Читать книгу A Real Goon's Bible - Derrick MD Johnson - Страница 12

Upon leaving the spot, Say No called his wife Sheila. Knowing the danger they were about to embark upon he felt it was only right to make her aware of the possibility that he may not make it home tonight. See, out of all the people in the 2-4 Family only he and Eddie had legal wives. Although Eddie continued to have flings and affairs on the side, Say No was content with his gorgeous wife Sheila. They had met six years prior at one of Fast Eddie’s parties his wife Fatima would throw. He was walking out to the swimming pool, fully engrossed in the conversation he and Fast Eddie were having, until he’d seen Sheila, aka She She, lifting herself out the swimming pool. Never had he seen a more beautiful woman. It was at that moment he set his mind to make her his wife.

After being introduced formally to her, he wasted no time – making it a top priority to entwine their lives as one. Now here it was one kid and six years later and they still held the exact same passion and desires for one another as the day they met. The only real issue that couldn’t be resolved was his undying love and dedication to Fast Eddie and the 2-4 Family. She She just couldn’t shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen to him, especially after seeing Eddie take his fall. She was just as much a part of it, although Say No kept his home life totally separate from the streets, her and Fatima remained close friends. She spent many a nights comforting and consoling her good friend, telling her everything would be alright but knowing in her heart she really didn’t know if it was or not. She was merely hoping and praying things would be alright, while at the same time being grateful it wasn’t her who had to deal with the loss of her soul mate. Also fearful because Say No was still tossing rocks at the penitentiary walls. Although Say No knew his wife had valid concerns, he never once considered the option of abandoning Eddie or the family. In his mind loyalty was a must.

At one point in his younger years Say No had a drug addiction. He was first introduced to crack cocaine at the tender age of fourteen while moving packs for an older hustler in his neighborhood. He did as so many people in the game does, he tricked off with one of the first of many prostitutes that worked the neighborhood corners. It was one of the worst mistakes he made when he let her blow secondhand smoke from the stem she smoked out of into his mouth.

Experiencing the buzz from the smoke, he gave into what he knew was wrong and took his first blast of crack cocaine. It wasn’t long before it got the best of him. After stealing an ounce from Dirty Dre, the person who he worked for, he was forced to move out of that neighborhood before he found him. After smoking with a whore named Tammy for two days, he found himself broke and without no dope, nor a place to lay his tired ass down so he decided it would be best if he went to his Auntie Freda’s house on 24th Avenue. 24th Avenue was a different area than the one Dirty Dre ran.

Since moving to his Auntie’s house he slowed down his smoking habit due to the fact he no longer had access to the drugs as he used to. He would hang out at Franklin Elementary School, along with all the neighborhood hustlers and ballers. The basketball court was the grounds of all the illegal activities that happened on a daily basis in that neighborhood. It was there that he met Fast Eddie. And it was there his life changed for the better.

It was what appeared to be a normal day up on the blacktop – that’s the basketball court. Standing by the water fountain stood Say No attempting to talk one of the young neighborhood girls into borrowing him twenty dollars, when out the corner of his eyes he spots three nervous looking guys approaching the blacktop at a fast pace. Say No wasn’t recognizing any of them as ever being around his hood before, so he knew some shit was about to crack off, but was afraid to yell out and give warning to the unsuspecting people on the blacktop. Scared that one, if not all three strangers, would turn their unclear motives on him, he started walking away and heard numerous gunshots erupt. Running away from the park as fast as his legs could carry him, he was almost hit by a Grey Cutlass as it was speeding viciously by him. With two police cars on his tail, the fleeing car tossed a brown bag out the window. As it passed, knowing how shit went in the hood, Say No didn’t hesitate to pick the bag up and started to walk away with it until he noticed one of the squad cars was hitting reverse and aimed straight towards him.

He knew he only had a small head start and took off running through several yards, hiding inside an abandoned apartment complex. Once inside, he opened the bag and realized it wasn’t what he expected it to be, not at all. Instead of drugs, he held a 357 Magnum in his hand. Truly disappointed, he hid the gun and went home contemplating who or where he could sell the gun to get some money.

Later that night he saw on the news that two of the three dudes who came to wreak havoc were dead and the remaining one was in a coma, along with six of the people they shot. The man he saw fleeing the police got away because there was a bulletin for his car and anyone who knew the man who drove it. Say No smiled because he knew exactly whose car it was. He sat back formulating how he could make contact with Fast Eddie, the man who was responsible for all the drugs in that neighborhood.

It wasn’t until days after he saw the news that he ran into Fast Eddie. Not knowing how to approach him about the gun, he just stared at him from a distance while Fast Eddie was conducting his business on the blacktop. Just as Say No was about to give up the thought of approaching him, one of Eddie’s goons called out to him, telling him to come over. Feeling scared and nervous because he didn’t know exactly what their state of mind was, whether they were going to kill him or reward him, he stood there for a few seconds debating on should he make a run for it or go see what was up. Choosing to go over to them, he willed his legs to get moving.

Upon reaching the blacktop, Fast Eddie walked over towards Say No. Looking over to one of his guys, he asked, “Is this the nigga who grabbed my bag?” Nothing was said back to him; just a nod of the head was enough to let him know the answer. Putting his arm around Say No’s shoulder, Eddie proceeded to walk him toward his car. It was the longest walk in Say No’s life; no words were spoken while three goons walked along with them staying twenty yards behind.

Once they reached the car, Eddie turned around and said, “I heard you have something that belongs to me. Now, is what I’m hearing correct?”

Knowing it was all or nothing, Say No looked Fast Eddie directly in the eyes and replied, “Yea I have the bag you threw. I hid it and came up here for the last couple days to let you know I got it.”

Noticing that Say No was shaking, Eddie told him to relax and that what he did was an honorable thing and that he would reward him for his loyalty. “So where’s the gun at lil’ man?” This was his first time mentioning the contents of what the bag held.

“I can take you to it. It’s just a few blocks away,” replied Say No.

“Well jump on in and let’s go get it. Then we’ll see about straightening out your pockets,” Fast Eddie assured him. Jumping into what appeared to be the same car that the police was chasing, they made their way to the abandoned apartment complex Say No stashed the weapon at. It wasn’t until later in life did he realize that all Eddie or anyone in his crew drove was ’68 or ’69 Cutlasses.

After retrieving the gun, Eddie reached into the glove box of his car and pulled out what looked to be at least ten stacks – more money than Say No ever saw in his life. Eddie tossed the bundle of money in his lap. Say No looked at the money and then turned to Eddie and picked the bundle up, handing it back to him saying, “If its alright with you, I’d rather you put me down with the team. I’m a loyal nigga, and I won’t ever make the mistake of crossing you.”

Eddie was shocked that he would rather work for him than take the ten “G’s” knowing he more than needed the money. Eddie saw hunger and desire in the young man’s eyes and respected his gansta for not turning it into the law for a reward. He tossed the bundle of money back to Say No and said, “Look I’m going to give you a chance, but there is no room for error. The price of betrayal is death. I’m going to tell you this once – God forgives, I don’t. So if you’re willing to follow the rules of the Family, I’ll give you a chance.”

Fast Eddie knew that Say No, like everyone else, feared him and he intentionally made it a point to distill fear in everyone’s heart he encountered. His philosophy was – “It’s better to be feared than loved, because fear you can control, love you can’t.” Eddie told him that every morning at ten he was to meet up with the rest of the Family on the blacktop and after saying that he would be there, Eddie got out of the car and walked over to the passenger door. He tapped on the window, signaling for Say No to roll it down.

Say No rolled down the window and said, “What’s up?”

Eddie casually replied, “The car’s yours. Go shopping and get your wardrobe together.”

Shocked that Eddie just gave him his Sunkist Orange Cutlass, he thanked him about ten times. He slid over to the driver’s seat expecting Fast Eddie to get in the passenger’s seat but he didn’t get in. Looking in the rearview mirror was the first time he really realized how big and serious Fast Eddie was. He was just getting into a Midnight Blue Cutlass, one that had been tailing them the whole time, without Say No even knowing it.

Pulling off, Say No’s thoughts were running wild. His mind was telling him to go cop some dope and get high, but his heart said something entirely different. His heart told him that this was a once in a lifetime opportunity to be a part of something real. Deciding to go with his heart is what got him a spot on the team. After ten years of putting in work and staying true to his Family, he became Fast Eddie’s right-hand man.