He continued running at a slower pace while looking for a slab that could be shifted with the least amount of effort. He came up to one a couple metres down. He moved the slab aside, jumped into the drain and shifted it back into place.
Inside the drain was dark and smelled like a mixture of faeces and urine. He could also feel a lot of garbage floating in the cold water and rubbing against his feet. Rays of sunlight came through the small crease between every slab and when his eyes adjusted to the light he saw garbage and roaches and rats moving around him. His shoes and the base of his pants were already soaked. As he made his way through, the place got darker and the water level rose from his ankles to his knees. He couldn’t see the end of the drain, but he could hear the water falling into a deeper drain.
He continued lifting his feet through until he was at the end and at that point he climbed down into the deeper and wider drain. The water was at his chest now and he kept his hands hovering above the water as garbage floated towards him. He kept his mouth closed and made his way towards the light at the opening. The air was warm, and the stench was becoming unbearable. For the last few metres it became difficult for him to breathe and Kevin felt as if he was about to faint.
He regained his strength when he heard cars speeding above him and also police sirens which sounded as though they were within the hospital’s compound.
The drain had led to a bridge and Kevin held onto the railing and climbed out, looking around cautiously. There wasn’t anyone close by. The only persons who saw him climbing out were the ones who were speeding by in cars and maxis on the bus route. Some people were waiting for the bus at a shed higher up, but they were paying attention to the commotion that was taking place inside the hospital and didn’t notice the man who was climbing out of the drain.
Kevin’s clothes were soaked, and he was stained with the scent of the sewage water. Sweat was also running down his face from all the running. He knew getting transportation out of the area in his condition would be an impossible task, so he kept moving.
The sun had disappeared, and the place was becoming dark. Kevin hoped that the night would bring some ease to his situation. He made his way into a quiet neighbourhood and ignored all passing vehicles as he took a brisk walk looking for a safe place to hide. He passed a lot of residential houses before noticing a half-built house to the top of the street. It was already covered with a roof, but there weren’t any windows or doors. The grass around the house was very high and moss grew along the walls.
He looked around, making sure there weren’t any passing vehicles and then crawled through the wire fencing and made his way into the house. As he walked through the rooms he could smell stale urine and he noticed graffiti on the walls. Plastic bags and old newspapers were also on the floor in one of the rooms. There was no telling how long the house had been abandoned, but it was evident that some homeless person was already using it as a shelter.
Kevin went to a room in the back that was far away from the scent and sat on the ground. He was prepared to stay awake and observant.
CHAPTER SEVEN
For nearly an hour blue flashing lights strobed on the walls around Kevin as the officers roamed the area in an intense search.
He heard a helicopter circling the area, but there wasn’t any excessive barking coming from the neighbourhood dogs to suggest that the officers were making a house to house search.
Eventually, everything fell quiet. Kevin checked his watch—it was 8:35 p.m.
Suddenly, music started blasting from the house next to where he was hiding, and he stood up and walked into another room and looked through the window. The urine scent was stronger in this room, but he knew it was something he’d have to bear. He used his hand to block his face and tried to control his breathing. He stood at the window peeping out from an angle where he was perfectly hidden.
The house next door was a cream two-storey building and the music was coming from a car parked at the gate. They’d left the doors of the car open to get the best sound. There were four young men standing in the yard with beers in their hands. They were dressed and dancing, apparently ready to go clubbing. There was also a group of women in the porch, shouting at one another as if they were having a political debate at a bar. The only difference was that their faces were covered with smiles and whereas everyone was laughing.
Kevin remained at the window observing them. He kept looking at his watch, hoping that the neighbours would leave soon.
Then another car arrived at 9:55 p.m. and the guys carried a large cooler to one of the cars, together with a few cases of beers and four bottles of alcohol. Two of the men were walking in and out of the house, and Kevin figured that they were the ones who lived there. They also resembled each other, so he assumed they were related. A short while after, all the lights inside the house were switched off and the two young men came walking out with one of them locking the door. The girls got up and went to the cars, and eventually, all three cars drove off leaving a quiet neighbourhood behind once again.
Kevin waited a few more minutes to make sure nobody had forgotten anything, then went to the back of the house and climbed over the concrete fence and dropped into the yard. A large area around the house was cast in concrete and there was a wide strip of lawn alongside the fence. Around the house was dark, so Kevin walked to the back and sides looking for an easy entry point. But all the windows were secured with burglar-proofing. His only option was the front door; he had noticed that the lock on the burglar proof could be broken.
He went back into the abandoned house and brought back two flat pieces of steel to break open the door. It was more difficult than he thought but, after several frustrating attempts, the lock finally snapped, and the door swung open. He went in quickly and closed the door behind him.
Kevin wasted no time, making his way up the stairs. The upper floor had three bedrooms and a bathroom. He looked through the closet of one of the bedrooms and found a white T-shirt, and a jeans and a pair of sneakers in another room. He also took a backpack and packed two additional set of clothes. He then had a quick shower, got dressed and took the time to make a ham sandwich to eat on the way.
He dumped his dirty clothes in a bin before getting to the bus route. When he got out of the maxi in Curepe 30 minutes later, he was surprised by how lively the place looked. There were a lot of cars and taxis and people walking around. No one seemed to notice him. He walked to where the taxis were parked and approached a dark-skinned man who was leaning against an empty car. Kevin told him where he wanted to go, and the man agreed to take him there for a price that was rather high. But Kevin wasn’t about to make money an issue.
It was a quiet drive except for the r&b music playing on the radio. At one point the driver asked about the scars on Kevin’s face, but Kevin ignored him and continued looking out the window. There weren’t any more questions after that.
They were making their way through a dirt track in Cunupia when Kevin felt the driver’s eyes on him. He looked into the rear-view mirror and the driver looked away after their eyes met. The track had few streetlights and was lined with bushes. There were only two houses.
“How far again?” the driver asked.
“Not too far,” Kevin answered. “You almost reach. We should be there in less than five minutes.”
The car got quiet again.
“Right by this house you coming up to,” Kevin said. He could sense the relief from the driver as he sped up and stopped in front of the house.
“Thanks again,” Kevin said as he paid and got out of the car. The driver quickly turned the vehicle and drove out.
Kevin opened the gate and went into the yard. The house was a flat unpainted building that had belonged to Steve’s uncle who had died two years before. It had no running water or electricity.
Kevin walked around the house and entered through the only door, which was to the back. There were only three rooms: a kitchen, a living room and a bedroom. A sofa in the living room and a matt
ress on the ground of the bedroom were the only items of furniture. Kevin turned on the three gas lamps that he and the guys had brought when they had first come to the house and placed one in each room.
He removed the sheet covering the sofa and decided that he would sit down for a while before going to check on the stuff since he was feeling very weak and tired from all the running around he had done. But he wanted to make sure that the items were still there, so he could ease his suspicion of Wendell having anything to do with the shooting.
He thought about the news report that had claimed the shooting had happened earlier that day, when it had in fact occurred almost a week ago. There was no doubt that the police were up to something. Kevin knew it would only be a matter of time before he was caught or, maybe, dead. His mind went to Shantel and what the police might do if they found out she was his girlfriend and where she was staying.
Those thoughts kept his mind occupied and he was beginning to feel uneasy. It was making it difficult for him to concentrate on anything else. He leaned back on the couch and stared at the wall with tears running down his cheeks. He was studying the whole situation and the way his life had changed in just a matter of days. He felt like a prisoner, invisible to the free world.
Within a short while his eyelids became heavy and he found himself fighting to stay awake. It was a battle he did not win.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Kevin’s eyes opened to the sunlight that was coming through the fancy bricks that blocked the windows. He looked around, confused, taking a few seconds for his mind to adjust to the reality of where he was. He then sat upright and looked at his watch. It was already 8:15 a.m.
He got up and went into the kitchen. He climbed on the counter and retrieved the key from the spot beneath the galvanize roof as Steve had indicated. There was a pitchfork next to the door. He took it up and made his way outside, and although no houses were nearby, he looked around, making sure the coast was clear before walking a distance into the trees behind the house.
He stopped at the mango tree where they would gather all the grass after cleaning and started pushing the grass aside. There was an old rug underneath. He threw it aside and started digging. It was something they would’ve normally done together and he could remember the last time they were there as if it was yesterday. The way they had all cooperated with one another until placing the final shovel of dirt that buried their haul.
Within twenty minutes Kevin had reached the four feet depth and cleared the area around the steel trunk. He stuck the fork in the dirt and kneeled down next to the hole. Sweat was dripping from his forehead and arms and his clothes were now wet and dirty. He unlocked the steel trunk and lifted the lid.
Inside the trunk he could see the two revolvers, the shotgun, and the three packets of cocaine they had taken from Biggs and his gang. There were also some stacks of cash and some rounds. He didn’t check it, but he was certain that it was the amount they had left. Although Steve was the only one who had access to the key, the five of them knew where the items were hidden, and it was their suspicion that had them worried, but nothing was missing.
He blew out a breath of relief and began laughing at the fact that he had actually thought Wendell had gone against them. But then he began feeling confused and frustrated again and he sat on the dirt with his hands resting on his forehead. Now that nothing was missing, it was hard to believe that Wendell had anything to do with the ambush, even though he hadn’t been acting like himself lately. Maybe Steve was wrong. Maybe they were both wrong. Whatever it was, Kevin knew he had to decide whether he was going to trust him in the future or not.
He got up hoping to pull himself together while on his feet. There was no doubt that everything was happening too fast. But, the reality remained, and Kevin knew that he wouldn’t be able to get through it alone. He was so accustomed to doing everything with the crew. They were his family and now his family was separated, and as Steve said, no one should be trusted. But that was easier said than done.
Kevin went into the house, retrieved the backpack and returned. He took one of the pistols and loaded a magazine with fifteen rounds and stuck both items into the bag. He then took up three stacks of the hundred-dollar bills which were wrapped in rubber bands and threw it in the backpack also. He closed the lid and secured the area just like he’d met it. He tidied up and was then ready to leave.
First, he would go to Charles's place as Steve suggested and organize for the items to be moved and then he would go to Wendell’s house and hopefully they would come together and figure out a way for him to get out of his mess.
There was a shortcut to get to the main road. It was behind the house and across a river. It was a twenty minutes walk which they wouldn’t do at night because of the pitch-black darkness. He made his way through the bushes and over the river, and by the time he had gotten to the main road his face and upper body was covered with sweat again.
From the first glance he noticed vehicles were speeding by and a lot of people were waiting for transportation. The sun was very hot. He waited on the opposite side of the road, hoping to draw less attention, or none at all. After a few minutes a maxi pulled up and some of the persons standing across the street fought their way in. This happened several times until there were only four persons left. They were all lucky enough to get into the next maxi that pulled up, and Kevin boarded as well.
A half-hour later, he was at the top of the street where Charles lived. It was a quiet neighbourhood, so he didn’t have to worry much about being noticed. From a few houses away he could see Charles outside, putting his police uniform and other items into his car.
Charles was attached to a task force unit at a station in the East. Steve and Charles were neighbours and childhood friends and they had been inseparable in the past. This was until they were introduced to the community drug leader and unlike Steve, Charles had decided to join the Protective Services instead of working on the streets. They hadn’t seen each other for a while but they had kept in regular communication via phone calls. Charles's loyalty had been proven and his trust had never been an issue for Steve, and that made all the difference.
Charles noticed Kevin and quickly stuck everything into the car, and when Kevin got closer to him, he shook his head slightly and gestured for Kevin to follow him inside. When they got inside Charles closed the door behind them and peeped out his window to make sure none of his neighbours were outside to notice when Kevin came in. The place was dark and he turned on the light.
“What going on with you?” Charles said with a curious and concerned expression. Kevin kept his face blank. His eyes were locked on Charles who was looking right back at him.
“What going on?” Charles asked again in a more demanding voice. “All of a sudden I hearing about this shooting at the party and now I seeing yuh face all over the news. I even call Steve yesterday and he and all shock. He say you was there with him and when the news come on you caused one big commotion and run out of the hospital.”
Kevin shook his head and started walking towards the couch which was only a few feet away.
“Hmm… I really don’t know what to tell you.” He took a seat and Charles sat on the opposite couch.
“What you mean you don’t know what to tell me?” he gestured, expressing his confusion. “Tell me what going on. Tell me why you starring on the news. At least tell me something.”
“Is not that. I know what going on, I just don’t know if, or how to explain it.”
“If?” Charles elaborated on the word and shook his head. “What? You don’t trust me or something?”
“No, yeah. Well, you know what I mean.”
“No, I don’t know what you mean.” Charles was becoming angry and Kevin knew that he’d have to calm him down before things got out of control.
“Listen. For them past few days I went through all kind of torture. I just real tired and frustrated, and it real hard to figure out who to trust.”
He noticed Charles shook his he
ad again with a confused look on his face. “What you mean you don’t know who to trust? What you doing here then, if you having second thoughts.”
“Steve tell me to come here. Apparently you is the only officer he would trust.”
“I know, and I don’t blame him. We go way back and he was always like a brother to me, and I never going to forget that.”
Kevin looked across to where Charles was sitting. His face was as serious as a judge passing a death penalty.
“Look, I just need a minute to think, alright.”
“Yeah, and I was late for work, but yet I come back inside. You know why? Because family comes first, and everything else comes after.”
Kevin absorbed everything Charles was saying, and he realized why Steve had kept him close. He spoke like a true brother. It made Kevin wonder what their childhood was like.
Kevin rubbed his hands through his hair. “Yeah, you right. I don’t even know where to start though.”
“Start by telling me, exactly what went on?” Charles said.
Kevin lowered his head and started thinking. He was very much aware of the position he was in, and he was beginning to realize that for the next few days he’d have to be making quick decisions on who he should or could not trust, and why. He also knew that he’d have to be reliving his experiences as if explaining a movie to someone who had never heard of it before. Nevertheless, if it was worth getting out of his situation, he was willing to do both.
Another Last Chance Page 7
