Supreme Clientele

Federal Agent Matthews escorted Zya on the bus heading to Bedford Correctional Facility for Women. Zya couldn’t stand the sight of the person she knew as Buggy. He seemed like he was enjoying every bit of Zya’s incarceration.

Matthews stood at the steps as the future inmates loaded the bus. When Zya approached the steps, Matthews looked at her and said, “I wouldn’t miss this for the world. I can’t wait until you step inside your new, permanent home. Make sure you sit in the back, where I can keep my eyes on you!” He watched Zya load the bus with a pleased expression on his face. It was about time that she received what she had coming to her, and he was glad that he would be the one to introduce her to her fate.

Zya remained silent, but smirked as she stepped onto the bus. She knew that Matthews was upset because of what she had done to Wade. Detective Lonnie Wade had been kicked off the force, and was now under investigation for his involvement with the Supreme Clientele drug cartel.

She was the last one to board, so Matthews walked behind her with a shotgun. “Keep going until you reach the back seat, Miller,” he ordered.

Zya didn’t say anything to Matthews. She just followed his orders and sat at the back of the bus, where he stood posted with his weapon. Zya looked at the two guards standing at the front of the bus and then at Matthews, who stood next to her in the back.

I know he is itching to shoot me. I better not make any sudden movement. I would have paid a million bucks to see his face when Wade was arrested. I don’t know why he’s so angry, but I guess it’s true what they say. All pigs stick together.

Zya rubbed her swollen stomach and wished that she could have made things different. She was seven months pregnant and on her way to prison.

Zya looked around at the other women on the bus. She was surrounded by killers and thieves. Her only crime was that she was a born hustler. It wasn’t her fault. It was what the streets had raised. She was a product of her environment, and this little Harlem girl turned into one of the most notorious drug lords of her time. She was sentenced to a life sentence, with no chance of parole for her involvement with the murder of Keyshawn King and her admittance to her involvement with Supreme Clientele. Zya not only ruined the lives of Snow and herself, she had ruined the life of their unborn child.

My son will have to be born behind bars, and I will never have a chance to raise him. I can never teach my child not to make the same mistakes that I have made. This can’t be life. They are going to take my baby away from me. I’ll never get the chance to be his mother.

Zya dropped her head while she caressed her belly. She closed her eyes and began to cry, hoping that her unborn child would have a better life than she did.

All of a sudden, she felt the bus jerk, and she heard the sound of the tires screeching. Matthews fell down from the jerk, and the whole bus was in chaos. The guards immediately pointed their guns on the inmates and yelled, “Remain calm! We caught a flat. Any unauthorized movement by the inmates will result in you being shot!” That comment quieted the bus down almost instantly, and the guards regained control.

Matthews got back to his feet and looked at Zya. “Do not fucking move!” he warned as he pointed his shotgun. Matthews took his gun off of Zya and exited the bus to see what the problem was.

Boom! An explosion blew up the front half of the bus, instantly killing the occupants that sat in the front, including the guards.

Oh God, my baby, Zya thought as she clenched her stomach and held her breath, not trying to breathe in the fumes from the explosion. Her only thought was to protect her unborn child. She dropped to the floor, trying to find some oxygen.

Zya tried to breathe, but every time she inhaled, she sucked in more smoke. Her heart began to pound harder and harder as she began to slip in and out of consciousness. Zya knew she wouldn’t make it. She saw her whole life flash before her eyes. She thought about when she left her foster mother’s home to run away with Jules. She saw Jules shoot King in the hotel. She saw when Jules was being escorted to jail. She saw herself sitting at the Supreme Clientele roundtable. She saw the boxes full of money, stacked up to her ceiling. She saw Vita, lying on the floor, lifeless, her soul-less eyes staring up at her, haunting her with a junkie’s gaze. She saw a baby boy that looked just like Snow, with gray eyes and a dark complexion. She saw her casket being closed, with no one at the funeral.

Zya felt her eyelids begin to close, and when she saw the bright white light, she knew her time was up. God, please have mercy on me, Zya thought as she closed her eyes unwillingly.

The bright, white light wasn’t heaven. It was the light from the sun. Someone had opened the rear emergency door.

She felt a hand pull her from the bus and drag her away. Just as they got fifteen feet away from the bus, it exploded, sending burning debris flying everywhere. Zya was dazed from the smoke inhalation, and her heart was beating erratically. She looked at the person who had come to her rescue and noticed it was Matthews.

“Buggy?” she stated in confusion as he continued to drag her up the road. A black car pulled up, and Agent Matthews shoved Zya into the vehicle. He jumped in next to her. “Nothing is going to stop you from going where you are supposed to go,” he said as the driver sped off.

Somebody put a bomb underneath the bus. Anari is trying to kill me. I know it, Zya thought as she coughed uncontrollably.

Zya was somewhat happy that Matthews had instructed her to sit in the back. If she were in the front, she would have died from the explosion. She had never been so happy to see Matthews than when he pulled her out of the back of the bus.

Zya felt the car stop, and she noticed that they were in a big field with a jet sitting in the middle of it. “What the fuck is going on?” Zya asked as she looked out of the window.

“I told you nothing was going to stop you from getting where you were supposed to go.” Matthews exposed an infrequent smile as he removed the handcuffs from Zya’s wrists. “Come on,” he said as he stepped out of the car.

What the hell is going on? Zya thought as she was about to get out of the car. Just before she stepped out, the tinted window that separated the driver from the passengers rolled down. When she saw the face of the driver, her heart nearly skipped a beat. It was Emilio Estes.

Anari set this up. They are taking me to this field to kill me, she thought as she saw Emilio smiling at her. What she heard from Emilio was totally unexpected.

“Thank you, Zya,” Emilio said graciously just before he rolled up his window.

Matthews pulled Zya out of the car and nearly dragged her to the helicopter. Zya was kicking and screaming with all her might, but to no avail. He was much too strong for her.

Just as they reached the jet, the door swung open. Anari appeared, along with Sammy, the pilot, in the front. Zya couldn’t believe what she was seeing. She completely froze up, trying to decipher what was going on. Anari pulled out a briefcase from under her seat and gave it to Agent Matthews.

“One million dollars. Enjoy,” Anari said as Matthews grabbed the suitcase.

Zya looked at Matthews and then at Anari. Anari looked at Zya with welcome eyes and smiled at her. At that moment, it all came to Zya, and the fear that she felt left her heart. Zya smiled, knowing that Anari had set up her escape.

“You were working with her all along,” she said to Matthews as she playfully hit him.

“Sorry for being so rude. I had to play the role, ya know? You have a good life, Zya. I am about to sit back and enjoy mine with my new wife,” he said as he patted the briefcase and returned to the limo.

Zya watched as the limo took off and then turned back to Anari. “You knew all along that Buggy was a cop, huh?”

“I told you. I know everything. I knew you would have to make a decision between loyalty and supremacy. I trusted you from the beginning, and I don’t do that with most people. You became like a little sister to me. I knew deep in my heart that you wouldn’t turn on me,” Anari said as she extended her hand and helped Zya in.

Anari continued to talk. “I want to thank you for taking the fall for us. It showed a lot of courage. I have another surprise for you.”

“What?”

“Turn around.”

Zya turned around and saw Snow sitting in the seat behind her. She immediately embraced him tightly and screamed, “Oh my God, baby!”

Snow cringed when Zya brushed against the stab wound in his waist. “Damn, girl,” he said as he held his sore body.

“I’m sorry. What happened?” Zya asked as she examined Snow’s bandaged mid-section and tenderly touched his face as if she couldn’t believe he was sitting in front of her.

“Your clever friend over here set me up to get stabbed, so they could transport me to the hospital. Then she had one of her men sneak me out unnoticed, and here I am,” he said as he winked his eye at Anari.

“Yeah, sorry about that. That was the only way to get you out.”

“I’ll take a hit in the stomach to be with Zya any day. You almost had me scared, though. The doctor said it was inches away from my liver,” Snow said as he patted his side.

“I made sure that the stabbing was precise and in a spot that wouldn’t cause any permanent damage. The attacker was a professional. Believe me, Boss Sparks is so good that he almost had me hit.”

Zya turned to Anari and hugged her tightly. “Thank you, Anari. I thought you wanted to kill me. After what I did to you . . .” Zya’s voice trailed off before she finished her sentence.

“How could I do that? You are right. You did do something to me, Zya. You took all of the weight off of my shoulders and put it on yours. I beat the charge because of you, Zya. I can’t be charged for any of my past crimes. According to you, I was never involved in any illegal activity. This is the least I could do. We will always be friends.”

“Always,” Zya said as she smiled at Anari and placed her hands on her bulging belly.

“Oh my goodness. I have been so pre-occupied with everything that I didn’t even notice. What do we have here?” Anari asked as she rubbed Zya’s stomach gently.

“It’s a boy,” Zya said softly with a smile.

“What are you going to name him?”

Zya looked back at Snow to see what he was going to say, but he just shrugged his shoulders, not knowing the answer.

“Maurice,” Zya said as she looked down at her belly and placed her hand on it.

“I like that name,” Anari added, knowing that Zya had chosen the name as a tribute to Anari’s late son. Anari’s eyes became glossy. “Thank you,” she whispered.

She was honored by the tribute, and began to wave her hands over her face to prevent a tear from falling. “You can take this jet anywhere you want in the world and live your life with your family. There is twenty-five million dollars in the back, and it’s untraceable. I’m going to miss you, Zya.”

“I’m going to miss you too,” Zya replied as they embraced each other. Their bond had surpassed a friendship. They were alike in so many ways and had grown so close that they really were like sisters.

Anari hugged Snow then stepped out of the helicopter as a limo came up.

Zya looked down at Anari and said jokingly, “We need a book wrote about our story. I think it would be hot.”

“I know just the authors to write it, too,” Anari said as she laughed and shut the door to the aircraft. Zya and Snow disappeared into the clouds, on a one-way flight to paradise.