Hood Rich: The rise and fall of one of Brooklyn's Finest (4 page)

Me and my man Rich had Wilson Avenue poppin'.
We had stepped it up to nine ounces a day on the
strip. We had crazy traffic and mad attention. Money
was flowing. Everybody was happy: Rich, Wiz, Dave,
Xavier, and me of course. It was so good I had just
copped a ‘03 LeSabre. I was floating on deuces wit a
crazy system.
Rich called me to pick him up from the Long Island
Railroad station in Jamaica. I stopped at Irving Park
to pick up Wiz and Dave. By the time I got to the train
station, Rich was already sitting on a newspaper dispenser. He jumped in and we headed to the Hot Bar
to get some drinks. Rich had his usual Smooth Bitch
and some snow crabs. I had a vodka and sloe gin as
did Wiz and Dave.I sat directly next to Rich as he
played the “Boxxi” game on the mega-touch screen. I
felt somebody close behind me. I felt a tap on my
shoulder and I turned around. It was the nigga Fats
from Central Avenue.
Fats ran Central Avenue and Evergreen Avenue. He
was one of those wanna be ballers. At thirty five years
old, he had been flipping the same four and a half
since he was old enough to hustle. Fats was a neighborhood fixture though, and no one ever imposed on
his strip without being swiftly checked. Fats rested
his hand on my shoulder.
“Hey youngin’... you need to move them workers off
Wilson Avenue. Y'all too close to my strip. You stepping on my toes.”
I looked at Rich and he looked back at me before I responded.
“I’m gone holla at Manny and see what’s up, aight.”
Fats smirked and retorted.
“Do whatever you gotta do, but make sure you move
them workers. Make sure they stay off Wilson Avenue. I’m being courteous out of respect for Manny...
and only out of respect for Manny.
Fats turned away just as quickly as he came in. all
sorts of thoughts raced through my mind. I looked to
Rich and he beckoned for me to follow him out the
bar. We left Wiz and Dave and went to sit in my car.
There was silence until I turned over the ignition. As
soon as the the car started I was ramming.
“That’s some nut ass shit yo... fuck that nigga. Who
the fuck he think he is telling me to move the workers
off the Avenue. It’s whatever wit me yo!”
I was ready to ride and I know my suns was too. I
knew Fats and them was older than us and more experienced, and had way more guns, but fuck it. Rich
looked at me and shook his head no. He wasn’t with
that.
“Yo, this shit aint that simple. We gotta be smart
about this.” I shook my head in agreement.
“But we cant just let that shit ride though... and we
cant just wait for him to do something to us, you feel
me.”
“Well... if we pull the workers off the Avenue... that’s
gone show weakness and we gone lose money and
the strip. We could leave the workers out there and
call Fats bluff... and prepare for war. Or... let’s go over
Shakita’s crib. Manny should be calling soon. As a
matter of fact chirp Xavier and tell him to stay on
point and watch out for them Central Avenue niggas.”
We pulled around Decatur Street to Shakita’s house
and played Need for Speed with the twins until Shakita got back in the house. After Rich explained the situation to her she sat down and put her hands over
her face.
“Manny already called me today.” she said and then
continued.
“Y'all cant go to war with Fats, I mean, you can, but
then you not gone make no money, its gone get hot as
shit around here, and some of these soldiers gone
die.”
Rich sighed and sat down before he responded to
Shakita.
“So what you saying, cause I’m not bowing down to
Fats.”
“That’s what I’m saying, fuck that fat ass nigga.” I
said while looking directly at Shakita.
“Aight look, Fats is just fishing... his strip is loosing
money. He Don’t want it wit Manny, but he gone try
you cause Manny locked up. He's waiting to see if
those workers move. Don’t move 'em. Make an example out of the first Central Ave nigga that step foot
over this side of Wilson Ave. Then set Fats up to go
through some shit wit some Brownsville and some
Bed-Stuy niggas. He can't fight two wars, come at
y'all, and make money at the same time. If you keep
them beefing at Fats, the problem will cancel itself
out... you dig me.”
Rich got up and hugged Shakita. She did have some
good advice. When I left out to get in the car, Rich
stayed back for a few minutes before he came out. We
rounded up all the workers and put them all out on
Decatur and Wilson Ave. We waited and waited for
somebody from Central Ave to cross Wilson Ave. An
hour later we spotted two niggas coming across Wilson Ave wit hoodies on. They ran up on Xavier and
Dave and put gun to their heads. One of them backed
up slightly before he spoke.
“Y'all know what it is... run all that shit!”
The other one patted down all the workers as his
partner waived his pistol back and forth between the
workers.
“Matter fact everybody lay it down... lay it the fuck
down. If you look up, I’m gone push ya top back.”
The other one continued to go through all the workers
pockets.
“Y'all gone stay the fuck up off Wilson Ave.... y'all
feeling me... or we running down on y'all every day
and every night.”
Xavier, Dave, and Wiz were all laid down on the
sidewalk with the rest of the workers as the two
hooded niggas turned around to make their' escape.
Me and Rich were sitting on the stoop a few houses
from the corner. We ran down Decatur Street as fast
as we could and caught the hooded pair in the middle
of the Street. We pulled our pistols in unison and
emptied our clip into their backs as they tried to flee.
They were laid out in blood, face down on the yellow
line on Wilson Ave. Their pockets was full of crack
and money from the workers and the stash we had
out there. We decided to let them keep it. Too bad
they didn’t live to spend it!
Everyone ran separate ways. Me, Rich, and Wiz went
to my house on Irving to get ready for part two. We
waited until three in the morning for the cops to clear
off Wilson Ave. Crime scene was still out there. All
the workers were off the streets. Wiz left solo to steal
Fats' candy apple red '64 Impala. If anybody could
pull it off it would be Wiz. He was the best car thief in
the hood, plus it was a old school without alarms or
GPS chips. Wiz was back in less than ten minutes. Me
and Rich hopped in the Impala and headed to Pitkin
Ave in Brownsville. We were all masked up. The was
two workers out sitting on the stoop. We let off shots
in their direction, but we only aimed at legs. I hit one
of them in the calf. We were careful not to kill the
messengers. Next stop was Tompkins Projects in BedStuy. We showered the corner with bullets, but those
little niggas was ready. They shot back at us. Nobody
got hit though, and we were gone as fast as we came.
Wiz parked the Impala in the same exact spot he
found it in. We ran up to the Wilson Ave and took the
L train to Union Square. We stayed at the Union
Square Inn on 14th Street and 3rd Avenue.
In the morning Rich got up, took the guns and left.
Me and Wiz fell back…

I thought about Iyani while I was riding on the Long
Island Railroad. After I handled my business on the
bike trail, I called Iyani's cell phone.
“... Hello.”
“... what's up, you busy?” I asked her in a nonchalant
tone.
“... Naw what's up?” She responded.
“... Nothing I’m in your neighborhood.”
“... Stop playing, where?”
“... At the train stop.”
“... Aight, stay right there, I’m only around the corner.”
Iyani sounded enthusiastic to hear from me. A few
minutes later she showed it with a huge ear to ear
smile. I was just as mesmerized by the silver 760Li as
I was by Iyani.
I had a deep affection for cars. Even though I had the
money, I didn’t actually own a car. Without a license
it didn’t make sense to buy one only to get pulled
over and get towed. Fuck it, I figured I'd get it soon
enough.
Iyani lived less than five minutes from the train stop
in a dark red brick mini mansion. All of the lawns on
the block were perfectly manicured and as green as
any lawn could get. There was another car in the
driveway, a brand new Mercedes Benz S550. I looked
at Iyani.
“Who you live here with?”
“Nobody.” She responded.
“So whose car is that?” I asked.
“My dad's.”
“Is he here?”
“Naw, he locked up.”
“Sorry to hear that.”
“It's cool.”
“So this your dad house?”
“Yeah, one of 'em.”
We got out of the car, and Iyani gave me a tour of the
six bedroom mini mansion, complete with a pool in
the backyard, and a home theater. Marble floors,
plush white carpet.... Iyani was living nice. Damn, her
dad must have been caked up. I began to wonder
what her dad did for a living, but I decided not to ask.
Iyani showed me up to her suite, which was complete
with it's own bathroom and alcove. I was outdone.
She cut on the television and we kicked back on the
bed. She rolled on top of me and kissed me on my
neck. I grabbed Iyani's ass and kissed her in the
mouth. I reached for her hand and she stopped me.
“Chill my period came on last night.”
“Yo, you crazy, why you gone start some shit you
can't...”
Iyani put her finger over my mouth with one hand
and pulled my zipper down with the other. She made
her way down and took me into her mouth. Iyani
sucked me off super slow and I enjoyed every minute
of it.
After some head, we smoked, talked and watched television. I stayed over Iyani's house for three days. I
told Zeke to keep all the workers in for three days,
even from going outside to chill or to the bodega.
I figured the shit would hit the fan on the streets. I
just wanted my niggas to get low until the smoke
cleared.
My cellphone was ringing off the hook, but I never
answered it. I was enjoying myself. I had fun chillin
with Iyani for that short amount of time. I hadn’t been
out of the city much, so this was a much needed getaway for me. Iyani offered me a ride home when I
was ready to leave. I called Zeke to see what's up. He
answered the phone frantic.
“You aight nigga... I been trying to call you for three
days. You just left the hotel and went missing. Yo
where you at? This shit crazy. Them niggas from
Brownsville fire bombed Fats house. He tried to run
out and they shot him in the head. Some Bed-Stuy
niggas caught his daughter coming out of Junior's
downtown. They put her in the trunk and set the car
on fire. His workers got low, I aint seen none of 'em.”
I smiled as a weird feeling of happiness came over
me. The news was good. Iyani dropped me off at the
the Hot Bar, where I met up with Zeke. His jaw
dropped when he seen me hop out of that 760Li.
“Damn Rich, who was that?”
Zeke asked as he watched Iyani make a u-turn on
Wilson Ave.
“Oh yeah, that’s one of my dimes, nine more and I'll
have a dollar!”
We went into the bar to have a few drinks. Before
long Zeke started poking around for info. He asked
me about the guns we used to hit up those Central
Ave niggas and the one I stashed for Manny. I lied. I
told him they were all in the abandoned house
around Knickerbocker and Cooper, under the armoire
in the basement. He looked into my eyes.
“Damn dog... Don’t nobody else know?”
“Nah... only you and me. I Don’t trust too many of
these dudes around here. We been getting this money
all summer long yo. Its all us, we Brooklyn's Finest,
you dig me?”
“Yeah man, we gotta stay tight... Brooklyn's Finest.”
Zeke lifted his glass for a toast. We toasted.
“Yeah man, I got a bad vibe though, like niggas plotting, so you need somebody to watch your back nigga. I hear niggas talking bout sticking you, this and
that, I aint letting that shit go down, you dig. Next
time you re-up I’m gone be at your side nigga. Like
you said Brooklyn's Finest, its all us.”
I knew Zeke was lying, because he wouldn’t let nobody slide with talking about sticking me. He was too
hot headed to sit back and not do anything. He would
have already reacted. I played along though.
“Yeah, I dig. You know what man... you right. I’m
gone pick this work up from Shakita's crib and take it
down for the night. You got enough work for tonight
right?”
“Yeah we good on work.”
“Aight, follow me to Shakita's crib and then home so I
can put this work up. Matter of fact, I’m gone to sleep.
Just make sure I get in the house okay.”
“Aight yo.”
Damn. My A-alike, my homie? I could sense deceit in
his tone. I could hear the bullshit alarms going off in
my head. The crazy part is, how do I take it. He could
be setting me up to get robbed, but that wouldn’t
make sense. He knows I’m low key... besides, he
could just burn me for the packs on that shift and say
he got robbed. I couldn’t picture Zeke being a snitch,
but just in case I’m gone tell Shakita to pass that shit
directly to Zeke and not even look at me. Everything
went smooth, but I felt uneasy.
After I walked in my front door I locked it. I grabbed
that fifty thousand out the safe and wiped it down. I
left out the back door and crept down the alley and
around the corner of Halsey and Knickerbocker.
I could see all the police cars approaching. No sirens,
or lights; it was definitely dicks, narcs, or feds. I threw
the crack that was passed from Shakita to Zeke to me.
I Don’t know where it landed, but I do know that
somebody in Irving Park was gone get real high tonight. My instincts told me not to run, as that would
have drawn attention to myself. I walked over to Wilson Ave and the B26 bus was coming. I put a twenty
dollar bill in the fare box. The bus driver just shook
his head in disbelief.
There I was on the bus with fifty thousand plus the
other three hundred I already had in my pocket. My
best friend ratted me out, unless I jumped to conclusions. Just as I thought about it my phone went off. It
was Zeke chirping me.
“Yo, where you at now sun?”
It was official. This could not had been a coincidence.
I didn’t want to waste time. You know these phones
got GPS and shit. I was paranoid.
“Fuck you... you rat bastard... I hope you choke on a
piece of cheese and die nigga.”
I hopped off the B26 at Nostrand Ave. I gave my
phone to some chick that was getting on the bus. My
heart was pounding. I was probably over reacting. I
took a gipsy cab to my new stash house in Bed-Stuy. I
was so glad I saw this bullshit coming. I put the fifty
thousand in my safe and laid down on the bare floor.
I had no furniture and I was hungry. I walked down
Nostrand to Fulton street. There was a Golden Krust,
a Subway, and Andrew’s Fish Market.
I felt out of touch for the first time in my life. It was
crazy. I didn’t know if I was coming or going. I was
thinking, I’m a murder suspect, this shit Don’t look
good.
I walked into Andrew’s Fish Market and ordered a
snow crab platter and two pounds of mussels. There
was a pretty light skin girl standing at the door. She
looked dirty though. Like she hadn’t washed her face
in days. She was still pretty though. Something about
her drew me in. She looked at me and then at the
dude behind the counter. He instantly snapped at her.
“Stop begging... fuck out of here!”
“You hungry ma'... what you want?” I asked her.
“It don’t matter, just broccoli and potatoes.”
I figured I may as well do some charity.
“Do you like crabs and mussels?”
“Yeah, but I’m cool, I’m not picky.”
“Double that order up.” I said to the cashier. He
looked at me in disgust.
The total was sixty three dollars. After paying I sat
down to wait for the food. I was thinking about my
next move. I couldn’t trust a soul on Wilson Ave after
that bullshit. How deep was it... or was it just Zeke.
Was Shakita in on it, I doubted that. In the middle of
my thoughts I noticed the little dirty girl looking at
me. I smiled at her and beckoned for her to come inside. She sat across from me and smiled.
“You got a eye problem?” I jested.
“No... why did you buy me something to eat?”
“Because you looked hungry.” I smiled.
“You trying to bust on me... I’m not skinny.”
“But you was looking at that food like you aint eat in
two days.”
She laughed and smiled
“You from around here.” I asked her.
“No, I just be down here, why?”
“Cause you got that big ass pocketbook like you on
vacation or something.”
“Naw I keep my guns in there.”
“For what, I’m not gone rob you, rape you, or kill
you.”
I made her blush so hard she had to turn around.
“Boy I’m playing, I aint got no money for you to rob
me, you not gone kill me cause I’m too sexy, and you
not gone rape me cause you too cute. You nice and
you get money so I would probly give it to you.”
“What make you think I get money?”
“Cause you just spent sixty three dollars on seafood.
You probly got your own crib, a car, and a lot of
bitches.”
“Naw ma'... I got a crib though, even though I don’t
have no furniture.”
“How you got a house with no furniture... boy you
crazy. So where you gone eat?” She said laughing.
“There’s a counter top in the kitchen.”
“So you don’t have no bed, no t.v., or nothing?”
“Naw... I gotta go shopping tomorrow. Can I borrow
some of your furniture?”
“I Don’t have no furniture, so we even.”
“Yeah, I guess so...”
“So what we gone stand up and eat at your house?”
“That’s what I’m gone do. If you want, you can come
with me.”
“Yeah I'll do that.”
There was something about her that I liked. She stood
at 5'3” around 120 pounds. She was nice, probly a ccup, nice round ass, pretty teeth. She was a fixerella.
She just needed to be cleaned up.
The walk back to my house seemed long even though
it was only a few blocks over to Putnam Street. We
walked slowly and made small talk. As I turned the
key in my door it dawned on me what happened earlier. We sat on the stoop and ate the crabs and mussels. After we finished eating, I wrapped up the shells
and took them to the trash can on the corner. When I
got back to the house she was sitting on the bottom
step. She looked up at me.
“Now what?” She questioned.
“What you mean ma'?” I responded.
“You bought me something to eat, so do you want me
to do something for you now?”
“Naw, you can chill wit me.”
“Aight, I got some green in my bag... you wanna
smoke?”
“Not now... lets walk up Nostrand Ave and get a
gypsy cab. We need to go to Duane Reade and get
some shit.”
I didn’t know shorty from a can of paint, but fuck it.
No use in getting low by myself. I grabbed five thousand from out of my safe. I decided that we would go
to the motel tonight and shop furniture in the morning.
At Duane Reade's we grabbed deodorant, toothpaste,
and other hygiene bullshit. We took another gypsy
cab to the Galaxy Motel on Pennsylvania Ave.
I let her get in the shower first. I wanted to see if she
would come out with or without the towel on. I
kicked back and watched television. When she got
out of the shower I was disappointed. She was tightly
wrapped in a towel, however she looked and smelled
like a completely different person. I just went ahead
and jumped in the shower. When I got out I realized
she threw her underwear in the trash. I could see
why. Her bra and panties were dingy as shit. I noticed
that the television was off. She had a bottle of lotion in
one hand and the other rubbing it on her thigh. I
could smell the raspberry scent in the air. She got up
and shook the bottle.
“Lay on your stomach.” She said.
“Hey... I Don’t know what type of freak shit you into
but I’m not...”
She smiled and smacked me on my back with a hand
full of lotion.
“Come on so I can lotion your back 'ash man'!”
I laid down on my stomach reluctantly and let her lotion my back. Her hands moved slowly and subtly.
Then she whispered in my ear.
“Roll over.”
I rolled over and she lotioned me down. She started at
my neck and worked her way down to my toes conveniently skipping my dick. On her way down she
assured me that she would come back for that. Before
coming back, she turned the light out. She kissed my
stomach and then put her tongue on the head of my
dick. She licked across it and then took it all into her
warm mouth. After several minutes of what felt like
eternal pleasure, she mounted on top of my dick and
rocked and swayed her hips until we came together. I
felt so much pleasure, and so much passion. We laid
there a few minutes. The full size bed we were laying
on was soaking wet. I was glad there was another bed
right across from us.
I got up and took a shower. As the water beat down
on my face I thought about what happened earlier.
The sex relieved a little bit of the stress I had, but
none of the less I still had things weighing heavy on
my mind. I stepped out of the shower and she
stepped in. I sat on the fresh bed and started cracking
the dutch she'd sat on the table. There was also some
weed that smelled half ass aight. I rolled it up and sat
it on top of the air conditioner so that it would quickly dry up. She got out of the shower and plopped
down on the bed. She re lotioned herself and then me.
We sparked up the dutch and laid back blowing. I
caught her smiling and it turned into laughter. I was
puzzled. I wanted to be in on the joke.
“What are you laughing about?” I asked her.
Looking at her smile gave me a warm and fuzzy feeling inside. The pussy was good. Nice and tight, wet,
and warm. That was all well and good, but there was
more to it. This time around I actually felt something
as I was having sex. True, I had just met her, but I felt
more than I felt with Shakita and Iyani. I was still curious to find out what she was laughing about. She
kissed my lips and I asked her again.