Status Quo_The Last Ones Standing

by Monique Chanae

  Next on Terrence’s list was Jason because just as he looked out for Tari, he would look out for him as well. He was Trent’s right-hand man and had become a second son to him.

  “Talk to me.” Jason spoke into the phone upon answering on the first ring.

  “Jason, it’s Terrence. Where are you right now?”

  “I’m with Rell, we’re on our way to go check something out. T, you good?” Jason asked with a raised brow.

  “Question is, Jason are you good?”

  “Yeah, I’m good what do you mean?”

  “I know you’ve been having some mishaps. You know I still got eyes and ears out there.”

  “Yeah of course, but I’m straight. It’s nothing we can’t handle.” Jason brushed their current situation off to the side as if it was no major matter.

  “Jason, listen to me, shit just real. Believe nothing and trust no one. I’ve enlisted some help that should be heading your way in a few days. Be careful with how you move out there.” And with that Terrence disconnected the call. Jason dropped the phone into his lap and continued driving not saying a word. After driving for about two city blocks without verbalization, Rell was confused.

  “Yo, Jay, you good man?”

  “Yeah that was Big Terrence.” He flatly stated.

  “Oh yeah? What did he say?”

  “It’s T, he was talking that cryptic shit. But I can’t even think about that right now, right now we going to see about that last little message you got. Kumar should be either be here already or at least half way on his way. Are you good?”

  “Yeah I’m hoping he can pinpoint a location, so I can get my girl and my baby back.” Rell replied and moments later they were pulling up to Nefertari’s residence.

  Nefertari greeted the two men on the front porch before they even stepped up to the entryway. The look etched in her face showed worry mixed with a little bit of fear but as she parted her lips to speak, her voice held a different kind of conviction.

  “Have you two seen the news yet?”

  “Nah, we hightailed it over here. Why what’s up?” Jason asked as he stepped through the foyer and walked past her. Nefertari reached on to the end table and hit play on the news station she had paused.

  “Chicago PD are looking for a man who seemingly disappeared from Mercy Hospital. According to hospital personnel, the unidentified man was brought in suffering from non-fatal gunshot wounds. While his wounds aren’t thought to be life threatening, he is wanted for questioning related to another crime that was committed earlier tonight. If you have any information on who this man is or his whereabouts, please contact the tip line on the bottom of your screen.”

  “The hospital? I thought Skip was getting rid of Alistair’s cousin tonight?”

  “Last time I spoke to him, he was on his way there. I’ve been calling him all night, but I’ve gotten no response.”

  “Hey Tari, I’m ready!” Kumar called out from the office she had had him set up his workstation in.

  “Let’s go.” She said to Rell and directed him to where Kumar was working. Rell handed over his cell phone to him and watched him attach a HDMI cable to the device and he immediately went to work. While Kumar and Rell worked on trying to trace the IP address, Jason pulled Nefertari into the kitchen to talk privately.

  “T called me while we were on the way over here.” He said. Nefertari grabbed a bottle of water out of the refrigerator and tossed one to Jason before replying.

  “What did he say?”

  “He was talking in riddles, you know how T is… But he did say he was sending reinforcements our way.” Nefertari took a sip of her water before giving Jason full eye contact.

  “How’s Rell?” she asked. Jason let out a heavy sigh before he responded to her.

  “He’s hanging in there but to be honest, sis I’m surprised he hasn’t snapped yet. The pictures in that email would make me go crazy if I ever saw Chase like that. I would be on a full-blown rampage, real talk.” Jason was referring to the email Rell had received a few hours ago. It contained several images of his girlfriend Serena either bound and gagged or topless with opened lashes against her back as if she had been beaten. The email also contained photos of his infant daughter bawling her eyes out which pulled heavily on his heart strings. The message attached to the photos was short and to the point. “Your boss for your wife. Which is more important; the love of power or the power of love?”

  “Did he respond to this one?” she asked.

  “Yeah I had him hit them back asking for a meet up location and they said they’d be in touch. He’s getting antsy though, Tari. I can tell.”

  “Hopefully it’ll all be over with soon. You guys have never been tried like this before – whoever is behind it will surely get theirs and once they’re out of the way I think we need to hold some sort of face to face sit down.”

  “For what?”

  “To send out the clear message that we are not to be fucked with.” Nefertari announced through clenched teeth. Before any more words could be exchanged between the brother/sister duo Jason’s phone pinged indicating that he had a text message waiting. Nefertari sipped her water and watched Jason’s demeanor as he opened and read the message.

  “What’s up?” Nefertari asked but her question fell on deaf ears and he stared at the phone with extreme hatred and then tossed it across the kitchen.

  “They got Chase.”

  “What do you mean ‘they got Chase’?” Tari’s brows scrunched up and she questioned not wanting to believe that it was true.

  “I mean they were already dead when they went after Serena and Heaven, but now they’re walking time bombs. Put some fire under his ass, Tari or I swear to God, I’ll kill him with my own bare hands.”

  Chapter 20

  The soles of Bally mens shoes could be heard tapping against the ground as Trent’s murderer sauntered into the old factory heading towards his business partner’s office. Upon opening the door, he saw her sitting there watching the several monitors on the desk almost as if she was studying her surroundings.

  “Phase two go off without a hitch?” he asked her.

  “Yup, sleeping beauty is still under paralysis.”

  “Good. And the pictures went to her Husband?”

  “Yes. I told you this is not my first rodeo.”

  “I know but this shit is different.

  “How so? We literally have him where we want him. Hell, I don’t even think we really need her to be honest. That Rell kid is already down to give him up in order to save his girl and child so what’s the point?”

  “The point is that Rell kid isn’t stupid. He knows that once he tells us what we want to know there’s no reason for us to keep him, the girl or his baby alive. They’re deadweight to us. Look, just keep going with the plan. I’ll get up with you in a bit.” He spoke in a tone that said the conversation was over and with that, he turned on his heels and exited the building. With phase two underway, he had to get ready for the big finale.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  “Jason, please, let him down!” Nefertari pleaded with Jason as she tugged on his arm watching as he had gripped Kumar up by the collar and had him pushed up against the wall.

  "No, Tari you said this Motherfucker was a tech genius, right? He could go up against Bill Gates and reign supreme right? So what the fuck does he mean he can't track the location from the picture?" Jason screamed into Kumar's face so viciously that saliva began to lightly tap his cheeks.

  "Jason, it's a burner phone. After they sent you that message you know more than likely they tossed it to keep you from tracking it. You know how this goes, Jay." For a moment Jason said nothing and just heaved heavily. He was wrought with emotions and for a moment he glared hatefully at Kumar before releasing his collar and dropping him to the ground.

  "Tari, they got Chase. They got my fucking wife tied up somewhere."

  "I know, Jay and I promise we'll get her back safe and unharmed." Nefertari placed a hand on Jason's ba
ck, escorted him upstairs to her bedroom and closed the door behind her. Coming back down the stairs, Nefertari could see where Rell was helping Kumar up off of the floor. She knew time was of the essence at this moment, Serena and Heaven had been missing for a few days now and the plot only thickened with the kidnapping of Chase. Nothing could be left out.

  “Rell, tell me everything you remember from the day Serena was kidnapped. Take your time and don’t leave anything out. Every little detail matters at this point.” She said in a calm and almost chilling tone. Before Rell could reply, she turned to Kumar and told him to pay close attention.

  “Kumar, we don’t pay you to sit around and look pretty. I need you to work as if there’s a fire brewing under your ass. Listen to every word he says and use that to find our family. Serena, Chase and baby Heaven included.”

  Chapter 21

  Skip groaned in pain from the gunshot wound in his chest as he sat up straight in the bed. A quick glance around the room reminded him that he was still laying low at Fallon's house while he recuperated from his injuries and it had been a full week. She had been taking care of him in his time of need and he appreciated her for it. Before she had gone to work that morning, she made sure he had everything he would need in her absence. Skip knew that eventually they were going to have the talk about what happened the day he walked out her life.

  He wasn't too thrilled about it to say the least, but she deserved to know the truth. He grunted as he threw the sheets off his body and slowly got out the bed. The horrific pain that shoot through his chest with every movement he made was kicking his ass, but it could be worse. He could be dead right now, so he wasn't going to complain. Skip made it to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water out of the refrigerator. He took three huge gulps of the water before leaning up against the counter and placing the bottle on it. He turned towards the cabinet and opened it before reaching inside.

  "If you're looking for the gun you placed in there, it's gone." A voice said from behind him. Skip grinned before he closed the cabinet and turned around to face the intruder.

  "Can't ever get anything pass you damn Romanovs." He said.

  "It's been a minute since I've seen you old man." Cori said with a chuckle. She had met Skip a few years back, but his reputation in the streets had always impressed her before she knew the actual man.

  "Okay don't you start that old man shit, youngin." They shared a laugh as Skip sat down at the kitchen table. Cori joined him at the table and glanced around.

  "This is a nice little hideout you got here." Skip gave her a half smirk.

  "I know that you already done watched the coming and goings before you even stepped foot in here. So, I take it you got a phone call from Terrence Stevens?"

  "Yeah, I did. You were watching Nefertari Stevens back before you got wounded, right?" He nodded.

  "Yes, this is just a minor setback for me, but I'm no help to her while my face is being plastered all over the news. Which is why I assume you are here, so what can I help you with Cori? I know you didn't just come here to keep me company." He chuckled a little then stopped when his chest started to ache. Cori leaned in with her elbows resting on the table.

  "I need the rundown on her regular routine. I also want to go over all the key players in her life. Of course I did my research, but I want to be hundred percent sure everyone is who I think they are."

  For nearly three hours Skip filled Cori in on everything there was to know about Nefertari. All the research Cori had done prior to coming had been confirmed by Skip and she was ready to meet the lady of the hour. If she had to describe Nefertari just based on what she had been told she would label her authoritative, but she lacked some fine tuning. A lot of her current troubles could’ve been easily avoided had she taken other precautions but since she couldn’t and there was no changing the past, Cori had come to rectify.

  “Skip, let me ask you something.” Cori started and stared Skip square in his eyes as she spoke. “A lot of people are preying on Nefertari’s downfall… Do you think she’ll be able to survive in this world? You know none of what we do is lightwork.”

  “Nefertari is a lot of things, but she’s never been one to back down. I think she’ll shake the industry up and make them play by her rules.” Cori nodded her head approvingly and said nothing else. A few moments later, Skip’s phone pinged and he opened it and read the 911-message from Nefertari.

  “Ms. Romanov, the stakes just got higher. Somebody kidnapped Chase Hennessey.” Without any more words, Cori stood up, hugged Skip and quickly made her exit. She saw now that she had her work cut out for her and the time to start was now.

  Chapter 22

  While the men sat holed up at Jason’s place, Nefertari went back to her regular day-to-day and got cracking. She knew sooner, or later Chase’s kidnappers would request a ransom and she wanted to ensure that each of Sven’s covers had enough funds on reserve. Nefertari spent several hours going over financial documents and piggy-backing between customers and conference calls before realizing it was time for her lunch hour. Stepping out of her office and walking to a nearby café, she placed a call to Jason to see if they had had any updates yet.

  “Nothing yet sis. Kumar is still trying to knock down some firewalls. You good though? I really think you should’ve let one of the guys shadow you for the day.” Jason said pacing back and forth across the floor.

  “Jason, I’m fine. I keep my baby with me and besides, I work all day long there is no need for me to have a security detail. I’m good.”

  “Just checking. You still going to stop by here, later right?” he asked trying to reconfirm the plans they had agreed upon earlier.

  “Yeah, I’m going to head home first and then grab some of my stuff. See you later on, bro.”

  “Hey Tari!” Jason called out to her before she hung up.

  “Yes?”

  “Be careful.”

  “You too, bro.”

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Before Nefertari knew it, it was the end of the business day and time to head home. Before heading out of her office, she began to investigate Sven’s finances for the last six months. Two unknown properties came up on two different statements and she jotted their names down to do some further research. After noticing that another hour had gone past, Nefertari packed up her belongings and headed out the door.

  Close to forty minutes later, Nefertari was pulling up to her front door and getting ready to enter. For the last two blocks, she had noticed a car she’d never seen before lagging behind her. She had no idea who was behind the wheel but with the way Chase and Serena had been kidnapped she refused to be the latest victim. Getting out of the car, she opened her purse to grab her house keys and grip her handgun if need be.

  “You make yourself a target.” A voice from behind her scoffed startling her completely. Nefertari quickly spun on her heels to face the stranger.

  “Who the hell are you?” Nefertari quizzed gripping her purse closer to her. She had already located the gun and was wrapping her fingers around the handle but the person in front of her was one step ahead of her.

  “I wouldn’t try that if I were you.” The stranger replied finally stepping out of the shadows. Before her stood a woman about her same height with an olive skin complexion and jet-black hair she had pulled back into a ponytail. She wore black sweats with a matching hoodie and sneakers.

  “Who the hell are you?”

  “First off, lower your voice… Wow, your father-in-law said you could be a bit careless but this is sad. I thought you were supposed to hire a personal security team? Where are they? I’ve been following you damn near all day and not once did you change up anything in your routine.”

  “My father-in-law?” Nefertari scoffed. “Last time, who are you?” By now, Nefertari had her hand wrapped around the gun and was itching to pull it out of the bag.

  “I’m Cori Romanov.” Tari stood there in shock for a few seconds then snapped out of it. She had heard stories about th
e Romanov family. She couldn't believe that Cori Romanov was standing in front of her. Then what she said clicked in her head. She gripped the gun in her purse even tighter. "Why have you been following me?" She asked while staring her directly in the eyes to show her that she doesn't fear her.

  Cori nodded with a smirk on her face.

  "I was sent by your father-in-law to shadow you. He wanted to make sure you were covered at all times so he called me."

  "How do you know my father-in-law? He’s never mentioned you to me." Nefertari replied half-squinting for any inkling that Cori wasn’t who she claimed to be.

  "Terrence Stevens is family so when he calls for my assistance, I come, simple as that."

  "You’re family?" Tari questioned still not believing her. Terrence nor Trent had ever mentioned anything about being related to a Romanov. Cori saw that Nefertari still didn’t believe her so she quickly explained her connection to the Stevens family. Nefertari knew of Terrence's deceased sister Cynthia but she didn't know she had a child let alone that that child had Romanov blood coursing through her veins.

  Cori’s story seemed to be panning out so far but Nefertari needed to be 100% sure. Keeping a trained eye on Cori, she tucked her purse underneath her arm and pulled out her cell phone. Pressing a number, she waited for the person she was calling to answer.

  "What's up, Tari? Is everything okay?" Skip asked from the other end of the phone. The fact that she had called him caused him to sit up straight in the bed and immediately jump on the defensive.

  "I'm standing face to face with a Romanov. Do you know anything about that?" She questioned. Skip chuckled at Nefertari’s cautionary disposition.

  “I assume you’ve met Cori. Relax, Tari she’s good. I had Terrence call in some reinforcements since I can’t be of much help to you right about now. Don’t trip, Cori’s family.”