The Soul Sistahs

"Excuse me, but are you Nikki Bell?" A female voice asked. From the sound of her accent I could tell she was Latina.

I had finally started eating before I was interrupted. I placed my chicken leg on the plate and delicately wiped away the remnants of food from around my lips.

I slowly turned around to see a very tall, fair skinned, dark haired woman standing behind me. She was dressed almost entirely in black save for her white form fitting t-shirt. Over her t-shirt she wore a black leather coat and pants. Her hair was incredibly long and full. It was as black as midnight. She wore dark sunglasses, and her lips were painted devil red...

"Uhm, who wants to know?" I replied.

"Okay, let's go." She said, as she began to walk towards the exit door.

"Hey wait a second, who are you?"

"I work for Cutlass. So, are you coming or not?"

"How do I know that you work for him?"

Suddenly, the woman whipped out a cellular phone and punched in several numbers, without even looking, "Hey Cutlass, it's me." I heard her say.

"I'm here with her but she is giving me shit."

Bitch, don't even try and get an attitude. You would ask questions too if you were in my situation. I thought.

Then she walked over and handed me her phone,

"He wants to talk to you." She said.

I took the phone from her and placed the receiver to my ear, "Hello?"

"Hey, Baby girl, how you doin?" a very familiar voice asked.

"You're 15 minutes late."

He laughed, "I apologize. I had some business to take care of. Anyway, I could not meet you there. It is too crowded. You see the woman that I sent for you?"

"Yes. She is standing right beside me."

"Well, I want you to go with her and meet me at my place of residence."

"Uhm, come again?" I said, "For all I know you and her could be serial killers or something."

He laughed again, "Look, You don't have to believe me. In fact you don't even have to come. But I won't extend another invite, and I know you want to know how I knew your mother."

I paused. He was right. My curiosity was either going to get me killed, or get me information. I looked at the mysterious woman again and sized her up. I knew I could take her, "Okay, I'm coming, but first...What is my escort's name?" I asked.

"Just call her, "Evangeline." He said.

The name caught me by surprise. Cutlass clicked off and Evangeline took the phone from my hand, "Are you ready?" she asked in her thick Spanish accent.

"Yeah." I said, as I picked up my bag and followed Evangeline out the door, "So, how long have you worked for him?"

"That is none of your concern..." She said as she pointed her keys towards the splendid black Mercedes Benz and clicked the alarm off.

"Oh, well excuse me. I was just trying to make polite conversation." I retorted.

"You'll have plenty of time for that." She quickened her pace as I fell in line beside her.

Evangeline was a very tall and statuesque woman. I am 5'9, but she dwarfed me in her high-heeled boots. She was at least 6'0 tall, give or take an inch or two.

I opened up the passenger's side and hopped in. The interior had the smell of a vehicle fresh off the showroom floor. I sat down and buckled my seat belt. Evangeline got in right after me. She took off her sunglasses and placed them on the dash board.

Evangeline was stunningly beautiful. Her eyes were light brown, and her skin had a healthy tan complexion. Evangeline's hair was so full and lustrous. It looked like she had just gotten off the set of a Pantene shampoo commercial. Her lips were full, and she had classically beautiful features.

"I apologize in advance." She said.

"For what?"

"For this..."

Evangeline whipped out a can from her pocket, and before I could even react she sprayed it in my face! I fell unconscious before getting a word out. I don't remember anything afterwards.

When I finally came to Evangeline was sitting beside me, "Wake up sleeping beauty. Your chariot has arrived." She said sarcastically.

I was infuriated, "You bitch, what in the hell did you spray in my face?" I said as I pulled down the overhead mirror to check and see if I was injured.

"Stop being such a baby. It was only a mild sedative. I could not allow you to see where we were going. Now get up. Cutlass wants to see you." She said, as she unlocked the car doors.

When I stepped out of the car I was astounded. The Mansion looked like something you would see on an episode of VH1's, 'The Fabulous Life Of..." Insert a celebrity in the blank. The compound was sitting off to itself amidst a large clearing, by the ocean. It was the color of ivory and had glass windows everywhere. It was approximately four stories high, and had a driveway that could only be compared-in size-to a race track.

"This is where he lives?"

"Yeah. Nice isn't it?"

This guy must be a baller, I thought, "What does he do to afford a place like this?"

Evangeline did not say a word. She just gave me an impish smirk, like a school girl with a juicy secret, "Let's go." She said.

Evangeline and I walked towards the entrance. Before we got there a young maid opened the door for us. "Good evening, Minerva." Evangeline said, in Spanish. I did not know a lot of Espanol, but I could understand a basic greeting. The pretty young maid returned the gesture and welcomed me as well. I smiled and politely nodded my head as we continued on our way.

I was astounded by the opulence of the Cutlass's 'humble' abode. The man was living large, and that may well have been the understatement of the century. On each wall there was a beautiful renaissance painting, and every other room had a flat screen television set inside it. The décor was exquisite. Cutlass either had great taste or one helluva interior decorator.

Evangeline and I must have walked several miles through the palatial house when we came upon a huge gymnasium. She opened the door, and I was immediately hit by the scent of sweat and adrenaline. There were three very big men making great use of the exercise equipment.

"Hey guys." Evangeline said, almost coyly.

The men turned their attention away from what they were doing, and focused on me, in spite of Evangeline's greeting.

"Yo, what's up Evangeline, new recruit?" The big bald black man asked. He had been punching the hell out of a Everlast boxing bag, and when he turned around he stared at me like my body was a piece of steak, waiting to be devoured. He was at least six-foot-five and had to weigh about 230 pounds of solid muscle. I smiled, nervously. He was very handsome, in fact all of them were.

"Down boy, she isn't joining us." Said Evangeline.

Suddenly, a really big white guy walked up to us. He had been working out with the heavy weights before we arrived. He too was very tall and muscular, even bigger than the black guy. His honey blonde hair was styled in a military crew cut. He had a powerful square jaw, piercing blue eyes, and a ruggedly handsome man-of-the-future face. The only way I can describe him would be in comparison to Dolph Lundgren in Rocky Four.

"A pleasure to meet you." He said, as he walked past Evangeline and extended his sweaty hand to me. I could tell the moment I heard him speak that he wasn't American. He sounded Swedish, or something Scandinavian. I liked how he talked.

I was flattered by his friendly gesture; however, I was not shaking his hand, You're handsome, But I don't wanna touch you while you're sweating and funky, I thought. Thankfully, Evangeline stepped in on my behalf.

"Ketchup, I think you need to cool down and take a shower. No one wants to shake your hand while you're sweating like a pig." Said Evangeline.

"Oh, I'm sorry about that, uhm-" he gestured for me to complete the sentence with my name.

"Nikki. Why do they call you 'Ketchup?" I asked, out of curiosity.

"His real name is Heinz." Another male voice chimed in. I turned around and noticed a really hot Asian guy walking towards me. He was a little taller than me, around 6'2 or so. He was wearing nothing but a tank top and shorts that showed off the definition of his slender body. He had a boyishly good looking face, and his hair was short and jostled, "Y'know, 'Heinz'-like the "Ketchup?" He said, a smirk alighting upon his lips.

"Yeah I get it." They seemed like a really friendly group, and I began to feel a bit more relaxed.

The Asian guy wiped his hands with a towel he was carrying, and extended one to me, "I'm Kano Matsumoto." He said.

I shook his hand, "That's Japanese." I said, pleased that my friendship with Kenny had given me an edge on Japanese culture.

"Good guess. And you are?"

"Nikki Bell, and I'm black." I replied. We both laughed.

Suddenly, the really hot black guy tapped me on the shoulder,

"Damon Cane. We don't get a lot of beautiful women strolling through this place, so it is always a pleasure." He said, as he threw a side-long glance at Evangeline, followed by a flash of his gorgeous smile. Evangeline rolled her eyes and flipped him the bird. I could tell it was all in fun.

I can't even lie. As a straight female my heart was racing. Three really hot guys had swarmed me like bees to honey. I had to stop myself from swooning.

"Alright fellas she is not an all you can eat buffet, get back to work.

Let's go mamacita. I just wanted to introduce you to the boys."

Said Evangeline.

"Bye Nikki." The three of them said in unison. I could tell they were teasing me.

"See you around guys." I said, as Evangeline escorted me out.

"Who were they?"

"They work for Cutlass, and that is all you need-or want-to know about them."

After that we continued on in silence. Evangeline was an abrasive bitch, and I was sick and tired of dealing with her attitude. Especially, after she sprayed that crap in my face. I was still feeling drowsy from it.

The two of us continued our journey through the cavernous hallways when we finally came to two large double doors. "Well, we have arrived. I'll let him know that you're here." She said.

I twiddled my thumbs as I anxiously waited. All kinds of thoughts began swimming through my head. I tried to block them out, but the more I did the more they overwhelmed me.

"Nikki Bell, how are you baby girl?"

The voice shattered my train of thought and snapped me out of my zone. I blinked my eyes several times and focused on the tall, white haired, black man standing beside Evangeline. It was Cutlass.

This time he was dressed in a burgundy suit, a black button down shirt, with an elegant multicolored necktie. He looked really good.

"Hi." I replied meekly, as I walked towards him.

"You can leave us now, Angie." He said. For the first time there were no catty remarks from Evangeline. She did not even question him. Evangeline simply turned and walked away. Cutlass turned back to me and smiled, "Well, I see you found my humble abode? You like?" He asked playfully.

"Wow. That is the only word I can come up with. For a man you sure know how to decorate." I replied.

"The work of the best interior Decorators that money can buy Baby girl. Well, come on in so we can get to know each other better."

I walked up the stairs and into his office, as he closed the door behind us. It was just as stylish as the rest of the house. It was furnished like a log cabin. The walls and bookshelves were made of solid oak, as was the enormous desk. A couch sat next to the desk and in front of it was, yet another, 40 inch flat screen television, embedded in the wall. Cutlass pulled out a chair for me, and took his place at his desk.

"So, what can I do for you? I'm sure you have a lot of questions for me." He said with a very self assured smile.

I got right to it, "We didn't meet by chance did we." I said, matter-of-factly.

Cutlass laughed, "No, we didn't. I had a job to do in the area. However, when I saw you I had to say something. Rest assured, It was a total coincidence that you and I were on the same train. So, have I been keeping tabs on you? Yes. Did I plan to meet you on the subway? No. That my dear was kismet, or fate as it is more commonly known."

"Your name isn't Willy Hudson either."

"You sure did your research. You got me again. Just a name I use, no more no less. We all use fraudulent names in my line of work."

"How long have you been stalking me?" I said, with a hint of sarcasm.

Cutlass smiled, "I wasn't stalking you. I saw your potential. I do alot of Cherry Picking--"

"What is "Cherry Picking?" I asked, cutting him off. My god he is a pimp,

I thought.

"Cherry picking, is searching for new and promising talent...And no, It is not about hookin." Cutlass laughed, almost as if he knew what I was thinking.

"Anyway, made me aware of a new 'potential' a few years back, you. I know all about your fighting record and tournament trophies. Not to mention that you have been training with one of the baddest cats in martial arts, Armstrong Jackson. However, I almost did a double take when I saw your picture in Martial Arts monthly for the first time. Girl, you look so much like your mother it is uncanny--"

"Alright, lets cut to the chase." I demanded, I didn't care how he knew me. I wanted answers. I pulled out the files Kenny had given me and plopped them down in front of him,

"How did you know my mother?" I asked, looking him straight in the eyes.

Cutlass was surprised, "Damn, where did you get all this from? This kind of information is classified. You must be a hacker or something."

"You could say that." I lied.

Cutlass thumbed through the mug shots before training his eyes on me, "Truth, or the fairy tale version that you want to hear?"

That comment pissed me off, "Truth."

"She worked for me a couple years..." He said.

"Doing what?" I had opened Pandora's Box. I was so afraid of knowing, but I had to. The feeling was like opening a shiny new Christmas present and fearing that a poisonous snake would be inside.

My palms started to sweat, and the instant it took Cutlass to reply seemed like an eternity had come and gone.

"Assassination." Cutlass said matter-of-factly.

An audible gasped escaped my lips before my hands could cover my mouth, "Y-you mean murder?" The pristine image that I had of my mother was already cracked, but Cutlass's reply shattered it like a wrecking ball through a glass house.

"Contract killing, Murder-for-hire, call it what you want. It's all the samething, baby girl."

"You're lying." I said, half heartedly.

Cutlass laughed out loud, "I am? You can believe that she was a teenage multiple felon, but incapable of murder? I didn't know you were that young and naïve baby girl." Cutlass opened his desk drawer and put a cigar between his lips. He bit off the end and lit it with his gold plated lighter. The aroma was sweet and inoffensive.

"So, those guys in there-and Evangeline?"

"All assassins. Four of the best in the biz. I call them, "The Nasty Boys." Evangeline was my last recruit, but I wasn't going to change the name just because I hired a female." He laughed.

"Are you one?"

"Yep, I've been in the game for the last 40 years, way before your time, youngster. Now, I just do my thing from behind the scenes. I still do jobs on occasion, if the price is right. Otherwise, I leave it up to my boys, and girl."

"H-how long did she work for you?" I said, bringing the topic back to my mother.

"Five years. Then I had to stage her death. You did learn that right? I see here that you have her updated autopsy report. Damn, I might have to put you on the payroll with those computer skills you got."

"Why did you fake her death?"

"A job went bad. Back in 89' someone put a contract out on some trial witnesses in Manhattan. They knew I had people in the area. Vernita was one of my finest, literally and figuratively," He said, a devious smirk coming across his face. I wanted to slap it off of him.

"That woman was the best lady I'd ever seen with an edged weapon. That was the main reason I recruited her: Switch blade, sword, bowie knife, butter knife, butcher knife, she could fillet you with either one. Anyway, she got careless-like we all do on occasion-and left a fingerprint on the scene. The cops matched it with her fingerprints already on file, and the hunt was on. We-me and one of my former employees-decided that it would be best to 'Ghost' her. I had some homeless crack head murdered, and strapped her into the seat of your mother's car. We rigged it with enough C4 that no amount of investigation, even dental work, would be able to recognize the body. The police assumed that it was foul play in retaliation for the deaths, and that was all she wrote." Cutlass was very smug about the story. This was a man who obviously took pride in his "work."

"What happened to her after that?"

"I sent her away to Barcelona, Spain. I told her to stay away from New York City, for good. As far as everyone knew she was dead, and I wanted to keep it that way. I loved your mother, and she did good work for me. She and I kept contact for a year, and she even did a job for me in Spain. But, around July I never heard from her again. I even went to Spain, and there was no trace of her, whatsoever. I just assumed that someone had gotten to her."

"So you have no idea what happened to her?"

"No clue, and that is pretty hard to do. I keep up with my people. I just assumed someone had disposed of her. But, I never thought she would go straight. Cleopatra--Her codename when she was with me--said she was never leaving the game. In this business when a great employee vanishes you just assume the worst. I even got in touch with former employees around the time the Soul Sistahs disbanded--"

"the Soul Sistahs?" I asked.

"That was the name of my all girl hit squad, back in the day: Isis, Nefertiti, and Cleopatra Soul." Cutlass smirked, and continued, "Anyway, the former contacts did not have any idea either. If you want my honest opinion I think she went to work for someone else."

"Did you ever know a woman named Beatrix, a tall blonde?" I blurted the question out. It was worth a shot.

"Hmm, can't say that I do..." Cutlass pondered, "I know a million and one blondes--even put a couple away in my time. Besides, we use codenames in this business. I probably know who you are talking about and have no idea what her name is. But, maybe your Auntie knows." Cutlass cracked a shit eating grin.

"Come again?" My posture turned ramrod straight. I leaned forward. Cutlass had my undivided attention.

He stood up and went towards his book shelf. He pulled down a golden picture frame and handed it to me, "A funny thing, Kismet, isn't it?"

I took the picture from him and studied it. There were three women in the photograph. One was a dark skinned black woman who had her hair in an afro. She was very beautiful-in a regal Egyptian sculpture way. In her right hand she brandished an AK-47. Next to her, not surprisingly, was my mother-Vernita Green-holding a gold plated uzi. But when I saw the last woman my mouth fell agape as the air rushed out of my lungs! I blinked my eyes and shook my head, violently. I did not want to believe it...

"Aunt Dee-Dee?" I silently mouthed.

As I stared at the tall, beautiful, green eyed, light skinned black woman I could not help but be horrified and enamored, at the sametime. She-like the other two-brandished a large rifle in her hands, as she posed for the camera. She was so beautiful, but at the sametime dangerous. For a brief instant I admired her. But the instant was fleeting and soon overwhelmed by grief. I felt a knot form in my throat. I couldn't believe it.

"When I first started scoping you out I just had to know if you were who I thought you were. When I found out that Deidre--DeeDee--was your legal guardian I almost started singing, "It's a Small World After All." He said.

I looked up at Cutlass as my eyes brimmed with tears, "My aunt worked for you too?"

"Yep. Isis--Deidre Bell--was my number one girl. She was a fuckin surgeon with a gun in her hand. I had her working alongside my male syndicate for a while, but I decided that she was good enough to lead her own unit. She came up with the idea of forming a group of beautiful, badass, black female assassins. I was definitely down with that. In certain aspects of the game women are alot better than men. Anyway, she recruited Cleopatra and Nefertiti, and The Soul Sistahs were born, " Cutlass paused and shook his head, "It was a damn shame when she got shot in the back. It paralyzed her from the waist down. She had alot of years left in her."

The tears now ran freely down my cheeks, "So it wasn't a car accident?" I sobbed.

My heart started beating faster as the rage intensified within me. I had been living with the answer to my questions for the past eight and a half years. Aunt Dee-Dee was a cold blooded killer, just like my mother had been.

"No, that was her cover story..." Cutlass started to say more, but he relented when he realized how visibly shaken I was. He came around and gently massaged my neck, "The truth hurts most of the time. I'm sorry you had to find out this way." He said.

"Please, take me home. I've heard enough." I said, as I shirked his hands away. I stood up from my chair and put the files back in my bag. I'd had enough for one day. In the span of 24 hours I had just found out that the two women I loved more than life itself were killers-for-hire.

"Wait, hold on a moment." Cutlass said. He walked back to his desk and opened the drawer. He produced a pen and a sheet of paper and sat it on the table, "Before you leave I need you to sign this."

"What is it?" I asked as I wiped the tears from my eyes.

"It is a confidentiality clause. As long as it's understood that you don't tell anyone the names or identities of my operatives everything is cool."

"What if I don't want to sign?"

"Then I'll have a Nasty Boy pay you, and Dee-Dee, a visit. I would hate to do that, because I love DeeDee to death, " Cutlass's demeanor turned deadly serious, "But, if you sign and keep your end of the bargain everything remains cool between us."

I snatched the pen from his hand and angrily jotted down my signature.

"Don't worry, your secret is safe with me." I spat.

Cutlass smiled, "I like you. You know, if you wanted to you could come work for me. I've seen video footage of you at the tournaments, and with the proper training I could make you a pro in this business. You have a great look which always works for Lady Killers. Not to mention you got it in your genes."

"Fuck you." I said. I despised Cutlass. Part of me hated him because of what he did, and the other part hated him because of what he told me. I turned around and stormed out of his office. I was angry and embittered, but I knew the key to Beatrix's whereabouts was right under my nose.

Dee-Dee had some major explaining to do.

To Be Continued