LaGon’s Bar and Tavern was like any other bar and tavern out there. What made this one different was the vibe... The brown and red brick walls held the building together, but it was the wooden framing inside that give it the ‘at home’ feeling. There were four large wooden pillars that surrounded the middle seating area. Above that, was a wraparound balcony and the first-floor hotel rooms.
There were a number of different portraits that decorated the walls. Everything from small picture frames to large. Most of the portraits were surrounded by thick golden frames which complimented the red painted walls they sat on. Large light fixtures lit up each booth that sat along the brick wall. Anyone with some sense could tell the building was pretty old. There were obvious wear and tear to the floors, doors and tables. The smell didn’t help either... Alcohol and smoke stained the walls and floors that was not removable. Over the years, the smell penetrated every corner of the tavern until it became a part of its bones.
If Sakiya had to guess, the building was about sixty to seventy years old. The bones were old but were still in good condition. Sakiya was the observant one, the one who liked to piece together the puzzles of the mission. Kahree on the other hand was the complete opposite. She looked to wing her plans sometimes which often clashed with whatever Sakiya was trying to accomplish. Tonight however, the focus wasn’t on the building itself but rather who was all in it.
Trayvis Jr continued to make his speech on top of the bar counter. He held the crowd’s attention with every word as he gave the instructions to his after party. Everyone in the bar cheered and clapped as the prince told them to be in the town square at midnight. After his announcement, Trayvis Jr jumped down from the bar counter then walked over to a group of men sitting in the back. The lights were turned back on but not towards the back. The round table with the L-shaped corner booth was tucked quietly in the shadows. The light fixtures in that area seem to not work as brightly as the rest... This caught Sakiya’s attention.
Sakiya made eye contact with Kahree before venturing towards to the shadowy area of the bar. There she noticed three men sitting spread out throughout the booth. Sakiya studied how Trayvis Jr only seemed to be talking to one of the men instead of all three. There were similarities in within both of their faces... That’s Trayvis senior, Sakiya connected the dots in her mind. Trayvis senior was a large man who was dressed as much as a gangster as his son. As junior wore all black with a red cape, senior wore all red with black pimp striped shirt underneath layers of expensive red attire. Every piece of his suit matched from head to toe. Trayvis senior held up a pair of keys and handed them to his son but without grabbing him by the collar first. He was a large, heavy-set man could barely fit inside the booth but had enough leverage to pull his son to him. Whatever he was saying didn’t seem pleasant. Sakiya and Kahree slowly made their way towards the back of the tavern to get a better look. There that’s when they got a glimpse of the other two men.
One was dressed almost in all green while the other in orange mixed with yellow. Their appearance seemed overly planned like they represented something... or somewhere. The information Sakiya was gathering pleased her curiosity. These three men could be their targets... The man dressed in all green was just as large if not larger than Trayvis senior. He sat on the end because he had no other choice. For how big he was, the large man wasn’t going to get out. He had thick curly red hair that framed his chubby round face perfectly. The man had no beard but a long curly mustache that extended past his face. Another detail Sakiya noticed were the thick gold and silver rings that were almost on every finger. His hands were so large, the cup he grasped seemed like a child’s toy.
Lastly, was the man in orange and yellow. He seemed quiet and observant... This man was skinny and fit. About ten of him would fit inside of his booth mates. He wore blacked out sunglasses to prevent anyone from seeing what he was looking at. His yellow suit was sharp and crisp like it was custom made just for him. The burnt orange shirt underneath didn’t match his yellow suit as much as made a clear statement. Another important detail that stood out to Sakiya was the large number of tattoos yellow suit had. He had ink all the way to his ears and some tats on his face. These three men were definitely ‘somebody’.
The birthday boy ran to the front entrance door and held up the keys. “I’ll see you bitches at midnight! At the Town Square!” Trayvis Jr shouted before exiting the bar. Half the customers in the bar walked out with him. That’s when the girls really began to take notice of the color coordination. Half of the customers that followed Trayvis Jr wore red and black... Some members were dressed in yellow, others in green. Clearly, the colors represented whose family they belong to and there was a lot of them. No snake symbols though... These people don’t look like the gang that attacked them on Eval, Sakiya thought to herself.
By the time the girls returned to the bar counter, Phobos and Jordy were gone. The girls had no choice but to ask Miles his whereabouts. He pointed towards the double doors in the back. “His with Jordy talking to him about his shipment. Is there something I can help you with? I know Jordy was impressed with your bartending skills. I’ve never seen anyone move that fast before without spilling anything.” He flashed the girls a smile while he washed out the used glasses.
Kahree stepped in and placed both palms on the counter. “We need a room, please. I’m so desperate for a bath that I could murder someone right now.” Sakiya did not like the choice of words, but she definitely agreed with the bath thing.
“Of course!” Miles reached down underneath the counter and grabbed a pair of keys. Behind him next to the wall of alcohol bottles was a large lock box. He opened the pad lock and pulled out another pair of keys. “Here take this room... you ladies will like this one. Also, its semi split into two rooms. The only room like it in the whole hotel. We keep this room open only for our special guests.” Miles winked as he threw the keys to Kahree. He then pointed towards the wooden carpet stairs. “Take the stairs to room 201. Trust me y’all will like it.”
“Finally!” Kahree shouted clapping her hands as they walked up the red-carpet stairs. “This place isn’t too bad. I thought we were going to be walking into some shack or something.” Sakiya agreed with a nod as she followed her down the hallway. Their room was all the way on the far end. They passed at least a dozen rooms before reaching room 201. The hallway was decorated with the same decor as downstairs also with the same light fixtures. “Here we are...” Kahree turned the silver key into the keyhole then opened the door.
A gust of wind blew pass the girls as they were amazed by what they saw. Miles was right... The room was spacious with sliding doors out to a balcony. It was set up like a small studio apartment equipped with a queen size bed, a small kitchen and a living area. In the back, the room split into another section. It was similar to the first room, but it didn’t have the kitchen or the living area. Sakiya raised her eyebrow with satisfaction, “This will do...” she said as she kept looking around.
Kahree jumped on the queen size bed, calling dibs. Sakiya quickly turned around to denounce that claim since she’s the one that is now working there. “Fine.” said Kahree as she forcefully pulled her clothes out of her bag. That’s when the small silver briefcase fell to the floor. “Holy shit! I forgot all about this... the intel we were supposed to go through before all this shit happened.”
“You’re right. Let’s go through it now.” Sakiya picked up the briefcase off the floor and opened it slowly. Inside were two yellow folders, an envelope full of currency from different regions and a small telecom that hasn’t been opened yet. “There’s another message, Ree.” Sakiya picked up the blinking telecom and placed it on the bed nearby the briefcase. Before she pressed the red play button, she grabbed the yellow folders and opened them. Inside were filled with eight by ten headshot photos. The pictures looked like they were pulled from a database or something. “Look,” Sakiya pointed to the second photo then the third. “We saw them downstairs with Trayvis Jr... Green suit and yellow suit.”
Kahree stood by her side and looked through the photos as well. “There’s Trayvis senior... he looks a lot skinnier in this picture though.”
“Right... maybe the Star Counsel didn’t have up to date information. Which is why Father sent us in undercover.” Next Sakiya pointed to the set of men that weren’t dressed in colorful suits. Their t-shirts and sleeveless jeans jackets made them resemble a biker gang. The symbol KFM was tattooed on this guy’s neck. “Who is this? He looks like Jordy, a little.”
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Kahree picked up the photo and studied it closely. “You’re right, Sky. I think this might be that Ro, Miles and Phobos mentioned. I think we’ll get a much better idea of how this place gets down at that party. I’m sure it’ll be a real birthday bash...”
Sakiya quickly turned around and gave her sister a baffled look. “You still want to go to the party after all we’ve just been through? I’m tired as hell!”
“Yep.” Kahree twirled around and walked towards the bathroom. “We aren’t here for a vacation you know. I think we deserve a little par-tay. Besides, I have a feeling that if we don’t go, we’ll going to miss out on something. Trust my intuition, Sky.”
“Lord, forbid we don’t follow your intuition...” Sakiya said under her breath as she walked into the kitchen. The small wooden floor kitchen had a small two-tier refrigerator and four wooden cabinets. The stove was in the middle in between the cabinets, and the sink was on the other side. Sakiya decided to get something to eat while she waited for her turn to freshen up. To her surprise, the refrigerator was stocked with food. Fresh fruits and vegetables along with sliced meat were neatly stacked inside. It wasn’t something she was expecting but the sandwich was right on time.
While she ate her late lunch, Sakiya had the chance to check out the view from the balcony. The view was perfect... it gave her a high enough angle to see the whole city. Rows and columns of buildings that all surrounded what the locals called the town square. The place where Trayvis Jr and his ‘people’ will be. Although Sakiya didn’t want to go, she’d be a fool not to follow Kahree’s intuition. It’s saved their lives more than once...
Giving the view one more glance, that’s when Sakiya stopped in her tracks. There was a large concrete color statue at the center of Town Square. The four spotlights that surrounded the person looked familiar, but she was too far away to see the face. It was symbol on the armor that stood out to her. The same symbol that was once on the last leader of this town, Theos LaGon. Seeing that symbol brought about a series of memories from that night. Sakiya’s orders were clear, burn down the rebel city. However, what the Angels of Death weren’t expecting a weapon that would even the odds. That night, Sakiya, Kahree and Luna lost their youngest sister. The memories of that night helped to remind Sakiya why they were here. Somewhere in this town were kidnapped Star Children and an Ancient Star. Finding them is going to feel like finding a needle in a haystack.
Snapping Sakiya out of her thoughts, Kahree peeked around the corner and announced, “I’m done! Your turn.”
*
The streetlights that lit up Freeland were in ambulance. They were so bright, it blocked out the stars in the night sky. Together, the girls walked through their temporary new home towards the Town Square. Crowds of people were also heading in the same way. The town wasn’t set up like a traditional town but rather one gigantic circle. They were reminded of this from the large brick wall that surrounded the area.
“I knew it was him...” Sakiya whispered as the large memorial came more into view. “It’s the rebel scum that murder our sister that night.”
Kahree looked over her shoulder and around her surroundings before replying, “I knew that guy looked familiar. If this is the fucker, they idealize then we’re definitely in the right place. The thing is none of this looks familiar... The town, the buildings. The last time we were here everything looked like a dump. I thought you burning this shit hole down did everyone a favor. Clearly, it was.”
Sakiya laughed then asked, “So, what’s your intuition telling you?”
“I’m not sure just yet, but it isn’t good feeling. I want to go and blend in to see what exactly we’re up against.” Kahree explained.
The environment there in Freeland was ecstatic, electric and a live. This feeling helped the girls to easily blend in with the large crowd. There were people everywhere... Drinking, experimenting with drugs and each other. The girls went with the flow and followed the crowd as everyone started moving towards the Town Square.
The night was completely black. Not even the stars were out tonight as midnight approached. The girls felt like they could blend in easily as they got to know their newly learned targets. They passed by people laughing, crying and singing sometimes both. A group of guys hovered over their friend trying to shield him from the embarrassment of throwing up. There was so much to unfold with this huge party it was hard to see it all. The dancing to the loud music, the fireworks endlessly bursting in the air, along with the strong aroma of Chunga. Sakiya had to hand it to them, she could see why Phobo’s called this place ‘a party town’. They really knew how to party...
There was an unmistakable energy that kept people drawn in and the founding fathers knew that. They knew if they kept their customers entertained and happy nothing would stop them from coming all the time. As they entered in the Town Square the whole area opened up. The statue Sakiya saw from a far was much bigger now and the face was undeniable. It wasn’t just the statue that caught her attention however, Trayvis Jr and his posse were standing around the well-lit concrete statue.
“Ladies and gentlemen! Come gather around for I have something special to show you all tonight!” The prince of the night, Trayvis Jr stood on the platform where the large three-story statue stood. He had lost the cape but kept the crown... The crowd gathered closer to see what the birthday boy had in store for them. He held a black microphone in his hand, similar to the one had in the bar earlier at the tavern. The prince’s voice blared through the speakers that hung next to the street light posts. His crinkled and annoying giggly voice echoed through as the music was stopped.
“Come on! Come closer I really want you guys to see this!” Said Trayvis Jr. He held a brown glass bottle in one hand and the microphone in the other. “Bring her up here... quickly now.” Wobbling from side to side he began to laugh again, clearly super intoxicated. Moments later, Trayvis Jr’s posse brought out what looked like a middle-aged woman. She was dressed in dirty rags, and she had cuts and bruises all over her visible body. Some people in the crowd gasped when they caught a glimpse and this was just the beginning of this act. “This, ladies and gentlemen, is a Star freak!” Trayvis grabbed the woman by her arm and swing her around. He then put down the brown bottle and dug his hand into one of his pockets. Trayvis Jr pulled out an Essence Stone.
The woman squirmed trying to break free from the birthday boy’s grasp. “Stop fighting me! Boys get her for me so I can talk, please.” Trayvis let go of her hand as two men took over controlling her. “As I was saying my friends this is a Star freak! She’s one of them special ones with special abilities and we have a special way to stop them. You see this statue here behind me?” Trayvis pointed upward towards the concrete carved man posing in his armor. “None of this wouldn’t be possible if it wasn’t for his sacrifice. Without Mister Theos LaGon, we would have never discovered a way to take them down.” Trayvis held up a leather strapped necklace. At the bottom, an Essence Stone which glowed bright.
Sakiya and Kahree looked closely as one of their own publicly got tortured. There was nothing that either of them could do without blowing their cover. The woman again squirmed and tried to get away. This time she tried using her abilities and transform into a bird however, it didn’t work. The Essence Stone’s power was too much for her complete her transform, so she changed right back. That made Trayvis and everyone in the crowd laugh a loud, everyone except Sakiya and Kahree. It didn’t amuse Jordy LaGon either. He slowly brushed through the crowd with an angry look on his face then made his exit back towards his bar. Sakiya made note of that...
“You see, we aren’t ran by the Star Counsel like on other planets. We are ran by free men!” Trayvis continued his speech while thrusting his fist in the air. “The Knights of the Free Men to be exact and you all will have an opportunity to join. Let me show you the power we hold.” Trayvis turned around with his glowing necklace burning bright blue. The woman started whimpering again as he got closer and closer. She screamed out pleading for her life, but nothing stopped the prince of the night from completing his demonstration. The bright blue glow turned a deep fiery red as Trayvis placed the stone upon her chest.
The stone burned straight through her skin causing the women to immediately catch on fire. Trayvis’s men let go as her body quickly went a blaze falling to floor. She screamed in agony scratching at her chest where the stone entered her body but with no relief. Her skin and bones turned charred then blackened only with a few minutes.
Kahree turned her head disgusted with the public display of cruelty. She held her sister’s hand tight while closing her eyes even tighter. Sakiya, however, didn’t blink an eye. She stared hard into the birthday boy’s eyes as he laughed and got pleasure from killing an innocent person. Sakiya quickly scanned her crowd once more to see how others are reacting. To her surprise, only a few were looking away... It was like this is what they expected but how? Thought Sakiya. How could the Star Counsel not know about this? There were so many questions running through Sakiya’s head that she didn’t notice Trayvis began to speak again. “... The part that’s really going to blow your minds is these bad boys are made out of their very own bone. We discovered it’s the key to destroy them...” He reached down and picked up the cooled smoking stone out of the simmering ash. “The Essence Stone is the key to our freedom. The key to bringing down the fucking Star Counsel and their Angel of Death bitches! Never again will we have to fear them coming at night, to our homes and murdering our families! I asked for special permission on my birthday to demonstrate to you all what we have in store. You’re either with us or against us...” Again, to Sakiya’s surprise the crowd roar and cheered. The girls were surrounded by their enemy... “Now for those who want to be a part of the KFM come up to the statue and grab a card from one of these two men dressed in all red.”
Kahree lifted her head and asked, “Is it over?”
“It's only the beginning...” replied Sakiya.
