Carlton went silence for a second before he answered.
Yeah bro. Can’t talk too much on these phones. They hacked my shit that’s why I’m calling from this number.
Jarvis felt the back of his neck prickle.
He glanced in his rearview out of habit. Interstate behind him was open just a bread truck and a silver Camry minding their business.
The black faded SUV was long gone, swallowed up somewhere in the early morning traffic. But gone didn’t mean safe.
Gone just meant he couldn’t see it.
“Damn.” He said it quiet. Almost to himself.
Then the morning started rewinding in his head the SUV matching every turn. The way it rolled slowly down his street like it was reading addresses.
“Well they had a faded SUV following me this morning,” Jarvis said, sitting up straighter in the seat.
“I pulled over to the side of the road and that mutha turned down the same street I was on and slowed all the way down.”
He paused.
“You already know shoot first, ask questions later. Had my hand on it and everything.”
What happened?
“They sped up. Blew right through the stop sign.” Jarvis merged right, took the next exit without thinking about work anymore.
Work was the last thing on his mind. “So I jumped behind them. Followed them onto the interstate. That’s when you called telling me this shit.”
The line went quiet again. He could hear Carlton breathing. Slow and deliberate, like he been running on no sleep and bad information for too long.
Man. Carlton’s voice dropped even lower.
I’ve been up for two days, bro. Two days putting pieces together. We can’t do this on the phone. We gotta talk face to face.
“Bet.” No hesitation. “Say less.”
Jarvis hit his blinker and pulled off the exit ramp, mind already moving three steps ahead.
Time. Location.
Who else knew what.
Whether he was being watched right now or what happened this morning was just the opening act.
Then a thought hit him cold.
“Aye hold on.” He slowed at the light, eyes cutting to the mirror again. “That faded black SUV. You think that’s connected to whatever you got going on?”
The pause on Carlton’s end was just long enough to mean something.
…I think we need to talk face to face, my ninja.
Which wasn’t a no.
Jarvis nodded slow at nobody.
The light turned green.
He drove.
To be continued… — Part 3 coming soon
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