Status Quo_The Last Ones Standing

by Monique Chanae

  "Well, Romanov, what do you suggest?" Jason spoke for the first time since Cori had entered the room. He had been holding up the wall for the longest listening to everyone spew their conspiracy theories and with her family's prestige, he figured she'd give better insight than any of them.

  "I'd bet my life that their plan is to ambush you all. Have you all go to Cary to the steel mill and as soon as you all get inside the facility, lights out... You have to outsmart them. Jason, can you take me through the day Chase was kidnapped. What would she have typically done that particular day?" Jason took a moment to think about his wife's daily routine and carefully went over the details with Cori who made a mental note of them all.

  "Her fucking wedding ring!" Jason exclaimed moments later catching everybody off guard.

  "Jason, what are you talking about?" Nefertari asked in confusion.

  "Chase's wedding ring has a microchip in it. I paid a shit ton of money for that damn thing. I don't know how I forgot about it."

  "If you can locate the registration, we can track your wife's ring and more than likely pinpoint her exact location." Kumar informed him ready to begin the search. Cori walked up behind Kumar to look over the information he had pulled up thus far while Jason hustled up the stairs to look for the ring’s registration. Rell was sitting on a couch with his head buried into his palms and Nefertari walked over and took a seat next to him

  “Rell, I know me telling you to sit back and wait is eating you alive but right now we have to be very smart about how we move. I’ve already lost Trent and if I can help it that’ll be the only loss we suffer for a long time. Everybody sitting in here right now is here to help you. You’ve just got to have faith in us and when the time comes, be ready to light shit up.”

  “I hear you, T. We gone get them back right?”

  “You know it.” She reassured him embracing him in a tight hug. Cori looked over at Nefertari and Rell and watched how Tari tried to comfort him. She had initially thought Nefertari wasn’t cut out for this line of work but watching how she controlled this angry group of men and dealt with their situation she saw the potential Nefertari possessed and she was more than willing to help her hone it. Cori was snapped from her thoughts when Jason reentered the room giving Kumar the information he needed to track the microchip in Chase’s ring. Close to fifteen minutes later, they had an exact location and they wasted no time assembling their crew to not only surround that place but the Cary mill as well. If Carter and Ashley wanted war, Sven Power was going to give it to them.

  Chapter 26

  Nefertari watched from the large bay window at Sven Power as a caravan of cars all pulled up simultaneously to headquarters. She sat amongst Jason, Skip, Rell and several other head honchos at Sven all loading up their weaponry to prepare for tonight’s battle. Jason looked over at Nefertari and watched in silent protest as she placed a bulletproof vest over her body and checked the magazine on a .22 caliber handgun.

  “This is it, sis. If you’d rather stay here and send those fools out there, you have every right to do so. You’re the boss now and it’s your call.” Nefertari placed the gun in its proper holster and turned to face him.

  “Jay, you’ve been trying to talk me out of this for the last forty-five minutes. Why?”

  “Tari, I’d never be able to forgive myself if something went wrong tonight and I lost you too. I know you’ve picked up all of Sven’s slack since T died but I can’t face my godson and tell him his mother is gone too. I can’t.”

  “And I can’t look my baby in the eyes again and tell him he won’t see his godparents again because I chose to sit back and wait.”

  “You’re being stubborn.”

  “Jason, this whole thing is bigger than Sven for me. This is for my husband. Carter and his conniving ass wife are the reason Trent is no longer with us.” Jason looked Nefertari in her eyes and kissed her forehead. For a moment when talking about Trent he imagined himself, Nefertari and Trent all ten years old and full of life, love and ambition. Those memories soon became clouded with the state of the presences as over fifty men piled into the conference room and stood before them. Jason cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention and every man turned to face him.

  “The time has come to avenge Trent’s murder. Every man in this room was brought on board by Trent and myself and treated like nothing less than family. He loved us all. And it is with that same love that we ride out tonight. But before we all head out of here to dead these fools once and for all, your new Boss has a few parting words for you.” Jason nodded his head towards Nefertari who turned and looked every man in his eyes.

  “Your missions tonight are clear. Bring our families back to us in one piece and kill those Motherfuckers who murdered my husband.” Her tone was calm but the message was stern. A few seconds later, her cell phone pinged and she quickly glanced down at the screen. The message was short and it was her cue.

  “Ready or not, Sven Power rides out now!”

  Chapter 27

  Skip drove through the desolate city block almost at a slow creep to check out his surroundings. He was recovering nicely thanks to all of Fallon's help but he could not sit this one out. Tari and Jason needed him and he came with no question. Breaking into the warehouse that sat almost beside the facility where Chase's ring gave off a signal, Skip stealthily made his way through the building and maneuvered his way up to the roof.

  "How's it looking old man?" Cori asked through the Mic connected to his earpiece.

  "Looks like we've got a couple heat signals, two sitting, and three walking around. That must be who she's got guarding the place."

  "You know the drill, Skip. Don't take any shots unless they're clean ones." Cori said as she too got into position on the other side of town when Tari and Jason were.

  "You know I'm already knowing, youngin’. Go look after Baby Girl."

  "See you on the other side." She replied and the two disconnected their call. Skip got into his position on the roof and adjusted his rifle just so. Once he was satisfied with his set up, he shot a text message to Rell.

  "It’s Showtime, baby boy. Go get your family."

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  "You really think Carter is the be all to end all don't you, Ashley?" Chase scoffed watching as Ashley kept pacing the floor in front of her and checking the time on her wrist watch.

  "I'm surprised that by now you still have your doubts. Carter orchestrated this entire thing and your husband was none the wiser. I know he said Trent was the brains behind Sven but damn, I didn't think it was that bad." She chuckled knowing she had just hit a nerve.

  "Hey, Ashley, does the name Kamaya Rutledge ring any bells to you?" Chase asked.

  "Nope, can't say that it does." Ashley shrugged and continued pacing the floor.

  "What about Tawny Chambers, Sierra Evans or Maria Cruz?"

  "No I've never heard of any of those women. Why do you keep rattling off names?" The barrage of names being thrown at her caused Ashley to stop dead in her tracks and turn to face Chase.

  "Because those are the names of all the women who have come before you. These are all blasts from Carter's wretched ass past who loved him so much, they put their lives on the line for him. Tawny is doing a 25 to life bid for Carter over at USP Marion, Sierra got strung out on some new drug Carter was pushing and she wound up over dosing in their condo, and pretty little Maria was once the daughter of Carter's narcotics supplier but a deal between the two went terribly wrong one day… The supplier sent some of his men to put an end to Carter and one day while she was out driving one of Carter's cars, it blew up. The bomb was meant for Carter and he knew it... Oh and as for Ms. Kamaya, she was Carter's heart once upon a time.”

  “I don’t want to hear about some irrelevant bitch who used to be a part of Carter’s world. I am his rib now and that’s all that matters.”

  “Oh, but I think you’re going to want to hear this one… Much like yourself, Kamaya loved the ground Carter walked on. She trea
ted that man like a God and he, for the most part treated her like an equal… However, when Carter found out that Kamaya’s older brother was a huge dealer out of Texas, he concocted a plan to take out her brother and take over his empire. He never mentioned his plans to Kamaya, he kept her in the dark. But shortly after her brother died she began to put two and two together and she realized the man she pledged allegiance to, stole her brother away from her. She went home and confronted Carter one night and one thing led to another – Carter killed that girl in cold blood and called the cleaning crew to dispose of her body like yesterday’s trash. You see, Ashley, the Husband that you love so much is not who you think he is.”

  “That’s his past.”

  “You still don’t get it.” Chase chuckled. “Instead of taking your husband's word for it, maybe you should have done your own bit of homework.”

  “You talk a lot of shit for an almost dead bitch.” Ashley spoke through gritted teeth as she knelt down to Chase’s ear and began to whisper. “And since your time is coming to a close soon, I hope your husband hurries up and gets here so that he can watch me kill his beloved.” Before Chase could spew venom in her direction, a baby’s whale echoed throughout the corridor.

  “Ashley, why does that sound like you have a baby stashed in here somewhere? Did you kidnap Rell’s daughter too?”

  “You call it kidnapping, I call it reassuring we get what we want.”

  “Oh you a real dead bitch, Ashley!” Chase shouted as Ashley exited the room.

  Once out in the hall, Ashley turned to one of her henchman who was guarding Chase’s door and asked.

  “Why is she crying?”

  “I don’t know Boss.”

  “Well aren’t you going to go see or do I have to do everything myself around here?” She scoffed in aggravation.

  “I already sent Freddie down there to check on the little girl and her mother.” Before the words could leave the man’s mouth good, glass shattered in the distance and the entire darkened hallway immediately became illuminated. The henchman immediately went to his side holster to grab his pistol but before he could a dime sized bullet appeared in the center of his forehead and caused him to drop where he stood. Ashley immediately ducked for cover by running back into the room where Chase was and looking around frantically for a weapon.

  “You seem nervous, Ashley. Is this not what you were expecting?” Chase asked in an almost taunting way. She had heard the glass shatter somewhere in the building and she knew it was her rescue squad. She was no stranger to her husband’s line of work and she knew being a pawn sometimes came with the territory – but she also knew that Jason would never leave her to rot.

  “Oh you’re so fucking smug.” Ashley grimaced. After darting her eyes around the room several times and realizing she didn’t have one weapon that could save her, she reached into her pocket, dug out the keys to the handcuffs and walked over to Chase.

  “Let’s go bitch!” she groaned yanking Chase up off the floor. Using the keys, she undid Chase’s handcuff and before they fully dropped to the floor, Ashley shoved a handgun into the small of Chase’s back.

  “If you try anything stupid, you’ll be a paraplegic within seconds.” Ashley gripped the gun tightly with one hand and nudged Chase with the other as they shuffled to the door.

  Just outside the building, Rell was instructing his team on how they would enter the building.

  "Do not go in there shooting first. My wife and kid is in there somewhere, not to mention Jason's wife. If anything happens to them because you all ran in there acting reckless that's your ass and that's on my mama. Now they expect us all to be heading out to Cary so that they can off us so we have the element of surprise on our side. Any questions?" He asked the masked men surrounding him.

  "Nah, let's do this!" One proclaimed and they others immediately went for their weapons and made a beeline for their entrances.

  "Hey Skip, you got eyes on our entrance?" Rell asked through the microphone jack that was attached to his ear.

  "Yeah I got you youngin. There's a faulty side door on the west side with nobody guarding it. The flimsy guards do walk down the corridor every fifteen minutes or so so be quick and cautious." Rell relayed the information to his team and strategically they made their way to the side door.

  Just as Skip had instructed, with a slight push the side door eased open without making a sound. Two Sven Power gunmen entered the building ahead of Rell and walked the corridor to ensure that it was clear. Once they gave Rell the okay he moved in with tunnel vision. He was here for his baby, his girl and his boss's wife - and he would kill anybody standing in his way. From where they stood, they could hear a baby’s wail down the hall and Rell immediately motioned for them to walk towards it. As the gunmen reached a room in the center of the hall, they could see a figure walking towards them from the opposite direction. Quickly, the three men hid in the shadows and waited for him to enter. As soon as he entered, they could see a baby's bassinet in the center of the room and Rell knew this was where his baby was being hidden. Rell crept up behind him and as soon as he saw his baby girl crying as the strange man hovered over her, he hit him over the head and scooped her up.

  “Daddy’s here, Heaven. It’s going to be all over with soon.” Cradling her close to his chest, he kissed her and held her tightly. Handing his daughter over to one of the gunmen, he instructed him to take her to safety. It was not over with yet. Once he was sure that Heaven was safe, he waited for the gunman to reenter before they continued their search of the building.

  They checked two other rooms along the corridor that were empty but upon finding the third room, they began to fear the worst. There was smeared blood all over the floor and a deflated air mattress sat off in a corner.

  “Who was in here?”

  “I’m not sure but we have to keep looking.”

  “Nephew, what do you see?” Skip asked genuinely concerned.

  “There’s blood all over the floor in one of these rooms and a bed in the corner. But we don’t see anybody.”

  “Who’s blood is it?” He asked repositioning his scope.

  “I’m not sure.”

  “Keep your eyes open in there and I got your eyes out here.”

  “You got that.” Rell refocused his attention back to the task at hand; finding Chase and Serena.

  Chapter 28

  "Hey, Kumar, you ready?" Cori asked from her position on the neighboring rooftop where Kumar was set up a few feet away with his equipment.

  "Yup, I just hacked their P.A. system. I hit the play button on Tari's command."

  "Tari, you hear that?" Cori asked via the mic. Nefertari looked over at Jason who eyed her every move without saying a word.

  "Yeah I heard him. Give me a second alright." she said.

  Inhaling deeply, she embraced Jason tightly as if this were the last time she'd ever hug her brother.

  "Jason, thank you for being by my side in this moment."

  "Don't thank me until that fool's body is cold." Jason replied returning her hug and kissing her forehead.

  "Kumar, hit it." she instructed and almost immediately a recorded message began playing through the building's P.A. system.

  "Good Evening, Carter. It's been a few months since we last saw each other. Sorry about that, I've been a little busier than usual... Looks like you have been too..." Nefertari's voice echoed throughout the building sending chills up Carter's spine as he and his men sat scattered throughout the building expecting Sven Power to rush in at any given moment.

  "Tari, where are you?" Carter called out to her, his hand resting on his gun and swinging his head from side to side.

  "Carter, don't you want to hear what I have to say?" Nefertari asked almost as if she was taunting him.

  "I don't have time for games, Tari." Carter announced as he cautiously stepped out into the hallway in search of her.

  "Neither do I, Carter. So answer my question? Why Trent?"

  "Tari, you can't be serious." h
e chuckled.

  "Answer my question, Carter. Time is ticking."

  "Trent was a means to an end, T. Simple as that. I needed a new Midwest plug and we all know Sven has just the right amount of pull to get me where I need to be."

  "And Chase?"

  "She's just a pawn. Don't trip, T, as long as Jason relinquishes his rights to Sven to me then we'll be straight." Jason got ready to speak but Nefertari halted him.

  "I have a bit of news for you, Carter. Jason is not the head of Sven Power contrary to popular belief... I am." Carter let out a hearty chuckle at Nefertari's announcement and Nefertari laughed right along with him.

  "Lights out, Carter." And with that several red dots appeared on the foreheads of Carter's men and instantaneously, shots rang out causing them all to drop where they stood. Carter was immediately taken aback by the surprise attack.

  “I know you didn’t do this on your own, Tari! Show your damn face!” Carter growled. What little lights lit up the warehouse suddenly flickered off for two seconds and then cut back on and when they did, both Jason and Nefertari were standing on opposite sides of Carter with guns pointing in his direction.

  “You don’t look happy to see us, Carter.” Nefertari taunted as she walked closer to him with her pistol.

  “Tari, don’t get too close. I need a clean shot at him without you being caught in the crossfire.” Cori instructed her through the microphone. Nefertari adjusted her position without missing a beat.

  “Now this, this shit here amuses me. Jason, you done got Tari all riled up and ready to do what you can’t? You always was some soft nigga. First Trent had to be your savior and now T. This shit is laughable.”

  “I’d wipe that smug ass smirk off my face if I were you, Carter.” Nefertari warned. Carter on the other hand took her warning as a joke and continued taunting Jason.

  “Fuck that, T. Y’all done barged in here on some real Mafioso shit but for what because let’s be honest for a second, neither one of y’all is really built for this shit. Tari, you might know about the streets but you’ve always been too prissy to get down for real and Jason, like I said, you’ve rode Trent’s coattail all your life.” Before he could part his lips and spew another insult at either of them, a shot flew through the air and pierced his shoulder.