Flippin' the Hustle (19 page)

E
very piece of information that Ishmah and his comrades had gathered pointed to the Black Tar Boyz and RJ. Standing in front of the group of men, Ishmah said, “Brothers! As you know, there was a grave sin committed against Islam and the people of this Masjid!” He looked into the men's faces, allowing his words to embed themselves. “According to the Prophet Muhammad Alayhis Raheem, any transgressors against Islam or its rightful followers must be dealt with diligently and expeditiously!” His voice boomed.

“Insha Allah!” some of the men chanted.

Bowing his head gracefully, Ishmah concluded with, “Insha Allah.”

* * * * *

Damien sat in the dayroom eyeing the television blindly. Although he was physically focusing on the curvaceous women dancing seductively to Lil' John's latest video, his mind was a million miles away.

It had been nearly two months since he'd heard anything from Gold or any other DEA affiliate. The long lapse of time had begun to worry him. His street instincts had begun to play into his situation. To put it bluntly, he felt that he'd gotten fucked.

Sauntering over to the line of wall phones, Damien picked up the receiver and began tapping numbers.

“Hello?” the familiar voice answered.

“You have a collect call from, D! To accept . . .” the automated service directed before being abruptly stopped by Damien's mother, who pressed the correct button to accept the call.

“Damien! Boy, how you doing?”

“I'm a'ight, mom. Just waiting on my court date,” he answered in a defeated tone.

“Boy, when are you going to court? ‘Cause Robert came by here the other—”

“Robert!” Damien yelled, sounding surprised.

“Yeah, Robert. Brenda's boy!” she shot back.

“What did he say, Ma?” Damien asked.

“If yo' smart tail ain't interrupt me, I would've been told you. But anyway, he left a message for you. Hold on.” Damien's mother went off to retrieve the message.

He sat impatiently with the phone glued to his ear.

As his mother fumbled with the phone, Damien inquisitively blurted, “What it say, Ma? What it say?”

“Boy, hold ya damn horses. Let me read the damn thing.” Unfolding the short note, she said, “It says, I know you trying to come home as soon as you can to see Melissa and Tierra, but don't worry I'll take them to see the gators.”

Damien's stomach dropped to his knees. He felt extremely tired and weak. RJ had so much as promised him that he'd kill his daughter and his daughter's mom.

“Damien, you all talk so crazy nowadays, I don't know what the hell you all be saying. But it's good you got friends like Robert to look out for yo' responsibilities.”

Without correcting his mother, Damien simply said, “Bye Mom.”

* * * * *

After Derrick had entrusted agent Dominique to make the first cash deposit, she'd been summoned on numerous instances to do the same task.

Unbeknownst to Derrick, she was photocopying records of every receipt. This may have been a good foundation for an Internal Revenue Service indictment. However, an indictment for drugs required drugs. Nevertheless, Dominique kept her eyes open during her work hours for anything out of the ordinary.

* * * * *

RJ knew he had to send some type of threatening message to Damien in order to thwart any acts of treason. He also knew that if Damien loved anything it was Melissa and their daughter. Had RJ left the sly message about his mother, Damien wouldn't have cared. Just the thought of this enraged RJ more. Whereas he didn't even have a mother, Damien couldn't care less for his own.

Averting the direction of his gigantic SUV, RJ headed in the direction of Damien and Melissa's house. He turned the volume up on the thunderous system. RJ smirked and bobbed his head as G-Unit's Tony Ya-Yo rapped, “So ya mans got fed time/if he is snitchin' it's bed time/drop ya dome, cut off the phone/cause it's definitely head time.”

* * * * *

Lying on the humongous bed with Naria and their son, Derrick's mind began to stray. Over the last few weeks he'd been taking close notice of Tonya.

The pretty young woman intrigued him. There was something about her that he just couldn't put his finger on. He'd even go as far as to vividly replay every conversation that they'd held.

“What's wrong, daddy?” Naria cooed, snapping Derrick out of his thoughts.

“Huh? Oh nothing . . . I was just, um thinking.”

Moving closer to him, she asked, “What is it, baby?”

“It's nothing, really. Just some things at work.”

Naria smiled and rubbed her hand over his head, teasing Derrick's sensitive spots. “I love you, Derrick,” she declared.

Returning her penetrating stare, Derrick replied, “I love you too.”

Carl began to chuckle.

In awe, both Naria and Derrick looked at their son and in unison said, “We love you too.”

* * * * *

RJ cruised down the tree-lined residential street until he noticed the familiar house that he once frequented. He pulled behind the Audi in the driveway. RJ turned his truck off and hopped out. As he made his way to the door, it abruptly swung open.

“Robert!” Melissa bellowed, standing in the doorway.

“What up, girl?” RJ replied smoothly, holding his arms wide.

“Oh, nothing,” she stated, stepping into his embrace. “I'm surprised I haven't heard from you until now.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. But um, I had to make sure the coast was clear, you feel me?”

Melissa nodded. “Yeah, I feel you.”

“What's up? You not gonna invite me in?” he asked.

Motioning him with her hand, she said, “Come on in, boy.”

* * * * *

Derrick pulled into the First National Bank parking lot and hopped out of his Porsche. Something about Tonya and her demeanor nagged at him. The way she observed people was extremely reminiscent of his own law enforcement training. Although he couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was, Derrick vowed to himself to find out.

“Yes, may I help you sir?” the teller asked.

Derrick said, “Yeah, I'd like to make a withdrawal and close an account.”

“A'ight, I'll need your account number and identification.”

Derrick retrieved his ID and his bankcard, and then slid them toward the teller.

The woman began to tap furiously on the keyboard. She abruptly stopped and looked at Derrick. “Mr. Richards, I'm going to have to get my supervisor. Would you please wait one minute?”

“Fine.” Derrick smiled.

* * * * *

“Ak, according to our comrades in the streets, the true leader of the Black Tar Boyz is some guy from Virginia by the name of Tree,” one of the men gathered amongst the security team said.

Nodding his head, Ishmah said, “Ak, your findings have some validity, because the name Tree has come to my attention also.”

There was a light chatter amongst the men, until Ishmah said, “Brothers, as we all know, a grave irreverence was committed against Islam when these kefirs brought their corruptness from the bunya unto a house of worship on the day of holiness.”

This brought a round of Alhamdo Lil'lah's and Insha Allah's from the men gathered.

“Now, our plans must be sleek, exact, and punishing,” Ishmah stated with a coldness in his voice that would have caused an onlooker's skin to crawl.

* * * * *

RJ sat across from Melissa chuckling. They were reliving some of their happier memories.

“Do you remember when Keisha and I were gonna fight Trina and that high yellow girl Sherm use to mess with?” Melissa asked through chuckles. “For real, Robert, that's why Trina don't deal with me now. She always thought I wanted you,” she said.

RJ knew that's why his woman didn't like Melissa. “Nah yo, Trina just be on some insecure shit when it's another woman just as pretty as her around. That's all,” RJ said smoothly and watched as Melissa's cheeks reddened.

Stunned by the magnitude of what RJ was actually saying, Melissa quickly changed subjects. “Well, Robert, I've got to go and pick Tierra up from school. But I will tell Damien that you dropped by.” She stood, signaling the end of their chat.

Slowly standing, RJ reached into his pocket and retrieved a stack of bills. Counting off ten hundred dollar bills, he dropped them on the table. “Just a little something for you and Tierra.” He turned toward the door and smoothly made his way toward the exit. Before turning the doorknob, he turned back toward Melissa and handed her a business card. “Call me,” he said before making his exit.

Derrick
had been slowly distancing himself from the day-to-day operations of his and RJ's illicit business dealings and focusing more on his car dealership.

His legal business had grossed nearly half a million dollars in sales within just six months.

Derrick still hadn't pinpointed exactly what Tonya's motivation was, yet he was almost sure that she was what he once was, an undercover agent. Besides him slipping up and allowing her to make a few deposits into a now defunct account, he'd managed to keep his criminal behavior unseen. His true intentions were to use the agency's overzealous investigative tactics to his advantage.

At that very moment, Derrick was outside of Tonya's condominium. After numerous hours of surveillance, he was still unable to come any closer to his assumptions. However, just as Derrick had made the choice to abort his mission, he noticed an undercover government issued Caprice round the corner. Derrick instantly identified the driver of the vehicle as one of his competitors in the drug game whom he knew to be an informant. A career criminal named Bop.
Damn! They're giving informants cars to drive?
He was now sure that Tonya was working for DEA.

* * * * *

Naria strolled Carl through the market as Trina and her daughter Raven trailed closely behind.

“Auntie Naria, why you walking so fast?” the cute little girl whined.

“Raven, your auntie Naria got to go pee-pee,” Naria replied, high stepping toward the restroom. Steering her son's elaborate stroller into the ladies room, Naria maneuvered the large carriage into the stall and squat. “Mommy gotta pee, Carl,” she said to her oblivious son. Then suddenly a sharp pain ripped through her abdomen, causing her to double over on the stool.

Attempting to regain control of herself, Naria looked at Carl and said, Mommy gotta go to the doctor, baby.”

* * * * *

RJ had just dropped a package of his signature mixture of heroin and animal tranquilizer to one of his distributors when his phone vibrated in his pocket. “What up, yo?” he answered.

“Um . . . Is this . . . um, Robert?” a familiar female voice asked in a nervous voice.

“Yeah. This is he. Who is this?” he retorted.

“Uh . . . this is . . . Melissa,” she stammered.

“Oh! What up, Melissa! Is everything cool?” RJ asked, sounding concerned.

“Yeah. Everything is fine. I just uh . . . wanted to um talk to you about something.”

Instantly becoming apprehensive, RJ said, “Oh yeah. Well, go ahead and talk then.”

“I . . . uh really wanted to see you in person.”

Raising his eyebrows in astonishment, he said, “Oh, okay. But I'm not in the area right now. But if you'd like to meet me somewhere in an hour or so, I'll be there.” RJ knew that his offer held an extremely important underlying answer. If she denied his offer, she was probably attempting some type of set up for her man. However, if Melissa accepted, she was ready to act on the attraction that he knew she harbored for him.

“Well, Tierra is with my mom, so . . .” was all RJ needed to hear before his expression became a devious smile.

* * * * *

Derrick eyed the spectacle before him, allowing it to play itself out. Bop stood in the apartment doorway of the woman he knew as Tonya, frantically waving his arms, while she stood poised, eyeing him unenthused.

Derrick couldn't make out what the pair were discussing, yet it looked to be a lover's quarrel.

Deciding to make things a bit more complex, he picked up his cell phone and dialed Tonya's phone number. Derrick slid down in the car seat as she slammed the door in Bop's face.

Almost simultaneously, she snatched the phone up. “Hello?”

“Yeah, is this Tonya?”

“Um . . . yes, this is she. Who is this?” she asked.

“Oh, hi Tonya. This is Derrick. I'm sorry to bother you at home, but I'm having a problem balancing these books and I was um . . . wondering if—”

She blurted, “I'd be glad to help you. Are you at the dealership?”

“Yeah, I'm here,” Derrick lied, eyeing a visibly disgruntled Bop.

“Well, just give me a few minutes to get myself together and I'll be there.

“Thanks Tonya, I don't know where I'd be without you,” Derrick said, and then hung up. Keeping his eyes on her door, he wasn't surprised when it abruptly reopened. After a brief interaction between the pair, Bop dropped his head and walked away.

* * * * *

RJ pulled into TGI Friday's parking lot, eyeing the restaurant's patrons closely. Although Melissa's summoning sounded sincere, he still felt the need to be extra careful. Once he felt that the coast was clear, he parked his truck and entered the establishment. Stepping inside the festive atmosphere, he looked around in search of her.

“Robert!” Over here!” she yelled from a booth close to the bar.

Smoothly, RJ glided in her direction, garnering the attention of every female in sight. Sporting a bright leather coat trimmed in red mink and a pair of Red Monkey jeans.

RJ stood over a visibly beaming Melissa. “So what's up with you?” he asked.

“Damn, Robert! Aren't you at least going to sit down? My God! At least have a drink!” she huffed playfully.

He slid into the booth and motioned for the waitress. Then he cast a grin in Melissa's direction. He knew from the vulnerable look etched into her face that he could easily manipulate her.

* * * * *

After watching his former boss leave his current employee's residence, Derrick rushed back to his car lot and waited for Tonya to arrive. While he fabricated some accounting problem, his mind raced furiously as he figured out which direction to take. He had abruptly converted back into his investigative self, using the tools of the agency to investigate someone from the agency.

As he stared at the computer screen, he knew it was only one way to conquer women. Sex.

On cue, he heard her CLK pull into the lot and shut off. Seconds later, she entered the establishment.

“Hello! Derrick, are you here!” she yelled out.

“Yeah, I'm in here!” Derrick announced behind the partially cracked door.

Tonya entered the office wearing a pink J. Lo velour set that accentuated her every curve.

Derrick sat behind his large red oak wood and eyed her voluptuous frame as if seeing her for the first time. In fact he was. No longer was he Derrick. At that moment he was officially back in character.

“So you ready to handle this little problem that I've got?” he asked, full of sexual overtones.

* * * * *

RJ sat on the small couch inside a suite in the Hilton Hotel, eyeing Melissa.

Swaying her body toward him, dressed in a skimpy pair of lace panties and matching bra, Melissa was the epitome of sex appeal.

RJ could hardly believe the aggressiveness that she had displayed after only a few drinks. Although he knew that she harbored a childhood crush for him, her disclosure of the kinky things she wanted to do to him left him befuddled.

Methodically moving toward him, Melissa dropped down to her knees and began to crawl animal-like in his direction. Once she was upon him, she looked up into his eyes and seductively licked her lips. Reaching between his legs, she grasped his growing member and stroked him. Skillfully, she slid her other hand to his testicles and fondled them.

As soon as her hand made contact with RJ's skin, he gasped, “Oh shit!”

“Damn Robert, you big as shit. I don't think I can take all of this.” Releasing his manhood from its confines, she ran her tongue from its base to the head. Once she'd reached the head, she placed it in her mouth.

“Oh fuck! Shit! Got damn, girl!”

In response, Melissa attempted to put as much of him into her mouth as possible.

Grabbing the back of her head, RJ rubbed his hands through her thick tresses as he enjoyed the feeling of her warm mouth.

She rose up. Melissa made eye contact with RJ as she attempted to swallow him whole. She abruptly took him out of her mouth. “Fuck me, Robert! Please fuck me!” she begged.

* * * * *

Hovering over Tonya's shoulder as she frantically tapped away at the keys on the keyboard, Derrick unconsciously enjoyed the smell of her body spray. He moved closer and closer to her as she desperately attempted to fix his financial equation.

“It's just not balancing out!” she announced, abruptly turning to face Derrick. Once she swiveled in the chair, she and Derrick were face to face.

Silence engulfed the room as they looked deep into one another's eyes. Their faces were so close, Derrick could actually analyze the texture of her flawless honey-brown skin.

Lost in Derrick's gaze, Dominique Peters sat frozen. On numerous occasions since she'd been investigating him, she'd been caught off guard by Derrick's sharp features and bulging muscles, leading her to make several trips to the restroom whenever he was near. However, now that she was face to face with him, her heart pounded in her chest while her body was experiencing some sort of paralysis.

Attempting to break their silence, she said, “I . . . I . . .”

Derrick smoothly placed his finger over her lips, silencing her. His eyes pierced hers. Immediately, he noticed her repressed emotions come to life. Unable to maintain their short distance, Derrick covered her lips with his own lips.

* * * * *

RJ crawled behind Melissa on the large bed. Eyeing her curvaceous cheeks from the rear, he licked his lips in anticipation. RJ's manhood throbbed under the sheath of latex that covered it.

Melissa looked over her shoulder and urged, “Come on, Robert. You know you've wanted this pussy since we were kids. Now get it!”

This only caused RJ's shaft to ache even more. Straddling her, he ran his fingers between her legs until they were coated in her juices.

“Oooh! Yes, Robert! Please put it in. I ain't been fucked in soooooo long!” she panted, wiggling her buttocks.

Pushing his middle finger deep into her hole, RJ felt her muscles grip his digit snugly. Smiling to himself, he withdrew his finger and maneuvered himself behind her until his shaft pointed directly at her opening. Teasing, he rubbed the head into her, instantly lubricating the condom.

“Please R . . . J . . . Please put it . . . in,” she pleaded.

Unable to hold out any further, RJ pushed his full length into her and instantly felt her flaming core consume him.

“Oh, yesss! That's right, Robert! Yes! Fuck me!” she urged.

Devilishly smiling, RJ gripped her ass cheeks and pounded into her.

* * * * *

Derrick tore at Tonya's clothes in a panic as she relieved him of his own.

Once they both managed to undress one another without breaking their deep kiss, Derrick frantically slid every artifact on his desk onto the floor, leaving a clear space for the rendezvous that was about to take place.

Carefully laying Tonya back onto the desk, Derrick looked down at her flawless body as if he was seeing her for the very first time. Her large nipples sat on extremely dark areolae. The contrast made her breasts seem edible. Allowing his eyes to travel down over her body, they stopped at the neatly trimmed bush of her womanhood.

“Take me, Derrick. Take me now!”

Derrick moved to where his penis head dabbled in her juices.

“Please, fuck . . . me! Please, I can't wait any longer!” she cried, urging him on.

Instantly, her body became stiff as a board as her mouth hung open. “Ah . . . Ah, Sh . . . it!” she gasped.

* * * * *

While both RJ and Derrick were enjoying the pleasures of other women, both Naria and Trina were huddled in Naria and Derrick's bathroom waiting for the results from Naria's pregnancy test.

“Girl, I don't think I'm ready for another child just yet,” Naria announced.

“I feel you Ria, but you gotta stay on your feet and off your back then,” Trina joked.

“Fuck you, Trina,” Naria quipped. Then she picked up the thin, pink pregnancy test and scrutinized it.

“What it say?” Trina asked.

Naria eyed the small apparatus.

“What does it say, Naria?” Trina asked more firmly.

“I'm . . . I'm, pregnant.”