I lit another cigarette. As I put the lighter in my pocket, I wondered how long we’d have to wait. I looked in the direction Kevin was looking, hoping to see Ivan at the end of the street, but no one was coming. We were alone on the stray street. Not wanting to stand up any longer, I collapsed on the edge of the pavement. I took my eyes off the end of the street and looked in front of me. I started to shuffle my feet back and forth on the tarmac.
“When will he come?”
“Just a little more patience and we’ll get what we want.”
I emptied the ash from the cigarette. “You are right.”
He nudged me. I looked up at him, dazzled by the streetlamp illuminating us behind him. I immediately shielded my eyes with my hand.
“Cheer up, mate, he’ll be here soon, and we’ll finally be happy.”
“If you say so.”
For the moment I had no choice but to listen to what Kevin said. I was smoking my cigarette, checking both ends of the street every now and then. As I neared the end of my cigarette, I saw a pair of headlights ahead. I didn’t know if it was them or not. As I passed under the streetlights, I realized it was a large vehicle. When it entered the street, we were on, it was slowing down and flashing its lights at us. I stood up and waited for him to come in front of us. The jet-black transporter-type vehicle finally stopped in front of us.
The sliding door opened without wasting any time. “Get inside.”
I threw the cigarette in my hand as I stepped inside behind Kevin. The inside of the car was as black as the outside. When I sat on the edge of the door, the man opposite me pushed the door hard towards me. The interior of the car was illuminated by the roof lamp in the middle of the four of us. It didn’t reveal everything, but it was visible in the dim environment. I looked at Ivan who was sitting opposite Kevin, his stern gaze never wavering. I felt a little uneasy. It was the first time I had done such a big job, and I hoped it would be done properly.
Kevin held out his hand to Ivan. “You have come for us, thank you.”
“We’re here on important business. I imagine you want to be happy when you walk out of here.’’ His eyes shifted from Kevin to me. “Your friend seems to be a smart guy like you.”
Kevin gave me a quick look. “You met him once. You probably don’t remember him, he’s someone you can trust.”
He was looking into my eyes. It was obvious that he was older than me, but I didn’t think he was over thirty. I didn’t want to be crushed under his gaze. I started talking without averting my eyes.
“With your help we want to expand the drug business.” As a result of my audacity, Ivan kept staring at me.
“I liked your attitude.” I saw his lips curl slightly under his stern gaze. However, my uneasiness was slightly diminished. “Bob! Let’s go for a stroll.”
Ş At Ivan’s words, the driver immediately drove off. I looked out of the window. We were leaving the streetlamps behind us one by one. Today everything would change for me, I would be one step closer to that peaceful life. I was leaving all the imperfections behind and continuing to walk on my way. When I took my eyes off the window, I saw the man in front of me looking us up and down. He was sitting next to Ivan without making a sound.
“”Kevin, you been in and out jail, huh?”
“This happened once and it won’t happen again, I prom-”
“It’d be nice to work with you, but…”
I didn’t know what to think at that moment. The first thing they brought up struck me like lightning. I realized everything—but by then, it was already too late… “Maximillion won’t accept a mistake. He’s already been pissed by the fact that you procured the goods from him.”
“Ivan, what are you talking about?”
Ivan pulled a gun from the waistband of his black suit and pointed it at Kevin. My eyes, seeing the gun, wanted to believe that this wasn’t real. This was beyond my imagination. I was just looking at the gun in Ivan’s hand. I didn’t know what he could or couldn’t do. I felt adrenaline surging through me. My heart was racing. I had to think, I had to find a way out of here. It wasn’t easy to think with the gun in front of my eyes. I saw the window out of the corner of my eye.
“I’m solving the whole problem fundamentally.”
“Stop, please, don’t do this.” The voice I heard was not Kevin I recognized. He was staring into Ivan’s eyes, pleading. “Sto- Stop, Iva-”
I closed my eyes tightly as my body reflexively reacted to the blood splattering on my face. I could feel Kevin’s warm blood on my face. It was completely real. Kevin was dead right next to me, and it was my turn.
I didn’t realize how I had opened the sliding door and thrown myself out. After rolling on the floor, I stood up, not caring about any pain. All I did was run. I had to get as far away from there as I could. He was going to kill me. He was going to kill me like he killed Kevin. I was breathing fast, my lungs burning. My heart was racing to keep up with me. Nothing mattered. I just had to run, that’s all I needed. They were shooting at me from behind. I kept running, shouting curses. I didn’t know where I was, where I was supposed to go.
My mind, which hadn’t been working at all before, now wouldn’t stop. I couldn’t get him out of my mind, even though I was running away from Kevin. The way his head fell to the side, the blood spreading around, the breaths he was barely taking to hold on to life… The air he was trying to draw into his lungs wasn’t enough to keep him alive. When my eyes started to darken, I was having trouble making out the surroundings. I couldn’t stop, I had to keep running. My lungs were burning. I was breathing through my mouth, but it wasn’t enough. I felt like I was going to suffocate, I was having trouble breathing…
I didn’t hear the gunshots behind me anymore. They kept chasing me. Right behind me… Kevin was right behind me. I had to leave everything behind; I had to get away from Kevin. I was going down unfamiliar streets, looking behind me occasionally. He was always behind me. No matter how hard I ran, I couldn’t get rid of him. My lungs were failing, my heart would stop if I ran a little more. I approached the walls of the secluded alley I had entered. I couldn’t run anymore. After the last few steps, I took with the help of the walls, I lost my footing and fell face down like a sack of shit at the bottom of the wall. I couldn’t move, I couldn’t move my finger. All I could do was try to survive with uncontrolled breaths. I could see Kevin’s lifeless body against the opposite wall, his head tilted to the side, covered in blood. A hand began to stroke my hair. It gave me peace. I was getting calmer and calmer. As I lay on the floor, waiting for me.