The Impromptu Trip
El Deols, Anthanna.
The soles of the men's shoes made unpleasant sounds in the large empty tiled hall as they made their way to the tail end.
Seven of them in total, Odio at the front leading the team of his five men and two hostages to his boss, who was seated at the end of the hall. Mark and his friend had been brought all the way from Anthanna to Bethanna against their will.
That night after calling Mark out of his house and asking that he leads to the Nura River where the body was dropped, Mark had no choice than to take them first to his partner's house for it was his partner who was a native of Nura village and had suggested that they took the body to Nura river where it would never be discovered. Odio called Mark's partner the same way he called Mark out and also coerced the partner to lead them again to the village.
They got to the Nura River at exactly 5:30 am. Odio asked them questions, and he and his men began to look around immediately for signs of the body, but they still had to wait till daybreak to get more light to see.
Flashback
"This is a part of the body bag we brought him here in," Mark's partner said after going into the river and bringing out some pieces, some other pieces were in the bushes around the river.
"So, if his flesh was eaten by the birds, what about his bones?" Odio asked a surprising question when it was morning.
Mark and his partner had looked at themselves in bafflement, wondering how he could ask such a question.
"But Odio, we don't stay here. How do we know what happened to his bones?"
"You brought his damn body here when no one sent you to pick it up. You would have to give account of everything that happened to that body." Odio replied inconsiderately.
"It's been four months since we brought him here. His bones must have been moved. Even the pieces of the body bag found here have changed colour, we can't possibly find his body anymore." Mark tried to explain.
Odio stepped away from them as he took out his phone to a distance where they could not hear his conversation.
"Hello, boss," he said into the phone after his call was answered.
"I got to the location where his body was dropped. There are signs that he has been eaten by wild birds and animals. We're sure he's dead."
There was silence from the other end for a while. "Just bring those men here," the receiver replied. "Bring them to me."
"Okay, boss," Odio said and turned back. He put the phone back into his pocket and took out a cigarette and a lighter.
He took his time to light the cigarette while the men waited for him to talk. He took a long drag in and out before lowering his cigarette to talk to them.
"Sorry guys, you have to follow me to Bexford." He announced the sad news to them.
"But that's impossible…" Mark tried to argue but Odio made a sign to his guys around and the sound of the cocking guns shut Mark up.
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Bexford, Bethanna.
Present
"Hahaha! So these are the guys that took away the famous Agent's body?" Eddy made a mocking laugh, getting up from his seat as he saw the men approaching.
He turned to the other side of the table and sat at the tip, with his arms folded across his chest.
"Yes boss, this is Mark, the transporter from Anthanna."
Eddy smiled as he stared at Mark's face. "I asked these men to leave you two alive and bring you here for a reason," Eddy began, directing his words to Mark. "I have an assignment for you, but before I tell you the assignment, I'll ask you a question." He stopped for a second. "How sure are you that the Man died before you dropped off his body?"
Mark took some time to think before answering. "We confirmed when he stopped breathing and the Doctor also said he was dead."
Eddy swallowed a breath and stayed silent for about a minute before speaking again. "Now, listen to my assignment for you."
He got up from his table and turned to the other side of the table. He opened the drawer and took out a picture, he handed it to Mark.
Mark and his partner looked into the picture, it was that of two men standing beside each other. One of the men's faces had been covered with blue ink.
"Who does that man in red look like?" Eddy asked.
"This man?" Mark glanced at Eddy and then stared at the picture again. He turned to his partner and asked, "Do you know him?"
The partner muttered a "No".
"We don't know who he is," Mark replied, attempting to hand over the picture back to Eddy.
"No, you keep it." Eddy refused to take it. "The man in red looks like the man whose body you took, they are brothers. That man you see in the picture is hunting for the killers of his brother and is likely to trace you two to Anthanna. Your assignment is to find if he is in Anthanna before he finds you two, If he finds you first, he would use you to get to us and kill you after. So I'd advise that once you see a man like that, you report immediately to us."
Mark and his partner looked again at the picture, this time more intently.
"There would also be financial rewards if he is found as soon as possible." Eddy quickly added.
Mark and his partner were still silent after Eddy finished talking. Eddy got up from his seat and moved to the other side of the table where he was before.
"I'll let both of you go now, but I must warn you to be careful, we've got our eyes on you."