I glanced at Rah, BooMan, then Tj. “GMB wasn’t nothing but a few young niggas who wanted better. Gettin’ Money Boyz. We grown ass men now, but our name stayed because our mission has never changed. And the mission has always been let’s get this money.”
My mom’s exhaled smoke slowly. “And that’s what y’all need to stick too, getting to the money, and not let y’all emotions fuck y’all mental up, Sosa.”
I nodded slightly, then looked back at Tj. “Even though Zach crossed a line, we don’t rush. We move smart. Because when we do respond them niggas won’t even see the shit coming.”
"Them niggas stomped out a sixteen-year-old kid, Sosa," BooMan argued, his deep voice vibrating with anger. “If we let that shit slide, what message is that gon’ send?"
"I ain't say we letting shit slide," I clarified. "I said we gon’ be smart about it."
Shaunie looked up from where she was putting peroxide on a cut above Tj's eyebrow, “Listen to him," she told BooMan. "Reacting without thinking is how you end up visiting your homies at the county jail, or the cemetery."
“And this boy need to go the emergency room," she added,
"I'm good, Ms. Shaunie," Tj managed to say.
I stood up, motioning for Trigg and Rah to follow me to the living room. The workers were still at the table, moving even faster now, sensing tension.
"yo’ yall niggas finish up in here and get out," I told them. "Take that work to the spot on Drexel. Call me when everything is good," They nodded, quickly packing everything into duffel bags. Within minutes, they were gone, leaving just my core crew and My mom’s in the apartment.
"Tell me exactly what happened," I said once we were alone. "Every detail."
Rah leaned against the wall. "Tj was doing his regular everyday shit, we told him to hit the store on 47th afterward to get some blunts and shit. When he came out, Zach's boy Kevo was waiting on him with three other niggas.”
"How you know all this?" I asked.
"Ms. Thelma from the beauty shop saw it, she called me right away," Trigg explained. "By the time we got over there, they were already gone, and Tj was laid out behind the dumpster in the alley."
I processed this information, my mind working through scenarios. This wasn't just a random act were they caught TJ slipping, nah this shit was calculated. It was targeted. Zach was trying to send a message and I got it, loud and clear.
"This nigga Zach is getting bold," I said quietly. "Too fucking bold."
"It’s been that way since Zeus got locked up," BooMan said. "Lil bro steady trying to prove himself."
The mention of Zeus sent my mind spinning back. Zeus McDonald had been one of the biggest dope dealers on the South Side, controlling territory from 39th all the way down to 63rd. I started working for him when I was sixteen, moving up quickly from corner boy to lieutenant by the time I was twenty. Zeus recognized what others didn't, that I wasn't just any lil nigga tryna get put on, I was smart and strategic.
But then his little brother Zach started getting more involved, he was fresh out of juvie after doing a two year bid for aggravatedassault. Zach was everything Zeus wasn't, he was reckless, flashy, and quick to resort to violence. He hated that Zeus trusted me more than his own blood.
Then tension built until one night shit took a turn for the worse, Zach accused me of skimming off the top, which I wasn’t. I was a lot of things, but I was never a fucking thief. But Zeus made his choice. He sided with his brother. He had his homies beat me so bad I pissed blood for a week.
Then one night, lying in my bed with broken ribs and a dislocated shoulder, I made a decision. I was done working for other niggas.
Then once I healed, I smoked Zach’s right hand man Tony in an alley off 47thand Wabash. I caught the bitch ass nigga slipping and slit his throat.
The next day after murking Tony, I reached out to Trigg, Rah, and BooMan. We pooled our money togethere, we connected with a supplier Shaunie introduced us to, and Gettin Money Boyz was born.
GMB started small, we only had a few corners, and we were moving mostly weed and pills. But I was smarter than Zeus gave me credit for. I'd been watching, learning his operation from the inside. Within six months, we were murking his niggas, and we had taken three of his corners. Within a year, we controlled a ten-block radius.
Then Zeus got caught riding dirty with two kilos and a pistol.
They booked his ass, and they gave him a fifteen-year sentence. With Zeus out the picture, Zach took over his crew, and once that happened the real beef began. I hated that nigga Zach and the feeling was mutual.
“We going to war and I want everybody to stay ten steps ahead. I’m sick of this hoe ass nigga,” I spewed,
“Sayless” Trigg replied, my homie was always ready for war that’s one of the things I loved about him.
"Rah, get Tj somewhere safe to rest," I instructed. "BooMan, reach out to your people, tell them I want to know the ins and outs of everybody on 47ththat fucks with Zachs crew. Trigg, I need you to make some calls, find out which trap Zach been trapping out of. I want these bitch ass niggas pockets to take a hit."
As they moved to follow my orders, My Mom’s approached me, with yet another cigarette already lit.