by Shawn James
A flash of light takes me from the streets of Times Square back to the office of the 666 Club. Now that I’ve left E’steem ass out in the middle of the cross roads of the world, she should get the message that it’s not smart to mess with Brimstone Jack. And with me holding this kid as an insurance policy, she’ll think twice before coming into my territory again.
The little girl I grabbed squirms and struggles and pounds into my side trying to make me let her go. “Let me go!” She demands.
I drop the little rugrat in the leather chair in front of my desk. I might have lost a little bit of money on her phone, but that’ll be nothing compared to the payday I get out of her parents. “Have a seat Melissa. And don’t move.”
“How do you know my name?”
“I know everything around here.”
“Bet you don’t know E’steem’s gonna stop you!”
“Yeah right. She can try to stop me. If she can find herself some clothes. In the meantime me and your parents need to talk. What’s your phone number?”
Chapter 6
I cover myself with my hands as the bright lights of Times Square cascade down on me and the red lights of thousands of smartphone cameras record my latest indecent exposure. I need to get out of here before everyone gets enough naked pictures of me to make another viral event on social media.
A flash of light takes me from the streets of Times Square to the balcony of the penthouse on the top floor of the Morris Phillips Tower. I slink into the open sliding glass door of John’s room and make a plan to streak back into my bedroom for some clothes. I’m stopped dead in my tracks when I see my pajama clad boyfriend standing in front of me with the TV remote in his hands. “Getting started without me?” John inquires.
Very funny. “We’d be in the middle of something if you hadn’t had your little power nap.” I retort changing back to my human form.
“Well, I can’t help it if I’m only human.”
“That’s what I love about you.” I say giving him a kiss.
John smiles as he gets an eyeful of E’steem Au Natural before I grab his favorite forest green button-down shirt off the back of his chair and slip it on. As his eyes glance down at my backside he gives me a curious look. “New phone case?”
Even if I were a normal woman I’d think I’d be way too old for a Frozen phone case with rhinestones on it. “It belongs to a lost little girl I ran into tonight.” I say as I hand him the phone.
“You guys got that close in a couple of minutes?” John says scrolling through the phone. “Kids’ll give up their teddy bears before they let go of their Smartphones.”
I think we were bonding in that short time. “She kind of got separated from her phone trying to help me.”
“Let me guess. You ran into a demon.”
“A relic from the bad old days of Times Square named Brimstone Jack.”
“I’m taking it he’s the one responsible for your latest wardrobe malfunction.” John says looking me up and down.
I had a nice little three-month streak going of keeping my clothes on until tonight. “That’s how he got away with Melissa.” I continue. “I was going to get a change of clothes and go back after her-”
My train of thought is broken when Melissa’s phone rings. “I think it’s for you.” John says handing me Melissa’s phone back.
I cock it to my ear hoping it’s Melissa and she’s gotten away from Brimstone Jack. “Hello?”
“Melissa, where are you?” A worried female voice barks.
“Er…I’m not Melissa-”
The woman gasps into the phone. “Who is this?”
“I’m E’steem Katious, assistant to the CEO of Morris Phillips. I found your daughter in Times Square. And I need to talk to you about what happened to her-”
“What happened to Melissa?”
“I’ll be glad to explain everything when I come to your penthouse.”
“Did you call the police?”
“I think it’d be better if I explained things to you before you went to them.”
“Well, when can you be here?”
“In a couple of minutes.”
I push end, and hand John the phone. Then I dart out of John’s bedroom, across the hall into my bedroom. After I grab a black lace bra and some matching bikini panties out of my lingerie drawer, I rush into my walk-in closet. As I grab my red wrap dress off the hanger, John steps into the walk-in closet scrolling down the information in Melissa’s Phone. “Don’t you think you should call the police?” He asks.
Even though he seems like a low-level demon, it’d be safer if I took him on alone. “Brimstone Jack is way out of the cops’ league.” I say stepping into my panties. He’d leave them in a pile of ashes.”
“He that dangerous?”
“He’s no D’lilah, but this is kind of personal for me.” I continue peeling out of his shirt and tossing it to him.
“How personal?” John asks catching it.
“I made a promise to Melissa to bring her home. I want to keep that promise.”
John gives me a look. “She kind of reminds you of you when you were younger.”
My boyfriend knows me all too well. “From what she tells me, her parents haven’t really been there for her.” I say putting on my bra. “I just want her to know that there’s someone out there who cares about her.”
“You don’t want her to feel as alone as you were in Ancient Egypt.”
I bite my lip thinking about those lonely days wandering the desert when I was fourteen years old. “That kind of trauma can stay with a child for the rest of their lives.”
“If we can do anything to stop her from headed down that road all this’ll be worth it.”
I give my boyfriend a look. “We?”
“Just trying to give my helpmeet a little help.” John says. “Besides, I had my fair share of hard times growing up. If I could do anything to help-”
That’s why I love him so much. I slip my dress on and grab my high-heeled tall black boots off the boot shelf and step into them. Once I finish getting dressed, I steal a kiss from his lips. “Don’t change.” I say catching the startled reaction on his face.
John flashes me a smile. “I can’t make you any promises.”
We rush out of the walk-in closet back into my bedroom and out to the balcony. I steal another kiss from his lips before I prepare to teleport. “Wait up for me.” I request. “I want to pick up where we left off.”
“Take the scenic route.”
“Why would you want me to take a flight?”
“I want to do a little research on Brimstone Jack and Melissa before you get there.”
Chapter 7
On the request for her phone number, Melissa folds her arms and pouts at me. “My mommy told me not to talk to strangers.” She snarls.
I don’t believe this, as little as she is she gonna get an attitude with me. “You gonna wind up on the side of a milk carton if you don’t start talking-”
“You still won’t have my number-”
And I ain’t gonna have the payday. I definitely need a woman to deal with this kid. A flash of light takes me from my office into the dressing room of my dancers. When they see me and start covering up I roll my eyes. “Man, everybody done seen ya’ll shake yo naked behinds on stage, what ya’ll covering up for!” I bark.
On seeing me in the dressing room One of my seasoned dancers, Candy slips on a pink satin robe and approaches me. “What you need Jack?”
“I got a situation in the office.”
“Something that needs a woman’s touch?”
“You could say that.”
A flash of light takes up back into my office where Melissa sits pouting. On seeing the child sitting in the chair Candy gives me a curious look. “I didn’t think you’d bring em’ in the club this young Jack.” Candy says. “You looking to catch a Federal rap?”
I pull Candy over to the corner and let her know what’s up. “I’m trying to cash in on a p
ayday.” I whisper. “But little miss attitude here ain’t giving up the digits to her phone number.”
“…And what kind of payday do you plan on getting from this kid?”
“This ain’t no ordinary kid.” I continue. “This is Melissa Banks, daughter of Hall of Fame NFL linebacker Robbie Banks. The same Robbie Banks who just signed a multimillion dollar contract to be on ABC’s Live With Robbie and Kelly.”
“And you out to get some of that ransom money?”
“I’d like to think of it as a reward.”
Candy smiles when she hears about the money. “Can you break a sista off a piece of that reward?”
“Of course. I always take care of my ladies.”
“Then I’m definitely down with helping you out.”
Candy pastes on her friendliest smile as she leans down to meet Melissa’s eyes. “Melissa, why you being so mean to Jack?”
“My mommy told me not to talk to strangers.”
“All he wants to do is help you.”
“Girl, we ain’t strangers. We’re your friends.”
“E’steem is my friend.”
“E’steem is a demon-”
“E’steem was going to help me get home. She got my phone back-”
I decide to play along. “I only attacked her because she was going to hurt you like the people on YouTube-”
“E’steem only hurts bad monsters-”
“Look sweetie, we’re not monsters.” Candy pleads. “We’re people just like you. So you can trust us. We’re gonna get you back home to your parents. But in order for us to do that we need your phone number.”
Looks like all I needed was some Candy to get my way with a kid. Melissa looks up at her and starts talking. “My number is…”
Chapter 8
I’m flying above Central Park when the Smartphone in my boot sleeve vibrates. That must be John. I tap my Bluetooth earpiece to take his call. “What’d you find out John?” I ask.
A lot. “Brimstone Jack runs has been running around Times Square since the bad old days of the 1970s. Back then he had a stable of demon prostitutes and peddled heroin out of the Port Authority Bus Terminal-”
“These days he’s stealing cell phones.”
“Along with gold chains and wallets. After he got arrested for drug dealing back in the 1982, he did a stint in prison, then got out and returned to Times Square around 1999-”
“Only to find everything changed.”
“Not all of it. These days he runs his operations out of the 666 Club over on Tenth Avenue.”
Not a place Melissa needs to be in. “One of those gentleman’s clubs?”
“You’re being too tactful.” John replies. “No respectable gentleman would engage in what goes on in the VIP rooms of those strip clubs.”
“Along with a lot of other dirty business.”
“He probably makes a lot of deals for his stolen goods in between the lap dances-”
And he’s probably looking to make a deal for Melissa. “What’d you find out about her?”
“From her phone, I found out she’s Melissa Banks. And after I did a Google search I found out she’s the seven-year-old daughter of Robbie Banks.”
“The football player who hosts Robbie and Kelly?”
“Yeah. He just signed a multimillion dollar deal with ABC last month.”
No wonder she could afford to live on 72nd Street. The Google Maps app on Melissa’s Smartphone tells me I’m approaching her building. “I’m almost at the Carlton Towers. I’ll call you back in a minute John.”
I push my earpiece to end the call and start my descent. As I swoop down into the sky I see a light on in the penthouse where Melissa is supposed to live. When I look into the picture window of the living room, Robbie Banks is sitting on the sofa with his hands buried in his head and his wife Kimberly sits across from him with her head down. I wish there was a way I could comfort them.
I land on the balcony and chant the spell that makes my wings shrink back into my body and mends my dress. Then I have a flash of light take me from the balcony into the living room. Melissa’s parents’ become terrified when they seeing me standing in front of them. “Oh my God-” Melissa’s mother gasps.
“How’d you get in here!” Robbie barks jumping off the sofa.
“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.” I say. “I’m E’steem, we talked over the phone-”
“You’re the woman who found Melissa?” Kimberly says.
“Yeah.” I say handing her Melissa’s phone. “I ran into her in Times Square this evening-”
“Times Square?” Robbie asks. “Why was she there?”
“She went to see Frozen.”
“Frozen? She doesn’t have any money-”
I don’t think they’re as tech savvy as their daughter. “You can do a lot of things with a Smartphone Mr. Banks.” I say taking the phone from his wife and bringing up the Apple Pay app. “Even buy yourself movie tickets and the popcorn.”
Melissa’s parents wince as they look at the screen. “I had no idea she had access to our bank accounts-”
“You’d be surprised what a kid could get into when they’re left unsupervised.”
“So how’d you get past the doorman?”
“The old fashioned way. I teleported.”
“Teleported?”
A flash of light takes me from one side of the living room to the next. I catch the gasped looks on their faces as I walk back over to them “You’re not exactly human are you.” Robbie says.
“No.”
“What are you? Kimberly asks.
I hate to show them this side of myself, but it’s the only way they’ll understand the danger Melissa is in. I bite my lip as change myself into my demon form. As I the long black horns shoot out of my forehead and my brown eyes change into reptile ones and fingernails turn into black cloven claws I catch the terrified looks on their faces. “Oh my God you’re a demon!” Kimberly cries.
“I am. But I don’t hurt people-”
“No you don’t.” Robbie says.”
“Robbie, The Bible says demons are evil-”
“She’s not. I’ve seen her on YouTube. She helps a lot of people-”
“And I want to help you. The man who kidnapped your daughter is a demon like me. ”
“Is that why don’t you want us to go to the police?” Robbie asks.
“Yeah. Chances are he could hurt them or he could hurt her.”
“Melissa would probably be sleeping in her bed right now if we just took her to the movies tonight-”
More like she’d probably be texting back and forth with her friends under the covers about the movie. “Why couldn’t you take her?”
“Kim had a client call her at the last minute and I had to attend an abrupt meeting with the producers of the show.”
Sounds like their lives are as crazy as John and mine. If I didn’t get him to take a break once and a while he’d miss out on the best things about life. Robbie and Kim need to understand why it’s important take a day off to play in the park with Melissa. “John and I have days like that. But we understand that we have to make time for what’s really important.”
“It’s just a movie.” Kim says. “We were just going to make it up to her-”
“It’s not just a movie.” I plead changing back to my human form. “It’s the fact that you took time to spend with Melissa that means something to her.”
“I thought getting her the new iPhone would show her how much we cared about her.” Robbie says. “The way she talked about it I thought it meant something to her-”
“Melissa feels left out of your lives. And she’s feeling left out at school.”
“Left out? She has friends-”
“All the kids have seen Frozen but her.”
“She must really be close to you to tell you all this-”
I’m probably the only adult she felt she could trust. “I’m just someone she sees in YouTube videos. But I’
m more a person to her than you are.”
“That’s gotta change.” Robbie insists.
Melissa’s phone rings. Before Kim can pick it up I gesture to her and take the phone and cock it to my ear. “Hello? I say imitating Robbie’s voice.”
“Hey Robbie, what’s up?” Brimstone Jack asks.
“What’s up? I don’t know you like that. Who is this?”
“Yo, this is your boy Brimstone Jack. I just want you to know I found your lost little girl. And if you want her back you can come pick her up at the 666 Club. Providing you can pay my one million dollar cover charge.”
“Cover charge?”
“I’d like to think my good deed deserves some kind of reward.”
I can think of the reward I’d love to give him. “I can have someone bring you the money tonight.”
“Alright, cool. Just drop it by the club on 45th and Tenth.”
“I’ll be there in an hour.”
Chapter 9
I smile as I hang up the phone. Now that’s how you get paid. Easier than taking candy from a baby. Maybe I should have asked Robbie to autograph a football for me too.
I look over at Melissa who folds her arms and pouts about me getting her dad to cave in. Once I get my paper I’ll be happy to return his kid to him. This little brat is getting on my nerves.
Chapter 10
I push end and catch the worried looks on Robbie and Kim’s faces. “He wants us to pay a ransom?” Robbie asks.
“Yeah. One million dollars.”
“That ain’t no problem.” Robbie says. “I got that much in my safe-”
“You don’t have to take any money out.” I say. “I’m going to get your daughter back for you.”
“You’re going to pay the ransom?”
“If I have to.”
There’s a confused look on Kimberly’s face. “Why are you doing this? You trying to get your angel wings or something?”
Just doing unto others as I would have wanted done unto me. “I made a promise to get Melissa I’d get her home. And I’m going to do everything in my power to bring her back to you.”
“You must really care about Melissa.”
I’ve walked a mile in her sneakers four thousand years ago in Ancient Egypt. “I just want her to know that one person cares enough about her to keep a promise they make to her.”