Episode 10: Designated Survivor

Ty

“So, out of all the niggas in Foe Dub, they asked you to manage Paradise? You think I’m stupid, Tyree?”

“Yeah,” I mumble, rolling my eyes as I tie my shoes.

“What was that?”

I stand straight and meet Jazz’s gaze from across the room.

This is exactly why my uncle Pooh always said not to let yo bitch know the whole plan.

I slipped up and told her months ago that I was finna be more busy. She thought I meant moving weight, and shit, I did, too.

But then Nutty’s girl died right after giving birth to their daughter.

Shit’s been all bad since then.

The bro been MIA, stuck in that big house with Autumn trying to bond with his daughter while mourning his girl, and Turk’s been handling Palace and Paradise and my cousin Fredo’s sex club and all the other shit they had in the works.

It’s niggas in Foe Dub. Niggas that have passed Tryouts and got it out the mud, niggas we grew up with. But that don’t mean everyone is trusted. Which means a lot of shit is falling on me now.

That includes managing the booty club Turk bought on a whim when he has to be at Palace. I don’t mind, not at all. But that don’t mean I can skirt the responsibilities Set gives me, too.

I ain’t realize how delicate the balance was until he and Tiny went to war some months ago. I don’t know when we’ll get back straight.

“Man, look. You and ya thotty homegirls are welcome to get a section while I take care of business. But it’s just that–business. Just give ‘KO’ at the door and they’ll hook you up.”

I grab my wallet and make my way out the room, kissing her forehead as she rolls her eyes but still hugs me.

I love her ass, but fuck, I can’t stand her sometimes.

Instantly, I feel better when I’m in my whip. Grabbing the baggie in the cup holder, I pop a double stack so I can stay up all night, because after Paradise closes, I gotta go to the spot to meet up with my niggas. Tonight is Nutty’s birthday, and Set and Turk are holed up with him at his crib, making sure he don’t off himself.

I never wanna feel what he’s feeling. I’d be fucked up if something happened to Jazz, but she fasho ain’t to me what Tati is to Nut.

Shaking my head, the thoughts that have been swirling since we got the news won’t dislodge. I haven’t thought about the past in a long time, but when it’s right in front of you, what the fuck you supposed to do but reflect?

Sighing, I dial a number I haven’t used in a while when I get to a red light.

It only rings once before it clicks over.

“Wassup, son?”

My lips twitch hearing my pop’s voice. He’s been locked up for some years now–six years, and he has six more.

That nigga’s the safest behind some bars. Where I know he won’t be a danger to himself or others. Shit sucks, but selfishly, I like that I know where he is at all times.

He went through the same shit Nut is going through, and his life, both our lives, have been fucked up ever since.

“Man,” I sigh. “Not shit. How you holding up?”

“We straight in here. Niggas fell in line with the transfer of power but they ain’t have no choice. X was always gon’ choose a Baby over a bitch. Shit’s settled down here… you good though? How’s Peanut?”

“He… shit, I’on know. I’on know if he’ll ever be aight.” I try to blink away the pressure in my eyes as I cruise toward Paradise. My tongue begins to feel heavy, and I’m starting to regret even calling my pops. We’ve never really talked about my mama and sister dying, so I don’t even know what I expect from talking to him now.

Rone sighs into the phone. “Yeah… I’on know either. But hold onto him, Ty-Ty. He’ll never be the same, but you gotta hold onto him anyway. Even if he tries to push you away–”

My phone beeps, indicating another call. When I pull it off my ear to see, my face balls up.

“Ay, I’ma hit you later, Pop.” I click over without waiting for a reply, and the other person begins to speak fast.

“Ay, I tried to hit Reem but he ain’t answering. This nigga K-Baby is at the gas station slumped the fuck over, bro. Whole block is taped off.”

I swear under my breath before speeding off the freeway to go back the other way. Niggas are dropping like fucking flies, and since we all voted not to replace Fredo and Sean, now is not the time to lose anyone else.

But this is gon’ have to be answered. And since Reem and Set are indisposed, it’s on me.

“Where you at?”

“Me and Fade back at the home plate.”

“Fasho.”

I end the call and dial G immediately, praying he not knee deep in the zone with that damn wing batter.

“Yo!” he answers.

“I gotta handle some shit. You got Paradise tonight? I’on know how long I’ll be.”

“Yeah. I got it. You sure–”

“Nah, nigga. You keep yo lil’ ass right there. I mean it, G. Stay yo ass there. You the only one besides me who knows how to run it.”

I don’t say the quiet part out loud, but based on the  hush over the phone, G knows what I mean.

If we wasn’t in a twilight zone, it’d be Fredo. He was the one who took business classes with Nut and Turk. That sex club he started a couple years back practically runs itself, so it was nothing for him to manage Paradise and Palace when he was needed.

Fuck.

“Aight, KO. Just… stay dangerous bruh.”

I refrain from telling him about K-Baby. G is a hothead through and through, and them niggas did more than enough missions together for him to wanna put in work.

“You too. Stick around until I get there. I know you ain’t going to mass tomorrow,” I joke.

“Fuck you, Dub. Fasho.”

I hang up and toss my phone onto the passenger seat before pulling on some gloves. Accelerating as much as I can on the freeway, I slow all the way to the speed limit once I’m off, all the way to the Birch.

Pook and Fade are in the parking lot when I pull up next to them.

“I was gonna call Shad but–”

“Nah, we got this,” I interrupt Pook. Set has made it explicitly clear that Shad is to stay far away from this shit. Raya, his sister, has been staying with him in his dorm apartment, and he don’t need no more added stress between that and school and his music shit.

Damn, most of my bros are foreal out of commission.

“What happened?” I sigh, hopping up onto the trunk of my whip. My teeth begin to grind, and I curse under my breath again.

Pulling a skit while rolling is not the move. I mean, I’ve done it before, but fuck. I’m not trying to do this shit right now.

“Man, we was just in traffic and seen the gas station in Mainline blocked off. You know only K-Baby and Shad got that loud ass green Jeep. I texted Shad and he answered right away, so we knew it was Demonte.”

“My brother said he been going back and forth with some Mainline niggas for a few weeks about his bm.”

I nod and slide off my trunk to open it up. Under my spare is a few vodka bottles.

“Thank God we not shooting,” Pook huffs, going to his trunk.

“Nah,” I grin. “That’s for them other niggas. You know we do shit differently.”

Kudos to my nigga Nut for making sure we’re all decent shots, but it’s a means to an end for me.

Not my specialty at all. And definitely not the niggas right here with me.

I hand some bottles to Pook, who hands them to Fade, and then get in the back seat of their whip.

Just as we pull off, Reem calls me.

“My bad, bro,” he huffs into the phone. “You know it’s no phones in the spot.”

Damn, it was re-up day today. “Don’t trip. I’m handling something, then me and the guys gon’ pull up at Paradise. Meet me there.”

“One to ten?” he asks after a second. 

“Man, brodie. We at a twelve. It’ll be a ten later.”

“Damn, aight. Stay dangerous.”

We hang up and I lick my lips before shaking my jaw.

“I’m rolling so fuckin’ bad,” I complain, wiping my index finger and thumb in my eyes.

Fade chuckles in the front seat. “Shit, me too.”

“Yo ass. The fuck was y’all finna get into?”

“That nigga back with Jayde ass,” Pook says.

“Which means you back with Lovely. You ain’t slick!”

Pookie and Fade have been tight since diapers. Back in high school, they started fucking with sisters, and when one wanna be on bullshit and break up with their girl, the other follows suit.

“A nigga just want they family back,” Fade mutters around the wood. “Ain’t nothing out here anyway. I’on know what the fuck Pookie ass doing.”

“Fuck you,” he spits as he whips us toward Mainline territory. The Ave may run through South Kenton, but Proctor Boulevard runs through the entire city in a circle. Mainline Ridas are this blood set that’s north of us, by where the ho stroll on Proctor starts.

Most of them be at this crackhouse a little out the way, though. Dumbasses be putting shit on they cars to stand out.

“We just sending a message,” I say, grabbing the rags in the back of Pook’s whip and ripping them up in rectangles. “I’ma get up with Set and Reem in the morning, so be around. I know he was cool with Lo and Dex, but don’t let them do shit without the okay.”

“Fasho.”

I take the wood he offers me and inhale hard as fuck. Twice for good measure. The kush permeates into my lungs but it don’t matter. I’m still rollin’ like a muthafucka, and my teeth keep alternating between grinding and biting my lips.

That may have been a triple I took.

Fade hands me an unopened water bottle that I take to the head. My palms start sweating, and my heart rate picks up as we start easing down a residential street.

“Pull over right there.”

Pook does what I say and me and Fade hop out, three bottles each in hand.

It’s nothing to discard the tops and stuff rags in them. Fade takes all but one bottle from me and hands me his lighter. He was never one for fire, not like me and Pook, but Fade was always, always down for whatever. He’s a good soldier to have, and loyal to his soil.

I light up the first Molotov Cocktail and throw it at the first car I see with ML sprayed on the bumper.

The bottle explodes, and fire spreads all on the driver’s side.

I make quick work of two more, before we walk up to the crib they be in.

Lighting two, Fade lights one, and we wait.

It doesn’t take long for us to hear niggas scurrying to the front. As soon as the front door opens, Fade aims and throws.

I take the two windows on either side of the front door.

We back up fast all the way to the street. Screams echo as smoke and flames begin to billow out the dilapidated house.

Pook skirts to where we are, and we hop in and peel off, just as sirens begin to sound in the distance.

Pook takes the backstreets until we’re closer to East Kenton, and then we get on the freeway. Fade turns up the volume of the radio, so music drowns out any chance of conversation.

I send some texts to Set in our code, letting him know what happened tonight. He’d want blood over K-Baby, but I know Reem would wanna investigate more.

This is a happy medium.

My lips twitch. Making decisions and shit. Delegating. Who the fuck is KO, foreal?

Pook pulls up to the front of Paradise and I bounce out while they go find parking. Reem is in our usual section, and I gesture for him to come downstairs to the office with me.

The music mutes immediately once he closes the door behind himself.

“I seen on IG. Them Mainline niggas was posing with K-Baby chain,” Reem grits.

I grab water bottle from Turk’s mini fridge and once again take it to the head. I ain’t see Jazz out there, but I wasn’t exactly looking. She better be, or I’m fasho pulling Cinnamon into the Champagne Room.

“Well, then I’m glad I emptied my shit at they spot then,” I cheese, taking a seat at Turk’s desk. I know he got some weed in here, and sure enough, there’s a box of OG and some woods right in the top drawer.

Reem shakes his head. “I want his chain back. Set feels the same. Nut’s straight, but he still expects us to handle it.”

I arch a brow, keeping my eyes on the weed I’m breaking down. “He really trusting us foreal? I ain’t questioning it. I just need to know before I overstep.”

“Nigga, you just said you emptied yo shit tonight. Believe in yoself more, Baby TKO. You was made for this.”

I roll my eyes and meet my best friend’s gaze. He narrows his eyes before he kisses his teeth.

“Yo ass rollin’ huh? Pupils blown the fuck out.”

“I ain’t know I was finna be running a skit, K9!” I bellow, bringing the wood to my mouth. 

Reem pulls out an already rolled joint and lighter and sparks up. “I’on know where yo lips been, Dub. You got that. You need to calm down anyway so we can figure out how we finna get K-Baby chain back, before the lil’ homies start wilding.”

I seal my wood with my lighter and roll my eyes. “I’m glad I took it ‘cause I know we finna be all night.”

Reem blows smoke away from us before a sinister grin spreads on his face. “Come on, Ty-Ty. This nothing.”

I shrug, then spark my wood. My bro is right.

Shit, this is child’s play. Only difference is we in charge now.