GET READY! "He has fallen for it!" announced Pedro on the phone as soon as he got back to his hotel. Caleb was still out of reach on his private line even though his phone was returned to him. He however contacted his family using a new number to let them know he was still alive and had managed to escape from his captors. "Since the matter is still being investigated by the police team that rescued me," he said to his mother when he spoke with her one day, "I have been advised not to make public appearances yet." He was lying to keep her and his grandfather from worrying too much. Lord Dezani, as expected, was not in the least bit comfortable with him staying away from home. He tried to talk him into coming back so he could give him protection, but Caleb insisted he was man enough to fight his own battles now. "Moreover, Grandpa, I shouldn't be getting you mixed up with my personal mess. If anything, I should be the one protecting you and Mama from harm," he asserted when he insi
HITTING BACK Caleb heard the desperate banging on his door and put out his face from the bathroom. He was about to wash off the makeup from his face before entering the shower. "Who is it?" he called as the banging got louder and fiercer. "It's me, Pedro. Open up! Now!" he screamed the last word as a blast of a gunshot echoed in the corridor, missing Pedro's ear by a stroke of luck but not his earlobe. Caleb who was already at the door swiped the keycard from inside and Pedro pushed past him slamming the door shut. "Damn it! What's going on?" Caleb asked panicking. Pedro rushed to the mirror to check how much damage he sustained from the shot. His right earlobe was bleeding. "Get me a serviette to press on it," he said to Caleb who was still staring at him in disbelief. He walked into the bathroom and returned with a pack of serviettes. Pedro had pulled his shirt exposing a blood clot on his singlet. His gun was still tucked in his waist. "You've been hit, man!" Caleb examined t
TAKING HIS FIRST SHOT "Do not worry about me. If you can get out of here unhurt, I will fight to the finish. Your safety is more important to me than my own." "You can't do this, Pedro," he disagreed. But Pedro was already moving faster down the stairs. He bent down and picked the mop, and without another word, threw it toward the police van. Caleb ran in the opposite direction and was nearly where the army green station wagon was parked when he heard someone say, "Put your two hands over your head. If you move, I'll shoot you." Caleb halted instantly as if he was being remote-controlled. His heart was pounding as if someone was drumming it. He thought of what was going to happen next. Where was Pedro? Would he come to his rescue the second time? These questions flashed through his mind as he stood rooted to the spot. Then he heard the discharge of two gunshots coming from the direction the van was parked, followed by frantic shouts and running footsteps. As he stood pondering
IT'S AN ALL-OUT WAR Andrés felt his face flush in anger. "How are they always getting ahead of us?" he snapped at the other detective who accompanied him to Caleb's deserted room. The man said nothing. Putting on a hand glove, Andrés reached into José's pocket and retrieved his phone. His gun which he didn't have the chance to fire at Pedro or Caleb lay beside his body. "Call in the medical team to evacuate the body," he said rising from the floor. His hand was bleeding at the shoulder where Pedro's bullet hit him. He pressed it with his palm and winced in the pain, before moving to search the bathroom and wardrobe. Nothing seemed out of place. Caleb didn't have many belongings in the hotel. It was just his two shirts and one pair of trousers, the one he was wearing that day. Pedro had advised him to maintain a low profile until the deal with the Don was successfully sealed. Finding nothing of illegality, Andrés sighed and walked out of the hotel room. "Ensure that the staff do
YOU CAN'T STAY HERECaleb turned to see the old man charging into the room. When he heard the question he feared the worst. "Here... we are," he stammered. The man looked him over and queried, "Are you the ones who shot and killed three police officers at Fenton Hotel?"Caleb swallowed hard. "N-no. Never. I don't know where that is." he replied and avoided the man's curious stare. "We are travellers who unfortunately got ambushed by hoodlums and my friend got hit by their bullet." The man narrowed his eyes till his forehead wrinkled. He obviously didn't believe him. "Perhaps I should let the police verify your story," he said and started towards the door holding the handle. Just then his wife reemerged from the kitchen with the bowl of water. "What kept you for so long?" she inquired, dropping the bowl on the table in the center of the room. "These two are not travellers, it would seem," he said scowling at Caleb and then at Pedro's unconscious form lying on their old couch in t
EATEN UP BY GUILT Caleb remembered the last time he saw Fabian's face as his head bobbed up from under the water those few seconds before the police rained their bullets on the spot, and how it turned reddish with Fabian's blood floating over the icy sea. He had thought of going back to search for him - or his body. But Pedro came and took him out of jail and he never got the chance. Not that he knew his way around the swampy neighbourhood - even to date, Pedro still refuses to mention the name of the island. "You don't have to worry about that anymore, do you?" he had nonchalantly drawled when he pressed on him to tell him. "Besides, the shack house was destroyed and everything went down in ruins. You will never have reasons to go back there." That was how he casually dismissed the subject for the third time and he brought it up again. As he sat watching the elderly couple painfully reminiscing about their grandson, it brought a certain guilt he couldn't exactly explain. "I'm s
GETTING HELP Caleb woke up at the first chime of the alarm clock hanging against the brick wall of the old farmhouse. The time was 6:00 am. He stretched and sat up. Everywhere felt strange. He didn't immediately remember where he was until he heard the soft groan of Pedro. He rubbed his eyes and made out his form lying on the couch. The old couple had retired into their bedroom at some point during the night. "Pedro?" Caleb whispered. "Are you awake?" But Pedro could only mumble a few incoherent words. "Can you hear me?" he repeated. "My stomach hurts," he answered and groaned again. "Sorry." Caleb stood up and went to bend over him, "Are you feeling a bit better?" Pedro tried to turn and let out a shriek. "Oh, ouch. My ribs are on fire." The noise alerted the old couple who were only just waking up. They both came dashing into the living room. "Is he awake?" Camila asked Caleb the moment she switched on the light. He nodded. Her husband walked to the head of the couch and
CAUGHT Not long after Carlos left the farmhouse, Pedro said to Caleb, "We have to leave at once.""But the old woman is not ready yet," replied Caleb."We can't wait another minute my friend. The police might be here sooner than later."It turned out he was right. Just then, a police siren could be heard chiming from a distance. Camila put out her head from the adjoining blinds that separate the living room from the lobby with an apologetic frown, "I'm afraid we might not make it out before the police get here. You two will have to find someplace to hide." Pedro gave Caleb a quick stare that said, "What have you gotten us into?" "Hey, I have an idea where you can hide. Come in here at once. I'll handle the police when they arrive," Camila offered, much to Pedro's relief. But the siren sound grew louder. Before Caleb could assist Pedro up, they heard another siren coming from the other side of the road. The two vehicles were heading in the direction of the farmhouse. It seemed as