Page 69 - The Jazzsipper Novel

68

THE JAZZ SIPPER

of the car Lou and Frankie Man were in when Vance had seen them earlier.
Peaty also said it looked like there were two shooters because of the number
of shoots being fired from the car. Peaty knew he had to give it to Vance
straight with no chaser, because even though, he was twice Vance’s age, he
knew at that moment and at that time Vance was not to be messed with. He
had seen Vance get hurt in battles and saw Vance hurt others in battles. He
was known as a young 7th ward gun slinger and would go to war with anyone
at a drop of a dime.

Vance knew everybody had a strategy in the streets, he figured the only
real reason that Peaty told him what happened was because he and Babu
were just seen talking to each other. And he wanted to alleviate any perceived
threat from Vance that he set Babu up to get shot. Because of the unfortunate
timing of Babu’s murder, he also didn’t know exactly who the killers were and
if they felt he could identify them. It meant possibly he had to be killed, in New
Orleans street gangsters rarely left wittiness. So Peaty felt the more
information he could give Vance, the better his chances were to survive
another day in the streets. Vance did not care what Peaty reasons were, his
mind was already off Peaty and onto Lou and Frankie Man. He dapped Peaty
up and began walking towards the Iberville Projects. But before Vance left he
told Peaty, that Babu was probably set up in an ambush involving a female
from uptown, Vance knew Peaty would put that message out in the streets.
That way he could put the real play out without anyone suspecting him of
doing so.

Vance used the back streets to get there, once in the project he continued
to move swift and with the caution of a lion roaming the jungle at night looking