Gangstress

by India

  Chapter Fifty-eight

  I couldn’t wait to tell Alicia the good news. When I did, she was just as excited as I was. We decided not to share the information with anyone else until after the meeting.

  Gran came over the next day to watch Ju. Then we headed out to the boondocks to meet with Karla. The home was out in Romulus, Michigan, a good forty-five minutes away from Detroit. Pulling my whip up to the gates of the most magnificent home I’d ever seen, I marveled in amazement and endeavored to keep my bottom lip from dropping too low.

  “Do you see this shit?” Ali tapped me as I went to press the intercom buzzer.

  “Hello.” Someone fumbled with the button. “Carmichael residence.”

  “Hi, my name is Jane. I’m here to see Karla.” I tried not to sound nervous. However, the mansion that stood before me was quite intimidating. “This is some boss shit for real,” I whispered to Ali as the ten-foot wrought-iron gate opened and I pulled inside. The dark green lawn with sculpted shrubbery was immaculate. The red rose beds were impeccable. There was even an arch-shaped driveway made of cobblestone with a white Rolls-Royce parked out front.

  “Damn, I feel underdressed.” Alicia straightened out her yellow one-piece capri jumper.

  “Who you telling?” I had on an orange maxi dress with sandals. But the place was so fancy I felt like I should’ve had on a big hat or something.

  “Hello, I’m Karla Carmichael. Nice to meet you.” A tan woman with toned arms extended her hand. Her grip was soft yet firm, and her smile was sincere. In her eyes, I recognized the pain of missing a loved one. However, in her voice I heard the fortitude it took to bring that loved one back home.

  “I’m Janelle, but you can call me Jane.” I shook her hand and returned the smile. “And this is Ali.”

  “Nice to meet you.” Alicia smiled.

  “Come on in, ladies. Let’s get down to business.” She gestured for us to enter the grand home then closed and locked the door. The interior of Karla’s home resembled something straight from the home decor pages in Italian Vogue. There was the allure of cream, burgundy, and gold colors throughout the residence.

  “This place is absolutely gorgeous!” Alicia marveled at an oil painting in the hallway.

  “Thank you, sweetheart! My husband, Nicky, and I decorated this entire place without a designer. We wanted it to be chic yet personal.” She led us into a cream and copper-inspired kitchen. The sink, dishwasher, oven range, and refrigerator all resembled copper. It was the first I’d seen of its kind, and I was sort of feeling it.

  “Well, kudos to you and Nicky.” I smiled. “When Ace is released, and after we save up enough money to buy a house, maybe you could help us decorate.”

  “Oh, I would love to decorate for you. My husband speaks highly of your boyfriend, Anthony. He says he’s like family and is a real stand-up guy.” She pulled three teacups from the cupboard, handing one each to Alicia and me and keeping one for herself. Then she went into the kitchen drawer and pulled out a small metal flask filled with a brown liquid. She poured a shot into her teacup. “Girls, would you like a sip?” She waved the flask. Alicia readily extended her cup.

  “None for me. I’m nursing,” I declined.

  “Well, since you can’t have one, I guess I’ll help myself to another.” She winked and walked over to the kitchen table. “Jane, here is some hot tea if you’d like some.” Karla pointed at the tea kettle resting on the table. I wanted to decline that beverage as well. However, I didn’t want to offend her. Therefore, I poured just a little.

  “Thank you, Karla.” Alicia and I spoke at the same time.

  “No problem.” She took a seat at the table beside us. “So let’s get down to business, shall we?”

  “Anthony didn’t go into much detail about this meeting. He simply provided me with your address and told me when to show up.” Ace had given me plenty of information. Nevertheless, I wanted her detailed version of the story.

  “Well, in case you didn’t know, Nicky is a big part of the Pauletti crime family. Recently, they took a huge hit during the bust. As a result, the entire male organization is presently behind bars awaiting trial, including Anthony.” She sipped from her teacup. “Never in history has every male in our organization been pinched at the same time. And with them away, we’re losing money as well as our respected position with the other families. Approximately a month ago, Constance Pauletti, the boss’s wife, approached the rest of the wives with an idea to not only save the business on behalf of our men but to keep the family up and running. That’s where you come in. We would like you to take over Anthony’s spot with our organization until he comes home.” She sipped from her teacup again while looking directly at me.

  “In other words, you want me to be your black salesgirl?” I also sipped from my teacup with my eyes focused on hers. I knew how most Italians felt about black people, and she was probably no different.

  “Jane,” she said, smirking, “not many people know this but my grandmother was a black woman. So contrary to what you believe, when I look at you, I don’t see color. All I see before me is a woman ready and willing to play her position until her man returns home, just like me.”

  “Is this a secret between you and me, or will I be introduced to the other ladies?” I wasn’t a backdoor bitch. If Karla wanted to do business with me, then she had better bring me to the table the correct way.

  “Funny that you should mention it, because the other women should be here any minute now. We get together every Saturday to eat, vent, and talk shop.” She tasted from her teacup, having to refill it twice. She made small talk until there was a buzz from the intercom. Karla excused herself from the table while Ali got straight to it.

  “J, do you know what this means for us?” She smiled.

  “It means a whole lot of trouble if we aren’t careful.” I shook my head. True, the Italian connection was just what we needed to dominate the dope game. Accordingly, more power virtually always came with more problems.

  “They’re here.” Karla retuned to the kitchen with four women in tow.

  “Hello, ladies, how are you?” A heavyset woman entered the kitchen with a Tupperware container and set it down on the counter. She was tall with black hair, big boobs, and very full lips. In my opinion, she needed to have some of the Botox removed from her lips and go down three sizes on the implants.

  “I love what you’ve done with the place, Karla.” Another woman entered carrying a basket of bread, never acknowledging us. She was very tan and petite with black hair.

  “It’s hotter than an elephant’s ass out there.” The oldest woman placed four bottles of champagne down on the table. “Hello, girls.” At present, she wasn’t much of a looker. However, I could tell that back in her heyday in all probability she was a beauty queen.

  “Constance, you better watch your mouth.” The final woman to enter the kitchen was carrying a box of pastries. She didn’t look Italian to me. In fact, if anything, she appeared to be Caucasian due to the blond hair and blue eyes.

  “I’m sixty-nine. So I’ll say whatever the hell I wanna say,” Constance snapped and opened the refrigerator to retrieve a bottle of Fiji water.

  “Ladies, we have guests, so cut it out.” With a giggle, Karla cleared her throat. “Jane and Ali, this is Amelia, Ramona, Gia, and Constance.”

  “Hello,” I spoke, while Ali simply waved. With the exception of Amelia, everyone seemed friendly. But I wasn’t too concerned with her.

  “For the meeting, we brought some penne pasta with sausage and tomato sauce, pinot grigio, and a loaf of freshly baked bread. Have some?” Ramona asked while pulling plates from the cabinet.

  “They don’t have a choice,” Constance joked. “If they’re going to be a part of this family, then they have to eat like an Italian.”

  We all gathered our plates and moved into Karla’s formal dining room. The spacious room housed a ten-seat cherry wood table, a four-tier chandelier, and a large china buffet with various fam
ily heirlooms atop. The ladies participated in small talk for a little over an hour before getting down to business.

  “Did Karla fill you girls in?” asked Constance. Her husband had been the head of the family for over three decades.

  “Yes, she filled us in.” I nodded. “But we hadn’t discussed percentages and payouts yet.” It was time to get to the meat of why we were here in the first place.

  “Our family has a coke supplier straight from Mexico. Every Friday morning, we send a money truck across the border. In return, each Friday afternoon, they send a shipment of pure cocaine at its finest.” Constance wiped her mouth with a napkin from the table.

  “Why is everything done on Friday?” Alicia asked.

  “Because Friday is the border patrol’s biggest day. They see over a million vehicles from sunup to sundown. It’s an arduous process to be thorough when they’re attempting to move line upon line of waiting vehicles.”

  “I guess that does make sense.” Ali shrugged. “So how long does it take the truck to get from the border to us?”

  “Roughly around four days.” Constance took a gulp from her goblet.

  “Basically we can expect the shipment to arrive every Wednesday?” Alicia continued with her line of questioning. Nonetheless, I cut in.

  “Forgive me if I sound crazy. But for clarity’s sake, this isn’t the same transportation operation that got everyone arrested, is it?” I was sure these ladies were smart enough not to use the same routine as the one that initially got their husbands locked up. Nonetheless, I had to ask.

  “No, Jane, this is a totally different setup.” Ramona laughed.

  “Okay, cool. In that case, let’s continue. How much coke am I expected to buy and how much will it cost me?”

  “I only sell kilograms. And because I like you”—she smiled—“the cost for each kilogram is ten thousand dollars.” Although Constance was the one stuffing her mouth, I almost choked. Her prices were splendidly low. Most kilograms priced between $20,000 and $25,000. Hell, after we cut the coke and added filler, we could easily make a calculated profit of at least $60,000.

  “Constance, when can we get started?” I was eagerly anticipating the bankroll that was sure to come. However, I reserved my serious face so that she wouldn’t retract her price and charge additional.

  “Jane, I’m ready to do business now. Do you have the money?” She bit down on a piece of bread. On cue, Alicia excused herself from the table and went to the car to retrieve the money we brought with us. We were actually anticipating a higher price. Therefore, we put our money together and came up with $30,000.

  After finishing our business with the Pauletti ladies and loading three kilos into the trunk of my car, we were once again on our way. “So what now?” Alicia put her seat belt on.

  “As soon as we get back to the city, I’ma holla at Chucky and give him first dibs on this shit.” I put the car in gear and headed away from the house.

  “Fuck Chucky!” Alicia spat. “That nigga tried to do us dirty by giving away our spot.”

  “I know, but you get more bees with honey. That nigga has Detroit on lock. If he’s down, then all of our shit will be in each of his traps, which will make his competition seek us out. Then we’ll have even more business.”

  “Dude is shady. I still don’t think it’s a good idea.” Ali shook her head. “Think about it. Your father was the king of Detroit. Chucky was his sidekick. He probably wanted what your father had, so he set him up. Next, Ace starts working for the Italians and becomes the man. Then all of a sudden, he’s behind bars. If we go in there telling him about our connection, something bad is gon’ happen.”

  Chapter Fifty-nine

  Contrary to what Alicia thought, I knew I had to visit Chucky. Her words had given me second thoughts. Consequently, if we were to start supplying everyone with dope and not inform Chucky, the repercussions could be deadly. Ultimately, a move like that would be equivalent to taking food from his mouth. Most people would be unsympathetic about stepping on the next person’s toes. In contrast, I believed unconditionally in doing good business, which was why I would alert him to not only a new opportunity but a potential partnership as well.

  In an effort to locate Chucky, I stepped into the bar and went directly to the back. As usual, he was playing dice. “Hey, let me holler at you real quick.”

  “I’ll be done in a few. Grab a seat.” He never looked up.

  “Look, it’s about business and I don’t have much time.” I was ready to make moves, not sit here and wait for him.

  “Speak then,” he snapped.

  “I got a connect on some uncut coke for the low-low. I wanted to plug you in.” I watched him pause for a second.

  “How low are you talking about?”

  “I’m talking eighteen thousand a kilogram.” I folded my arms and waited for his reaction. Even with the eight grand I tacked on, the price was lower than what he was accustomed to paying.

  “Where you get this connection from?” Realizing the information I had was more important than the dice game, he stood.

  “Come on, blood, you should me better than that.” I laughed because he knew damn well I wasn’t gon’ give my connection up to him.

  “I like to meet the people I do business with,” he replied.

  “You’re doing business with me. That’s all you need to know.”

  “How good is the grade?” He motioned for me to follow him over to a booth.

  “I could hype this up all day, but I brought a sample for you to see for yourself.” I tossed him a small Baggie. After carefully reviewing it, he then called one of the dice players to test it. The man poured a small line of white powder onto his hand then took a sniff.

  “Woo!” He blinked rapidly. “That shit is fire right there.” His nose started to run. I handed him a napkin from the table. Chucky thought quietly for a second then excused the man from the table.

  “Can you drop the price for family?” he asked with a straight face.

  “I don’t have to remind you that there is no such thing as family when we’re doing business! Remember?” Those were his exact words to me when I started hustling.

  “Well, let me think on it and I’ll get back with you.” He stood from the table with an attitude like he was dismissing me.

  “Out of respect, I came to you first. But if you’re not with my deal, then I’m on to the next one! There is no waiting in this game. You should know that.” I stood and grabbed my purse.

  “Do what you feel you have to do. Just remember your dope won’t get far without my approval. I run this city. Ain’t nobody fucking with you unless I say so.” He laughed then waved goodbye as I headed out the door.

  I didn’t know why Chucky thought he had so much loyalty in these streets. Niggas in the dope game were only loyal to one thing, and that was the almighty dollar. It was time for plan B.

  After leaving the bar, I called Tyra and told her to close down the operation after she sold the last of what we had. Next, I sent Keisha to pass out one free sample to every dopefiend she laid eyes on. I was sure it was unheard of for dope dealers to pass out free dope. Yet, I viewed the complimentary samples as business cards. After they tasted my product and got hooked, they wouldn’t ever wanna fuck with my competition again. Ultimately, this tactic inevitably meant more money in my pockets. Finally, Alicia and I hit the streets hard to persuade some of the other dealers to join us.

  The first stop we made was to see Dog. His spot was full of niggas on the porch as usual. “What brings you this way, fam?” With his feet inside a kiddie pool, he was sitting on the porch, sipping on a bottle of water. Even though it was hell hot today, this Negro looked crazy as hell.

  “I came to talk shop with you one-on-one.” I took the vacant seat nearest him and placed the duffle bag on my lap. Once he asked his crew to leave, I got right down to business. “Recently, I came upon a connection for cocaine. It’s top grade, one hundred percent pure from Mexico. Since I’m trying to do
things on a grand scale, I’m only selling kilos.”

  “Damn, I usually don’t fuck with that much weight. Normally it’s only ounces.”

  “It’s time to step your game up, fam.” I patted the duffle bag.

  “If the price is right, then I might be down.” He removed the cap from his water and took a gulp.

  “I’m selling them for eighteen racks.” I watched Dog’s eyes widen as he sat up in his seat.

  “Damn! I pay Chucky more than that for the processed shit.”

  “Come over to my side and you’ll not only have more money in your pocket but a better product.” I watched as he pondered the pros and cons of doing business with me.

  “You speak to Chucky on this?”

  “Out of respect, I took it to him first, but he passed. So now I’m here. If you pass, I’ll be on to the next one.”

  “Let’s say I do this. What’s the take?” He removed his feet from the small pool and planted them on the porch.

  “There is no breakdown. Once you buy your package from me, you can sell it for however much you want.”

  “Square biz?” He was all ears now. “Sounds good to me, but are you sure you’re ready to go toe-to-toe with Chucky? Once he finds out we crossed him, there’s gonna be smoke in the city.”

  “I told you once before that I ain’t ever scared. What about you? Are you riding with me or what?”

  “Yeah, count me in, J.” He nodded, and then we proceeded to conduct business.

  Several meetings with additional dealers had pretty much gone the same way. Most of them were down with my prices. However, others were afraid of cutting ties with Chucky. Some joined my roster, and some stayed down with Chucky. A few of them flat-out declined my offer, stating they would never do business with a bitch. I respected the game but it was a decision they would soon regret.

  Chapter Sixty

  News of my connection ripped through the streets of Detroit like a virus. Before I knew it, I was “the man,” so to speak. Dealers from all over the Midwest and Canada had begun hitting me up for the goods. Within a year, we expanded the operation to Atlanta, Miami, and Los Angeles. The crew was bigger and stronger than ever, which amazed the Pauletti women on many levels. We were moving so much weight they had to expand their delivery schedules in order to keep up with the demand.