Extracted from «ORHANDA: Tales of the Pearl in the Caribbean»
«Go fuck yourself!» Miguel shouted at the burner phone he was holding, then slammed the phone against a wall.
«You shouldn’t have done that» Said Eddie and exhaled the smoke from the cigarette he was smoking.
«Fuck man, I’m tired of this bitch trying to tell me how we are supposed to do things» Said Miguel and smashed his phone one more time against the concrete wall.
Eddie flicked his cigarette butt, it flipped twice and hit Miguel in the face.
«Watch out bruh, this is new skin» Complained Miguel.
«Stop being a pussy and call her back, say you are sorry and we can keep living our lives.»Eddie looked out the reflective window knowing quite well that only the owner of the apartment could see through the reinforced polymer.
«Nah man, I don’t care about that puta. Fuck her and those idiots that walk around kissing her fat ass for a job.» Miguel looked out the window too.
Eddie pulled out another cigarette from the pocket of his jacket and lit it up.
«She’s thick as fuck, I’ll give you that» Said Eddie. He blew the smoke through his nostrils.
«You think she’ll let us finish this before asking me to pay her a visit?» Asked Miguel.
«I’m telling you bro, call her and say you are sorry. We rip this guy, collect the money and we are out», Eddie insisted.
«I’m not a kid anymore bro, I’m seventeen, you are nineteen. Que carajos?», Miguel spoke waving a brand new .40 from GURO ballistics he had stolen from a man they had killed the week before.
«You ended up keeping the gun, you’re lucky he didn’t have fingerprint recognition. Those new GURO guns can be tracked» Said Eddie.
«Eddie, the fuck you thinking? You think GURO or police are coming down here to take a gun from me. Nah, they are too busy playing god upstairs», said Miguel.
«Sh, shut up. I think he is here» Said Eddie.
«The guy?» Asked Miguel.
«No, your dad. Of course the guy, dumbfuck» Said Eddie.
They were inside their next target’s apartment. They had been contracted to kill the man. With Eddie’s brother’s help they overcame the electronic security of the building and hacked into the personal camera and alarms system of the apartment.
«You shooting?» Asked Miguel.
«No shooting» Said Eddie and drew a combat blade from behind his jacket. The thing was as thin as a scalpel, it shimmered under the light. One would even think it was transparent.
«Where the fuck did you get that?», whispered Miguel while pointing at the door.
«That’s what you get if you do what «fat ass» says» Eddie whispered back.
«Shit!», said Miguel. «I should call her and say I’m sorry»
«That will have to wait now, big boy. Now shut up and aim», Eddie located himself next to the door and waited. They both did.
There was a beep outside and the movement of gear inside the automated door system to the apartment, the hydraulic rams sounded and Eddie moved in. He didn’t give time for the man to react to Miguel pointing at him with a handgun.
Eddie slit the man’s throat in a single movement, sending a shower of blood all over the studio apartment and Miguel’s new shoes.
The automated door closed.
«Damn Eddie, you should have turned…»
Bang. A gunshot. Bang. Another gunshot.
Eddie fell to one knee, the dying man had pulled a gun and shot twice, one hit the Kevlar vest under his jacket, the second caught him on a thigh.
Eddie stabbed the man three times and took the gun from his hand.
«Fuck Miguel, fuck. You were supposed to be alert» Said Eddie, noticeably in pain.
«How bad is it?» Asked Miguel.
«How the fuck would I know?» Yelled Eddie.
«Yeah, he’s dead, we should get going» Said Miguel after checking the man for vitals.
«Of course he is dead, I fucking sliced him open!» Shouted Eddie.
«Yet he shot you», said Miguel.
«Shut up and help me up», said Eddie.
Miguel helped him stand and they walked out the apartment, rushing down the hall and into the elevator.
Eddie searched his pocket for something that looked like a flash drive and handed it to Miguel. «Take the keys, I can’t drive like this», he said.
«Where did you park?», asked Miguel.
«Left»
The doors of the elevator opened and they went out of the building, into the dark streets of La Gran Colombia.
You should know something about the Lower Districts, no one gives a single fuck, if a bullet is not directed at you, ignore it.
With no one asking questions they found their car in the alley to the left. Miguel got in the driver’s seat and Eddie sat next to him.
«Yes», said Eddie.
«Yes what?», asked Miguel.
«I’m not speaking to you. Phone», said Eddie.
«Why can’t you have an actual phone, I never know if you are talking to me or with yourself», Miguel complained and turned on the car.
«Yes, he is out. Yes, he is here. Now? Ok boss», said Eddie.
«What does «fat ass» wants now, the guy is dead», Miguel bickered.
Immediately after that the window at Miguel’s side was covered with his brains, Eddie had quickly drawn his gun from inside his cybernetic arm and took a shot at him. A head-shot; and a pretty messy one.
«I told you to call and say you were sorry, dumbfuck», said Eddie.
Eddie turned off the car, walked out of it and limped down the alley. Looking back from time to time, waiting for a witness, or perhaps a “street vulture”, a raider, a marauder of this cave of concrete and steel that was Orhanda.
His widely dilated pupils left almost no room for his light brown eyes, a streak of light bounced on them a second before Eddie was lost in the darkness of the alley.