Carl sat in his cell, solitary confinement in a maximum security prison. He knew from the day he and Ryder killed the drug dealers at the end of Grove Street where it hit Balla turf that he was going to wind up here eventually. And after he knocked over Caligula's, he knew who would finally turn him in. That was one crazy year, but it all had to come crashing down on him eventually. You don't get away with that many crimes.
Maybe it wouldn't have been so bad from just the beginning. A few burglaries, some gang kills, the police really didn't care about that- really cracking down on crime in the 'hood just meant more paperwork and putting their own lives on the line for people who would just destroy themselves. But Tenpenny, Smoke and Ryder started the big time shit- high profile run ins with some Russian mob guys, attacking trains in broad daylight, attacking a National Guard base. Just those jobs alone should've landed him in jail for life if he ever got caught. But Tenpenny and his team kept CJ and the homies under the radar, they kept evidence from getting back to those Grove Street boys putting in the work that Tenpenny couldn't be caught with.
It was weird to think that a month of murder and theft would be the least of his charges list.
He had all the time in the world to figure out where it really started to catch up with him. Not that he was really careful about how he did his dirty work- so many people done in broad daylight and public. But a year of those high profile crimes and what finally put him inside were Salvatore Leone turning state's evidence to bargain himself out of a hole, and that faceless tech nerd Berkley who tipped off the police to begin with at Caligula's.
He was an idiot, but he wasn't sure if he was an idiot for going along with every crime he was ever told to commit, or for not doing it better. There were cats here in the joint who didn't have anywhere near the body count, or the personal wealth from their sprees, but got away with it for years by being smart- and for all the money and power Carl gained- smart wasn't the cause of a single bit of it. He'd just happened to meet the right people by going along with others' plans.
Really, it was the 90's. Cameras were everywhere. Outside of the east side of Los Santos, people actually reported crimes they saw. The rest of the world lacked the 'no snitching' mentality he was raised with.
So here he was, alone in a cell, barely anyone to visit him. Every single crime he was charged for had accomplices which all saw their own arrests once they were tied to CJ's crimes:
Sweet- multiple counts of murder
Cesar- multiple murders, auto thefts, running an unlicensed auto shop which was connected to every one of those thefts.
Kendl- aiding and abetting, as well as helping to run the unlicensed shop. At least she got off easy since she didn't have any actual blood on her hands.
Woozie and his highest ranks of the Mountain Cloud Boys- affiliation with multiple criminal organizations, caught in involvement in the robbery of the Caligula's Casino.
Catalina- still on the run but warrants out for multiple murders, robberies, and auto thefts. Not that CJ wanted to see her ever again anyway, he'd snitched her involvement out himself, fuck that crazy bitch!.
Truth- funny enough brought in more on tax evasion than for his long history of drug distribution. The Black Project and train heist somehow never came up in court even after they were caught with the evidence.
Zero- found to provide the remote control weapons used in multiple murders, association with the Caligula's heist.
Dwayne and Jethro- shortened sentences under plea bargain-they had no personal affiliation with the car thefts, they only did their jobs as mechanics on whatever came into the shop.
Ken Rosenberg- brought in on drug possession charges of his own doing, as well as found as an accomplice in the murders of dozens of people at a meat packing facility.
At the very least, Madd Dogg, Kent, and Maccer all got to stay out from behind bars as they were just affiliates of the guilty, aiding and abetting charges were easily paid off with the record sales. They came to see him and their other friends from time to time when the prisons allowed. Carl especially was allowed few visits because of the sheer number and severity of his crimes.
Content definitely wasn't the word for what Carl felt knowing he would never see the light of day again. But at least he understood that he deserved it. Regrets weren't a problem, everyone he put a bullet or something else in had it coming to them or was out for his head. The only people he cared about were the cops he killed knowing at least some of them were just doing their jobs. If it had been anyone else, even CJ would have said that kind of maniac needed to die or get locked up for good.
He was good with it. If he never saw the light of day again, at least he could understand and didn't cry about it being unfair or because the system was against him- he'd earned every day that he would spend behind bars.
"Johnson, visitor."
Carl picked up his head. Probably Dogg or one of the others. It was nice to know he hadn't dragged down or killed EVERYONE he'd ever cared about.
He was sat down in a well lit room, hands and feet chained together to his cuffs as always, one way mirrors to watch him, cameras and microphones.
The guard who usually stayed in the room left. The lights went out. What in the hell was going on?
He heard a door open, a chair move as a body sat down.
"Hello, Carl. How's the service here?" a familiar and infuriating voice calmly said.
"Hell no. Oh HELL NO! Yo, just put me back in my cell, I ain't dealing with this psycho. He's half the reason I'm in here!" CJ tried to get up but the restraints made that very difficult.
"Oh come on, Carl, don't you want to get a little fresh air? I have a car waiting outside for us, all I need is one teensy little favor."
Carl never wanted to hear this voice again.
"No, no way man, FUCK you, Toreno. Fuck you, fuck your jobs, fuck your favors, fuck your greasy ass hair-do, fuck your suit, fuck your car, fuck your fresh air. I'ma stay right the fuck here and wait around very patiently to die instead of getting myself killed out there."
"Oh, I'm sorry Carl, you thought you had a choice. Bag him and drag him."
Carl was roughly lifted out of his chair, a hood put on his head, and he was taken from the safety of prison on another 'adventure' that he wanted nothing to do with. Killer gang bangers, cops, and mafiosos was one thing. This dude was INSANE!