by Jay Cannon
“Dholi and I can do one better,” boasted Daloi. “We’ll stab that bitch in the middle of the concert,” Daloi said, leaning over Charlie’s desk with a confident look on her face.
“How the hell you going to do that and not serve major time or get killed in the process?” demanded Sharon, her voice laced with skepticism.
“We have our ways,” Daloi said coyly. “When we succeed at this job, we want to be part of your inner circle and have territory assigned to us,” Daloi continued, locking eyes with Charlie.
“You pull that off, and I will happily give you what you want,” said Charlie, nodding his head at the disguised alien.
Daloi huddled with Dholi to discuss a possible plan. “Yes, yes, I think that will work.”
“What the hell are you two giggling about?” Sharon asked, showing a bit of attitude. “You waltz in here thinking you just gonna jump past people who have been working here for years?”
“Cool your jets, Sharon, we’re not trying to take your place. We just want a small slice of a very large pie. We’ll be in touch, Charlie. Meanwhile, figure out what territory we are going to be getting,” said Daloi, waving at Sharon and Sheila as she walked out with Dholi.
“Charlie, this is bullshit,” said Sharon. “They walk in here out of nowhere and in a short period of time, you start handing them stuff like we don’t exist.”
The mob boss buffed his nails on the lapel of his $3,000 charcoal Armani suit and looked at Sharon for several minutes, his baleful gaze steady.
Charlie’s tone was icy when he finally spoke. “They’re delivering, and they don’t complain. More than I can say for you two. Go do your rounds and get me my money,” he spat.
***
The night of the concert, the Cheoili twins reviewed the plan to seek revenge for Charlie, while relaxing in Sonny’s condo.
“Dholi, I’ve got everything set up for tonight,” said Daloi. “I’m going to impersonate Lady Gaga, while she’s performing at Madison Square Garden. Kanye West is going to join her during the second part of the show. I’ll replace her just before then. When the lights come up, I’ll stab him in front of the cameras and dash out via one of the openings in the stage.”
“Brilliant idea,” said Dholi. “What can I do?”
“I need you to have a limo waiting right outside the arena on 31st Street so we can make a quick getaway. I’m going to morph several times so you may not recognize me. Just look for this ring on my right hand. As a last resort, use the transporter device to come and get me.”
Daloi looked at Dholi with a bit of trepidation, knowing the plan was merely a prelude to a long con that would permit them to disappear for good.
“Don’t worry, sis. I’ll be there waiting for you.” Dholi hugged Daloi, realizing her sibling was taking the bigger risk.
***
Jerome walked into his office to find Mason cleaning up the mess Adar and Ahmed left behind. Mason paused in his work to confront Jerome about what he felt was a bad decision.
“Jerome, doing the deal with Toni is the wrong move,” he said. “You know you can’t trust that bitch.”
“What choice do I have? That enforcer of hers is invincible. Did you see what he did to my men? If I thought we could take him out I would consider telling Toni to shove it,” Jerome said, covering his mouth in an attempt to keep himself from losing it in front of Mason.
“You know, I’ve seen that crazy bastard around,” said Mason, tapping his lips with his index finger. “He was hanging out with that waitress, Aundria, at the Whiskey Tavern.”
“Really? I’ll tell you what you can do for me. You and one of the guys grab her and take her to some undisclosed location. You stay there until this situation has ended. Turn your phones off and take out the batteries. Send me an email using a new email account over a VPN once you get it set up. Besides that, don’t communicate with anyone else. If you need to, let your family members know you’ll be incognito for a while. I don’t want to take any chances with this. You’ll be the only insurance I have to stay alive.”
Jerome clapped his hands together believing he’d found a solution to his predicament. I’m going to make that maniac pay for what he did to my people. And he can forget ever seeing that bitch of his again.
“Okay, I can do that,” said Mason, hugging Jerome. “I’m glad you’re not going to roll over for that crazy bitch.”
“Once you have her, send me an email, once every six hours. Don’t use your real name, though. I want you to be protected in case this goes south. If I don’t respond within 15 minutes, chop her up and throw her body parts in Times Square.”
“I would be glad to,” Mason said, flashing Jerome a vindictive smile.
“Before this is all over, that rat bastard is going to be working for me!” Jerome declared, making a fist.
***
Captain McKee placed a stakeout on Foster’s apartment to monitor who might be coming and going. Unfortunately, Foster never showed up. Daloi and Dholi came and went, though the police couldn’t determine their identities.
“Captain, our guys followed one of the women from Foster’s apartment to the Garden,” said Peters, calling McKee over the police radio. “I don’t know which one. She arrived alone. I guess she’s going to watch the concert.”
“I’ll certainly be watching it from my office. Did our guys follow her in?” McKee asked.
“Sort of,” said Peters, obvious frustration in his voice.
“What do you mean, sort of?” asked the captain, uneasily.
“She went into a bathroom and never came out. A female officer went in and couldn’t find any trace of her. You know what, though?” Peters continued.
“What’s that?” the captain asked impatiently.
“Sharon, that woman who works for Charlie, walked out of the bathroom as big as you please. Can you imagine that?” Peters asked.
Is it possible she changed herself to look like Sharon? McKee mused. Was that alien right in suggesting that the women who killed the assistant DA were aliens? Now I’m thinking crazy.
“Let the arena security know to add Sharon to the list of people to track. Let’s find out what they’re doing there,” ordered the captain, worried that things might get out of control.
If that alien was right that the person who stunned the crowd at Times Square could kill that many people with one blast from a weapon, we could have a catastrophe on our hands. If I bring in the FBI, it would limit my exposure, but if nothing happens after explaining this stupid story, I could be heading for early retirement. Arghh! McKee wrestled with his thoughts for a moment before eventually deciding to handle the situation himself.
***
Adar and Ahmed kicked back on the couch in their apartment, preparing to watch the concert on television. Ahmed was sipping on an IPA, while Adar bit into a large raw steak. Ahmed, a Kanye fan, couldn’t wait for the show to start. Just as he got comfortable, his phone rang. “This is Ahmed.”
“Hello Ahmed. This is Jerome. Is Adar with you?”
“Yes, we’re just watching the Kanye concert,” Ahmed affirmed, surprised to hear from Jerome.
“Would you pass him the phone?” Jerome requested impatiently.
“Sure, hold on. Adar, it’s Jerome,” Ahmed said, shrugging his shoulders at Adar’s inquiring glance.
“Hello, Jerome. What do you want?” asked Adar, not expecting good news.
“I’ve got your girl, Aundria, here. If Toni isn’t dead by Sunday night, I’m going to chop pretty Aundria up into little pieces and scatter her across the city,” Jerome said, and hung up.
“Arghh!” growled Adar, slamming the phone down.
“What’s wrong?” asked Ahmed.
“Jerome kidnapped Aundria and wants me to kill Toni, or he is going to chop Aundria up into little pieces,” Adar growled.
“What are you going to do?” Ahmed asked, fearing Adar would not take threats kindly.
“I am going to finish eating this steak and wat
ch the concert with you and, then I am going to go to Jerome’s place and kill everyone there,” said Adar. He then bit off another chunk of his steak.
***
At Madison Square Garden, the crowds clapped and danced in rhythm with the music coming from the artists on the stage. The first half of the concert ended, leaving the crowd begging for more. After a 30-minute pause, the stage lights came back on. The crowd cheered as Lady Gaga headed to the microphone.
“Good evening, everyone. Welcome to the second part of the show,” said Daloi, waving to the crowd as Lady Gaga. Moments later another eruption of applause occurred as Kanye joined Lady Gaga on stage. “I’m proud to be standing alongside my good friend and fellow performer, Kanye West.” The crowd erupted once more in cheers and applause. As the noise died down, Daloi pulled out a knife and shouted, “This is for Charlie.” She then stabbed Kanye in the chest.
A collective gasp rose from the arena crowd as Daloi ran past the band and slid under the curtains and into an opening in the stage floor.
“Captain, are you seeing this?!” shouted Peters into his police radio.
“Yes, I’m still watching. Have one of our men grab Lady Gaga,” said McKee. “I can’t imagine Lady Gaga would actually stab someone on stage like that. It must be one of those chameleon women Adar warned me about.”
“There’s chaos here, captain. I can’t seem to reach anyone,” said Peters, frustrated at the lack of response from the surveillance team.
“Just keep trying. I’ll send someone to Charlie’s place to pick up Sharon and Sheila, if they are there. We can ask them what they know about their impersonators and about the City Hall killing, again.”
***
At Adar’s apartment, Ahmed stared at the TV screen for a moment, speechless.
“Adar, did you see that?” he finally gasped. “Why the hell would Lady Gaga stab Kanye West?!”
“I saw it.” Adar sat forward, all of his senses alert. “Her eyes looked a little funny. It had to be one of the Cheoili. Sounds like Charlie ordered a hit. Go back to the show, so I can see her face. Then show me where that place is on my device screen.” Adar pulled out his UCD for Ahmed to look at.
“Position the screen near 8th Avenue and West 31st Street. Zoom in right here. That’s the place!” Ahmed shouted.
Adar used his UCD to capture an image of Lady Gaga to share with Wylyy and his crew.
“Wylyy, find the woman on this screen at these coordinates and transport her to the ship now!” Adar shouted into his UCD in Euclidian.
“Okay, give me a moment to look for her. Adar, I have her!”
“Transport me to the ship now. Ahmed, they found that woman and have her on the ship. I’m going there to interrogate her,” Adar said, grabbing his coat and weapons.
“What about Aundria?” asked Ahmed.
“That whole business will have to wait. Catching the Cheoili is more important,” said Adar, picking up his UCD.
“Take me–” Ahmed started, but Adar cut him off.
“No!” said Adar, before disappearing to the ship. “Wylyy, did she have anything from the Andrea on her?” Adar asked, after arriving on the attack vessel.
“No, just this bag. Nothing interesting is in it.”
“Hello, Cheoili,” said Adar to Lady Gaga in Euclidian.
“I don’t understand what you are saying,” Lady Gaga replied in English. “Where am I? How did I get here? Who, are you people?”
“Stop playing games. I saw what you did at the arena. Where’s your sister?” Adar insisted, switching to English.
“Someone attacked me in my dressing room and tied me up. I don’t know who took my place on stage and whatever that person did had nothing to do with me. The person obviously impersonated me. I saw her change into me right in front of my eyes. Look at me. I’m still wearing a robe,” Lady Gaga said indignantly, and motioned for Adar to look closely at her.
“Your eyes look normal, but that could be a trick,” said Adar, pulling out his spear. “You tell me what I want to know, or I’m going to start cutting off body parts until you do,” he threatened.
“Please, don’t hurt me. I can pay you a lot money. I’ll do anything you want, just let me go,” Lady Gaga pleaded.
Adar grabbed her arm and cut off her left hand. Lady Gaga screamed and passed out, blood gushing everywhere.
“Adar, that is not a Cheoili,” said Wylyy, beginning to worry about repercussions.
“I can see that, now,” Adar replied in disgust.
“Should we send her into space?” Wylyy suggested.
“No, she’s some famous person. Get Valera to fix her up and put her back where you found her. First, send me to McKee’s office,” requested Adar.
***
Wylyy paged Dr. Valera on the Andrea to take a look at Lady Gaga. He explained how the amputation happened, but she was not happy to hear about the incident. The impetuous nature of military men frequently annoyed her. She grew tired of constantly cleaning up after their mistakes and childish stunts.
“How did you guys do this?” she demanded, as she worked to reattach Lady Gaga’s hand.
“We mistook her for one of the Cheoili women,” said Wylyy, attempting to justify the mistake. “Adar cut off her hand, and she fainted.”
“Good thing you got to me in time. A little later and she would be dead. I have better things to do than clean up after your messes. You know, you could have just pricked her finger and seen she did not have Cheoili blood,” Valera observed, looking at Wylyy with disdain.
“You should be more accommodating, considering this mission is a priority for Captain Shisal,” Wylyy retorted. Valera’s criticism made him defensive.
“You have a point. Maybe I should buzz him and give him an update on your progress.” Valera knew that the captain did not like being disturbed, especially when it was to discuss mistakes being made with an important mission.
“That won’t be necessary, Valera,” Wylyy said quickly, taking a more apologetic tack. “We are very appreciative of the time you are giving us.”
“That’s what I thought,” Valera purred, looking at Wylyy expectantly. “Does that mean I can expect a trinket from your trip here?”
“Of course, Valera. Anything you would like,” Wylyy said, giving her a big smile.
“I like gold,” the doctor said, smiling back at the pilot. “Something substantial.”
Valera spent more long minutes working on Lady Gaga before giving Wylyy good news.
“Okay big fella, her hand is as good as new,” she reported. “She will feel a little sensitivity in it for a while though. I gave her an intoxicant, which will make her a little groggy when she comes to, and wipe her short-term memory. Just put her back where you found her, and you should be good to go.”
The doctor hailed her transport tech on the Andrea. “Krystyy, I’m ready to return,” the doctor said, before waving farewell to Wylyy and his crew, and vanishing.
***
“Are you ready to work with me?” asked Adar, swiveling around in the captain’s chair to face McKee as he entered his office.
“Tell me what the hell happened at the arena, and I’ll be glad to work with you,” McKee returned, seemingly agitated.
“One of the aliens I told you about pretended to be Lady Gaga. She stabbed that Kanye guy and vanished. What do you know?” Adar asked.
“The real Lady Gaga is in one of our interrogation rooms. One of my men found her stumbling drunk backstage at the arena. She says she thought somebody cut her hand off, but she can’t remember much about it. I would like to think that it’s just part of her drunken state, but she has a hard time moving her hand,” McKee said, mimicking the pop star by flopping his own hand around.
“Sorry about that. I mistook her for one of the aliens. She should be as good as new in a couple of days,” Adar apologized, looking uncharacteristically sheepish.
“Great! Now that I have you here, let’s talk about your buddy, Ahmed. I’d like you
to bring him in for questioning regarding the murder at Luigi’s place. I just want to hear his side of things,” the police officer demanded, pointing his finger at his desk as he tried to lock gazes with Adar.
“That’s not going to happen. I told you he is not responsible for that incident. I don’t want him locked up for something you humans can’t understand,” the alien said, baring his teeth at McKee.
“Fine, I’ll accept that for now. If I can get my chair back, I’d like to show you something on my computer,” said the captain, deciding to pick his battles.
“Of course,” said Adar. He moved aside so McKee could slide behind his desk.
McKee punched the keyboard and the computer screen lit up. “Look at this video taken from the stadium. One of our men grabs the imposter. Now she grabs him on the arm, and he just walks away from her.” McKee looked at Adar for his reaction.
Adar nodded. “The aliens I’m looking for have enzymes in their hands that act as a relaxing agent when they come in contact with a person’s skin. They can then manipulate the victim as needed. So be careful about letting them touch you,” he explained.
“Thanks for the tip. Notice, the woman moves into a corner, takes off her dress exposing the shorts she is wearing underneath, and now she morphs into an Asian woman. She walks down a hallway and comes out the other end as a black woman, the same one that visited me earlier this week. From there she gets into a limousine and disappears into the night. The limo driver said he dropped two women off near Sonny Foster’s apartment building.”
“That’s all we have,” McKee ended, looking up at Adar from his seat. “We are in the process of heading to Foster’s place now and taking any women we find there into custody.”
“Tell me where the place is and I will take care of them myself,” said Adar, moving toward the door.
“No, you said we would work together on this,” the police officer objected.
“Fine. I will accompany you. I can assure you that you will not be able to apprehend them on your own,” Adar ended, giving the captain a skeptical look.