Streets of New York. Mark Anthony

Nine?” he asked.

      “Yeah, I’m here from Jersey City.”

      “Oh word? You from Jersey, huh?”

      “Yeah...”

      “Ahight, upstairs, son. Got my nigga, Shawn, holding down business on the 8^th floor. It’s going for 12 large. You feel me?”

      Squeeze reached into his pocket and pulled out a wad of hundreds. The young hustler’s eyes lit up when he saw all that money.

      “How many niggas up there?” Squeeze asked, looking like he was paranoid in front of dude.

      “You scared, son? We ain’t gonna take your money…you know Nine…anyway, my nigga Shawn and D up there. They good. Knock at apartment 8D. Three slow knocks will get you in.”

      Squeeze smiled, thinking to himself that this was a dumb nigga; these muthafuckas definitely deserved to get got for their shit. First off, the nigga talked too fuckin’ much and second, the nigga was too trusting and those were two fatal mistakes.

      Show was standing by the corner and Pooh and Promise were already in the building waiting to move. Shit was too easy. They didn’t even need a four-man crew to pull it off.

      “Good lookin’ out, yo,” Squeeze thanked, stepping back from da nigga.

      Squeeze thought to himself that after they were done handling their business upstairs, robbing these clown ass niggas in the apartment, he was going to come back down and handle son sitting on the milk crate, get him for everything he got. The young hustler went back to chatting with some bitch on his cellphone. He walked into the building lobby where Promise and Pooh were waiting. Show stepped in a few seconds later.

      “What I tell y’all niggas, easy money to get got. C’mon, let’s get this shit over wid. I got some pussy to tend to later,” Squeeze announced.

      They all walked into the elevator and rode it to the 8^th floor. Squeeze and Pooh stepped out first; their guns concealed in their waistbands. They looked for the apartment and Squeeze felt so sorry for these dumb niggas he almost let out a laugh.

      “8D, here we go,” Squeeze said.

      Promise and Show were standing guard by the elevator. Squeeze didn’t want too many niggas by the door. He didn’t want to intimidate da niggas inside. Squeeze gave the apartment door three slow knocks like money downstairs told him to do. A few seconds later, he heard locks being unlocked and the door opened. A young baby faced nigga answered. He had his shirt off exposing his bird looking chest.

      “You Shawn?” Squeeze asked.

      “Yeah, Donny sent y’all niggas up?” He asked.

      “We lookin’ to get some onions.”

      “Ahight.” Shawn peered at Pooh for a minute. The tall slim nigga invited the two in and shut the door behind them.

      Squeeze cased the joint quickly. Glancing around looking for the second guy and trying to see how many rooms there were. The apartment was sparsely furnished with a run down looking couch, a few chairs and tables set up, no carpeting, the smell of weed lingering in the air. Yeah, Squeeze was definitely in the right apartment.

      “Yo, I’m gonna have to search the two of y’all,” Shawn said to them.

      Squeeze and Pooh let out a slight smirk.

      “Whatever, yo,” Pooh replied.

      Shawn went up to Pooh and started to pat him down but before he could reach around his waist and the feel the gun that Pooh was concealing, Squeeze swiftly pulled out his .45 and quickly put it to Shawn’s temple.

      “Shut da fuck up and don’t move, nigga, before I blow your fuckin’ head off,” Squeeze warned.

      “Yo, chill, chill, chill, yo,” Shawn stuttered in a panicky voice. He had his arms raised and Squeeze forced him down on his knees.

      “Where your boy at?” Squeeze asked.

      “Huh?”

      “Nigga, don’t play dumb. Where da fuck is your boy?” Squeeze asked again pressing the tip of the .45 harder against Shawn’s skull. He didn’t want to alert the second man or whoever was in the house.

      “I think he’s in da bathroom.”

      Squeeze nodded his head toward Pooh and Pooh quickly went toward the bathroom. The bathroom door was shut and locked indicating someone was in there. Pooh stood flushed by the wall outside the bathroom door waiting. They heard the toilet flush and the sink running. Then the bathroom door opened up and another slender young male stepped out wearing a white T and blue jeans but before he even took three steps, Pooh lunged at duke jerking him by the arm and placing the barrel of the .45 to his skull. The young stranger suddenly began to panic, having a .45 pressed to his head.

      “Don’t kill me, please…I ain’t carrying, yo…believe me,” the young stranger said to the two young men.

      “Y’all get on your knees, now!” Squeeze ordered.

      The two men did as told and rested down on their knees with their fingers locked behind their heads and peered up at Pooh and Squeeze who had them at gunpoint.

      “Where da shit?” Squeeze asked.

      Neither answered. They both glanced at each other.

      “Oh, no one heard me?” Squeeze angrily uttered and to let niggas know he was serious, Squeeze suddenly started to pistol whip one of the two men striking him multiple times against his face wit’ the .45. Shawn bellowed. His friend did nothing but watch.

      “Ahight yo, I’m gonna ask again and if I don’t hear shit, dats my word. One a y’all niggas is dying in here today,” Squeeze said cocking back his gat. “Where da shit at?”

      “It’s in the bathroom, the two cabinets under the sink,” the second dude answered softly.

      “You sure?”

      He nodded his head in affirmation.

      “Pooh, go get dat.”

      Pooh scurried into the bathroom while Squeeze kept them at gunpoint. Promise and Show remained outside the apartment keeping watch by the elevator. Promise was wondering what was taking these two niggas so long. He couldn’t help but glance at his watch every passing minute. While inside, Pooh came back out with two big black garbage bags filled with weed and coke, good shit.

      “Bingo,” he uttered. Squeeze smiled.

      “Y’all some dumb ass niggas. You know how easy this shit was to get. Thank y’all. We need dumb mu’fuckas like y’all so me and my niggas can continue to get our money easy,” Squeeze said.

      “What we gonna do with ‘em?” Pooh asked.

      “How old are y’all?” Squeeze asked.

      “Eighteen,” Shawn muttered out with his mouth filled with blood, his jaw swollen.

      “And you, nigga?”

      “Seventeen.”

      “Listen here, today, I’m gonna let y’all two niggas live. But if I ever hear my name come out y’all mouths about me robbing y’all, I swear, I’m gonna come back for y’all two and murder y’all. Don’t ever fuckin’ sleep on Squeeze, ya heard me?”

      They both nodded.

      “Tell dat nigga, Nine, I said what’s up.”

      “But you said don’t speak your name,” Shawn said.

      “Oh, yeah…dats right…you on point now, son…stay dat way from now on. Yo, Pooh, lets be out.”

      Squeeze and Pooh dashed outta 8D and met up with Show and Promise. “We good, niggas.” They all got back into the elevator.

      Down in the lobby as all four men exited the elevator, they