Lies, Lies, Lies

by David A Max

  “Shut the door and untie Déborah now,” Elsa commanded Olivia as she pointed the gun at her. Olivia removed Déborah’s gag and untied her; Déborah used the rope to tie Olivia up.

  Emilio, Carlito and Andreiá, joined them downstairs and saw Olivia tied up on a chair, “What is going on?” Carlito asked.

  “She and Mark were behind Richard and Jimmy’s death; I caught them trying to kidnap Déborah,” Elsa answered. Elsa slapped Olivia, “Who sent you, if you don’t talk I promise you will not like what I will do to you,” Elsa said.

  “I will talk, we were sent to get a key that Déborah took from one of clients, a key she took by using voodoo,” Olivia answered.

  They all turned and looked at each other, “Who sent you?” Déborah asked.

  “His name is Philip Sands.”

  “I remember him,” Déborah said.

  “He was working on a new discovery, a software that would revolutionise the whole world, but since you appeared in his room using voodoo, he forgot his ideas and just can’t remember any more. He has travelled to different shrinks, churches, herbalists, and occultists, looking for a solution, and they always tell him the same thing, that you, Déborah, stole a key from him and all his ideas have been transferred to the person using the key, which is either you or the person who sent you,” Olivia narrated. “So he hired us to look for you and bring you to him. We’ve been following you for a long time, all he wants is his key back,” Olivia said.

  “I’m not meant to tell you this, but forget about the key, my boss has used Philip Sands’ key to steal his idea and he’s developing his own version of the software which will be launched soon,” Déborah replied, “You should come and work for us, we will pay you three times what you are earning now,” Déborah told Olivia.

  Olivia sighed and nodded her head. “How were you meant to take me out of here?” Déborah asked. “We have a helicopter hidden in one of the ridges.”

  “Okay we’ll use that to get out of here in the morning,” Elsa said.

  They all got up early, Andreiá, Emilio, Carlito, Elsa, Déborah and Olivia opened the front door and looked around to see if there were any polar bears around. Mark’s body was nowhere to be found, ‘The polar bears must have dragged it away,’ Elsa thought to herself. They all walked in the direction Olivia showed them, they couldn’t move properly because of the thick snow, they all walked and looked around, only Olivia’s hands were still tied together as they walked towards a mountain.

  “The helicopter is on the other side of the mountain, we have to go over it,” Olivia said. Her hands were untied so she could climb the mountain, and they all struggled to climb the mountain. When they got to the top, they saw a shoe poking out from under the snow; Emilio and Carlito cleared the snow and they saw Jimmy’s frozen body. Andreiá covered her face and they said a word of prayer and climbed down towards the ridge. When they got down on the other side they saw Olivia’s helicopter.

  “Finally!” Carlito shouted, but immediately he shouted they heard the roar of a polar bear behind them and they all started running towards the helicopter. Olivia fell down and Elsa stopped to help her up, “Run Elsa run,” Olivia shouted, and the polar bear caught Olivia before she could get up and run. It bit her leg hard, and Olivia screamed on the ground as the polar bear mauled and took Olivia away.

  Emilio, Carlito, Andreiá, Déborah and Elsa ran into the helicopter and shut the door. Elsa got into the cockpit, “Do you know how to fly a helicopter?” Emilio asked, “Yes I can,” Elsa answered.

  Elsa got the helicopter to work and they were airborne in no time; they were all excited. “We are going home,” Andreiá said relieved, “it’s just a pity so many people died.” Elsa flew them to the nearest town where she contacted Kevin and Kevin chartered a plane for them there, it took them a full day before they got to France.

  There was a big welcome sign in the mansion when they arrived, “It’s good to be back,” Carlito said, and Gina ran and hugged all of them especially Carlito. “I’m glad to see all of you alive,” Gina said.

  Kevin shook their hands, “I’m sure glad to have you all back.”

  “Where’s Greg?” Emilio asked.

  “Greg is a fugitive now, he is on the run,” Kevin answered, “he stole twelve million dollars of my money and absconded.”

  “How?” Elsa asked.

  “Why he would do such a thing?” Déborah asked, really shocked.

  “Trust me, we are looking for him and we will find him,” Kevin assured them. “You’ve all been gone for slightly over two months, you should go and have a shave, take a shower and come and eat good food,” Kevin suggested, smiling.

  After about forty five minutes, Carlito had shaved and was looking handsome. Emilio was well shaven and well dressed; Andreiá looked gorgeous; Elsa looked really beautiful. Déborah decided she was going to start staying in one of the rooms in the mansion, and when she came out after grooming herself, she looked breathtakingly beautiful and all of them in the house admired her. Food was served and they all went to the dining table.

  “Where would you all like to go on holiday?” Kevin asked, “You need a break after the ordeal you have all been through.”

  “I want to go to Brazil,” Andreiá said, “I miss my family.”

  “I don’t think Brazil is safe for you to go now,” Kevin replied, “the three of you stepped on some very powerful toes.”

  “I want to go to Africa,” Carlito said, “South Africa to be precise, it’s been a dream of mine.”

  “That will be arranged in the next couple of days,” Kevin replied.

  “I want to go to Orlando in the United States of America, I want to go to all the theme parks,” Emilio said. “I want that too,” Elsa joined in. “I don’t mind that too,” Déborah said. “Please add me,” Andreiá said, “I have always wanted to go to Disneyland.”

  “That will all be arranged,” said Kevin.

  When they all finished breakfast, Gina went to Kevin and told him she wanted to go to South Africa with Carlito, “That will be arranged,” Kevin replied.

  When Carlito and Andreiá got to their room they both relaxed on the bed. “You don’t want to go to South Africa with me?” Carlito asked Andreiá.

  “No Carlito, I want to go to all the theme parks in Orlando,” Andreiá answered.

  “Well, you are going to miss out on all the wild life safari in South Africa.”

  “I don’t mind,” Andreiá answered and smiled, “just tell me you are going to miss me when I’m not there with you,” she said.

  “Yes of course I’m going to miss you,” Carlito said sulking. Andreiá kissed him, and they both fell asleep.

  About a week later when they had all recuperated, Kevin brought their tickets; all their accommodation, food, shopping and transport had been taken care off, he also gave each of them a black American express card.

  Carlito and Gina landed in Johannesburg, South Africa. Carlito was putting on a T-shirt that read ‘I Love South Africa’. Gina kissed Carlito, “I’m excited about spending three weeks alone with you,” she whispered to him. “Me too,” Carlito replied.

  Andreiá, Emilio, Elsa, and Déborah were in an American truck that had been hired for them, and they were on their way to their hotel, the views were lovely. “I love this city,” Emilio said as they rode in the truck.

  They arrived at their hotel they had been booked into, it was one of the most luxurious hotels in Orlando. Emilio and Déborah stayed together in a room; Andreiá and Elsa both stayed in separate rooms. The rooms were state of the art, everything they needed was there. “This might be the best three weeks of our lives,” Emilio told Déborah.

  They all went down to the lobby and booked every single theme park that was available. That afternoon Emilio walked around the hotel; Elsa, Andreiá and Déborah sat in the lobby reading magazines, and while they were sitting there three good-looking men approached them. They were tall and well-built men, “Hello ladies,” the three men greeted.


  Elsa and Andreiá blushed, “Hello,” they both answered. Two of the men were Italian and one American; the man that stood in front of Déborah said, “I am Fred.” Déborah stretched her hand to shake his, but he held her hand and kissed it. The other man standing in front of Elsa said, “My name is Antonio,” and the third man who was in front of Andreiá was called Giovanni. The three of them were chatting up Elsa, Andreiá and Déborah.

  After about ten minutes, Emilio walked back to meet Déborah and saw a man chatting her up, so he walked really fast to her and cut in front of them, “Is everything okay here?” Emilio asked Déborah.

  “Yes, these men are just being friendly,” Déborah said.

  Emilio pulled her up and told her he wanted to take her somewhere, so Déborah said, “Nice meeting you Fred,” and she left with Emilio.

  Emilio took Déborah to the room and started kissing her; he carried her and put her on the bed and was with her all afternoon until evening. Déborah was exhausted, “Emilio, I hope you aren’t doing this because you saw me talking to a man downstairs?” and Emilio smiled and kept kissing her.

  That night Emilio and Déborah wanted to go to a bar to dance. Elsa and Andreiá said they would tag along and when they got downstairs, they saw the two men that were talking to them earlier, Antonio and Giovanni.

  Antonio and Giovanni walked up to Elsa and Andreiá, “We can be your dates for tonight.” Elsa and Andreiá said, “That’s not a bad idea,” and when they got outside Giovanni and Antonio had a red and a yellow Lamborghini parked outside. “Nice cars,” Elsa and Andreiá said as they let them in the cars. Emilio and Déborah got into the truck that was booked for them, and they all drove to a bar.

  The bar was busy, as many tourists and locals were there. Emilio and Déborah danced and held each other on the dance floor; a lot of the men at the bar were staring at Déborah and were looking for ways to get rid of Emilio and get close to Déborah. Emilio held on tight because he noticed how all the men admired Déborah. Elsa and her date Antonio were dancing and having fun; Antonio kissed Elsa and they kissed for some time.

  Andreiá danced with Giovanni, and he tried to kiss her but Andreiá said, “Please don’t, I have a boyfriend.”

  “Your boyfriend isn’t here,” Giovanni said.

  Andreiá pushed Giovanni back, “I said no,” and she left him on the dance floor.

  At 3:45 a.m., they were all tired and left to go back to their hotel, Andreiá got in the truck with Emilio and Déborah.

  Elsa went with Antonio back to his apartment, “Nice apartment you have here,” Elsa said.

  “Thank you,” Antonio said, and served her a glass of wine. Elsa drank the wine and she slept over at Antonio’s place. When she woke up early the next morning, Antonio was still asleep, so she got up from the bed and walked round the apartment. On the computer desk facing the bed, she noticed a red light flashing; she checked it out and saw that it was a video cam and it was recording, she switched on the computer and the video of their night together had been recorded. She quickly deleted the video; she also went through his computer and found out he was a credit card fraudster. Antonio had a lot of cloned cards on his computer, so Elsa quietly got her phone and took pictures of the apartment and the cloned cards. She switched off the computer, put on her clothes and snuck out of the room, and went back to their hotel.

  When Déborah woke up, she went to Elsa’s room to check if she was back. Déborah knocked on the door and Elsa opened it, “You’re back, that was early,” Déborah said.

  “Yes I am,” Elsa answered, “I snuck out of his apartment this morning,” she said.

  “Why?” Déborah asked. Elsa brought out her phone and showed Déborah the pictures of the cloned cards, “You should report to the police,” Déborah advised.

  “I thought about that, but also thought about what we do,” Elsa said.

  Déborah laughed, “Trust me, we cannot be arrested because no court would listen to any voodoo story.”

  “That’s true,” Elsa said. Elsa called the police and sent them the pictures and Antonio’s address.

  Carlito and Gina got to their hotel room; the room was beautiful and close to the ocean, it had gorgeous sea views. “This is lovely,” Gina said and she jumped on Carlito. “Let’s change into our bathing suits and head for the beach,” Carlito said.

  So they changed and walked to the beach, where they strolled holding hands. They removed their sandals and held them as they walked on the sand, in the cool air.

  “This is going to be a memorable experience for us,” Carlito said. “I know,” Gina said. They both ran into the ocean and splashed water on each other, Carlito held Gina and kissed her. They stayed on the beach for hours before they left back for their hotel room, they had sand all over their bodies and they both jumped in the shower.

  The next day Carlito and Gina went to the safari park to go on a safari tour. Carlito was so excited, he saw lions hunting and different exotic animals, and he took several pictures. “We have to come back here again,” Carlito told Gina.

  “I don’t know about that,” Gina replied. The tour took the whole day; they ate dinner in the evening and headed to the hotel, and after a long day Gina was exhausted. “I think I need a day or two just to relax in the hotel room,” Gina said.

  “I want to make use of every day we spend here,” Carlito said, looking at Gina.

  “You can go out on your own without me, it’s okay, I’ll rest and wait for you,” Gina replied.

  The next morning Carlito woke up early, “Gina, let’s go sightseeing, I booked a half day tour of Johannesburg,” he said.

  “I told you I needed a day’s rest,” Gina grumbled, but Carlito pulled her up and she had her bath, and they went round Johannesburg. They were booked on an air-conditioned tour bus, which was lovely; they explored the metropolis, and also climbed up the observation deck to view the city. “Don’t you prefer this than sitting in the room?” Carlito asked Gina. “I do,” Gina replied, smiling.

  It was another long day and Gina and Carlito got back to the hotel in the evening, Gina was tired and just wanted to relax. Carlito looked out the window and saw the beach was bustling and a lot of people were at the bars, “I’m going to the beach, do you want to come?” he asked Gina.

  “Of course not,” she replied, “please just go on your own,” she pleaded with Carlito.

  “Okay, just for tonight,” Carlito agreed. “Thank you,” Gina replied.

  Carlito bought drinks at the beach bar, he looked round and saw so many beautiful South African women. He noticed a particularly stunning South African lady by the bar, walked up to her and introduced himself and started chatting her up. Carlito felt a tap on his shoulder and a voice, “What are you doing with my girl?”

  Carlito turned back and was shocked, he just stared, “Greg is it you?” Greg quickly grabbed his hand and pulled him away, but the girl Carlito was trying to chat up followed them. “Tony, where are you taking him?”

  “Faith, I just want to talk to him,” Tony replied.

  “Is she your girlfriend?” Carlito asked Greg, “and why is she calling you Tony?” Faith walked back to the bar. “Kevin is looking for you and it doesn’t look good,” Carlito said.

  “I knew he would have sent people to look for me, so I changed my name from Greg to Tony, so he wouldn’t find me.”

  Carlito shook his head, “You are definitely not doing a great job at hiding, I’m just here in South Africa on holiday and I found you without even looking for you, to be honest. You stole a lot of Kevin’s money and he is going to find you,” Carlito said shaking his head, “but listen, I can help you,” Carlito said.

  “How can you help me?” Tony asked.

  “Well, you can give me four million dollars out of the money and I won’t tell Kevin you’re here, and I’ll tell you about every move Kevin is making to find you, so you will always be one step ahead.”

  “But four million dollars is a lot,” Tony said.


  “Do you actually want to negotiate with money you stole?” Carlito replied.

  “Okay fine, how do I get the money to you?”

  “You will pay it into an account where I know it will be safe; meet me here tomorrow at 7:00 p.m. and I’ll give you the account details. Greg, I would advise you not to try and run away, because it will only take me one phone call, once Kevin knows you are here he can trace you easily.”

  “I know,” Tony said, “I’ll meet you tomorrow. So who are you here with?” Tony asked.

  “I’m here with Gina,” Carlito answered.

  “Please don’t tell her or anybody that you saw me,” Tony pleaded.

  “You’re paying me a lot of money to keep my mouth shut, so you are safe,” Carlito joked.

  When Carlito got back to his hotel room Gina was already asleep. The next morning Gina asked, “How was the beach last night?”

  “It was fun,” Carlito answered, “I just had a few drinks, there were a lot of people on the beach,” he said.

  “Well that sounds interesting, next time we will go together,” Gina said and smiled.

  That evening, Carlito said, “I’m going for a jog, I need to stretch my legs.”

  “Let me come with you,” Gina suggested.

  “It’s not necessary, I want to go for a jog and just keep fit,” Carlito replied.

  “Suit yourself,” Gina said and she relaxed on the bed to watch shows on TV.

  Carlito walked to the beach and saw that Tony was already waiting for him at the agreed point. Tony and Carlito shook hands; Carlito brought the account details he had written on a piece of paper and gave it to Tony, “I hope to receive the money today,” Carlito said.

  “Yes of course,” Tony answered, and handed over his contact details to Carlito so they could communicate.

  “Where have you been?” Faith asked Tony. “I just walked on the beach,” Tony answered. “We got to Johannesburg two days ago and you were okay, but since you met that man on the beach yesterday you haven’t been at ease, what are you not telling me Tony?” Faith asked.

  “There’s nothing wrong,” Tony answered, “but we should go back to Port Elizabeth tomorrow.”