The Black Corleones (The Beginning) (2 page)

“My boys just ple
d guilty to gun possession and they gave them five years,” Carlyle informed his co-op.

“I’m really sorry to hear that brother
,” Carlyle’s right hand man Tim said, as he consoled his street brother.

“It’s ok
ay, don’t feel bad for me, it could have been a lot worse. Their mother got the drug charge thrown out so my boys stood up like men and handled their business. They made a mistake by riding with that gun and they have accepted their consequences like the men I brought them up to be,” Carlyle professed, proudly.

“We have to keep their sets moving
. My boys have not gone to jail in vain so we need to make sure we keep their sets pumping. I know Keith is ready to take over for Ace but I have to think about who I’m going to give Sin’s spot to.” he explained.

All the heads of the Dynasty agreed with their reigning leader and proceeded with t
he meeting as scheduled. They understood that this was a possibility in the game they played. Sin and Ace knew the consequences and they took their punishment like men. The co-op would continue to do business as regularly scheduled in their honor.

Meanwhile
, on the other side of town, Samir was waiting on word of his brothers’ fate. He looked up to Sin and Ace and wanted to be just like them. He didn’t want to think about what would happen if he ever had to do without them by his side.

When the last bell rang for the day
, his crew, who were all anxious to find out if he heard anything on his older brothers, met Samir at his locker.

“What’s good Samir, you heard anything yet on them
niggaz?” Seven asked, as he dapped Samir

“Na
h, aint nobody told me shit yet. I was about to head to my pops crib right now though; to see what’s going on,” Samir replied.

“
Yo, your brother’s gone be good. Don’t even stress on it bro.” Meko reassured Samir

“I don’t know
. This time they got caught with work in the whip and a pistol, that’s two strikes already. Niggas get football numbers for that kinda shit, Joe.”

“Man
, don’t sweat that shit, Samir. Your brothers got clean records and they got your mom dukes representing them. Everything gone be good bro, just watch,” Cesar chimed in.

Samir wanted to believe that his boy
’s optimism was well deserved, but the fact remained that he hadn’t heard a word from anybody and the silence was making him more anxious and agitated. If his brothers were out of the game, what would that mean for the empire they had just begun to build? How would their family business suffer if Sin and Ace sat in a cell instead of being on the street, running their sets? More important than the business was the fact that if his brothers were going away, who would he have to lean on? Not having his brothers around was going to leave an empty space in his life that nobody could fill.

Samir left school that day with the weight of the world on his shoulders. As he tried to take his mind off the fate of his brethren
, he parted ways with his crew and headed to his father’s house.

On the
twenty five minute ride from school he thought about what his next move would be if in fact his brothers were going to do some time. He had been thinking of joining their family business for quite a while but he knew his mother would be against it and so would his father.

________

Samir was the youngest child born to his father but his conception was never supposed to happen. His mother and father divorced when his brother Ace was born. His father had since remarried and his new wife bore him a son and a daughter.

Lola, however, had always been Carlyle’s first and only real love, so the temptation to spend time with her always pulled him back in. One night after he and his second wife fought about trivial things, Carlyle found himself being comforted by his first wife. Lola was always his voice of reasoning and she never judged him or his life choices. Their love was something out of a Shakespearean play, but their only down fall was Carlyle’s infidelity. That night they crossed the point of no return, and nine months later Lola gave birth to Samir.

He was his father’s prize possession because he had one last son to carry on his family name and legac
y; one more son to groom in their family business. But on some levels he always wished that Samir would make different decisions. Samir on the other hand knew from the day he realized what his father did that he would one day take over and take his family to another level. He didn’t have doctor, athlete, or engineer aspirations. The only thing he ever wanted to be was a Dope Boy. He watched his brothers drive nice cars and bang bad chicks and he wanted that life, but a lot less out in the open. He hung out with them as they spent thousands of dollars on designer brands and not to mention, he watched the respect and love they received in the hood. Samir wanted that life but he knew that if he were given the chance he would change his game plan. Samir’s only focus was getting money. He didn’t have designer clothing, cars and getting-a-bitch aspirations, although they were the perks of the game. His focus would be to become legendary. He wanted to change the game but remain low key. Samir had the brains to become anything he wanted to be but the allure of the street life was far more appealing. Why work for the next thirty years trying to get by when he could make in a week, what most people make in a lifetime.

His thoughts continued to race through his
     mind as he drew closer to his father’s house. He tried to prepare himself as best as he could to deal with any bad news, but the truth was, his heart sank deeper into the pit of his stomach the closer he got to the house. His intuition told him that his brothers weren’t inside but his desperate hope tried to erase the thought from his psyche.

When Samir pulled up to his father’s
driveway he noticed an unusual amount of parked cars. They were along the street and in front of the house. For Samir, this wasn’t a good sign at all. His palms began to sweat because he didn’t want to hear that his brothers where in jail, no matter how hard he tried to prepare himself for it. He pulled in the driveway and sat in the car with the engine running, debating if he even wanted to go inside to hear his brother’s fate.

“
Yo, Sam, pull yourself together, Joe. It’s not like they dead, it’s jail kid.” he said to himself, out loud. Just as he was about to drive away his other brother Keith tapped his window, startling him.

“Fuck is wrong with you
, nigga?” he snapped at his brother.

“Lil
’ nigga stop acting like a damn girl. Pops want us all to come in right now. I saw your dumb ass sitting in the car from the window so I came to get you. You gone need better instincts than that if you ever wanna join this life,” Keith teased.

“Man
, fuck you. I’m good, Joe.”

“Whatever baby bro
, let’s go and see what pops need to talk to us about.”

Samir followed his brother into the house and was greeted by his father’s right hand man
, Tim. After scanning the room and spotting every key person beneficial to his father’s operation, he knew without anyone mentioning a word that his brothers would not be coming home.

“Dad, so what happened
? What they say about Sin and Ace?” Samir inquired.

“Son, let’s talk about that in private ok
ay,” Carlyle responded.

“Why we
gotta talk in private? Seems like everybody is here for a reason, so can somebody tell me what’s going on with my brothers and can somebody tell me that right fucking now?”

“First off, watch your mouth in my house
lil’ nigga, and second, apologize to your mother and step mother for using that kind of language in their presence. Show some respect to the elders in this house Samir, fuck is wrong with you.”

“Look
, I apologize, mom and Miss Stacy. Pops, I don’t mean no disrespect at all, sir. I just been waiting to hear word on my brothers and nobody feels the need to share that info with me, like I’m some kind of kid. I really wish y’all would stop treating me like I’m a baby or something. These are my older brothers we talking ‘bout pops. Same mother, same father, we grew up in the same house, so excuse me if I wanna know what happened today.”

“Fellas, can you guys retreat downstairs while I talk to my sons please
,” Carlyle dismissed his crew

“Samir, baby I
’m sorry I didn’t tell you right away but your—” Lola began to explain, but Carlyle interrupted.

“
—Lola, this is a conversation I need to have with the boys man to man,” he insisted. “I know you want to protect the boys, but let me talk to them. If you ladies don’t mind, give me a minute with my son’s.”

“Daddy, what about me
; I’m a part of this family too. You always worried about the boy’s but this affects me too, sir. Did you forget that they are my brothers as well?” Sasha said. She was Samir’s only sister.

“Baby girl
, your mother will talk to you. Right now I need to talk to the boys. Please understand.”

“No daddy
. I don’t want mommy to explain. I want my daddy to explain. I’m not trying to sass you, sir, but I would like for you to explain it to me.” Sasha boldly protested.

“Pops
, just let her hear what you got to say,” Samir said.

“Ok
ay fine. As the three of you know your brothers Sin and Ace got in some trouble and had to deal with the consequences,” he eased into the subject. “Your brothers will be serving a five year sentence on a possession of a firearm charge. We are extremely lucky that their lawyer—your mother, Samir—was able to get the drug case dropped. Your brothers took their punishment like men and accepted the charge. They’ll be in jail for the next five years.”

“Daddy
,
five years…
oh my God; my brothers are going to be in jail for five years. How could you just let this happen to them? They never been in trouble before. How could someone get five years for a stupid gun? Why daddy, why did you let this happen?” Sasha cried.

“Baby girl
, no matter how much daddy would like it to change, I can’t change it. Your brothers made a mistake and they accepted the consequences like men.”

“
Whatever daddy; like men my butt. You just don’t give two men five years for one stupid gun when they never been in trouble before. My brothers are in jail because of you! You and your stupid occupation! Now they’re going to miss five years of my life; high school, prom, graduation… everything!” Sasha cried as she stormed off.

“Pops, you don’t think the dope had anything to do with their sentence. I mean Sash may be young but she has a point
. Sin and Ace never been in no trouble and they just give them five years for a pistol?” Keith questioned his father.

“Yes
, son, I’m sure the dope had something to do with it and the fact that they are my sons. The Chicago PD has been trying to catch me on shit for years but your old man is always ten steps ahead of them clowns. But your brothers knew what they were getting into. They took the plea and they’re dealing with the sentencing. They’re okay, trust me.” Carlyle answered.

“
Five years dad; that’s a long ass time, I’m not okay with that. Fuck I’m posed to do with my brothers rotting away in some fucking prison cell for five years. Sin and Ace got a business out here, who supposed to run they set? I mean, everything they worked for just supposed to stop now?” Samir’s frustration mounted.

“No
. hell no; everything they worked for won’t just stop. I already talked to the co-op about this matter, earlier today. Keith, you’re going to take over for Ace as soon as possible. I’ll work on getting you some help with your own set since you taking on extra duties with your brother’s set. Sin’s set; I don’t know who I’m going to put in place just yet. I have to meditate on it. I can’t just give anybody my son’s shit.”

“I
gotta get out of here. I can’t deal with this right now, pops. Tell moms I’ll be home late.” Samir said, as he left the house.

He
sat in his car thinking about the news of his brother’s imprisonment and as troubling as it was to know that his brothers wouldn’t be present in his life for the next five years; the fact that his father was considering putting someone whose last name wasn’t Kendall in Sin’s position was more troubling. It was that very moment when Samir decided that he would petition for his brother’s set. But first he had to assemble a crew that his father couldn’t refuse. Instead of dwelling on the absence of his brothers, he now saw this as an opportunity to prove that he was built for the game, and for the family business.

The more he thought about it the more he realized he had to seize the moment to make a name for
himself and gain his father’s respect. Today was the day that he would no longer contemplate being in the game; he would actually make the move. All that was left to do was assemble a crew that he trusted to hold him down and he couldn’t think of any one better than his niggas. He was ready to make his father an offer he couldn’t refuse.