It has been almost three years since I last started this story, and I can't believe that I'm almost done. Just one chapter left that I'm working on as we speak. This story is mostly centered around Mercedes, and I know it seems like Sam isn't appearing much, but it was something new I wanted to try. Thanks to all who have given feedback and who has stuck with me. I appreciated it. I should be updating the Bachelor sometime this week also.
Andrea had been asking Mercedes for months to come to her church. She had a bad taste in her mouth about churches ever since she'd been kidnapped. God had always been a major part of her life from the time she breathed air in this world. Gloria made sure of that. Mercedes went to her preacher when she was returned from the kidnapping. She sought out some spiritual leadership. She explained to the pastor what she'd been through and she proclaimed it was a wakeup call from God. The pastor simply said, "It wasn't a wakeup call from God. God would never allow you to experience any bad if you're his child." Mercedes began to cry and she described to the pastor how she had prayed while being held captive and how God answered her prayer. The pastor said, "Maybe somebody else was praying for you at the same time. God didn't even hear your prayers because you're a sinner. He doesn't acknowledge a sinner's prayers," said the minister.
She became agitated with the pastor. She thought to herself, 'and you're supposed to be saving souls from going to hell'. She simply spoke out to him in a firm tone, "Matthew 7:1 says 'Judge not, that you be judged.'" She stormed out of the church. She stopped paying her tithes at that church. She tithed faithfully to T.V. broadcast ministries, but never stepped another foot into that church again.
One, Sunday, Mercedes and her aunt Andrea had dinner. Andrea greeted Mercedes with a gold gift bag. Enclosed in the gift bag was a DVD "No More Sheets" by Juanita Bynum.
"Why don't you come to church next Sunday with me? After church, we're having dinner. Don't answer now. Just don't rule it out. Promise me you will watch the DVD."
"I promise," Mercedes said.
Andrea whispered in Mercedes's ear as she embraced her with a hug, "Promises aren't meant to be broken."
Mercedes sat on her sofa and flipped through all the channels and nothing was on cable. She contemplated slipping on some clothes and going to the video store then she remembered the video Andrea had given her. She inserted the DVD into the BlueRay Player and she listened and watched in disbelief.
The uncontrollable tears would not stop rolling down her face. This woman, Juanita Bynum, was so raw and to the point that, the realness of the message on the DVD, just about broke her down. She watched the tape two times and called her aunt graciously thanking her for the enlightenment and informed her that she would be visiting her church the coming Sunday.
The next morning she pulled up in the parking lot of the church and was thinking about turning around and coming a little later so that she wouldn't have to deal with all the church people looking at her all crazy because they didn't know her. She backed out of the parking space and went to the stoplight.
"This is nothing but the devil. It must be something in that church he doesn't want me to hear," she murmured to herself.
On that note, she made a U-turn and reasoned with herself.
"Forget these people I am not going to think about them. I am not here for them anyway. They can look at me all they want to. I am just going to look right back at them and eat up their food and leave. Simple as that!"
Boy was she wrong.
As she exited her car, a cheerful lady, who looked like Diana Ross, walked up and hugged her. "Thank you, sister, for stopping by. Ooh, it's so good to be in the House of the Lord. God wants you to know that He loves and I do too," said the lady. As Mercedes approached the church, another jolly lady hugged her. "Sister, has anybody told you they loved you today?" Mercedes was stunned. She couldn't even answer. The lady continued, "I love you and God loves you too." Mercedes begin to feel relaxed and at peace. She proceeded to the door and the usher greeted her with a bulletin and a hug as well. "It's so nice to see you, sister."
She was no longer nervous about entering into the new church. Everybody was hugging each other as if they were on a church member recruitment commercial. Mercedes felt they were sincere, that no one was pretending. They all seemed so excited and exalted to be in the house of the Lord. They all hugged her and made her feel that she wasn't a stranger at all. She spotted her aunt Andrea and joined her. Nothing could prepare her for what she was about to witness. Church started, and Mercedes watched in disbelief. It was like these people were having a BIG party for God. She'd partied the night before, but these folks were shouting, jumping around, dancing, and swinging their hands from side to side. They had the tambourines shaking and drums playing.
Mercedes thought she knew how to party and attended all the finest, top-notch social gatherings, but Andrea reminded her that she'd never been present at a "Holy Ghost" party. She wanted to join in, but she couldn't, she thought. She had been out partying the night before. Was God going to approve of her? She listened to music and observed the people. She couldn't stop the tears from rolling down her eyes. She asked God for forgiveness for all her sins. She listened attentively to every word that the minister spoke. She realized at that moment, that whatever church she went to, it would have to be a teaching church. It felt as though the pastor was talking directly to her. Everything he said pertained to her.
When church was over, the members embraced her with hugs and love. She could feel the anointing over her. Mercedes attended church every Sunday and when she would run into the people from her old church, they would make comments, as if her previous church was the only church in Richmond. They would assume that she was off in the world, simply because they didn't see her at their church. She would make it clear, "Oh, I go to The Holy Ghost Deliverance Church,"
"Oh, well it's O.K. to visit, but it's nothing like your home church," they would say in doubt.
"Why can't people be content for me that I am attending church somewhere?" She said to herself on her way home from service.
Since being back to church, Mercedes has been reflecting on a lot of decisions she has made in her life. From drug trafficking, kidnapping, prison, she knew she needed to make a change. She called upon God and started with the Psalm 23:4, "Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff, they will comfort me." She began to pray and promised God that she would make some changes. She knew that it was because of him that she was still alive.
Mercedes continued to go to church every Sunday. She thought, "If I can give this job five days a week, the least I can do is give God one day a week. She began to look at church the same way she looked at her job. She was on time to work, so, therefore, she never stepped into church a second late. When she was at work, she participated in work to the fullest. At church, she just didn't sit in her seat. She involved herself in the ministry. She also included herself in church functions. She dressed neatly for church as she did work.
And she also continued to visit Sam faithfully every week and even he could see a change in her, a sense of maturity. Sam wasn't into religion as much as she was. He had studied different religions and didn't agree with all the facts. But whenever Mercedes spoke on her religion, he listened to her attentively, simply because he was interested in anything she had to say. She would send him tapes from Sunday's services and would also send verses and any kind of propaganda she came across.
She was very proud that Sam had taken a bad situation and made the best of it. He used it as a growing experience. He read and studied everything and taught himself different languages, took college courses, and acquired two different degrees, and was pursuing his Masters. Mercedes expressed to Sam that the only kind of man she knew she could be happy with, was a man of God. She came to grips that a Godly man was going to live upright and wasn't going to intentionally do anything to disappoint God. So, if this man of God thinks so highly of God, she knew he would treat her as she needed and longed to be treated.
She then told Sam that she wanted him to go to his Bible and look up Proverbs 31:10-31. She informed him of the fact that she felt she was growing into a virtuous woman. That was one of her strong qualities she brought to the table. She told him she wasn't going to settle for a man who wasn't equally yoked. But she made sure that he knew she wasn't going to pressure him to commit his life to God. And she never did. She always spoke the word to Sam and continued to give him scriptures to encourage him to want to develop a personal relationship with God.
Before she knew it, Sam was quoting her scriptures and speaking the word to her. He graciously thanked Mercedes for introducing him to God. He told her that he would take everything she said into consideration. He wanted to make sure he could be the type of man she needed. He didn't want to bring anymore heartache and pain to her.
Mercedes her job at the law firm. She worked for a lawyer named Jack Do Right. This was his given name. His name alone was a wonderful asset for any attorney and brought in a great deal of business. Jack was a very prominent attorney, who practiced criminal law for ten years. He dressed sharp and he always smelled good. He was especially crazy about Mercedes. He liked the way she could be as soft-spoken and look like a rose but could sting like a thorn. He liked her eagerness and her drive. She was very intelligent and dedicated to her job and the clients, as well. She was a bit more assertive than the average attorneys he knew and he could never figure out why she never entered law school. Jack knew the very minimum of her personal life. He just assumed she had no personal life because she worked such long hours throwing herself into her work at the firm.
Mercedes thought highly of Jack. He acted as though he had her best interest at heart. She was his paralegal, and they worked as a team. She developed the utmost respect for him and he never took her for granted. He was a permanent reminder of the attorney she could have become.
While out to lunch one afternoon, a call came in for her supervisor. It was Cara. She had informed one of the other partners of the firm of Mercedes's background. She mentioned to the partner that Mercedes had been convicted of a felony, and how she should be fired. She also expressed that Mercedes was in a relationship with a convicted murderer who's in prison on death row. She added lies and exaggerated the truth.
When Mercedes returned from lunch, Jack asked to speak to her in his office. He presented her with the information he'd received. Mercedes wanted to cry. This was a part of her checkered past catching up with her. She reflected on what a quote her mother used to warn her about. "What you do in the dark will always come to light." Then she took a deep breath, and for the first time in her life, she explained everything to Jack. She figured she was going to get fired anyway, so she had nothing to lose in telling Jack the truth. She explained the whole scenario with Drew and the gun charge. She also told him about the expungement of her record. She explained that was the reason why she never entered law school.
Jack sat looking at her in amazement. He couldn't believe she had such a strong drive and he was speechless for a few seconds before plainly saying,
"There comes a time when the girl gotta do what a girl gotta do. And it looks to me like, it's just remarkable, how you managed to pick up the pieces under the unbalanced conditions. That alone, says a lot about you, Mercedes. It would have been so easy for you to just say oh, forget about this and have a pity party for yourself, but you didn't."
Jack didn't fire her under the provisions that she'd enroll in law school.
Mercedes' feelings were extremely hurt when she thought of Cara. She began to hear a lot of hurtful things that Cara had been saying about her. She never understood why Cara would go around talking about her. For every one thing, Cara knew on Mercedes, Mercedes knew ten things on her. When people asked her if she had seen Cara, she would simply say, "no". Why couldn't Cara do the same thing? Why couldn't Cara just be mature about the whole situation? After Cara's latest stunt, Mercedes began to think of all the ways she could get in touch with Cara's man, who she'd heard was locked up, and tell him some trifling things about her. But she simply told herself, she'd never tell him any of those things when she and Cara were friends, and she wasn't going to stoop to Cara's level.
While praying on Mercedes' downfall, Cara had done her a favor because she had lost sight of her dream of becoming a lawyer.
Mercedes recollected on the service the pastor taught on Sunday morning. How you reap what you sow. It's like a farmer. He sows into the good ground so he can reap a plentiful harvest. The more you give the more you get in return. Mercedes knew in her heart that God had a bigger plan for her. She knew that she would be blessed astronomically.
Jack's wife left a note on the refrigerator that said she was leaving him to be with her tennis instructor. And of course, he didn't take the news well. He began looking fatigued and unkempt. People at the firm were whispering behind his back about how he was losing control. Mercedes expressed to Jack how she could smell the liquor on him coming out of his pores, and the fact that he WAS falling apart. He confessed that he had been drinking heavily and had even experimented with LSD. During the conversation, one of the partners barged in and informed Jack that his reputation was at stake, and the other partners suspected that he was on drugs judging by his appearance. He denied the accusations but the partners demanded a drug test from him. He was at his lowest point and was certain that his career was out of the window. Jack even contemplated suicide. Mercedes listened as the partners spoke harshly to Jack. The partners instructed him to report for the drug test within the next two hours.
On that note, Mercedes interrupted, "Jack I will drive you because I've got to go over that way to drop some paperwork off anyway. You look like you could use the company and support." She grabbed three folders off of the desk and as she walked off, "I'm ready now. I just have to grab my purse." Mercedes grabbed her Gucci pocketbook that matched her Gucci pumps, and they exited the building.
As soon as they were in Mercedes's car, Jack let his guard down.
"What the hell am I going to do?" He screamed.
Mercedes calmly said as she looked in her rearview mirror as she backed out of the parking space, "You are going to calm down and pull yourself together."
Jack looked at Mercedes like she was growing three heads, "Has it sunk in that there's no way that I am going to pass a drug test." He slowly stressed to her, "I USED LSD last night." As if she didn't understand what he was trying to spell out to her.
She unpretentiously stated, "Has it sunk in that I do have street sense, and in the streets, there are always two ways to skin a cat." Jack didn't understand how to possibly get around this situation.
"Please explain how I am going to skin this cat alive?"
"Just trust me, O.K.?" She said as she glanced over at Jack, while still trying to keep her eyes on the road. She pulled in the drug store's parking lot and looked Jack straight in the eyes. "I am going to get you out of this bind this one time. However, you will get help. You've got to accept the fact that your wife is gone and that it's her loss. Your pity party is over TODAY!"
Jack's eyes were glassy looking, filled with tears as he agreed, shaking his head. She told him to wait while she ran into the drug store. She returned with a pill bottle and a Styrofoam cup. She pulled into the gas station across the street from the drug test center, entered the restroom, removed the pill bottle and cup from her purse. She emptied the pills in the trash, proceeded to wash the bottle out thoroughly with hot, scorching water and dried the bottle with a paper towel. She urinated in the cup and poured the pee in the bottle. She wiped the bottled off and wrapped it in a paper towel then carefully placed the bottle in her purse.
As she exited the store, she stopped by the counter to purchase a pack of gum. She returned to the car, handed him the bottle, and instructed him, "Put this against your skin to keep it warm. You've got to keep this body temperature."
He examined the bottle and then quickly inserted it in his pants.
"As soon as you walk through the door, act as if you've got to pee as if you cannot hold it. DO NOT leave the bottle in the bathroom." She dropped Jack in front of the building and waited patiently. Jack came back to the car with a large smile on his face. He informed Mercedes that they had tested the urine while he waited.
"Thanks, So much!" He said graciously. "Take me to the bank. I could never repay you, but I've got to give you a monetary token of my appreciation."
Mercedes, straightforwardly said, "I won't take you to the bank, nor will I accept your money."
"You have to."
"Jack, I didn't do anything. I simply had your back. That's what friends do. They have each other's back unconditionally Right?"
"You're right." Jack knew he had a special friend in Mercedes, and knew that he owed her big time, even if she didn't agree.
Mercedes sat at her desk as she looked over the letter she had gotten the day before from Sam. Enclosed with the letter was his answer from his parole hearing, another turndown. She began to weep, when the energetic secretary buzzed in her line, "Mercedes, it's your mother on Line 4." She weakly said, "Alright, put her through." She picked up the phone, "Yeah, mommy."
Gloria could immediately hear in Mercedes's tone that something was majorly wrong. She could feel the pain and hurt in her voice. "Baby, what's wrong?"
Mercedes cried to her mother, "Everything!"
"If you don't tell me I can't help you, advise you or sympathize with you,"
"Mommy, I am lonely. The man I love is in prison for a crime he didn't commit. They're never going to grant him parole. I'm tired of going through all the unnecessary drama with the penal system every time I go to visit him, getting searched; they implement a new rule every week. I am at the breaking point. Mommy, I understand God doesn't put more on you than you can bear, but at the same time, I'm only human. God must feel that I am awfully strong. Mommy, I'm going to always have Sam's back as long as they keep him. I am going to be there for him, but when is justice going to prevail?"
Gloria got emotional as well. She knew Mercedes' plight. She'd been down that same road with Mercedes' father. This is the one time that she couldn't argue Mercedes' point because her daughter was right. There was no bright side to this situation. "Mercedes, God has a way of working out every situation, believe that. Where is your faith, my child? There's nothing God can't do."
"Yeah, I know, mommy," she said slowly and still in a crying mode.
"I'm not going to preach to you, but remember this: No great victories were ever won without great trials! Also, I'm making Baked Ziti tonight. I need you to come over. I have something extremely important to talk to you about."
Mercedes cut her mother off, even though Ziti was her favorite. "I just feel so overwhelmed right now. I feel like this system is so jacked up. Mommy, I'll talk to you tonight. What time is dinner going to be ready?"
"Sevenish," Gloria said.
"See you then," Mercedes said.
Jack knocked on Mercedes' office door. She tried to pull herself together before she allowed him to enter but he noticed her eyes were puffy. He placed the file folder on her desk aside. "Care to share?" he asked, as he took a bite of his apple and sat on the edge of her desk.
"No, I don't."
"Mercedes, listen, you've been nothing but a friend to me. You saved me from the bottle and losing the whole career that I busted my butt to achieve. You got me into a twelve-step program. You even brought me balloons and a cake and attended my graduation. Not to mention the countless times you had to cover for me while I was attending sobriety meetings. How come I'm always on a need-to-know basis with you?"
"Maybe the things I'm going through are too heavy for you to even understand," She said while tapping her felt tip ink pen on the desk.
"Well, why don't you try me and see."
She explained to him about the situation with Sam. She gave him the lawyer's name who she had working on his appeal. Jack instructed her to bring in all of Sam's transcripts and any paperwork she had on his trial. He told her that he was very interested in the case and that he had a friend, Larry, who was a Federal Attorney whose son was executed by electric chair and treated unjustly because of the bad relationship his friend and the governor had. Jack promised her that he would go through Sam's transcripts with a fine-toothed comb. Mercedes felt relieved and grateful.
Jack simply said, "That's what friends do. They have each other's back unconditionally."
Mercedes drove to her mother's house and listened to "Dear Momma" by 2Pac on her way there. She listened to the words of the song, which made her think of her very own mother. Tears formed in her eyes, thinking of the countless times her mother had come through for her. When there was no one else, there was always her mother, through the bad, good, happy, and sad, countless times her mother was always the last one standing when the dust settled.
When Mercedes arrived at Gloria's house, she could smell the Baked Ziti cooking as she approached the door. Her mother asked if she felt better since she'd spoken to her earlier. Mercedes told her what Jack said to her earlier that day. After they were finished with dinner, Mercedes did the dishes as she always had, from the time she was twelve years old.
"Mommy, you're so old school. Why do you have a dishwasher and still require me to do the dishes by hand? Why do you have a dryer and yet you still hang your clothes on the clothesline?"
Gloria just laughed and said, "Your generation is too spoiled, so when you come over here, I have to enforce my old school ways to keep you from getting caught up in this new generation lifestyle, Sweetie." She pinched Mercedes' cheeks, then filled the teakettle with water.
Gloria carried the tray with the teacups on it out into the dining room and placed it on the table. She had a serious look on her face. Mercedes noticed earlier that Gloria had appeared uptight since she had arrived at her mother's house.
"Mommy, what's wrong?"
"I told you over the phone, I've got something extremely serious to speak to you about."
Shivers went down her spine. She was afraid. Was her mother sick? Did she have cancer? Was it her father? She couldn't imagine what could've been so serious. Gloria looked at her daughter and took a deep breath. Mercedes got up and hugged her mother and asked her, "Mommy what is it?"
Gloria began to look out the window as if she was paranoid.
"Mommy, you are scaring me."
Gloria looked at her and simply said. "I hope that I am making the right decision"
"Right decision about what?" Mercedes asked as she began to cry herself.
She took Mercedes into her arms and she wiped her tears away. "Sweetie, stop it, don't you start crying. It's nothing bad. I need to get myself together, because it's so much to tell you, and I don't know exactly where to begin."
Mercedes looked at Gloria with a puzzled look on her face, and said: "Mommy, just start from the beginning".
"Well, it all started right after you returned from the kidnapping. I had no type of understanding of your forgiveness in your heart for Drew." Gloria pointed to her chest. "I wanted him dead myself. I couldn't grasp the notion that you had let it all go." She began to pace the floor as she continued to explain. "Your feelings were impassive towards Drew. I automatically concluded that you were only experiencing post-traumatic shock. I was convinced as soon as the shock wore off, you were going to snap and..." She paused as she stopped in her tracks and looked at Mercedes. Gloria breathed as she continued, "and... and killed him. Once that would've happened, the justice system wouldn't have any sympathy or pity on you, and your struggle. I felt the need to gather collateral myself in case I needed to step in to look after you. I needed a shield of protection."
Mercedes listened attentively as Gloria continued, she could sense the seriousness in her mother's voice, as she sat down on the edge of the chair. She made direct eye contact with her. "I went out and spent close to $15,000 in high tech video equipment. I begin to make movies and audiotapes of the corruption that I silently watch go on at these parties that I cater to the entire city and state officials." She shook her head. "The contents of these tapes are so explicit. It is unreal. I have congressmen on tape giving each other blowjobs. It is so sick. I even planted a camera in the parole's chairman car. He arrived at a party and expected "ME" to park his car because the valet parkers were all tied up. At the time, I didn't know who he was, but I figured he had some skeletons in his closet as they all do. I planted a micro-size camera, the size of a dime, behind the BMW emblem on the dash of his car. I removed the emblem, put a pinhole in it, placed the camera under it. The camera exposed him sniffing cocaine and having sex with prostitutes. I also have evidence of judges accepting bribes."
Mercedes listened in astonishment and asked, "Mommy, when did you get to be so gangsta?"
Gloria said, "I had to take precaution when you started getting exposed to this mean world. I wasn't going to let the system take you away from me as they had your father. You're all I have. Gloria looked at Mercedes and told her ", I waited so long to tell you this, because I didn't know if you were going to get indicted. Now, since I feel secure, I am going to give you the evidence, and I want you to use it to get Sam out of prison."
Mercedes begins to cry. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Gloria pointed to a box. "There is all you need to negotiate Sam's release. Remember what I told you when you were a little girl. "Nothing in life is free! That goes for the contents in that box." Gloria stopped Mercedes in her tracks as she sprinted to the box in the corner. This was the first time her mother had ever asked her for money. She was surprised, but she didn't care if she had to work for the rest of her life to pay off her mother.
"Mommy, how much?"
"You finish law school, take the bar exam, and give me at least two grandchildren."
Mercedes smiled at Gloria and opened the box. She was in total shock at the pictures. Gloria had tons of audiotapes and videotapes. She even had flash drives, which contained info. Mercedes looked at her mother in disbelief. "Mommy, what about you? What about your business?"
"First of all, there is no way they can trace any of the tapes back to me. If they do, then what? I've got two sets of copies. If anything ever happens to you or me, I've got people who have special instructions on what to do. Don't worry. I've got that part taken care of. See I'm from the old school and my friends live by a set of principles and morals that your generation doesn't understand or can't relate to. As far as my business, remember the canal that they're going to be opening up on the James River in Shockoe Bottom? I've just closed on a building that overlooks the Canal as well as the James River. It's going to be upscale dining. It's going to be reservation required, after 5 attire, the whole shebang. So, I'll be just fine." She smiled at Mercedes. "Now you take the box and get out of here. You got some negotiating to do."
She hugged her mother. "Mommy, I love you so much. Thank you for being my mother as well as being a FAITHFUL MOTHER!"
Gloria simply responded, "Well, sometimes a mother has to do what a mother has to do." She hugged and kissed Mercedes on the forehead.
The next morning, Jack called Mercedes before she left for work. "I am just calling to remind you to bring Sam's transcripts and paperwork."
"Oh, it's sitting at my front door. I should be there in about 45 minutes."
"See you then"
She took the transcripts to work with her. For the next two weeks, she reviewed the information that her mother had given her thoroughly. She would go into work two hours earlier, to use the law reference books at the office. When she would arrive, she would observe Jack working so diligently on Sam's'case. Jack stayed past 9 pm every night going over the technicalities in the trial. This was the first time she had ever seen him enthused about something.
Jack called Mercedes at 8:37 one Saturday night. He had come in to specifically work on Sam's case. "Mercedes, Are you busy?"
"No, is something wrong?"
"If you're not busy, I need you to come by the office. I've got to talk to you."
"Jack, I'm on the way." She threw on some jeans and a T-shirt with her Air Max sneakers. Every stoplight caught her, simply because she was in a hurry. When she finally arrived, Jack was waiting in his office. He removed his reading glasses.
"Mercedes, I have to be straight up with you. I need to speak to Sam. He's been sold out!"
"What? Sold out?" Then she laughed, "Tell me something that I don't already know."
"His lawyer sold him out. His lawyer may not have wanted to do it, but I guess it was greed. See, the police along with the commonwealth attorney composed a list called the "Blackball List." This list consists of individuals, usually mastermind criminals, who the city, county, or state have spent so much money investigating and have come up with nothing. These individuals are clever. They rarely slip up. They humiliate the police department as well as the courts because they're never in a vulnerable situation whereas the police can blackball them. So, whenever they may slip up the least little bit, they set them up. The crime is usually setup. The jury is usually rigged, typically with undercover cops posing as citizens. The lawyers they hire are a set up as well. The lawyers are paid a large bonus to keep their mouths shut along with whatever money the clients pay them. It's all premeditated down to the judge presiding over the case. See they spend so much money on surveillance and never can get a conviction. They look like imbeciles. So, that's where the Blackball List comes into play."
Mercedes could not believe what Jack was saying to her. Jack continued, "It's not all the lawyers. I'm almost positive that when you were shopping for lawyers for Sam, maybe one or two said their caseload was too heavy to take on the case." Mercedes reflected and shook her head in agreement. Jack added, "I've already called my friend, Larry Fair, the friend I mentioned earlier whose son was killed by an electric chair many years ago. He's already on a flight from Canada on his way here. He plays dirty with these folks. He's what I call," Jack put his fingers up to make quotation marks as he said, 'a Gangster Attorney.' "He's no joke when it comes to throwing salt." Jack looked at his watch. "We have about an hour and a half before we have to pick him up at the airport," Jack added. Mercedes, I need you to let Sam know that we are taking over his case and he can fire that other poor excuse for an esquire. Maybe we should allow Larry to fire him. Larry gets a real kick out of these types of predicaments."
In less than 20 seconds, Mercedes' cell phone rang. She looked at her caller ID, and it was. Sam. She hurried to press 0 to accept the call while leaving the room to have some privacy while speaking to him.
"Hey, Sam." She tried to stay calm, not wanting to talk long over the phone.
But of course, Sam knew her well enough. "Everything okay?"
"Everything is fine. But listen, I don't want to talk over the phone. But we're coming up to visit you on Monday with two lawyers."
"Okay, I trust you. I miss you and I can't wait to see you."
"I miss you too. And you will see me in less than 48 hours. But I hate to cut our phone conversation short."
"No, I get it. Handle your business. I'll see you on Monday."
They said their goodbyes and hung up. Mercedes normally hated when they had to hang up, but this time, she knew they were one step closer to bringing him home for good.
On her way back to Jack's office, she began thinking about the box her mother gave her, and if she should reveal it to Jack and Larry to speed up the process, or should just trust them to bring Sam back to her.
By the time she reached Jack's door, she was lost in thought.
Jack asked, "Why that look?"
"Jack," she said, "I think I may have something, but I would feel more comfortable sharing it with you before Larry arrives."
Jack looked puzzled, but he slowly said, "O.K."
"But we've got to leave now." Mercedes drove them to a storage she had rented, under an alias. They hopped out of the car, and she opened the lock on the storage. He looked at Mercedes before he took the lid off, and she nodded her head at him to persuade him. He opened it and he too was bewildered. He had a cunning expression on his face.,
"This is beautiful! Mercedes you are amazing. Where did you get these?"
"I can't expose that. I'd die first."
Jack stressed, "I understand. At this point in it, it doesn't even matter where you got it from with these indecent actions going on. We're going to let Larry do the negotiating on this one."
"There's one more thing. I don't want Sam to know anything about this evidence until he's released. I don't want him to get his hopes up too high for a letdown." Jack agreed.
They arrived at the airport. Larry's flight arrived right on time. Mercedes didn't know quite what Jack meant when he said Larry was a gangster attorney until she met him. She then understood fully. As wealthy, energetic, and intelligent as he was, she could detect a bit of swag in him. He had a fire within his soul. She could see he was a warrior. He would die for his cause. Larry was so excited that he had these political criminals backed up against the wall. When he studied the evidence, a few times, Mercedes thought he was going to do cartwheels around the office. The more evidence he saw, he jumped up and did the Carlton from Fresh Prince of Bel-Air dance. Mercedes tried to determine if this guy was working with a full deck or not. She knew when he started to speak.
He looked at Jack and asked, "Where can we go to get a blowout cell phone?"
"What's a blowout cell phone?" Jack asked with a confused look on his face.
Mercedes interrupted. "It's a cell phone where you might pay $75.00, but the phone has no limitations. You can't receive any incoming calls. It is activated usually for a month or so. I may know someone who may know where to get one from." Mercedes arranged to get the phone. Larry made the necessary calls, and the next day, Sam was granted an unconditional pardon where the paperwork had to be signed the next day.
Mercedes couldn't believe what was happening. She stopped by Gloria's house to give her an update on Sam.
"How do you prepare for your man who's been imprisoned for the past ten years?"
Gloria hugged her and said, "We're going to plan a celebration."
"Mommy, don't go all out. Something small."
Gloria looked at her, "Don't tell me how to plan my son-in-law's release party." She was ecstatic.
Mercedes called Sam's mother.
"Hello, my dear daughter-in-law," Sandra said.
"Who would've thought that we'd end up so close."
Sandra laughed and said, "I'm telling you. I truly gave you a hard time."
Mercedes interrupted before Sandra got carried away with that whole episode. "Listen, Sandra, I need you tomorrow. I know you're working but I need you to take off."
Sandra humbly said, "Say no more, I will take an emergency personal day. What's wrong, baby?"
"I can't and won't explain to you on the phone. Please just meet my mother at her house. She will explain everything in the morning."
"No problem, baby. I'll call your mother when I'm on the way."
The very next day, Mercedes was on her way to the Haynesville Correctional Center to pick Sam up. While she was on the way, she had butterflies in her stomach. She began to think, what if Sam comes home and acts a fool. What if he comes home and tries to play catch up? What if he is released and doesn't love me anymore, because I've matured so much? I hope he doesn't just continue the relationship if his heart isn't here, but he feels obligated because I've been there for him. I'm going to make that clear off the top, that he doesn't owe me anything. What if he comes home and goes back to that same lifestyle all over again? If he does, I will surely be gone.' Mercedes continued to overthink the whole ride. She was so overjoyed and scared at the same time. She shouted out, "Sam you better do right!"