Chapter 4 #3
Business always took precedence over everything, and Noble was crazy enough to be head of two of them. He sat at the table, checking his messages while his cousin, Nuke, stood in the corner.
“I forgot to tell you, your mama called earlier. She said come by the office.”
Noble nodded without giving Nuke any eye contact. Seconds passed and Rio entered the room. He walked over, dappin’ Nuke up before doing the same with Noble.
“What’s the word?” he asked, taking a seat.
“Shit, just making sure that deal went as planned.”
Rio bobbed his head, leaning back in his chair.
The Legacy Mafia was constructed of two different groups.
There was the side where they sold pills to the upper class, then there was the side that had gotten into arms dealing.
Rio was the distributor for their pills.
He’d make deals with the wealthy and famous.
NFL executives, corporate America, politicians, and a host of the high-class were their number one customer.
What they couldn’t get through doctors at a high volume, they could obtain with TLM.
Jovanis entered the room, pulling up his pants.
He shook hands with everyone before taking a seat on the opposite side of Rio.
Noble’s younger brother, Zayd, trailed in minutes after, making sure to greet him before taking a seat.
They had gone from eight lieutenants down to four.
Before Tuck got locked up, he had several of them that weren’t qualified to hold it down.
It jarred Noble witnessing the organization that he had helped him build crumble like sand.
There was no order amongst the members. Everybody acted as if they were in charge and made terrible decisions.
Noble had to take a few out due to them being a liability and turning into witnesses.
Needless to say, Tuck hadn’t done a very good job leading TLM, which made Noble’s mess dirtier to clean up.
“You handle that?” Noble asked Jovanis.
“Yeah, the shipment came in last night. Everything is all there.”
Noble sighed. “Y’all gotta handle those lil’ niggas. All that posted up in the hood shit is dead. Give them niggas something to do or cut ‘em off.”
“I told them.” Zayd shook his head. “They like putting on a show, and I blame Tuck’s flashy ass.”
“Man, I tried to tell them, too,” Jovanis stressed. “And they fucked up the shipment and delivered it to the wrong people.”
“So, they’re useless?” Noble’s eyes narrowed.
“I wouldn’t necessarily say that.” Jovanis stalled. “…Those niggas just need some guidance. Tuck let they ass do whatever.”
“I don’t give a fuck what Tuck let them do. We don’t operate like that no more.”
“Facts,” Rio added. “He thought that wild shit was it, but it wasn’t doing nothing but bringing attention from twelve.”
“Tell them niggas to tighten up before they be where Tuck at or where Luco and Dough at. I don’t really give a fuck.” Noble shrugged, sitting back in his seat.
“I meant to tell you.” Rio paused for a moment. “One of my men wanted to holla you. He feels like he’s ready to make lieutenant.”
Noble shook his head. “He knows he can’t talk to me.”
“Then, how niggas supposed to move up if the general ain’t available to them?” Jovanis asked.
Zayd smirked. “Yeah, Noble. This don’t talk to me shit ain’t the move.”
There was a chain of command within the organization that Noble had implemented when Tuck went to jail.
No one could talk to him except Rio, Jovanis, Zayd, and Wilde.
It was a way to establish not only order but protect himself from rats.
Getting in contact with him was impossible, and Noble preferred it that way.
“How y’all think Tuck got knocked? The nigga was too accessible. Talking to everybody got his ass on a wire. I ain’t built like that. Besides, I got too much to lose to be implicated in an investigation.”
Rio nodded. “I respect it.”
“This shit should’ve been called The Legacy Snitches the way niggas was turning into witnesses.”
They all shared a laugh with Noble chuckling.
“Man,” Zayd drawled, shaking his head. “Shit so embarrassing, bro. It’s gon’ take a while to build our reputation up again.”
Jovanis shook his head, still laughing. “Damn, The Legacy Snitches is wild as fuck.”
Noble looked at Rio. “Do you think he has what it takes to be a lieutenant? Before you answer, think about all the shit y’all gotta do. All the loyalty and dedication you pledged to be in your position. Do you really think he got what it takes?”
Rio dragged his hand over his mouth. “I don’t know.”
“Exactly. Niggas don’t be ready for this shit for real. They only see the vanity and want a part of that.”
Noble was cool with the four lieutenants he had. It lessened the confusion and made communication better.
“Y’all got anything else to say?”
Rio shook his head. “Nah, I’m good over this way.”
Noble looked at Jovanis. “You?”
“I’m straight.”
“Zayd, you good? And where is Wilde’s ass at?”
Bobbing his head, he assured, “Yeah, I’m straight, and I don’t keep up with that man.”
“A’ight, I gotta shoot. Hit me.”
Jovanis stood. “I’m heading out too. I gotta spend some time with my girl.”
Noble was silent as images of Irish bombarded his mind. It had been a week since their impromptu encounter, and she still hadn’t used his number. There was a part of him that knew she shouldn’t because it could lead down a winding road filled with forbidden signs and dangerous paths.
Noble rose from his seat, and he and Nuke left the building.
He had to go tend to his other business that was located on the other side of town, near the port.
When he arrived at the warehouse, he entered and went straight for the office.
As soon as he walked in, his sister, Kaliste, was at the front desk.
“Oh, Ma! The Noble one has graced us with his presence,” she joked.
He smirked, ruffling her silk wrap with his hand.
“You fucking animal,” she griped, pushing his arm away. “Don’t come in here fucking up my wrap.”
“That silk press wasn’t shit anyway,” Noble jested, grabbing envelopes from the table and sifting through them.
“Nuke, how can you even hang with this imbecile? He’s so damn disgusting.” Kaliste fixed her hair with her fingers.
Nuke took a seat near the door. “You know cuz legit.”
The door opened and his mother, Lyra, exited the back office.
Noble glanced at her then went right back to opening envelopes.
When he left TLM the first time, he wanted to build something legit.
He had been throwing bombs at the penitentiary and didn’t want to get caught up.
So, Noble walked away with a hefty savings, hoping to wash his money.
After months of research and meeting the right people, Noble built a logistics company called St. Anthony’s Logistics.
He offered a range of services including warehousing, fulfillment, scale operations, and transportation.
Noble had hustled so hard for the company that it no longer required him to be over operations.
His mother was over that while Kaliste was head of shipment.
A host of other family members worked for the company that had close to 150 employees.
“You finally showed up. How come I gotta send messages to get to you, Noble?”
He stared at his mother who was a Florida girl to the depths of her soul. She even refused to let go of her permanent gold tooth in the front. Her hair was always styled in a twenty-seven-piece pixie with gold highlights.
“What did you need?”
“I wanted my grandson, and I called his mother. Well, she told me I needed to talk to you.” Lyra rolled her eyes. “Why is it that I can’t get my grandson whenever I want?”
This shit again…
Every month, Noble had to stomach through these conversations with his mother when the topic of Kenji arose.
“Ma, I told you to stop calling that broad,” Kaliste chimed in. “She only says that because she really don’t fuck with us. You know she thinks we knew that Noble was gonna divorce her simple ass. I don’t know how she’s made everything our damn fault.”
“It’s complicated,” Noble mumbled, reading over a letter. “You should already know why, Lyra.”
“Well, when are we going to get past this so I can be a grandmother to my grandson?” Lyra grumbled, shaking her head. “I don’t like spending time with my other grands and not him.”
He tossed the envelopes in the garbage before giving her his full attention. “We’ll talk about that at another time.”
“Whatever.” Lyra scoffed. “Oh, and another thing I wanted to ask was… I’m throwing Bernard a sixtieth birthday party, and I wanted to invite you.”
Kaliste snickered right away while Nuke mumbled something under his breath. Noble angled his head at his mother, trying to determine if she had lost her mind.
“Why would you think I would want to come celebrate that nigga?”
Lyra pursed her lips. “Noble, he’s your stepfather.”
“That you put—nope, I’m good.”
He didn’t have the energy to remind Lyra of how much disdain he reserved for her and Bernard.
“You and your brothers know y’all can hold a grudge against someone,” she fussed. “I want my family together, in one place. I hate how divided we are.”
Life had been a wild ride due to Lyra and her choices. Since Noble was a man, he took it on the chin and cut his losses. However, he loathed how she acted as if she wasn’t the reason for the wedge between them.
“Lyra, let it go. How’s everything else, business wise?” He changed the subject.
“You know everything is good on my end. I earn my keep around here.”
He wouldn’t disagree with her. Lyra was a great addition to the company despite their personal issues.
“Where is Wolfe and Zayd? I ain’t heard from them in a couple days?” Lyra inquired, grabbing a folder from the desk.
“Who knows?” Kaliste scoffed. “You know they run the streets just like their big brother.”
Noble simpered. “I don’t run the streets. I get shit done. That’s a big difference.”
“Yeah, whatever,” she muttered and started typing on the keyboard.
“I’m gone. Hit me if you need me. Let’s go, Nuke.”
Noble left, leaving his mother standing, wearing a weary expression. The days of being affected by her emotions were long gone. They didn’t penetrate him and neither did she.
As soon as they left the warehouse, Nuke said, “Damn, Auntie always trying to rewrite history, huh?”
“All the time but she can’t do it to me. I’ll never let her forget how weak she is or how she moved.”