Too Far Gone (Urban)

39| The Plot

"Can I open my eyes now?" Pierce grumbled as he stumbled over the sidewalk due to Trinity stepping on the heel of his shoe.

     "Sorry, no," she replied, "Be patient, we're almost there."

     He was glad he chose to wear a heavy sweater today. Yesterday's downpour paired with the cool gusts of wind October brought about made it awfully nippy out. The only downside was that his sweater, unfortunately, had no hoodie, and his scarf wasn't sufficient enough to cover his ears, which were beginning to feel numb with cold. Trinity stepped on the back of his heel again, causing him to trip forward, her hands slipping off of his eyes. Trinity let out a cry, "No!"

     In front of them was the airport, which was slightly calm from life since the Ronin incident. Confused, he furrowed his brow and looked back at Trinity. "Why are we here?" He asked. Trinity hugged herself and glanced elsewhere.

     "I wanted it to be a surprise, but," She forced herself to smile, "We're moving to Virginia."

Pierce blinked. "We?"

     "Yes, 'we'. Pierce, I can't stay here with all this gang violence going on, it's not safe for the baby."

     "But where you live is perfectly fine! Trini—"

     "If I don't feel like it's safe enough, then the only other option is to move, Pierce. I want my child to have both of her parents."

     "I know but—" he paused, replaying the last part of her sentence in his head. "Wait, it's a girl...?"

     "Oh, did I give away the other surprise?" She stomped her foot, "Dammit!"

     Pierce stood there watching her mutter to herself while a thousand questions raced through his head. What was he going to tell the boss? Should he even tell? Should he just leave without saying anything? Will he live a better life in Virginia? What about Jayden? What about... What about Chenelle? His heart sunk in his chest at the thought of leaving them behind-about leaving everything behind. Starting over...

     "When do you want to leave?" Pierce sighed, running a hand over his black satin do-rag. Trinity's eyes smiled at him.

     "Tomorrow morning."

'Tomorrow?' He thought to himself, 'That barely gives me enough time to say goodbye...or is that the point?'

     "I've already packed most of my stuff and yours, but I know you probably have some important things lying around your place," Trinity stated, hugging herself. "I can't wait to leave this terrible place. You?"

Pierce's eyes fell to the floor. "I can't wait to leave either..."

❦

From: Trinity
He agreed to move. Get started with your distraction now.

Rascal looked up from his phone whilst locking the screen. There, at the top of the stairs, Chenelle and the boss shared a tight embrace. A lot of the crew stopped and stared, curious about the boss's change in demeanor. Others could care less and went back to chatting and picking out their weapons, if they haven't already. Rascal already got his: a semi-automatic assault rifle. It was a decent step up from the weapon he had purchased a while back. The boss and Chenelle had broken their embrace and the boss mouthed something to her as she rubbed her eyes, presumably crying.

     Rascal slid his phone into his pocket and headed upstairs, following where the boss, Chenelle, Gat and Shaundi had headed-back into the boss's room. He let out a deep breath, leaving his weapon leaned against the wall of the hallway before rapping his knuckles on the frame of the door.

     Four pairs of eyes gazed at him, seemingly less than inviting. Gat gave him the coldest stare whilst Shaundi gave him one more on the lines of uncertainty. He shifted his gaze to Chenelle and felt his heart skip a beat. She looked less than her usually radiant self. Her commonly perfect curls hung wearily in a disheveled bun atop her head. Her eyes were puffy and tired from the recent nights she's spent crying herself to sleep, he presumed. Her melaninated skin, which once held a bronzed and brassy glow, was mousy from both the decrease in sunshine and distress. The glint in her hazel eyes whenever she saw him was no longer there, replaced instead with a lifeless gaze. He has ruined her.

     His eyes finally met with the boss, and he opened his mouth to speak. "I think we should hit the Brotherhood while they're still fairly weak."

The boss and Johnny Gat shared a look before Gat replied, "That was our intention."

Relieved, Rascal followed up with, "How soon are we goin' in? I was thinking we should—"

     "Maria suggested I hold off until this nausea passes," the boss interrupted, eyes trained on Rascal. He felt intimidated under his and Gat's gaze. They were on to him, they had to be.

     "I was thinking we hit them as early as possible, that way they won't be fully prepared for an attack."

     The boss and Gat exchanged glances again, a silent conversation occurring between the two while the girls shifted between the duo. The boss peered at Rascal from the corner of his eye. "A'ight then, we hit them up first thing in the mornin'."

     Rascal forced a smile. "Great. I'll see you in the mornin' then." His eyes briefly glazed over Chenelle's small frame once more before he pivoted his heel and headed out the room, scooping up his weapon and heading towards the exit. He slipped his phone from out his pocket, sliding his thumb across the smooth screen. He then entered his passcode and pulled up his conversation with Trinity.

To: Trinity
It's done.

✝