Chapter 14

A part of me cringing at myself sitting across from the Feds snitching on my main mans. Shit was a lot easier to do when I was up in New York. I ain't know shit bout how he was moving but the advice I gave him. That seemed to keep the Feds settled for a lil while. But they like fucking vultures, always picking at a dead thing. The minute I stopped feeding them information for lack of knowing anything else, they forced me to move down here to get closer to Ace and his organization.

I wasn't even touching dope when Felicity approached me talking bout throwing the book at me for running shit in New York. All this talk about a fucking RICO case made a nigga sweat a lil bit, I can't lie. Before Keyana, I wouldn't have gave a fuck. I woulda laid down and did my time like a man. I woulda let whatever bitch ass nigga sing on me if that's what they wanted to do. Now look at me moving like the two things I despise most in this world: a snake and a rat.

Since Keyana used to patch me and my niggas up after some shit went down, Feds threatened to bring her down with me. Like she was doing anything except protecting the man she loved. But I don't know what I expected from these low down motherfuckers. They looked at all us drug dealers like we stole food out their mouths for trying to put food on our tables. Feed our niggas. But anybody that ate without inviting Uncle Sam to the table got fucked over in the end. I was just tryna set myself up so I wouldn't have to move weight no more.

Being the top nigga in New York made that shit happen faster than I imagined. I had all the money bagged up, stacked up, and stashed up. I was ready to fulfill all them promises I sold to Keyana about turning my life around. Then these motherfuckers come fucking with me about Ace. Put me right back where I worked so hard to get out of. Ask them if they give a fuck though.

"Caesar, you can be a hard man to track down. Where do you disappear to?" Felicity stirs her coffee.

I fold my hands on the table to keep from choking ha ass up. Bad enough I was losing sight of all the shit Santana taught us. And working with Felicity's ass was making a nigga really consider saying fuck all this and let them build they RICO on whoever. But the man in me wouldn't allow it. Keyana ain't sign up to do no time for me. Besides, I ain't grow up with no dad, or no family besides my grandma and Ace's family. So, I can't leave Amir hanging like that. I couldn't let the cycle repeat itself cause of my fucked up actions.

Me and Felicity stare each other down as she stirs her coffee with a black straw. She wearing that annoying ass smirk she always do. She acted like she owned me. Shit pissed me off cause she and I both knew it was true.

"I ain't that hard to find. I be around," I say.

"Not last week you weren't. You were supposed to be in the house when we detained Ace. That way it look like y'all both were going down."

"Good thing something came up. Since you bringing trigger happy rookies with you," I say.

The anger that goes through me just thinking about losing lil one to police violence makes me bite down on my jaw. I wish she slip and give me the fucking name of the cop who did it. His ass ah be a stain in the concrete before sun rise.

"Maybe if you would have stuck to the plan it would have been you and Ace in cuffs, not his little brother and sister. Momma bear wouldn't have had to protect her cubs and Jonah would still be alive."

"So you saying yo fuck up is my fault?"

She shrugs and leans back into the booth. Officer Lake sits beside her looking as pathetic and weak as he always do. She always brought backup to our meetings. I guess she knew her mouth would've been got her popped if nobody was around.

"Where is Ace, Caesar?"

Now it's my turn to shrug and lean back. Of course I know where Ace at. Nice, safe, and most of all, out of reach from them. Felicity had me fucked up fi she thought I was gonna lead them to Ace without making back what they seized from me in New York. That money and my cooperation was my Get Out of Jail free card.

"You do realize I have the power to lock your black ass up right now?"

"You think I don't know that? That's the only reason I'm sitting across from you now bitch."

"Watch your mouth, CI," She says.

"Nah. Cursing yo duck ass out is protected by the Freedom of Speech, luv."

Felicity sits up ready to repeat the same string of threats she always do when she ain't got a clapback. I know what she gonna say before she opens her mouth: If I don't do exactly what they say, Keyana's gonna lose custody of Amir. They gonna place him in foster care. Keyana gonna get locked up and I'ma get shipped upstate so I don't have no contact with anybody. Plus, they gon let it slip that I'm the snitch to Ace's men so they can play Russian roulette with my life. Either the Feds take the rest of my life from me or Ace's men beat 'em to the chase.

I heard all that shit before so I'm grateful when a waitress walks to the table to distract us.

"Can I get y'all anything?"

She chews on gum with a pen and yellow notepad in her hand. She gives me a big smile. The white of her teeth compliment her dark skin well. Too bad for her, I only have eyes for one woman.

"Nah, I'm straight," I dismiss her.

"You sure?"

She plays with her black braids that hang down to ha ass. Her black pants too tight. Shawty trying way too hard to catch a man. She tweaking for me to flirt back but I don't give her a second glance.

I can see her roll her eyes out my peripheral vision. Then, she visibly show she's done with me by turning her whole body towards Felicity and Lake.

"And for y'all?"

"The coffee's just fine," Felicity says.

"Actually can I have the American Breakfast? Extra toast?"

Me and Felicity both give Lake an annoyed look. This was supposed to be a quick meet up. I ain't wanna spend no extra time with them. This wasn't a fucking social call. I was tryna get the fuck out this Waffle House before somebody I recognized saw me.

When the waitress is done writing Lake's order down, Felicity tries to jump right back in. But I'm tired of hearing her repeat the same shit. It's time for her to hear me out. I have some demands of my own.

"I need y'all to take care of somebody for me."

Felicity opens and closes her mouth like a fish gasping for air. Lake's eyebrows furrow together like he just as confused.

"What do you mean?"

"There's this dude, a hitter for Ace, who getting beside himself. He checked me in front everybody tryna make it seem like I'm the snitch that almost got Ace locked up."

"Well you are the snitch that almost got Ace locked up," Felicity goes.

This bitch. This why I came back empty-handed as is. It's like she never worked with a criminal informant before. I'm no expert, but common sense says if you want something from somebody, you gotta at least be polite. Clearly this hoe had no common sense or manners.

I don't even reward her with a response. I just continue with my request.

"So I need y'all to handle him for me."

"I'm a federal agent. I work for the government. We don't handle people. At least not how you want us to," Felicity says.

I chuckle, "Y'all sold that shit to Gary Webb too?"

"So he reads? I'm impressed," Felicity says.

"Got to with motherfuckers like y'all in charge."

The waitress comes back with Lake's food. She takes my cup of water off the table even though I ain't say I was done. Lah mad ass.

"What's his name?" Felicity says.

Officer Lake looks up from spreading grape jam over his toast. He wasn't expecting her to agree to kill this nigga for me. Unlike him, I knew she'd take the bait. I don't put nothing past the government.

"Torian Gray. Niggas call him Tory. Black, dreadlocks, usually in all black. The shit can't come back on me though. The whole room saw him come at me so if he drop dead they gon put it together quick," I say.

"Isn't that what you want? Instill fear in them so they take you seriously?"

"That ain't how I do business. I gotta make them respect me. I do that by giving them work just as Ace would. Tory gotta look like an accident or something. If I lose Ace's men, you lose your case."

Felicity chews on the inside of her cheek debating if she should take the bait or not. Yeah that nigga pissed me off but I ain't want young dead for that reason alone. It was true what I said. He seemed like he had some pull within Ace's crew. I knew for sure he was the top nigga in our kill squad. So I can't have him watching how I move and shit, especially not when Felicity insists I attend these meet ups every few weeks. All it takes is one man to strike a movement. Then the curtain would fall like dominos.

Niggas in New Orleans ain't care who you was snitching on. Niggas don't care if you ratting to save yo family, mama, cousin, mawmaw or whoever. It didn't matter why you ratted. If you ratted, you was seen as a bitch ass nigga. All it take is one young nigga tryna come up to try to do me in to earn some stripes.

Fuck that. I'd rather sit on a thin cot in a jail cell, fighting for the rest of my life than be buried in a grave before my time. So when Felicity agrees, I feel some pressure lift off me. Shit was going according to plan, at least for now.

Felicity stands and pulls some one-dollar bills out the front of her jean pocket.

"Just know that I'm doing this to preserve the safety of our investigation. I still want Ace's whereabouts. Or next warrant will have you and your baby momma's name on it."

She throws some money on the table for her coffee.

"You don't really want Amir seeing his mommy and daddy through a plastic screen for the rest of his life do you? You of all people know what two absentee parents can do to a child."

"Don't mention my son's name ever again, bitch," I growl.

She laughs, "I'm the fucking FBI. I do what I want."

I continue to mug her until she's out the door. I'm left sitting with Lake's dumb ass while he finishes his meal. When he attempts to make a casual conversation with me, I leave him ass sitting there.

I don't know who they think they dealing with but they was boutta find out who was really running shit soon enough.