Another Last Chance

by Tristan Walker

  “No thanks, I have mine right there.” He heard footsteps move across the room.

  “Okay, well, I will go and cut off the engine,” Samantha said. “Tell him I say buh-bye.” He heard everyone moving around the room now.

  Kevin slowly began to make his way back up the stairs while looking out below. The footsteps were getting closer and as much as he wanted to, he knew it would be difficult for him to move any faster without making noise.

  There were only four more steps in front of him, and he could see the shadow approaching the stairs. He held his breath as he experienced fear from his stomach to the back of his head.

  Only two more steps to go. Kevin saw the machine gun in the corporal’s hands, and immediately moved.

  “Aye! Fuck!” the corporal shouted when he spotted him. Kevin leaped into the room and slammed the door shut. He could hear the corporal running up the stairs, who began turning the door knob and kicking on the door.

  Kevin grabbed a chair from the dinner table and launched it through the window. There was a galvanized landing just outside the window and at least a ten feet fall before hitting the ground where there was now broken glass and the broken chair.

  The police car was at least forty or fifty feet away. Kevin looked towards the door when he realized the kicking had stopped. Shots were fired at the door, but half of his body was already out of the window within the first shot. He jumped onto the galvanized shed, fell off and landed with a painful roll. He looked up and saw Samantha a few feet away. She was reaching for her firearm. He got up and tackled her, sending her flat on her back, then leaped to his feet and continued towards the police vehicle. Bullets whizzed past him from the upstairs window.

  Kevin dived parallel to the vehicle, opened the door and got in, shielding himself beneath the dashboard. Bullets were hitting all about the vehicle, shattering the glass and penetrating the hood and bonnet.

  Kevin remained hidden a while longer, hoping the corporal would have to reload soon, but when the automatic firing had stopped he could hear single shots being fired from a closer distance. He couldn’t stay there. He had to move if he wanted to stay alive.

  He remained in an awkward lying position and mashed on the gas pedal and steered the vehicle while peeping through a crease of the open door. His view was obstructed with every swing of the door, but he had no intentions of slowing down.

  Luckily the car raised a cloud of dust. He entered a dirt track as the bullets continued hitting the back and around the car.

  When he had gotten at a further distance and the gunshots were sounding faint he came up and took control of his driving.

  The car’s windshield was shattered, and the windows and doors seemed riddled with bullets. It even smelled of exhaust fumes and gunpowder. Kevin was in so much pain from the fall that he couldn’t tell if he’d been hit. Nevertheless, he was thankful to be alive.

  There were high bushes and trees on both sides of the track and the sun was setting across his shoulder, between the trees. No streetlights or houses were within his view and the place was getting dark fast. He knew that soon the corporal and probably other officers would be after him. There was a wireless set in the vehicle and he tried every button before getting it to come on. The first thing he heard was a police unit calling for assistance to set up a roadblock at a junction whose name he didn’t recognize. He had no idea where he was or how far the roadblock would be. But he knew that it meant he would have to abandon the vehicle and get off the road soon.

  The sun had disappeared, and he continued following the road with only one dim headlight. A short distance later he approached streetlights and had entered a village with lots of wooden houses. Nobody was outside. The place looked very quiet and peaceful. He turned a knob on the wireless set and scanned through the transmission frequencies while listening for anything in connection with the search for a man who had stolen a police vehicle. On one frequency he heard an officer confirm that the viper was at least ten minutes away. He kept it there. A few seconds later another officer confirmed that the k9 unit was also on their way. Kevin reminded himself of the stories he had heard about the capability of the police tracker dogs. He wasn’t about to take any chances. He would have to get rid of the vehicle sooner than he thought.

  “The vehicle with Sergeant Jacob, communicate with wt43!” he heard someone say over the wireless.

  “Roger, Sergeant Jacob standing by, send!”

  “Roger sir, viper is overhead waiting for your instructions.”

  Kevin rubbed his palms on his pants in an effort to keep them from getting moist. His nervousness and panic attack was creeping up again. He’d have to abandon the vehicle now. He couldn’t risk staying in it any longer. He stopped near the edge of a hill and searched for anything useful. He found a pistol in the glove compartment with eleven rounds. He took it and stuck it in his waist, before pushing the car off the hill. As the wheels came off the road it began accumulating speed with ease, mowing down small bushes as it trundled downhill, leaving a trail behind. There wasn’t any way for Kevin to be informed now, since the wireless set was gone with the vehicle. But one thing he knew for sure was that he had to keep moving. He began trotting towards the village.

  In the first yard he came to, he saw a pickaxe next to a dirt trench and he took it up while running. He could hear a helicopter approaching. Some metres down there was a dark wooden house that looked vacant. Kevin entered the yard and went into the small veranda. He hooked the pickaxe through the padlock and levered the clasp out of the wooden door. He went inside and closed the door and quietly searched through the rooms of the house. There wasn’t anyone inside. He went into the bathroom where he secured the memory card and firearm and stripped naked, turning on the water and rubbing soap all over his skin. He put his clothes in a corner of the bathroom, then sat in silence praying that he would escape the officers searching for him.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Many hours later, Kevin was surprised the police hadn’t discovered him. He had seen the blue flashing lights outside through the spaces in the wooden planks, and even heard footsteps and voices as the officers came into the yard. But there weren’t any dogs and the helicopter remained circling the area long after the officers had walked away.

  Kevin came out of the bathroom shortly after the officers had left. He was cold and trembling. He went into one of the bedroom where he dried up and found some clothes that were two sizes larger than what he wore. He threw them on and started looking around. He was still confused as to where he was, so he searched through the wardrobe and drawers for anything with an address. But there wasn’t anything in either one of the two bedrooms. He left the room and went into the kitchen.

  There was an open envelope stuck to the refrigerator with a magnet souvenir from Ft. Lauderdale. There were other souvenirs that represented parts of the Caribbean and also colourful magnetic letters that formed the words, “jesus is love.” He moved the envelope and began to examine it. He saw the name Emanuel Charles and an address reading Stone Street, Upper Village, Brasso Seco.

  Kevin was shocked. He stood there for a while trying to come to terms with the address he was looking at. He stuck the envelope back onto the refrigerator and looked away. He was a long way from home, and he had no money nor the slightest clue as to how to get out of the village.

  He walked back into the bedroom in a desperate search for cash or anything with a resale value.

  While searching he noticed a jewellery box inside a cabinet in one of the rooms. Inside the box there was a gold chain and two gold rings. He threw them out into his palm and knew right away that they weighed somewhere between twenty and thirty grams. He played with the weight for a while, trying to calculate a street value and whether or not he’d find a potential buyer in such short time. He pushed away the thought and stuck everything into his pocket and continued looking around.

  It was almost 4 a.m. and Kevin had no intentions of sleeping. He wasn’t in favour of being caught off-gua
rd by Mr. Charles or the police, so he stayed up on the couch for the remainder of the night and left before sunrise and began walking quickly down the road. Outside the sky was a dark grey and, although there wasn’t any wind Kevin felt his body shiver every time he slowed his pace. The trees and grass were covered with dew, and a speeding car would pass by every ten or fifteen minutes.

  Kevin continued walking with caution, carefully observing everything that approached. He could hear insects and birds chirping, and the roosters were crowing. He had already been walking for nearly an hour and he had no idea if he was going in the right direction.

  The sky was getting lighter now, changing to pale blue. On his left he could see a shop on the top of a hill. An elderly man had just opened up. Kevin saw when he’d propped the wooden door with a piece of stick and carried a stack of newspapers back inside. Kevin turned and walked in that direction.

  His legs were starting to cramp, but he’d managed to get to the top. He stepped inside. The shopkeeper looked to be in his mid-seventies. His head was bald and he had a mixture of grey and black facial hair, and his eyes were dark and puffy.

  “Morning, you alright?” the man asked, looking concerned.

  “Yeah,” Kevin said, “just had a little accident last night.”

  The man said nothing, so Kevin continued: “I need a lil favour, though.”

  “It ah little too early to be asking for favours. You don’t think so?” said the man. It could have been a joke, but his face was impassive.

  Kevin half-smiled, regardless. “Yeah, but I have to go to the doctor. So, as much as I don’t normally do these kind of things. I have to ask.”

  The man sighed. “What you need?”

  Kevin walked closer to the wire mesh that separated them, exaggerating the effort it took for him to move, although he didn’t have to exaggerate much.

  “Take yuh time, I here for the day,” the man said.

  “I staying right by my cousin up the road, but he going through some personal problems.” Kevin unhooked the chain that he’d placed around his neck and then took off the two rings from on his fingers.

  “How much you will give me for these?” He rested them on the counter beneath the mesh. “I don’t want to sell them, just pawn them until ah get some money next week. They have sentimental value.”

  The man didn’t pick up the jewellery until he heard about their sentimental value.

  “Where you get them from?” He was inspecting them against the light.

  “It was from my mother, she died two years ago, is all I have to remember she. Well, beside some old pictures. God rest she soul.”

  “Hmm.” He was doing some thinking. His eyes moved between Kevin and the chain for a minute.

  “Nah, I good,” he said and rested it back on the counter. “I don’t really like to make these kind of transactions.”

  Kevin was upset. The only thing on his mind was getting out of the village, no matter the consequences. He took a step back and examined his surroundings. The sun was beginning to peek out but there wasn’t anyone outside this early. Kevin noticed that the gate that separated them was opened and the man remained standing across the counter, anxiously waiting for him to pick up his stuff and leave the shop.

  Kevin began walking towards the gate. The man did the same.

  “I don’t want no trouble,” the man said while quickening his pace.

  “Me either.” Kevin answered and kicked open the gate before the man could reach the latch.

  Kevin was now inside the shop. He held onto the old man’s arm, roughly guiding him back to the counter.

  “Just give me what I want and everything would be alright,” Kevin said and gestured for him to retrieve the money from the drawer. Kevin took up the jewellery and stuck it back into his pocket. The man took out two hundred-dollar notes and handed it to Kevin. There were more hundreds, tens and twenties in the drawer. The sight of it got Kevin angry. He pushed the man across the room and snatched up all the money besides the fives and single dollars notes and ran out of the shop.

  He made his way about half mile down the street and hid himself behind an old bus shed.

  The sun was now out, giving him a better look at the place.

  There were hardly any cars on the road, but within twenty minutes more people showed up and soon after all of them had gotten into a bus. The ride was long and everyone came out at the bus terminus in Arima. From there it had taken him three taxis and a fifteen minutes walk before he was outside his Enterprise apartment.

  He walked around the building and made sure it was safe before calling out to Shantel. She answered after his third call and came to the door. She was still wearing her night gown.

  “What the fuck, Kevin! What happen to yuh face?” She stretched out her hands to touch the scars, but he stopped her short.

  “Is small thing,” he said, and made his way inside. She closed the door behind him.

  He went to the couch and she went sitting next to him.

  “You didn’t tell me that you get beat up so bad!”

  “No, and this is exactly why. You does overreact for every little thing.”

  Her expression changed. “This is ah little thing?” She grabbed his cheeks, and he flinched.

  “What you trying to do? Finish what they start?”

  “You see yuh face, and you saying is nothing serious. What? They brainwash you, too?”

  “No, you crazy,” he said, before realizing that it wasn’t an actual question. “And where you get them clothes?”

  “Is a long story.” He walked into the bedroom and started to undress.

  His arms and lower back pained the most, and when the jersey was half-way off, he noticed her standing at the door. As usual, she wasn’t giving up that easy. He also saw that parts of his chest and stomach were discoloured. This was the first time he’d noticed it.

  “Oh my gosh!” She saw it too. She covered her mouth and walked over to him. “Look at yuh skin, babe.” She gently touched the bruised spot. He winced, but allowed her to continue. He knew she was only expressing her concern. He had put her through so much that he couldn’t avoid that.

  “Babe,” he finally held her hands. She looked as if she was about to break down and cry. Her eyes were filling up with tears and a single teardrop trickled down her cheeks.

  “Look at me.” She lifted her head and her eyes met with his. “I will be all right, I promise.”

  She shook her head at the situation and held him cautiously, so as not to cause him any pain.

  He was thankful to be in her arms again. He held onto her and they stood there in each other’s arms for a moment. He could hear her crying.

  “Babe?” she said.

  “Yeah,” he answered as they loosened their grip a little. She looked up into his eyes again.

  “Would you promise me?” She paused. He waited for her to finish. “That you wouldn’t look for any kind of revenge from this.”

  He gave it a quick thought. Not the promise, but the relief she was expecting to get out of it. Although not agreeing with her would seem kind of harsh at the moment. Because of all the second chances he had gotten, he knew he could use it as a warning and easily make the promise not to avenge Marcus's death. But he had run into something much bigger with the police and their drug house. And as much as he would want to end it at this instance, it wouldn’t. And, he wasn’t about to fill her in on those details just yet. It could jeopardize his family’s safety and he wouldn’t allow that.

  But Shantel wasn’t just waiting for the answer. He looked down at her and he could see that she was trying to get the truth from within his eyes.

  “Yeah babe, I promise.” He removed his hands. “I went through plenty, and I not going to risk it again,” he said.

  She believed him.

  “Thanks, cause I can’t continue living like this.”

  He gave it a moment to settle in. “Yeah, I know. Sorry, and thanks for being here for me.”

 
They kissed, and she sat on the bed while he finished undressing and went into the shower. After getting dressed he began filling her in with the details which ended on the couch forty-five minutes later.

  In his explanation, he’d replaced the woman in the blue dress with a long-time friend who wasn’t at all responsible for the altercation. He also kept the police as the ones who had taken care of him and later took him out of the village like they had promised.

  She had her moments during his explanation, but her emotions were at its highest when he described the way he’d barely escape from Biggs and his boys with shots firing all around him.

  When he was finished, her hands were covering her mouth in shock.

  “Hmm, babe,” she said. “You really went through a lot boy. Thank God you here now.”

  “Yeah, for real.”

  They sat in silence. He was still a bit shaken up and the sounds of the vehicles passing outside had him nervous, since he was certain that the police officers weren’t going to give up their search for him just yet.

  “What was the latest on the news?” he said, breaking their silence.

  “Well, nothing change in terms of the investigations. They still searching for the suspects. And, up until last night they didn’t have any further information.”

  “Okay.”

  “Yeah, the cameras around the club wasn’t working either, so they calling on eyewitnesses from the public to come forward. You know how that going to end up.”

  “Yeah.”

  They both knew all too well that witnesses never come forward after a shooting. They were always fearful for their lives. And the way crime had risen within the last couple years, no one could blame them.

  “You going and report it to the police?” she asked.

  “Yeah, most likely,” he lied. After what had happened last night, going anywhere close to a police station was the furthest thing from his mind. He would have to wait until things cool down and then give it some serious thought.

  “You hear anything concerning Steve and the rest of them?” he said, getting back her attention.