Zero Hour: Where are our Children (A Serial Novel) Episode 5 of 9
Page 18
out his wishes when advanced age or death no longer allowed him to.” Scotty sipped at his tea again but remained standing. “When you chose law enforcement he was proud of you but…”
“But what, Scotty,”
“He was profoundly disappointed that you didn’t follow his footsteps as the absolute leader of a House in Chains. He counted on you and Serena to work this racial epithet out in a more reasonable manner. He loved your brother; never question that, Old Man. Yet, he never thought that Xavier had the drive or the ambition or the discipline to pursue leadership of the group he’d founded. That gap in years of leadership led directly into the organization having to absorb the New Black Panther into the House just for its financial survival. Xavier continued to drink and to whore…so your father began to plan 411 with Serena Tennyson and Raymond Rice.”
Chris found himself pacing the hardwood floors of Scotty’s apartment. The older man sat down again to better sip his tea and then said: “And now you are allied with the truth, Old Man. What will you do with it?”
“I wish I knew.”
Scotty finished his cup at last and stood again. Chris immediately stopped his pacing. They found each other’s eyes. Chris wanted to hate this man with all of his heart nearly as badly as he wanted to kill Serena Tennyson earlier tonight but just like hours ago he wondered how he would live with what he’d done.
Benjamin Scott had been more devoted to his father than most married couples were to each other. And he had been a wondrous mentor for himself and his brother Xavier over these years when they had no one else to turn to.
And yet their relationship as he once knew it was gone forever.
A change was coming.
And Chris Prince’s life was going to change, yet again, forever.
He heard his personal cell phone ring. He gave the number lit up in its ID placement a once over, expecting to be Angel or Roxanne trying to reach him. He glared at the number a ring longer. He didn’t recognize it, but whoever it was had been blowing his number up over the past few days. He couldn’t even tie it to Serena Tennyson any longer, since she called him only once from another cell number, trying to arrange her fateful meeting that they had earlier.
He started to disconnect it and thought what the hell?
“Hello.”
“Christopher Prince, My God, did I finally reach you.”
Chris absorbed the sound of the man’s voice on the line for a second…the inflections finally connecting with him after a bit.
But why would his personal physician contact him at 11:30 at night?
“I do apologize for calling you at this hour, but I’ve I haven’t been able to reach you for weeks now. I don’t understand why don’t you ever answer your phone, son?”
“It’s alright, Doc.” Chris bit back a curse. He was in no mood to be dressed down by anyone tonight. “If it’s okay, I give you my word that I’ll give you a call during normal business hours. I have a lot on my plate—“
“No, I’m sorry son; you most certainly will not be doing that.” Gideon said. “I finally have reached you and I refuse to hang up until we have spoken.”
“Look, Doc, if this is about my physical that I had the other week, I’m sure we can set up an appointment—“
“You don’t understand, Christopher. It is vitally important that I begin consultation with you immediately.”
“Consultation,” The syllables soured on his tongue as he said it. He felt his stomach ache. “What are you talking about? What exactly do you need to counsel me on, Doctor Gideon?”
“Come in tomorrow and we’ll talk son.” His private doctor said. “I’ll clear out my morning schedule if you like. I wanted to speak to you to get your attention and now I have. But I would prefer not to disclose sensitive patient information over an unsecured line.”
“What is it, Doctor?”
Gideon cleared his voice, using the extra minute to gather himself.
“Two of your blood test that you took the other day showed some disturbing tearing in the lining of your adnominal wall. I think that they are damned peculiar. So I took the liberty of ordering a more detailed examination so that I could be absolutely certain.”
“I don’t like what I’m hearing here; so that you could be certain of what, Doctor?”
Scotty put his tea cup down. He couldn’t hear the conversation but must have read the lines of dread in Chris’ face word for word.
“You’ve been a patient of mine for years, son. I won’t discuss a diagnosis of a patient like this by phone.”
“Doctor Gideon, talk to me,” Chris yelled into his phone. “I’m begging you to tell me what is wrong?”
“The walls of your stomach are collapsing at an accelerated rate. It’s cancer, Christopher. You’re intestines aren’t providing a defense. You’re being eaten alive from the inside out. You’ve wrongly thinking that you’re gaining weight when in actuality your middle is swelling from the infection.”
After Chris calmed himself, he said: “You’re telling me that I’m dying from the same cancer that killed my mother?”
Christopher Prince had searched for a sign that he would receive absolution for all of his past sins.
“I am saying just that,” Doctor Gideon told him. “I’m sorry. It pains me to add to your misery by telling you that at this accelerated pace the cancer’s spreading, that you have less than six months to live, Christopher Prince.”
He now doubted that this sign would ever come.
End of Episode 5
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Sneak Peak at Betrayals
Judas is unchained.
While several players in this contest of survival act as the betrayers—one will perish as a perfect storm of treachery and betrayal blossoms on his doorstep.
And his demise changes the game forever.
Unforeseen alliances will form, while long friendships and unions will brittle and crumble into dust.
Roxanne Sanchez finally confronts Dr. Angel Hicks Dupree, carrying all of her pain—and her vengeance with her.
In the meantime, ciaos begins to reign supreme across the country. Generations of distrust, disclosure and discord between the nation’s two predominate races explodes into an epitaph of unparalleled violence and murder on an unprecedented scope.
A violence that both Dr. Seth Dupree and Thomas Pepper will witness at the most intimate level imaginable.
Dedication
As I’ve said before, this one is for…well, for me. This tale has been in my pipeline for a long time.
Nest Egg Publishing Note:
This was a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are use factiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Nest Egg Presents: Where are our Children
Episode 1: 411 (Available Now!!!)
Episode 2: Deliverance (Available Now!!!)
Episode 3: Rapture (Available Now!!!)
Episode 4: Past Prologue (Available Now!!!)
Episode 6: Betrayals
Episode 7: Scar
Episode 8: Tempest Rising
Episode 9: Whirlwind
Available in Trade Paperback
Episode 1: 411 (Available Now!!!)
Episode 2: Deliverance (Available Now!!!)
Episode 3: Rapture (Available Now!!!)
Episode 4: Past Prologue (Available Now!!!)
Where to find this author online:
Follow Gary Sapp’s blog at garysapp.blogspot.com
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