Diamonds and Pearl (23 page)

 

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

It was well past midnight when TJ finally showed up at the bar, and he didn't look like he'd come to have a good time. He was dressed in black from head to toe, with the only splash of color being the canary-yellow diamond pendant hanging from his chain. Normally when he stepped out, he was dressed to the nines and wearing heavy jewelry, but this wasn't a social call. The bar was the last place he wanted to be, but the call he'd gotten said it was a matter of life and death, which he was inclined to believe, considering who had called him. He had been getting a lot of late-night phone calls since his cousin Diamonds had blown into town, and he wasn't yet sure how he felt about it.

All it took was one person to spot TJ, and it gave way to at least a half dozen hands within his first two minutes of being there. TJ was from the neighborhood, and everybody knew him as a cat who was about his money and they respected that. The fact that he was so well-known in the area made the game he was being roped into an extremely dangerous one. TJ didn't have the luxury of being able to live like a nomad. His bread and butter was in Harlem.

When he'd shaken his last hand, he made a beeline to the end of the bar where Diamonds had told him he'd be waiting. He spotted him sitting on a stool in a dark corner, Vita perched on his lap. He whispered softly in her ear while running his finger along the nape of her neck. They had one of the strangest relationships TJ had ever seen, with neither claiming the other and both secretly throwing salt in each other's chances to move on whenever opportunities arose. It was a toxic union at best, but TJ hadn't broken bread with them to judge; he was in it for the potential to make some paper.

When he made to approach Diamonds, Buda's lumbering form stepped into his path. His eyes were red and glassy, and he reeked of whatever he had been drinking. TJ could tell by his posture that liquor had him feeling aggressive, which seemed like a reoccurring theme with him whenever TJ was around. It was always a pissing contest between them over Diamonds's favor.

“State your business, gangster,” Buda demanded in his deep, scratchy voice. He was acting like he didn't know TJ or his connection to their crew.

TJ, who was a full head taller than Buda, looked down at him. “Man, why we always gotta play this game?” he asked in a tone that said he didn't have time for the bullshit.

“We gonna play it until I'm sure of what you represent,
outsider,
” Buda replied. It was his favorite insult for TJ and a constant reminder that he hadn't come up through the mud with the rest of them.

“Buda, sit your drunk ass down somewhere and get out of the man's way. Ain't nobody got time to be fooling with you,” Hank interjected. It was as if he could read Buda's mind and was trying to prevent him from acting on what he was thinking.

Buda continued to eyeball TJ for a time longer before giving the man some space. “Hank, why you always gotta make a big deal out of shit? TJ know I'm just fucking with him. Ain't that right, TJ?”

“Sometimes it don't sound like you playing, Buda.” TJ brushed past him.

“Sensitive-ass nigga,” Buda mumbled before bellying back up to the bar.

“What's good, cousins?” TJ nodded in greeting to Goldie and Diamonds.

“Considering I've wasted half my night and a few dollars in this joint and ain't made no progress, I'd say nothing is good,” Goldie grumbled. He had long ago run out of patience and wanted to either handle business or be free to get on with his night.

“Tone down, sourpuss. Ain't like you've got nowhere better to be.” Diamonds eased Vita off his lap and stood. “Apologize for dragging you out of your warm bed and from up under that fine woman of yours on this late night. How is cousin Teisha, by the way?”

“Pissed the fuck off,” TJ told him. “Do you know what kind of hell a man has to go through when he leaves his pregnant fiancé in the middle of the night, talking about
I gotta handle something of Diamonds's
?”

“Thankfully no.” Diamonds laughed. “Please extend my apologies to your lady, and my new little cousin growing in her stomach.”

“This might require a little more than one of your empty apologies. You better show up at the shower with a bomb-ass gift. Y'all still coming, right?”

“You know I wouldn't miss it,” Diamonds lied. He'd had so much going on that he'd forgotten TJ had invited them to the baby shower. “I hope you don't mind, but I think I'm gonna have Vita invite them two niggas from Newark who put in that little piece of work for us earlier. I hear they handled themselves like some real gangsters and held Vita down when shit got crazy. Still, I wanna feel them out for myself before I decide how close I wanna let them get.”

“I been knowing LA for a while. He's kinda on the wild side, but he handles his business when it comes down to it. Domo is younger, so I don't really know him like that, but I hear he's solid.”

“I'll be the judge of that.”

“It's cool by me so long as niggas don't show up empty-handed. And if you're going to bring the
entire
Get Along Gang, make sure you keep them dogs on a leash, especially Buda.” TJ cast a wicked glance in Buda's direction and found him staring at him and Diamonds, likely trying to eavesdrop on what they were talking about.

“No worries on that front. Anybody I bring into your home will respect it as if it were mine,” Diamonds promised.

“I'm gonna hold you to that. Now, on to the matter at hand. What the fuck are we doing here, Diamonds?”

“It's like I told you on the phone: I come attempting to do business but seem to keep getting stonewalled. I'm starting to feel slighted, and we both know how I react to slights.”

TJ knew far too well how Diamonds reacted to slights. “Diamonds, this is New York, not the South. You can't just roll into a made man's establishment and demand a meeting, especially when they don't know you. There're protocols that have to be observed with these kinds of things.”

“Like when you had to get the blessings of that spic Eddie before I laid Pana to rest?” Diamonds smirked. “Man, I swear New York gotta be the only place I've ever been where you gotta file paperwork to kill a nigga,” he said, and chuckled.

“Make jokes all you want, but I'm serious. Muscling Pana out of his territory is something that can be easily overlooked by anybody who matters. He was a savage who had crossed so many different people that it wasn't a matter of if someone was going to cap him, but when. So long as there's someone out there to keep moving them packages, nobody is gonna give a shit which crew it is. Pops Brown is a different situation entirely. He doesn't have major muscle on the streets to speak of, but he is very well liked and highly respected. If he vanishes, somebody is gonna definitely notice.”

“Jesus, you act like I'm some kind of monster. I know Pops Brown is a respected man, and I'd never come at him sideways unprovoked. This is a legit visit. You know I been trying to break real ground and get my nightclub thing up and popping.”

“You still chasing Purple City?” TJ asked. Other than killing and money, Purple City was all Diamonds ever talked about. It was his brainchild, a franchise of over-the-top strip clubs that catered to exclusive clientele.

“Can't blame a man for having a dream, TJ. Some niggas look to have the best strip club in the city, but I wanna have the best strip club in
every
city. It'll be like McDonald's, only we got Happy Hos on the menu instead of Happy Meals. Pops Brown been doing his thing a long time on the nightclub circuit, and I just wanna see if we can make something happen together. This spot would be a fine location for Purple City New York.”

“I know Pops, and he ain't the kind of man who is gonna be open to converting his bar into no whorehouse,” TJ told him.

“You never know what a man might be persuaded to do when placed under the right amount of pressure. All I need you to do is get me in so I can make my pitch.”

“Diamonds, I really don't wanna get in the middle of this shit … at least not like this. Tell you what: I'll make some calls tomorrow and see about getting you a meeting,” TJ offered, hoping it would deter Diamonds.

Diamonds looked at TJ like parents would look at their child who had just tried to lie to them. “Who's to say that by morning the secret of
us
killing Pana won't be exposed and this opportunity missed?” He'd stressed
us
to let TJ know that if the shit hit the fan, he'd burn with the rest of them. “Now, I could always have Buda and Goldie drag him out of his office like some savages, or you could smooth things over for us and we can speak like gentlemen. I'm cool with either route.”

TJ looked to Goldie and Buda, who looked like they were spoiling for a good fight anyhow. He didn't want to do what Diamonds was asking of him, but he knew what would happen if he didn't. His cousin was someone who did not take rejection well. “A'ight, man,” he relented. “Diamonds, I need you to be on your best behavior. Pops Brown is old-school and may not react well to your
eccentricities
.”

Diamonds flashed a broad smile. “I promise, all we gonna do is talk.”

*   *   *

Moving down the hall that led to the back offices made TJ feel like he was walking the green mile. Diamonds trailed him, followed by Goldie and Vita. He had only agreed to take Diamonds in the back if he left Buda outside. He didn't trust him to mind his manners if the meeting didn't go as expected. Of course Buda wasn't feeling being left out and he threw a fit, so Hank stayed behind to keep an eye on him until they returned.

At the end of the hall he spotted a thickly built man, hunched over and whispering into the ear of a girl. This was Rob, Pop Brown's eldest son and the manager of the bar. When he spotted TJ and company coming in his direction, he shooed the girl away and stood at attention.

“What's good, Rob,” TJ slapped his palm in greeting. He and TJ had never been friends, but they knew each other from the street and their days of playing basketball in the New York City summer leagues.

“Ain't nothing. Been a minute since I seen you around here,” Rob said.

“Chasing this paper don't leave me with a lot of free time to be sociable,” TJ replied. He noticed that Rob kept looking over his shoulder at Diamonds and the others. “This is my cousin Diamonds.”

“Yeah, we've met,” Diamonds said, remembering Rob as the man who kept telling them Pops wasn't in.

“Is your dad in? I need to talk to him about something.”

“Yeah, he's here, but he ain't seeing nobody right now, especially without an appointment, and I don't remember seeing your name on the calendar,” Rob said defiantly.

TJ had heard that since Rob had started working for his father, he fancied himself a tough guy. “C'mon, Rob. Stop acting like you don't know me, man.”

Rob looked TJ up and down. “Nigga, stop acting like because we played ball together we best friends. I know you out here trying to make a name for yourself and shit, but that don't hold no weight with me, TJ. To me, you still the skinny kid from back in the day who couldn't fight. Now, if you wanna sit with my father, make a fucking appointment like everyone else.”

Rob's belittlement of TJ took him back to a place in his childhood where he was a scared kid who was afraid to take a punch. His fists trembled with rage, and he wanted to show Rob just how far he had come over the years and what he was now about, but if he popped, so would Diamonds, and the situation would become lethal. They too much on the ball, so TJ would have to suck it up and deal with Rob another day. “You got it, tough guy,” TJ said, slowly backing down the hall. He smirked at Rob, letting him know that it wasn't over. He expected Diamonds and the others to follow, but they didn't. Diamonds continued to stand there.

“What, you hard of hearing or something?” Rob moved closer to Diamonds. As if by magic, a blackjack had appeared in his hand.

Diamonds weighed the question before answering. “Nah, I hear just fine, boss. I just ain't too good of a listener.”

“Then maybe I need to knock that Tootsie Roll out ya ear.” Rob slapped the blackjack against his palm threateningly. Diamonds was taller, but Rob outweighed him by quite a bit.

When Diamonds smiled, the light caught his teeth, casting golden shadows against his lips. “I welcome you to try it, if you got a mind to, but I'd hate to have to put you down on your father's property.
Souple,
why don't you just go in the back and tell Daddy there's a man out here with a nice business proposition for him? Then you can get out of the way and let the adults talk.”

Rob's eyes flashed anger. “I can see I need to teach you a lesson about respect.” He moved on Diamonds. Rob was quick, but not quick enough. By the time he'd completed his swing of the blackjack, Diamonds had ducked under it and replied with a vicious uppercut. The sound of Rob's jaw breaking echoed off the hallway walls like a tree branch being snapped in half. He was fast asleep long before he hit the ground.

“Night, night, bigmouth,” Diamonds said to the prone man.

“What the fuck, Diamonds? Was that really necessary?” TJ snapped. For a minute he thought Rob was dead until he heard him snoring.

“Quit crying, nigga! You need to be glad I didn't kill him for the way he disrespected my blood,” Diamonds said in disgust.

“I was going to address it at a more appropriate time,” TJ insisted.

“Disrespect should be addressed immediately so the offender doesn't think to try it again. I love you, cousin, but the next time you let a nigga talk to you like that in front of me, I'm gonna put my hands on you,” Diamonds promised before pushing open the door and inviting himself into the office.