EVANGELISTA'S POV
I woke up to the smell of tobacco. My left hand felt unbelievably heavy, and when I looked at it, I saw some injection marks. Injections? Who injected me? Why did they inject me? Was I sick? The light shone in my eyes and I yawned, suddenly realizing that I was in an unfamiliar place. Then it all came back to my mind, playing like a movie. The girl who came to our house with a baby. The call from Israel. The car. My call to my boyfriend. Our drive around town. The men following us. The brutality of the two men. The murder. The murder…when I thought of the murder I just burst into tears.
"You're awake?" a voice exclaimed.
I looked up to see a man standing in a corner of the room, smoking a cigarette. It was the cap man; the same man who had followed us and shot Dan. I felt bitterness and a lump rising up my throat in both anger and fear. He took out his phone and made a call.
"She's awake", he said. After a short while he said "yes boss".
"Let's go!" he screamed at me.
I stood up and started to follow him. We went up a flight of stairs into a very big and beautiful room where a number of people were standing. All of them were dressed neatly, most of the men were in suits. They formed a semi-circle around the one who I assumed was their boss.
Seated on a chair and blindfolded was a man who seemed to be in his early thirties. The chair was also inside the semi-circle.
"Stand in front of your employer!" the man informed me.
My employer? Who? " I…I don't have an employer. I am just…I am a student" I stammered.
"We have no time for games!!!" the man pushed me and made me stand right in front of the blindfolded man. "What's your name?" he asked me as he pushed me closer to the blindfolded man.
I blinked several times and my tongue seemed to be stuck. Just then Israel's stern warning rang in my ears "you cannot tell anyone your name, Evangelista!"
I had never taken a chance to think of any other name to use. I blinked several times and I was about to blurt out the first girl name that came to my mind when one of the bodyguards said with certainty, "Anisha. Her name is Anisha; it's all over the news."
"No I…I am not Anisha", I stammered in great fear.
"Of course you are!" the blindfolded man said to me. His voice sounded weak, he looked exhausted and starved, yet he still managed to say that lie about me. I instantly hated the man for doing that.
"Remove his blindfold!" one of the men gave an order.
A woman stepped forward and untied the blindfold. She pulled it off and stepped back to her place. The man on the chair used his shoulders to rub his eyes, and he looked straight into my eyes. I wanted to slap him, to push him off that chair and scream at him for his lies.
"I am not Anisha!" I spoke to him.
"Of course you are," the man sounded very confident of what he was saying.
"She does look a little different from the girl we've been seeing on TV. I mean, the girl on TV looks more…beautiful," one woman said in a low voice.
"The photos on TV are edited, of course!" the man seating in front of me stated. "This is Anisha. Look at the black hair, the facial features. Besides, she's stressed out. You don't expect her to look her best, do you?"
The boss of the team, a woman who was silent all along, suddenly spoke out in a voice full of authority.
"Enough talk, la Martina! Talk to your employee! Your baby is missing and she says she has no idea where the baby is. Are you guys in this together? Is it some kind of trick? If it is, then cut the crap!!"
The man referred to as la Martina looked at me and then at the woman, but did not say anything. I was totally lost. What was happening? What were they all talking about? I needed to save myself;
"I – I s-swear I am not Anisha. I am a student at Yellowleaf University, please believe me. I have no baby. I have n-never h-had a b-baby! Please!"
"You were driving Lucas la Martina's car. Where did you get it from?" a man asked me.
My mind was trying to come up with something: What do I say now? Israel has placed me in hot soup. He emphasized that I must never tell anyone my real name, so does it mean he is in danger? If they know that I am his sister, I will also end up in danger. Who are these people? What do they want? What do I say now? If only Israel was her to help me….
"The car was brought by a lady who had a little girl. I…I wanted to dump the car…"
"To dump the car? Why would you want to dump it?" one of the man sounded irritated. "We're not playing games, little miss babysitter!"
"I…someone said...the car had to be dumped!" I said.
"Lucas la Martina, get your employee to talk now!" the woman spoke.
Lucas looked up at me and said nothing. I started to feel like a fool. I knew my brother too well. Since he was connected to the car and subsequently to my kidnapping, I knew that he had messed up somewhere, and I was reaping the consequences.
It was impossible for me to disclose my identity, because I knew that the men before me were ruthless. I was there when they mercilessly took Dan's life, and there was no telling what else they were capable of. But then, what if I helped them? I could help them, right? Yes I could. If I helped them, maybe they were going to set me free?
"I know where the person you're looking for is. She was in Yellowleaf, with a little girl…"
"Stop it! Stop with the lies!" la Martina shouted at me. He turned to look at the woman and said, "she is confused and too scared. You see, she keeps referring to my child as a little girl. Give her some space. Or better still, let me talk to her alone. You are all scaring her!"
The woman seemed to digest the words for a while. Finally she stood up and said, "Troy, take them away!"
I was pulled by the elbow, down to a room which looked almost exactly the same as the room I was in earlier on. la Martina too was thrown in the same room, his hands and feet still tied. When the door was shut, I asked him with tears, "why are you doing this? Who are you and why are you lying about me?"
The man looked at me and said, "You can call me Lucas. It's a long story. Please play along with me. If they think that you are the babysitter, your life will be spared. Once they know that you are not, you will die."
What! My heart pounded heavily and I started to get seriously scared.
"But...but why should you involve me in your mess?" I cried in front of the man.
"I'm saving you while I also save my family!" he stated calmly.
"How?" I asked angrily.
"Listen. These people want to hurt my family. They want my son, to be specific. So if they believe that you are the child minder, they won't harm you. They will keep you safe until you say where the child is. But once they know that you are not who they think you are, then you will die!"
"I will die? Why would they kill me?" I cried a lot just imagining myself being shot to death.
"Because you will be of no use to them! Co-operate with me and save your life!" Lucas' voice was a low hiss. He was becoming angry. It was as if he thought that I was being stubborn.
"I...I don't understand anything…" I dried off my tears using my hands.
"You don't need to understand anything! Just play along." He commanded.
"But they will ask me where the child is, and what should I say?" I sniffed in desperation.
"Leave that to me. Once they ask again, I will be the one to answer that question!" Lucas sounded very confident in himself.
"Is your name Lucas la Martina?", I asked as it suddenly dawned on me that the thugs were referring to him as la Martina, and his first name was Lucas.
He just nodded his head and I asked further, "The CEO of Double L Waste Management Company? Is that you?" I asked him.
"Yes, it is me."
"Why are you involved with these men?" I asked him, hoping that he would tell me the truth, not that I would have known even if he chose to lie to me.
"I'm also kidnapped, just like you," he used his chin to point at his tied legs. "I get injected every day, and only heaven knows what it is exactly that they're injecting into my body."
"I also saw some injection marks on my arm!" I cried out and showed Lucas the marks. He slightly shook his head in sorrow.
"Are they going to kill us?" I asked Lucas.
"They may. Anything is possible with these guys." Lucas sighed. "But I will do anything and everything in my limited power, to make sure that your life is saved!"
"Thank you," I mumbled, unsure of whether or not to trust his words. Was he even able to save me, when he was tied and being drugged daily? I sat on the floor and cried some more.
In my mind, a lot of thoughts ran: I wish my mum and dad were still alive with me. The only family I have, my brother, has landed me in this trouble. I have no idea what is happening, and I am very scared for my life. Israel, my brother, why do you have to be that guy? Why do you have to be the man who hurts others, the man who lives in and out of prison, using fake names? Why did you have to send that woman to our house, and why did you have to ask me to dump that car!