The Cartel Deluxe Edition

by Ashley

“You my lady forever.”—Carter Jones

  Six Months Later

  A giant projector screen covered the back wall as old home-videos of Breeze as a little girl played, while people held wine glasses and mingled amongst each other, and the ballroom was decorated with balloons of Breeze’s favorite colors, turquoise and cream. A live band serenaded the small crowd and created a soothing ambience.

  Of course, Taryn, personal friends of the family, and “The New Cartel” were in attendance. One hour before, they’d held a memorial service in honor of Breeze’s life. They’d all put personal notes and gifts from Breeze in a casket before it was buried.

  Mecca didn’t even show up. In fact, no one had seen him since the day they were supposed to drop off the ransom money for Breeze, and he hadn’t surfaced since. After hearing the man say that his sister was dead, something inside of him snapped.

  Taryn sat at the front table along with Carter, Miamor, and Polo, trying her best to keep from breaking down and crying.

  Carter noticed her agony and placed his hand on top of hers and gently gave it a squeeze. He leaned over and whispered to Taryn, “Are you sure that you can do this?”

  A tear slid down Taryn’s face as she returned the squeeze and looked into Carter’s eyes. She was grateful for his presence. Even though he was her husband’s illegitimate child, she loved him for being there in such trying times. She had planned a celebration for Breeze after grasping the fact that her only daughter was dead.

  Taryn waited every day for Breeze to walk through the front door. False hopes and worry were driving her insane. It hurt her every day, knowing that Breeze’s body was somewhere in a river or rotting somewhere. As a matter of fact, it took months before Taryn was willing to accept Breeze’s fate, and for the family to come to the realization that the youngest member of the Diamond family wasn’t coming home.

  Taryn had lost a husband, a son, and now a daughter to drug wars and revenge. She was done. She had decided to move West with Polo to start a new life. She hadn’t seen Mecca, her only living son, since everything had gone down, which was months ago, and she missed him tremendously. She knew it was time to leave Miami for good.

  “Yes, I’m sure. I can’t have any more funerals. I’m tired of burying the people I love. That’s why I wanted to celebrate Breeze’s life,” she said as she broke down crying. She looked at the video of her husband pushing a five-year-old Breeze. She would trade anything to go back to that time.

  “I understand.” Carter nodded his head slowly. He looked at the video along with her and felt the pain of losing Breeze. He felt that he was partially to blame for her getting kidnapped.

  He looked across the room and noticed Zyir in the middle, being very solitaire and observant. Carter could tell Zyir was taking it hard also and wondered why he was feeling so much grief when he barely knew Breeze. Little did Carter know that Zyir knew Breeze very well and was the last one to be with her before she was abducted.

  Zyir felt so guilty and felt it was his fault that Breeze was dead. He’d never told Carter that he was about to have sex with her and left her side to pick up condoms, which was how she got kidnapped.

  Carter looked over at Miamor, who sat beside him, and leaned over to kiss her on the cheek. “Hey, baby. I have something very important to tell you later on.” He grinned slightly.

  Miamor smiled back and nodded her head. She couldn’t help but feel guilty at the celebration. She was sitting in the midst of Breeze’s family, when she knew her two best friends were responsible for the murder. She hadn’t talked to Robyn and Aries in months, and the only thing she knew was that they’d moved West, and to her knowledge, they were still up to their same ways.

  I can’t wait for this shit to be over, she thought as she tried her best not to look at the projection on the wall.

  She was itching to see Mecca as she scanned the room. No one knew where he was. She was ready to leave her past life alone and spend the rest of her life with Carter, but not before she got even with Mecca. That was one itch that she just had to scratch. She couldn’t let go of the fact that he had taken her sister from her. Revenge was still fresh in her heart, and she wanted him dead.

  “Excuse me, ladies.” Carter stood up so that he could go and talk to Ace, who was standing guard by the door, making sure only invited guests entered. Carter approached Ace and slapped hands with him.

  “Yo, what’s good? How you holding up?” Ace asked.

  “I’m good. Just can’t wait until this shit is over. I can’t look at Breeze’s pictures without wanting to break down, feel me?” Carter shook his head from side to side.

  “Yeah, it was fucked up how everything went down. Zyir taking the shit hard too. I think he was feeling shorty,” Ace said, talking too much.

  “Is that right?’ Carter didn’t like what he heard, but he didn’t want to ask Zyir about it, not now at least. “Yo, how is that money in Liberty City? Did they come to see you yet?” he asked, referring to Liberty City’s hustlers. He wanted to know if they had re-upped yet.

  “Yeah, they got ten yesterday. Them Overtown niggas, they copping heavy too. We’re going to need another shipment in soon.”

  Carter began to rub his hands together and nodded slowly, knowing that Ace was talking big money. Ever since Carter had put his coke on the streets, he’d been making a killing. He saw more money in six months in Miami than he had seen his entire life back home. Carter had expanded his operation outside of Florida, hitting major cities like Atlanta, Houston, and New Orleans as well, and labeled his organization “The New Cartel.”

  The New Cartel was run completely differently from The Cartel. Carter recruited young hungry cats from all over Dade County and pushed out the old heads. He had a clique of goons trying to make a name for themselves, which made them ruthless. Miami was definitely treating him good.

  “Cool, I will put in an order later this week. The way shit going, we’re going to be able to retire in a couple of months, feel me?” Carter said.

  “No doubt,” Ace added.

  Carter walked over to Zyir, who seemed like he was in a daze. He had to nudge him to snap him out of his mental hiatus. “Zyir, you good?”

  “Yeah, I’m okay. Just got a lot of shit on my mind.”

  “We all do right now. You holding down them blocks I gave you, right?”

  “Yeah, everything gravy. But yo man been acting kind of funny lately. I don’t know what’s up with the nigga.”

  “Who you talking about, Ace?”

  “Yeah. He be taking all day when I call him so I can re-up. My young’uns be running through that shit. So when he takes all day to call me back, we losing money. He never picks up my call. Shit gets frustrating, feel me? Nigga acting like a fed o’ something,” Zyir stated seriously, as he ice-grilled Ace.

  Although he and Ace lived together, Zyir had noticed a lot of things that didn’t sit right with him. Since being in Miami, Ace had changed, and it definitely wasn’t for the better.

  “I’ll talk to him about it. Don’t worry about Ace. I’ve known him since we were in the sandbox, fam. He ain’t no mu’fuckin fed, believe that.”

  Carter smiled, admiring Zyir’s boldness. He reminded Carter of himself at his age. Zyir was only eighteen, but moved through life like it was a big chess game. That nigga don’t trust anybody.

  Carter felt a hand on his back. It was Miamor.

  “Hey, can I have this dance?” she asked sexily as the reggae band began to play a number.

  Carter smiled as he took Miamor’s hand and slowly began to dance with her. He pulled her slowly to him, and the delightful scent of her perfume made him smile. Though the mood in the dancehall was sad, Carter planned to brighten it up later that night by asking Miamor to marry him.

  “You my lady forever,” Carter whispered in Miamor’s ear as he smoothly spun her around. I love this woman with all my heart, and I want her to be my wife. He closed his eyes and swayed back and forth to a rendition of Bob Marley’s “No Woman
, No Cry.”

  Miamor closed her eyes and enjoyed her man’s embrace, swaying back and forth with him as she rested her head on his chest. “I love this song,” she whispered, snapping her fingers that rested on Carter’s upper back.

  Just as Miamor opened her eyes, her heart nearly skipped a beat as she saw the crazed eyes of Mecca staring at her from across the room. The way he was looking at her would’ve sent chills through the toughest man’s body. She regained her composure and stopped dancing.

  Carter felt her body tense up. “What’s wrong?”

  “Your brother just walked in,” Miamor said, trying to not seem startled. She immediately thought about her deceased sister and instantaneously wanted to get at Mecca. When the time is right, when the time is right, she repeated in her head as she imagined herself putting a hole through Mecca’s neck.

  Mecca viewed the whole room. He rubbed his neatly cut hair, trying to get used to not having his natural long-flowing mane. He had been dead to the world for six long months for three reasons: to stay away from Estes, to grieve his sister’s death, and also to plot. He walked in and noticed that all eyes were on him. He ignored the staring and made his way to his mother, who was so busy sobbing into a handkerchief at the front table, she didn’t see her son approaching.

  “Hello, mama,” he said as he stood before her.

  She didn’t respond, so he reached over the table to try to hug and comfort her.

  “It’s okay, mama. I’m here now,” Mecca said in a soft voice. The guilt of killing the man that picked up the ransom for Breeze burdened him. Every day he regretted that he let his anger get the better of him.

  Taryn looked up and saw that her baby boy was holding her; she hugged him tightly and placed her hands on his cheeks. “Baby, I was worried about you. I didn’t know where you were,” she said as she hugged him again tightly, squeezing him as if he might disappear before her eyes.

  “I know, I know, but I’m home now, mama, and I’m not going nowhere,” Mecca assured his mother as he rubbed her back.

  Mecca then looked over at Carter and Miamor and decided to go have a chat with Carter. He wanted to tell him about his woman. He was about to put Miamor on blast. He knew that Carter didn’t know who she really was.

  During his brief absence, he began to do research on the Murder Mamas and confirmed that they were allies with Ma’tee. Fabian had known a lot of people that the Murder Mamas had done jobs for. That immediately threw up a red flag with Mecca. Miamor was a cold-blooded killer, and he knew she had an ulterior motive with Carter, who was sleeping with the enemy.

  Mecca poured a glass of wine and headed across the room to talk to Carter.

  Carter continued to dance with Miamor, but he knew that her mood had suddenly changed since Mecca entered the building. “Is everything all right?” he asked concerned and confused.

  “Yeah, I’m good. Just got a light headache, that’s all,” Miamor responded distractedly.

  As soon as she finished her sentence, Mecca came over with a wine glass in his hand. He came over with a smile and greeted his half-brother with a light hug. “What’s up, bro?” Mecca yelled.

  “What’s good, Mecca? Glad to you could make it,” Carter answered.

  Mecca looked at Miamor and put on a fake smile. “Hello. It’s Miamor, right?”

  “Yes, it is. Hello to you,” she answered coldly as she stared into his eyes.

  Mecca quickly picked up Miamor’s hand and kissed it like a gentleman would do. He then gave her the glass of wine and said, “May I borrow your fella for a minute? We have to discuss business.”

  “Sure.” Miamor grabbed the wine and walked over to talk to Taryn. Her blood boiled as she itched to kill Mecca. She had to just wait for the perfect timing to do it. He’s going to get his, she thought as she sat next to Taryn to comfort her.

  In the meantime, Carter and Mecca began to converse.

  “It’s good to see you, Mecca. How is that place that I set you up in?” Carter asked, referring to the low-key apartment that he had for Mecca in Atlanta, far out of the reach of Estes and his goons.

  “It’s cool. But, look, I have to tell you some shit about your girl. She’s not who she seems to be.” Mecca rubbed his goatee.

  “What?” Carter asked, totally taken aback by Mecca’s comment.

  “Look, man, the bitch is foul!” Mecca said under his breath as he looked in Carter’s eyes.

  “Watch yo’ mouth, fam,” Carter said through clenched teeth. He put one hand in his pocket and raised a wine glass to his lips with the other. He eyed Mecca and could see the larceny in his heart. It took everything in him not to smack the shit out of him for even having Miamor’s name in his mouth.

  Before Mecca could respond, Miamor walked up to them. She had watched their entire conversation and couldn’t tell what they were saying, but Carter’s body language told her that he was upset. She gently kissed him on the cheek, calming him down, and then she grabbed Mecca’s hand.

  “I never got a chance to get acquainted with you. Can I have this dance?” she asked sweetly.

  Carter looked at her like she was crazy and thought about what Mecca had just told him. He was totally confused. What the fuck is she doing? He stepped back and watched them begin to dance. Miamor wasn’t being disrespectful since there was distance between them while dancing, but Carter was still heated.

  “So I guess we finally get to talk, huh?” Miamor asked as she danced with Mecca.

  They both squeezed one another’s hand tightly, obviously both of them trying to hurt the other.

  “Yeah, bitch! Finally!” Mecca said as he kept a fake smile on his face as a front.

  At that moment Miamor knew that Mecca knew her past and her connection with Ma’tee and the women that killed Breeze.

  “You knew about Breeze getting kidnapped, didn’t you? You were how they got so close and told them how to get her, didn’t you?” Mecca asked.

  Miamor’s nails were dug so deep into Mecca’s hand, blood began to trickle. “No, I had nothing to do with that, but I am going to have something to do with your murder. You killed my sister, and you’re going to pay,” she said between clenched teeth.

  They continued to dance as if they weren’t having a murderous conversation.

  “Let me tell you something—You won’t get the chance to kill me. I’m a mu’fuckin’ Diamond, and Diamonds are forever. I got a surprise for you, Murder Mama,” Mecca said sarcastically with a scowl on his face.

  “And what’s that?” Miamor never showed an ounce of intimidation. She was indeed a bad bitch and had tangoed with the best in her field, always coming out victoriously.

  This dance she was doing with Mecca was nothing new. She was going to kill him, even if it meant she had to die in the process.

  “You know, that glass of wine you just drank, it was full of sodium hydroxide, a poison that first invades your respiratory system and makes you feel like you’re drowning right before your heart bursts and kills you. That shit is killing you right now. I say you have about thirty more seconds until you drop dead. You’re dying, bitch,” Mecca said smugly.

  “Is that it?” Miamor asked. “Now, I have a surprise for you, Mecca Diamond.” Miamor stopped dancing and then leaned over to whisper in Mecca’s ear, “I would never drink anything you give me. I’m a Murder Mama for a reason, nigga. I gave the drink to your mama. She’s dying, bitch,” she muttered just before gently kissing Mecca on the cheek.

  Mecca instantly looked over at Taryn, who grabbed her neck as if she was choking, her face turned bloodshot red. A small crowd began to form around her. He took off to try to help his dying mother, but just before he reached her, dozens of FBI agents burst through the door with guns drawn.

  Mecca crawled over to his mother as she fell on the floor. Tears were in his eyes as he witnessed his mother struggle for air. She clawed at Mecca, as her body shook rapidly. Her eyes began to roll in the back of her head, and Mecca tried to shake his mother out of it, but n
othing could save her. He saw the empty wine glass next to her and knew that there was no saving her. He had put enough poison in the glass to kill ten people, but it wasn’t meant for his mother.

  “Help!!” Mecca cried like a baby as tears flowed down his eyes. He watched as Taryn took her last breath and fell limply into his arms. He closed his mother’s eyelids and kissed her on the forehead. Murder was the only thing on his mind.

  “Everybody on the ground now!” the sergeant yelled. He went straight for Carter and handcuffed him. He began to read Carter his rights.

  Miamor was in shock. “Carter, what’s going on? What’s going? Why are they arresting you?” Miamor watched them escort her man out.

  “Don’t worry about it. Come bond me out!” Carter yelled as he got guided out with his hands handcuffed behind his back. He glanced across the room at Mecca, who was lying on the floor with Taryn, and he didn’t know what had happened. Carter watched as Zyir and Ace were also handcuffed, and at that point he knew that someone had been snitching. They went straight for the heads of his operation, so they knew about The Cartel and its chain of command.

  Mecca went for his gun on his waist but stopped himself, because he knew that he could not retaliate at that moment with all the feds in the room. With shaking hands and a broken heart he snuck out of the back without being seen.

  Carter’s leather Mezlan shoes clicked and echoed through the cell as he paced back and forth. He kept wondering what they were arresting him for exactly. He figured it was in connection with his drug empire, but he was hoping otherwise. But when he saw the federal agents bring some of his workers out of Overtown in, along with bags and bags of cocaine, he knew the deal. They had seized the drugs from his stash spot.

  “Damn!” He knew he was in deep shit. How the fuck did they find out where my spots were? Carter thought as he continued to pace the room. He ran his business very precisely, and his operation was built for perfection. They only thing that could bring turmoil was snitching. That’s how he knew there was a snake amongst him. He wished he could talk to Ace and Zyir, but they were all put in different cells. The Cartel was about to go down, and the police had enough coke to put Carter away forever.