Two & a Quarter: Volume 1

By Michael Reed

Raised in a world of drugs, pain, and having to become a man before time.

Two and a Quarter is going to take you on a Baton Rouge, Louisiana, street tale of power and street smarts.

Enjoy!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: May 24, 2021
• ISBN: 9781664176577

Michael Reed

Hello. I was born in Chicago, IL in the year 1976. I received my BS from Chicago State University, in the major of General Biology.I like to write and read about plants and animals. I have published some works that are on Amazon and Lulu.com. In addition, I like to draw and illustrate some parts of the natural world.

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Copyright © 2021 by Michael Reed.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted

in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,

recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system,

without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the

product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance

to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 05/20/2021

Xlibris

844-714-8691

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In the south side of Monroe, Louisiana, the hood was doing what it does.

This small place in Louisiana wasn’t a bad place to raise a child at all. But like every place, every town has its own problems.

Jobs for people who really needed them was a very big problem in Monroe.

But most people there do what they have to do to make it.

Selling drugs, prostituting were the only choice for some of the people there. In Monroe, there were three small kids that went by the name of Troy, Nick, and Jeff.

These three kids were always around each other.

Troy, Nick, and Jeff weren’t seen without the other.

Troy was fourteen years old, and he was the kind of kid that never said too much. But at the same time, there wasn’t really much to be said.

His mother was the kind of mother that always stayed drinking.

At night it was also hard on Troy. Every night, Troy’s mother would go into a rage throwing things.

Troy couldn’t understand why she was acting the way she was.

But the reason for her actions was the death of her husband.

Troy’s father was murdered by the hands of people he trusted.

Word on the street was it was a setup to take the money and the dope Troy’s father had at the stash house.

The police never could prove anything, but the streets knew.

After the murder of Troy’s father, it was very hard on Troy and his mother.

His mother had to start taking on jobs that she really didn’t want, but she knew she had to provide for her son, and that she did.

Troy’s other best friend, Nick, on the other hand, was truly a special case.

His name was Nick!

Nick just wasn’t your average child growing up.

Nick didn’t have a father in his life with him nor his sweet mother.

His mother couldn’t read at all!

It’s just something she couldn’t do.

But Nick’s father really didn’t have any love for his mother.

He left his child and Nick’s mother when Nick was about three years old, and now at the age of fourteen, Nick developed the sense of and adult; Nick was way ahead of a child’s mind.

Nick’s only way of thinking was taking care of his mother.

Jeff was also a very good friend to Nick and Troy.

Jeff’s childhood wasn’t too pretty.

He saw his sister getting raped by his father, which Jeff was forced to stop by killing his father with his own gun. Jeff’s mother was to the streets. And his father was her pimp.

After Jeff’s father was killed by the hands of his son, Jeff wasn’t the same at all.

Jeff’s mother was really gone on drugs really bad. But at the same time, it was pretty ugly what Jeff and his sister had to deal with as kids.

Once Troy and Jeff and Nick made it to high school, life was starting to be understood for what it was.

Troy and both of his friends didn’t have nice things to wear like the other kids, and Jeff wasn’t too happy with that situation.

But Troy really wasn’t happy with that also. Troy noticed in the parking lot that there was this one kid that had everybody at the back of his trunk every day before school started, before the first bell rang.

But Troy noticed it was weed being sold to others, and Troy also noticed a lot of money was being made.

Troy was focused on the money movement.

Jeff was looking like he wanted to take everything this kid in the parking lot had, but Jeff knew he couldn’t make that kind of move at school.

Nick noticed how Jeff was looking, and Nick told Jeff to cool out.

Jeff said, How does somebody as sweet and soft as this motherfucker looks have all the luck the streets have to give?

Troy overheard Jeff’s statement and said, In time, your luck will be the same.

Troy then looked at both of his best friends and told them, Let’s go!

Once in the school, Troy noticed the look of both of his friends’ faces.

Troy noticed the school had a place to buy snacks at. But at the same time, none of them had any money.

Troy noticed the kid who was selling weed in the parking lot.

Troy was now wondering how much money he would need to score some of the weed to make him and his friends some money.

Jeff noticed the way Troy was looking, and Jeff then asked Troy, What are you thinking about, nigga?

Troy said to Jeff that he needed to go and see if he could talk to this nigga with the weed.

Nick said, I hope this nigga don’t flash out on you when you come at him that way.

Jeff said, I wish he do!

Troy said, It’s going to be all right.

I hope so for his sake, Jeff said to Troy.

See Jeff was really about whatever when it came down to his friends.

Troy then noticed the young boy standing by the school gym talking to three girls, and that’s when Troy went with his move to see if he could talk to the young boy with the weed.

When Troy approached the young man, he introduced himself. But the young man looked at Troy like he wasn’t even talking. Now the young man looked at the young girls and told them, Let’s go to class, and left Troy standing there like he was never even there.

Nick and Jeff noticed how things just went, and Jeff was really fucked up on how this kid just handled his best friend like a piece of shit.

Chill out, Jeff! Nick said.

Troy then started walking back toward his friends, but at the same time, Nick knew Troy like he knew himself, and he knew Nick was upset.

But Troy went on to his next class, and Nick and Jeff went to their class.

Once Troy made it to his class, he saw the same motherfucker that just handled him like he was shit.

Once Troy went to his desk, the young man came up to him and spoke to him asking him what he wanted.

Troy then looked at him in a way he’s never looked at a man before.

"Chill out, my man, I just have to be very careful who I fuck with here at school because it’s undercovers everywhere here at school, so forgive me, my nigga, but people call me Slick.

What do they call you? Slick said.

"They call me Troy," he said.

Well, Troy, what can I help you with?

I need something to make some extra money with dealing with weed.

Slick said, How much are you talking about?

Troy said he saved up about $500 between him and his friends.

Slick said, Why don’t I just give you my number to call me after school so I can have a pound ready for you.

Troy said to Slick, That’s what’s up.

Once Troy was out of class, he told Jeff and Nick the good news.

Nick and Jeff were happy to hear this, but Nick said, Are you sure this bitch-ass nigga’s real.

Troy said he felt that he was.

Well, if you feel it’s all good, it’s good.

Once school was over, Troy gave Slick a call.

Slick then picked up the phone and answered it.

Troy said, Hello!

Slick then asked, Who is this?

This Troy!

Okay, okay, Slick said.

Slick then gave Troy an address to his trap house to come pick up the weed that he wanted.

So Troy did just that and went to the address that Slick gave him. But when Troy got there, he found himself getting robbed by Slick and some other men.

Jeff and Nick felt something wasn’t right with Slick, but at the same time, this would be Slick’s last days of jacking.

Late that night, Nick and Jeff doubled back to Slick’s trap house without Troy even knowing.

But Jeff and Nick felt like it was on them to handle Slick, and just like that, Slick was dead.

Troy woke up the next day to see shit all over the Baton Rouge news.

Troy knew both of his niggas would die for him just like they knew he would do for them.

How much did both of you walk away with from Slick’s trap house? Troy said.

About sixty pounds of grass green and twenty pounds of rainbow purple, Jeff said.

Nick said that they picked up about $350,000.

Troy said to Jeff and Nick that they would have to move away from Monroe because Troy knew Monroe was too small to deal that much dope at if they wanted their freedom.

Troy then took a seat and started to think hard.

We have to move to Baton Rouge, Troy said.

Let’s do it, Jeff and Nick said.

Once in Baton Rouge, Troy noticed how fast shit was moving.

Crackheads were everywhere. Troy had now purchased an EXT truck, and Troy was just rolling in Baton Rouge.

Troy noticed this corner store that had so many people coming and going in and out.

Troy stopped at the store and got out his truck and went inside to buy a pack of smokes.

This store was selling everything. Troy went back to his truck and noticed a man pulling up in a Benz. His car was very nice. Troy noticed two other men pulling up in the back of him. He also noticed the man in the Benz had a small child in the back seat. Troy knew the two men that pulled up behind him weren’t looking too all right. One of the men was talking to the man, and the other man came out the other car with an AR15.

Troy was now reaching for his .357 Desert Eagle, and Troy knew the man and his kid were in very big trouble.

Troy got out the truck with the Desert Eagle and flanked to the right without anyone noticing him.

When Troy noticed the man starting to aim the old AK-47 at the man’s child, Troy then pointed his gun and shot the man once to the head.

From the sound of Troy’s gun, both men hurried up and ducked.

But the man with the child ran to his car and grabbed a gold AK-47 and shot the other man about ten times. The man then looked at Troy before pulling off because he knew Troy just had saved his child from an early death.

Troy then pulled off, leaving both men dead in the parking lot.

Once Troy made it home, he knew there wasn’t anyone who was going to say a fucking word about what just happened because Troy knew, in the streets of Baton Rouge, men held court out there in the streets.

Jeff and Nick were now ready to move the ten keys, but Troy also knew that he needed to be very smart about the way he was going to do things here in Baton Rouge because of the Brave Team.

See the Brave Team was one of the best drug task force that was ever put together in the state.

They wore ski masks to hide their identity. See these police don’t fucking play at all. Slam-dunk a nigga was all they fucking knew, with the help of the city police helping them see every move the streets were making.

In Baton Rouge, Troy was forced to study the Brave Team’s every move, because to Troy, these motherfuckers were the truth.

Three years had now passed, and Troy and his best friends were pushing the best coke Baton Rouge had ever seen in a long time.

Nick was crazy about a place in Baton Rouge called Zion City.

See Zion City wasn’t anything to play with at all, and other hoods knew it.

Nick was pushing so muck coke from Zion City that he was forcing niggas from other places to come and deal with niggas there.

Zion City was known for a lot of jacking and a lot of unsolved murders.

Jeff was bouncing from hood to hood doing his thing because getting it out the mud was what Jeff was so amazing at.

But at the same time, Jeff wasn’t the one to play with at all.

Baton Rouge was Jeff’s kind of speed that he loved so much.

Following the old law and also living by the code of the streets was the only thing Jeff knew how to really do.

Troy got the chance to meet a real OG in Baton Rouge that went by the name of Gator. See Gator was a real old-school nigga that knew how to really bleed the streets and really wasn’t about to take any shorts when it came down to niggas.

See Gator knew what he needed to know about the streets.

Gator was a real killer. Gator had so many niggas behind him from every side of the state. But Gator was not the kind of nigga that was all right at all. Gator was the kind of nigga that respected everything about the streets. You had to be a trill nigga to fuck with him all the way around the board.

Troy grew to love Gator just like you would have love for a father. Gator had three men that would die for him by any means.

Troy was now moving tons of cocaine within the city of Baton Rouge.

Gator put Troy on a connect with Diablo.

See Diablo was the truth. He was really from Cuba, but Diablo was a real distributor. Nothing could stand in Diablo’s way when it came down to pushing dope.

Van after van, Diablo made sure Troy and Gator were feeding Baton Rouge all the coke it needed.

Nick also got the chance to meet Julio.

See Julio was from Baton Rouge. Half Mexican and half black. This motherfucker wasn’t anything to play with. As a kid, he stayed in trouble and also was about whatever.

But at the same time, Julio was true to the streets in every way you could be.

Julio was from Sherwood. He was really respected by many because of the fact he kept it 100 percent with a nigga, never being in anyone else’s affairs at all.

Being like that really let other niggas understand this was the only way to be in the streets.

Troy also got to make friends with someone that went by the name of Earl.

See Earl was from Easy Town.

I mean Earl was really a good hustler, and Troy found that out firsthand by Earl scoring key after key.

Troy also found out Earl was very good at fucking with computers in every way.

Troy knew he had to make sure Earl would be part of his world.

But Troy was now all the way in the game because Diablo was making sure of that.

Van after van, Diablo kept the cocaine coming. In Baton Rouge, a key was being sold at thirty thousand a pop!

Troy was letting them go for twenty-two thousand all day, and the streets was loving it.

Troy also knew he was the one that had the crime rate climbing every day, but it was what it was, and Gator and Troy just kept pushing harder and harder, moving Diablo’s cocaine faster than anyone ever moved dope in a city that was as small as Baton Rouge.

Welcome to the world of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Two and a Quarter.

Block from block, it’s up there 51–50. Enjoy this Baton Rouge tale from hood to hood, doing what’s needed in this tale of drugs and power, but outsmarting the law enforcement was the most thing needed to be done in this life of crime and murder.

Real loyalty was everything to them.

So enjoy these tales.

THE START

As I woke up to a new day, I noticed Carolyn. You see Carolyn was truly an amazing woman.

No matter how I lived my life, she never once questioned what I did.

But what I really couldn’t ever seem to understand was the way other hustlers like myself overlooked and wouldn’t take advantage of having a good woman in their life.

It’s like their understanding of the way of living was just a game. But to me, I never looked at life that way because it wasn’t a game. I knew in my mind that my freedom wasn’t promised to me the next day.

My lifestyle as a child made me understand that life wasn’t a game. My lifestyle of coming up and watching my friends deal with situations that they were forced to play made me understand this wasn’t a game.

You see family to me wasn’t just having the same blood running through the same veins.

Family to me was someone you knew like no other would know.

Understanding life’s terms made me realize that the lifestyle I chose to live