Tears of an African violet

by Jessica Gereaux

  “I didn’t mean to stab you so hard. It was the best I could do given I thought you were going to gouge his eyes out,” I chuckled.

  “I would’ve if I had more time. I’ve been waiting for the day. He has wanted to fight me for a while.” She stretched.

  “Seraphim, she needs ice for her face, please?” Akinyi asked me.

  I hesitated before I left.

  “Don’t worry. Akinyi is safe with me,” Black Heart chuckled.

  “I never would have imagined we would be here on this end of business again. What kind of future can we expect to have now?” Akinyi shook her head.

  “Femi is trying; Faraji is going to burn it down. Having sons at each other’s throats isn’t good for a family. Let alone for business. It’ll always be classic Cain and Abel between them.”

  “I did not take you for a Christian.”

  “I’m not; I know several scriptures from various religions. They’re not much different from each other once you get down to it. One day one will kill the other; it’s inevitable.” She rubbed her neck.

  “I’ve feared this most of their lives, and yet we managed to keep going. Your mother is lucky to have a daughter like you.” She smiled at Black Heart.

  “My mother thinks I sell drugs. She thinks I’m some kind of queenpin. She is some kinda lucky,” Black Heart laughed.

  I walked back into the room and gave her the ice pack.

  “Black Heart, I understand why you would not want to talk to us. But, do you have any idea what your wife is up to?” I asked.

  “I know she is coming. All I have to do is sit patiently and stay alive until she does. What has she done now?” she asked, holding the ice to the side of her head.

  “She sent a video of her pistol-whipping Zuberi. It sent Faraji over the edge. He umm...” I tried to find the words.

  “Hmm, well, I guess she’s pissed off.” she snapped.

  “Black Ice gave Femi 48-hours to produce you, or she would rain down her own brand of hell. They think she started the war. We have about six hours before that time is up. They have searched everywhere for her.” I cleared my throat.

  “One thing I know about my wife is she’s creative, and she thinks quite a bit. So you should never underestimate what she may come up with. I couldn’t possibly imagine the things she has thought of.” Black Heart peered out of the window.

  “Here, call her and tell her you are ok.” Akinyi offered Black Heart her cellphone.

  “I’ll wait to tell her in person.” She sat back in her chair.

  “A mother takes each opportunity she can. We are the backbone of this family. Your mother and I saved many failing operations when Amare was alive. Men think they run everything, but we keep the rhythm. We are the heartbeat,” she said proudly.

  “Amare was still a man, and his ego still got in the way. Even with the best of them. Faraji has something to prove now, more than ever. He will have to answer for his face,” Black Heart chuckled to herself mostly.

  “Thank you for not killing him.” Akinyi smiled.

  “You can thank Seraphim. She’s a damn good officer. I’d have her on my team if the circumstances were different,” Black Heart replied.

  “I will walk you out of here myself when the time comes, Black Heart. I want this to be over. There is a new joy in grandchildren, and I want to enjoy them,” she said.

  “You deserve to rest, but in this business, there’s no such real thing. Someone’s always in need of a mess to be cleaned up, a problem eliminated, or have a little something taken care of. It’s a never-ending cycle—the law of this beast. Until the day we retire or die, we are where we are,” Black Heart offered.

  “Retire? Is there such a thing? I am 68, and the thought always seemed like something in the future. But, then, suddenly the future was here, and here we are.”

  Suddenly the room was filled with a bright white light. The lights rotated like a spotlight from a helicopter. I rushed to the opposite window and peered out. A fleet of vans circled and surrounded the Opal. The spotlights were mounted on the vans. Akinyi came to the window and peered out; her mouth dropped as mine had done. They had come out of nowhere, changed colors, and blended in with the landscape. The shadows to the side of the spotlights were rocket launchers. Some of them faced the Opal; others pointed in the opposite direction. Black Ice was here to collect; she was early. Faraji was wrong; she did not attack the base. She came for the whole family.

  “I told you she’s creative.” Black Heart watched the scene unfold with us.

  “She is going to kill everyone for you,” I said in disbelief.

  Who on this planet did I love enough to blow up a hotel and everyone in it to get them back? I could not think of a single person other than my mama. I wished someone loved me this much.

  “We have to get you out of here, Mother Akinyi,” I said.

  My mama came into the room with panic on her face.

  “Akinyi, we have got to go. We are not safe here anymore. So I sent word to the wives to get the children in the tunnels,” Mama said.

  “Miriam, we have survived before, and we will survive now. Black Heart, come with me. My sons will tear this place up searching for you once they realize you are not at the base or in the basement. It’s time for the rhythm to get busy.” She stood up and grabbed her stick.

  Akinyi took off one of her robes and handed it to Black Heart.

  We left the same way we came. I gave my orders for my guards to get them to the tunnels. For no reason were they to leave their sides. I also advised them that Akinyi was the commanding officer. I took one guard with me. I left them at the entrance to the tunnels and went to go find Femi and Faraji. I checked my watch, and she was a couple of hours early. Damn, if we were at the base, we would be prepared. It would take at least two hours to mobilize units and artillery and get them here. I tried to radio Faraji, but he didn’t answer on any frequency. So I figured he would be in the conference room with Femi. It was where they spent most of their time arguing these days. When I walked in, it was dark, and I only found Femi. He watched as the assault lined up outside.

  “How long would it take to mount a defense?” he asked in an eerily calm voice.

  “Two hours, one and a half at best, sir,” I replied.

  “We don’t have a choice. Do it. Black Ice is early.”

  Chapter 12

  Knock, Knock, Knock

  -Kae-

  “I want every exit covered! Make sure foot soldiers are camouflaged and in place. No one is to get out of these doors!” I shouted to my earpiece.

  Hawk repeated my directions and shouted a few orders of his own. When we pulled up to the hotel front, the vans were in place. They surrounded the hotel, and the spotlights had every side lit up from the bottom to the top. The rocket launchers were set and ready to be fired at strategic points of the building. The shadows of the ground troops moved into place.

  Black pulled up right in front, parked on top of the garden on the opposite side of the arched driveway. There was a security guard station to the left of the main door; it was empty. There was a line of cars parked in the driveway. The drivers had long abandoned their posts.

  The smell of African food filled the air. The spicy taste would lure the hungriest of men. There was tension and electricity in the air. Jacob put a digital clock on the side of the building across the street with a countdown. There was no way anyone could miss it. 30 minutes. The main entrance sliding doors both sets were open. I scanned the hotel’s front and spotted Femi, dressed in his traditional robes, standing in the window on the third floor.

  He surveyed the scene before him, and for sure, he was thinking: ‘what the fuck?’. He probably expected me to show up to the base. His whole family was in the crosshairs. I didn’t come to play. I was ready to blow a hole where the Black Opal stood. She better walk out of here soon. The hairs stood up, and my body tingled; all my senses were heightened. I was ready for war.

  “Auntie, what are we waitin
g for? Why we ain’t making moves? We like sitting ducks out here in the open.” Houston sounded antsy.

  “We have five minutes. Sit back, do as I say, and shut the fuck up!” I said to him without facing him.

  “Be chill, bro, we got this. If auntie said wait, then we fucking wait. Yo’ hot head ass gonna get somebody killed,” Dallas said to Houston.

  “You know this waiting shit ain’t my thing, bro. I’m ’bout that action every day. I wish a nigga would roll up on me.”

  The clock hit zero and began to blink against the wall. The entrance had no movement. Femi wasn’t in the window anymore.

  “Get the body and dump it in the middle of the archway.” I watched as the clock blinked.

  Dallas and Houston got out and pulled out Blue’s body from the back of the van. They carried him to the middle of the driveway and dumped his naked body out. It rolled a few times and landed on his back with his arms outstretched. I got out.

  “Hawk, ready and stand by,” I said.

  I picked up the mic in the van and turned the megaphone on.

  “Femi!”

  I waited to see any movement from the door or the windows. I didn’t see anything at first, and then robes came to the front entrance. He was alone.

  -Femi and Faraji-

  “What the fuck do you mean?! Where the fuck is she, Faraji?!” I yelled.

  “I do not know where she is. I went to check on her earlier, and she did this to me. She escaped,” he yelled.

  The pain was written on his face. She had done a real number on him. Mother tried to warn him, but as usual, Faraji had it figured out. He did not count on her being as strong as she was for her size.

  “Explain to me how you lose a whole person?”

  “Do not patronize me. She is not on the base anywhere, so she is probably lost in the desert somewhere. She deserves to die out there,” he said as he sat down slowly.

  “How can you be so fucking stupid? She was the only key to getting Zu back, and you fucking lost her! You fucking idiot! Where is Zaire?”

  We were on a code red level 10, the hotel was abuzz. People moved around and got into their positions. The private security team moved the family to the tunnels. Everyone had a part, and this well-oiled machine was geared up for this fight. The elevator dinged, and a sinking feeling washed over me.

  “I have not seen him in a few days. I have been busy. Why?”

  I slowly looked towards the elevators through the office door. The floors counted down. I felt like I moved in slow motion and ran for the stairs.

  “Where the hell are you going, Femi?” Faraji hollered after me.

  His pain kept him from running after me; the gunfire started. I ran out the front door. Zaire was standing outside in his full robes with his AK-47’s; he sprayed the front garden. As I made it to him, they returned fire. I pushed him from the back; he fell forward, and I threw him behind the line of cars. One of his guns flew out of his hand and slid down the walkway. Soon they stopped firing. He had been hit in the leg. It was not serious, but he was bleeding.

  “What the fuck are you doing! That is my baby brother that bitch has out there!” The devil was in his eyes.

  He tried to stand up to shoot again. I fought with him, pulled him back down, and we wrestled for the gun.

  “I know that goddammit!”

  “So what are you going to do, kill her before you get him back? You are not thinking, Z!” I managed to get it out of his hands.

  “No time for talking! It has gone on long enough. She has shut down business in this city. She kidnapped our brother, and you are going to talk to her? You are as soft as Faraji said.” He spat out, breathing hard.

  I punched him in the face as hard as I could. His head popped back, hit the car door, and back into place. His nose was bleeding.

  “Disrespect me again. You understand me?” I grabbed him by his collar and squeezed.

  “Let go of me, Femi! Get your goddamn hands off of me,” he gagged as he choked.

  He kicked his legs as he tried to escape my grasp and clawed at my hand. I squeezed his collar until his eyes grew wide with fear. Then I let him go.

  -Kae and Black-

  Hawks’ team didn’t wait or hesitate. They returned fire; we dove behind the van for cover and did the same. The gunners were rapidly firing .50 cal bullets at the hotel walls. They had penetrated in some places. The guys in the shadows also lit up the hotel’s front. Zaire stood alone at the door and shot at us. Before I could speak again, Houston had jumped from behind the van and started shooting. Zaire was hit. I hated it, but if that is how he felt, then so be it.

  “Hawk! Ceasefire! Ceasefire!” I yelled in the mic.

  Houston was on the other side, closer to Black. Black jumped on him and knocked him to the side with a football tackle. They fell to the ground, and Black grabbed him and dragged him back behind the van. When he put him down, Black saw blood on his hands. He patted him down, and his left arm had a bullet hole clean through. Black wrapped his arm and tied it off with a sleeve.

  “What in the whole fuck is wrong with you?” I rushed to him and slapped the shit out of him.

  “Goddamn, Auntie! That nigga fired on us. Ain’t you supposed to shoot back?! Shit!” he yelled in pain. He rocked back and forth as he held his arm.

  “Her life is at stake. I told you this is chess, not checkers! I swear to God….” I yelled at him.

  Black lifted me off the ground and out of Houston’s face.

  “Calm down. We are ok. It’s ok. Stay focused. We at the finish line.” His tone calmed me down.

  I shot fire at Houston. He was sitting up on the bumper of the van. Dallas was trying to make sure his arm was wrapped up.

  “You ok, man? What the fuck were you thinking!” Dallas asked his brother.

  “Fuck that. Did you hear what she said?” Houston replied.

  “Man, what the hell you talking about?”

  “She said auntie’s life is at stake. How’s it at stake if she’s dead? Shit ain’t adding up, bro,” he whispered.

  “She ain’t say that shit. Auntie Kari is dead. We ’bout to take them mothafuckas out, so stick to the plan. How you gonna fuck around and get shot through, nigga?”

  “That African nigga shot at me first, shit. What the fuck you mean?”

  “I ain’t going to explain shit to Mama if you fuck around and get yourself killed trying to be some goddamn Rambo.” He was serious but smiled.

  “It don’t hurt that bad, but that shit was on fire, bro. I know what the fuck she said. Auntie Kari is inside. Bet life on it.”

  He reached out to shake on the bet. Dallas dapped up with him.

  “Black, listen to me. I really ain’t trying to explain to his mama no more than I have to,” I whispered.

  “Don’t worry, I got him.”

  “Good, you and Dallas get Zuberi and unload him. Take him to the front of the van. Leave the bag on,” I instructed.

  I went back to the mic.

  “What the fuck, Zaire?! Femi, get your goddamn brother before I fucking kill his ass! Next time I won’t miss,” I hollered.

  Black stood with Zuberi, a cocked .45 aimed at the base of his head. Zuberi was shaking and unstable on his feet, but he managed to stay upright. Black and I locked eyes.

  “You, Zaire, Faraji, I don’t give a fuck, Femi. I will blow a hole in yo’ ass. Get my fucking wife out here!”

  There was silence from the row of cars where they hid.

  -Femi-

  The dead body I saw was not Zuberi. He was Blue, one of the men we were searching for. Farther out, Zuberi was standing in front of a van with a bag over his head. A tall man had a gun pointed at the back of his neck. If I did not produce Black Heart, Black Ice was prepared to blow his head off. I tightened my grip on the gun and crawled back inside the doors. I motioned for Zaire to follow me. He hesitated, and he reluctantly followed. We stayed down until the elevators and rode up to the third-floor conference room. Faraji stood out of view
in the window. Zaire limped in and sat down. He checked his wound, and it was more of a flesh wound. He ripped some of his pants legs and made a bandage.

  “He is the one we have been trying to find. Who knows if she has the other one.” Faraji walked away from the window.

  “She is fucking smart. She probably does have the other one. You blew up a house for nothing and lost the only fucking bargaining chip we had!” I shoved him back twice with the AK in my hands.

  He stumbled back in pain and was unstable on his feet. He gripped the table to catch his balance and grabbed his chest in pain. He glared at me.

  “Has anyone seen Mother?” Zaire took a peek out of the window.

  Zaire limped away from the window to the table. He reached back, cocked his fist, and punched Faraji square in the face. His neck snapped back like Zaire’s had done outside. Faraji raged up, ready for a fight. I stepped between them and pressed the gun to Faraji’s chest.

  “Each minute she is lost is minutes off his life! Stop this stupid shit! We have to find her!” I roared at them.

  “Have you seen Mother? Is she in the tunnels and safe?” Zaire asked again.

  “I assume she is with the rest of the family. The security team has probably escorted them,” I said.

  “Maybe now is a time to-” Zaire was cut off.

  “Sir.” Seraphim walked into the room.

  “Major. Where in the hell have you been!?” Faraji asked in a nasty tone.

  “I am in the family security detail. So, Femi, the family is secure,” she turned to me and said.

  “Thank you, Seraphim. Have you seen Black Heart anywhere around here?” I asked her. I hoped in my heart she would say yes.

  “No, sir,” she said flatly.

  Faraji stared at her. She stood at attention. He reached back and backhanded her across the face; she never buckled. Seraphim turned her face around and stayed at attention. Her body tensed up, but she remained in place.

  “Liar! You know exactly where she is! Where the fuck have you taken her?!” he barked in her face.