Chapter 3

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 we ate together. He said to me ‘You know, this meal is what I have always wanted to taste for a long time now, but I never had money to buy it, but I saved and managed to make 40$ to get this meal for the both of us. It is my last meal and now I can die a happy man.’ I kept nodding as I sat by his side eating the food, to be honest I was nothing paying attention to what he was saying, my only focus was on the food I was eating, it was not from a dumpster, so it tasted even better.

I did not know that he was going to die, had I known I would have stayed by his side and made sure that he does not die alone. The man took care of me when I first got to the streets and showed me how to survive out there. He was the closest thing I had to a father. After eating he told me to go about my day hustling for something to eat in the evening, that is the life out there, we do not worry about anything else, just where our next meal will come from and life was simple.

I have done a lot with the money; I went on a boat that took me to the middle of the ocean and I got to see dolphins. They were moving around the boat doing whatever dolphins do but what matters it that it was a beautiful sight to see, one that I never thought I would ever get to see and at that moment I realized that indeed, the best things in life are free.

I also went to the zoo for the first time, as silly as that may sound, I never got to go to the zoo when I was a kid and the downside of it all was that I loved animals. I always felt like their lives were much simpler than ours were, they always fascinated me, and I thought that when I go to college, I will study and be a zoologist. But I was an orphan, one of the unlucky ones, the ones that never got picked by adoptive parents.

I only went as far as middle school and that was as much schooling someone like me could ever get. I don’t have an education, but I have been told that I am smart but to me it comes naturally, I never wanted to look stupid in front of people, so I made sure to ask question about everything I needed to know, and I never forget. If a saw something, best believe that I will never forget it even the smallest details of it.

I remember whenever families would come to the orphanage, we would be so excited thinking that this time it might be us, we would wake up early and bath then dress nice with either one of the two pieces of clothing that was kept for such occasions. They would come and look at us as we stood there anxious with nervous smiles on our faces. They would look at us like they were trying to make a choice on which piece of clothing to buy, but we were human.

I never knew how degrading what they did was until now, see when you desperate for something, you do not even see the bullshit that comes with it, we did not see it either and we were kids, we knew no better and all we wanted was a home, a family, love, and most of all regular meals as they were not so regular at the orphanage. It was crowded and the food was never enough.

I walked out of Lux and into the night. My driver was waiting patiently for me, the night was peaceful as it has been for the past week and a half. Now this is not a normal night for J City, this city is always busy, there is traffic all the time on the road, I have seen it and I know that this past week has not been normal. Something is wrong and I have an idea what.

In this city the people have learnt to notice the changes, when everything is okay you will see every car on the road and people walking on the street. But when things go south people hide behind their high walls until the storm blows over. I do not get how this storm is still brewing though because I thought by now, I would have been caught and probably dead.

I sniffed the air one more time before taking long strides to the car and slide in through the open door my driver held for me. “Where to sir?” he asked and whenever he called me sir my heart would swell with happiness. It silly I know but I never thought anyone would ever call me sir, my life was pretty much dull, and I was supposed to live like a stray dog on the streets until I die for whatever reason and then be buried like a dog as well that no one would remember.

But here am I being called sir because of stolen mafia money and I feel good about it. “Today I just want to take a drive downtown, to check on things.” I told him, I think it is time I went back and blessed the guys that had my back on the streets but am mostly going for one man, they call him DJ, the man is very educated you hear from the way he speaks and how he words each sentence that it comes from a scholar.

The man used to be called a Childe, in his hometown way before he lost everything because of a woman, typical of rich men, always falling because of women. Right now, I need his advice in case I am never discovered, I need to put this money to good use and for it to benefit me for the longest of time if all goes well. For me to be able to achieve that goal I need DJ by my side, I trust that man with my life.

The same life of mine he saved once, I almost died a few years back with pneumonia, I do not know what DJ did or how he managed to get me into a private hospital with all expenses paid but he did it and never told me how. That is the kind of man I need by my side and I am going to take him with me. We drove downtown and I saw DJ pushing his trolley by the side of the road.

“Stop right here.” I told my drive already a smile playing on my lips, DJ is the one person that managed to bring back a smile on my face after Luke died. I rolled down the window and called out to him. “DJ!” He ignores me and continues to walk. I chuckled thinking about how he used to say, never pay any mind to rich people when they hoot at you, its not worth it because they only want to make themselves feel better by giving you a few cents then the next time expect you to cover a murder for them.

Some of the things he used to say I think they happened in his past, but he never talks about it. “DJ, its Tony.” He stops then turn slowly to look at me with my head pocking out of the car, he comes close and looks at the car for a while then back at me. “The streets have ears and eyes. Even the wind can hear these days, it would be much better to go underground like rat to avoid the noise.” I knew instantly what he means as I gave him subtle nod.

“Well, I came for you, we need to discuss about the conditions under which you live in on these streets and if I get everything I need I might even sponsor a homeless shelter around here.” I have no choice but to speak in code, a language only he and I understood. Because I do not know my driver that well and I do not trust him enough with my life when DJ says the streets are talking.

I knew they were judging by how quiet they have been, and I know that DJ has already put two and two together when he saw me in this car. He comes in the back with me then sighs and put his head on his hands. I know that he is frustrated when he does this, but I will explain everything to him soon.