Honor Thy Thug

24




TRAE

The Los Angeles County Jail was the worst. I had to get out of there. It was like going from the Sheraton to a Motel 6. Tasha was being true to her word. She stopped coming to see me. Benny had been working night and day to get me moved. The only good news there was that it looked like I was going to beat the murder case with the chick, Sabeerah, from Jersey. My print in a burnt-down apartment? Bullshit. But for this new one, they were talking about having a speedy trial. Benny had a fit when I caught this one, but what the f*ck was I supposed to do? Just so happened that Dirty Harry got caught bringing a cell phone to me, and he had some other shit on him, that wasn’t mines. It could have been anybody’s.

This first nigga was poppin’ shit, saying my wife f*cked it up for everybody. Then, when the nigga threatened to step to my wife, he crossed the line. We got into it, and when I finished with the nigga, he was no longer breathing. That shut all of them other muthaf*ckas up. All of this over a cell phone. But now this latest development had me stunned. There was another dude who stepped to me, supposedly sent by Li. He said he had a message for me, but I didn’t give him the chance to deliver it. Li went back on his word. He put a number on my head right there in the county jail. So, now I was locked down 24/7, sleeping with one eye open, and it was driving me mad.

Time was moving slow as f*ck in there for me. But from what I was told, outside it was a whole ’nother game. They buried Kyron, and word on the street was that I took him out. I’m mad that I didn’t have the pleasure to do just that. As a matter of fact it depressed me. Kaylin went to Don Carlos, asking him to talk to Mr. Li, and just like I told them it would go down, it did. Mr. Li said he would assist me only if we put in some work for him. I’d been waiting for somebody to get word to me about what happened with that. The agreement put on the table was when they put in the work, I would walk outta here.

Politics and organized crime run this country. I hadn’t heard anything about Charli. I didn’t know if she was dead or alive. I did know that death had been all around us this year, more so than when I was out there hustlin’. However, nothing surprised me more than when I called home and they said that Trina, Tasha’s sister, had been killed; somebody had burned that ass alive. That was some Hollywood shit that made me smile. It reminded me of the movie New Jack City. How in the end of the movie, Nino Brown got shot and fell over the banister. Ice-T smiled, put on his shades, and kept it moving. Even through all of the grief that Trina caused her sister, Tasha still took it real hard. The chick was so damn grimy, I was not surprised that she got taken out like that in style. I applauded the nigga that did it. He took some work off my hands.

“Macklin, visit! Let’s goooo!”

“Did you say, ‘Macklin, visit’?” I was hoping that I wasn’t hearing things.

And then I heard it again. “Macklin, you got a visit! Let’s go!”

The first cat was an actual officer. The second cat yelling out that I had a visit was an inmate. A certified nut. All he did all day was mimic the officers. “Pill call, chow time, visits!” The joint was an insane asylum, and I was beginning to feel the pressure.

I walked into the visiting area, and to my surprise, who did I see? Kendrick. I thought to myself, What does this nigga want? I grabbed a seat and sat down.

We glared at each other for a couple of minutes. I grabbed the phone off the receiver, and he grabbed his.

“What’s up, man?” I asked him.

Finally, tears began to stream down his cheeks. “Why, Trae?”

I knew exactly what he was talking about. “I ain’t have shit to do with it. I’m in here, nigga. But you know if I was out there, how it would have gone down. There would be no question. You know my work.”

“We family, Trae.” He looked at me teary-eyed.

I couldn’t believe he said that, as I wondered what was going through his mind. I saw Kaylin standing in the cut. I guessed he was allowing Kendrick to say what he had to say. “You kiddin’ me, right? Family don’t f*ck the next man’s wife and then rape her.”

“I ain’t have nothing to do with that.”

“Bullshit, Kendrick! You was right there, condoning the shit all along. So f*ck Kyron, and f*ck you. If I was out, I’d spit on the muthaf*cka’s grave and take your f*ckin’ head off.”

“Yeah, I know how you get down. That’s why I handled shit. There is no need for war. I gave Kay my word. So to circumvent that, you did one of mines, and so I did one of yours.”

I thought about what he was implying. Trina. I started to try to make this dumb nigga see, one more time that I didn’t do Kyron, but I knew no matter what I said, he still was going to think I deaded the nigga.

“We even now. All scores are settled.” He got up. I sat there numb, because I didn’t know if this nigga was gonna come after me when the first opportunity presented itself. His mouth was saying one thing, but his eyes were saying another.

Kaylin banged on the glass. “Stay on your toes, boy! What’s up with him?” He nodded toward Kendrick.

“Man, why you bring this nigga to see me?”

“He asked to come, plus we needed the extra muscle.”

“You need to talk to him. He told you about Trina?”

“No. What about her?”

I let him think about it for a minute. When it dawned on Kay what I was talking about, he jumped up and went after him. Then Bo jumped into the seat. I let go of a huge smile. I hadn’t seen my cousin in a long time. For Kay to have dug him up, and the smile that was glued to his face let me know that it was about to go down. Bo was called on when big things needed to be handled. Bo was a Macklin to the core. I sat up straight and gave him my undivided attention. “What rock did they pull you from out under?” I teased him.

“Yeah, nigga, it’s me! ’Bout time y’all coming out of retirement. Y’all vacationing ass negroes! Don’t worry about the rock, just know that I’m here. What’s good with you, man? I miss your roguish ass.”

“Y’all better be getting me the f*ck outta here, that’s what’s good. I don’t wear this jail shit well.”

“Yeah, well, keep them deadly hands to yourself, then!” He chuckled. “But hell, nah. F*ck that! We Macklins go hard. Ain’t shit changed.”

“Why you hanging out with that nigga?” I was referring to Kaylin. I was still trying to piece together what they were up to.

“You already know, son. We about to make it do what it do once again. We did that for Li, and that was supposed to get you out, but we see you still here. He obviously ridin’ on that slow bus. We went ham on that muthaf*cka, but you know Kay. Always gotta do things the right way, so we out here to see you, of course, and the big man.” I knew he was referring to Don Carlos.

“Y’all saw him already?”

“Yeah, last night.”

“What’s up?”

“Maaaaaacklin! Time’s up!” the officer yelled.

“The big man spoke to the gook. Li wants us to put more work in. That gook loved what we did. He want us permanently. But we got something for that ass!”

“Damn, how soon can I get outta here?”

“Hang tight, nigga! We on it.”

Kaylin came back over to where I was. “Everything good, nigga. I got Kendrick. You just be sure to not drop the soap. We out.”

“F*ck you, nigga,” I said, and laughed as I placed the phone on the hook. As I walked back to my cell, I was actually excited. Them niggas, my niggas, were up to something big. It sounded like they were taking that piece of info I gave them on the Li organization and running with it.

• • •

Three days after them niggas came to see me, they moved me to another country-club spot, and Tasha was on her way to see me with the kids. I was amped up. We were all outside in the visiting area, waiting for the visits to come in, and the first group was processed into the yard, but there was no Tasha, Caliph, Kareem, or Shaheem. Then twenty minutes passed, and I grew antsier and antsier. I had yogurt and fruit cups waiting for the boys. Hell, that’s all they had, everything else was chips, candy bars, and soda. The second group came in, and Tasha and the boys were the last ones on the line.

Tasha. What the f*ck was up with her stomach?

“Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!” Caliph, Shaheem, and Kareem yelled and tackled me at the same time. My eyes were glued to her stomach as she sat down.

“Y’all sure are getting tall. Y’all taking care of your mother?”

“Yes, Daddy,” the twins answered.

Caliph simply nodded his head. Then he asked, “Are you coming home today? Mommy said you was coming home.”

“I’ll be there. Y’all want to play on the swings? Or finger paint?” I was in shock looking at Tasha.

“Both,” they all yelled out. I was glad that this spot had all sorts of activities for the kids. The playground had swings, sliding boards, a merry-go-round and a netted tent with the plastic balls. They had outside volunteers to come in and set up a table for arts and crafts and a puppet show. This was almost like being home.

I needed to get them situated and then get back to Tasha. I had to find out what the f*ck was up with her. “Get on the swings first. Your mom and I will be over there in a few minutes.”

“Yaaayyyy!” They all squealed and took off running.

I couldn’t stop staring at Tasha. She got up and came over to me. I couldn’t open my mouth to say shit.

She grabbed my hand and placed it on her belly. “Hey, baby.”

“Tasha, are you going to tell me what the f*ck happened?” I was trying to brace myself for the worst. I was, like, I knew this nigga didn’t think for one minute that he was going to have the last laugh from the grave.

“What do you mean, what happened? I’m pregnant, silly. It’s a girl. We got us a baby girl!”

“Who is us, Tasha?” I swear I couldn’t handle this bullshit. Not again.

“You and me, silly. I had the DNA test, Trae, and it’s your baby.”

I breathed a sigh of relief.

After Tasha and the kids left, I sat alone with my thoughts. I was happy about Tasha being pregnant with a girl. Hearing that made everything worth it. Wow! A little princess. Wait until my mom heard this. I couldn’t help but smile, something that I didn’t get to do often.

My thoughts drifted to Kyron and what I had done to him.

I was a man. A black man in a country that was still ruled by white men. In America, even though we had a black president, I had to be my own man. All I really had in this world was my word and what I stood for as a man. What Kyron did went against my manhood. I knew I might have seemed crazy with how I handled the situation, but a man has to do what a man has to to do. I had to defend my woman’s honor and my manhood. That’s right. You didn’t come out of pocket at me and think I was going to roll over and die. I did what men do. I fought for what was mines.


KAYLIN

Over the next couple of weeks, I managed to put everything in motion. The work Bo and I put in for the Li organization added at least six months to our already-plush financial cushions. I saw exactly how Trae got sucked into the organization. I hated to admit it, but I liked the way they got down. They had systems in place. There was no rah-rah bullshit. Everyone knew his role, from the clients all the way up to the top of the ladder.

Their problem was dealing with black people. Our people didn’t trust them, and they acted as if we were beneath them. Li needed to give his organization diversity training, because they were throwing a lot of money away. And Li was not allowing just any black man into the organization. He needed Trae, but his daughter getting f*cked up had him thinking that he would rather take a loss. So he used me to fill in for Trae, and now he wanted me to stay on board, but that wasn’t happening.

For our next order of business, I brought Tasha and the kids back to New York with me. I needed to make sure I had them all close by until Trae was released. I wasn’t trusting Li. He was not a man of his word and we needed to make this final move. As luck would have it, Faheem and Jaz also came back to the East Coast. They found a house in Jersey out in Little Falls. Jaz had her sights on attending Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. Faheem was recovering well, and having all of us back together out East, it seemed as if the family was getting stronger. Just about all of the little problems went away, and now I was about to handle the biggest one.

“You know I love you, right?” I said to Angel as we looked into each other’s eyes.

“Yes. And I think you just got me pregnant,” she said, looking at me like I stole something precious.

“I hope so. And don’t be talking shit, either. You heard the reverend, he said, ‘honor and obey.’” I kissed her lips and then her stomach before I got up.

“Whatever,” she said as she threw the pillow at me.

I went into the bathroom, hopped into the shower, and let the hot, steamy water clear my mind. I then went over my plan one more time carefully, examining each detail. When I emerged, Angel was fast asleep. I got dressed and walked over to her, leaned in, and kissed her forehead. She let out a slight moan and then a light snore. I smiled, walked over to my spot, grabbed my straps, and headed out.

• • •

Once I got off the plane, I met up with Rick. I gave him the cash I had for him, a tape and the exact address of where I was meeting Mr. Li. I collected the package he had for me, which was a Glock 40 and then I moved to my designated location. As I stood enjoying the crisp California air, I thought about how far we had come. Trae and I had been to hell and back. We were blessed to get out of the streets for the most part and settle down, and we were looking forward to enjoying life. We had women who loved us, the type that every thug needed. We believed that our matrimony would be lived out happily ever after. However, as fate would have it, there was no justice for a thug.

When the limo pulled up, I took a deep breath and walked up to the curb. There was no turning back. Two Asian gentlemen jumped out, and I was patted down. Once my Glock was removed, I was directed to the backseat. We rode in silence for about thirty minutes. When we pulled up to Mr. Li’s office, I braced myself for the work at hand but couldn’t help but marvel at the sight before me. It looked to be about eight office buildings, six stories high. The outside was ultramodern, complete with precise, landscaped layouts, glass and marble exteriors, beautiful atrium gardens, fountains, waterfalls surrounded by marble and granite statues. It was not a game. All of this belonged to Li, Hammerstein, and Burke.

I followed my escorts inside the softly lit foyer and was intrigued once again. The walls of the plush leather waiting area displayed artwork that I was sure started at a mil. I was led onto the round glass elevator that took us up to the top floor. When the glass doors slid open, we made our way down the hall to a glass conference room. There were guests already in place mingling. No one came over and introduced himself to me, so I stood in a corner watching everyone interact. The room was filled with men of Asian descent. Each of them appeared the same: calm, cool, and calculating. I could tell that these men were not his workers but his peers. There wasn’t a woman in sight.

“Mr. Santos.”

I turned toward the direction of the voice. “Mr. Li,” I said as I moved toward him. When I got within five feet, I stopped and bowed.

He moved toward me and shook my hand. “Please, I want you to mingle a little bit. Why are you standing here alone?”

“If I may, I would like to speak to you in private,” I requested.

“Yes.” He turned to his guests and said, “Gentlemen, please continue to make yourselves at home. I shall return with our guest of honor.” He motioned for me to come with him, and we exited the room.

Guest of honor?

Once in his private office, I marveled at the cases of swords and expensive jade vases and paintings. “Those are ancient artifacts and have been in my family for generations.” He walked over and sat behind his big desk and motioned for me to sit in one of the chairs in front of the desk. “So, Mr. Santos, how may I assist you?”

“We did your work, and you said that you were very satisfied.”

“Indeed, I am. I was very impressed. So much so that you are my guest of honor. And again, I want you to remain on board with us. Have you thought about my offer?”

“That’s what I need to talk to you about. I’m honored that you even would consider me. But I have to decline. My allegiance is with Don Carlos. He has become like a second father to me. But I came to humbly request that you release my partner, Trae Macklin, of all business ties that he has with your organization. I give you my word that Mr. Macklin is leaving the business for good. He’s agreed to leave town and have no future dealings with you or any members of your organization. We are requesting a clean slate and no more ties. With all due respect, Mr. Li, I need you to be a man of your word and let my partner go, free and clear, honoring your word that no harm will come to him or his family.”

He paused, took a deep breath, then reached forward and took a cigar from the box directly across from him. “That I cannot do. Not yet,” he said, lighting it and taking a deep pull. “However, it surprises me that you would think that it would be that easy to get out of a business that we have put our sweat and blood into . . . literally.”

“You said that your honor was all that you had. Yet you don’t stand by your word? I’m confused.”

“I respect you, Mr. Santos. You are not like Mr. Macklin. You are led by your mind and your spirit. But Mr. Macklin, much like my daughter, can be led by carnal desires.”

“What does carnal desire have to do with this? You said if we completed the job for you, my partner would be released. We delivered. And then you asked us to do it again. We did.”

“Again, Mr. Santos, I’m amazed that you believe that leaving this lifestyle would be as simple as a verbal request. One would say that if it took blood to enter this business, it will take blood to exit.” Those words rolled off his tongue effortlessly, and then he took another pull of his cigar.

“A wise man once said your honor is all that you have. Were those not your words, Mr. Li? Do you not stand by that statement? Are you not a man of your word?”

“Don’t lecture me about keeping my word. Did Mr. Macklin keep his word when I told him to stay away from my daughter? Where was the honor in having a man come into your house, do business, and disrespect the head of the household? I’ve had men killed for lesser transgressions. Your partner should be thanking me for allowing him to see the light of day, Mr. Santos. Wouldn’t you agree? Think about it.”

I was trying hard to keep a level head. This muthaf*cka was really pressing his luck. He was going back on his word as if it was nothing and acting as if we were a bunch of p-ssy-ass muthaf*ckas. “Mr. Li, man to man, what would you do if you were constantly served p-ssy on a plate crafted of fine china that you didn’t order? Wouldn’t you agree that eventually you’re going to eat it?”

He chuckled. “Do you think insulting me will help your friend, Mr. Santos?”

“What? You can dish it, but you can’t take it? You see, men like you will milk a nigga until you are done with him and then dispose of the carcass. But you underestimated these niggas. However, I was simply trying to prove a point, especially since we seem to be mixing business with pleasure.”

“If that’s all you are trying to do, then I don’t think there is anything else for us to discuss.” As soon as those words left his mouth, the two guards pounced on me and began whipping my ass. I was barely holding my own. When the tallest one pulled out a machete, I was like, oh shit.

“Mr. Li, I got something that you want to see!” I yelled out. “Give me one minute.”

He simply raised his hand and the two goons let me fall to the floor. It took a minute for me to get up. I stood up wobbling and said, “I want to make you a deal. You like our work, right?” I asked as I pulled out my cell phone.

Mr. Li sat back in his chair with a smirk on his face, waiting to hear what I was about to propose. “This should be entertaining. You people are good at putting on a show.”

I set the phone on the table, pulled up a file, and pressed play. I sat down. Mr. Li looked down at the video that was now in progress. His eyes widened, and sweat began to form on his brow. I could see him fidget in his chair. He would have a heart attack if he knew that Trae got this intel from his very own daughter. I was only showing him one meeting of him discussing the takeover of the banking system. I fast forwarded and showed him a meeting of them walking through the plant where they were making the new dope. Once I knew that he got my point, I turned it off.

“That doesn’t prove anything.”

“I have several meetings in their entirety. What would the government think about you rigging their banking system and partnering with North Korea and Iran?” That shit was over my head. But I had it. And I knew what it was worth.

“You are playing a dangerous game, Mr. Santos. Even though you have nothing.”

“And what about this?” I took out a notepad, opened it, and slid it over to him.

When he looked at it and realized what it was, he smashed his fist on the table. His office door came open, and in stepped two of his bodyguards. Was I going to die right here for getting caught up in Trae’s bullshit? “Where did you get that? That formula belongs to me!”

I pulled the notepad back and placed it inside my jacket. It was do or die at this point. “Mr. Li, you have plenty of workers, business associates, whatever you want to call them. You don’t need Trae. So here’s my offer. Free my partner, and make a deposit of forty million into this account. The twenty you promised Trae if he put in three years. And twenty for me.” I slid a piece of paper across the desk to him. “I gotta give it to you. A drug more addictive than crack cocaine? I don’t want this to see the light of day. Leave us the f*ck alone. I want both of our families’ names to be free and clear. I want us to be untouchable. I see that your word ain’t shit, so there are nine of these, in nine different places in the world. The people who have them, all they need is to not hear from me on a certain day at a certain time, and this formula will go viral. Everyone will have it, and you will have so much competition you would have sacrificed all of the research and development time and dollars you put into this. But more important is the video of your meeting. That shit there will get you kicked out of this land of opportunity, if not killed.” I glared at him. “Do we have a deal?” I sat waiting for his response.

Mr. Li jumped out of his chair, slammed his fist onto his desk, and yelled, “You want to go to war with me? You are nothing! You think you can come into my house, shut down my operation, and get away with it? You f*cking porch monkey! Are you ready to go to war with me?” The veins were popping around his neck, and he was damn near foaming at the mouth, looking at me through glossy eyes. I remained seated and calm, but my heart was pounding. The two guards were posted on each side of me, waiting on the order to finish me off.

“Do we have a deal?”

I asked him again.

“How did Mr. Macklin get that?” He began pacing the floor.

“I don’t know. He wouldn’t tell me. He said he would only reveal that if he needed to.”

Mr. Li walked back and forth in silence for several minutes. I waited. Finally, he said, “I have some stipulations of my own. You have forty-eight hours to leave the state. I don’t want you back here, and if I hear anything about you in my backyard, the deal is off. Whatever business we had is done and forgotten. Mr. Santos and Mr. Macklin, you no longer exist.”

“I have no problem with that.”

“Good.” He reached for his phone and made two quick calls, speaking in his native tongue. When he was done, he carefully placed the phone on the receiver. “You have what you wanted. I can only hope that you are a man of your word,” he said, now humble and uncertain. “I will have your head in the next life.”

I rose to my feet, grabbed my phone, and headed for the door.

“Maybe. Maybe not. But until then, honor thy thug, muthaf*cka.”

I was out.