The Cartel Deluxe Edition

by Ashley

  “Yeah, we were getting close, ya know. This shit ain’t for her, man. I’m ready to go get her,” Zyir said seriously, looking his mentor in the eyes.

  Before Carter could respond, the door opened and in came Mecca.

  “Yo, Mecca! We got her. We know where she’s at,” Carter said.

  Mecca smiled as his trigger finger began to itch. He would deal with Miamor when he got back. Now it was time for him to get his sister back. “Let’s go get my baby sister,” he said in a low raspy tone as he pulled out his gun and cocked it back. He felt his heart flutter at the sound of Carter’s words. She was the only remaining full-blooded sibling he had left, and he was determined to bring her back home where she belonged.

  * * *

  Carter, Zyir, and Mecca rode in the aircraft that flew 1,500 feet above land, all of them wearing headphones to drown out the overwhelming loud noise of the helicopter’s propeller. Carter had rented a private helicopter to make this trip to Haiti in the hope of finding Breeze. Everyone remained silent as they watched the pilot maneuver the aircraft over the ocean. The light blue water beneath seemed so beautiful, but none of them had beautiful thoughts on their minds; only murderous ones. The helicopter finally cleared the water, and the beautiful island of Haiti was now visible. The tall exotic trees and dirt trails took up most of the land, and the pilot spotted a safe landing spot in the middle of the town of Saint-Marcs, a city in the middle of the island. It was also the same place that Breeze was treated. With their connections, they found the exact location where the call was from. They all were anxious as the helicopter swayed back and forth as it prepared to land. As the helicopter hovered over the open field, the grass blew wildly because of the velocity of the chopper’s propellers. Carter cocked his gun back, making sure he was locked and loaded. He didn’t know if they were walking into a trap, so he was getting himself prepared for whatever. Zyir and Mecca followed suit and did the same thing. Once the helicopter landed, they all hopped out, and Carter instructed the pilot to wait there for them to return, and left him with a rubberband roll full of money; ten thousand dollars to be exact. Zyir grabbed the duffle bag that was full of extra ammunition and automatic guns, preparing for whatever Ma’tee would have in store for them.

  The hot, muggy climate and Haiti’s air felt different from Miami’s air as the sweat began to drip from their brows. They made their way toward the dirt roads that led to the buildings that were just a mile down.

  Carter spotted a tall building that resembled a small, rundown hospital, and pointed. “Is that the place right there?” He asked Zyir, and he used his other hand to block the sun from his eyes.

  “I think so. The nurse said there is only one doctor’s office in the entire town,” Zyir said as he looked toward the building and pulling out a small piece of paper.

  Just as they were making their way to the building, a young boy ran across the road while kicking a soccer ball.

  “Ayo, li’l man!” Carter yelled, trying to get the young boy’s attention.

  The boy didn’t seem any older than ten years old. He was very skinny and had nappy, small beads on his head that was his hair. He stopped kicking the ball and looked at Carter. “Me?’ he asked as he looked around and pointed at himself.

  “Yeah, you,” Carter said as he unleashed a smile. The boy, without fear, picked up his ball and walked toward them.

  “What up, mon?” the boy said in his heavy Haitian accent.

  “You want to make some money, baby boy?” Carter asked as he reached into his pocket.

  The young boy’s eyes followed Carter’s hands. Carter pulled out a roll of money, and the young boy’s eyes grew as large as golf balls. He had never seen a man carry so much money in his entire life. Wealth was not something common in Haiti, and the boy was astonished. “Wow!” he said as he snatched the money from Carter. “Yeah, mon, I want to make dis money!” His eyes were glued on the big-faced bills that were in his hands.

  “Okay, well I need your help,” Carter said as he placed his hand on the boy’s shoulder.

  “Anyt’ing, mon! Chu’ just name it!” he said energetically.

  “I need you to take me to . . .” Carter started to say just before he looked at Zyir for the name of the hospital.

  “Hondas Hospital,” Zyir said, reading the piece of paper that he had pulled from his pocket.

  “Hondas is down the road,” he said as he pointed north, in the opposite direction where they thought the hospital was.

  “Show us,” Carter said as they followed the boy’s finger.” What’s your name, li’l man?” Carter asked.

  “Ziggy,” he said with his rabbit-like two front teeth.

  “All right, Ziggy. We following you,” Carter said as he urged Mecca and Zyir to follow him.

  Mecca frowned up his face and pulled Carter close as he began to whisper. “How we know this li’l nigga ain’t taking us into a trap?” he asked as he kept his eyes open.

  “You don’t trust anybody, do you?” Carter asked smiling. “Let’s just follow him. How else are we going to find our way around?” Carter said, giving Mecca reason to see things his way.

  “All right, Carter. But if this li’l nigga on any bullshit, I won’t hesitate to blow his shit back,” Mecca said as he patted the gun that was on his waist.

  Carter shook his head and continued to follow the young boy up the path. That nigga doesn’t have a conscience, Carter thought. I’m glad he is on my team, rather than against me.

  After about fifteen minutes of walking, they reached the small hospital. It was a rundown building that resembled a plantation style house more than an actual hospital.

  “Here it goes,” Ziggy said, pointing at the front door.

  “Let’s go,” Carter said as he hurried into the building, looking for the nurse that called them. He told Ziggy to wait for them on the outside, and whistle if anybody comes in. He slipped him another hundred dollar bill for good measure.

  Ziggy proudly accepted the responsibility as the watchman, and smiled proudly as he stuck out his chest and answered, “Yes sir!”

  Carter, Zyir, and Mecca rushed through the hospital, all of them with gun in hand.

  Mecca called the doctor’s name loudly, and his voice echoed throughout the halls. “Where is the nurse that called us?” he yelled as loud and clear as he could.

  Nurses and patients gasped at the sight of the men mobbing through the place like they owned it. A woman emerged from one of the rooms, and Mecca immediately knew that she was the person that they were looking for.

  “May I help you?” she asked, frowning in confusion.

  “Are you the nurse that called?” Mecca asked as he gripped his pistol and pointed it directly at her. Carter quickly placed his hand on Mecca’s gun and lowered it for him.

  “Yes, I’m Azor,” she answered with fear all over her face and shaking limbs.

  “Relax!” Carter said under his breath, as he knew Mecca was at his boiling point, ready to shoot whomever. “Let me handle this,” he said, just before he focused his attention on the doctor. “Azor?” Carter asked the lady as he stared at her with kind eyes.

  “Yes, that’s me. Let’s talk in here,” Azor said, and she opened up an empty room. They all followed her in, and the doctor closed the door after she looked around to make sure that the coast was clear.

  “You called my man right here, and said that a young lady was in this place, right?” Carter asked as he placed his hand on her shoulder to calm her. She was noticeably shaken up.

  “Yes, I did,” she said.

  “Is this the young lady you saw?” Carter asked, wanting to make sure that it was Breeze. He pulled a picture out of his pocket of Breeze. It was one of her senior picture she had taken years before. The doctor stared at the picture for a minute and nodded her head to verify that it was her.

  “Where is she?” Mecca interrupted, as he quickly grabbed the nurse by her hair and put the gun to her temple. The nurse instantly put her hands up and bega
n to cry out of pure fear.

  “What the fuck you doing?” Zyir asked in confusion as he saw the murderous look in Mecca’s eyes.

  “Fall back, Mecca!” Carter yelled as he put his hand up to signal Mecca to stop.

  “No, fuck that! My sister is alive, and this bitch is going to take me to her!” Mecca screamed as the veins in his neck and forehead began to slightly bulge out.

  The doctor’s words got caught in her throat as she tried to give Mecca the best answer she knew. “She is with Ma’tee. That’ all I know. Ma’tee is a very powerful man in this town, and all that I know is that he lives somewhere in the Black Mountains. You have to go up the mountain and through the jungle to get to his place,” she said quickly.

  “Where’s that at?” Carter asked as he listened closely while Mecca still had a tight grip on her.

  “It’s five miles down the road and up the mountain. It’s barricaded, so no cars can get through. You will have to hike the trail and climb the mountain to get there,” she said as tears streamed down her face. Her hands shook nervously, and she flinched at every little movement that Mecca made.

  Carter heard enough, and headed out. “Come on, Mecca,” he said as he opened the door.

  “If you are lying, I will come back and kill you and your whole family,” Mecca said, meaning every word that came out of his mouth. He unleashed the doctor and headed outside.

  Carter rushed outside and went directly to Ziggy, who was waiting for him on the steps of the hospital. “Ziggy, I need you, li’l man,” Carter said.

  “Anything. What chu want?” he asked.

  “Do you know how to get to the Black Mountains?” he asked.

  “You mean Ma’tee’s place?” Ziggy asked as he scratched his head.

  His statement was music to their ears. They knew that they were about find Breeze and bring her home at that point.

  Zyir was beaming on the inside. He knew that it was a chance for him to reunite with the woman he loved; Breeze. “Yeah, you know where it’s at?” Zyir asked.

  “I know exactly how to get there,” Ziggy said as he headed north toward the Black Mountains.

  Chapter Nine

  The Cartel

  Breeze cried as she watched Ma’tee pull up his pants and look down at her. There was no remorse on his face. The fact that he was killing her slowly on the inside meant nothing to him. The sweat from his brow dripped down his dark face, causing Breeze’s stomach to turn in disgust. The sick smile that he wore terrified her. He was so sure of himself . . . so proud of the sexual acts he had forced upon her. Ma’tee had even gone as far as to ejaculate inside of young Breeze, in a twisted attempt to impregnate her. He knew that a child would join them together forever, and that was his ultimate goal. Without saying a word, he walked away and up the stairs. Breeze heard the sounds of Ma’tee locking the deadbolts that trapped her in the basement.

  Breeze sat up and began to cry. She felt so violated and dirty. Ma’tee had degraded her on many occasions, and she was forced to give her virginity to a man that she hated; the same man that was responsible for her father’s death. She got on her knees and began to pray to God, hoping that her father also heard her prayers. She was at a point where she didn’t want to live anymore. Her regard for life was slowly fading.

  The longer she stared at the four walls of her imprisonment, the more her mind abandoned her. Breeze knew that if she didn’t find a way out, then she would go insane.

  She finished her prayer and got up to walk to the bathroom that was connected to the basement. She stood over the sink and looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her eyes were bloodshot and swollen from her endless crying, and as she stared at the woman in the mirror, she couldn’t even recognize herself. She was not the same girl. The young woman staring back at her was not Breeze Diamond. At that point, she realized that she had not looked at herself in almost a year. Every time she used the bathroom, she would just avoid eye contact with the mirror, almost as if she were ashamed. Ma’tee had stripped her of her innocence a long time ago, and she was not who she once was. The naïveté of a young little rich girl had disappeared. She now knew pain. She now knew what war really was. She now knew loneliness.

  “Diamonds are forever!” she whispered as she wiped away her tears and repeated a motto that her father would always say to her as a young girl. She knew that she had the blood of a king, and at that moment, refused to let Ma’tee hurt her anymore.

  She glanced over at the corner of the room and saw something that could possibly help her escape Ma’tee grasp. She took a deep breath and walked toward it. She had just gotten an idea.

  * * *

  Sweat dripped off of each of the men as they tried to keep up with little Ziggy as he walked up the rocky trail. The trail wrapped around the tall mountain, and the sun was just setting. “Come on, guys. We have to beat the sun,” Ziggy emphasized as he led the way, while holding a big stick in his hand.

  Carter took off his shirt as the sweat cascaded down his body. They had been climbing the mountain for nearly two hours, and the air was getting thinner as they got higher up in altitude.

  “You sure this is the way, li’l man,” Zyir asked as his legs grew tired.

  “Yeah, I’m sure. Me and me friends used to come and play in this jungle every day. We snooped around here last summer when Ma’tee was away in Miami. We’re almost there,” Ziggy said, showing no sign of being winded.

  On the other hand, the rest of them were exhausted, but their love for Breeze kept them going. Zyir couldn’t wait to hold Breeze in his arms and tell her that he loved her. He was going to be her knight in shining armor and save her. That thought alone made him put some pep in his step as he sped up, trying to reach their destination.

  Mecca’s mind was on shooting Ma’tee right in between the eyes. Breeze was his only full-blooded sibling that was still alive, and he would die if that was the cost of getting her back. “Here I come, Breeze, he thought as he climbed the trail.

  Carter swatted the unfamiliar flying insects away from his face as he looked up and saw the abundance of tropical trees.

  “Here is de’ jungle,” Ziggy said as he stopped and pointed to the woods. “Ma’tee’s house is straight ahead. Just stay north.”

  Carter stopped and caught his breath, along with Zyir and Mecca. He then looked at Ziggy and rubbed the top of his head. “Thanks, Ziggy. You are real li’l nigga,” he said as he smiled. Carter reached around his wrist and pulled off his designer watch and handed it to Ziggy. “That’s yours,” he said as he watched Ziggy admire it like it was a masterpiece. “Now, you have to take off,” he told him, and stepped to the side so that Ziggy could go back down the mountain.

  “Thanks Ca’ter!” Ziggy said, mispronouncing his name because of his accent. Then Ziggy smiled and ran up and hugged him. “But remember, you have to follow de dirt path or chu will get lost. De jungle is a big circle, mon,” he reminded him as he headed back down.

  Carter watched as Ziggy disappeared down the trail, then focused back on Mecca and Zyir. “Let’s go get Breeze,” he said, and they ran through the jungle, following the trail.

  After fifteen minutes of running full speed down the trail through the jungle, they saw the house. They all stopped in their tracks when they saw the gigantic house that was before them. They had expected Ma’tee’s house to be guarded and surrounded by gates, but to their surprise, it was wide open and unguarded.

  Zyir dropped the bag on the ground that he was carrying, which was full of the automatic guns and bullets. He opened the bag, giving a variety of choices to Carter and Mecca. Mecca opted for the 12 gauge, and Carter got the AK 47 assault rifle, also known as a “chopper” because of its ability to spit bullet after bullet, chopping up whatever is in its path. They all strapped up and headed to the house. They were about to go in with guns blazing.

  * * *

  Breeze smiled as she thought about escaping Ma’tee’s wrath. It would soon be over, and she would be a free woman. She
looked down from the chair she was standing on and wrapped the belt around her neck. Ma’tee had left this leather belt down there after he had sex with her. Little did he know that he had provided Breeze an exit by doing so. Breeze tugged on the belt to make sure that it was wrapped around the pipes above her head securely. Tears began to fall down her face as she shook nervously. The only thing she would have to do was kick the chair out from under her feet, and the nightmare would finally end.

  * * *

  Carter put three fingers up, signaling the countdown. Mecca stood at the front door with a 12 gauge shotgun, aiming it at the lock. Zyir held two pistols in his hands, ready to rush in right after Mecca blew the door open. “Three, two, one!” Carter whispered.

  Boom!

  Mecca blew through the lock and they all rushed in.

  Ma’tee heard the blast while he was in the shower washing the smell of sex off of his body. He quickly turned off the shower and ran into his room that was attached to the bathroom. He reached for the tech-nine automatic handgun he kept under his pillow. He looked at the monitors that were on his wall and gasped. He had his entire house under surveillance, and saw three men running through the downstairs of his home with guns.

  “What de blood clot!’ he yelled as he held his gun in his hand while dripping wet, and still completely naked. He looked at the security monitor that was watching the basement where he kept Breeze. Ma’tee’s heart skipped a beat and he gasped at what he was witnessing. He gripped the sides of the monitor in anguish at the sight of Breeze’s feet swinging from the ceiling. He was witnessing her committing suicide. “Nooo!” he yelled as he rushed downstairs to save her. He didn’t care that he was going up against three guns, he just wanted to save his love before she died. “Breeze!” he yelled as he ran down the stairs, gun in hand.