Chapter Nine

Khalil and his childhood friend, Ayo were almost done breaking down the last brick of cocaine for the day when there was a knock at the door.

“Yo! Reduce the volume.”

Big Trey instructed.

Khalil immediately went to the boom box speaker, and turned the control dial in an anti-clockwise direction.

There was a knock again. Much louder this time.

“Go see who’s there.”

Big Trey said to Khalil who immediately went to the door, and peeped through the hole before he opened it and went outside,  the door behind him.

“What are you looking for?”

He asked the woman standing in front of him.

“I’m looking for Maureen. She texted me this place as her address.”

“There’s no one bearing that name here.”

“What about your neighbors?”

“The landlord evicted everyone.”

The woman looked at him suspiciously, then he added

“My mum and I will be moving anytime from now.”

“Okay. Thanks for your help.”

She said as she made for the stairs.

‘That was a close one.’

Khalil thought.

He entered the Crib and took a second to admire Big Trey’s Red Jordan sneakers, Rolex watch,  diamond studs on both ears, golden dog chain around his neck and rings with different gems on his fingers.

“Who was that?”

Big Trey asked.

“A white woman who was looking for her friend’s apartment.”

“That is bullshit! No one has lived in this building for over a year. She’s a cop who came to check this place out, or worst, a spy from the Italian mafia.”

Khalil felt stupid for assuming she was an innocent civilian.

“I’m sorry boss.”

“You both should go out there and bring her ass back.”

Big Trey said as he  brought out a pistol and handed it over to him.

      This was the second time Khalil would be holding a gun. The first was a few months ago when he was riding with his uncle to a party, and they got pulled over by the police.

His uncle had given him the weapon to hide in his clothes, which was cold and heavier than it looked.

“What are you fools waiting for? Go after her!”

Big Trey yelled at them as they ran out of the crib, down the stairs and outside the building, to see the woman closing the car door she just entered, as it sped off.

“Shit!”

Khalil cursed.

 The  opportunity to redeem himself and  impress the boss had been wasted.

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Kimberly breathed a sigh of relief in the car, as they drove out of the lower east side of the city.

The signs were there. An empty building was mostly used as a crib, as it eliminated the risks of a neighbor knowing about their business.

Also, the boys who came after her were both dressed in red which was not a coincidence.

She felt elated discovering this crib. All she had to do was to find a way to give Bryan this address, then the DEA will help Luis to eliminate his competition without knowing it.

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Kimberly entered the restaurant and made her way to table number four, which was situated  close to a window. Out of the twenty tables in the restaurant, only one was empty which had a card on it, indicating it was on reserve.

The dim lights and sweet smell of vanilla made the place to have a romantic aura.

She had barely sat down when she sighted Bryan at the glass door. She watched as he made his way through the tables of different  couples, who were dining on an array of different cuisines and speaking in hush tones to each other.

“Hey.”

Bryan said to her when he got to the table.

“Hey.”

She replied as he took his seat opposite her.

“You look more beautiful tonight.”

He complimented.

She had applied light makeup, and wore a sleeveless blue gown.

“Thank you. You look good also.”

She replied.

He was on a white designers shirt on black fitted jean trousers. His hair also looked darker and crispier. Obviously he had applied much more shampoo tonight.

“Isn’t the view magnificent?”

Bryan asked.

She looked toward the window and admired the small lake which reflected the moonlight.

“It is.”

Kimberly agreed.

A waiter walked up to them and said.

“Good evening. Welcome to Debby’s restaurant. What would you like to order?”

They both picked up the menus on their table and browsed through it.

“I’ll have a medium rare steak.”

Bryan replied.

“I’ll have the salmon. Well cooked please.”

Kimberly said

“Of course. What would you like to drink while I get your dinner?”

The waiter inquired.

Kimberly and Bryan kept quiet for a few seconds, waiting for each other to order on their behalf.

“Why don’t you surprise us?”

Kimberly finally said.

“Alright .”

The waiter said as he walked to the back door which led to the kitchen.

“This feels nice. It’s been a while I went out on a date.”

Kimberly confessed.

“You’re not serious are you?”

Bryan asked with disbelief.

“Of course I am. Why would you think otherwise?”

“A beautiful woman like you should have a lot of men asking her out.”

“Unfortunately for me, most of the men I found around myself for the past few years had only one interest, which was how to stay alive in the front line.”

“You were in the army?”

“Yeah. Until a few months ago.”

“That’s fascinating. Anyway, thank you for your service.”

He said with a salute, which made Kimberly laugh a bit.

“After leaving the army, what made you reside in Atlanta? Especially as you don’t have family here.”

Bryan inquired.

“A friend of mine hooked me up with were I work currently. His brother owns Angel’s bakery.”

‘Also because I was hired by the Italian cartel in this city to be their hit man.’

She thought to herself.

“What can you say about Atlanta since you  have been residing here?”

Bryan asked.

Before she could answer, the waiter arrived with a bottle of sparkling wine and two tumblers on a tray.

“Your meal will be ready in five minutes.”

He said as he dropped what the tray on their table and left.

Bryan opened the wine and poured the content of the bottle into the tumblers, leaving only little left in the bottle.

Kimberly took a sip and answered Bryan’s previous question.

“Atlanta is okay. It’s better than a lot of places I have been to.”

“Is comparing Atlanta to different war zones not setting the bar so low?”

Bryan asked with feigned annoyance.

“I can also say that there  is a drug problem that’s ravaging the city.”

Kimberly added.

“Tell me something I don’t know.”

Bryan said in agreement.

“There are mentions of drug overdose victims on the news everyday, coupled with the recent shootings between gangs.

         A few days ago, while discussing with a colleague of mine, she told me that the gangs used abandoned apartment buildings in the hood to carry out their drug activities.”

Kimberly said, then she  picked up her tumbler and sipped from it, while waiting for Bryan to pick up the bait she had just laid..

“Maybe I should come over and interrogate this colleague of yours.”

Bryan replied.

“I doubt if she would be responsive. As you know, most people from the hood do not like having anything to do with the police or any law enforcement agent.

Moreover, she won’t trust me anymore when she finds out that I told you what she said to me in confidence.

I’ll ask her for an address which I’ll text to you.. Since she’s comfortable with me, she’s most likely to oblige.”

“Okay. Let’s do it your way.”

The waiter arrived with their food, placed it on their table and left.

Kimberly picked up her cutleries and dug into the delicious meal with all smiles.

‘Well played girl.’

She thought to herself