How I Live Now - 27. Day 46

Day 46

Work was… short. Actually, I can't remember the time left. I have no recollection of the commute to work, sitting in the lunchroom, and eating or clocking out. All that's in my head is the recent meeting with Salvatore. I'll get to that in a bit.

This morning, I figured I'd head over to Salvatore's to pay off my owed money. I'd spent the last few days selling those drugs that he gave me. It mostly went without a hitch, but yesterday was excruciatingly slow. Nobody came around for ages, and when they did… they were shady as fuck. I'm just glad that it's over, but I didn't expect to get a welcome wagon when I got home from Organico. Walking along the street toward Doug's apartment block, as I reached the entrance to the complex, I noticed a black Volvo Hybrid sitting by the curb. Approaching the building, a window on the SUV slid down with the glass in the pane squelching. My attention went to the vehicle, and I saw Salvatore peering out at me in the back seat.

I thought… ‘this is it… he’s going to kill me. He showed up in daylight to show me that he meant business.’

Though Sal didn't whack me, he raised his arm and beckoned me perilously to the car. With my throat parched, my head flooding with heat, and practically floating my way to the curbside, I reached the edge of the footpath.

"I've got the money upstairs…." I said.

“Get in…” Salvatore added gravelly.

A lump formed in the back of my throat as I did what was asked of me.

Tracing around the back of the vehicle, I pulled the door handle and shimmied inside. The interior was dark, plus it reeked of stale cigarettes. I settled in, placing my backpack from work between my legs. Fearing for my life, Salvatore pressed on the switch to shut the window without bother. As it closed leisurely, I could feel my heart in my throat. The light offered via the window siphoned out of the car as it reached the top, and with a little encouragement, Sal pressed his hand against the glass to assist it.

"I want this window fixed…." Salvatore said, staring at the driver.

Looking forward, I realized that Tiny was the driver.

"Sure, boss… I'll run it by Tony later today," Tiny added.

Tiny turned the key in the ignition, and the car sputtered to life. Salvatore didn't look at me once. He just remained quiet. The car pulled away from the curb silently, leaving the apartment block behind. I began to worry about what was going to happen to me. Thankfully, I didn't get a bullet to the head. Sitting there felt like all those times when I was a kid, waiting for my dad to get home when he'd fall in drunk and upset the house. Usually, we'd pretend to be asleep, but nobody slept with him around when he came home. The idea was, 'if I ain't sleepin', nobody is sleepin'.'

The car journey was longer than I assumed. I half expected Tiny to drive me out into the desert, make me dig my own grave, and put a round in my back. Reflecting on that outcome, I realized that we are not in Las Vegas.

Contemplating on whether it was a good idea to speak, I chose against it. Sal probably would have gotten annoyed anyway.

Soon, the streets started to look familiar. Sliding by the car, I noticed a large courtyard among some apartment buildings, and we stopped outside Matias's home address.

Garnering enough anxiety to last an eternity for the both of us–Matias and me. I kept thinking, 'Did we do something wrong?' It was all too peculiar with Sal activity seeking the two of us out personally. Sal removed his cellphone from his pocket, went to his message tab, and fired off a message to Matias. Some time went by before there was a reply, and he gruffly sighed when Salvatore got the notification.

"He'll be here in a few minutes…."

The silence was killing me. If Sal wanted to do something to us, did he have to drag it out? Not a word transpired for the rest of our nonmutual company until Matias strolled up. When he did, Hudson was walking with him, and his younger brother had his backpack on. It looked like the two of them had just walked home from school. It made me wonder if Salvatore ever saw Hudson until today, and this made me feel uneasy. Hudson is a neat little guy, but I don't want him getting caught up in this shit. Matias gave his rucksack to his little brother, telling him to head up to the apartment. Tiny opened the front window slightly, telling Matias to get in the front. When Hudson disappeared into the lobby after sizing up the Hybrid, Matias hurried over to the passenger door, opened it, and crawled into the seat.

"You're late…." Salvatore said.

Matias gave the door a hard thug, and it slammed shut.

"Sorry… Something came up," Matias cautious added.

Tiny started up the car; he even indicated by using his blinker and driving down the street.

"I have a job," Salvatore broached.

"What do you need?" Matias said, twisting in his seat and looked around at us two in the back seat. When he saw me, I can undoubtedly say… the look of alarm in his eyes unsettled me. Apparently, he had no knowledge I’d tag along on the trip. Getting rid of two bodies would have made it harder to kill us. Yet, Salvatore had just said he intended to pull off a job. It now made sense why he dragged us off the street all cloak and dagger-like. Not that it helped ease my mind. It still gives my head a tizzy when I think about it.

“An acquisition…” Sal said.

“A-What?” Matias murmured.

"He wants us to steal something, right?" I replied, feeling brave enough to speak with Matias in the car.

Salvatore peered across at me, nodded, and faced forward again.

“Somebody has something I want.”

Matias perked up, his body sat up straight in the chair. It gave me a moment of inquisitiveness. The worries of what I was in the car for disappeared. Allegedly the idea had grown some curiosity, and I wanted to know what Salvatore meant by his statement.

“Who are we talking about?” I said, feeling my breathing getting faint.

The car turned at an intersection, continued down the next street, and stopped at traffic lights.

“Thomas Copeland; he’s a lawyer,” Salvatore added.

Shifting in my seat, I peered across at Sal. Bravery just materialized out of nowhere. Matias is a bad influence. I can't be certain if all this is actually Matias's doing. I shuffled along of my own accord, so maybe he's not to blame.

“Okay… and what does he have belonged to you?” Matias asked from the front seat.

“A USB key,” Sal added.

Salvatore smirked; he rummaged in his pocket, removed a pack of Marlboro, removed a cigarette, and lit it up. The smoke wafted through the car, and as if to help with ventilation, Salvatore opened his squeaky window.

“Fucking window…” Salvatore murmured.

We stayed quiet, both looking on with apprehension. Sal was entrusting me with incriminating evidence and showing confidence in us to retrieve it. Did this mean I wasn't in danger as such anymore?

“What’s on it?” Matias asked

“You’re asking too many questions…." Sal added, his eyes brooding as he took a drag from his cigarette.

“Sorry.”

Matias twisted forward in his seat then sighed.

"I want you both to get it for me. Clean job… in and out. No noise. No killing. No fuckups." Salvatore took another drag of his cigarette and let out a cloud of smoke.

I erupted with a fit, coughing. Attempting to stifle it wasn't easy.

Salvatore continued.

"I have a guy in the field gathering intel. I'll have Pauli here bring by the details later today. I want this done before the weeks out. Understand."

I looked to the front of the car. Pauli is Tiny’s real name. Hmm… I'm not sure how to feel about that, but knowing his name made me feel like I was in a 1930s gangster movie.

“Any questions?” Sal said.

The two of us remained silent. I figured this was something you couldn't turn down. So, I didn't speak up. I was afraid to speak out of turn in the probable event Salvatore would snap.

“Good… Pauli pull over here,” Salvatore said, pointing at the sidewalk.

Tiny did as instructed and pulled into the curb. Sal cleared his throat and spoke.

“Now get the fuck outta my car… if you fuck this up, I'll knee-cap you both and bury you alive."

“And you… my money–tonight. Give it Pauli,” Salvatore directed to me.

I didn’t wait for any other words to be exchanged. Nodding, I took the offer and quickly jumped out of the car, slammed the door, and started walking. I didn't even wait for Matias. I heard the second door close.

I mixed with people on the sidewalk. Many folks looked like they were on the way home from work. The curiosity I worked up came tumbling down like a sugar crash. The image of me lying bloodied without legs by a shallow grave flashed through my head. Matias was lying in the grave. He was cold. He was lifeless. In the center of the forehead, a small hollow circle formed and gave away the evidence of what happened. Suddenly, I was petrified of having to perform a home invasion. When Matias caught up with me, he was out of breath.

“Slowdown, will you?” Matias said.

"You got me into this…." I cried.

My heart was pounding; to combat it, I didn't look Matias in the eye. He'd see the panic. I stared at his cheek, ogling his soft skin as he walked along.

“I’m sorry… Okay,” Matias added as he clutched his wrist.

He was rubbing his thumb over the back of his hand. I never saw that response. I could tell he was nervous.

Stopping short, Matias made an abrupt halt just past me.

“You think you’re helping?” I yelped. “But all you manage to do is make everything one-hundred times worse.”

Matias didn't say anything. His eyes searched my face for understanding. He did his feet shuffling thing, but this time it was with less heart. He was slinking away. Matias glanced around, conscious of the people walking by. The scene I was causing was uncomfortable.

“I-I’m...” Matias began, but I cut him off.

“I wish I never got involved with you,” I yelled.

My heart shrunk to the size of the peanut. I was so disappointed with myself, but now I felt some regret for having said those words. Matias never shouted back at me. He was the perfect gentleman as usual. He just nodded and strolled away, and that was it. I was left standing in the middle of the street. I called after him, but he didn't come back. I thought it was best to leave him be. We needed to calm down and let the moment boil over. So, I plodded along until the subway. I got on a train and went home.

Pauli came by about two hours ago with the intel. It's just a few pictures of this house, including an address. There is a picture of a red USB from a retailer website too. It serves as a reminder of what we needed to look for during this robbery. I gave the money for my debt to Pauli, and the man just left. I'm glad I sold all the drugs, but the current circumstances are no better.

Matias didn't stop by to check the plans, and he hasn't sent me a message. Perhaps I was a bit harsh today. I feel a bit guilty about what I said to him, even if it was true. That makes me a horrible person, right? Hmm… I’m feeling a headache coming on, so I’m going to tune out before it arrives.

Talk soon,

Kyle