Watch Out for the Big Girls 2

by J.M. Benjamin

Genres: African American Urban; African American Women's Fiction

Synopsis

Starr Fields sits in the Clark County jail after being released then re-arrested and held without bail. She uses her time wisely during her incarceration. After making examples out of a few of the other inmates and putting the squeeze on her unit Double Gs style, Starr recruits some new talent for a plan she intends to execute when she gets out. Queen Fem isn't happy about all of the sudden attention on the Double Gs organization.

While her counterpart is being held in federal custody, Diamond Morgan steps up to the plate and holds the Double Gs down in her absence. She focuses on keeping the organization strong while strategically trying to weed out the weak link. She has been holding on to some valuable information ever since Starr was arrested, waiting for the right time to reveal it.

It's hard for Agent McCarthy to stay focused. The untimely and unfortunate tragedy with his daughter's illness prevents him from pursuing the Double Gs with his colleagues the way he knows he needs to. His slack is soon picked up by his fellow agent, Reddick. After showing just how long their arms can reach, it seems the two agents and the rest of the bureau combined may not be enough to take down the double Gs.

The temperature continues to rise in Las Vegas, Nevada, as the Double Gs turn up the heat the best way they know how: By putting the squeeze on the game and the players in it.

Release date: November 29, 2016

Publisher: Recorded Books

Print pages: 288

Sample

Starrshma Fields sat in the freezing cold cell, using nothing but her most sinister thoughts to keep her warm. She pulled her knees into her chest and wrapped her arms around them and locked her fingers. She used the silence to her advantage. She thought about the chain of events that led up to her sitting in the cold and desolate cell. She thought about how things began taking a turn for the worse after the day she had received the first anonymous call about an informant being planted in their organization.

She played the tape back in her mind. All the facial expressions and reactions among each Double G when she presented the disturbing phone call to them, from the newest member down to her most trusted, illuminated in her mind. When she’d first received the call from the anonymous caller informing her that she had snitch in the organization she didn’t want to believe it. As she sat in the federal holding cell, she was convinced that the anonymous caller was telling the truth for whatever reason.

Her thoughts switched to the agents tailing her and her last meeting with Queen Fem. She didn’t want to believe that her mentor had a hand in the recent events that had been transpiring; but lately they had been butting heads more than ever. She knew better than anybody just how ruthless and vindictive Queen Fem could be. After all, she was her protégé.

Queen Fem had practically raised her and taught her everything she knew. One of the most valuable lessons Queen Fem had expressed to her was that, in her line of work, no one was exempt from being a suspect when things got thick. But Starr also knew Queen Fem loved her as if she had given birth to her, despite their recent head-butting.

A million thoughts ran through Starrshma Fields’s mind, but there were only a few of them she intended to look into once she made it out of the holding cell. After speaking to Diamond, she was sure they didn’t have anything on her. But if they did she knew it was just a matter of time before whatever it was slipped through their fingers.

Starr’s train of thought was broken by the echoing sound of hard-bottom shoes walking down the corridor while orders were being shouted and answers to questions were being demanded. The voices grew louder and closer, until Agent Reddick’s red face appeared in front of Starr’s cell door.

“You heartless bitch! You’re going to fry in hell for what you did!” Agent Reddick wasted no time cutting into Starr. “I can’t prove it now, but you best believe you will stand accountable for the deaths of those three agents and all the others I’m sure you had a hand in, Ms. Fields.”

Starr stared at him stone-faced as he ranted and raved. All the other agents stood in the background with their arms folded and just listened.

“Yeah, go ahead, act like a tough guy. You don’t freaking scare me. You think having little children killed makes you big and bad!” It was more of a rhetorical statement than a question.

Starr rolled her eyes and dismissed Agent Reddick.

“Don’t you walk away from me when I’m fucking talking to you, you worthless piece of shit!”

His words slammed into Starr’s back, causing a rise out of her. She immediately spun around and, in the blink of an eye, she was face to face with Agent Reddick. The only things that stood between them were metal bars, air, and opportunity.

Her sudden reaction caught Agent Reddick by surprise. It was as if he had become frozen in time when she grabbed a hold of his wrist. He was not expecting her to respond, let alone take action.

“Listen here, pig.” Starr wasted no time checking him. Her tone was low but strong. “That was the last time you disrespect me. If there’s a next time, it’s going to cost you.” Starr ended with a sinister smile.

Her words only heightened Agent Reddick’s anger, but he was far from a dummy. The look in her eyes told him she meant what she had said to him. He could feel the pressure Starr was applying to his wrist. He snatched his arm away from Starr’s grip. “Don’t you ever fucking touch me again!” he boomed. “And don’t you fucking threaten me, either!”

Starr just stood there grilling the agent. The other agents all looked at one another with confused looks plastered on their faces. Agent Reddick’s jaws tightened as he matched Starr’s stare. Although he would never openly admit it, Starr’s threat had managed to penetrate his thoughts. He couldn’t help but think about the wife and son he had at home. His thoughts were interrupted by the sultry voice behind him.

“I said, is there a problem here, gentlemen?” Diamond calmly repeated with hands on her hips.

When Agent Reddick turned around, he saw Starr’s attorney, who also happened to be a member of the Double Gs, standing alongside his superior officer.

“What the hell is this?” Agent Reddick directed his words to his boss.

“We gotta let Ms. Fields go,” Agent Reddick’s supervisor announced. He held up the piece of paper he was holding in his left hand. “Orders from the attorney general’s office.”

Murmurs and disapproving grunts could be heard by the other agents.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Agent Reddick spat in disgust. “Just like that, she walks?” His eyes shifted back and forth from Diamond to his supervisor.

All his supervisor could do was grimace. Seconds later, the cell door was opened and Starrshma Fields casually stepped out. Her eyes and Agent Reddick’s locked for a second time.

“I’ll be seeing you. Real soon!” Agent Reddick chimed.

Starr let out a light chuckle. “See you when you get there,” she returned. “Gentlemen.” She turned her attention to the agents who lined the wall. And then, just like that, she and Diamond strolled out of the Clark County federal holding facility.

2014

“Fuuuuuuuuck!”Officer Douglass yelled hysterically. He pounded his fist against his head as he paced the cell. Tears spilled out of his eyes. “Somebody help!” he cried.

The only response he’d gotten was from his echo.

His mind was racing a million miles a minute. He could still hear the screams and cries of his wife and daughter. The shots still rang in his ears. He felt dizzy and faint. He knew it was his own fault. He knew the risk of coming forward. He had seen what they had done to others who had crossed them. He regretted the day he had encountered one of the Double Gs. Rather, the day his partner had.

He cursed the late Officer Blake for putting him in the predicament and position he was now faced with. Because of Officer Blake’s crooked ways and craving for plus-sized black prostitutes, and the fact that Douglass had his partner’s back once upon a time, the Double Gs were able to corrupt him. Now, since blowing the whistle on everything, his family was dead.

Unable to take it any longer, Officer Douglass broke into a violent rage. He began banging on the walls, kicking the sink, and doing whatever else he thought would get someone’s attention. He needed to know whether what he heard over the phone was true or just a mere scare tactic. He prayed that they were just trying to scare him, to show him that they could get to him and his family. The calmness of the woman’s voice through the phone had alarmed him. He knew, firsthand, about the kind of vindictive women he was dealing with, but he never figured they would go this far. My wife? My daughter? No. This has to be a warning. Pretty soon, Loretta and Cameron will come visit me with a message, pleading for me to change my mind about double-crossing those Double Gs, he reasoned with himself.

Officer Douglass felt defeated. He cursed himself for not securing his wife and daughter before he made his decision to come clean. He had underestimated the lengths the organization he was trying to contribute to taking down would go and he knew better. Why would my family be exempt from their wrath when they’re known for making people pay for crossing them? he questioned himself. He knew he would have to accept whatever lawful punishment he was subjected to in exchange for the safety of his family. Thinking about watching his daughter Cameron grow up from behind a prison wall put a bad taste in his mouth. But at least she would be safe, he concluded.

His thoughts were broken by the sound of the guard coming through the door. The person trailing the guard caused his heart to drop to the pit of his stomach He rushed to the cell bars. “No!” Officer Douglass clenched the metal bars and chimed.

“I’m sorry, my son.” The chaplain leaned in toward Officer Douglass with a rosary’s beaded cross hanging out of the middle of the Bible, and he rested his right hand on top of his through the cell bars.

“Noooooo!” Officer Douglass snatched his hand away. He dropped to his knees and buried his face in his hands. His cries shook the walls and could be heard throughout the entire building.

It was an emotional and on-edge day for the Bureau. First the funeral, then the unexpected occurrence with Agent McCarthy’s daughter. He still couldn’t believe the Double Gs had managed to take out a few of his colleagues and not have any ties or links to the murders. Had it not been for his daughter’s illness he would still be leading the case. But his pride and joy being in the hospital with all sorts of tubes in her body had him an emotional wreck. It was impossible for him to focus on taking down the Double Gs when his baby girl needed him by her side. Once upon a time he wanted nothing more than to be the one responsible for disbanding the all-female organized crime gang, but his job was the furthest thing from his mind. Which was why he was not too enthused about receiving the call about a bank robbery.

Agent Reddick was all too ready to call it a day and go rest his mind. When he was informed he had to fill in for McCarthy on the bank job he was not too thrilled. The only reason he didn’t argue with his supervisor and try to get out of it was because he was told that the bank job was in connection with the Double Gs. They had all been working around the clock to take down the organization and he didn’t want to pass up an opportunity to contribute to that.

The words Agent Mobley had spoken at the funeral service were still resonating in his mind. They were one of us and it could have been any one of us. The deaths of the three agents had really hit home. If they didn’t believe before, they were all believers now. The Double Gs were dangerous and had to be stopped.

He was all too familiar with how hard and diligently Agent McCarthy had been working on the Double Gs case. He respected him for his work that had awakened the agency to the Double Gs. He grimaced at the fact that he was guilty of indulging in conversations with other agents humorously at Agent McCarthy’s expense. He was among those who believed Agent McCarthy was a washed-up, delusional agent. But Agent Reddick now knew that was not the case, as he stormed through the bank’s revolving doors and headed straight behind the teller counter. He removed his sunglasses and stuck them into his windbreaker’s inside pocket before kneeling down over the corpse and pulling the sheet back. He immediately noticed the victim had been shot execution style.

“There was something I believe was purposely left behind,” another agent informed him.

“What?” Agent Reddick asked.

The agent handed Agent Reddick the paper that was left behind. He slowly unfolded it and read it all with one glance. He was all too familiar with the content. There were several of them in evidence already. It was the signature card of the Double Gs and anyone associated with them. Judging by the particular card, Agent Reddick was almost positive the bank job and hit was the work of the Spalding brothers. Maybe they are just like the rest of them. Puppets. Maybe they turned the money over to those gotdamn she-devils, Agent Reddick hypothesized.

“It all makes sense now,” Agent Reddick concluded.

“What’s that, sir?” the agent wanted to know.

“It explains what’s been rattling my brain since the call came through,” he began. “I mean, it didn’t make sense to me at first. The Double Gs have more money than they know what to do with, I’m sure. So, why would they have their hands in robbing a bank?”

As he analyzed the scenario something else popped in Agent Reddick’s head. He pulled out his cell phone. “This is Agent Reddick,” he spoke into his phone. “I need the names of all members associated with the Double Gs organization who have been picked up or questioned recently,” he instructed. “And see if any of them had any connections with any banks.” Agent Reddick pulled his phone away from his ear while he waited for the information he had just requested.

“What’s the victim’s name?” he asked the agent.

The agent looked down at his notepad. “Uh, Pearson. Careese Pearson.”

The name meant nothing to Agent Reddick.

Three minutes later, as the agent ran down the names and occupations of the Double Gs they had detained, questioned, or arrested, one name stood out above all and connected the dots for Agent Reddick.

“Thanks.”Agent Reddick hung up his cell phone and turned his attention to the agent. “This wasn’t just a bank robbery. It was a hit,” he informed the agent.

“How do you know that, sir?”

“Because Careese Pearson was a Double G. Something we should have already made the connection to.”

The getaway was clean and easy but the ride was a quiet and an uncomfortable one. Every so often Felicia would cut her eyes over at Monica, who sat in the passenger seat in silence and on edge. She had every reason to be. The text message from the anonymous number had her all the way on point. The words “Don’t trust nobody!” still played in her head. Although the text didn’t offer anything more, it was enough to let Monica know she may possibly be in danger.

The way Felicia had looked at her, after receiving a message herself, had Monica on guard. The occasional glances over at her, and Felicia’s silence throughout their ride, made her feel that danger may be closer than she realized. Monica’s mind was racing a hundred miles a minute. She knew she was way in over her head and had reached the point of no return, but she knew she had been careful in her movements. She had followed orders and instructions to a T from day one and she wondered what could have fueled the text. She had no clue where Felicia was headed, but it was killing her not knowing what was going on. Monica turned to Felicia and decided to test the waters and feel her out.

“Is everything okay?” she asked.

Felicia peered over at her and flashed a half smile. There was a slight pause before she replied, “Everything’s cool.” Felicia’s reply was short and flat, hard for Monica to read.

Monica matched her smile. “Good,” was her response. Felicia gave her a thumbs-up and drew her attention back to the road. Her reaction only heightened the tension Monica was feeling.

Moments later, Felicia navigated her SUV onto a side road. The first thing Monica noticed was the open dirt field. There was nothing and no one else in sight other than a Mercedes-Benz. Monica’s senses were on high alert. She questioned who the car belonged to. Is this a trap? she wondered. She was tempted to reach for her weapon tucked at her lower back, but sided against it out of fear of Felicia getting the drop on her if that were the case. Instead, she waited but leaned forward to gain easier access to the .380 she possessed.

Felicia turned, pulled off into the open field, and killed the engine of the vehicle. She turned her attention toward Monica again. “Well?” she stated.

“Well what?” Monica retorted.

Felicia shook her head and let out a light chuckle. “Are you going to get out or what, bitch?”

Monica couldn’t tell whether Felicia was serious or joking. Her demeanor was hard to read. “Are you?” Monica asked matter-of-factly.

The two of them were now engrossed in an eye lock. Felicia’s eyes lowered. She shook her head for a second time. “Fine.” Felicia grabbed hold of the car handle, opened the driver’s door, and climbed out.

Monica studied her with a watchful eye. She still contemplated drawing her gun.

Felicia spun around, surprising Monica. “Are you gonna get out or are you staying here?”

There was a brief pause before Monica spoke. “Of course I’m going to get out.” Monica tried to hide her nervousness through laughter.

“Well, let’s go then!” Felicia slammed the driver’s door shut.

Monica let out a deep sigh and exited the vehicle. She watched as Felicia snatched off the wig she was wearing and tossed it in the car along with the clothes she wore. Monica foll. . .