"Please. I don't know what Cian is into, but I'm not," he pleaded through tears.
I simply lowered the light without another word. I went upstairs, and Black followed.
"Coby, man, you lucky my guys are good. What the fuck happened out there? How did you miss them?" I walked up to his desk.
"I don't know. For some reason, they didn't register on the heat scans. I would never let something like that happen to either one of you," Jacob said.
"Fucking figure it out! I need you to send these pictures to this number. With this message attached."
I sent him the picture of Zuberi passed out. I told him to send it and the pictures of Cian and his friends to Femi's number. The message said:
'Here lies your Judas. You have what belongs to me, and I have what belongs to you. You have 48 hours. I'll be at your front door to meet hellhounds face to face.'
He sent the message and then looked up at me.
"Now we wait to see what his next move will be. His precious baby brother's life depends on it."
"I don't know about you, but I'm hungry as hell. Let's order some food. What do you want to eat?" Black rubbed his hands together.
"I could go for some Chinese food. Lo Mein and some egg rolls," I piped up.
He ordered a bunch of Chinese food and drinks for everyone on duty. We chowed down, got full, and watched the sun come up. For sure, this was just the beginning of the dance of war.
Chapter 9
Ultimatums
-Femi and Faraji-
“What the hell has he gotten himself into!?” I slammed my fist on the table, “He has a war going on in the streets, and now this. Father should have left him at mother’s knee!”
The dishes on the table rattled. Faraji looked up from his breakfast in confusion but continued to eat while he watched me.
“Femi, what has the prince done now?” He chomped on his breakfast.
“Here is your precious prince. In the position, I tried to keep him out of. How could he not know his best friend is a traitor? How do you not smell the rat on him!?” I growled.
I handed him my phone. He flipped through the pictures of a dead Cian, his friends Lucas and Joseph, and a crumpled-up Zuberi. He read the message. The vein in his temple pulsed.
“I have always thought something was off with Cian. He was a loose cannon, to say the least. But, somehow, she managed to flip this on us now. How do you let something like this happen?”
He pushed his plate away with an attitude.
“Me? I tried to stay ahead of him. No one told him not to be here. If he had been here, he would have been safe! But, instead, he left on his own. How is that my fault?” my voice boomed.
“You did not demand that he stay either! You let him go. Father would have-”
“Father is dead, and I am not him! He is my brother and a grown man. So he has to make his own choices.” I snatched my phone back.
“Where is he? Who the hell knows now because her wife has him!”
“Don’t patronize me, Faraji. You do not think I know that. If it was up to you, you would have killed him. Your own brother,” I spat back at him.
“Her wife is going to kill him unless you give her back! What difference does it make? Mother is going to kill you!” he yelled.
“She is not going to kill him.” I sat down.
“How do you know!? See what she has done to him already. You can not believe she will not kill him to get back at us.”
“Her wife isn’t dead. If she was going to kill him, he would be like the others. Black Heart was right. She said she would make contact when the time is right. She did not say it would be like this.” I sat back in my chair.
“You better be right. To me, war has been declared. I, for one, am not going to sit around and wait to have bombs dropped on me.”
He wiped his mouth, tossed his napkin on his plate, and left my living suite. I paced the floor, thinking of my next move. Black Ice had my brother, and that was not part of the plan. He was supposed to have his own protection. Faraji was correct; however, I should have insisted that he stayed here. I was trying to teach him a lesson; let him grow up and be a man. How could I have not seen this coming? Father was not here to help me figure this out. I left my living suite and went to his office. I did not expect to find my mother there. She sat in his chair and stared at the 30 x 48 oil painting of him behind his desk. I remembered when we gave him that picture for his 60th birthday.
“I have always loved this picture of your father. It made him seem like a preacher. But, God knows he was the farthest thing from it.” She smiled with longing.
“I did not think anyone came here anymore except to dust.” I kissed her cheek.
“I can feel Amare in this room. Is that why you come here?”
“Sometimes. When I am not sure of what to do.”
“What are you not sure of now, my son?” She faced me.
“Mother, I do not know. Zuberi is…”
“Is what? What is wrong with him?”
“He has no control over his business and is getting out of control.”
I tried to keep it as simple as possible. I did not want to alarm her or break the pact with my brothers.
“This has nothing to do with Black Heart?” She stared at me.
My head snapped up and met her gaze. I could have melted through the floor from the fire in her eyes. How and what she knew, I was not sure. The last thing I wanted to do was lie to my mother.
“What are you talking about?”
“I told you there is nothing I can not find out. So why is Black Heart here? What is going on, Femi?” she drilled me.
I wanted to disappear. Then I remembered that I am a man; I stood up straight and cleared my throat.
“Mother, your son is a screw-up. Sorry to say it that way, but he is.” My eyes held her gaze.
“While he is nothing like the three of you. Is he the reason for the war in the city?”
“Not directly, but it was someone under him. They are dead now, however.”
“I built this organization right along with your father. Now, are you going to tell me the truth, or should I ask Faraji or Zaire?” Her eyes narrowed in on me.
The warrior in her came through. As the oldest, shit like this always fell on my shoulders. Ever since we were kids, I had always taken the blame from my father and mother. I took a deep breath and released it.
“I know you are not fragile, mother. On the contrary, you are as strong as any woman. This is my problem. I will fix it.”
“This is not your problem; it is this family’s problem. I will get to the bottom of this.”
She stood up, grabbed her walking stick, and walked out of the office. My heart dropped to the bottom of my stomach. I chased after her and caught her at the elevator.
“Mother, where are you going?”
“To find out what else you are not telling me. I tried to stay out of this like I would with your father. But you are my son, and I am not obliged to stand behind you.”
We rode down in silence. I tried to think of what to say, but she was right. Being my mother, she could do whatever she wanted. So when we got off the elevator, she got in a waiting car and told him to take her to the barracks—nothing else to do but get in and go with her.
“When I ask you a question, son, you should know I already know the answer. I can get answers without you.” She rolled her window down and let the fall fill the car.
“What do you want me to say? I am doing the best I can to protect my family and handle business. However, I can not control him; he is a grown man. He has his own ideas,” I said in disgust.
“You did not think Black Ice would be an issue?” She watched the world go by.
“Yes. I thought she might be a problem.”
“You have no idea who they are, do you? They play the game very well; loyalty still means something to them. They are from the days when there was a gentleman’s code in this business.”
S
he looked at me. I listened and wanted to hang my head in shame, but that was not an option.
“When you first acquired her, you should have come to me. Instead, you have made a foolish mistake by underestimating them.”
“The father of her children stole from us. I did not mean to kidnap her; I wanted him. So I set up a doppelganger in the morgue to make him think she was dead. Zuberi’s branch lost the money. He was supposed to be figuring out how to get it back.”
Her eyes were as wide as silver dollars. My face was hot, and my temper was rising. I could only be mad at myself, and yet I wanted to kill Zuberi.
“Have you lost your mind! You better be lucky, your father… You should have come to me! What were you thinking? Where is Zuberi?” she panicked.
I could not avoid the question.
“I got these this morning.” I let her scroll through the pictures and read the message.
She raised her hand and backhanded me. I did what I could, closed my mouth, and looked straight ahead. It was my mother.
“Have you lost your damn mind, boy! Where is my son!?” she yelled and hit me upside my head a few times.
“I do not know. I got these from an unknown number this morning. So I assume she took Zu last night sometime. I have a crew out at the warehouse to find any clues.” I tried to dodge her hands.
We pulled up to the gate and rode to the officers’ barracks. Faraji’s truck was already outside. A bad feeling washed over me, my stomach dropped. One of the guards opened the door for her, and we went inside. They stood up, saluted her, and then bowed. She bent her head to them. Seraphim walked up to my mother briskly and whispered something in her ear. Mother took off behind Seraphim. We went to the same lounge. When we walked in, Faraji had her pinned against the wall and yelled in her face.
“Where the fuck is my brother, you bitch!” He slammed her into the wall by the shoulders.
Black Heart’s neck snapped back, and the look in her eyes was evil. Mother, without a word, rushed past Seraphim. She cracked Faraji over the back of the neck with her walking stick. He turned around, ready to fight the first person in sight until he saw our mother.
“What is wrong with you, woman!” he yelled in her face and rubbed the back of his neck.
Before I made it in between them, she had backhanded him. His eyes were wild. Mother stood her ground and stared him down. I slid in between them and pushed him back into the wall. Seraphim helped my mother to a seat at one of the tables. Black Heart pushed herself off the wall and sat at the table with my mother. The tension in Faraji’s body raged as he continued to press against me.
“First, let me say, I am sorry you are here,” my mother said as Black Heart sat down.
“I figured you didn’t know. It’s a nice place, however. The ladies have treated me well.” Black Heart gently shook mother’s hand.
“Men think everything can be solved with violence and secrets.” Mother patted Black Heart’s hands.
“He has a temper.” She nodded her head at Faraji.
“He always has. I think he came into the world mad at it. I do not fear his temper as much as he should fear mine. My sons still have much to learn.”
“Akinyi, I was sorry to hear when Amare passed. He was a good man, a friend, even. We did great business together. I won’t hold not knowing that against your sons.”
“Thank you; the wreath of African violets was beautiful. We have had some good years between us and good business too.”
They both chuckled slightly.
“This, however, isn’t good for business. You know my wife is coming.” She sat back in her seat.
“Yes, yes, I know. We have a problem now. She took my son Zuberi. Do you know where she would take him?”
“No, I don’t. But, I do know this: as long as I’m alive, he’s alive. So, I hope that helps,” she said smoothly.
“Not much; I fear my youngest son has gotten in over his head. His father fixed everything for him. You have children, you understand?”
“I don’t fix my children’s problems. I allow them to figure out on their own and protect them. We are mothers, not fathers.”
“And as a mother, you know we must let them go and find their way. Whatever that may be.”
“Black Ice is a fair woman. We live by a code and will die by the code. Your sons, however, seem to have broken that code. I can’t be responsible for what my wife does.”
“She sent me these this morning. This is what she has done.” I walked over and showed her the pictures on my phone.
“She seems pretty upset. She shot this one in the face.” She scrolled through and handed me my phone back.
“My sons have fouled this up. I am here now, and I want to work this out with you, woman to woman,” mother appealed to her.
“Woman to woman, Akinyi, I have nothing but the utmost respect for you. I know that this whole base is ready to kill me if I step foot out of the door. On his order. I’ve sat here for the past week or so trying to figure out why I was even here.”
My mother shot daggers at me with her eyes. She was correct; nothing got past her. I should have guessed she already had some idea of what was wrong. Faraji motioned for Seraphim to follow him out of the room. I was more concerned with what mother and Black Heart had to say. I sat at the table.
“Don’t you have something to say, Femi?” My mother stared at me.
I hated being put on the spot. I guessed this was part of her punishment.
“I was surprised when they brought you to me. But, of course, you know this already,” I said to Black Heart.
“You could’ve let me go,” she said flatly.
“The plan was already in motion. I was watching out for my baby brother, or so I thought,” I answered.
“Well, that didn’t work because now you are here to… What is it exactly that you are to do? Your brother attacked me. I don’t want to be responsible for his death.”
She eyed me coldly. Her eyes shifted darker for a flash. I was sure of what I saw. There was a darkness in her that waited for the opportunity to release itself.
“I came down here to ask if your wife would be a woman of her word,” I replied.
“We were a personal clean-up company for this very family. For years we did the extra dirty work, getting rid of problems left and right. Since your father died, my company hasn’t done any business with your family. How do you build an empire like this without getting rid of your enemy and competition?” She waited on my answer.
“The answer is, you do not. You should have told me she was here.” Again mother shot daggers at me, “I could have told you how to avoid this.”
“Zuberi was learning a lesson,” I protested.
“With his life! You are going to get him killed to teach him a lesson? Is that what you plan to do? You crazy boy, eh,” Mother sucked her teeth.
“I never meant for him to get hurt. Faraji is the one who wanted to kill him. He needs to learn to solve his problems. Father would ha-”
“Your father would never set his son up to be killed! I could have told you they saved your brother’s life once before. But, instead, you have kidnapped her wife; the treaty between us has been broken. You have single-handedly destroyed this relationship! Going rogue is an understatement for what she could do! There is no more understanding between us!” She banged her cane on the floor.
Mother paced, and the thump of her cane replaced the tick of the clock on the wall. Black Heart watched Mother, I watched Black Heart.
“I seem to recall asking you this very question. I remember you challenged me. You remember that, Femi?” Black Heart spoke in a smug tone.
I knew she was right. It didn’t matter now; I made a choice and had to stick with it.
“I remember you didn’t truly answer the questions either. You have your own secrets, I am sure,” I replied.
“Your mother is right, you know? My wife can go rogue if she chooses. The problem is you don’t know if she will. Will she keep
her word or turn on it as you have done?”
“Surely you know your wife and what she will and will not do?” I asked.
“What I know and what you know and want to know are three different things. So what is this going to cost you? I’m not who you wanted, but I’m who you got. The gold at the end of the rainbow.” She smiled at me smugly.
“I am going to get my brother back. You better pray she does not go rogue. It would be a shame if someone else did the same.” I narrowed my eyes on her.
“I’ve already saved his soul once. This one ain’t on me.”
She stared back at me just as hard. I stood up.
“Where do you think you are going, Femi? We have to talk this out. We have to get my baby boy back. Your brother is out there hurt!” Mother grabbed me by the arm.
“Mother, I am not a boy! I am a man and the leader of the Tanzanite family! I will handle things the way I see fit! I am going to get him back with or without her help!” I said louder than I planned and jerked my arm away from her.
“Oh, you are, are you? So you are the head of this family? A damn fine mess you have gotten this family into, ‘Mr. Head of the Family’. You don’t need my help? Seems to me you need all the help you can get! I swear to you that if any harm comes to my son, you all will have hell to pay!”
Mother knocked me into the wall and walked out of the room. Black Heart’s eyes said she was done talking as she rolled them at me and focused on the TV. What had I gotten myself into? I had two days to figure out where my brother was. I had to choose between losing my brother or the money he lost. It should be a no-brainer. My brother’s life is worth more than five million, but my father would never lose that much money. It was a blow we could come back from, but the war would be brutal to stop. Black Ice had not only set this city on fire, but she was also letting it burn down. She was not above throwing gas on the fire either. She would kill my brother. I left the lounge and went towards the offices. Faraji and Seraphim were in one; I walked in and closed the door behind me.
Tears of an African violet Page 16
