Page 8 of Stay Dangerous

“Tiny’s expanding faster than she thought… she sees how hard I work, and think other niggas, niggas our age, got the same work ethic. But anyone we know, anyone we got classes with foreal, I want under me, starting with y’all.”

“Under you?” I balked, looking him up and down.

Set hopped to his feet. “Look, I get you still salty about yesterday, and I know you was cool with Peanut, so I’m stalling you outway morethan I ever would. But let me be clear, Rico. It don’t matter who the fuck yo daddy is, niggas in the Birch don’t know you, and don’t trust you. And you know that, or yesterday wouldn’t have went down like that. Shit ain’t like it was before; shit, shit ain’t like it was a year ago. Lem think he running shit,but Tiny the one who got the Birch on lock, and what she say, goes.”

His eyes hardened as he continued. “When someone cross her, she send ‘em to me, because she knows I don’t give a fuck. Haven’t since… for a long time now. Niggas fuck up, miss the count, try to skim off the top, and I’m the last face they see. If yo number ever comes up with her, I’d dead you, no issue… but I don’t want it to come to that, if I could help it. And having you in my crew… anyone of my Uncle’s homies’ kids in my crew, keeps me from having to dead y’all if you fuck up. When it’s just us, I’m cool on all that top dawg bullshit the other Babies be on. It’s always gon’ be love, ‘cause of my uncle and Pooh. But when we out there on the courts, it’s on me, and know that I’d never ho you or be weird just ‘cause you Pooh’s sons, like the other niggas will, guaranteed.”

Set folded his arms and leaned against the counter as his words settled.

It was bad enough we even felt like we had to get put on the BBs. We’d only been out the way for a couple years, but that’s all it took. When we went to the courts the first day we were back, niggas acted like we were strangers.

Outsiders.

Pooh confirmed it, too. He and Nan argued about it as Ma packed her things. She’d always said she didn’t want us nor Ty-Ty being in the gang, and he’d said if she moved back permanently, she was signing us over to them.

It didn’t stop her, though.

Just like I knew if we didn’t take Set up on his proposition, it wouldn’t matter that we just got our asses beat by four niggas. They’d ho us out off the strength of being Pooh’s sons, and he lived outside the rules and ways of the BBs.

I sighed, glancing to Fredo before he grinned at Set.

“We down,” he shrugged. “I wanna be Tune though, and Rico’s Luney should be spelled like Tune, since we twins.”

“Fasho,” Set grinned back. “If I get y’all mixed up after his eye heals, my bad in advance. But now that y’all agreed, we just gotta shake on it.” He reached into the pocket of his hoodie, and pulled out a gun. “Y’all ever shot one of these before?”

We both stood, our eyes glued to it.

“Hell, naw,” I replied, as he set it in my hands. It was heavy as fuck, with the serial number shaved off.

“It’s loaded, and got one in the chamber. I got more back at the trap we gonna be at, off Jute. We only here right now because we need to go next door.”

“Next door?” Fredo asked before grabbing the gun from me.

“Yeah.” Set’s grin dropped from his face, before he locked eyes with me. “Like I said, when it’s just us, I’on give a fuck. But when we out in the wild, I tell you to do some shit. You do it. No questions. No hesitation. Aight?”

I clenched my jaw, but nodded. It would be an adjustment, but this was different, and I had to obey the pecking order.

This was a test.

And hopefully, for me and my brother’s sake, I passed.

We left the apartment and walked a few steps to the next door.

“Y’all ever heard a gunshot?” Set whispered. We both shook our heads.

“Aight. Cover your ears.”

I had on a hoodie, so Fredo handed me the gun to put in my pocket before we both did what he said.

He aimed his bigger gun at the lock before shooting twice. Even with our hands covering our ears, the shit was loud as fuck, but I fought it off as Set pushed the door open and we rushed into the apartment.

He seemed to know where he was going–straight into the bedroom, where there was a man and a woman in bed, bewildered.

Set pointed his gun at the man, so I took out my gun and pointed it at the woman.

“Living in the projects and calling the police on some shit that ain’t yo business is a lil’ off, don’t you think?” he asked, tilting his head.

“P-p-p-please–”