Hostile Takeover Read online

  “Don’t come inside me. Come on my ass,” she said and I gladly did as she asked ’cause I ain’t trying to make no babies. It may sound old fashion, but I want to be married to the mother of my children. And right now, I wasn’t looking for a wife.

  I got out of bed after a while, twisted up another bob for us to smoke and got back in bed. She laid her head on my chest and she was talking when I decided to ask a question.

  “What’s your name?”

  “Huh?”

  “Your name, I forgot it, what is it?”

  “You didn’t forget it, I never told you.”

  “So what is it?”

  But she just looked at me and smiled.

  Just then, I heard the door slam.

  “Mike! You in here!” Bobby yelled.

  “In the bedroom,” I shouted back.

  “You alone?”

  “No.”

  “Hi, Bobby,” she said, and rolled out of bed.

  “Who’s that?”

  “I don’t know,” I said as she scooped up her dress on her way to the bathroom and closed the door just before Bobby came in the room. We set out a lot of women for each other, so Bobby thinks he can fuck them all.

  “Where she at?”

  “Bathroom.” I pulled the cover over my head.

  “Who is she?”

  “I told you I don’t know. She didn’t tell me her name.”

  “Fat ass, big titties from last night?” Bobby asked, and sat down on the bed.

  “Yeah.”

  “Can I fuck her?”

  “Why don’t you ask her, but I think she plans on leaving,” I said as I heard the shower go on.

  And I didn’t think she would anyway. I didn’t think she was a hoe. I mean I had to talk her out of that dress. I think she really did come up there to use that body to hustle some money and go back to her real life. That’s why she didn’t tell me her name and I know she has no plans to.

  “So, you don’t think I can just walk in there naked and fuck her?”

  “No.”

  “Then since she’s leaving, you need to get up and ride.”

  “Where we going?”

  “Fuck should I know; outta here.”

  “What time is it?”

  “It’s after three.”

  “Too early.”

  “For what?”

  “To go see Drew. I wanna talk to him before we see Henderson tonight.”

  “You think we can trust him?”

  “We don’t have to ’cause I ain’t gonna tell him shit.” I heard the shower go off. “We’ll talk about that later.”

  Bobby shook his head and stood up. “What you got to drink?”

  “Bottle’s in the kitchen.”

  “You want one?”

  “No.”

  “I’m gonna roll one to ride with so we can get outta here,” Bobby said as the bathroom door opened and she came out. I pulled the cover off my head. Just as I thought, not a hair out of place.

  “Hi, Bobby,” she said, and stepped into her heels.

  “Hello.” Bobby stepped closer to her. “And you are?”

  “Leaving.” She stepped around him. “But I’d like to say goodbye to Mike.”

  “Go ahead.”

  “Alone.”

  After Bobby closed the door, she sat down on the bed.

  “I had a good time with you,” she leaned in and kissed me on the cheek.

  Old boy dropped a chunk of money at her pretty feet last night, so she made her money. Now it was time to see if she was a hustler or a hoe.

  “I did too.”

  “Maybe I’ll see you again next time I’m at André’s.”

  I sat up in the bed. “Or you could tell me your name and give me your number.”

  She laughed. “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” she said and kissed me again, on my lips this time, and then she stood up. She looked around the room and then picked up my pants. “Now get up and walk me out, please.”

  “You ain’t afraid to walk past Bobby alone, are you?” I sat up and she handed them to me.

  “No, Bobby is harmless. Every time I see him, he asks if he can fuck me, I say no and he goes away.”

  “That’s Bobby.”

  I walked her to the door, she said her goodbyes and she left. I wouldn’t mind seeing her again, even if she wouldn’t tell me her name.

  Once she was gone, I sat down in the living room with Bobby and we went over how we planned to do this thing again. We identified the key players, you know, the ones André said would dig in. That was Montel Lamont, Roscoe Simeon and Bodie Ringling. But first on our list was Canard Henderson.

  Henderson was a gambler and hijacker that used to be an enforcer for André back in the days when he was at war against Sonny Jones. The story goes that when the war started going André’s way, Jonesy had secretly approached Henderson about switching sides and offered him a lot of money to kill André. Instead, Henderson warned André about the plot.

  “What time you wanna roll by Drew’s?”

  “Some time before midnight.”

  “Put some clothes on anyway and let’s get the fuck up outta here.”

  “You don’t mind if I shower first?”

  “No, by all means, throw some water on your ass and let’s get outta here.”

  We left and rode around, doing what we usually did; hang out, drink, talk shit and fuck with women, and then we rolled by to talk to Drew. His name was Andrew Glover; he was a leg breaker for Henderson. He didn’t know it, but he was an important part of what I had for his boss.

  “Who is it?” Drew shouted when I knocked on the door to his apartment.

  “It’s Black and Bobby.”

  He opened the door. “What’s up, y’all?”

  “You got time to talk?” I asked.

  “Yeah, come on in,” Drew said, and walked away from the door. When we stepped inside, I saw that he wasn’t alone. She was wearing a see-through white gown with nothing on under it.

  “Evangelia, this is Mike Black and Bobby Ray.”

  “Hi,” she waved.

  “I need to talk to them, so go on and wait for me in the bedroom?”

  “Okay,” she said, grabbed her drink and went into the bedroom. Once she was gone, Drew turned up the music and we all sat down.

  “What’s up?” Drew asked.

  “There’s gonna be some major changes coming down.”

  “What kind of changes?”

  “I can’t tell you everything, or exactly how it involves you yet. But I can say that the changes will put you in a stronger position so you can make a lot more money.”

  Drew laughed a little. “I’m always for making more money. What I need to do?”

  “Nothing now. But when the time comes, I need to know if I can depend on you to be with me or not?”

  “How will I know when the time comes?”

  Bobby laughed. “Trust me, you’ll know.”

  Drew sat there for a second thinking. Bobby put his hand on his gun; he was ready to kill Drew if he said no.

  “I’m with you, Black,” Drew said, I held out my hand and we shook on it. I stood up and so did Bobby and Drew. Bobby looked in Drew’s eyes. The look on Bobby’s face said, fuck us and I’ll kill you.

  We left Drew’s apartment, and we rode down in the elevator in silence. Neither of us said a word until we were in the car and Bobby had driven off.

  “What do you think?” Bobby asked.

  “If you’re asking if I trust him—”

  “That is what I’m asking, ’cause I damn sure don’t,” he said as we turned on the Avenue. Bobby doesn’t really trust anybody but me and Wanda, so his not trusting Drew came as no surprise.

  “The answer is no, but I don’t have to. I trust that Drew knows what's in his self-interest and that he’ll do whatever it takes to protect that interest.”

  I knew by now that Drew had to have heard about what happened with Emmet the night before and so had Henderson, whic
h is what I wanted.

  “You’re right. If Emmet was true to form—”

  “And he always is.”

  “He called Henderson crying about us right after he couldn’t get André, so he’ll be expecting us.”

  “I don’t think so Bobby, I think that arrogant fuck probably thinks his past relationship with André puts him above everybody else so we won’t try him. But he’s wrong, André don’t give a fuck about him.”

  Bobby laughed. “André’s more interested in Henderson’s dick sucking wife,” Bobby said as he pulled in the alley across from The Late Night.

  Chapter Three

  The Late Night was our private afterhours spot. We didn’t open until one in the morning and you had to be somebody in the game or be with somebody who was somebody or you weren’t getting in. That always left a crowd of wannabes hanging outside so they could be seen, and wishing they could get in. There were so many of them that we opened another spot down the street called the Blue Room, so we could make money on them.

  It was just after one and there was already a crowd outside The Late Night. When me and Bobby got out of the car and walked across the street, we were met by the usual chorus of people shouting, what’s up, Black? Or, what’s going on, Bobby?

  They all swear they know us. And then there are the women that practically throw themselves at us like we’re rock stars or some shit.

  Every now and then, Bobby will pull one or two out of the line and bring them in with him, but I didn’t. Until last week, I had reason not to. This was Carmen’s house and she was the queen here. But I sent Carmen away, so now I don’t. But I had work to do, and I didn’t need to get distracted.

  “Hey, Black,” one said shaking her titties at me as I passed.

  She was wearing a black silk lace-trim top that barely covered them and black leather jacket and pants that she poured herself into.

  “I thought you said you were going to call me?”

  “I don’t even remember you,” I said and kept it moving even though she looked good. “But leave your number with The Kid and I’ll get with you.”

  “Who’s The Kid?” she shouted.

  It was crowded inside like we had been opened for hours. As I made my way through the crowd, I saw Nick and Jamaica and motioned for them to meet me in the office.

  “How’d it go with Drew?” Nick asked when he and Jamaica came into the office.

  “He said he’s with us, but we’ll see,” I said.

  “What’s the word in the street?” Bobby asked.

  “Everybody’s talking about what we did at Emmet’s last night,” Nick said.

  “Anything worth hearing?” I asked.

  “Nothing we didn’t expect. Most people were like, we’ll wait and see what happens.”

  “After tonight, there won’t be any questions about it,” Bobby said.

  “So we’re on for Henderson tonight?” Jamaica asked.

  I nodded. “We’re leaving right now.” I was about to stand up just as there was a knock at the door.

  “Who that?” Jamaica shouted.

  “It’s The Kid,” he said and Jamaica let him in.

  “What’s up, Freeze?”

  “Carmen is here.”

  “And.”

  “She wants to talk to you.”

  I looked at Freeze for a second and then I got up and walked to him. “What I tell you?”

  “That you don’t wanna see Carmen.”

  “What that mean?”

  “That you don’t wanna see Carmen.”

  “Right.”

  “What happened with Carmen?” Nick asked.

  “Shut up, Nick,” I said and got in Freeze’s face. “It means that you need to handle it. Not come running back here every time she shows up for me to tell you what you already know. Do you understand me?”

  “Understood.”

  “And you make sure that she gets home safely.”

  “Understood,” Freeze said and left the office. When I turned around, I was met by blank expressions on Nick and Jamaica’s faces. I didn’t feel like explaining to them why I didn’t want to see Carmen.

  “Let’s go,” I said and followed Freeze out of the office as Calvin’s words pounded in my head.

  For her sake, Mike, let her go. Let Carmen be somebody more than just your woman.

  So I let her go.

  I didn’t want to think about what I had done. It was easier to keep telling myself that I did the right thing. That now, Carmen would have a chance to be somebody.

  As we made our way through the crowd, I saw her. Carmen was in Freeze’s face and he was shaking his head, probably telling her no she can’t see me. Even though she looked as beautiful as she always did, I could tell that Carmen had been crying. I could see it in her eyes.

  Then she saw me.

  I wanted to be cold … look away and keep walking, but I couldn’t. Our eyes locked for a second. Then I stood paralyzed and watched as Carmen made a move around Freeze and he had to lunge to grab her.

  Then I felt a hand on my arm.

  “Come on, Mike,” Bobby said, and I saw Jamaica and Nick heading to help Freeze hold off Carmen.

  Bobby led me out of The Late Night and I felt like shit for what I knew I was doing to Carmen. But I was doing the right thing, right? I was letting her go so she had a chance to be somebody. There wasn’t no future in her loving a thug nigga like me. Carmen was going to be much better off without me holding her back.

  When we got in Bobby’s car, he started it up and we drove off. “Ain’t we gonna wait for Nick and Jamaica?”

  “They know where we’re going. They’ll catch up.”

  I looked at Bobby. “Thanks.”

  “For what?”

  Since he knew, I didn’t bother answering.

  “No point torturing yourself about it, you did what you thought you had to do,” Bobby said as he drove. “And Calvin’s right.”

  “I know that, Bobby.”

  “Carmen is beautiful.”

  “I know that, too.”

  “That’s why I never understood what she saw in you.”

  We both laughed.

  “Carmen is something special. She has a classic model look, carriage and poise,” Bobby said repeating what I told him Calvin said to me.

  “I know, Bobby.”

  “And with a lot of hard work, Carmen has the potential to be big in the fashion industry.”

  “Bobby!” I shouted.

  “What?”

  “Stop trying to make me feel better.”

  Bobby stopped talking and drove quietly for a change, but it didn’t last. We had stopped at a red light and just before the light was about to change, Bobby turned to me.

  “You love that girl, Mike. That’s why you had to break her heart,” he said, then the light turned green and he drove off.

  “Shut up, Bobby!”

  He drove to Henderson’s gambling house in silence, which was and wasn’t good for me. It forced me to think and I didn’t want to think, not about Carmen Taylor. But I did think about her. And since we left Nick and Jamaica, we had to sit and wait. It didn’t take long for me to have enough of that.

  “Come on,” I said and got out of the car. Bobby got out and hustled to catch up as I walked toward Henderson’s spot.

  “You don’t wanna wait for Nick and Jamaica?”

  “We’ll be inside when they get here,” I said, and I kept walking toward the building.

  Then I stopped and faced Bobby.

  “And you’re wrong. I am not in love with Carmen,” I told him in no uncertain terms, because I wasn’t and we went inside.

  We talked shit with the doorman for a while and then we went in. When it got suddenly quiet in there, I knew that everybody in there had heard about Emmet. And then, just as suddenly, the buzz was back.

  “What’s up, Black,” I heard some woman say.

  “Yo, baby, what’s up,” I said, and kept moving toward the bar.

  When I g
ot to the bar and the bartender served us our drinks, I looked around and saw Drew standing by the stairs that led down to the gambling room. I nodded at him and he returned the gesture.

  When I turned back, I saw Henderson and his long time bodyguard, Pistol Pete coming toward us. When I looked back, I noticed that Drew was gone.

  “Here he comes,” Bobby said.

  “I see him.”

  “He doesn’t look happy.” We shot our drinks.

  “He’ll feel much better about it soon. I promise.”

  Bobby laughed. “Or not,” he said as Henderson arrived.

  “We need to talk,” he said the second he was close enough.

  I took a step toward him. “What we need to talk about?”

  “That shit you pulled last night with Emmet.”

  “What shit you talkin’ ’bout?”

  Henderson laughed. “Don’t fuck with me, nigga. I ain’t Emmet. Me and André was killin’ young punk niggas like you two when you was still suckin’ on your mama’s tittie. I bet André don’t even know what you up to, because if he did, he’d put a stop to you and your shit permanently.” He got in my face. “I oughta throw you outta here like you did Emmet, Vicious Black.” He laughed and poked me in my chest.

  When he touched me, I took a step back, and reached for my gun. I pointed it in Henderson’s face and pulled the trigger.

  It got everybody’s attention.

  When his body hit the floor, I stood over him and put three more in his chest.

  I guess Pistol Pete finally got over the shock of what he’d just seen, because he started to go for his gun. When he did, Bobby raised his gun to Pete’s temple and fired.

  It was then that Nick and Jamaica came in the spot. When they realized that it was already on, they pulled out their guns and covered the room. Some of Henderson's men started to move, but I saw Drew hold up his hand to stop them.

  “I want everybody to understand. These are my streets now. You don’t make money in my streets without paying me.”

  “Anybody got a problem with that?” Bobby asked.

  That was when Drew stepped forward with his hands in the air. “No, Black. Ain’t nobody got a problem with it,” he said and turned to one of what were now his men. “Get them outta here.”

  Chapter Four