Slick was fuming. Not only did the two men take off with only God knew how much of his work money, but they had made him look bad. Slick always boasted about how he was such a big man, but two young kids had snatched food right out of his mouth. Had he been alone, he might’ve let it go and just fucked Ralph up for bringing that kind of drama to his doorstep, but they’d done it in front of people. To save face, Slick would have to react.

“Yo,” Larry answered his phone.

“What’s up, lard ass?” Jah said playfully.

“Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?”

“No, but I kiss your girl with it,” Jah replied.

“Okay, did you call me to snap or did you want something?” Larry finally asked.

“Yeah, I got some more bread to put with what we already got. Is shorty still gonna do it?” Jah asked.

“She said she was, but I’ll know for sure later on tonight. I’m about to start getting ready for the party, so I ain’t gonna have time to pick the money up from you.”

“Don’t worry about it, I’ll hold on to it until like tomorrow or something.”

“Don’t spend it on weed and guns,” Larry joked.

“Fuck you.” Jah hung up the phone.

A part of Larry felt guilty for sneaking behind Paul’s back, but it had to be done. The less he knew for the moment, the easier it would be for Larry and Jah to do what they had to do. Besides, if all went well, Paul was going to cake off lovely.

Pain stepped out of the taxi on 169th and Amsterdam Avenue. He gave the cabdriver thirty dollars and was halfway across the street before the cabbie could even peel off his change. Keeping his hands tucked in his pockets and his eyes peeled for trouble, he darted around the corner and up the steps of a brownstone. A young Hispanic boy who had been sitting on the stoop nodded at Pain in greeting and moved to the side to let him in the building.

Pain bounded up the three flights of stairs and knocked on a thin-brown door. There was some shuffling and words whispered in Spanish before the door was finally opened. A dark-skinned boy with dark curls stood behind the door, with a baseball bat clutched in his hand. Pain stepped in and submitted himself to a search before he was given the green light to proceed. He passed several doors on his way down the hall on the way to the living room. He had no idea what was in the closed-off rooms, nor did he have a desire to find out. His thoughts were purely focused on the reason he had come.