Cecil walked through the lobby with focus and determination. He made a direct line to the elevators and pushed the button for his floor. His mind was occupied with torture techniques. He was running through the file cabinet of techniques in his head, contemplating which one to start with. Start slow and build to the climax was always Cecil’s way.
The elevator doors opened. Cecil, still focused, walked out, turned right and headed down the hallway. He was on autopilot right now, his mind filled with visions of things to come.
He slid the key card into the slot and pushed the door to open. His shoulder met the door with a thud. The door didn’t budge. He tried the card a second time. Again, the door didn’t move. The third attempt yielded the same results. This time Cecil noticed that the red light came on, indicating the door was locked. He pounded on the door.
“Tiphani. Open the door.” He waited for a response. Nothing. He pounded again. He listened for any movement on the other side of the door, but only heard silence. He stood there taking deep breaths, trying to calm himself.
Where is this bitch? He looked around the hallway, trying to figure out his next move. Did he go to the lobby and wait for her? Did he go drive around Baltimore so no one would get a look at him in the lobby? Tiphani was sure to get a good beating over this.
Cecil stepped back from the door and contemplated either kicking it or tampering with the locking mechanism. As he stared at it, he finally realized he was standing in front of the wrong door. He was standing in front of 1504; they were staying one floor up in 1604. Cecil hadn’t been paying attention when the elevator doors opened. He had been in his own world and automatically stepped off, assuming it was his floor. Angered at his mistake, he kicked the door.
He started back down the hall, and as he was about to turn the corner, he heard the bell announcing the arrival of the elevator. Instead of running to catch the door, he slowed his pace when he heard a familiar female laugh. It sounded like Tiphani’s laugh, and she was getting off the elevator. This confused Cecil. Did she make the same mistake as he did and get off on the wrong floor?
Cecil stopped in his tracks and waited to catch her off guard as she came around the corner. Standing there, Cecil heard a male voice as well.
Who the hell is that? Instead of the voices coming in his direction, they trailed off toward the other side of the hotel. He swiftly and quietly followed, rushing past the elevators and peeking his head around the other corner. He saw a man and a woman, their arms and legs intertwined, tripping over each other as they kissed and laughed their way down the hall. There they were all over each other.
It took all of Cecil’s discipline not attack them. Tiphani and the front desk clerk were obviously about to go fuck. With his head just poking from around the corner, he watched them pause in front of a door at the end of the hall. Evan used a key card and opened the door. He stepped aside, let Tiphani enter first, and smacked her on her ass as she strutted past him. This prompted a little squeal of delight from Tiphani.
Once the door was shut behind them, Cecil softly walked up to the door and listened. It was quiet at first. He could hear muffled voices, but couldn’t make out what they were saying. After a minute or two, Cecil heard Tiphani’s familiar moans. Cecil imagined Evan’s face between her legs. It took all of his strength not to pound on the door. His entire body was tense with rage. His suspicions had been right: Tiphani was fucking the young hotel worker.
If she thought she could lie to him and play him, she was wrong. All of the information he had learned recently about Tiphani—and now to catch her out in a blatant lie and fucking another dude—had Cecil about to blow a gasket. He had had enough. He started to walk away, but not before hearing the sound of flesh slapping against flesh and the loud screams of ecstasy from Tiphani.
Cecil violently poked the elevator button with as much force as he could muster. He needed to take his aggression out on something or someone, and the button was the first thing in his way. The doors opened to an empty elevator car, and Cecil pushed 16 on the panel with the same intensity as before.
With the focus of a surgeon, Cecil entered his room, went directly to the closet, and pulled out his duffel bag. Almost robotic in his demeanor and actions, he placed the duffel on the bed and checked the contents. Satisfied, he slung the duffel over his shoulder and left the room.
He exited the elevator in the lobby and focused his sights on the exit. He kept his eyes fixed on the front doors and made a direct line to them. Nothing was going to distract Cecil from his mission. He walked through the front doors and straight to the car.
Forty-five minutes later, Cecil was back in the hotel room. Tiphani was sprawled out on the bed. She was propped up against the headboard, watching the television.
“Hey, baby.” He went directly into the bathroom.
“I missed you,” Tiphani called out.
“I bet you did,” he replied.
Cecil came out of the bathroom holding his duffel bag.
“I don’t remember you leaving with your duffel,” Tiphani said.
“I didn’t. I came back to get it. You weren’t here.” Cecil turned off the television. “Where were you?”
Tiphani started rummaging through the minibar. “I needed to get out. I walked down to the water. You needed your bag. That must mean you found something.”
Cecil couldn’t believe how easy it was for Tiphani to lie. He wondered if she had thought about her alibi beforehand, or if she just came up with it. “I didn’t find anything. No one knows shit. Why didn’t you wear your wig if you were going outside?” he asked.
Tiphani touched her hair. “Oh. You’re right. I forgot to put it on. I hope no one recognized me.” She gave a quick, nervous laugh.
Cecil was in awe at how easily her lies came to her. She wasn’t about to get tripped up by his questioning. “Yeah, I hope no one recognized you.”
“When are you going back out to look for those evil motherfuckers?” She poured herself a glass of wine from the minibar.
“I’m not. Like I said, no one knows anything. The trail is cold.” Cecil turned on the television again.
“What?” She turned to him.
“Did I stutter? I’m not going back out there.”
“I thought you wanted to help. These men ruined me. They deserve to pay for that.” Her eyes started to well with tears.
Cecil ignored her fake-ass tears. He knew she was making herself tear up for effect. “Speaking of paying, if you want any of these grimy-ass B-More cats to talk, you gonna have to pay up.”
“Is that what this is about? You want money?”
“The money ain’t just for me. Hustlers wanna see cash before they’re gonna talk. I’m sure they know where Scar is. They’re just not speakin’ for free. Besides, I already took care and murked two of your problems, so a little paper my way wouldn’t hurt.”
“I thought you loved me. This was just about money?” Tiphani downed the glass of wine in one gulp. “You know I love you.” She crawled onto the bed and pulled Cecil down on top of her. She was going to use the one thing in her arsenal that she always used. She was going to let her pussy do the convincing.
Tiphani ripped Cecil’s shirt off of him and shoved her hand straight down his pants. Despite knowing that Tiphani was a liar and a cheater, he still wanted to fuck her. Cecil used all of his aggression to fuck her as hard as he could.
After an aggressive and at times violent bout of sex, they lay panting next to one another on the bed.
“I know you don’t want to, but you’re gonna have to pay. Those cats out there want money. We pay, we find Scar,” Cecil said.
“You’re right. I want that motherfucker dead.” Blinded by her obsession for revenge against Scar, Tiphani easily agreed. She jumped out of bed and went to her purse. She took out a small notebook, flipped through the pages, and stopped when she found what she was looking for.
She picked up the phone, dialed a number, waited a few seconds, then punched in so
me numbers that she read off the page in the notebook. After a few more seconds she said, “Yes. I would like to transfer fifty thousand dollars. Yes. Same bank. Thank you.” She hung up the phone and threw the notebook back into her purse.
“I’m taking a shower. You got my hair all knotted up.” She looked at herself in the mirror. “Then I’m going out to pay whoever tells me where to find Scar.”
“You sure I was the one that knotted your hair up? Some of that cash better be for me,” Cecil said as she entered the bathroom.
As soon as Cecil heard the shower going, he jumped up from the bed and went to Tiphani’s purse. This was a bit of good fortune for Cecil. She usually didn’t let her purse out of her sight, even when she went to the bathroom.
Cecil quickly flipped through the notebook. He stopped and smiled when he found it. It was the numerical code to one of Tiphani’s offshore accounts. He ripped the page out and stuffed it in his front pocket.
Meanwhile, Tiphani was in the shower trying to figure out what Cecil’s last comment meant. Did Cecil know she had been fucking Evan? Tiphani convinced herself that there was no way he could have known that. She chalked it up to Cecil being a jerk.
Tiphani was mad that Cecil was not going to be helping her without getting paid, but she figured he was still her best bet. She calmed herself down and decided to pay Cecil. It would speed up the process of finding and killing Scar and Mathias. It was little to pay to get what she wanted. Plus, she figured she could get the money back from Cecil later on. She was confident that all she needed to do was fuck him and he would eventually do whatever she wanted.
After drying off, she came out to see Cecil still in the same position on the bed, watching television.
“I’ll go get your money. You deserve it for being so strong and brave. I just need you around me, baby. I can’t get enough of your fine self.” She was obviously trying to butter him up.
“A’ight, baby. You know I don’t like asking for money. Hurry back so I can put a hurting on that pussy.” He leaned over and smacked her ass. She cooed and began to dress.
“Where are the keys, baby?” she asked.
Cecil reached in his pocket and threw the car key to Tiphani. She caught them in one hand and started for the door.
“Don’t forget your wig. Can’t have anyone recognize you and ruin it all.” Cecil smiled.
“Oooh, you’re right. I keep forgetting that shit.” She lifted the wig off the dresser and adjusted it on her head. Satisfied with her appearance, she leaned in and gave Cecil a romantic kiss good-bye.
“Can’t wait to taste you when I get back,” she whispered in his ear.
“Hurry back,” he replied.
Once she exited the room, Cecil turned off the television and then lay back with his hands behind his head, staring at the wall like he was thinking—or waiting. He took in the silence of the room. He was calm. Less than five minutes later, a huge explosion occurred outside. It shook the building. Cecil simply smiled, got off the bed, gathered his belongings, and calmly left the room.
When he got into the lobby, it was chaos. People were everywhere, running in all directions, screaming into their phones. Cecil walked coolly through the chaos and right out the front door. He glanced in the direction of the parking lot, the center of the chaos. He could a see large cloud of black smoke with a fire at its center. It was exactly what he’d expected to see, the aftermath of the type of car bomb he had planted in his car.
Tiphani had taken the car more willingly than he had expected. I guess she won’t be coming back anytime soon. Cecil smiled to himself and kept walking into the heart of Baltimore.
Chapter 11
Good News, Change of Heart
Derek turned on the ignition and quickly reversed his car out of the driveway, causing the wheels to screech as the rubber fought for traction. The episode with Halleigh had Derek at his breaking point. He hoped she was dead. How dare she think she could play him? He was sick and tired of women thinking they could use sex to manipulate him. Tiphani had played him for years, and he would never allow that to happen again.
Good riddance, Halleigh. Hope you enjoy your grave, you conniving little bitch. You and Tiphani will make great friends in hell.
He was done waiting around for Day. He was going to take back control and take matters into his own hands. This cat and mouse game with Day needed to end. It was time for Derek to start his shock and awe campaign on the streets of Baltimore. His children had waited long enough; it was time for Daddy to rescue them.
Derek made the hour-long trip into Baltimore in a little over thirty-five minutes. He was passing every other car on the road, not caring if he was pulled over for speeding. He cruised into Baltimore and began his slow and methodical route around the city. He was going to hit all the hot corners and shake some things up.
At the first corner, a kid about thirteen years old saw Derek get out of his car and immediately ran the opposite direction.
Damn, I still have that cop look to me, Derek thought.
The next corner, he took a different approach. He stayed in the car and acted like he was copping. The young buck who obviously controlled the block sauntered over to the car.
“What’s good?” the kid asked, leaning into the driver’s side window.
“I’m looking for something,” Derek answered.
“I got what you need.”
“You know where Scar Johnson is?”
The kid backed up from the car. “Nigga! You think I’m a snitch? Kick rocks, mu’fucka.” He walked back to his corner and stared at Derek with a scowl on his face.
Derek thought about getting out and kicking the kid’s ass, but the three other kids standing next to him were probably strapped. He wisely chose to move on.
His approach to the next corner had to be different. He wasn’t getting the results he wanted. He was impatient and didn’t have time to draw this whole thing out.
Derek parked his car around the corner from his next destination. He walked around the block and made eye contact with the kid running the corner, mimicking what he had seen done many times while on a stakeout. The kid took the bait and approached Derek.
“You good?” the kid asked.
“I’m looking, but I think there’s eyes on us. Follow me.” Derek kept walking past the kid as he said this.
The kid looked around to see where they were being watched from then followed Derek around the corner and into a building. As soon as both of them were through the front door of the building, Derek spun around and slammed the kid against the wall.
“Yo, what the fuck!” The kid struggled to get away from Derek’s grip.
“Shut your mouth.” Derek put a gun to the kid’s head.
A look of fear swept over the kid’s face and he stopped struggling. “Take whatever you want. Money in my pocket, drugs is in my sock.”
“I’m not robbin’ you. I need some information from you,” Derek said.
“I don’t know shit,” the kid pleaded.
“Where is Scar?”
“I told you I don’t know. I ain’t never seen that dude.”
“Don’t lie to me, motherfucker. Where is he hiding?” Derek pressed the gun into the kid’s temple.
“I swear I ain’t lyin’. His man Flex be handlin’ the re-up.”
“Motherfucker, tell me what I want to know.” Derek shoved the gun in his mouth. “If you don’t tell me in ten seconds, I will blow your head off. One ...”
Tears fell from the kid’s eyes as he struggled to break free. He was trying to scream, but the barrel of the gun was muffling the sound. Derek reached ten and removed the barrel of the gun from his mouth. The kid instantly started pleading.
“Please don’t shoot. I swear I don’t know nothin’. Please.”
Derek looked into the kid’s eyes to try to read his thoughts. He figured if the kid did know something, he wouldn’t be punking out so easily. He was just some young teenage wannabe about to get swallowed up by the
streets.
Derek put the gun to the kid’s temple, stared into his eyes, and kneed him in the balls. The force of Derek’s knee to his groin made the kid double over in pain. As soon as he leaned over, Derek slammed the butt end of the gun to the back of his head, opening a huge gash and knocking him to the ground.
Derek needed to come up with a different approach if he was going to get any answers. He got back into his car and slammed the door shut.
“Fuck!” he shouted. He sat there trying to calm himself. He needed his head clear so he could come up with a better plan. His mind wandered to Day and how useless he had been. If only Day had been able to get him some information faster, he wouldn’t be out on the streets beating teenagers, and he would have his children.
It suddenly occurred to him that he knew where Day would probably be. He started the car and made his way to Halleigh’s house. On his way there, he thought back to the last time he was at the house and how he had surprised Halleigh then kidnapped her. He would stick to the same strategy with Day. He would hide in the woods and wait for his victim.
When he arrived, he was pleased to see Day’s truck in the driveway. He considered taking him by surprise while he was inside, but decided to wait. If he went up to the front door as he had done with Halleigh, there were too many windows that Day could look out. He would have a better chance of sneaking up behind Day as he made his way to the truck. So Derek went to the woods, to the same spot where he had waited the first time. He had a clear view of the front door, so no one was coming in our leaving without Derek seeing it.
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