TYCE (17 page)

      The beach parking lot was empty, it was one o’clock in the morning, and the sound of the waves crashing repeatedly against the shore was the music of the night. The tan sedan sat in a dimly lit corner as Lincoln and T.J. argued back and forth,

“Nigga YOU said it was him! I was listening to your near sighted ass!” Lincoln yelled pointing his finger at T.J.’s head.

“Look man I fucked up aight, I saw the Range Rover with one nigga driving and I jus’ jumped…I been itching to plug that nigga and I jus’ rushed that shit!” TJ explained.

Both men sat in silence as they stared at the black ocean. Biz had already cussed the men out and threatened to take the money back and their lives. To make matters worse they were now tied to a murder investigation. A murder of a known drug dealer who was also black, a common thing in Los Angeles but a murder investigation nonetheless. They didn’t need that kind of attention, they needed to kill Tyce, find that bitch and get the hell out of town. Everything was amped up now; the luxury of time was no longer available and the welcome mat was gone from the front door. It was clear they’d underestimated Tyce but that wouldn’t happen again.

“We need to drop this car and switch locations.” Lincoln said breaking the silence.

TJ nodded in agreement, “Yeah, and we need to step up the game and try something new. I think we need to make him come to us. Maybe shootin’ that lil’ nigga was a good thing, if he was close to him; he might want a lil’ payback.” TJ hoped.

Lincoln liked the way his partner was thinking, the old way of finding niggas on the street was obsolete in this case. Tyce wasn’t on the streets now, so they would need to draw him out…then fill him with some hot shit.

Change Of Plans…Kinda

      I was starting to lose focus. Flash’s sudden death was running through my mind like a track team. I couldn’t concentrate; it felt like I had some unfinished business to take care of. I stood in the steaming shower letting the water beat down on my shoulders. The shower had always been my personal therapy session, it’s where I worked out my problems and planned shit out. Tonight, me and my problems could barely fit in my walk in shower room, I pushed the button on the wall activating all the jets; pulses and powerful streams of water gently attacked my body from every angle. My lungs inhaled the moist steam that was filling up the room like a thick “
London
” fog. The room was becoming cloudy-however my head was beginning to clear up. Over an hour of water therapy and reflection worked once again, I put shit into perspective and stepped out with a new outlook on things.

      My reflection stared back at me as I confronted myself in the mirror, I took notice of a tattoo on

my left arm that read “
ME vs. WORLD,”
that had been my attitude since birth. I could no longer completely think that way, not in this situation. I dried my naked body with a towel, closed the lid on the toilet, and just sat there. Before all this shit happened life was simple for me; I killed niggas and counted cash, now I had more complicated issues to contend with. I had a crew to look out for and on top of that, I had budding feelings for Angelique. She’d put her life in my hands and I couldn’t live with myself if I had to attend her funeral. Sway, Dallas and Omar trusted me to hold shit down and lead the way, I didn’t feel comfortable knowing trigger happy niggas could kill anyone of them to get to me. Flash had paid that price and I wasn’t about to give Biz another sacrificial lamb. I had to take care of these niggas and do it before I made my moves. Looking over my shoulder while I was working wasn’t good for business-or my nerves.

I put on black sweats a black T-shirt and finally stepped out the bathroom. As I made my way to the kitchen I was still forming the plan in my head, the last step in my private therapy session was cherry flavored “
Jell-O
.” I opened the fridge to find my sweet Dr. and noticed three cups were missing…I smiled at the fact that Angelique and I shared the same cravings. I grabbed a red cup and sat at the table, my spoon broke the smooth surface as I continued my thoughts. Four Jell-O cups later, I knew what to do and how to do it. Angelique’s light was on in her room so I decided to stop by to see what she was up to. I knocked softly and listened for movement on the other side of the door. Her soft voice gave my body permission to move as she told me to “come in.” Angelique was on her bed playing solitaire, she was wearing a yellow satin nightgown that ran out of material just passed her hips. The cards were spread out over the comforter and she was sitting Indian style as she played with herself.

“Who’s winning?” I asked stepping in the dimly lit room.

“Me of course, I could use some competition if you’re up for it?”

I eased onto the bed and sat across from her accepting the challenge. She began to shuffle the cards for an old school game of slapjack. Angelique stopped her dealer style shuffling tricks and just stared into my eyes and whispered to me,

“I didn’t know Lil’ Flash personally but I’m deeply saddened by his death. My heart is heavy for his family…and for you.” Her eyes never blinked.

She stroked my knee as she gently asked, “Are you ok?”

I sighed heavily and smiled, “I’m ok now….thanks for askin’.”

We broke eye contact finally and began to play, “By the way, I need to ask you a favor.” I said repositioning myself on the bed.

“Ok…wasup?” She smiled.

I held my tongue and just looked at her pretty brown face, “I’ll ask you after I whoop your ass in slap jack!” I promised. “And don’t try and distract me with your short ass pajamas either.”

“Pleasssse, I don’t need to show you my cookie  to win; besides…I wouldn’t let you eat it anyway.” She lied with a wink.

Foursome

      The black on black “
Mercedes”
swooped toward the curb stopping in front of Malik’s barbershop. The bass from the trunk vibrated the rearview mirror and made the street full of people turn and stare. I hopped out the car and walked into the shop not bothering to set my alarm.

“What up Malik.” I said taking my usual seat.

“Same old shit jus’ a different day Tyce, you seem a lil’ up beat today…what you got goin’ on?” Malik asked as he cleaned his clippers.

I smiled at him taking notice of all the niggas in the shop pretending not to eardrop on our conversation, “Yeah I’m in a good mood. Although my lil’ man’s life was cut short, I’m in good spirits. We having a party tonight to celebrate Flash’s life, I wanted to extend an invite to you and your family.”

Malik nodded his head sympathetically, “That’s beautiful man. The whole neighborhood was hurt behind that shit. I’ll definitely fall through, where you having it?”

“We throwing it over at Dizzy’s club, it starts about ten, I’ll hold a table and a bottle of Goose for you.” I offered while he pumped my chair up higher.

Underneath the drape cloth, I pulled out my gun and let it rest on my thigh. The shop was packed- typical for a Saturday morning. One by one niggas started to talk about what happened to Flash. The shop was buzzing with rumors and speculations about the details of his murder. I just listened to the chatter with my eyes closed as Malik cut my hair. Some dude next to me finished his cut and rose from his chair, he paid the barber and dusted off his over sized white T-shirt. The young stranger put his hat on and turned to me,

“Ay yo man; where you say that party was gonna be at?” He continued, “I didn’t know the dude personally but his girlfriend is my cousin. I’m sure she’d wanna go, she’s been struggling with his death and maybe being around his friends and family would help her deal with shit.” He said with concern in his voice.

“Damn, small world huh? Flash told me he had a new lady but I never got a chance to meet her. Tell your cousin it’s at Dizzy’s club tonight; you know where that is?”

“Yeah, yeah, I been there a few times, I’ll let

her know.”

“Tell her when she get there to mention my name and she won’t have worry ‘bout nothin’.” I instructed.

“Aight that’s wasup man…what’s your name?”

“Tyce.” I answered taking my hand off the hammer under the drape cloth and shaking his.

“Curtis.”

The stranger announced giving me dap, his iced out watch jiggled around his wrist as we went through the customary hood hand shaking motions. He passed out a few more handshakes on his way out; he paused to admire my ride and kept moving up the block disappearing from my view. I closed my eyes again letting my thoughts fast forward to tonight; I hoped this event would help people cope with Flash’s death and give his family some closure. I was surprised at the response I got. The guest list was up to about three hundred and rising by the hour. Angelique was all in when I asked her to help me plan it out. She arranged for a limo to pick up Flash’s family, I planned to order a dozen roses for all the ladies closest to him, I was happy to include his girlfriend in the plans since she was probably coming. The event company Angelique hired to handle the event was the best in the city, they planned a lot of “life celebration

parties” so this one should be off the hook.

 I was getting dressed as the evening transformed into night. Angelique was already at the club making sure all the details got taking care of. She took the rental car and picked up a few more people on the way. About two hours later, I was on my way to the spot; Angelique called me while I was driving and told me the shit was packed with people. I got there 20 minutes after we spoke and circled the block-I parked down the street and turned my headlights off.

Inside the club, there was a poster size portrait of Flash with thousands of red and white flowers around it. A gold treasure chest was placed in front of the shrine to collect donations from the over four hundred guests in attendance. The venue was a success and because the Nation of Islam was handling security, everyone felt safe to enjoy the party. With the function in full swing, Angelique was free to mingle a little bit. Both she and Dallas dressed to kill wearing outfits that looked like they were painted on. They worked the crowd like spokes models catching the eyes of every man there…including two men shooting pool quietly in the back of the club. The men stopped their game to gaze at the talent standing at the bar. As Angelique and Dallas turned around holding their

freshly made martini’s the men both agreed the

view was even better from the front.

“That’s what I’m talkin’ ‘bout! You see them

bitches’ nigga?” One man shouted over the music.

“Yeah I see em; shit every nigga in here see

em.” The other said licking his lips.

A young waitress passed in front of the men and was grabbed gently by the arm and given some instructions in her ear. Following the polite demands of the tall man she changed her route and headed in the direction of the bar, straight toward Angelique and Dallas. She gave a schoolgirl smile as she approached the extra sexy women. They both leaned in as the short waitress motioned for them to come a little closer to her.

“Whatever you ladies are drinking tonight is on the house, compliments of the gentlemen in the back. All they ask in return is that you play a game of pool with them.” She said raising her eyebrows and grinning widely.