AHEAD OF THE GAME | BXB

XXXIV-CLUTCH

My pistol was tucked safely in the front of my pants as me and a few other dudes walked briskly through the streets.

Only when we saw a black suv truck did we stop in our tracks. I saw Cig leaning against the truck. He was smoking what looked to be weed. Though, I wouldn't have been surprised if it was something a little stronger tucked into the blunt.

"That's my money?" He asked in between puffs.

"What you think?" I replied.

I turned around and gave my small crew the go ahead and immediately, the guy who had the bag over his shoulder tossed it at Cig's feet. I watched as Cig handed his joint over to the guy standing on his left. Then, he motioned for somebody to open it, and they did just that.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Ace smirking over at me.

It took everything in me not to snatch my gun out of my pants and shoot him right then and there.

"So," Ace began, smirking. "How the ole boss doin? Heard them niggas really fired his ass up."

"Rodney did, yeah," I replied. "The nigga that's supposed to be your homie. Who you about to kill right nah. I guess loyalty ain't never been one of your traits."

He shrugged. "I do what I gotta do to get by. You could learn a thing or two from me."

"Ion need to learn shit from a snake like you," I retorted, my grip tightening on the pistol.

"You really bout' to leave the game just because some bitch ass nigga told you to?" He said, arching his eyebrow. "You could really be rolling wit' us for real."

I looked at him for a moment. Then, I started to laugh. "Man, you sum else if you think I would ever kick it with any of you nigga's."

The tension thickened in the air as Ace's words hung between us like a heavy fog.

"You ain't got no loyalty, Ace," I said, my voice low and steady. "You'll stab anyone in the back to get ahead. But me? I ain't built like that. I got principles, something you wouldn't understand."

Ace chuckled, a sinister glint in his eyes. "Principles don't pay the bills, brotha. You'll learn that the hard way."

I took a step forward, my gaze locked with his. "I ain't afraid of the hard way. But I ain't gonna compromise who I am just to make a quick buck."

"Aye," Cig interjected. "We not here to argue like some lil bitches."

I glanced at him, then back to Ace. "I'm here for what's mine. And I'll do whatever it takes to protect it."

Ace smirked, his confidence unshaken. "We'll see about that. We'll see."

"We here to handle business," Cig continued, his voice low and authoritative.  You got my money, now let's get this shit over wit' before I change my mind about helpin' ya'll."

My grip on my gun loosened.

With a nod, I signaled for one of my guys to step forward with the second bag. As he approached Cig, I kept a close eye on Ace, making sure he didn't make any sudden moves. Cig opened the bag, inspecting the contents with a critical eye.

After a moment, he nodded in satisfaction. "Looks like everything's here," he grunted, before zipping the bag shut. "Good doin' business with you, as always."

Then, he took a deep and steady breath. "So how y'all wanna do this?"

"Simple. Gun shot to the dome. No need to complicate the shit," Ace quipped.

"Noise," I said, sighing. "Are y'all nigga's new to this or true to it?"

"Nigga, we got ways to make the shit quiet," he said. "Silencers. Shit, put a pillow over the nigga head and — 'bang' — pop his ass!"