“The woman we rescued. She kept saying, Reggie. Call Reggie. After being transported back to the main chapter, we learned her name. Mr. Valentinetti, she is the sister of your bodyguard Angelo Demarco, Catarina. Do you have any idea as to how she would have ended up at the compound watching Matrix’s son?”
“Catarina?” I whispered, not understanding how she was even there. The last I heard, Angelo sent her back to the old country and hadn’t returned.
“WHAT. THE. ACTUAL. FUCK!” Reggie shouted, jumping to his feet. The chair he was sitting in flew back against the wall.
Okay, whatever was wrong, it just got worse.
15
Player
NO! NO! NO! I screamed in my head because if I said it out loud, I would start tearing this room apart.
“What the fuck do you mean, Sypher? Cat was at the compound? What the fuck was she doing there? How? She was safe in Chicago when I left. What the fuck is going on?”
Reaper and Gio never took their eyes off me as I started shooting off questions. When Sypher stayed silent, I shouted for the only person I knew I could trust. “Massacre!”
Seconds later, my brother Massacre and the rest of the Golden Skulls kicked in the bedroom door. With them were Antonio and Lorenzo, who looked about the room, wondering what the hell was going on.
“What? What the fuck is going on?” Massacre asked, looking about the room, his guns drawn, moving about the room ready to shoot.
“It’s Cat! She was at the compound!” I shouted, slamming my hand down on the table. “I swear to fucking God, Sypher, you fucking better start talking right now, or I will let Massacre tear your ass apart!”
“Yes, sir,” I clearly heard the kid gulp. I hated saying that shit to him, but I needed answers, and the kid was the best. “Understand, I’ve just started to gather information on her, but this is what I have so far. Four years ago, her brother Angelo Demarco sent her to Italy to finish her degree in Childhood Education. But according to all the colleges, there is no record of her ever attending any school. Well, none that I could find, and you know I can find anything. Anyway, the next time I found her trail was about a year after she left Chicago when she was seen with a man named Gary Hughes.”
“Who the fuck is that?” Massacre asked.
“Um…I’m going to need to patch in Phantom and Matrix. Is that okay, Mr. Reaper?”
“Go ahead, kid. It’s starting to look like this shit is never going to end.” Reaper sighed, retaking a seat, along with my cousin Gio who looked as concerned as I was. My brother and other cousins all moved closer to the table, so they could hear better.
“This better be good, kid. I was just about to take a shower,” I heard Phantom’s sultry voice over the line. Phantom was our sister. The first woman ever patched into the club. We all liked her, and well, she was one of us and didn’t pull her punches. We all knew never to fuck with her when she wanted a shower.
“Now is not a good time, kid. I have to get my son to bed.” We all heard Matrix's voice as a small boy laughed in the background. I was happy that Matrix got his kid back, and I couldn’t wait to meet the boy, but I now wanted less banter and more seriousness.
“Shower and bedtime later. Sypher needs help,” Reaper ordered, then added as he looked about the room, “Did any of you think to bring a laptop?”
“I have mine with me,” Antonio said, speaking up. However, when he looked at Gio, I worried that my cousin wouldn’t allow his brother to give the Skulls anything. I’d already fucked up so much, I didn’t know what would push Gio over the edge.
“Go ahead, Antonio,” Gio nodded. “This concerns us too. It’s about Catarina.”
“She’s in Italy,” Antonio said, placing his laptop on the small table.
“Apparently not,” Gio sighed.
“Okay, kid, do your thing,” Reaper said, then turned to Gio and spoke. “I swear this kid is a mastermind. You can’t find anything, call the kid. He’s a genius. The real deal.”
Seconds later, Antonio’s computer turned on, and the screen changed to show three boxes, one where I could see Sypher, Phantom, and Matrix.
“How did he?” Antonio gasped as he pointed to his computer.
“Boy has skills,” I heard Ghost say to no one in particular.
“I’m sorry sir. I will update your firewall when I’m finished,” Sypher said apologetically, then continued, “Phantom, I need your files on the original seven. I have a lead, I think. Search the name, Gary Hughes.”
The pretty woman cursed then muttered, “Don’t know why you just didn’t take them. You do it all the time. Okay, give me a second. Gary Hughes.”
“He’s the lead District Attorney in D.C. He is up for the twelve-circuit court judge position. He’s a shoo-in for the Supreme Court someday. What does he have to do with this?” Angelo asked, looking at his computer screen as Phantom began.