Terrance
As Terrance unwillingly made another trip to meet Quack, he had a bad feeling about what may happen. He wondered why the man had called him again in the first place, since he had already set a deadline for Thursday. Terrance tried his best to get Quack to just tell him what he wanted over the phone, but he wasn’t going for it. Quack said that he like talking face to face to be sure everyone was on the same page.
Terrance had gotten a text from C-Note but he didn’t answer because he was sure it was about the contract, which right now was the source of his probems. He definitely wanted to sign one with M’Famous, especially after the announcement the cousins had made the night before. Albums and touring with Legendary Ent. would be big, and would bring in a windfall of cash, though the way things looked he would miss out on the opportunity.
Terrance pulled up to the same house he’d met Quack at the first time, but he didn’t see anyone standing outside so he blew the horn. A few moments later Quack emerged from the house with a wife beater on. He had gained weight and muscle while he had been locked up, and now that Terrance could see how big he looked he was even more intimidate. He expected Quack to get in and say whatever he had to, but instead he motioned for Terrance to get out of the car.
Terrance reluctantly got out and followed Quack to the back of the house, where Gizzle and two more men were shooting basketball.
“Wassup cuz,” Gizzle said with a smirk on his face that sent a wave of uneasiness over Terrance.
“Oh you can’t speak my nigga?” Gizzle said making an issue just because he felt like he could.
“Wassup,” Terrance grudgingly said trying to make his forced visit as least complicated as possible.
“You stuck wit’ me, you might as well fuck wit’me,” Gizzle said still taunting him.
“Ai’ight ya’ll can work on ya’ll friendship shit later,” Quack said ending the remarks. “What’s up wit’ that business we talked about? I know you don’ got started on working on that contract business. Where you at wit’ it and when you gon’ have it in my hand?”
“Umm, I got my lawyer trying to put something together, but it’s gon’ take him a lil longer,” Terrance lied just wanting to buy more time before he gave his livelihood away. “He said it’s a lot of technical stuff that got to be worked out because of the situation wit’ the label and shit.”
“Good, good, I like how that sound. I think yo’ ass lying, but it sound good so make sho’ I got what I want by Thursday. Yo’ ass got four days, nigga, and I ain’t playing.”
Quack called for the basketball from Gizzle and when he got it he threw up a long range shot, knocking it down. He then pulled out a cigarette and lit it before turning his attention to an apprehensive Terrance, who stood in silence.
“I don’t know why you dragging’ yo’ feet no way,” Quack said. “You gon’ be the only star starting off, so the focus just gon’ be on pushing you, and not a bunch of other niggas at the same time. But from some of the shit I heard you said last night you don’t think we the right team for you. Wassup with that cuz?”
Terrance looked over at Gizzle, who had started back playing basketball with the other two men and he now hated him about as much as he did Quack. He should have known that their conversation would get back to Quack, and should have limted what he said.
“It wasn’t like that mane,” Terrance said.
“What was it like then?” Quack asked. “Cause I know what it sound like, and you know that ain’t ‘bout to fly.”
“I just think you should slow down and learn the game first. I already told you, like I said to Gizzle last night, I ain’t got a problem wit’ giving ya’ll the money to get started. I even got an idea, I could sign as a member of a group, but if I sign a solo contract it still don’t make no sense to me,” Terracnce said and hoped once again that his logic would somehow breakthrough to Quack, or at least get him to reconsider his plan.
“Look niggaa, I don’ told yo’ ass I’m not trying to hear none of that shit. I know exactly what I want and how I want it.”
Terrance could see Quack tensing up as though he would lash out at any moment and strike him, but Quack actually took a step back and put his hands behind his back.
“I just really called you over here so you can feel where I’m coming from, that’s it. Just want to clear up problems. It’s another issue I got though my nigga,” Quack said. “I hear that you said if you go down we know what you gon’ do, and I don’t like how that sounded , or what it’s suggesting, so I think a liitle discipling is in order.”
Before he had realized it was coming, Terrance was blindsided by a powerful blow to the jaw, causing him to stumble back. Though he was dazed he attempted to turn and run but was quickly grabbed and held. A couple of punches to the stomach caused him to fall to the ground. Terrance tried to get back to his feet, but punches started to rain down on him and he fell down once again. The three men then started to stomp on him and he balled up into a fetal position to protect himself as best as he could. After what seemed like an eternity to Terrance, the attack finally stopped.
“Get yo’ ass up!” Quack barked at Terrance and he shakily rose to his feet, his entire body throbbing with pain.
“Now I hope we got some understanding today lil nigga. You need to know ya’ role, and stay in yo’ place, and all that extra shit you got to say you can keep to yo’self. Now this shit gon’ go down just like I said it would, and if it don’t I’m gon’ deliver on my promise fa’sho, and I’m gon’ send you in wit’ a lil gift. What just happened, or what you think just happened , ain’t shit compared to what I’m gon’ do if you fuckin’ play wit’ me.”
“Aye nigga, you hear my homie talkin’ to you?” one of the attackers said to the still dizzy Terrance. He could feel the side of his face, where he took the initially punch, swelling up,and the pain it was sending through his head was throbbing more with each passing moment. He tried to focus on Quack to avoid any further attack and he nodded his head simply to keep the goons at bay.
“Good, so now you know without a doubt that I ain’t playing,” Quack said. “Triggamane, I want one million dollars and a contract wit’ yo’ name on it sayin’ you gon’ do five albums for Hardhittaz Music Group by Thursday fucking afternoon. If you even show up late you gon’ get some mo’ of this, cause it’s definitely gon’ be discipline on my set. Behind that, we go and move some records, everybody get a little piece of money and everybody go home happy.”
Quack stepped up to Terrance, who quivered in anticipation of another blow, and started to brush some of the dirt and debris off of his clothing.
“Mane, we cant’ have our superstar walking around looking all beat up and shit my nigga,” he said then put his arm around Terrance’s shoulder. “Look my nigga, I kinda hate it had to go down like this, but you pushing my hand wit’ this lil bullshittin’.”
Quack turned Terrance around and led him back towards his car with his arm still around him.
“If you even think about getting some niggas and coming back over here with any drama, I promise you cuz, if nothing else happen I’m gon’ kill you Triggamane,” Quack said and opened the car door and when Terrance got inside he punced him in the face.
“That one was for me. Now get yo’ sucka ass on and get my business straight!” Quack yelled.
Terrance had never been so humiliated before in his life and he felt as low as anyone could as he watched Quack casually walk away without once looking over his shoulder. Terrance hated himself for not even getting out the car and confronting Quack while he was alone. He looked at his face in the rearview mirror and saw that it was swollen and dark in two places, and tears welled up in his eyes. He hated himself even more because of the fact that he was actually going to have to sign a contract with Quack to avoid going to prison for the rest of his life. He finally closed the door to the car, started it, and pulled off, driving slowly back to his home, where he planned on staying as long as he could until he had to meet up with Quack again in a few days. Now he’d have to really get his attorney to put a contract together, and then give away a million dollars of his money. On top of all that, the cousins at M’Famous would want answers, along with everyone else, answers that he didn’t have at the time.
As Terrance drove he tried to figure out how to break the news, but he could see no easy way to explain what was happening. He didn’t just want to put out there the fact that he had actually killed someone to everybody because there was a chance that he could just as easily be placed in a similar situation by others. Not to mention that it wasn’t something he was proud of. He had spent many nights tossing and turning about that day. He replayed that day in his mind, and even moreso than what he’d done, Quack hanging on his shoulder is what stood out the most.
At the time, to him joining up with a gang had seemed like the biggest thing in the world. He wanted to be seen as one of the cool guys and hoped to earn a little respect, simply from being affiliated. Now he was trying to figure out where it had helped him at any point in his life. He had simply found himself tied to a bunch of guys who just wanted someone to help them with their numerous schemes and bullshit, which usually led them nowhere. It was either that or they wanted to borrow this or that for whatever reason. None of them ever wanted to pay for anything, even though he had given out enough money for those around him to do for themselves. Now he would spend the next few years of his life stuck with a bunch of conniving and thirsty men who would use one of the very men they had pledged to stand with.
The fact that he had once saw Quack as somewhat of a father figure only made things worse. Terrance’s own fahter had never been around to teach him anything, and that include how to stand up for himself. All his life it was just him, his older sister, and his mother, and neither of them could help him in this situation, or give him advice on what to do.
When Terrance finally arrived at his home and saw the Cadillac Escalade parked out front he thought that it was Kain’s. And even though he didn’t want to see anyone, especially in the condition he was in, he would rather it be him that anyone else. He went inside and was headed to his room to get one of the blunts that he kept rolled up and ready to smoke.
“Aye bruh, C-Note in the den, he came through to holla at you ‘bout that contract thang,” Kain said.
He couldn’t see Terrance’s face because his back was to him and he was shocked when his friend turned around. “Mane, what the fuck happened to you?” he said as he walked closer to Terrance once he fully turned around. “It wasn’t that Quack nigga was it?”
Terrance didn’t respond as he held his head down in shame.
“Bruh I told you we should’ve just got that nigga killed. What the fuck he jump on you for?”
“Mane look, I really don’t want to talk about this right now. With you or nobody else,” Terrance responded. “I’ll tell you what happened later.”
“I told you them niggas was gon’ dog you out, and look at this shit. Even if you give this nigga what he want he still gon’ treat you like dirt ‘cause he fell like he can get away wit’ the shit.”
Those words stung Terrance to his core, moreso the truth in them than the words themselves. Quack had been pushing him around since that day at Yella’s house. He had pulled the trigger more out of fear of what Quack might actually do to him than anything else. He had lacked the courage to walk away then, and had been suffering from that lack of courage for most of his life. Now that lack would cost him so much more than he ever imagined.
“Mane you can get mad if you want, but I already told C-Note what’s been going on’” Kain said. “The nigga act like he only halfway believe the shit cause you ain’t said nothing ‘bout it, but once he see you like this he’ll take yo’ side. Come mane, at least go holla at ‘em. He might be able to think of some kinda way to help you out wit’ this nigga.”
Reluctantly Terrance agreed with his friend and followed him into the den though he didn’t see much of anything that anyone could do as long as Quack had the gun. The girl could be scared off easily enough, but as long as anyone had the murder weapon they had power over him. It didn’t matter if it was Quack or one of the other members of the gang.
C-Note was sitting in the den smoking a blunt of his own while talking on the phone when Terrance walked in.
“Aye something happened let me call you back,” C-Note said into the phone and ended the call. “Damn lil nigga, what happened to yo’ face?”
“It was the niggas I was tellin’ you about,” Kain spoke up for his friend. “I don’t know why this nigga went over there by his damn self no way when he know them niggas wit’ the shit.”
“Mane if you was in a fucked up situation, why you ain’t just say somethin’. What this nigga really want with you anyway?”
Terrance looked at Kain thinking he had filled C-Note in on everything.
“I told him about Quack, but I didn’t tell him everything,” Kain said. “It wouldn’t be my place to put that out there like that, but you might as well tell ‘em now mane. You see he on yo’ side, just like I am.”
Even though he didn’t see the point, he decided that after all the cousins had done for him he could at the least tell the real reason why he wouldn’t be resigning. He knew that it would probably alter their plans in some type of way.
“I know you heard the rumors ‘bout me killing somebody a few years back,” Terrance said while looking down at the floor. “That shit happened for real, but the nigga basically told me to either shoot or something would happen to me. I hate that shit to this day, but I pulled the trigger and the Quack nigga got the gun still.”
C-Note looked at Terrance stunned by the revelation. He would have never suspected there was any truth to the rumors. He also contemplated what it could mean to M’Famous Ent. and their plans.
“The nigga sayin’ that if I don’t sign a contract with him then he gon’ turn the gun in to the police,” Terrance continued. “I tried to talk him out of the shit a few times, but the nigga won’t budge, so I ain’t really got a choice mane. I got to sign it or I’m gon’ spend fifty two years in prison. I can’t do that mane.”
“Damn lil nigga,” C-Note replied to the bombshell. “That’s some shit to be into. I wish you would have said something a long time ago. We could’ve tried to track the gun down before this shit became an issue. Me and Smoke actually talked about the shit a few times, but we ain’t think it was for real. We thought it was something ya’ll put out there for hype or something like that.”
“I ain’t never think the shit would be an issue. I never thought these niggas woul try some shit like this. I was getting put down that day, so I thought I was just doing what he wanted. I figured he would have just as much to lose as I would, but the nigga even got to the witness already.”
“It’s a fucking witness!?” C-Note asked incredulously. “How the fuck ya’ll leave a witness. Ya’ll niggas ain’t have on no masks or something?”
“I ain’t know he was gon’ make me shoot the nigga, it just happened at the last minute. Then Quack disappeared for a while, and the broad never said shit, so I left well enough alone.”
“So she gotta know exactly who you are by now.”
“I saw her just yesterday at the party, but the Quack nigga was behind it.”
“Damn this nigga here’s a mothafucka. I ain’t never quite dealt with no nigga trying to extort me or no shit like that, so we gon’ have to sit down and put our heads together on this one. This nigga just want you to sign a contract?”
“Yeah, that and the nigga want a million dollars.”
“That’s kinda low-ballin’ to be extorting a rich nigga, but I guess the nigga just thirsty to get his hands on somethin’,” C-Note said as he tried to think of a way to handle the situation.
C-Note knew that he could easily call up a bunch of goons and have them pay a visit to the Quack nigga and whatever happened just happen, but that would still leave two problems. One, they still wouldn’t have the gun, and two, there could easily end up being a lot more people shot, which he really didn’t care about, but you never knew when it could catch up to you. Triggamane was now finding that out the hard way.
C-Note knew there was a lot on the line so things needed to be thought out in detail, and he knew who could help with that. “Aye, we gon’ get up wit’ Smoke, that way everybody’ll be in on the decision,” C-Note said.