Page 57 of Stay Dangerous

“I’ll believe it when I fuckin’ see it, nigga.”

He hung up in Kilo’s face, and for a split second, I saw the fear creep out of his pores.

Lucci and Big X’s reach was far, especially since they had a direct line to Peanut. They were the only people who could get Pooh to make an appearance in the hood, and there was a reason niggas breathed easier when his mark ass stayed where he belonged.

“So you the colonel?” Fredo asked, folding his arms.

Kilo grabbed a blunt from his ashtray and lit up, nodding as he nearly sucked the blunt all the way into his mouth.

“Gee and Set gon’ continue to hold shit down for Tiny, but we breaking up Set’s crew. I need P-Nutty and Luney as my generals, along with Remy.”

He tacked on Remy as a courtesy. I held in my grin, but Peanut snorted, never giving a fuck.

All these older niggas were turnt down compared to us. Kilo was in his thirties, still chasing skater dreams. The rest of them were spread out in their twenties, and still couldn’t get shit popping foreal, not until we got on the scene. And worse, they couldn’t do shit but hate, because not only were we all stamped, but they needed us.

Tiny could have gone to any gang in Kenton talking cash shit to get an army, but it was her connection with Boog and then her connection to Set that had her loyalties tied to us. The money we made and her needing an army kept us with a healthy supply of guns, but muthafuckas were stupid as fuck, and had no knack for order or structure.

Until my nigga Peanut.

Petty squabbles were rampant, but Peanut got them niggas together, and now, the Babies were something in the streets again. Not yet how it was when Boog was alive, but we was getting there, off the back of niggas who still was in high school.

“Ty and Fade can go,” Set said, sparking up his own blunt.

“And Baby Nitemare,” I added.

“Ain’t that lil’ nigga like ten?” Gee chuckled.

“Got more heart than a lot of niggas,” Peanut gritted, cutting his eyes around the room.

I’d never tell anyone why me or Peanut wanted to keep lil’ Sean close. His pops was notorious in the Birch, but he was still a kid, and if he was under us, we could keep his ass at home with Set’s brother Shad and not out doing these niggas’ bidding.

They liked to put on younger niggas, and have them go on suicide missions. But we tried to keep the ones we knew personally as close as possible.

“Fuck it. But I need muthafuckas’ heads to roll before the weekend is over. I think that bitch Trina is spying for X–”

“She not, and chill on that.” I stood and stretched. “Trina got more heart than a lot of other niggas, too. We’ll have that for you before Sunday.”

Chyna pranced into the room with sodas on a tray. “Y’all leaving already? Wassup with you and Kisha, Luney? I never see you around here no more.”

I didn’t take the soda she offered, shoving my hands in my pockets instead.

“What you mean?” I ask, tilting my head.

She swallowed, trying to look sexy by biting her lip, though it didn’t land. “I mean, I’m not just trying to be in your business or anything–”

“Then don’t be.”

Flustered, she placed the sodas on the table and rushed out the room. In my periphery, I saw Fredo shake his head, but he ain’t like her ass either, so I knew he was holding in his jokes.

“Why you try to play my sister, nigga?” Kilo asked, acting like he was mad.

“He ain’t checking for yo’ fuckin’ sister, nigga,” Peanut gritted, standing with Set.

Kilo stood, too, clenching his jaw at him. I could see the mask falling at rapid speed, now that he was top dog.

But again, Peanut ain’t care about shit like that. He ain’t care about heirarchies, or niggas’ egos. If it wasn’t Set or anyone in our crew, it was up. Fellow gangers included.

“You gon’ let this nigga speak for you, Luney? Lil’ boying you?”