Song of the Firebird

Twenty two

He saw her coming out with a brown paper bag that wasn't either heavy or light. As she walked towards her home, he followed her and made sure that she was going to the exact location that she intended to. When his predictions turned out to be true, he turned his engine off and looked around for people in the street. The crowd was minimal, yet, he decided to wait. His report can wait, he thought.

He uncovered the plastic sheet from his new Marlboro gold and rolled down his window. Since he lived in the same street as her, not many cared when he sat in his car idly, lighting his stress snack. He crouched back in his seat and inhaled the nicotine. He was not in the mood for bigger puffs. The fear for his life alone haunted him. As much as he hated Kirk and his arrogance, he had no other place to go after flunking his high school. He had berated himself a handful of times that he should have listened to his dying granny. He blamed himself for falling into Kirk's words that promised money and drugs.

Nothing comes by crying over spilt milk.

In the last few days, he lost track of his appetite and sleep. Sacks of Valencia oranges pummelled him to ashes in his nightmares. He developed this habit of washing his sheets on a daily basis just to ward off the smell of sweat. Washing bed clothes by hand tired him. He could not afford laundromat everyday.

Few men waved at him. A couple of women winked at him. He just nodded them off.

He sighed aloud.

At the end of his third, he got a mere motivation to talk things out with Natasha. Despite being the main target of a drug lord, he believed that she would definitely have a backup plan. That explained her going off the radar all these years. Given her sharp-witted attitude, he hoped that she could get both of them out of this.

What kind of a woman was she? Judging from her profile and a few bits from Kiara, he knew that she had finished her studies in a no-ranked college. Thanks to a multitude of jobs and family money, she set up a café in Sorbet St. She had a fling for this dark-skinned Indian man for so-so months, from what he had observed. That guy seemed half lanky and half good. She did have quite a bad taste in men. First, that Indian and now, Kirk. Judging from Kirk's anger, Natasha must have been evading his boss for many years. He could not help himself but wonder what was linking a drug lord and a woman who viciously scorned the existence of drugs that he dealt with. A secret relationship? Nope, not in a trillion years or ever. Documents and legal papers? Kirk never ever complained about losing them, not even once. Money? Kirk would die rich. Criminal records? Doubtful. Unable to come up with other options, he slammed his head on the wheel. If he had acquired what Kirk was looking for before Kirk, he could lessen the damage, he thought.

Wait. Is it charity?

Or was he indebted to Kiara and her friends, especially that tomboy, Natasha just because he ratted her out to save his own life?

Nope. NOPE.

Why would he show sympathy when she was none of his business? He was growing sick of his stalking techniques. He wanted her to let her know that she was in trouble. Real trouble. Has she ever realized his motives and gotten alerted yet? That woman. Why wouldn't she understand that he was trying to give her a hint to save her ass before Kirk located her.

Friend or not, he didn't want any living being to experience what he did in the company of that monster of his boss. He could bet a thousand dollars that almost all his fellow mates had not seen the real side of Kirk.

Looking forward and back, soon and when there were no signs of more than two souls, he opened the door and stepped out of the car. Cold air outside only made his headache worse. He checked for the audience and closed the door with the least sound possible. Too many street lamps gave him the guts to confront her in her own place because he was sure that no one had followed him at the moment. His steps were stealthy and carried him to her place with no sloppy encounters. He breathed a sigh when he reached her door and knocked twice.