The Bagman's Direction

Chapter 10

I could hear water, as if it was cascading down like a waterfall to meet a pond at the end to secure itself in. It was so close.

Then my ears twitched at the sound of a cackling fire. I could smell it, the ashes with a hint of evergreen. I don't know where that forest scent was lingering from but I had bigger issues at hand. My head was aching, a stinging pain in my crown was accompanied by a headache that roared through my mind.

My eyes flickered open, curiosity overwhelming my desire to remain asleep.

I could see the gentle flames I had pictured tucked safely in a fireplace on burning wood and I understood the evergreen scent when I looked outside the glossy window of this compacted room. Rows and rows of towering trees and their vivid green leaves surrounded this place and made for a beautiful mossy view. The room was entirely made of wooden logs like an abandoned cabin from ancient times. Yet this room was so alive.

I looked beside me to find him, the leader. He was kneeling down to my level and rinsing out a damp cloth over a bucket of water. He smiled to see me awake and propping my elbows up to gain a bit of height. I was laying down on a futon, a thin blanket loosely over my clothed body. I was down to my undershirt and jocks, I could see my dress pants and blazer hanging up beside the door.

"Morning" He chirped and pressed the cloth to the back of my head.

I cringed and he pulled away, frowning at me. I sighed, unsure how to respond. He proceeded and I bit my tongue.

"We did clean and bandage it last night but it's still bleeding. So I'm re-cleaning and re-bandaging so it doesn't get infected. How did you sleep?" He causally asked.

I shrugged, feeling a bit uneasy.

"Any dreams?"

I shook my head and sat up properly. I turned away from him to make his job easier and awkwardly rubbed my arm.

He rinsed the cloth back out after removing the dried blood. He put on a bit of antiseptic powder before wrapping it in a bandage. Once my wound was ready for time to heal it, I sighed once more.

"What's wrong?"

"I hope you're kidding"

He didn't reply and I turned around to face him with angry eyes.

"You murdered the person I cared about most. He was my family, my closest fucking family and now he's dead"

He smirked and got up, placing his cleaning equipment aside. He walked across the room to draws perched in the corner I hadn't seen until then and pulled out a folder. He returned to me, opening the folder and reading the document inside.

"Louis William Tomlinson, aged twenty four as of December. Born in England but migrated to America at the age of sixteen. Career as a Bagman and Consigliere to the infamous Daddy figure who is head of the East American Mafia. History, was coerced and forced into labouring for the mafia after his Stepfather skipped out on his family with all of Daddy's winnings from the past two years. Louis was to make up for lost money and time and his Stepfather's mistakes. Louis was bribed to do this by promises of keeping his intermediate family, mother and four sisters, alive. Louis went on to live with Daddy in America and his intermediate family were also shipped to America, those he was not allowed to see until the age of nineteen where he took on the role of Bagman" He crudely read aloud, "Louis and Daddy held a close relationship and went by Uncle and Nephew although no genuine biological link was found"

I bit my lip and guiltily stared at him. He called my bluff.

"I don't give a shit if your forged driver's license, apartment contract and bank details have Louis Gideon all over it, I have copies of your original birth certificate and early paperwork. Legally your name is Louis Tomlinson and biologically you and Daddy Gideon have no connection. Don't lie to me, I've been studying you two for months now" He snapped.