Chapter 2
Nasir “Nas” Wilson
“If this isn’t one helluva birthday gift, I don’t know what else,” Office Bradwell expressed as he gave me back my belongings.
“Tell me about it,” I agreed as I accepted my things.
“I don’t want to ever see you here again, Nas.”
“I promise you, I ain’t never steppin’ foot in another prison in my life. Y’all only gettin’ these five years I gave y’all outta me. I’ll never be back.”
He nodded his head in understanding before buzzing me through the doors.
The air smelled different as I stepped outside of the prison I’d been in for the last five years.
With my freedom restored, I made my way to the bus station.
After a few inner-city bus rides, and a very long Greyhound bus ride, I was back in Miami.
After I got off the bus, I called a cab to take me to Mama Eva’s house.
When we pulled up, it felt as though no time had passed because everything was the exact same.
The street was clear, which was surprising to me as I made my way in.
Fishing my keys out of my pockets, I was happy my key still worked.
The nostalgia hit me as I stepped over the threshold, and then reality hit me when she didn’t bend that corner to greet me.
Two years into my sentence, Mama Eva had a heart attack and died.
The prison did allow me to furlough so I could attend but that shit still was a hard pill to swallow.
When I received her deed to the house a week before my release, I was confused but happy I had a place to go when I got out.
A noise pulled me out of my thoughts as I grabbed a knife.
Stepping slowly, I made my way into the living room.
When I flicked on the light, I was greeted with a woman holding a gun.
As I tried to place a name to her face, I dropped my knife before holding my hands up in surrender.
I watched her intensely as she stood to her feet and used one to slide the knife closer to her.
No words were exchanged as we held our stare.
It wasn’t until she started laughing that I became confused about what was going on.
“Damn, you look just like yo’ dad,” she shook her head as she continued to laugh.
“I don’t know you or that nigga,” I hissed.
“Damn, I at least thought you’d know the face of your mom since you saw it every day throughout this house,” she expressed as she looked around at the many pictures of her in the living room.
“Why would I want to remember the face of the woman who never wanted me. What you doin’ here, Nina?”
“Nasir Santiago Wilson, you will show me some fuckin’ respect.”
“Respect?! You can’t be fuckin’ serious right now. I gotta respect a muthafucka who didn’t even want me. You gotta be outta yo’ rabbit ass mind.”
“I wanted you! Hell, we both fuckin’ wanted you!”
She reached in her back pocket with her free hand before tossing a picture at my feet.
As she put away her gun, she instructed me to pick it up.
In the photo was a younger version of herself resting her head on a Hispanic man that was holding a baby.
The bottom of the photo had ‘Nasir, Mommy and Daddy’ written on it.
I continued to study the photo and just like she’d expressed I looked like every spit of my dad.
Just a little darker thanks to my mom’s genes.
So many things ran through my head as I thought of the many times Mama Eva told me my mom didn’t want me and she ran off with a man.
“You’re probably wonderin’ why my mom lied to you, but it was for your safety Nas,” she explained as if she could read my mind.
“You were a target from the day you were conceived. Even had an attempt on your life while inside of me. So, your dad, Javier Santiago, suggested that I return to Miami when we both survived, that way I could safely give birth to you. Which I did successfully twenty-six years ago, happy birthday by the way.”
“Uh huh. Who would want to kill a kid?” I questioned as I looked up from the picture.
“I’ll explain that to you shortly, but I need you to know that your parents wanted you. It hurt us to leave you here to grow up but we needed you to be safe. You were to return to Puerto Rico when you turned twenty-one, but yo’ ass got locked up.”
“How you know I was locked up?”
“Because you were working for us while inside. You were protected rather you did that or not, but you were a true hustla and wasn’t passin’ up a chance to make money. You moved a lot smarter than older prisoners we had workin’ for us.”
“I wasn’t goin’ to move how I did that landed me inside, so I had to make sure I could make my money and not get caught.”
“We’ll you’ve accomplished a lot and that’s actually the reason I’m here.”
“You’re not here to reunite?”
“We’re doin’ that too, but the way you handled business in prison landed you on the higher ups radar. Which is great for us because it helps us as we plot yo’ takeover.”
“And what exactly am I takin’ over?”
“The Santiago Cartel. It’s rightfully yours but someone stands in yo’ way.”
“Who’s that?”
“Your uncle, Juan Santiago. He killed yo’ dad for the throne and thinks he was successful in killin’ you. Now, I’m not goin’ to force you into this plan. And I know this is all a lot to take in but I need to know now if you’re in or out?”
“I’m in,” I answered after looking up from the picture.
“Great! Let’s take a ride.”
We loaded up in the back of an all-black Escalade that was parked down from Mama Eva’s house.
As we rode to our destination, Nina gave me more information on the past. She informed me that Javier, or Javi as she likes to call him, stayed in Puerto Rico and continued to run the Santiago Cartel.
Once I was born and safely with Mama Eva, she returned to Puerto Rico, and they started looking into what had happened.
For Nina’s safety her and Javi got married, so that way if anything ever happened to him, she was set for life.
Their marriage also solidified Nina’s position and allowed him to bring her into the fold of the business more.
A few months after their marriage they figured out that Juan and his bodyguard, who happened to be his secret lover, were behind the attempt on me and my mother’s life.
The night they planned to reveal everything to my grandfather, Rafael Santiago, my father was murdered.
My mom couldn’t prove that it was Juan because he was with her and Rafael.
Instead, she decided to plot my takeover for when I turned twenty-one like my dad wanted.
“Every day I live with the pain of feelin’ like had I just stayed in Miami with you, your dad would still be alive,” she dropped her head in defeat.
“None of that on you,” I assured shocking the hell out of me and her because her head popped up so quick. “This Juan nigga gotta muthafuckin’ go. What’s the plan?”
“That’s my boy. I don’t want no outsider to kill him.
It’ll be either me or you that actually pull the fuckin’ trigga that way it’s avenged for your dad properly.
It’s three phases of this plan. Phase one, you’ll show him that you are an asset.
Do what you did in jail and keep makin’ that money.
Phase two, earn his trust. With you makin’ money he’s goin’ to want to keep you happy and close.
So, when opportunity presents itself for you to show your loyalty make sure you step up to the plate.
No matter what it is. Phase three, we plot to steal everything from him.
With you having his trust, get him to admit to your father’s death.
But I need you to keep your composure when he does.
You cannot kill him because we have to make him suffer before puttin’ a bullet in his head. ”
“How we do that?”
“First, we’ll tell Rafael, who everyone calls Rafi, that you’re his grandson.
Once we confirm all that with the DNA, we’ll tell him that it was Juan that tried to do everything.
That’s where the evidence you gathered will be revealed.
Rafi will then dethrone Juan and make you the head of the Santiago Cartel.
Once that happens then you can take out Juan.
I feel like it’ll be more symbolic if you do it, so you can execute that however you want. ”
“Ok, so all I’ll need is the position of head nigga in charge from Rafi then I can kill Juan?”
“Yep.”
“Bet.”
When the private jet landed in Puerto Rico, I was stunned by how beautiful it was.
I was used to the concrete jungle of Miami, but to see an actual jungle with trees and shit was nice.
During the ride over to the ranch, Nina explained that Juan will assign a bodyguard to me.
The bodyguard will also act as eyes and ears for Juan, but I’ll be given the man driving us, Fernando, who was loyal to my dad.
She stressed that Fernando was someone that I could trust and he’ll relay all our communications regarding our plan.
I was confused about that part until she broke it down that once we got to the Ranch, we didn’t know each other.
We weren’t to see each other if it wasn’t passed through Fernando at her request. When pulled into the ranch, the questions I wanted to ask would go unanswered for now until our next meetings.
A man was standing at the bottom of the steps when we made it to the house.
Nina hopped out without a word and walked past the man and went into the house.
“Your mother will meet us back at the hangar,” Fernando whispered loud enough for me to hear before getting out to open my door. “Sir, this is Nasir.”
“It is nice to finally meet the man that made me a lot of money in prison,” he praised in his thick accent before clapping his hands together. “Let’s see if we can keep that up now that you’re a free man.”