Chapter Sixteen
Mayor Tyler was not happy with his daughter. Not one bit.
Mayor Tyler: Do you realize who you are? You have to be more responsible! You can't just run off at night without my permission!
Aurora: Dad, it was just pizza...
Mayor Tyler: I don't give a damn what it was! Last thing I need is some jackass stalking, kidnapping, or attacking you!
Aurora: Dad, I had bodyguards, I was fine.
Mayor Tyler: Listen, Aurora, some people in this city are some damn animals. Those few bodyguards you take with you won't be enough one day if you meet the wrong one.
Aurora: The wrong one?
Mayor Tyler: Never mind. Let's go inside before it gets too late.
Going inside, the mayor sent his daughter to her room. Annoyed but hungry and a bit curious, she ate her pizza and checked her phone for anything pertaining to the vigilante.
Aurora: (To herself) Are you really real?
Continuing to surf, she just found fictional vigilantes that dwell in NYC. There were a lot of those. If the vigilante did exist, there was little to nothing to show for it.
She gave up and decided to sleep. There was nothing else left for her to find, and plus this was her second time sneaking out in a row. The party she went to was pretty nice, but she wasn't comfortable in that house for very long.
Meanwhile at Bryant's house...
Bryant was still pretty hyped from the party that took place yesterday. Even though Diamond, her friends, and Aurora bailed early, it was still lit until Demetrius's mom came to ruin it.
Bryant: (To himself) Yeah, that lady is even more scary than her own son.
His mom didn't catch him, which was good. But the hangover was definitely something. All that partying had him sleeping all day. He did owe Demetrius for the favor, though, some way, somehow. There were posts of the party all over Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, etc. It was lit. One thing bothered Bryant though: Why would Demetrius leave in the middle of the party?
Either way, it wasn't the time. It was time to check what Diamond was up to.
Bryant: (Text) So, what you doing?
She replied pretty slowly.
Diamond: (Text) Nothing.
Bryant: (Text) Oh, word. You free tomorrow?
Diamond: (Text) Yeah.
Bryant: (Text) You wanna hang?
Took her a while again.
Diamond: (Text) Sure...
Bryant: (Text) Bet.
He laid back in his bed and watched some NFL football while also trying to figure out how he was going to sneak out of the house this time.
Diamond was busy at her friend Jayla's house. They were busy watching Fast and Furious movies in their pajamas while she was texting Bryant.
Jayla: Are you watching the movie, or you over there texting?
Diamond: I'm doing both.
Jayla: Girl, it's one or the other.
Diamond: Girl, leave me alone.
Jayla rolled her eyes. She knew Diamond could be difficult at times.
Jayla: Then who are you texting, at least?
Diamond: The school football captain. He wants to hang out tomorrow.
Jayla: Bryant?
Diamond: Mhm.
Jayla: Oh, the dude who had that big party last night. You like him or something?
Diamond: Ehh, he's cool, I guess.
Jayla: You guess?
Diamond: Ugh, please, not right now.
Jayla: Fine, whatever.
Jayla went back to watching her movie. She stretched a bit and got up. She came back with a medicine bottle.
Diamond: The hell is that?
Jayla: Medicine for my bad joints.
Diamond: Oh...
Jayla tried to open the cap, but she couldn't get it open. She went to get a knife to try and open it.
Jayla: Damn, this thing is stuck on tight!
Diamond: Can I try?
Jayla: No, I got it...
She kept trying. It didn't work.
Jayla: Fine, here.
She dropped the bottle next to Diamond. Diamond picked it up, and with a hard twist, she got the bottle open.
Diamond: Here you go.
Jayla: Uh, thanks...
She took a pill and put the bottle on her dresser. As the girls kept watching the movie, Diamond's dad texted her.
Diamond: Sorry, JJ. My dad wants me home.
Jayla: Fine, but you better come back so we can finish this movie soon.
Diamond: Hah, whatever.
She left, and Jayla just turned off the movie. She laid down in her bed, texting friends on her social media apps. A message from "K" texted her, telling her to check her closet. She did, and she saw something black in there. When she saw it, she smiled.
Meanwhile, back outside...
Cassie and her friends were sitting out on a bench. Grace was examining her phone, which was now badly cracked.
Cassie: Well, that could have gone better...
Sophia: Yea...
Grace: Are you guys KIDDING? We got a look from the daughter of the mayor! And we got a crowd for a little bit there too. But yeah, maybe some cop took us seriously and decided to investigate this vigilante! You know how much money we could make off these stories?
Sophia: The stories that don't exist.
Grace: They will because we will find him! Remember my plan? Put ourselves in danger?
Cassie: What are we supposed to do? Ask one of these guys to rob us at gunpoint? Plus...I don't want to go through that again...
Grace: It's not like a real robbery Cass. It'll be fake. Just to try and get his attention.
Sophia: What makes you think he would know? What is he? Batman?
Grace: He's got to have some way of noticing crimes, so...
Cassie: Are you sure it wasn't just because I was lucky he was in the area?
Grace: Ugh, you girls are so lame. Fine, I'll look for him by myself.
She left, a bit angry.
Cassie: I don't know; you think there really is a way we could happen to get back in contact with him? I never really did thank him for saving my life...
Sophia: Who knows...
The ladies walked off after Grace, who was busy trying to restart her livestream.
Cassie: Grace, wait up!
Grace: Have you come to see reason?
Sophia: Um...well, we came to follow you?
Grace: Look, I'm going to find that guy, one way or another. Can you guys help me? Or not?
Cassie: I mean, why don't we just ask my dad?
Sophia and Grace both felt the same about that idea.
Sophia & Grace: No!
Cassie: Why not?
Grace: Ugh, Cass.
Sophia: I'm sure him, being a cop, would want us far away from the guy. Plus, if nothing is online about the vigilante, they don't want us normal people to know anything about him.
Cassie: But why? He didn't seem so bad when he saved me...
Grace: Ehh, that's just how cops are. Someone else doing their job; they see it as an "obstruction of justice" or something. I find it cool though.
Cassie: Well, I guess we'll need a new plan then if you really want to meet this guy.
Grace: I do.
Cassie whispered something in Sophia's ear. Sophia gave a reluctant nod. Sophia then walked over to the nearest guy.
Grace: What is she doing?
Cassie: I don't know!
After saying something to the man, he grabbed her by the collar.
Guy: You're mine.
END OF CHAPTER SIXTEEN.
Chapter Seventeen
Out of the blue, the random man grabbed Sophia and pulled her close to him. Everyone in the crowd looked shocked as he dragged her into an alley.
Grace: What the hell?
Cassie: Oh no!
The man held her against a wall. Grace and Cassie attempted to pull him off of her.
Grace: Get off!
After more minutes of struggling, Sophia spoke.
Sophia: Okay, this isn't working.
The man let her go.
Guy: Oh. Well, you got my 20$?
She gave him a 20-dollar bill, and he thanked her and walked off.
Cassie: Well, it was a good try.
Sophia: Yep.
Grace: The hell?
Sophia: What? You said you wanted to bait him out, and Cassie didn't want to do it, so I volunteered.
Grace: And you didn't tell me?
Sophia: Meh, it would be funnier.
Cassie: Yep.
Grace: You knew about this?
Cassie: Well, maybe.
People around them were giving them confused stares. The girls walked off.
Cassie: Well, I guess it's time to go. We can try another method of making contact with him or something.
Her dad called her.
Cassie: Oh boy...
Meanwhile...
Ricardo was in the station calling his daughter while other cops were either in the infirmary or the morgue. She finally picked up.
Ricardo: Cassie! What the hell are you doing out this late on the streets?
Cassie: (Phone) How...did you know that?
Ricardo: Because I saw you on your friend's livestream!
Cassie: How...?
Ricardo: Don't worry about that! You get home right now!
He hung up the phone. Other officers were busy still trying to recover from the events of the previous night. 5% of the force was killed in the attack. Officer Thomas came out from his office. He looked extremely upset.
Thomas: How are you guys holding up?
Some officers looked at him.
Maria: ...Fine...it's just hard right now...
Samantha: Could be better...I can't believe this...
Alex: Well, we did take a major blow...and...we lost good men. Is there anything new on either the vigilante or the assassin?
Thomas: Nothing. Whoever they are, they're both good. We will find them, however. I got patrols watching all of Manhattan.
Alex: Good...that's...the least we can do.
Ricardo: How will we catch them? You saw them in their fight, Captain...they are dangerous...and all that happened...they'll be prepared for us.
Thomas: Any force needed. These two are both a danger to the city.
James came out of the infirmary with his arm in a sling.
James: Well, at least we know the assassin is African-American. And that she's female. That should make the hunt a little bit easier. The quicker we find her, the quicker we get justice...for them all.
Thomas: Yes, but it could be many different people...it'll be hard to pinpoint a suspect.
James: She seemed to have a slim to average body shape. That should narrow it down further.
Thomas: Right.
Olivia walked into the room.
Olivia: I can't believe you guys really saw an assassin out there.
Ricardo: Yeah, she didn't seem to like us much...
James: True, she didn't even treat us like a threat. She was more focused on the vigilante and just threw a grenade at us.
Olivia: She had a grenade?
James: Unfortunately, yes. Thankfully, we lived...even though others...they didn't...
Thomas: It's clear she was probably the one who led the attack, so if we find her, we get closer to stopping this gang in the act.
Samantha: Yeah...we need to get justice for our fellow officers if it's the last thing we do. I want to make the arrest myself.
Thomas: We will find her, don't worry.
Thomas took James aside.
Thomas: You okay?
James: Yeah, I've had worse.
Thomas: You can get some rest; we can handle the investigation.
James: I'm fine. It's a serious situation we have going on. The vigilante, the assassin, this "gang", all our guys...it's a lot.
Thomas: You sure you're up for it?
James: Yeah, this isn't a normal case, and you guys will probably need lots of help. Plus, they made it personal when they attacked us.
Thomas: Alright, if you're sure.
James: But we need more evidence; all we've been discussing is what we already know...
Thomas: I know...
James: Has the media found out?
Thomas: We've been trying to keep it under wraps, but you know, stuff gets through the cracks. They only know about a gang attack, but they don't know the full situation.
They walked back to the others, who were all in a discussion of their own, clearly shaken by the previous night's events.
Samantha: What do we do...not only vigilantes, but assassins? What, are we in some TV show?
Alex: Look, we are the peacekeepers of this city. It's up to us to stay calm and figure this out. We have to bring them in. We can't fail this time, not after what's happened.
Maria was busy looking at the memorial dedicated to the fallen officers. She was looking at Troy's specifically. Tears came to her face.
Maria: I can't believe this...why?
Olivia put an arm on her shoulder.
Olivia: Don't worry, we will avenge them. I promise.
Thomas: Stay sharp; I want everyone on full alert. I've already contacted the FBI to notify them of the situation. We're getting them all. No mistakes!
Officers: Yes, sir!
Meanwhile, on the other side of town...
Some mafia members were busy trying to move stolen goods into a warehouse. While they were doing that, their boss contacted them.
Boss: (Phone) Do you have my goods prepared?
Member: Yes, boss.
Boss: Good. Supply them to our "client."
Member: Of course, sir.
The boss hung up.
Member: You heard him. Let's get these items out and sent to our buyer. We wouldn't want to disappoint the boss now, would we?
Member #2: No, we'll get right on it.
The men started loading goods into the black vans that drove up to the warehouse. Once an adequate supply was loaded up, the vans drove off.
Member #3: It's a party happening soon; should we attend?
Member #1: It would cause suspicion. We'd have to be careful.
Member #3: Right, careful.
As they continued with their work, the first member got a call.
Member #1: What? Are you joking?
Member #2: What is it?
Other members looked over as the call seemed to get heated.
Member #1: Fine. Whatever.
He hung up the phone.
Member #1: Apparently, some guy is out there stopping criminals.
Member #4: Ha? What, like a hero?
Member #5: Heroes aren't real. Who told you that information?
Member #1: "K."
Member #5: Well, that explains a lot then. Probably just simple incompetence. Maybe cops shut them down.
Member #1: Yes. Most likely.
While they were talking, a knife came through a warehouse window and stuck right next to a member's head, barely missing him. It had a note on it:
"You'd best listen. I tell the truth. From, K"
Member #2: Wh—-
Member #3: The hell did that come from?
Member #4: The window.
Member #5: A threat?
Member #1: Or maybe, a warning?
END OF CHAPTER SEVENTEEN.
Chapter Eighteen
On Sunday morning, Bryant woke up, ready to hang out with Diamond today. The only issue was he was still grounded, and his mom had a day off today. He had to come up with a plan to get her out of the house, but he didn't know what could possibly work.
Walking into the living room, he saw her.
Amanda: Oh, hello, son.
Bryant: Hi, Ma.
She went back to her business in the living room: watching TV.
Amanda: There's food in the fridge.
Bryant: Okay.
There wasn't any getting past her today. That "tutor" trick wouldn't work twice. But maybe if Diamond could come over here...
Bryant: Can I invite someone over to help me with homework?
Amanda: Someone like who?
Bryant: A...smart young lady?
Amanda: A smart girl that hangs around you? Boy, please. Nada. Nope. Not happening.
Bryant: Ma!
Amanda: No girls in this house. Nope. Not while you're grounded.
Well damn.
Meanwhile in Diamond's house...
Diamond was just waking up in her room, in the same pajamas from last night. It was nice, but it definitely took a sum of money wherever she lived. After getting dressed for the day in a black jacket and some jeans, she went to her kitchen to eat. Her mother, Lakisha, was humming as she made breakfast: waffles, eggs, bacon, AND grits.
Lakisha: Oh hey, honey! Nice to see you finally up!
Diamond: Hey, mother. Thanks for making breakfast.
Lakisha: No problem, go and grab your plate.
And the plate was right there on the counter for her. She took it and went back to her room, but before she did, she turned around.
Diamond: Hey, mother, have you seen Dad lately?
Lakisha: No, you know he's always busy. Don't worry, he should be back home tomorrow, dear.
Diamond: Okay, thanks.
Diamond shut her door. After eating her food, she turned on some romance movies and began watching. Losing track of the hours, it was 3 p.m. by the next time she checked.
Diamond: (To herself) Oh right, I was supposed to hang out with that Bryant kid today. Eh, he's been irrelevant after the party, anyways. Plus he's grounded.
She kept watching her movies, not a care in the entire world. Her friend Jayla shot her a text.
Jayla: (Text) You free today?
Diamond: (Text) Yeah, more or less.
Jayla: (Text) Thought you had to hang out with the football captain today.
Diamond: (Text) Meh, he can wait.
Jayla: (Text) Lol, ok.
Diamond: (Text) So you wanna come over to my house today?
Jayla: (Text) Yeah, that sounds nice.
Diamond: (Text) Let's do it then.
And in about 30 minutes, Niyah, Precious, and Jayla had all arrived at Diamond's luxury house.
Diamond opened the door for them.
Diamond: Oh, you brought the whole gang!
Jayla: Yep.
Niyah: Hey, D!
Precious: Yeah, hey.
Diamond: Well, hey to y'all too. I guess y'all can just come in my room.
They followed her to her bedroom. As she closed the door, the other girls plopped on Diamond's bed.
Diamond: So, what do y'all want to do?
Jayla: We could finish that Fast and Furious movie.
Niyah: We could go shopping?
Precious: Meh, it's whatever y'all wanna do, but I could eat.
Diamond: I'm down for all of them. We got the time, so...
Precious: That is a smart idea.
Jayla: Sure, let's start with the movie first since homegirl here didn't want to finish it!
Diamond rolled her eyes.
Diamond: Mhm, whatever girl.
Niyah laughed, and Precious managed to hold hers in. Diamond turned the movie on at the part she and Jayla were at.
Precious: Damn, just gonna skip through all that?
Diamond: Oh, we already seen it.
Niyah: Well, what happened?
Diamond: A lot.
As the girls kept watching the movie, or half of it in Niyah and Precious's case, the time went from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Niyah: Do y'all want to go shopping now?
Diamond: Sure. Where do you girls wanna go?
Niyah: Let's go hit, The Shops.
Jayla: Sure, I got no problem with that.
Precious: I'm in; they got places to eat down there.
Diamond: Alright, let's go!
They left, got in Diamond's car, and drove to the plaza where The Shops were. After arriving, they parked and walked in, ready to buy up the store.
Niyah: Wow, look at all this stuff. What should I get?
Precious: This dress is nice.
Jayla: Ehh, it's solid; I like this one, though.
Jayla picked up a black dress.
Precious: Not a bad choice.
Diamond: Yeah, black really suits you.
As the girls filled their arms with expensive clothes, Diamond got a text from Bryant.
Bryant: (Text) Yo, we still down to hang today? But it would have to be at late at night because my mom is tripping.
Diamond: (Text) Oh, well, I'm busy, so...
Bryant: (Text) Oh...really...?
Diamond: (Text) Yeah.
Bryant: (Text) Well, can we hang out...tomorrow?
Diamond: (Text) I'll see...
She put her phone back in her pocket, and then she and the other girls got in line. It was no doubt in her mind that Bryant would feel some type of way about her ditching him.
Jayla: Damn, Niyah! All that stuff!
Niyah: Hey, I can pay for it so...
Jayla: But still, all that?
The girls got to the front, and each of them individually bought their items using their own cards. Once they all were done and their hands were filled with bags, they decided to get something to eat. The time was 8 p.m.
They hit the Per Se shop, eating some luxurious meals to go with their luxurious clothes.
Diamond: Wow, this...this is good!
Jayla: I know, right?
Precious: Yep, my idea was the best.
Niyah: (Mouth full) Not as good as mines!
When they were done, they got back in the car, and Diamond drove each girl home. When she got to Jayla's house, they had a chat.
Jayla: So, meet up at school in the morning?
Diamond: Yeah, definitely.
Jayla: Bet. Good night!
Diamond: Good night!
With that, she drove home. She made it back, and when she opened the door, she saw something incredible.
Diamond: Dad! You're home!
Sitting in the living room was her father, Michael.
Michael: Diamond?
He pulled his daughter into a hug.
Michael: It's so good to see you again!
Diamond: You too! It's been wild without you here!
Michael: I bet it has. Don't worry, now you can tell me all about it.
END OF CHAPTER EIGHTEEN.