Page 70 of Omar

"And you been seeing her the whole time without telling me."

"Yeah."

"While she's living with a man connected to the operation we're investigating."

"Yeah."

Kadeem brought his eyes down from the ceiling and looked at me. "Is this personal or is this business?"

"Both."

He nodded slowly. "Then we do this right. No more sneaking around, no more car sex behind our own warehouse, no more solo shit that puts her and us at risk." He leaned forward. "If she's got intel on Supreme's operation, that changes things. But we bring her in proper. Protected. With a plan."

"Agreed."

"Get Stone. Tonight. I want him at this table before we move on anything."

I called Stone from Kadeem's office. He picked up on the second ring, said he'd be there within the hour.

Stone arrived at seven-thirty. Jacket on, glasses in his breast pocket, the version of himself that meant business. He shook Kadeem's hand, nodded at me, and sat down at the kitchen table. Shanay had left coffee and then disappeared upstairs.

I laid it out for him. Asha's situation with Supreme, the level of control, Cee as her driver and handler, the escape attempt, Supreme's response. I kept the personal details minimal because Stone didn't need to know about the apartment or the back seat. He needed to know she was inside Supreme's operation, she had access to information we needed, and she was willing to share it if we could get her out safely.

Stone listened carefully, his fingers steepled under his chin. When I finished he asked three questions.

"How long has she been inside Supreme's household?"

"Three years. He kept her in Atlanta for most of it, brought her back to Brooklyn recently."

"Does she have access to financial records or just operational knowledge?"

"Both. She's been in his home, at his meetings, around his people. She knows names, schedules, locations."

Stone nodded. "And she's willing to cooperate? Voluntarily?"

"She wants out. She'll give us everything she has if we can guarantee her safety."

Stone took off his glasses, cleaned them on his shirt, put them back on. "If she's willing to share what she knows, that changes the picture entirely. The Associates would want to hear this." He looked at Kadeem. "My advice would be to bring her in carefully. Protect her, give her a safe location, debrief her thoroughly. Get the full scope of what she knows before we make any moves. Rushing this would be a mistake."

"How do we get her out?" Kadeem asked.

"Quietly. Someone who can walk into wherever she is and walk her out without Cee raising flags." Stone paused. "Shanay."

Kadeem looked at him. "My wife?"

"Cee's old school. He knows Supreme's circle but he don't move in ours. He won't recognize her. She goes in as a client, a walk-in looking for a consultation. Walks out with Asha, drives to a safe location. Clean extraction, no violence, no attention."

Kadeem sat with that for a moment. "I'll talk to Shanay."

"Do." Stone stood up. "I'll start preparing the Associates briefing. When she's out and debriefed, we take it to them with a full package. Evidence, testimony, operational intel. They'll move on it."

He put his hand on Kadeem's shoulder on the way out. "You're handling this well," he said quietly. "Both of you."

The front door closed behind him. Kadeem and I sat at the table in the quiet kitchen.

"You trust her?" Kadeem asked.

"Yeah."