Carl Weber's Kingpins by Clifford “Spud” Johnson Page A

laughing, knowing damn well that Flamboyant didn’t smoke weed.
    Flamboyant ignored Milo’s silly question and said, “A’ight, then, dog. I’ll holla.” He shook hands with Milo and jumped back into his truck, heading over to Ken and Wave’s block.
    Ken was sitting inside of his Navigator with its Lamborghini-style doors, talking on his cell phone when Flamboyant rolled up on the block on the southwest side. Wave was holding court with a couple of females who looked as if their young asses belonged in high school somewhere. Flamboyant jumped out of his truck and strolled over to Ken’s Navigator. “What it do, my nigga?”
    Ken set his cell phone on his lap. “Everything is good. We dumped four gallons to them young niggas. They told me they’d be back in a couple of weeks for four more,” he told him.
    â€œThat’s sweet.”
    â€œAin’t it, man? Let me get back to this call, though. My bitch is straight trippin’,” Ken said as he put his cell back to his ear and frowned, listening to his girl yell at him some more.
    Flamboyant smiled as he went over to where Wave was still talking to the young females. When Wave saw Flamboyant coming toward him he smiled. “My nigga, what’s up?”
    They gave each other some dap and Flamboyant said, “What the hell you doin’, robbin’ the cradle, nigga?”
    Wave laughed. “Hell nah, they of age, fool.” He turned toward the two young ladies and said, “Ain’t y’all?”
    In unison they replied, “Umm hmm.”
    â€œYeah, right. Come holla at ya boy for a minute, though,” Flamboyant said.
    Wave excused himself from the teenyboppers and stepped out of their hearing range while he spoke with Flamboyant. “What’s poppin’, my nigga?”
    â€œI just came over to check on y’all. How is thangs over this way?”
    â€œKen told you ’bout them young niggas?”
    â€œYeah.”
    â€œShit, with that hookup we way ahead of the game. As for everything else, it’s all on autopilot, dog. We got these chips comin’ in from every fuckin’ angle. We ain’t missin’ a thang. The traps is rollin’ with the yay and the bud. The X pills are a li’l slow but that picks up for us on the weekends on this side of town. You already know what we doin’ with the water, so all in all we good on the southwest side, baby.”
    â€œThat’s what I’m talkin’ ’bout. A’ight, then, I’m about to roll. You ready for the MIA?
    â€œYou fuckin’ right! That shit gon’ be crazy right there, my nigga, real talk!”
    Flamboyant laughed and said, “Yeah, I know. Tell Ken I said to send his girl a dozen red roses to her job. I don’t know what he did to get her hot at his ass, but that’ll get him outta the dog house for a minute.”
    â€œGotcha.”
    â€œOh, and Wave?”
    â€œWhat up, Flam?”
    â€œLeave ’em young bitches alone before you get yourself into some shit.”
    Wave smiled and said, “Call me R. Kelly!”
    Flamboyant shook his head and laughed as he climbed back into his truck and left the block.
    Â 
    By the time Shayla’s class was over she was eager to get something to eat. She called Flamboyant and asked him if he wanted to have lunch with her. He pissed her off when he told her that he was having lunch with Prince at some damn strip club. How in the hell can you have lunch at a strip club? she wondered as she walked to her car. She decided to get something to eat on the northeast side. It had been a minute since she’d been over to her old stomping grounds. She put her bags in the back seat of her car and climbed inside . Yeah, I’m in the mood for some good old soul food on the east side!
    Shayla felt nostalgic as she entered Stells. It had been a long time since she had a good soul food meal at one of the best soul