True to the Game II Read online

  She reached the corner and held her breath. It was here where the black BMW always waited for her. Each time that she turned this corner, she held her breath as fear gripped her. Fortunately, today wasn’t one of those days. The black Beemer was nowhere to be found.

  Gena rounded the corner and headed out of the neighborhood. She was so happy that she hadn’t seen the black Beemer waiting to follow her today that she completely missed the magenta Jaguar that pulled in behind her. She turned up the stereo and blissfully became lost in her Mary J. Blige CD, unaware that she had picked up a tail.

  Champagne exited her red Alfa Romeo Spider and strutted to where her meeting was to take place. She could see him standing near the park bench waiting impatiently. He looked good to her still, but she wasn’t going to let all his looks, his smile, or his charm overtake her. She had fallen for those things before, too many times, in the past. And each time, she had found herself being hurt. Perhaps that was why she now had a heart as hard as steel.

  “What took you so long?” Jerrell demanded. He eyed Champagne closely. She still looked like she could be on the cover of a beauty magazine, or on a stage twirling down a pole in Atlanta. She had a natural beauty about her, but it was a beauty that could switch from wholesome to seductive with the addition of a little makeup and a change in hairstyle. Champagne had been the girl of his dreams at one time. She was actually one of the few women he ever trusted. Their relationship lasted less than six months, but their friendship had developed over time. He had known Champagne now for about fifteen years and she was a trouper, a true soldier, and one of the few people he could still turn to. Had life been fair, she would still be his woman. But life was far from fair. And unfortunately, she had too much water under the bridge to ever be anyone’s wife.

  “I got here when I got here,” Champagne said gruffly. “What do you want now? What is it this time? More guns to hide? An alibi for some detective? What?”

  Jerrell smiled and shook his head. “Damn, why does it always have to be like that?”

  “Because with you, it has to be,” Champagne told him. “With you there’s always some bullshit involved. With you there’s always a motive.”

  “Was I really that bad?” Jerrell asked. “I mean, you acting like a brother be straight wilding out. You acting like I only call you when I need something foul.”

  Champagne put her hands on her hips.

  Jerrell smiled again. “Glad to know all of the love is still there.”

  “What the fuck do you want, Jerrell?” she asked.

  Jerrell exhaled, reached into his pocket, and pulled out the photo of Gena that he had taken at the restaurant. “You know her?”

  “What the fuck do I look like, information or something?”

  “You know everybody,” Jerrell told her. “I just figured you might have screwed the same baller once or twice. You know how you ho’s move in small circles.”

  “Fuck you, you black bitch,” Champagne told him. “I know one asshole that I wish I had never screwed.”

  “Don’t get your dirty little panties all in a bunch, ma,” Jerrell told her. “Do you know the bitch or not?”

  Champagne crossed her arms and squinted at Jerrell. “And if I did know her, what of it?”

  “I just want some information, that’s all.”

  Champagne snatched the picture away from Jerrell and examined it.

  “Well?” Jerrell asked impatiently.

  Champagne shook her head. “She looks familiar. Yeah, I’ve seen her around.”

  “Around?” Jerrell grew more animated. “Where?”

  Champagne shrugged. “Just around. Clubs, parties, the mall, who the fuck knows? I’ve seen the bitch. What’s it to you?”

  “I need for you to concentrate,” Jerrell told her. “I need for you to focus. Where have you seen her, and with who?”

  “What is she, a new piece of pussy?” Champagne asked. “Some bitch who’s got you all twisted up, and now you think she’s stepping out on you?”

  Jerrell shook his head. “That shit doesn’t matter. I just need you to do what you do. Find out everything that you can about this bitch and get back to me. I want to know every fucking thing that you can dig up. If she lost a fucking tooth in third grade, I want to know about it. I want to know where she lives, where she went to school, and who she fucks with or has fucked with.”

  Champagne smirked and tucked the picture into her bra. “You know this is going to cost you.”

  “The usual?”

  Champagne shook her head. “Uh-un. Something tells me that this one is a lot more valuable to you. I want a thousand for this one.”

  “A thousand dollars!” Jerrell shouted. “Bitch, you must be crazy! A thousand dollars? Have you lost your muthafuckin’ mind?”

  “Take it or leave it, bitch,” Champagne told him. “I would have charged you less, but you don’t know how to shut the fuck up. That dirty panty comment is gonna cost, nigga.”

  Jerrell frowned and pursed his lips. “Okay. You got that. You get me what I want, and I’ll give you what you want.”

  “Don’t call me, I’ll call you,” Champagne told him. She turned and strutted across the street to her waiting Alfa Romeo.

  Gena pulled up to the park and spied the voluptuous woman strutting away from her man. She frowned as she thought of the possibilities. Who the fuck is she? What the fuck is he out here doing? She rushed toward Jerrell with a fierce scowl on her face.

  “Who was that?” Gena asked.

  “Nobody.”

  “Nobody?” Gena turned toward Champagne, who was driving past them. “She didn’t seem like a nobody. You were all up in her ass while she was walking away!”

  “Gena, that was my cousin!” Jerrell shouted.

  “Bullshit!”

  “She was!” Jerrell shouted. “She saw me standing here waiting on you, and she pulled over, got out of the car, and came over and said what’s up to me.”

  Gena crossed her arms and shook her head. “Jay, you are so full of shit. I don’t even know why I allowed myself to fall for you. I should have known that you were just like all of the rest!”

  “Gena, I swear to you!” Jerrell said forcefully. “Why would I meet another woman here, knowing that you were on your way? Think about that shit, will you? Why would I do that?” he asked, even though that was exactly what he had done.

  Gena shifted her weight to one side and exhaled.

  “Gena, if I was going to creep on you, do you honestly think that I would do it here, in the middle of a park that you are coming to, in broad daylight? Think about that!”

  Gena lowered her head and nodded. He was making sense. And she hadn’t actually caught him doing anything out of line.

  “You know what, Jay?” Gena told him. “That bitch better be at your next family reunion or Christmas party or Thanksgiving dinner or I’m fucking you and your mans up! You hear me?” she said, grabbing his dick.

  Jerrell smiled and nodded. “I hear you, baby. Damn, you threatening a nigga’s Johnson and shit, acting like you own the muthafucka.”

  “I do own that muthafucka.” Gena smiled. “That bitch belongs to me, and don’t you forget it.”

  “Damn, baby,” Jerrell said, pulling her close. “I’ve been waiting for you to claim ownership. You know that you can take possession of this muthafucka wherever you want to.”

  Gena nodded. “I just might do that. I just might do that.”

  Jerrell plunged into Gena with the force of a high diver hitting the pool. And like the diver he plunged inside her, swimming inside her, causing her to gasp for air. Gena opened her legs wider, trying to ease the pain. It just made him go deeper into her, causing her to cry out.

  Jerrell had waited for this day since meeting her at the gas station, and for the past weeks, he had waited patiently, cunningly plotting how he would get her to fall for him. He played a role like the Hollywood hustler he was, all because he wanted to tap this fat caramel-colored ass so bad that he coul
d taste it. He let her know how bad he wanted her, with every punishing stroke that he delivered. He made her regret that she had made him wait so long. Week after week, shit, damn near two months since they first met. Gena placed her hands beneath his stomach as he stroked, in an effort to diffuse some of the pain. He was hitting it, and hitting it hard. Wow, it’s been so long, he’s so big, shit’s incredible. She grabbed the sheets first, and then the pillow, and finally his waist. She dug her fingernails into his sides, trying to take the pain that he was dishing out. She hadn’t been with a man since Quadir, and now she was paying dearly for it.

  Jerrell kept pounding relentlessly with what seemed to be a much bigger penis than she was used to, trying to go deeper and deeper with each stroke. He could feel every inch of her depth with each of his movements. She was tight as a balled-up fist, and she pulled and tugged at his manhood with each of his strokes. He could feel her tight walls wrapped around him, and he didn’t know how much longer he would be able to take it. Damn, she got some good pussy, Jerrell couldn’t help thinking to himself.

  Gena wrapped her legs around Jerrell and pulled him down on top of her. No sooner had she done it than she realized her mistake. At least when he was pounding her, he was pulling it out a little. Now that pounding had turned into a deep gut-churning grind. She exploded and cried out in his ear. She could feel him all the way inside her stomach.

  Gena’s fingernails dug deep into Jerrell’s back, while her teeth found their way to his sweating neck. He had been grinding relentlessly for the last ten minutes, and her insides felt as if they were on fire. The pounding that he had given her the first fifteen minutes had made her cervix soar, but the deep-ass punishment that he was putting on her now felt as if it were twisting her guts into a knot. Besides, she had come six times, and she was beginning to get a headache.

  Gena could feel goose bumps beginning to appear on Jerrell’s back, and if they meant the same thing on him that they had meant on Quadir, then that meant that he was about to get his. And sure enough he did. Jerrell exploded inside Gena like a volcano erupting. His warm white lava flew deep up inside her, causing her to cry out and come again herself. She could feel his massive member vibrating inside her as it released its load. Jerrell remained stiff on top of her for one more minute, until the throbbing from his penis stopped, and then his entire body went limp. He relaxed on top of her, and she felt some relief inside her vagina as his manhood retreated to a decent size.

  Gena caressed Jerrell’s shoulder and smiled. She wondered if she would be able to take this kind of punishment every night, if they moved in together. The tingling sensation in her body gave her the answer. Hell yeah!

  Jerrell rolled over and lay on the bed beside her. She was glad, because she was tired. He had given her ass more than a workout. He had done something that a man hadn’t done in a long while. He had fucked her to sleep. She rolled over, wrapping the blankets around her body, and fell fast asleep.

  SHE’LL BE COMIN’ ROUND THE MOUNTAIN

  United States District Attorney Paul Perachetti paced in front of the room filled to the brim with various law enforcement agents, officers, and deputies.

  Captain Holiday of the Philadelphia Police Department cleared his throat. “I want to thank all of our fellow agencies, departments, and bureaus for coming out today and helping us out. Gentleman, zero hour is almost on us. I’ll keep my remarks brief for now. At this time, for those of you who don’t know him, I would like to bring up United States District Attorney of the Western District of Pennsylvania, Mr. Paul Perachetti.”

  “Gentleman, and ladies, I want to thank you all for being here today, and I want to thank you all for the enormous amount of effort and sacrifice that you’ve put forward over the preceding months,” Perachetti told the gathered crowd. “Some of you have worked this case for more than a year. You’ve sacrificed much to uphold the laws of our country, and to make the streets safe once again. I know that over the past year there have been many missed dinners, missed birthdays, missed plays and school recitals, and a lot of strained families. Your deeds will not go unrewarded.

  “Today, we have a really big day ahead of us,” Mr. Perachetti continued. “Today we will be executing some fifty search warrants simultaneously. This will be the biggest drug sting in the history of the State of Pennsylvania. I just wanted to thank all of the participating agencies. Captain Holiday and the Philadelphia Police Department deserve a round of applause for doing the warrants, managing the confidential informants, and these guys really really are who made today possible.”

  The officers and agents gathered around the room broke into applause.

  “I would like to thank Special Agent in Charge Rudy Galvani, of the FBI,” Perachetti continued. “I want to thank Agent Stacey Wynn, of the Drug Enforcement Administration, and I want to thank Colonel Whitfield of the Pennsylvania National Guard.”

  The law enforcement officers gathered around the room applauded their fellow officers.

  “Colonel Whitfield contacted the governor’s office and assisted us in obtaining permission to use his National Guard troops to help conduct the search and seizure, and we also have their full assistance in rounding up the perpetrators,” Perachetti informed them. “Without the Guard, we would not have enough manpower to raid all fifty of the facilities simultaneously. So they certainly have our deepest appreciation.”

  Again the officers and agents applauded.

  “I just want to thank the Sheriff’s Department, and the Pennsylvania State Troopers Office, as well as the United States Border Patrol, and the United States Customs Agency, for loaning us their narcotics canines,” Perachetti continued. “I’ll turn it back over to Captain Holiday so that he can wrap things up. I just wanted to thank everyone who made today possible. Be careful out there, gentlemen and ladies.”

  Perachetti left the podium and Captain Holiday stepped behind the microphone. The officers inside the room gave another loud round of applause of gratitude and then grew silent again.

  “Gentlemen, what we are doing today will have a direct correlation to the amount of drugs that make it on to the streets of Philadelphia this year,” Captain Holiday told them. “This operation will net real results, and will undoubtedly result in numerous convictions of some of Philadelphia’s most notorious drug dealers. Those of you who know me know that I am not prone to real emotional speeches. So I’ll just keep it short and sweet. Go out there and kick some ass, guys. Be careful, watch each other’s back, and everyone go home to your families tonight. I’ll give up the stage now to the detectives who put this thing together, and who are coordinating today’s operation, Detectives Ellington and Ratzinger.”

  Detective Ratzinger stood just behind the podium, allowing Detective Ellington to have the microphone. Whistles shot through the room.

  “All right, all right, wise guys,” Detective Ellington waved them off. “Keep it down before I tell your wives.”

  Laughter shot through the room.

  “Listen up, guys, we’re doing fifty houses all at the same time. That means fifty teams. We’re dividing the operations into sections. There will be five section leaders, each with ten teams. Each team will consist of ten to fifteen officers, agents, deputies, or Guardsmen. We have already organized the teams, and we’ll be passing out team lists, so everyone will know what team they’ll belong to. We’ll have time to do some runthroughs over at the Academy, and at the National Guard Training Center. We’ll cycle the teams through, so that everyone will have the opportunity to run an operation and get to know their team members. These are search warrants and arrest warrants. I want everyone to make sure that these suspects get their Miranda rights read to them as soon as the premises are secure. I don’t want anything thrown out because of a Miranda violation. Gentlemen and ladies, this operation is a go. Get your teams together and to the training sites so that we can prep for the operation. That’s about it. Good luck.”

  “We are operating on channel five, gentlemen,” Detecti
ve Ratzinger shouted. “Make sure that your radios are on secure link five!”

  The officers and agents broke up and headed off to their gathering points.

  “Hey, what do you think you’re doing?” asked Gena playfully as she watched Jay sit next to her with a bottle of massaging oil in his hands.

  “Smelling your feet?” he said as he picked up her big toe with his thumb and pointer finger and held her foot up in the air as if it were a dirty diaper. “I can’t be handling fungus, you feel me?”

  “Fungus . . . boy, you see these toes?” she asked, holding her feet up to his face. “Look at ’em. Tell the truth, aren’t these the most perfect feet you ever seen in your life?”

  Truthfully, they really were tiny, small, perfect feet and toes and they turned him on. Actually, everything about Gena turned him on. She had a lot going on with her family and when she asked if she could stay with him, just for a while until she found her own place, he thought he would mind. He said yes, but at the time he didn’t really mean it, and further, he really didn’t want her that close to him. But because of the family situation, he said okay, thinking that she’d just be there for a few days. But a few days had turned into a few weeks. And he liked it. He didn’t think he would, but he did, and he wasn’t looking forward to her leaving.

  Gena would wake up in the mornings and be out the door before 8:30 A.M. to run her own errands and take care of her own business. He didn’t give her a key, but he accommodated her comings and goings. There were times when he’d even come home just to unlock the door for her, and then go back out to whatever it was he was doing. He gave her little amounts of shopping money, even though he had already figured out she was holding the bread and the butter. They’d wake, shower, eat, and roll out, and at night, they’d watch movies or play spades, which had become Jerrell’s favorite pastime while he was incarcerated waiting for his trial.