Chapter Eight

        Trey was seated on a leather couch in the ‘Crib’, listening to music from some of the upcoming  Hip-hop  rappers in the hood, as he watched  two sixteen years old boys break down a a kilogram of cocaine, also called a brick into a thousand transparent bags, with the help of small digital scales.

This crib he supervised was one of many that the Bloods had, scattered all around the city.

         Being a small man of five feet, he had always been underestimated which he used to his advantage. However, his reputation in the gang for being tenacious earned him the nickname;’Big Trey.’

Though he may be small physically, he did a lot of  big things, like robbing the Italian Mafia two days ago.

As one of the four leaders of the gang, he was in charge of the distribution of drugs on an wholesale level, which covered about eight residential blocks in this neighborhood.

           Living up to the age of twenty eight, big Trey considered himself lucky, being that most men in the ‘game’ either got incarcerated or dead before they got to twenty five.

The drug trade was all he knew how to do best. From a young age of six, he knew that his father, brothers and cousins were in the business of retailing cocaine.

However, in order to sell drugs in the hood, you  must be affiliated to a gang.

 Big Trey’s thoughts was interrupted by the boys conversation.

“Drug trade is  the most lucrative business there is. Why go to college when I can make twice or thrice of what a college graduate gets in a month, even as an high school drop out?”

Khalil said.

He had a red hoodie on, with a red Durag covering his dreadlocks.

“Without the tax on our income and the student loans.”

Ayo added.

He was dressed in a red oversized T-shirt with a red bandanna covering the lower half of his face.

“Yes our business is lucrative but there are a lot of risks involved, which is why you must always be on guard at all times.”

You also need to bear in mind that there will  always  be another man out there who wants your spot, but you must be ready to protect your territory.

         The cops are also out there, waiting to get any of us who slips,, but that does not stop us from going out on them streets to hustle. We have to make bread in the midst of the never ending cat and mouse chase.”

Big Trey lectured.

“Word!”

The boys chorused as he went to the vault to collect another brick.

!    !     !       !         !             !

Kimberly had just gotten home from her morning shift when her laptop chimed, notifying her of an incoming video call from Luis.

She dropped her hand bag on the couch and connected to the call.

Luis was dressed in an orange vintage shirt, with beach sun glasses covering his eyes. He was sipping from a plastic cup with straw, and judging from  his background, it looked like he was in a resort.

“Is there any update on your assignment ?”

Luis asked.

“Yeah, I got an address of one of their cribs. I’ll be checking it this afternoon.”

“Okay. I’ll be expecting a feedback soon. Those Bloods are getting more brazen by the day. My men were attacked yesterday after a previous attack hit on one of my cribs a few days ago. What effrontery!”

This was the first time she was seeing Luis angry.

“Don’t worry boss. We’ll get them.”

Kimberly assured him before ending the video call.

She then checked the notification from her phone to  see that she got a message from Bryan which said,

‘Looking forward to tonight.’

She had almost forgotten about their first date later that evening at a restaurant down town.

‘Same here.’

She replied to his message.

!           !            !              !             !                !

Kimberly stared through the window of Mike’s car as they drove through the lower east side of Atlanta city. She observed there was lesser economic activities going on here. The area was characteristed by a few fast food franchises, seedy motels, strip clubs, and residential buildings in need of renovation. She also noticed she  had not seen any white peron for the past few minutes they had been driving.

“Are you sure the address you gave me is correct?”

Mike asked.

“Yeah, why?”

“Nothing. This area looks quite rough.”

“Yeah. I guess that’s why it’s called ‘The Hood’.

“It sure lives up to its reputation, coupled with the fact that this area makes Atlanta  one of the cities with the highest murder rate  in the country.”

Mike looked at the GPS screen in his car and announced.

“We’re almost there.”

He took a turn to the left and parked beside a side walk as Kimberly opened the door and walked down the lonely street to a grey one story building apartment.

As she approached the building, she saw a group of five young boys rolling dice in a corner. She took a quick glance at them, and saw that they stared at her for a while before they continued with their game as she entered the building.

The hallway was silent, except for an apartment which the sound of faint music came from.

She took a deep breath and knocked at the door.