The Last Chapter

him. His murder game clicked on, and he turned on his heel and headed toward the bedroom.

Fuck hitting these niggas all at once. Another opportunity like this ain’t gonna present itself, Murder thought as he preyed on Mecca, letting his gun lead the way down the pitch black hallway.

Mecca used the tiny flashlight as his only illumination as he went through Carter’s possessions. When he found the small 14 karat gold cross that his father had given him, he froze. He hadn’t seen it since the day he killed Miamor. He had beaten her so mercilessly that it had fallen from his neck. The fact that Carter now had it meant that Carter had been to Mecca’s torture house. He had seen the tools that had been used to torture Miamor.

He knows, Mecca thought. He had hoped that it would not have to come to this. He had witnessed firsthand how much Carter cared for Miamor, and this would surely put them at odds.

He just couldn’t let the bitch go. That’s why he’s been looking at me sideways. Fuck! Mecca thought. He knew what had to be done, but was no longer sure if he could do it. He did not want to murder another brother. He was trying to become a better man, and it was no longer in him to take the life of someone he loved.

As Mecca thought over his dilemma, an eerie feeling suddenly came over him. He was a breed of mankind that had not been reproduced yet, and he instantly knew that someone was behind him. He could almost smell the gunpowder from the weapon that was pointed at the back of his head.

Mecca bucked back violently. “Aghh!” He screamed as he pushed back with all his might, throwing Murder off balance as Mecca rammed him into the wall.

A fight between the two men was useless. They were both too skilled to get the best of the other. Every blow Mecca threw, Murder blocked, and each time Murder wrapped his finger around the trigger, Mecca averted his aim. Their battle was like a synchronized dance as they attacked each other with full force, each becoming increasingly frustrated because neither could gain the upper hand.

“Who the fuck sent you?” Mecca barked. He was not sure who was gunning for him now. It could easily be Estes, but with this new revelation, it could be Carter as well.

Murder finally managed to get his finger around the trigger, and he fired relentlessly as he wrestled with Mecca for control of the gun. Sparks erupted from the barrel of the gun like a fireworks display on the Fourth of July.

Murder’s skinny build failed him in a fistfight. He would shoot the shit out of a nigga before he ever sparred with him, but Mecca, on the other hand, was good with his hands. Mecca’s well-built, solid frame allowed him to finally overpower Murder, causing the gun to go flying across the room.

Murder knew that Mecca was strapped, and went for the only exit in the room, the bedroom balcony. He ran full force, breaking through the glass, and disappeared before Mecca could get off a shot. Mecca was far from a rookie, however. It was the same exact escape that he had used to get away from Estes’ goons, and his hollow point bullets could swim. He knew to aim straight for the pool below.

He reached out and rushed to lean over the balcony, only to find the pool undisturbed below.

“Fucking nigga ain’t Superman. Where the fuck did he-” Mecca stated in confusion, but before he could even finish his sentence, Murder’s gun emerged from the balcony below. Without hesitation, he fired, hitting Mecca in the face.

Murder was grateful that he always carried a weapon on his ankle as he ran through the empty condo and out the front door, where he skirted off into the night.

The music in the club blared loudly as Carter sat back in the booth while a beautiful Mexican girl danced in front of him. His eyes graced the delicate curves of her body as she put on the best performance he had ever seen. Seeing her before him made him feel empty inside. Outwardly, no one would be able to tell that he was in turmoil, but in the privacy of his heart, he was broken from losing Miamor.

I should have been there for her. I could have stopped Mecca if she had just come to me. How did I not know what was going on right underneath my nose? A part of Carter felt like he did not even know Miamor. She had lived a lifestyle so closely linked to his that it was scary. His logic told him that he had been a target of hers along with the rest of The Cartel, but he could never bring himself to believe that she would ever bring him harm. The love that they had built was too deep, and although so many things she had told him had been lies, he knew that her feelings for him had been truth. He was in a daze as he thought of her, placing her face on the dancer in front of him.

“They don’t make tits like these in Miami, eh?” Felipe asked, interrupting Carter’s thoughts. “This is pure bred Mexicana pussy,” he bragged as he tipped generously and sipped at his glass of cognac.

Carter chuckled as he raised his glass to acknowledge the beauty that surrounded him in the club.

“This is the business that you need to get into. The drug money is good, but this is where it’s at,” Felipe stated surely.

“Prostitution?” Carter said doubtfully.

Felipe shook his head and smiled coyly while pointing at Carter. “No, my friend. That’s where you’re wrong.” He pointed to the girls around the club. “This right here, this is just one entity. Trafficking, that’s what I’m into. I buy and sell girls. I put them to work in clubs, brothels, on the street. Sex is man’s biggest addiction, Carter. I supply that demand, and it makes me filthy rich. Let me show you something.”

Carter stood and followed Felipe through the club as he explained his operation. “This club is one of many of my establishments. I own every property on this street, and each one serves its purpose.” Felipe led Carter out the front door and then pointed to the house next door. “That house right there is the brothel, and the one next to it is an auction house.”

“An auction house, as in slave auctions,” Carter stated condescendingly.

“Modern day slavery, if that is what you would like to call it. Human trafficking is big business. It is happening all over the world. I buy my girls from all over and I put them to work. Pump ‘em up on heroin and they’ll do anything I say.”

“How do you keep them from running away?” Carter asked as they stepped into the brothel house.

“Where are they going to go? They have no one, no family. They come from many different places. Some from Africa, some from Asia, the Caribbean… you name it. All they have is me and the addiction that holds them hostage,” Felipe replied.

The house was littered with drug paraphernalia. Dirty needles lay out on tables, and the smell of sex filled the air. Carter was almost too disgusted to continue the tour. He could only imagine the type of clientele that frequented the spot. Brothel was just a friendly name for a whorehouse, in his opinion, and he knew that this would never be a type of venture he would be interested in taking. He didn’t believe in exploitation, and as Carter looked around the house he knew that the women trapped there were simply waiting to die.

“The money never touches the girls’ hands. The men pay the madame on the way in,” Felipe stated.

He expected Carter to be impressed, but his creased brow revealed his contempt. His moral compass allowed him to do many things. He had killed, robbed, and deceived, but to kill a person’s soul and force them into prostitution was beyond Carter’s ability. His moral compass would not allow him to ever become that lost.

“I know what you’re thinking. You think I’m running a trashy establishment here,” Felipe stated. “I only buy the best girls. Let me show you the grade-A pussy I’m selling here.”

He led Carter up the stairs to one of the closed bedroom doors. Before Felipe opened it, he said, “All you need is a few like this one in here, and men will come from everywhere to sample her. She is my big moneymaker.”

He opened the door, and when Carter stepped in, his heart broke in half. The sight before him almost brought him to his knees. It was as if he were seeing a ghost.

She’s supposed to be dead. How long has she been here?

As the girl lifted her head, her eyes met Carter’s. It had been a long time since they had seen one another. It was a reunion that neither of them ever thought would come. Before him was Breeze Diamond, on her knees in front of a john. She was so high out of her mind that she did not believe what was appearing before her very eyes. She had imagined her family too many times to get her hopes up. She was so high that she thought Carter was simply another customer waiting to be serviced. She shed a single tear as she lowered her head back into the man’s crotch and went back to work.