Honor Thy Thug

11




KAYLIN

I was in my boardroom participating in a meeting via video conference, more like a bidding war, trying to sign this up-and-coming rapper, Semaj. Semaj had some mixtapes that were doing some serious damage, and I wanted him. Mind you, I was going up against the majors, including Interscope and Def Jam, and it was pretty intense. When my assistant, Diedre, burst in on the video conference and motioned for me to step out, I looked at her as if she was crazy.

“Mr. Santos, this is urgent.” I leaned over to Angel and said, “I’m the boss of this damn operation. You see them plaques on the wall? They say Kaylin Santos. Why is she annoying me and not you?”

Angel leaned over and whispered right back in my ear, “Apparently, you are not the boss. Who is the force behind you that put the team together to help you get those plaques? Angel Santos.” She went back to shuffling papers and talking.

“Excuse me,” I said, and got ready to hammer Diedre.

“Before you go off, Mr. Santos, I tried to tell Mr. Macklin that you were in a very important meeting, but he stated that this was urgent and he needed to talk to you right now. When I told him I couldn’t interrupt you, he began to threaten me, so please, save the rants, he’s on line four.” She turned around and walked away.

I started to follow her and go all in but changed my mind, thinking that Trae must have finally killed Kyron. I made it to my office, closed my door, took a deep breath, and hit the speaker button.

“Trae, I’m trying to get this money, and you are threatening my flow! What’s up, nigga? What is so urgent?”

“Are you going to be around for the next couple of days? I need to come see you. I’m scheduled to leave tonight.”

“What happened?” I braced myself for the news, as I grabbed onto the edge of my desk. He chuckled. “Chill, nigga. It ain’t nothing like that. Not yet. I’m talkin’ about that paper, nigga. Real long paper! Man, f*ck that rapping chump change you sweatin’. I just got an offer, but you know I can’t talk like this. I want to leave tonight—that is, unless you want to come out here?”

“Nigga, did you hear what I just said? I’m in a bidding war right now, but you dragged me out here talking urgent.”

“Kay, trust me. When I say urgent, that’s putting it mildly. Money? I’m talking about some real bread. Scratch, scrilla. Bigger than anything we was seeing with Don Carlos.”

Shit. I thought about what he said and immediately got nervous. “Trae, talk to me now.”

“Not over the phone, bruh,” he said.

“Well, I really need to get back into this meeting,” I told him. “Let me hit you up later.”

“Handle your business. I’m on my way up to you. I’ll be at your house before noon tomorrow.”

I got the dial tone. I headed back into my meeting, wondering what Trae was up to. Needless to say, my edge was no longer there. And with that little interruption, instead of me winning by a landslide, Semaj’s agent left saying all offers would be considered and they would make a decision within twenty-four hours.

“Baby, what the hell happened to you in there?” Angel asked me. I could tell that she was trying her best to remain calm. But I blew it, and we both knew it. “What was it that Diedre wanted?”

“It was Trae. He’s on his way up here.” I stuck my head into Diedre’s office. “See if Trae needs a car from the airport. Tell him I want him to meet me here at the studio.”

“No problem, Mr. Santos.”

Angel grabbed my hand. “What happened? Do I need to sit down? Is Tasha all right? What about Kyron?”

“He said he needed to discuss business with me. That’s all I know.”

“That’s it?” Angel stopped dead in her tracks. “And that is what caused us to possibly lose the hottest underground artist out there? Babe, you gotta come better than that!”

“Red, it is what it is. But it’s not only what he said, it was the urgency in how he said it. Something is up. He said something bigger than Don Carlos.”

Don Carlos was just that: a Don. And had been that for almost twenty years. He had his hands in powder, heroin, and real estate. From what I knew, he had senators, congressman and judges in his pocket. He was big. So in my mind no one I knew was bigger. Needless to say, I was anxious to hear what Trae had to say.

“Oh, no, no, no, Kaylin. Don’t you even think about it! Baby, you’re out. Don’t even think about it. I’m warning you, Kaylin. Let Trae lead you into some bullshit if you want to.” She pushed me out of the way and stormed into her office.


RICK

Back home in Tucson, tension in the house was real thick. I got caught f*cking Kyra and then had the audacity to spend the night after the fact. Wrong move. It was obvious that Nina was done with me. But I wasn’t done with her. I had mad love for her and plus she was carrying my seed. Since Nina told me to pack my shit and leave, she’d been giving me the cold shoulder and, on top of that, the total silent treatment. I had to admit I felt like a total creep, and getting busted f*cking someone by someone I care about is a first for me. While walking the kids to school, I felt like Wesley Snipes in the movie Jungle Fever. The kids were tugging at me and talking to me, while I was zoned out. Other parents and the crossing guards were speaking to me, and I could only stare. I dropped the kids off and decided to go home, change, and head over to Dave’s Gym to shoot some hoops.

Kyra had been calling me, but I wouldn’t answer, because if I did, I wasn’t sure what I would say. All I knew was I wanted them both. So I was caught with my dick in my hand and didn’t know where to put it. The thought had even occurred about going back to Georgia. But when I spoke to Trae, he told me that running wasn’t gonna do shit but change the atmosphere. The problem was still going to be there. He asked me to do him a favor and call Kyra, because she was hurt, confused, and driving him nuts. Just as I turned the corner from the school, a limo pulled up, and to my surprise, out she jumped.


TRAE

I walked into Kaylin’s office building around lunchtime. The guard at the front desk was acting as if he didn’t want to let me up. So I got Kaylin on the phone, and he told me to stay put, he’d be right down. He said he needed to take a break and wanted to go to the deli next door.

After about five minutes, he got off the elevator, came over to me, and gave me some dap. “You made it, huh? If you know like I know, you’ll take ya Hollywood ass back out to Cali.” He said the same thing to me every time he saw me.

“Whatever, nigga. Hurry up and order your shit. We got business. I’ll wait here. I need to call Tasha.”

“You don’t want anything?”

“Get me the same thing you gettin’ for yourself.”

“Aiight bet.” He turned and left the building.

I found a corner so I could call and speak to my wife. “Where are you?” That was the first thing she asked me.

“You know where I am.”

“Kyra has been gone now for almost eighteen hours.”

“Gone? What do you mean, gone?”

“Gone. No phone calls. No text messages. Not here. I even went to the Vons where I found her preaching with her Bible. Aunt Marva thought I was lying about that until she caught her going up and down the block knocking on doors. I can’t do this, Trae. We might have to have her evaluated. She’s f*ckin’ bananas right now.”

“Have her evaluated for what?”

“I think she’s f*ckin’ . . . nuts. I can’t raise our children, babysit a crazy patient, and run this house at the same time.”

I had to chuckle. “A crazy patient?”

“I’m serious, Trae. I’m worried about her.”

“Well, don’t go back combing the streets for her. She’s grown, and when she’s ready to come to the house or check in, she will.” When Tasha didn’t respond, I said, “She will, Tasha.”

“Hurry back home, please. And you’re coming back when?”

“As soon as I take care of this.”

“How soon is that? A few hours? A day?”

“Tasha, I’ll call you when I finish. Here comes Kaylin now.”

“Whatever.”

“Love you, too.” I hung up and turned my attention to Kay. “So what you get me? A hot dog off the cart?”

“Hell, no! Them muthaf*ckas don’t have toilets or sinks to wash their hands. I got you what’s called ‘get a nigga whatever you got, because as soon as they see yo shit, they want it.’ Here.” He handed me my bags, and I peeked inside the container, saw some lamb over yellow rice, and smiled. “I got this, nigga,” he said, walking onto the elevator with me right on his heels. We rode in silence until we reached his floor. When the doors opened, he moved fast, and I was right behind him.

“C’mon. Let’s go into the conference room.” As soon as he shut the door, he asked me, “So what’s up?”

I sat my food on the table and immediately started pacing back and forth, anxious to get it all out. “I get this call from Charli, saying that her father wants to meet with me. I hang up on her, thinking she on some bullshit, and toss her and her conversation out of my mind. But then a couple of days go by, and I’m out gettin’ my walk on and trying to clear my head, when this limo pulls up. I’m thinking all kinds of shit. Mainly, the fact that I wasn’t strapped. Bottom line, it was the man himself, Charlie Li. The rear window came down, just like in the movies. He asks if he can speak to me. I get in, and that’s when he gives me an offer. To make a long story short, he said if I came on board, I can make twenty mil in three years.”

Kay looked at me as if to say, Nigga, have you lost your mind? He opened his food container and fixed himself a plate. He then said, “That’s all fine and dandy, if you live to spend it. How do you expect, just like that”—he snapped his fingers—“to go from one organization to its rival organization?”

“They aren’t rivals, Kay. They both have different hustles, different territories.”

“You told the Dons you wanted out. Now you’re going to sign on with somebody different? Trae, I don’t think you are thinking clearly.”

“Just like before and always, to answer your question, I’ll go to the Dons out of respect. Nobody owns me, Kay. F*ck all that! We’re talkin’ twenty mil in three years? Seven a year. Come on, son, that’s a no-brainer.”

“You gonna let him lock you in for three years? Nigga, you dumber than I thought.” He looked at me, laughed, and then ate a little of his food.

“Whatever, nigga.” I sat down in front of him to look him in the eye. “He’s making my charges go away. And you know I ain’t tryna go visit nobody’s prison. Especially since California is a death-penalty state.”

“Trae, he knew the perfect carrot to dangle in front of you. Can’t you see that?”

“So are you in or what? You making the move with me? My mind is already made up.”

Kay took a deep breath. “Let me be clear. He dangled that carrot because he needs you. Up that 20 mil a little. Make it worth your while. And if you make that move, ain’t no turning back. You know you’re claiming MOL.”

“MOL? What the f*ck is that?”

“Money Over Life, nigga.”

I pushed my food away from me, stood up, and went over to the window to peer out over the Manhattan streets. Kaylin was right, and I knew it. If I made this move, there would be no turning back. If I took the offer I would be back in the game. I knew that was a huge risk. Death or prison. Either way I was rolling the dice. Then there was the matter of Don Carlos. What would he say? More important, what would he do? I knew that if I ever decided to get back in, it was supposed to be with the same team. Especially since I bitched so hard to get out. And then there’s Tasha. But all I could see was twenty mil in three years. All I needed was those three.

Kay wasn’t finished trying to make sure that I knew what I was going up against. “I’m telling you, Don Carlos ain’t gonna want to hear this shit. And the wives? Whenever they find out, they gonna shit bricks.”

I grinned, not at the truth of his statement but at the shitting of bricks part. And he’d said “wives.” Meaning his, too. He was in. But ironically, I thought about what his punk-ass brother had said. “Yeah, your brother said we got soft.”

“Man, f*ck Kyron! He crazier than a muthaf*cka. We spent damn near twelve years in the game, walked away without a long sentence, still breathing, and legit. Sheeit. That ain’t soft. That’s genius! Now you at my door talking about going back in?” He looked at me. “That’s not genius, that’s f*ckin’ crazy.”

“Kay, I’m telling you, this here game is on a whole ’notha level, though. You’re telling me twenty mil in three don’t excite you? Then cool. I can respect that. Maybe I will get him to up to thirty. You know I want my right arm to ride with me, but if you feel you gotta do your shit legit, I understand. But I gotta do me.” I started for the door but stopped. “Do me one favor. I’ma need you to take it to Don Carlos. Coming from you, he’ll more than likely go for it.”

I also started to tell him out of respect that it was time for me to handle Kyron. But I thought better of it. I needed him to keep his mind on talking to Don Carlos for me. I’d deal with Kyron later.