The Aftermath Read online

  20

  The organizational planning session began at 9 am. This is where strategy for the week’s activity was considered, voted on, then scheduled for implementation.

  Evan Welch sat at the head of the table, his right-hand person, Krystal, to his right, Toby Morrison, the person he preferred to be his go-to, because he did not believe women should lead, sat on his left. At every session their legal advisor, Elwood Cook and financial advisor, Emily Shay attended to ensure all decisions complied with the master plan.

  “There will be a slight change in the agenda for next month’s activity,” Evan began. “Now with the Commonwealth Attorney’s Office in our control, acceleration of our assignments can proceed. Emily, are there any financial barriers that could impact escalation?”

  “That would depend on the scale of the activity, and how many and what personnel would be activated. In addition to the cost of outside resources, we budgeted for the sanctioned elimination of Police Chief Franklin Williams. Any additional cost would depend on the public profile of the target.”

  “It was suggested that we add the chairperson of the City of Richmond School board, Riley Fontaine.”

  Krystal reviewed the name in their database. “According to the database, there is a flag. That individual is considered a high profile. I suggest we take a closer look before submitting a sanction request.”

  “She is blocking critical policies we need removed to enhance our recruitment activities,” Toby chimed in. “It is merely a school board position. I would hardly consider it high profile.”

  “There is usually a reason for the flags,” Krystal declared.

  “Why go through the process of requesting a sanction?” Toby glanced at Evan. “She could easily be eliminated without much effort, or cost.”

  Krystal looked up at the man. “Sanctions must be approved before eliminations can proceed. It is one of the closely enforced rules according to the master plan.”

  “In the region I came from, the master plan is followed based on the interpretation of the leader, that would be Evan,” Toby stressed to Krystal.

  Krystal’s attention went to Evan. “The words in the master plan are precise: ‘No sanctions will be acted upon without the approval from Level Twelve.’ There is no other interpretation unless you wish to be removed from your region.”

  “We are at ground level here,” Evan stated. “We have made great strides in our region. No other region has commandeered the levels of local government as we have. You mentioned replacements for the school board are ready to be assigned. The master plan is based on a methodical landscape. I am certain it was meant to withstand adjustments as progress is made.”

  “The methodical steps are there to protect us from detection,” Krystal added. “Stepping outside the boundaries could bring unwanted attention before all the components of the organization are on solid ground.”

  “It would be wise to test the strength of the replacement at the Commonwealth Attorney’s Office before adjusting the pace of our plan.” Elwood interceded.

  “Financially, the final tally from the last high-profile elimination has not been calculated,” Emily added. “It may be prudent to wait and watch for a while.”

  “I agree on testing the CA replacement,” Krystal nodded. “Give him a task to perform. Observe how he handles himself. If he is a strong replacement, we can move forward with a request for the additional elimination.”

  “Krystal, you are still insisting on Evan asking permission to be the leader of this region,” Toby asserted. “Do you have an issue with acknowledging his authority to make decisions?”

  Krystal’s eyes bore directly into Toby when she spoke, “No one has questioned Evan’s authority. I do wonder what your purpose here is, Toby. Is it to advise or is it to kiss Evan’s ass?”

  “The language is a bit harsh,” Evan said as he sat forward. “Toby’s purpose is to advise me in opposition to the trivial. Your purpose is to advise me on the straight and narrow of the master plan. I need both if I am to move upward in the organization. There will be times when playing it by the master plan is the way to proceed. However, there may be times when a different approach will be faster.” He stood. “We are going with Krystal’s approach. Krystal, get everyone started on a plan for the elimination of Franklin Williams – include legalities and financials. Spend about 10 minutes with the outline, then come to my office. Toby, I need to see you, now.”

  “Yes, sir.” Krystal nodded.

  Evan walked out of the conference room into his office slamming the door behind him and Toby. “What in the hell were you doing in there? Krystal is not a person you want to tangle with.”

  “Krystal and her ‘always stick to the master plan’ are holding you back,” Toby countered. “Evan, put me in her position and I will get you to Level Twelve within the year.”

  Evan sat behind his desk. “There is no way Krystal can be replaced. She is too knowledgeable, too connected, and to be flat out straight, too damn good at what she does. Replacing her will never…never be sanctioned.” He exhaled then sat back. “There are things we can do to work around her, in a smart way. Antagonizing her is only going to piss her off. Believe me Toby, you do not want to piss Krystal off.”

  “You sound like you are afraid of a mere woman.”

  “Take your head out of your ass, Toby. Women are not our enemy, the Coloreds are. Use your energy to help me eliminate more of them so we can have our region on lock down before the year is out. Now, I agree, the master plan works too slowly. But there is no reason one or two people cannot be eliminated by natural occurrences.” He chuckled. “You are right about one thing. I am the one in control here. I can sanction the death of anyone at any time. We just have to be a little creative on when and how.” He checked his watch. “We have a little over five minutes before Krystal will appear.” He swirled his chair to the side, then unzipped his pants, and leaned back. “Why don’t you come over here and relieve me before she gets here.”

  Toby’s tongue ran across his bottom lip as he walked behind the desk, fell to his knees between Evan’s legs and completed the deed as requested.

  Krystal checked her watch. “Do you have all that you need to get started on a preliminary proposal?”

  “This is a good start,” Emily nodded.

  “You are going to have to settle Evan down, Krystal,” Elwood advised. “Toby is taking him into dangerous territory. I would hate to see a sanction placed on him.”

  Krystal nodded. “There are times people look at the short game for instant gratification. That’s where Evan is right now. It’s my job to remind him of the long game. Toby thinks he has the upper hand, but I know how to handle him when the time comes.”

  “He’s coming for you Krystal.”

  “Not coming,” Elwood corrected. “He is gunning for you Krystal. Do you want me to contact Level Twelve?”

  “They have a closer relationship than you think,” Emily suggested.

  “Thank you, my brother and sister of the cause. I will be fine.”

  The team walked out of the conference room. Krystal stopped at her desk to give Evan and Toby the time needed to get into position. Should she walk in and catch them in a compromising situation? No, she thought. It really wasn’t needed. If Toby became too much of a nuisance, she would simply eliminate him. She rolled her eyes to the heavens. “They are not paying me enough to deal with this bullshit.” She raised her hand, then gently knocked on the door. It took them a minute. She was about to knock again when she heard the side door to Evan’s office close. Thank God, she really did not want to see limp dicks this early in the day. She knocked again.

  “Come on in Krystal,” she heard Evan call out.

  Krystal walked into the office. “You wanted a word?”

  “Yes, do you have a test for the replacement at the CA’s office?”

  “I have an idea. Do you want to hear it, or shall I simply proceed?”

  “I’m certain whatever you come up
with will suffice.” He pointed to a chair. “Come in and have a seat. We need to discuss this rift with you and Toby.”

  “To be clear, I do not have an issue with Toby or any other member of this organization. I would have to care about them one way or another, and I simply don’t. I care about this mission because it impacts my country, one that I pledged to defend with my life. What Toby or others think of me is of no importance.”

  “It is to me. Hell, Krystal, I don’t want to be caught in the middle of mindless back and forth when I have a mission to complete. Half the shit Toby spills out there we know we cannot do. But I need to hear the possibilities. You do too.”

  “His thoughts of bypassing rules are going to cause issues if we go down the tunnel to chase the Coloreds down to hang or whip them as he has a tendency to suggest. We have a clear plan on how to bring them under control, financially, mentally and physically by creating that which will trap them for generations to come.”

  Evan inhaled. “You are passionate about this organization, its mission and purpose, and we need that. We also need those who are willing to take the untraveled road of gaining control.”

  “That road is not untraveled,” Krystal stood. “We’ve been there before. It did not turn out well for us.”

  “They did not have me leading the way.” Evan smiled.

  21

  “I have something that you need to see. How soon can you get here?”

  Nate glanced at his watch. It was now close to noon. The legal pad was five pages deep from top to bottom with questions and thoughts. The pen was on the deck. It must have dropped when he dozed off.

  “Give me thirty minutes.” he replied as he wiped his hand down his face. He disconnected the call from Tess as the song “Summer Madness,” by Kool and the Gang played in the background. Shaking the cobwebs from the short nap away, Nate stood then headed to his bedroom. Ten minutes later Nate had dressed and was walking out the door when he froze in his tracks.

  “What in the hell are you doing here?”

  Leaning against her vehicle, Skylar shrugged. “Waiting for you to exit your abode.”

  “How do you know where I live?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.

  “I have my ways,” she smirked. “Are you hiding from someone in this wilderness?”

  “Privacy, I like my privacy, which you are invading. Why?”

  “Do you know a Detective Cory Vaughan?”

  Nate sighed as he pushed the button on his fob to unlock his car, placed his coat inside then leaned against it as he closed the door. “What did he do?”

  “To my surprise he was at Alex’s office when I arrived. Did you send him there?”

  “I did not.”

  Nate watched as she glared at him as if measuring his words. A slight nod from her indicated she reached a decision.

  “I’m on my way to see Tess. Ride with me.” She turned to open her car door.

  “In that?” Nate looked past her to the 2000 gold Nissan Maxima that looked as if it had seen better days.

  She looked at her car then back at him. “What’s wrong with my car?”

  “It’s old. Can it get up to 60 miles an hour? That is required for highway driving.”

  “It does.”

  Nate cleared his throat thinking she seemed a bit insulted. “Why don’t I drive? You can park that over there, out of sight.”

  “Out of sight of who? You’re in the woods. No one can see anything back here.”

  “That is a fact; however, if family or friends drop by, I do not want them under the impression that I have lost my sense of style.”

  “Now I’m insulted.”

  “Driving something like that would insult me too,” Nate said then waited for her to move.

  “Over two hundred thousand miles and it’s still running like the first time,” she replied as she climbed into the vehicle then moved it.

  After she parked, Nate watched as she walked towards him. There was no denying Skylar Burrell was a beautiful woman. He was under the belief that women can do anything they choose in life. At the risk of sounding sexist, Nate had to wonder why she was working for the government. The woman wore no makeup, and very little lipstick, yet she was picture perfect. Not a picture to go in a frame, but one that would grace the cover of any fashion magazine.

  “You drive a BMW 4 series to work every day?” She frowned up at him. “Like showing off your family status?”

  “Comfort and reliability are important to me.” He held the door for her. “My family status doesn’t need to be highlighted. This baby was purchased with my hard- earned dollars.”

  “So, this is your baby?”

  “No, it’s one of my babies.”

  Shaking his head, it never ceased to amaze him how people perceived him. Yes, his family had money. No, he did not have to work, he chose to because he enjoyed the law, almost as much as he treasured his privacy. Skylar was not a threat, but her appearing uninvited displeased him.

  He glanced over at the sigh she made when she sat on the smooth leather seat. “Feels good, I know. You’re welcome.” He closed her door then walked to the driver’s side. The sounds of the outside world ceased when he closed the door behind him.

  She started to speak, but he stopped her, by putting a finger to his lips. He pushed a button on the console of the car, a blue light flashed. He then pushed the start button. “You can speak now.”

  “Was that a control move or something?”

  Nate raised an eyebrow. “A control move?”

  “Yes, like a man thing or something?”

  Nate smiled. “You don’t spend a lot of time around real men, do you?”

  “That depends on what you refer to as a real man.”

  Nate shook his head. “No. I was once a defense attorney. There were occasions when people would attach surveillance devices to my car. A scrambler was installed to prevent that from happening again.”

  “You have a scrambler to keep people from listening to your conversations inside your car?”

  “Here and in a number of other places.” Nate nodded.

  “You have it in your house too? I ask because it will save me time and money if I ever decide to listen in on you.”

  “What reason would you have to listen in on me?”

  “I don’t know. But, for some reason Alex did not trust members of the police department. He excluded you from the others, but hey, I have no idea what the future may bring.”

  “Alex was a member of the force. Why would he not trust them?”

  She smirked. “It doesn’t sound like you trust them much yourself.”

  “Why do you think that?”

  “You just referred to the department as ‘them,’ not as ‘us.’ It seems you may have a few trust issues yourself.” She turned to the front. “We’ll chat on the way to see Tess. So, tell me, who in your department would you trust with your mother’s life?”

  Nate thought about her question as he pulled off. “Chief Williams.”

  She nodded. “I like him. Had a few conversations with him when he visited Alex.”

  “Chief Williams came to see Alex?”

  “A few times over the last week. It seemed they did not feel comfortable talking in the Chief’s office, so he came to Alex. What do you think of Cory Vaughan?”

  Nate scoffed as he pulled out of his driveway. “You have an interesting way of conversing. It appears to be random, but you are asking questions in a way that you think is innocuous.” He glanced at her. “It is a tactic I used regularly when I was an attorney. Let’s cut to the chase. There are a few people in the department I trust with my life, Chief Williams and his sons, Jarrett, Scott, and Devin, Tony and Tess.”

  She nodded. “What about his son, Donnell Williams? Do you trust him?”

  “I don’t really know him. He left the department before I joined. Why are you asking?”

  “Since Alex is gone, they are going to name someone to replace him, but I have no idea who that may be.
I need to trust someone to continue the DeFazio case. Alex trusted you, which means I have to trust you too.”

  “Thank you. I think?” Nate raised a brow.

  “Look, we know for a fact there are dirty cops in RPD.”

  “Now how can you say such a thing?”

  “You’re being sarcastic. That’s cute.” Skylar smiled, then became serious. “What we, meaning, you and I, need to determine is in which category each member of the department falls into. One, those who are trustworthy, because we are going to need them on our side. Two, those merely skimming on the side to keep food on the table. Then the third and most dangerous, those who are intentionally using the power of their position for profit or other things.”

  “Is there a difference? A dirty cop is a dirty cop.”

  “There is a difference.” Skylar replied. “Police officers are not compensated as they should be. Some are under appreciated and constantly berated by those above them, not to mention the treatment from the very people they put their lives on the line for every day.”

  “It is good to see you understand and can appreciate their plight.”

  “You did it again, you separated yourself from the department with your words. Why is that?”

  “You are reading too much into it,” Nate replied, even though he knew she was not.

  “Am I? Do you know what I find interesting?” She turned in her seat to face him. “I just told you that the Federal Justice Department is aware of dirty cops in RPD and you did not flinch or skip a beat. It is as if you are aware of that fact.”

  “I am,” Nate replied as he stopped at a red light. “Do you believe there is a connection to those cops and Alex’s death?”

  She stared at him. “I have no proof that there is not. Until I do, I am proceeding with the assumption that everyone is dirty until proven otherwise. Are you good with that, Detective Reigns?”

  Nate was a good reader of people. Skylar may appear to be out of place in the position she held, but that assumption was completely misplaced. Anyone who underestimated her because of her looks and prissy ways would be a fool. Nate was not a fool.