True To The Game Part 15

"I don't know. I don't know what to do."

"Now, you just calm down, partner. You'll be all right."

"What am I gonna do, Rik?"

"Get a motherf.u.c.king blood test. You the only one who thinks the baby is yours."

Qua hadn't heard Gena return. "Quadir, I'm gonna take a shower, want to come?"

"No, baby, I'm on the phone."

"Who's that? Gena?" Rik asked.

"Who else is going to be up in my house?" asked Qua.

Rik started laughing at him. "All these ho's runnin' around talking about it's Qua's baby, s.h.i.+t, you might got Virgin Mary up in that motherf.u.c.ker. How the f.u.c.k am I supposed to know?"

Gena was still trying to entice Qua. "Okay, if you don't wanna shower with me, you're gonna miss out," she said, dropping her robe in front of him on the way to the bathroom.

When she was gone, he turned back to the phone. "Rik, I asked Gena to marry me."

"What, Qua? You getting married, man?"

"Yeah. I'm gonna have a big wedding."

"Well, what's up? I'm waiting."

"Oh, yeah, and I want you to be my best man."

"That's because you know I am the best n.i.g.g.a out here."

"You gonna be my best man or what?"

"Oh, n.i.g.g.a, stop b.i.t.c.hin'. You know I got your back. However, there is a problem."

"What?"

"You selling keys for five thousand is the motherf.u.c.king problem, man."

"I'm not selling them for no five. I'm selling them for 10."

"What's the f.u.c.king difference. How is you playin' with this ten s.h.i.+t."

"Look, me and Gena are about to go to Atlantic City. When I get back I'm gonna come and see you. I got something for you."

"When are you coming back?"

"I'll be back later on tonight and then we'll talk."

"Pick me and Lita up some Gucci sneakers while you down there."

They gave each other the salaams and hung up the phone.

While Quadir and Gena were walking on the Atlantic City boardwalk waiting for their dinner reservation, the Junior Mafia was having a meeting in the southwest part of the city. Jerrell was pacing a trail in his peach carpet, talking on the phone.

"I don't understand why no one is buying weight! And no one knows why?" he asked as he stared around the room using his eyes to demand an explanation.

Finally, someone spoke up. "No one is buying. For the past three days, no one has called or needed anything, or nothing."

"Khyree, I figured that out since none of ya'll motherf.u.c.kers got my money."

Jordan looked at Jerrell. "No one is buying weight."

Jerrell looked at all of them as if they were thieves. "Well," he finally asked, "who owes us money?"

"No one from this end owes anything," said Khyree.

"The caps are moving, but the bricks are just sitting there," said Mont.

"Well, do something about it!" Jerrell shouted.

"What do we do?" said Khyree.

"Figure it the f.u.c.k out. Somebody got it. They're getting c.o.ke from somewhere. It's not like motherf.u.c.kers stopped getting high," said Jerrell.

Ran arrived, gave and received acknowledgment of his presence as Jerrell continued.

"Ran, where the f.u.c.k is Reece and Derrick?" Jerrell did not like anyone to miss his shareholders meetings. He felt it was important. It brought everyone in the Junior Mafia together. The meetings were short but informative, or at least Jerrell thought so. After everyone left, Jerrell paged Reece, then Derrick. He was really starting to worry, not so much about them, but about the five bricks and three million dollars they were carrying. A few minutes of pacing, with Ran right behind him, Jerrell spoke again. "You know, I really don't like this s.h.i.+t. Somebody that gets rid of ten kilos every day ain't moved a motherf.u.c.king thing all week."

"Who?"

"Khyree," he said, walking out of the room.

Ran, following, asked, "Well, why not?"

"I don't know."

Mark picked up the ringing phone. "Yo, man, where you at?"

It was Skip. "I'm at the hospital. You not gonna believe this s.h.i.+t. The cops just brought Reece and Derrick here. I saw them pull them from the back of a f.u.c.king paddy wagon. The cops are everywhere. I got to get out of this lobby and get back in the room with my girl."

"Yo, Skip, hold up. Jerrell wants you."

Taking the phone, Jerrell inquired of Skip, "What the f.u.c.k is going on?"

"The cops just brought Derrick and Reece in here. Man, get somebody down here. My girl just went into delivery. I'm saying, it f.u.c.ked me up, Ock. I don't think Reece is gonna make it. Call Reece's girl and get her a.s.s down here. I got to go."

The news spread through the city like wildfire. Jerrell's right-hand man, Reece, was dead. Derrick was listed in critical condition, however, and would be arrested upon his recovery. Reece and Derrick led a high-speed chase through the city, fatally shot a police officer, and wounded another. They got away, then crashed into a wall on Lincoln Drive. The police did not call for an ambulance; they just threw the bodies in the back of a paddy wagon, hoping they would die. The Volvo they were driving was taken into custody. The police reportedly found two guns, five kilos of cocaine, and one million dollars.

TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT Things changed, and they changed real fast. Quadir met with Rik and decided to hand him the rest of his cocaine supply in exchange for a quarter of a million dollars. He arranged for Reds and Rasun to do business directly with Rik. Amar and the other brothers he dealt with were free to do as they pleased; but Rik's price was better than Quadir's, so the money stayed in the family.

Then there was Gena, who was becoming unbearable to deal with. She knew something was going on, but she didn't know what it was. Quadir wondered if the gossip about Cherelle having his daughter was in the street. He figured it was-that was why she asked him. She came right out one night after dinner and asked whether he had a daughter by the girl, and he told her no. That was all she wanted to hear and left it alone. Why hadn't he said yes? He wished he could have freed his conscience. Instead he went out and bought her a baby-blue Mercedes-Benz 300 CE with a license plate tag that read "MY CE."

Cherelle, on the other hand, continued to dare him. f.u.c.k me, suck me, and give me loot or if you don't I'm gonna tell. Quadir was tired of dealing with her. He knew he could not take much more. He was gonna tell Gena. The only problem was what Gena would do.

The worst thing he did was get Gena the car. She didn't know how to act now, gone all the time. He had to get her a pager shortly thereafter, just to keep up. Every time he paged her, she was at the mall or on her car phone-never home.

"Hey, baby. What are you doing?"

"Oh, nothing, shopping. Meet me at the party 'cause I'm not coming home to get dressed. Got to go. Quadir, I need another cellular battery."

And with that Gena was out spending drug money, keeping the economy alive. Nine thousand here, another eight thousand there. She just shopped. Anything that was more than ten thousand had to have Quadir's approval and his credit card, but don't think it could not be obtained. Gena picked up both Lita and Tracey and headed to Black's party. She had already told Quadir to catch a ride with Rik so she could hang with the girls.

Lita couldn't get over the ten-karat diamond engagement ring. Quadir had really outdone himself. Tyrik told her it was ten but hearing about it and actually seeing it was two different things. She herself had a four-karat diamond, and once Rik told her about Gena's ring, Lita told him to upgrade her s.h.i.+t and make it snappy.

"Do you see all this attention we are getting just from this car?" asked Tracey.

"No, do you see these motherf.u.c.kers staring with no understanding?" asked Lita.

"Mmm, hmm." Gena already knew and understood the attention her man got in the street. What she didn't understand was why he lied about it and kept her in the dark.

"Quadir is so good to you. I hope I find a man that buys me s.h.i.+t like this," whined Tracey.

"This is Quadir's conscience. He feels sorry. He knows he's f.u.c.ked up and that it's only a matter of time. He buys me s.h.i.+t to make himself feel better. That's why he went out and got this car, to try to make up for some s.h.i.+t he can't even confess."

"Make what up?" asked Tracey.

"Cherelle and her baby."

"When did you find out?" asked Lita, "I found out four days ago. Why didn't you tell me?"

"b.i.t.c.h, Rik was gonna kill me. I got a home too. Don't think I didn't want to tell you, and I was going to. It's just that if you and Quadir broke up because of something I said, Tyrik and Quadir would blame me. Besides Gena, did that motherf.u.c.ker get you ten karats, or what? Did he ask you to marry him? Please. f.u.c.k Cherelle and her baby. That n.i.g.g.a don't want that broke b.i.t.c.h. Rik said the b.i.t.c.h ain't nothin' but a wh.o.r.e and Quadir can't stand her. Rik f.u.c.ked her too. Don't feel bad. Mmm, hmm, Rik said they both f.u.c.ked her. I think they did the jawn together."

Gena just looked at Lita. She hated the way she knew everything and could just hold it inside. Gena's motto was "Tell me, 'cause I'm telling it all." In Gena's mind, the fact that Quadir would not tell her could only mean that he was still f.u.c.king with Cherelle. Gena was scared of losing him, the house, ring, Mercedes-Benz, and all. A baby was a bond, and Gena didn't have that with him. She was jealous. What ifs popped through her mind. Quadir telling her he was leaving her. Gena couldn't take that. She would probably faint or beg him not to leave. She didn't want him to be with Cherelle, and she didn't want Cherelle to have any money either, but she knew Cherelle existed before her. And Cherelle had a baby.

The other side said f.u.c.k it. He wants the b.i.t.c.h, then he can have the b.i.t.c.h. That was tough because not only would she give up her man, but also her lifestyle. Gena wasn't about to lose Quadir. She would fight for him to the end. Wasn't no way she was gonna give up all the s.h.i.+t that made her life happy. He was hers. He'd asked her to marry him.

"Quadir had a baby with someone else?" asked Tracey.

"Who do you think we are talking about?" asked Gena.

"Quadir got a baby by Cherelle?"

For some reason, Tracey kept asking the question over and over.

"That little tramp had the nerve to name it Quanda," Gena seethed. "Quadir must be out of his mind or just stupid if he thinks I don't know what the f.u.c.k is going on."

"I seen her too, the other day. She did have a baby with her," said Tracey.

"Did you see it?" asked Gena.

"No, I didn't see the baby. I wonder do it look like him," said Tracey, pa.s.sing the spliff to Lita.

"s.h.i.+t, it ought to look like him as much money as he gives the b.i.t.c.h."

"d.a.m.n, look at all those people waiting to get in!" They had reached the club and smoothly pulled up to the entrance to take a look.

"Well, you know everybody was going to come out to Black's party. You know how it is."

"I hope we can get in," said Tracey.

"We will," said Gena parking the car.

The girls turned the corner and walked down the street. People were everywhere. "Is this the club Sahirah was at?" asked Gena.

"No, she was at Chances," responded Lita.

"Rasun," Gena called out his name, spotting him walking down the street with Reds. "What's up?"

"Nothing, baby. Just came to do my thang, you know what I'm saying? I'm trying to meet one of your girlfriends. What's up with that?"

"Here, meet Tracey."

"d.a.m.n baby, you looking mighty good tonight."

"Where's Quadir?" asked Gena, seeing that Tracey didn't seem interested.

"I don't know. I haven't seen him."

"Him and Rik are probably inside," said Lita.

"Come on," he said as he ushered everyone to the door. He told the bouncer, "They wit me, boss," who stood aside, admitting them without hesitation. Once inside, Rasun asked the women, "You all right now?"

"Yeah, where you going?"

"I'm gonna mingle and jingle," he said, looking at Tracey as if she didn't know what she was missing.

Gena and Lita went looking for Quadir and Rik while Tracey talked to some guy she knew from junior high.

Gena led the way through the crowd, b.u.mping into someone who she knew every step of the way. "d.a.m.n, everybody in here or what?"

"Yeah. It looks like the crew is in the house," said Lita.

"Hey, Gena baby," said Quinny Day, giving her a hug. "Hey, Lita baby," he said, doing the same thing to her. "Goodness gracious, the Lord has truly blessed us all when he put y'all on the face of the earth. G.o.d bless America!"

"Quinny Day, what's up?" asked Lita.

"Nothing, baby. Just kicking it."