With Dryce safely locked in the car, Erik sped out of the parking garage. Reaching in his pocket for his cell phone, he tossed it over to Dryce. “Call Mr. Ngo. Now.”

Trying to follow Erik’s direction while being bounced around in the passenger seat, Dryce fumbled around with the phone. “Got it. It’s ringing.” Dryce clicked the speaker phone button.

“Go for Ngo,” Austin answered.

“Austin… it’s a no go. We’ve got some shit,” Erik franticly shouted while trying to navigate through the city towards the hotel.

“Is the Prince okay?” Austin asked.

“I’m fine, I’m right here,” Dryce was quick to answer.

“What’s going on?” Austin tried to get a grasp of what was happening.

“There was a murder. Some guy got offed in the stairwell. I didn’t see what happened. I didn’t think it was a good scene for Dryce to be at once the cops and everyone showed up. So, I got him out of there as soon as I could before we got stuck in the garage,” Erik shouted into the phone. Glancing back in the rear view mirror, he noticed a set of headlights coming up on him fast. “And, I think we’ve got a tail.”

Dryce looked back too, “No no… it’s just Tom.”

Erik looked at him quickly then back at the road. “How do you know? It can’t be—we left him way behind.”

“Tank… those are the headlights of a Skyline R34. I could tell what those look like from a mile away. Plus, that car is actually way faster than this one.”

Austin shouted, his voice frenzied, “Erik, get the Prince here now!”

“We’re on the way and we’re coming in hot,” Erik barked, swerving around traffic.

“I’m on the way down to the loading docks of the hotel. I’ll meet you there.” Austin was back to his refined self as he hung up the phone, though his tone left no room for argument. Everyone knew what could be at stake.

Roughly twenty minutes later, having backtracked and made extra turns to avoid being followed, Erik power slid around the corner leading to the hotel’s loading docks. The muffler from the Supra backfired as he skidded to a halt. Dryce slowly opened the passenger door while Austin and three armed security guards from the hotel staff quickly surrounded him.

“Where’s Tompika?” Austin directed his question over the roof of the car at Erik.

Standing there with his right foot still in the car, Erik turned. “We lost him somewhere in the traffic.”

Austin nodded and directed Dryce and the guards inside as he followed behind. Erik cautiously brought up the rear.

Back in the hotel suite, Erik locked the door behind Austin and Dryce. Hotel security stayed positioned outside in the hallway, explicit instructions not to let anyone near the suite doors.

“Ok, now tell me everything that happened,” Austin said taking a breath.

Shrugging his shoulders, Dryce looked back and forth between Austin and Erik. “I don’t know; I was just following Tank’s direction.”

Taken aback, Austin cocked an eyebrow at Dryce. “You followed direction? Without a fight?”

“Yeah, look I know what you did the last time, and I know why. I also know what it did to you, and I don’t want you and Tank having to go through that again shit because of me.” Dryce slowly made his way over to the couch. “I’m not an idiot. I heard that girl yelling and I saw the look on Tom’s and Tank’s faces after they looked in the stairs. I get it now. Something was going on. You guys are putting your lives on the line for me and the least I could do was not get you guys killed. Not for me.” Dryce crouched down, sitting on the edge of the couch’s armrest, looking completely dejected.

Erik took a few steps toward him. “C’mon, don’t think of it like that. Just remember this: no one is forcing me to do this job. I’m here because I actually want to be here.” Erik sealed his statement with a nod.

Austin reached out placing his hand on Dryce’s shoulder. Looking at Erik, he said,“So, again tell me what exactly happened?”

Erik turned, his face puzzled like he was trying to figure it out himself. “Hey, what does Yally actually look like?”

Austin continued to talk over Erik. “Did you? Were you the one that killed that guy? Am I going to need to get PR involved?”

“What? No, I…” Erik started to think back. “Alright, when we were driving on one of the lower levels there was guy in a flannel that stood out to me.”

“How? Why did he stand out to you?” Austin’s tone softened.

“Well, for one, he was wearing a long sleeve flannel shirt in the desert. Then he did this double take when he noticed Dryce.” Erik’s head tilted in Dryce’s direction. “He seemed sketchy, franticly reaching for his phone and practically yelling into it when it was answered on the other end. He kept gesturing in the direction we’d gone . Whoever he was talking to, I was sure it was about the Prince.”

Austin stood there listening, nodding his head as he understood the details.

“I tried to keep a look out for him. When we got to the top of the parking lot, I… I could have sworn I saw him.” Erik blinked a couple of times. “Then, when I looked back to confirm, all I saw was a girl leaving the area where I thought I saw the flannel guy.”

“Then what?” Austin asked, wanting him to continue.

“Then… I don’t know. I watched the pigtails until they disappeared. Then a few seconds later, at most, some other chick started screaming her head off over by the door to the stairs. I went to look to see what it was all about and, there on the landing of the stairwell, was the flannel guy. Dead. Broken neck.”

Shrugging it off, Austin took over, “Oh, that could have been anything. He could have fallen on his own.”

“No, sir. No one’s head turns that far around without some assistance,” Erik said matter-of-factly. “Just from falling down… what like only five or six steps.”

“It was like that, huh?” Austin said squinting.

“His phone was missing as well.” Erik slightly shook his head. “I don’t know; it could have fallen the down the stairwell. I didn’t stop to look for it but I would venture that whoever killed him took the phone.”

A loud bang on the main suite door interrupted the conversation. The knocking continued, sounding like someone was trying to kick the door down. Without hesitation, Austin and Erik both drew their weapons as loud voices filtered through the suite doors. Erik stealthily walked towards the door on the right, holding the .45 caliber in his left hand. Austin positioned himself on the left side with his gun pointed at the middle of the door. Erik looked at the door, irritated that there wasn’t a peep hole, crossed his right hand over his body and quietly grabbed the door handle.

Austin nodded ready. Erik swiftly opened the door just enough for him to see out and, with his body standing in the way, no one was going to be able to see in.

“Tank… Sup man?” Tom stood in the hallway with an entourage of women. “You gonna let us in or what?”

Austin recognized the voice and holstered his weapon, while Erik looked back behind the door at him, shaking his head no, placing his sidearm away as well.

Dryce jumped up from the arm of the couch and made his way to the foyer. “Guys, last time I promise.”

Austin whispered and pointed at the door furiously, “Did you call him?”

“No.” Dryce shook his head and shrugged his shoulders.

Austin gave Dryce a hard and pointed look and then nodded to Erik, indicating to go ahead and let them in.

Erik opened the door and lifted his arms as he stood in the doorway letting everyone know that they were about to get frisked before entering.

“Damn bro. I tried to keep up with ya but you got some mad skills behind the wheel,” Tom said while getting patted down by Erik.

Dryce greeted Tom at the door and said over Erik’s shoulder, “Hey man. How did you know where I was?”

Tom smirked, “Really bro, c’mon… Look,” Tom turned and pointed back out in the hallway at all the girls, “I brought ya some fun.” He turned back around and walked past Erik, looking around for the bar. “Where’s the booze man?”

* * *

The party seemed to never end. Crowds of girls swarmed the entire suite. The music muffled conversations and Erik shifted around from group to group. Austin stood off to the side in a corner for the best vantage point to oversee as much as possible.

“Hey baby, you wanna come hang out with us?” a girl said walking up to Austin, blowing a kiss and squeezing her tits.

In the corner of his eye, Yally appeared. Or so he thought. When he turned to look again, she was gone. Austin turned to his side, waving his head back and forth attempting to get another peek of her.

From across the room Erik looked up. Bringing his wrist to his mouth, he called Austin over the radio whispering, “I think I recognize that girl from the parking deck. And she may have been at Prince Tompika’s party too, but I can’t say for sure on that.”

Pushing his earpiece deeper in his ear trying to help drown out the music and the rest of the noise Austin replied into his mic, “I think I just saw Yally.”

“So, that is her,” Erik said back.

“Where is she?” Austin asked, scanning the room.

“I don’t know. I lost her. I thought I saw her and when I looked back up, she was gone,” Erik was ashamed to say.

“Fuck, that girl is good,” Austin huffed.

“I’m actually beginning to believe all those wild stories about Yally are true,” Erik guffawed.