Another Last Chance

by Tristan Walker

  Inside that room he could see a large map and a man was telling the country what to expect from the weather the following day. The man looked at Kevin and paused for a second, causing the man with the headset to turn and notice that there was a stranger in the room.

  Kevin shifted out of the weather man’s view and pulled the firearm and pointed it at the man with the headset, demanding his cooperation. The man’s stare was an obvious indication that he was fearful of losing his life. He stood there looking at Kevin as if he’d seen a ghost. Kevin indicated with his hand and the man pulled off his headset and dropped it on the ground.

  Another door opened within the room and Ms. Smith walked out. She too looked surprised and immediately threw her hands up, surrendering to him.

  “Okay… Just take whatever you want,” the man said in a nervous voice. Kevin was clueless until he realized that they had no idea who he was or what was taking place. Ms. Smith’s eyes were closed, and she was breathing heavily and mumbling something to herself, probably praying to get out of the situation alive.

  “No, stop. This is not a robbery.” Kevin said and stepped back further. Ms. Smith gradually opened her eyes. Her chin was down.

  “Put down allyuh hands.” Their hands went down hesitantly.

  “Okay, no problem, everything cool,” the man continued saying. “Just take whatever you want and you could go. We eh see nothing.”

  “No, is nothing like that. I is Kevin Jones, the person the police looking for.”

  Ms. Smith lifted her head and began studying his face. Her body was as stiff as a manikin’s.

  “Ms. Smith. Corporal Gibson send me by you.” She looked as though she was trying to understand. “Concerning the video with the police and the drug house.”

  The man was looking at both of them, confused as to what was going on.

  “Or, yes…yes, Gibson. I remember.” She kept her hands away from her body, showing that she meant no harm. “Mister Gibson already talk to me concerning that. You have the memory card?”

  “Yeah.” At that instant Kevin wasn’t sure whether he should feel relieved or not. He stuck his hand into his pocket and pulled out the memory card.

  He noticed that the man had finished explaining the weather forecast, and everyone in that room was starting to move around. It was already eight o’clock.

  She realized that he was becoming worried.

  “Listen,” she started saying. “Don’t worry about them. Mister Gibson already tell me what it have on the memory card. All the cameras off. Let me go and explain what going on, and we would take a look at the memory card and broadcast it after, okay?”

  Kevin was starting to feel a lot better. “When you broadcasting it? Tonight?”

  “Yes. As soon as we see enough we would announce that we have breaking news, and I would personally broadcast it.” She gave him her word. Whether her word meant anything, he’d soon find out.

  “Yeah,” He thought about it and slowly nodded. “Okay.”

  The man seemed relaxed now.

  “Okay. I would just take this.” She stretched out her hand and he handed the memory card to her. “Just follow me and I would go inside and have a word with everybody.” She turned, and they led Kevin to the main room with the news stand and all the camera equipment. Kevin stood at the door with the gun and everyone in the room seemed confused and worried.

  Ms. Smith told them that everything was going to be okay before walking across the room and speaking to a man in a suit. They spoke for a few minutes and then she stuck the memory card into a computer next to him. As they viewed the footage, everyone moved closer to them and looked on. Some of them whispered to her and Kevin looked on as she explained the situation to them. On seeing and hearing the way they all protested against the officers actions, Kevin felt confident that everything would work out.

  It had taken them about fifteen minutes of fast-forwarding and playing the video before they were satisfied with what they saw. When the video was stopped, Ms. Smith came to Kevin and asked him a few questions about what he had experienced and when she was finished he was left waiting again.

  He kept his fingers crossed and his heart began racing with anxiety when he saw her make her way to the set and took her seat and waited for the cameras to come back on. Everyone started moving around again and then they’d signaled that she would be going live in five. When she was on she did as she’d promised and made the announcement that there was breaking news and a new twist in the Kevin Jones story.

  She made a great introduction and then criticized the law enforcement authority before showing selected parts of the footage.

  They were sure to put up their parental discretion declaimer and blur out anything that was not suitable for viewers. She also mentioned that Kevin had been threatened to accept responsibility for crimes he did not commit.

  After she’d given her closing statement and the cameras were off she made a copy of the memory card before returning it to Kevin. He thanked her and her colleagues for everything that they’ve done, and she wished him all the best in the future.

  One of the camera men mentioned that the police were downstairs and that was when he turned to leave.

  As Kevin slowly made his way down he was thinking about the possible outcome of the situation, and as he turned to the last flight of stairs he could see the blue lights flashing against the wall. As much as he wasn’t ready to face his fate he had no choice but to continue walking.

  He stopped and took a deep breath before making the final step into the dazzling light.

  He squinted and put his hands to his face in an attempt to limit the light. When his eyes adjusted he noticed that the car park was filled with police and soldiers and a lot of news personnel were also amongst them. They were already taking photos. Behind them Kevin could see random persons gathering to get a glimpse of what was about to take place.

  Kevin walked closer to Sean who had already made his way around the counter when he noticed him.

  The first thing Kevin noticed was the security officer’s firearm bulging on Sean’s waist right where it was concealed beneath his clothes. Then he realized that both of the officers were now standing behind the glass door.

  “What you planning to do?” Sean said to him in a low panicking voice as if anyone outside could possibly hear what they were saying.

  “You hear anything about Steve?”

  Sean shook his head with a saddened face. Kevin couldn’t stop thinking about the worst, but with everything that had happened, he hoped that Steve was okay.

  He looked outside and studied the situation while he thought about Sean’s question. He then shook his head and told Sean that he wasn’t sure.

  Sean looked disappointed and in his frustration he turned and made his way back to the chair behind the desk and like a stubborn child he sank himself into it.

  Kevin thought he’d worked out everything, but he hadn’t planned for it to turn out the way it did. He was grateful that he had accomplished what he had set out to do, but he was starting to realize that there was a possibility that things could still to go downhill.

  As he stood there trying to work out another plan he noticed a group of officers dressed in riot gear began assembling in front of the glass door. During that moment persons from the newsroom started making their way downstairs and when they noticed that Kevin was still in the building they occupied a corner of the lobby. Kevin studied their frightened faces and realized the officers could use the opportunity to make it look like a hostage rescue situation. That was something he’d have to avoid in order to continue showing that he was innocent.

  He shared his focus between Sean and the persons from the newsroom and it was then that he had willingly accepted the fact that the officers didn’t want anyone else besides him. Lucky for them he wasn’t willing to jeopardize anyone’s safety either.

  While looking at Sean their eyes met, and after they held their stare for a while Sean got up as if he knew just what
Kevin was thinking and he made his way around the desk and came over to him.

  “You not planning to do what I thinking, right?” Sean said. Kevin looked at him and shook his head and told him there wasn’t any other way.

  Sean started laughing in a hysterical way and then locked his hands behind his neck and started pacing back and forth as if that was the only way he could think. He looked at Kevin.

  “You can’t be serious, right? After all this you just going to walk out there?”

  Kevin didn’t answer. He had already made up his mind.

  “What about if they shoot you down?”

  He looked at the crowd and reminded himself that there were too many persons with cameras. Nevertheless, he knew if there was a possibility of him being shot it would be on his way to the station. And even during that time, more than likely, reporters would still be trailing behind.

  He remembered that he still had the firearm on him and he signaled Sean to follow him and they started walking towards the counter.

  When they were hidden behind the counter he removed his firearm, unloaded it and rested it on the lower surface. He watched Sean hesitantly do the same. When they were finished they wished each other good luck and headed for the glass doors with their hands above their heads in a surrender position.

  They waited at the door for a moment and without a hint one of the men from the newsroom ran across, opened the door and ran back over to his colleagues.

  The blue lights seemed brighter and Kevin started squinting his eyes again, and although he could hear a lot of talking coming from within the crowd the flashing of the cameras was sounding very clear.

  The officers who were dressed in the riot gear were the first ones outside the door and as the majority of officers kept their firearms pointed at them, two of the officers came and placed handcuffs on their hands and began moving them through the crowd and towards an awaiting police vehicle.

  There were officers on both side of them separating the crowd and when Kevin lifted his head in the direction of the awaiting vehicle he saw the chief standing there, holding the door open.

  Kevin felt his heart skipped a beat and he almost choked on his breath. As he attempted to clear his throat he could feel his body becoming weak and he stumbled but the officer had managed to keep him on his feet.

  He could feel the officer piercing his fingers into his arm as they continued walking towards the vehicle.

  When Kevin was face to face with the chief, he was pushed into the vehicle by the officer and the chief slammed the door shut.

  Inside the vehicle was dark and empty but Kevin managed to get on to his knees and he made his way over to a small vent to the back of the vehicle that was protected by iron bars.

  Outside, he could see Sean being led into another police vehicle. Sean was shouting and cursing at the officers as they tried to get him into the vehicle. At one point more officers joined in and Sean continued kicking and throwing around his body. The officers had formed a wall around him, blocking him from the public’s view and two officers started beating him with their batons. It was only then that he’d stop resisting and they’d finally got him into the vehicle and closed the door.

  Kevin turned and carefully got his body in a sitting position. He shook his head in pity, since he knew resisting wouldn’t have made a difference. He’d already done his part and was prepared to wait for the results.

  The vehicle started moving and he shifted his body in a more settled position to withstand the rough ride.

  He felt the vehicle exit the parking lot and made a sharp right turn and at that immediate moment he heard the deafening sound of a siren that lasted for only a few seconds. The siren brought the vehicle to a brief stop and Kevin got on his knees and went to the vent again.

  He could only see the vehicle behind in which Sean was being held and three additional vehicles that were all part of the convoy. The commotion was to the front but there was no way for him to know what was actually taking place.

  Kevin remained at the vent and after a few minutes had passed he saw three men dressed in black suits appeared and walk towards the vehicles and instructed the officers to come out.

  The men in the suits said something to the officers and they’d all gone out of sight.

  Kevin was anxious to know what was going on and after a short wait he heard a noise at the door and then it slid open. He kept his eyes in the direction and saw a tall dark-skinned man in a black suit standing in the darkness with a machine gun hanging across his chest. The man instructed Kevin to get out of the vehicle and Kevin went without hesitating.

  On his way out, Kevin noticed several black cars with blue blinking lights on both sides of the dashboard. He looked over his shoulder and saw that the Police Commissioner was being interviewed by a group of reporters.

  The man who had called him gently removed the handcuffs from where it was behind his back and placed it to the front instead. Kevin was amazed by the way he was being treated in such a short time.

  The man had then put him into one of the vehicles and when he looked to his side he saw Sean sitting next to him. They both looked at each other in silence and Kevin was glad to know that they were in good hands.

  Kevin noticed several reporters running towards the front of the vehicle and when he looked in the direction he saw the chief and six other officers being led into the back of two of the vehicles.

  He saw the reporters being stopped and turned away by a group of officers who had quickly formed a barrier in front of both vehicles.

  Almost forty-five minutes had gone by before the commissioner had walked away from the reporters and entered one of the vehicles and only then they were given the clearance to drive away.

  Kevin studied Sean’s quiet expression for a minute and then he placed his head on the seat in front of him and began thinking of what it would be like when he was actually free. He had no doubt that he’d have to serve some time and he was prepared for it.

  One thing he was proud of was the fact that he had finally corrected his mistakes and that was most important to him.

  He eventually sat upright and looked out the window as they sped pass the buildings and within a short time he began daydreaming of the smile on Shantel and his baby girl’s face as he walked over to them for the first time after his release.

  He smiled and made a promise to himself that when that day came he would be ready to dedicate all his time and effort to both of them. It was a promise he was willing to keep.

  It was two o’clock in the afternoon and Kevin was sitting in the arrival area of the airport. He was holding a large Disney character gift bag in his hand as he waited anxiously for Shantel to clear the immigration officers and come through the automatic doors. Persons had already started making their way through and that was making him more nervous.

  This would be the first time he’d be seeing his daughter after serving a three-year-long sentence. He also had a pending matter against the State. If won, he could be awarded up to $450,000 for damages.

  During his sentence, he would use inmates’ phones to communicate with Shantel who was staying at a family’s home in Miami with their daughter. She would also visit him on a regular basis whenever she returned to Trinidad. She would come alone since Kevin refused for his daughter to see him under such conditions. It was a difficult and emotional sacrifice, but he’d managed to survive through everything.

  Kevin saw the doors open and stood up when he saw Shantel and his daughter walk through dragging their bags behind.

  Shantel had noticed him and with a bright smile she made her way over to him and he stood and kept her in a warm hug for a while. His daughter was hiding behind Shantel. When Kevin had loosened his grip, he went down to his knees and presented his baby girl with her birthday present. She was hesitant at first, but after Shantel told her who he was, she took it and felt more comfortable being in his presence.

  After a few minutes in each other’s company, he reminded her of
their phone calls and the promises he had made and she’d finally accepted his hug. He held on to her with emotions beyond his expectations.

  He arranged the bags and they left the airport to enjoy the reunion they had dreamt of.