Caribbean Rage

by Clington Quamie

Erik also warned that she was going to have to learn how to master her emotions. He was going to teach her how to transform some of her past experience into opportunities. ‘Before nightfall, I will provide transportation and a special telephone for you. Shakira’s life began changing right before her eyes. It was happening all so fast.

  Erik reached into his pocket and produced five crispy hundred dollar notes.

  ‘That should keep you going until your first training.’ Shakira fought her emotions. She held back the tears that had already flooded the corners of her eyes.

  Years of abuse had broken her but she stumbled upon a life changing opportunity that already began turning the tables around for her.

  ‘Effective immediately, your code name is S54B3. Your first assignment begins tomorrow. Your uncle is number one on the list!’ Erik turned around to examine S54B3’s body language. The news comforted her. She was ready.

  ‘When the job is finished, you’ll travel to Canada for your next assignment and trust me; you won’t let me down!!!’ Erik had disappeared without another word.

  Standing before S54B3 was a large man she recognized as Baptist Silver. He knew her as Shakira.

  She had allowed him entry into a part of her body that so many other men before him had entered but he didn’t seem to want to let go of her. He served simply as a decoy that helped her to blend in perfectly among civilians on the small island while carrying out Erik’s most valued mission. She had just killed Shakira for good and Baptist had outlived his usefulness in her life.

  ‘What the fuck do you want?’ S54B3 straightened her aim at the overgrown target.

  For countless months he’d reduced her into fulfilling his nastiest desires. He always referred to her as BITCH. She’s ruined for life!!! The ugly combination of words always tormented her during those sessions. She died inside every time and she wanted to mutilate him just like she’d done to her uncle and her rapists in Canada. All along, she controlled her emotions just as she was taught. It was all part of the game.

  ‘Get over there!’ she motioned him to the middle of the floor. Baptist was a mixture of surprise and dread. A full two days had hardly elapsed before they were enamored with each other but something went desperately wrong with Shakira. She had turned into a monster.

  ‘How did you get here?’ S54B3 grip on the pistol was unyielding. Her eyes were bloodthirsty.

  ‘I followed you and the man in white.’ he pointed in Erik’s direction.

  ‘Are you alone?’

  ‘Yes.’ Baptist nodded.

  A crushing wave of reality overwhelmed him. Love, lust or jealousy; whichever it was that he felt for the blonde bartender, had guided him into a death-trap.

  The man that was fully clad in white and whose urine stank of penicillin, interrupted.

  ‘Do you know him SB?’ he looked across the room to Shakira. She nodded in acknowledgement.

  ‘Is he of any use to us?’ his questions were short but direct. It took Baptist no time at all to understand that the man was Shakira’s boss and not her lover.

  She nodded but with an unmistakable disapproval.

  ‘Then kill him!’ Erik said matter of factly.

  S54B3 angled her weapon to his forehead.

  ‘I know who’s got the treasure map!!!’ Baptist blurted out in a last act of desperation to cheat death yet another time.

  ‘Speak or die!!!’ his once upon a time lover got ready to make the kill.

  Her boss motioned her to lower the weapon.

  ‘How do you know about the treasure map?’

  For the first time since Baptist entered the room the man in white apparels stood up.

  ‘I had it in my possession.’ Baptist spoke faster than his lips could produce words.

  The man in white was approaching slowly. He exchanged an unreadable glance with Shakira.

  Retrieving the map seemed like the only plausible reason the big fellow in front of him was still alive.

  ‘Why don’t you take a sit and tell me more about it?’ he managed a smile.

  He ordered S54B3 away. Baptist wasn’t in any position to refuse. He immediately began revealing the events that led to his involvement. S54B3 didn’t seem surprised. She was too engrossed with the things she wanted to do to him. She remembered him pounding away at her from behind just like two of her rapists had done. Ah yes…ah Bitch…you like that eh? Baptist always relished in the moment. Put it in your mouth! He enjoyed having her gag on his ugly manflesh that was usually filled with fresh mucus from being inside her. The savage bitterness welled up inside her again.

  ‘So where is the map?’ the man in white asked resigned when he’d listened to Baptist’s story.

  ‘How would I know you’re not going to kill me?

  ‘I’m a man of my word.’ his voice was candid; ‘I won’t kill you?’

  ‘I gave it to her boss,’ it dawned on him that Shakira’s real boss was standing right before him, ‘I mean the man in charge of the restaurant where she worked.’ Baptist eye met with the man’s who in return simply nodded at Shakira. She leveled her weapon with Baptist’s forehead and fired a single shot between his eyes that killed him on the spot. ‘Now that you’ve spoken…forever hold your peace you big, black, perverted motherfucker!!!’

  S54B3 couldn’t help but feel unapologetic. At last, she felt some measure of peace.

  Forty Four ……………

  Inspector Cooper was faced with a new problem. Despite his feverish attempt to solve the ongoing spate of crimes on the island, he had to simultaneously search for missing bodies. Cooper was determined to bring the fisherman to justice. Five officers were added to his team to search for missing bodies. He kept two members from the first team as their mission to apprehend the suspects perpetuated.

  A few years back, Cooper had served on the coast guard unit when the crooked fisherman craftily outwitted him.

  It was a rainy crack of dawn when they’d crossed paths on the ocean. Baptist had displayed no particular signs of suspicion or nervousness when Cooper boarded the fishing trawler. He’d assisted the officer around the boat and revealed a multitudinous catch of sea creatures. Cooper had searched high and low for evidence of illicit dealings but came up with nothing. Before disembarking the boat, he was given sufficient fish to last his family for a few months. Baptist had escorted him off the boat with a wide grin and an offer for a night of fishing on board.

  Two days later, news reached Cooper that Baptist had successfully smuggled a large amount of cocaine into the island on the same morning he’d searched the boat. Ever since, Cooper held a tormenting grudge against the big guy. His passion to pin him to a crime by hook or crook clouded his judgment completely when there were far more dangerous perpetrators lurking about.

  The sudden disaster slowed Cooper’s team considerably. A battered Jeep was caught up in the midst of the debris generated by the Tsunami. The fresh dents on one side of the vehicle revealed evidence of a recent rescue.

  Cooper and his team pressed forward until he reached a trail that led to a hostel. A few more steps then an eerie scene materialized. He inched closer. The sight appeared stranger and stranger. It was a small mound in the middle of the pathway. It wasn’t caused by the Tsunami because they were standing on grounds that were far from the destruction. Cooper and his team stopped dead in front a heap of lifeless bodies in the center of the trail. All but Charlene who led the other contingent of cops lay slain in a puddle of blood. She was nowhere in sight. It appeared that the perpetrators who had brutally slain Charlene’s team members had abducted her for reasons unknown to Cooper. A feeling of defeat engulfed him.

  The murdered victims were highly trained officers. Their sudden demise posed a mysterious challenge for Cooper. He reluctantly urged his backups onwards. Another half an hour and they reached a well-wrought iron gate of a secluded guesthouse. His eyes followed a sequence of footprints that pointed in the hostel’s direction. Cooper’s suspicion heightened. No one was within close eyeshot of t
he building.

  They entered the forbidden property and watchfully drew nearer the mansion.

  Forty Five ……………

  Itrod the tsunami-ridden village with sincere caution. I surmise there was enough distance between my pursuer and me. I went unnoticed by the many ghost-like figures I passed along the way. They shared unrivaled dejection. There was a distinct possibility that their family members were yet to be found. I too had my own worries. Kaila and Marielli hadn’t quite made it to Shirley Heights before the dreadful tsunami occurred. They could be either dead or alive. My search for them wasn’t going to cease without results but the darkness was thick and a desperate man was after me for reasons I’d yet to discover.

  I wondered if by some unfortunate twist of fate I hadn’t crossed path with the notorious killer called The Shadow. I’d heard so many disturbing things about the man that if it was indeed him on my trail, I certainly didn’t stand a chance of escaping.

  I took a sharp right into a road that continued uphill. I was clueless where I was headed but my feet continued forward. The hill’s summit and beyond was untouched. The tidal wave mostly affected the villages below.

  A bench sat solitarily along an abandoned bus stop. I felt inclined to stop and rest for a bit but the thought of the scary man lurking in the darkness kept me going. I continued downhill until I discovered a dirt road to the left with a small signage that read:

  PRIVATE PROPERTY – DO NOT ENTER I ignored the warning and turned left. Moments later, I found myself at a crossroad not knowing exactly whether I should turn left, right, or to continue ahead. I took a chance at another left turn that landed me at a complete dead-end.

  An immense iron gate hung tightly on an unclimbable concrete fence. It was armed with barbed wire. There was no turning back for me at this point. I inspected the gate. It was firmly sealed, climbable and unarmed. I craned my neck over the gate to spy any possible movement.

  No one was in sight. I then propelled myself upwards and catapulted my body over the gate with whatever strength I had left. Fragments of my shirt caught up in the razor sharp barbed wire. A soon as my feet hit the ground, a blaring alarm came alive. I was mistaken; the gate was indeed armed. I happened to be a little too fatigue to succumb to fright. The alarm took a while to stop and to my surprise, no one showed up.

  I followed a stony pathway up a slope and found myself standing at the heel of a mansion in the middle of nowhere. I reached for the doorknob and the entire door swung loosely in my direction. I entered and what I saw inside brought me to a sudden standstill. Countless eyes penetrated me. They seemed neither happy nor saddened by my intrusion. They were sorrowful eyes that didn’t belong in the immaculately designed mansion I entered. The mansion’s modern interior betrayed its old fashioned exterior. A group of homeless families that had survived the catastrophe had taken refuge in the private palace I discovered. A middle-aged lady signaled me forward. Her eyes were different. They were warm, compassionate and were telling me; come to me my little one…I will give you rest. I was offered some food and a spot to crash among other family members. Sleep came easily.

  I savoured a dreamful night but awoke to a gun pointed to my temple.

  ‘Had a restful night?’ the cold metal was shoved deeper into my flesh.

  The dark man mysteriously caught up with me. His eyes didn’t reflect warmth, compassion or sorrow. They were furious eyes. I wished I was still dreaming. My morning was beginning to turn into a nightmare. The man who held the gun to my head was someone I knew.

  ‘Because I know you, I will ask nicely. Where is the map?’

  his grip on the gun was firm.

  It was only then I understood why I was being followed. ‘I don’t know anything about any map!’ I was certain he was going to squeeze the trigger but my curiosity to discover what was in the map prompted my courage.

  With the gun still pointed in my direction, he pulled me up to my feet then skedaddled towards the mansion’s entrance. He motioned someone forward. Three females entered the room. Two females were held hostage by the other. Marielli and Kaila were escorted into the mansion’s hallway. Their captor moved with a fierce swiftness.

  The dark man pointed his gun in their direction without paying attention to the others in the room who had taken up refuge in the building.

  ‘Maybe this will help you remember where the map is!’ he was determined.

  Kaila and Marielli were ruffled and petrified.

  I was happy to see them alive again. They’d survived the terrible disaster but the quandary at hand scared me to wits’ end.

  ‘Ok…ok…don’t shoot!!!’ I finally cracked.

  Saving the lives of the two people who meant the world to me by far exceeded betraying a secret the big fellow had forced upon me.

  I was reaching deep down inside my crotch to retrieve the envelope when a loud bang emanated from the mansion’s entrance. The front door connected hard with wall. Six creepy prison escapees barged in. They were heavily armed. The atmosphere in the room grew heavy almost instantaneously.

  ‘Drop your weapon!’ a beastly scar faced looking man who came across to me as the leader of the clan, angled his weapon in the dark man’s direction.

  The dark man pressed his gun deeper into my temple. He moved a few inches behind me, making a perfect shield out of me.

  ‘I will kill him!’ now you drop your weapon!’

  Scarface let out a blusterous laughter. His team seemed to have caught his drift and joined in laughter.

  ‘Go ahead, make my day and kill him!’ their collective laughter dropped at once. There was a menacing clack as Scarface loaded his weapon. His finger was halfway down the trigger when one of his fellow criminals interrupted.

  ‘Well well well. Look who we got here.’ the physically unimposing escapee ceased the gun from the woman who had held Kaila and Marielli hostage.

  ‘Charlene! The crooked cop!’ the name Charlene took away every bit of Scarface’s attention.

  As he lowered his gun, two of the other escapees in his company angled theirs towards the dark man. Scarface inched closer to inspect the young cop who had caused his incarceration.

  Revenge weighed down on him in no uncertain terms.

  ‘Small world; isn’t it? Indeed, it is you!’ he took a few steps backwards and squeezed the trigger. The Uzi 9mm machine pistol let off several rounds per second.

  Charlene’s caught a last glimpse of the dark man; the Islam convert she had fallen helplessly for and had done everything he demanded out of love. Her body dropped to the marble floor instantly forming a pool of blood.

  ‘Anybody else?’ Scarface turned back towards us. The room went icy cold. The dark man seemed to have gotten the message. He immediately dropped his weapon and let me loose. I wanted to run but dared not. Scarface had this murderous look on his face that told me he would drop anything that moved.

  ‘What do you want from me?’ the dark man fearlessly surrendered.

  ‘Kick the gun over to me.’ the dark man followed the instruction. He quickly retreated to his previous position. I suspected his sole intention was to dodge behind me if shots were to be fired.

  ‘There is something in your possession that I need.’ Scarface maintained a vile disposition.

  ‘Do I know you?’ the dark man seemed confused. ‘No, you don’t but I know you’ve got the map! Ain’t it?’ The dark man’s confusion subsided.

  I automatically held my breath. Everyone seemed to be after a map that was firmly clasped between my legs. My curiosity began to mount. I hadn’t the slightest idea what was contained in the mysterious map but it was worth killing for. All the dark man had to say was I had it and it would be over for me.

  ‘Who do you work for?’ the dark man changed subjects ignoring altogether the question that was forwarded him.

  ‘The same man you work for you worthless cunt! Your contract expired a few hours ago.’ Scarface’s response baffled the dark man. ‘Now where is the fucking map?!�
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  The dark man cocked his head slightly downwards as if in deep thoughts before giving another response. I was certain I was going to be exposed. It was easy for the dark man and the renegades to strike a mutual deal. At the end of the day, their mission to find the mystery map was masterminded by the same boss.

  ‘I haven’t found it yet.’ the dark man gave the sort of answer that could cause Scarface to drop another body in the room. A terse silence followed.

  ‘Search him!!!’ Scarface ordered two of his other men. They approached the dark man with due precaution. Scarface kept his aim from the other end of the room. I got the unmistaken impression that the men knew who the dark man was. The fear they displayed told me that whatever knowledge they held about him wasn’t anything close to the gentleman I once knew.

  The dark man threw his hands upwards. The men ran a haphazard search on him then quickly retreated. They looked in Scarface’s direction.

  ‘Nothing.’ one of them shook his head disapprovingly. The news brought about an uncanny calm in the room. The escapees stood in a confused silence awaiting a code of action from there ugly boss. A child of no more than three years old broke the silence with a known nagging of an illmannered infant. He was demanding something to eat from his mother.

  ‘Ok…everybody; listen up!’ Scarface’s brazened voice brought the young fellow to an instant halt, ‘From now on I’m in charge of this building. Anyone who wants to survive will do exactly as I say!’

  Scarface ordered his men to shackle every male starting with the dark man.

  There were four of us in total. He then focused his attention on the mother of the child who earlier interrupted him. ‘I’m going to teach you a very important lesson how to keep this little rascal of yours quiet!’ he summoned two of his men to stand her up.

  She was then forced into a nearby room.

  ‘Get it over with quickly!’ Scarface barked at two of his men who entered the room with the woman. He remained in the doorway with his eyes trained on the dark man. The other renegades kept their weapon pointed at us. Shortly after, a disturbing scream filled the entire parlour where we were held. The woman was being punished in the worse way possible.