Passion for the Heist, page 7
“Fuck is good, my nigga? We got a problem?” The driver moved in on Pain, fist balled and spoiling to hit something.
“That all depends. Are you finally going to tell the truth about you fucking shorty with the prosthetic leg back in middle school?” Pain asked with a smirk.
The driver snatched off his sunglasses and gave Pain a quizzical look. It took a few seconds for him to realize who he was talking to. When he did, his big pink lips spread into a grin wide enough to show off all thirty-two of his teeth. “Holy shit? I know that ain’t my nigga?”
Pain removed his hood so that his face was fully revealed. “What it do, Case?”
“Oh shit! My guy is home!” Case grabbed Pain in a bear hug and spun him around like he was Dorothy Hamill. “Damn kid, I thought I was gonna have to tighten me a nigga up this morning.”
“Same old Case. Always ready to throw hands.” Pain gave him a knowing smirk. Charlie, as his mom had named him, was one of Pain’s closest comrades. They had been friends since grade school and crime partners almost as long. Charlie was given the name Case because of his notoriety for finding himself on the wrong side of the law. At any given time, he would be in somebody’s lockup fighting a case or on the streets trying to catch one. He was a career criminal and made no apologies for it.
“Shit, these days I throw iron.” Case lifted his shirt so that Pain could see the butt of the gun shoved down the front of his jeans. “But fuck all that. What you doing out here walking around looking like one of the damn fiends?” He gave Pain’s outfit the once-over.
“I just got out. I’m coming from the train station,” Pain told him.
“Train? Man, when we spoke last week I told you that I would come and pick you up from the prison when you got released on Thursday. What happened? They spring you early?”
“Today is Thursday,” Pain informed him. “I waited around for about an hour, before I finally jumped on the bus. I didn’t want to be anywhere near that jail for longer than I had to.”
“My fault. When you’re hustling twenty-four seven the days start to run into each other,” Case said apologetically.
“From the looks of your whip, business must be pretty good.” Pain admired the Jeep.
“That ain’t mine. It belongs to one of my little bitches. She lets me push it when I’m out here running around. She be at work all day, so she don’t need it,” Case said. “As a matter of fact, why don’t you jump in and take a ride with me real quick? I can fill you in on what’s been going on in the hood.”
“I kinda just wanted to go see my grandmother and take a shower before I jump back into the mix,” Pain said. He knew that once he and Case hooked up it was possible that it would be a few hours before he made it back.
“Stop acting like that. Your shower can wait, and Ms. Pearl ain’t home anyhow,” Case told him.
“How do you know?”
“Because I saw her coming out of the building about twenty minutes ago. She said she was on her way to a doctor’s appointment. I offered to drive her, but she wasn’t trying to hear it.”
“Do you blame her after what happened last time?” Pain asked. A few years prior he and his grandmother had been in the car with Case, on their way to the fish market. Case saw someone who owed him money in traffic and decided to hawk him down for it. Ms. Pearl was pissed and vowed never to ride with Case again.
“Wasn’t my fault, dawg.” Case recited his most famous line. He never accepted responsibility for his bullshit.
“It never is, Case … it never is.”
“So, you gonna make this ride with me or not?” Case pressed.
“The last time someone asked me that I ended up in prison,” Pain reminded him.
“Man, you know I’d never put you in a cross like that ho-ass nigga did. Don’t even joke with me like that. It ain’t that kind of ride, P. I just wanna shoot uptown and grab these sneakers right quick. They just came in and dude is holding them for me since yesterday. I don’t want him thinking I changed my mind and let ’em go. I’ll have you back like half hour. No longer than forty-five minutes. I’ll even let you drive.” He tossed Pain the keys.
Pain stood there for a time looking down at the key fob in his hand. His good sense told him to decline and catch Case another time, because he knew they could never go from point A to B as planned. This was likely to turn into an adventure. Still, it had been a long time since he’d ridden in anything except a bus, and longer still since he’d been behind the wheel. Against his better judgment, he agreed and got into the car with Case.
CHAPTER 5
“Yo, you know you can go a little faster, right?” Case asked from the passenger seat. He was breaking weed up into a cigar husk, and watching cars zip past.
“I’m going the speed limit. I’m on parole and your ass is rolling a blunt. I ain’t trying to get pulled over,” Pain told him. He had both hands on the wheel and was laser focused on the traffic. You could tell that it had been a while since he had driven in New York traffic.
“Bruh, they legalized this shit while you were gone. Stop being all scary and give this bitch some gas!” Case insisted.
Pain pushed the car to forty mph, but was careful not to go a mile over.
“This nigga here,” Case said under his breath while he finished rolling the blunt. He fished a lighter from his pocket and fired the weed up. The car was immediately filled with a sweet-smelling cloud. Of course, Pain cracked the window, which irritated Case. “What is your problem?”
“I told you, I’m on parole. I don’t want that shit in my system and end up pissing dirty,” Pain said.
“Homie, you ain’t getting high. I am! And besides, it ain’t like they’re going to find no hard shit in your system. This is just a little weed. Everybody smokes now. Even the crackheads have put down the pipes and picked up the blunt.” He held the rolled cigar up for emphasis.
“Whatever, man. I’m just not trying to jam myself up and end up back behind the wall.”
Case sat up and gave Pain a look. He knew that his partner was dead serious. “Let me find out that little souvenir you brought home from prison got you walking on eggshells.” He went to touch the now healed-over scar on Pain’s face, but Pain slapped his hand away.
“Don’t,” Pain said seriously.
“My fault, I didn’t mean no disrespect. I heard how you was giving it up in prison,” Case said with a smirk.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Pain asked defensively.
“Nothing, just that you was holding it down on some real gladiator shit,” Case explained. “Heard you even clipped a few dudes inside.”
Pain spared him a glance and turned his attention back to the road without replying.
“Pain, what’s going on with you, man? I expected you to be a little rigid, just coming home an all, but you been uptight since I picked you up. You act like we strangers or something,” Case said.
“Case, it ain’t like that. You’re my brother, never doubt that. I been through some shit over the last couple of years. Shit that would’ve broken most dudes, but I’m still standing. When you’ve seen and done the kind of things I had to get accustomed to doing, it leaves mental residue. You can’t wipe away that kind of stain in just a few hours or with a change of scenery. I just need some time to decompress, that’s all,” Pain told him.
“I feel you. Take all the time you need, my guy. I’m just here to help make your transition back into the world as smooth as possible. That’s why while you were away I’ve been out here chasing this bag so hard. I wanted to make sure that when you touched down I had a position for you to slide into.” Case reached into his glove box and pulled out a small baggie filled with pink pills bearing Transformer emblems.
“Fuck is that?” Pain asked, looking at the pills as if they were something alien.
“The future.” Case plucked the bag, jarring the pills a bit.
“That ain’t new. White boys and club kids been popping pills since way before I went to prison.”
“I know, but it ain’t just limited to white folks and club kids anymore. This designer shit is all over the place now: Ecstasy, Mollies, Perks, Zannies … the landscape of the drug game has changed and we have rap music to thank for it,” Case joked.
“You dumb as hell,” Pain laughed.
“But I’m serious, though. Parents too busy working and doing other shit to raise their kids, so the internet is doing their jobs for them. Between these weird-ass songs that are constantly spinning on the radio and social media, it’s the blind leading the blind and the smart reaping the benefits.”
“That’s cold.”
“That’s the new world. Pain, these days I make more money off my phone than I ever did on a street corner, and I’m gonna show you how to get it the same way,” Case promised.
“So, you telling me this internet shit has made you hang up your gloves?” Pain asked.
“Not entirely. You know this is just like any other business and I need capital to keep it going. The power of the pistol is still the fastest way I know to raise money, but at some point, we’re going to move away from this shit entirely.”
“How does Queen feel about this new direction you’re moving in?” Pain asked.
“This ain’t got nothing to do with her,” Case said in an irritated tone and busied himself looking out the window.
“You know the crows don’t fly without her charting the flight pattern,” Pain reminded him.
Case turned to him. There was a look on his face that said he wanted to say something, but wasn’t quite sure how to word it. “Pain, quite a bit has changed since you been gone. Most of it has been for the better, but not all of it.”
“Is there something I need to know?” Pain asked. He had known Case long enough to know when he was keeping something from him.
“Nah, man. Nothing for you to worry yourself about right now. You’re fresh home. Let me deal with the headaches and you just focus on getting your feet back under you.”
* * *
Case directed Pain to a sneaker store up in Washington Heights. Pain circled the block twice, but couldn’t find a parking spot. He was going to wait in the car while Case picked up his sneakers, but his friend insisted that he double-park and come inside with him. Pain was concerned with the car being ticketed, but Case didn’t seem too worried. It wasn’t one of the big-brand stores, but a boutique shop where they primarily carried specialty items; kicks that you weren’t likely to find in a major retail spot. Case went off to speak with one of the workers and left Pain to look around the store.
Pain drifted up and down the walls of sneakers; more browsing than actually being interested in their inventory. Most of the sneakers that lined the shelves were loud, or just downright ugly. Hardly Pain’s speed. He picked up one shoe, a halfway decent–looking blue and orange number, and out of curiosity peeked inside at the price tag. He damn near dropped the shoe when he saw that they ran seven hundred and fifty dollars. Pain had paid handsomely for sneakers before, but he refused to kick out what some people spent on their rent in the projects for a pair of shoes that he would likely wear twice before getting bored with them or they were no longer in style.
“Y’all got those in a size five?” a voice came from behind Pain. He turned and found himself in the presence of a butterscotch beauty, dressed in a Louis-trimmed track suit that hugged her body as if it had been made for it. Pain struggled to find his voice. He just stood there like an idiot staring into a pair of beautiful brown eyes. It had been a long time since he had been in the presence of a beautiful woman and it showed in his reaction.
“Hello?” The girl cocked her head as if she was trying to figure out if he were deaf or possibly mute.
“Huh?” Pain discovered his tongue.
“I asked if you have those in a size five?” she repeated, and pointed one of her pink manicured fingers at the sneaker Pain was holding.
“Oh … um … I don’t work here.” Pain placed the shoe back in its place on the shelf.
“Sorry, I saw the sweat suit and thought…”
For the first time since he’d entered the store, Pain noticed that everyone in its employ was wearing similar gray sweat suits, only theirs bore Nike logos on the chest and his was bare. “Honest enough mistake.” He tried to hide his embarrassment. “So … um … you shop here a lot?” he tried to make small talk.
“Excuse me.” The beauty brushed past him and went in search of someone who could actually help her with her purchase.
“I gotta get my shit together,” Pain said to himself while looking down at his outfit.
After picking his face up off the ground, Pain found himself a seat on one of the benches that were reserved for customers trying on shoes. He continued to watch Ms. Louis as she chatted up one of the workers about the sneakers she and Pain had been looking at. He watched her as she slid one of her dainty feet from the Nike she was wearing and placed it into the orange and blue sneaker. He couldn’t help but notice the curve of her foot. It was almost perfect. He even studied her socks for lumps but found none, which meant she probably had nice feet. He imagined what they might look like once they had come out of those socks and were propped on his shoulders. He found his mind taking him to a place where he had no business going as a free man and felt a tinge of embarrassment.
Ms. Louis was making her way to the register to pay for her purchase about the same time Case was coming out of the back room carrying two sneaker boxes. He saw the mischievous grin spring to his friend’s lips and knew that he was about to try his hand with Ms. Louis. He hoped that Chase had better luck than he had. To Pain’s surprise, Ms. Louis didn’t give Chase the cold shoulder like she had with him. She actually gave him a few words. From the respectable distance they kept from each other while holding conversation, Pain didn’t feel like it was a flirtatious exchange. More like one of familiarity. Case knew her, and maybe, just maybe, there would still be some hope for Pain somewhere down the road.
“Have a nice day,” Pain said to Ms. Louis as she was leaving the store. She never even gave him a second look.
“Can I help you find something?” A young Latino man wearing the store’s signature sweat suit approached Pain.
“Nah, I’m good,” Pain told him. That should’ve been the young man’s cue to leave, yet he lingered. He obviously had more to say.
“A’ight, it’s just that you’ve been sitting here for a while. This ain’t a hangout spot, so if you ain’t shopping I’m gonna need you to leave,” the young man told him. From his tone Pain could tell that he was really just trying to do his job and it wasn’t personal.
“I hear you, shorty. As soon as my man gets done I’ll be out your way,” Pain said. Again, he expected the young man to move on but he continued standing there.
“Yo, J.J., fuck you over there doing? Starting trouble as usual?” Case called from the other side of the store. He was trying to get his foot into one of the sneakers he had come to pick up and seemed to be having some difficulties. Standing over him, holding a sneaker box, was an older Spanish man who resembled the younger one.
“I got this. I’m just trying to tell my man right here that we don’t allow no loitering in this store, but I don’t think he’s hearing me,” J.J. said, trying to sound more like an enforcer than a sneaker store employee.
Case paused from trying on his sneakers and walked over to where Pain and J.J. were. “Oh, so that’s how you on it, huh? Making sure ain’t no broke niggas just loitering around in your dad’s spot?”
“C’mon, Case. You know we cater to exclusive clientele. We got a rep to protect,” J.J. capped, looking down his nose at Pain. Now that Case was in the audience he felt like he had to put on an extra show of it. “I was trying to be cool about it, but my man is acting like we ain’t speaking the same language.”
The irritation on Pain’s face was clear. He had tried to be poised about it, but J.J. was getting on his nerves and Case gassing him up wasn’t helping. Chase had always been the instigator of the crew and he was working on walking young J.J. into a smack. Pain decided to put an end to Chase’s little game. “Shorty,” he began in an even yet firm tone, “you about to let this nigga walk you smooth into a wall.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” J.J. asked, looking like he was poised for a fight.
“It means that if you don’t remove yourself from my personal space, I’m going to bounce you off of every shelf in this spot,” Pain said flatly.
J.J. wasn’t quite sure how to respond to the threat. The man in the tight sweat suit didn’t look like a sucker at all. In fact, if it hadn’t been for Case gassing him from the sidelines he probably wouldn’t have pressed the issue. Now, with not only Case, but his dad watching as well, he would have to stand on what he wasn’t putting out there.
Case watched the two of them with an amused smirk on his face. J.J. looked like he was thinking about taking a swing, and Pain was inviting him to do just that. For the first time, Case could see all those years of pent-up aggression rolling down his friend’s face like a death mask. He was struggling to keep himself together, but the more J.J. hovered over him in defiance, the more Pain’s resolve began to slip. Case let the rage continue to build until the moment he saw Pain’s shoulders tense. That was his tell. The thing that put you on alert right before Pain did something biblically violent. Case waited until the moment just before Pain exploded to dead it.
“At ease, soldier.” Case placed a calming hand on Pain’s shoulder. He could feel the anger rolling off of him in scorching waves. His friend looked up at him, eyes ablaze and wide. Pain was ready to hurt something, but with just a shake of his head, Case calmed the beast. Not there, not that day.
“You know this guy?” J.J. asked, relieved that he didn’t have to end up fighting him.
“Do I? This dude has been my partner in crime since you were still swimming in your dad’s nuts! Not only do I know him, but so does the rest of the city. He’s a living legend. I’m actually a little disappointed that you don’t know him. And here I thought you were a student of the game.” Case shook his head in disappointment at J.J.
