Lies, Lies, Lies

by David A Max

  “You want to cut our five days’ trip to Johannesburg short again? We’ve already paid for five days in this hotel, why waste the money?” Faith asked, wondering.

  Tony sighed, “You won’t understand.”

  Faith walked close to Tony and hugged him, “Make me understand Tony, it seems like you are running away from something?” Faith asked.

  Tony looked into her eyes and kissed her, “You don’t have to worry about anything,” he assured her.

  A couple of days later Tony and Faith got back to Port Elizabeth, and that night they relaxed in their house. “What do you think about going to live abroad?” Tony asked Faith.

  Faith looked at Tony strangely, “I don’t want that at the moment,” she replied.

  “Okay, just wanted to know,” Tony said and smiled.

  Carlito checked the account he gave Tony to credit and he was four million dollars richer. He switched off his laptop and kissed Gina. “Why are you so excited?” Gina asked.

  “I’m just happy,” Carlito said and he hugged Gina for a long time.

  “Our holiday is coming to an end,” Gina said, “I wish we could extend it, I just want to be with you,” she said. Carlito looked at her, “But if we try to extend it what would we tell Kevin?” he asked. “We will have to come up with something,” Gina replied.

  Three days later, Andreiá, Emilio, Elsa and Déborah were back in Kevin’s mansion, Andreiá was searching around for Carlito, “Is Carlito not back yet?” Andreiá asked one of the maids. “No he isn’t,” the maid answered.

  About forty-five minutes later Kevin walked into the mansion, “How are you all doing, how was your trip?” Kevin asked.

  “It was lovely, thank you,” Elsa answered.

  “What about Carlito, I learnt he went to South Africa with Gina, are they not back?” Andreiá asked.

  “I’m afraid not,” Kevin replied, “I got a message from Carlito and Gina saying that they were sorry, that I should not look for them and that they wanted to spend more time together.”

  Andreiá burst out crying, and Elsa and Déborah had to console her. “How can Carlito do this to me?” Andreiá wept.

  “I will give them a week or two before I decide what action I’ll take,” Kevin said and left.

  “I love Argentina!” Gina shouted as they drove in a rented car around Buenos Aires, “it looks so serene and peaceful,” she said as she leaned over and gave Carlito a peck on the cheek as he drove.

  Chapter 12

  ‘It’s been over a week now and I have not heard from Carlito, since he got back to France everything has been quiet, I hope he is okay,’ Tony thought to himself, as he sat in his house in Port Elizabeth.

  A couple of days later, Carlito and Gina were going sightseeing in Buenos Aires. “The sights are beautiful,” Gina said, “we’ve been here for about ten days and I love it more every day,” she said as she looked around.

  Carlito looked back, “I think we are being followed,” he told Gina, “there are two men behind us, and for some reason I have been seeing them all day.”

  Gina looked back gently, “Maybe they are tourists like us,” she said.

  Two days later, Carlito and Gina were in a museum, “So many good artists over decades,” Gina said, admiring the paintings. Carlito tapped Gina on the shoulder, “Those two men are here again.” Gina turned around and saw them, “Well they might actually be following us.” The two men then turned and walked out of the museum.

  Three days later, it was getting late, Gina and Carlito had been on tour all day, they were tired and just relaxed in their hotel room watching a movie with subtitles. Gina was hungry and she ordered room service. There was a knock on the door, “Who is it?” Carlito asked. “Room service,” the person answered.

  Carlito opened the door, immediately he opened it he was punched on the face and fell backwards. Two men rushed into their room pointing a gun at Gina and Carlito, “Get dressed, you are both coming with us.”

  Carlito and Gina walked quietly in front of the men as they walked out of the hotel, a van was waiting for them outside; they got in the back of the van and had their heads covered and their hands tied.

  An hour later the van stopped, and Gina and Carlito were pulled out and taken into a building and put in separate rooms. Carlito’s mask was removed and two men beat him up, his face became swollen as he spat some blood. After about ten minutes Tony walked into the room, “Carlito, did you think you were going run away? We had an agreement,” Tony said, “it is either you give me back the money or you do what we agreed.”

  “I will do what we agreed,” Carlito said.

  “This is just a warning, don’t try messing with me again because it is going to get worse. I will give you a week to leave Argentina, so your swollen face can go down before you go back to France,” Tony said, “Take both of them back to their hotel,” he ordered.

  When Carlito and Gina got back to their hotel room, Gina saw Carlito’s face and tried to put some ice on it for him, his whole face was swollen and bruised. “Who were those guys?” Gina asked, ‘how come they didn’t touch me?’ she wondered. “Do you know them?” Gina asked again.

  “I don’t know them, it was a case of mistaken identity,” Carlito lied.

  “And they beat you up so bad!”

  “We will leave and go back to France in a week,” Carlito said. “Okay,” Gina agreed.

  Two days later a letter was slipped under their hotel room door, Gina picked it up and opened it and read it. The note read: ‘ Get back to France now or you will not like what I will do next, Kevin. ’

  Gina panicked, “Kevin’s found us already!”

  Carlito too panicked; they quickly booked a flight for the next day and flew back to France. As they flew back, Carlito’s face was still mildly swollen, ‘I am torn between two people I don’t want to mess around with, I hope one of them will not be the end of me,’ Carlito thought to himself.

  When they arrived at the mansion, Andreiá ran to Carlito, “What happened to your face, what did this evil woman do to you?” Andreiá said, staring at Gina.

  “I did not do anything to him, he was attacked by some thugs,” Gina replied.

  “If I ever see you near my boyfriend again I will cut you,” Andreiá told Gina.

  “I’m so sorry darling,” Carlito said to Andreiá. Gina looked at Carlito and stormed into her room.

  When Carlito and Andreiá got to their room, Carlito sat on the couch while Andreiá put cold ice on Carlito’s face to reduce the swelling. “Why did you go with her to South Africa?” Andreiá asked Carlito.

  “I didn’t know she was going to South Africa, it was when we were in the car on our way to the airport that I found out,” Carlito lied.

  “Carlito, you need to stay away from Gina because it’s getting ridiculous. Is she prettier than me? I’m even younger than she is, so what is your problem?” Andreiá said.

  “I’m sorry, it was a mistake,” Carlito replied.

  “Another mistake!” Andreiá shouted.

  That evening Emilio and Déborah cuddled up in the living area, “You guys never leave each other,” Elsa joked. “Well we do sometimes,” Emilio answered and laughed.

  “I have been meaning to ask you this, is Kevin part of an occult group?” Elsa asked Déborah.

  “Why are you asking?” Déborah replied looking around. “Well, it’s something like that,” Déborah answered, “there are a number of powerful people in Europe and the US who belong to all sorts of secret societies.”

  “That explains why we do the kind of work we do for him,” Elsa shook her head, “so how long are we going to be here?” Elsa asked, staring at Déborah.

  “That’s left to Kevin,” Déborah answered.

  Later on that day Carlito snuck into Gina’s room, “What do you want?” Gina shouted.

  “Take it easy,” Carlito replied, “I’m sorry, I didn’t know she was going to react that way.”

  “How long are you going to keep
seeing both of us, because it’s getting frustrating for me,” Gina asked.

  “Well, you have to learn to be patient,” Carlito said.

  “I love you Carlito,” Gina said.

  “I’m not leaving you but you have to try to control your emotions,” Carlito said.

  “Okay I will try,” Gina replied.

  Kevin told Déborah, Elsa and Carlito that they would be the second team that would start the search for Greg, “The last lead we have on him was that he travelled from France to the Bahamas; you will start your search in the Bahamas, he might be living among the locals there,” Kevin said.

  Two days later, Déborah, Elsa and Carlito landed in the Bahamas, a man called Ray met them at the airport and said that Kevin had told him to meet up with them to search for Greg. They rented a car from the airport and drove to their hotel.

  Carlito left the hotel to use a public phone; he called Tony and updated him about what was going on. “Where did you go?” Elsa asked.

  “I went for a stroll,” Carlito replied.

  “You got us worried because you just disappeared,” Elsa said.

  “Next time I leave I will let you all know,” Carlito replied.

  A week had passed in the Bahamas and there was no sign of Greg. Ray, Elsa, Déborah and Carlito, went to a neighbourhood where Ray said he might have a lead. they knocked on a door, a man opened it; “Sorry to bother you, we’re looking for our friend, he went missing a couple of months ago,” Ray said and brought out a picture, “have you seen him?” Ray showed the man the picture.

  “Yes,” the man said, “I think he stays about twenty minutes away, I think I saw him there a little while back.”

  “Where exactly did you see him?”

  “I saw him in Nassau, in the Eastern district, which is about twenty minutes from here,” the man said.

  They drove to Nassau and asked around, but nobody had seen him, the trail went cold again. “Nobody seems to have seen him,” Carlito said.

  They asked around for four days and nobody had seen Greg before. “We need to also check the airport,” Elsa suggested. They checked the airport but everything was quiet, there was no sign or trace of Greg.

  Two weeks after they had been searching all the leads they had, Kevin called them and told them one of his staff said he might have seen someone that looked like Greg in Bali, but that he wasn’t sure. “Well maybe we should check Bali out, I hope it won’t be another ghost trail, because I know that Greg is a very intelligent man,” Déborah said.

  Two days later they landed in Bali. “The island is so beautiful,” Elsa said as she admired the ocean, and the white sands.

  They asked around and one of the workers on the island said he had seen Greg before. “Are you sure?” Ray asked him.

  “Yes, I will take you to the room he stayed in.” They got to the room, but there was nobody there; they asked at a local bar and the barman said that he had seen him before. “He has definitely been here,” Elsa said, “we have three confirmed sightings.”

  “So where is he now?” Déborah wondered.

  They checked at the airport, a staff member said he had seen him but had no clue if he came by plane or whether he lived in Indonesia, “It’s hard to say.” They checked the travel log and there was no trace of Greg in the past two months, the trail went cold again.

  “He might be in one of the cities in Indonesia, there is every possibility he lives there,” Kevin said to Ray on the phone. “The four of you should start from Jakarta, the capital.”

  Elsa, Carlito, Ray and Déborah all flew to Jakarta; they started the search at Permata Hijau, a popular area for expatriates, and asked around showing the residents Greg’s picture but there were no leads. Then they travelled to Kuningan, another area popular with expatriates, as the area is close to embassies. They asked around but there was still no sign of Greg; they checked the suburbs in Jakarta, and after about three weeks they got tired, there was no lead or sign of Greg anywhere.

  They had been searching for Greg for over a month and all the trails they had led nowhere. Kevin told Carlito, Elsa and Déborah to come back to France, “You will resume the search later,” Kevin said.

  The next day they all flew back to France, and were relieved to be back, even if it was for a short time.

  Emilio hugged and carried Déborah, he had missed her so much. Déborah kissed him, “I have missed you too.” Emilio did not leave Déborah’s side for days, he cuddled and kissed her everywhere in the mansion.

  “We need a break from you two,” Elsa said.

  Andreiá also kissed Carlito for a long time, and made sure she was always kissing him especially when Gina was around, but Carlito would sneak to Gina’s room whenever he could. Gina was still hopeful that one day she would have Carlito all to herself.

  Emilio bought Déborah flowers and chocolates, he showered her with gifts with the money he had, he felt really lucky to be with her. “I don’t care about all these gifts,” Déborah said, “it’s you I want, not the gifts.”

  “I know, but I can’t help myself,” Emilio said.

  Two weeks after they got back, Kevin called Déborah to come outside for a private chat, “What are you still doing with Emilio?” Kevin asked Déborah.

  “He is my boyfriend,” Déborah replied.

  “I thought it was just a joke at first but I’ve had people watching you and I noticed you are getting quite serious with him. Listen, you need to end it,” Kevin told Déborah.

  “No I won’t,” Déborah insisted.

  “What about us?” Kevin asked.

  “There is no us again Kevin, you ended it with me months ago; now because you see that I’m happy, you want me back,” Déborah said.

  “This guy has nothing to offer you, I pay his salary. Forget what I said about not wanting to be with you again, I want you back,” Kevin said.

  Déborah shook her head, “Kevin you do this all the time, the moment you see I’m happy you want me back; sorry, I love this one,” she said.

  “I just bought you the latest Lamborghini, I know you love the car, it’s in the underground garage, here are the keys.”

  “Kevin please stop it,” Déborah said, “You can get any girl you want, you are super wealthy,” she added.

  “But it’s you I want, you have always been mine, so why will I let you go now?” Kevin insisted.

  “Let me just go in, we can talk later,” Déborah said.

  Déborah looked upset when she walked into the room, “What’s wrong with you?” Emilio asked, “did Kevin upset you?”

  “I’m just a bit tired,” Déborah said, “I just want to take a nap.”

  “Okay my darling, I will let you rest.”

  Emilio rushed to the mall and bought her flowers and massage ointments, so he could give her a massage to make her feel relaxed. When he got back to the room he gave Déborah the flowers and massaged her feet and body. “Thank you,” Déborah kissed Emilio.

  The next day a driver was sent to pick Déborah up. She was driven to the airport, where she boarded Kevin’s Boeing 747 private jet. “Kevin where are we going?” Déborah asked.

  “I want us to do lunch.”

  “So why am I on a private jet?”

  “Because I’m taking you to have the best spaghetti meal in Italy,” he replied. Déborah shook her head. “I have so many outfits for you in your room on the plane.”

  “It’s no more my room,” Déborah said.

  “Okay, in the room,” Kevin said smiling.

  Déborah went to the room to change; she changed into an eighteen-thousand dollar dress, seven-thousand dollar shoes, forty-thousand dollars bag, and two-hundred and fifty thousand dollars worth of jewellery. She looked absolutely stunning when she came out of the room.

  “You look breathtakingly gorgeous,” Kevin said, “how will a man like Emilio take care of a woman like you who is used to the best things,” he said.

  “Please don’t start,” Déborah insisted as she sat down.
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  It took them a little over an hour and they landed in Milan; a Rolls Royce picked them up from the airport tarmac.

  “This is obviously the best spaghetti meal I have ever had,” Déborah said.

  After the meal he took her to the opera, and later in the evening they met top dignitaries in society and Kevin introduced Déborah as his girlfriend. Then he took Déborah to a villa he had just bought in Milan; they had drinks and a popular musician came to sing and perform for them privately in the garden. Around midnight Déborah looked up and saw fireworks, she was overwhelmed. Kevin took her hand and kissed it.

  “Kevin why are you doing this?” Déborah said softly, “do you just want to have sex? If we have sex, will you let me be with Emilio, he genuinely loves me,” Déborah pleaded with Kevin as tears dropped from her eyes.

  “I love you Déborah, after losing you I realised how much I love you,” Kevin said. Déborah kissed Kevin, and they kissed for some time before they went indoors.

  The next morning Kevin flew Déborah back to his mansion in France. Déborah had changed into another expensive outfit. “Déborah why are you so quiet?” Kevin asked.

  “It’s nothing, I’m just thinking.”

  “Are you still thinking about Emilio? Please don’t tell me that is what you are thinking about?” Kevin asked.

  “Of course not, I just have a lot on my mind.”

  Kevin dropped Déborah off at the mansion, and when she walked in Carlito, Andreiá, Elsa, Gina and Emilio stared at her. “You look so expensive and glamorous,” Andreiá said, “did you and Kevin go on a date?” Andreiá joked.

  “I went on a special assignment,” Déborah lied.

  “You look out of this world,” Emilio said, “you must be tired from your assignment. Everybody excuse us, I want to take care of my woman,” Emilio said as he took her go to the room. He drew a bath for her, put scented candles all around the bath, and put some red rose petals around the bath as well. Déborah walked into the bathroom and kissed Emilio, “You are so caring,” Déborah said.

  Kevin came to the house a couple of days later; he called Emilio, “You are going to continue the search for Greg in Indonesia, that was where we had the last lead.”