CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
2000- Admin Shit
I decided to walk over to HQ. Get my blood pumping and my mind back in gear. Maybe take some time to make a few New Year’s resolutions.
I really needed to know what Biz had in store for me. I needed something to focus on- my ADHD was on a rampage.
Maybe Biz would be able to give me an update on Mundo.
But I wouldn’t hold my breath on that one.
I enjoyed my little journey from Bed Stuy to Prospect Heights, mainly because I loved to clock each step of the route by landmark, watching the neighborhoods progress at each major crossroad.
First you cross Fulton Street with all of its shops and sidewalk incense sellers.
Then you cross wide-ass Atlantic Avenue with the Long Island Railroad running overhead.
Then you’re at Pacific Street, which has always had such a marginal footpath feel to it. It felt historical every time I took that journey.
The resolutions I came up with along the way were my usual:
Don’t let any man take advantage of me
Don’t let my mother get in my head with her nagging bullshit
Don’t lose my apartment, no matter how fucked up I get
And I surprised myself by adding a new one:
Consider- just consider- kicking heroin
I filed that last thought away for Future Eula to deal with, once she was ready to do the work.
When I got closer to HQ, I saw I was in luck- Biz was standing outside the house with Garfield, discussing our pressing need for a working boiler. I walked up to them and stayed silent as they negotiated terms of the deal.
Once Garfield had gone back inside, Biz gave me a brief hug.
“How’s it shaking Eula? What did you get into last night?” Biz asked. It didn’t sound like he was fishing, so I let it ride with a lie.
“Ah, not much,” I smiled. “Drank a couple of beers and kept it cute.”
I mean, for all intents and purposes, that is what I did.
“So, listen Biz,” I began. “Now that Mundo’s gone, I wanna know how I can help out here. You, Lucci and Cabrón seem to have everything running smoothly but I hate just standing around, you know? I tried to look both capable and a little bit lost, which wasn’t very far off the mark.
“Well, Eula, you don’t really have to do anything.”
I could tell by his tone that Biz was a) trying to figure out what exactly it was that I wanted and b) how he could keep me on the hook without having to deal with me all the time.
And I had a feeling this was all another part of the Mundo ghost story that no one wanted to tell me about. I knew Doe was done with me but until I heard that out of his mouth directly, I was gonna act like that wasn’t the case.
So, I hit Biz with a response that would force him to reveal something. Or, at the very least, take sides. I needed someone on my side.
“Look Biz,” I started in again, “Just tell me what you need me to do. I want to have something regular to do so I can figure out where I fit in here.”
Biz’s face in response to my plea was the blandest I had ever seen it.
“No, you're good, Eula,” he tried to assure me. “Don't worry about it. I talked to Doe the other day, and he said that I just need to make sure that you've got a little bit of money every week, and if we need some extra help here at headquarters, you can come through. But in general, you can just act like a kept woman and chill.”
“All right Biz,” I conceded. “As long as you all don’t forget me.”
“We’re not gonna forget you, I promise. Anyway, Lucci and I do have something that you might be able to help us out with,” he said. But it won’t be here at Headquarters. It’d have to be at your house.”
“Whatchoo got?” I asked.
Biz explained the set-up. It involved the paperwork he’d left in my closet a few weeks ago- that paperwork my dumb, high ass forgot to snoop through.
“I’m gonna need you to give me and Lucci some space to manage it,” he explained. “We’re gonna have to spend some time working on it there during week days.”
“Dare I ask what you guys are up to?” I asked, sarcastically.
“No. No. And it’s nothing you gotta worry about. Nothing that will put you in any danger or anything. Lucci’s just gonna be bringing over some new paperwork and maybe a few more laptops and we’ll leave them there and come over, maybe 3 days a week, to work on our stuff.”
I had to ask this next question, even though I knew it was the wrong move. “Does Doe know about this?”
Biz started to look a little shifty. “I mean, Doe has an idea about everything the crew has going on, but that doesn’t mean that he knows the day to day and ins and outs,” he replied.
And then he hit me with, “If you want, you can ask him next time you guys talk.”
He knew. Mundo really was gone from me.
“Listen, Eula,” Biz said in a very clear “let’s wrap this up” tone, “I’m glad you came by today. I’m gonna stop by in a few days and we’ll work out money and maybe, like, a basic schedule for me and Luciano. And Lucci will start bringing the paper and laptops over ASAP. Okay?”
I said something along the lines of “Yeah, that’s great,” and left.
As soon as I got back to the crib, I started doing some admin of my own, trying to get a grip on my current financial situation.
Supposedly, Doe had told the guys to make sure I had enough money to live off of. And dope- Doe knew I had to have that good PanStar shit. To that end, Brón broke me off last night with $300 and a quarter of fucking amazing heroin. And this afternoon, Biz verbally acknowledged that he’d been instructed by Doe to take care of me. I did the calculations in my head- what was I worth to Mundo and for how long? It wasn’t looking very promising.
Next up was this “paperwork” that Biz and Luciano wanted to run out of my house. That sounded like a long-term, financially stable arrangement. And hopefully, fairly low risk. But I wouldn’t count on that.
Then, there was Cabrón, who said he was gonna stop by to talk to me about something in a few days. I smelled money. But I also smelled danger and some other, deeper, level of fuckery that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. Yum? Possibly.
And lastly, there was my own, personal side hustle, already established and with a very willing and eager clientele. Maybe it was time to shift back to that world. If I did, I’d make sure to keep it a secret from the HQ boys.
I gave myself two days to mull everything over.
In the meantime, I made myself promise I’d go into the closet and snoop through Biz’s papers.
But I went and snorted some lines instead.
