The Deadline

by Kiki Swinson

EVIDENCE COLLECTION

  I looked at myself one more time in the long Victorian mirror standing in the corner of my bedroom. “I can’t believe I had to cut my hair. And this color? Yuck. Definitely doesn’t go with my eye color,” I grumbled as I posed before the mirror, going over all of the changes I’d made to my appearance at the suggestion of my very worried twin brother. I sighed and picked up the dark shades I’d purchased too. I slid them on my face and looked one more time. To me, I didn’t look like the same girl that had gone into the club that night, but who knows how I might look to the killers that were after me?

  “These people got you out here looking crazy as hell, all in the name of a damn story. Risking life and limb—this is crazy,” I scolded myself, then smiled. I was going to blow this story out of the water. So many heads were going to roll, it wasn’t going to be funny. I had declared right there on the spot that I was going to win an Emmy for my reporting on Anton Barker and his crimes. I had said, manifested it, and claimed it.

  I turned around and examined myself from the back to make sure the hidden microphone I had put on wasn’t showing or too bulky. Kyle was going to be pleased that I had taken so many precautions before my meeting. I thought I could get used to this covert reporting stuff, but every time I did it, I think I lost another five years on my life. I’d barely been sleeping or eating or living, for that matter. All in the name of getting this story. It was crazy. The pressure, the danger, and the thrill of it all made me crazy.

  I rushed out of the bathroom and stood in front of Kyle. “How do I look? You think anyone will recognize me as the old me?”

  He grunted and his eyes said I looked good and different, but he wasn’t happy about it at all. It had taken a whole lot of convincing to get him to agree to my meeting with Shara.

  “You look different, but the same, if that makes sense,” Kyle grumbled, looking me up and down. “This is mad risky, twin. You really have to be careful. You don’t know that girl and you especially don’t know if this is all a setup to get you,” he warned. He answered me in the ominous voice he’d been speaking in for the last three days, since he’d come to my apartment wilding out. Kyle still wasn’t convinced this was a good idea, but I didn’t see any other way. I needed to collect the evidence for my story.

  “I’ll be fine,” I assured him. I looked over at the little girl and made sure she understood that no matter what happened, she could not—absolutely could not—leave the apartment, use the phone, answer the door . . . nothing. I told her if anyone came here, she was to hide and not come out. If I didn’t return in more than three days, then she needed to call the police.

  “You never told me your name. What is it?”

  “Maria.”

  “Okay, Maria, do you understand everything I am saying? This is a matter of life or death—everyone’s life, including yours. Do you understand me?” I asked, shaking her shoulders to emphasize the importance of what I was telling her. She nodded her head. She didn’t seem as upset about being alone as I had expected. On the other hand, my nerves had all of the hairs on my body standing at attention. As I left my apartment and headed to Kyle’s car, I pep talked myself all the way there: You got this. You got this. You’re going to be a hero and a star. You will make it out alive and all will be well. That was all I had to go off of—my own positive thoughts.

  “I want you to make sure I can see you from out here at all times, which means find a spot near a window or something,” Kyle said as the car approached the meeting spot. His breathing got heavier and I could see him gripping the steering wheel for dear life. His reaction to being there made my heartbeat speed up too. I was nervous, but for some reason I wasn’t falling-apart nervous like Kyle was. Maybe he was right. Maybe I wasn’t taking this thing as seriously as I should. I shrugged in my mind but wouldn’t dare shrug my shoulders for my brother to see. That would’ve really set him off.

  “I’ll do my best. I have to go off of what Shara is comfortable with. Remember, when I spoke to her, she was adamant about me coming alone. If she sees you lurking, she may run away, and then we took this risk for nothing,” I told Kyle.

  He slammed his fist against the steering wheel. “I’m not going to tell you again! She could be setting you up! You are the one that needs to dictate everything for this meeting! Not her!” Kyle yelled. “Don’t be fucking hardheaded all of your life!”

  I put my hand up. “Okay, okay. No need to go crazy again. I know this has been rough, but after today I’m going to break this story and it’ll all be behind us, Kyle,” I assured, keeping my voice low so I didn’t upset him any more than he already was.

  “All I’m saying, be smart and be safe, twin. I can’t control what happens if I’m not there. The last time I left you alone, shit went haywire and you became a wanted woman in Norfolk,” Kyle said.

  “I get it. I’m going to be careful and smart, just like you taught me,” I replied. “When this is all said and done, you’re going to be so proud of your sister. You may be two minutes older than me, but I’m going to be the example. You watch me work,” I said, nudging him on the arm with the hope that a little bit of light joking would take the edge off for both of us.

  “Whatever, man. Just get in and get out,” he replied. “No small talk. Get what you need from that bitch and get back out here. Simple. Don’t be your usual extra-ass self. No time for the histrionics and extra drama today.”

  “Well, damn, I love you too. With your grumpy ass,” I joked as I grabbed my oversized purse and prepared to get out of the car.

  Kyle looked at his watch and then over at me. “You got thirty minutes to get in and out. If you ain’t back here in thirty, I’m going to assume you got set up and I’m coming up in there, guns blazing. So watch the time and don’t go even one minute over the thirty minutes, or else all hell is going to break loose,” Kyle said, his tone serious and his face stony.

  I wore a goofy smile, trying to lighten Kyle’s mood and, at the same time, curb my own nerves. All I could do, now that I was at the meeting place, was pray that Shara had kept her word and she hadn’t been coaxed into setting me up for the kill.

  * * *

  I exited the car and rushed toward the restaurant, head down, eyes and head covered. I felt the little gun Kyle had given me digging into my side as I moved quickly. When I made it to the front door of the small café, I looked around, checked my immediate surroundings, and then entered. Once inside, I was relieved that the place only had a few patrons who all seemed like the retirement types—older folks reading newspapers or thick, dog-eared paperback novels while sipping coffee.

  Just like I’d been asked to do, and against everything Kyle had instructed me to do, I went straight to the back of the quaint little eatery. A flash of excitement hit me when I spotted Shara and she was indeed alone. I stood up a bit taller and walked a bit faster. I was so excited, tears welled up in my eyes right away. They’d come out of nowhere. I guess I was relieved that she was okay after I’d left her in that hotel suite with sick-ass Anton Barker. It was the first emotion I had allowed myself to feel other than terror for the past three days. I squeezed both of my hands so tightly, my nails dug into my palms.

  Shara looked down at her watch. She picked up her glass of red wine and took a sip. Finally she spotted me. She sat up a little straighter. Shara watched as I tried my best to smoothly and calmly walk toward her. Still, she jumped as I slid into the booth opposite her. She and I both let out long breaths. She greeted me with a tiny smile and nod, which kind of eased my anxiety.

  “Why so jumpy?” I asked.

  “You never know who is watching,” she said nervously. “I’m sure you feel just as on edge as I do.”

  I nodded. I definitely did.

  Shara looked like she was starting to calm down faster than I expected so that put me a little more at ease as well. Had Shara been looking around like she was expecting someone, I would’ve been on alert that this whole thing might be a setup. She also looked much better tha
n she had the night I saw her in the club and in that hotel suite with Barker. Gone were the half-fitting blond lace-front wig, too-tight dress, and the gaudy makeup. Today she wore a bare face; the discoloration around her eye was almost gone. The Adidas tracksuit, and her hair hung curly in its natural state was really nice. She was beautiful from up under all that shit she had on that night at the club. I was amazed at how much younger she looked now.

  “Well? Do you have everything I asked for?” I got right to the point.

  “Yeah,” she said, placing a manila envelope on the table. I reached out for it, but Shara put her hand over mine and stopped me.

  “Oh. Oh, yes. I . . . I . . . didn’t forget,” I stammered. I reached down next to me, dug into my purse, and retrieved a thick, overstuffed, letter-sized white envelope. I extended my hand under the table toward Shara. She reached under the table and took the envelope from me.

  “You can be sure it is all there. Trust me,” I said. “I know you went through a lot to do what you’re doing, and I’m going through a lot to do what I’m doing as well.”

  Shara gave the envelope a squeeze.

  “Feels about right,” she said. Then she released the envelope to me.

  “There are a few things you need to know,” she said, leaning in closer to the table.

  I stared at Shara intently. “Go ahead. I’m listening.”

  “They are really scouring the streets for the little girl that you took. They’re not going to rest until they find her . . . and you. I heard the boss, the one we were with that night, say that he wanted to personally kill you himself for what you did. They will not stop until they find you—even if it’s years from now,” Shara relayed.

  I felt my chest tighten. I picked up the glass of water in front of me, my hands trembling.

  “You all right?” Shara asked.

  I nodded my head. “I’m fine,” I lied.

  “There are pictures and a video of the other little girls in the package that were taken from the pin camera. Apparently, there are a bunch of those same-aged girls being housed somewhere. They farm them out when they need to, for the sick pleasure of some very high-up politicians. Oddly enough, Barker never usually deals with the little ones . . . only us big ones. But that night it was like he was on something. Strange,” Shara continued.

  “What about his recent activities?” I pressed, flattening my hands on the envelope.

  Shara shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “That I’ll let you see for yourself,” she said, bringing her nails up to her mouth to bite them nervously. “It’s not the kind of thing I’d talk about in public.”

  I swallowed hard. “That bad, huh?”

  “You’ll have to judge for yourself. I just did what you asked of me,” Shara said. “Now, just like I told you, I’m taking this money and getting as far away from here as I possibly can. I’ll never be able to go back around him or them or anywhere in the area and be safe, once you expose all of this. He will know right away who gave you the videos and pictures. So, good luck,” she said.

  I picked up the envelope and held it against my chest. I didn’t know what exactly I’d find inside, but something Shara had said had struck a chord with me.

  “Oh, and one more thing,” Shara said, looking at me like she felt sorry for me. “I need to give you more real important information that I got.”

  I raised my eyebrows and also leaned closer to the table. My facial expression asked all of the questions without her having to utter a word.

  “So the lady that helped you escape from the hotel, in the car?” Shara started. She paused and looked out into the café, as if someone else could hear her. “Word on the street is they found her after looking at the hotel cameras. They got her license plate and had someone in the police department run her plate and find her address,” Shara whispered, her eyes widening.

  I sucked in my breath and didn’t realize I had my hand cupped over my mouth.

  “It gets worse,” Shara continued, leaning farther into the table.

  I stared at her blankly for a few minutes. My heart began hammering against my chest bone. The thoughts running through my head already had my blood pressure rising.

  “I heard them talking about going to her house. A source close to the inside said they had beat and tortured her, because they wanted her to tell them where you were and how she knew you. They said she couldn’t tell them anything because she didn’t remember. They weren’t buying it though. So now I heard that they’re throwing your description around in the streets. Niggas is looking for a chick with hazel eyes, sandy brown hair, light skin, and your whole physical size.” Shara paused and lowered her voice. “He is not going to stop until he has you in his grasps, even if it is years from now. He vowed to kill you and I heard it with my own ears,” she whispered. Her words resounded like bombs exploding in my ears.

  I sat back from the table and let out a long sigh. I didn’t know how to respond to the information.

  “Sounds like he’s going through a lot just to hide his tracks. There are a million chicks with hazel eyes and sandy brown hair in the world,” I replied, trying to play it off like I wasn’t literally falling apart inside.

  Shara looked at me as if to say, Is this bitch getting the seriousness of what I am saying?

  “I’m telling you, he is ruthless. They are saying this dude Barker doesn’t give up. He has his people move in silence and violence. You won’t even see him and his people coming, because most people don’t even expect him to be a part of this underworld life. He only has a trusted few that get to be in his presence, even though they saying he got clients with at least seven hundred distributors on the East Coast between New York and Miami working for him. I think you should get out of town for good, like me,” Shara said softly. “For real. This is too close for comfort. It doesn’t take shit for his dirty DTs or somebody to eventually find you. They are definitely working hard at it right now. Get out,” she finished ominously.

  I shook my head left to right before the words even fully left Shara’s mouth. “Nah. I ain’t leaving town. I’m not scared of no fucking crooked, drug-dealing politician. I have a few more people to see and then I have a story to tell. So right now, I’m here to stay until I see this all the way through until the end,” I said stubbornly.

  “I hope your stubbornness doesn’t cost you your life. Look, I never got a chance to say it, but thank you for saving that little girl. It cost me a black eye and some gut punches, but I’m still here and standing,” Shara whispered as she pointed to the discoloration in the corner of her eye. “This ain’t about just me or you, or even her. It’s about all of it. All of those innocent babies. If you can save them, please do it.”

  “Not if I run out of town like a coward. That bastard will pay for everything he is doing, once I expose his ass. I want to see that bitch-ass nigga, eye to eye, on the courthouse steps, when he is indicted and convicted of every single crime he has committed. I will stare him down and he will know then who was responsible for taking his black ass down,” I said, feeling powerful on the inside.

  “I’m really sorry you have to do all this shit alone. Once you stepped into it like you have, I guess you have no choice but to see it through. But after you take care of it all, you need to go off the grid for a while. I’m telling you, this dude Barker has you in his eye for revenge. I don’t think it will even matter if you take him down. His reach goes so far, he might have people after you for the rest of your life. And once that evidence comes out, it won’t be long before he puts it together that it was me who gave you everything you needed,” Shara said.

  I shook my head. “I thank you for looking out, but don’t worry about me. I’m a big girl and I can handle anything that comes my way,” I told Shara confidently. “If he is so powerful and so omniscient, like some sort of a god, then he can get out there and come find me. I can’t wait to meet him.”

  Shara looked at me and shook her head. She looked like she’d finally figured out that wit
h me there was no winning. I was going forward with my story, no matter how big, mean, and scary Anton Barker’s threats got.

  “Well, I don’t think I’m untouchable, like you seem to think you are. My grandma always told me that all of the baddest motherfuckers are already six feet under. Remember I told you that,” Shara said pointedly.

  I smirked. “But she forgot that some of those bad motherfuckers are in prison and have been put there by thorough reporters like me,” I came back. “Now, changing the subject. You take care of yourself and stay away from men like Anton Barker,” I said, my voice taking on a friendlier tone.

  “I will. I ain’t wasting no time. First thing I’m going to do is go shopping. Shit, I ain’t had this much cash at one time in a long minute,” Shara joked, lightening the mood.

  “Have at it,” I joked back. “Let’s order something, I haven’t eaten in three days,” I confessed.

  Shara and I sat there like old pals who had just come to meet for lunch, but I could tell that both of our minds were racing in different directions at that moment. Still, we were going to make the best of being together again for what was more than likely the last time.

  12

  BREAKING NEWS

  “Where are all of the segment write-ups? Who has my questions for the mayoral candidate debate? Did anyone do current background on Belle Switson? I hear that after all of her arrests and money troubles, she is now running for mayor as well. Is that true? Has anyone endorsed her? How long is Amber’s new segment that will air before my moderation of the debate? Does anyone have an idea on where Khloé is and what her exclusive is about?”

  I rushed into the station to find Christian blasting questions and demands at the team as she sat in the hair and makeup chair, preparing for the big Norfolk mayoral candidate debate. The staff was running around in circles trying to be responsive to all of her requests. Her assistant, Darla, handed her a stack of papers to read in the meantime.

  “So wait a minute. No one has heard from Khloé? Is this girl playing with me? She told me she has something so big that I would want to see her before we air the debate, and she’s not even here?” Christian went on, glancing over the document in front of her. Darla nodded her head, affirming.