Cartier Cartel

by Nisa Santiago

  Each pair of girls and Barn filed into the small, quaint boutique and overwhelmed the two sales associates. They all inundated the two women with dozens of questions while making them go back and forth pulling various styles of mink coats.

  Lil Momma, Bam, and Shanine each had two garment bags draped over their arms. The top garment bag was filled with a puffy coat and there was an empty garment bag inconspicuously hidden from sight underneath the top bag. With coats piled to the ceiling, working in teams, each girl began putting mink coats inside an empty garment bag. Barn was the first to put one inside her bag and then skillfully replace the already full bag on top.

  "I'm oodgay," she said in pig Latin, meaning she was good. This got everyone excited. There wasn't any way they were going to let Barn be the only one to get a mink coat. Monya and Cartier looked at each other, eyeto-eye. As if reading each other's thoughts, they both grabbed two beautiful swing mink coats and zipped them up inside their garment bags. This was done quickly. Monya handed the full garment bag to Shanine and Cartier handed the other full bag to Lil Momma.

  The unsuspecting saleswomen continued to assist the women, hoping to get a nice commission right before the holiday.

  "Let's ogay," Monya stated, but Cartier had other plans. As Bam, Shanine, and Monya began to exit the store, Cartier felt the situation was sweet enough inside the store to get an additional coat for herself. She put her hand on Lil Momma's arm and stopped her from leaving.

  She whispered, "Wait. We can get more"

  Lil Momma's eyes looked down at the one coat in Cartier's hand and knew how it was about to go down. There wasn't any way she was walking out with three not four coats. Greed had now taken over her as well. Cartier tugged on the garment bag, but Lil Momma wouldn't release it.

  "Get me another one, too," Lil Momma demanded in a hushed voice. Cartier knew that four coats couldn't possibly fit inside the bag. Additionally, as the leader of the crew, she felt she should be the only one afforded two coats.

  A ight, just give me the bag and then I'll get yours."

  Reluctantly, Lil Momma gave her the garment bag. Quickly, Cartier stuffed the third coat inside the bag and as she was about to zip up the bag, Lil Momma stopped her. Without observing her surroundings, Lil Momma snatched the garment bag from Cartier and began shoving another coat for herself inside the already tight space.

  "What are you doing?" Cartier asked. She was furious at her clumsy friend. Cartier stood there in shock as she watched Lil Momma try to frantically stuff the coat inside. Cartier took a few steps back and watched in horror as both sales associates noticed what was going on and rushed toward Lil Momma. Cartier began to make a speedy exit as one woman firmly grabbed Lil Momma's wrist and the other lady snatched the bag. A struggle ensued as Lil Momma tried desperately to overpower the petite white woman. In Lil Momma's head, she could upgrade from boosting to burglary. Surely, she could whip both of these women asses and take what she wanted.

  "H-h-help!" the sales associate screamed. "Let go of the coats!"

  Lil Momma began to punch the lady in the face and head, while trying desperately to get her to release the coats. In the chaos, Cartier thought about going to jail if she didn't get out of there quickly. As she got closer to the door, the other sales associate was locking them inside with keys.

  "Let me out of here!" Cartier demanded.

  "Not until I call the police!" the sales associate responded.

  "You let me out of here. I don't have anything to do with this," Cartier protested. "Or I will sue this damn store, the owner and your ass."

  The sales associate didn't know what to do. To her knowledge, the women were together. But what if they weren't? She'd only seen the other woman trying to steal and the woman standing before her looked angry and intimidating. The commotion got louder and when the female standing before her reached out for the keys, she relented and let her out. Once she locked up again, she ran to the telephone and called 911.

  Outside, Cartier took off down the block. She ran until she reached the subway station. She thought about calling Monya to see where they were, but it was too hot. She needed to get to the safe haven of Brooklyn. Cartier took the 4 train to the 3 train.

  Meanwhile, Monya, Bam, and Shanine were starting to get nervous about their other crew members. When they walked back on the block and saw a New York City police car parked outside the store, they knew something had gone down. They weren't sure, but chances were good that Cartier and Lil Momma were busted. Monya's heart stopped. She couldn't understand what happened.

  Immediately, she stepped up and took charge. She didn't say anything. She just placed her hand in the air and flagged down a yellow cab. They had three stolen coats in their possession, probably worth an estimated thirty thousand dollars. If they were caught, they'd get in serious trouble.

  "1475 Rockaway Boulevard, in Brooklyn," Monya rattled off.

  The cab driver peered in the back seat through his mirror at the three young black ladies. They looked clean enough and he could see that they'd been shopping. Only he didn't like the Brooklyn address they were heading. Too much violence in that area, and he didn't want to take the chance that he would get stiffed for his cab fare.

  "I don't go to Brooklyn," the driver said in his thick Albanian accent.

  Monya wasn't in the mood to play musical cabs. She pulled out two twenty dollar bills and handed it to the driver. "You do now!"

  Now she was speaking his language. As he drove toward the FDR Drive, Bam and Shanine began asking questions.

  "What the fuck happened?" Bam asked. "It was so sweet in there."

  "How should I know? I wasn't there," Monya snapped.

  "I know they are stressed out right about now," Shanine stated. Although Cartier was the head member in the crew, Shanine was most concerned about Lil Momma.

  "Wouldn't you be? I bet Lil Momma fucked up somehow." Monya ran her hands through her hair.

  "I'm just glad that we got our coats," Shanine added.

  "Damn, like how you sound? Two members of our crew just got busted and all you can think about is yourself." Monya wanted to slap the black off Shanine. She couldn't wait to speak to Cartier and tell her what Shanine had said.

  The rest of the ride home was in silence. When the cab was approximately five minutes away from their destination, Monya's cell phone began ringing. She looked down and was delighted to see that it was Cartier.

  "Bitch, where you at?" Monya said.

  "Yo, Lil Momma got knocked. It was crazy. I'm home. Where are you? Is everyone safe?"

  "Yeah, we straight. We're in a cab and should be on the block in five minutes."

  "Come straight to the compound."

  When the girls arrived at Cartier's apartment, they were hyped to know what happened. Trina showed them in and they walked back to Cartier's room. She'd already taken off her conservative clothing and put on a pair of sweatpants and T-shirt. Cartier and Monya warmly embraced, lingering in each other's arms longer than Shanine or Barn cared to witness.

  "Yo, shit was crazy today," Cartier began. "They got Lil Momma."

  "How did they get on to you?" Monya asked.

  "That stupid bitch, Lil Momma-"

  "See. What the fuck did I tell y'all?" Monya interrupted. "I knew Cartier was too good to get knocked on a humble when it was so sweet. What did she do?"

  Shanine was saddened Lil Momma was knocked. Lil Momma was her best friend and she didn't like the way Cartier and Monya were talking shit about her. Since Lil Momma was always taking up for Shanine, she decided to do the same.

  "Well, what did she do, because the last time I looked we all had our bags packed and the only thing Lil Momma had to do was walk out. You telling me she didn't know how to walk?"

  Her sarcasm didn't go unnoticed.

  "Her walking the fuck out wasn't the problem," Cartier said with attitude. "The problem was that when I told her ass to walk, she refused."

  "What sense does that make? Why would she want to
hang around in a store with stolen merchandise in her bag? Was she afraid to leave?" Shanine was giving Cartier the third degree. -

  "She wasn't afraid of shit. She was stupid. I went to add a third coat to the bag-"

  "A third coat? Why? That wasn't the plan. And who was the coat for, Cartier? There's only five members, not six."

  "I can count, bitch!" Cartier had had enough of Shanine. "I safely put a third coat in the bag, so we could sell the sixth coat and make money for the crew. Once I successfully put the coat in the bag, Lil Momma went berserk and got selfish. She wanted two coats for herself, while we all got one. When I refused and told her to bounce, she began trying to stuff a fourth coat inside that tiny little bag without paying attention. They peeped her and she got knocked. I mean, it was crazy. They were fighting and shit. At first, they was gonna take me down, too. But I wasn't having it."

  "So you just left her?"

  "What's the point in both of us getting knocked?"

  "I can't believe that Lil Momma would want two coats for herself. That's so unlike her," Shanine still refused to believe Cartier's version.

  "Let me see the coats," Cartier began as she looked at the two garment bags. Excitedly, the girls began pulling out beautiful mink coats with shiny skins. There wasn't any way Cartier wasn't keeping a coat. She'd already decided that on the train. As they lay on her bed, she began trying on each coat until she found the one she wanted. With the coat still adorning her shapely body, she tossed the next best one to Monya. "Monya, try this one on.

  As both girls modeled coats, Shanine and Bam began to get nervous. Bam reached out and grabbed the last coat, which was the coat she'd picked out. Shanine was left coatless.

  "Cartier, let me try on my coat," Shanine began.

  With a straight face, Cartier began to put a spin on things. "Your coat got knocked with Lil Momma."

  "What?" Shanine raised her voice. "How my coat got knocked? That was all you."

  "You must be crazy. From jump I told Monya to pick out my coat and put it in your bag. Lil Momma was picking out y'all coats and your bag got knocked."

  "That's a damn lie!" Shanine yelled.

  "Monya, am I lying?"

  "Cartier told me in the beginning to make sure I got her coat. And even if she didn't, there's no way that the head of the Cartel is gonna walk around without a mink coat. She and I set this whole operation up. If it weren't for us, y'all wouldn't have half the shit y'all do."

  Shanine looked to Bam for support, but Barn was just happy they didn't try that bullshit with her. She had a coat and couldn't wait to walk home with it.

  Instantly, Shanine burst out into tears. "Y'all both know that shit is fucked "

  "What are you crying for? We can go back and get you and Lil Momma coats." As Cartier spoke the words, she ran her fingers up and down the soft hair of her coat.

  "Yeah, right! You know it will be hotter than hell in there," Shanine exclaimed and ran out of the room and headed home. It was an awkward moment. Barn decided to pack up her coat and leave as well, leaving Monya and Cartier alone.

  "We shoulda took Bam's coat too and sold it for some dough," Monya said. "We should be the only ones in the crew to have minks. We shoulda never took them with us."

  Cartier contemplated Monya's thoughts. "Nah, we could let Barn keep her coat and make money some other way. I don't want them to think this is a dictatorship. As boss lady, I gotta keep the crew happy or else it will draw dissention."

  "Well, you ain't keeping Shanine happy."

  "She'll get over it. Besides, her and Lil Momma are close. If Lil Momma don't have a coat, neither should Shanine."

  Monya tried to understand Cartier's logic and realized it wasn't logical. Cartier said all those words trying to make a point, but the point was she wanted a coat and took Shanine's. That's all, folks.

  t was the first week of January when Lil Momma was released. She'd spent thirty days in Spodford, an inmate facility for juveniles, only she was seventeen. She lied about her date of birth in order to avoid being treated as an adult. Sixteen and up is when they can send you to Riker's Island, depending on the crime. Lil Momma and the Cartel had been lying about their ages since the first day they started boosting. The judge remanded her into custody because of her horrible record for shoplifting. When she looked over her shoulder and saw the Cartel, she glared at Cartier. She was angry with Cartier for not helping her fight the sales associates. She was the one who got busted. And why? Because her illustrious leader got greedy. They both could have had mink coats to keep them warm this cold winter. Lil Momma had a lot of regrets, but when the judge said thirty days, she regretted being a member of the Cartel.

  Now that she was home, she was ready to make up for lost time. While in lockdown, she met a few girls who had actually heard and looked up to the Cartel. Lil Momma felt famous that the streets were telling her story. She had second thoughts about her regrets. The Cartel had given her what she never had before-a name and notoriety. She wasn't ready to give up the game. It was a part of her. The itching inside her was desire.

  Her issue with Cartier was past news. Yes, she was disappointed Cartier had lied to the crew, but it was a dead issue. In her heart of hearts, she knew Cartier wasn't stuffing a third coat to sell. But she also knew she couldn't prove otherwise. Cartier didn't actually say that the coat was for her to keep. Lil Momma deduced that from the look in Cartier's eyes. Nevertheless, it was the past. It was time to move on.

  "So you not going to say something about Cartier taking my coat?" Shanine drilled Lil Momma.

  "What I look like getting on her bad side right now when I'm fucked up and starving? My cousins took all my shit while I was locked down. I practically gotta start from scratch. If I start beefing about a damn coat, they could kick me out of the Cartel. At this point, I got the worst record and most of the Ds know my face. I'm hot as chicken grease and I need the Cartel. You know that you, me, and Barn are the weakest links with this boosting shit. You know that Cartier and Monya are far more skilled than all of us put together. They got the most heart. Without them, we're going to be looking bummy or being some old school bitch's vic like Shorty Dip. I don't know about you, but that's not cool with me."

  Shanine wasn't trying to hear this bullshit. She'd waited four weeks for Lil Momma to come home and start beefing with Cartier over her coat. Lil Momma was the most outspoken of the crew. She spoke her mind and wasn't afraid of disagreeing with Cartier and Monya. Shanine didn't have the guts Lil Momma possessed. But Shanine realized Lil Momma wasn't going to go to bat over her coat, especially when she didn't have one.

  Shanine sucked her teeth. "Whatever."

  "Don't get mad with me," Lil Momma began. "You shouldn't have let her take your shit. Be mad with yourself."

  artier called a meeting in the compound, the name she called her bedroom. It was time to disclose her plan. She had been putting together this plan for over six months, and after the incident in the city and Lil Momma getting locked up, she figured it was now or never. She had marinated this plan over and over in her mind. She admired that about herself-how she was capable of formulating a plan and thinking it through before she brought it to the Cartel.

  Cartier waited until all members were present and then she closed her bedroom door for complete privacy.

  "After the little situation last month," Cartier began. 'And one of our members going down for thirty days, I've come up with a plan that will increase our profits and lessen our risks."

  "Wow ... that's what I'm talking'bout," Barn screamed.

  "Quiet, please!" Cartier snapped. "Let me tell you the plan before y'all interrupt me. As I was saying, our profits will increase and our risk will lessen. We're going to leave this boosting shit alone altogether and begin hugging the block."

  Cartier watched as everyone shifted in their seats. She knew they had questions, but no way were they going to interrupt her again.

  "I've already spoken to Jason and he's agreed to supply us with the we
ight at one hundred dollars above wholesale value. So what that means is if we start with an ounce, he'll only make one hundred dollars on us-"

  "Why would he do that?" Lil Momma asked. "What's in it for him?"

  "He thinks pussy," Cartier deduced. "Anyway, as I was saying, he's going to give up the product for dirt cheap. Once we get it, we're going to start hugging the block and make this paper. And as I said, we'll be making money hand over fist and we won't be in any danger, because we'll all be lookouts for each other."

  Finally, the Cartel got to speak. Monya went first.

  "I'm hearing everything you saying, but this shit sounds too risky. What do we know about hugging the block? Niggas get shot over the drug game all the time."

  "Ain't nobody getting shot." Cartier couldn't take Monya and her scary ways.

  "But she does have a point. We could get shot or stuck up or worse, murdered," Barn added.

  "Look, if y'all wanna keep boosting and eventually do serious jail time for a bunch of labels, then go right ahead. But I'ma get out here and get this paper. And while I'm driving in hot whips, y'all be hopping in and out of cabs. While I'm blinged out, y'all be wearing Canal Street jewels. While I'm shopping on Fifth Avenue, y'all be getting chased from Fifth Avenue. Night, meeting over."

  Cartier terminated the meeting and dismissed the crew, only they didn't leave. They needed Cartier. Their lives revolved around their leader. They sat around, thinking about going against the grain. She was their backbone. Cartier was the one who got them in the game. She was the driver of the ultimate ride they had taken the past few years. Boosting had been their livelihood, an addictive habit, but now it was stale and played out. It was no longer fun and now, because of their success, it was more dangerous. Storeemployed detectives and security guards were hot to catch them in the act. And they knew the day they got caught, hard time in Riker's Island or Nassau County was mandatory. A slap on the wrist wasn't even an option. The only deal anyone could possibly cut for them included selling out the other members of the Cartel. Jail time for shoplifting was stupid, yet they could all see that that was where they were headed. They were now cavalier and reckless in their antics. They knew Lil Momma was lucky getting only thirty days, but like everything else, luck ran out.