by A. G. Khaliq
“I need another beer,” came Fibonacci’s voice, as he angrily threw his beer can to the side.
He stormed out of the room, I guessed to get himself some more alcohol, before he would come back.
Heat roared in my ears, sweat beading on my forehead. My heartbeat was raising through the roof. I couldn’t waste any time. This was my only opportunity to escape…
I got up from the floor. My body was in excruciating pain from how much Fibonacci had beaten it earlier, but I had to will my body to move. I couldn’t stick around here for a second 164
longer.
I broke free from the cage, and began running. I ran for all I was worth, one foot after the other, one foot after the other, straight out of the building and on to the grassy field outside. I ran until my breathing became laboured. I couldn’t stop now.
FIBONACCI’S POINT OF VIEW
I made my way back into the punishment room, after gathering about five beer cans from the kitchen. I drank the beer, allowing it to burn down my throat, and course through my body.
Alcohol was like my medicine. My medicine and safe haven for whenever Maya infuriated me and made my blood boil to the point it almost dried up.
I looked towards the cage, as I continued to sip on the alcohol.
“Maya, did you understand what I said to you earlier babe?” I asked her. She needed to learn that I was punishing her to teach her a fucking lesson. It was always her fault. She pushed me to do this, as much as I loved her.
“Have you learnt the consequences of your 165
actions?”
The room was eerily quiet, and I received no response. Wow. Maya had some nerve to fucking defy me. She was supposed to obey my every command without answer. She was supposed to speak to me when I was speaking to her.
“Why isn't she responding to me?” I murmured furiously, my heart-beat raising through the roof. She made me so fucking angry, I wanted to strangle her and make her beg and plead for air as her body failed her and her lungs collapsed. Stupid whore.
I took another sip of beer, before tossing the can to the side, as I took steps closer to the cage, my chest heaving upwards and downwards as I balled my hand into a fist.
“DIDN’T I TELL YOU WHAT’LL
HAPPEN IF YOU DISOBEY ME?!” I roared.
I rattled the cage angrily, and it was then that I realized…
She wasn’t here!
The bitch escaped…
I let out a blood-curdling scream. There was no way that she was getting away from me that easily. She had another thing fucking coming if she thought that she could just pick up and leave me. She either stayed with me, till the 166
day she took her last breath…
Or I would kill her.
Wasting no time, I turned on my heel, bolting out of the building at full speed. She can’t have got far. This new punishment room that I set up was surrounded by miles and miles of farm-land. Acres and acres of it. The city was so far off, she couldn’t get there on foot without getting tired. She was a weak bitch. She would slip up soon, and then, she would be back in my arms…
The bitch was only wasting time and fooling herself if she thought that she could get away from me.
MAYA’S POINT OF VIEW
My whole body was in agony as I ran, because Fibonacci had beaten me earlier, and it was taking all the strength I had in me to keep on running.
I was barefoot, in just my knickers and a shirt…
But I didn't fucking care…
I needed to get away,
No matter what it takes.
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I hadn’t realized that Fibonacci had sent me to such a far-away place. He really had planned that I would have no way to escape.
There was so much dry desert, crop fields, looping hills…
I couldn’t help but to feel nervous that I wouldn’t be able to get away. How far would I have to run before I finally saw some people, or some cars? I didn’t fucking know.
What if my body failed me?
What if I truly was trapped?
I let out a sob as I heard Fibonacci’s voice approach me. I just hoped that the alcohol he’d been drinking had weakened his body and senses, so that he wouldn’t be able to catch up with me…
“You'll pay for defying me, Maya!”
“You're gonna regret this!”
“You stupid bitch!”
“After everything I've done for you…”
“You want to try and run away from me?!”
“You'll never escape!”
“There's no way out from this!”
“You belong to me, and nobody else!”
Tears streamed down my cheeks as Fibonacci’s loud, scary, authoritative voice boomed in my ears. It felt like he was about to 168
grab hold of me any second, and drag me back to that cage…
But still, I continued to run. I couldn’t stop. My body was so limp and weak, but I still ran and ran and ran…
Because my life literally depended on it.
It terrified me how Fibonacci was just paces behind me the whole time, He was a monster…
And he could catch up at any second, And I would be dead.
The last time that I would be reunited with my mother would be at my funeral, And everybody would be crying at my wasted potential.
I had to keep going…
It felt like I was fading in and out of unconsciousness. My vision was getting hazy. It felt like my lungs were failing me, because I wasn’t able to even stop to take a breath.
But then…
I saw cars.
I saw people.
I saw a highway.
It felt like my vision was playing tricks on me. I had to blink several times, just to make sure that I wasn’t dreaming.
I couldn’t believe my eyes. I’d made it. I’d 169
found people, I’d escaped the marshland…
I was almost there.
I’d almost broken free.
I bolted out on-to the road, desperately waving at a car to stop and help me.
“Taxi please!” I cried out.
I turned around, my heart thumping against my chest. Fibonacci had caught up with me, and he was about thirty seconds away from me…
But then…
A yellow taxi pulled up next to me. I quickly grabbed hold of the car door, and threw myself into the backseat, tears streaming down my face. Fibonacci caught up with the car, and he tried to wriggle his hand inside, but I slammed the door shut before he could.
I’d got away.
I’d got away by just a millimetre of a chance.
But I’d done it.
I’d escaped.
And now, I allowed the tears to fall properly, as I rocked my head backwards and forwards as the cab began to drive. I was still shaking and trembling from everything that had just happened…
And now,
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I only had God to thank.
FIBONACCI’S POINT OF VIEW
I bolted after the yellow cab, running as fast as my legs could carry me.
There was no way in hell that she was getting away from me that fast…
I was just millimetres away from her. I was just millimetres away from getting Maya back.
“For fuck's sake, run faster!” I roared at myself, pleading that my legs would pick up speed.
But I couldn’t keep up anymore. The taxi was driving even faster now, and it was getting impossible to reach it.
I stopped running, and I allowed the tears to fall from my cheeks.
“SHE’S GONE!” I howled.
I collapsed onto the road, sobbing as I rocked myself backwards and forwards.
Maya was gone…
My only purpose in life.
My love.
My possession.
She’d left me…
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I screamed, one scream after the other, and I couldn’t stop myself. I screamed until my voice went hoarse, and my throat went dry. I scream
ed until I could scream no more.
It felt like I would never stop screaming.
How could she betray me like this?! How could she betray me like this, after how much I loved her? How could she just throw it away like it meant nothing?!
Cars began screeching and honking at me, as I spun back to reality. If I allowed myself to get run over, I wouldn’t be able to ever get Maya back…
I had to keep on going. I had to find her, and to bring her back to me.
I got up on my feet, trotting away from the motorway, trying my best to keep myself straight in my shaken state.
This shit wasn’t fucking over.
BACK TO MAYA’S POINT OF VIEW
“Are you okay ma'am?” the taxi driver asked, with a concerned and worried expression on his face as he drove. “Would you like me to call the police? It looks like you're in a lot of trouble.”
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He sighed uneasily, furrowing his eyebrows as he stared at me in my shaken, psychotic state.
“Please don't call anybody…” I pleaded timidly. If he called anybody, then it would put me at risk even more. I needed to make sure that Fibonacci had no chance or possibility of finding me or where I was. “I need to get out of this city as soon as possible. Could you drop me off to the nearest train station?”
“Ma'am, it wouldn't be right for me to leave you until you are safe,” said the taxi driver seriously. “Especially after what I just witnessed.
You’re beaten and bruised… If you tell me where you want to go, I'll drive you there myself.”
“That's very kind of you,” I mumbled,
“And I owe you my life… But I don't want to put you in any danger, in case the psychopath tries to trace the number plate or something.” I broke off my sentence, as I continued to rock myself backwards and forwards, trying my best to regain my strength. “So please, just take me to the train station.”
The taxi driver opened his mouth to speak, but then closed it again. I guessed he realized that I was hell-bent on my decision, and there would be no changing my mind.
“As you wish, ma'am,” he said awkwardly, 173
and then changed the gear, allowing himself to drive faster.
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22
maya
I awoke from my dream, my heart pounding against my chest, as I regained awareness of my surroundings.
Another flashback…
I allowed myself a few more moments in bed to help myself feel better and spin back into reality, and realize that Fibonacci wasn’t here to hurt me.
I yawned loudly, before staring out of the window to see that it was daylight again. I didn’t 175
want to be late for work, or to call in sick again, so I got up out of my bed, and began making my way to the bathroom to take a shower. I needed to get ready for work.
I settled on wearing a white buttoned blouse, paired with black trousers and some black heels.
I made my way out of my apartment, and began walking to work.
I walked through several streets, allowing the wind to blow in my face and help to calm me and make myself feel better.
But as I walked through town on my way to work, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was being followed again.
I rubbed my chin thoughtfully, as I tried my best to analyse the surroundings.
I turned around to see if there was anybody there, but there was nobody there, yet again.
I rolled my eyes angrily. I could have sworn that I saw a shadow looming over me. I’d shrugged off the first time, but this was the second time that this happened now, so this couldn’t be a coincidence…
I sighed heavily, exasperated, deciding to ignore it again. I continued to walk down the 176
street, and stopped quickly to check the time on my phone.
I couldn’t help but to allow my mind to wander. I wondered how Mom was doing. I guessed that it wouldn't hurt to ring her off a payphone…
It wasn’t like I would be ringing her off my own phone or anything, so I wouldn’t be compromising the mission, would I? I needed to know how she was doing, with her being in a care home now, after all.
I nodded to myself, as I made my way to a payphone, and then began dialling in the number of the care home that Mom was being held in.
I held the phone against my ear, as I waited for somebody to pick up on the other end of the line.
“Hey Mom?”
I furrowed my eyebrows. I could hear a woman on the other end saying “Your daughter is on the phone for you.” I guessed that she was passing the phone to my mom.
There was a crackling on the line, before Mom’s voice began talking on the phone.
“Maya? Is that you?” Mom asked timidly, letting out a sigh.
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AN UNKNOWN PERSON’S POINT OF VIEW
WHO IS WATCHING MAYA ON THE
PAYPHONE WITH BINOCULARS
As I watched Maya on the payphone to her Mom, my heart hammered against my chest.
I couldn’t believe my eyes.
I couldn’t believe that it was really her, after all of this time…
I let out a sigh that I didn’t know I was holding. Even after all of this time, she looked so beautiful.
She looked happier, healthier, and ten times as sexy…
But I had to make myself scarce. I couldn’t let her see me here, or make her realize that she was being followed.
Or else it would be my own grave that I was digging.
She couldn’t know that I was in the city.
I needed to stay low-key…
For my sake,
And for hers.
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BACK TO MAYA’S POINT OF VIEW
“Yeah, it's me, Mom,” I replied down the line.
“How are you? How are they treating you in there?”
“I hate it here, Maya,” Mom mumbled.
“Please come back. They don't feed me enough, and a woman has been coming to my room every day, threatening to kick me out because the money instalment hasn't been paid.”
“What?” I said blankly.
Mom coughed up a sob, and I could feel my blood run cold. I balled my hand into a fist. I was shaking with rage. I couldn’t believe my fucking ears. This whole time, my mom hadn’t even been attended to or looked after properly.
She wasn’t even being fucking fed enough.
I couldn't believe that my boss hadn't been sending my mom money for her care! What a fucking asshole…
I was sure that there was a rational explanation behind all of this, because Boss had never done anything like this before when he’d taken me under his wing…
But I couldn't contact him, or I would risk 179
compromising the mission…
I rolled my eyes agitatedly, before letting out a sigh that I didn’t know I’d been holding. If I needed to send money to my mother as well…
Then I was going to have to pick up a night job here in Manhattan, too.
What I earnt at Indigo Limited wouldn't be enough for the both of us, and I couldn’t spend the money that I had earnt from the Secret Service, because my life had been wiped clean as Maya Bradshaw, so I didn’t even have access to the funds that I held under that name…
I was just fucking Sapphire Myers now.
I sighed heavily, exasperated, before holding the phone against my ear again.
“Don't worry, Ma,” I said timidly. “I'll send you some money next week. Tell the nurses to wait. I'll send you a little tonight so that they feed you some proper food.” I swallowed down a lump that had caught in my throat. “It's gonna come from an account that isn't mine because I'm at work, but don't worry okay?”
I didn’t want my mom to get confused from the money coming from an account with a name called Sapphire Myers. I knew that I shouldn’t send her money from my undercover identity account, but I didn’t see any other option. She needed care, and I would always 180
prioritize my mom over everything and anything, no matter what the
risks it entailed for me.
“Thank you Maya,” Mom whispered. “I love you. I'm going to go to sleep now. Take care.”
“Take care, Ma,” I mumbled, and then the line went dead.
I shoved the phone back onto the Payphone wall, and then rocked my head in my hands angrily.
“Fuck!” I snapped at myself. “I'm gonna have to sort out that cash fast, and find a way to send it, in a way that doesn't compromise the mission.”
I shook my fists angrily.
“I should keep walking to work.”
I turned on my heel, knowing that with the amount of time I’d wasted, I was probably going to be late for work.
I walked down a few streets, knowing that I was nearly at Indigo Limited. I stopped to check the time on my phone as I approached an alleyway, and then I felt my heart almost leap out of my chest as I looked up to see what the fuck was happening here.
“What's going on there?!” I denied, holding my face in my hands, mortified.
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I saw a woman trapped underneath a man against a wall. She was kicking and screaming at him, begging him to leave her alone. The man was pulling at her clothes aggressively.
“Leave me alone, you bastard!” the woman cried out, clutching her chest in fear as she froze to the spot in terror.
“Now, now, don't take that tone with me, Felicia…” the man murmured. “You know what'll happen to you if you defy me. The same fate that your brother Alfonze Michael had…”
The woman Felicia broke into sobs, her tears falling down to the floor as he continued to pull at her clothes. He was going to force himself on her,
Rape her…
I had to do something…
I had to step in…
As soon as I was about to take a step towards them, my blood ran cold. I stopped dead in my tracks, as I saw a familiar face approach them…
Donte grabbed hold of the man, pushing him off of her with such a force that he almost toppled backwards.
“Leave her alone, you fucking bastard!”
Donte roared.
“You bastard!” the man spat back, hurling 182
