Chapter 3 - The Black Sedan
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Two days later, the biting November wind was howling through the streets of Boston as Aliyah walked home from her afternoon shift at the campus bookstore. She pulled her scarf tighter around her neck, her exhausted muscles aching for the cheap mattress waiting in her apartment.
As she turned the corner onto her street, her footsteps faltered.
Parked directly in front of her crumbling apartment building was a sleek, pristine black Mercedes sedan. Its windows were tinted so darkly that it looked like a void absorbing the streetlights. A massive man in a dark tailored suit stood leaning against the hood, smoking a cigarette. He looked like a professional heavyweight fighter who had transitioned into corporate security.
Aliyah swallowed hard, her pulse hammering against her ribs. She tried to keep her head down and walk past him toward the front door.
"Miss Brooks," the man said. His voice was heavily accented and completely devoid of warmth.
She stopped, clutching her backpack straps. "Yes?"
"My employer would like to speak with you." He opened the rear door of the sedan.
"I don't get into cars with strangers," Aliyah said, forcing her voice to remain steady despite the terror pooling in her stomach. "Tell Mr. Malenkov that I washed his handkerchief and I'll mail it to him."
The giant man did not smile. He simply reached into his jacket pocket. Aliyah braced herself, half-expecting a weapon, but instead, he pulled out a crisp, sealed envelope and held it out to her.
"He said you would say that," the guard replied. "He asked me to give you this."
Aliyah hesitated before snatching the envelope from his massive hand. She tore it open. Inside was a cashier's check made out to Boston University's College of Nursing. The amount was exactly the sum of her outstanding tuition balance—to the penny. There was a small note clipped to it.
May you like
A conversation for your future. - V.
She stared at the check, her mind racing. It was extortion masked as charity. If she walked away, she would lose her degree. She looked at the open car door, the plush leather interior waiting to swallow her whole. Taking a deep breath, Aliyah stepped into the black sedan, plunging headfirst into a world she knew nothing about.
