April 4

"Dr. Reso, I'm sure you know why I am calling you," it was Madaki.

"Yeah I do. Where's Tano?"

"Don't worry, he's fine. I'm not calling to talk about him."

"Then why are you?"

"I'm calling to make a confession."

"Go on." I urged him.

"It was not Tano who had Becker and Muhammad killed, it was me."

"It was you? No way! I never would have guessed it!"

"Wow don't give up your day job any time soon doctor. I don't see you winning an Oscar in the future."

"I was aiming more for a Razzie but an Oscar is better."

"You are a funny man doctor."

"I try to be. Now as you were saying?"

"Oh yes. I was the one who killed them. They were getting too sloppy so I had someone get rid of them."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because Dr. Reso, you seem to be the resident confidant. It had been bothering me that Tano was taking credit for my work. And as you know I couldn't allow that."

"Of course not. You are a legend."

"I appreciate it doctor. I have something else I would like to confess"

"Go ahead."

"I had nothing to do with Tano's disappearance."

"Well if you did, then who did?"

"He left on his own accord. He no longer works for me."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"I see. Would you have an idea of where he is?"

"Not a clue. That is why I am calling you. I want you to call me if and when you see Tano. Tell him it is urgent."

"What if I never see him again?"

"I'm sure you will. When you see him, let him know I am looking for him. It's about his family.

"What about them."

"I have gotten an anonymous tip they are being held hostage. I thought Tano would like to know."

"I will tell him to call you when I see him.

"Thank you doctor."

I woke up from my sleep. I replayed the phone call from Madaki in my head for so long that it followed me to my dreams. I was desperate to find Tano. His family had been kidnapped and there was no way for me to reach him. They were taken about a week after Tano went missing. Mr. Osei has been feverishly searching for them every since to no luck. It was as if Tano fell off the face of the Earth. He was no where to be found.

When I got out of bed, I picked my cell phone up. I seen that I had a few missed calls voicemails, and texts from family, friends, and co-workers. I had taken a week off to help Mr. Osei as I was back in his mansion at Fort Warren.

I was checking my messages when I heard a knock at the door.

"Chrisitan? Are you up? It's me, Adwin." I heard from the other side of the door.

"Yeah, I'm up. Come in." I told him.

Mr. Osei opened the door and smiled. "Good morning Christian. Did you sleep well last night?" he asked. No matter what he was going through, Mr. Osei always had a smile on his face. Though he did, his eyes would tell what he was really feeling. Mr. Osei stepped inside the room.

"Somewhat. I can't get that phone call out of my head. God knows where Tano could be," I scratched my head.

"No matter where my unruly son is, he is fine. I'm sure of it. All we can do is pray that he makes his way back home in time to save his family," Mr Osei patted me on my shoulder.

"You're right. I hope Tano knows what he is doing."

"He does. Get dressed. Breakfast is being served." Mr. Osei patted my shoulder once more then left the room.

I got dressed for breakfast and went down stairs. When I reached the bottom of the stairs, I seen Mr. Osei talking with someone outside through the window. He was a bald white man with a medium build wearing a black suit. Before I could take a closer look, Ciera grabbed me by my arm.

"Master Christian! You breakfast is getting cold!"

"But I wanted to talk to Mr. Osei before . . ." I tried protesting before she cut me off.

"You can talk to him later. You have to eat like now!" I gave into Ciera as I allowed her to drag me into the dining room.

I ate my breakfast like I was told to. I tried getting up to see if Mr. Osei was still outside but Ciera was having none of it. She would shove me back in my seat each time I tried to leave.

"No Master Christian! You must finish eating. You need you energy."

"Fine." I huffed.

I had finally finished my breakfast. Ciera excused me from the table. By the time I got to the door, Mr. Osei was now standing alone. I opened the door to stand outside with him.

Mr. Osei's back was turned to the door. He looked over his shoulder to see me coming out.

"How was your breakfast?" he asked while going through his cell phone.

"Delicious." I replied.

"Great. You know, I never knew Ciera was such a wonderful cook. She demanded that I finish eating it. I ate every last crumb even though I felt like I was going to explode." he laughed.

"So that's why she being such a bully. She's a persistent little thing."

"Indeed," Mr. Osei turned around to me as he quickly changed the subject. "Christian, I have some information of Tano whereabouts."

"You do?" I stepped closer to him.

"I was just speaking with the private investigator that I hired. He tells me that Tano is in Florida. I can only imagine why he is down there."

I took a moment to think about why he was. The only reason I could think of was that it had to be Madaki related. Tano would never up and leave just like that.

I voiced my thoughts aloud to . " Maybe it had something to do with Madaki and his new business.""Maybe. The investigator couldn't get much information. He claimed that Tano was hard to track," Mr. Osei took a deep breath, "Whatever it is. I hope he returns home."

"Yeah. That's all that matters right now." Mr. Osei and I kept talking about Tano. While we were, the person he was talking to us approached us.

"Mr. Osei, we have a lead. Tano was spotted at a convention." the mysterious man said.

"Good work. Oh Christian, I would like for you to meet Christopher Daniels. He is the lead private investigator that is helping me find Tano."

Mr. Daniels held out his hand as I shook it, "Nice to meet you doctor. Mr. Osei tells me that you have been much help. Would you have any idea why Tano would be in Florida?"

"As I was telling Mr. Osei, it most likely would have to do with Madaki. He has been trying to tear the Osei empire apart for almost a year now. He recently had a change of heart. He wanted Tano to work for him in exchange of him backing off. Tano took him up on his offer. I hadn't heard from Tano since he did. That was in January." I told him.

"Is that all you know?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Alright. Well I now that we know where he is, we can take the first flight out of here to Florida." Mr. Daniels suggested.

"OK. Let me go pack." Before I the men took off I stopped them.

"Wait, before we go we should talk to Becker to see if he has any more information."

"Good plan Christian. I will find where he is located. The visit had to be brief. We don't know how much time we have before Madaki decides to make a move."

"Let's hurry gentlemen. We cannot waste any time." Mr. Osei said.

We all went our separate ways to get prepared. I went upstairs to pack. As I entered my room, I found an letter on my bed.

"What could this be?" I ripped opened the envelope and open the letter.

Turn on the TV

It instructed me. "Turn on the TV?" I looked around for the remote until I found it on the nightstand. I did what the letter told me.

What I was now seeing had me confused. It felt as if I was watching a monitor from a security camera. Suddenly, I seen Didi walking with Jason appear on the screen. Then, a message flashed

Look behind the TV

"What the?" Before I could say another word, I did as I was told. I searched the television with my hand. I ran across another letter. I frantically opened it and read it.

"Your ex and child are fine . . . for now. Find Tano or they will suffer the consequences. You have been warned. P.S. Boom."

Confused I read the letter again. After I did I looked to the television to see Didi and Jason still being recorded. I picked up the other letter and was making my way to the door. I called out for Mr. Osei who came running out of his room.

"What is it Christian?" he cried.

"It's Madaki. Look. I showed him both letter. He read them silently.

"Boom?" What does he mean?"

"I don't know but we have to move fast! Hurry and pack the rest of your things!"

Mr. Osei nodded as he ran back inside his room. While walking to mine, I heard a car starting up. As it did, a loud explosion followed, shattering the windows and smoke filling the house.

The entire house began to panic. All the staff members came rushing to see what happened. Mr. Osei was right behind me as I ran down the stairs. We breezed past the staff who were helping each other and staring in awe.

We made it outside to see the remaining of Mr. Daniels' car still flying in the air. Madaki made his message loud and clear. He was ready for war.