The next day, Luke and Sasha were awakened by the sound of Sally’s voice and a knock on the bedroom door. After the night they’d had, Luke had Joshua bring them back to Richmond. He wanted to get Sasha as far away from the situation with Stephanie as possible. Monique sent him a message in the middle of the night indicating, Stephanie was still alive, sleeping in her own bed in Atlanta. Ty Pendleton was taking over the situation from there. Luke thanked her for the information but really did not give a damn where Stephanie ended up. The woman he cared about was lying in his arms asleep.
“Come in, Mother,” Luke said as he stood to slip on his pants. He met her in the sitting area of the room.
“Is Sasha still asleep?” Sally asked quietly.
“Yeah, she had a rough night,” Luke replied as they took a seat.
“I heard. How are you?”
“Relieved,” Luke exhaled. “I don’t ever want to deal with that lady again.”
“She will be your mother-in-law when you marry Sasha.”
Luke gave her a look. Sally laughed. “Adam is in the kitchen waiting to talk with you.”
Luke looked over his shoulder at Sasha’s sleeping form. “I think I should be here when she wakes up. Things got pretty rough at her father’s house.”
“I’ll be here. You go talk to Adam.”
Luke grabbed a shirt from the closet, glanced at Sasha once more then went downstairs.
“Good morning,” he said as he joined Adam at the island in the kitchen.
“It’s well after noon,” Adam glanced at his watch.
Luke glared at him over his shoulder. “We went to bed at six.” He grumbled. “So what’s up?”
“We had an interesting conversation with the men we took down in New York.”
Luke came to attention. “What did you find out?”
“We have a name, but it is going to cause issues for the current administration,” Adam replied.
“Issues?”
“Yes. The man they are working for is Adebayo Conteh. He is the cousin to a man named Naphtali Conteh who is dead.”
“Did Joshua kill him?” Luke asked.
“He did not,” Adam sighed. “However, one of our agents did.”
“Is this in retaliation for that assassination?”
“That is what we are going on for now. The only problem is our family had nothing to do with that. Joshua was not on that case.”
“Then why are they after us?”
“That…is the million dollar question.” Adam exhaled.
“Do we know where this Conteh lives?”
“In Nigeria.”
Luke nodded, “Then Sasha is on the right track. She uncovered something in the documents that made her concentrate on dialogue from that region. I have people ready to disburse. Do you want me to send them there?”
“Not until we know more. But there is another complication. The man mentioned Asmere. He told us there is a team working here in the United States and one working in Asmere.”
“Where’s Joshua?” Luke asked.
“On his way to Asmere as we speak.”
“Are you two talking about Joshua,” Sally asked as she walked into the kitchen.
“Yes,” Adam replied. “He had to leave the country again.”
“Did I hear you mention Asmere? Is he going to see Teddi?” She asked.
“Yes.” Was all that Adam said.
Sensing Adam was trying to change the subject, Luke spoke. “Where is Sasha?”
“I’m right here,” she walked up behind him.
He wrapped his arms around her as they kissed. “How are you this morning?”
“Free,” Sasha chuckled. “The chains have been broken.”
Luke smiled. “I was afraid you would be upset about your mother.”
“Whose name shall not be mentioned.” Sasha smiled then looked at Adam. “Now, Sally said you had some information on what’s happening with the family.”
Adam glanced at Luke.
Sally looked from Luke to Adam. “Adam, Sasha asked you a question.”
Adam cleared his throat. “Yes, we now have a name.”
“And a region,” Luke nodded. “It’s just what you thought, Nigeria.”
“Really?” Sasha replied interested. “Did anything come up with Benin?”
“Benin?” Sally asked. “A little country in Africa?”
They all glanced her way. “Yes,” Adam replied.
“I know someone who may be able to help you get information on everything happening in that country.”
“How?” Luke asked.
“Who?” Adam asked.
“My friend from New York,” Sally reached into her purse and pulled out her cellphone. She dialed a number as Luke and Adam exchanged glances. “Pearl, you put the information on our friend in New York in your phone. I need that number.”
“Mother, I can’t have the number of hookers in my phone. I transferred it to your phone under Escorts.”
“Oh, let me check there.”
“Why are you trying to call that woman?”
“I’ll tell you later.” She disconnected the call then searched through her contacts on her phone. “Here it is.” She pushed the button before Adam could stop her.
Sasha smiled up at Luke. “She’s excited to help you guys.”
“We appreciate it,” Adam nodded concerned. “We just don’t know if it will hurt or help.”
“Oh, it’s going to help,” Sally put her hand over the phone. “She is the escort to the Ambassador of Benin.”
“You realize the front of your phone is not the speaker. She can hear all that you are saying.” Adam said as Luke laughed.
“She has not answered yet, smarty pants,” Sally said then spoke into the phone. “Hi, it’s Sally from Virginia. Thank you for taking my call.”
“It is wonderful to hear from you, Sally. How are the boys?”
“They are fine. How was your holiday?”
“Wonderful,” the woman replied. “How was yours?”
“Mother,” Adam called out.
Sally waved him off. “The whole family came and we had a ball. My youngest daughter got engaged.”
Adam rolled his eyes as he threw his hands in the air.
“Congratulations, Sally. That is wonderful. That talk you shared with us is working on my end too.”
Luke and Sasha laughed.
“That’s nice to hear and thank you. Listen, I need to talk to your man. Actually my son, Adam, needs to talk to him.”
“Hold on. He’s right here. Is your son there?”
“Yes,” Sally replied as she waved to Adam to come over.
“Here you are Sally.”
Sally gave Adam the phone. “Mr. Ambassador. My name is Adam Lassiter. I work with the current administration. However, this call is of a personal nature.”
“Anything for Sally. What do you need?”
Adam walked away as he spoke with the Ambassador.
Sally stood, then walked to the refrigerator. “I brought you some leftovers from dinner. I understand you didn’t get to eat much at your father’s house.” She looked at Sasha. “I’ll fix you a plate. Have a seat at the table.”
“Is there enough for me?” Luke asked.
“All those people at the house yesterday and we still have plenty of food left over.” Sally laughed. “It’s enough to feed a family of ten.”
“Luke,” Adam walked back into the room. “We have to go to the bunker.” He kissed his mother on the cheek. “You are amazing. The Ambassador gave up some great information.”
“And you did not have to go through red tape to get it.” Sasha nodded.
“So, what did he say?” Sally asked.
Adam hesitated. “Like I’m really going to understand what it all means,” Sally gave him an incredulous look.
“You’re not fooling anybody with that look,” Sasha laughed. “You have children with IQ’s higher than my credit score.”
“What did he say?” Luke asked.
“It seems they have been watching activity between Conteh and someone named Aja Koboo.”
“Koboo?” Sasha said the name out loud thinking. “I saw that word several times in the documents. Most of them referred to final reports to Koboo.” She pulled up the copy of the documents on her phone. “Yes, it’s here several times, but I did not know it was a name.”
“The Ambassador indicated there was a family that was killed about twenty years ago. They believe she was the only survivor from that massacre that took place years ago.” Adam explained. “It seems she has a strong hold over the underground of Benin. In fact, she now has so many followers, the government of Benin is concerned about a takeover.”
“How does this person connect to our family?” Luke asked. “We certainly would not massacre an entire family for no reason.”
“I’ll reach out to Davenport to see what he can find for me,” Adam stated.
“I will use the time to map out the region and arrange for transportation” Luke added. “Sasha after you eat meet me upstairs. We will talk before I go to the bunker.”
Sally put a plate of food in front of Sasha. “Now, tell me about last night?”
“Bayo, we have a Lassiter in sight. What are your orders?”
Bayo Conteh held the phone. “Surveillance only until other pieces are in place. Have you seen any of the siblings around?”
“No, this one seems to be here alone.”
“Good. Are both teams in place?”
“Two shifts, day and night coverage.”
“Stay out of sight. Your actions there will have a direct impact on the overall mission. Once the others are in place you will receive your orders. In the meantime, stay alert. The Lassiters are not the kind of people you want to let your guard down around. Remember, they are lethal. They will kill you and ask questions later.”
“Understood.”
Bayo disconnected the call, then made another call. “We are in place in the States. How are things on your end?”
Aja smiled. “We have gained entrance onto the grounds. A few weeks to gain favor and we should be ready to strike. How is the surveillance on your end?”
“As I said, we are in place,” Bayo replied.
“I do not want this opportunity to be lost. It is imperative that the actions in the States are distracting enough to gain all of their interest. We must proceed undetected.”
“I am aware of my responsibilities. My people are clear on their orders. May I suggest you concentrate on the actions of your people? We are both aiming for the same outcome, are we not?”
“Not quite. You are looking to strike a blow against the country. I am looking to take down one man.”
“Taking down that man and his siblings will be a blow to the country. Trust me on this.”
“Trust you,” Aja laughed. “I do not have to trust you. We have an understanding. If you fail, I will simply kill you.”