Scarlet Meyers

The Lyons' Den

The following morning, I woke up in a daze. I couldn't quite comprehend what had happened the previous night. It had all seemed to go so fast and my brain couldn't keep up with the sequence of events. As I got ready for work, I tried to shake the feeling that someone was watching me. 

At work, I pretended like everything was just fine, like I hadn't been kidnapped and threatened the night before. No one asked me any questions of whether I was okay or not, which was a good thing. I didn't want to raise suspicion and end up getting myself killed. Everything went about as it normally did. I handled people's money, put some in this pot, put some in that one. My life was to make people more money so that they would pay me more to keep doing it. It was a nice job, dealing with money all day long. I loved it.

On my way home from work, I started to dread my second job. I knew that it was coming soon, but I didn't know when. Dante was just going to show up on my door step at some point this evening and tell me that it is time to go. I couldn't help but wonder if maybe he was watching me to see when I was going to get home.

It was around 5 pm when my door bell rang. I let Dante in while I grabbed a jacket and my wallet. He led me out to his truck and we left again. The car ride was quiet; I was so nervous. I glanced in the backseat and saw two duffel bags sitting on the seat. 

"Why are there two bags?" I asked. "You didn't say anything about two bags."

"No, I didn't. You're concern is only with one of them. Don't worry about the second."

I couldn't help but wonder what was in them. I knew not to even try to look, as my life could probably end if I did. He brought me to a Chinese restaurant in a run down part of town. The King was illuminated in red on the sign out front. Dante handed me one of the bags.

"Take this in to the hostess podium. Again, do not look inside, do not ask questions, and do not talk to anyone in there." His words enlarged the pit in my stomach. 

As I walked away from the truck, I noticed that this whole neighborhood was deserted. There was no one in sight. The King looked grungy from the outside, but as I walked through the front door with the duffel in my hand I noticed that the establishment was all but grungy on the inside. It was as if a switch had been flipped and created people. There was no tables available, and the place was pristine. Beautiful decor covered the walls, gorgeous light fixtures hung from the ceiling. The smells that found their way to my nose were so extremely tempting.

I headed for the hostess stand, and gave the man standing there the duffel. He did not say a word, just took it and headed to the back of the restaurant. Leaving the restaurant, I realized I was very hungry, and decided to ask Dante to stop and get me food on the way home. To my surprise, Dante was no where to be found when I came outside.

There was no sign of his truck anywhere on the block. I realized that he hadn't really been parked in a parking space, so I went around the side of the restaurant to see if he had parked in the alley way. Again, I didn't see him.

Before I could walk away, I heard gun shots coming from inside The King. People came flooding out the front door screaming. As I got ready to join them, the door in the alley swung open and two people came walking out. Afraid for my life, once again, I ducked behind a dumpster, hoping that Dante would return soon.

It was a man and a woman, from the sounds of their voices. I couldn't make out what they were saying, but their tones sounded serious. Attempting to be as quiet as possible, I tried to adjust to get more comfortable, just in case I was going to be there a while. I didn't notice the bag of cans and bottles sitting on the ground next to me, and accidentally kicking it. 

Panic overwhelmed me as bullets started hitting the dumpster I was sitting behind. I knew there was no way I could escape, but I was preparing to run for my life. Just as I stood up, a car came screeching into the alley, blinding the shooters with the headlights. It was Dante.