trying to shake off the slow inertia effect of the potent drug.
“You poisoned me!” he exclaimed and removed a gun from his pocket. A sheen of sweat glistened off his forehead as he took aim at me.
“No! No! That is not a drug. I would never do such a thing!” I feigned sincerity. My heart was in my throat, beating so fast it felt like I was about to regurgitate it.
Awkwardly, he reached into his other pocket with the hand that was handcuffed to the briefcase. He winced painfully and removed a cell phone. He muttered something in his foreign language to himself as he dialed. The only word I could recognize was Andrei. He must have been calling his cousin.
No answer.
He staggered some more. His legs were becoming more languid by the minute. He almost stumbled and fell as he panted, struggling to breathe. Beads of sweet descended off his forehead. His face turned crimson red. He looked almost deranged. That’s when I heard him mutter something that sent chills down my spine.
“Nestor…” he said and aimed the gun at my head.
He prepared to shoot as he did a stutter step. His face twisted into a grimace. Vision obscured, he batted his eyes, staggered some more, and passed out. He fell flat on his back. The gun careened across the carpet as he landed in a heap. His head struck a chair, causing it to topple over. I almost vomited. I was sick to my stomach, nauseated with fear.
My first instinct told me to run, but I couldn’t. I looked at the unconscious Makar, sprawled out on the floor with the briefcase filled with hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of diamonds shackled to his wrist. The television continued to blare inaudibly.
I moved quickly. My mind was on autopilot, my body was possessed by something that controlled me. I glanced at the Rolex watch on my wrist that Mark had given me. It was 8:54. I needed to be out before nine o’clock, perhaps sooner. The voice in my head was telling me to leave. I grabbed the steak knife off the table, walked over to Makar, and bent down next to him. I began to pick the locks on the briefcase. My hands were shaking so badly, I could hardly get the edge of the blade in the lock. I worked laboriously to open the briefcase. To my dismay, the locks were solid steel. The knife would only bend, no matter how I tried to manipulate it into the stubborn lock.
“Shit!”
Chapter Eight
Bloody Diamonds
8:59 PM
I worked feverishly, trying to get the briefcase open. The dictation in my head was warning me, telling me to leave. Then suddenly, I had an idea. It must have come from the netherworld of thoughts that inhibited my mind like some evil incantations. A presage from my great-grand mother moved me.
“God forgive me for what I’m about to do.” I said to myself as I pressed the sharp edge of the knife to Makar’s wrist and closed my eyes. I began the macabre task of sawing his hand off.
In the span of two hours, I had possibly murdered two men. I thought as I looked over at Makar lying on the floor, bleeding to death. Instantly, my mind flashed back to what my grandfather had told me about my ancestor, Mary Buck. Like it or not, I had exceeded her ruthlessness, I was a murder!
God help me!
__________
Moments after I had completed the gory amputation, with briefcase in hand and the sordid smell of blood in my nostrils, I wiped myself clean with the tablecloth and headed for the door. Makar’s severed hand lay on the floor as blood ran like a river. The compunction of what I’d done weighed heavily on my mind, but the diamonds in the suitcase I was carrying weighed heavier.
As soon as I reached the door to exit, someone knocked. I almost jumped out of my skin. My heart almost jumped out of my chest. A key was inserted into the hotel door. I heard voices on the other side. Whoever it was, was about to enter. I peered through the peephole and looked straight into the face of none other
“You poisoned me!” he exclaimed and removed a gun from his pocket. A sheen of sweat glistened off his forehead as he took aim at me.
“No! No! That is not a drug. I would never do such a thing!” I feigned sincerity. My heart was in my throat, beating so fast it felt like I was about to regurgitate it.
Awkwardly, he reached into his other pocket with the hand that was handcuffed to the briefcase. He winced painfully and removed a cell phone. He muttered something in his foreign language to himself as he dialed. The only word I could recognize was Andrei. He must have been calling his cousin.
No answer.
He staggered some more. His legs were becoming more languid by the minute. He almost stumbled and fell as he panted, struggling to breathe. Beads of sweet descended off his forehead. His face turned crimson red. He looked almost deranged. That’s when I heard him mutter something that sent chills down my spine.
“Nestor…” he said and aimed the gun at my head.
He prepared to shoot as he did a stutter step. His face twisted into a grimace. Vision obscured, he batted his eyes, staggered some more, and passed out. He fell flat on his back. The gun careened across the carpet as he landed in a heap. His head struck a chair, causing it to topple over. I almost vomited. I was sick to my stomach, nauseated with fear.
My first instinct told me to run, but I couldn’t. I looked at the unconscious Makar, sprawled out on the floor with the briefcase filled with hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of diamonds shackled to his wrist. The television continued to blare inaudibly.
I moved quickly. My mind was on autopilot, my body was possessed by something that controlled me. I glanced at the Rolex watch on my wrist that Mark had given me. It was 8:54. I needed to be out before nine o’clock, perhaps sooner. The voice in my head was telling me to leave. I grabbed the steak knife off the table, walked over to Makar, and bent down next to him. I began to pick the locks on the briefcase. My hands were shaking so badly, I could hardly get the edge of the blade in the lock. I worked laboriously to open the briefcase. To my dismay, the locks were solid steel. The knife would only bend, no matter how I tried to manipulate it into the stubborn lock.
“Shit!”
Chapter Eight
Bloody Diamonds
8:59 PM
I worked feverishly, trying to get the briefcase open. The dictation in my head was warning me, telling me to leave. Then suddenly, I had an idea. It must have come from the netherworld of thoughts that inhibited my mind like some evil incantations. A presage from my great-grand mother moved me.
“God forgive me for what I’m about to do.” I said to myself as I pressed the sharp edge of the knife to Makar’s wrist and closed my eyes. I began the macabre task of sawing his hand off.
In the span of two hours, I had possibly murdered two men. I thought as I looked over at Makar lying on the floor, bleeding to death. Instantly, my mind flashed back to what my grandfather had told me about my ancestor, Mary Buck. Like it or not, I had exceeded her ruthlessness, I was a murder!
God help me!
__________
Moments after I had completed the gory amputation, with briefcase in hand and the sordid smell of blood in my nostrils, I wiped myself clean with the tablecloth and headed for the door. Makar’s severed hand lay on the floor as blood ran like a river. The compunction of what I’d done weighed heavily on my mind, but the diamonds in the suitcase I was carrying weighed heavier.
As soon as I reached the door to exit, someone knocked. I almost jumped out of my skin. My heart almost jumped out of my chest. A key was inserted into the hotel door. I heard voices on the other side. Whoever it was, was about to enter. I peered through the peephole and looked straight into the face of none other
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