Letter 17 - Michelle Adams

This is the seventeenth story of the book.

Inspired by the 2012 film The Raid Redemption, the 2014 film The Raid 2 and the SEGA video game franchise Yakuza

           My name is Michelle Adams. I am a thirty-six-year-old African American woman from Chicago, Illinois. I lived there in a red two-story house with my thirteen-year-old nephew Darnell Adams on Garfield Ridge. Every day I patrolled the streets of the city through my job as a police officer. With every successful arrest I made, I believed that I was doing it for the greater good of Darnell’s well-being.   
           Even with making a pillar of successful arrests, there's an evil that creeps up on me to hinder my life. One Summer Day while doing a normal patrol of the South Side area, I noticed a couple of African teenagers both dressed in light t-shirts and shorts were attacking a lone Caucasian boy. I saw them punching, kicking, and spitting on the boy without a care in the world. At that very moment of seeing the kid in peril, I thought about Darnell being in that situation. I stopped my car, jumped out of the driver's seat, and raced to the scene. I immediately pulled out my gun with the motivation of arresting them. "Get on your knees right now and put your hands on your heads." I spoke. Fearing the pain of being shot, the teens complied with the command. My partner, Caucasian friend Amy Platt, who was in the passenger seat of the patrol car, headed over and cuffed the teens. "Okay they're in custody." Amy said. "Thank you, Amy. Now what is this all about? Why were you beating this poor child?" Michelle said. "Because he said no to drugs." one of the teens said. "What?!!! You hit this child because of that? I don't understand why people want to beat somebody up for that. Your mothers should have raised you all better than that. Keep your hands to yourself. Learn that in the jail cell." Michelle said. "Okay now let's go all of you." Amy said as she had placed all the teens into a police van like fully grown inmates in a prison. I sighed knowing that the teens made a foolish decision and hoped that they’d learn a valuable lesson. I walked over to the injured boy to nurse him. "Hey little one." I said, turning my disappointed glare into a smile. The boy looked up at me and said, "Hi..." "Are you okay?" I spoke. "Yeah." The boy said. "Great. What's your name little one?" I spoke. “Bryan Mist." Bryan said. "Nice to meet you, Bryan. I'm Michelle. I'm going to take you back home now do you know where your house is?" I spoke. "Yes." Bryan said. I then walked Bryan over to his family house. The smile I had on my face remained there as I saw his mother tightly embracing him. I felt very proud of myself that I protected another innocent child from an awful fate.
          One month has passed ever since I fought to protect Bryan from those teenagers. Ever since then I thought about what I could do to protect even more children from toil and strife. On the day when I arrested those teens, I knew they were from a gang. Day in and day out, I constantly arrested even more youth who were caught in the act of committing a crime of selling or possessing drugs. I deeply thought that Chicago would be a better place if there were no gangs. I knew that the police were ignoring what they were doing to the communities. The gangs have beaten children senselessly to make them join in, influenced them to become drug addicts or drug users and even murdered their own family members. I believed that they must be stopped, or the entire city will be overtaken by crime.
           Through my desperation to save the city, I went over to Commissioner William Bane's office at the police station on West One Hundred and Thirty-Eight Street. "Commissioner Bane." I said as I knocked on the door. "Come on in.,” Bane said. I cleared my throat and let my mind control the words that were about to come out of her mouth as I stepped into Bane's office. "Commissioner Bane, do you have minute to talk?" I spoke. "Sure thing. Now what can I do for you?" Bane said. "Well sir. There is something that has been running through my mind this past month and I can't seem to forget about it." I spoke. "And what is that I may ask?" Bane said. "The streets." I spoke. "Yes, and what about the streets." Bane said. "It's the gangs and what they're doing out there on the streets." I spoke. "What are you talking about? We arrest gang members all the time. That's more than enough to stop what they're doing." Bane said. "But I don't think that's enough. We arrest them all the time but their activities out on the streets of our city are still going on. They must be stopped." I spoke. "Okay then Officer Adams. What do you suppose we do about this?" Bane said. "Bust into their territories, arrest them all and help them see the error of their ways. Stop them from leading the lives of young children into this unrest. It ends with them." I spoke. "All right Officer Adams. Tell me what your reason is for wanting to do this." Bane said. "Because a month ago I saved a poor little boy from being attacked by gang members who were nothing but teenage boys. No child needs to experience that kind of pain. This needs to be done so no other little boy or girl gets hurt like that again." Bane said. "I commend your passion but remember not every person will support you. How many officers do you think will aid you in this cause?" Bane said. "I believe many of them will if they want the children in their neighborhoods safe too." I spoke. "Okay I'll see what I can do. I will spread word about your suggestion to the other officers as well as the other precincts." Bane said. "Great. Thank you, sir." I said as I left Bane's office with a smile on my face. I felt completely amazed with myself knowing that I got a chance to make something right for the city of Chicago.
              A week later, while every officer at the precinct focused on their duties, Bane called everyone into the conference room for a meeting. I desperately hoped that I would be able to turn the tide. "Okay I called you all here because Officer Adams has wanted to tell you something." Bane said. I smiled as I walked over to the commissioner. "Now everyone there's something I like to say." I spoke. "What is it?" Amy said. "I believe there is something that we as police officers must do." I spoke. "Go on. Tell it." Amy said. "We must bust into the gang territories and permanently disrupt their operations." I spoke. The moment I uttered my words, the other officers laughed historically. Bane, Amy and I remained silent and felt odd that the conference room was filled with laughter. Feeling annoyed, Amy grabbed a megaphone, walked over to Bane and I and said, "Okay that's enough! Be quiet!!" With that everyone remained silent. "I know what I said is crazy because it is. I am saying this because the gangs have caused trauma to our city long enough. They have led too many children to a life of crime, drugs and to death. It's up to us as cops to stop this. Now it's your decision whether to want to do this or not. I just ask that you all think of your families and what these gangs could do if they ever take the chance to. Now who's with me?" I spoke. "I am in." Amy said as she raised her hand. Like a chain reaction, every other officer in the room raised their hands up in agreement. I couldn't help but smile brightly knowing that I not alone in the war on crime.
            Two days later, Bane approached me after I returned to the precinct successfully arresting a man. "Hey Adams!" Bane said. I turned around and said, "Yes sir." "I just got word from the other precincts." Bane said. "What did they say?" I spoke. "They all want to team up with us." Bane said. "That's great. When do we begin?" I spoke. "In a week. Take as much time to be with your nephew in that frame." Bane said. "Awesome. Thank you, sir." I said as I walked away taking the man to Amy to transport him to be booked.
            For the next week, I spent as much time as I could at home with Darnell. Each day I spent with Darnell; I cherished it to the very depths of my heart. When the week reached its end, I deeply hoped that I would return home to get the chance to see Darnell again. I let my conscious ask me what I was getting myself into. On the day for me to go to the precinct, Darnell held tightly onto me not wanting to let me go, I remember him saying, "Please auntie. Come home.” "I will my nephew. I promise." I said as I embraced Darnell as tightly as I could. "Okay." Darnell said as he let me go. "Come on Michelle. Let's roll." Amy said. I smiled, looked at Amy and said, "Right." Michelle walked into the passenger door of Amy's car and waved goodbye to Darnell as she drove away. In the car, I shed a tear as I looked at the road ahead of me to the precinct. "We're going to get through this Michelle. I believe it with all my heart we will." Amy said. "I hope so Amy. I hope so." I said as I wiped my face with the sleeve of my uniform.
          At the precinct, every officer got suited up for the operation. We each dressed in dark black thick armor-plated gear. With every officer ready to go, Bane called us into the conference room. "Now officers. I hope you all have had a great week of relaxation, preparation, and thinking with your families. I am proud that all of you are making this decision to be part of this operation. I have entitled it Operation Redemption. I hope that none of us get killed by these gangsters. Now let's bring peace to our city!!!" Bane said. All the other officers in the room cheered out of excitement knowing they have the chance to arrest as many criminals as they can. I couldn't help but think of Darnell as we all went into our armor-plated squad cars to drive to the nearest gang hideout we know of.
           After last minute preparation, we reached the gang hideout which was inside an abandoned factory in Downtown Chicago. I stepped out of the car with an assault rifle in hand ready to storm into the place. Amy, on the other hand, remained inside the car keeping watch for anyone suspicious. Out of an unexpected attack move on the gang members the police successfully managed to arrest each person inside the factory. Not a single man managed to pull the trigger on their guns because of the quickness of the moves we have launched on them. Inside the building, we seized numerous amounts of drugs that were locked and stored into large grey metal cabinets. I laughed hysterically as I heard the men give me a falsified story one after the other. I felt glad that the evilness within the streets of the city was washing away. I looked at what happened that day as the first step of bringing redemption to the city. I noticed Amy walking over to me and said, "Great job sister.". "Thank you, Amy." I spoke. "We got to keep this up. There's no telling what the other gangs will do." Amy said. "True and it's up to us to stop them before any more children get influenced by their evil deeds." I said as I looked at one of the men banging their head on the confinement wall of the car while the door was still open. I walked over to the car and closed it shut. It was as if I was holding a monster in a cage. A cage filled with primates ready to pounce on anyone they see. I thought that that cage was where the gangs belong. A community where evil mingled around and lied in wait.
          Months continued to pass by for my strike teams. And with that, things also continue to look up for us. We busted into more gang territories one after another. Like before, the members of each hideout never expected the police to pull an operation so methodical. Because of all the mountains of triumphs we were managing to make, Bane gave us a raise of pay. I smiled even more brighter than I ever could believing that I could be with my nephew even though the situation was intense.
         On a particular Summer Saturday, Amy and I were allowed to take the entire day off to relax with my nephew. Amy and I smiled and laughed as we played Basketball with Darnell and ate ice cream together. Deep down in my heart, I desperately wished the day would never end. As I was having my fill of fun, I noticed Bane at the end of the street talking to a strange man who was wearing a hat and sunglasses. Feeling suspicious of him, I believed that I needed to know what was going on. Amy looked at me and said, "Michelle?" I turned my head around and said, "Yes Amy." "Is something bothering you?" Amy said. I saw Bane and the mysterious man begin to walk away together making me say, "Amy I will explain this later. For now, get in the car, take Darnell home and stay there for me." "Okay sister. You watch yourself now." Amy said. "Right." I said as I began to follow Bane and his unknown companion. As I took my steps to find out what Bane was up to, suspicion of him began to grow. I greatly hoped that what I would find out wouldn't be of any negative aspect.
           I followed Bane and the unknown man till they begin to walk down an alleyway at dusk. To make sure they couldn't see me, I climbed onto a first floor back porch. I climbed like a monkey clinging onto a tree looking for food. I smiled as I noticed Bane and his companion. I kept myself near the ravine of the porch so I could hear what they were saying. "So, you brought the dough?" the mystery man said. "Yes. I have the money. Can I have the coordinates to the next hideout?” Bane said. "Yes, of course." the mystery man said as he handed Bane a piece of paper. “Is there something else I can do for you?” the mystery man said. “Yes, two things.” Bane said. "Sure anything." said the mystery man. “First, what do you plan to do with the money I been paying you?” Bane said. “That is for something you will find out soon enough.” The mystery man said. "Okay now the second thing. Can you take that hat and sunglasses off so I can look in the eye as I thank you for this? You don’t have to hide your identity here." Bane said. "Sure." said the man as he did what Bane asked him to do. I wanted to get a better view of the man, so I pulled out my phone and zoomed the camera at him. I quietly gasped and covered my mouth when I recognized the man. The man was my older brother Dante. "Lastly, tell me why are you bothering to help the police like this? Why won't you just resort to crime like everyone does?”. Dante smiled and said, "Why would I resort to crime. I want to stop those gangs. It’s as simple as that." "Fair enough." Bane said. When I thought that I had seen and heard enough, a rock fell on my head making me yell “Ow!!” Dante looked up, saw me and said, “What the?!!” In a split-second Bane noticed me too, pulled out his gun and said, "I’ll get her." "Oh no!!" I said as I took off running with the effort of making it back home. Bane, on the other hand, followed me on foot. With the desperation of wanting to see my nephew again, I jumped from porch to porch till I jumped into an apartment window escaping from Bane’s shooting range. I ran back to my house without even looking back to see if anyone was following me.
          At home, Amy remained by Darnell’s side like she promised. Amy, feeling very worried about her me walked right over to me. "Michelle? Are you alright?" Amy said. "Yes, I am Amy. Just give me a minute." I said as I coughed after running the way that I did. After five minutes, I composed myself and sat down on the couch in the living room. "So, what happened?" Amy. "You're not going to believe what I saw tonight." I spoke. "What did you see?" Amy said. "I saw my brother Dante. He's alive." I said in a quiet whisper. "Huh? What? That's not possible." Amy said. "I thought it was too, but I believe in the phrase nothing is impossible." I spoke. "But how? You said you saw him die that day." Amy said. "True I did but I guess he somehow managed to cling onto life. But that's not the only thing I saw." said Michelle. "What else?" said Amy said. "Commissioner Bane has been paying Dante for information on where the hideouts were." I spoke. “Okay. There’s nothing wrong with that.” Amy said. “What’s wrong is that he just tried to kill me.” I spoke. “What? Why?” Amy said. “I guess he doesn’t want anyone to know his secret.” I spoke. “That makes sense.” Amy said. "We should be secretive about this too. Amy, I want you to promise me that you won't tell anyone about this. No one." I spoke. "I promise." Amy said. "Good. I think it be best if you stayed here for the night. You take the couch. I'll go look after Darnell." I said as I walked over to Darnell’s room and sat by his side as I watched him sleep. As I sat and watched my nephew in deep slumber, I asked herself, how did my brother survive that fateful day.
            Looking at Darnell made me look back at my family life fourteen years back before my nephew was even born. At that time, I had been a police officer for less than a year. My older brother Dante had been working as a police officer at the same precinct as me. Luckily for us we were assigned as partners. Every day on the job we patrolled the streets of Chicago in our car fighting to save the lives of the innocent being preyed upon by the unjust. Our lives as police officers came to a crashing halt when we were patrolling the street as usual. Dante kept his usual cheerful smile as he drove the police car with me sitting beside him in joy seeing how peaceful the neighborhood was. "Big Bro. I'm glad that you are always happy. Seeing you happy makes me happy too." Said my younger self. "It's the same for me too little sister. I'm even happier about going to be a dad. My wife and I found out it's going to be a boy. I want my son to be safe and it's up to us as police officers to do just that. I'm willing to risk anything for him, even my own life if that." Younger Dante said. "I'm proud of you. I'm happy for you and Lori." I spoke. While we were having our heart-to-heart conversation, a message got broadcasted on the radio from dispatch. The message gave details of a disturbance going on in the West Side. "Well thank you sister. Now duty calls. Let's go stop them." Dante said as he turned the siren on and floored the gas pedal to raise the speed. "Yeah, big brother. Let's go!!" I said, giving Dante a smile. Something within me told me not to go over to the West Side but fighting for justice was all I could think about.
            Without even thinking it over, we reached to South Ashland Avenue on the Lower West Side, but when we got there everything seemed normal and quiet there. We stepped out of our car just to see what was going on. We noticed that there were no people around either except cars parked in driveways and parking lots. What I saw there made me begin to feel a hint of suspicion. The people in the neighborhood were just in their houses with nothing improper going on in the area. The place was filled with complete silence. "Wow this seems very odd. It's too quiet for something to be going on here." Dante said. "True." I said, giving an awkward expression as I looked at a lone white house. Dante noticed it and said, "Little Sis is anything wrong?" "Big brother I really don't like this I think we should just leave." I said as I remained staring at the house. My suspicion grew worse as I noticed that that house had dark tinted windows. "What about this you don't like little sister?" Dante said. "Well, we're the only officers here and there's nothing going on at all. I think someone in the force led us here." I spoke. "You know what I get that too. Come on let’s go." Dante said as he headed back to the car. Before Dante could even step back into the driver seat, he got shot in the head making him fall onto the ground. Seeing blood gush out of my brother's skull made me run into the car and drive away. While driving to any random area of safety I could get to, I whimpered hoping nothing would happen to me. Fortunately for me, I managed to drive the car to a close precinct on South State St. With nothing else to think about but Dante, I stormed into the building screaming my lungs out and crying, soaking the clear blue tiled floor with my tears. A Caucasian female officer about my age at the front desk approached me and said, "Officer, what's wrong?" I sniffled and wiped my face with the sleeve of my uniform and said, "My...brother...is...dead. He was shot." "Huh? How did that happen?" the officer said as she helped me to a nearby bench for me to compose myself and calm down. It took me a short while for me to clear my head. The female officer, who was the only one who showed care for me, came back to me. I turned my head and said, "Oh hi there again. I appreciate your kindness. You're a very nice person. What's your name?" "My name is Officer Amy Platt. You can just call me Amy." Amy said. Feeling better I told Amy about everything that happened to Dante. "And that's what happened." I spoke. "Oh. How awful. I am so sorry you lost your brother. Officer Dante Adams will be remembered as a man who lived to fulfill his duty as an officer of the law. You might not have been a cop that very long but I'm sure you will do a great job to honor his memory." younger Amy said. When I heard those words of encouragement from Amy it was as if a fire began to slowly rekindle. "Thank you, Amy." I spoke. As hope began to return in me, I realized that there was one other person who was going to feel some serious pain from Dante's death was his wife, Lori. "Is there somewhere you need to be at right now Michelle?" Amy said. "Yes. I just realized it now. I must go to my brother's house to go to tell his wife what happened." I spoke. "Of course. I know it will be hard, but you can do it." Amy said. I nodded as I got up and drove over to my sister-in-law's house in Wheaton. I struggled as I knocked on the door and quickly thought up a way to tell her the truth of what happened. In a few seconds, Dante's Caucasian wife Lori opened the door for me. "Oh, why it's Michelle. Hey sister. How's it hanging?" Lori said. "Hello sister-in-law. May I come in?" I said, giving her a forced smile. "Sure. I was just making tea. Come in." Lori said while smiling back. "Thanks." I said as I slowly walked in. I desperately hoped that what would happen won't hurt Lori in any way, shape or form as I walked in to sit down in a chair.
           Lori happily poured cups of tea for us keeping her big smile on her face. I tried with all my might to keep my smile on my face, preparing myself to reveal the terrible truth about Dante. The moment I took my cup of tea from Lori, I couldn't help but remember all the times she, we had tea together while binge watching all our favorite shows. "Say Michelle how has your life been working as a cop?" Lori said. "It's been tough but every day as I patrol the streets and help lock up criminals it's made me an even stronger woman than I am now." I said as I changed my smile to a serious expression. "Michelle. What's on your mind right now?" Lori said. "Huh?" I spoke. "What's on your mind right now? May I ask where Dante is?" Lori said. "Well...um...I....” I spoke. "Michelle please take a deep breath so you can talk clearly." Lori said. I did what Lori said and took a few deep breaths. I felt so frustrated due to the fact of having to tell my sister-in-law what happened. It was as if I was experiencing the scene again. "Okay. I must tell you something, Lori. What I'm about to tell you is not good." I spoke. "What is it, Michelle?" Lori said as her eyes began to get watery. "Dante...is...dead." I said as I tilted my head to the ground. Lori stood up and approached me to tilt my head to face her. "Oh no you don't. Look me in the eye and tell me." Lori said. I sniffled my nose and said more clearly. "Dante is dead. I saw him die by getting shot in the head." Lori fell back onto her chair, held onto her stomach and said, "No. No. No that can't be. Dante..." Lori said as she began to bawl in tears while clutching onto her stomach knowing that she was carrying Dante's son. I went over to hug Lori tight as she could. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." I spoke. Lori mourned for Dante as long as she could while embracing me. She sniffled, let me go, wiped her face with the sleeve of her dress and said, "Michelle thank you for telling me the truth. I'm sure Dante is proud of his younger sister doing this for him." Lori said. "Of course, sister-in-law. I'm doing this not just for him but for my unborn nephew too." I spoke. Lori changed her sad expression into a smile, "We already picked out a name for him." Lori said. "Really? What name would it be?" I spoke. "We picked the name Darnell." Lori said. "Oh nice. I like that name." I spoke. "Thanks. Now even though Dante is gone. Will you be there for the birth of my son? It can happen any day now." Lori said. "Sure. Of course I will. I will bring my new friend along with me too." I spoke. "Thank you and thank you again for telling me truth." Lori said. "Of course. Anytime Lori. May I stay here with you just to make sure you have someone to take you to the hospital?" I spoke. "Of course you can. Stay with me as long as you like." Lori said. I smiled brightly even though things look awful, but I believed they were going to get better someday.
         Weeks have passed by for Lori and me. I was allowed to take time off from work till Lori had her baby. In the delivery room of Wheaton Hospital after Darnell was born, I held Lori's hand and said, "I'll always be here for you and Darnell. I promise." Amy, who was also there, smiled at the joyful sight. Even though she began to cope over losing Dante, Lori lost the will to live. The melancholy of living the rest of her life as a widow came right back to her. I noticed that Lori's breathing began to decay as I held onto her hand. "Michelle...take care of...Darnell...for me. Dante...I'm coming...for you." Lori said in her dying moments. "Lori!! Lori!!!" I said as I shed a lone tear for my sister-in-law and closed her eyes. In unison, baby Darnell cried as he heard me scream my late sister-in-law’s name. I lost a brother and a sister-in-law, but I gained a friend and a nephew. "Michelle...,” Amy said. "Amy. I swear right here and now that I am going to arrest the person who caused this to happen. That’s my promise.” I spoke. “Yeah. For Dante and Lori. Remember you are not alone Michelle. I will help you in this.” Amy said. Now in the present day of looking after the very boy I swore to protect, I realized that what I really wanted to do was to get revenge for my brother and sister-in-law.
           On the very next day, I did all I could to avoid Bane. I couldn't help but feel very frustrated that the man I looked up to have no care in the world about saving the city. That entire precinct was filled with the presence of trust and betrayal. Due to that, I didn't know who to trust there. I felt as if Amy was the only friend I had trust in as well as believing she would keep her word in remaining silent as promised. Out of curiosity, I looked at a map of the entire city that was placed on the precinct wall. On the map, there were marked places indicating areas known for being gang hideouts. As I analyzed the map, I noticed that there was only one hideout left that I knew of. I noticed Bane was walking towards me, so I headed right over to Amy. "Morning Michelle." Amy said. "Morning." I spoke. "So, what's up?" Amy said. "There is only one more gang hideout left. We take this one out the gangs won’t have anywhere else left to hide." I spoke. "Wonderful." Amy said. "Yeah. We will save this city." I spoke. "Of course we will." Amy said.
          Later that day, we set up for our final act. Out of anticipation, we headed over to the known gang hideout which was an abandoned silo factory surrounded by a tall fence with a gate at the center. Even though I knew I was steps away from saving the city of gang life for good, I felt a sense of uneasiness. I noticed that Bane was absent from the operation. In that brief second, our officers started getting shot with darts that made them go unconscious. My uneasiness turned to fear as Amy and I both ran towards the gate and kicked it open with brute force. We raced towards the facility dodging every dart that came at us. As we got into the building, I remember being struck in the face with a rifle. I woke up and noticed that Amy and I were both zip tied to chairs. I gasped as I noticed Bane was sitting in a chair across from us while Dante was standing by the window. “Oh, look at it. You’re awake.” Bane said while holding a handgun. Dante stood there and remained completely silent. “Bane, I am going to tell you once. Let us both go right now.” I spoke. “Unfortunately, I am afraid I can’t do that when you’re on the path of learning too much.” Bane said. “What do you mean too much?” I spoke. “You’re figuring out my plan that I am only in law enforcement to take control of this city.” Bane said. “Take control?” I spoke. “Remember the day your dear brother was shot?” Bane said. “What does that have to do with what you said?” I spoke. “I was the one who shot the bullet.” Bane said. “Why would you do that?” I spoke. “I needed someone to be my informant.” Bane said. “An informant?” I spoke. “Yes.” Bane said. “Why my brother? Why wouldn’t you just simply ask him?” I spoke. “I closely watched your brother at training. I loved his skill and endurance. Knowing that I believed he would survive the shot. Also, I did it because I had a feeling, he would say no. So, I took steps.” Bane said. “You are pure evil.” I spoke. “Pure evil? Honestly, I love being called that. I will let you in on something else. Those kids you saw beating that child. I paid them to cause that scene.” Bane said. “Why do a sick thing like that?” I spoke. “I wanted to give someone a reason to come up with the idea of this operation in the first place.” Bane said. “So, all this was nothing but a game to you? Do you not realize that you played with not only the lives of those kids but every officer out there who chose to sacrifice their lives for this?” I spoke. “You’re one hundred percent correct. This is a game to me, and you just reach the end of it only I am the victor.” Bane said as he stood up and approached me. I did all I could to break free of the zip ties, but they were too tight on my wrists. “Stay away from me.” I spoke. “I am afraid I can’t do that. Your death will be an example to those who may ever choose to oppose me. I make the rules in this city. I make the threats in this city. Here, I am God.” Bane said as he pointed his gun right at my forehead. “Okay then let Amy go.” I spoke. “You will die first then your friend.” Bane said as he readied to shoot me. At an instant, I saw Dante strike Bane in the neck with a stun gun causing him to fall unconscious. “Dante, what are you doing?” I spoke. “Saving your life as well as taking my chance to bring this power-hungry fool to justice.” Dante said as he pulled out a knife and untied Amy and me. I embraced Dante as tightly as I could while Amy went and put handcuffs on Bane. “Dante, I am so glad that you’re still alive.” I spoke. “William Bane, you are under arrest.” Amy said. I smiled at Amy said, “I know it took over ten years, but I kept my word and finally got the one who caused all of this suffering.” “I am too. I hope Lori will forgive me for not coming back home after all these years.” Dante said. “Oh. About Lori.” I spoke. “What about her? Tell me what happened?” Dante said as he stepped back. “Big brother. Lori…is dead.” I spoke. Dante stepped back again and said, “No. No. That can’t be true.” Amy approached Dante and said, “Unfortunately what Michelle said is true. Lori Adams died.” “But what about the baby? What happened to my child?!” Dante said. “Please calm down older brother. Your son is still alive. He’s safe.” I spoke. “Oh, thank whoever the higher power is. I want to see him.” Dante said. “You will. I will take you to him.” I spoke. “Yeah, but what are we going to do about Bane?” Amy said. “Like you said Amy, he is under arrest. Let’s put him in the car and take him to the station.” I spoke. “Before you do that, you will need this.” Dante said as he gave Amy his phone with a recording of the conversation he had with me. “Perfect, that’s enough evidence we need.” Amy said as she walked Bane to her car leaving me alone with Dante. “Brother, I forgot to ask you this. Is there anyone else here with you?” I spoke. “No, it’s just me.” Dante said. “So that entire setup with those darts, was you?” I spoke. “Yes, it was.” Dante said. “Woah. You’re a one-man army. Now I see what you were spending that money on.” I spoke. “Right. I hope those cops will forgive me for knocking them out. I had to make it look like I was aiding Bane in killing them.” Dante said. “It will take a lot of convincing but anyway I’m taking you home to be with your son.” I spoke. “Okay.” Dante said. And with that, I snuck Dante out of the facility to get to my car while the officers were still unconscious. I successfully drove Dante to my house. Darnell was playing video games on the living room television as we got inside. “Hey Darnell.” I spoke. Darnell paused his game, turned around and said, “Yes auntie.” “Darnell…” I spoke. “Auntie. Who is that man with you?” Darnell said. “Darnell. This man is your father.” I spoke. “You’re my father?” Darnell said as he looked at Dante. “Yes. I am your father. I am so sorry for not being here all these years.” Dante said. Darnell dropped his video game controller, raced toward Dante and embraced him. “We can work on that together.” Darnell said. “You’re right. How about we play the game together?” Dante said. “Okay.” Darnell said as he walked Dante to sit down and play the video game together. As I watched Dante play video games with Darnell, I believed that he took a step of making a future with whatever time he could have alive with his son.