Hard White. Shannon Holmes

put in that work,” Mike said, placing his gun on the table.

      “Melquan, Mike is right,” Precious said, interjecting on Mike’s behalf. Melquan stared at her as she continued. “He’s a shooter. The only reason he’s not wildin’ out is because of you. But if you just give him the word then these niggas will be history. Let Mike clear the lane so we all can eat.”

      The idea for a takeover belonged to Melquan. He took a minute reflecting on everything that had been said. All the while he kept packaging the crack. In his mind, Melquan weighed the pros and cons of their course of action. It didn’t take long for him to render his decision. Melquan knew that their window of opportunity would not be open forever. If they didn’t make their move now, someone else would. That was for certain.

      “Okay, let’s do it,” he exclaimed, rubbing his chin. “But let’s talk this thing out thoroughly. Because if we fail to plan, we just planning to fail… So dig this, Mike. Here’s what I want you to do for me…”

      Melquan singlehandedly put the plan together. They knew it would take all hands on deck to pull this off, and roles had to be rehearsed until everyone knew exactly what was expected of them. New people had to be recruited. Melquan would have to strengthen some of his old ties, and get trusted people to buy into the grand scheme. It was a bold and ambitious plan. Edenwald projects never experienced the likes of in a very long time. If the plan was successfully executed, the dynamics of the drug game in the projects would be change for the foreseeable future.

      The trio was in the midst of their discussion when Tess reappeared from her bedroom. Clad in a raggedy robe, rundown Nike slippers and a black scarf tied around her head, she looked a mess. The dark rings around her eyes were evidence of her lack of sleep. Melquan spotted her and signaled for silence. He knew what she came for. Tess’ insatiable crack habit demanded to be fed.

      For years Tess had been having difficulties breaking free of the stranglehold crack had on her. Her task was impossible when she got fed a steady diet of crack from hustlers who bagged up in her apartment on any given day.

      “Melquan, can I get paid now?” Tess asked, skipping the formalities.

      Mike Copeland smirked when he heard her request. He thought Tess was trying to go over his head and perceived this to be disrespectful.

      “Why don’t you go somewhere and sit the fuck down? You drivin’ us crazy! All that walkin’ ain’t gonna get you no crack any faster, bitch,” Mike said.

      “Nigga, this my muthafuckin’ apartment,” Tess snapped back at him. “I do as I please in my muthafuckin crib, nigga. I’ll be damned if I let any muthafuckin’ nigga tell me what the fuck to do up in here!”

      “Bitch, you ain’t paid no bill since you been livin’ up in here,” Mike Copeland laughed. “Who da fuck you think you kiddin’? Welfare pay all these bills round here.”

      “Look muthafucka, I don’t care who pay these fuckin’ bills. They gets paid one way or another. I don’t care if I gotta suck a thousand dicks, me and my baby boy ain’t gonna be homeless… You know what Mike? I liked you a whole lot better when you were younger. This drug game be changing young, simple-ass niggas like you. Nigga you startin’ to think you all that… I got news for you, you ain’t no Scarface! Nigga you ain’t nobody!”

      Tess was a tall, frail woman who talked tough but who wasn’t. Mike Copeland had offended her time and time again. She wanted to draw a line and defend herself.

      Mike Copeland quickly stood up. Tess verbal barrage hit him in a weak spot. Clearly heated, he was ready to explode on her.

      “Bitch, I don’t know who da fuck you think you talkin’ to, but one more word out your mouth, and I will seriously hurt you up in here. I don’t give a damn if this your crib or not. You’ll die up in this piece… Tess, your fuckin mouth is gonna get you in trouble one day… I’m tellin’ you. This the last time I’m saying this. No more muthafuckin’ warnings! You hear me, bitch?”

      Tess wasn’t the least bit scared of Mike Copeland. She knew that nothing was going to happen to her, as long as Melquan was around. There was an intense but brief staredown between the two. Tess took another shot at Mike Copeland.

      “Whateva nigga,” she said rolling her eyes. “Fuck you!”

      Mike Copeland was infuriated by Tess’ smart mouth response, and jumped at her. Melquan quickly intervened before the situation became a physical altercation. Anger boiled his blood and Mike Copeland struggled to free himself from Melquan’s firm grip. A brief tussle ensured, causing some of the product and material to spill on the floor.

      “C’mon Mike, chill, man. It’s not even that serious. Don’t be feedin’ into that bullshit. Let’s finish handling our BI and bounce,” Melquan said, holding his man back from getting at Tess.

      Unable to free himself from Melquan’s grip, Mike Copeland glared angrily at him. If this had been a stranger surely Mike Copeland would had attacked him with all his might. It was his man and cooler heads prevailed.

      “Mike, you’re overreacting, fall back,” Melquan advised.

      “A’ight, I’m good,” Mike Copeland said, sitting down. “Mel, you better give da bitch some coke so she can get da fuck outta my face. I don’t wanna see da bitch no more today. And that’s my word.”

      “Precious, handle that for me. Hit Tess off,” Melquan ordered.

      “Why…?” Precious asked, perplexed by Melquan’s kindness.

      “Cuz I asked you that’s why,” Melquan said, sounding agitated.

      “She’s out of control. Let Tess wait. She’s just trying to extort y’all just because we here bagging up in her crib. We could do this shit in my crib. Fuck her! She’s not doing us no favor,” Precious sighed.

      “Precious, please not now. Let that shit go. We here to do what we do, and bounce. A’ight…?”

      “But that bitch is—”

      “Just do as I fuckin’ say, Precious!” Melquan said.

      “Fuck that Bitch why you bein’ so nice to her.”

      “Yeah, you call it bein’ nice. I call it playin’ fair. So just hit her off, and we can get on ‘bout our bizness.”

      “Whateva Melquan, it’s your shit.”

      “Thanks for the reminder. Now go do what I ask you to do, a’ight?”

      Precious made no attempt whatsoever to hide her great dislike of Tess. She walked over to Tess and slammed the large pieces of crack cocaine into her dirty outstretched palm.

      Tess licked her lips when she spotted the sizable piece of crack cocaine Precious gave to her. She roughly calculated it be the weight of an eight ball. Tess’ eyes lit up and she raced out of the kitchen.

      “Bitch, don’t even got no manners. You could at least say thanks,” Precious said.

      “Oh yeah, my bad, thanks… Fa nuttin…!” Tess laughed from down the hall.

      “I hope you have a fucking heart attack smoking that shit, bitch!” Precious said.

      “I heard that. You another one… And I’ll surely try,” Tess laughed, locking the bathroom door.

      Minutes later, a thick cloud of smoke enveloped the area around the bathroom door. Tess was in the bathroom blazing the crack rock in a pipe made from a soda can. She quickly replaces the burnt out rock with another piece. She sparked the lighter on high, and inhaled very deeply. A feeling of exhilaration washed over her body as the drug took effect immediately.

      Tess’pupils became dilated, darting all over the small bathroom. Paranoia crept up on her and her heartbeat quickened. Suddenly the walls felt like they were closing in. A loud knock on the bathroom door startled her causing her to drop the makeshift crack pipe.

      The sudden