Hood Life and Love: I Am What I Am

Chapter 29

"What the fuck is that?"

Even with all the firepower pointed at him, he acted bulletproof. He looked slightly surprised to see the anger in my face. I had to have been shocked because the question did not need an answer. I knew exactly what was in that crate. The problem was I didn't believe my eyes. 

Sad eyes stared back at me, desperate for help. She was no more than a child. Fifteen, maybe sixteen years old. She looked clean and healthy and if it weren't for the bars that kept her contained you would think she was here to hang out. She was clean and her hair was freshly braided. 

"Why is that girl in a fucking cage," Joey asked the question I couldn't get my mouth to utter.

"There better be a damned good reason to Frenchy," Dale hissed. "My trigger finger feeling real itchy." 

"Can we all calm down briefly and I will explain," Balthazar said deceptively calm. I watched a bead of sweat run down his face as he straightened his stance. "No one has to get hurt today."

"You will if you don't start talking," I yelled.

"You kill me and you will never make it off the property alive."

"I'm willing to chance it," Montel said as he pulled out another pistol and pointed it at a group of people who had just come to the doorway. 

I narrowed my eyes at Frenchy as he looked pointedly at me. It was as if he was asking me to control the guys. That was a mistake most people made. They thought I could control my brothers. Little did they know, we all did whatever the fuck we wanted. No one here had control. We had influence over each other that came from love and trust. But control, none of us had that. 

Still, as I saw more people approaching from behind us it was starting to seem like Frenchy was right. We were outnumbered and they had super guns and shit. Our chances were slim, but I wasn't lowering my gun. Gritting my teeth I looked at Frenchy and asked again.

"What the fuck are you on, Frenchy? What does that child have to do with what you got going on?"

"You look at her and see a girl, I see a product."

"So you on some slavery bullshit?" Dales asked.

"Not slavery," Frenchy said laughing. "I cater to a group of very influential people. They prefer a different kind of drug."

"People?" Joey said slowly, "You're selling people. Children."

"Not just children," He clarified. "I deliver whatever it is that catches my client's taste. Men, women, or children."

"So nobody is safe," Montel said.

"Why show us this?" I asked. "You could have kept this to yourself. There is no way you thought we would be okay with this."

"This is the real reason for the meeting," Balthazar said. "In the past, this kind of thing has caused issues. I am seeking your permission to come to your neighborhood if needed and take a few people off your hands. For that, you can have all of the guns, plus an extra crate. I'll keep the new drug from your area and I will pay you two hundred thousand dollars per person. I have to admit I didn't think it would come to this. I had such high hopes coming here. It's the murder capital. Full of heavy hitters and yet every person I have met with has acted like what I'm doing is an ultimate crime. Believe it or not, most people take the deal. If they put up a fight, they eventually come around. "

"Bullshit." I hissed, as I read between the lines. "You bully them into it."

"You can't just come into our hood and take people," Montel yelled.

"Who the fuck even thinks of something like this?" Dale grumbled. 

"It is one of the oldest forms of making money. Men in different countries will pay millions of dollars to middle age. You tell me who is off limits and I won't touch them. Your families and friends will be safe."

"Everyone in our hood is off limits," I said evenly and against my better judgment, I put away one of my guns hoping to diffuse the situation a little. As angry as I was this was a fight for another day. We could not win here. "I mean that shit Frenchy. Don't come where my people be taking folks. Go to the north with that shit. The South wants none of that."

"Now you speak for the entire south side?" Frenchy asked with a smirk. I watched him give a hand signal and his men started to retreat. My guys lowered their guns but they didn't put them away.

"Today we do," Montel said cooly.

"And tomorrow?" 

"How much for her?" I asked gesturing to the girl in the crate. No part of me wanted to leave without her. I didn't know her or where she was from but I couldn't leave her. 

"How about you take her as a sign of good faith," Balthazar asked as another man came and unlocked the gage. "I don't want problems with you guys and I am sad we could not come to an understanding."

I watched as the girl ran into my arms. I wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close noting how skinny she was beneath the nice clothes. 

"This meeting is over," I announced as I started to back away. I passed the girl to Dale and did not turn away until I was at the entry to the dining room. Before walking out I turned around one last time and lied through my teeth. "You are free to do your business Frenchy. Keep it out of my hood and we won't have any problems."

My eyes darted to the cage again and back to his smug face. He thought he had won. We both knew this wasn't over. He didn't like that we turned him down. I turned away in a blink and walked outside to see Joey hitting one of the cars. Dale was putting the girl in a car and Montel stood back watching Joey, who stopped as I approached them. 

His knuckles were bloody and he was sweaty. I looked at the dent in the SUV and was very glad it wasn't me. He was also very pissed off and I knew he looked like what I felt like on the inside.

"What the fuck are we going to do?" Joey asked, "We can't let this go."

"Dude giving off big Jeffrey Dahmer vibes," Montel said tightly.

I looked around at the faces of my family and then at the girl anxiously sitting in the backseat of one of the cars. "It's far from over."