Aoki, Rihanna, and Tisa approached Peanut and his gang like soldiers, their faces deadpan, their movement subtle. It didn’t take long for them to capture everyone’s attention—three pretty females on the block were like rain in the desert. The catcalls came instantly. Peanut was still engrossed in the dice game.

  Aoki decided to wing it, saying to the group of goons, “Y’all know a Marie?” It was just a random name that came to her mind.

  Her accent caught everyone’s attention, even Peanut’s. He turned around and looked at all three girls. Aoki knew he didn’t recognize her. She looked completely different.

  “You mean Puerto Rican Maria?” Peanut asked.

  “Ya.”

  “She just left wit’ her moms, but I’m sayin’ y’all can stay and chill.”

  Aoki smiled in his face, but being that close to him, knowing that he tried to take her and AZ’s life the other day, she wanted to chop his head off.

  “Yo, stop being distracted by pussy, Peanut, and roll the fuckin’ dice,” someone exclaimed.

  “Nigga, hold da fuck up! I’m talking!” Peanut shouted.

  Aoki pretended to be upset about Maria leaving, like she knew the bitch.

  Peanut turned his attention away from the girls and focused back on the dice game.

  “Can I get in dis?” Aoki asked, referring to the dice game.

  The group was shocked that she asked.

  One goon said, “Oh, word, shorty? You tryin’ to play wit’ the big boys? You know you need that serious paper to play.”

  “Yeah, you can play if you stand here and give me good luck,” Peanut said.

  “Me can hold fi me own, and me got de money.” Aoki pulled out a nice chunk of cash from her handbag.

  “Damn, ma! What you do—rob a fuckin’ bank?”

  “No mon,” Aoki said. “Me wanna play, though.”

  “Let’s play then,” Peanut said, welcoming the girls into their circle.

  Rihanna and Tisa played the background. Aoki did most of the talking. They were watching and being cautious. They didn’t know anything about the neighborhood, but they kept their cool and tried to fit in. Inside, Tisa was trembling. She was so scared she wanted to run out of there as quickly as her legs took her. This wasn’t like the car incident where things progressed rapidly and without much thought. This here, what Aoki was doing, had her nerves popping.

  With Aoki leading the charge, it didn’t take long for the girls to become one of the guys. While gambling, it gave them time to fully scope things out. Four goons plus Peanut, most likely they all were packing heat. They had to be fast and accurate. One mistake and Staten Island would be the borough they would die in.

  Aoki was up five hundred dollars, proving she could hold her own. A half-hour passed, and it was all love and fun. Aoki even laughed with Peanut.

  As Peanut was all smiles and jokes, winning money, losing money, Aoki looked at her crew, and her eyes said it was time to implement the contract.

  “Peanut, we goin’ to de store,” she said.

  “Yo, bring me back a few forties and a pack of cigarettes.” He went into his pocket, slightly exposing the 9mm tucked in his waistband, and pulled out a wad of cash. He removed three twenty-dollar bills and handed it to Aoki. “Keep the change.” Peanut acted like he gave her six grand.

  Cheap bastard! Aoki thought.

  The girls walked toward the corner store while Peanut and his gang went back to gambling. Thankfully, Aoki didn’t notice any cops patrolling the area. She walked into the corner bodega and purchased a few beers and a pack of cigarettes.

  “Ya ready to do dis?”

  They nodded.

  Tisa took a deep breath.

  Aoki locked eyes with her and said, “We too deep now, Tisa.”

  “I know.”

  Each girl grabbed a brown paper bag with a forty inside. The girls exited the store coolly and strutted toward the dice game. While walking, they hid their guns in the shopping bags and cleverly kept them out of sight.

  Peanut noticed the girls coming back and he smiled.

  Aoki and her crew strategically positioned themselves around the group, encasing themselves cleverly around the game, making it difficult for anyone to escape. Most of the men had their backs turned to the girls as they continued to gamble.

  “Yo, you got what I asked for?” Peanut asked.

  “Yeah, we did,” Aoki said.

  She smirked, and then swiftly snatched her pistol from out the bag, and Rihanna and Tisa did the same and opened fire with steady hands.

  Bak! Bak! Bak! Bak! Bak!

  Peanut caught it first, two shots into his stomach, making him collapse to the ground.

  Bak! Bak! Bak! Bak!

  Pop!

  Aoki and Rihanna got busy, but Tisa fired one wild shot, got spooked and retreated. She hurried back to the car, leaving her friends behind to do the slaughtering. They lit up the block like it was the 4th of July.

  After the smoke cleared, five men were slumped on the concrete bleeding profusely and suffering from multiple gunshot wounds, including Peanut. Surprisingly, he was still alive, attempting to crawl away to safety.

  Aoki walked his way, frowning. She aimed her gun and shot the man in his ass, toying with him. “Ya bitch-ass nigga! Ya should have paid fi ya debt!”

  “Fuck you bitches!” he shouted.

  Aoki wasn’t done with him yet. Rihanna was ready to leave, but Aoki wasn’t about to make the same mistake twice. She stood over a badly injured and dying Peanut, pulled out her pocketknife, crouched near him and placed it to his throat. He tried to struggle, but he was too weak.

  Aoki quickly slashed his throat from ear to ear, killing him instantly.

  He started to bleed like a stuck pig, his blood staining the sidewalk.

  AZ was going to be pleased.

  “Let’s go! Let’s go!” Rihanna screamed.

  Aoki snatched the money off the ground, and she and Rihanna took off running.

  Tisa was already seated in the car, looking like she was about to have a panic attack. Aoki jumped into the driver’s seat, took a deep breath, and slowly drove away from the scene of her last crime.

  ***

  Rihanna was extremely upset with Tisa. “You coward bitch! We coulda died because of you,” she screamed.

  “Fuck you, Ri-Ri!”

  “You ran like a bitch, Tisa! What the fuck is wrong wit’ you?” Rihanna was up in Tisa’s face, flaring like a lit firecracker.

  “Get the fuck out my face, Ri-Ri! I ain’t the one,” Tisa said through clenched teeth.

  “Or what? Now you wanna get tough, huh? What the fuck you gonna do? Shoot me?”

  For the moment, Aoki tuned out the heated argument in the room between Rihanna and Tisa. They were back in Brooklyn, in her living room, and she couldn’t wait until payday. The loot they took from the dice game was rewarding too; it totaled fifteen hundred, an easy five hundred apiece.

  Aoki sat in the corner reliving the moment when she put her knife to Peanut’s throat and cut it, opening his flesh like a zipper. It felt good. AZ was going to be so proud of them. She took the risk, and it paid off.

  “I thought you was down to do this, Tisa. Why the fuck you lying for?”

  “I am down.”

  “What? You got cold feet, leaving Aoki and me to do the dirty work,” Rihanna shouted.

  Aoki lit a cigarette and exhaled. She’d heard some news about Polo being released from the hospital. She was sure he would come after her and her crew. It was only a matter of time. Polo wasn’t the type of man to turn the other cheek. He had a reason to hunt Aoki, so she had to be ready. Her crew had to be ready.

  Smoking her Newport, she turned her attention to Tisa and Rihanna. She stood up and shouted, “Would y’all two just fuckin’ chill out!”

  “But, Aoki, Tisa froze up, and we could have died out there.”

  “But we didn’t, Ri-Ri. Ya hear? We didn’t. Tisa just ain’t ready.”

  Rihanna frowned. She didn’t understand how Aoki could be so cool and not upset.

  Aoki looked at Tisa and said, “Ya need training, and me gon’ help ya kill smoothly.”

  Rihanna sighed and sat on the couch. She wasn’t as forgiving. They’d only survived due to the element of surprise. Nothing more, nothing less.

  ***

  The following day AZ arrived with the payment. When he heard about the murders, five dead, he was pleased. This time, there were no survivors. Peanut got the message, permanently.

  He greeted Aoki in the foyer with a hug and a kiss. Like before, he didn’t want to hear the details. The job was done, and he was there to pay for their services. He pulled out a nice-sized envelope filled with cash and handed it to Aoki.

  “That’s nine grand, five for Peanut and a grand for each goon y’all put down,” he said. “Impressive.”

  Aoki smiled. “Anything fah ya, AZ.”

  “Y’all do good work.”

  “Thanks.”

  AZ stood in the doorway. His Yukon was idling outside.

  “Ya not staying?” she asked.

  “Nah, I gotta make moves, you know.”

  “Yeah, me know.”

  They hugged each other, and he walked away. Aoki watched him get into his ride and drive away. She looked at the cash in her hand, and it felt so good. She’d earned it. Her girls had earned it, and she was ready to make a lot more of it.

  She split the pay three ways with her crew, but Rihanna was upset, feeling Tisa didn’t deserve her cut. But Aoki was more forgiving; they were all equal, no matter what. In due time, she felt Tisa would come around and become just like them.

  TWENTY-ONE

  AZ walked around the car lot in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, his eyes set on a sleek Mercedes-Benz, the C63 AMG, black and fully loaded. He circled the car, running his hand across the hood.

  “You’re a Benz man, huh? You have good taste, my friend,” the dealer said to him. “We can’t keep these on the lot for long. They’re selling fast.”

  “She’s a beauty.”

  “She definitely is. Underneath the hood is a 6.2L V8, 451 to 510 horsepower, and the stereo system sounds like you are in the front row of a rap concert at the Garden. I can see you in this.”

  “I’m just lookin’ for an upgrade.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with that. What fun is life if we keep hanging on to the same old things, right?”

  “Yeah, right,” AZ replied dryly.

  AZ fixed his eyes on every detail about the car, looking inside mesmerized by the dark, leather seats with the lateral stitching, split-folding rear seats, moon roof, and 18-inch wheels.

  The price tag was $58,000. AZ could afford it. He was ready to pay cash for it. He sat in the driver’s seat, and it was all him, a baller and shot-caller. The car was eye-catching.

  “You care to take it for a test-drive?”

  “Nah, I trust it.”

  “So, is this the perfect upgrade for you or not?”

  AZ didn’t reply. His focus was on the dashboard and the sound system. He sat behind the steering wheel and mulled it over. He then turned and looked at the dealer and said, “I’ll take it.”

  “Great. I’ll get started on the paperwork.”

  “Yeah, I’ll take it,” AZ repeated to himself, nodding his head and feeling like a king in the sleek Benz.

  After the paperwork, with the dealer knowing how to make magic happen with showing proof of income and other things, AZ rolled off the car lot in his brand-new Benz. In fact, it matched the Benz that B Scientific drove around town in. His Yukon was beat up and outdated, and he needed a car that spoke for him.

  AZ rolled down the car windows, put a CD in and had Jay Z’s “Big Pimpin’” blaring inside the car. He nodded his head to the track and drove toward East New York feeling like a new man. He smoked a cigarette and caught his reflection in the rearview mirror. “You are on your way,” he said to himself.

  AZ planned on giving Aoki the Yukon. She needed the transportation. He decided to call her and surprise her. The truck was going to be an extra bonus for being his ‘bitch’.

  Yes, life was good. His relationship with Connor was better than ever. In fact, he planned on seeing his lover this weekend to spend some quality time with him. They had been talking every day.

  AZ maneuvered his new ride down Linden Boulevard and pulled into one of the parking lots of the Pink Houses. Heavy Pop and a few others lingered in the parking lot, throwing back liquor and bullshitting.

  AZ’s sleek C63 AMG caught immediate attention. He slowed his ride near the gang and honked his horn.

  Heavy Pop couldn’t believe it. He walked toward the driver’s window and peered inside. “Damn, AZ! You went all out with this one.”

  “You like it, Heavy Pop?”

  “Yo, you might as well stamp ‘NYPD come get me’ on the back windshield,” Heavy Pop remarked.

  “What you mean?”

  Heavy Pop shook his head. “I mean, it’s nice. What happened to the truck?”

  “I’m giving it to Aoki.”

  “Oh.”

  The men that Heavy Pop was chilling with surrounded the car and praised AZ’s new ride.

  “Yo, this you, my nigga?”

  “Damn, AZ! You comin’ up. Shit is nice.”

  “This Benz is hot!”

  “Yo, you gonna take me for a ride?”

  AZ ate up the flattery. But while they were complimenting him, Heavy Pop stood near the door with a concerned look.

  “Yo, AZ, let me holla at you for a minute, in private,” he said, staring at the local goons surrounding the car.

  They all knew to step away and let the two men talk alone. Heavy Pop climbed into the passenger seat, and the two went for a ride.

  “I thought this wasn’t you. You steadily preached about keeping things simple, keeping a low profile, not wearing ice, and suddenly you go out and buy a sixty-thousand-dollar car.”

  “You don’t like the car?” AZ asked.

  “I like it, but don’t you think it’s too soon to buy something like this?”

  “This dealer, he cool peoples, dealt with our kind before and knew how to maneuver around the paperwork. Everything looks clean; it ain’t gonna come back to haunt me.”

  “At least the truck was used and we made it legit by paying installments, you know, to keep the trouble away from us.”

  “I understand, but this is legit too.”

  They continued driving, jumping onto the Belt Parkway, heading toward Coney Island.

  Heavy Pop lit a cigarette, exhaled, and said to his friend, “You still thinking about the future, right?”

  “Of course, that ain’t change.”

  Then Heavy Pop said, “I know you heard about Peanut. He and four others shot dead. Did you have something to do wit’ that?”

  “What?”

  “I’m sayin’, I know we took a loss wit’ that kilo, and then he ends up dead. If you did it, then you did what you needed to do.”

  “Listen, the man just got what he deserves.”

  “You contracting out killers?”

  “I’m just tryin’ to keep us alive and afloat in this game, Heavy Pop. You feel me? We can’t afford to have anyone run over us or cut us short on business.”

  Heavy Pop nodded. “I understand.”

  “I thought Peanut was cool. But he turned out to be an asshole. But you know what? The word is out not to fuck wit’ us.”

  “Yeah, but let’s not buy into the stereotype, AZ. We promised ourselves that we wouldn’t be too flashy, that we wouldn’t attract any unwanted attention. That we were going to be cautious and do this right, and so far, we’ve been doin’ it right.”

  “You think I’m slipping, Heavy Pop?”

  “Nah, but let’s not get used to walking on ice.”

  Heavy Pop didn’t want to switch it up. He was making money and continued to drive around in his used Charger and stack his money for a rainy day. He was smart and always cautious. Though he didn’t admit it to AZ, he felt that his friend was buying into the stereotype of being a drug dealer—flashy woman on his arm and now he had a flashy car. He and Aoki had been friends for years, so why get into relationship with her now? He didn’t understand it. He began to not understand his best friend and business partner at all.

  TWENTY-TWO

  Aoki strutted out of the Best Buy at the Gateway Center carrying a few shopping bags of electronics and walked to her Yukon feeling proud. It was the best gift she’d ever received. AZ was the best fake boyfriend she’d ever had. He was giving her the best, and she felt that she deserved the best.

  Looking fantastic in her bohemian-style strapless printed dress and a pair of wedge heels, Aoki was eye candy in the parking lot. She looked young, fresh and trendy. It was another beautiful summer day with the 4th of July right around the corner. Aoki had plans with her girls to spend the day on the beach. They wanted to catch some sun and enjoy the water.

  She got inside her Yukon and settled in, and as she was about to back out of the parking spot, a black Mercedes-Benz came to an abrupt stop behind her, preventing her from exiting the parking spot.

  She reached down and gripped her pistol, at the same time peering through her rearview mirror. She had made enemies, and she was ready to shoot first and protect her life.

  Her nerves cooled down when she noticed it was B Scientific getting out of his car. She was still alert, but was grateful it was him.

  He walked her way and she finally noticed he had a slight limp. It was sexy. He was handsome in a pair of cargo shorts and a white V-neck T-shirt, highlighting his slim, muscular physique, and a pair of bright, white Nikes. His dark skin glimmered in the sun, and his goatee was trimmed meticulously.

 

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