Lexi flicked her tongue out then gave him a sly smile. “Everyone knows
Hollywood quickly flipped through his mental rolodex and placed a face with the name. Janice was a young bitch he had met a while back at a dive called the News Room off Grand Concourse. She was a young mud-kicker dying to live the fast life, but was lazy as hell so she didn’t make the grade.
“Well, in case you ain’t heard, ya girl fell a lil short.” He chuckled softly.
Lexi turned around and straddled his lap. There was a fierceness in her eyes that stirred something low in Hollywood’s groin. “I said that was peoples, not my style.” She took Hollywood’s hand and placed it on her ass. “Wit all this junk I can’t do nothing but get money.”
Hollywood had to smile at her snappy comeback. “I’ll tell you what.” He eased her off his lap and slid off the stool. “Let’s go on in the office and rap for a taste. Maybe we can come to some type of understanding.”
“I thought you’d never ask.” She swayed her big ass toward the office. Hollywood admired her ass for a second before following.
THE MINUTE their SUV touched the Bronx, Eddie was struck by a sinking feeling. Tito was behind the wheel with a cigarette dangling from his mouth, silently watching the streets, while Miguel sat next to him, using a handkerchief to load the clips to the various weapons they were carrying. Trailing them in a Camry was a cat named Boo and some wild-ass niggaz from Newark, who claimed Sex, Money, and Murder Bloods. There were six of them in total, making up what Major Blood had referred to as a war party.
Eddie watched Major as he bobbed his head to Mack 10’s “Bang or Ball,” mouthing along with the song. His heart seemed to swell with pride as he stacked his set in fluid motions that came from years of throwing it up. From the moment Eddie had laid eyes on the man at the airport he knew that he was going to be trouble, and the trail of bodies he was leaving was proof of that. Gutter’s house was slowly slipping into chaos.
“Say, Blood, you hear me talking to you?” Major asked, snapping Eddie out of his daydream.
“Huh?”
“I said be the fuck on point,” Major repeated. “We ’bout to roll into a fucking nest of vipers and I don’t want no fuck-shit throwing my plan to the left.”
“Fuck the left, it’s right all night, we straight,” Eddie said in a nasally tone. Since his nose had been broken it always felt like it was stopped up, making him sound like he had a cold.
“Fool, stop trying to act you niggaz out here is properly educated. Just be on point, ya raccoon-looking muthafucka,” Major taunted Eddie who was also sporting two black eyes, caused by the broken nose. Eddie knew better than to try and get fly out of his mouth with Major Blood, but Miguel snickering gave him a new target to direct his anger at.
“Fuck you laughing at, Blood?” Eddie glared at Miguel.
“
“Fuck you, ho-ass nigga. I’d like to see ya ass try and go toe-to-toe with me!” Eddie snapped.
“Toe-to-toe my ass, Eddie, you know damn well you can’t fight!” Miguel shot back. Miguel was an easygoing cat, but next to Tito and Major he was the most thorough cat in the car.
“Man, why don’t the both of y’all shut the fuck up.” Tito glanced back at them. “Major is right. We ’bout to go at these niggaz on they own turf and I don’t plan on none of my home boys getting left behind. We ride or die together.”
“Ain’t y’all the cutest, kicking that real comrade shit. Look, fellas,” Major addressed everyone in the car, “this murder shit ain’t rocket science, but there’s an art to it. All we gotta do is go in that bitch and wet everything moving then bounce, simple,” Major said as if it was just another day at the office, which to him it was.
“Shit, I’m down wit that one-eighty-seven all day, but this ain’t gonna be easy. All them niggaz gonna be in there strapped and, of course, they gonna have security at the door. How we gonna bust on the bouncers and still be able to creep on them crabs? As soon as they hear the gunshots it’s gonna be like the Fourth of fucking July,” Miguel pointed out.
Major turned his attention to Miguel. “Lil brother, would I lead you on a suicide mission? Blood, one thing I’ve learned in my life is that money truly is the root of all evil. We ain’t gonna have to lick one shot until we get right up on them marks.”
Tito chuckled, blowing smoke from the edge of his mouth. “Kick back, Blood. The big homey got it all worked out.” Both Tito and Major Blood had reassuring smirks on their faces, but it did nothing to put Eddie’s mind at ease.
About a block from the Blue Light, Tito stopped the car. In the rearview he could see two shadows slithering out of the Camry and vanishing into an alley next to the gentlemen’s club.
“Time to rock and roll, poppy,” Major Blood said over his shoulder, handing Eddie the Mac that had been on his lap. Eddie looked at the gun as if he didn’t understand so Major explained. “You’re gonna go post up by that store.” Major nodded to a darkened doorway across the street. “Anybody come out but us, hit ’em hard and fast.”
Eddie looked at the gun that was now resting on his lap, and swallowed. He’d hoped that his job would be to watch the car, or possibly subdue security, but Major had other plans. He looked at his elder G, who was watching him intently, and knew that he had to follow the order. Major was testing him and if he didn’t answer the call to arms there was no doubt that he would end up going out like B. T. or worse. With a silent nod he stepped out of the car and went to take his post.
Major watched as Eddie crossed the street with his shoulders sagging, before turning back to Tito and Miguel. “You niggaz ready to push a muthafucka?”
In response, Tito laughed and stepped out of the car. Everybody from Harlem to Kansas City knew the reputation of Cisco’s executioner, even with the rumors of L.C. going soft no one ever doubted his willingness to kill. Whether Miguel felt the same or not was the question.
“Sup, home boy?” Major asked. Miguel didn’t respond, he just got out of the car and followed Tito.
Major and his team strolled to the entrance of the club chatting among themselves. When the bouncer spotted them, he started moving in their direction. Miguel thought he was about to pop off, so he reached for his gun, but Major Blood stayed his hand. To his surprise the bouncer walked right past them as if they weren’t even there. Miguel looked to Major who just winked.
The lights in the club were dim, but it wasn’t dark yet. They would go almost completely out later in the night when the crowd picked up and the freaky shit started jumping off. There was a main stage in the back, and several smaller stages positioned around the main floor. Though most the smaller stages were vacant at the moment there were three big booty chicks entertaining the crowd from the main stage. Though the Blue Light was a Crip establishment, the trio of Bloods had to admit that the spot was popping.
Major Blood scanned the club for Hollywood, but he was nowhere to be found.
Miguel’s head whipped back and forth as he watched the parade of flesh at the Blue Light. A dark-skinned girl with an ass that belonged on a horse tried to engage him in conversation, but a subtle elbow from Tito put him back on point. The place was crawling with Crips so they had to take extra caution.
“Let’s hit the bar!” Major shouted to Tito over the music. Major Blood picked his way through the light crowd, never taking his eyes off the four men who were huddled at the bar. Though no one saw him draw, two.9s appeared in Major’s hands. The men at the bar were chopping it up with two strippers, having a good time. Little did they know Major Blood was about to change all that. None of them were Hollywood, but they were all from the wrong side of the track, which was reason enough to trip.
“Let’s announce ourselves, boys,” Major said to his crew, before breaking his rival’s circle.
chapter 28
