by Jones, Bella
At that very moment Meko made a decision to watch Cesar a little closer. He put a call into his solider Carlos to gather some info on Cesar’s dealings by the time the Corleones made it back from their trip.
“I don’t want you to think for a second that I’m not down with you, Joe. You know how I am, so I wanted to make sure this was us expanding together. The streets are talking, and all they saying is your name,” Cesar explained to Samir upon entering his office.
“I don’t give a fuck what the streets got to say. Niggas gon’ say what they want, but you should know what it is amongst this family. This thing is structured the way it is for a reason, and you too busy worrying about what niggas got to say. I’m disappointed in you, for real, you bogus as hell. Maybe you should stop hanging with niggas that ain’t on our level. Niggas too busy trying to be chiefs when they really just Indians,” Samir responded.
“I apologize, bro. Let’s just hit this road,” Cesar reluctantly offered a less than sincere apology.
Fact was; he was beginning to feel vexed about not being considered the top guy, and he felt he could run their operation much more effectively than Samir, but he would have to settle for being number two which was quickly being stripped from him by Meko. Samir was calling on Meko a lot more lately, and Cesar wasn’t too happy about it. Samir, on the other hand didn’t think anything of what was going on because he accepted Cesar for who he was as a person. He’s always been the way he is, ever since they were kids. He never let himself be average. If somebody had something, then Cesar felt he had to have something bigger and better. Once again, Samir brushed it off and chalked it up to Cesar being Cesar.
Samir didn’t let Cesar’s rants put a damper on his mood. He was excited to hit the road and put his plans in motion. The Corleones loaded up in the car that Samir’s step mother rented for them and hit I57 headed south.
While on the outskirts of his city, Samir turned around and looked at the skyline of Chicago. He knew when he returned a week later, everything would be different. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but he felt in his soul that their dynamics would soon change.
He looked at his crew and he couldn’t have asked for a more loyal bunch. He knew that he was making a good decision with this expansion. What he didn’t realize is just how much this expansion was going to change them. They thought they had gone from boys to men up until this point, but this expansion was going to separate the loyal from the fake. His life was about to take a turn and it was one he never imagined. But for now, he just enjoyed the ride.
Eighteen hours later, The Black Corleones arrived in Houston, and the rest of the dope world had a problem.
Chapter Six
Samir woke up early and looked out the window of his Hotel Derek suite that canvassed the view of Houston’s Galleria area. He spent most of their ride down thinking of ways he was going to take Houston by storm. He was currently in possession of some of the best dope in the country, and with the work in Houston being cut down to almost nothing, the possibility of a drought down here was highly unlikely. But first he had to meet up with his Houston based crew.
Samir pulled the rest of the Corleones out of bed and they headed over to the Capital Grille to meet with Casey and his crew. Samir was well informed on Casey’s reputation. Casey was a young go-getter, like each one of the Corleones. He was making money, but Samir was about to give him the opportunity to be a legend in his prospective city.
Casey was also the top club promoter in H-town; he knew everybody, so moving the product would be a breeze.
The Corleones walked in the restaurant and Casey was already there waiting for them. Samir appreciated his promptness. It showed just how eager he was to be a part of what the Corleones were doing.
“What’s the deal, bro?” Casey greeted Samir.
“What’s up, Joe, let me introduce you to my niggas… this is Cesar, Meko, Seven and Chase.”
“What’s the deal homie,” Meko dapped Casey.
“Let’s sit down. I took the liberty of ordering some Cristal for our meeting,” Casey said.
“That’s what’s up, what we celebrating though?” Cesar asked.
“We’re celebrating taking this game to the next level. We’re celebrating this money I’m about to make the Corleones, the money we about to make together. Most importantly, we’re celebrating showing these old heads that it’s a new generation of hustlers on the horizon,” Casey explained.
He was excited to get the opportunity to work with Samir and his crew. He was doing good for himself, but with the Corleones backing him, he knew he was about to be catapulted into the next stratosphere. What the Corleones didn’t know was that their reputation exceeded them. They may have never been to Houston, but the city knew who they were before they even arrived.
“Let’s get this meeting underway. I’m looking to expand my operation, and I chose you, Casey, because I feel like you got a solid team and you can move the work as efficiently as we do. I have strict guidelines on how shit needs to be run. I will not tolerate money being late. Being that we won’t be down here to oversee this operation closely, I’m going to have a tight grip on this until I’m comfortable with your team’s ability. I’ll pull the plug at the first sign of problems, so if you’re sure you want to do this, and be down with us, understand that I’m not going to deal with any fuck ups,” Samir explained to Casey.
“I feel you, but let me help you understand something… I ain’t get to where I am by being a fuck up. I’m a go getter, and I don’t wait for a door to open, I go open them. All I need is the chance. I been doing my thing, but I just didn’t have the plug I needed to take over this city. You’ll never have to worry about your money, because if y’all give me the opportunity to prove myself, I promise, I’ll make y’all multimillionaires before you’re twenty. I’m ready. Y’all need this as much as I do, so all I can say is the sooner we get started, the sooner I can prove that this is a good collabo,” Casey stood by his position.
“We don’t have a doubt that you can handle this, but we need to make sure that us getting in bed with you won’t bite us in our ass, because if it does; It won’t be nice for you,” Meko joined the conversation.
“I understand one hundred percent. Y’all ain’t got shit to worry about. This is going to be one hell of an arrangement. That’s my word,” Casey said in his southern drawl.
“Here’s how things are going to go. I’m gon’ start you off with twenty kilo’s at eight thousand a piece. You have thirty days to get us our money. If you meet the requirement on this first run, my crew and I will determine whether to increase you numbers. So, you got a month to come up with a hundred and sixty thousand. How you sell them, or how much you push them for is your business, but on day thirty one, sixty needs to be paid to us, regardless of your situation.”
“That sounds good to me, but to show you how serious I am, that one sixty y’all require, I’m gon’ pay that right now,” Casey said, handing Samir a Louis Vuitton duffle bag containing two hundred thousand dollars, “That’s two hundred right there, take the one sixty for the work and the other forty as a gift from me to you for this chance.”
Impressed with the gesture; Samir called Valli so they could start working on Casey’s shipment. He felt good about this new partnership. He saw a bit of himself in Casey, and he knew this move was going to be the very thing he was waiting for.
The Corleones spent the rest of their Houston trip learning the city and being introduced to all the movers and shakers of the Houston dope boy scene. He made sure Valli would package the work and have it shipped to Casey before the week was out. With Casey on board, the Corleones were about to become bigger names than they could ever imagine.
On their last night in Houston, Casey invited them out to one of his downtown hot spots, The M bar. He made sure the Corleones were treated like royalty. When they arrived downtown to the club, they were escorted to VIP where their section was already set up for them.
The music was
bumping and the groupies where in abundance. Samir and the Corleones were rubbing elbows with some of H-towns elite. Everybody from Houston’s top dope boys, to the rappers and ball players, they were all in the building.
The Corleones were surrounded with pretty mixed bitches trying to get chose. Casey sent 10 bottles of premium vodka and champagne to their section. Everybody watched as the sparklers lit up the otherwise dark club. When the bottles arrived to their table, all eyes were on the Corleones. Everybody was wondering who they were. Niggas showed love and the bitches were waiting for a chance to go home with one of them.
“Shout out to my niggas, the Black Corleones are in the fucking place, all the way from the windy city. My niggas celebrating our new business venture. Real niggas do real things!” Casey said over the microphone.
Meko and Seven stood on the couch in their section, bottles in hand and sent Casey a salute. Cesar took a neatly bundled stack of hundred dollar bills and threw them in the air as the VIP area turned-up to the announcement.
Samir sat back and watched his crew enjoy themselves in celebration to their expansion. He tried to relax, but he knew this was just the beginning to the work they were going to have to put in. He wasn’t ready to celebrate prematurely, because they still had to lock down New Orleans in the morning, and they still had to have a successful return before he would celebrate anything.
Samir’s mind was only on his expansion working, because coming out of the shadow of his family was more important than clubs, popping bottles and hoes. While his crew was enjoying themselves he was already thinking about New Orleans and getting back to Chicago so they could get the ball rolling on this expansion.
Hung over from the night before, Samir and his crew headed to New Orleans to lock down the second part of their deal. Houston was already a go and they needed New Orleans before they could put their kingpin plans into play. After a 3 and half hour drive, they arrived in Baton Rouge to meet with Roland, who would be heading their N.O. operations.
Roland was already doing his thing in New Orleans. He had the entire 9th ward on lock, but he had plans on locking down all of New Orleans, but he could only do that with an alliance through the Corleones.
“Damn, I’m glad y’all were able to come down here. I’m ready to go, homie. I already got my people in line ready to move from here to Slidell. I’m ready to lock down Lousiana, Woo,” Roland said as they sat down for lunch.
“We’re ready to go to, but before we can do that, we gotta be comfortable in your ability to handle the work load required to meet our standards. You gon’ make money, but you gon’ be representing our Corleone name, so we need to make sure you don’t make us look bad,” Seven explained.
“Trust me when I say, my niggas are monsters in these streets, so if I didn’t feel we could handle what the Black Corleones are about, then we would have never put our names in the hat. It’s plenty niggas out here that want to be down with y’all, but they ain’t half the niggas we are,” Roland quickly defended himself.
“I trust in your ability and that’s exactly why we’re here. So, let me inform you on how this is going to work...” Samir explained the same thing to Roland as he did to Casey. The same rules applied.
“Okay, I understand where you coming from, but I can assure you that you won’t regret this decision. I respect you and what you’re building. I’m good on my own, but I know with this alliance we’ll be great from Louisiana to Chicago,” Roland explained.
“Well, be ready because I’m sending everything down here by next week. Your thirty days begins the moment your shipment touches down.”
“I got it. Let’s make a toast to our new found business venture,” Roland said standing to his feet and raising his glass, “I want to make a toast to you niggas for setting the standard for young hustlers like myself, and to our alliance.”
Samir finally achieved another level of his dope career with Roland and Casey joining forces with him and his crew. He knew the next quarter was going to bring in more money than they could count. His plans to expand met him with some nervousness, but he knew at this very moment he no longer had to worry about his ability in this game, because he was built for it. It was in his blood. He was finally Samir, leader of the Black Corleones, and no longer just Carlyle Kendall’s son, or Sin and Ace’s little brother. He was a boss in his own right.
Chapter Seven
After a successful spring break, the Corleones made it back to Chicago secure about their future in the dope game. Graduation was in less than two months and they had successfully expanded their operation. Samir was feeling like he accomplished everything he set out to do. Valli made sure Casey and Roland were squared away, and the clock was officially set for Roland to prove himself.
Samir sent Casey 25 kilo’s because he was impressed by him having the money up front and showing the rest of the Corleones a good time while they were in Houston. The next 30 days would be the test. If they couldn’t prove to the co-op that they were capable of handling sets outside of Chicago, then the plan of expansion would become null and void.
Samir was feeling confident with all that was going on around him when he decided to check in on his sets.
“How did everything go with the shipments?” Samir asked Valli
“It went well. I just got word that everything was received, so it’s a go. I got the numbers for this month as well,” Valli said
“Oh yeah, how did you do, Joe?”
“Four point five million, we pulled in four point five million dollars.”
“You got to be shitting me?” Samir said in shock.
“No my nigga, that shit is real. We squared away on all aspects. We’ve been moving heavy around here, and we gon’ need to re-up soon,” Valli laughed.
The news put Samir on a high he hadn’t felt since they passed his father’s test with flying colors. He couldn’t wait to share the news with his crew. Four and a half million dollars in a month was definitely a milestone for the Corleones.
Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Carlyle Kendall was also hearing of his son’s four million dollar month.
“Carlyle, you know we have your best interest at heart, but there’s nothing we can do here, our hands are tied here. Your son is bringing to much attention to himself. I know they’re trying to stay under wraps, but it looks really suspicious for a group of eighteen year olds to be pulling in four million dollars,” DEA Agent Ken Fitzgerald informed Carlyle.
“Am I not paying you guys very handsomely, so, telling me your hands are tied isn’t going to fly with me, and you know me well enough to know that; this is my son here, and he’s not ready to be raided, or to even have these problems right now. I haven’t equipped him to deal with y’all yet. He’s not ready,” Carlyle expressed.
“Well, Carlyle, when he clocked in four and a half million dollars, he became ready to deal with every aspect of his career choice. We don’t want to bring heat to your son or your operation. We came down here because we have respect for you and wanted to let you know what was about to go down so you can equipped your son,” Agent Keith Simpson chimed in.
“Explain to me how y’all even get wind of my son if he is keeping himself out of the light?” Carlyle asked the agents.
“To be honest with you, your son and his crew are rubbing some of the other crews the wrong way with the way they’re moving. They’re becoming the top suppliers and not leaving much room for anybody else. There have been a few tips on your boy for some months now, so much so, that the word came down the wire to send in a raid to see if the reports are true,” Agent Fitzgerald explained.
“When’s this raid going to happen?”
“It’s going to happen this upcoming Wednesday, and it’ll be simultaneous with all his spots.”
“Okay, well, thank you guys for coming over and informing me,” Carlyle told him as he escorted the agents out of his home.
“Carlyle, just make sure we don’t find anything. It’s time to acclimate Samir to the pr
ocess and get him a few people on his payroll, because he can’t always rely on daddy,” Agent Simpson said as they departed.
Carlyle knew that eventually he would have to train the young Corleones to every aspect of the game, and that included having a payoff budget for law enforcement, but he figured he had a little more time. He wasn’t expecting them to make the kind of money they were making, and especially not in a month’s time. He made the decision right then to slow them down, because protecting his son was far more important than any dollar amount.
“Are you okay, Lyle?” Tim asked.
“Yea, I’m straight. I’m just not ready for this right now. Samir is not ready to have to deal with the laws.”
“Samir can handle this Lyle, trust me. The boy just did something we didn’t even do when we started out. He’s built for this; he can handle it.”
“I hope so. Get them over here right now, the entire crew. We gotta inform them on what’s about to happen so they can be ready.”
“Don’t worry Lyle, I got you,” Tim assured him.
________
Samir you and the rest of the Corleones need to get to your father’s now!!! Tim messaged Samir.
What’s up, is everything ok with my dad?” Samir responded.
“Your pops is good. Y’all just get y’all asses to his house ASAP. All of y’all Samir.”
Samir stared at his two-way, anxious and a bit nervous about what this could be about. He forwarded the message to the rest of the Corleones and was ensured that they were on their way to his father’s house.
“Yo, I gotta get to my father’s house bro, make sure everybody gets paid, and let me know how much we need to re-up on,” Samir instructed Valli.