by A. G. Khaliq
“May the best man or woman win.”
The commentator walked away, and the audience broke into a round of applause. Wasting no time, I punched Lucius hard in the jaw. His jaw swung, as he toppled backwards and lost his balance. I punched him again, so hard that I could hear his jaw snap. And again, and again…
But he wasn’t going to go down so 535
easily. He wasn’t going to go down without a fight. He charged at me, knocking me over to the ground, and clambered on top of me, punching my face repeatedly as one of my teeth knocked out.
But I’d remembered my training. I spat out my blood onto his face, before kicking him hard in the balls, getting on my feet. I knocked him down to the ground, and punched him repeatedly, without stopping for a breath.
I punched him until his breathing became laboured and he struggled for air. I punched him until the wind knocked out of his lungs, and his lungs began to fail him and collapse. I punched him until he was too weak to even punch me back. I punched him until his body began struggling underneath my grip, and he started to fade in and out of unconsciousness.
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The same way that Fibonacci used to punish me.
But it wasn’t enough for me. I had to kill him. I had to kill him to be declared the winner.
“You made a mistake coming in this ring tonight, motherfucker,” I murmured, my voice dropping to barely below a whisper. “Thinking that you could beat me.”
I screamed angrily, a blood-curdling scream, as I allowed my blood to boil and heat to pump through my body as my veins pulsed to the surface of my skin. I allowed myself to regain my strength…
Regain it so much to the point that I would be unstoppable.
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And then I hurled at him, punching him for all I was worth.
Until he was no longer breathing…
…And there was no longer a pulse.
“And we have our winnerrrrr!” the commentator
screamed.
“Maya
Bradshaw walks away with 100,000
dollars!”
I got up on my feet, spitting on the man’s dead body, before turning on my heel, wiping the sweat from my face with my hand, and then began making my way to the changing rooms, not wanting to stay to chat to the audience.
I found myself clutching my chest in fear, my heartbeat raising rapidly as I relived the torture. Every single brutal moment of my past.
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I couldn't let myself get distracted by haunting memories. I needed to stay focused.
All of the evidence he was holding against me about the fights...
I would destroy all of that, too.
I continued searching...
Desperate to find something.
Anything…
In relation to the murders.
Search.
Search.
Search…
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…
And that was when I saw it.
A sheet with all of the people who had been murdered on it.
“Found
something?”
Donte
murmured quietly, his voice dropping to barely below a whisper.
“Yep,” I breathed, unable to believe my eyes. “I'm reading over it now.”
On the sheet were the photographs and descriptions of everybody who had been murdered. Philip had marked each of the photographs with the label deceased except from one…
Next to Alfonze Michael's name, he'd written the following…
Alfonze Michael.
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I'm holding him as leverage, on 33
Butholm Road.
He's alive, and he's healthy, but he's locked in a house, with no phone line, and no internet.
Nothing.
Nothing except books to read, a radio to listen to, and some food to get him by.
I'm holding him as leverage in case the Sinaloa Cartel kingpin tries to cross me.
I've been covering for him at the Secret Service, covering up his murders, framing Donte Abruzzi for them...
In exchange for the cash he's been giving me. But if worse comes to worse, 541
and the kingpin stops paying me my cash...
I'm gonna hand Alfonze Michael into the police. He'll give his witness testimony on the real man behind all the murders, and the Sinaloa Cartel kingpin will get arrested for crossing me.
“Oh my God,” I breathed, feeling my chest constrict. Feeling like my surroundings were spinning around me.
I couldn’t believe my eyes.
I couldn’t believe my fucking eyes…
“What's happened?!” Donte asked, mind-blown.
I tried my best to get myself together, taking deep breaths in and out as I processed everything I just read.
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“You know when you saved Hazel from that rapist?” I mumbled. “And you said you've been trying to get to the bottom of who's been ordering the hits on everybody?”
“Yeah?” Donte murmured.
“And that you saw Alfonze Michael as a brother?”
“Yeah.” Donte furrowed his eyebrows. “Where are you getting at with this?”
“All of the other people involved in the mass murders are deceased, but Philip was holding Alfonze Michael as leverage in case the hitman tried to cross him.”
Donte jolted back, startled at this information. He looked like he’d just 543
seen a ghost, and somebody had just walked over his grave.
“He's got the address of where he's holding Alfonze on this piece of paper,” I breathed.
“No fucking way?!” Donte denied.
“This whole time…” He trailed off his sentence, taking his head into his hands.
Looking completely and utterly torn. “I thought Alfonze was dead. I can't believe he's alive!”
“You know what this means?” I whispered.
“Yes,” Donte confirmed.
“If we find Alfonze, and ask him who was behind it all…” I mourned.
“We'll find the serial murderer,”
Donte stated matter-of-factly, blood 544
roaring in his ears. “The real person behind the murders. The person who's the reason I was fucking framed.”
I nodded weakly, my heart pounding with anticipation. Unable to believe that we were finally going to get to the bottom of this, once and for all, after going round in circles for such a long time.
“Let's go to Alfonze,” I breathed.
Donte nodded, taking my hand in his, as we made our way out of base, and back to the car out in the junkyard.
Before I knew it, we were on the Highway again, driving at a high-speed, making our way to Buttholm Road, where the piece of paper stated that Alfonze Michael was staying.
“Hey Sapphire?” Donte breathed suddenly as we drove. “Did you know 545
that this piece of paper was double-sided?”
“No,” I shrugged, not knowing what to think of this. “Why? What's on the other side?”
“I don’t know. I’m going to read it now,” Donte groaned.
He turned the piece of paper around, scanning it with his eyes…
And then he dropped it in shock, looking like somebody had just shot him ten times through the chest.
Looking like there was a dagger twisting his heart.
“What?” I cried out, feeling waves of terror pulse through my body. “What is it?!”
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Donte didn’t say a word. He went stone-white in shock.
What the fuck was going on?
“Donte, you're scaring me,” I pleaded, taking rapid deep breaths in and out, doing my best to stop myself from having a panic attack. Doing my best to stop myself from feeling like the walls were closing in on me…
“Sapphire…” Donte whispered. “I think you should see this.”
I pushed down the brakes on the car, allowing it to come to a halt. I turned around to face Donte properly, giving him my full attention, my eyes burning into his.
>
“What is it?” I mumbled.
“He wasn't lying about your 547
mother, Sapphire,” Donte breathed.
“Your mother is alive.”
I couldn’t believe my fucking ears.
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing…
“On the piece of paper, it says that he admitted her to a care home in Miami,” Donte went on, his heart pounding against his chest. “Further away from here, so that you wouldn't find her. Her full costs of living and care were being provided for her by himself, and he was going to return her to you…
After you successfully completed the mission.”
“Oh my God!” I wept.
“It even has an address written for her,” Donte murmured, continuing to scan the paper with his eyes.
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Oh my God...
My Mama was alive…
This whole time, I thought that she was dead…
My Mama was fucking alive!
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54
maya
Before Donte and I made our way to the house in which Alfonze Michael was being held, we made our way to the care home my Mama had been admitted to, in Miami. I needed to see her. After how much I'd cried, how much I'd gone out of my mind...
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Thinking that she was dead.
I needed to be sure that she was alright.
That this was real.
That I wasn't fucking dreaming.
That this wasn't some sick fucked up joke, that her death had been staged.
We arrived at the care home, and we were greeted by one of the supervisors.
“Can I help you?” she asked.
“My name's Maya Bradshaw,” I explained. “I'm here to see my mother.”
She scribbled down my name in her notepad.
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“I've signed you in,” she smiled.
“Come on in.”
“Thank
you,”
Donte
said
appreciatively, and we followed her inside.
She led us to a room on the other side of the building, and we walked inside.
And that was when I saw Mom sleeping on the bed, her chest rising upwards and downwards, as she snored peacefully.
I couldn't believe my eyes.
My mama...
She was alive...
She was being taken care of...
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I could feel tears well in my eyes, and I couldn’t hold them back. My heart was so full. God had finally pulled through for me.
God blessed me with a miracle, after all of the nights I’d spent praying.
A massive sense of relief washed over me.
I was so happy that she was in good health.
That she was being provided for.
It felt like a dream.
She looked so peaceful, I didn't want to wake her.
I didn't want to disturb her, or give her a shock.
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Because I knew her memory was bad...
And for the first few minutes, she wouldn't be able to remember me, or recognize who I was.
So I just said a few words to her, before leaving again with Donte.
“I love you, Mama,” I breathed, wiping away the tears in my eyes. Doing my best to smile. “I swear, when this is all over, I'll come back for you. And hopefully, we'll live together forever this time.”
I took several deep breaths in and out, tears continuing to fall down my cheeks. I was so overwhelmed right now, I couldn’t handle my emotions. I slowly got up on my feet and turned on my heel, ready to make my way out of the door, before my mother’s voice stopped me 554
dead in my tracks.
“I love you too, Maya…” she murmured in her sleep.
My eyes welled with fresh tears. A wide smile formed on my face. I was crying tears of happiness.
As soon as this was over, me and my mother were going to reunite properly.
And this time, I was going to keep her safe, and make sure that no harm ever came her way again.
I was going to make the most of her while she was still on this planet with good health, and spend time with her.
“Are you okay, baby?” Donte asked, as he drove down the Highway.
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“Yeah, I'm okay,” I breathed. “My mama being okay is more than enough for me.”
“You're a strong girl, baby.” He smiled at me with reassurance. “It's time to see Alfonze now.”
I nodded in response, doing my best to get my head back in the game.
Ready to crack this shit once and for all.
We arrived at the house in which Alfonze was being held. It was in the middle of nowhere… Surrounded by acres of desert.
We'd taken the master key from Philip's office, so we should have been able to get into the house with ease.
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“Alfonze?” Donte called out, as we made our way into the house. “Alfonze, are you in here?”
The house was eerily quiet, with no sound to be heard, and not a soul in sight.
“No response,” I murmured to myself, rubbing my chin in thought.
“Let's look around.”
We made our way to the kitchen.
“He's not in here,” Donte commented.
We made our way to the lounge.
“Or here,” I breathed.
We made our way to the bathroom.
“Or here,” Donte sighed.
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“Alfonze?” I called out worriedly.
“ALFONZE?!”
We made our way out of the bathroom and to the bedroom, and then my heart almost leapt out of my throat in shock. Alfonze was standing there, shivering, with his arms folded, a look of horror written all over his face.
“WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM
ME?!” he roared.
“Alfonze?!” Donte cried out.
“DONTE?!” Alfonze screamed in shock. “How did you get in here?!”
Donte’s heart hammered against his chest. Alfonze walked towards us steadily, looking relieved with a massive burden and weight lifted off of his shoulders that we weren’t here to hurt 558
him, and he’d seen a familiar face.
“I'm so glad you're okay, man…”
Donte murmured.
“We're here to save you,” I explained timidly.
“But Philip will kill me!” Alfonze yelled.
“Philip is dead,” I breathed.
Alfonze jolted back, startled. Not expecting to hear this news.
“It's
a
long
story,”
Donte
interjected.
Alfonze nodded feebly, letting out a sigh.
“It's so good to see you, man…” he breathed to Donte. “I thought I was 559
going to die in here…”
“I
know,
brother…”
Donte
murmured. “I know. I've missed you so much. I went out of my mind thinking that you were dead.”
Alfonze took his head into his hands, rocking himself backwards and forwards.
“Well, you're here now,” Alfonze shrugged. “That's all that matters.”
Donte
nodded,
an
uneasy
expression written on his face.
“So, what happens now?” Alfonze mumbled.
“We're going to drive you back to Manhattan,” I explained. “And I'm going to take you back to your sister Felicia.”
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Alfonze’s eyes lit up, because he could finally see light at the end of the tunnel. He wouldn’t be trapped in these four walls anymore, driving himself mad with the thought that he would never see daylight again. That he would never see his family or loved ones again. I knew how he felt. I knew what it was like to feel trapped and helpless, with no way out. I was just glad that we could help him.
“But in the car
, I'm going to need to ask you a few questions,” I said. “And I want you to answer them as best as you can.”
“Okay,” Alfonze agreed. “Thank you so much for this… You don’t know how much this means to me. I thought I was going to die in here.”
I nodded to him in reassurance. We made our way out of the house and to the 561
car,
our
bodies
pounding
with
anticipation and nerves.
When we made it to the car, Donte drove, and me and Alfonze sat together in the backseats whilst I interrogated him.
“I need you to tell me who it is behind the murders,” I shrugged.
“Whoever was threatening you, apart from Philip. You don't have to fear for any repercussions. Donte and I will take care of any threats to your wellbeing…
But I need you to tell me as much information as you can. If you don't know his name, then just give us a description of his appearance. The notes on Philip's file said that the hitman was the kingpin of the Sinaloa cartel.”
I broke off my sentence, feeling heat roar to my ears as I prepared myself for what Alfonze was about to tell me.
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“I got in over my head into some deep shit,” Alfonze breathed, a tear rolling down his cheek. “Owed a lot of motherfucker's debts. But I didn't have enough money to pay them off…
“So I approached the Sinaloa cartel.
I borrowed some money from them, to pay off the other people I owed money.
And I tried and tried to gather money to then pay the Sinaloa cartel back, but they demanded it back too fast.”
Alfonze trailed off his sentence, his breathing becoming laboured. Donte gave him a reassuring nod to keep on going, and Alfonze nodded back sheepishly, regathering his strength.
“And because I didn't have it ready, they beat the shit out of me,” Alfonze mumbled exhaustedly, torturing himself with the memories. “Left me for dead in 563
an alleyway. I could barely breathe…
“And I thought I was going to bleed out and die, right there and then. But that's when that Philip guy approached me. He found me in the alleyway, and took me under his wing, without anybody knowing or being informed. It was a secret agreement. I went with him, or else I would die. It was a life or death situation.
