Castalia Heist

By ODOM HAMM and TBD

Five childhood transform their lives the hood way...We hungry in these South Castalia streets

Ain't nobody gone give us a goddamn thing

It's mob till we die, and that's on God!

We got to take what's ours.

All we ever known in the cut is robbin

• Language: English
• Publisher: Odom Hamm
• Release date: Nov 16, 2022
• ISBN: 9781087990361

Book preview

Chapter 1

Go Get The Money

F ucking hot out here, mane. I hate this shit, and you stinky as hell, smell like musty drawers. You wash under your armpit’s bruh? I tap Jizzle on the arm. We out here in this hot ass Memphis sun cooking. I shift off the Castalia curb, signaling Carl, an OG from around the way. I tuck my chain, can’t trust these shiesty South Memphis niggas, but I’ll blow his ass off before I let him catch me slipping on my Moma.

Ain’t nothing else to do in South Memphis but hang in the hood. See though, I got a master plan. One that’s gonna get us the right motion and the respect our names deserve. I smooth my hands over my short, cropped waves. I stay fresh, but this heat is hotter than a six shooter stolen pistol out here.

A loud beep catches my attention. I jump, automatically reaching for my pistol. That’s how it is out here in South Memphis. You gotta stay ready, so you ain’t gotta get ready. Jizzle don’t hesitate neither. He pulls his. I put a hand over the top of his, easing the gun down.

Oski! One of the South Memphis boys from the opposite hood hangs out the window with his pistol out. I wave him off, annoyed. He’s lucky I don’t shoot him.

Whatever, I mumble, bringing out my bandana, wiping a line of sweat from my brow. We cool. We know who it is. We ought to. I make it my business to know everybody. Makes my plans easier to navigate these hood snakes. South Memphis got the Shiestiest niggas in the city. If you blink wrong, you wind up in a body bag with a toe tag.

I turn back to Jizzle, who’s posted up with me. Shut up. You dusty too. Jizzle raises his armpits, sniffing. Sweat patches form under his oversized black tee from standing too long in the sun.

You know I don’t smell. Don’t let that chain go to your head, my boi. We ain’t got a pot to piss in right now. I’m tripping, laughing at the fact I got him to smell his pits. Jizzle is my boy. We been down since we were ten. Same school, same hood mentality. He’s my shadow and whatever I got, he got. In time, we’ll have real motion out here soon.

You tripping. I cut a deal with Denver. I’m not holding enough for right now. Sold her a gram, and that old desperate lady behind The Mound paid me too. Every time I go in there, she trying to grab my dick. I charge her extra. She be getting that government check.

Jizzle busts out laughing. You gone give the old cougar some play?

I tap him on the chest. Aye, bitch shut up. She can suck on these big balls I got, okay? All I want is that bankroll. I tell you what though… I’ll give Charmaine the dick though. You seen her lately, mane? She thick as hell, gang. I bet that pussy phat.

Nah, I heard her pussy stank. Mack’s done hit her.

Mack? That capping ass nigga lying. You believe him?

Jizzle shrugs, spitting on the ground, lighting up a blunt. A cloud of weed smoke surrounds us. Shittt He might have. She a shake junt bitch. She works in East Memphis at the Kitty Kat Club. Probably turning tricks now.

I rub my hands together, stars in my eyes, thinking of those full lips and that juicy booty. I been wanting to hit the bitch for the longest almost a year now.

Nah, not Charmaine. She one of them classy hood bitches. Wait till we hit this lick. We gonna have a hundred Charmaine’s begging for our number. Jizzle fist bumps me, but his skepticism shines through.

Mane, come on. We ain’t got no plan. Right now, you got that fake cubic ass Zirconia in ya ear, nigga.

I crack a smile. Jizzle ain’t got it like me. Everything I got on, is on point, from the shirt to the socks. First impression is the best impression. No matter how much money I’ve ever had, I got no problem keeping a female. I stare out into my crumbling community looking back at the dilapidated apartment blocks. "That’s your problem jizzle, you ain’t a visionary like me. Yang’s."

Jizzle frowns, cutting his eyes, wiping the sweat from under his baseball cap.

Yang’s? What about it?

"We robbing it. That’s how we can get some money fast. It’s time to make this bankroll G. We selling dope and robbing. When we get straight enough to where we need to be, then we hit them party drugs. Feel me? You know the ones that got the clubs lit right now. Fentanyl. That shit potent. It’s gone fuck up the game for us. I got the territories mapped out and everythang. Trust me, jizzle, I can see it already in my head. I got it all mapped out. Trust me. We gone be like the Memphis state property. But this not a movie bitch, that’s what they told me. They laugh. These pussy ass niggas, especially them opp ass niggas from the other side ain’t on shit."

Jizzle nods his head. He’s coming around to the idea. Fuck yeah. Yang’s. He got his son working for him most of the time. Unprotected. Shit. You might be onto something bitch.

I’m rubbing my hands together, thinking even harder, waiting for the rest of the gang, Rambo, Pete and Juice. I’m daydreaming over the money we’re about to bring in. "Told you. See. I tap my temple. Mastermind."

Damn. You probably right.

"Bitch, I know I’m right. It’s time to make a move. We broke, plus I want that white Bonneville with the alligator rims, blue rag blue seats and all."

Jizzle cups a hand to his mouth, making a stank face. "Ooo wee! Shut the fuck up, somebody probably hear us! If the hood find out they gone snitch, they already want us out the way."

You know it. Let’s wait for Rambo, Juice, and Pete to get here. We can work out the blueprint. Get this thing poppin.’ We gone do it midweek. Not on the weekend. In and out. After nine, it gets quiet in there. That old man Yang normally in there stacking boxes and shit with his son.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. How much you think we can get up in there?

No telling. We can’t double back. We gotta get what we gone get then bounce.

The sun makes its descent behind a bunch of clouds, bringing relief. In the distance, I can see Pete, Rambo and Juice approaching. Rambo is busy flapping his gums to somebody in a car. His ass is hanging out, and he’s bent over, leaning in the car window. I lick my lips, hoping they got a drink in the plastic bag they got with ‘em.

Juice salutes from afar as the car screeches off with smoke. Aye bruh! This sun ain’t no joke. Juice pulls out a grape soda can, throwing it at me. I catch it and he throws one to Jizzle.

Thanks. I’m thirsty as hell.

Good looking out, I nod in his direction. Pete slaps my extended hand. He’s gonna be valuable to the group. Pete’s the light-skinned one with them pretty eyes the ladies like. He quick and got sticky fingers. Conniving and hungry like all of us. Together we a force.

Juice, the same way, he is a little heavier set and chill, but he’s about robbing.

What you know? Pete asks, tilting his chin up.

Robbery.

Pete smiles, play boxing with juice. Aye nigga, I will beat yo ass. You can’t fight. That’s why you got that gun on your hip.

I’m lighter than you, fat boy. You got that baby fat from middle school, see, Pete puffs.

Aye listen up. I’m serious about the robbing part. We hitting up Yang’s corner store. Everybody got masks and gloves, right? I ask.

Yeah. For real. How’s it going down? Juice questions, rubbing his hands together with an evil smirk covering his face.

Now you asking the right questions, I tell him. Tonight, we going to get them beanies, cut the eyes out. Face gotta be covered. You got bandanas too? We have to improvise.

I’m down and I got bandanas, Rambo announces. People are in and out of that store all the time. I know they got money in there. It’s on the outskirts too. Right outside the hood. What we doing with the money?"

"We gone get our ass in nigga. Big boi, from Frisco Street, got the weed. I seen it. He’s in there cutting up every day. I know we can do it. These dope boy junkies are lazy. We’re gonna outwork ‘em. They get high on them fake ass pills. I seen them pressed up fake pills in there too. All we gotta do is get started. I got a plan to expand not just at