Chapter 11
I look intensely at the material Kal brought me, which includes all the conversations and contract info that took place between him and the person who contracted him for this job.
I look over at the emails and notice that none of them mentioned me for the job?
Is that a coincidence?
Somehow I don't think that's the case. I look over the point where Kal asked them about their budget for the job and they were quick to offer a ton of money. Ton of money meant that they were hoping for Kal to do his best on the job which meant sending his best man or in this case woman. Kal contacted me but he didn't tell them anything related except the fact that he will take care of it.
Those motherfuckers knew that spending money meant hiring me. Or it was just a trap for any normal thief. But the trap was way too specific.
Burn the document.
Why?
Why not tear it?
Why leave the ashes there?
To trigger the Kerosene is the only answer I can think of.
Kal didn't ask those questions because he was blinded by money.
But right now, I can see that this bothers him.
He blames himself for what I went through and I don't want him to blame himself.
Sure, it was his negligence that led me here but that's okay, because honestly I took the job lightly too when I noticed it was a mere document destruction. I was so wrong.
I was off my game.
I was not in the right mind either,
With the letter and the note, and my burner phone gone, I have become muddled in the head.
I look up at Kal to find him staring at the wall.
"Kal."
"I am sorry Erna, I will understand if you don't want to work with me anymore. Just please forgive me…"
I interrupt his apology, "Stop."
"But…" he looks puzzled and guilty.
"Look. I don't blame you."
"But…"
"Let me fucking finish."
He nods. And I continue.
"I have been troubled. With something at home. I know that might not look related but it is. It threw me off my game. I didn't check the liquid on the floor. I got cocky with the cameras." His brow quirks at my mention of cameras and I realize I messed up. But when he doesn't ask me to elaborate, I let it drop since that is in my best interests. "I don't want you to blame yourself for something that happened onsite. Something you had no control over."
"Just know that I am still sorry because I could have potentially avoided it."
I nod and let the topic slide.
"Can you look into the contractor?"
"Yes, I would…" he is cut off by the ringing of a phone. He grabs his phone from his pocket and slides to answer the call.
He mouths to me that it's the contractor. And my ears perk up.
When he sees me trying to catch an earful of his conversation, he puts the phone on speaker. He is understanding in that way.
The man on the other side is using a voice changer and even the number he has called from is a private number that cannot be searched or tracked. If they do have that many amenities, why didn't they just send a person of their own?
"We saw what happened and didn't want to call right away." The man says.
"You did good." Kal replies.
"That's what we should say. We didn't expect this glorious result."
"Well we are happy to serve."
"So about the payment. We are willing to pay according to the magnitude of the job."
Kal's eyes snap up to meet mine, which are already twinkling with a dollar sign in them. Well staying unconscious for five days wasn't so bad afterall.
"Yes. We would also like you to bear the medical cost of our employee."
"We would be happy to."
They talk for a few more minutes but I zone out after that bit. Money. A lot of it. Shopping trip!
When Kal is done, he cuts the call and says, "They are paying us 40 million dollars in cash."
"Have I died and gone to heaven?"
I ask him, skeptical.
"Apparently you just did the angel's work."
"And you can live in heaven for a while."
"When are you going to transfer my share?" I ask him.
"I will soon."
He turns and takes out a box from the bag behind him.
"Since your phone was lost. I got you two. One for personal use, and another for burner. I have already saved the important contacts inside it including mine and your parents. I also got your old phone number reinstated too, instead of getting you a new one."
"Thank you so much Kal."
I am. I am really thankful to him. For everything.
Keeping secrets from him is something I don't want to do. But in this case I have to. At least until I can deem that the man from earlier is not an actual threat.
I take the box from him and look at the latest custom design. I designed it. I still can't believe I developed a technology, but I did.
I gave it to Kal, and now he is giving it back to me. I will accept and get him an even better one.
I open the contacts and my finger hovers above my mother's name. Elora Langford.
She is a nice, typical housewife who has more control of her powers than of her family. She practices all day. She says it keeps her emotions stable. I look at the time and realize she should be out of her cave right now. I press the contact and dial her number. She picks up on the third ring.
"Erna." her commanding tone coupled with my name brings tears to my eyes because I miss her. And even though she doesn't know what I have been through.
I sniffle a tear and reply her in a sardonic tone.
"I missed you, Mother."