The phone rings driving Cairo out from his deep slumber. Cairo stares in disbelief as his phone violently vibrates against the mahogany wood of his nightstand.

The dream that he had... It was all just a dream.  Silently swearing, Cairo forces himself to grab the phone, all the while fighting the desire to fall back asleep and relive the sweet, sweet, fantasy again.

“Hello?” he groggily answers.

“Rise and shine,” Marcel cheerfully chirps on the other side, “Lance wanted me to remind you that you have a date today.”

Cairo lies on his bed for a minute to process what his friend said over the phone.

“Cairo?”

“Fuck you Marcel,” Cairo shouts before ending the call.

Groaning, he rises out of his sheets and prods himself against the bedframe.

He spent the entire night yesterday searching for Samantha before finally relenting.

“Shit,” he curses.

Sunlight peeks through the cracks between his curtains as Cairo prepares himself for the day. Despite only doing a favor for his friend, there was no way he was going uptown looking like he fought off a pack of raccoons.

After running through a quick shower, he fits on his best leather coat, and checks for any smudge on his jewelry. He runs his comb through his hair as he checks his messages.

Only sales, Cairo grimly notes.

Carrying two phones had its uses, but lately it seems as if the only calls he was getting were “business” related. His personal mobile, except for a few incidents, has been mostly silent.

Cairo takes a deep breath and is about to exit his apartment when a sudden knocking surprises him.

Taken aback, Cairo cautiously opens the door pondering who could possibly be at his house this early in the morning. Was it Lance and Avery? Must be Avery. Strange, Cairo told her husband that he was going to come to their house later today.

Cairo begins, “Lance, I thought I was going to pick her u-”

He stares with his mouth opened as a large burly figure appears in front of him. Towering at six feet, a head taller than Cairo, the man removes his hat and solemnly address Cairo.

“We need to talk.”

“We were never a thing though?”

“You have time?

“I’m actually in a rush Barry.”

“Whatever’s important right now put it to the side. I take priority.”

Barry pushes him way past Cairo who offers no resistance.

“Oh, sure come on in,” Cairo sarcastically mutters, “I just love having mud all over my hardwood floors.”

Barry strolls around the room for a minute, glancing at all the new furniture and accessories around the room, before sitting himself at the closest couch. He removes his hat but leaves his thick coat on as he lets out a loud sigh.

Cairo unworriedly walks toward Barry.

“So,” Cairo begins, “what can I do for the chief of police this fine morning?”

Barry sparks a cigarette, flicks out the match, and reaches over toward the table to empty the ashes into the ashtray.

Cairo waits for a long minute as Barry unhurriedly smokes his cigarette.

“Barry,” Cairo says, “what the fuck are you doing here?”

Barry looks up at Cairo. His unfriendly sharp, thin eyes stare at Cairo, almost as if he was staring deep into him.

The stare would normally make any person uncomfortable if not for the fact that Cairo had other things preoccupying his mind. Mainly, the thought of how late he was going to be when he picks up Avery.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Barry retorts, “what’s going through that ignorant head of yours? Is there anything there? Does the process of thinking even apply in that brain of yours?”

Cairo tilts his head at the unexpected insult.

“Excuse me?” he hisses.

“Six murders this month,” Barry continues, “and four of them are by you.”

“Altoid was a menace,” Cairo rebukes, “I did y’all a favor when I put that motherfucker into the ground.”

“And the other three?”

Cairo stays silent.

Barry smashes his finished cigarette into the ashtray and rises from his seat threateningly.

“Maybe I should put you in the same cell as Ricky,” Barry threatens, “give those boy’s parents some measure of justice.”

“If this is about the quota, you should already have gotten plenty for you trouble this month.”

“This isn’t about money Cairo,” Barry interrupts, “I still have my pride as a peace keeper.”

“Yet you still accept dainty little red envelopes from a person like me.”

Silence.

“Sit down,” Cairo calmly says, “I’ll grab you something from the fridge.”

“How’s Ricky doing?” Cairo asks as he opens his fridge door.

Barry cautiously sits back down and stares at Cairo.

“You mean after-”

“Yes.”

Cairo stares deathly at Barry for a moment before grabbing a beer and offering it to Barry.

The chief doesn’t budge so Cairo simply leaves it on the table.

“What are you playing at?” Barry asks once more, “These games of yours are only going to be fun for so long. One day all this will come crashing down.”

“Like a row of dominoes…”

“What?”

Cairo quickly gulps down the rest of his drink and starts for his door.

“If you came just to complain,” Cairo solemnly says as he throws his empty bottle into a nearby trashcan and opens the door, “you can write me a grievance.”

Cairo turns and faces a speechless Barry before continuing.

“I am fully aware what’s at stake here,” Cairo says as he looks up to Barry, “and the consequences of my actions, both past, present and future.”

Barry is about to open his mouth to interject but Cairo interrupts him, finishing his thoughts.

“If you’ll excuse me sir, I have somewhere to go.” Cairo says, “Make sure to clean up after yourself before you leave.”