We continue walking to the trap, where Reem and Sean are posted up on Reem’s car.
Sean looks up and grins, braces gleaming in the sunlight. “On Foe if I ain’t see you today I was pulling up at T’s my fuckin’ self.” He meets me before I get to him and daps me up.
“You good?” he whispers.
I nod when we pull away from each other, but I know he doesn’t believe me.
“C’mon niggas.”
We all hop in Reem’s car, and he drives to a strip mall off Proctor Boulevard where the hoes be–actual prostitutes. We hop out and into another car, prolly some shit Ty lifted specifically for this.
It’s Reem and Set in the front, me and Sean in the back. We taking the streets deeper into South Kenton, going east. Reem’s driving, since Set’s a speed demon, and we’re less likely to be stopped.
“Nut said he left you a present behind my seat,” Set mutters as he sparks a blunt. I reach down and grab a sawed-off shotty and grin.
“You sure you can handle that?” Sean asks.
I chuckle. Nigga was just telling me at G-Pops’ cabin last month I’m a beast with a rifle. I know he lowkey wishes he was here.
“I got this.”
“Good, ‘cause you get one chance. His people having a cookout, so it’s gone be kids and shit out front with him. But Nut swears you the nigga for this, so prove that nigga right.”
“What he’s tryna say is, we believe in you Shad,” Reem grumbles as he turns right into Seven Deuce territory. Ricky Joyner, hood name Bloodbath, is a high ranking member of the Seven Deuce Bloods, and they’ve been trying to break into the drug game for years, except they don’t wanna get their productfrom us, and everyone knows our shit is the best shit in Kenton. Tre Young from Northupton fucks with us and only us out of Kenton, and they not fucking with answering to a woman; everyone knows that.
I guess Tiny got tired of hearing about it and decided to have Set do something about it.
I check the shotty to make sure it’s loaded, but of course Nut thinks of everything. My window rolls down, and we turn onto another neighborhood street.
“Aight, Shad. I’m not finna creep. You know how this nigga looks. Ima drive by regular, you just gotta do it.”
“Aight.”
Reem nods and turns onto another street as we all put on our ski masks. I know which house is Joyner’s immediately, because it’s the one with the most people standing outside.
Niggas, bitches, and even lil bloods in the making all in their red, dancing to the music, enjoying a hot winter day in Sunny South Kenton.
I spot Ricky instantly. Red tee, tan dickie shorts. Hush puppies. Nigga is Tiny’s age just now tryna play kingpin.
I take a deep breath and allow all the rage I hold in to flow freely. All the adrenaline slows time down, so even though Reem is going the speed limit, it feels like he’s cruising.
I don’t pull the shotty out until the second to the last second. Not until Ricky and I lock eyes, and his boisterous laugh dies on his lips.
Then I aim. And close one eye. And brace myself for the kickback.
And fire.
Reem skirts off then. Sean’s yelling in the back of me, and when I pull the shotty inside the car, he grabs my shoulders like I won the lottery.
“Did y’all see that shit?! Did y’allseethat shit! Nigga whole face is shot off! What the fuck, Dub!”
We get out of their territory fast as fuck, and take the whip to the chop shop some old heads own close to the Ave. We take the back way to the Birch, where we all shower and change, and then head back.
Set pulls me by my shirt into our tattoo shop, where Sketch is drawing at his station.
“Shad needs a blue rose, you free?”
Sketch looks up from his phone and grins at me before getting up to set up for it. “Baby Set done earned his stripes.”
