ALL THE QUEENPINS

~Chapter 1:New Day~

"On my count" the officer says as they prepare to raid. "One, two-" before the count of three the door busts open. "Philadelphia Police! Get on the ground. They yell with guns drawn pointed at the man standing in the hallway. "Please don't shoot my daughter is here" he begs as he slowly puts his hands up and gets down on his knees. The chief sends the other officer to locate the girl. Behind a door covered in stickers was a little girl. She sat frightened in the corner holding a bear. "It's ok, it's ok" the officer says as he walks closer to her. "Hi, I'm Jack. What's your name?" The girl looks at the officer but continues to be silent. "It's ok baby, tell him your name." Her father says from the hallway while the police checks his pockets. The girl looks up at the officer with her doll like eyes full of innocence and says "Fatima."

The officer grabs her hand and walks her out of the house. Jack tries his best to make sure her last image of her father is not in cuffs but she already knew what was going on. They get into the car and drive to the prescient. She's giving coloring books and a few snacks to keep her comfortable until Child Protective Services come. "The mother is at Cambridge. Doing time for a misdemeanor" one officer says. "Well we left a message for next of kin. Hopefully we'll hear back" the other officer says as he finishes the paperwork for the arrest.

They've been watching Ace for awhile now after he was snitched on by a prior arrest. He led them right to him and a few stash houses with enough drugs to put him away for at least 20 years. It's still not going to be a walk in the park. Even though he's rumored to be a savage in the streets of Philly. At home he's just a regular dad. After his last arrest missing 3 years of Fatima's life he made it a priority to be with her almost every day. And she loved her daddy. To others he was a man to be feared but to her he was a big ol teddy bear. A man who scares off monsters and makes her cocoa better than anyone. A man who makes her breakfast every morning and struggles to put her hair in a ponytail before they settle on a clip or a headband. In his defense it was hard to tame those beautiful big curls Fatima has.

She sits and draws a picture of her, daddy and bear-bear while a bunch of people she never met decided her fate. CPD finally comes and escorts her to a group home. Someplace temporary until they hear from someone in her family. Fatima was a quiet kid she didn't say much unless she had something to say. A skill set which became useful as she grew.

She walks into the cold room with chipping paint and a twin bed that has seen better days. It clicked then daddy won't be coming anytime soon. She sits on the bed facing the wall when a little girl enters. ""You new huh?" She says as she tries to look through the little belongings she had. "Hello??!! She can't talk huh?" She says to the girl standing next to her. Fatima looks at them briefly before directing her attention back to the faded crayon art on the wall. "Well I'm Dominique and this Tameka" she says pointing to herself and the other girl. Dominique was a young girl a year or 2 older than Fatima. Tameka seemed to be the same age. The girls walked into the room fully looking around and through things. "It's crazy here so it's best if you with us." She says but it falls on deaf ears. Fatima has no interest in anything at this moment. "What's this?" Tameka says as she picks up the bear. Immediately gaining Fatima attention. "Oooh that's a cute bear." Dominique says as she takes it from Tameka. "Don't touch that!" Fatima yells as she jumps up from the bed and makes her way to the girls. "Oh now you talk." She says as she begins to play keep away. "Give it back!" Fatima yells as she tries to grab it. "I'm not playing give it back!" But they continue. "I like this. I think Ima keep it." Dominique says as she begins to walk out the room. Fatima stands there, heavy breathing as she tries to calm herself down. Unfortunately the sight of the girls laughing as they walk away with bear-bear makes it difficult to do. Fatima went from being hyper fixated on the girls to seeing black.

"OMG STOP!" You hear an aid scream as the alarm goes off for security. "GET OFF ME! HELP!" The screams of a little girl fill the hallway along with the running steps of the social workers. "GIVE ME MY BEAR BACK! GIVE IT BACK!" Fatima yells while choking the little girl. A broken table lamp lays beside them with small droppings of the girls blood on it. Security finally grabs her and removes the grip she had on Dominique and drag her literally kicking and screaming to the office. Dominique lays there unconscious with blood leaking from her head. You still hear the resistance of Fatima as they try to awaken the girl.

When Fatima comes to she's sitting in a room. A similar color page and snacks sit before her. A social worker shows her the bear before locking it in a drawer. The child therapist walks in and pulls up a chair across from her. "So, let's talk about what ha-" he's interrupted by a commotion happening outside. "Ma'am you can't just walk back here." One man says following behind her. "Will you shut up and tell me where she is?" The woman says as he struts through the building. "Where the fuck is my grand baby?" She says as she gets closer to the room Fatima is in. As they look into the hall they see a woman standing tall with 6in heels on. A long fur coat drapes off her blue suit barely touching the ground. She finishes the outfit with enough gold jewelry to make a pharaoh jealous. They lock eyes and her scowl turns into a huge smile.

"There my baby goes!" She opens up her arms and Fatima smashing into her giving her a hug and huge sigh of relief. She gathers her things as they walk out of the office. "Wait ma'am the paperwork" the clerk says as she places a clipboard on the stand. The woman signs her name in a random place then proceeds to walk off. "Wait! That's not it!" The clerk yells. "Make it enough dammit." Grandma yells as they leave.

The two get into the backseat of the car along side her grandmother. "You ok?" She asks as she glances over the young girl. "Yes ma'am" she replies. She looks up and says "Are we going to see daddy?" Grandma takes a deep breath "no baby, your dad is going to be away for awhile. But you'll be fine with me and your cousin." She wraps her arms around the little girl bringing comfort during this tough time. They pull up to the airport. She couldn't believe her eyes when she saw the private plane. "Madam" the driver says as he helps them out of the car. Fatima walks up the steps looking back ever so often. Little did she know this would be the last time she saw Philadelphia.