“What’s up, little man? What’s your name?” Qwess asked the little boy while buckling himself into the back seat.
“Prince.”
“Prince?” Qwess echoed incredulously.
“Yes, sir. My daddy was a king.”
Qwess couldn’t help but laugh. “Really?
“What kingdom?”
“I don’t know.” Little Prince shrugged innocently. “My momma told me that everybody called him King Reece before.”
“Oh, I see.” Qwess let the little one down easy. He ruffed Prince’s dreadlocks before turning around to face Doe.
“Now tell me, what the hell happened?”
“I don’t know. I had Prince all weekend.” Qwess eyed Doe suspiciously. “What? I’m serious.”
“Okay. So what’s up with Reece?” Qwess asked. “Where was he?”
“Good question. I’ve been trying to get up with him since last night after Linda Swansen called Niya cursing her out.”
“Her too?”
“Her too?”
Qwess relayed the phone call he received from Linda Swansen that prompted his swift return.
“So, she said she released Niya?” Doe clarified.
“Pretty much. I haven’t spoken with Amin yet, so I don’t know exactly what she talking about. Far as I know, we don’t have Niya yet.”
“Well, something’s going on,” Doe surmised.
“Let’s see if Amin available yet.” Doe entered the number into the car phone. The rings were audible. After just the second ring, Amin answered.
“Salaam alayka,” Qwess greeted.
“Wa alayka salaam,” Amin returned.
“Yo, what’s going on?”
“Brother, you tell me. I just came home and found an envelope slid under my door. I opened it up and found a severance contract dismissing Niya from all obligations to AMG.”
“Word?” Doe was ecstatic, but leery. “How’d that happen?”
“I haven’t the slightest idea,” Amin confessed.
“Seriously, brother,” Qwess cautioned. “What do you know?”
“Brother, I don’t know anything, but I’m thankful.”
Qwess thought for a moment. “Well, something’s not right so let’s not get too excited . . . yet. Is there anything suspicious? Did you look over the release papers? Is everything in order?”
“Other than some red spots on the paper that looks like what I’m afraid to think it is, everything is fine.”
Qwess and Doe shook their heads, sharing the same assumption: Reece.
Qwess said, “See if you can get up with Reece and hit us back.”
* * *
Reece had been planning his revenge from the day he left prison. Every inch of his brain said kill her, but not too deep in his heart, he cared for her. Destiny herself had provided Reece a solution to his dilemma.
When Reece was incarcerated, Destiny wrote letter after letter without a response from him. In a last ditch effort, she sent Reece a heartfelt letter insisting that if it would make him forgive her, she would do his bid for him if she could. All she wanted was forgiveness.
When Reece was released, he wrecked his brain storming up ways of revenge. Surely, he couldn’t let her transgressions go unanswered. The night of his party, while Bone administered street justice to the carjackers, Reece formulated his plot.
On the same piece of land the torture cabin occupied sat another building that was uninhabited. Reece canvassed the building himself and found it more than suitable for his plot. So, he along with Samson thoroughly cleaned the concrete chamber and turned it into a makeshift prison, complete with electric power, microwave, and a portable refrigerator. Reece then sent Samson to the store with a list of items resembling a prison canteen list. When Samson returned, they stocked the bunker and discussed the plot.
Rule number one: NOBODY knows nothing! Rule number two: NOBODY sees nothing! Rule number three: NOBODY hears nothing! This was to be a secret between the two of them. This would recement their loyalty to each other.
Reece would be the only person to attend to Destiny. If he was unable to tend to her, then only Samson would pick up the slack.
* * *
Destiny awoke to find herself on a hard cot. She rubbed her hand across her frazzled hair then observed her surroundings. Destiny’s head was still spinning, so it took a moment to gather her wits about herself. When she did, she attempted to stand, but was advised by her excruciating headache to take it easy.
She sat back on the cot momentarily and began to observe her surroundings very cautiously. The mind of a highly trained agent still lived inside of her.
First things Destiny noticed were the oversize Dickie jumpsuit she wore and the huge pit bull chained by the entrance of the bunker. As soon as Destiny set her eyes on him, he set his eyes on her. They locked into an intense stare-off. When she moved an inch, the dog moved a mile.
Next, she spotted a metal shelf containing numerous cans of tall sardines and Pacific jack mackerel, instant rice, ramen noodles, bags of chips, candy bars, soda, and hygiene items. To the right of the shelf sat a table with a microwave, cooler, and bowls with utensils. In the corner was a miniature refrigerator. On the other side of her cot was a high wooden toilet, so tall that to use it, she’d have to literally climb up on. Next to the toilet was a tin bucket with bottles of water on either side of it. She concluded that was a makeshift sink. Aft of her cot, up about two feet, was a small window that a house cat would have trouble climbing through, but through that widow Destiny could hear a chain dragging the ground back and forth. Every now and then she could see the shadow of another dog outside the window.
Destiny was confused. The last thing she recalled was she and Reece making passionate love in her home. It was explosive. . . mind blowing . . . It was the perfect source of reconciliation. Or so she thought. Where was she now? Who had abducted her? And what about Prince? Did someone abduct him also?
Destiny began to panic. She looked around the room again, and the walls seemed to be closing in on her. Her eyes blinked involuntarily, and her mouth became bone dry. Currents of energy zipped through her stomach as panic settled into her core.
Suddenly she heard someone coming to the door. Keys jingled. Locks turned. Destiny swung her head toward the door just in time to see Reece walk in wearing a security uniform complete with baton, whistle, and flashlight. He patted the dog and tossed him a treat. Then . . .
“Brrrr!” Reece blew a whistle loudly. “On your feet, inmate. Shakedown!”
Destiny jumped from the cot fidgeting, shifting from foot to foot in her socks. She was now more confused than ever.
“H-hey, baby,” she managed weakly. “I’m so glad you here. What’s up?” Destiny asked carefully. She knew he was schizoid.
Reece ignored her. “You heard me, inmate. Shakedown!” Reece repeated.
“Baby, this isn’t funny,” Destiny whined. “I know we used to role play, but this is a bit much. I’m ready to go home now. You’ve made your point,” she stated matter-of-factly. She reached out and tried to hug him, but Reece slapped her hands away.
“What’s wrong with you, inmate? Don’t touch me; that’s assault on an officer!”
Destiny frowned. “Okay, Reece, baby, I’m scared now. This is a little too real for me.”
“Inmate, this is real.”
“Reece, you’ve made your point. I get it.”
Reece burst into laughter. “No, honey. I have just begun to make my point. Now strip for a shakedown,” he ordered again.
Destiny was fuming at this point.
“Reece, what the hell is wrong with you? What are you, fucking crazy!?” Destiny stood tall and proud. “Now I’m ready to go. Get me out of these funky clothes, this funky-ass . . . place! Away from that FUNKY-ASS DOG!”
Reece stood silent and defiant, unamused by Destiny’s antics. Then suddenly he cackled loudly. “Baby girl, baby girl,” he taunted. “You still don’t get it, do you?” Checking his watch i
n mocking fashion, he explained to Destiny her dilemma.
“You won’t be leaving here for the next . . . ohhh . . . four years and about six months.”
Four years and six months . . . It finally hit Destiny what type of situation Reece was crazy and resourceful enough to pull off. Just the thought made Destiny lose her composure.
Was he doing what she thought he was trying to do?
“Reece . . . I’m not playing. Let me out of here right now!”
Reece jumped back into character. “Inmate, you will address me as Officer Kirkson from here on out.” Reece was so true to the game that even playing an officer was rubbing him the wrong way. “Any insubordination will be met with disciplinary action.”
Destiny realized that Reece was serious. He was really trying to hold her hostage. She felt like a fool for trusting him. She should’ve known that a man like Reece was unable to let bygones be bygones.
She began to sob. “What about my baby?” she asked, thoughts immediately transferring to the most important thing in her life.
“Our baby will be fine.”
She leaked in her clothes a little, fear preventing her from holding her faculties together. “Reece, you can’t be serious. What about last night? I thought you forgave me.”
Reece looked at Destiny like she was out of her mind. “What would make you think that?”
“Because last night we made love. We made passionate, gut-wrenching love.” She closed her eyes and reminisced.
“No! You made love. I fucked you like you fucked me.”
“You bastard!” Destiny spat. How could he screw her brains out then throw her to the dogs? “I fucking trusted you. You trifling bastard!”
“I know,” Reece sang. “Just like I trusted you.”
“Get me out of this fuckin’ place!” Destiny started to charge Reece, but the giant pit bull rose up, obscuring her path, making her freeze in her tracks. The dog growled viciously, baring its sharp teeth.
Reece grabbed the collar to pull it back. “Next time I won’t hold him back,” Reece simply stated.
Destin shrank back to her spot on the cot.
Reece walked over to her and broke character as he explained her predicament.
“It’s like this, Destiny. I am not a man that believes in forgiveness. I believe in justice and equality. Now you wronged me in the worst way. You actually owe me your life, but there are only two things keeping you alive. One, I am a changed man; I’m done with the killing. I’m trying to go straight. Two, our son, Prince. I know that hurting you will hurt him, so I had to get creative with your revenge.”
“You bastard!” Destiny cried. The fact that Reece was explaining himself so casually told her that the crazy was still in him. He had rocked her to sleep with his kind overtures, and now she was paying for her stupidity.
“I thought about the letter you wrote me not long ago. You swore that if you could do my time for me then you would. You begged for my forgiveness and said that if you could, you would. So here is my proposition to you . . . I did almost five years in prison because of your type of love. If you can do half of that in here and still love me, then maybe we can try again—for our son’s sake.”
Destiny couldn’t believe her ears. Yet she knew Reece was serious. She made one last-ditch plea for mercy.
“Reece, don’t do this. There has to be another way for us to handle this!” She attempted to blink away her reality. “If you don’t want to be with me anymore, then fine. Just help me take care of our son. Okay?”
Recce shook his head and smiled. “See that? Haven’t even spent a day in jail and already ready to leave me. Imagine how I feel.”
Reece let his words linger in the air a moment before turning and walking to the door.
“I’ll bring some books back to help you through your bid.”
With that he closed the door on Destiny, leaving her alone with her pleas echoing off the walls.
* * *
When Reece strolled into CC studios an hour after leaving Destiny, he was walking on air. He had tied up two loose ends in twenty-four hours.
His first move had been designing the coup to snatch Niya away from AMG. Reece knew those arrogant fucks at AMG would never have released her without his intervention. Reece knew that in America people only understood two things: money and violence. They had offered them money and they scoffed at them. So, Reece resorted to what had never failed him in business: violence. He knew he had to keep his hands clean, so he had enlisted his ghost goons, the men who were undocumented. Reece loved it when a plan came together. He especially liked it after hearing how arrogant the execs at AMG had been with Qwess and the crew when they attempted to talk sensibly. Now let’s see how they liked dealing with Crew business.
Secondly, he was able to finally begin closure on the past with Destiny. Reece had meant what he said about having something with her if she could survive her makeshift bid. He also was sincere when he told her if it wasn’t for Prince, she would’ve been fish food long ago. However, seeing that his son needed his mother made him think twice. Reece’s parents died when he was a teenager, forever leaving a gaping hole in his heart. He didn’t want his own seed to experience the same, so he was very reluctant to do any real harm to Destiny. Reece had knowledge of self and realized the importance of having both parents around. Despite this, Reece felt his son’s mother had some unpaid dues to reconcile that were bigger than little Prince. So, while Destiny paid those dues, Reece figured he would assume the responsibility of both parents—as had Destiny when he took his government-sponsored vacation.
Reece opened the door to the plush conference room of CC studios and was rushed by little Prince.
“Daddy, daddy!” Prince yelled, running to Reece with arms wide open. Reece had been spoiling Prince rotten since his release. He had already bought him a car, and the child was only five. Reece scooped his son into his arms before scanning the room.
Seated at the emerald-and-ivory-streaked table were Doe, Amin, Qwess, Hulk, and Alysia. The brains and brawn of Atlantic Beach Productions. They all wore indignant masks on their faces.
Alysia doubled as administrative assistant/public relations coordinator and had been receiving calls all day about the assault on John Meyers. The calls ranged from concern to accusations. She had contacted ABP’s management staff one by one with questions. No one knew anything about anything. Reece was the only member she hadn’t contacted. He had been unavailable for the past twenty-four hours, which was suspicious. It was now time to get some answers. Alysia didn’t know much about Reece except that his capital was a huge reason ABP was able to go fully independent again. So in essence, he was one of her bosses as well as part of the reason for her huge bump in pay. She had heard stories of his street exploits as King Reece. After all, he was a street legend in the Carolinas. Now as she stood there peeping him with his knowing smirk, standing tall at the door, she knew this was about to be an interesting conference.
Reece strutted to the table confidently, his Durango boots click-clacking on the marble floor. He had changed clothes since leaving Destiny, and now wore a Rocawear jean suit with his platinum crown swinging to his navel.
“Peace, my brothers and sister. Why all the long faces?” Reece asked, as if he didn’t know already.
“Go ahead and take a seat,” suggested Qwess. Reece assented. Qwess continued, “Do you know anything about this?” He pushed power on the remote, and the flat-screen TV phased to life showing a prerecorded news segment about the vicious assault on John Meyers. All occupants of the room eagerly anticipated an answer from Reece.
Reece thought a moment and simply stated, “Yeah.”
Moans and groans filled the room.
“Brother, what did you do? What did you do?” Qwess moaned with his hand to his face.
Reece scrunched his face up. “What you mean, what did I do? I handled business.”
“See, Qwess, I told you you can’t bring an animal out the woods an’ expect him
to be potty-trained,” Amin jumped in.
Animal? Potty-trained? What the fuck!
“Hold up. I know y’all ain’t bitchin’ out on me? You gave me the task, and I handled it! The fuck is the problem?” Reece asked, taking offense.
“The problem is this ain’t the streets. You can’t go in assaulting people when you don’t get your way,” Amin reasoned.
“Shit, I can’t tell this ain’t the streets. That white bitch assaulted your manhood from what I’m told. They undercut you and left you helpless like a newborn baby and you still defending them,” Reece scoffed.
Qwess, sensing things were about to get out of hand, interrupted the conversation. He gestured for Alysia to take Prince out of the room. When they left the room, conversation resumed with Qwess speaking.
“All right, brothers, calm down. We’re on the same team. Now what we need to be concerned with is protecting ourselves: physically and legally. Now Amin has a point, Reece. We can’t use violence all the time to get our way.” Amin looked at Reece tauntingly. Qwess spoke on. “But what’s done is done. We got to make sure we can’t be linked to this.”
“I’m saying, brother. Give me some credit. I handled that. Everything is love. All we have to do is fall back for a few, then make our move.” Reece desperately wanted to impress Qwess. He still respected Qwess tremendously and had a lot of love for him. He wanted Qwess to see that he was trying to give his all to make sure their dreams were realized. By any means necessary.
“Okay, let me get this right. Say this blows over. Next time we have a problem with someone—what?—we beat them to death, too?” Amin couldn’t let this fly. He had sacrificed too much to get taken down by some bullshit. Unfortunately, Reece had had enough.
“You know what?” Reece exploded. “What’s your title?” he asked Amin.
Amin puffed his chest out. “Business manager, senior level.”
“Um-hmm. For who?”
“What?” Amin scoffed.
“For who?”
“For ABP.” He shook his head.
“Um-hmmm, you see this nigga. This nigga. And this nigga.” Reece pointed to Doe, Qwess, and himself respectively. “We are ABP. You are an employee of ABP. You do what the fuck we tell you.”
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