The Concrete Jungle of Power & Greed:

"If my mother ever taught me anything important in life, it's that When a Man Loves a Woman, he will do anything to protect her, even if it means dying to do so."

The Rasta had just lit his grabba leaf blunt and slowly allowed the ganja smoke to burn Little Jacobs's chest and seep out of his mouth as Nipsey Hussle's classic project "Victory Lap" echoed and boomed throughout the dry walls of Little Jacob's home. The first time Little Jacob ever came into some real money came to mind again as the ganja smoke slowly coiled out of the Rasta's gun-metal bottom grill like a Basilisk snake. Long ago, his older brother and other recently deceased family members set aside $20,000 for the Rastafarian. It took the form of a small black book. The Rasta had been given a moleskin black book with the word CHAOS written in big bold letters on the front.

The information about his fallen brother's legacy would be revealed at the funeral of Little Jacobs's older brother, who had finally been laid to rest months ago after being gunned down somewhere in Vice City, FL on a business trip. Little Jacob had met the Siberian immigrant Niko Belic in New York City after leaving Vice City through a mutual friend of the Rasta. It was solidified over time by the Siberian and the Jamaican as genuine moments to cherish. Niko had driven Little Jacob, a metro booming Rasta from Yonkers, New York, in a dusty red low-rider with blood under it and painted around it. Little Jacob immediately noticed that this blood red low-rider had a backstory.

"Yes, comrade, we're rich!" exclaimed the Siberian. "Get in, we have a lot of errands to run," the Siberian said again. "I don't believe that's the proper way to say that, ting mon." Little Jacob wondered if Niko had any idea who this vehicle belonged to from the gecko as the two fellow criminals exchanged several words on their ride to their scheduled destination. It was a new bachelor in town who started all kinds of media fires as soon as he landed in New York.

The bachelor's name is Harry Osborn, and according to the most recent news, Harry created his empire outside of his father's legacy, or so he thought loftily. Previously owned by Norman Osborn Sr., Green Tangerine Industries was founded to help start and develop a new strength serum to help athletes all over the world increase their physical and mental capacity. Perfecting what his father had begun decades before. As stories in the newspapers about a young vigilante with the ability to climb walls began to circulate, Harry Osborn. began to consider enhancing the human race, as the two continued to share paragons and current events.

Niko Belic also told Little Jacob about his previous profession inquiries and how, after hitting a big score one day, the business partner of a particular cab service Niko Belic knew through blood relatives had been known to house the likes of the Babayaga himself known as John Wick. And, while John Wick may have appeared to Little Jacob to be another urban legend, Niko Belic was even rarer to be seen in anything other than his company's own taxi cabs in New York City.

The media has been obsessed with The Green Tangerine's owner, Harry Osborn, ever since he began taking credit for his new athletic serum. Someone wearing yellow goggles and a red hoodie had recently become well-known for his vigilante actions. "For some, Jacob, the American Dream is having final political power, and even perfect health," Niko Belic recalled telling Little Jacob the last time they spoke. However, the American dream for Niko Belic was not a roach-infested, drywall-peeling shack stuck on the second floor of his cousin's timeshare. It became Niko Belic's new lover, the expensive penthouse he purchased from Little Jacob's relative Playboy.

Although the paper was the most important thing to Little Jacob and Niko Belic at the time, stockpiling cheap barrels of gasoline and bullets became second nature to the pair. When Niko returned to Little Jacob's crib in Yonkers, he had high hopes that because his cousin Roman was aware of Little Jacob's abilities, connecting the two gentlemen would result in them acquiring the power and fortune required to live a luxurious and discrete life in New York City. Only God of Abraham and Jesus Christ knew Niko Belic and Little Jacob would eventually find a medium. As they drove to their next destination, the Rasta began blasting some of Nipsey Hussle's classic songs through the car stereo.

"Getting to the money is a ritual for a hustler; you'll have to face the world every day to survive." The Victory Lap album began to reverberate through the Rasta's car's custom stereo system. While spilling sticky purple herb all over the carpet floor of his blood red low-rider, the Rastafarian's mind raced back and forth. While the smell of ganja smoke filled the car with a tight aroma, a few elderly people walked by in slight disgust and envy. Little Jacob gripped his Glock nine tightly, while his brother in arms, Niko Belic, gripped the handle of his short pump shotgun even more tightly.

Niko Belic's shady past did not deter Little Jacob from trusting him with his life. When the two goons pulled up to the street sidewalk, the Rastafarian jumped out of the car, paranoid and optimistic that the deal would go smoothly. There had been a lot of talk around town about a blood diamond being sold on the black market. With all the respect Little Jacob had in the streets, making a quick call to find the seller of that blood diamond was simple. Niko Belic and a few friends from Philadelphia and Boston were able to buy out this diamond with the $20,000 that Little Jacobs obtained with the help of his brother's notes from his little black book.

Niko Belic circled the block in his blood red low-rider. After a few minutes, the Siberian's beeper in his jacket pocket began to vibrate; it was from Little Jacobs. A scuffle can be seen between a few men and Little Jacob as Niko Belic begins driving quickly down the street. When all is said and done, he is out of breath and a little enraged. Niko was now prepared to pursue the three men who had fled out the back alley of the building where the scuffle had begun.

The three men ran down a few blocks with ease, unconcerned about what had just happened. Some may say in the streets that they are "lacking," a term for when people are completely unaware of the dangers and chaos that await them. When the Siberian who had been tailing the three unexpectedly appeared from the side and fired four shotgun rounds into the torsos of the three drug dealers. After all was said and done, Little Jacob and Niko Belic looked down the dusky onyx street and saw the carnage. Time will tell where the two criminals go from here.

Copyright © 2021 Aaron “LUiS Thompson” Vega