Lies You Tell (DE)

17.

" Yo Nique," Slug said, walking into Uniques stash house where he sat smoking a blunt hanging out with a few members of his crew. " I got some shit to tell you,"

Slug was one of Unique's younger soldiers, one of his block boys in his late teens, money hungry and ready to crash out at any time.

" What's good young blood?" Unique asked, sitting up in his seat.

" That nigga Joseph ain't dead,"

Unique furrowed his brows with a slight chuckle. " I thought Tae said he watched they whip burn up?"

" Shit ion know. Word on the street his homeboy Vito died, he survived that shit,"

Unique hit his blunt rubbing his chin. Unique knew of Joseph, but didn't know him directly. He heard the stories about him from back in the day about the fear and control he had over the city. If you put a price on someone's head, Joseph was the one to cash it in for you. It didn't matter who it was, that man was a monster.

Some niggas got rich off drugs, Joseph got rich off killing people. The hit that really put his name on the map was the beheading of Arthur Lewis, a big time drug dealer from back when. He got snatched by the feds and ratted on his own crew to save his own ass. Being a rat is an automatic death sentence in the streets. There was zero toleration for snitching. His crew put a $80,000 bounty on him for his head, and that's what Joseph did, brought back his literal head, decapitated.

Black Mafia was the largest organization in New York at one point with Max at the head of it. Max fell really ill and passed the organization down to his son Dre, but when Joseph went to prison they started to fall off without him.

Since Joseph's been home the blocks been starting to heat up with competition again putting added pressure on Unique's crew. One of Uniques men reported back to Unique that he had eyes on Joseph the night he went to Avant to talk to Grace so he sent out that hit.

Unique wasn't stupid, he knew they were the ones that took out his baby brother and he wasn't going to let that slide. He had to send a message. He figured by calling that shot he'd get vengeance and knock the competition but all he did was start a war.

" I gotta see this shit for myself," He said. " Don't nobody move till I say so, I want everyone to stay low until I figure out what I want to do next. Worry about making this money!" Unique yelled as everyone nodded in affirmative.

" They homie funeral today," Slug replied.

Unique grinned a devilish grin. " You smart,"

" How much you want for this one Unc?" Joseph asked as him and his uncle walked around on his uncles car lot looking for a new car for himself.

It had been a few days since the accident and he was able to move around on his own again despite his arm still being broken. He was eyeing a black 2021 Hellcat.

His uncle waved him off. " It's yours,"

" Right on,"

" How you been holdin up?" Max asked as they stopped in the middle of the lot to talk.

A lot had been going on lately and he hadn't spoken with his Uncle.

" Shit just been layin low,"

" Y'all still ain't got no idea who did this?"

" Na," Joseph said, thinking about the situation himself.

" Y'all ain't been beefin wit nobody?"