LUCAS' POV
I woke up and when I felt some movements, I could tell that I was in a moving vehicle. I was lying in the back seat of the car, and although it was dark inside and my sight was hazy, I was able to tell that a man was driving the car. After moving for a long time, the car stopped, and the man came to the back seat. He took my hand in his, and that was when I realised that my hand was bandaged.
"You...you bandaged my wrist?" I asked emotionally. He did not respond.
I was feeling very lost. My head ached, most probably from the drugs that they kept injecting me. Although I had many years of dealing with drugs, I was not a user myself. I did it for money, for my and my family's survival. Not that we would not have had a decent life without the dirty dealings, anyway. We would have been more than OK; it was just that I became greedy. I tasted money and I wanted more. I failed to get satisfied with what I had, and as I chased after more money, I failed to realise that I was sinking deeper and deeper into the mud.
I tried to raise my body off the car seat but he motioned for me to stop. I looked aside and said nothing.
"Why on earth did you try suicide? Suicide is for cowards!" he spat out angrily.
"I… I was hopeless. I thought Zuri was going to kill me." My voice was low and shaky.
"And me? You thought I wasn't coming to your rescue?" he gave me the side eye.
"I'm sorry. I was not sure anymore. It felt better for me to take my own life than to have Zuri do it for me," I said truthfully.
"Of course," his voice was husky.
He cleared his throat and coughed a few times.
"You messed up!" his voice was cold.
"I...I know, and I am sorry." I said calmly. "Do you know where Liam and Anisha are?" I could not keep the question to myself anymore.
"Where are the goods? You can tell me now," he stared hard at me.
"Honestly I have no idea. I was set up." I said earnestly.
He shook his head and looked outside into the darkness. I followed his gaze and all I saw was darkness. Where were we? It was very dark. The fact that the moon and starts were not even shining made it worse. The sky was covered with thick angry clouds, and everything was still. There was no wind, it was just still, quiet and angrily dark. I shifted in my seat and tried my question again. It was impossible for me to forget that question. I had to ask. I needed to know.
"Do you…do you know where Anisha is? And my son? She is still with him, isn't she?"
"Somewhere out, still running," he said curtly.
"Where did they bury her? Larissa?" my voice choked on the question.
"I'm not too sure, but I can find out," he pulled out his bag and handed over to me a small folder.
"Here, your passport. You have everything you need here. Your new ID, driver's license too. Check out the new name that I chose for you," he chuckled.
I looked at the documents and smiled. What a loyal friend he was.
"Th…thank you," I became emotional. "and...and the body? You do have a body, don't you?" I asked in hesitance.
"It's ready. I found someone with the same frame as you."
"Do you think they will run a DNA test or any such staff? The test will show that it's not me.", I asked with a hint of worry.
"Leave that to me, la Martina. I know about all that. It's all covered. I'm no novice in this!" he boasted.
"Of course, of course", I lowered my gaze as I searched in my mind to see if there could be any loopholes.
"So…I won't even have a chance to go and see where they laid her to rest?"
"Who? Larissa? Man, I suggest we get on with the plan and forget about that. Once you see Larissa's grave, you'll want to see Liam. That will spoil everything! You'll end up dying for real, and my life will be in danger too. Just leave."
"I understand", I said sadly.
"Remember you have a few hours to leave. Use your time wisely."
"I understand", I nodded. "W...where did you get the body from?", I could not help but ask.
"Too many questions, la Martina. The body is ready, just be fast and let's get this done!"
I slowly took the wig that he handed over to me and wore it in my head. Very funny, I almost laughed. He roughly pulled it off and handed me a small box. Oh, the mask. A hyper-realistic silicone mask. I unfolded it. It had a bad smell, but I had no option. I pulled the thing over my face and neck. The mask really looked perfectly good, and it went all the way down to my chest. I looked in the mirror and saw a completely different face from mine.
"Will you…will you help me by checking on Liam, just to see how he is. Please." I asked him.
"la Martina, you're now asking for too much. I cannot keep an eye on your child, you know how hectic my life is. He is fine. That babysitter will take good care of her." He sounded irritated.
"I'm sorry, I know I am asking for too much, but I can't help it. He is just a child, and he has no-one. If I could have it my own way, I would plead with Anisha to adopt my son."
"He is fine. He will find a home with parents who love him," he said.
"I..I hope so. So you can't check on him? Not even once?"
"How will I do that? That babysitter will want to know who I am before she can allow me to see the boy!"
His phone rang and he immediately answered it: "yes, Zuri….yes, he's dead now…no, I'm leaving no trace at all, you know I'm good at this…ok, done!"
"Was that Zuri? He ordered for you to kill me?" I stammered. He did not respond. He just took his bag and closed it. He quickly moved back to the driver's seat and started the engine.
With gloves, boots and all the necessary gear, he opened the car boot and pulled out the body. I watched from the back seat as he disappeared into the thick darkness, and it seemed like forever before he re-appeared. He clumsily threw himself on the seat, and made a call.
"It's me." His voice was full of authority. "I will make the call in 5 minutes. Make sure the DNA part is well covered, doc… Of course…Yes…I said cash, we don't do transfers, it's too risky….Of course, bye!"
The car veered off the road and he continued to drive in the night. He made another call and, tuning his voice to sound shaky and very scared, he said, "I…I have an emergency….I was coming from a late night event when I saw a man being beaten by a group of people…yes…yes they are still there, please hurry!"
He proceeded to give directions to the place, and when he was done, he handed over the phone to me to take out the cellphone line. I swiftly did that, for I knew everything about destroying lines and cellphones.
We were both silent for a while, then I expressed my gratitude: "how will I ever repay you?"
"Give me the details," he said in a low growl.
"You have my home keys. Who knows, maybe its heavily guarded by now…"
"Get to the point!" he snapped.
"Ok, it's all in my secret basement. You know it all. That tile between the sink and the shower doors in the master bedroom en suite. Check inside the drawers of the old white cupboard."
"And the diamonds?" he furrowed his brows.
"Same place," I tried to smile at him, but he did not smile back.
"Once again, thank you." I said.
"Once again, suicide is not a solution. What kind of a man are you? Real man fight until the end! Go out there and start a new life. Live to the fullest. Should you ever think about starting this business again, let me know. I'll get you connected in the blink of an eye."
I remained silent, asking myself if I ever wanted to be involved in the business again. I highly doubted it.
"I'm greatly disappointed in you! Suicide!! That's not how I trained you, la Martina! You disappointed me." For sure, his voice was full of disappointment.
"I'm sorry about what I did. I was desperate. But thank you for having my back."
"I did what I had to do. One day you too will help me out." the man said. " I believe if tables were to be turned, you too would do the same for me; wouldn't you?" he asked with a low chuckle.
"Of course I would" I smiled, and I meant every word I said.
"Good!" he laughed.