Cartier Cartel (14 page)

"How you sound, Lil Momma?" Cartier asked, looking back and forth
between Lil Momma and Shanine. "You siding with Shanine and all of this
is my fault?"

"Cartier, if you gonna take all the glory, then you gotta take the fucking
guilt." Lil Momma stood her ground. "We all told you that it wasn't a good
idea hugging the block alone, but you wouldn't hear it. Now look."

Cartier's first instinct was to bust Shanine's and Lil Momma's asses. She
felt they disrespected her on two fronts: first, disrespecting her in her own
house and challenging her authority. As her chest heaved up and down,
internally, she calmed herself. She read only a fool reacts out of anger. She
wanted to be diplomatic about this. She knew she had to choose her words
wisely and hopefully come to some sort of resolution, while still maintaining her crew's respect.

"Look, we're all upset behind what happened to Barn, but at this point
we don't know what happened until she's able to tell us," Cartier explained
in her most rational voice. "We can sit around pointing fingers all day, but
what's that going to get us? Not when there's still money to be made." She
held up Bar's stash of cash and heroin to make her point.

"We didn't lose our reup money," Cartier continued. "And we can't allow
Barn's tragedy to be in vain. Whoever did this to Barn, did it to drive us apart.
Now, more than ever, we need to stick together and go back on the block and
prove that the Cartier Cartel don't fold under pressure."

Lil Momma didn't like what she was hearing. She loved her life and from
the moment she heard about Barn's beat-down, she had been reflecting on
her life.

"Go back on the block and sling drugs?" she voiced loudly. "Are you
crazy? Do you want what happened to Barn to happen to me, or Shanine,
or Monya, or hell, even you? What's wrong with you, Cartier? You're not
thinking straight."

"See, this is exactly what happened in the movie-"

"This isn't a movie and we're not actors, Cartier," Shanine said, cutting
her off. "This is some real shit. Barn got her brain smashed in! What's it gonna
take to get through your thick head that we can't hang with the big boys? We
all need to stay in our lanes and go back to boosting."

Cartier had had enough arguing with her scary friends. She was
disappointed and shocked that they wanted to throw in the towel so quickly.

"Look, whoever don't want to be a member of the Cartier Cartel, can
get the fuck out," she offered. "But remember, if you walk out that front door
there's no coming back. We will no longer be crew and I will walk past you on
the street like we never met."

Shanine, Lil Momma, and Monya heeded her warning and thought
about the consequences. For each member it was a tough call. Lil Momma and Shanine were the two who had to make a decision. They knew Monya's
loyalty was to Cartier, although both Cartier and Monya were more jealous
friends than true friends.

Lil Momma was the first to speak up. "I'm out."

"Me too," Shanine replied. Both girls looked at Monya, who shook her
head. There wasn't any way she was going against the grain. She had big
dreams now and boosting couldn't fulfill those dreams. Hugging the block
for a couple years would get her closer to realizing her dreams. Plus, she did
the math in her head and with Bam, Shanine, and Lil Momma out, the shares
would be split into half. Her dreams would be realized faster now.

"OK, it's done. Shanine and Lil Momma, bounce," Cartier commanded.
"We're no longer sisters!"

Both girls hesitated. They were hurt by Cartier's words and tone. But
the one thing they had learned explicitly from the Cartel was business was
business. They wanted their cut of the money.

"No problem, Cartier, we out;' Lil Momma said. "But give us our share
of the money."

"Nah, Bee, you knew what it was from day one," Cartier replied. "I
specifically said that if anyone abandons the crew, they walk away from all
stakes in the game. That rule applies to you and Shanine. I wasn't talking back
then just for my health:"

Lil Momma's rebuttal was stopped by Shanine.

"Cartier, it's all good, but God don't like ugly. Keep our money and I
promise you, you won't get to spend it."

"Oh, you threatening me, bitch?" Cartier jumped in Shanine's face.

Shanine stood her ground and shook her head. "It's not a threat, it's a
promise. The laws of the universe."

"Don't worry about them silly bitches," Monya interjected. "They just
scared. They'll be back."

"Didn't you just hear what I said? They can't come back," Cartier replied,
rolling her eyes. She opened her closet and pulled out the shoebox that
contained the crew's savings. She dumped all the money on her bed, adding
the money from Bam's earnings, and she and Monya counted the money
together.

The crew had managed to save $31,800, not including the $12,500 of
reup money. Cartier and Monya figured at this rate, they'd be millionaires in
two years.

ttorneys hated crimes in the hood, because witnesses were scarce. A
crime could happen and a hundred people saw it, but not one would
step forward. However, that didn't stop information on the crime from
spreading. What the justice system didn't know, the hood knew twelve hours
after the crime occurred.

By ten o'clock that morning, Cartier's phone began blowing up. She
was informed that Donnie had beat down Bam, and unfortunately not one
witness had put an end to his savageness.

"Yo, he gotta get it!" Cartier spat at Monya. "That punk motherfucker
gonna bleed just like Bam. It ain't over."

"That crab-ass faggot gonna get his one day!" Monya shouted.

"One day?" Cartier replied in a surprised tone. "Today is his
doomsday!"

"Who you gonna get to fuck him up?" Monya weakly asked.

"Who? You gotta be kidding me. We gonna do it."

"What?" Monya knew Cartier was upset. She was hoping Cartier was
just talking, but she knew her friend. She saw the seriousness on her face and
the venom in her voice.

"Donnie is a little punk. He ain't thorough. I know I gets busy with my
hands, and if we catch him slipping, it's a wrap. Just have my back," Cartier beefed.

"I don't know about this, Cartier. You know he carries a gun at all
times."

"He ain't gonna use it. If he was, why didn't he use it on Bam? 'Cause he's
more pussy than my vagina, that's why. I'm tired of motherfuckers thinking
they can play us. If we fuck up Donnie, do you know how much rep we'll get
off that? Way more than we got off Shorty Dip. You see how no one wanted to
give us our props off Dip 'cause our moms helped us fight. If we do this, then
we'll get the props. No one else!"

Are you crazy?" Monya yelled, questioning Cartier's sanity. Her voice
quivered with each word. "That motherfucker carries a gun and pistol-whips
bitches. What part of that don't you understand? Do you want to end up like
Bam, 'cause I sure don't!"

Cartier sucked her teeth. "Listen to how the fuck you sound. You saying
we should just let this shit slide? I don't know about you, but my moms didn't
raise me to back down to anyone!"

Monya cut her eyes at Cartier's implication, and then ran her hands
through her hair. She knew trying to talk Cartier out of confronting Donnie
was like talking to a brick wall. Hopeless. Cartier was ready to set it off for her
peoples and she needed Monya to have her back.

"Cartier, I got a bad feeling about this;' Monya pressed the issue, "but if
you want to do this, then you know I got you."

Monya knew it was useless trying to talk Cartier out of this. She was
obsessed with fucking up Donnie. She had to go along to get along in this
matter and hope it ended for the best.

That night Cartier got Jason to help lure Donnie back on the block.
Donnie pulled up and immediately his eyes widened at the sight before him.
Monya was hugging his block, slinging. Donnie jumped out of the car and
started running toward Monya.

When Monya spotted him, she ran. And just as they planned, Donnie gave chase. Monya bent the corner and ran into the narrow alleyway, before
she eventually slowed down.

"I'ma whip your bony ass, bitch!" Donnie managed to get out. He was
winded. Although still young, his days of smoking had caught up with him,
and those two blocks of running were gruesome. He leaned over, braced his
hands on his thighs, and began to take deep breaths.

Cartier witnessed everything. She was waiting for an opportunity to get
Donnie when he was vulnerable, and this was the perfect moment. Cartier
crept up behind him with a steel pipe in her hands and swung wildly. The first
hit caught him by surprise, thrust him forward, and he landed on one knee.
The second blow knocked him off balance and he collapsed face-forward.

Before Cartier could swing the pipe a third time, Donnie swung around
and caught the pipe with his hand and pulled Cartier to the ground.

Monya stood frozen with fear as Donnie and Cartier struggled. She heard
Cartier call her name, but fear gripped her. She could see Donnie's hands
wrapped tightly around Cartier's throat and Cartier fighting frantically for
her life. She had never known fear like this, a fear that controlled her whole
body. Although she tried to will her feet to move, she stayed in the same spot,
as if she was lifeless.

As Cartier and Donnie continued to fight, Cartier was finally able to
bite down on Donnie's thumb. She held on like a pitbull, until she tasted
blood. The pain that shot through his body was enough to get him off Cartier.
Donnie hopped up quickly and kicked Cartier in the abdomen with his size
twelve Timberland boots.

Cartier folded into the fetal position and clutched her stomach. She
could hardly catch her breath. She gasped for air as she watched in horror
while Donnie reached into his waistband for his burner.

"Monya, help!" Cartier managed to scream before the loud blast of his
cannon reverberated through the air.

Cartier didn't move. She didn't know if it was seconds or minutes that passed. Time stood still for her. When she opened her eyes, she felt the heavy
weight of a collapsed body lying on top of her. Her eyes popped opened in
shock as Donnie's lifeless body covered hers like a sack of heavy rocks.

Monya stood over both bodies, hysterical. Once again she was frozen
with fear. She was terrified still. She saw Cartier's lips moving, but couldn't
make out the words.

Cartier knew Monya was catatonic for now. She saw the large, fourteeninch butcher knife protruding from Donnie's back. As he lay on top of her, she
could feel his heartbeat slow down until it permanently stopped. Although
she was mortified, she knew she couldn't panic. She pushed the heavy man
off of her and got to her feet. It took all of her strength to dig the knife from his
back. Next, as her hands trembled, she reached into his pockets and retrieved
two wads of bills held together with rubber bands, his makeshift money clip.
She then slid the Rolex watch off his wrist, and took his diamond chain and
pinky ring.