“Cream Richardson. Niggas from around the way call him Killer Cream...some corny shit about him leaving niggas circled in chalk. He’s from Merrill Hood. He was getting a little money when he was out, nothing major, but I heard he solid. He got a couple bodies on him but he ain’t go down for that. He caught a bullshit charge. He talking big, though. You know how I want to handle it. Give a nigga his wings, as soon as he gets his freedom,” Messiah whispered, in a low tone.

Ethic, immediately, thought of Alani. She had buried enough people. He didn’t want to be responsible for putting her child’s father in the ground too.

“Let the nigga breathe, for now,” Ethic stated.

Messiah nodded and backpedaled from the room. “You said it, that’s law,” Messiah replied. “Yo, is she good?” Messiah couldn’t help but ask. He had resisted the urge to text her after the debacle that had happened at the restaurant. He wanted to explain. He wanted to tell her that Nish was nobody to him, but he couldn’t, because then he would have to admit that Morgan was “somebody” to him. He wouldn’t cross that line.

Ethic looked back, peering inside the glass rectangle on the door. “She will be,” Ethic stated. “Keep your ears to the street and let me know if shit gets tense.”

Morgan’s eyes fluttered open and she tried to fight the haze the anesthesia had her captured under. Her entire body was freezing, and she shivered, as she closed her eyes once more, giving into the wonderful feeling that kept pulling her into dreamland. She opened them again, and noticed Bella first, then Eazy and Ethic. She could feel the implants beneath the skin behind her ears, and it felt odd, heavy. She wondered if they were noticeable. Morgan was floating and so out of it that she couldn’t do anything but lay her head back. She felt Ethic’s hand on hers and she gave him a small squeeze, before slipping back into a deep sleep.

Ethic turned to the door, as Dr. Hamady walked in. “She’ll be out of it for a while, but you can take her home as soon as she wakes up fully and is aware of her surroundings. She did well. The nerves responded beautifully to the implants. In a few weeks, she can come in and we’ll activate them and witness technology at work, as she hears your voices for the first time.”

Ethic shook the man’s hand and felt a weight lift from his chest, as tears clouded his eyes. There was only one person he could share this with. “Grab your jackets, guys. Let’s roll. I’m going to drop you at home with Ms. Lily.”

“But we want to stay,” Bella informed.