by Graham Downs
I let out a long, slow breath. "Okay, John. Maybe you're right. Maybe I need to get back out there. But it's moot anyway, isn't it? None of us gets to decide when we're ready. And obviously, I'm not. Why am I still here?"
As soon as I said that, I felt that familiar wooziness. I tried to stand but I wobbled on my feet. The pinwheel was in front of my eyes again. Turning, turning, turning. I was going back. But was I ready?
I didn't have time to think about it anymore. It was happening. The pinwheel was reversing, and the scene was changing. As it cleared, I saw a man kneeling. A woman sat in front of him. She was moaning, and she had a fist-full of his hair. His head was pressed between her legs, as a pair of pants lay pooled around her feet.
I groaned. Why does everything humans do have to be about sex?
PART III
Chapter Eleven
"Okay, okay, enough," the woman heaved. "Please, Sam. No more. You're going to give me a heart attack!"
She giggled as Sam rose to his feet, leaving her bottom half fully exposed. She left her legs spread wide, which left nothing to my imagination. I blushed and looked away, but then remembered how my modesty had gotten me into trouble with the whole Eve situation. I wasn't sure yet who I was supposed to be guarding, so I kept my attention on both of them.
"I'm going to make a cup of coffee, and then it's off to work," Sam said. "Can I make you one?"
"No thanks, babes." The woman brushed Sam's shoulder. "I'm going to surf the web for a bit, and then I'll probably get an early night."
I glanced at the clock on the wall. It was almost seven in the evening.
Sam walked into the kitchen, and I was pulled after him. So at least that settled that.
In the kitchen, he filled the kettle and switched it on, before a ringing sound came from his pocket. This was the first I'd noticed his attire: a white button-up shirt, thin black tie, jacket and trousers. He hadn't even removed his jacket while he was "servicing" the woman.
Sam pulled the phone out of his pocket and answered it.
"Hey, Alex!" He paced around the kitchen, then took a quick peek through the doorway at the empty chair where the woman had been sitting. He lowered his voice slightly. "Yip. Sure. Sorry, just got caught up with something with Audrey." He chuckled. "Ja, that kind of something. You know me so well. Okay, I'll meet you at the pub in twenty. See you later."
He hung up the phone and shoved it back in his pocket. Cursing under his breath, he opened the front door and shouted "Bye, babe!" before walking out and slamming it behind him.
***
The pub was a smoky affair. Sam parked his ancient Mazda CX-5 on the street and headed inside.
It was dimly lit, and full of men with long beards in tank-tops, their tattooed arms as thick as most people's thighs. A man with a flat cap and a grey beard stood behind the bar with a grimy cloth over his shoulder.
Well-dressed, clean-shaven Sam looked out of place, but he didn't act it. He walked into the place with an air of confidence and scanned the room. Seated at a table in the corner were a man in a white muscle top and a black crew-cut, and a women with long black hair. From what I saw of the crowd, she might have the only woman in the bar, but she too carried herself with confidence. As if she belonged.
The man spotted Sam and waved him over.
"Fuckin' A, bru!" he said as Sam approached. "Geez, you made it, hey? I almost thought you wouldn't."
Sam flashed an exasperated smile. "Hi, Alex. What's going on?"
"Sit, man, sit. Take a load off." Alex waved a waiter over and ordered a beer-battered hake and chips. Sam sat.
Alex lowered his voice to a dramatic whisper, which I could tell Sam just thought was ridiculous.
"This is Joanna," he said, nodding towards the woman. "Jo for short," he added, just as Joanna was extending her hand to shake.
"Pleased to meet you," said Sam.
The woman raised her eyebrows. "Likewise."
"This is the oke I was telling you about, Jo. Anything that needs doing, our old pal Sam can do. Gua-ran-teed."
"Alex, dear," Joanna crooned, "would you mind going to the bar and getting me a glass of wine? Oh, and..." she looked at Sam questioningly.
"Beer," said Sam.
"And a beer for Sam," finished Joanna.
"But Jo, we just ordered food. Besides, we can grab a waiter—" He stopped as Joanna intensified her gaze.
"Right. Okay, I'll be right back."
"That's no problem. Take your time."
When Alex had gone, Joanna reached into her handbag and took out a pack of ultra-thin cigarettes in a rose-coloured box. She removed one and placed it between her lips. Sam stuck his hand in his pocket, produced a lighter, and lit it for her. A gentleman should always keep a lighter in his pocket. He smiled at the thought.
"Thank you," she said, before replacing the cigarettes in her bag and retrieving a manila folder. She placed the folder on the table. "Alex says you solve problems." She pointed to the folder. "He's a problem. Solve him."
Sam opened it. Inside was a pile of papers, on the top of which was a photograph of a man with a round face and a handlebar moustache.
"Who's he?"
"Everything you need to know is in those papers," replied Joanna. She reached a final time into her handbag and came out with a bulging envelope. This too, she placed on the table. "Twenty thousand. Call it a show of good faith. There'll be another twenty when my problem is solved."
She walked away just as Alex returned with the drinks.
***
"Yoh, she's a strange one, hey?" said Alex, sitting down. "Fine piece, though, you have to admit."
Sam agreed, then reached for the envelope on the table.
Alex got to it first. Scooping it up and opening it, he said, "Twenty grand, hey? This lady must really be desperate. What you gonna do?"
"My job." He snatched the envelope out of Alex's hands, tucked the folder under his arm, and stormed out the door.
What a dick, thought Sam as he exited the pub. Why I put up with him I'll never know. Oh, right, because he brings me work.
Sam stepped off the curb and onto the street, just as a yellow hatchback came careering down on a collision course. My heart leapt into my throat and, without thinking, I grabbed him by the scruff of his neck. He stumbled backwards and ended up sitting on his bottom on the pavement.
"Fuck," he muttered before standing up and patting dust off his pants. "How could I be so clumsy?"
Sam may not have known the danger he was in, but my chest puffed at a job well done. I didn't agree with what my ward did for a living, but it was still my responsibility to keep him alive. Besides, maybe something could be done to change his ways.
***
"Honey, I'm home!" Sam chuckled at his joke as he walked through the front door. Audrey, seated on the couch, didn't seem amused.
"Where have you been?" she asked irritably. "I've been trying to call. Why is your phone off?"
"It isn't." Sam reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He tried to unlock it, but the screen stayed off. "Crap," he said. "Battery's dead. I'm sorry, babe. I've been in a meeting."
Audrey glanced at the folder under his arm, and the bulge coming from his jacket, caused by the wad of cash in his pocket. She took a deep breath and folded her arms.
"The hospital called. It's your mother. She had an accident, and they tried to get hold of you. When they couldn't, they started phoning random numbers out of her contacts, and got to me."
Sam's mouth hung open. "Wait, what? How? What happened?"
"I don't know. I'm not family, so they wouldn't give me any details. If you'd bothered to charge your phone..."
Sam dropped the folder onto the table. It fell open, revealing the photograph of the man he'd just been hired to eliminate. He didn't care. He grabbed Audrey's arm and dragged her out of the house. "Let's go. What hospital's she in?"
Chapter Twelve
An old woman lay in a bed in the corner of the ward. O
f the six beds in the ward, two were occupied: the woman, and a young lady on a drip opposite her.
Sam and Audrey entered, and the woman's face lit up. "Sam, my boy. My handsome boy."
Sam approached the bed and gave his mother a hug. "Hi, ma," he said. "What happened to you?"
His mother was about to answer when she spotted Audrey. Instantly, her face contorted into a scowl.
"Hi, Ma Becky," said Audrey, and leaned in for a kiss. Becky turned her face, and let Audrey kiss her on the cheek instead.
"What's she doing here?" asked Becky.
"Oh, ma, please let's not get into that now," returned Sam. "Audrey told me you were in the hospital, and I came as soon as I could. Now, what happened?"
Becky's face softened. "It's nothing, my boy. I was reaching for the coffee on the top shelf, and I slipped and fell. That's all."
"Your mother's downplaying the seriousness of her situation."
Sam and Audrey turned to see a tall, slim man in a white lab-coat enter the room.
"I'm Doctor Deetleefs." He shook Sam's hand. "And your mother had a bad fall and broke her hip. She's in a lot of pain, and on morphine." Audrey glanced at the intravenous needle in Becky's wrist. "They'll be wheeling her into surgery within the next hour or so."
Sam gasped. "Ma, is this true? Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I didn't want you to worry," she snapped back, then shot an accusatory glance at Doctor Deetleefs. "And I didn't want you to take me away from my home."
"Oh, ma." Sam ran his hand through his hair. "You know I'll always worry about you. I love you. But let's not talk about this now." He lifted his mother's hand—the one without the needle—and kissed it. "You just get better, okay?"
Becky beamed up at her son, then glanced at Audrey. It was clear she still didn't appreciate Sam's choice in women, but even so, her scowl was... softer, somehow.
As we exited the room, the strangest thing happened. Becky stared directly at me. It was as if she could see me, even though I knew that was impossible. It might have been a coincidence, but I could swear I saw recognition flicker in those eyes.
***
Sam and Audrey sat on the thinly upholstered wooden chairs in the hospital's cold waiting room.
"Do you think she'll be all right?" asked Sam.
Audrey brushed his cheek and said, "I'm sure she will, babe. She'll be back to her old, annoying self in no time."
"Don't joke," Sam said with a smirk. "I'm really worried about her."
Audrey leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. "I love you, you know that? Even though your mother can be infuriating at times."
Before Sam could respond, Doctor Deetleefs came walking up to them, wearing surgical scrubs. A mask hung around his neck.
"Your mother's going to be fine," he said. "The operation was a success. It looks like the pins are going to hold."
Sam stood up. "Can we see her?"
"Yes, but she's sleeping. It'll be a few hours before she wakes up. And we're going to need to keep her here overnight for observation. You two should probably go home."
Audrey squeezed Sam's hand. "Come, babe. The doctor's right. Let's go get some sleep."
"One more thing," said the doctor. "When she goes home, she's not going to be able to be alone for a while. At least a couple weeks. She'll need someone to help her get around until she's back on her feet."
"That's okay," said Sam. "She can stay with us. Can't she, babe?"
Audrey smiled wanly, but I saw the dread in her eyes. I knew Sam saw it, too. "Sure, babes. Of course she can."
***
"It's after midnight, babes." Audrey yawned as they opened the front door and walked into their lounge. "Let's get some sleep."
Sam sat down on the couch. "You go ahead, angel. I've got this file to go through tonight. Work waits for no man."
Audrey sighed. "Okay, but not too late, okay?" She kissed him on the forehead. "Goodnight."
Sam was glad Audrey didn't know what he really did. At least, she never mentioned it. She'd never asked him what he did for a living, and he'd never given her any details. She knew he carried a gun, but he didn't think she knew what he did with it.
After Audrey left, Sam pulled his laptop out of the bag, set it on the coffee table, and booted it up. While he was waiting, he opened the file.
The photo was a middle-aged balding man with a black moustache. He looked Indian. Sam flipped up the photo and read the file behind it. The subject's name was Pravesh Moonsamy. He was the CEO of a multi-national oil conglomerate, headquartered here in the city. He had a wife and three children. There wasn't much more in the file.
Sam stroked his chin, then entered Moonsamy's name into Google. There wasn't much there, either. The company had just signed a merger agreement with a smaller company in The States. There were some reports of the astronomical salaries earned by company executives, while the workers earned so little. The usual stuff.
What's so special about this guy? thought Sam as he picked up the phone and started dialling.
A few seconds later, Alex's sleepy voice came on the other end of the line.
"Sam? Fuck, bru, do you know what time it is? What's wrong?"
Sam glanced at his watch. "Ja, sorry, Alex. I'm just doing some research on this latest assignment. What do you know about Joanna?"
"What? Sheesh, man, not much, hey. Hey, can we talk about this in the morning? I really want to get some sleep, here."
Sam snorted when he heard a woman's voice in the background. "Alex?" She stifled a yawn. "Who's that? Is everything okay?"
"No problem, boet," said Sam into the phone. "Catch up tomorrow. Bye."
Oh well, not going to get much work done tonight. He chucked the phone on the couch next to him, closed his laptop, and sat back, lacing his fingers behind his head. His thoughts turned to his mother.
Or more specifically, to his mother's relationship with Audrey. He loved his mother, but he loved his girlfriend, too. He'd been thinking of asking Audrey to marry him for a while now. The only thing stopping him thus far had been his mother's feelings towards his (hopefully) fiancée to be. He couldn't understand why his mother couldn't see what he saw in Audrey. The funny, witty, smart Audrey. The Audrey who turned men's heads wherever they went, but always went home with him. Sure, they had their fights from time to time. What couple didn't? But they always found a way to sort it out.
And now Ma Becky would be coming to stay with them. Sam chuckled to himself as he wondered if both of the women in his life would make it out alive.
Then there was his job. Who was he kidding? Of course Audrey suspected what he did, but she had the good sense to keep her nose out of his business. Killing people for a living had a way of earning you enemies, and Sam shuddered to think about the danger Audrey would be putting herself in if she got more involved.
His mother, though, wasn't so discreet. She knew exactly what Sam got up to after dark. She'd never turn him in to the police or anything, but she made her feelings quite clear on the matter: find a normal job, one that didn't involve hurting people for a living, or be disinherited.
Not that his mother had loads of money, anyway. But still....
With these thoughts swimming in his head, Sam succumbed to sleep.
***
At four in the morning, Sam was woken by the shrill ring of his cellphone. Sleepily, he reached for it on the coffee table. He'd been sleeping sitting up for around two hours, and he felt it in his neck.
Without checking who was calling, he picked it up.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Mister Anderson? It's Sister Janine here from Saint Joseph's. It's about your mother. She's taken a turn for the worse. Doctor Deetleefs said I should give you a call. We think you need to come."
Sam's eyes went wide, and he almost dropped the phone. "What? Why? What happened?"
"I really don't think it's appropriate to tell you any more over the phone, sir. Please just come."
With that, she hung up.
<
br /> Sam wasted no time. He leapt to his feet and stormed into the bedroom. Audrey was just waking up. "Babe, where have you been? Did you sleep on the couch?"
"No time," Sam shot back. "You need to get up, get dressed." He opened the cupboard and started throwing her clothes onto the bed. "We need to go. Now. Hospital called. Mom's in trouble."
Audrey propped herself up on her arms. "Oh, babe, I'm so sorry. Is she...?"
"I don't know. They wouldn't tell me. Just hurry, will you? I'll go start the car."
Sam stormed out of the house, found the car parked on the street, and pulled the handle. The door didn't open.
Shit, he said under his breath. Keys.
He raced back inside, almost bowling Audrey over, as she stood in the doorway putting on her shoes.
"Babe, please just slow down!"
***
At the hospital, Sam and Audrey didn't bother stopping at Reception. They raced into Becky's ward, where she lay with tubes sticking out of her nose and electrical cables stuck to her chest. Dr Deetleefs was there, standing over her.
He turned when they entered the room.
"Mister Anderson, thank you for coming."
"I came as quickly as I could," said Sam, huffing and puffing. "What happened? Is she...?"
"No," replied the doctor. "Your mother went into cardiac arrest about an hour ago. We were able to stabilise her, and she should be fine. It does mean that we'll have to keep her under observation a few more days, though."
"But Sister Janine gave me the impression—"
Doctor Deetleefs held up his hand. "Sister Janine is prone to overstating things from time to time. Don't get me wrong: cardiac arrest is serious. And it means she'll have to make some lifestyle adjustments when she does go home. But right now, she's not dying."
"Is she awake?" asked Audrey.
"No. She's sleeping. But it's just sleep." said the doctor, "I have rounds to do, but you can stay as long as you like. Have Sister Janine page me if you need me."
With that, he made his exit.
"The doctor's wrong, you know." It was Becky. Her eyes were open but glassy, and she spoke in a soft voice.