April 16th 1:30 am

Abigail got into her G –car and waited as the security gates verified the microchip in her bumper so that she could exit. Abigail was employed by the Elite Private Investigative Agency and was headed to Atlanta, the location of her latest assignment. Hoping to make it to her destination by daybreak, Abigail steered the Tahoe toward I65 South. Abigail’s Blackberry rang and she answered “Investigator Thomas.” The call was from Magda the Agency ‘s Executive Assistant, she was calling to inform Abigail that the briefing package for the Urban Conservation Agency case would be waiting for her when she arrived at command post.” Abigail said, “Thanks Magda you always take care of me” Magda responded “No problem.” Abigail ended the call and searched the radio stations for some driving music, settling on Mary J. Blige belting out the words to one of her favorite songs. Abigail stopped by Starbucks and purchased a huge cup of coffee before merging on to the highway and setting her cruise control. The chime on Abigail’s Blackberry indicated that she had received a text message, which too was from Magda; it contained the address for command post.

April 15th @6:00 pm

Sherri Steadwell was at The Alexander, a corporate condo tower in Atlanta Georgia. She was sitting in a large cold conference room, with glass walls and marble furniture, meeting with two of her colleagues. Sherri, Langston Smith, a handsome older gentleman and, Thad the sexy new guy in the office were working late so that they could put the final touches on the presentation. The grant package they were working on would be presented to Officials from The State of Kentucky the very next morning. The Agency contracted a few units in The Alexander for occasions when employees have early meetings and did not want the challenge of Metro Atlanta’s gridlock rush hour traffic while commuting to the office for early morning meetings. Thad and Langston were in third floor suites andSherri was booked in a fifth floor suite. Sherri had been carrying on a relationship with the two of them and it was difficult trying to keep the two men from finding out about the other.Thou the thing with Langston began first Sherri feel head-over-hills in love with Thad at first sight. The older man is good for her career and a great mentor, but Thad is closer to her in age and more appealing to her as a mate.

Sherri returned to her suite to prepare for her rendezvous with Thad. As she pulled on a pink tank top and wiggled into her boy shorts, the telephone in her suite rang. Sherri answered "hello" and to her dismay the greeting was bellowed from the belly of Langston, the senior of the, father son duo, “I was wondering if you would join me for a night cap beforeI turned in for the evening.” Sherri responded,“I've told you that I wanted to keep us a secret and with Thad a couple of doors down from you, I don't think that would be wise. What would he think of his dad keeping the company of a younger woman?” Langston responded“I know, I’m just a little restless and not being able to enjoy your company in a one on one setting is hard for me to bare. I was just hoping to see you for a few minutes of your time. Besides,Thad is the least of our worries because he is probably on the phone with the mystery woman he has been dating?” Sherri was happy to hear that Langston was still in the dark about her relationship with his son. She responded,“I know that you miss me but I’m sure that it’s too risky, don’t you agree?” Langston reluctantly agreed and said goodnight. Sherri pressed the button on the phone hold I down long enough to ensure that the call was disconnected with Langston and released it so that she could call Thad.

Vincent hung up the telephone after ordering light snacks for himself and Sherri to enjoy while they watched the basketball game. He and Sherri had only been hanging out for a couple of months, it was difficult to be so close to such an attractive woman and not be allowed to partake of what she was offering him. The women Sasha and Langston kept sending should have been enough, but the knowledge that the women were paid help, did not sit well with him. He had to partake of what they were offering to make the charges stick; the women were not seen as suspects, they would end up being witnesses. Vincent was able to sense that Sherri had fallen for Thad, if she was willing, he was going to put it on her tonight. He was physically attracted to Sherri, and he knew sleeping with her would break all the rules. Since sleeping with the suspect was the rule that Vincent vowed he would never break he hoped his instincts proved correct. He picked up his cell phone and sent Sasha a text canceling the unrequested company perk she told him about earlier.

Sasha knew that Sherri would be at The Alexander tonight but was not sure why she was on the 3rd floor. Sasha specifically told the nitwit Event Coordinator to reserve five rooms on the 3rd floor and one on the 5th floor. Sasha expected to have Thad alone tonight until she received the text messages; the first from Thad at 8pm “I won’t be needing company tonight” and the one a few minutes ago from Langston “I need you tonight.” Tamara, Kathy, and the others all knew they had better be in and out by 12 midnight because little did they know after tonight fireworks things would be different tomorrow. Sasha’s operation was lucrative but she knew that she had better end it now before she was revealed. She was growing fond of Langston but she knew deep down that he would only see her as not only his assistant, but as just a call girl. Sasha knew from the tap she had on the line in his suite that he texted her after that two timing Sherri turned him down. A year ago she had hopes that her relationship with Langston would turn into marriage, but the minute he ordered her up for his son, Thad, she knew there was no hope for she and Langston ever having anything serious. Sasha had not developed feelings for Thad but his youthfulness made up for his fathers incompetence.

One good thing could come from tonight, she could get rid of all of them, because if asked she knew that they would tell the authorities anything they wanted to know. Sasha ordered the fireworks for tonight, and asked for spark and smoke, no flame. The motile cocktails would be delivered through the windows of the rooms on the 5th floor. The toxin laced night caps would have both Thad and Langston in a deep sleep, and would allow both of the men to succumb to smoke inhalation. Sherri's cocktail was infused with a special untraceable lethal toxin, which would throw her into immediate cardiac arrest. The clients and girls should be out of The Alexander well before the start of the fireworks show, but if they were still around, their being on the third floor would allow them time to evacuate the building.

Langston's face appearing in the crack of the door pulled Sasha away from her thoughts. She pasted on her best smile before entering the room and muttering the word "ShowTime.” Sasha left her suitcase by the door and placed her purse on the table of the sitting room. Langston said, "how about fixing me a nightcap"? Sasha responded "coming up" she sashayed over to the wet bar, smiling with delight because the opportunity to place the toxin in his drink presented itself so quickly and easily. Sasha had tired months ago of Langston's geriatric moves between the sheets. The spiked cocktail will have him asleep in minutes. Sasha had already confirmed delivery of the spiked drinks to both Sherri and Thad. While she did not see Sherri carrying hers she could only hope that Sherri would go back to her suite and drink it or that she had already consumed it. Sasha finished making the drink Langston had requested and joined him in the sitting area as she sent a text and waited for him to fall asleep.

Sherri always enjoyed her time with Thad, they had a lot in common and enjoyed great conversation but nothing beyond that. Thad was a perfect gentleman and never made a move to consummate their relationship. Sherri being raised to be a lady, by her single parent father and with the strict teachings of the Holiness Church she was raised in, was able to make it thru a date night being hot and bothered, but did not know how much more of it she could take. When she entered the sitting are of the suite she noticed Thad was watching an NBA game on the television, he patted the sofa cushion next to him and motioned of her to have a seat. Sherri took off her trench coat revealing her tank top and boy shorts, she noticed the excited glint in Thad's eyes, but it was gone in a matter of seconds. Sherri chose to wear the tank and boy shorts because she thought a negligee would be too much for a man who had not so much as kissed her, she hoped her attire would make him relax around her. Sherri took the seat that was offered to her and Thad said, "I’ve ordered some food for us from room service, as he pointed toward the dining area of the Suite where a few of covered dishes were sitting on the table." Sherri responded, I will have a bottle of water from the wet bar." Thad retrieved the bottle of water she asked for and sat back down with a tumbler of, what she assumed to be his favorite cocktail, as he placed a warm hand on her thigh and then went back to watching the game. Thad took a sip from the tumbler and Sherri said, "Well I could have used a night cap do you mind if I help myself.” Thad responded, this came complimentary with the food; I was a little surprised that the kitchen staff knew what I like to drink. I will make you one if you like." Sherri responded, "no I will make it, you just enjoy the game." Thad said well while you are making yours will you please add more soda to mine I've only taken a sip and this one is a little too stiff for a work night." Sherri said "sure" she took the tumbler and poured its contents into the sink, retrieved a couple of glasses from the cabinet above her head and made two cocktails. She sat back down and gave Thad his tumbler; he then placed his hand back on her thigh, took a sip, and said; "now that’s more like it.” They watched the game in silence for a few minutes and suddenly Thad turned to face Sherri and placed a hungry kiss on her lips. Sherri was thrilled and shocked, but she went along with his lead. The action moved into the bedroom and Sherri and her 5 ft. 9, deep chocolate colored co-worker, experience an encounter that could only be described by an author who is commissioned to write those paper back romance novels Sherri read when she was younger.

A loud piercing siren snatched Sherri from her sleep and made her jump out of bed. Shelooked around and saw that she was in her suite alone, she remembered coming back to her suite so as not to run into Langston in the early morning hours. She could not risk being caught with Thad although she had not been intimate with Langston he was still her boss and she did not want to risk losing her job. Sherri looked out of the window and saw smoke, she ran to the door and looked into the hallway to see that the lights were out and the red fire alarm lights were flickering off and on. She put on her slippers and picked up her blackberry from the sitting area, where she noticed a cocktail, which was not there before. Sherri threw on her trench coat, and entered thehallway blending in with the stream of other evacuating guest whowereheaded for the emergency exit. Onceshemadeit safely to the bottom floor and outside into the cold brisk night shefranticallysearched the faces in the crowd of evacuatedguests to find Thad and Langston. After a few seconds shesaw Sasha who was fully dressed inthe clothes that she had wornearlier.

Josh Hardegree

The blaring sounds of sirens were a welcome sound to Josh, for this sound singled that his time in Hotlanta, was coming to an end. Though it was not summer time and the thermostat did not show the sultry 89 degrees it usually did. There was a fire blazing and Josh was the one who ignited the flame, he was in Atlanta doing some clean-up work for his ex-wife. Josh watched as the fire engines raced in the direction he had just left to extinguish the fire that would erase 90% of the evidence of his ex's indiscretions. He was such a fool for her; she divorced him because after the accident she felt he was not man enough for her. He then pulled out his blackberry to access the encrypted message that she had sent him two days prior, there were two tasks on the list and one had been completed. Josh hoped Sasha was impressed with his handy work because he added a few extra touches to ensure the job was done right. Josh cased the place a few days ago and could not understand why Sasha had only ordered moltolf cocktails for a building as large as The Alexander. Josh personally installed explosives in the two rooms on the fifth floor and some more in each corner of the 3rd floor to ensure that the targets were hit. Now he had to wait for this scene to play out so that he could complete the second and final task. If Sasha was pleased with his handy work she may give him a second chance. Josh headed to his hotel to have dinner and drinks in the restaurant before he called it a night.

Sherri made her way to Sasha and asked, “Did you see Thad or Langston?” Sasha responded, “No.” Sherri stepped back as three women approached and placed themselves between Sasha and Sherri. Sherri recognized the women from the Agency. One of the women, Sherri thought her name was Tamara said to Sasha, “girl I did not sign up for this, I could have been killed. Another one of the threesome spoke up saying, “well let me get out of here before news cameras show up and my face is plastered all over the 4 am news.” The third woman was very quiet, though visibly rattled by the commotion, she looked at Sasha with a look of disgust but her face held a hint of embarrassment. Sasha took in the sight of the women, and then made a dismissive motioned for them away from her; they seem to be seeking direction from Sasha. Almost as if she were their leader, Sasha said in a low tone her words were meant for the women, “go home and I will call you all tomorrow.” The out spoken one Tamara, said, “what about our money, Sasha responded, “if you don’t get out of here now that would be the least of your worries. As the women dispersed in different directions, Sherri spotted an EMT pushing a stretcher, she gasped when she realized the unconscious passenger was Thad. Sherri ran over to where the EMT was loading Thad into an ambulance and asked, “Is he okay”, the response was, “I’m not sure, he is alive but we have to hurry and get him to the emergency room.” Sasha was standing a few feet behind Sherri and cursed under her breath when she heard his response. Sherri was next to speak to the EMT, well there is another gentleman, older, and his room was on the 5th floor near where this man was staying. The EMT responded, “the fireman rescued this guy who had collapsed in the hall seems, he was trying to gain entry to one of the rooms on that floor, he was lucky because the room is now fully engulfed and the firemen have taken a defensive stance, so if the gentleman is still in there, it may not be good news.” The EMT then turned to Sherri, who was trying her best to absorb what he had just said with out collapsing, and said, “Can you provide me information on this patient if so I will need you to accompany us to the ER.” Without another word Sherri climbed into the ambulance with Thad. As the ambulance pulled away from the curb, full speed with sirens blasting, Sasha settled in for a long night, she would not leave until she knew for sure that Langston’s life was brought to an end, she could only hope that Thad would not pull through. If he did she would have to call in a favour from someone else but for now she would wait to find out Langston’s fate.