Ancil“What do you want?” I asked, stepping back to the bed.
“Don’t play dumb. You know what I want,” Vince said. “Where’s my daughter?”
“I don’t know,” I lied.
Vince had a piece of paper in his hand but he quickly shoved it in his pocket, clenched his fist and started off towards me but Tom held him back and said, “we can’t afford to draw too much attention. Let’s handle this like men.”
Vince seemed slightly annoyed by Tom’s instructions but he eventually cooperated.
Tom got a bit closer to me and said. “I’m not here to harm you Ron. My beef is not with you. You’re just a man in love doing what love tells you to do. I understand your predicament. I’ve been there but a lot of people are going to get hurt if you don’t cooperate.”
“And by a lot of people do you just mean me?” I said.
“Yes, that’s exactly what he means,” Vince shouted.
“Let me handle this Vince,” Tom turned to Vince and shouted. He then turned back to me and said, “how about we make a deal?”
“I can’t be bought.”
“I beg to differ. Every man has his price. The ability to be bought is what makes us human. The ability to be bribed. Animals, animals can’t be bribed. Animals, however, can be enslaved and I know for a fact right now in this day and age, you don’t want to be an animal. So don’t act like one. Animals are guided by their instincts and when you love someone it’s your natural instinct to protect them at all costs. But get this.” He teed up as if he was preparing to make the most amazing point ever. “Unlike the majority of the animal kingdom the bear is one of the few animals who understands that love must not blur your judgment. You see, when a mama bear is hungry she will eat her young no matter how much she loves them. Why? Because if the mother lives she could always have more cubs but if she dies, the cubs are going to die anyway. Don’t let love blur your judgment. If you’re going to be an animal, be a bear because the bear understands that sometimes you just got to say fuck love and do what’s best for you. And I know right now you and Katherine are in a very rough patch financially. This is your famine and like the bear you need to forget about love for one second and do what’s best for you. Eat your cubs. Take the bribe. Because if you don’t, you are going to die. And then Katherine is going to die because she’s going to be all alone in this country around all these strangers without a cent in her pocket. I mean — I know that she stole my money but from what I hear, the same money she stole from me was stolen.”
“How do you know that?” I asked.
“I know things. Word gets around fast in this country. You know, when I first landed, I really underestimated the generosity of Trinidadian people. Apparently when you have a lot of money to offer, people will give you anything even if it’s just a dusty old bag; a dusty old bag, by the way, that I can recognize from anywhere.”
“You stole it!” I spat.
“Calm down there Romeo!! I didn’t steal anything. I found it. You should be thanking me. I found it for you. You don’t get that I’m trying to help you here? I’m on your side buddy. I’m a good guy. All you have to do is tell me where Katherine is so I can return her bag to her in person. That’s it.”
“I can return it myself,” I said.
Tom laughed, shaking his head then said, “so it can get stolen again. No thank you. Here’s the deal. I’ll give you fifty grand to tell me where Katherine is.”
I must admit that the offer caught me by surprise and it was slightly tempting especially since Kate and I had basically no money but I couldn’t see myself betraying Kate for that kind of money. “I can’t be bought,” I repeated.
“I want you to think for a second,” Tom started. “After all that you and Katherine have been through do you really think that she would do the same for you.”
He had me thinking and to be honest, I couldn’t really see Kate doing the same for me. The whole incident with Kate and I at the restaurant made me wonder if Kate really loved me at all. Maybe Kate was just using me. Maybe she was just considering me her boyfriend because of my usefulness in the circumstances that we found ourselves in. She actually said that to me. Maybe I was just her waffle.
“One hundred grand!” Tom Hiddens shouted.
I was considering it. I was actually considering it. With that one hundred grand, I could have flown back home and take my mother all around the world and probably met a new love of my life somewhere in Paris or London. I mean, I loved Kate but there was just a bit too much drama associated with her life and with my anxiety issues maybe I needed a girl with less demons. I was about to accept the offer but then I looked at Vince. I looked at his clenched fist and his wrinkly face. I looked at his eyes and I envisioned all the horrible things he had done to her and all the horrible things he would have done to her. I then began to think of Juliet and how my decision would have affected her life. How she would go back to thinking of herself as ugly and worthless. I then began to think of Tanty Mavis and what she said about doing your small part to change the life of just one child. Maybe this was my bit.
“I’ll make sure he doesn’t lay a finger on her,” Tom said when he noticed me looking at Vince.
“No,” I said. “I will never tell you where she is. She deserves better than you two monsters. She deserves love and I’m going to make sure she gets what she deserves.”
I saw Tom’s face change from negotiable to stone cold in a matter of seconds. He grabbed me by the cheeks and said, gritted teeth, “I will find her. Mark my words. I will find her.” He then turned and walked away with his two bodyguards but before he left he turned to Vince and said. “Hurt him. Hurt him bad.”
“My pleasure,” Vince said, cracking his fingers.
