The Cartel (19 page)

Mecca whispered just before he pointed the gun at Leena and let off two rounds. He watched as the bullets ripped through her chest, and she fought for air.

“Noooo!” Money yelled as he rushed over to Leena and cradled her in his arms. “Breathe, Leena, breathe!” he instructed her as blood oozed out of her mouth.

Leena fought for her dear life as she gripped Money’s hands and looked into his eyes.

“Breathe, Leena!” Money screamed as he tried to keep her from slipping away. “Call an ambulance!” He looked back at Mecca, who was pacing the room with both of his hands on his head.

Mecca whispered, “Oh my God! What have I done?” He frantically continued to pace the room. He looked over at his brother and Leena, and what he saw and heard broke his heart.

Leena was taking her last breath, but before she slipped away, she looked Money in the eyes and whispered, “I love you, Monroe Carter,” just before she stared into space, leaving this earth.

A single tear slid down Money’s face, and he felt Leena’s grip suddenly loosen. He knew that she was gone.

A tear fell from Mecca’s eye also, but it wasn’t one of sorrow, but a tear of rage. He’d just witnessed the woman he loved tell his brother that she loved him. “Her last words were that she loved you, not me,” he whispered as he slowly raised his gun and pointed at Money.

Money ran his hand over Leena’s eyelids to close them, and then he gently kissed her forehead before he turned his attention on his brother. “Mecca, put the gun down.” Money put his hands in front of him. He knew his brother was unstable.

“You always thought you were better than me, nigga. You could’ve had any woman you wanted, but you had to take mines. Now look at you. Look what you made me do.

Look! Poppa and Ma always favored you over me.” Mecca’s tears fell freely down his face, and his hand began to shake. He remembered what his parents used to say when he would get in trouble and began to mimic them. “You need to be more like Monroe. Monroe wouldn’t act like that,” he said, his voice shaky.

As all of his emotions boiled over, Mecca looked Money in the eyes and let off a single shot that entered the left side of his chest where his heart resided.

Monroe heard the gunshot, but didn’t believe his own flesh and blood had shot him. As the burning sensation in his chest settled in, he fell to the ground, and his life slowly slipped away.

High out of his mind, Mecca watched as his brother lay dying in a puddle of his own blood.

“Unc Po!” Mecca yelled into the phone as he held his twin brother’s corpse in his arms, “They killed Money. Oh my God! They killed my brother!” He instantly regretted what he had done, and remorse quickly brought his cocaine high down.

“Mecca, what are you talking about? Calm down! What’s going on?” Polo didn’t want to believe what he’d just heard.

“Them Haitian mu’fuckas, they killed Money!” Mecca responded as he cried like a baby.

“No, no, no.” Polo dropped to his knees. The news of his godson’s death was too much for him to bear.

“They killed Leena too. Come and get me, Unc. They killed Money. They killed my brother,” Mecca stated as he wept uncontrollably. He hung up the phone and put his own gun to his head. “I love you, bro. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” Mecca whispered right before he pulled the trigger, but fortunately for him, the gun jammed.

*    *    *

A knock at the door awakened Carter and Miamor, and he sleepily arose to answer it.

“Mr. Jones, I have an urgent message from your uncle.” The concierge held out the piece of folded paper.

Carter opened it and read the words:

Money was killed last night. Come home immediately. It’s an emergency. Polo

“Fuck!” Carter screamed as he punched the wall nearest him and balled the tiny note up in his palm. He rested his head against the doorframe and let out a roar of pain that caused a shiver to run down the concierge’s spine.

Miamor rushed to his side. “Oh my God! Carter, what’s wrong?”

“We’ve got to go. Pack your things. I have an emergency back home,” he said through tear-filled eyes.

“Bitch, you’s a Murder Mama! … We don’t give a fuck where the coroner bag ‘em.”

—Robyn

“B
itch, are you paying attention to me?” Robyn threw a pillow in Miamor’s face, snapping her out of her trance.

“Yeah, I’m listening. I hear you, damn,” Miamor replied with a slight attitude as she tossed the pillow back.

“Whatever. You didn’t hear nothing me just said,” Aries teased. “Bring your head out de clouds, Miamor. We got a chance to get back at The Cartel and get at that mu’fucka that killed your sister. This is important.”

The three girls sat comfortably on Miamor’s bed while they plotted their revenge. Miamor was trying her hardest to concentrate, but she couldn’t. Every time she closed her eyes, Carter crept into her thoughts. Her time in Costa Rica was like a fantasy. He had showed her a side of life that she had never experienced before and had opened up the heart that she thought had been forever closed by lock and key.

Miamor shook her head, sat up against her headboard, and looked at both of her friends. They were her sisters, her partners in crimes, and she knew that her distraction could put them in jeopardy.
I have to get focused,
she thought.

“What did that nigga do to you over on that island?” Robyn asked with an insinuating tone. “I know you ain’t stressing him like that. Not Miamor, not the one who said niggas ain’t good for shit, but a broken heart.”

“He’s not like that,” Miamor stated in Carter’s defense.

“I know I did not just hear she say that.” Aries put her hand on Miamor’s forehead. “Are you sick or something? ‘Cuz this ain’t de same bitch I sent over to that island.”

Miamor had to laugh as she knocked Aries’ hand away. “I’m serious. Yo, he’s not like that. I don’t know, there’s something about him that has me stuck. He’s … he’s … ”

“You fucked him, didn’t you?” Robyn asked.

The smile that spread across Miamor’s face revealed the answer before she could even speak.

“Ohh. She fucked him! Was he good? ‘Cuz he could get it any day from me.” Aries stood up and bounced her voluptuous behind up and down doing a freaky dance. “I would put it on him.”

Miamor laughed as she pulled a .45 from the shoulder holster she was wearing. She removed the clip and popped the single bullet from the chamber then pointed the pistol at her friend. “Bitch, I’m-a put this on you if you keep talking like that.”

Aries ignored Miamor’s idle threats as she continued to pop her ass and hips. “Whatever. I would have that fine mu’fucka all up in me. Them bullets don’t stop no show.”

Miamor and Robyn were laughing so hard that tears were coming to their eyes.

“Okay, okay, can ya’ll bitches concentrate for a hot little minute while we discuss this business?” Robyn asked.

Aries stopped dancing and sat back down on the bed, while Robyn pulled the daily newspaper from her Hermes bag and spread it across the bed.

“You think Ma’tee still want the Cartel job done?” Robyn asked.

“I don’t know. There was a truce or something established between them, so now I’m not so sure.” Miamor shook her head.

“Well, you need to call and see, because we gon’ get at the boy Mecca, regardless. We might as well get paid in the process. You feel me?” Robyn asked.

Miamor nodded and flipped up her cell phone to dial Mat’ee.

Ma’tee greeted her as soon as he answered the phone, “Miamor? Me ain’t hear from yuh? How yuh doin'?”

He knew exactly who was calling him due to his hightech security. When he received a call, he knew your first and last name along with your current location, so she wasn’t surprised. He was always on point.

“I’m well. Thanks for asking,” she hesitated but was urged on when she noticed Aries waiting in anticipation. “Look, I’m calling regarding that unfinished business we had with each other. You still need that job done?” she asked, getting straight to the point.

“Unfortunately, me have to put that on hold. After what happened at me little angel’s party, me hand was forced to call a truce. Me a man of honor. Me word is all me have. Me will not break de truce. The only way me will put the contract back up is if de Cartel break de agreement first. Then and only then will me pay yuh for de bounty.”

“I hear you. Look, if you change your mind, we’re ready. Just say the word, and we’ll make it happen. Is the ticket still the same on that?” she asked.

Ma’tee let out a small chuckle. “If they do not hold up their end, then me will pay one point five for it.”

“Well, like I said, Ma’tee, I’m trying to see that, so let me know,” she said before hanging up.

“What did he say?” Robyn asked eagerly.

“Bounty’s not good unless The Cartel breaks the truce first. Otherwise, he is going to keep his word. He’s willing to pay a mill five, if they do show shade.”

“Then we have to make sure the Cartel breaks de truce, so we can see that cash and kill de kid Mecca,” Aries replied.

“I don’t know, y’all. Y’all talking about initiating a war between two sides that have agreed to lay low. With everything that happened with Nis, my head is all over the place. Emotions throw my judgment off. Everything I’ve been going through with her death has me all fucked up. I don’t know if I’m ready to get at them again.”

“It’s hard on all of us, Mia. We loved Anisa too, and it’s not just about the money anymore. They made it personal when the nigga Mecca killed her,” Robyn said.

“I haven’t forgotten, Robyn. He’s gon’ get it, believe that,” Miamor said, venom in her voice and tears in her eyes.

“Well, we think we found a way to get at him and bring down the Cartel too.” Robyn pointed her finger at the newspaper on the bed, causing Miamor to pay attention to it.

“Is this Mecca’s obituary?” Miamor picked up the paper and studied the face closely. Confusion swept over her face, and her forehead dropped in a deep frown. “Somebody got to him before we did?”

“Not Mecca, his twin brother Monroe,” Aries stated smugly.

Robyn added, “The funeral’s tomorrow, Mia. You know Mecca and the rest of The Cartel will be there. It’s our chance to catch ‘em while they’re weak,”

Miamor lifted her eyes from the newspaper to meet Robyn’s gaze. “At his brother’s funeral?” she said with doubt. “I don’t know.”

“Bitch, you’s a Murder Mama! Ain’t nothing to think about. We don’t give a fuck where the coroner bag ‘em. The nigga disrespected—” Robyn yelled.

“So he got to get it,” Aries chimed in, finishing her friend’s sentence. “Fuck them, Mia. Let’s get at these niggas.”

Miamor nodded her head in agreement, and in an instant the coldness in her heart settled back in. Fuck The Cartel. Fuck Mecca, his world, and everyone in it. Miamor was about to avenge her sister’s death and make Mecca’s mother feel what she had felt when she buried her sister.

“I’m in.”

Mecca sat in the family room of the Diamond house. His insides were hollow, and he cried to himself, tears falling uncontrollably from his eyes.
What did I do? Money, my baby, my blood, what the fuck did I do?
he thought silently. His conscience was eating him alive. He had murdered his twin brother. They had come out of the womb together, and now that Money was gone, Mecca didn’t feel whole. He couldn’t believe that his rage had blinded him to this point, and he knew that if he hadn’t been so intoxicated from the drugs and booze that his temper would’ve never taken him so far.
I’m so sorry, bro. I love you, baby. I love you, man.
His mind was spinning, and his heart ached. “This is all my fault,” he cried.

“Mecca, this is not on you. Those Haitians are to blame for this, not you. Nobody saw this coming,” Polo stated as he paced back and forth.

Mecca knew that the lie he’d told would hold up. It was a convenient story that pointed the blame toward their beef with Ma’tee, but seeing the anguish that he had caused his family was more than he could take.

“Why is this happening to us?” Breeze asked. “First Poppa, now Money. They are tearing our family apart.” Her eyes were red and swollen as if she hadn’t gotten sleep for days. She looked to her mother for answers.

But Taryn was stricken beyond belief and couldn’t open her mouth to answer. She knew that if she spoke then, her tears would leak from their confinement. She couldn’t allow that to happen. Just as she had been the foundation that held her family up during her husband’s funeral, she had to be strong now and perform what was once her husband’s role and be the glue that held her family together.

The sound of the doorbell interrupted them, and Mecca went to answer it. When he opened the door, Carter stood before him. They slapped hands, and when Carter pulled him close, they fell into a hug as Mecca cried. Young Carter was the only brother he had left. The only other male in the Diamond family he could call on. He was family, and all they had was each other. “I’m sorry, fam,” Mecca sobbed.

Holding his brother and hearing him break down caused tears to come to Carter’s eyes. “It’s all right, fam. Let it out, baby, let it out,” Carter whispered as he pulled Mecca’s head into his chest as if he was his lil’ nigga.

Mecca was always so boisterous, so hard; now his spirit was half gone. He was getting ready to bury a part of himself, and he knew that when Money’s casket hit the dirt, his heart would too. His twin brother was gone, and Carter had no idea that Monroe’s death had been at the hands of Mecca himself.

Polo stepped into the foyer, but when he witnessed the two men united as brothers he paused. He didn’t want to interrupt their moment.

“He was my brother, man. My baby,” Mecca sobbed.

Carter and Mecca released one another. They stood there face to face, and for the first time there wasn’t even the slightest bit of animosity between them.

When Polo cleared his throat, they turned around to face him. “We need to talk. In the kitchen,” he said.

They followed Polo to the kitchen and took a seat at the table.

Carter stared at Polo. “How the fuck did this happen?”

“It’s my fault, man. Money took Leena home because of me. We had a fight, and he was doing me a favor. Once I cooled down, I decided to go over there to check on her. When I got there, I saw two dread mu’fuckas running out of her crib. I rushed in to see about Leena, and they both were laid out in there, fam.” Mecca dropped his head, unable to hold his brother’s stare. He couldn’t tell them what he had done. It was something that he would take to his grave.