Body Count (BWWM)

Chapter 9

Artemis

Nikolai and I thought today would be easy. Gloria and her friend go called into work and we thought they'd be safe there. What could possibly happen in a fucking hospital? The Albanians were bolder than we thought and I won't underestimate that next time. I had Katzon intercept the radio and got a location of my daughter. I sent Katzon and Krish to retrieve her from outside the building at her safety zone. Niko and I went inside to retrieve Gloria and her friend, Alicia.

"We got her boss," I hear Krish over the radio letting me know Tatiana was safe.

"Good! Work on these elevators. They've blocked the stairs with what looks like C4." I say over the ear com.

"On it! Give me 5." Krish begins working his magic while we wait in an unsettling silence.

"How many men do you think are up there?" Niko asks checking his magazine making sure his AR is fully loaded.

"To be honest, an entire city could be up there. I'm killing anything that moves that isn't 5'2 and/or Black."

Niko laughs, "copy that."

Awkward silence.

"So, you think this Alicia is like her real friend or her sister?" Niko ask.

"I don't know. According to the information Krish found, Tati recognizes her as an Aunt. So, we'll treat her as such. We're grabbing both of them." I tell him.

Awkward silence

"You ever notice Black Americans do this thing where they call close friends cousins?" Niko ask.

"I mean sometimes friends can be closer than family," I say shrugging at his observation.

Awkward silence

"According to Krish, is Alicia single too or?..."

I turn to look at Niko's dumbass, "bro, my fucking daughter's mother and aunt are upstairs probably being tortured and fighting for their life. And you're trying to get your dick wet, really?"

"Well, I'm ju-" he's interrupted by Krish coming through the ear com.

"Good to go, boss!"

I hit Niko in the chest, "get your shit together and let's go."

He presses the button signaling the elevator. We're coming up on 8th floor and we hear muffled cries and men talking in Albanian.

Niko and I look at each other as we raise our guns preparing to shoot as soon as the door opens. The elevator dings and two men immediately become our targets. They drop the girls and we start to shoot and they try to retreat while shooting at us. Niko throws one of his blades from his tactical belt and it hurls at the guy who had Alicia. He's hit in the neck and collapses to his knees. Niko shoots him in the head and his brain matter splatters on the wall.

Both of us draw on the other guy as I'm still shooting and he's hiding behind hospital equipment. Our attention is drawn to the circular object being tossed over towards our direction.

"Grenade!" I yell.

Niko picks up Alicia and I grab Gloria. We run back to the elevator and Niko shields them while I'm still shooting. The door starts to close right before the bomb goes off causing the platform to shake but it was still able to descend to the lobby.

By this time, both Gloria and Alicia are knocked out. We carry them out the hospital through the dock area and load them into our SUV. I have Gloria in my lap while Niko is applying ice to Alicia's head as she's laid out in the back.

"Bro, she hit her head pretty hard. She may need stitches." Niko said.

"We'll have the doctor look at them when we get home." I respond.

We arrive at my house in about 30 minutes and we carry them inside. I take Gloria to my room and Alicia is brought to a guest room.

I kicked the door open to my room and gently place Gloria on the bed. I know she'll have a lot of questions and I don't want her to be afraid of me so I change quickly and make my way downstairs. I needed to make sure my daughter was okay.

I met Niko at the entrance as he's on the phone speaking with security. He's making sure our perimeter is security and that the girls will have the proper detail covering them.

He hangs up. "Where is she?"

"Krish said she's in the living room watching tv."

I nod as I make my way there with Niko on my trail. "Oh, I just can't wait to be Kinggggg!" I smile watching her belt our the song from the Lion King.

We walk into her view and she screams, "fwuck!" While holding her hands up to her heart.

"Hey!" I yell, forgetting she really doesn't know who I am but I still don't appreciate my kid cursing at me.

Niko is hunched over laughing, "yeah, that's definitely my niece."

She starts to cry, "hey, we're not going to hurt you. I just wanted to see if you were okay." I get down to her level and slightly crawl in her direction.

"I want my mommy!" She cries louder.

"You're mommy and auntie are upstairs sleep. They'll be down as soon as they wake up from their naps. Just think of us as your babysitters." Niko says sitting crisscross applesauce.

She shakes her head. "Where's Prince Aladdin?"

Niko looks at me confused. "Do you want to watch Aladdin?" I ask her.

She shakes her head no, "no the Aladdin gave me animal cookies and we sang Let it go on the way over here."

I smile at how well my baby can recall events. "Oh, you're talking about Krish?" Krish is Indian.

"Krish had to go do something for da- for me," I shook my head, catching myself from saying 'daddy' in front of her. "He'll be back later and maybe have some more cookies." I smile and he eyes start to twinkle.

She walks up to me and brushes her chunky hand over my eye. "You hurt?" She says looking at my scar on my face and I felt myself getting emotional.

I take her hand and kiss it. "Not anymore baby girl. You made it all better."

She sits and rests her back against me. I hear her hum the songs as she comfortably watches Lion King, while caressing my hand every few minutes.

This is my first time meeting my daughter and I already love her more than life.

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FYI - I know Aladdin is Arab. I use to work with children and a lot of kids think he's Indian. Please don't read too much into it. It's a fictional story.