Array Ashley - The Last Chapter

“Are you okay?” he asked as he held his chest. It was tender, sore, and felt like it had been hit with a bat swung by Barry Bonds.

“Yeah, I’m good,” Breeze answered as she hugged her brother tightly.

Mecca heard commotion in the hall and knew that there were more goons coming. He thought quickly and looked toward the window for an escape route.

“Come on,” he said as he pulled Breeze toward the window, knowing that his one gun couldn’t go up against whatever was about to come his way. Mecca, all of a sudden, heard shots ringing out and three bodies dropped, tumbling over one another. Mecca quickly pointed his gun at the door, ready to bust at whatever came through. He breathed heavily and stood in front of Breeze, willing to be her shield.

Carter and Zyir had just dropped the three Mexicans with their accurate shots, and they made their way to the room where they knew Mecca and Breeze were.

“Mecca!” Carter yelled as he ran down the hall with his gun in a firing position.

“In here!” he heard Mecca yell from the suite.

Zyir and Carter ran to the door, but looked back and noticed about ten more Mexicans coming from the staircase. Zyir and Carter quickly dipped into the room and closed the door, knowing that they only had seconds to think of something.

“Is Breeze okay?” Zyir asked as he ran to her and she hugged him tightly while still crying hysterically. “I got you, ma,” Zyir whispered in her ear as he rubbed her hair. That moment was short-lived because Zyir knew that they would be busting in at any moment.

“How many?” Mecca yelled as he pointed his gun at the door along with Carter, waiting for them to come in.

“Too many,” Zyir said as he shook his head.

“He’s right. We can’t win,” Carter said as he thought about how many goons he saw at the far end of the hall, heading their way.

“We have to jump. It’s the only way to make it out alive,” Zyir said as he slid the patio door open and looked down at the pool five stories below.

“Fuck we waiting for?” Mecca asked frantically while still aiming at the door.

The sounds of bullets trying to shoot the lock off erupted, and they had to make their decision quick. The old Mecca would have never thought twice about shooting it out with the Mexicans and dying in the blaze of glory, but the new Mecca wanted to live. He thought about Leena and his nephew and the fact that he hadn’t gotten his redemption yet. That reason alone was enough for him to concede defeat and try to escape.

“Fuck it!” Mecca said as he hurried to the balcony and looked over. Without hesitation, he jumped feet first into the deep pool. Breeze, then Zyir, followed suit and jumped also. Carter was the last to jump. Just before Carter jumped, the door flew open and the sounds of the drums letting loose and releasing numerous bullets sounded. Bullets whizzed by Carter’s head and body, forcing him to jump prematurely. He landed into the water and they barely got away.

The Garza Cartel was too much for them to handle. Ruthless would have been an understatement.

Carter and Breeze were stationed outside of the warehouse, waiting for Zyir and Mecca to return. The plan was for them to retrieve all of their owed money out of the streets and flee the state. The long arm of the Garza Cartel was too much for Carter and The Cartel. Carter made an executive decision to leave town; he chose not to fight another war. He was smart enough to know when he could not win. The Cartel was not as strong as it once was, and this was the proof. The Mexicans had pushed them into a corner, and this was the last resort.

“Is everything going to be okay?” Breeze asked her big brother in her most innocent voice. Carter could sense the fear in her tone, and he calmly looked over at her and smiled.

“I got you, Breeze. Everything is going to be all right. Tonight is the last night we ever will step foot in Miami. This drug game has tore this family apart. I’m going to make sure that I put this family back together and start a new type of legacy, one built on love and not power. I got you, baby girl,” he said as he leaned over and kissed her forehead.

Breeze felt warm inside, and for a brief second, she thought she was listening to her father. Young Carter resembled him so much, and he also had a way of letting her know that everything would be okay, just as her deceased father did when he was still alive. Breeze smiled and sat back in the seat, confident in his words.

“We just have to go in here, count the money, and wait for the sun to rise so we can head out to the airport,” Carter said. He felt safe at the warehouse, knowing it was a spot that the Mexicans would not think to look for them. His plans were to end The Cartel’s legacy that night and leave the drug game behind.

Mecca and Zyir pulled up with three duffel bags full of money. They had collected all of their funds out of the streets, and if blocks were short, they just took what they had and called it even. They needed cold, hard cash to relocate and start over.

Carter and Breeze saw Mecca’s car pull behind them, and they got out of the car to enter the warehouse. Soon, they would all be on a private jet to an unknown location. Well, at least that was their plan.

Members of the Garza Cartel were parked about a half-mile away from the warehouse, waiting for The Cartel to arrive, and just as they thought, they were there. They were waiting for them to enter so they could go in and ambush them and leave them all dead. They looked through binoculars, watching the whole scenario unfold. Little did they know, they weren’t the only eyes watching The Cartel on that night.

Murder waited patiently on the side of the building watching The Cartel walk in. He smiled as he thought about what was about to happen. He held a detonator in his lap. He was about to send all of them to hell, first class. Murder was doing this for Miamor, and it made him feel good inside.

He watched closely as they all entered the building just before he pulled away. He waited until he got far enough to be clear of the upcoming explosion.

“Fuck The Cartel,” he mumbled as he pushed the button and heard the loud boom of the explosives go off. He began to drive away as the debris flew into the air and a massive fireball formed fifty feet into the air. His mission was done and The Cartel was officially over.

“May they all burn in hell,” he said as he chuckled to himself, disappearing into the night.

“We are gathered here today to celebrate the lives of three of God’s children.”

The preacher stood before the many people who attended the funeral of street royalty. It was a sad day in Miami, and on this day, the streets were like a ghost town. It seemed as if the entire underworld had stopped to commemorate those they had lost. Everyone within the city limits felt this grief. The lives of three street legends had been destroyed, and grief overflowed in the ceremony as three silver-plated coffins sat side by side with an array of flower arrangements around them. It was a bright, sunny day, and it seemed as if God shone his light down from the heavens above to make that hard day seem a tad bit better for the mourning attendees. It was a triple funeral to bury the last of the Diamond family-Breeze, Carter, and Mecca.

The Cartel was no more, and it was the last chapter to what was to be named one of the biggest legacies in Miami’s underworld history. Their story was legendary, ruthless… and most of all, classic.

Many people were in attendance, but the most important guests were not there to pay their final respects, but to confirm that the last of The Cartel was deceased and about to be buried into the ground.