Antonio sat there for a while thinking, he knew that logo very well; it was a logo of the mafia boss’s hotel, Lux; the hotel was one of the most prestigious ones in the city, only rich people can afford to enter there, middle-class people could not afford to spend even a night here and the likes of him could not even walk passed the entrance of the hotel. Yuri the mafia boss’s penthouse was there, and the place was a fortress with state-of-the-art security. He thought of returning the money but the problem was that he could only get as far as across the street from the entrance of the hotel.
But then again, he knew what would happen to him should he return the money; he stole from a man no one dared to steal from and he knew what he was capable of. He had seen how his men killed people on the streets and have heard a lot of things about Yuri. So, either way, he was as good as dead. Then he thought of how he has been struggling on the streets for years now, he thought of the cold tar on the side of the road he sleeps on, the dirty clothes he wore, and the trash cans he has eaten on.
Then decided, if he was going to die then he might as well die having experienced a little of the good life, a life he has never experienced before, a life of luxury. He turned and stared at the case then slowly stood up. He pulled the case close to him then took a stack of the cash and stuffed it in his pocket then closed the case. He turned and scanned the room for his jacket. He saw it laying right behind the couch; he bent down and picked it up then wore it.
He looked at himself in the mirror, he even lost the color of his skin, he was dirty and the smell was not so pleasant even though he was used to it by now. He did not want to die like this, like a dog that no one will care about, he shook his head then took the case and hid it under his arm and covered it with the big jacket then went out of the room. The woman was still at the front desk when he got out; he placed the keys to the room then left without saying a word.
He looked around then hailed a cab that was passing by; the driver was probably going home to sleep, but he stopped, anyway; It surprised him he did because they don’t normally stop for the likes of him; he got in then spoke. “To the mall.” He told the driver who could not help but look at the back seat through the rearview mirror, it was because of the smell that he looked and when he saw him, he regretted stopping.
“Don’t worry I have money” he told him when he did not drive, he took out the money and handed him two hundred dollars. The driver started the car and drove off. Antonio thought about how he might not be let into any store looking like that and smelling so badly and asked the driver for help. “Listen, I will give you $500 if you could help me with a shower and change of clothes before going to the mall.” The driver had little luck today and has made little money.
His offer was tempting as he thought about it, what harm could it do? It was just a shower and a change of clothes. The driver decided. “I can help with that, my friend doesn’t live far from here and he's out of town for a couple of days, I know where he put his spare key so, I guess we can go there.” The driver told him; he did not answer but nodded in agreement. The driver gave him a small smile then drove to his friend’s house, upon arrival he took the spare key and opened the house.
He showed him where the bathroom was then left him to shower while he went to look for some clothes for him and shoes. Antonio took two hours in the shower thoroughly cleaning himself up, removing all the dirt he had, despite that, he did not feel clean enough; it has been years since he took a bath and his hair was so long and had a lot of knots. His beard had also grown so much with its own knots that he tried to remove with a brush.
He went out then after drying himself and saw the clothes that the driver brought for him and wore them. He looked better than he even did in years; he felt lighter even like a load had been lifted off his shoulder, and he did not feel like a man that was living his last days. Instead, he felt like he had been reborn but each time he thought of Yuri, fear would creep into his heart and would shiver at the thought but that was not enough to stop him from what he wanted to do with the money.
He went out and found the driver waiting for him; he was still carrying the case as he went into the bathroom with it. He took out the $500 from the stack in his packet then gave it to the driver; the driver smiled and thanked him. He then drove him to the mall as promised, the mall was quiet this time of night; he went into the first store and bought him several suits as he liked them. When he was on the streets, he would watch and admire business owners in suits walking by and wished that he could own one as well.
He bought suits, shirts, underwear, vests, belts, shoes, and ties. He then went to the jewelry store and got himself several watches to go with the suits. He bought himself a cell phone then went to the public bathrooms and changed into one suit. He looked so handsome in it like they made it just for him, his lips twitched resembling something that looked like a smile, he liked this look. He went out now wearing a suit and carrying a new case with the money.
He found a barber and cut his hair then trimmed his beard nicely, how with his look complete he looked nothing like the homeless man he was a few hours ago, now he looked like a respectable business executive people would give respect to without being asked. At the barber, he asked them to help him get a rental car, an SUV, and a driver for a few days. It was easy to get what he wanted and in a few minutes, a car stopped just outside the barber.
He got out and went to the car; he stood there admiring it before he got into the open door the driver held for him. “Lux hotel.” He told the driver if he was going to die, he might as well not make the man look too hard for him, he can find him right at his hotel and can do what he wants with him. He sat in the car like a sophisticated man looking out the window, the drive was not long as the road was empty, and the car stopped in front of Lux.
The driver got out and opened the door for him. He got out then looked at the hotel he has been looking at from across the street for years and it looked so much better up close. He went inside and straight to the front desk. A beautiful lady stood behind the desk, she was well dressed and wore a smile on her face. She looked nothing like the lady in the motel downtown, he could clearly see the difference in status.
“Hello sir, how may I help you?” asked the lady, it felt good to be called sir, instead of being called names daily, just to be treated with respect felt good. “Hello, I would like your best room or a pant house if you have one available.” He requested; the lady smiled at him then clicked away on her computer before looking back at him. “We have one of our small penthouses available, it is not as small as you might think but is smaller than the other three, we have, and it will be perfect for you.” The lady told him.
“I will take it; I am not sure how long I will stay but for now book it for a week then I will let you know of any changes.” He told her. “Perfect.” All the procedure was done, and he was shown to the penthouse. It was beautiful with a marvelous view of the city; he sighed and place his briefcase on the couch then ordered something to eat. He then went and stood by the window looking out in the night. “Well, Mr. Yuri, I guess you won’t have to look far to find me, but until then, I will be waiting.” He said then took a puff of the cigarette he had dangling between his fingers.
“Where the fuck is my money Jacob?” asked Yuri standing by the window looking out into the night, his right-hand man Jacob and his third went to collect this evening. But something happened along the way and they lost the money including important documents. They had no valid explanation of where the money went or who took it. His second was standing by the door with his head bowed, the walking stick he carries was visibly shaking, he was afraid for his life, no one made such mistakes with Yuri’s money and live till the next day. “Boss we left the car to deal with that man and when we went back the money was gone, we did not see who took it and we asked around but no one saw anything, but I promise we will resume the search in the morning and we will find the money. Someone must have seen or heard something.” Jacob explained to his boss, he still had hope that he will understand, he knew the person Yuri was yet he still had hope that maybe this time, he will give him a chanc
Antonio I have been living at Lux hotel for more than a week now, I have extended my stay when the Russian’s people did not show to collect the money or kill me and I have been living my best life. Getting this money has forwarded me the opportunity to live my dream even if it is only for a short while but it is worth it. I am not proud of stealing this money but anyone who has was homeless will tell you that it is a jungle out there. The survival of the fittest and is not for the weak. The people I met when the streets first became my home lost the race and died for one reason or another. Even the man that treated me like a son when the man who made me did not even know if am alive of dead also died a few years back. I do not know what happened to him, but I know that he was sick, on the day he died though he was fine, he woke up early like he usually did when he was okay and went looking for food for us. He came back with a lot of food and
Antonio I see the look of envy in the people’s eyes whenever I pass, the way they look at the clothes I am wearing, and the car I ride in. The envy in their eyes I know all too well, I used to be like them and wished I was like those people who had everything in life, those who dressed well, rode in luxury cars, ate nice food every day. At least the way I saw them back then they looked like they had everything in life but I couldn’t be more wrong. These people had their own demons that they deal with every day and then put on a mask for the world outside when they go out. Same with me, they envy me thinking that I have it all figured out but they couldn’t be more wrong. The clothes I am wearing are my mask that is covering the years of dirt accumulated from the street. The suits, the car, and even the money they wished they had are not mine. I didn’t work hard for it as they do theirs; I stole it and if they knew how my life is, they would re
Antonio DJ and I worked till the early hours of the morning. The more he explained about the investments he was making with the money the more I understood, his banker came around three in the morning and took the money then gave us both black cards. With some of the money, we bought an accounting firm that was going bankrupt, and we invested the other in different companies. The banker left at around five in the morning; he was happy to be working with DJ again and told him a lot about how his wife spent all the money over the years. He told him she was selling the company now since she could no longer maintain it, I could see that DJ wanted it back, so I spoke to the banker aside and told him to buy the company when its value is low enough. I asked him not to tell DJ until everything was done, and the company is under his name again. We went to bed after that, and I was exhausted. A loud sound that shook the building woke us up, I jump out
Yuri I adjusted my tie when we got to the car; I have asked one of my men to run a check on those guys at the hotel. No one stays under my roof without me knowing who they are and the person who let them stay still needs to answer for that. I could have been killed because of their stupidity and I can’t have that from the people that work for me. Now my brothers have arrived, and it’s time I get my hand dirty and find this case myself. I am also admiring the person who stole it; I mean one, no one steals from me and he did that. Two no one ever hides from me for this long so that means he is crafty; three no one had ever made me feel the need to bring my Russian brothers here, but he did. Therefore, I feel like this person is more than what meets the eye, right now we are going back to basics, tracing my men’s steps from that night to see if we missed anything. As much as I want to kill him for what he did, I want to meet him more and get to
Yuri The drive back to the hotel is silent, I can see Boris keep stealing glances at me through the rearview mirror. He has questions I can see but I will say nothing until he does; they frustrate me sometimes. They don’t have the balls to stand up to me or even ask questions. I get I am not an approachable man but I have killed no one for asking questions. Well, except those I don’t like. “Boss,” he calls out and I look at him. His grip on the steering wheel tightens, how ridiculous! “I just want to know if we are giving up on finding the case.” I would like to believe that my people know me better than that, especially Boris who has been working for me for years now. And yet, he still asks the most stupid questions ever! The kid must do better than this. I don’t answer Boris because that shit he asked doesn’t deserve an answer; we drive past downtown and I see the beautiful hole Michail put in the middle of downtown J City. I smirked lookin
Antonio My shoulder hurts like a bitch, that damn Russian! But fuck am alive. I am still alive and he wants me to work for him. I don’t know why and I don’t think I want to ask. Or he might just be another bullet in me. DJ helps me clean my wound, he is quiet as he busied himself with the task at hand. “Say something.” His silence is bothering me now, DJ is never this quiet. “I am just trying to process the fact that we are still alive and now working for the Mafia.” He tells me and I am baffled. I think his logic is screwed. “How are you not happy that we are still alive? Or did you prefer us dead?” I asked not able to grasp the logic behind what he said. “No, but we are now targeting only he knows the man seems to like you. I saw the way he was looking at you like it fascinated him.” He tells me but I disagree. There is no way the guy who just put a hole in my shoulder with a bullet likes me. “Well, if he likes me as you say which I disagre
Antonio On the drive back the girl was shaking like a leaf and I just stared out the window watching the buildings go by. One day she will understand that I had no choice, that this life does not differ from the jungle, and that, humans will always choose themselves over anything else. “You killed him.” She says with a shaky voice and I glanced at her. “So?” I asked then looked back at the window. “You killed my father!” she said this time louder, but I did not look at her, I did not need to see the state she was in to understand how she was feeling or what I did. I know, I lost my soul in the process too. “Again, I ask, so?” I asked her, I know she does not have an answer to that and I was not expecting one. I just need her to shut the hell up! “I told you I…” I cut her shot before she says something stupid that will force me to kill her too. “Shut the fuck up! Annoying bitch, what makes you think I care about your father or you?” I know tho