Chapter 12 Goon #4
Khaos hopped on his dirt bike. Every summer, that nigga went and backed that shit out of storage to ride during the season. Even with the last pieces of summer trying to hang on, his ass was still riding around on it.
“How we handling this?” he questioned when he whipped the bike around, as I was getting into my truck.
I smirked. “Only fucking way we know.”
Khaos smirked back, exposing his gold grills.
On the tooth to the right, there was a diamond encrusted W. The same shit that I had on mine.
He whipped his bike away from the curb with smoke and loudness following behind him. I pulled off behind him and headed toward Amboy. Living in the same neighborhood that sent me to prison in the first place was dangerous.
I knew when I came home that I wasn’t on the same shit I was on before I went away. I had matured and was ready to sit back and focus on my family. Cappadonna threatened he would come in as a CO and whoop my ass if I got locked up again.
The minute I turned onto the block, I double parked in front of the daycare and hit my hazards. The nigga that spit in Inez’s face was nowhere to be found. Khaos was somewhere in the cut waiting for me to give him the word.
I got out my whip and walked across the street to the corner store. That nigga disrespected my family, so I wasn’t leaving this block until his ass was handled. Brenay came waddling out the store no sooner than I crossed the street.
She was talking to herself or on the phone. Being that I didn’t see a phone in her hand, she had to be talking to herself. I could tell she was pissed with the way she was moving so quick that she didn’t notice it was me until I reached out and gently grabbed her arm.
Brenay was moving so fast she nearly tripped off the curb. “Not fucking interested… you see I’m pregn. —” her words were cut off and she sighed in relief when she realized that it was me.
“What up, Bre? Where you heading?” She had a shopping bag in her hand, and her stomach was large and keeping her off balance. Her stomach greeted you before she did.
“Inez forced me to go home and sit down, and ain’t come back with my food… I’m hungry.”
“Told her ass that she needed to sit the hell down somewhere… she been from this store, to that one and then the Associate down the block.” Etzel came out the store and sparked a cigarette.
He came over and dapped me up, as I held Brenay’s bouncy ass in place. She had more energy than me and I wasn’t carrying a full human inside of me. “My business is mine… who told you to be watching me in the first place.”
Etzel was a Brooklyn Bully, and we were in Bully territory. He took a pull of his cigarette as he leaned against the ice chest, his long legs kicked out in front of him.
“’Cause I had to help you when you lost your balance. Where the fuck your man at?” he questioned, taking the longest pull from that cancer stick.
He made sure to blow in the opposite direction away from where Brenay was standing. “Again, that’s my business. I need to get home to finish folding these baby clothes and actually eat my food.”
“Where’s your baby father, Bre?” I questioned.
She looked up into my eyes, already knowing the reason I was here. Brenay knew that her baby father had to pay for the disrespect he displayed.
It was no secret that my cousin was a fucking addict, and everyone around here knew the shit. They also knew that me or Khaos didn’t play about our respect. Everyone who saw Inez felt bad.
My cousin’s death ripped through the neighborhood like crack did in the eighties. Everyone knew what happened, and Inez walked around like she had a scarlet letter. No matter where she went, she couldn’t escape the sympathies, and those wanting to hug and be there for her.
When you were going through some shit, sometimes you wanted people to pretend. Pretend they didn’t see you. Pretend that you had a sign that said “leave alone” etched on your forehead.
“I told him that he would hear from you, Goo… he’s so fucking disrespectful and reckless.
I regret the day I even allowed him to touch me.
” She shivered in disgust. “He owes me money, and I need that for the baby’s stroller and pay the other half of my rent.
He sells out my apartment but can’t help me pay for it. ”
I looked at her and shook my head. “Tell me something, Bre… that was smart?”
She sighed. “No, but my unemployment has run out and I need money for this baby… I had no other choice. This baby is going to come, even if I’m not ready.”
I dug into my pocket and counted out a thousand dollars and handed it to her. “Take care of whatever you need to, and make sure you take yo ass in the house.”
Reluctantly, she took the money from me. “I’m getting my shit together, Goo. Shit is hard out here, and ever since Berkeley was murdered… I cannot sleep.”
When you lived in New York City, specifically Brooklyn, everyone was connected to everyone in some way. You either attended the same high school, grandmoms dragged you to the same church, or you knew people who knew people, so you were connected.
Berkeley and Brenay were cousins. It was one thing going through shit with your best friend having an addiction, but then to lose your cousin too.
Shit was tough.
“I know… shit is fucked up.”
She started to rub her stomach. “What did I miss? How could I have helped her… I’m scared to be out here alone because what if I’m next?”
“Don’t even fucking think like that.” I stopped her before she could continue to spiral. “I’ve always looked out for you along with Inez. Would never let anything happen to either of you.”
“We don’t always have a choice, Goo.”
I hugged her, kissing her forehead. “Go home and rest.”
She nodded her head, and Etzel walked slowly behind her, making sure she made it home safely.
The reason he wasn’t using Brenay’s apartment was because he found another dumb chick to use. Brenay was dumb as shit for allowing that nigga to run drugs through her apartment.
I sympathized with her because she was grieving two people. One living and the other one alive. Plus, she was pregnant by a nigga that was no good. She was going through a lot, and I wasn’t the type that kicked you whenever you were down.
All Khaos had to do was head to the Chinese spot and grab chicken wings with pork fried rice. The nigga didn’t give a damn about me being Muslim, he was going to cook pork and eat that shit right in front of me.
I was starting to think the nigga was doing it on purpose. Trying to coach me to go back to eating swine like I used to.
“She so fucking pressed to have a nigga taking care of her that she telling anybody that fucking listen. That bitch in the Chinese spot don’t speak a lick of English other than what’s on that menu.” Khaos said, as we climbed the fire escape.
I half listened as I continued to climb to the fourth floor, while feeling the breeze. I stopped midway and closed my eyes and felt the air caress my face.
I say caress because it was so gentle. The breeze was cool and reminded me, even in the middle of being a criminal, to stop and smell the air.
“We don’t got time for you to be catching a fucking breeze, Goo,” Khaos snapped, waiting for me to move, so he could come up behind.
“Chill, close your eyes… feel that shit.”
Khaos continued to look at me and then looked below him. “I’m scared of fucking heights, and you got me out here in the middle of the night. Move before I call the police on both of us.” he snapped, and I remained until I was ready to move.
My eyes opened when I heard a car door slam and noticed the guest of the hour. I quickly hurried up toward the floor, and like I expected, the window was open. We easily slid in and knocked over a jar that held incense ashes.
“Caposcents? Hmm… I love fucking incense. Got to ask Ms. Detective lady if she like shit like this.” Khaos muttered, as he shoved the plastic with the label into his pocket.
“Leave that fucking cop alone.”
He snorted. “As you about to wife Ms. Lawyer lady… nigga, let me find my one and only.”
I turned, knowing we had other pressing issues at hand. “Except, you don’t do one and only. Leave her alone if you’re not ready for her.”
“Who the fuck said that I wasn’t ready for her?”
“I know you.” That was all I said, and he left the topic alone.
Since we were teens, we had been doing side quests, and some of those side quests were robbing homes. It used to be a crew of us going into homes and getting whatever we could. We’d take it to the pawn shop in Queens and split the money down the middle.
Recommendation: Listen to Wishing On A Star by Rose Royce
The more you ran with niggas, you learned that some weren’t as loyal as you thought they were. Some didn’t hold shit close to their chest and were the first niggas accepting a can of Pepsi in the interrogation room.
I learned that shit the hard way when I was snatched out my bed and put into cuffs while my mother and aunt screamed as I was being shoved in the back of a patty wagon. It was always butterflies and fat asses when niggas were getting money and making plans.
Loyalty went out the window the minute time was being tossed around. Shit was fucking bullshit. My uncle hung around Papa Inferno back in the day, and he brought me around the Infernos.
I kept in touch with them, but I was on my own time. I was running with niggas that I thought would lay down their life for me.
Shit.
I would have laid mine down for them.
In my head, I had my crew and that was all I needed. Quasim and the Inferno Gods were good people, but I was out here trying to stop my mama from working two jobs and keep my brother out of trouble.
When I was shipped away, it wasn’t my guys that I had been loyal to that held me down.
It was Papa and Quasim Inferno.
My uncle was locked up out of state and put the word in that I was locked up. Quasim looked out for me more than the niggas I would have died for. He never counted favors or acted pressed.
When I needed something, he was there to help.