On that warm summer afternoon, he found himself strolling through the projects, or his kingdom, as he liked to call it, chatting on his cell and flanked by his right-hand man, Keith, and a girl he had met earlier that day. He glanced at her long brown legs for the umpteenth time and licked his full lips. He was going to enjoy that sweet pussy, but he had arrangements to make first.

The whole hood was buzzing about Bad Blood’s performance at Exit that night. They had performed at the spot before, but that was on the strength of Don B. and only short freestyles. This would be their first time performing at Exit since the release of their single. The club was sure to be lined with wall-to-wall pussy and Slick intended to be there.

He was yakking away on the cell with a chick he used to fuck with named Sondra. She had the good fortune of being the assistant to Don B.’s publicist. It wasn’t the most high-profile position in his growing organization, but the perks were excellent. For an empty promise and a few dollars, she had agreed to get Slick into the VIP section after the performance. Of course, when he got there he was going to front like he got in on the strength of his own credibility. His spirits were high when she agreed to the favor, but suddenly that all changed when he spotted two dudes beating the hell out of one of his workers.

Ralph was a small-time hustler trying to make his way up the syndicate ladder. At five-eight and just over a hundred and fifty pounds, he wasn’t a very intimidating sight, but let him tell it, he was gangsta with his. Ralph was a consummate schemer determined to blow up, but he didn’t have the nuts or the smarts to really make a name for himself. The lack of these qualities didn’t stop him from trying, though. His latest venture was going hand to hand for a cat named Slick, who moved dope in the projects. He wasn’t making kingpin money, but dope proved to be far more profitable than crack.

“Hey, baby,” Ralph called to a young lady who was wearing a pair of denim shorts that almost exposed her entire ass. When she ignored him, he got indignant. “Word, you can’t stop? Well, fuck you then, bitch!”

“That ain’t no way to talk to a lady,” a voice called from behind him. Ralph turned around with intentions on getting fly with his mouth, but the words froze in his throat when he saw Jah and Spooky approaching.

“What’s good, my dude?” Ralph extended his hand and mustered a fake smile. Jah looked at Ralph’s hand, but didn’t shake it.

“You,” Jah replied, giving him an equally fake smile. “You got that for me?”