New Beginnings

So You Wanna Start A War?

Two years later

November 14th, 2022

“Where is she, you son of a b***h?!”

I hit him again.

“I don’t know!”

“You were the last one with her! Where is my niece?!”

I hit him again then he spit out blood.

“Maybe I should call in her mother. I’m sure she would love getting a few hits in.”

“Sophia, I don’t know where Lillian is. I dropped her off at her daycare and left.”

“She was never there! The logs and the camera both prove that you never brought her to the daycare!”

I hit him again then the door opened.

“Sophia, we have something for you.”

I walked out and he showed me the security cameras. He left Camilia’s house and drove to a different house. I started to get angrier.

“Send a team to that house now.”

“They are already on their way. As soon as I saw it I called Cam so him and Tariq are already there.”

“Good.”

I went back into the room and chuckled.

“My husband and my brother are at the house that you took Lillian to.”

“Dammit. I should’ve taken De’Andre. Oh how they would love to have-”

I hit him as hard as I possibly could.

“You’re going to die after you see her in her mother’s arms. To know your mission failed.”

I walked back out and called Leith.

“I already heard and I’m on my way with as many men as I could grab. I am speeding to the airport and we are flying within the next ten minutes.”

“What about your wife?”

“She’s staying back with our son.”

“God it’s hard to breathe right now.”

“It’s going to be okay. Lillian will be okay and she will be back with Camilia.”

“It’s my fault.”

“None of this is your fault Sophia.”

“He was going to take my son! Instead he took my God Daughter and Goddess knows what they are doing to her!”

“They hurt her and every single man and woman that works for and with us will kill every single person involved with this.”

I took a shaky breath.

“Thank you for coming so fast.”

“We are family now. You helped me find my wife and now I am a father. You are the God Mother to my son and I cannot repay you for all you have done for me. So if that means drop everything and come help you when you need help the most, I am more than willing to.”

“Thank you. I have to make a few more calls but tell me when you’re close.”

“I will.”

I hung up and called Cade.

“Sophia?”

“They took Lillian.”

“Holy f**k. I’m on my way.”

“Send as many of your people to this location.”

I sent him the address.

“On it now. Where are you?”

“My warehouse.”

“Okay, I’m on my way to you to make sure you don’t kill someone.”

“Right now, all I want to do is kill. Camilia is freaking out and I can't help but blame myself. They were planning to take my son. They could’ve taken my son Cade!”

“They didn’t!”

“Instead they took my God Daughter!”

“Sophia, she will be fine.”

“How do you know that?!”

“Because I have a feeling. She will be okay.”

I took a breath.

“I’m going to be at your warehouse in a minute.”

“Okay.”

I hung up then texted Tariq.

“Are you there yet?”

He didn’t answer. A few minutes went by and he still wasn’t texting me back so I ran to my office and grabbed my gun. I ran to the front and Cade was running inside.

“Where are you going?”

“To find out what the hell is going on. Tariq isn’t answering me.”

I ran to my bike and drove as fast as I could to the house. I pulled up and there were over fifty people there. I walked inside and I saw Cam and Tariq beating up this guy.

“Where is my f*****g daughter?!”

“Cameron.”

He turned around and looked at me.

“Come here, please..”

He slowly walked up to me and I wrapped my arms around him.

“It’s all my fault.”

“It’s not Sophia. They took her, not you.”

“But they took her because they wanted to hurt me.”

He pulled away and shook his head.

“Cam their original plan was to take De’Andre.”

Tariq turned around fast as hell.

“They what?”

“We got one of them. He told me that they were originally going to take De’Andre but he is never not guarded. So they took Lillian because it would still hurt me and she would be easier to take, because she’s a baby.”

Tariq spun on his heels and hit the guy as hard as possible which made me believe that his jaw was broken. I walked up to him and grabbed his hand.

“You need to get this covered.”

“I’m fine.”

“That’s an order.”

“Sophia I am looking for Lillian. I’m not worried about my hand.”

“Well you’re going to need it for when we go to war. Because that’s what this is, they started a gang war with a woman who knows people everywhere.”

He smirked then I looked at Cam.

“Get as much out of his as you can then get rid of his body. Leith is bringing his men here and Cade is as well. I’m going to call Quinton and a few other people who have many men and we are not going to stop until all of them are dead and she is safe.”

They nodded their head then I hit the dude. I squatted down and looked him in the eyes.

“Where is she?”

“They took her an hour ago.”

I looked at Frankie.

“Tell Francis to track down every vehicle coming and going from here now.”

“Yes boss.”

I looked back at him.

“I will make this easier for you so you have a swifter death. Tell me everything now and I will make sure that you don’t feel pain when you go.”

Why should I? I’m dying anyways.”

“I’ll make sure you don’t. You work for us and I’ll make sure you’re taken care of.”

“Promise?”

“On my fathers grave.”

He nodded his head.

“They wanted us to take your son first but then realized that it would be much harder. They had us take Lillian instead.”

He took a breath.

“They are driving a black Honda Civic and are going to Greenville, Illinois. After that they are going to make their mark on Lillian. I told them that she’s too young for that but they didn’t listen to me. They only told me that much.”

“You’ve been very helpful.”

“Can you untie me now?”

I stood up and shot him in the head.

“i***t, I hate my father.”

I turned around and looked at everyone.

“Call Cole and tell him that they are on their way to his area.”

“Yes boss.”

I grabbed Tariq and we got in his car. 

“Start driving to Greenville.”

“Already on it.”

I called Francis.

“Black Honda Civic. They are on their way to Greenville right now.”

“I am checking cameras as fast as I possibly can.”

He went quiet for a few seconds.

“Found them. They are on the highway right now. Two men and she’s in the backseat.”

I looked at Tariq.

“Step on the gas.”

He started going faster and I texted Cam and told him everything.

“I need plates Francis.”

“C-D-8-0-5-1-9”

“Thank you.”

He sped down the highway and didn’t stop.

“How close are we?”

“They are a good twenty minutes away.”

“We can make that ten.”

He sped up and I did not stop looking for this car. I pulled my gun out and reloaded it.

“Sophia you cannot shoot them.”

“Why?”

“Because Lillian is in there. You’ll put her in danger.”

“Not if I shoot the tires. They’ll have to pull over and we can deal with them like that.”

I opened up the compartment and put on a ski mask so no one could identify me. He kept driving.

“What about now?”

“I see your car. Right lane.”

He got in the right lane and started spending up. 

“Get on the side of them so I can get a good shot at their tire.”

“Got it.”

He got over and right next to them so I rolled down my window and shot their tire. We got in front of them so when they got over, we did. As soon as they stopped he put his mask on too and we got out.

“I swear to god if she’s not here.”

We walked up to the car and I shot the driver in the chest. I heard a baby crying so Tariq dragged the passenger out and tied his hands together. He put him in the trunk and I brought Lillian to the backseat and sat there with her.

“Francis, we got her.”

“Thank f*****g God.”

“Holy f**k am I happy that I work with you. You saved her Francis.”

“That’s my best friend's kid. I would do anything for that damn girl.”

He started driving and we got into the other side and started driving home.

“I’ll call you later. I’m going to call Cam and Camilia.”

“Okay.”

I hung up and called Camilia.

“Sophia? Where’s my daughter?”

“She’s with me and Tariq. She’s fine and I am bringing her to you right now.”

I heard her take a long shaky breath.

“Thank you.”

“Always, this is what family is for.”

“I’m going to call Cam and tell him.”

“Okay.”

She hung up and I took my mask off. I started cooing at Lillian to make her calm down.

“Sophia.”

“Yes?”

“Are we really going to war?”

“Yes. And we are going to win because I have a hell of a lot more gang leaders who love me instead of hate me.”

“I don’t know baby. You’ve made a lot of enemies.”

“Well Leith has men in two different countries on their way here. Cade has all of his men waiting at the warehouse, all of our people are awaiting for the approval, Quinton is on his way with all of his people, all of our other contacts are on their way as well. I think our odds are higher.”

“I just don’t want something to go wrong. I can’t lose you.”

“I can’t lose you either. But this is about the safety of our family. Of the families of everyone that works for us. We have done so much and I will not let it go to waste.”

“I know. Which scares me the most.”

“Baby I have to do this. We cannot be seen as weak.”

“I don’t care how they see us!”

“Well I do! I cannot be seen as weak because I am a woman in charge! I am a woman with power and they are going to test me until I break but I will not break. I cannot let you guys down.”

“Sophia you have done amazingly for the past year and a half. You will not let us down.”

“I don’t know. I’m terrified.”

“I know and I am too. But right now we have to think rationally.”

“I know. But they need to be taken care of no matter what because they are a threat to our safety. So, once everyone is here I will get them their hotel rooms and we will have the night off to calm down. First thing in the morning we are planning and training harder than we have before.”

“Okay.”

He kept driving and we pulled up to the warehouse. Camilia ran outside and I brought her Lillian.

“Oh thank God.”

She held her to her chest and sobbed.

“Thank you Sophia.”

“Always.”

I walked back to the car and popped open the trunk. 

“Come on.”

I grabbed him and dragged him inside. 

“Get as much information out of him. I’ll go find his family-”

“Don’t you f*****g touch my family!”

I chuckled.

“And you can kidnap my God Daughter? I am going to slowly skin your wife and children in front of you if you don’t tell me what I want.”

Frankie dragged him to the torture room and I walked into my office. I called Leith.

“Hey, we found Lillian.”

“Thank the Lord. We are around thirty minutes away.”

“Alright. I am going to have all of your hotel rooms ready for you when you get here.”

“Thank you.”

“Of course.”

I hung up and sent a message to our hotel managers.

“Have as many hotels ready as possible. We have a lot of people on their way here.”

“Yes boss.”

I texted Cade and told him to meet me in my office then I heard footsteps running towards me. Cade busted through the door so I chuckled.

“Thank god you’re okay.”

He hugged me then pulled away.

“Lillian?”

“She’s with Camilia right now. Everyone is going home but we are upping security at Camilia’s house. At nine in the morning everyone is meeting here so we can start planning. We are about to go to war with them.”

“Who all is going to be here?”

“Quinton, Leith, you, me, our Russian allies are on their way, Canadian allies on their way, the Colombians are on their way, Mexicans on their way, and all of our hitmen are on their way back here. Everyone should arrive tonight or early tomorrow but if not we will video conference them.”

“Good. You already know that you have my full support in this and Leith’s. Quinton basically warships you and all of our other allies adore you.”

I chuckled. 

“Yeah but I don’t know if they are all willing to go to war with me.”

“They are Sophia. They went after family and they all understand that family is more important than anything else.”

“You’re right.”

I took a breath and sat down.

“Do you want me to go get Tariq?”

“Please?”

“He’ll be here soon.”

He walked out and I started going through all of my papers. While I was answering emails, Tariq walked in.

“You wanted me?”

“Yeah I just wanted a break. Have you called the nanny?”

“Yep, she’s bringing him here.”

“Good.”

I walked around my desk and wrapped my arms around him.

“Hey, it’s okay.”

“I know. I’m just scared.”

“I am too. We all are but it’s the right thing.”

He kissed my forehead then my lips. 

“Not now baby.”

He nodded his head then kissed me again. We sat down and he started rubbing my neck and shoulders while we waited for De’Andre and his nanny to get here. Ten minutes later De'Andres’ nanny walked in carrying him.

“There he is.”

I got up and scooped him out of her arms. Tariq stood up and walked over to me. 

“How was he today?”

“He was good. He kept asking where you two were and if you were okay.”

“Yeah that’s a thing that runs through Sophia’s family. They can all tell if someones in danger, hurt, anything like that.”

“That’s cool. He had lunch already so he should be ready for a nap within the hour.”

“Alright, thank you.”

She left and we all sat down. I gave him some paper and coloring supplies then walked over to Cam and Camilia.

“Hey so everyone has the rest of the day off. There will be more security at your home, people all three of us know and trust. In the morning we are having a meeting with all of our allies and we are making a plan. We are going to have a gang war.”

They nodded their heads.

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely. I have everyone on their way and if they cannot be here on time then we will video conference with them. So go home and relax for the rest of the night.”

“Thank you Sophia.”

I nodded then called for everyone to meet me in the main room. Once everyone was there I got on the small stage.

“Okay here’s the plan. Everyone has the rest of the day off other than security. At nine in the morning we will have a meeting with all of our allies and we will make a plan. In a week we are going to war with these sons of a bitches and we are not holding back. They went after family and that is something that I do not stand for. If you do not want to go to war, I respect that and you don’t have to because I will not force you.”

No one said anything so I nodded my head.

“Everyone is dismissed. Go home to your families.”

Once everyone broke up I went to my office and picked up De’Andre.

“Let’s go home handsome.”

Tariq stood up and we walked outside. We got in his car and he drove us all home. 

“Sophia we have to talk.”

“About?”

“You are taking this too far.”

“They started a war when they took our God Daughter. They were going to take De’Andre.”

“I know but a war? Sophia, that's going to kill our people.”

“This is just as dangerous as anything else we have done. I gave them all an out and an option to not go to war. I’m not forcing anyone to do anything.”

“Babe think about this.”

“I have. And it’s final. If you want to stay home with De’Andre that’s fine.”

“You’ve lost your Goddamn mind.”

“Really? They went after our family Tariq. We have more people, weapons, allies, and determination than they do. We will wipe them out quickly and we won’t have to worry about them again.”

“Sophia I don’t like this.”

“Neither do I but it has to be done. I cannot show mercy for this.”

He shook his head.

“What do you expect from me? Do you want me to do nothing and let it happen again?”

“No but a war is not the answer.”

“Look I get where you are coming from but what if they took Rosie’s son? Or actually went through with taking ours? Tariq, at the end of the day you know deep down that this is the only thing we can do.”

He took a breath and didn’t look at me the rest of the ride home. Once we got home I brought De’Andre to his room then I let Apollo outside. I walked around the house trying to find Tariq but I found him in his man cave.

“Talk to me.”

He sighed.

“I don’t want this to happen. This war, it’s going to bring nothing but destruction.”

“They started this babe. I can’t sit here and not do anything about this.”

“I get that but a war?”

“Well what do you want to call it?”

“Not a war.”

“Well that’s what this is! This is a gang war and I cannot afford to lose this! I cannot afford to lose you.”

He stood up.

“You’re not going to lose me.”

“I feel like I am. All we have done is argue.”

“Not true. This situation has me on edge okay.”

“And you think it doesn’t have me on edge? This is my gang and my responsibility.”

“And you’re mine. I vowed to protect you and I can’t do that while we are at war!”

“I can’t do this right now.”

I went to walk away but he grabbed my wrist and pulled me back. He pushed me onto the couch.

“You’re not leaving. You do that every time we get into an argument.”

“Maybe it’s because I don’t want to turn into my parents.”

“Or maybe you run from your problems.”

My eyebrow started twitching.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

He shook his head.

“Nothing.”

“Say it again.”

I stood up.

“You run from your problem. When things get serious, you leave.”

“You mean when we are fighting I leave because I don’t want to get in a physical fight?”

“Please, we both know that I can knock your little ass out.”

I slapped him across the face.

“Don’t you dare disrespect me!”

He grabbed my wrists and pinned me against the wall. He was furious.

“Quit.”

“Or else what?”