Page 54 of For the Love of City

CITY

“YO, WHAT THE fuck?”

I grinned as I watched this nigga, who was currently chained to a chair, struggle to break free. It had been a minute since I needed to use this warehouse, but it felt like a homecoming to me. I’d done a lot of dirt in this place and it seemed fitting to end the last of our enemies out here.

“Jury, I was wondering if your ass was actually gone wake up. I thought Mother Henry might’ve knocked your ass out a little too hard.

Wild how you’ve been trying to shake me.

I thought for sure you were the same bitch that talked all that shit about me and mine.

Surely you couldn’t be trying to run away from fate.

Not big, bad and bold snitching ass Jury. ”

Jury shook his head slightly like he was trying to clear the cobwebs that punch in the back of the head gave him.

“The fuck you on? The last thing I remember I was helping some old bitch—”

“And that old bitch got the drop on you didn’t she? You’re heavier than you look, boy. I see stress eating isn’t something that only women do. I’d advise you to slow down and think of your health but since you’re finna die today there’s no need.”

Mother Henry was grinning from her spot near Jahmir. He and Yacouba were here to bear witness on behalf of the Consortium .

“Die?” How this man woke up in a warehouse tied down and was yet surprised by the idea of death was beyond me.

A look passed between Travis, Jahmir, Yacouba, Mother Henry and I before we all cracked up.

“What did you think we were gonna do? Ask you for restitution? You might be a Law and like cooperating with them, but this ain’t a court of one, bitch.

This is the streets, and that’s the only type of justice being served.

Your ass should’ve never dabbled in this shit cause it’s clear you ain’t built for it.

They will happily chew you up and spit you out, especially cause you bitch made.

But nooo, you just had to try me. See, we started asking around about you, Jury.

Even more than before. We thought you were just two square ass niggas who started a label.

Talk about it but not really be about it.

But it seems along the way, the niggas around you having street cred and y’all lacking it really started fucking with you. Ain’t that right, Jury?”

We were all standing around giving them their day in street court so they wouldn’t feel like they died without a fair trial.

Judge’s face was swelling up from the blows he’d taken in the parking lot.

Mir might’ve been right about that kick in the head because that lump was swelling up something serious.

“The fuck is he talking about, Justin?” Judge looked at Jury because he was confused about my words. After I beat his ass we drug him into the car and brought him here where his brother was already waiting for him.

“He just talking to talk, bro.” Even now he didn’t want to be honest with his brother but I wasn’t going to let him keep lying.

I crossed my hands in front of me at the wrist with my head tilted, staring his ass down. The nerve of this nigga to lie on me to my face. He wouldn’t lift his head to face me. Just like a bitch.

“Oh, am I? First rule of snitching is that you don’t sign the paperwork with your actual name, dumb ass.

You always have them give you an alias or a code name.

They normally do that shit for your protection but it’s clear they ain’t give a fuck about you at all.

That alias is to keep you safe during discovery so that no one can confirm who’s the snitch.

But you proudly put your John Hancock on some paperwork that could’ve had my people in trouble.

But thankfully they had friends in high places that could keep the heat off of them.

” Not a word could be heard as my voice echoed inside of the warehouse.

“Too bad the same couldn’t go for you huh, City? Guess you not so important either.” Jury just had to try to get under my skin but it didn’t bother me.

His words didn’t even prick the surface. A nigga like him who wasn’t man enough to confront some shit head on could never shake my self-importance.

“I’m a man about mine. The last thing I’ll do is throw someone under the bus for some shit I got caught up in.

And since I’ve done plenty of wrong in this world having to sit down for some shit that I didn’t do ain’t really fuck with me.

Especially not when that lawsuit money hit my account.

I’m talking generational wealth kinda money.

The kind that the state of Georgia gone spend a good long while having to recoup from.

That dirty ass DA was trying to find you to warn you but I guess your Black ass was dodging her too. So, thanks for the bread, nigga.”

“Damn, every time you try to fuck this nigga’s life up you end up making him money. Are you his fairy godfather?” Yacouba was clowning like this was just a regular day shooting the shit and technically it was.

“So why all this animosity?” Jury truly looked as though I should’ve been happy with the way he’d been fucking with my life.

“Just cause that shit turned out for the good doesn’t mean you get a free pass. Yeah, we have all your shit. Lyric has all her masters and we own everything that was ever produced with Street Laws . Even whack ass D-Mill. Your fuck up was our come up. But we was gone have bread no matter what.”

“I see you out here trying to be me. Have a label. Recruit talent and shit.” That shot was sent to Travis by Jury while his brother sat silently by with his swollen face, watching the type of shit that was going on.

Travis pointed to himself in surprise. “Me, copying you?” He pointed to Jury his voice filled with this nigga can’t be serious.

“Yeah.”

Me and Travis looked at each other before we bust out laughing. I gathered myself enough to school this nigga one last time.

“Damn, you really are delusional as fuck ain’t you?

Bruh, you been doing everything you could since I first met your ass to fit into these size seventeens.

Let me clue you in, it ain’t finna work.

You ain’t got the heart. You reached out to Lyric trying to be a mentor when you got me locked up but you couldn’t do that right cause your heart wasn’t pure.

You saw her and took advantage. When she was doing her indie shit, you tried to get her on a bullshit deal but she was smarter than you even then.

And when you couldn’t make it in the streets like me, you tried to take me out of them as though it would make your way clear.

And you still failed. And now look at you, about to die, all because you couldn’t do the right thing and stick to the code. ”

“It’s a dog eat dog world out here.” I don’t know why Judge thought to speak up just then but I’d put him in his place just like his snitch ass brother.

“Yep, and I’m a Great Dane while you’re a fucking teacup chihuahua.”

They were back to looking scared, the people beside me were laughing and I wanted this shit done.

I paced in front of the laws while Trav stood with his arms folded.

I knew he wanted to say something or do something, but I wasn’t going to let him.

He’d pulled my weight when I was locked up so it was time I returned the favor he would never ask of me.

I turned back to our guests of honor, one having stayed notably silent, and smiled. “Jury, you want to tell your big brother why he here?”

“That shit ain’t gonna work with us. We family. Blood. Some shit that no matter how much you say it doesn’t make it true between you Lyric and this nigga.” He nodded again toward Travis like saying we were fake family was gonna hurt our feelings or some shit.

“You think this is just about Lyric? Damn, you really ain’t paying attention are you?” Travis cracked his head from side to side as he grinned smugly.

“What you mean?”

“I mean your little shitty rap that you put out full of lies was easy to dispute. Dumb ass that you had writing it didn’t even think how bad it made him look to claim the girl that he was swearing was an industry pass around.

Then you had a bunch of niggas going to bat for her in the comments.

To add insult to injury, she got two Grammys and went diamond off the album she made about y’all being shitty human beings.

L handled herself the way she was supposed to.

And I’m about to do the same shit.” My trigger finger was itching for more action and I saw Travis with his hand near his back like he was ready to go.

“You had D-Mill killed didn’t you?”

I had to laugh thinking about how that nigga’s death barely made the news. When the media couldn’t get traction on his death they immediately moved on to something more salacious.

“He had more enemies than me. A lot who don’t fuck with a nigga putting they hands on a woman. I wanted to get that nigga out and end his life in a hail of bullets but someone advised that would be too messy.”

“It would’ve been.” Smoke spoke up like he was annoyed with my even bringing that shit back up. He looked over at the people we were about to kill and said, “Not sorry for your loss.”

We all cracked up because this nigga was being dead ass serious in the most unserious way.

“But hanging that man wasn’t?”

“I wanted to shank him but that would’ve put the prison on lock down and caused me to be away from Sweets for an extended period. I did us both a favor. I mean you’ve met Jada. I wasn’t about to incur more of her wrath.”

Yacouba spoke up with a chuckle, “Smart man.”

“As it was she already cut the toes out of all of my left shoes and the crotch out of all my draws. And she melted down my favorite gun. Shit, I should’ve killed the nigga harder if I would’ve known that she was going to be that angry.

” Smoke looked normal but the dip in his brow was the only sign that he was hurt.

“Are y’all gonna tell me why I’m here?”