Kris and Moss arrive to the warehouse and park in the garage. Moss hops out as Kris informs she'll be there in a minute. Fourteen hours have passed since the announcement of Teresa's abduction. Kris couldn't think straight nor bother to sleep. Her mind played back and forth on everything that's been going on. All last night until the early morning she has been running errands with Moss right by her side. They still haven't heard from the guys that abducted her mother to know what to do next. All they have is a bunch of addresses. Everyone is still waiting on further information. It was killing Kris to know that none of this was going her way at the moment. While sitting in the car, Kris witnesses Adela leave out the warehouse. While inside, she was worried about Kris who hasn't really said a word since last night.
"You ard?" Adela questions, joining her sister in the truck.
"This is all my fault." Kris mutters.
"No it's not." Adela argues.
"It is. If I didn't take on this stupid ass warehouse, Mom would be here with us right now."
"Who's to say if you didn't that it wouldn't happened? We're DuKane's Kris it's already blood on our names."
"Yea, but Dad didn't die for us to live like this. I know that for a fact." Kris assures, shaking her head annoyed. Adela knew she couldn't argue with that, all though she felt her father died for other reasons.
"Maybe he did maybe he didn't. You know I got your back with whatever you want to do after this." Adela says. Kris looks down in her lap, narrowing her brows.
"Even if that means getting a little dirty?" Adela exhales and nods, tucking her hair behind her ear.
"At this point it is what it is." She assures as Kris nods.
"Maybe Dad should of gave you the responsibility. Lord knows you bust a nigga in the mouth if they even breathe in your direction." Kris says, causing both her and Adela to laugh.
"No, daddy did the right thing by giving you the responsibility. If it was me, I'd be shooting everything that moves." Adela assures. Kris couldn't fight the gut busting laughter as she thought of her sister shooting nothing in particular.
"You wild. That would be the funniest shit ever though." As they continue to laugh and joke around, Moss knocks on the window. Kris rolls it down as she stares into his eyes.
"Come inside. Tony got some shit to show you." Kris rolls the window back up, taking the keys out the ignition.
"Let's see what's going on." She sighs, hopping out of the truck. Adela follows and closes the door behind her. Kris enters the warehouse and Adela isn't too far behind. They enter the conference room where the rest of the guys are. When Adela spots Buddha, her breath gets caught in her throat. He wasn't there when she left to speak to Kris. He came out of no where and what upset her is that he didn't call and give her a heads up. Buddha turns his attention to his left and sees her. Excusing himself, he walks over to where she stands. They both step outside to talk.
"What are you doing here?" She whispers while arching a brow. Buddha jolts his head back and laughs.
"I work here or did you forget?" He questions amused. Adela rolls her eyes while crossing her arms.
"Who's watching Ms. Ari?"
"My sister is there with her. What's good with you b?"
"I'm good. I just wish you would called before coming, you know with...everything going on." Adela says, shaking her head in another direction.
"Oh, you mean so you could have time to tell Kris what happened right?" Buddha sarcastically questions, lifting his arm that's held in the sling. Sighing, Adela holds her biceps while avoiding eye contact. She hadn't told Kris about the attempted abduction that happened four days ago. Her mother had promised she wouldn't tell either and now she sort of wish she had.
"She's going to kill me." Adela mumbles to herself.
"Maybe if you go tell her before its later than it already is, she won't be that upset." Buddha reasons. Hating that he could be right, she rolls her eyes and rubs her temples.
"I hate it when you're right." Adela mumbles, causing Buddha to chuckle as he steps towards her.
"I know." Before he could make the next move, Dame stepped up towards them. Getting annoyed of Dame's presence, Adela huffs and steps back from Buddha. She could care less about kissing her man in front of everyone. It's just something about Dame she didn't like. Then again, Adela didn't really care for anyone if you aren't family or a close friend.
"Can we help you?" Adela questions annoyed. Dame smirks at how rowelled up he could get her without saying a word.
He licks his lips with a flirtatious smile saying,"you still mad at a nigga for what though?" Adela steps in his face while pointing.
"Because you're up to something and I'm going to find out what." She warns. Not bothered by her threat, Dame scoffs a laugh as Buddha gently pulls Adela back.
"Chill out and come with me." He says as they walk away. Dame shakes his head amused, stepping casually into the conference room with everyone else. There he sees Kris and the rest of the crew watching surveillance video. There's a guy and Teresa walking to a SUV. Kris and everyone else can see Teresa back away after seeing someone in the backseat. Two guys come out of nowhere and one covers her mouth with a cloth, causing her to go unconscious. Her body is than thrown in the back of the car and the driver takes off. The three men look around to see if anyone saw anything, and of course no one is around.
"I forgot about those damn cameras." Kris mumbles, shaking her head.
"Good thing you did, because then you wouldn't need me." Tony says. Kris smacks her lips while turning her attention towards him.
"Shut up. Do you know who it is?" Tony shows the two videos side to side as Kris narrows her eyebrows.
"Nah." He says. Kris nods as the guys turn around to the camera.
"He has to be someone my mother knows. Call Cypher and send him the video." Kris demands, turning around to the rest of the guys.
"What do you want us to do?" Moss questions, polishing his gun.
"You, Dez and Malik are coming with me. The rest of y'all keep guard and Cass call me if anything happens." Kris orders as she leaves out. Dez, Malik and Moss all follow behind as Dame sat back unbothered. He stands after taking a glance at his watch that reads four thirty in the afternoon. The guards and dealers began going to their post, so Dame thought he'd do the same. Kris leaves the warehouse, spotting Buddha and Adela talking from afar, more like arguing. She opens her mouth to say something, but her ringing phone catches her attention to quickly shift. She sees it's Cypher and slides the icon to the right. He talks about a man named Naeem Scott. He's at the Mountainside Rehabilitation Center where Teresa was recently staying. Kris hangs up and cranks the engine. Moss sits back as Kris pulls off. She had a feeling that her mother had to know the guy she was close to leaving with. Kris could only pray that she got the answers she needed.
➰
hours later
"What did they say?" Moss questions as Kris steps out of the building.
"They haven't seen him." She sighs, shaking her head. For the past few hours, they've been looking for Naeem. After checking the rehabilitation center, they went to check a few houses that was given by a source. He of course told for a small price but Kris would give up any amount of money to find her mother. Feeling the vibration in her pocket, Kris fetches her phone and witness the unknown caller. Without hesitation, she answers and places the phone to her ear.
"You're wasting time." The unrecognizable voice informs.
"I'm wasting time but I'm already on your trail mafucka." She threatens.
The person laughs and says,"you didn't think it was going to be that fucking easy did you?"
"Why are you doing this?" She questions annoyed.
"If you do what you need to fucking do, you'll find out why. First stop on the list is your father's mansion out in East Hampton. You have the address. I suggest you get there and get to that car." Three beeps signify the call ended causing Kris to sigh. Rolling her eyes, she locks her phone and turns to Moss who leans off the car.
"Who was that?" He questions.
"It was them. We need to start on this witch hunt he's got us on and get to my mother. We'll find that nigga Naeem later. I need to go and get Adela." She mutters, getting into the truck. Moss follows behind and places on his seat belt once he's settled. Kris pulls off heading back to Brooklyn. In all honesty, she did think it would be that easy. That she could find the guy and force him to tell her where her mother is. She knew it wasn't possible but when things like this happen, you have to be optimistic. It's something Kris' father told her so she wouldn't panic, so neither of them would panic. Meanwhile, on the other side of New York, a driver steers around the fountain of the large estate. Once parked, a guard steps up to the vehicle and opens the rear door. The kingpin steps out and nods in greeting to his guards as they open the doors. Entering his estate, he travels to the living room where his guest sits patiently. When Naeem sees it's who he's been waiting for, he stands and straightens himself out to appear more presentable.
"Naeem. Nice to see you again." The gentleman smirks, stopping in front of him in the living room.
"I'm here for my second payment. You said you would pay the other half. It's been four days." Naeem says, scratching his neck. He was in need for a fix and was trying his hardest to hide it. Naeem nervously sits back down as the kingpin takes a seat on the coffee table. The two sit in an uncomfortable silence for Naeem mostly. He was definitely second guessing himself. The butler enters with a blunt and lighter on a silver tray. Naeem watches as the kingpin removes them both and places the blunt between his lips. The two men both watch the flame burn the end of the backwood. Once it's lit, he places the lighter back on the tray while pulling from the blunt.
"Thank you Chauncey." He says through exhaling the smoke. Chauncey nods and walks off to attend to his duties. Blowing the smoke in Naeem's face, the kingpin felt the high vastly set in. As his eyes dimmed, he stared at Naeem with the darkest eyes as he licked his lips.
"You don't think I'm good on my word?" He intriguingly questions. Naeem narrows his eyebrows while shaking his head no.
"I-I never said t-that. Y-you said you w-would pay me my o-other half s-so I wanted to know if w-w-w-we still had a d-d-d-deal." Naeem stutters. The man smirks while pulling from the blunt, standing from his feet when he sees Chauncey return with a gold tray. When the man stands, Naseem's stomach grew more nervous than it already was. As Chauncey stands behind the couch, his boss takes the small bag of cocaine and throws in Naeem's lap.
"Is that proof enough for you?" The man questions.
"T-thank you." Naeem says while picking up the small bag.
"Mhm." The kingpin hums, exhaling the smoke. Naeem stands to his feet and quickly opens the bag, dipping his pinky into the white powder. Rubbing it against his teeth, he nods in satisfaction and turns to say something. Instead he walks towards the door as Chauncey shows him out. Once Chauncey closes the door he heads to the kitchen as his boss follows.
"Would you like something to eat sir?" The man shakes his head while putting the blunt out in the ashtray.
"No C, I'm good. Has our guest eaten anything yet?" He questions. Chauncey shakes his head no, reaching in the cabinet for a glass and a bottle of scotch. He pours a quarter glass and twists the top back on the bottle. Picking up the glass, the kingpin travels to the basement door and opens it. Traveling down the steps, he closes the door and clicks on the light. The well furnished basement seemed normal to the average eye. You wouldn't think anything out of the ordinary. Not even the false wine rack that holds a secluded room. The man pulls the rack away from the wall and reveals a steel door. Punching in the code, the door unlocks and he enters as it closes behind him. Walking the hall, he punched in the code and open the door once it unlocks. In the room sat an exhausted Teresa who's zip tied to the chair. She's been in the same position for four days. She wouldn't eat nor drink. The beating basically worn her out. The man turns on the light and makes his way over towards her. Squatting down in front of her, he lifts her head by her chin studying the bruises. Teresa sees the drink and frowns, shaking her head in exhaustion.
"Please, I can't take anymore." She mumbles while hanging her head.
"It's not for you, it's for me. Are you thirsty, do you want something to eat?" Teresa shakes her head no while sighing.
"I just want to go home." The man nods while sighing, standing to his feet. He takes a sip of his liquor and raises his eyebrows, relaxing them afterward.
"We both know you can't do that." Teresa lifts her head and studies him. She could see he wasn't like any of the other guys that were in this business. He was out of place.
"You could if you wanted too." Teresa says. The man nods and shrugs his shoulders.
"I could, but if I don't have you here I lose out on my deal." He explains. Teresa scoffs and shakes his head.
"What did he promise you huh? Money and part of the whatever he gains?" He narrows his eyebrows while shrugging.
"What does it matter?"
"Because this isn't you. You don't do business like this and I can tell. You have a heart. When that man was forcing me to drink and beating on me, I saw the sympathy. You even stepped in when he was about to kill me." He shakes his head while lifting the glass to his lips.
"You don't know what you're talking about." He turns on his heel to the door while taking a sip of his drink.
"I know enough." Teresa says, stopping him in his tracks. What he wanted to say he couldn't and how he felt, he couldn't express that either. It was something he learned from his father.
"I'll be back with your dinner." He tells her, closing the door behind him. Teresa throws her head back and closes her eyes tight. For the past four days, she's been silently praying that Kris would find her. She hasn't given up and she'll never stop until her prayers are answered. What kept her going was the thought of Kris and Adela. She knew that Kyree's blood ran through them and that they wouldn't give up until she was safe. She also kept faith because one man did have a heart. She'd figure out a way to get out somehow. As the kingpin travels up the steps, he thought back on what Teresa said. He wasn't the type to do anything like this, but he knows he couldn't let Teresa go. It's not apart of the plan. Entering the kitchen, he smells the aroma of food cooking. It's six in the afternoon and dinner was suppose to be cooked hours ago. However Chauncey didn't cook because Teresa didn't care to eat. The man felt bad about the situation, second guessing himself for the past four days. This wasn't like him at all.
➰
Kris taps her thumb against the plywood of the steering wheel. She and Adela are driving towards their father's estate out in East Hampton. Kris was going to do this alone, but Adela wouldn't let her. She didn't care what the guy on the phone told her to do. Adela wasn't going to let that happen. If anything happened to her, she felt she had no one to blame but herself.
"Take exit twenty-four b." Adela says. Kris turns on her turning signal and switches to the lane. Riding up the ramp, she stops at the red light and tucks her hair behind her ear.
"Do I take a right or left?" She questions. Adela reads the directions and memorizes them.
"A right, then a left at the light and the house should be on the right." She locks her phone and places it in her pocket. Kris takes off once the light turns green and makes her way to the home. After a couple of turns, they arrive to their destination. Kris arrives at the gate and there sits a speaker with numbers for a code.
"Shit." Kris silently curses.
"What?" Adela questions.
"We need a code." She informs, just then Adela's phone goes off. Six numbers pop up on her phone from the unknown contact.
"836264." Adela reads. Kris punches in the code and the gates open. Kris drives up the bricked driveway than parks, cutting the engine. The two sisters both remove their seatbelt and get out of the truck.
"Damn. Why did he not tell us about this place?" Kris questions while walking around the vehicle and meeting up with Adela.
"I don't know, but let's just get this car and head back to the Brooklyn." Adela says. Kris couldn't argue with that. She wanted to do whatever they needed to do and head back to wait for the next instructions. Both sisters walk up the steps to the door, searching for the key. Kris reaches in the mailbox and finds it, putting the key in the locks. She twists the knob and opens the door. They both enter the dark empty home and narrow their brows. There's no furniture and you could smell fresh paint and hard wooden floors. As Kris examined the place in awe, Adela goes searching for the keys to the garage for the car. She flicks the switch and the lights turn on. Entering the kitchen, she searches for the keys high and low. Reaching the side door, she twists the knob to see its already unlocked. Turning on the light, four different cars lit up under the luminous light. A Porsche, two Bentley's and a Benz truck. Adela figurers it couldn't be one of them, it was way too obvious. Pressing the button to lift the garage door, She narrows her brows to the other garage. Not even giving the door time to fully lift, Adela ducks under it and jogs across the large yard. Seeing there's no way in through the garage door, she spots a door beside it. She finds a rock a ways from the entrance and lifts it. The gold key twinkles under the moonlight and she grabs it, heading to the door to open it. Turning on the light, she smiles when she sees a car covered under a gray tarp. Pulling it off, she reveals the red drop top convertible and walks around it to get in. The door opens as she searches for the keys and finds them in the visor. She cranks the car and silently thanks God, taking her phone out of her pocket. Meanwhile in the house, Kris was still in mental shock. Where she went, she imagined her family, including her father being there. How happy they would be to be together without a care in the world. As if everything was at peace. Hearing her phone ring, the house turns back dark and empty. Answering her phone, she puts it up to ear and sighs.
"Hello." She answers, walking towards the bannister that looks over the foyer.
"I found the car. Come on so we can go." Adela says. Kris nods and admires the decor, narrowing her eyebrows.
"Hey, you think this house was apart of dad's plan?" Kris questions.
"I don't know, maybe. We better get going. I'm driving around to the front of the house." Adela says.
"Okay." Kris hangs up and places the phone in her pocket. She takes in the scenery to memorize, nodding with a small smile. There's something about this place that made her feel connected to it. Her father's presence was definitely there because she felt it. Hearing the horn honk, Kris rolls her eyes and groans. Of course she couldn't leave out the house yet because Adela left doors open and lights on. They were suppose to be discreet, because they aren't in their well known neighborhood. Adela has never done anything like this before, so Kris would have to show her the ropes. If she's going to be riding around with her, she has to know the do's and don't's. After putting everything back where it belongs, Kris leaves out the house and locks the door. Traveling to her truck, she rolls her eyes as Adela does the same and shakes her head. She was ready to go but knowing Kris, she has to do things on her time. Once her sister is settled, she backs up and shifts gears, leading the way back home. Getting their mother back wouldn't take long after this or so they hoped. She would be with them soon.
➰
Kris finds out that her mother's so called friend in the man part of the abduction. The person calls and demands her to get a car from one her father's estates. What are your thoughts on this?
Teresa tries to sweet talk her way out the situation. Kris and Adela head to the home and Kris feels that her father had a plan for it. Do you think Teresa has gotten in to the guy's head and does Kris have the right feeling about the home?