TYCE 6 (5 page)

He was driving his brand new
white Porsche Cayman. Machine Gun Kelly blared from his high output speakers as the throaty engine roared and the fast car came to a smooth stop.

“What up Buff Daddy?” Peck rolled his window down. “You ready to go?”

“Yeah, I’m ready.” I walked to the passenger side and got inside of the compact vehicle. “You think you Mike Lowry driving this Porsche.” He smiled at my joke. “I thought you said you were gonna put some tint on your windows. The clean Windex look is played out.”

Peck pulled off smoothly from my driveway and made his way out to my street.

“First of all, Mike Lowry is my hero, so don’t be disrespecting him. I’ve seen Bad Boys like twenty times. Second, I changed my mind about the tint. I want everybody to see me rollin’ down the street. Why would I hide this?” Peck pointed at his face.

I just shook my head and smiled. “You wanna look like you’re riding in a sixty thousand dollar fish bowl that’s on you. I like my shit dark.”

“That’s cuz you’re anti-social. See me, I like people. You need to open up. You want the inside of your ride dim like a movie theatre.”

Peck made a quick right turn and sped down the street. As we drove, he continued to talk about my ways.

“You never leave the house Sway. All you do is lift weights, box, and blow up shit. I had to beg you to come out with me today.” Peck looked over at me.

“Where are
we goin’ anyway? Did you decide on what you’re gonna get Sabrina for her birthday?”

Peck hit the blinker and sighed. “Naw man, that’s why I need you. You got more experience with shit like thi
s cuz you got married when the Bible came out. I don’t know what to do. What do you get a woman that has everything?”

I rolled his clear window down. “
I’ma let that Bible crack pass for now. Look, there are three things you can’t miss with when it comes to buying a woman a gift. You gotta go with cars, jewelry, or clothes. I cashed out on a new Lexus RX 450 for Ranae and she showed me jus’ how much she appreciated the gift right then and there.”

             
Smiled as I thought back to three months ago when I gave her the SUV. After all of the paper work was signed and the vehicle was officially hers, she made a suggestion while we sat at a table on the showroom floor. While her new baby had a clear bra installed along the whole front end…she nodded her head toward the bathroom. Three short minutes later she was riding my dick in an empty stall to show her appreciation.

Peck pressed the gas pedal and the light car jolted forward. “What’d she do?”

“That’s none of your business.” I lowered my eyes. “What you wanna do is the question, cuz I don’t like shoppin’. Car, clothes, or jewelry…which one?” I held three fingers up.

“Well shit after that dealership story I’ma go with the car. I wanna get a freaky thank you like you did.” Peck shifted gears.

“Alright, what kinda car you gonna get for her?”

Peck thought about it for a second. “She already has a Benz and a Porsche kinda like this one except
its black.”

I saw an opening. “Is it a convertible?”

“Naw hard top.” Peck affirmed. “Ay, the dentist that lives two houses over has a brand new drop top Corvette. I saw her checkin’ it out the other day. She said that shit was tight.”

“There it is. Get her one better than his so she can stunt on his ass.”
I looked at the world outside.

“Yep, that’s perfect, I’ma get her a Stingray
. Her favorite color is red so it has to be a red convertible. I’ma have that shit delivered to her house so she ain’t gotta go too far to thank me.” Peck nodded his head and smiled widely.

I leaned back in
my seat. “Alright, let’s go to Felix Chevrolet down town then.”

“Already.” Peck tapped the steering wheel. “Ay man, you ready for this meeting tomorrow? Tyce said he has some news. You know what it is?”

“Naw, he jus’ told me to be at Sabrina’s by eight.” I shrugged.

“He told me that too. I guess we’ll see tomorrow.”

Dallas and I were watching a UFC fight on pay per view at the house. The coffee table before us supported a platter full of wings, chips, fresh salsa, and of course last but not least a bottle of Patron. Dallas sported her customary boy shorts for the evening chill session. She knew how to catch my eye and the army print joints she wore tonight made it hard for me to keep my focus on the wide screen. She had her hair up in a banana clip completing the casually sexy outfit.

She pointed at the screen with a chicken wing. “Ok
, so why didn’t he get disqualified jus’ now. He jus’ hit him in the face with his elbow. You can’t do that in a fight.”

I had to chuckle a bit. “This ain
’t boxing babe, this is mixed martial arts. In these fights you can use your elbows and knees. The only thing you can’t do is knee somebody in the face when they’re down and dirty shit like that. Watch this shit.” I pointed at the screen with honey hot sauce on my finger tip. “John Jones ain’t no joke, he’s about to handle this nigga.”

Dallas took a sip of her beer and watched the 70 inch screen closely.

“Speakin’ of handling niggas…I got some info on the other crew.”

Dallas bit into her wing as I continued to talk. She was too busy watching John Jones annihilate his opponent.

“The crew’s ran by a dude named Jax. He specializes in…”

Dallas jumped in front of my words. “Did you say his name was Jack or Jax?”

“Jax.” I repeated.

“I heard of him.” She looked at me sharply.

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah, he used to fuck with some of the girls I used to work with off and on.”

“You ever fuck with him?”

“
Naw, I never met him personally. I jus’ heard his name floating around here and there. Honey had to stop sending him dates cuz the girls started to complain about his temper and shit.”

“Oh ok…so he likes to throw temper tantrums like a lil
’ white kid in Toys “R” Us.”

Dallas snickered when she heard that comment.

“You should spank his ass and put him in time out.” She winked at me.

“I plan to.” I took a shot of tequila to wash down my wings.

Now came the part of the evening I wasn’t really sure about.

“Dallas, I wanna tell you somethin’ I think you
should know.”

“Wasup?” She took another sip of her beer.

I paused briefly before I broke my own man code.

“Quiana wants to fuck me when the job is over. She asked me to think about it.” I took another shot
and braced myself.

“Oh, is that all?” Dallas wa
ved her hand. “I knew that hoe wanted to fuck you by the way she was lookin’ at you in that empty store the day we met her. She wasn’t foolin’ me. Remember, I used to work men for a livin’. I can spot a hoe ass bitch from a mile away, in the dark, or in a damn rain storm. She may be a criminal mastermind, but at the end of the day…the bitch likes to fuck.”

I was pleasantly surprised. “
Damn, I figured you might trip a bit. I was a lil’ hesitant to tell you. I thought you were gonna go all hell naw, hold up, wait a minute on me.” I held up my hand and rolled my neck.

Dallas pushed my shoulder playfully. “I don’t look like that!”

“Yes you do. You get all Shanaynay with it.” I teased her.

“I do not either Tyce.” Dallas poked her lip out playfully.

I cleared my throat. “But naw seriously, I told her I would consider it jus’ to keep shit kosher. I don’t need her gettin’ all salty on me before we’re done with this shit.”

Dallas rolled her neck like a cobra. “We got five million each comin’
from that Apollonia lookin’ bitch, so you need to tell her what she wants to hear to keep shit smooth. Dealing with that heifer ain’t shit compared to what Angelique and I went through. But don’t sleep.” Dallas sucked her teeth. “After this is all over…if I ever see her…I’ma monkey punch her ass for real.” She bounced up and down on the couch cushion.

I almost dropped my bottle. “What the fuck is a monkey punch
?” I was starting to laugh.

“I don’t know
, but it sounds like it hurts like a muthafucka.” Dallas pushed my shoulder harder this time.

I looked at the T.V. “Shit, I think John Jones jus’ monkey punched the hell outta that dude
, cuz he on the ground takin’ a nap.”

Dallas pointed to the screen excitedly. “See, that’s that shit right there! Monkey punchin’ I told you!
That’s what I’ma do to her ass.”

Dallas was cracking me u
p. It was those simple times that made me appreciate her personality the most. I had so much fun hanging out with, her just doing nothing in particular. However, I was relieved that she took the Quiana news with a grain of salt.

As usual my crew was in full affect for the meeting. Peck, Sway, Sabrina, and of course Dallas were all in attendance waiting anxiously for me to speak. No dramatics, no stalling, and no delay…I decided to jump right into it.

I lit a clove cigarette and set it off. “Alright, I found out some shit about the crew were goin’ up against. The leader is a cat name
d Jax, and he’s the real deal.”

“That dude ain
’t shit, I don’t care who he is.” Peck leaned back in the recliner confidently.

“I like your swag Peck
, but don’t get too amped. This dude is experienced and so is his crew. We gotta bring our A game on this one to get that 25 million dollar payday.”

“So
, what do you know about punk ass Jax?” Sway folded his thick forearms.

             
Everyone’s head turned toward the open patio door off the deck and saw Angelique. She wore a second skin cheetah print dress that looked like she was born in it and a serious look on her attractive face. She literally appeared out of nowhere like a sexy ghost. She did a quick survey of the faces in the room. Her gaze paused on me, then she stared at Dallas for a second too long and then she added audio to her dramatic entrance.

“Jax is the man behind at least three heists this year alone. A bank in Oxnard, an underground art
auction in Stockton, and him and his team also jacked three double layer tractor trailers that were hauling a total of 24 Lamborghinis to a car dealership in San Diego. Jax is ready for it all, so we gotta catch him off guard…kinda like I jus’ did now with you guys.” Angelique smirked as she strolled into the living room.

I had to conceal
the excitement I felt when I saw her. The last time I talked to her, she’d turned my offer to join the team down cold. So, I was just as surprised to see her standing in the room as everybody else.

“How’d you know we were meeting her tonight?” I flicked
the ashes from my cigarette into the ceramic ashtray nearby.

Angelique licked her lips.
“A lil’ birdie named Sabrina told me when I asked her.” Angelique helped herself to a beer. “You said you needed my help, so I gave it some thought and changed my mind…so here I am. Can I get a cigarette please?” She motioned to me.

As I handed her the full pack, I notice
d everyone was happy to see her except Dallas. She hadn’t said a word since Angelique walked through the French doors unannounced looking like a video vixen.

“Thank you.” She took the cigarette from me.

After she put a flame to the tip she exhaled slowly and looked at an annoyed Dallas. Her expression flashed from a look of seriousness to fake glee as she acknowledged her old nemesis’s presence.

“Hey girl,
how you doin’? I love your ring. That center stone has to be at least seven carats right?” Angelique took a few measured steps to get a closer look.

Dallas’s eyes slanted like a cat. “It’s five carats.”

“Oh.” Angelique’s expression changed. “It’s still nice though. I like it. Anyway, I didn’t come here to talk about rings and things. I came to talk about business. So let’s do it.”

She took an empty seat on the couch next to one of her biggest fans…Sabrina.
My ex continued to casually smoke her cigarette as I restarted the meeting after the lovely interruption.

“How’d you find out so much about Jax and his crew?” I asked her.

“Well…I know a few people I trust, so I asked them. On top of that James is one of the guys who rents my rigs sometimes. He was driving one of the car trailers that got jacked on the way to San Diego.”

“That’s wasup.” Peck nodded his approval.

“Alright, we need a plan cuz the clock is ticking. I need stats on everybody he runs with. There’s a nigga named Bishop and a chic named Rachael. I want family ties, addresses, hangouts, habits, license plates, and everything. I wanna know when that broad has her fuckin’ period each month you hear me? And I wanna know when that nigga Bishop wipes his ass and what kind of tissue he uses. I wanna know every fuckin’ thing about ‘em. Leave Jax to me.” I took a puff of my cigarette and paced the floor slowly.