Chapter 3: Gilded Cage, Watchful Streets**
The apartment on 147th and Frederick Douglass was a cage dressed in luxury. Thick carpets swallowed sound. The windows offered a panoramic view of Harlem rooftops, but the reinforced glass and discreet bars whispered *containment*. Vance stood just inside the doorway after the last suitcase was deposited by two silent Crown soldiers, his expression perpetually sour. Rosa moved with quiet purpose, placing her grandmother's faded quilt prominently on the pristine beige sofa, setting her mortar and pestle firmly on the gleaming kitchen counter – small, defiant acts of claiming space. Maya, oblivious to the tension, gasped.
**"It's sparkly clean, Mami! Like a castle!"** She immediately started dragging her bag of bright plastic blocks towards a corner of the plush carpet. **"This can be Princess Maya's tower!"**
Vance shifted his weight, his scowl deepening as blocks scattered. Eli stood near the secured laptop Vance had provided, his mind already cataloging: camera blind spots? Audio surveillance likely. Exit routes: main door only, guarded. *Cage confirmed. Access point: digital.*
Rosa straightened, meeting Vance's flinty gaze directly. **"What are the rules, Mr. Vance? For coming and going. For Maya."** Her voice was calm, practical.
Vance's jaw worked. **"Boy works. Here. Or in the secure office down the hall when I say. You,"** he jerked his chin at Rosa, **"stay put. Groceries delivered. Laundry picked up. Kid,"** he glanced at Maya, **"stays inside. No outside play."**
**"Maya needs fresh air,"** Rosa stated, not argued. **"She needs to see Ms. Clara. Her sitter."**
**"Not happening,"** Vance snapped. **"Deacon said secure. Secure means inside."**
**"Secure doesn't mean imprisoned children,"** Rosa countered, her voice low but steely. **"You watch us walk there. You watch us walk back. Two blocks. Or do the Crowns fear two blocks with their own eyes watching?"**
Vance glared, caught. He grunted, pure irritation. **"Fine. Short walks. To the sitter and back. Direct route. No dawdling. I escort. Or Luther. Understood?"**
**"Understood,"** Rosa replied. She turned to help Maya build her tower.
Later that afternoon, the procession began. Vance walked a pace ahead, radiating menace. Rosa held Maya's hand tightly. Eli walked slightly behind, his gaze taking in every detail of the Crown-controlled building's perimeter – guard rotations, camera placements – filing it under **Project Unity: Infrastructure Assessment**.
Ms. Pearl leaned out her window, wiping her hands on her apron. **"Lord, look at that,"** she murmured. **"Rosa walkin' that baby right under Vance's nose. Head high. That woman's got nerves of steel. But that boy Eli... watchin' everything. Like his daddy did. Silas got his hooks deep now."**
Old Man Henderson, pretending to whittle on his stoop, tracked Vance's posture, the subtle hand signal to a man in a parked car. *Leash got a short chain,* he thought. *Silas playin' it tight. Rosa holdin' the line for that little one. Gotta respect it.* He gave Rosa the faintest nod as they passed.
Keisha "Keys" Johnson paused her double-dutch, breathing to her friend, **"Whoa. Crown babysitting service. Vance lookin' like he swallowed a bee. Little Maya just chattin' away. Eli... scanin' the block like a little spy camera. Got their new cage on 147th. Top floor. Gotta update the map."** She mentally filed: *Reyes HQ: Crown Tower. Vance: Reluctant Nanny. Maya: Oblivious Princess.*
Maya skipped, pointing. **"Look, Mami! A red bird! Hi, Mr. Grumpy! See the bird?"** She beamed up at Vance's stony profile.
Vance didn't turn. **"Walk."**
**"But the bird is *pretty*!"** Maya insisted.
Rosa gently squeezed her hand. **"Walk now, *mi amor*. Tell Ms. Clara about the bird."**
Ms. Clara opened her door, her warm smile faltering slightly at the sight of Vance looming. She quickly masked it, bending down. **"Maya, sweet pea! Come give Ms. Clara a hug! Did you see a red bird? Tell me all about it!"** Maya launched into an excited description. Rosa stepped inside the familiar warmth, Vance positioning himself just outside the door, visible through the screen.
Ms. Clara lowered her voice, her eyes filled with worry as she handed Rosa Maya's bag. **"He stays *out there*?"**
**"For now,"** Rosa murmured back. **"Two blocks. Watched."**
Ms. Clara squeezed Rosa's hand fiercely. **"Green sedan. Plate ending 7J. Seen it slow-roll past here twice this morning. Same one near your old place yesterday?"**
Rosa nodded subtly. **"Thank you, Clara."** She raised her voice slightly. **"We'll be back at five, Maya. Be good."**
**"Bye-bye, Ms. Clara! Bye-bye, Mr. Grumpy!"** Maya called cheerfully, waving through the screen door at Vance's impassive back.
Back in the Crown apartment, the sterile air felt heavier. Eli was already at the laptop, navigating the partitioned Crown financial system. Maya, buzzing from her outing, approached Vance, who stood rigidly near the door. She held up a new drawing – a lopsided sun, a purple dog, and a towering stick figure with a deep scowl.
**"For you, Mr. Grumpy!"** she announced, thrusting it towards him. **"It's you! And Sunshine! And Mr. Wiggles! He's happy! Sunshine is nice, you should try it!"**
Vance froze. His scowl deepened momentarily, then transformed into pure bewilderment. He stared at the offered artwork, then down at the tiny, expectant face. His eyes darted to Rosa, stirring beans on the stove, then to Eli, whose typing paused. Slowly, as if the paper might explode, Vance reached out and took the drawing. He didn't say thank you. He didn't smile. He just stared at it, perplexed.
Later, walking down the hallway, Rosa saw it. The drawing wasn't crumpled or discarded. It was carefully tucked under the edge of the security monitor screen. Sunshine and Mr. Wiggles faced out. A tiny, bizarre flag of truce planted by innocence.
Eli worked late into the glow of the laptop, the apartment silent except for Maya's soft breathing. He'd implemented the laundromat fix flawlessly. But his true work was hidden. Deep within the Crown's records, he found it: irrefutable proof of "Smooth" Ronnie's larger operation – diverted shipments, falsified manifests, encrypted communications with a rival. *The Ronnie Bomb.* He encrypted the evidence. *Leverage.* Deadly leverage.
He closed the laptop, exhaustion warring with the thrill. He looked up. Rosa was sitting in the dim light by the barred window, her silhouette against the Harlem night. She wasn't looking out. She was looking at him, her eyes filled with fierce love and deep fear.
**"It's done? The fix?"** she asked quietly.
Eli nodded. **"Done."**
**"And?"** Her gaze penetrated.
Eli held her look. **"And I found something else. Bigger."**
The grim understanding settled in Rosa's eyes. The danger had multiplied. They were deep inside the beast, and Eli was mapping its organs. He pulled out his hidden notebook. Under **Project Unity: Phase 1 - Objectives**, he added: *Acquire Leverage: COMPLETE (Ronnie Skim Evidence Secured).* Below it, he began: *Phase 2: Identify Key Pressure Points - Vance (Softening via Maya?), Ronnie (Exposure Timing?), Silas (True Objectives?).* The game within the cage was beginning. Outside, the green sedan with plate 7J idled half a block down.