“So now mother knows everything. What happened to the pact?” Faraji said as I walked in.
“Mother has her own way of finding out things. She only uses us as proof of information. You should know your mother better than that. She has her ways. Women do tend to stick together.” I glanced at Seraphim.
My mother had every female at the Opal and on this base on her side no matter what. I also realized that every woman is not my wife. Even with the female soldiers, I have come to know they are soldiers first and women second. I underestimated my mother and every woman in my world. Control was a facade.
“Excuse me, sir.” Seraphim started to leave.
“No. I want you to stay, Major. Faraji, we have to counter-attack. Have you found them yet?” I questioned him.
“No, they must be deep underground. So we will flush them out.”
“We do not have time for that, not now. We have to send a message and let them both know we will not be intimidated.” I slapped his desk.
“How do you know she will not kill him in retaliation? If she does, there is no explaining that to mother,” he said condescendingly.
“What do you suggest we do, then? We do not even know where he is. He could be anywhere.” I threw my hands up in frustration.
“You can blow up her baby father’s house as a counter-attack,” Seraphim chimed in.
We both turned and looked at her. A smile crept across my face. Then, Faraji’s military mind went to work.
“That is a perfect idea, Major. First, you will blow up his house. Then, send a message to everyone. Do it; that’s an order.” I smiled at the idea.
“Put a team together, Major, and do it quickly. We have a 48-hour deadline. Strike quick and hard. Report back to me,” Faraji ordered.
She disappeared down the hall.
“Brother, as long as she is alive, then Zuberi will be alive. She will not be so amicable anymore. Not after you put her in the wall.” I glared at him.
“You have your ways, and I have mine. I could have gotten information out of her if you gave me a chance. Mother had no right to hit me.” He rubbed his neck.
“You should not have put your hands on her. If she wanted to, she could have killed you. Torture will not work on her; she would die first. By the way, Mother has every right to hit you. She was trying to save your life.”
“You give her too much credit, Femi. She is only a woman. Ok, so she is good with a gun, but she is still a woman. So now she is a woman with no gun.” He rolled his eyes at me.
“If I am learning one thing about these women, it is not to underestimate them. We did before, and Black Ice ended up with Zu.”
I spun on my heels and left. Outside, my mother’s car was gone. I jumped in a Jeep and drove myself back to the Opal. Mother was in no mood to speak to me; I was the last person she wanted to see. I pulled up to the Opal and went to my office. I needed to think; I had to do something to get my brother back and maintain my family’s reputation.
-Faraji-
“Have you put the team together yet?” I asked Seraphim.
“Yes, they are loading up the truck as we speak. We located his home. It’s a white house in the hills.” She pulled up the maps.
“We do not have much time. What is your plan, Major?”
“I have a team en route to the house for surveillance. We will be moving out in 15 minutes. The surveillance team will recon with me as soon as they have eyes.”
“I am going with you. I want to make sure nothing goes wrong.”
“With all due respect, Sir, you do not have to do that. My team is more than capable of handling this mission,” she said with authority.
“You have something on your mind, Major? Out with it.”
“I know this is personal for you. You are too close. Let us take care of this. We will make sure the message is sent properly. I want to get Zuberi back too,” she said with passion.
“Get the job done and report back to me as soon as it is completed.” I dismissed her.
She joined her team, and they jumped in a Jeep and disappeared off the base. I watched the dust trail until the truck’s tail lights disappeared. There had to be more done than this, and now was the perfect time to use this new information. Femi and mother played soft with her, and I no longer cared why. I made a phone call.
“Rohand. I need your help. Off the books, of course.”
“I knew you would call. I’ve been waiting. What has he done now?” he replied.
“Gotten himself kidnapped. We have to send a message. Are you available?”
“Name the time and place.”
“Zuberi’s dock in thirty minutes. I am on my way.” I hung up.
The closet in my office had a secret wall. Opened it and pulled out a few blocks of C4, and put it in a duffle bag. I loaded the bag with detonators, some wire and cutters, gloves, and earplugs. I planned to blow a hole in the ground that would make her reconsider. When I pulled up, Rohand was already there.
“You should have called me before now. Maybe he would still be with his family,” he said as I shook his hand.
“Femi wanted to handle this his way. Now as much as Zuberi is a pain in my ass, he is still my little brother. That American bitch has him and is offering a trade. She killed Cian and his friends already. She will bring my brother back to me, or I will kill her whole family.” I rubbed my chin.
“Femi doesn’t know about this? Are you sure you want to go against your brother? I would hate to think of the consequences.” He side-eyed me slightly.
“I am just as important as Femi. We need action. I would kill the bitch myself if I could put my hands on her. I would kill them both.” I cracked my knuckles.
“How much are you paying for this help you need?” He put his gloves on.
I sent $100,000 to his account. He checked his balance, a smile slid across his face in approval. He was in my corner. At least for the money he was.
“Now that we are on the same page. We are going to blow up this house. Seraphim and her team are going to blow up this one.” I showed him pictures of each.
“Seraphim is a fine soldier. Yes, fine indeed, you are lucky to have her.” He smiled at the mention of her name.
“She is more out of your reach than ever, Ro. She is the best Major I’ve ever had. Good head on her shoulders and a ruthless heart. Her team will get the job done.”
“Don’t doubt me, brother. I can pull the best of them. I have no doubt her team will get the job done with precision.” He smiled again.
“We have to press hard to flush her out. Neither one of them will expect this, and that is the edge we need. She has given us 48 hours. I need this done tonight.”
“Is anyone there?” he asked me.
“I don’t know, and I don’t care. She has my brother, and it is an all-out war. Like the jungles back home.” The fire lit in my gut.
“I don’t give a damn about back home. I care about the here and the now. Your money is as green as the next. I could have told you to keep an eye on that Cian. He was the gnat in Zuberi’s ear. It got, so Zu asked him what to do about everything,” Rohand explained.
“It makes sense, but it means nothing now. He is dead, and that bitch has my brother. I can not get to her wife because of Mother and Femi, but I can do this.”
I walked back to my car. He followed and got on the passenger side. By the time we arrived at the house, the sun was down, and the darkness was fresh. I parked in the alley down the block and grabbed the duffle bag. I handed him the tools he needed to wire one side of the house.
“Listen, we wire it from the front to the backyard. I will meet you back here in ten minutes. Can you handle that?”
“I will be back in seven, and don’t make me wait on you,” he laughed.
“It is the next house over. I’ll take the far side.” I tipped past him down the alley and into the yard.
I was expecting a dog, but there wasn’t one. I crept along the far side of the house to the
front. The ground was soft, and then a foul stench filled my nostrils. I looked down, and there was the sign of a dog on the bottom of my shoe. Rage filled me as I wiped my boot across the grass to get it off. I put the putty on each corner and connected them with wire, and worked my way backward. True to his word, we met each other at the back of the house. We wired the back door. I connected the last detonator and crept out of the backyard.
“Did you see anyone inside?” Ro asked me.
“I did not take the time to check. Now come on.”
When we made it to the car, I drove around to the front and started to record the house. I captured the address. The curtains moved slightly, and two dogs popped up in the window. I pressed the button, and the place exploded in a ball of fire and plume of smoke. The force was so great we felt the ground beneath us shake. I recorded the entire explosion and watched the debris fall, and took pictures. I burned rubber getting out of there and disappeared into the night.
“There is no turning back now,” Rohand said.
“There never was. She will come out now, and she will beg for mercy.”
I turned on the highway and headed back to the docks. Rohand did not speak until we pulled up.
“Amare could play the game with the best of them, always managing to stay a step ahead. Never seen him let his anger get the best of him. Thanks for the money and good luck getting Zu back.” He got into his car and left.
I am Faraji; I played the game my way. I was not my father nor my brother. She would show up now and give me my brother back. My phone beeped. Two pictures and a video of her baby father’s house being blown up. Seraphim had gotten the job done; the game was on. I sped down the highway headed back to the Opal. Femi had to listen to me now.
“I had to fight fire with fire! Send these to that number and let her know we will not be fucked with and intimidated!” I yelled at him.
He slammed my phone on the table and let out a scream that sounded like the roar of a lion. He ripped his robe from his body, clawed at his throat, and fell to his knees. He pounded his fist on the floor. For a moment, I thought he had gone mad.
“Faraji! What have you done, you fucking idiot! Huh! What have you done!”
“She had to be shown we can touch her family too. Femi, what is your fucking problem? She will be happy to give him back, or we will keep coming after her. Hellhounds!”
“Was anyone in the house?”
“I do not know! She will see we are the great Tanzanite family! “
“You will have to answer-”
“You will have to answer to me!” mother’s voice boomed behind us.
She banged her cane on the floor, and it sounded like thunder cracking the sky.
“You do not need to concern yourself. Your sons will handle things. Go back to your suite.” I waved my hand at her.
“You are men, eh? Tell me, what have you done, Fariji?!” She stood with hell in her eyes.
“He blew up her mother’s house. Which wasn’t part of the damn plan! You should have discussed this with me first! You deliberately went behind my back!” Femi shouted.
My mother’s mouth dropped open and closed quickly. Her anger rose from her feet to the top of her head. Steam came out of her ears the color of red. She was set to explode.
“If you get my son killed because of your foolish ego, the devil won’t recognize your face. I will personally watch the life drain out of your eyes,” She shot the words out with venom.
She sealed per promise and spat at my feet. The sting of her words penetrated my soul. Mother turned on her heels; the echo of her cane thumping was as loud as a drum. It was the right thing to do; this was war. But I refused to let this bitch run me in my own town.
“Send the videos. Brother, she will fold like a house of cards.” I snatched his phone from him.
I pulled up his messages and sent the pictures and videos to the unknown number. Now it would only be a matter of time before we had Zuberi back, and they would thank me for saving his life.
“You are a bigger fool than I thought you could ever be!”
“We still have her wife. We lit a fire under her ass. Stop playing so frou-frou with her! Goddamn it!” I threw his phone back at him.
“That is your fucking problem, Faraji; you don’t listen. So instead, you go play war with your soldiers! Her wife already has a reason to go rogue!”
“I do not play war, Femi! I am war! I will do what you know needs to be done.” I seethed with anger.
“Your ego and his ego is what is going to get him killed!”
Faraji left me in the middle of the room alone. The only thing that comforted me was the boom of practice artillery in the distance. I had seen more war in the field than any of them. They would bow at my feet and be grateful. By my watch, we had thirty-six hours left. She would give my brother back.
Chapter 10
War at the front door
-Kae-
“Auntie!! You have to come quick. They blew it up...”
Dallas ran into the control room. He stopped and bent over out of breath. Houston was right behind him, trying to catch his breath too.
“It ain’t shit but a hole in the ground. I’m ready to kill them sons of bitches,” Houston said through ragged breaths.
“Take a look at this shit! It just came into the phone number. We got big problems,” Jacob said, waving me over.
I ran to his desk and watched the video clip of them blowing up Mama G’s house. Another video came with it of them blowing up Gio’s house. They probably thought he was there and was no longer a problem for them. Which was perfect for me.
“Was anyone home?” was the first thing out of my mouth.
The clip was on replay, and I watched the houses blow up over and over. My heart sank to the ground. My anger pulsed like electricity through me.
“Where’s your mama and daddy?” Black asked them.
“The dogs, Lucky and Star, were inside. My folks are at Auntie Mahogany’s house. What the hell are we going to do? I’m sick of this shit!” Houston said through clenched teeth, “They keep fucking with us, and we ain’t doing shit about it!”
“Hold on a minute Houston. We-” Black started to speak.
“Naw, ain’t no hold on, Black! These mothafuckas killed my auntie, and they done blew up my grandmama’s house! They coulda killed my whole family! What the fuck you standing here doing?!” He paced in anger and punched the air.
“Houston! Fuck, you think we been doing!? We got to do this shit right. You can’t just run out there and shoot up the street. You going to get yourself fucking killed,” Black said to him.
“You can’t tell me what the fuck to do! I will blow this mothafucka up with or without you! I don’t need you for shit. I will go find these bitch ass niggas by my goddamn self!” He stepped to Black’s face.
I stepped in between them and backhanded the shit out of Houston. The spit and blood flew out of his mouth. It landed on the window as his head turned. There was a fire in his eyes when he turned his head back towards me. His chest puffed out. Dallas stepped up to Houston and tried to pull him away. He jerked his arm away and continued to stare at me. I never took my gaze off of him. I wasn’t going to let my anger get my nephew killed by my hands.
“Step off, Houston. Bro, you don’t wanna do this.” Dallas pulled at his sleeve.
Houston didn’t move and continued to give me volcanic eyes. He didn’t realize I saw the pain behind the anger, the hurt little boy, and the man he had become in his eyes. His life hadn’t been perfect or even close to something you’d call normal. He was a survivor, and family meant everything to him; it was all he had. He wouldn’t know what to do without them. I hugged him tight to my chest. The longer I held him, he softened up, and soon his shoulders shook. He fell to his knees, gripped my waist, and cried. I held him. Dallas couldn’t watch his brother break down; he turned his back and faced the windows. He cried too. Kari was their second mama. She had always been there for them whene
ver they needed her. Dallas and Houston were ready to avenge the hole in their hearts by any means.
Black put his arm around Dallas. It was a moment they both needed, and now that it happened, we could get down to business. First, I had to make sure my boys were ready and focused. When Houston let it go, he stood up and tried to wipe his face. Jacob tossed him a towel to clean up. I grabbed his throat, pushed him until his back was on the window, and squeezed. He focused his face on mine. The panic rose in his eyes as his breath began to be cut short.
“I’m glad you finally got that shit out, baby. You ever buck up to your Uncle Black like that or me again, I promise you I will send your mama black roses. Understand?” Steel in my voice and Black ice in my eyes.
He shook his head that he understood. “Yes, ma’am.”
“We got work to do. Y’all go get cleaned up.”
“Are you serious?” Black shot me a questioning look.
“I don’t tolerate disrespect. But, family or not, you play by my rules. He better fucking know that. This is business,” I said, “Coby, open the wall, please?”
Jacob obliged. I picked my weapon, a Glock nine; my insides seethed with anger. I was glad that no one was at the house. Lucky and Star were Mama G’s baby’s. She was going to be more hurt about them than the house.
“You are going to go out there and shoot somebody like you told Houston not to?” Black stood next to me.
“No. It would make me a hypocrite, wouldn’t it? Whose house is next? They obviously know more than we thought. How did they know it was her mama’s house? Who’s to say my mama’s house ain’t next?” I loaded two in the chamber and slipped the clip in my pocket.
“What is going on in that beautiful brain of yours? You’re too calm. Talk to me.” Black grabbed my elbow.
“The war is already at the front door; they blew it off the hinges. They tried to knock me off my foundation. So what do you expect me to do? They still have my wife. Who knows what they’re doing to her for information.” I put the nine in the small of my back.
“It’s dangerous for you to be alone in that head of yours. If we are going off the deep end, then at least let me know. Shit.”
Tears of an African violet Page 17
