Queen of the City 3: The Life of a Female Rapper, page 11
“Look at this girl here, Mama. Look at her.”
I opened my eyes as Mama stood in front of me with her arms folded across her chest, “Lyric, what are you even doing right now?”
“Huh?”
“You heard me. What are you doing?”
“Well, I was sleeping until you came in here waking me up.”
She laughed and sat down next to me on the sofa, “Girl, you know you got that smart mouth honestly. I close my eyes, and I swear I think I’m talking to myself. But what are you doing here? Seriously?” I sat up on the couch, “I’m making sure Prince is safe.” She shook her head.
“You know, you can make sure he is safe by keeping him out of Milwaukee. You don’t need to be here.”
“No, I need to be here.”
There was a brief pause between us before she spoke up again,
“Well? I’m waiting to hear your lame reason as to why you need to be here because it’s not making sense to me.”
“Look, I need to make sure he is gone for good. I don’t want him popping back up unexpectedly later on. I don’t want that kind of trouble, you know what I’m sayin’? I’d rather get rid of it right now when I have the chance.”
“That’s bullshit, Lyric.”
I looked at her curiously, “You can cuss?”
“Lyric, I’m grown, I can do what I want. But, in the same breath, I know you can do what you want just as well. I just don’t want you to make the same dumb mistakes I did that cut my life short.”
“My life is already cut short.”
I got up and walked over to the window and glanced outside. Everything was pure white. The trees, the grass and everything else. It looked as if God himself coated everything in powder and suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder. “Honey, if you have faith, the Good Lord can heal you. All you have to do is have faith.” I spun around as Big Mama stood in front of me, her gray eyes sparkling as if they were diamonds. She continued, “I know you think it is over, but it’s not. The Lord didn’t heal me, but it wasn’t in his will. My job on Earth was done, and it was time for me to go home, but you? He is not done with you. As a matter of fact, he has not even begun his work with you. You have to exhibit patience, Lyric. Don’t rush this and more importantly, don’t make any more dumb mistakes because even though you think you are doing Prince well, you will actually be crippling him in his life in more ways than you think.” I glared at her as if I was trying to see the whole world in her eyes. For some reason, I couldn’t understand what she was telling me.
“What do you mean I will be crippling him? I’m helping him, Big mama.”
“You think you are, Lyric, but we all know there is a way that seems right that ends in death.”
She started to fade away as I beckoned for her to stay. There was so much more to talk about, but her appearance rapidly faded, and her voice was replaced by a telephone ring. I opened my eyes as my phone rang on the table in front of me. With a raspy voice, I answered,
“Hello?”
“Aight. Everything is set. You can come through now. His name is Garcia.”
“Garcia? Aight. I’ma send my girls over there now. Will they be safe?”
“Yeah. I mean, they know how to handle themselves, right? The nigga is a little tricky sometimes but for the most part he shouldn’t fuck with them.”
I took a deep breath. I didn’t want to put them in any unnecessary danger, but at the same time, getting rid of Nas was so engraved in my mind that I couldn’t think of anything else. I think Mama was right; I wasn’t just doing this for Prince anymore. I mean, I wanted Prince safe, but I think, more importantly, I wanted him to die by my hands and not through some fucking virus. Just my luck, they would figure out some fucking cure, and he’d have enough money to get it. Fucking Magic Johnson and shit, and I didn’t want to take the chance.
“Aight, Block, I appreciate this shit man, for real.”
“No doubt. Y’all be careful, aight? Hit me back if you need anything else.”
“Aight.”
I went out to the back and called the two of them in to let them know that everything was straight, and they could roll out there in a few hours. Their glassy eyed look didn’t bother me at all. I had seen Malley take shit over when she was as high as a kite, and Quandra was pretty much the same chick when she was high that she was when she wasn’t. Honestly, I knew Malley could be trusted, but Quandra still caused me to be on edge. I just never knew with her, and I guess all it took to lose my faith was to get burned one time. I pushed those thoughts out of my head and gave Quandra the directions. “Ok, I know exactly where this shit is at. You want us to roll out now?” she asked. I looked just beyond her as my mind painted a picture of Nas dying right in front of me the way I imagined. I kissed him on the lips one last time before I squeezed the trigger and sent the bullet screaming from the barrel right into his forehead. That’s all I wanted right now and honestly, that is all I cared about. The thirst for revenge consumed me, and as my heart pumped blood, the adrenaline kicked in.
“Nah,” I said, “y’all can roll out later tonight. Shit don’t happen this early.”
“Cool. Just give us the word and we out.”
The night fell on us like blankets, and before I knew it, it was time for them to go. I gave them some last words before they headed out but they looked at me like I was crazy.
“Uh, who you think you are talking to, Lyric? Rookies? We know how to handle ourselves.”
“Aight, my bad. Y’all, handle up then.”
“We got you.”
With that, I checked outside to make sure no cars were looming around the street, and after everything was clear, they got in the car and took off. Oddly, I prayed for them. I don’t know what made me do it or anything, but I felt like it was completely ironic. Not only was I praying, but I was praying for their safety when they went to buy guns. It was crazy, kind of like praying over liquor before you drank it or asking God to make sure your weed wasn’t laced with anything. I stopped myself when I realized how absurd it was and from that point on, I just hoped that they would get back here safely. I went back to Big Mama’s room in complete darkness so there would be no reason to think anybody was in here if somebody was to roll by. As soon as I walked into her room, I didn’t feel the peace that I normally did. It was an eerie feeling of emptiness that was now there, and it was so abnormal that I didn’t even want to stay in the room anymore. “Big Mama?” I said out loud, looking for an explanation but there was no response. I turned around and went back into the living room, trying to force myself to sleep but it was no use. There was too much going through my mind for me to even think about sleep. I replayed the voicemails that Prince left on my phone. His cute little voice brought a smile to my face, and even though I could barely understand all of his words it meant the world to me when I heard him tell me that he loved me. At that moment, I began questioning if I was even doing the right thing, but now it was much too late to turn around, and I knew that if I didn’t kill Nas, I was going to have to fight my way out of Milwaukee whenever I did decide to leave.
It was around 2 am when the doorbell rang. I must’ve dozed off without even realizing it as I jumped up and ran to the window. They stood outside looking in every direction to make sure nobody was watching them. I quickly went to the door and let them in. “What up, bitch!” Quandra said as she came through the door with two pistols. Malley walked in right behind her with a Chopper, “Lyric, this shit is mine right here. Fuck! I’m in love with this muthafucka right here!” Quandra closed the door behind them as they walked to the sofa and plopped down.
“Them niggas was cool as a bitch,” Malley said, “I think it was because they were trying to fuck, though, you feel me? I wasn’t goin’, though.”
“Hell yeah. That nigga Garcia though? He was fine as fuck! Old Puerto Rican pretty boy ass that looks like he should be modeling some shit instead of selling guns. They came off like they were some killers, though, asking why we needed the guns and shit. I just told them to mind their business.”
“You went in, Quandra?”
“Uh, yeah. Problem?”
“Malley was the only one that was supposed to go in. I told them one chick.”
Malley put her hand up to stop me, “It’s cool, Lyric. They came to the car and checked us out first and then they told her to come in, too. I guess they really did think we were all about to fuck, but they had shit twisted from the jump.”
“Hell yeah,” Quandra said as she started laughing.
Just then, the front door rattled, and we all spun around in that direction. “Did you lock the door, Quandra?” I asked. “Shit!” she said, and just then the door flung open, and there was a barrage of pistols aimed at us. “Nah uh, y’all should probably put them guns back down. Y’all won’t get a shot off before y’all gets sprayed. Just chill, aight? We just want to talk.” His Spanish accent was thick and as they walked further into the house, I knew it wasn’t Nas or anybody he dealt with. These were all SA’s, and they were about eight deep. He smiled at us as they all flooded into Big Mama’s house. I looked over at Quandra, her facial expression was blank and immediately I knew she was behind this. We paid them for the guns, and she set it up for them to come back for the guns and keep the money.
“You getting a percentage on this shit, Quandra? Huh?”
“What?”
“Bitch, you heard me. You left the door wide open for these niggas to charge up in here and shit.”
She glared at me unforgivingly, and I felt the tension rising between us. Malley spoke up, “Aye y’all—” Garcia interrupted her, “Hey, Mama,” he said, pointing the gun directly at her, “you moving too quick. Go ahead and sit yo’ pretty ass back down on the couch. I would hate to put a hole in your pretty ass face, okay? Please, Mama, have a seat. We will figure all of this out tonight.” Her eyes were still fixated on me, and I didn’t turn away from her. It was like we jumped out of the frying pan and landed right into a fucking fire. “Lyric. It’s good to see you again,” Garcia said, stepping closer to me,
“You’re still as pretty as I remember you. It’s fucked up that you had to come through the spot and fuck up some of the homies, though. That was some bullshit.”
I took a deep breath, “I was just trying to get my son, that’s all.”
“Hey, hey, it’s all right, Mama, you know what I’m saying? Those niggas that got killed back at the spot? They weren’t shit anyway. If the homies behind me now were in there, your ass would be dead right now. These boys behind me don’t play around for shit. They all got bodies on them, you feel me? But I’m not over here for no revenge or no petty ass shit like that. All I wanted to know beforehand was why they needed these guns, but now, since I have seen you, I want to know more about your boyfriend, Mr. Jones.”
“My boyfriend? We don’t even talk no more.”
He laughed, “Y’all don't talk anymore? What, do you think I’m stupid? I’m asking you nicely, Miss Sutton. I mean, you don’t want to be rude, do you?”
“I’m bein’ for real, Garcia. I don’t talk to him anymore.”
He put the gun to my head, “Okay, Lyric, now you’re making me angry.” He chambered a bullet.
“Damn, Garcia. Listen, I been in Rockwall for the past six or seven months. I came back because the nigga was trying to find where I was at so he could kill me, so I came back to take care of him before he could kill me. That’s why we got the guns and shit. I don’t fuck with that nigga no more and honestly, I want him dead.”
He looked over at Quandra and Malley then he lowered his pistol. “You know, I can tell when people are lying to me and… I hate being lied to. But you? I believe you. I believe everything you said, you know and um, I think we can help each other out. You see, Nas is making a lot of money, and he is trying to move in on my territory on the south side, and I ain’t having that shit. Not at all, so I need to take care of him myself.”
He paced the room for a few moments as he looked at Quandra, “Oh, and this girl,” he said, turning back to me, “she is telling the truth, too. She is not here to set you up. Not even close.” Quandra didn’t take her eyes off of me as he spoke and not for the first time, I misjudged her. Garcia flipped the light switch. “Nah, you can’t do that. They keepin’ this house under watch to see if I’m back or not,” I said. He squinted his eyes at me for a moment before he shut them back off and took a seat on the couch. Two of the guys with him stood by the door, glancing outside every now and again to make sure everything was ok.
“Now,” he said, placing his gun on the table, “let’s talk about how we are going to do this.”
“We? Your help is not needed.”
He smiled, “Well, Ma, I have to admit that I love your bravado, you know? I mean, three fine ass women like yourselves going against a pretty ruthless dude with,” he looked at our weapons, “two desert eagles and an AK-47.” He laughed, “And I would imagine that Nas probably has those same guns in his room alone and many, many more outside of that. But you say you don’t need any help? I will tell you that is the pride and nothing less.”
“Look, we just wanted the guns, aight? We paid for them, and that’s all we needed.”
“Now, now, Lyric, don’t be rude, okay? Tell me, why don’t you want our help?”
“Because I want to be the one that fires the shot into his fucking head.”
“Well, let us help you do that, alright? Do you want the glory? Fine, take it. All I want to do is make sure he dies. End of story.”
I looked over at Malley as she sat quietly on the couch waiting for my response. In my mind, I knew this would be the best option for us to take. I had to put my feelings aside and look at this on a whole, and knowing that Garcia and his boys were right here, ready and willing to help me carry this shit out was enough for me. “Aight,” I said, “let’s get this done.” I coughed a few hard times as Malley stood up and patted me on the back. “You need some water?” she asked. I waved her off as I caught my breath. “Aye, y’all fools chill for a minute,” one of the guys by the door said. I peeked outside as a car crept past the house. “I know that’s them,” I said as they slowly rolled by. Garcia glanced out the window next to me, “I see. Well, the next time they roll they ass through here, we are going to be ready for them. I got a plan.”
Together, we figured that the best way to pull Nas himself out was to get word to him that Prince was here. The chance that he would show up himself was still iffy, but it was better than it turning into an all-out war on his turf.
“Well, that nigga knows I’m somewhere in the city. The first day I got here, I went to Onyx and got shot at. From that day, cars have been sliding up and down this block to check out the crib.”
“We are not worried about that, and as a matter a fact, that plays to our advantage. Next time they stop, we will lure them in. Me and the boys will stay in the back just in case, you know what I’m sayin’? No tellin’ what he will bring in if he shows up.”
“Aight, that’s cool. I’ll make sure they come in next time.”
With that, Garcia and his boys left but not before they tossed us some more ammo for the guns. I was surprised that he was as cool with me as he was. When he found out that it was me, I expected him to pull out and kill me for what I did to the niggas at his crib, but he said they were dispensable. I understood because that is the same way Nas treated his low-level hustlers. He disregarded them like one dollar bills and usually killed them just to make an example to other niggas on the block. He winked at me and just like that they left as fast as they came in. I looked at the girls; Malley was ready, but Quandra was uneasy. “My bad, Quandra. I just thought that— ” She cut me off, “It’s cool, Lyric. You know what I’m sayin’. I get where you are comin’ from and shit, but I don’t even wanna go down that road with you. I understand how you get and if you think something is fucked up, you will act on it. A part of me believes that if Garcia didn’t take that gun from you, you would’ve shot first and asked questions later.” She was right, though. The way I was feeling at that moment, being crossed again by the same chick, I wouldn’t have been able to keep that shit quiet. I woulda rolled on her at that moment. She grabbed her purse and threw the deuces up to Malley, “Yo, I’ma holla at y’all. Be safe tomorrow, aight?”
She peeked outside before she left and with that, she was out the door. I knew that we may have fared better with another set of eyes behind us but I understood why she felt like she had to leave and now that I think about it, it may have been for the best. Even though she proved that she wasn’t the same person, it was difficult to believe that since I guess I hadn’t really forgiven her for doing me wrong in the past. She closed the door and left us in darkness as an eerie feeling rushed through my body. The time was near.
Chapter 17
We chilled outside like I used to do with Vinny and Shaunie when we were younger. The breeze blew against my face as the image of the two of them sitting in the same spots they typically occupied when we were out there solidified in my head. I laughed to myself, imagining Vinny saying some stupid ass shit that always made us laugh. He would be as serious as a bitch, too, as if he was high or something.
“Aye, Lyric. Listen. Ok, so we know Pluto was a planet, right?”
“Yeah.”
