22
The girls walked into the house. “Mom. We’re home.”
“Rachel,” her mother called as she came out of the kitchen wiping her hands on a dish towel. She was heading right towards her so Rachel braced herself for the well-meaning hug that was going to cause her pain. But because she needed her mother’s arms around her, she would just take it.
“Hi Mom.” She reveled in the embrace. “I’m home. I need some hot water on my body and some good food to eat.”
“I knew you would. I put a lasagna in the oven, along with hot rolls for dinner,” her mother said as she walked her daughter arm in arm to the staircase. “For now, I’m going to send Riley up with a lunch tray with some chicken and rice soup.”
“Sounds good, Mom.” Rachel sighed with relief as she climbed the steps to her room. It felt like it had been years since she was last there, but in reality it had only been two days. Two days since she came home stomping from the injustice of office politics. The dress she had worn to work that day was still thrown across the chair where she had angrily left it. The heels that she cherished, kicked haphazardly next to it. She discarded the sneakers she was wearing next to them then walked into the Jack and Jill bathroom that she had once shared with her sister Riley . She glanced into the mirror.
“Argh. That’s not a good look, Rachel,” she said to the bruise marks on her face and neck.
Stripping out of the “Funkadelic” tee-shirt her sister had packed, she examined the black and blue marks on her right side. She could move her arm, but the discomfort caused her to proceed cautiously. Closing her eyes, Rachel said a silent prayer thanking the Lord. “It could have been much worse,” she said then dropped the shirt in the hamper under the double sink.
From a side glance, she saw the computer monitor blinking, indicating there was a message. It was in what used to be Rachel’s room, but was now her office. Curious, she walked over then took a seat in front of the monitor. She touched the screen. There was a string of messages. She scanned through to ensure she hadn’t missed anything important, only to find that she had. She had set a series of alerts for stories related to prison for pay systems. Several seemingly unconnected stories had been tagged. “Hmm, that’s a lot to go through. I’ll come back to them. She went to the next alert. It was concerning judges with questionable sentencing guidelines around the country. She was surprised to see more than a few hits.
“Whoa.” Rachel glanced through a few. There was one common thread that she detected. They were all small towns, counties, or localities. “Interesting,” she said. “Definitely have to check those out.” She marked the alerts she believed to be relevant to her story, then checked her text messages. There was one from her friend Nisey stating her cousin Chad was home and thanking her for whatever she’d done to get him released. The next message indicated her aunt decided to leave Virginia with Chad to move up North.
Rachel wished she could take the credit for his release, but it was not her doing. She did find it interesting that his release came after her speaking with Judge Reid. She wondered how many more young men of color would be released if she made another visit. She thought about that for a minute and decided after her shower, she might put that theory to the test. As for his mother wanting to get him away from the situation, Rachel completely understood. But there were a few questions she needed answered before he left town. She sent a message back asking if she could meet with Chad and his mother before they left.
She stood, stretched and remembered why she shouldn’t do that. The pain in her right side shot through her like a bolt of lightning.
“Damn,” she exclaimed while taking deep, calming breaths until the pain eased. “Hot soothing water,” she said then headed to the shower.
After her shower, Rachel walked into the bedroom to find the soup, a tall glass of her mother’s lemonade and pain pills with a note next to it. Take these then rest for a few minutes before coming downstairs. It was signed “Mom”. A note with a tray of food was a sign that Abby was in Mommy-bear mode. With that in mind, Rachel sat on the side of the bed, ate the soup, took the meds, then laid across her bed. There were so many angles coming at her for this story. A young man’s life ruined, or the pillars of our society damaged or better yet, the wheels of justice stop turning. They were all flowing through her mind. But the minute she closed her eyes, it was the face of Wade Tyson staring back at her. His voice singing to her. His arms reaching out to her. Sleep never felt so good.
Rachel wasn’t sure how long she had slept. It was still daylight. The tray of food and note were gone and a blanket had been placed over her. That meant either her mom or Riley had come into the room at some point. She reached for her phone. It wasn’t where she would normally put it while sleeping. She sat up slowly and remembered, her tablet and phone were still in Wade’s car. She needed her contacts. They were backed up to her computer for sure, but she couldn’t carry the computer around with her. She needed her phone. It was time to move.
Dressed in white jeans, a blue and white button down blouse, and three inch navy sandals, Rachel grabbed her shades off the dresser and made her way downstairs. She was not prepared for the sight that met her.
“You have got to be kidding me.”
Her sister’s looked up at the sound of her voice.
“Oh good, you’re up.” Regan, who was working on some documents, placed them in her briefcase then stood. “We are supposed to meet up with the T-Men in less than an hour.”
“Why in the hell are you two dressed like that?”
“Like what?” Riley asked as she finished a text message then joined Regan near the door.
“Mom,” Rachel called out.
Abby entered the room from the kitchen. “Yes dear?” She looked up at Rachel.
“Do you see how your daughters are dressed?”
Abby looked over at her two oldest daughters, standing near the door. “Yes, I think they are appropriately dressed for the task at hand.”
“They have on the ‘men in black’ outfits from my sweet sixteen birthday party.”
“Yes, it’s a good thing I kept them upstairs. I think they look fierce.”
“So do we,” Riley agreed.
“Let’s ride,” Regan ordered as she slipped her black shades on and opened the door.
Riley stepped out looking both ways then stuck her head back in the door. “All clear.”
Regan glared over the top of her shades at Rachel. “Let’s go.”
Rachel looked from her oldest sister to her mother.
“Don’t make me say it again, Rachel.”
She looked back at Regan, shook her head then followed Riley out the door. Regan followed, closing the door behind them. Riley took the back seat, Regan the driver’s and Rachel sat in the front passenger seat.
“The T-men are at Burnett’s office downtown,” Regan stated. “What’s their ETA?”
“Fifteen hundred hours,” Riley replied.
Regan nodded. “Is our six in place?”
“Affirmative.”
“What is with the military lingo and who in the hell are the T-men?”
“Hey, we are taking your protection seriously,” Regan stated. “I don’t want to have to answer to Clayton and Abby if anything happens to you, Rachel.”
“Ditto, here,” Riley agreed. “You might as well settle in with the program until this story is over. You have exactly one week to get the facts, Dan-o. I have a fundraiser next weekend.”
“Lord forbid anything should interfere with the campaign.” Rachel exhaled.
“Hey, I have minds to save. We can’t let our education system continue to go down the drain. The children need people on that Board who care.”
“I know,” Rachel sighed. “But all this ‘men in black’ persona isn’t needed.”
“I beg to differ,” Regan stated. “I bet you people will think twice when they see you have security walking with you.”
“T-men are in place,” Riley announced.
Rachel looked behind her to see Riley on a tablet following a beep on what looked like a GPS screen. She looked over her shades. “Who in the hell are the T-Men? We’ve moved from the Men in Black to the X-men?”
Riley looked over the rim of her black shades. “The Tyson brothers.”
“Give me a freakin break,” Rachel cried out as the car came to a halt.
“We’re here,” Regan announced.
Rachel removed her seatbelt, then reached over to open the door. It was slammed back on her hand. She looked up to see Riley standing there looking around. “What in the hell is she doing?”
Regan looked over. “Making sure the coast is clear before you get out of the car.”
“You are freakin kidding me. Don’t you think you two are taking this protection thing a little too far?”
“No.” Regan argued then stepped out of the car.