"How could she afford to pay back so much already?! We only need a few more days!" a sweet but panicked female voice screamed in exasperation.
"Not the young don's problem, bitch!" an aggressive and husky masculine voice responded. "Eight hours left. Meet me at the Soulfly Hotel with the drop."
The woman hung up the phone, tears streaming down her face. She didn't know what to do. She had never been part of anything like this before. She wiped her tears away and took a deep breath. She had to figure out how to get the money by the deadline.
She thought about her options. She could try to borrow money from her friends, but she knew they didn't have that kind of cash lying around. She could try to sell some of her belongings, but she didn't have anything valuable enough. Then she remembered something.
Her ex-boyfriend was a drug dealer. They had broken up a few weeks ago, but she still had his number. She hesitated for a moment, but then she dialed his number. He answered on the second ring.
"Hey, what's up?" he asked.
"I need your help," she said, her voice shaking. "I need to borrow some money. It's an emergency."
At the same time, the husky masculine voice was on the line with another woman. This woman clearly worked with the former, as the impatience in his voice was still palpable.
"We don't have the money, horseman! Don't be so unreasonable!" the girl's complaints could be heard through the car speakers.
The driver glanced at the rearview to assure himself that his charge in the back was still indifferently gazing out of the window. Seeing all was well, he grew more confident and spoke into the microphone on the dash.
"Then tell that little bitch to FIND the money. Hell, I don't care if the hoe prints the money herself. I want my cut by tonight! So if the young don don't get what he's owed and I get shitted because of it, somebody got to suffer!" the burly middle-aged man barked into the rooftop receiver of the brand new Mercedes Floater X2 he drove, the vehicle zooming down the expressway.
Hover cars like this one could reach a max speed of 500 mph, and the burly man's foot was only getting heavier as his voice grew angry. The woman on the other end of the line paused momentarily, trying to devise a solution that would appease the man. She knew that the young don had some powerful connections, but he was also known to be ruthless if he didn't get what he wanted. She didn't want to be the one to suffer the consequences.
"Okay, I'll see what I can do," she responded meekly, hoping that the man would accept her answer and end the call.
"Good. And tell that little bitch to hurry up," he growled. Before ending the call, he spat out, "If that bitch don't pay me tonight, then you know what the fuck is going on! I promise it won't be gentle like before."
Once the call disconnected, the woman sighed heavily, feeling the weight of the situation on her shoulders. She knew that she couldn't print money herself, but she did have a friend who might be able to help. She quickly dialed her friend's number and explained the situation.
"I don't know, girl. That sounds risky," her friend responded cautiously.
"I know, but I don't have any other options."
BUUUURMMP!
A loud car horn blared at the X2, and the burly man swerved out of the oncoming lane, narrowly avoiding an accident. The burly man glanced in his rearview mirror, horrified. Luckily, the devil hiding in the back seemed otherwise undisturbed. Thank the maker, this madman wasn't easily rattled!
"Zebra, you know this hovercraft costs an arm and a leg to acquire. So either control your temper or lose both an arm, a leg, and your job," a deep voice spoke from the back without even looking in the driver's direction.
The driver, Zebra, was instantly spooked. Although he wasn't sure how he had displeased the YD so much, he didn't doubt the young man's words in the slightest.
Zebra swallowed hard and nodded vigorously, his eyes darting nervously back and forth between the road and the rearview mirror. He didn't want to lose his job and definitely not any limbs.
Meanwhile, the young man in the back seat stared out the window, lost in thought. He knew that he had a lot of enemies, but he also knew that he had a lot of friends in high places. If he could just figure out who was behind this latest threat, he could use his connections to make them pay.
Zebra was a bald-headed man with smooth chocolate skin. His eyes looked menacing and greedy, matching his bulging muscles to create the image of a man you didn't want on your enemy list. His tattoos highlighted his religion all over his torso, but their arrangement was unique. Although they were all different, the ink was lined on him in rows resembling zebra stripes. Hence, the name Zebra.
[INCOMING CALL...] The car speakers suddenly chimed with a new video call.
A screen displayed a beautiful young lady with pearl skin and green-hazel eyes on the stylish panel next to the dashboard. She looked incredibly stressed in this moment as her eyes shifted to the man seated in the rear passenger seat.
This young man was more handsome than a devil and aloof to boot. His hazel eyes seemed to contain a small hint of gold, and the long, curly, braided dreadlocks somehow gave him a regal appeal. This was the case even before he started wearing designer suits and employing chauffeurs, and had only been enhanced since.
"Young Don, please…" the pearl-skinned girl's eyes teared up as she started to beg.
The young man glanced indifferently at the pretty girl with a pleading look in her eyes. Sighing, his deep and masculine voice filled the vehicle, "Sharon, I know Veronica is your line sister...even a best friend of sorts. You've both worked hard for us this year. I can understand Veronica's desire for more security and a better lifestyle. But she crossed me the moment she chose to obtain that at my expense. What should I, the Young Don of Blue Mercy Group, do to someone who crosses me? What's expected of me by my betters?"
Sharon's eyes widened in fear as she listened to the young Don's words. She knew the answer to his question, as did everyone who was associated with the Blue Mercy Group. Crossing the Don meant risking everything, including their own lives.
"Young Don, I know that Veronica made a mistake. But she's willing to do whatever it takes to make it right. Please, give her a chance to make this right," Sharon pleaded, the desperation in her voice palpable.
The young Don leaned back in his seat, considering Sharon's words. He knew he couldn't keep letting his subordinates get away with betraying him, but he also knew he needed to be strategic about his punishments.
"Fine," he finally said, his voice cold and calculated. "Tell Veronica that she has until tomorrow to come up with the money she owes. If she can't pay, she'll face the consequences."
Sharon's face brightened with relief at first, but when she heard the deadline was extended by less than 24 hours, she grew desperate.
Some things couldn't be avoided, no matter how much you prayed for it. She would have to use her trump card. The card that could either be her savior...or lead to her demise.
"Young Don, I know about your stint overseas!" the pearl-skinned girl, Sharon, replied desperately.
Lil Jody wasn't only an ex-soldier and one of the biggest arms dealers on this side of the planet; he was also a young don of the underground world! He had real financial power in the federation with a major backing, and even in the dark, his ties were too deep. This young man was her sister's only hope to make it out of the slums of Black Orleans to the upper echelon in Blue Orleans.
Blue Orleans is the latest emerging mega city in the World Federation!
The luxury vehicle the young don was riding in was proof enough of that. In Blue Orleans, hovercrafts were the standard mode of transportation, and gas vehicles were relics of an old era. In Black Orleans, one was lucky to have a gas car before they were banned in the state. Now, most people living in Black Orleans could only rely on public transportation. The entire Black Orleans was like a big trap with little opportunity to grow. They were like rats in a maze.
Sharon knew that the young don had a certain prostitute he was too eager to please. Seeing as that girl was currently in a bit of trouble, this seemed like a good method to bargain for her best friend.
"Trill Jody, you saved all the mutants on Cao Island. You infiltrated the Vatican and forced the pope to reveal his collusion with the old Union to attack the World Federation. You're both a national hero and warmonger who enables chaos across the globe," tears were already streaming down the young lady's face. Sharon knew the consequences of offending this young don, but she had to try and save her sister, "I don't know which one is the real you: the pimp from 17th street by the bayou, who made it out; the war hero who risked his life time and time again to protect his home; or the billionaire arms dealer who frivolously travels the world."
"Heh…" Trill Jody smirked in amusement. He entertained her train of thought, seeing as he had truly done those things and many more. "Oh really? And whom would you rather be talking to right now?"
"I want to believe in both the pimp and the hero," Sharon closed her eyes and spoke in something almost akin to a whisper. Her gaze suddenly sharpened, and Jody could feel her determination solidifying like concrete. "All the girls who worked for you praise you like a god…I thought it was just the...intimacy because I praise you for the same reason. But after being here for a year…I know I underestimated their feelings. You saved them. All of them, some more than once. For women like us, no man is willing to do so many of the things you do with a flip of your hand. I don't want any special favor. I don't deserve it. But if you give us more time, I'll do absolutely anything to make it up to you!"
"There's nothing I need from you or Veronica," Jody responded lazily. "This is a matter of principle."
Sharon looked as if she had expected such an answer. Her eyes held a tinge of desperation as she made her final gambit.
"What if I knew where Mistress Hemp was taken?" Sharon said with a deadpan face.
The temperature in the hovercraft suddenly shifted, and Zebra started to feel stuffy.