“You good, fam? You had me worried on the phone. You ain’t sound right,” Ace commented as they embraced.
Carter nodded his head and greeted his protégé, “Lil’ Zyir, what’s good, baby? I’m glad you came down, fam.”
“My nigga call, I come running, fam. That’s how we do, nah mean? Besides, it’s warm than a mu’fucka down here. It’ll do ya boy some good getting away from that Arctic shit up north.”
Carter walked toward his Range, and they all packed their bags inside before pulling away from the curb, Jay-Z’s American Gangster CD immediately filling the leather interior.
Out of habit Ace punched in the code to Carter’s hidden compartment, revealing three chrome pistols. He removed two, tossing one in the backseat to Zyir.
Carter, Ace, and Zyir were the last of a dying breed and would never be caught without their heaters. Zyir and Ace had the exact hidden compartments in their own whips. The compartments always held three guns, one for each of them in case of emergencies.
“So what’s so important that we had to come all the way down here?” Ace asked, admiring the change of scenery that Miami offered. The palm trees and busy streets seemed worlds away from the dilapidated houses and potholes of his hometown. “It’s nice down here, fam,” he commented as he waited for Carter to reply.
“It’s the same game with a different face, fam. Don’t let this glamorous shit fool you. I’m-a be real honest about the shit that’s going on here. My father-”
“Your father?” Ace asked in astonishment, knowing that his best friend had never known his dad.
“Yeah. That’s how all this started. My father was the leader of a criminal enterprise called The Cartel. Basically they run all this shit down here. Drugs, real estate, politics, anything that happens here, The Cartel makes happen or is a part of in some way.”
“Yo, so these Cartel mu’fuckas on some real organized crime type shit, huh?” Zyir asked.
“Yeah, and business was good, up until my father was murdered by Ma’tee. Ma’tee runs little Haiti, and this nigga ain’t holding no punches. Since killing my father, he’s murdered one of my little brothers and sparked a war that is fucking with my money.”
“Your money?” Ace asked. “You a part of this Cartel shit?”
“I run The Cartel. It’s mine now, which is why I need the two of you here. Y’all know how I move. I trust both of you with my life,” Carter said seriously.
“You know we’re with you, fam, but how is the money down here? We were making at least a hunnid thou a month in Flint. You know how lovely the hustle was there. We had our blocks on smash,” Zyir said proudly.
“A hunnid thou?” Carter raised his eyebrows and looked at Zyir in the rearview mirror.
“Each,” Zyir bragged. “That’s good money, nah mean? Ya boy was eating.”
“Don’t worry about the cash, fam. You gon’ eat. You will make a hunnid thou easy,” Carter guaranteed.
Zyir nodded in approval, but he lost his mind when Carter added, “A week.”
“Nigga, you bullshitting!” Ace exclaimed.
Carter remained silent.
Ace looked back at Zyir and said, “Yo, this mu’fucka is really serious.”
“This ain’t Flint town, baby. Money flows like water in Miami, and I got a crazy connect. I’m getting the birds straight off the boat, ninety percent pure, but these Haitains is plugging up my leak, nah mean? They are taking out my soldiers, which is slowing up my money. We about to rebuild, and when we’re where we need to be, we’ll get rid of them mu’fuckas.”
Ace and Zyir trusted Carter and was with him before he even finished what he was saying.
Carter drove them to a luxury apartment community near the Diamond household. It was a 2,500-square-foot space with three bedrooms for them to share. They walked in through the attached two-car garage, a Hummer for each of them resting inside.
Carter removed two sets of keys and tossed one to each of his friends. “Y’all are all set up. This place is close to my family’s home. They live a few miles from here. I’ll take you through tomorrow to meet them and introduce you to your new workers.”
“A’ight, a’ight, fam. I know we down here on business and everything, but, nigga, this is Miami, and ya boy trying to see the city tonight. Let’s do it big tonight for ol’ times’ sake, and tomorrow we can be all about the business.” Zyir anxiously unlocked his new truck and hopped inside.
Ace and Carter laughed at Zyir’s excitement, but they knew that he was young. At 18 he still had the world to experience. They had seen and done so much more than him, and they both knew that he was only trying to follow in their footsteps.
“A’ight, fam. We can do it right. I’ll show y’all around town.”
Miamor pulled out her cell phone in the middle of the crowded club to see if Carter had called. He hadn’t tried to contact her in two days, and his sudden absence from her life was starting to bother her. She usually spoke with him at least twice a day, and he always made it a point to come and check for her. Now that he was doing disappearing acts, she didn’t know what to think.
Aries could see the discouraged look on her friend’s face. “You okay?” she shouted over the loud music.
Miamor looked up and realized that her two friends were staring at her, so she put her emotions at bay and replied, “Yeah, I’m good. I was just wondering what time it was.”
“Why hasn’t he called you?” Robyn asked, not buying Miamor’s lie.
“He’s going through a lot right now. His brother just died, and his family is having-”
“Do you hear yourself right now?” Robyn said to her. “Miamor, he is a mark. The Cartel is our mark. He runs The Cartel now. They killed Anisa.”
With each day that passed, it was becoming more difficult for Miamor to keep up the charade. Yes, it was true that she harbored ill feelings toward The Cartel and wanted to murder Mecca. But it was also true that she was falling in love with Carter. She knew it, and in a way she hated herself for it. She felt like a traitor. She wanted to be wifey, wanted to be a part of Carter’s life, but she knew that what she was building with him would eventually be torn down by a plot that she herself had devised. When the time came, she was going to kill him. She didn’t have a choice.
“Miamor, you have to get he to break de truce with Ma’tee. That is the only way we can get de bounty on de Cartel. Push him, Mia. Make he react,” Aries urged.
Miamor nodded.
“Are you sure you can handle this?” Aries asked.
“Yes,” she answered simply as she took a sip from her Long Island Iced Tea.
“Then handle it,” Robyn told her.
“Look, this is going to take some time. The Cartel is not like any of the other jobs. I have to be careful. Carter isn’t dumb. He’ll see straight through me if I’m too pushy. I have to do this my way. I have to play wifey so that he’ll trust me, but don’t worry, it’s gonna get done. I’m good, just trust me.”
“Fuck it. That’s not what we here for anyway. Let’s just have a good time,” Aries said.
The girls agreed, and Miamor leaned with her back against the bar as she swayed sexily to the music. She made sure that she could see every angle of the club, a habit that she had acquired over the years. She was always aware of her surroundings.