CHAPTER 190: MONDAY MORNING COFFEE

Nina’s grandmother was doing better. That was the first thing she told Kofi when she got back Sunday night. Her grandmother could walk with a walker now and complained about hospital food, which everyone agreed was a good sign.

"She kept asking about you," Nina said while unpacking her bag. "Wanted to know when she’d meet the boy who made me skip family dinner last month."

"You skipped family dinner?"

"For the kendo demonstration planning meeting. Mom wasn’t happy."

They were in their small apartment near campus. Nina threw dirty clothes into the laundry basket while Kofi sat on their bed, watching her move around the room.

"The fellowship deadline is Friday," she said without looking at him.

"I know."

"I’m not taking it."

Kofi sat up straighter. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Being home, seeing my family deal with real problems, it clarified things. New York isn’t what I want."

"What do you want?"

Nina stopped unpacking and turned to face him. "I want to write stories that matter to people I know. I want to build something here, with you, with our friends. I want a life that isn’t just about career achievements."

"Your parents will be disappointed."

"Probably. But they’ll get over it."

Monday morning came too early. Kofi had an eight AM history seminar that he couldn’t skip. Nina had a meeting with her journalism advisor at nine. Normal life resuming after the weekend’s drama.

The history seminar focused on post-war reconstruction. Professor Chen was talking about how communities rebuild after conflict when Kofi’s phone buzzed. A text from Jake.

’Emergency. Student union. Now.’

Kofi raised his hand. "Sorry, Professor. Family emergency."

Professor Chen nodded. Kofi grabbed his bag and left.

The student union was five minutes away. Jake was waiting outside, pacing back and forth.

"What’s wrong?"

"Ruby’s missing."

"What do you mean missing?"

"She didn’t come home last night. Her roommate called me this morning. She’s not answering her phone."

"Maybe she stayed with a friend?"

"Ruby doesn’t do that. She always tells someone where she is." Jake’s hands were shaking. "Something’s wrong."

Nina appeared from around the corner, slightly out of breath. "I got your text. What’s happening?"

Jake explained again. Ruby had left the library around nine PM Sunday night. No one had seen her since.

"Did you call the police?" Nina asked.

"They said to wait twenty-four hours. She’s an adult, they said. Probably just didn’t tell anyone her plans."

"That’s not Ruby," Kofi said.

"Exactly."

They went to Ruby’s dorm room. Her roommate, a nervous freshman named Ashley, let them in.

"She left around eight-thirty," Ashley said. "Said she was going to the library to finish a paper."

The room looked normal. Ruby’s bed was made. Her laptop was on her desk.

"Her laptop’s here," Jake said. "She wouldn’t go to the library without it."

Nina was already moving, checking Ruby’s desk drawers. "Looking for clues about where she might have gone."

"This isn’t a mystery novel," Jake said.

"No, but people leave patterns. Ruby’s organized. She’d leave some indication of her plans."

Kofi checked Ruby’s calendar on the wall. Sunday night had one note: ’Library 8-11.’

"She planned to be at the library for three hours," he said.

"So where did she go instead?" Jake asked.

Nina found something in the trash bin. A crumpled piece of paper. She smoothed it out on the desk.

It was a handwritten note: ’Meet me at the old music building. 9 PM. Important. -J’

"Who’s J?" Nina asked.

Jake went pale. "Jessica."

"Jessica’s gone. She left town."

"That’s what we thought."

They looked at each other. The old music building had been abandoned for two years, scheduled for demolition but caught in bureaucratic delays.

"We need to go there," Kofi said.

"We should call the police."

"They won’t do anything. We already tried."

They left the dorm and walked quickly across campus. The old music building was on the far edge, past the athletic fields. Most students avoided it.

The building looked worse than Kofi remembered. Broken windows, graffiti on the walls, weeds growing through cracks in the sidewalk.

"Ruby!" Jake called out.

No answer.

They went inside. The hallway was dark, lit only by sunlight through broken windows. Their footsteps echoed on the dusty floor.

"This is stupid," Nina whispered. "We should have brought more people."

"Ruby!" Jake called again, louder.

A sound from upstairs. Footsteps.

They climbed the stairs carefully. The second floor was darker. Most of the windows were boarded up.

"Ruby?"

"In here." Her voice, weak but definitely Ruby’s, came from a room at the end of the hall.

They ran. The door was locked from the outside with a padlock.

"Ruby, are you okay?"

"I’m fine. Just stuck. The door locked behind me somehow."

Jake was already examining the padlock. "This is new. Someone put this here recently."

"Stand back," Kofi said. He kicked the door near the lock. It took three tries before the wood splintered and the door swung open.

Ruby was sitting on the floor in the corner of an empty classroom. She looked tired but unharmed.

Jake rushed to her. "What happened? Are you hurt?"

"I’m okay. Just thirsty and tired." She accepted Jake’s help standing up. "I got a note from Jessica saying she needed help. When I got here, someone pushed me into this room and locked the door."

"Did you see who?"

"No. They were behind me. It happened fast."

Nina was examining the room. "There’s food and water bottles in the corner. Whoever did this didn’t want to hurt you, just keep you here."

"But why?" Ruby asked.

"To distract us," Kofi said. "Think about it. Ruby goes missing, we all focus on finding her, we’re not paying attention to anything else."

"Paying attention to what?"

Before anyone could answer, Kofi’s phone rang. Unknown number.

He answered. "Hello?"

"Kofi Dameire?" The voice was male, professional, unfamiliar.

"Yes."

"This is David Chen from the university administration. We need you to come to the Dean’s office immediately."

"Why?"

"There’s been an incident regarding the kendo program. Dean Morrison needs to speak with you urgently."

Kofi looked at the others. "I’ll be right there."

He hung up. "Something’s happened with the kendo program."

"Go," Nina said. "We’ll get Ruby back to her dorm."

Kofi ran across campus to the administration building. His mind was racing. What kind of incident? Had someone been hurt during practice?

The Dean’s office was on the third floor. The secretary waved him straight through.

Dean Morrison was behind her desk. A man Kofi didn’t recognize sat in one of the chairs. He wore an expensive suit and had the kind of smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

"Mr. Dameire, thank you for coming. This is Thomas Brennan from Brennan Development."

Kofi stayed standing. "What’s this about?"

"Mr. Brennan has made a generous offer to the university," Dean Morrison said. Her tone was carefully neutral. "He wants to fund a new athletic complex on the site of the current kendo dojo."

"The dojo’s not for sale."

"Everything’s for sale at the right price," Brennan said. His voice was smooth, practiced. "Five million dollars for new athletic facilities. State of the art equipment. It would benefit thousands of students."

"And destroy the kendo program."

"We’d relocate you to another space."

"Where?"

"We’re still determining that."

Which meant nowhere. Kofi understood immediately. This wasn’t about new facilities. This was about destroying the dojo.

"No," Kofi said.

Brennan’s smile widened. "You’re not in a position to say no. You’re a student. The university makes these decisions."

"Actually," Dean Morrison said, "Mr. Dameire is the official student representative for the martial arts programs. His input is required for any decisions affecting those facilities."

Brennan’s smile flickered. "Required but not binding."

"No," the Dean agreed. "Not binding."

Kofi looked between them. The Dean’s expression was unreadable. Brennan looked confident.

"I need to discuss this with my team," Kofi said.

"Of course," the Dean said. "But Mr. Brennan needs an initial response by end of business today."

"That’s four hours."

"Yes."

Kofi left the office. His phone was already buzzing. Nina.

"Ruby’s safe in her room. What happened?"

"I’ll explain when I see you. Where are you?"

"Student union."

Kofi walked quickly across campus. His mind was putting pieces together. Ruby’s kidnapping as a distraction. The sudden offer from a developer. The rushed timeline.

Someone was making a play for the dojo. But why?

Nina, Jake, and Ruby were at their usual table in the student union. Kofi explained what had happened in the Dean’s office.

"Five million is a lot of money," Jake said. "The university won’t turn that down easily."

"There has to be more to it," Nina said. "Why does this developer suddenly want that specific piece of land?"

"And why the elaborate distraction with Ruby?" Kofi added.

Ruby was typing on her laptop. "Thomas Brennan. Let me see what I can find."

Her fingers flew across the keyboard. "Brennan Development. Founded ten years ago. Focuses on commercial real estate. Interesting."

"What?"

"They’ve never done a university project before. Their whole portfolio is shopping centers and office buildings."

"So why start now?" Nina asked.

Ruby kept searching. "Wait. Look at this. Brennan Development’s registered address."

She turned the laptop around. The address was familiar.

"That’s the same building as Thorne’s old law firm," Jake said.

They all looked at each other. Thorne. Jessica’s father. The man they’d helped take down.

"He’s in prison," Nina said.

"But his connections aren’t," Kofi replied. ’This is revenge.’

His phone rang. Tanaka-sensei.

"Kofi, I’ve heard about the developer’s offer. We need to meet."

"Where?"

"The dojo. Bring your core team."

"We’ll be there in twenty minutes."

They walked across campus quickly. The dojo looked the same as always, but now Kofi saw it differently. Not just as a training space, but as a target.

Tanaka-sensei was waiting inside with Hayashi-sensei and two people Kofi didn’t recognize. An older woman in a business suit and a younger man with a tablet.

"This is Ms. Yamamoto, a property lawyer," Tanaka-sensei said. "And her assistant, David. They specialize in preserving historical sites."

"Historical sites?" Nina asked.

Ms. Yamamoto nodded. "This building is over sixty years old. It has cultural and architectural significance. We can file for historical designation, which would prevent demolition."

"How long would that take?"

"Normally, months. But I can file an emergency injunction to halt any immediate action."

"Do it," Kofi said.

"I need documentation. Photos, historical records, testimony about the building’s significance."

"Ruby can help with that," Jake said. "She’s good at research."

Ruby was already taking photos with her phone. "I’ll start with the university archives. They should have construction records and historical documents."

"I’ll help," Jake said.

Ms. Yamamoto turned to Kofi. "You need to buy us time. The developer will push for a quick decision. Don’t let them."

"How?"

"Ask for a formal review process. Demand community input. Make it bureaucratic."

Kofi’s phone buzzed. A text from Dean Morrison. ’Please return to discuss terms.’

"I have to go back," he said.

"Stall," Nina said. "I’ll work on the media angle. If we make this public, it becomes harder for them to push through quietly."

They dispersed. Kofi walked back to the administration building slowly, thinking through his approach.

Dean Morrison was alone in her office this time.

"Where’s Brennan?"

"Getting coffee. He’ll be back soon. I wanted to speak with you privately first."