Hood Rich: The rise and fall of one of Brooklyn's Finest Read online

  “Come up here youngin’.” She yelled.

  I walked up the stairs and past the twins, both asleep in their room. She closed the door to their’ room and grabbed me by the hand, leading me to her bedroom. Mr. Nick yelled up the stairs, after having finished working on the door.

  “I’m finished baby girl, I’m gone, I’m gone lock the bottom lock on my way out. The keys on the table.” This was my first time inside of Shakita’s house. It was nice. You never would have thought she was a smoker. It was very clean and well kept. Shakita took off her shirt and pants, and sat down on the bed. All she had on was a lace panty and bra set. I stood there for a moment. I saw why everyone was going coo-coo for cocoa puffs over her. It was like watching television: Pamela Anderson-Lee on Baywatch. She was about to roll up a dutch. I watched as she licked the dutch with her tongue and top lip at the same time. I licked my lips. I know she felt me watching her with lust.

  “So what you got, scary ass youngin’? I aint gone bite you yet... chill.” I went into my pocket and pulled out the coke. Shakita’s eyes opened wide as I unwrapped it. She looked into my eyes and smiled. She got up and picked up a digital hand-held scale from off the dresser. She emptied the bag onto the scale. It read 139 grams, which was a gram short of 5 ounces. It was more than the four and a half I needed, but I didn’t care... it was all free! Shakita sprinkled a little on top of the Dutch and rolled it up. She lit it and took a few puffs before closing her eyes. She laid back on the bed and put one of her hands in her panties, as the other was holding the dutch. She looked into my eyes and gave me an instant hard on. I wanted her, and I know she wanted me. The only problem was that I was a virgin. Yep... that’s right, seventeen years old and still a virgin. I could feel the tension and the awkward moment coming, and it came.

  “Boy is you gone come and get this pussy, or is you gone fuck me with your eyeballs?”

  I was stuck. I didn’t want to make a fool out of myself. I didn’t know what I was about to do. I had one escape.

  “I don’t have a condom.” I said.

  Shakita got up and took her panties off. She did it slowly and calculated, looking me in my eyes the entire time. She reached behind her back and unlatched her bra. As her breasts emerged, my man instantly hardened. She kneeled down in front of me and pulled him out. As he entered her mouth, I felt a warm soothing sensation. She continued to suck as I laid back and closed my eyes. The sucking stopped and she climbed on top of me. It felt so good inside of her. I knew it was wrong. No condom... but it was too late. I knew this was crazy, but it felt so good inside of her. All of a sudden I felt a strong tingling sensation. “Ahhh... shit... ooooh!” I moaned.

  Shakita jumped off of me infuriated.

  “Damn youngin’, you wasn’t supposed to cum inside me, I get pregnant fast. This that I'll na-na right here. I tell you it’s the truth boy. You couldn’t even last ten minutes!”

  I couldn’t even front, it was good. It wasn’t the way I had envisioned my first time. I was thinking more along the lines of romance and what not. Well... at least it was good. I laid there as she wrapped her lips around my pole and sucked it back to life. She looked into my eyes the entire time. Shakita knew how to make a man feel good. I mean real good. Round two. This time when she straddled me she looked into my eyes as she moaned quietly:

  “Daddy, do it harder... it’s yours daddy, it’s yours!” I knew Shakita was just gassing me. Had I not known her, I would have believed it. It didn’t matter though, It was turning me on. I was jaded.

  “Daddy, I want you all up in me... I can feel it in my stomach... get on top daddy... beat it up!” If nothing else, she boosted the hell out of my confidence and gave me a crash course in beating’ it up. Every time I went soft, Shakita’s mouth went up to bat. It was about four in the morning when we finally got down to business. I learned so much that morning. Mostly about how to deal with workers, connects, customers, narcs, and competitors. I was sure that Shakita must have seen her share. First she tried to convince me to make a quick sale for four and a half ounces at three thousand dollars.

  “Get the cake and bail” She said.

  “No... I’m gone be a boss!” I replied.

  “Damn youngin’, you putting all that bass in your voice. So I guess you serious. Well, if you in it to win it then we gone break this whole point down to nicks... I need half.”

  Here go the dumb shit, I thought to myself.

  “You not getting half.” I said, staring her directly in her pretty green eyes. I was young but far from dumb or soft. Shakita frowned and then smiled as she continued.

  “Einstein... you have to give me half. What makes you think Manny gone let you hustle on his strip? I’m gone tell Manny I found two ounces. Everybody got booked on Moffat Street, so I’m gone tell him you trying to get put on, so you can hustle on Wilson Avenue. He aint coming home no time soon, so you good. He gone tell you to run half that money in to me, but he only gone know about two ounces. So you getting in on the strip for one ounce. Just look out for me and I’m gone look out for you.”

  Shakita smiled. I swear she had more game than John Madden. But she was right. I could do it right there in my own hood. Shakita laid down on top of me and kissed my chin.

  “Youngin’... watch out for chicks like me. You cute, young, and you say you gone be a boss. Once they see you eating, they gone be at you. Before I started dealing with Manny, I was playing niggas for that bread. That's what every other chick is gone do. They gone try to complicate your life. You gotta find somebody that dig you for you. One that don’t care about money... if they still make those bitches! Just find somebody that’s not too materialistic.”

  All I could think of at that point was what I had just experienced. Shakita must have complicated the lives of plenty niggas, especially with those babies. I definitely didn’t want or need any complications. I didn’t want to get up, but I didn’t want to fall asleep there with Shakita. I saw that she would betray her own man. Before I could lift myself off the bed, the phone rang and Shakita picked it up.

  “Hello...”

  “Hey baby I love you...”

  “Everybody on Wilson Avenue and Moffat Street got booked. The cops got everything. I found two circles though. P.J.’s little brother Rich just came through. He trying to work... he here now...”

  “Aight, hold on.”

  Shakita smiled and handed me the phone.

  “What’s up Manny.” I said in my most masculine voice.

  “What up youngin’... did you hold that down for me like I asked you to?” I could hear the distress in his voice.

  “No doubt O.G., it’s done.”

  “Aight, that’s what I’m talking bout. Shakita gone give you some work. I need half of that bread. If you burn her... you burning me. Put Shakita back on the phone.”

  I could hear the change in his voice as he was relieved. I gave the phone back to Shakita and they talked about five minutes before she hung up. I couldn’t help but to ask:

  “Shakita, how could you have sex with somebody and then talk to your dude on the phone like nothing happened?”

  Shakita smiled and laid on top of me again. She whispered in my ear.

  “Because nothing happened... right?”

  I couldn’t help but grin at Shakita’s statement, but I had to agree.

  “I guess you’re right. Nothing happened.”

  Shakita got up. She grabbed the coke and scale and started out the room. I followed her down to the kitchen and watched closely and carefully as she cooked up the coke. She reached to the back of the fridge and got some bags out of an instant oatmeal box. After bagging up all the crack, we separated it into twelve packs. We bagged up more than ninetysix hundred dollars worth of nickel bags. I never been around that much. My foster brother P.J. Was a big time drug dealer, but I was never around when he counted money or packaged up his angel dust. He used to pass off bread, clothes, and sneakers until he got booked three years ago. I wish he could be here to see this.
Shakita placed the bundles into a shopping bag.

  “The next thing you do is round up some of your boys, like four or five of them. Make sure they all under eighteen so they don’t get bail if they get booked. Don’t deal with none of them directly. Feed your boy Zeke and let Zeke feed them. Make sure everybody think you working for Manny so nobody don’t think they can get away with burning you or robbing you. And you definitely got to get a stash spot. You can’t use Moffat Street, and my crib is hot. Stash at your crib until you find a spot. Don’t tell nobody where you stash... not even Zeke. Stick to the script youngin’. When you get that bread right, I’m gone take you shopping. You gotta get up out those jeans and white tees. Manny probably gone put you on his connect cause you gone need more work when you finish with this.”

  I left Shakita’s house a new man. I traded my virginity for the game. It was a small price to pay. My swagger changed overnight. I found a place to stash in my basement and went to sleep. Later that night I woke up and tried to call Zeke. His welfare one-way line was busy as usual.

  Zeke lived on Irving Street. He was my homie since the first grade at P.S. 384 elementary school. Zeke was like me, he never sold drugs, but he was built like the “Jolly Green Giant” and he loved to fight. I was the smooth one, but I didn’t mind a fight if it was necessary. Zeke played football. His grades weren’t up to par, so college was a far removed thought for him. It would be easy for Zeke to do the recruiting, I thought. I had it formulated in my mind how I would run things. I would definitely do it from the background. Zeke would be the muscle, pass out the work, and recruit. Shakita would cook up the work and keep Manny appeased. On that night, Shakita introduced me to the game that changed my life up.

  Zeke was my man, I couldn’t wait to put him on. I slept good that night, and woke up the next morning ready to start my new life. I was on my way to Georgie’s, the bodega on the corner of Knickerbocker and Decatur. I saw Zeke walking up the Street toward me.

  “Yo what up Zeke? Walk me to Georgie’s.”

  “Aight.” Zeke answered.

  “Yo... dig this.... we bout to be on. You know Manny whole team got booked last night. He called Shakita’s crib last night from the Tombs. He put me on that. I got all the bundles. We gone be rock-stars yo. Get Wiz, Dave, and Xavier.”

  Zeke’s eyes opened wide. He stopped dead in his tracks.

  “Rich... is you serious? You said you already got those bundles?”

  “Yeah nigga.”

  It was on and popping. That night was crazy. The coke we had was amazing. That four and a half ounces was gone by the morning. I gave Shakita two thousand and another four and a half ounces to cook up. I looked in the paper for an apartment to stash all the coke. I found one on Halsey Street. The next morning I went to look at it. I dropped four thousand on the rental application, and the landlord smiled and asked: “When would you like to move in?”

  I got the keys and headed back home. The strip was popping. It did over twenty-five thousand in three days. The corners was crazy. It was like 42nd & Broadway on New Years Eve.

  I was trying to figure out how I was going to get down to those bricks without anyone seeing me. I chirped Zeke and told him to move all the workers on Cooper Street down to Schaefer Street until the police switched shifts. He didn’t ask any questions, he just went along with it. I called Myrtle Car Service and started gathering the duffel bags. This time I was armed with a flashlight. I decided to venture into the back of the basement where I found ten more duffel bags. I managed to stuff them all in the trunk and back seat of the cab.

  In my new stash house lay me and my bricks... all 719 of them, plus a little bit that I had left over from the first one. I met up with Zeke at the Hot Bar. This would turn into our everyday thing. I loved their’ crab legs, mussels, and colossal shrimp. They had the biggest drinks in Brooklyn too. My favorite was the “Smooth Bitch”. It was a combination of: Bacardi 151, Apple Pucker, 99 Apples, and 100 Proof Absolut all blended with crushed ice and daiquiri mix. It tasted good but was strong as hell and would sneak up on you. I sat at the bar with Zeke. I wondered what was going on in his mind. He didn’t talk too much. With so much money coming in overnight, I guess he was preoccupied as was I. There was a disturbed look on his face though. One of those looks when you’re trying to balance something out in your mind, but you just can’t do it. Zeke finally broke the ice.

  “Yo, Rich, how long you think before the shit hits the fan?” There was a seriousness in Zeke’s voice that could not be ignored.

  “What shit?” I responded.

  “The shit that’s coming: stick-ups, war, bodies dropping, indictments.”

  “Hold up yo... right now we under the radar. We

  gone get this cake nigga. We gone stay two steps ahead of the game.” Zeke’s facial expression lightened.

  “So... who you coppin off?” He asked.

  “It’s Manny’s connect, why what up?”

  “Naw man, I’m just looking out, we gotta be careful... I should go with you the next time. I got your back sun.”

  “It’s cool, he don’t like to deal with more than one person Manny told me.” Zeke looked down at his drink.

  “Aight... but you say the word and I’m there.” We sat at the bar for a while and ordered more drinks. The night was still young. Zeke left the bar and I sat back and finished another snow crab platter. I wanted to go back over Shakita’s house so bad and lay some pipe in her. However I knew it was in my best interest not to get attached to her, especially given her mad wild past. She sent an alert to my Nextel just as I was thinking about her. I chirped back. “What up Shakita?”

  “Where you at Rich?” Shakita asked.

  “I’m at the Hot Bar.” I responded.

  “I need you to come around. Manny calling me back in ten minutes, he wanna talk to you.” “Aight... I’m on my way.”

  Going back to Shakita’s house I figured in my mind what Manny’s questions would be: who I was coppin off, and who I had on my team. I was prepared for that. This was the maneuvering part of the game. I sat in front of Shakita’s door on the stoop before I chirped her to let me in. I had already made up in my mind that I was going to be a boss... bottom line. I needed to make Manny an offer he couldn’t afford to refuse. As Shakita opened the door, she interrupted my thinking process with the lingerie she was wearing. I thought to myself... hon’ really knows how to reel a nigga right in. She stopped at the door and dropped down to her knees and sucked me off like I was a Popsicle. My knees trembled as her mouth went back and forth as I went in and out of her mouth. The phone rang and she abruptly stopped. She got up to answer the phone... it was Manny. She passed me the phone and I sat on the sofa. Shakita sat on my lap facing me. She put my man inside of her and started riding me softly. It felt so good and gave me the extra confidence I needed. Here I am on the phone with “Mr Big” while I’m popping his chick, and my workers are on his strip pumping my work... damn. Okay it was time to focus.

  “Hello.” I said to Manny.

  “Yeah... what up youngin’, I hear you got the Avenue popping.”

  “Yeah its doing aight.” I responded.

  “You know that’s my shit right, and you got my bitch cooking up for you. Do you got a check for me?”

  “O.G. I’m holding you down. I got you the best lawyer in Brooklyn, I’m gone look out for Shakita and the twins, plus I’m gone make sure your commissary stay piling. I got a horse for them visits too. In return just let me do me. Everybody know that’s your strip. Its gone stay that way. I’m just a worker holding it down for you.” I took a deep breath anticipating his rebuttal.

  “Damn youngin’, you smarter than I thought. You really thought this out, huh. One hand wash the other. Keep it popping for me. I’m gone put you on my connect.”

  “O.G. I got a connect. He got some raw coke that’s not even stepped on. Let me do me. Its better than the work you was getting off your connect. I got you. When you come home you can link back up with your con
nect, or use mine.”

  “Say no more youngin’, I hope you can handle the strip cause all my niggas is booked. Send that check up ASAP. Put Shakita back on the phone.”

  Manny and Shakita talked for a few minutes before she hung up. Shakita was still wet and straddling me. My man rose up again and she rode me until I busted. I came inside of her again but this time it felt empty. It was just a nut. Like she said before... nothing happened.

  The 4th of July came and went. After that everything was fast forward. Smokers from East New York, Rockaway, and Canarsie was coming through. Niggas was trying to cop weight. As much as I wanted to sell it, I decided not to. I wanted to fly undetected under the radar. Nobody cared who I was, and that was good. As a matter of fact, that’s how I wanted it. Our strip was moving four and a half ounces daily. It had been two weeks since I started and I’d already stacked eighty thousand after paying my workers and getting Manny a lawyer. Money came faster than I expected. Everyone was happy, especially my man Zeke.

  I fell in love... in love with the game. The summer was good. By the 31st of August I was richer to the tune of three hundred fifty thousand. Man was I jaded. I hadn’t touched a dime though. It felt like too much money to have in one place. I divided the money into three stashes. One-fifty at my foster moms house, one

  -fifty at my new stash house in Bed-Stuy, and fifty I kept at my house on Halsey Street. I decided to move the work to Bed-Stuy too. I was feeling paranoid, and Zeke was poking around more than usual.

  The abandoned house weighed heavily on my mind. I went back and retrieved the .357 magnum pistol that I had stashed for Manny. I buried it along an old bike trail in Nassau County. Who would find it there? I picked that place because the only people to blaze that trail were occasional bike riders and hikers. There was plenty of woods and it was only 20 minutes from the city.