The Last Heir

3. Strang Call

May 16, 2005, every person on the street had already forgotten that Andrew had been shot. At this moment, it felt as though it had happened a long time ago. But he was only shot the day before.

My sleep throughout the night was disturbed by the dream of what happened during the day. And one of the persistent questions that I kept asking myself, even in my sleep, was: If the old man had not recognized my necklace, what would have happened to me by now?

The new day began with the rising sun, which arrived far too early, and everyone on the street already started their day by begging for food or money to buy it, or pick-pocketing for cash. I also saw a few boys across the road planning some kind of illegal activity that also involved stealing from a gang.

But of course, for anything that involved stealing from either of the gangs, I will not be part of it. However, it did not undermine the fact that Andrew stole from the big gang, gave the other boys the courage to do the same, and "everyone was going to die someday," was the motto I heard them say in unison if they were caught.

I pulled the phone the old man's henchman handed me from my pocket. Throughout the night, I slept in a position that safeguarded my phone jealousy. At least, if it wasn't for anything, it was because everyone knew they gave me a phone, and they might be tempted to steal it.

This was my first time holding a phone, much less calling it mine. Every other phone I have seen in all of my life had been the one a passerby was pressing in his hand or the one I tried to pickpocket but failed.

"They designed this phone with a lot of buttons, and I can flip it open and close," I exclaimed as I continued to understand how the phone works.

"He said he was keeping in touch. But how does this ring? Would I press this red button whenever he contacts me?" I wondered. However, my thoughts were interrupted by the other boys on the street.

It was a few boys whistling, and every other person who hadn't gone by their day got the message to start an ambush. Though ambushes only happen late at night on top of the bridge, other times we approached this method of survival during the day.

"Hey, you! What are you still doing there?" One young adult on the street yelled at me as he bent his back and walked on tiptoes.

"If you won’t join us today, you better don't spoil this for everyone else. Now hide." He said.

Quickly, as I did not want to spoil their plan. I quietly tiptoed to hide, and at this moment, there was intense focus and concentration as the whole of the street and on top of the bridge became silent to avoid detection.

The lone car coming at us was the one playing loud music, and they drove too slowly. I wondered if the person driving and the others in the car were drunk. But who gets drunk in the morning?

Every other boy closer to me in hiding was communicating with each other, waiting for the right time to roar out of hiding.

From the bridge down to the underbridge, there was a signal, and suddenly, when the car’s music was louder and seemed closer, everyone jumped out.

"He is reversing the car; block that way. Do not let him escape," one boy who blocked the car’s way yelled.

I was part of the boys who rallied the car, and when I looked into the car through the window, I realized the people in it were a group of ladies and a young man who drove.

The ladies were putting on the shortest gown, which revealed too much of their skin, and in each of their hands were glasses of liquid sustenance. The young man who drove was in a suit, and his inner blue shirt flew out of his suit. He looked tattered and drunk, and of course, I could detect they were coming from a club or an after-party.

As much as the ladies looked frightened, the young man looked unaware of his environment as he laughed, revealing his brown set of teeth. He opened the door of the car and came out to us.

"What do you dirty beggars, and b**tards want, eh?" He said, staggering on his feet towards the others in his front.

Since the car door was opened, the others who rallied the car, including me, could get into the car. While others collected the ladies' wristwatches, bags, necklaces, and shoes, I was only concerned about the drink in their glasses.

I never had such a drink before, and it was like a dream come true to know what the drink in glasses tasted like, so I took the glass from one lady's hands and gulped it down at once.

"Ugh," a very sour taste. I looked at the ladies with my screwed-up face, and I wondered why they enjoyed drinking a very bitter drink so much.

By the face I looked back at them, the ladies only became more frightened and at this moment they screamed. One of them even fainted.

I became shocked and quickly scurried away.

"Tring Tring" My phone vibrated. "It must be the old man," I thought. However, it was a bad idea to even attempt to pick up the call from the bridge; if nothing else, they must not count my phone as part of the valuables collected from the lone car. So I dashed towards the underbridge, as no one was there.

"I am going to press the red button now, and I am going to put the phone to my ear like I see other people do," I muttered and did exactly.

"Hello, hello," I said at the top of my voice.