New York's Finest (1st of the Trilogy) Read online

  In my mind, it was obvious that Miguel was trying to find a way to get out of telling Reggie how much was coming in, so he wouldn’t have to pay us more to make sure it got through our channels without any interruptions. Little did he know, Reggie wasn’t going for that bullshit he was throwing our way. Reggie was more of a businessman than he’d ever be, so he’d better step up to the plate and come correct.

  “The way our operation works, it really doesn’t matter how the load is packaged up,” Damian chimed in. “We, and the folks in our employ, take the risk. We ensure they get paid and they ensure we get our product. If not, they could possibly have thoughts about getting the shipment intercepted so they could keep it for themselves. Then what do we do? Kill them . . . and hope we can find other employees who are as cool as they were? That’s why it’s important for you to have extra manpower in the loop. That way the men who are put in charge to make sure the loads get through can and will be watched by the extra men we have lurking behind the scenes and undetected.”

  I had to admit that Damian impressed me the way he stepped in and had Reggie’s back. I’m sure Reggie appreciated it as well. I had to remember they had been friends for thirty damn years and probably knew how each other thought. I waited for Miguel come to back at them with more of his slick as talk but he remained quiet. I figured he was trying to figure out how to negotiate with Reggie and Damian without giving them too much power. I sat back in the bathroom and laughed my butt off because I knew that he felt somewhat powerless in this group of three men. I guessed now he knew how I felt when he and Marco had my ass backed up against the wall while I was on their territory.

  “Listen, Miguel, I'm a businessman, so I don't mind doing this new venture. But you and Marco gotta’ cut us some slack,” I heard Reggie say. “When we take on a job we don't do it half ass! We stand behind everything we do. That's why it's important for us to know the exact weight of the load, so we can get the right people in place. Plus, we need the necessary capital to pay them . . . because at the end of the day, we're paying them to protect a much larger investment.”

  “How much do you want?” Miguel asked.

  “See, you’re missing the point,” Reggie replied quickly. “I can’t tell you how much money it’ll take to get your product through until you tell us how much weight you’re getting shipped.”

  “Well, I’ma tell you right now that that’s not going to happen. When we used to use cargo ship containers to get out product out of South America, or use mules to transport it from one state to the next, we never told them how much they were carrying. It was none of their business. The only thing they needed to worry about was getting it to its destination safely. That’s it. So, the same rules apply here.”

  “Okay, listen, I’ll tell you what, Miguel,” Reggie retorted, “if you and Marco agree to pay us $300,000 per shipment, which I think is more than fair considering you could maximize each load by shipping anywhere between one hundred and fifty to two hundred kilos at a time and come off lovely. Because if you look at it from a profit standpoint, you can sell each kilo for twenty-eight to thirty grand wholesale and end up with over five and a half million easy. So three hundred grand is a drop in the bucket when you look at all the money you stand to make.”

  I waited for Miguel to speak. But for the first thirty seconds he didn’t say anything. I figured he was doing the math in his own head and wanted to be sure about the figures Reggie was throwing at him. At this point in the conversation, I wished I was there so I could see the look on his face.

  “If I agree to pay you three hundred thousand dollars, I can ship as much product as I want?” Miguel finally spoke up.

  Reggie started laughing. Apparently he thought Miguel was either being humorous or he was trying to insult him. I couldn’t stand being in the bathroom anymore. I felt like I had to get in on the conversation with Miguel and Reggie, so I got up from the toilet and opened the bathroom door. It startled me to see Vanessa standing next to the door. She literally scared the shit out of me, which of course made me jump back. “You scared me too death!” I said.

  Being that she wasn’t expecting to see me coming out of the bathroom only to catch her eavesdropping on my brother’s business deal, she didn’t know how to carry herself. Her body language was totally off. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were in there,” she said quietly. It was evident that she didn’t want Reggie to hear our conversation.

  “I was trying to use the bathroom but I couldn’t,” I told her.

  “I’m glad you came out first, because I was getting ready to come in there myself,” she continued saying, trying to convince me that she was only there for a couple of seconds. But she knew I knew what time it was with her. So I did the noble thing and tried my best to make her feel less awkward.

  While Vanessa tried to paint the picture that she was so glad that she hesitated before she walked into the bathroom so I wouldn’t go back and tell Reggie the real deal, I heard Reggie reiterate to Miguel that he could send as much coke in at a time, but it couldn’t weigh over one ton, especially at the price he was paying us. And once Miguel understood Reggie’s terms, he finally agreed to them.

  Before I could get back into the room, Miguel told Reggie that he wanted us to make the proper arrangements. He wanted his first shipment to come in one week from today. Reggie knew he couldn’t make that judgment call, because that was my area of expertise. He knew I only scheduled shipment deliveries on the days I worked. When he yelled my name and told me to come back to the den, I knew he needed me to give Miguel the green light.

  I patted Vanessa on the back and told her to stop explaining and that I was fine and then I walked off. When I entered back into the den, all eyes were on me. Reggie quickly brought me to speed about how he and Miguel came to an agreement about the figures, so the deal had been made. Now he needed me to shed light on whether or not Miguel would be able to get his first shipment in one week from today? Since I had already heard the question from the hallway, I had time to think if I worked next Tuesday. I looked at Reggie and Miguel both and told them what they wanted to hear.

  “Yes, I work next Tuesday, so that would be fine. All I need to know is whether or not you’d rather ship your load in the morning or at night?”

  “The earlier, the better,” Miguel said.

  “Okay. I’m on it,” I assured him.

  Since he was already standing up when I entered the room, he walked over to me and kissed me on both cheeks. “I look forward to doing business with you,” he said.

  “Likewise,” I replied.

  After he wished Reggie a speedy recovery, Damian escorted him out of the apartment and downstairs to the car that was waiting for him.

  New York’s Finest Kiki Swinson

  Chapter 17 – Got More $ Than I Can Count

  While Damian was downstairs with Miguel, I took this opportunity to talk to Reggie about this new venture. I took a seat on the sofa across from Reggie and Foxx and started off by letting them know that I heard their entire conversation and how impressed I was when Damian stepped in to help sway the negotiations. The only question I had for him was did he think three hundred grand was enough money for all the risk we had to take?

  “Put it like this, a nigga could never pay us enough money to do what we do. But in this situation, I believe that we can make it work,” Reggie replied.

  “You know we’re cutting it close by allowing him to get his shipment in one week from today. Normally, I would need at least ten days to get the proper paperwork put in the system, get the shipping labels and make sure that my men are on the schedule for that day.”

  “Why didn’t you tell us that when we asked you?” Reggie asked.

  “Because when I entered into the room I felt the pressure for me to say yes.”

  “Come on now, Naomi, that’s not how we handle business.”

  “I know this. But can you take some of the blame for putting me on the spot?”

  “Nah, I’m not gonn
a do that. You’re a businesswoman. It’s your job to run the shipping and handling part of our operation. So when someone ask you if they can have their product delivered one week from today, when you know that it takes at least a week and a half to orchestrate a proper delivery, then you need to speak up and let them know. Otherwise, you’re gonna be ‘round here running around with your head in too many places and you’re bound to drop the ball. And in this business, we can’t afford for you to do that. There are too many people’s lives at stake. Not only that, it’s hard to buy freedom, so please keep that in mind.”

  I shook my head and let out a long sigh. I couldn’t take it when Reggie put me on the hot seat and scolded me like I was his fucking child. Shit, was it wrong that I only said yes to please Miguel? I mean, I was just at a meeting with him and Marco a couple days ago when they first gave me the ultimatum, have his product delivered at a set fee or else. So Reggie needed to get off my back and cut me some slack.

  Instead of going back and forth with Reggie about how I should have handled the situation with Miguel, I sat there quietly and tried to figure out who I needed to get on the phone first, so I could make this first delivery run smoothly.

  While I was in deep thought, Foxx said a few words to me. “Listen, baby girl, I know you think your brother is coming down hard on you, but you gotta remember that he's only pointing these things out to you because he doesn't want you to fail. Y'all got a lot of shit at stake. So you can't afford to mess up at this point in the game. One small fuck up could cause you to lose everything you've worked so hard to get. And I'm sure you don't want that.”

  I didn’t know if it was a question or a statement, I answered anyway, “Of course I don't.”

  “Well, get yourself together and stop sitting there like the whole world is on your shoulders,” Foxx continued.

  “I'm good,” I assured them both and then I pulled my Blackberry out and dialed my point of contact, which happened to be one of the TSA agents I had on my payroll. I didn't have any intentions to talk about Miguel's shipment; I just wanted to let him know that we needed to have a sit down before nightfall. When I finally got him on the phone and he confirmed that he'd be able to meet up with me when his shift was over at ten tonight, I gave him the exact time and location where to meet me. Immediately after I ended our call, I assured Foxx and Reggie that I was going to meet up with one of my guys to get the ball rolling and that everything would be okay. Once I made them understand that I intended to make up for that bad judgment call I made earlier.

  “One more thing,” I said. “Damian didn’t get a chance to tell you, but Lil Man said he worked for a gang called AFH.”

  Reggie and Foxx looked at each other with stunned looks on their faces. I didn’t know what to make of it, but I didn’t have long to wait to find out.

  “Shit, someone really wants you dead, son,” Foxx said matter-of-factly. But I could see the concern on his face. “No one knows who these kids are, but they supposed to be some crazy, whacked out ass kids. Word is they burned and shot two crackheads who raped a middle school girl in Harlem. Supposedly the family only gave them five grand to whack both of them.”

  I looked at Reggie and I could tell he was intently listening to Foxx. Regardless of how overly cautious Foxx could be, Reggie knew when he needed to pay attention to the old man.

  “Good possibility they were the ones who tried to kill y’all at the mall,” Reggie said. “I think we need to increase security for everyone.” Reggie stopped and looked at Foxx. I already knew what he was about to say and I know it was going to hurt him to say the words. “Foxx, you and Mom need to go to Philly and spend some time with Uncle Jimmie until this shit is dead.”

  I saw the intensity on both of their faces. Foxx didn’t want to go. But he knew it wasn’t about him, it was about his wife, our mother.

  “I’ma do that,” Foxx replied. “I will get Stone to follow us, then give him the keys to the house. Plus, I’ma have Stone run down who these kids are.”

  “Then what?” I interrupted.

  “What you mean?” Foxx asked in return.

  “What will Stone do after he finds out who they are?” I asked stupidly.

  Foxx smiled and a smirk came across the face of Reggie. “Baby, I don’t ask Stone what he does. I tell him the problem and he makes the problem go away. Sometimes the problem is never seen again. Other times, if I do see the problem again, it’s months or years later. But guess what . . . the problem is solved.”

  It didn’t take much to realize the problems my dad was referring to were people. Stone always had my dad’s back. It was a matter of Foxx opening his mouth and asking Stone to resolve the problem. I was wishing Reggie had that clout with Stone. But something told me, Damian was Reggie’s version of Stone.

  “Tell Damian that I don’t want him to leave your side,” Reggie spoke up. “Hell, it would be better if you guys went to a hotel and got a suite, but if you decide to stay in your place, make sure he sleeps in the living room where he can hear everything.”

  I nodded in the affirmative; then I kissed them both and excused myself. While I was making my way to the front door, Vanessa met me in the foyer.

  “Leaving so soon?” she asked.

  “Yeah, I've got a few errands to run before I head home.”

  “Can't you stay just a little longer? I just started a pot of my spicy red chicken with my famous chili sauce and I would love for you to take some of it home with you.”

  “Why don't you save some of it in a bowl for me and I will stop by and pick it up tomorrow,” I lied. Truth is, I could care less about eating anything she cooked. For all I knew, she could have been trying to poison my ass. Especially since I rained on her parade at the hospital when I told her about the baby Reggie was supposed to have on the way. She couldn’t fool me. I saw right through her sneaky ass. Better luck next time bitch.

  By the time I got downstairs, Damian was just leaving the valet area. I walked up to him after he reentered the building.

  “What the hell you been doing all this time?” I didn’t hesitate to ask.

  “I was talking to Miguel.”

  “About what?” I pressed the issue.

  “Can you believe he offered me a job to come work for him?”

  I took a step back to take in what Damian had just dropped on me. “How did he offer you a job? What did he say?” I asked.

  “He mentioned that he liked how I laid out all the cards on the table for him. He said that I gave him better insight on how our operation ran. And because of it, he felt like I could be trusted.”

  “So you’re telling me that he asked you to jump ship and get down with his organization because you seem like you can be trusted? Come on now, you gotta’ be leaving something out of this conversation. Miguel and Marco are some hard-nose ass characters and they don’t just let anyone in their circle. So come clean.”

  Damian grabbed me by my arm and pulled me into an isolated corner of the building’s lobby area. “I can’t for sure, but after having that talk with Miguel, I believe that the only reason he offered me a job to be his right hand man is so that I can help him expand his operation. In his mind, he wants to be the primary supplier in these northern states. So you know what that mean?”

  “Yeah, it means that if we help him bring his product here, then it’s just a matter of time before he takes over and runs Reggie out of business.”

  “Exactly.”

  “So what did you tell him?”

  “What do you think I told him?” he responded sarcastically. “I told him I appreciated the offer but my loyalty was with Reggie.”

  “And what did he say?”

  “He gave me a card with his number on it and told me to use it if I ever changed my mind.”

  I shook my head with disgust. “That grimy motherfucker is unbelievable. They take us through all that bullshit and lowball us with their measly ass three hundred grand so we can bust our asses to get their shit here and for what? So they ca
n end up beating our prices and eventually take over? That’s bogus if you ask me.”

  “Yeah, it is. But that shit he’s trying to do goes with the territory Naomi. So, don’t get all bent out of shape about it. Remember, we got enough money to retire now. So if push comes to shove, that’s what we’ll do.”

  “What about Reggie? Don’t you think we should tell him?”

  “Don’t worry. I will. But before we do that, let’s make sure those are Miguel’s intentions.”

  “Alright.”

  New York’s Finest Kiki Swinson

  Chapter 18 – Roll Call

  My head TSA agent name was Evan. He met up with me and Damian last night as planned and he assured us he wouldn’t have a problem processing the paperwork on short notice. He was convinced he could get the proper shipping labels and his guys ready in time for Miguel’s shipment. I was very pleased to hear that. Money was a helluva motivator for him.

  The only other loose end I needed to tie up was to get my other men in place, so they could keep a watchful eye out on Evan and his boys. I’ve learned that you could never have too many niggas watching other niggas, just to make sure they’re doing their job.

  So Damian and I headed to the airport. I had to work a late flight with Sabrina and two other flight attendants for a one o’clock flight to DC. It was only a few minutes after nine and since I had a couple of hours to play around with, I headed over to the TSA Administration Office, where I needed to speak with my law enforcement connection. I told Damian that I was safe now. I was in my territory and with airport security the way it is now since 9/11 years ago, someone had to be beyond stupid to bring weapons to the airport with all of the law enforcement at New York’s airports. Young or not, I didn’t think even those young ass street niggas were that stupid.

  Damian kissed me on the cheek as he gave me my house and car keys. He jumped in a taxi and I couldn’t take my eyes off the taxi as it drove off. I really didn’t know what was going on with me and Damian, but that motherfucker was under my skin and for whatever reason, I was still having reservations about that. I didn’t know if it was because of Reggie or was I the problem.