“Fuck him, homeboy ain’t wit’ us, and if you ain’t wit’ the team, you ain’t shit,” Spooky said with conviction. Spooky had been Jah’s right-hand man since grade school, but they had very different views on life. Jah was a gangsta, meaning he was down for whatever to put food on the table, but he was reasonable about most things. Spooky was a cat who didn’t see logic. If you were weak, you were a victim.

“You need to get a grip, Spook,” Jah told him.

“The only thing I need to grip is my dick and my nine.” He grabbed each to get his point across. “Yo, how was that party last night?”

“It was a’ight,” Jah said, silently remembering it.

“Duce and them niggaz from Thirty-seventh was up in there. They said it was wall-to-wall hos.”

“Yeah, they was definitely in there trying to get it popping,” Jah said, instinctively looking up and down the block for trouble.

“I know you popped something, ’cause when I called ya phone, I didn’t get an answer.” Spooky looked at him, waiting for an explanation.

“Nah, I was on some tired shit,” Jah lied.

“You paid all that money to get in there and didn’t try to slide nothing? That ain’t like you, my dude.”

“Man, I ended up having to jet up outta there. This bitch-ass nigga was coming at me sideways so I had to lace his boots.” Jah threw phantom punches.

“Where was he from?” Spooky asked.

“I don’t know, but I think he runs with that kid Ralph was working for, ’cause I seen them trying to creep after I laid homeboy out.”

“Yeah, that nigga Slick.” Spooky thought on it. “I heard some shit about him. He’s supposed to be holding the projects down on some heroin shit. Thinks he’s a real big man.”

“Is he gonna be a problem?” Jah asked.

“He’s got a few niggaz behind him, but he ain’t no killer. The boy is really just living off his family’s rep. That scary-ass nigga don’t want no static.”

Jah nodded as Spooky talked. He felt better knowing that Slick wasn’t some wild-out killer, but he would still keep his eyes peeled for danger. Spooky was taking the whole thing lightly, but Jah wasn’t the type to underestimate anyone. A scared nigga was the most likely to pop you.

After giving it some thought, Jah said, “I’m still gonna do some digging on him to find out exactly what duke is about. In the meantime, we might wanna consider putting Ralph to sleep.”

“Ralph? What the hell for?” Spooky asked. “He for damn sure don’t want none of us.”