“When the first semester ended, I asked her to stay in Las Vegas with me. She had always wanted to go there. So we got a high-rise loft and leased it on a month-to-month basis because we wouldn’t be out of school for long. It was a dream come true for her. She jumped right into the fast lane as if she had been there all of her life. I still wasn’t really into partying, so she started going out on her own. Someone introduced her to Club Panties. There, she found a set of new friends. Ones much older. They embraced her and gave her everything she wanted. They spoiled her to death. She would meet them every weekend. Each time, she would try to drag me along, but I never would go.
“One Friday night, she came home early seeming kinda spooked. She wouldn’t fill me in on all of the details. She just claimed that her new group of friends asked her to do somethin’ kinda strange. I tried to get it out of her, but she just kept sayin’ it was top secret. But she assured me that everything was okay. She even said that she would do what they asked, but still, she never said what it was. So when she went to sleep, I dug through her purse. I snooped around until I found the card.”
“The one with the drink order?” Monica asked with her full attention invested.
“Yup. So I woke her ass up. She was pissed. However, she did explain that her new friends were a group of older women. And, not only that, they claimed that being that I was her girlfriend, they wanted to meet me too. Strangely, they knew almost everything about me already, and we’d never met. They knew all about us both. I couldn’t believe it. So I became curious. I had to see for myself. But I had to wait until Lastarya carried over her secret order. She never revealed what it was to me. She just said she hated that it involved a man. That’s when I got worried.
“It was all set up for the next night. She gets all dolled up. I mean, really dolled up. The works. It’s like, she can’t even look at me. She gave me a long kiss before she left. I waited up for hours. I finally fell asleep. When I woke up the next morning, she still hadn’t returned. I began to get worried. The next night comes. She still didn’t show. The entire weekend passed. It was like she just vanished. I called around to everywhere she could’ve possible been. I thought of calling the police to report her missing, but I really hate police, so I left them out of it.
“I was sick. I cried for four more days straight. The next Friday night had come around. I hadn’t been out of the apartment all week. The only thing I had to go on was the card I kept that I had never returned to her purse. That was another reason I didn’t go to the police, because if it was true that these people knew everything about us, then they had to be connected. So I wasn’t putting myself out there, knowing they wouldn’t do anything but open up a random case file they’d never look into. I did my own investigation.
“That next Friday night, I put on my best dress, heels, a li’l touch’a makeup, and I headed to Club Panties myself. I had no idea of what to look for. The card was the key and also my best clue: the drink order. Obviously, she was supposed to approach the bartender, so that’s what I did. I went straight to the bar. There were three women to choose from. A young white one; I ruled her out. A slightly older black one; she was a good possibility. And then there was a middle-aged exotic-looking woman. She seemed to be mixed. She was beautiful and focused. The other two were flirting with male customers, but not her. She attentively catered to only the women. So, the first chance I got to catch her attention, I summoned her over. When she got to me, I caught the strangest feeling. But, I was so nervous. Especially from the way she was looking at me. She must’ve sensed it, and she smiled to make me feel at ease as she asked me for my order. My mind drew a blank. I tried to remember the code. I couldn’t. So, I fumbled around in my purse until I found the card. I pulled it out and began to read from it. She lost her breath and quickly snatched it from me as she looked around with caution. ‘What are you doin’ with this, Starr?’
“I was shocked to hear her call me by my name. Me and this woman had never met. ‘How do you know my name? Where’s Lastarya?’ I asked. She stuffed the card in her cleavage and stared at me with this intense glaze. She lowered her voice. ‘Don’t ask questions. Stay here. I’ll be right back,’ she ordered. I watched her walk away to the other end of the bar counter. She picked up the phone and stuck a finger into her open ear to hear over the music. She shook her head while speaking, and then she’d look back down the bar at me. She quickly disappeared into the back. In just a few minutes, she returned with a drink and a small pouch. She slid them both to me, leaned in, and said, ‘This is what you asked for. Don’t screw it up and you’ll have all of the answers you’ll ever need. But screw it up and you’ll have all the answers about the afterlife.’ She stood back up straight, smiling as if she hadn’t just made the most blatantly chilling threat I’d ever heard in my entire life. But I wasn’t nervous anymore.
“I excused myself and went to the ladies’ room. I sat in the first stall and removed the small spy camera and the phone. Back then, the phones weren’t all high-tech like they are now. They didn’t have cameras and video recorders built in them. Not even texting. Just e-mail. When I turned on the phone, it went straight to an e-mail. There was a message I had to open. It explained who I was to look for and what I was to do. And just my luck, he was there that night.
“Originally, I was only given a physical description and a name I don’t want to reveal to you. You probably don’t know him anyway, but still. Moving on, the information I was given wasn’t close enough, so I had to play it cool like I already knew him. I rolled through the club, tapping people who seemed to be a part of the ‘in crowd,’ asking if they’d seen him. Everybody knew him. I was steered all of the way upstairs to the VIP level. Being that I was a fresh, pretty face, I was let right in with no problem. I noticed him the second I saw him. He was much older than me. Luckily, he was surrounded by a group of men instead of women, which would’ve made it extra hard for me.
“I went straight to the bar and ordered a drink. I sat there barely sipping it and waiting for just the right moment. I began to think that it would never come. When he finally got up to go to the bathroom, I made my move. As you know, the ladies’ room is directly across from the men’s. So I timed it perfectly. When he was coming back out, I pretended to be drunk, and I stumbled into his arms. This muthafucka looked like he wasn’t gonna catch me at first.”
They both laughed.
“But he did. He looked at me like I was some drunk, dizzy bitch as he stood me back on my feet. That’s when he got a better look at me. I could tell he was stunned. I saw the lust in his eyes as I ignored him while strutting away from him. He followed, calling me back. I had to play hard to get because I knew men of his caliber turned down groupies. They want the ones who they think think they’re a challenge. It’s like I had to reverse the reverse psychology on him.”
The last statement lost Monica, but she was still following the overall story as Starr continued, refusing to slow down and wait for her to catch up.
“So, anyway, he stopped me as I approached the bar and kicked the usual game. Blah, blah, blah; I’ll skip past the weak shit. I acted all stuck-up like I wasn’t tryin’a hear him at first. And then I let him think that he finally wore me down. He gave me the keys to his car and told me to pull it around the front. Apparently, he had some real sort of solidified status. I can’t front, he was well-respected. He was far from scared of me stealing his car or anything like that for that matter. I began to have second thoughts, wondering what I was beginning to get myself into. But every time I had doubts, I began to think of Lastarya. I had to find out what happened to her.
“I did what I had to do. I went outside and searched for his black LS 450, got in, and pulled around to the front. He had the nerve to have me out there waiting for a half hour sittin’ in his car listenin’ to his old-ass music. I was pissed, especially at the fact that when he finally did come out, he had two hoochies with him. One on each arm. They both gave him a kiss on the cheek before he got in the
passenger’s seat. He looked at me with this weird-ass grin on his face. He was real old school. And he was cautious, very cautious. So I had to stay on point. For all I knew, he sent his goons to ambush me at the hotel. I began to wonder if that’s what happened to Lastarya. Like I said, I needed to know. I was responsible for her. I brought her to Las Vegas.
“So I followed the directions he gave me. He led me straight to the Ramada Inn. Other than that, we hardly spoke. I guess he just figured he’d pull off a quick hit ’n’ run, and that would be that. The whole time I was driving, I was thinking about what the e-mail orders were. I didn’t have a clue of how I was gonna pull off such a thing. Especially on a man like him. I realized why Lastarya was acting so strange, and why she couldn’t tell me what she was ordered to do. She knew I would never let her leave.
“Anyway, I’m driving, trying to figure out my strategy. I began to feel his hand run up and down my thigh. Ugh! I was grossed out. But, I didn’t show it. Shortly after that, I was in the parking lot in the back of the hotel. He had the nerve to have a room on the third floor already. He probably been traffickin’ different sleezies back and forth for who knows how long. Oh, no! I had somethin’ for his ass. Filthy men. Too arrogant and downright nasty.
“Soon as we got in the room, he jumped dead on me, girl. He tried to stick his tongue in my mouth. I had to find a way to slow his fast ass down. So I pushed him away and backed him up against the bed until he was laid flat on his back. He started unbuttoning his shirt and unfastening his belt, as I stood on the bed over him, givin’ him a nice clear view up under my dress. Girl, he pulls a gun from the back of his waist and laid it on the nightstand. I could tell he was studying my face to see my reaction, but I stayed sexy and pretended to ignore it. I closed my eyes, licked my lips, and started slow dancing right over his face. I was driving his old ass so crazy. I guess he couldn’t take it anymore. He reached up and grabbed my waist. I wasn’t ready for it. The room spun around, and I realized I had been flipped on my back. He was hovering over me. He was strong. He was breathing hard. He kept trying to kiss me, but I kept turning my head away.”
While Starr was telling the story, she and Monica had been holding hands the entire time. As Starr continued, Monica felt Starr’s pulse rising, and her soft palms began to moisten with sweat as she mentally relived the moment. But they never broke eye contact.
“I was trapped under him. It wasn’t like I could just get up and leave. I could tell by the way he would smile every time I fought not to kiss him that my evasiveness was only turning him on. He squeezed down on my wrists and knelt between my legs, pinning me down. I didn’t like it. I started to regret it all. It was taking me back to a dark place where I didn’t want to be and thought I’d never go again. So, I calmed down and stopped struggling to get free. I allowed him to kiss me until he loosened up his grips on my wrists. I wrapped my arms around his neck as he kissed me and then I started pushing his head down my body. I let him stop at my breasts for a few minutes and then I pushed him down to my stomach. He started using his fingers to play with my pussy through my panties, so I pushed his face down there. He started eating me out while I palmed the back of his head. He really like that shit. So, I wrapped my legs around his neck, locking him in as he held on to my thighs. He just kept sucking on me.”
Monica watched Starr’s pupils begin to dilate as her sweaty palms began to dry up and go cold.
“The more he licked me, the angrier I got from his touch. I started to hate him. I wanted to kill him. I wanted to kill him for touching me.”
Just like back then, when it was happening, and even now, Starr began to have vivid flashbacks of the night her foster father tried to rape her. She despised men and hadn’t allowed herself to be touched by one since. She only desired the sensitivity of a woman. So what had happened on that particular night brought out the worst in her. Her frigid clench on Monica’s hand tightened.
“So, while he was down there violating me, I squeezed my thighs around his neck as hard as I could while I reached for his gun. I smacked him so hard over his head with it that it flew out of my hand and slid across the room. If I hadn’t knocked him out, I would’ve been in some serious trouble. I looked down and saw the top of his head split wide open, but it wasn’t bleeding yet. The gash was just white but getting redder by the second.
“I crawled backward on the bed to pull myself from under him. He was out cold. Face flat. I had to move fast while he was still unconscious. I quickly undressed him until he was completely naked and then I ripped the telephone cord out of the wall and used it to hogtie him in the middle of the bed. I made sure he couldn’t move. And then I used his own boxers to gag him. He was still out cold. I picked up my purse and got the camera out. I snapped a few shots, but it wasn’t enough. I decided to get really creative.
“I sensed how much of a gangsta he and everybody else thought he was so I had an idea. I picked up the gun. It was a chrome .44. I ejected the clip and removed six of the bullets and popped the clip back in just in case he woke up and broke loose. I would’ve shot him dead. I stood behind him shaking the loose bullets in my hand, smiling. One by one, I stuck a bullet in the tip of his asshole and took a picture of me shoving it in his rectum. The second one woke him right up. He was screaming through the gag. I took pictures of that, too. The violation. It left tears in his eyes. Here we were, I didn’t even know him. Never heard of him. But he was paying for the sins of all men. I was so glad he was finally awake. I shoved all four of the remaining bullets into him with one hand while taking pictures with the other. His screams began to get so loud. And then the worst happened. I underestimated how strong he was. I heard a snapping sound. He had broken loose. I reached for the gun, but he kicked it off the edge of the bed while pulling the cord off of him. I started to go for it but said, ‘Fuck it!’ I grabbed my shit and ran for my life.”
“So what happened after that?” Monica asked, captivated by such a story.
“To him? I’m not sure. There’s different versions of the story. I never seen or heard from him again. I had also taken the keys to his car. I got pulled over not knowing he had another gun under the seat. That gun was used in previous murders. I was almost locked up for life. That’s how I met Diamond. I was her first case. She rescued me.”
Starr released Monica’s hands and set hers on her lap. She leaned back and looked up in the air, saddened. “Turns out Lastarya ended up really having sex with the target. She caught feelings and tried to save him. They ran off together. But they didn’t get far. Within the next two weeks, they were both hunted down and executed.”
It took everything in Monica not to make any reaction. The last thing she wanted to do was alarm Starr and draw any suspicion. She knew Starr had the ability to sense and pick up on things if she studied a person long enough. A sense of nervousness invaded her body. She continued to match Starr’s stare to avoid any suspicion, but it wasn’t easy. It felt as if Starr could see right through her.
She couldn’t believe how much the ending of the story about Starr’s past lover related to her own real-life situation. Outside of the obvious of what would happen to her if they found out she was a fed, she knew if Starr or anyone in the Double Gs organization discovered she was dealing with Prime, she was as good as dead.
Monica listened attentively as Starr brought her Double Gs journey to an end. She was glad both the story and the visit were coming to a close. Any longer and Monica believed she would’ve passed out from anxiety or wound up confessing right there on the spot.
It wasn’t until the visit had ended and Monica was out of the federal holding facility that Monica’s heart rate decreased and she could breathe. She knew her secret involvement with Prime could get her killed and destroy everything she had been working so hard on. Since McCarthy had been dealing with his daughter’s illness and hadn’t really been in contact with her, she found herself slipping deeper and deeper. Normally his directions and instructions would be the guidance she needed t
o stay focused and stay the course while trying to infiltrate the organization from the inside. But as the days progressed, Monica became a confused woman with feelings for the woman she supposed to take down and the man who was a hardened criminal.
Monica shook her head. I can’t keep living like this. This shit has to end, she concluded as she scurried over to her car.
Chapter 10
There was a light knock at Chief Officer Mobley’s large oak wood door. “Come in,” Mobley yelled with acceptance. As the door swung open and closed, Mobley reclined in his seat. “Tom. Good to see you. Have a seat.”
Agent McCarthy sat across from Mobley, watching the bright sun begin to set behind him. The world seemed so delicate and peaceful on their side of the glass. His thoughts were interrupted by Mobley leaning forward and speaking in a stern tone while locking in eye contact and pointing to him with his index finger.
“Tom. I need you to know that you can do this. We had our differences, but we’re still on the same team. I’m gonna ask you this one time: are you up to this?”
Agent McCarthy thought about all that was going on with his family. His daughter. His wife. And then he thought of all the other families of the most recent victims: the Douglass family, the Craven family, and all of the others. “I’m up to it.”
Mobley reclined in his chair, staring at Agent McCarthy with blatant scrutiny while he drummed his fingertips across the edge of his desk as if he were typing two hundred words a minute on an invisible keypad. He suddenly stopped. “All right. I took the liberty of putting together a special task squad to serve at your disposal, the best of the best when it comes to the OCD. You have full discretion. But don’t fuck me on this. Agent Reddick screwed a lotta shit up. We have nothing, Tom. Shit. Zip. Zero. And guess what? The broad’s free tammara. Not bailed out. Free. All charges dropped. We got nothin’ ta hold her on.”
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