CHAPTER 14 #2
“Once the boat stops, the—” I catch the kids paying attention to what I’m saying, so I baby-proof my words. “—the evil minions will make sure all the party guests stay at the bow of the ship, so no one sees me taking you out to the back.”
The wife looks toward the door. Even locked inside here, the sounds of the party can still be heard. “Was the party planned, too?”
“Yes, my best friend is taking care of that upstairs,” I explain.
“My father’s men are terrified of dealing with witnesses.
If there’s a crowd near anything that could incriminate the family, they won’t stick around.
The second you’re in the water, they’ll pretty much drive off without looking back.
That, plus… once you’re overboard, they’re finally allowed to drink, so they’ll be in a rush to leave. ”
“And that way they won’t see the other boat picking us up,” the husband says.
“Exactly. Now rest for a bit. You’ll need it.”
I take the phone that’s showing the camera’s live feed and watch it while the family talks together.
Every now and then, I glance over at the family. Even though this situation is beyond terrifying, they’re handling it so well, leaning on one another for support. Watching them, I can’t help but wonder if Damián’s family is just like this.
Which, they probably are.
I bet they are loving, funny, and incredibly strong.
I know I’ll never get to meet them. Damián made me promise that no matter what happens, nothing about us or our situation will ever reach his family.
And I get it, I really do.
But some days, especially when I see a family as loving and amazing as this one, I let myself imagine what it would be like.
I imagine they like me… hopefully, since I am crazy about their son and brother.
I imagine we eat on Sundays together, and that I am invited to Christmas or other things families do together. I imagine cuddling with Damián as we watch kids’ shows with Carlitos, and I imagine Fernanda showing me how to play the guitar.
What it would feel like to finally be a part of a real family.
A family I could be proud of.
A family that loved me back.
TING. TING.
The first alarm sounds and I check the clock.
“Almost time…” I tell the husband. “Once we’re outside, you’ll follow me.
One of the men will be throwing chum into the ocean to ‘attract’ sharks.
Don’t worry, it’s actually rotting dead shark meat, so real sharks will stay far away from you…
It will smell like absolute death, though, so I apologize in advance… Any questions?”
“Do we just jump?” he asks.
“No. I’ll line you up, take a picture as proof for my father, and then I’ll push you… Just a heads-up, I’m going to push you hard, so you fall a safe distance from the propeller. It’ll be off when you drop, but once we drive away, it won’t be.”
“Okay…” the wife says, looking nervously at her five-year-old.
“Don’t worry, you can carry the smaller kids in your handcuffed arms…
. Oh, and I almost forgot.” I dig out a small menthol stick and hand it to the father.
“Before I cuff you, I need you and your wife to rub this under your eyes. It’s going to make you cry like a maniac, so it looks like I’ve been torturing you…
which, to be fair, I sort of am… getting that stuff in your eyes is absolute torture. ”
“What happens if any of your men decide not to follow the plan? If one just decides to…” The husband lowers his voice so the kids won’t hear. “…shoot us.”
“That won’t happen, because I made sure it wouldn’t,” I say, but they both still look unsure.
And well, I don’t blame them.
“Look, I know I look young and have the worst reputation, but trust me, everything I do is deliberate. Everything has a purpose… For example, did you see the man who walked onto the boat with us? The one with the limp?”
“Yes.”
“I gave him that limp. A year after we started doing this, he thought it was his place to hurt a man. So, I shot him in the knee.”
The parents’ eyes go wide.
“Do you know why I shot him specifically in the knee?”
They both shake their heads.
“So he would limp for the rest of his life. Because with time, people tend to forget the things they once feared. But his limp is a constant reminder, not just to him, but to everyone else, of what happens if they step out of my routine.”
“Holy fuc—”
BEEP! BEEP!
The five-minute alarm blares, cutting him off.
I reach over to silence it and clap my hands together once, forcing a smile so they can feel confident in my confidence… if that makes sense.
“Okay! Are we ready?”
They nod, and I pray… because, holy fuck, here comes the hardest part.
For the last few minutes, I turn the wait into a game for the kids, seeing who can be the best quiet magician and who will be the first to spot the magical mermaid once they are in the ocean.
By the time the engines finally cut out, the cabin is clean from toys and snacks, the family is bound, and their eyes are convincingly red, puffy, and full of tears from the menthol.
So once ready, I take my awesome Jurassic Park shaving cream can and wait for the knock.
On the screen, we watch Castor limp up to the door and knock.
“Come in,” I say.
He steps inside. “The men have pushed the party to the front.”
“Good job,” I reply, and hum the Jurassic Park theme song as I slide the vials of their hair into the fake can and twist it shut. I toss it into my duffel bag, snap the lock closed, and draw my gun, leveling it right at the husband. “Let’s go, pretty boy.”
From then on, everything went exactly to plan.
I lined the family up at the edge while Castor held my duffel bag. I then took pictures of them for proof with a Polaroid, and honestly… They looked genuinely terrified.
But I guess even when you know it’s a setup, being thrown into the pitch-black ocean is pretty scary. Still, it always helps sell the lie perfectly.
Once everything was done, I pushed them, and just as planned, as soon as they hit the water, our boat sped away.
Afterward, I came back to the cabin to change my clothes and to make sure everything was in place.
BZZT! BZZT!
I open my texts, and I see one from Tom.