“If they move like they used to, it’s hard to catch them together all at once. We tried to kill them one at a time, and that plan only backfired on us. I know how you get down, but you’re only one man. You’ll be going against a thousand niggas just as grimy as you are.
“This time, don’t even give them a chance to hit back. You can’t kill one; you have to kill them all. If you want to get them and do it right, you have to infiltrate their organization. You have to get close and go from the inside out,” Robyn said, thinking about how they failed at every attempt to take down The Cartel using other tactics.
“Fuck that! I’ma do this my way,” Murder said as his trigger finger began to itch.
“No, Murder. Chu have to listen to Robyn. You are going to be next if you go in blazing. Me no want to see no more dying. If anybody is going to be put in the dirt, let it be someone from the other side. Trust us. Please just do it our way,” Aries pleaded as she looked into Murder’s bloodshot eyes.
Robyn placed her hand on Murder’s shoulder and looked in his eyes. She noticed the burning desire for revenge, and she had to let Murder know that he was dealing with a different breed when it came to The Cartel. “Murder, these niggas not playing. If you kill one, they are going to come and kill ten of yours. That’s how they operate, so you have to do this thing right. You have to get in good with them and find out a way to kill them all at once. That way, you can dismantle them from the top. Kill the head, and the body will fall. Trust me!” Robyn said as a tear dropped as she thought of Miamor.
Murder nodded his head, giving in to her. He was willing to do whatever it took to take down The Cartel.
“We are going to get these niggas back,” Robyn said as she quickly wiped the tear away and looked into the waves bouncing on top of the massive body of water.
“I want to do this one alone. The best way to do something is to do it solo. That’s how I work,” Murder said as he dropped his head and shook it from side to side. He then looked over at Aries and said, “Let’s get this over with.”
Aries opened the urn that had Miamor’s remains in it. They decided to have her cremated because there was no way that she could have a funeral. Mecca had cut her up in four different pieces to prevent any hopes of a traditional open casket ceremony. Aries took a deep breath, glancing at Robyn and then Murder before she dropped a tear and released the ashes into the ocean. Forever Miamor would sleep with the fishes.
Chapter Seven
“Even family will betray you.”
– Garza
Carter may have been locked up, but he wasn’t dead, and in any circumstance, his survival instincts always kicked in. He was a hustler and could sell whatever, whenever, wherever, and prison was no exception. He knew of the weakened state that The Cartel was in, and he did not want to depend on anyone to keep him afloat, so although they had trapped his body, the feds could not contain his hustle. They had taken him off of the streets, but he had brought the streets to him.
He easily brought his product into the prison, and now he was running a lucrative heroin operation while locked up. The one thing that the game had taught him was that everybody loved money, and as long as everyone ate, things ran smoothly. Using a bitch as a mule was a sure way to get caught, so instead, he put correctional officers on his payroll. They brought it into the prison for him, and Zyir ensured that they were compensated properly with an anonymous wire transfer into each of their personal bank accounts. The guards were making more money working for Carter than they did on their day jobs, which made them compliant with all of his requests.
Carter wasn’t flashy, however. He got money low key, keeping just enough to keep his books full, and then had the rest delivered to Zyir, who was putting it toward his case. He kept to himself, and spent his time reading books. He knew that the only person who truly cared about his freedom was himself, so he educated himself on the law so that the system would not be able to jam him up. He refused to let the feds lock him up and throw away the key.
As he sat silently on his bed, he peeked up at his cellmate. He knew that the Mexican cat did not like him, and the feeling was mutual. Carter would much rather be in a cell alone, but the overcrowding issues of the prison made it nearly impossible. The two never spoke. They kept a respectable distance from one another, always keeping their interactions to the bare minimum. They were a part of two different worlds, and because they had respect for the game that they both played, they had established an unspoken truce. What Carter did not know was that Garza had been watching him, and he had the power to offer Carter what he desperately craved-his freedom.
Carter sat alone at his table in the cafeteria as he ate silently. Although other members of The Cartel were incarcerated with him, he felt no need to be friendly. They were there for his protection and only his protection. He didn’t need another man to keep him company; his thoughts were enough. Miamor plagued his mind, as did the current state of The Cartel. They needed a plug and needed it bad. The low quality heroin he was running through the prison was not potent enough for his outside dealings. Scarcity made it acceptable inside the walls, but on the outside, it was a completely different game. Zyir and Mecca were grasping at straws trying to secure other connects, but nobody was willing to mess with them. Everyone was afraid of the repercussions of being associated with The Cartel. He was carrying huge burdens on his shoulders, and being locked up made him feel powerless. Detaching himself from the outside would be the only way that he would become accustomed to prison, but with Zyir, Mecca, and the responsibilities that came with being the leader of The Cartel it was hard to block it out.
As Carter ate, he watched an inmate approach his table. Carter continued to eat, unfazed as one of the members of The Cartel got up from the table next to him. His goons were never out of arm’s reach.
“Hold up, homeboy,” the loyal affiliate stated as he stopped the inmate in his tracks.
“Yo, I’m not on no beef shit. I know better than to beef with this man. I just came to rap with him for a second,” the inmate stated as he pulled a carton of cigarettes out of the top of his jail jumpsuit. The cigarettes were a sign of respect. In prison, money did not come easy, so the fact that the little nigga had spent a nice chunk of his commissary on them bought him a moment of Carter’s time.
Carter’s goon looked at him for approval, and Carter nodded his head for him to let the boy pass. The goon patted the inmate down for good measure to ensure that the visit really was a friendly one.
“Carter, I’ve heard a lot about you, and I just wanted to personally introduce myself. I’m from Opa-Locka, and when I was on the outside, I was doing my thing thing, you know?” he stated as he clapped his hands together. “I know that’s your territory and all, ‘cause you sent the young goon Zyir through to shut my shit down. I wanted to let you know ain’t no hard feelings or nothing on my end, but I am trying to get on board with your movement. I’m outta here in a few months, and I don’t got nothing to go home to. Like, nothing, fam. So when I say I’m hungry, I mean it. I don’t want to make the mistake of stepping on your toes again, so I wanted to know what I have to do to get down. I’ll put in work any way you need me to,” the guy finished.
Carter continued to eat and didn’t even look up as he said, “What did you say your name was?”
“Ibrahim,” the guy replied.
Carter took his time and gathered his thoughts before he spoke. The uncomfortable silence between the two men made the inmate shift nervously from side to side.
Finally, Carter looked up at the dude. “Sit down, my man. Everybody don’t need to hear what I’m about to say.”