My Besties: The Come Up (5 page)

My mom was murdered when I was a baby. Don’t know my punk-ass father. My G-ma raised me. She had seven kids and ten grandkids that she also raised. Food and clothes were limited. My G-ma was gangsta! No matter what I did, she had my back. I robbed a motha fucker; she hid me in the house. When I shot a nigga, she got rid of the evidence. When I got a hoe pregnant, it was she that either took em to the clinic for that abortion or helped me buy clothes, pampers, and other shit.

I got three kids that I claim. Fucking project hoes always want to trap a nigga on the come up. Through it all, my G-ma had me. The whole Cabrini Green loved my G-ma. She could break any nigga on the dice game. She would smoke and drink your ass under the table. I thought she would be with me forever.

We never kept secrets and that’s why I loved her so much. She had cancer and she didn’t tell us until she was on her deathbed. The love that I had for women died with her.

I’ve been raining terror on this city ever since. Fuck a nigga, fuck a hoe. I’m trying to get money! I don’t fuck with no outside motha fuckers. I keep it all in the family. I roll with two niggas and two niggas only. My cousins JR and Boogie, who’re brothers.

Niggas ain’t built like us these days. Feel me? After I robbed every nigga in the 312 area code, I began casing banks. Why banks? Because drug dealers aren’t holding like that. This little slut I was fucking a while back was a bank teller at a bank around the downtown Chicago area. I liked the hoe. She had the nerve to have her priorities in order. She had no kids, had her own crib, and she drove a beamer. I was impressed, but I would never tell her ass that shit. Fuck for? She was an easy fuck. Nothing more, nothing less. No love for these hoes, remember?

Anyway, she gave me the whole layout of the bank that she worked at. I put my cousins on the lick. The shit was too sweet to pass up. I wasn’t fucking with outside niggas on this, period. I am not to be trusted. Fuck around and rob his hoe ass when we finish the job.

We ended up pulling the job off with no problems. We got almost forty grand. Not bad for two minutes. After that, we were hooked! I ended up murking the little bitch that put me on the robbery. Why? Because I wasn’t treating her as she wanted to be treated and I didn’t need her having that type of shit on me. Oh well! There’s plenty of pussy in Chicago.

It isn’t as if I’m an ugly dude. I’m six foot three and 195 pounds. Caramel complexion and the seal dealer is that I’ve got hazel and green eyes. The hoes can’t resist these eyes. Must run in the family because Boogie and JR got them too.

We only choose banks with young and dumb tellers. Wine and dine their asses for a few days and then, BAM! We got the whole layout. We hit the licks with no problems. Then we dispose of the bitches that gave us the info.

Today’s lick was all Boogie’s. He had this little bitch going in a matter of days. “Man Joe, we got thirty seconds! Let’s move out! Everybody stay where the fuck y’all at and don’t move!”

As we made our way to the door I heard, “POP!” I already knew it was Boogie finishing the job. Mission accomplished!

After we counted the take, that shit came out to be almost $350,000.00. We did well this time. “JR, take this doe over East. We gon lay low for a few days, my niggas. This shit gon be on the news for a few days.”

When we hit licks over east, we had a stash spot over there. If we hit licks west of the Dan Ryan expressway, we hide that shit in my storage building past Cicero.

“I’m bout to go get some pussy.”

“Money, money, money, money.”

Chapter 8

The Come Up

(Juju)

Two weeks after the barbeque, Jaw and I are still kicking it tough. Jaw is cool as shit. He’s funny, laid back, and reserved. He has an old soul, but that’s okay. Today my boo wants to take me out to eat and shop. We deserve some quality time together since his ass likes to hit the streets.

“I wanna go to Ford City mall, boo.”

He looks at me with the sexist grin on his face. “Whatever you want, Ju.”

I love when he calls me that. I called ReRe to see if she wanted to double date since her and Poohman have been together every day since the barbeque as well. “Hello.”

“Hey hooker, you and Poohman wanna go to the mall with us?”

I heard her put her hand over the phone. “Yeah, we’ll meet y’all. Where you at?”

“At Jaw’s crib.”

“We on the way.”

(Dirty E)

“A, little man, run in the store and get me a beef taco with a large fry. Make sure they put mild sauce on my fries, and get me a Pepsi.”

Shorty ran right past my homie. “What up, Pancho?”

The nigga Pancho is responsible for us getting our dough. He put us on all the drug dealers that think that they’re doing something. Quiet as kept, I think he helped us set motha fuckers up because he’s too scared to bust his own gun. Pussy-ass motha fucker!

I told JuJu that if he starts acting funny, I’mma kill his ass.

“E Man Joe, I’ve been trying to get at you.”

Just then, little man ran out the store. “E, here you food go.”

“Thanks little man. Wait, where’s my change little nigga?”

This little bastard can’t be any older than eleven. Shorty’s little badass had the nerve to tell me, “Nigga I waited in that long ass line. Yo change is my tip.”

After he said that, he took off before I could grab his punk ass.

“E, I been trying to get at you. Come hit a few blocks with me.”

We got in his Tahoe. This scary ass nigga didn’t say shit until we got on the expressway.
 

“My little sister’s been fucking with some nigga from The Greens, and he and his peoples getting dough.”

I looked at his ass as if he had just said,
“Fuck my besties.”

“Nigga, we ain’t fucking with them projects. You crazy as hell.”

“Let me finish. The nigga name JR. He and his family be hitting banks around Chicago.”

“And nigga? Get to the point.”

“When they hit banks close to the Eastside, they hide the money over on Marquette. They laying low for a few days. Thing is, they gon move the money tomorrow.”

When he said that, I got to thinking. “How much?”

“She said it’s almost $350,000.00.”

I almost choked on my damn taco.

“Nigga, don’t spill that in here.”

“Nigga, fuck you! I helped you get this bitch!”

He waited a few minutes and then said, “So, y’all gon do it?”

I picked up my phone and called JuJu. “A code four. Meet me at the spot!”

(JuJu)

I was having a nice time with my dude until a code four ended all that. No matter what it was about, it was time to end the fun. Period! I pulled ReRe aside and put her up on game. LJ and Poohman were in Finish Line copping us the latest Jordan’s.

“Bae, we got a family emergency.”

My poor boo looked concerned. “What? What happened? You good Ma?”

“Jaw, I’m good. It’s just that I need to see what my auntie wants.”

I don’t want to start off lying to him, but how we dough isn’t his business.

“Damn Ju! I’m salty as shit, but it is what it is.”

Damn, its’ time to do damage control. “Let me just see what’s going on. When I finish, I’mma call you so you can come get me; okay?”

“Alright, let’s roll.”

(Dirty E)

“Tiki, where you at? When you finish, meet us at the spot.”

ReRe, JuJu, and I sat impatiently, waiting for Tiki to finish doing somebody’s damn hair.

“So, what did Pancho say?”

I looked at JuJu and said, “You know the rules boo-boo. We all must be here. I’m waiting on Tiki.”

She rolled her eyes, huffed, and puffed. That shit don’t faze me. She does that shit whenever she doesn’t get her way.

We came up with code four in fifth grade. When we say it, it means emergency and when you have an emergency, you do what? Get together to see what’s good.

“Here comes Tiki,” JuJu and ReRe said at the same damn time.

“Alright, from what Pancho told me, the money’s still there. His sister said that this JR dude is supposed to move the money in the morning, so we move tonight.”

“TONIGHT?”

I knew I was going to get that reaction. “Yes tonight! What? Y’all scared?” I knew that would get them going.

Ms
. I’m That Bitch
was the first to speak. “You know we ain’t scared. It’s just, this is a lot of money, and I’m sure this shit ain’t gon be that simple.”

She had a point. “Look, Pancho said that he’s been watching the spot. Dudes got this crib as a safe house. His dumb ass really didn’t do his homework on the neighborhood. I know everything that comes and goes through this motha fucker. Come on y’all. We got this!”

I saw the uneasy look that JuJu gave me, so I knew that telling her after the lick I was killing Pancho was out of the question, for now at least! Tiki was the only one not talking.

“Speak your mind,
Ms. Smart Mouth
.”

She looked at me and said, “This is some short notice ass shit and it’s a suicide mission, but you already know I’m ready for whatever! This our hood! Let’s get this money!”

I looked at JuJu and said, “We need you boo. We gon be alright.”

JuJu stood up and finally said, “What time we doing this?”

“At sunset. That’s about two hours from now so let’s get ready!”

Two hours later, I called Pancho to see what the deal was. “Yo Pancho, what it do?”

“Dude’s driving a tan Impala with rims on it. He just pulled off. From the description my sister gave me, it’s he. I called her and told her to tell him to come to the crib, so the coast is clear.”

“So, he gone?”

“Yeah, he gone.”

“Juju, you, and Re go up Marquette through the alleyway.”

“Why we gotta go through that dark ass alley?”

“Because Tiki and I are going to walk up the street, hop in the car with him, and meet y’all in the alley. I just need y’all to make sure ain’t nobody lurking around.”

“I guess.”

After the final plan was put in motion, Tiki and I walked off to go find Pancho. My bestie and I thought we were on some ninja type shit. We had on all black everything so it was hard for us to be spotted.

BUZZ! BUZZ!

I looked down at my phone and noticed that I had a text message from Pancho. It read, “Black minivan to yo right.”

I looked up to my right and saw this fool in an all-black, soccer mom ass van.

“What’s the verdict?”

“Third house from the corner. I’ve only been seeing the dude come and go. He walks through the gangway through the garage. I walked back there to check shit out myself. The garage is raggedy as shit, but the door looks like something you gon have to blow the fuck off the hinges. Steel with a big ass lock on it.”

“Let’s make this move then.”

We drove around to the back of the garage to get a good look for ourselves.

“Damn, how we gon get up in that motha fucker?”

Pancho got out of the van, walked to the back, and popped the door.

“I got these chains to see if we could just pull the door off since the garage is about one gust of wind from blowing the fuck away, anyway.”

“My nigga, now you thinking. Hook that shit up and let’s get it.”

My besties and me all took a few steps back and let this nigga work his magic. I whispered to ReRe, “After we get the bread, I’mma kill Pancho. This shit gon eventually hit the fan. Niggas ain’t gon just sit back and accept this type of loss. I don’t want nobody coming over here applying pressure to the hood. He can’t be trusted, Re. This nigga set up his own fucking cousin. Fuck you think he’ll do to us?”

I turned back just in time to see Pancho slowly easing the van forward.

“Don’t pull it all the way off.”

“I got you.”

He pulled a few more feet before I saw the wood start to cracking around the door. The door began to shift as the wood broke away from the frame.

“Alright, stop.”

I was the first to enter the garage. Why the fuck did I do that? Next thing you know, I heard all types of growling.

“AWWW SHIT!”

Four big ass pit bulls rushed my ass, knocking me to the floor.

“CODE FOUR! MAN DOWN! MAN DOWN! SHOOT THESE MAFUCKING DOGS!”

Tiki ran in the hoe blazing.

POP! POP! POP! POP!

My bestie a beast! That hoe aim on point. My other two besties ran in there to find me on the floor with my pants to my ankles, my hoodie ripped, and four dead ass dogs surrounding me. These hoes had the nerve to start laughing.

“Fuck y’all laughing at? Hurry up and let’s find this money and let’s bounce before the police come. I know somebody heard those shots.”

There was so much junk in there that I thought we’d be there all night. Luckily it wasn’t.

“Tiki, what’s them black bags in the corner over there under the table?”