Prince of the City (18 page)

Smack!

Tank smacked Lee across the jaw with his Desert Eagle.

“Nigga, shut the fuck up. You know what it is. I do all the talking. You listen.”

Lee nodded, letting them know that he was willing to cooperate. After all, they must have come for money and not his life, because if so, they would have killed him already.

“Now, I know you got a spare key to Malik's apartment, but what I don't know is if he's in there or not,” Tank said.

“Nah, slim, he ain't there. I dunno where he's at. I just stopped by to holler back at him 'cause my cell phone battery went dead.”

“A'ight then, nigga, we gonna go in there, and if you're lying, I'm killing both y'all. You go first.”

They led Lee up to Malik's apartment and made him open the door, pushing him in first.

“Get on the floor!” Rock ordered while Tank checked the apartment.

“Nah slim, he ain't here,” Tank said.

“Well, Lee, that's one point for you. As long as you keep cooperating like this, I promise you'll live.”

The first thing Lee noticed was that his robbers knew his name, and if they knew him, then they did their homework. They knew he was holding onto millions. So there was no way he could give them what they wanted and still come out alive. Lee knew he was going to die.

“A'ight, it's like this. First, where's the money at in this apartment? And I mean all of it,” Tank said.

“Man, Malik keeps his money in the air vents and the lining of his refrigerator. He also keeps his coke right there in front of your face.”

Tank kicked Lee in the head. “Nigga, don't get smart with me. Now, where's the coke at?”

“Look under the couch,” Lee told him.

Tank flipped the couch over and saw three perfectly wrapped, duct-taped bricks and a Taurus 9-millimeter handgun. He then got the money out of the air vents and the refrigerator and placed everything in two pillowcases and set them by the door. Then Tank went into Malik's room and found his Rolex and bracelet while turning the room upside down looking for more money.

“A'ight then, Lee, that's another point for you. Right now, you're on a roll. Now listen, this is the most important info we need right now, and we expect you to be honest with us. Where is your money located?”

When Lee didn't answer, Rock kicked him and said, “Nigga, where your bank at? Don't make me kill you 'bout some money. Where's it at?”

Lee flinched and rubbed his head. “Come on, slim, you ain't gotta kill me. I'd be glad to give you some money, but the sad thing is I can't get to it. Even if I told you where it is, you couldn't get to it.”

“See Tank, I told you this nigga ain't giving up shit.”

At that, Lee knew for certain that he was going to die. His attacker revealed his partner's name, and there was no way they would let him live with that information.

As Lee tried to get up off the floor to make a run for it, Rock emptied two bullets in the back of Lee's head. Lee lay dead in the middle of Malik's living room, sprawled out in a pool of his own blood.

“Come on, Tank. Let's go!”

As Rock reached for the pillowcases, Tank placed his .357 to the back of Rock's head. “Nah Rock, you staying here with him.”

Then Tank pulled the trigger one time and Rock's brains splattered all over Malik's walls. Tank walked out the door with two hundred thirty thousand dollars plus three kilos of pure Columbian cocaine.

For Lee, it was a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. For Tank, it was the ultimate come up, but for Rock, it was a lesson well learned. Trust no one!

 

Chapter 23

-TEARS OF A HUSTLER-

 

 

ee never called back, and after about fifteen minutes, Malik's mind was racing about what to do next. He knew he had to do something fast, but Malik wanted to let Lee know before he started putting his murder game down.

Malik knew Rock, but he didn't know Tank. His first mission was to find out who Tank was. He wanted to kill Rock and then kill Tank, or catch them both together.

As Malik headed back home, his pager was blowing up with 911. The only person who would put a code in without a number was Linda. So Malik pulled over and called Linda on her cell phone.

“Hello?”

“Yeah, what's up?”

“Thank God, boy. You're safe.”

“What you talkin' 'bout?” Malik asked.

“Peaches told me what happened.”

“Damn, Peaches got a big mouth.”

“Peaches got love for you, and I do too. Where are you?”

“I'm in Georgetown right now, but I'm headed back home.”

“I'm already at the Madness Shop, and I advise you not to come here.”

“Why? What's up?” Malik asked, growing more concerned.

“We need to talk.”

“What's up? What's going on?”

“Malik, it's bad.”

“Aunt Linda, what's bad and why can't you tell me now?”

“'Cause, baby, I don't want you to flip out. Just meet me at my house while I take care of this mess.”

“What mess? What the fuck are you talking 'bout? Did the Feds raid my joint?”

“No.”

“Well then, what the fuck is going on? Tell me now. You know I ain't with no guessing game shit.”

“Just meet me at my place. Okay, Malik?”

“No, Aunt Linda! I wanna know now. What the fuck is going on?”

“Okay then, I'm a give it to you raw. After all, I know personally you've become immune to this shit.”

“Spit it out then.”

“Well, I was coming to your place, and when I got here, the building was evacuated and police and ambulances were everywhere. At first, I thought something happened to you. But Peaches called me about ten minutes ago and told me what was up and that she left you on Wisconsin Avenue. So I knew you couldn't be here that fast.”

“So what happened?”

“When I got here, they were bringing two bodies outta your apartment.”

“What!”

“Yeah, and Lee was one of them.”

“Who? Lee? Awwwww, hell naw! Not my man . . . I know these niggas ain't kill my man. Who was the other one?”

“I can't identify him. I've never seen him in my life.”

“Did you go in there?”

“Yeah, I had to, 'cause my name is on the lease.”

“Did the police fuck with you?”

“Nah, but I do have to go down to homicide to get interviewed. Don't worry though, baby. I've been through this before. I can handle it. Did you have any ID in there?”

“No, I got my license on me. But I did have money and shit.”

“Well baby, you already know that's gone. You can always get that back. But when your life's gone, ain't no coming back. I thank God you weren't in there.”

“Damn, Aunt Linda, these bitch-ass niggas done killed my man.”

“I know, baby, but the only thing we can do right now is lay back and find a way to resolve this shit. Now, Lee and I were good friends, but my main concern is you. Whatever decisions you make from this point on must be done wisely and executed to the fullest degree.”

“Yeah, I understand.”

Malik knew Linda was right. He couldn't just go out and look for Rock and Tank. He had to do his homework and develop a plan. The main thing was to retaliate and get away with it.

“Now that you understand, go to my place and stay there. I will try to find out who this other person is. Don't worry 'bout nothing, baby. I got it under control. Just wait for me till I come home, and then we'll discuss this in a strategic way.”

“Okay,” he replied sadly. So many emotions were going through his mind at that moment that all he could do was listen.” Malik found himself, sad, depressed, angry, worried and helpless all at once.

“Hey, Malik?”

“Yeah, what's up?”

“I love you, baby. You're all I got.”

“I love you too, Aunt Linda. I love you too,” he said before hanging up.

Malik knew that regardless of how much of a man he had become, it was Linda who had given him the game, and whatever decision she made was the wisest of all. Linda was a true gangsteress, and if she had been a man with those qualities, she would be the boss of all bosses.

On the drive to Linda's place, Malik lit his blunt as Scarface's “Never Seen a Man Cry” blared from his speakers. As the lyrics sank into his ears, Malik sat back and collected his thoughts. He knew he was prone to death, and so were those around him. He had lost the people that he loved the most to the game.

Linda was the only person on earth that he had left, and Malik refused to lose her. With this thought, Malik tried to decide whether he should get out of the game. He also wanted to know the true story about his parents.

Malik knew there was more to life than the life he was now leading, and if he continued on this path, he'd end up in the same place as his parents, Sonny James, Smitty, and Lee. Death was no enemy to Malik. It was a good friend who came at any given moment. Malik decided he didn't want death to visit him yet. His only problem was how Linda would take it. Malik knew he couldn't live without her.

 

* * * * * * *

After hanging up with Malik, Linda walked back to the crime scene to see if anything else was left in the apartment. On her way in, she was stopped by detectives. “Excuse me, miss? Are you Linda Wells?” a homicide detective asked.

Linda paused for a moment, looked around the crowded hallway filled with detectives and forensics. She gave it a thought to ignore him and just walk past the scene and knock on another apartment door, but she knew she couldn't. She had already talked to one officer earlier, so it was obvious they knew who she was.

“Yes, I am.”

“Well, we need to talk to you. Can you step over here, please, and place your hands on the wall?”

“Place my hands on the wall? For what? I wasn't there. That was my boyfriend.”

“Yes, we know that, ma'am. But your name is on the lease and officers found cocaine in your kitchen cabinet under the sink.”

“So what! That ain't mine! You can't charge me with that!”

“Ma'am, please. Don't make a scene. Just place your hands on the wall.”

“Fuck no! I ain't doing shit. You muthafuckas are tryna plant shit on me.”

When the officer grabbed Linda, she tried to tussle away.

“Ma'am, you're under arrest for possession of narcotics, and if you keep trying to fight me, you'll be charged with resisting arrest.”

“Fuck you, you white bitch! Get the fuck off me!” Linda fought helplessly, while the two plain-clothes detectives placed her in handcuffs.

“Get the fuck off me, bitch!” Linda spat at them as they threw her in the backseat of their unmarked vehicle. “Let me go, you white bitch! You can't put that shit on me! Let me go!”

Everybody looked on as they drove Linda away. Some speculated she had something to do with Lee's murder, while others knew she didn't and it was just a coincidence that there was still coke left in the apartment. Linda was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, and there was nothing she could do about it.

 

* * * * * * *

As Malik pulled into Linda's back parking lot, he passed a crowd of young hustlers indulging in a game of craps. The back parking lot had become a profitable strip after the Feds closed down the Bowling Alley. Most of the guys who worked for Malik moved it over on Seventh Street.

Fat Keith had become the head nigga on Seventh Street. He moved from Ninth Street over to the parking lot and renamed it The Pit. The Pit was a good strip, but it had also come under investigation since Fat Keith had come over. Bodies would pop up at least twice a month.

Malik found out that Fat Keith brought a bloody beef with some of the Ninth Street niggas who would come through and blast every chance they got. Malik grabbed his keys and placed his gun on his side as he headed around the front of Linda's apartment.

“Hey, Malik. What's up?” Fat Keith yelled out as Malik passed the dice game.

“Hey, wassup, Keith? How you doing, slim?”

“I'm chillin'. Just bustin' these young niggas' asses,” he replied, shaking a set of dice.

Malik started to walk away.

“Let me holla at you for a minute.”

Malik turned back. Even though he wasn't in the mood for conversation, he still gave Fat Keith a few minutes.

“Yeah, what's up?”

“Slim, you know I got this spot jumpin', right?”

“Yeah, I know. What about it?”

“Look, Malik. I ain't gonna beat around the bush, but a nigga needs a connect. Now all these niggas out here movin' shit, but nobody won't sell me no powder. And I've known you for a while. Shit, we used to box together, and from what I see and hear, you got that shit. I'm just tryna get down. I don't give a fuck how high the number is. I just want some powder. I'm tired of these niggas serving me this already cooked up shit. All I need is a little help, and I'm asking you like a man. Throw a dog a bone.”

“Keith, I'd love to help you out, slim, but right now, I'm kinda fucked up. I don't even know when the next time I'm a get down myself. When I do, you'll be the first nigga I come see. A'ight?”

“That's good enough for me. Thanks, slim. You won't regret it.”

Malik and Keith shook hands, and at the moment they turned from each other, four unmarked police cars pulled up, blocking off the vicinity.

“Everybody get on the ground!”

Malik tried to walk away as if he wasn't part of the crowd.

“Hey! Take another step and I promise your whole family will be walking behind you real slow. Now get your ass on the ground before I bust a cap in your ass. I'm just itching for one of y'all to try me today.”

As soon as Detective Cowboy threatened Malik's life, without hesitation Malik complied with his orders. He knew Cowboy meant every word.