Chapter Eleven
Venus and Share lay down to get some rest and the fellas began talking about their game plan. Will decided that Share should stay downtown in her getaway co-op just in case some drama broke out. The fellas all knew that shit was gonna jump off behind this. They did-n’t care; ride or die. Kalif and BJ placed calls to their peeps and told them what was what. They agreed to stay at Share’s just in case niggas wanted to act up. It was about to go down.
Renee rushed to get dressed. She couldn’t believe that Petie had gotten jumped; niggas knew better than that. She asked the Hispanic lady who lived next door if she could she keep an eye on Darnell and Dante. She didn’t go into detail; the situation was none of her business. She caught a cab to Columbia Presbyterian on 168th and Broadway. She saw Lou’s Hummer double-parked and rushed through the emergency door. She’d almost forgotten to pay the cab driver.
Porscha and Giselle were in bed when the phone rang. It was Renee calling to tell Giselle about Petie. She told her the sketchy details she knew and that he was at Columbia Presbyterian. Giselle jumped up, unstrapped her dildo and got dressed. She told Porscha what had happened and that she would call her when she got to the hospital. Like Renee, she couldn’t believe that her Uncle Petie had gotten jumped. Petie and Giselle had always been close, and when her mother, Petie’s sister, passed away, they became even closer. Giselle loved him more than anything. She called Renee and told her she was fifteen minutes away in a cab.
Derek, LeRoy and Freestyle got to Share’s brownstone at eleven-thirty, and Will and BJ went down an opened the apartments on the first floor for them. They all admired the big screen TV, stereo system and leather sofa bed in the living room before sitting around the coffee table and pulling out their phillies. ”Now what’s good?” Derek said throwing four dimes on the table.
Kalif filled his boys in on everything. BJ told them that Petie’s truck was still outside and that he had thrown his keys down the sewer. They all laughed, and Derek got up to look out the window. He recognized Petie’s truck. ”Yo, what’s that cat’s name?” he asked, already knowing the answer.
”Some faggot-ass name...Petie or some shit,” Will replied. Derek lit up his blunt and told them what he knew about Petie. Petie had come through 130th and Fifth Avenue with three other cats causing ruckus. He told these kids they couldn’t put work out there unless they were gonna pay them rent. When Beans, the nigga who ran shit, showed up, the kids told him that Petie came through and took their work and left. Beans bitched up and moved his work to Park Avenue and 128th Street. Beans wasn’t soft, but he didn’t want any beef with Petie.
Kalif called his brother, Rasheed, and told him what went down and why. Rasheed remained quiet as he listened to the details. Kalif told him about the white Hummer.
”Listen, I know them cats. Big Lou is my man. He gonna fall back after I holla at him. The other cat was probably this nigga, Ladelle, from the Polo Grounds. Him and Petie is mad tight. He ain’t gonna be trying to hear nothing. Did the nigga see ya’ll before he went down?” Rasheed asked. Kalif told him Petie had seen them before they stomped him, but he might not remember.
”And who gives a fuck what that nigga remembers? He wanted it, I gave it. That’s it and that’s all,” Kalif said taking a pull on his blunt. They talked a little while longer, and Kalif gave his brother Share’s number and hung up. Then he told his team what Rasheed had told him.
”I don’t give a fuck about that nigga’s status,” BJ said passing the blunt to Will. ”Buttercup niggas want to run up on women. Run up on me, dog,” he said patting his chest.
The phone rang and Derek picked it up. It was Porscha, wanting to know what had happened. ”That gay bitch being nosy,” he said to Will.
”Who the fuck you calling bitch, little boy?” Porscha yelled through the phone.
”You, bitch!” Derek screamed into the receiver. ”Take your pussy-eating ass to the dentist and get the hairs out your teeth! He slammed the phone down, hoping that she would call back. He did-n’t like gay women, especially aggressors. His shorty had left him for an aggressor, and ever since then he had it out for all of them.
The fellas decided to go to Shaolin the next day to get some burners. Freestyle had a team out there with heavy artillery. He’d made one phone call and they told him they’d set him out. BJ said he couldn’t take off from work tomorrow, but he could leave early. They’d all ride to Shaolin in two vehicles and pick up their business. The jump-off was now in progress.
Giselle arrived at the hospital, and when she saw Renee she ran up to her and hugged her. They both began to cry. Ladelle was talking to the doctor and Lou was sitting with his head in his hands. They were both in total shock; this shit just couldn’t be happening to their partner.
The doctor told Renee that Petie had fluid on his brain and some inflammation. He had four broken ribs, a few missing teeth and the side of his skull was cracked. The doctor said he would survive and that she could see him after surgery. Petie was in critical condition, and the chances of him being the same were slim to none.
Ladelle went outside to smoke a cigarette and Lou followed him. Neither one of them spoke; they were weighing the severity of Petie’s condition. Ladelle remembered that when they got Petie to the ER and took off his clothes, he didn’t have any keys on him. Ladelle puffed on his cigarette, and he now recalled that Petie had eight hundred dollars in his pants pocket. His burner was in the inside pocket of his coat and he didn’t have his ice on when they got to the hospital. The doctor had given Ladelle his wedding band because his finger had been fractured.
”Something is funny ‘bout this shit,” Ladelle said putting out his cigarette. He told Lou about the pieces he had put together and the pieces that were missing. They agreed that it sounded like some kind of setup. ”First of all, if the nigga had beef we’d know about it, and second of all, how could he have beef outside that bitch’s house and she not know about it?” Ladelle added. He’d already figured out what really happened. He told Lou about Petie seeing the young boy driving her car and going in her house with the keys. They were both thinking the same thing. Lou went to get the Hummer and Ladelle went back to the waiting room to sit with Giselle. He knew that Giselle’s wife was Share’s friend, but that was about to change.
