TYCE (12 page)

“Alright then people guess it aint nuthin’ left to do but break down exactly how it’s gonna go. Now first……”

“Hold up T. We aint heard from Ms. Late yet.” Omar interjected.

Dallas shifted in her chair and grinned at Omar. She took a lighter out of her coach purse and looked at Tyce.

“Can I have one of those clove cigarettes you smoke Tyce?” She asked confidently.

Tyce smiled enjoying her swagger as he reached in his sweats to get his pack of "
Djarums
." He handed her one and stepped back a little taking one for himself. Dallas put the fire to the tip and inhaled the flavored smoke; she licked her lips tasting the clove spice and sighed.

“I already heard what Tyce had to say, that’s why I’m here. So
actually
…I’m early and you’re late.” She finally answered never looking at Omar.

Omar shot Tyce a disapproving look as her words registered in his mind. “How the fuck did this bitch know what was up before I did.” He thought to himself. Angelique was a little shocked at what came out of Dallas’s mouth but she knew Tyce had a good reason for his actions. She trusted him with all her heart; he was a natural born leader and she’d follow him anywhere. Angelique put a lid on all the feelings stirring around inside her pot but it was beginning to simmer over. Right now, she had to focus and play her part on the team.

“Ok now that we all on the same page…let’s talk about the work.” Tyce stated flicking ashes on the floor. “All three moves gotta be made in the same week. The good thing about tha shit is two of these muthafukas don’t even fuck with the holice but you already know the bank is a different story. Diego is a no joke, aint nobody bold enough to fuck wit’ him, but that’s what makes him vulnerable. He’s too cozy, but don’t sleep, he’s a beast. The Club House is a ten man operation but only two niggas handle the money. The bank is the hardest one…it’ll take all of us at the same time to get that shit off.” Tyce lectured taking a drag from his cigarette.

The oversized room was quiet as the crew listened intently to the plans. Each member contributed in his or her own way as the meeting went on into the early morning hours. They covered the details of the details and got familiar with each other. Angelique warmed up to Dallas, seeing bits of herself in her personality. Although she was young, Dallas could hold her own, she was no dumb ass bitch. Angelique also recognized why Tyce had chosen Sway. He possessed a quiet manly demeanor and he was a team player. She guessed that was from his time in the marines. Sway shared with her a little about his family and himself showing her pictures of his kids. He was vested in his family but still would take a risk to provide for them. Sway confided in her that if it wasn’t Tyce running this shit he would have stayed at home. Angelique knew her roles front to back and what Tyce expected out of her. He kept an eye on her the whole night and seemed to angle his words in her direction from time to time. Angelique appointed herself the official look out of the crew and she was looking out for one person in particular.

Lil’ Flash

    
Flash turned the bag of “
Doritos”
upside down letting the last few chips slide into his mouth. It was eleven thirty on a Friday night, and the block was jumping with fiens trying to get right for the weekend. He was drained…the heads had him running all day with no breaks, his clientele was steady ‘cuz they knew his shit was legit. Just as he tossed the empty chip bag in the alley a blue Neon rolled up with the back passenger window rolled down half way. The car slowed as it went by but kept moving and turned right at the corner. That was the signal all his customers used to get his attention. Flash quickly prepared to make the exchange before the car came around again the second time. He snatched the shit from his stash spot and jogged to the sidewalk scanning the streets for anything that looked suspect. The “
Neon”
slid down the street again and stopped at the curb where he was waiting. Two barely legal white girls were inside with “
Mile Cyrus’s”
voice blaring out the factory speakers.

“Yo, turn that shit down!” Flash ordered.

“Oopps, sorry Flash.” The young girl apologized.

He leaned a little closer to the door and pointed with his right hand faking as if he was giving directions. Flash had already tossed the baggie in the girls lap and opened his left palm to get his money. The whole transaction took less than five seconds and the teenyboppers sped off keyed up to have an out of body experience. The 40 dollars he snatched was quickly calculated in his head and it brought the days total to 1,265 dollars. The Paris and Nicole look a likes bought the last of his product, so Flash decided to bounce from the block. When he got to his crib, he took a shower. As he stood under the hot stream, he tried to filter his internal war. He didn’t like selling crack. Ever since Tyce had him go by the Mosque that day he’d been back on his own several times. The more he attended the Mosque the more he realized what he was doing was wrong. He wanted out the dope game but hadn’t found an income replacement yet. He prayed daily that it would come soon though. He didn’t like assisting people with slow suicide but on the other hand, he still needed to eat and with his criminal record getting a job was nearly impossible. He decided all he can do was keep pushing towards his faith and hope that it would all balance out eventually. Allah knew his heart.

      Lil’ Flash heard his phone ringing so he turned the water off grabbed a towel and answered it. Some of his boys were going to Jim’s Grill to shoot pool. He told his man to give him ‘bout twenty minutes and he would fall thru. He hung up the phone and got dressed. A half hour later Lil’ Flash walked up to his people in the bar. After dapping them all down he asked the waitress for a “
Disaronno”
and “
7-UP
.” His homeboy Tony gave Flash the let me holla at you head nod so he walked around the table and sat next to him.

“Hey I need to holla at you”

“Wasup?” Flash asked as the waitress brought his drink over.

“Ya boy Tyce he cool?” Tony questioned with concern.

“Yeah he good why?” Flash asked defensively.

“Word on the street is he the HMW.”

“Tony, what the fuck does HMW mean, who the fuck says some shit like that?”

“It means he the hood’s most wanted…there’s a price on his head.”

“Where you hear that shit at?” Flash frowned.

“Where
haven’t
I heard it, everybody askin' about him, especially since aint nobody seen

the nigga. Nigga where you been, you aint heard that shit? I jus’ thought you might wanna let him know if he don’t already.”

“Damn. Good lookin’ out my nigga.” Flash

said digesting the news. “Who has a hit out on him?”

“That nigga Biz is what I heard.” He stated downing his shot.

Flash thanked Tony by buying another round for them both as they talked about the same ole shit. Flash was half listening…his mind was on the bull shit that just came out of Tony’s mouth. Twenty minutes later Flash couldn’t wait any longer, he dismissed himself from the conversation with a customary pound, and walked out the bar. Within seconds his cell phone was out and dialing Tyce’s number.

No Sweat

    
I racked the weights and sat up on the bench. Flash had interrupted my work out but for what he said I was grateful. So just like I thought; Biz hired some niggas to take me out. That was just like his bitch ass to get somebody else to do what he was to pussy to do himself. There’s no doubt in my mind that Angelique was also on the menu. I needed to find out who was looking for us, I hated not knowing my enemies. They had to be some niggas from out of town ‘cuz Biz knew I was familiar with the people in the city and who would fuck with me in my own backyard anyway? I knew he was up to something especially after Angelique left his ass. But now the shit was real, this elderly ass nigga was actually trying to murder me! Biz and the fake ass assassins was just one more thing to add to my “to do” list. These days I was a busy man but I could make time to exterminate some roaches. Yeah he hired some niggas to kill me…it’s a damn shame he wasted his money.

Feels Like Home

      Angelique was starting to like being at Tyce’s house. Her mind had picket signs of protest marching across her forehead but a window in her heart opened up, letting a cool breeze blow in. The past few days Tyce had been laying low. He instructed the crew to do the same and just focus on what was about to happen. Angelique and Dallas exchanged phone numbers and had talked a few times. Dallas was a lot like herself and she was highly intelligent. When you talked to her, you’d never guess she was an escort, more like a sexy lawyer or a fashion mogul. One thing for sure was that she was nobody’s fool and was definitely not a punk bitch. Angelique could see why Dallas had been drafted. While preparing chicken Alfredo for her and Tyce to eat she went over the plans in her head and couldn’t find one flaw. Angelique could tell Tyce had done his homework and then some extra credit shit on top of that. The shit was solid and well planned and she was more than ready to go. As she placed the garlic bread in the oven her mind rewinded back to Biz and the

problem she’d drove away from. Her life was so

busy with Tyce these days she hadn’t even thought about Biz’s abusive ass in days but she knew better than to get to relaxed; that’s when your relaxation turns into a deep sleep that you never wake up from. Moving around the kitchen in a familiar way, she began to prepare the plates making sure to fix Tyce’s plate first. She hit the intercom button to call him up from the gym. She knew he’d be hungry after his work out so she piled the plate high with creamy noodles and extra pieces of chunky chicken breasts. She wanted to show her appreciation for all he’d done for her and this was one way she chose to do it.

Angelique put her lips close to the intercom speaker and pressed the button, “I don’t wanna have to come down there and pull a bar off ya neck!”

“Girl please!” Tyce said into the other speaker laughing out of breath.

“Are you done?” She asked amused.

“Yeah, I’ll be up in a minute.”

Angelique busied herself with the last preparations for their dinner. She poured ice-cold guava juice into some glasses and put the hot bread in a basket covered with a cloth towel. She snatched two pieces of paper towel folded them in half and placed the silver ware on top next to the steaming plates. Just as she finished setting the table up, she heard Tyce coming down the hallway.

“What the fuck!” She thought to herself, “Why am I so nervous it’s jus’ fuckin’ dinner!”

Tyce took a detour to the guest bathroom to wash up, that two minutes was just enough time for her to pull herself together.

“Damn girl, somethin’ smells good in here.” He said walking in the kitchen.

“Yeah jus’ call me “
Marie Calendar”
tonight but my food taste way better. I hope you’re hungry.”