Dalia couldn't sleep. When the clock marked 3 am she got out of the bed and went downstairs, where the kitchen resided. She took on of the Red Bulls they had delivered to her the previous morning and went back upstairs, walking towards the terrace. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw a dark figure looking towards the most popular attraction of the city.
She walked towards the figure as quietly as she could, careful not to give herself away. Once the lights illuminated his face, she recognized who it was, letting out a deep breath she was holding and shaking her head vigorously.
"No sleep for you either?" she asked Christopher, opening the can and taking a long sip of it, before settling into a comfortable chair and putting her legs up to her chest. The man turned around, he looked deep in thought. When he saw her, he shook his head, answering her question. He sat across her, looking her in the eye.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked her; it sounded more like a plea. The woman didn't answer for a long time. She kept sipping her energy drink. For a while he thought she wouldn't answer, but she did, just like he knew she would.
"I have to" She said quietly "I know I am hurting a lot of people. But they will calm down eventually. I need to do this, for myself. I can not keep living a life that is not for me" Christopher nodded. They stayed quiet for a long time, before Dalia spoke up again. "I need to ask a favour of you"
"Another one" he asked with a half amused smile, but she didn't smile back.
"I have a scapegoat." She announced, and he nodded, he wasn't naïve, he knew there had to be someone to blame "It's the bodyguard, Emmanuel"
"That poor fella. He doesn't know what going to happen, does he?" She shook her head answering his question, "What do you need me to do?" he asked, the tension rising up. He was judging her, she knew as much, but she was too close to accomplishing what she wanted just to give it up a few hours before it actually happened.
"Wait a second, please" she stood up and went to her room. She went to her desk and grabbed a binder and a grocery bag, before returning, "Here's the information for a bank account set up in his name in Luxembourg. There's also a lease for an apartment in London" She handed him the bank statements first and then the apartment information "The payment is arranged to go out monthly from a separate account for ten years" She handed him a last document "That one you'll only use in extreme situations. It's a letter of pardon, you have my permission to use it as you see fit. I trust you" at last, she took out a burner phone out of the grocery bag "This is for you and only for you. It has only one number programmed. You can only use it once, so it has to be a very extreme situation. Once you use your call, the other person at the end of the line is instructed to disconnect the phone"
He looked at her and only shook his head. He wanted to ask so many questions, but he understood where everything was coming from. At least she had the decency to work out some type of life for the guy she was using.
"One last thing" she said and he rolled his eyes, but raised his eyebrows questioningly "I need you to help me dye my hair" she finished and took out a box of hair product to bleach her hair. At that, the man started laughing hysterically, making Dalia laugh as well.
"I thought you were going to give me a bank account as well," he said still laughing, taking the bow out of her hands.
"I think you are financially covered for the rest of your life," she answered with a smile. Christopher knew that was true, but it made him wonder if she had a backup plan for him as well.
YOU ARE READING
72 Hours
Romance"That was so corny" That was Dalia's response. He took the bracelet and locked it in her wrist "And we've been engaged since I was 5" "Yes, I know. My parents felt the need to wait until I was in love and off age to tell me" he retorted. "See. I hav...
