’ma come get my shit my damn self. You hear me, girl?”
“Yeah...yeah, Ma.” Cleo watched as her mother huffed and puffed her way downstairs. “Why wouldn’t Hulie want a woman like me?” she asked herself. “Hell, he’s the one that be bullshittin’, I could easily find another man. But I’ll be cool for now, once I show him how to spend that money, and take him places where he can be seen with a fine ass bitch like me. Then, I’ll find that dude I’m looking for, and with plenty of time on my hands to do it and money to spare...his. I’ma cut Hulie’s ass loose so goddamned fast it’ll make his head spin.” Cleo laughed a little louder than expected.
“What the hell you laughing at?” Cleo’s mother yelled back upstairs.
“Nothing, ma, not a thing!”
****
Sunshine had finally gotten herself together. Q’s death and funeral had taken a toll on her. She did manage to, however, eventually pull herself together long enough to speak with his mother, swearing on her own life that she’d bring his killer to justice, swiftly. His mother responded by telling her, she’d hold her to that. At one point she tried in vain to pick his homeboys brains, but they still weren’t giving up anything. All they said was they’d handle it in their own time, their own way. She was trying to be patient, but word on the street from her informants was that Hulie had something to do with Q’s death. She didn’t know exactly to what extent, and sadly no one would dare put themselves on the line to tell her anything, knowing full well that he had dealings with him in the past and knew how he handled snitches.
It had been a minute since she’d heard from Hulie anyway. He’d stopped calling and texting. Sunshine felt some sort of way about that, knowing that something was going on. But she couldn’t quite put her finger on what it was, and besides, he still had her goddamned money. She glanced up from her tear-soaked bed and stared at herself in the mirror. She frowned, lines of worry and discontent stared back at her mockingly. She felt that everything was all her fault and it probably was. She needed to get her ass up and the only way to find out what the hell was going on was to hit the streets herself.
She groggily got up from her bed and drug her ass to the closet. She started rummaging through different outfits that all looked the same. A low-cut cleavage, hoochie mama blouse with tight-fitting jeans to match caught her eye. She tossed them on the bed with a half dozen different set-ups, she’d thrown together. She ruffled through her shoes and picked out a pair of four-inch stilettos that matched.
“This’ll get me some attention and some answers for sure,” she said to herself.
She took a deep breath, then bounced into the bathroom and turned on the faucet for a nice, hot, steamy bath to get herself right, then she laid back into the tub.
“Yeah, muthafucka...you want to play...then let the muthafuckin’ games begin!” she told herself with a loud giggle.
****
Hulie drove into the Motel 52 on Rivers Avenue, peering slowly around the corners of the drug-infested slum. Runners scampered out of rooms like roaches. Or they were posted up on their respective spots, like soldiers. Hulie liked seeing his money at work, since they were after-all, hustling his dope. Tricks also came out, slowly, geeking trying to get a peep of the balla they’d all heard of, but never seen. The balla whose name was synonymous with ass whippings and now...death. They were just being nosy cause they knew for sure there was no way in hell they’d ask him for a bump even though, they damn sure wanted too.
One door, in particular, stayed closed as he pulled up in front. He honked the horn a couple of times and a curtain at the window was pulled back. He waved his hand and the door opened slowly, then wider. Dondi’s small, petite frame had filled up nice since she’d stopped getting high. She was still knee-high to an ant as she stood in the doorway sucking her teeth, with her arms folded. She shrugged her shoulders, then spoke real slick with an attitude. “What you want me for? I ain’t in the game no more. Look elsewhere, nothin’ happenin’ here no more!” She started to turn and slam the door behind her.
“Heard anything from, Jabari?” Hulie yelled out.
That was enough to stop her dead in her tracks. It had been a minute since she’s heard his name or even heard from him for that matter. He was supposed to have been got back in touch with her at least a week or so ago. She was wondering what was going on with him now. She knew about Hulie’s rep from the streets and from Rip.
“Perhaps he knows something,” Dondi said to herself. “He damn sure ain’t here to trick or get high on any crack. So, why would he just come up in this rat hole of a joint looking for me? Maybe, Jabari, sent him?”
She turned around and waved him inside. Hulie got out of the car and walked through the door, but not before looking back behind him both ways, making sure his runners were still on point. He didn’t have to say a word, but someone was damn sure gonna keep an eye on his ride.
“So, what is it you want?” Dondi asked.
She motioned over for him to have a seat. Hulie sat down and crossed his legs. Then he looked her up and down taking in every detail of her fine, luscious, well-defined body. Her curled locks were now a reddish hue with blonde streaks, and it looked like she’d just had it done. Her nails were manicured, she nervously uncrossed her arms and looked away from his stare. Her long, natural eyelashes fluttered as he stared her down. Hulie had that effect on people and it always seemed to put him in the driver’s seat.
“Well, uh, just thought I’d see how you were doing. Since, uh, Rip’s gone and Jabari...left. Kna-mean?” Hulie finally said.
“You heard from, Jabari?” she asked.
“Not since the last time he spoke with you. Why?” Hulie threw that one out. She really had no clue that he’d never actually spoken to Jabari, but she couldn’t have known that. The day in question was the day he spent spying on them from across the street in the first place. Now the game definitely was on.
“He said he’d call back, but so far...nothing.” She eased over to her clutch-bag and pulled out some cigarettes.
He made her nervous, she pulled a cigarette out, then searched around for a light. Hulie stood up quickly, he knew he made her uncomfortable and he played on it. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a lighter.
“Here you go.” He was up on her before she knew it and as she pulled on the cigarette, he coped a quick feel of her round, fat ass, testing her.
He was too close for comfort, Dondi felt his dick getting stiff and backed away. “Said, he’d be back in town soon.”
“Well, uh...” Hulie thought he might as well try again. He was gonna get the information he was looking for one way or another. “I wanted to give him a couple dollars.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small stack of hundreds. “But since he left and went to...” He trailed his voice off on purpose and flashed the money in front of her, watching her eyes as she followed.
Granted it had been a while since she’d tricked, some things never changed for a girl like her. She went to meetings faithfully, kept clean, stayed looking like new money, as they say, she’d even gotten her teeth fixed. But still she needed some fast money to keep up with her newly developed maintenance and she had no other job skills except lying on her back with her legs behind her head.
“I think he’s still out in the country. Least that’s what his sister told me when she called,” Dondi admitted.
“Oh, yeah, the country...hmmm!” Bingo now they were getting somewhere. He figured he’d keep going to see what else he could get out of her. “Maybe I should put him in touch with my man from Beaufort.” Hulie didn’t know where the fuck Beaufort had come from at first. Then he remembered the old man and his fishing trip. “Damn, Hulie calm down...hell...it’s too late now,” he scolded himself silently.
“Whatever.” She still stared hard at the money, in a trance steadily puffing on the cigarette. “That’s not too far from Walterboro.”
“Walterboro, yeah...it’s not.” ,Finally, he’d found out where Jabari was at. Now he needed an address or something. “He’s staying there with, uh...damn, what’s his name?” Hulie snapped his fingers as he continued to wave the cash in front her face, as he spoke, flaming like he was trying to remember something.
“Some white boy...Dee, I think that’s his name.” Dondi sat down on the edge of the bed. “You, uh...gonna take that to him?”
“What?” Hulie said as he peered out of the window. “You mean this?”
“Yeah, the money.”
“Why?” He checked to see if the door was locked and then walked over toward her. “You need something?”
“I mean, I ain’t got no job yet, and I’m running out of the money Jabari left me. Rent is due...”
Before she could finish that last statement, Hulie threw the money to the side of her on the bed. Then he gently stroked the side of her face. He ran his fingers softly through her hair and kissed her lips gently. He let his tongue wrestle with hers and she melted like butter. He softly grabbed her hand, guided it to his manhood and let her tease his dick as it became hard as steel.
“We all got needs!” he breathed lustfully.
Dondi eagerly and hungrily fell to her knees. She swallowed him whole, with one hand she played with his balls and picked up the money from the side of the bed with the other hand.
Hulie looked down at her and smiled. “That’s it, baby, I got you. We’ll go see, Jabari, later on, and make sure he’s alright...okay?”
“We going today?” She finally asked after pulling back from his dick. Then she motioned for him to get on the bed.
“Naw, baby,” Hulie said. “Not right now! We got some...uh business, right now...kna-mean?”
Dondi eased up on the bed beside him and started coming out of her clothes. She knew what it was, but she reasoned at least she wasn’t getting high. Besides, this was one of the biggest ballas in Charleston. Hell, if she could just throw that pussy him right, she could easily get on his team. She’d been there before, it was nothing new. She needed some dick anyway, it had been a minute and clean or not, she was still a freak. She eased up and pulled him down closer to her and started kissing his earlobe.
“Yeah, baby...got work to do,” she cooed.
An hour or so later, Hulie rinsed his face in the sink then stared in the mirror, profiling as Dondi laid still in bed sleeping, the recipient of a good fuck. He quickly glanced over his shoulder thinking, I still got it, then he cheesed like a muthafucka. He thought about a quick shower after smelling himself, he was supposed to pick up Cleo from her Mama’s house. He damn sure didn’t want to smell like pussy when he saw her. This was business though, she didn’t want to walk the streets anymore, so he had to pick another hoe. If she got too crazy, he’d put it down like that and kill all the drama.
He figured he’d let her sleep just a little while longer, then drill her about Jabari later. If he went to Walterboro, he had to be flippin’ money. Why else would he dip out like that? Well, at least when he caught up with him, he’d have a nice piece of change to take from his ass, money he’d keep...fuck Sunshine. She could get dummied up like that muthafuckin’, Q, too. He shook his head as Dondi finally started coming around. Yeah, she’d have to get it, too bad though, she had some good pussy. Granted it would be a waste but maybe something could be worked out between them before it came down to that.
“Hey, baby!” Dondi finally woke up.
She stood up in the bed yawning, then rubbed her baby-like eyes. She was pretty and Hulie was digging her. She just looked good like that. She definitely would bring in some serious money. He started to get a rise looking at her, but he had to tell maintain and get back to business. He walked over to the bed and kissed her, then stroked her neck softly.
“Was just about to jump in the shower...wanna come?” Hulie said.
Dondi’s lil’ ass crawled from underneath the covers then glanced over at the window. “Damn, it’s almost night. What time is it anyway?”
Hulie looked at his watch on the table. “Bout a quarter to six.”
“Damn, Jabari was supposed to call me at six or so, but he always says that shit.” She shrugged her shoulders and jumped in Hulie’s arms. “Shoot, I got something else going on lover. Fuck him!”
‘No...no...no,’ Hulie thought, that damn sure wasn’t the direction he was going at all. He’d played this one hand out, but right after she washed and got her self together. They were gonna wait on that call, whether she liked it or not. “Yeah, whatever...let’s just take this shower.”
He gently and ever so slightly guided her still half sleep ass toward the bathroom, then stepped back out and made sure the phone was still on the hook. This was the one call he didn’t want to miss. He stepped back in and she was bent over, running water. Her ass was shaped like a cocoa colored heart, like Kisses candy without the wrapper, inviting him in and he accepted. They fucked more than they washed and Hulie started talking that good shit in her ear.
“Damn, baby...if I could just find that muthafucka, Jabari. We could live...eat good!” Hulie was spitting her his own bullshit.
“Why?”
“Shit, I gave him some money for me to flip and...”
“Oh, so that’s why he ran to Walterboro, huh? That no good muthafu...”
“Whoa baby, don’t let the dick slip out. Yeah, put it back in, right there. Uh...now all we got to do is find him and I can get it back.”
“I said he was in Walterboro.”
“But you have to come with me. I mean, once he sees me, he might try to haul ass. But you can draw him out.”
“I...I...don’t know.”
“C’mon, now girl. You know deep down he ain’t shit. He was the one that got your old man killed anyway. You know good and damn well he don’t give a fuck about you.”
That stung, maybe he was right. It had been a while since he’d called. Why didn’t he take her with him when she asked? He never sent no money and when he called, he always acted like he was living the life while she stayed in rat-hole hotels barely making it. On top of that, he never did send Rip’s half like he said he would. She glanced behind her at Hulie, slowly, holding on to the rail so he wouldn’t miss a stroke. He was all up in her ready to bust and that was all it took.
“Yeah, I’ll do it baby!” she finally agreed.