The Streets Watching by Ashon Thadon (classic romance novels TXT) 📕

 Chapter 3

Kenod Darrell Street, Junior, only known to his family as K2, was the first born of the Street family and therefore took on the most responsibilities. Unlike his younger siblings, he wasn’t fascinated with the low level end of illegal trade. William and Larenz may have been the influencers of the family but he was the main one everybody had to look up to and respect. Kenod made it his business to make sure all the family knew he was the main boss of the house especially after their father died. Following in their father’s footsteps, all four of the older brothers went into the military. Larenz went to the Navy while the other brothers kept tradition and stayed with the Army. Each brother did their tours, wore their Class As and BDUs with pride and lived up to the name their father had already made famous in the military ranks.

When the younger brothers decided to branch out and do their own sort of businesses, Kenod helped them set it up the right away. He had used his military training and funding to help him get into a top notch university and obtained his master’s degree in Business. He was fluent in five different languages thanks to his parents always bouncing around different Army bases in different countries. All his siblings had the same educational background as for as their parents were concerned but only his first sister and him took their teachings to really better themselves. His oldest sister, Kendra, was a lawyer and he was so proud of her. However, the two of them kept all their other lower siblings afloat and tried to lead by example.

Kenod was the top part on a very large enterprise. He made a lot of investments with the money he got from his trust fund when his parents died as well as any money that his siblings brought to the table that might need to be ‘cleaned’. He owned a lot of business usually under the name of a subsidiary company Foyer Services but the main two businesses that he kept under his hat had his brand, Street Value Enterprises. One was an advertising firm that specialized in urban clothing and fashions and the other one was a music company and recording studio.

His music company, Street Value Records, was becoming a big indie company competing with the likes of Jive Records and Def Jam Studios. The only twins of the family, King and Queen, were already his star artists of his company. King Street was a rapper and Queen was a rhythm and blues singer. They already made two albums and the last one went platinum.

The company had three floors in a recently new high rise building structure that overlooked Park Avenue. He had two top floors for his offices and other endeavors and the recording studio was on the eleventh floor of the huge orifice. However, the recording studios could be seen from the multi cameras that was placed around the area and visually transmitted back to small TV panel monitors he had placed on the dashboard of his desk in his office.

Kenod spent most of his time in that office looking in those monitors at all his artists letting off their creative juices on wax to be distributed. He especially liked looking at King doing his thing on the microphone that was in one of the studios. Queen wasn’t there that day because she preparing to do a solo tour. King had already came from their duo tour just two months ago and wanted to take a break to get back to his lyrical art. Queen wanted to do it again. She loved going to different countries and hearing her name being screamed.

Kenod was in his office today like any other day. He had a meeting with his distribution team, then his A & R department and then his stockbrokers. Then he told his secretary to get his brother Larenz on the phone for a meeting. Larenz got back to him and said he would come to the office. Kenod just sat back in his leather recliner chair and waited.

Larenz wasn’t that far so the wait wasn’t very long. Kenod heard, through the intercom in his office, his secretary say “your guests are here.” Kenod did a hidden laugh at that. His secretary was a Caucasian petite Betty homemaker type of female. She was perfect for the clientele that came to the office on business. She had a warming smile and she was very courteous. But his brother…well, that was a different story.

“Send him in,” Kenod said after pressing the button on his intercom.

Larenz walked in wearing a hoodie and sweatpants, with the emblem SA on the back pocket and on hoodie’s sleeve. SA was the family’s clothing line, Street Attire. Larenz looked like the perfect spokes model for anything hood. He was tar dark with cornrows and an assortment of tattoos all over his body. The only tattoos visible now were the one on his neck that had his nickname ‘Renz’ written in cursive and the Libra scales of justice with fire coming out of both scales with his birthdate underneath it on his leg because one of the pants leg was rolled up.

Kenod was used to Larenz coming to his place of business like a thug despite all that his brothers taught him. Larenz did take heed to a lot of their lessons but fashion was never one of them. He just liked the way certain clothes felt on him and suits were never one of them.

The person behind Larenz, the secretary did say ‘guests’, was a different story. William, the second oldest brother, loved suits just not the expensive tailored kind Kenod did. Williams liked suits from the Steve Harvey collection or anything else from the Portabella clearance rack. Kenod never understood it. Williams looked like the very essence of a plain clothes cop or detective. And that was how William wanted it. He wanted you to know what he was before he approach you. The second rate tweed jacket and brown slacks definitely did the trick today.

Kenod greeted them both with a handshake and an offer of a drink. Kenod had a small mini bar in the corner for when he had to entertain guests. The president of Def Jam was just in his office last week trying to get Kenod to sign SVE over.

Larenz was quick to accept the offer but decided to pour his own drink. As he put it “Big bro always hid the good stuff from family.” Larenz knew Kenod had top shelf liquor but that was only reserved for big clientele. Larenz considered himself ‘big clientele’ and helped himself to some imported brandy.

William took a seat on one of the comfy leather guest chairs that placed in front of Kenod’s desk. Kenod sat on the reclining chair behind the desk waiting for Larenz to join them. Larenz poured himself two glasses of brandy and walked over to sit in the other guest chair next to William.

“How is everything?” Kenod started off with a smile.

“We know you big bro and you ain’t one for small talk so what is it?” Larenz cut in. “Let’s cut down to it.”

“Okay,” Kenod took a deep breath. “You know y’all got a lot of enemies?”

“We had enemies since birth,” William’s raspy baritone voice interjected. “What’s your point? Why you needed to see us?”

“Listen, I heard about the attempt,” Kenod looked at Larenz.

Larenz took a sip from one of the glasses he held in his hand.

“What attempt?” William was puzzled.

“That thing at Bridgeview,” Kenod said.

William now looked at Larenz too.

“That was for you?” William asked.

“Yeah, one of my workers tried to set me up,” Larenz said matter of factly. “I took care of it.”

“Who did the set-up?” William inquired because he didn’t like his little brother’s nonchalant attitude about the situation.

“Some punks,” Larenz replied. “Who cares?”

“You know that…”William was about to start in but Larenz started sipping on his wine glass slurping loudly like he was trying to ignore William.

Larenz finished all the brandy in that glass and put it down on the desk. Kenod quickly placed a coaster under the glass.

“You’re such an ass,” William said. “You really think you going to live a long time being stupid?”

“Brothers, please,” Kenod said. “We got more problems than Larenz’s little death attempt. We are being targeted by the same people y’all two knuckleheads supposed to be muscling. Bet you didn’t know those idiots have formed some sort of committee to get at us. Not just you. They want to get our families.”

“We got contingency plans for that sort of shit,” Larenz stated.

“Yeah, because I implemented them,” Kenod said. “Larenz, by yourself, I think you can be the next Scarface or Gotti or whatever it is you trying to be. The thing is that all those thug legends died which I guess it would be cool with you. But these people nowadays are not just going to gun for you always. They will come for the family.”

“Who set you up?” William asked again.

“I don’t know,” Larenz replied. “I’m not Detective Scully. I didn’t do no investigation.”

“Detective Scully is from the X-Files, you fool,” William said then shook his head.

“I don’t care where he from, all I’m saying…”

“And Scully is a woman,” William added.

“Gentleman!” Kenod’s voice rose a little. “Back to the matter at hand.”

“Look, tell us what’s going on so we can handle it,” William said.

“What you said ‘niggas we muscling’ Larenz said like he had an epiphany. “You mean these motherfuckers are not joining together to get us?”

Kenod nodded.

“Some of them are still trying to do shit on their own like that diner attempt,” Kenod informed. “But it’s at a larger scale if all those people get together with one common goal.”

“So how do you know?” William asked.

“It’s my job to know,” Kenod said.

“Well don’t keep us in the dark,” Larenz proclaimed.

“That’s the problem,” Kenod said. “Y’all should be in the dark. People are not supposed to know what you are and what you doing? People are not supposed to know about your family. People are not supposed to know you. You supposed to be a mirage. And yet people not only know you, know your whole resume to the point they getting bold and making attempts at you out in the opening.”

Larenz and William said nothing.

“Listen, these people that are tracking you and they will come for you,” Kenod continued. “Through our sisters. That will be the way.”

Still no reply from the younger brothers.

“Do you get it?” Kenod asked.

“What do we do and who’s after us?” William asked.

“I’ll do better than tell you,” Kenod said and pulled out a manila file from one of the drawers of his desk. He placed it on the desk and opened up. Williams leaned over and saw pictures like the ones private detectives take. He recognized the faces of the people in the pictures so did Larenz. There was six pictures, each containing a picture of one person coming out what look to be a closed club. Each picture was of whole body shot of a person taken from far way but clear enough to show the face. Larenz looked and smiled.

“I got a surprise for that fat bastard,” Larenz said. “And just to think we was being nice to those son of bitches.”

“I will have every strip shut down by nightfall,” William said, anger in his tone.

“No,” Kenod said getting up from his chair. ‘That will be too messy. They would know something is up.