Checkmate

by Nisa Santiago

  “It’s been a long time, Chico,” the man spoke, his voice raspy and deep.

  “I know. But I have a job for you, Dario.”

  Dario nodded.

  “I need someone wit’ ya skills in tracking and hunting. I need someone found ASAP.”

  “My fee will be the same,” Dario stated. “Twenty-five thousand plus expenses.”

  Chico nodded.

  “Who is it that you need found?”

  “A girl, and last I heard, she might be in Mexico whoring.”

  “Rough place. You have her picture?”

  Chico reached into his jacket and handed Dario a small photo of Apple, before the damage to her face.

  “Pretty girl.”

  “She’s scarred, carries a burn on the side of her face, and she’s young.”

  Dario stared at the photo, taking in Apple’s features.

  “I need her found.”

  “I will. And when she’s found, you want her to disappear silently or harsh?” Dario asked, gravity in his voice.

  “No. I need her brought back to New York. I need her alive.”

  Dario nodded.

  Chico then tossed Dario a sealed, lumpy white envelope filled with cash. Dario caught it in his grip.

  “That’s fifteen thousand in there. You get the rest when she’s back in New York.”

  Dario nodded. “I’m on it.”

  Business was done, and Chico walked back to his truck.

  Dario went through the green bills in his hands and was satisfied. Chico always paid him well, even though he rarely used his services. Dario was a former CIA agent. He had been with the CIA for fifteen years until he went rogue and became a mercenary for hire. Dario knew how to hunt and track people globally. He had an expert network system of computers and toys, had connects in every region of the globe, and was a skilled killer.

  Chico last used his services several years ago when trying to locate a snitch that fled New York and went into hiding. The snitch turned state’s witness against Chico and his crew, and was willing to testify in court. His testimony was about to propel Chico into a life sentence in prison or the death penalty. The DA had moved the snitch out of New York for his protection, but Dario found him in less than two weeks and dealt with the problem accordingly—Two shots to his head and dismemberment, with pieces of him dumped miles apart, in eight different states. Chico was acquitted of all charges.

  Dario watched Chico pull off and was ready to implement his tracking technique right away. He got on his cell phone and booked the next flight into Mexico and would start his search from the border.

  Chapter 12

  It had been two weeks since Shaun took the newborn baby from Apple. Apple had dried her tears, but her heart was still torn from the sudden removal of her baby. In fact, Apple sunk into a quick depression. She’d never thought about having any kids, but when she gave birth to a girl, she instantly had a connection with her daughter, even though it was short-lived.

  “Peaches,” Apple would whisper. “Peaches. Peaches.”

  Apple thought about her daughter day and night. Mary was there for her, and a few Mexican whores began to feel sorry for what was happening to her. They started coming around and taking better care of her when Shaun wasn’t around. They soon started to see Apple as one of their own. They brought Apple extra food to help get her strength back and gave her prescription antibiotics to help ward off any infections. Gradually, the girls were becoming a family to Apple.

  Mary would always talk to Apple, telling stories of her past, about her family. She even talked about men to Apple, tricks that she’d fucked or that had fucked her.

  “Some were nice, and some were assholes. Coldhearted bastards,” Mary said. “Sometimes, they would do these cruel things to me when I was only so young, and it would hurt so bad. I would drown myself in my own tears night after night, praying for it to stop. But it never did, and soon you just get used to it.”

  Apple was listening, but she was silent. Mary became her unexpected comfort, like a fluffy pillow to a tired head at nights. Mary became like a grandmother to Apple and a few whores in the place. She had wisdom and had experienced so many tragic incidents in her lifetime. She was able to relate with many of the girls’ stories, not just Apple’s.

  Mary reminded Apple of the pain she felt when her first newborn child was ripped away from her and sold. “There were many pregnancies, and many painful tears that followed behind seeing my children carried out of my life,” she said sadly.

  “I can’t go through this anymore,” Apple said.

  Mary took Apple’s hand gently. Mary already knew the truth; it wouldn’t be Apple’s last pregnancy. There would be more heartbreaks and hard, stained tears to follow. “It is our life now,” Mary said.

  “It’s not mine!” Apple spat. “I can’t live here anymore. I can’t do this, Mary. I hate that muthafucka! I hate him so much, that—”Apple stopped her final words, her mind suddenly slipping into a dark place.

  “What you plan to do? Escape?”

  “I need to do something.”

  “He will then hunt you down and find you. Shaun has power and connections everywhere, and you are a marked woman and far away from home.”

  “This will never be my home!”

  “You still believe that this man will find you, huh?”

  “Chico will come for me, Mary. I know he will. And when he do, I will make that muthafucka pay dearly for what he’s done to me.”

  Mary started to reply, but she began to let out an aggressive cough. She hooked over with her hand to her mouth and continued to cough. It was bad. The cancer was eating away at her.

  “You OK, Mary?” Apple asked with concern.

  Mary nodded. She coughed harshly a few more times, and then there was blood spewing from her mouth.

  “Oh my God!”

  Mary reached for something to wipe away the blood. “I’m fine, Apple.”

  Apple stared at her with much concern. She knew Mary was dying. And with no proper medication to take and Mary not visiting a hospital or seeking treatment for her condition not once, the disease was becoming more aggressive inside of her.

  The coughing soon subsided, and Mary was back to her old self again, talking to Apple like nothing had happened.

  “This place done drained me, Apple, physically and mentally,” Mary said.

  “It ain’t gonna drain me, Mary.”

  Mary respected the fight in Apple. She was once like that, but after years of neglect and abuse, she had given up hope.

  The two women talked for an hour. It gave Apple some comfort. Mary made her smile a few times, and then their session was interrupted by Mary’s deathly and recurring coughing. Mary had to excuse herself and rush toward the bathroom. Apple just sat there with a worried gaze about her friend.

  ****

  Apple awoke naked and hungry. She didn’t know what day of the week it was. The past couple days she was doped up on drugs and unaware of her surroundings. She hadn’t turned a trick since she’d given birth, but Shaun was ready to put that to an end.

  She got out of bed and exited the room. The hallway was starting to fill with awakened whores coming out of their rooms to get ready for the day and a few tricks that lingered overnight. The scantily clad women laughed and talked for a moment. But Apple had to go pee. She felt her high fading. The dope was dissipating from her system, and she was becoming conscious of her surroundings.

  Shaun was nowhere around, and Apple was relieved. She stumbled toward the bathroom and rushed to the stall to pee. She squatted over the dirty toilet and sighed as she drained her unwanted fluids. After her talk with Mary last night, she felt a little better, but she was still suffering from some depression.

  Apple continued to pee, and when she was done,
she stood up and pulled up her panties. But something suddenly caught her peripheral vision. It was peeking from underneath the second stall. She looked down and noticed that it was part of an arm—Someone was sprawled out on the floor.

  Apple became startled. It was a woman. She exited the stall she was in and swung open the door to the neighboring stall. “Oh my gosh!” she uttered. “No! No!”

  Mary was sprawled out unconscious on the floor in her underwear, blood seeping from her mouth.

  Apple scooped Mary’s body into her arms and tried to shake her awake. “Mary, get up! Get up, Mary! Get up! Get up!” Apple screamed, but it was to no avail. Mary remained motionless. “Help! Somebody help me! Help her!”

  Moments later, other whores rushed into the bathroom and came across the stunning situation. They were all shocked to see Mary across the bathroom floor in her underwear and in the arms of Apple. A few girls rushed over to aid Apple with trying to revive Mary, but she was already dead.

  Apple had to let go of the body, and a few girls were trying to console her from the grief.

  A half hour later, Shaun stepped into the bathroom with a few of his goons. He peered at Mary’s body. He was expressionless. He shook his head and said, “She was old anyway and wasn’t profiting shit. Move outta my way. I gotta get her the fuck out of here!”

  Apple snapped. She rushed toward Shaun, screaming, “You fuckin’ bastard!” She snatched him by his collar and caught him with a quick, right-hand hook.

  Shaun stumbled, caught completely off guard by the attack. But he promptly returned with a hit of his own. He punched Apple so hard, she slid across the bathroom floor and landed against the wall.

  “Bitch, don’t you ever put ya fuckin’ hands on me again! I’ll kill you!” Shaun ranted. “When I’m done cleaning this shit up, you gonna pay for that, you stupid bitch!”

  Apple’s lip was bleeding, and she was in a momentary daze. The other whores around didn’t intervene. They were all scared of Shaun and his goons. Some went over to help Apple to her feet, and a few other girls didn’t want to leave Mary.

  Shaun shouted, “Y’all bitches get the fuck back to work! This ain’t ya business in here!”

  The women scrambled out of the bathroom, leaving Mary’s body on the cold, dirty floor and Apple looking shaky in the corner.

  Shaun stared at her. “Yo, bitch, you heard what the fuck I said? Get the fuck outta here before I give you more of a hurting!”

  Apple locked eyes with Shaun. She didn’t flinch. She wiped the blood from her lips, glanced down at Mary’s lifeless body and held back the tears. But she was moving too slow for Shaun, which made him even more frustrated.

  “You think I’m fuckin’ playin’ wit’ you, Apple? That’s it? You think I’m a joke. This ain’t Harlem, bitch. I run shit here, and you better understand that.”

  Shaun removed a .45 from his waist as he glared intensely at Apple. “You still mad because I snatched that little bitch from your arms? She was my property to sell off, ’cuz I can do whatever the fuck I wanna do out this bitch.”

  Hearing Shaun disrespect her newborn daughter was starting to cause Apple to get emotional. But she fought the tears back and slowly made her exit, but not before hearing Shaun say to his goons, “Wrap that bitch up and dump her somewhere.”

  Shaun’s goons wrapped Mary in a dirty sheet and then moved her out of the bathroom and dumped her into the back of a dusty pickup truck like she was a piece of trash. It was like they were moving furniture, not a body. The women were all saddened by Mary’s demise. It showed in their faces and work. To them, Mary became a surrogate mother. She was tough and honest. And she was caring. She was going to be missed greatly.

  Apple sat in her still room. She lay curled up on the mattress, constantly drying her tears. Even though they had developed a short friendship, Apple knew she would miss Mary. It was a strange friendship that developed, but it was still a friendship. Time was becoming a blur to her. She felt hopeless.

  Shaun had left for a few hours, giving Apple momentary peace.

  The echoes of whores turning tricks seeped through her walls, and the activity and traffic outside her door looked like the red light district in Amsterdam.

  There was a knock at Apple’s door. She refused to answer it. The knocking continued, but she just sat on the stained mattress, looking lost to the world around her.

  The door opened, and a young Mexican whore named Alba eased her way into Apple’s room. She spoke little English. She looked at Apple, showing that she cared about her condition. She wanted to know what was wrong with Apple.

  “¿Apple, estás bien?” Alba asked.

  Apple looked up at Alba. The girl was petite, only standing five-two, with small breasts and long, curly hair. Her face showed the age of a fifteen-year-old, but her eyes showed a well-experienced woman. She was clad in a tattered nightgown, soiled from past customers.

  “¿Necesitas algo?” Alba asked.

  Apple shook her head.

  “He...soon...back, no?” Alba said.

  “I don’t care,” Apple stated.

  Alba moved closer to Apple. She took Apple’s hand into hers and did what Mary would have done. She spoke Spanish to Apple.

  Apple only listened, but like with Mary, she felt comforted.

  Alba was one of the youngest whores working for Shaun. She’d been on the streets since she was thirteen and had linked up with Shaun a year earlier. It was the closest thing to a home that Alba had.

  The two girls spent a quality moment with each other.

  Suddenly, the room door flung open, and Shaun and a few of his goons appeared in the doorway.

  Alba looked scared. She avoided eye contact with him and stood to her feet.

  Shaun glared at Alba. “Get the fuck outta here, Alba!”

  The girl didn’t ask any questions. She rushed past Shaun and his men, and bolted to her room a few doors down.

  Shaun stepped closer to Apple, his eyes fixed on her. “I told you that you was gonna pay from that incident this morning. You thought I was lying?”

  Apple held his gaze. She stood from her seated position and looked around her. Three men flanked Shaun, and they all had a devilish smile focused at her. She knew what was about to take place. It wouldn’t be the first time.

  Shaun shut the door and marched toward Apple. He forcefully grabbed her by the wrist and hurled her across the room. Apple landed on her side and was hurt.

  “It’s a new day for you, you dumb fuckin’ bitch! You defy me in front of my hoes,” Shaun shouted.

  Apple looked up as Shaun towered over her. He removed his belt from around his waist and struck her repeatedly, across her back, arms, and chest. She began to cry out from the assault. She tried to run, but Shaun kicked her back down to the floor and shouted, “You don’t fuckin’ move unless I tell you to!”

  He then lunged for Apple, grabbing her with her hair wrapped around his fist, and dragged her back to the bed.

  She kicked and screamed, but Shaun was too strong for her to break free. He pushed her on the bed and ripped away her shirt and tore off her panties. The welts from the beating showed on her skin.

  “I told you, I’m about fuckin’ business, and you’re big business to me, Apple. Now, we get to have fun.” Shaun turned to look at his goons and nodded.

  All three men began to unbuckle their jeans and stepped toward Apple with a lustful look.

  Shaun took a few steps back from her. “Y’all niggas do what ya need to do to break this bitch in again.”

  “No problemo,” one of the men replied with a smile, his swollen dick in his hand.

  Apple knew she was about to get gang raped. It was nothing new to her, but it always hurt. The men shifted closer to her while she curled up into the fetal position. They swarmed on top of her like ants ov
er something sweet. They pinned her to the mattress and forced her legs open, grabbing her breasts roughly and began penetrating her.

  Shaun stood by and watched. He smiled. “Yeah, y’all niggas fuck that bitch right,” he said sharply. “’Cuz I want that bitch pregnant by tonight. I got money to make off of her wit’ that pregnant pussy and the next child she births.” He walked toward the door, making his exit, leaving the wolves to feast on Apple.

  Chapter 13

  The line to get into the Playa’s Lounge on Twenty-Fifth Street stretched half way down the block. The Playa’s Lounge was a popular midtown club that was frequented by a lot of celebrities, athletes, drug dealers, beautiful women, and wannabes. It was situated in the middle of the block, and high-end cars lined the city block with the city’s elite moving about.

  The night was cool. Business was booming. The ladies were dressed in short dresses and skirts and tight jeans, highlighting their thick hips and curves, and some of the finest women in New York City were standing on line outside of the club waiting to get inside. The waiting crowd outside watched as luxury cars and limos pulled up and a few of the city’s top-notch got out of their vehicles and were rushed in the club, bypassing the long line and security.

  Around midnight, a black Infiniti QX56 sitting on 22-inch chrome rims and tinted windows pulled up in front of the club. The crowd outside quickly took notice of the magnificent-looking truck that came to a stop. Edge stepped out of the passenger side looking sharp in a pair of stylish denim jeans, beige Timberlands, a fitted black T-shirt that was adorned with a long, platinum chain with a diamond-encrusted Jesus face pendant swinging at the end of it. He was bejeweled in diamond rings and earrings, and a bracelet that screamed “hood wealth.”

  The driver and a third passenger seated in the backseat stepped out from the Infiniti truck and followed behind Edge. They strutted toward the front entrance of the club and bypassed the long line.

  Edge slipped one of the bouncers a C-note, made it clear to them that he only wanted bottle service and walked inside. He was greeted by blaring rap music and sweaty revelers crammed on the dance floor. Edge moved through the energetic, body-hugging crowd, following behind one of the female employees who led him toward an elevated lounge/VIP area.