Watch Out for the Big Girls (9 page)

Normally, on a late Monday night, Club Panties would be completely closed. For the most part, it was. Starr, Diamond, Bubbles, and Felicia were at the round table. Starr sat in the huge leather desk chair, on the phone with Queen Fem, while the other three girls stood in front of the glass oval-shaped cherry wood–grained table counting hundreds of thousands of dollars that was about to be moved from the club to the safe house. They could tell the conversation wasn't going too well. At times, it seemed as if Starr and Queen Fem never got along. They barely ever saw eye to eye. It was an apparent power struggle that quietly seemed to be getting out of control.

Queen Fem and Starr had two different visions for the Double Gs. While Queen Fem had been off the grid while flying under the radar for over a decade, Starr had been right there on the frontline, running the Double G organization with an iron fist and becoming a force to be reckoned with to those who would go against them or rebel against her demand. She felt that she had every right to make major decisions on her own without consulting her. That was second to the fact that she turned a vengeful motorcycle gang into a half-billion dollar empire. Queen Fem's problem with her young successor was that she had allowed the Double Gs to become too exposed. She had designed the organization in a way in which whenever a target was chosen and a move was being executed they were to not be seen and barely ever heard. She had expressed to Starr on many occasions how she had felt where she meant for them to be ghosts that haunted, Starr transformed them into wolves that hunted.

Both women's methods were effective so neither of them ever backed down, or away. Both women's patience was running thin with the other's method. The battle of old school versus new school was evident to those privy to the conversation. The others were counting up the last few stacks of money and packing them into the duffel bag. They couldn't help but overhear every single word that Starr freely screamed into the air as they went back and forth. It was obvious to the other members of the Double Gs that their boss and founder were unable to reach an agreement.

“Listen, Starr. You're still not comprehending the reality of this organization,” Queen Fem continued. “Power is never for sale. It is gained, earned, and exercised until the person or people in control lose it. You don't sell it or give it away. And definitely not back to the source that it came from. So I'm rejecting your ideas in every form. Please, don't go against me on this. There will only be consequences. Severe. We cannot jeopardize what we have. Definitely not for money. No matter the amount. So stick to the script and play by the rules. This conversation is over and will not be brought up again.”

The phone went dead in Starr's ear. She looked at the receiver with disbelief before violently slamming it back down into the cradle. She felt she had just been indirectly threatened and she didn't like it one bit. The Double Gs had become hers to claim, although Queen Fem still had many followers from the original group who stayed with her and protected her. But Starr and her movement was the new school. The future. The only problem was that Queen Fem possessed all of the G-Files, which Starr needed to execute her future vision for the organization.

Starr was trying to convince Queen Fem that instead of just stacking up the G-Files without putting them to use, they should sell them back to certain victims, which would generate millions in the high hundreds over a short period of six months. Queen Fem never even entertained the idea. Once a victim was in the G-Files, he was stuck for life. It wasn't about money. It was about position and power for her. One was never far behind the other. Aside from that, how Queen Fem had come to be both in possession and control of the G-Files was more valuable than the organization itself. It was also the reason she was one of the most dangerous women on the West Coast, not to mention one of the most wanted.

Still, one thing Queen Fem stated early in the conversation stood out to Starr: “You're trying to show me a way to make more money. I'm proving a way to enhance more power that money can't buy. In the end, money is paper. Go to Cuba with all of the money in the world, they'll kill you. Why? Because they have more power. Your money is useless. But if you overtake your island with power, you control everyone that comes in with money.”

Queen Fem's words went right over Starr's head. All she could think about was the secret that she had on her mentor and how damaging it could be if it ever got out. Starr hoped it never got to that point where she felt her hand was forced.

Special Agent McCarthy stayed in the federal building all night waiting for the call he was banking on. He glanced at his watch. It was nearly half an hour past the time he was expecting the incoming call. Under any normal circumstances it wouldn't have been an issue, but in this particular situation he knew thirty minutes late could possibly mean you were dead. He shook the thought out of his head. He didn't want to speak or think anything wrong or bad into existence. Besides, he really needed to ring with something he could go off of. Every informative phone call brought him closer to taking down the Double Gs, he felt. He seemed to be the only one taking the operation seriously. Had he not been so high ranking, he was sure none of the leads he received would have been followed up on. He knew no one really took the case seriously. It was the joke of the Bureau, but not to Agent McCarthy. He knew exactly what the Double Gs were capable of. He answered the phone on the first ring.

“Sheep here,” he chimed into the office phone.

“This is wolf in sheep's clothing,” the woman stated, using the code words confirming her identity and the fact that she wasn't in distress.

“Tell me something good,” he replied in a tone as low as hers.

“Well, I'm kinda stagnant. It's real hard to get any closer now. I'm trying to work my way up, but there are so many people in the way. We have a meeting next month. I'm going to finally bring a mic in to record what's going on. Right now, that's the best I can do. But I do have this one thing. I think they had this drug dealer who called himself Rob-C murdered. And I think they used the police to do it.”

Agent McCarthy's eyebrows rose. “What? What makes you say that?”

“I can't get into it right now, but I overheard it while I was in the club. Some people were laughing about what happened at his funeral.”

“What happened?”

“A video that was supposed to be a documentary of his life was passed out to everyone who attended. But instead, it was footage of him getting sodomized and all sorts of degrading stuff. Apparently, he was under the impression that he had bought his way out of the blackmail by paying $500,000 to Starr. But it wasn't the original copy.”

“So why do you think the police killed him?”

“They were ordered to. The guy must've refused to do something. Someone's coming. I have to go. But look into it yourself. I'll text you and let you know the next time we can speak.”

“Okay. Good work. Just push hard to get in position. I'm giving you the full green light. Do whatever you have to. I got you covered. Do whatever it takes to get to Queen Fem. Find out exactly who she is and where she's at!”

McCarthy cursed at the sound of the dial tone. He wasn't sure how much his plant had heard, but he hoped she'd heard enough to get the picture.

Starr navigated her black Maserati Quattro sport with the cruise control set exactly on sixty-five, which was the speed limit. It was the middle of the night and there seemed to be only a handful of cars on Interstate 15 South. She was usually a speed demon, but tonight she had to be extra cautious. She had in her trunk the duffel bags full of money that was just counted up. She didn't want any complications. She was only mere miles away before she reached her exit to the safe house just outside of Las Vegas. She had been driving for nearly an hour and a half to the California residence. Between the quiet, dark highway and the fact that she was somewhat tired, it had seemed longer to her. The music was nearly on full blast and both the driver's side and passenger's side windows were evenly cracked, leveling the crisp breeze, just to keep her awake and alert. Every few seconds she made sure her eyes rotated past her rearview and side mirrors. Her concentration was broken by the sound of her cell phone's ringtone blaring out of her car's dashboard speakers. The screen read Private. She became irritated like she always did.

“Hello!” she snapped.

“I know I said the next one would cost you, but I've decided to give you another free courtesy call, to prove a point,” the voice announced.

Starr immediately recognized the familiar anonymous caller's voice from the first call she had received before. “What point is that?” Starr wanted to know. She was pissed to the max that somebody was able to play games with her and be a step ahead of her when she was used to being in control.

“That this is real. I'm real and this is not a game,” the caller replied.

“Nah, you definitely playing games, muthafucka,” Starr barked.

The caller chuckled. “I should hang up on your disrespectful ass, but I'ma let that slide. Since you think I'm playing games, look behind you.” The caller paused.

His words were enough to put Starr on full alert. She shook her head and stretched her eyes. She reached for her dashboard and pressed a button. Within seconds, every image behind her vehicle appeared on the small four-inch screen. She had activated the rearview camera monitor's night vision. Starr squinted and focused on the monitor. She noticed a set of distinct headlights she had noticed nearly an hour ago trailing a short distance behind her. She thought nothing of it the first time, but now the anonymous caller confirmed what she had once thought. She had tailed enough people to recognize when she was being tailed herself.

“How do I know that's not you following me?”

“You don't,” he answered calmly.

Starr watched carefully. She noticed how all the other cars switched lanes, sped up, and maneuvered around the trucks. But the black Chevy Caprice maintained its speed and lane. It was a textbook tail, she thought. Starr wondered, if it wasn't the caller then who could it be? She knew there were only three options: the law enforcement for the Double Gs, stick up kids for the money in the trunk, or a hit. The more she tossed around the thought the more an attempt on her life stood out.
Queen.

“Thanks,” Starr retorted and then abruptly disconnected the call with the anonymous caller. It felt good to hang up on the caller, thought Starr. She was sure her move caught the caller off guard and that's exactly what she wanted. She touched a button on her screen to activate her car phone's voice command. “Queen Fem,” she stated clearly into the air. She could instantly hear the digital sequence tone dialing by the sophisticated computer system.

“Here,” Queen Fem answered in a flat tone.

Starr got straight to the point. “I'm being tailed. Is it on your call?”

Queen Fem let out a devilish snicker. “Please, darling. Hardly. You wouldn't see it coming and you know that. Besides, even though we barely see eye to eye these days, I do need you. Anyway, what's the problem?”

“A black Caprice. Dark tints. They've been on me for quite some time.”

“Feds, maybe?”

“I don't know, might be. I can't tell. Even if it is, they'll try to take the money I'm transporting to the safe house.”

“Well, you have to lose them. But if it isn't them, that makes our problem even worse, but solvable.”

“What do you suggest?”

“Well, you obviously can't lead them to the safe house. Stay on the highway. Keep going straight for as long as you can. They have no idea of where you're going, so they won't know they've been made and their cover's been blown.”

“What are you gonna do?”

“You mean, what are we gonna do?” Queen Fem corrected her. “This is where part of my previous point during our earlier conversation comes into play.”

“Now is not the time, Queen,” Starr retorted.

“Okay, look, keep them on you. Wait for my signal. We'll trap them off. You take care of the rest.”

“How will I know your signal?” Starr asked, confused.

“Trust me. I believe that we have much more power than you think.”

“If that's the case why don't we just call your inside contacts and find out if it is the Feds? We can deal with anyone else.”

Queen Fem sighed with frustration at the fact that her protégé just didn't get it. “Because, we always have to seem to be in control. And we are. There is no one above us. That's the message we send. So no matter who is in that vehicle, it must be clear that we are not to be taken lightly. Whoever sent them will find that out shortly. Good-bye, Starr. We'll speak shortly. I'm going back to bed. Watch for the signal. You can fill me in on the details later.”

The car went silent again. Starr had no idea what Queen Fem's signal would be. She was rarely ever specific about anything. Just then Starr's phone rang. She shook her head at the caller ID.

“You're a rude chick, you know that.” It was more of a statement than a question.

Rather than reply, Starr rolled her eyes.

“I told you before, the first one, and now the second, was free. Nothing else is free.”

Starr noticed a change in the caller's tone.

“If you want to know who, what, when, and how, the price is two million in cash, nonnegotiable. I'll be in touch.” The call went dead.

Starr slammed her hand down forcefully on her dashboard. She couldn't believe someone was trying to blackmail and bully her, a man at that. There was no way she was having that, especially when that was her forte. Starr made a mental note to investigate both the calls and the allegations. Right now she had other important matters to address. Rather than wait around for Queen Fem's signal, she activated her car phone's voice command to place another call.