by Gary Sapp
logue: Where are our Children
(A Serial Novel) Episode 4 0f 9
By Gary Sapp
Copyright 2014 Gary Sapp
Table of Contents:
Our Story so Far
Thomas
Xavier
Thomas
Chris
Roxanne
Angel
Seth
Chris
Xavier
Seth
Sneak Peak at Zero Hour
Dedication
Nest Egg Publishing Note
Nest Egg Publishing Presents: Where are our Children
Where to find this author online
Our Story so Far:
While incarcerated as an inmate at Calhoun State Prison in southwest Georgia, Xavier Prince, the leader of A House in Chains, confronts Michael Davenport; a man that he believes has knowledge of what turns out to be the 411 attacks upstate in Atlanta. Serena Tennyson and her Pandora associates carry out the highly coordinated, highly lethal attacks weeks later against the Andrew Young Youth Center, The Fox Theatre and the mayor of the city itself, Ernestine Johnson. On her deathbed, rotting away from a yet to be identified poison, Mayor Johnson enlist the aid of Thomas Pepper, a freelance reporter, to find out the answers to the three questions that every Person of Color in America wants to know. The FBI recruits a renowned Clinical Psychologist, Dr. Angel Hicks-Dupree to consult on the crisis in Atlanta—and after a confrontation with her husband, Dr. Seth Dupree, she reluctantly agrees to help. Her childhood friend, Special Agent Christopher Prince, turns out to be one of the hostages being held at the Fox Theatre. Meanwhile, his half-brother, Xavier, is confronted with his own problems as a siege breaks out at Calhoun Prison on the eve of his scheduled release. In the meantime, Christopher Prince escapes the theatre alive, but immediately faces a new predicament when he receives a series of text messages that his 20 year old stepdaughter has come up missing.
Roxanne Sanchez, formerly of the FBI’s training program, is now a private detective and has been hired by Chris’ ex-wife Denise to find her daughter Erica. Roxanne can tell from her conversations with both parents that they are hiding a deep dark secret from their time together as a family. Serena Tennyson show up at Thomas Pepper’s townhouse looking to confess on his blog for her role in the deadly 411 attacks as well as present a new warning to a House in Chains and all People of Color: Xavier Prince and his organization is to stand down or face a new round of attacks centered at Atlanta’s children. The FBI, led by Agent Prince, capture her, but not before paying a high price in casualties. Xavier learns of a plot to kill him upon his exit from Calhoun Prison as a volatile siege and riot takes place. Serena sees a series of frightening visions including the much prophesized Whirlwind coming to fruition. Yet, it is in real life where she is traumatized after being nearly raped by an APD police officer. After she and Thomas Pepper give separate but hotly contested interviews with the bureau, she escapes in a series of daring synchronized stages that leaves Christopher Prince and the FBI befuddled. After celebrating her freedom with her closest Pandora agents Serena instructs an increasingly fragile Louis Keaton to begin rapturing Atlanta’s children.
Chris and his ex-wife, Denise Prince, meet for lunch to discuss Roxanne’s search for Erica. The FBI Agent is promptly refreshed to the fact of how volatile his complicated relationship still is with her. Both parties are also reminded of the hostility that existed in their household that aided in their dissolution…and the catastrophic secret that has yet to be revealed to the general public about an event that occurred many years ago while they were still together. In the meantime, Roxanne Sanchez is far closer to finding their missing daughter than they both realize. The private detective’s tenacious search leads her to the Carver Housing Projects…just in time to witness the Peacekeepers launch a major offensive to liberate its citizens from underneath the rule of the Choir Boys. Xavier Prince and his Circle had decided that this community would no longer wilt under the oppression of thugs, drug dealers and gang bangers. Roxanne makes two starling discoveries while barely surviving the incursion at all: She meets a self-proclaimed Pandora mole named Joseph Champion and finds Erica Lovings dead body in a dumpster. At the same time, Chris and Angel began investigating staged crime scenes that they question whether they unlock secrets of the past, or disclose clues to future abductions. Chris learns of his step daughter's death and travels to Denise’s apartment to tell her the horrible news in person not knowing that Seth is secretly on the premises as well. Louis names Moses Jackson, the first of his new child captives, his general, and instructs the boy to watch over the other children he plans to rapture from Atlanta’s streets. And then, under increased pressure from Serena, Louis reveals a starling revelation of his past that so enrages Pandora’s leader, that she takes the time to journey to his hometown of Memphis, Tennessee, to avenge a terrible wrong.
Thomas
Bernard Lott.
The Senior Editor of the Times was a Black man who stood as tall as he was wide. He had a newly clean shaven head, sleepy eyes, a wide nose, and spoke with an authorize voice fit for command.
A toothy thin woman who Thomas thought was a one night stand in waiting ushered him into the older man’s office and shut the door as she exited. Lotto was on a conference call with what sounded like two of his beat writers, men that Thomas knew from his time here. Lotto acknowledged his presence without looking up, wrapping up his conference with his guys.
The suite was spacious and a splendid piece of architecture. It had a spectacular view of the downtown Atlanta skyline behind Lotto’s desk. Across the floor was a loveseat similar to those that Thomas knew were manufactured across the Atlantic, especially in Greece and Italy. Thomas ran his thick fingers across the armrest and his touch confirmed that it was fine Italian engineering after all.
Photos of Lotto’s meetings with former presidents, prime ministers, state governors and other heads of state lined the far wall. Thomas even saw one showcasing the two of them standing with Ernestine Johnson at some function or the other during her first term as Atlanta’s Mayor.
Thomas glared at the picture for an extra minute. If we only knew what Mayor Johnson was ahead of us then would we have even bothered to smile?
Littered on his desk were pictures of Lotto’s grown children when they were much younger. Thomas made a mental note when he noticed that the picture of the man’s wife of thirty some odd years was absent from where it stood before. Thomas knew from experience that it probably meant that Lotto’s fidelity issues were flaring up once more. The room stank of cigar smoke which meant that Lotto wasn’t playing by those rules again either.
Lotto hit the button ending his call. The Editor and Chief approached him. Thomas grinned, extended his hand…but his former boss would have nothing to do with such a bland formality and bear hugged him instead. Lotto held him close until he got an up close and personal look at Thomas shiner.
“What in the hell happened to you, Tommy?” Lotto asked. He offered Thomas the chair nearest his desk and sat back down in his own recliner. Lotto deactivated the alarm for the window from a button underneath his desk and while still seated, manually opened it behind him. Two minutes later he got his cigar going the way he wanted to.
“Nothing,” Thomas lied to his friend. “And everything. How are you, Lotto? You called me remember. It was an important enough issue for you not to leave this to one of your assistants but to make the call yourself. Why did you ask for me to come down here?”
“You know it’s always good to see you, Tommy.” He said,
and eased back into the recliner. He took two puffs of his cigar. “Now, which one was it? I just have to know?”
Thomas grinned again.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Ernest.”
Lotto pointed the ash end of the cigar at Thomas eye. “Which one of those estranged husband’s finally nailed your ass.”
Thomas laughed out loud.
Lotto said, “Come one, Tommy. I’ve got a 100 bucks riding on this.”
“You’ve got it all wrong. It’s not like that at all.” Thomas replied.
And it wasn’t.
Thomas had just exited the city’s largest public library after doing some extended research on Microfiche about Pandora’s origins dating back to the 1980’s. Thomas hadn’t trusted using his computer or doing much else in his townhome since Serena’s impromptu visit. He had three different highly capable organizations in the FBI, A House in Chains and Pandora who
