Christine sighed and stared out of her car. She was
desperate for information, but at the same time, there was a very positive
chance that Amanda would be at the hotel. If Amanda saw her, her entire cover
would be blown.
"Amanda would recognize me," Christine said.
"Who?"
"The white woman you saw before. She'd recognize
me," Christine said.
"How's that possible? You know the
ho?"
"She is NOT a ho. She's
someone I know, and she's someone very important to me, do you understand?
She's fucking family," Christine said with an edge to her voice.
"Oh shit, I'm sorry Mrs. B., I didn't know. But I
still can't go. Like, I can't do this Mrs. B., I really can't," Maurice
repeated.
Christine felt like throwing her phone out of the
car window but she took a deep breath and sighed. She tapped her fingers on the
steering wheel and finally came to a decision.
"Give me the details."
Maurice gave her the address to the hotel drop off
point along with Trevon's number. He explained in detail how to get to the
location. He even went so far as to let her know which roads to avoid during
high traffic times.
Christine drove off, heading straight to the
location given to her. It was rather closer than she thought it'd be. She began
thinking through the various scenarios, the different ways to approach this
task.
She had to make a stop first, at a nearby party
store. She quickly parked in a nearby strip mall and ran to the nearest store.
Christine raced through the aisles, digging through the various masks. She
finally grabbed one, a small half-mask that covered the area surrounding her
eyes.
"This should do it," she said to herself.
Christine raced through traffic, heading towards
downtown. She had to find street parking, a couple blocks away from the hotel.
There was no way she was going to get valet parking at the hotel. She'd have to
make sure there was no trail that led back to her.
She turned on the radio as she neared the hotel.
The first station she landed on was talking about the shooting.
"Authorities believe that the gang related shootout
began when two African American gang members turned a corner on Eighth and MLK
Boulevard. Five Hispanic men were seen barreling down the road, their guns
drawn an-"
Christine switched the station. The last thing she
wanted on her mind was Sally. She turned a corner and managed to squeeze her
car between two trucks. She grabbed her mask, a pair of sunglasses and a hat
from the trunk.
She put her hat and sunglasses on, squeezed her
mask into her back pocket and made her way to the hotel. Her heels clacked
against the pavement as she made her way to the hotel. She reached the entrance
to the hotel, nodded at the doorman and walked in.
She kept her head down, knowing full well that
there were cameras all around her in the hotel. Christine's heart thumped
louder than before as she stepped into the elevator. As more people piled in,
she grew concerned that people would actually hear the thumping.
The ride upward was excruciating. Her palms were
sweating when the doors opened. She headed out and made a direct bee line
towards the room. She pulled out her mask and placed it on her head. She
stopped at the door of the room, paused, and knocked.
There was no response, just silence. Christine grew
concerned, unsure of whether they were not in the room or just not answering.
She tapped her foot on the carpeted floor when she noticed shadows under the
door. There was movement in the room and finally the door opened.
"Who you?" Trevon asked as he opened the door.
"You know who I am."
"Rousseau?"
"Yes. Is Fat Joe here?" She asked.
"Whoa, what's with the mask?" Trevon asked.
"To protect my identity. Is Fat Joe here?" She
repeated.
"Maybe. What's it to you?"
Christine heard strange wet noises coming from the
room. The sounds of someone slurping on something echoed through the room. She
had a vague idea of what was going on inside.
"I need to see him," Christine said sternly.
"You're gonna have to
schedule an appointment then," Trevon said with a grin.
"No, I need to see him now."
Trevon shrugged and began to close the door.
Christine braced herself and pushed against the door, preventing it from
closing.
"I said I need to see him. Do you want Fat Joe's
one and only cook to leave?"
Trevon paused, contemplating the thought. He
finally pulled away, letting her into the room. Christine's eyes widened as she
saw Amanda on her knees...