Blue Black Skin

by Louis Alexandre Forestier

  “Charley, what is this place? Does it belong to you?” Asked Marcos as he helped Nubia to descend from the car.

  “No! Of course not. Like everything that I use it belongs to a friend.”

  “Also an Army buddy?”

  “Am I that predictable?”

  “Please Charley, I did not mean that.”

  “Bah! No offense taken.” The man looked away with sad eyes. “Old Charley and his former comrades. Everything belongs to the past.”

  He shook his head to scare away any bad thoughts and added.

  “But let´s walk to my store, we have five long blocks to go, and we do not want to expose Nubia to potentially hostile eyes.”

  The patrolman radio beeped. The police responded immediately.

  “Kolski.”

  “Kolski. I'm O'Halloran. Are you still in the same position you gave half an hour ago?”

  “No lieutenant. The person of interest and her companions have moved in the meantime.” He then gave the new location.

  “Well, you can go now and forget all about all this.”

  “All right Lieutenant.”

  “Ah! Kolski.”

  “Yes Lieutenant.”

  “Thank you, I will not forget this.”

  “All right, Lieutenant.”Repeated Kolski

  The intrigued young patrolman Kolski grimaced but finally reflected.

 

  He checked his watch and remembered that they had agreed with Vince Caruso to take a beer at Frank & Johnny. Perhaps also Leroy Washington was coming.

  As she descended from the car and started walking Nubia suddenly showed signs of feeling sick.

  “What happens? Are you dizzy?” Asked Marcos.

  “Probably a side effect of the pain relievers that Doc Jim gave her before removing the infected stitches.” Added Charley.

  “No no! Something is not right. I know, but I cannot say what it is.” Emphatically replied the girl.

  “Has this happened to you before?” Asked the old man.

  “Once. Just before the hijackers attacked the school in Ethiopia. The principal did not listen to me then.”

  Marcos looked at the girl with skepticism, while Charley said cryptically.

  “I'm going back to the car, I remember that I forgot something. Wait for me here, do not move.”

  The man retraced his steps, opened the lock and slid the garage door, and after a few minutes returned without making any comment. He told the young people to follow him.

  “But Charley, this is not the way to your store.” Argued Marcos.

  “No, it is not, just follow me.”

  They walked along lonely streets of Harlem, between houses and warehouses that were almost entirely abandoned and crumbling. The two men began to breathe easier as they passed the storehouses and nothing happened and only Nubia exhibited obvious signs of restlessness. They were nearing the end of one block and Charley was about to terminate the long detour they had done and then start really leading them home.

  “Marcos, instead of returning to your apartment tonight it might be good for you to stay with us at home. I have a mattress we can lay on the floor.”

  “As you wish Char ...” The sentence was interrupted by Nubia´s sudden cry; as the men looked at her she was holding her head between her hands. At that moment a screech of brakes was heard and at the corner toward which they were heading a dark car emerged from the shadows, from which immediately two black and burly men got down holding weapons and pointing directly to them without shots being heard, no doubt due to the use of silencers. Charley was however hit a projectile and fell from the blow. Marcos took Nubia´s arm and tried to cover her with his body in a doorway that offered some minimal shelter. What followed was simple, fast and brutal.

  Chapter 5

  The two men approached with unexpected speed for people so robust. In the race they could not take aim properly so that the bullets ricocheted around the young couple, while Charley remained on the floor without moving.

  “They're Jemal´s hit men, I recognize them and they also know me.” Shouted desperate Nubia.

  One of the thugs had finished the bullets in the magazine and pulled a knife from his clothes as he ran towards the young woman while the other stopped his race took the gun with both hands and lifted to take aim. Nubia closed her eyes and shouted, knowing that she was the first target. The woman expected for the characteristic click of a gun with a silencer. she heard instead a loud bark of a high-caliber weapon. Startled Nubia opened her eyes and focused on the bully pointing her. He saw the man opening his arms and collapsing face down on the pavement. Turning her gaze the girl saw Charley trying to stand up brandishing a big gun in his hand. But Nubia could not see anything else. She felt being grabbed by her short hair and dragged from the doorway. With horror the girl saw the brutal face of the other desperado very close to hers and found that while with one hand he was grabbing her by the hair the man approached the other hand brandishing the knife to her neck, with the obvious intention of curtailing his life as they had done with Sanwarit . Suddenly a shadow fell on the head of the wrongdoer, hitting him hard. Nubia saw Marcos behind the bully at the time he applied a second blow with a piece of fallen masonry to the man´s skull. The bandit fell back releasing the blade of his hand. Marcos picked the leaf from the ground and holding it with both hands sank it deep into on the bulky man's chest, after which rolled on wet pavement exhausted. There he stood watching what followed.

  With a cold look on his face Nubia approached the bully who was still moaning on the floor. The woman introduced the sharpened steel heel of her right shoe in the thug´s slightly open mouth and stood concentrating all her weight on that foot forcing her heel deep into his throat until blood gushed from his mouth while the body was shaking in throes of agony. Finally the attacker´s movements ceased and Nubia withdrew her bloodied foot from his mouth.

  She walked stiffly between the inert bodies as trying to commit to memory the moment as she said.

  “One, two. The first ones.”

  Then the young woman bent along one of the bodies and took the gun with silencer left near it.

  Marcos watched the grim scene with a mixture of excitement and dread. He could not conceive that the girl who a few minutes earlier trembled in his arms was the same person who ruthlessly had terminated the aggressor.

  “Hurry up! We must leave here this place.” Charley's cry drew the self-absorption of his companions. Marcos came and saw the old man´s bleeding shoulder. He took his other arm and helped him to stand up.

  “You are wounded.”

  “The bullet only grazed me. We must go for the second time in the day to Doc Jim house.”

  The young man put his mouth close to Charley ear and whispered.

  “Have you seen Nubia´s actions?”

  “Yes. I have no doubt however that she was and is still under a strong shock.”

  “She was mumbling something.”

  “Right, I could also hear it. In Vietnam we called body count. It is the dead enemies body count.”

  “Something pretty creepy.”

  “Yes... I saw you two like each other. If I were you I would keep me from contradicting her in that state ... but again, she is just a frightened child.”

  Nubia approached and saw Uncle Charley´s bleeding wound.

  “Once again! These things happen only for my sake, I only bring pain to those who love me.”

  “Do not be ridiculous!” Replied the old man. “How can you blame yourself for the attacks of two men who are most likely hit men hired by human traffickers? But do not waste more time, let´s return to Doc Jim´s house. Let's pick the car in the garage. You drive.” Said handing the car keys to Marcos.

  While they were heading to the Doctor´s house Marcos asked.

  “Tell me, where did you get so timely your gun? If you had not had done so those men you would not be dead and we would not be talking now.”

  “That's my old Arm
y weapon. I somehow managed to keep it for so long and I am surprised it still works. When Nubia warned us that bad feeling I went to the car to get it. The real question is where that omen came from.”.

  Both men looked at Nubia, who however remained silent.

  “Four stitches for Charley´s shoulder.” Said Doc Jim somewhat perplex. “You guys better stop using your shoulder to intercept bullets.”

  He helped the sore Charley to put his shirt on and rejected the payment offer made by him.

  “I'm not going to charge an old comrade with whom we shared so many dangers. I don´t even remember if you ever saved my life.” The two old men embraced and Marcos did not fail to note that tears ran down his friend´s cheeks.

  “Get out at once! I do not want anyone to accuse me of failing to report gunshot wounds.” The harsh tone scarcely hid the strong emotions in Doc Jim´s voice.

  After leaving the car in its makeshift garage again they returned Charley´s home not before making a detour to determine whether there were any suspicious people around. It was already dawning when Charley opened the door of the store. At that moment they heard police sirens in the distance.

  “They've surely discovered the two bodies.” Said the elder man. “The sounds of sirens come from that direction. Luckily we were able to avoid getting mixed on this affair. The only thing that can link us is the gun is that you have kept.” He warned Nubia.

  “Do not worry about it.” Answered the woman.

  “I worry for the use you have planned for it.”

  This time the woman remained silent, then she entered the house and went directly to the bedroom that Charley had lent her.

  Marcos helped Charley to undress and lie down on the couch in the living room. The man pointed to a corner of it.

  “In that closet there is a mattress and you will find also some blankets. I insist that you stay with us tonight, so tomorrow to can help me with the business.”

  As a result of fatigue and painkillers injected by Doc Jim the old man fell asleep immediately.

  Marcos went to the cabinet indicated by his friend to get the mattress when the bedroom door opened and Nubia appeared still dressed. Without any words she took the young man by the hand and led him into the room.

  “Tonight I want you to make love to me. I need you to do it slowly and gently. Are you a gentle lover?”

  The young man nodded silently invaded by surprise and excitement. He entered the bedroom and Nubia closed the door behind him.

  “Start by undressing me.”

  Marcos tried to kiss her mouth but she pushed him away saying.

  “We'll get to that. Take my dress off now.”

  With infinite care the boy opened the automatic zipper and unbuttoned the garment, which then began to slide to the floor. His hands caressed the blackened skin and then kissed her lips. He kissed her neck, her shoulders taking special care whit the one that was bandaged; removed the bra showing the small and erect breasts of the woman, sucked her nipples producing some cats wailing in her mouth. Nubia took the young man's head in her hands and began to direct his mouth where she wanted it. Marcos ran his hands around the torso and the flat stomach of the girl, her hands caressing the buttocks as she began to squirm. Suddenly Nubia took the man by the collar and dragged him to bed. There she lay on bed on her back, pulled his head to the lower part of her body, surrounded it with her long legs and squeezed it with her thighs. With the temples that throbbed with excitement Marcos understood what the woman wanted and focused in satisfying her desires.

  Chapter 6

  Nubia was peacefully sleeping beside him. A ray of sunlight filtering between the two window curtains illuminated Marcos´ face; the boy woke up and tried to remember what had happened. He stroked her cheek and smiled pleased by the memory of the agitated night. All the horrors that had preceded the arrival at Charley's house were not erased from his memory but it was as if they had been moved to a distant compartment within it, and its importance relativized. The young man was not only sexually satisfied but inside him certain battles were being waged among feelings he had never experienced before. Marcos was a sensitive boy, within whom introspection frequently welled and he finally realized that he was falling in love with Nubia. He carefully lifted the sheet that covered them both and admired the young woman´s body, thin, flexible but with very feminine shapes.

  A smell of hot coffee reached his nostrils and only then he recalled that they were at Charley´s home and that the elder man was in the next room. Delicately Marcos covered the body of the sleeping woman, searched his clothes scattered on the bedroom floor and opened the door. He then saw his friend´s back standing in the kitchen and towards that place he silently walked after closing the bedroom door. His surreptitious action startled Charley when he noticed his presence.

  “Oh, Charley! Forgive me, I did not mean to alarm you.”

  “No problem. I'm a little nervous after all we went through yesterday.” The old man turned and looked at him with a smile. “Or did Nubia make you forget everything that happened before returning home?”

  Marcos blushed deeply and attempted a not very coherent explanation.

  “I am sorry ... we should not have used your home for ... anyway.”

  The old man burst out laughing.

  “I imagine it must be very difficult to refuse an insinuation of a woman as Nubia, wherever you are. Do not worry about that; when yesterday I asked you to stay in my house some of this was predictable. I'm happy for you, from the beginning I realized you were dazzled by her and that you have been fortunate enough to have not an indifferent result. She's a real black Venus, you will not find on Earth another woman so attractive.”

  At that moment the bedroom door opened and Nubia appeared fully clothed; the woman looked resplendent.

  Charley had served coffee for the three and had toasted slices of bread purchased a couple of days before, the only breakfast that the man could offer at that time. The talk had been scarce and relaxed, but there was an issue that Charley had the intention to treat as soon as he had a chance.

  “You remember what happened last night?” He asked Nubia.

  “How could I forget it?”

  “Yesterday you killed a man who actually was already dying. Are you aware of that?”

  “Of course.”

  “Had you killed someone before?” Charley was perfectly aware that he was asking a tough question but had thought it over well, and wanted to do it in front of Marcos.

  “I stabbed a man in the neck that night when Sanwarit was murdered. I had never injured anybody before.” The response was blunt.

  “And what are your feelings about it?”

  “The man was part of a group that kidnapped, enslaved, tortured and murdered helpless women and was trying to kill me. I just fought for my life, besides... I have no doubt that he deserved to die atrociously.”

  A moment of silence spread across the room.

  “I've never killed before.” Reiterated the woman. “But my father was a warrior and so was his father before him.”

  “Please girl, do not misunderstand me” Said calmly Charley.”Unfortunately as you know I have been at war and I have killed men and done things I'm not proud of. Just wanted to know your feelings on this matter.”

  “In my country, and indeed throughout Africa there often are kill or be killed situations. We are prepared for these circumstances that may occur at any time, on any night of horror. We grow up with a survivor mentality.”

  “I understand, girl. Just forgive this old man.”

  Leroy was waiting at Frank & Johnny the arrival of his comrades; meanwhile he parsimoniously drank his beer, knowing that he would not take another before leaving. The first one to appear was Walter Kolski. The men greeted each other with slaps on the back and began to chat about the day's news in the precinct. After a while also Vince Caruso arrived.

  “Walter was telling me that there is suspicion in the sense that the two bodies that appeared in the
alley a couple of days ago are connected to a network that traffics heroin from the Far East and also human beings from various sites, including East Africa.” Leroy explained to put in issue his just arrived friend. Saying that approached his nose to Vince´s jacket and said.

  “Man! You stink of cheap perfume. No wonder you're late.”

  Walter also made derisive expressions filled with an unmistakable sexual sign.

  “It's not your damn business.” Vince replied with false anger. “Well, what's that traffickers ´story that you are telling me about?”

  Since he was the one who brought the news Walter spoke first.

  “The clues relate those two bodies with the shooting last week where other seven dead bodies were left in the abandoned warehouse. Sure you remember it.” After the affirmative nod of the other two Walter continued, obviously emboldened by having a level of information that his friends had not accessed yet.

  “All dead were Eritreans and Sudanese and were supposed to be part of a band that started smuggling drugs to Europe and then expanded its activities to human trafficking, especially of young women from the Horn of Africa, a business apparently as lucrative as heroin and with not so many harsh competitors.”

  “The shooting and the seven dead prove otherwise.” Argued Vince.

  “That's why I spoke in the past tense, they had less competition”.

  Walter was closer to the precinct kidney where decisions were made and liked to brag a little with friends of his knowledge. Vince knew his comrade had little resistance to alcohol and nudged Walter to accompany him on his drinks, while Leroy stuck to his unique beer. Vince took the two newly served whiskeys in his hands and took them from the bar where they were to a table that had just become free. The drinking day would be long.

  The noises coming from the table where the three friends sat increased as alcohol ran, which forced the bartender, an old acquaintance, to whistle in order to induce them to tone down. At one point Walter turned suddenly from screams to whispering.

  “ ... What strikes me is that the last two dead men appeared after O'Halloran asked me to follow that black bitch. I do not know if she was one of the women who managed to run away from that band.”