A Rose In Harlem

5.0

Chicago had just finished walking back home when a black suburban pulled up next to him.For someone who kills for a living he walked around without any protection most of the time. When the car pulled up next to him he turned to it with an unamused expression. If this was his time then so be it, what made him so good at his job was the anger in his heart but mostly the lack of expecting to make it to the next day. Chicago has been moving on survival for most of his life now and it was exhausting. One day everything he's done would come back to him like karma and unfortunately he didn't really know it he would care when he's at the end of a barrel.

"You crazy mother fucker" the voice was familiar, one of the guys from titans drug side of the gang rolled down the window. Quincy was brought into the gang maybe two - three years after Chicago. But unlike Chicago Quincy stayed with just moving drugs- now after so many years in the business he managed his own trap and a few people under him, when things in his trap went south- he went to Titan. When he needed to reup, he talked to Titan. The gang was like a spiderweb of leaders all leading back to Titan who was the Big Boss. Beside Quincy was Trystan who was another trap Manager just like Quincy. They were all around the same age, trained together and started off as low runners together. But Chicago was token under Titians wing directly and he taught him how to be a killer. Even though Titan truly believed you can't make a killer like Chicago, he said you can't place the rage, anger and hurt inside someone they go through it- Titan knew how to use all that and make it become something dangerous. Something calm , serious and deadly when needed to be.

"We thought you was damn dead" Trystan started, "well I didn't but a few other guys tried to bet against you— I said you weren't the type to just roll over and die" Trystan laughed at his own joke. If Chicago let people in these would be the closest to friend he had, they were more like good coworkers. All good at what they did, all had trouble backgrounds none of them spoke to each other about it. They didn't mind that Chicago was closed off, they all dealt with trauma differently and all of them being someone with so much of it. They knew when someone else had it too.

"How'd you find me?" Chicago only replied as he stepped closer to the suburban.

"You not the only one that has to report to some nigga in a badge" Trystan started. Of course he was on probation. "Where you been at?"

"T told me to lay low" he added with a shrug.

"Oh I almost forgot you were his favorite- when is he getting out?" Quincy started and Chicago shrugged once again .

"Well everyone trynna steal our stash or get my runners down and Rob they ass cause they think T is away for good" Quincy started. "We holding it down but the old heads been talking bout finding someone to step in for the time being" He was trying to do exactly what Kenya was working so hard to keep him away from. Both parties knew Chicago was trained for moments like this. Chicago or Sly as most of the gang knew him as ran through the grape vine like a spooky story you tell your kids to behave. If you don't act right Sly will come, if you move weird Twans will send Sly on you. A real life black assassin who put fear in old and young heads in the gang. Most of them never even had the luxury to see Chicago, usually dressed in all black head to toe only his eyes being shown.If not then he was lurking around the traps to make sure stuff was going good and the only people who would know was the mangers of the trap- if that. Most probably thought he was some old black dude who helped Twans start the gang up but truthfully not even their names held that much weight or respect in the streets.

With Titan locked up most thought he would've been stepped up but he didn't take orders from anyone but Titan. He didn't care what he or she said or thought he was told to stay low. Until he got the okay from Titan that's exactly what he planned to do. Right now Sly was to most just a urban legend- to others he was someone they never wanted at their trap. If he was there that meant Twans thought something was wrong.