“Amen,” I said silently. I didn’t mind praying, but when an older person prayed it struck something in me and made me feel safe, like I could make anything happen.

Chapter Thirty-Two

RICK

When I was in the Witness Protection Program, I learned about the shadow government, the Dark Net and the Dark Web. The Dark Web or Dark Net is a subset of the Deep Web, where there are sites that sell drugs, hacking software, counterfeit money, knock-off prescription pills and a lot of other shit you couldn’t even imagine. The shadow government are the rulers behind the scenes; it’s not the elected officials, like we tend to think. And I now moved in the shadows with the shadow government.

I moved out of the Witness Protection Program on my own. I was not in the type of program where you take the stand for snitch-related shit. Fuck no! My program was the government’s Deep Undercover Intelligence (DUI). So, for the most part, I didn’t have to worry too much about someone coming for me. It was like I never existed. And I walked away with three new identities and all of the paperwork that went with them. However, I did need to be careful. I wasn’t stupid. I tried my damnedest to stay under the radar. I made sure I didn’t get so much as a jaywalking ticket. But this shit with Kay and Trae and a formula that seems to be more harm than good, and now Kendrick was blowing up my phone asking me about it. I was two seconds shy of blocking this nigga’s number. That’s how much he had been calling. I don’t know he got my number. The nigga aint even know me like that.

In the meantime, I was awaiting further instructions from Kay or Trae. I was in the dark as to what their next move or mine was. But one thing was for sure, if I didn’t hear from them in forty-eight hours, I would have to get in contact with the Chinese Embassy.

My phone rang. I was hoping it was them niggas calling me from China. But it was my baby instead.

“Hey, Rick, it’s me. Aisha.”

“I know your voice. How’s my big girl doing?”

“Good. My mom said I had to ask you, when I asked her if I could come out to Las Vegas. That’s where you are, right?”

She giggled.

“What, come again, road dawg.” She knew that’s what I called her every time we would go somewhere.

“I said I want our next trip to be Las Vegas.”

“I got you. But why Las Vegas?” She giggled some more. “I’ll tell you when I see you. It’s a surprise, okay?”

“What?”

“Riiiii-ck! Wait till you come back. When are you coming back?”

“In a few. Put your mother on the phone.”