My daddy poked his head into the room. “Verona please,” my daddy said with a slight chuckle as he tried to give me a firm look. “If you keep squirming and laughing it is gonna be ten times harder to get this wired in a good place.”
“I can’t help it,” I took a deep breath to try and steady my breath and stop laughing so much as the tickless feeling. “You know my back is my weak spot.” I looked up at Officer Cooper who also had a smile spreading across her face. “I’m sorry.” We were currently in the room I was sharing with Joshua. Well it was mostly mine as he often just slept on the couch in the living room. “Can we try again?”
“Last chance before I decided to have my partner hold you down.” She glanced towards the other female office, a taller woman with short hair slipped to one side.
It was an hour before the 7ths anniversary of Order and Chaos. Apparently it was gonna be a very special announcement for Hezekiah Wallace, as well as a day of celebration for the first time he met Trinity. However, for me and Joshua it was a work day. THe taller boy had already left in a beautiful taloned black suit an hour ago, I was sure his wiring was less difficult than mine. He had gotten a spot in the band as a pianist, now while he claimed to have gotten the previous pianist to leave with money. I was still wondering if a poor man was tied up somewhere by Joshua's old gang friends like they did in movies. The plan was for me to explore the venue and look for any signs of illegal activity, drugs like cocaine or Mr. Wallace’s famous weed. I would report in and with my next contacts that also functioned as small cameras. If the police had proof of that, they could get a warrant and shut down this club and his other one. And that might cause Katherine to make a few moves to get her money supply rolling again.
So after one last effort to get my wired attached across my spine and stomach. I could finally lower my tight tank top and go slip on on the gown that Trinity had gotten me. A beautiful deep purple one made of the softest silk I had ever touched in my life. It actually looked nice on my deep tanned skin, and my newly braided hair, I had switched from the small tight ones to more thick braids, ten in total that I had swung to the left side of my head. It was a bit tighter than my daddy was happy with but we didn’t have time or could risk getting a new one. The top of this dress was open slightly, and that was where my netrix gemstone hung proudly. It was not like Katherine would know it was me based on the gemstone, and if she asked. I had the spirit of the leopard and not the jaguar.
Hell she still didn’t know it was me, thankfully so it’s not like it mattered.
I stepped into the hallway looking up at my daddy. At first he really hated this dress but he seemed to have warmed up to it. “You look amazing,” he said with a smile. “I would take a picture to send to Ravana, but she would probably kill us both when we get home.”
“She is already gonna kill me, so I don’t think I have to worry about it.”
My daddy laughed at that before getting serious. “Alright, so like we talked about, you have to be careful and look around. If you are caught or if someone sees your wire, what are the two ways you can get our attention?”
“Hold up two and then three fingers to my contacts, or say excuse me I need to find my dad.”
“Atta girl, and if those don’t work find Joshua.” My daddy added before kneeling down and hugging me. “No matter what I am gonna be right outside, with Officer Cooper and her partner Officer Butler. As well as a few more friends if we need it.”
“And,” Officer Cooper spoke up. “What is the word we discuss if you want to be pulled out of the party early?”
“I’m not feeling well, I think I should go home.” The woman nodded her head, impressed that I was taking this seriously.
“Alright come on, your daddy is waiting.” Officer Cooper rolled her eyes at that, her husband detective Cooper would be acting as my dad tonight as well. To really put on the act of my cover, as well as to hopefully end some theories that Trinity might be coming up with. I gave my daddy one last squeeze before heading out of the door. The air was chilly on my bare arms as we stepped out of my hotel, to where a handsome looking Spanish man was waiting. He had short brown hair, a sharp looking chin, a strong build and was wearing a light brown suit and matching shoes. A lovely gold necklace was around his neck. He was not a jepei user but we had ways to get around that, mostly by claiming he had used it to try and heal a wound he had gotten during his work. Or he had a sickness that he was using his jepei aura to keep him strong for tonight. Or last resort was to change my story and say that his jepei skipped his generation but was from his mother’s.
“Hello, Detective Cooper.” I said politely with a small bow of my head. “Thank you for doing this, sir.”
“It is no trouble at all,” he said with a smile. “And do not worry, I have already spoken to Porsha, and her daughter this morning. Everyone is on the same page if we need it, and if Trinity Wallace asks where your mom is. She is at a local hospital helping in their time of need.”
I committed another lie to memory before climbing into the nice car he had rented for tonight. Officer Cooper and my real daddy would be in the car behind us, three other unmarked police cars would be around the block. Each with the same access to mine and Joshua’s contact cameras and our wires. This was such a big operation that I was starting to get nervous if I could do it, but detective Cooper was wonderful in keeping me calm. He had a collection of jokes that I think could give my daddy a run for his money. Eventually we reached a large bit of traffic, all of it coming from a certain sparkling building that had a large red carpet leading to the doorway. One side of the sideway had been tied off with lovely looking woman and men trying to get inside, but they would have to get through the three security guards first. It took a bit for our car to reach the street and after giving the keys to a young man who would go park our car. We stepped down the red carpet, my arm around Detective Cooper. A few cameras turned our way but once they saw we weren’t important they went back to taking other pictures of people. I think we're either celebrities or important people of New York.
We reached the front of the line and much to my surprise standing beside one of the tall looking bounces, was Trinity. “You finally made it,” she greeted happily. She was not in the gown she would be performing in, but a black one that had a few gold sparkles on it. She had on a gold tiara as well and stood a few inches taller than normal. I didn’t have heels on, my daddy would not let me wear the ones that Trinity had bought me. Just in case things went wrong. A fact Trinity seemed to notice immediately. “Where are the shoes I got you?”
“I didn’t want her to wear them, young lady.” Trinity looked up at detective cooper. “You must be Trinity, my daughter has told me a lot about you in these few days. Says you and her have become quite the friends in the short time you have known each other.”
Trinity looked at me and then back at detective cooper. “This is your dad?” She was not able to hide the shock from her voice.
“Yes.”
Trinity opened and closed her mouth a few times, probably not believing that I actually had a Spanish dad. “I-It’s nice to meet you, sir.” Trinity said with a small smile as she held her hand out. “My name is Trinity Wallace.”
“Edwardo Perez, it is a pleasure and an honor.”
“The honor is mine, please come in, all of the parents are upstairs. Aailyah’s mom too.” Trinity added watching the man to see if maybe he was lying.
However, we were prepared as Detective Cooper smiled. “I am so glad to hear my favorite sister in law has decided to come out. It is a shame, your mother couldn’t join us tonight but that woman will always go and help if she is needed. It would be fun to watch them drink together.”
“Aunty Precious is your only sister in law, daddy.” I added to help sell this statement.
“That is what makes her my favorite.”
Trinity wrapped an arm around my mine and led us into the doors of Order and Chaos. The hallways were still as long as I remembered it from Aisu’s vision. Speaking of Aisu, I saw my animal spirit out of the corner of my eyes nod before disappearing through a nearby wall. She would be coming as back up, in her small kitten form that she didn’t use that often anymore. “You didn’t tell me your dad, was hot!” Trinity said, slapping me on the arm.
My face flushed at the statement. “Trinity,” I hissed back but joined her in the soft laughter. “I’m sorry, my mom couldn’t come tonight, she has been working with the hospital staff nearby and there was an emergency.”
“It’s okay,” she said softly. I heard her mumble under her breath. “I’m surprised you actually have real parents.” I choose not to respond to that statement.
We walked through the doors leading into the club proper. The entire venue had changed, last time i was here, everything was coated in a soft golden light with sharp hints of black mixed in. Now where the black was once mixed in, there were sharp spots of dark red. The bar was spotless as before but now on either end of it, there were two lion statues at the end. One of a mighty male lion black in color with a golden mane, the other was of a small female lion underneath him. Now that I looked around these statues stood everywhere, in neat arrangements. Men and women were walking around listening to the softer music being played by what looked like a jazz band. A third of the dance floor had been rearranged to add a large stage where a band of ten instruments was being held. One of the members was Joshua, the boy was dressed in a nice looking black suit and his long dark green dreads were pulled back into a large bundle of hair. He fit right in with the band and i was sure no one was gonna notice that he was in the room. As we reached a spot where the upper balcony could look down, I saw Hezekiah Wallace standing side by side with Katherine. She was wrapped around the man like she really loved him. She was wearing a tight red dress that showed just enough of her admirable beautiful body to make others jealous. A body she honed through a lot of training, one half of her dress was open exposing her long leg. She always liked dressed that showed off her right leg, her left one was scared from a fight she was in.
Trinity lead me upstairs to a different part of this upper floor. A small private area were Aailyah and a few others that I recognized from the first time I went to club serenity were waiting for her. I saw Aailyah’s mother Ms. Porsha was sitting with a few woman, she looked lovely in her deep green dress. She gave me a friendly wave, one that I quickly returned. As we reached out seating area. I recognized Malcolm, who was in a dark suit of his own fiddling with the tie around his neck. Saya looked beautiful in her black dress and she had her hijab wrapped around her head, this one seemed to sparkle a bit. Tatiana sat off the side with an annoyed look, she was wearing a white dress. Allison was wearing a pink dress with a white sash around her waist, the two girls that kissed Trinity’s butt where hear. Both wearing matches blue and white dresses. Lastly was Aailyah who had a hand to her chest and was taking deep breath. She was wearing a bright red dress that was modest in it’s look, she had on low red heels and her necklace shinned whenever the light touched it. Even her glasses were red in color with a few white gemstones running down the handles. Her hair was tied back in a bun, she looked beautiful.
“Hey,” Tatiana said, looking at me. “Looks like you got put in the friend colors tonight, just not the close friend colors.” She rolled her eyes at. “I should have worn a red dress just to piss her off.”
I giggled a bit at the girl’s mean tone. She really seemed to just put up with Trinity sometimes. Speaking of Trinity she was looking over the balcony and onto the stage. “Come on, Aailyah, I need to get dressed.” She said, spinning on her heels and looking at us all. “Wish us luck, guys.”
I reached out and took Aailyah’s hand for a moment. “You are gonna do great,” she smiled at me before going off to follow Trinity as she went back the way we came. I sighed a bit as I sat down on the comfy couch that had been placed here for us. A woman took my drink order before scurrying off to go and make it. I made some small talk with the others for a bit before closing my eyes for a bit, and switching my vision into Aisu’s. Judging from her look, she was somewhere on the dance floor. Moving in between everyone, stopping a bit as she was nearly stepped on by accident. Now it wouldn’t hurt her since normal people could not touch spirit animals, but it would be annoying. “What do you see?” I thought to her.
“Nothing yet,” she answered before turning to look at a much smaller sized Wally, Joshua cheetah spirit. “I am also with Wally so we are gonna keep looking, we will tell you if we find anything.”
“Good girl,” I praised and right when I opened my eyes. The music that had been playing shut off and I heard Mr. Wallace’s voice rang out across the entire place. The lights all snapped off and than dimmed back on with the most powerful of them being shone on him and Katherine. There was a thunderous round of applause that echoed throughout the entire night club. People rose to their feet and cheered on this man. I joined with the others on my feet to try and keep up appearances for the most part.
Mr. Wallace took the microphone. “Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, brothers and sisters. Thank you for joining me tonight for the sevenths anniversary of Order and Chaos!” The crowd cheered once more and didn’t stop until he put his hand up to silence them. “Now, for those of you who may not know who I am. My name is Hezekiah Jamal Wallace. It hasn’t been long since I was what many of yall would consider a common criminal. Having to stand on corners in ice cold snow and rain, though burning days and lonely nights. I slept on floors, in streets, with people that only wanted to use me for my gift. It was during those times that this young man decided. I want to be different. I don’t want to be a follower, I wanna be a leader. I wanna be king, I want to rule a kingdom, make my empire. And that is what I did, after years of hard work. A little broke boy from south Harlem, rose up from the ashes, did what everyone said was impossible. I became a king, the leader of my own empire. The spirit of the lion resides in me, and I am sure everyone here has heard me roar. Louder and louder, stronger and stronger, with every win came defeat, with every defeat came strength, and with new strength I became stronger. I made mistakes, but damn it I’m still going strong, and no one is gonna slow me down. I started small with what I could afford, stores I’m still proud to own cause they remind me of where I started. I bought my first restaurant and then opened another in Brooklyn. Then I opened this club, Order and Chaos, and then I opened another venue for kids to go have fun and play at night. Play without fear of being shot, A place that would not have existed until the most important person in the world came into my life. My daughter, Trinity Wallace.”
The lights that were shining on the stage got brighter and Trinity was sitting on a stool, a mix of violinists and cello players behind her. She was wearing a beautiful golden gown with a deep red outline that was surrounding her. She was wearing a dark red and golden crown on her head, where her netrix gemstone shined brightly from the top of it. The crowd began to cheer again, a thunderous ovation for the princess of this empire. I found myself smiling as Trinity gave a wave towards the crowd.
Hezekiah began to speak once more, a softer, more loving tone. “See I made a mistake when I was young and recklace, I was fucking fool, a damn horndog, and I made mistakes of forgetting some of the woman I slept with. Including her mother, Fortune. I didn’t know that she had died, until that little girl appeared on my doorstep. Clad in rags, shaking and in the cold. It was on the fourth anniversary that Trinity came into my life. And babygirl I am sorry, I didn’t see so much of your life, and nothing I can buy you or give you will ever be stronger than my love for you.” Hezekiah got choked up for a moment. “I am blessed to have a daughter that is so beautiful, so kind and loving.” I heard Titaina hold back a snicker. “A daughter that has been the greatest part of this nearly 42 long journey of mine, the best part of my story. I would not be the man I am today without her, cause she gave me something to protect, someone to provide for besides my brothers and sisters who have helped me along the way.” Hezekiah held up a glass toward Trinity prompting more people to do the same. “Trinity, I love you, and I will do anything to protect you, and no one will ever harm you as long as I am still alive and breathing. You have my word and you are my world.” The entire place roared again for Trinity who had her head down and seemed to be shedding a few tears of her own. “And I think it is only proper that Trinity gives this first song of her night, to her mother a dedication to a woman who I truly did love.”
The lights dropped down from Hezekiah and every one of them seemed focused on Trinity. “Thank you, and I love you too, and I loved my-” Trinity took a deep breath and ran a hand across her eyes. “I loved my momma, and I dedicate this song to her.”
By the time Trinity had finished her absolutely jaw dropping performance of boys to men’s mama. I found myself with tears of my own. I found myself thinking about my step momma back home, how much she loves and cares about me. I even found myself thinking of a rare moment, a rare moment where I actually loved Katherine. My eyes wandered through the dimmed lights towards Katherine who was leaning over the balcony. Her eyes locked onto Trinity and for a moment, I swore I saw her mouth the word.
“Verona.”
“I hate you…” I mumbled to myself. “I’m right in front of you and you can’t even tell.” It shouldn’t hurt that much. I hated how much it did.
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After Trinity’s first song, I took a much needed bathroom break to wash my face of tears and to fix the little make up my daddy let me put on tonight. “I am gonna grow up one day,” I said to myself as I took one more breath before gripping the door handle. “I can’t be your little girl for-” I let out a small cry of fright as a woman was standing behind the bathroom door. One that I recognized from Trinity’s house. The younger of the two maids that lived at her Brooklyn home. “Ms. Annebell right?” I said as her last name was the only thing that I remember right now. I had only heard it in passing.
“You can just call me Anne,” she said with a smile. She was taller than me, wearing a simple white dress and her hair was filled with red and white roses. I thought they were fake at first but I could see the tiny hint of jepei that spilled off them, jepei aura was located in all living plants and animals as well.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, the rose scented woman. “That was probably a stupid question.” I added with a small laugh as I stepped aside to let her into the bathroom.
However, she stood where she was. “I was actually sent to find you.”
“Find me?” She gave a slow nod of her head. “How come? Does Trinity or my cousin want me?”
“No,” Anne confirmed. “Mistress Trinity wanted me to watch you tonight.” My heart sank a tiny bit at that.
“Why does she want that?”
Her next words confirmed my fears. “She doesn’t trust you wandering around tonight, something about letting your curiosity get the better of you.” She must have seen how much my face fell at that. “Do not take it personally, this happens more than you think. Especially when someone has lied to her.” She motioned for me to follow her. “Now come along, as long as you are in the designated area for her friends tonight. I am sure you will barely see me, but if you leave that area, do not be surprised if I help escort you back to your area.”
“Are you freaking serious,” I thought as I began to walk in front of the woman. “What do I do now?” I couldn’t risk running forward or trying to lose this woman in the crowd. I had no idea what would happen if I did that and Trinity found out. “Dang it, Katherine. This is all your fault!” If that woman hadn’t been in the limo that day then my story would still make sense, but all Katherine die was start sowing the seeds of doubt in Trinity’s mind.
And I didn’t do enough to stop those seeds from growing into strong sampling.
All I could do now was find a way to keep those sampling from getting bigger.
Because if Trinity was willing to have friends followed around to make sure she could trust them. I didn’t want to know what she would do if she found out I was really lying to her. She might just have me killed.
The band had retaken the stage after Trinity’s song, she was probably getting ready for her first of three songs with Aaliyah. Playing an upbeat jazz number, I walked closer to the stage to get a better look. The trumpet players and trombones were swaying to the music as they played, I could tell Joshua was having a good time as his hands danced across the piano. A few couples were dancing on the floor, an impressive display of skill if I was being honest. Most eyes were locked onto Malcolm and Allison, the two youngest on the dance floor seemed to be having the most fun. A mix of skill and just preteen fun.
“Seen anything?” I nearly jumped out of my skin as Joshua’s voice echoed in my mind. Before this mission, we each had taken the other’s gemstone and used a technique to link our minds together. This was easier to do this instead of risking wearing an earpiece myself, no Joshua had an earpiece to talk to the officers outside. “What is going on? I heard you silently cursing Katherine in your mind. Did you forget that we are connected right now?”
In all honesty I had forgotten that fact for a moment. I had only used this technique with my daddy, momma or Beatrice. “I have a problem,” I thought back to him as I watched the performances. “Trinity doesn’t trust me from what happened in her limo, yesterday. SO she is having me followed all night. I don’t know what to do.” I turned up to Anne to make a bit of small talk with her as I thought to Joshua. “This woman won’t stop following me tonight.”
“I see,” Joshua noted. “I have an idea, just let me finish this number, and head back to wherever you were before. I will find you. In other news, it seems Wally and Aisu have found some interesting things while walking the floor tonight. We just need to get eyes on some of Hezekiah’s workers, I think we might have a few of them selling some interesting things wrapped in red or white bags. Once I get that woman away from you, head back downstairs and follow one of them, if you see one snag it and go to the bathroom.” I turned back to Joshua, as he stood from his piano desk, really getting into this song. “Now let me do my magic.”
“You are having way too much fun with this.”
“I really am.”
The crowd erupted into cheers once more as the band took a bow. Anne had taken a seat on the upstairs bar that was just to the right of the place me and Trinity’s other “friends” were seating. We also clapped and cheered as a blushing Malcolm and Anne returned. A moment later I heard some compliments as a certain young man came walking up the steps to the upstairs part of this nightclub. Joshua shook a few hands with some people before stepping over to Anne whose face turned bright red. I think I understood his plan now, to win her over with charm. “You have 25 minutes while I keep her distracted.” He said sitting down beside her. “The DJ is gonna have a chance to perform, then it is gonna be Trinity’s second and third song with your other friend Aailyah. I’ll have to leave to go and do one more song with the band before Trinity’s last solo.”
“Okay.”
“Also server the bond on our thoughts right now.”
“How come?” I wish I didn’t ask that.
“Because you are not gonna like hearing my thoughts right now. They aren’t exactly PG.”
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