Chapter 3: Alice in Gangland 2

I didn’t even bother knocking. I never did when I was this pissed.

I pushed the door to Kelly’s office open like she worked for me and stepped inside with a fire raging in my chest that wouldn’t let up.

She looked up from her desk, surprised but not startled. Kelly was sharp. Always was.

But even her eyes widened a little when she saw the look on my face.

“Ali… what are you doing here?” she said slowly. “Is everything alright?”

I didn’t answer that. Just shut the door behind me and locked it.

I walked with intention around her office, pulling the strings on the blinds to force them closed. Kelly’s eyes widened and her complexion paled in the way that white people’s did when they saw a Black person about to completely crash out.

I wasn’t going to take it that far, I knew how to keep things cute and professional, but I wasn’t going to shield her from my intensity just to avoid being placed in the ‘angry black woman’ category. I wasn’t just angry, I was pissed and there was no avoiding it.

“We need to talk,” I said as I took a seat in front of her desk. “Right now.”

Kelly blinked twice, and then let out a heavy exhale as if relieved that I hadn’t started throwing things.

She leaned back in her chair, hands folded. “Talk to me.”

“We need to have a conversation about Jessica Moore.”

Kelly blinked. “Excuse me?”

“Don’t play dumb, Kelly. I know you sent her into Gangland and you didn’t tell me anything about her being there even though she was fully aware of my presence there.”

Her posture shifted, just slightly. “Jessica was inserted for support. And then after Agent Blue’s death—”

“Death?” I frowned. “You mean murder. Blue was murdered once his cover was blown. And instead of covering me by letting me know all moves being made that may leave me exposed, you sent another agent out who knows my full identity and neglected to tell me a thing!”

Kelly’s mouth began to move for a while but no words came out. She was struggling for the words to say.

“Well, you know the situation escalated and—”

“Exactly.” I slapped my hand on the top of her desk so sharply, she jumped. “It escalated and you didn’t think to inform me. I was on the ground. Embedded. You assigned another operative to the same region—with knowledge of my identity—and didn’t say a word. Do you know how reckless that is?”

Kelly’s jaw clenched. “It was a safety protocol. You went radio silent for over seventy-hours after Blue’s dea—murder. We were worried your cover was blown.”

“So instead of pulling me out or communicating like professionals, y’all replaced me without telling me? Well, that doesn’t make sense because I saw Jessica over two weeks ago. She’s known I was active for a while now. Why didn’t y’all say anything once it was obvious I was okay?”

I paused for a moment and then another thought came to mind. “Because you were having her spy on me, weren’t you? You thought I’d turned.”

Kelly didn’t respond right away away. “I didn’t, but others weren’t so sure,” she said, speaking carefully.

I stepped forward. “She knew who I was. She recognized me. Which meant she had full clearance and you didn’t think I needed to be looped in.”

“You know we’re under constant review from higher up. Sometimes I have to make judgment calls.”

I folded my arms. “Well, your judgment could have gotten me killed.”

Her lips pulled tight into a thin line but she didn’t protest. She knew I was right. As she sat there listening, I continued.

“Agent Moore has been informing other agents about private matters going on with my case. I don’t have confidence in her ability to discern what may or may not put my life in danger or my mission at risk.”

Kelly frowned, appearing sincerely surprised. “She has? Who has she—”

I interrupted her before she could even ask. I didn’t want to go into it and shift the focus onto the relationship that I had with Jay. Especially since it was over for good.

“You play dangerously close to the line sometimes, Ali. You’re ambitious. We never know how far you’ll go to achieve success.”

“I’ll go as far as I have to,” I said, speaking simply. “But one thing we both know is that I’ll always get the job done. And I’ll always make it back. You know this. It would be beneficial for you to not doubt me again.”

That made her go quiet. Throughout my time there I’d had many opportunities to go to other departments, but I stayed with Kelly because I trusted her. We worked well together. She always looked out for me and, in return, she’s gotten plenty of huge raises due to my success.

“I want her pulled,” I said. “Immediately. I don’t care what she was assigned to. Her being in Gangland with access to my profile, with people who could ID me—it’s not just a breach. It’s betrayal.”

Kelly stood up now, pacing slightly. “Alright. She’s done. I’ll have her reassigned first thing in the morning.”

“Not in the morning. Now.”

She looked at me and must’ve realized I wasn’t leaving room for negotiation.

She picked up the phone and made a call. It was quick and final. Jessica’s role in Gangland was over before I even exhaled.

When Kelly hung up, I was still standing.

“I want full autonomy on this case,” I said. “That means full access, funding, and clearance. All of it. No more secrets or decisions being made without my input or knowledge. No more eyes on me that I didn’t authorize.”

“You’ve got it,” she said. “All of it.”

Just like that, Kelly gave in. She agreed without fuss or fight. Absolutely no resistance. I wasn’t at all surprised. Because the thing about being the best is they need you more than they want to admit.

“I didn’t know she and Jay were involved at first,” Kelly said carefully. “Otherwise I wouldn’t have listened when he told me that she should be the one to replace you.”

I paused. “Excuse me? He asked for her to replace me?”

“Yeah, he said that you were having a tough time with it and wouldn’t be able to pull yourself out and get the job done. Something about your history…” She frowned, trying to recall all that was said. “I didn’t ask questions. I knew you talked to him often so I thought I could trust him. He said not to tell you because he didn’t want you to think he didn’t believe in you.” She let out a big sigh. “I fucked up.”

“Yes, you did,” I said through my teeth. “Tremendously. You and I have been working together for years. You should know to always come directly to me.”

“I was going to. Especially after we pulled some surveillance and found out they were dating. It felt too much like a conflict of interest.”

Now it was my turn to be silent. Surveillance? How could he be that sloppy? They didn’t even know that I was dating Jay. And had been for years. Clearly, he wasn’t as good at his job as I thought he was.

“After Blue was killed, Jessica mentioned she'd already made a contact. Said he had field insight. I didn’t know it was... Jay. I know he mentors you sometimes. I guess she was telling him things about what you were up to. Maybe to help you.”

My mouth tightened. “No, she did it to help herself. As of this twi weeks ago, Jay and I were in a relationship.”

Kelly’s jaw dropped. It was a secret I forced Jay to keep because he was a more senior agent than me. I didn’t want anyone to think that my accomplishments had anything to do with him.

“That’s why he made up that mentoring lie. It was a cover for when people saw him with me. He never mentored me on anything.”

“I had no idea,” Kelly said, shaking her head. “So, that’s why he suggested Jessica replace you! She was telling him everything she was telling us.”

I felt sick to my stomach. Jay’s insecure, controlling ass was always trying to pull the strings.

Now it made sense why he showed up the day after I went with Mecca to Molly’s. She was running her big ass mouth.

“But that shouldn’t be a problem now that she’s off the case,” I said, waving it all off like a gnat flying by. “Let’s talk about something more important. I don’t have time to waste on the past.”

Kelly’s eyes bugged. “Damn! You’re cold-blooded.” She let out an exhale as she shook her head. “I guess that’s why they call you the best.”

“Among other things. For example, the fact that I can see the smokescreens and tell what’s really going on.”

She leaned in, eager to hear what was coming next. “Explain. What’s happening out there? Have you found Mecca?”

“I don’t think Mecca is the real problem,” I blurted out before I had the chance to change my mind.

She blinked. “That’s not what we’ve been hearing.”

“I know. But you’ve been hearing what someone wants you to hear. There’s another name you need to know: Monster.”

Kelly sat back down in her chair and frowned. “Monster? What kind of name is that?”

“A perfect description of the man.” I reached in my bag and grabbed my phone to show her a few images. “He’s loud. Messy. Loves attention. Doesn’t hide like Mecca does. The man’s a walking felony with no fear of heat. He’s got his fingers in every trap operation on the West Side, and the G Squad treats him like a necessary evil.”

“Really? Why haven’t I heard about him?”

“That’s what you should be asking yourself,” I said with a shrug. “Because if someone that public is moving weight, instigating violence, and flaunting it... and y’all don’t have a single report on him? Either your people ain’t doing their jobs, or somebody’s making sure his name stays off the radar.”

Kelly stared at me, then opened her laptop. “What do you have on him?”

I pulled out my burner and dropped a USB drive on her desk. “Start there.”

She plugged it in, scanned the files, and nodded slowly. “Okay. I’m sold. Focus on him. Dive deep. I’ll handle the higher-ups. Whatever resources need, it’s yours. Just name it: money, more social media for the shop… maybe a different place to stay and new car so whoever Moore was speaking to can’t find you.”

I thought about that for a while and then nodded my head. “Yeah, I’ll need all of that. Plus, a raise. A big one,” I added without a flinch. Reaching into my pocket, I pull d out a piece of paper where I’d written my new salary and slid it over in her direction.

Kelly tried to steady her countenance before reaching across for it. She grabbed the paper, peered at the number and then visibly flinched. I knew she wasn’t prepared for a number so large. It was much more than they paid anyone working in the building. But it made perfect sense to me because while I was risking everything in the field, they were sitting up in their comfy offices making reckless decisions like this all was a game.

Kelly swallowed hard as she processed that and then nodded her head. “I see that you’ve decided to finally get pay back for all those years you were taking all those big risks just for the love of the job without accepting bonuses or raises.”

“I think it’s about time that I’m paid my worth for the headache that comes with doing it.” I folded my arms across my chest. But then another thing occurred to me. “And speaking of bonuses, I need the first one to hit my account by the end of the week.”

She nodded. “Okay, the same amount as the installment we just sent?”

I shook my head. “No, that won’t do. Not if you want me to get dirt on someone who is possibly being actively shielded by some unknown person working from the inside. It’s a huge risk.”

Kelly couldn’t argue it so she let out a slow breath and then threw up her hands. “You’re right. Because I wouldn’t even do this job if I were you. How much you want? Double?”

I shook my head again. “Take the amount from before and add a zero.”

All the blood drained from Kelly’s face. For a second, she looked like she wanted to protest, but she let it go.

“It can be arranged.”

“Good,” I replied as I stood to my feet. “Once it hits my account, I’ll get back started in Gangland.”

Whatever you need, you have my word.” She gave me a look. “I’m not trying to lose you too.”

I turned to the door.

“You won’t,” I said. “Because from here on out, I’m calling the shots.”

Click here for Chapter Four.