12.

I'm stranded. I don't know anywhere here. I'm in Bayamo. Great. Now where?

I walk and walk and walk and walk until I arrive at a dumpsite. Then I spot a small shade. When life throws a boomerang at you, throw it back. I create my own room; from the components in my bag and from the stuff I can see. The last thing I need a peg I can use to hold my nose. The stench is bearable anyway.

I close my eyes and open them forty-two minutes later. I hear voices. Rapid Spanish speaking voices.

'Have you found it?', a feminine voice says. It's like she's talking through her nose or something. 'No ma'am. She disappeared. And there is nothing in her vehicle to show us where she is, neither is there anything to show us where it is', another voice says. Masculine.

'I'm sure she's seen the note. She'd be freaking out wherever she is', the lady says.

Are they talking about me? I stand up and slither to the area of the voices. Two men and a woman. I keep staring, but I cannot recognize any of them.

Soon after the woman and one man enter a car and drive off. Their partner looks around. I lower my head. He stands there for about thirteen minutes, then another car comes. I can't stay here again. I sneak behind piles of trash with my luggage, making as little noise as I can. At least these guys obey me. I still remember my experience in the condo.

A figure steps out of the car, but I'm too busy moving to look at his/her face. I have my life to think about. I also have my freedom from that organization to think about.

'Have you seen her?'. 'No sir. She's disappeared'. 'Have those people contacted you?'.

'They left not quite long ago. I'm feeling very bad, betraying them like this'. 'You'll be highly rewarded Lionel. You know that. You'd get so much you'll be able to buy that company'.

I stop tip-toeing and crane my head. This is a betrayal story. Ha.

The first man bows his head. 'Yes sir'. 'Good. The information'.

'She disappeared after killing a staff at the villa. They are looking for her now, and so are we. But we've not had a trace of her for the past three hours'.

Sounds like they're looking for me. I feel popular now.

The second man digs his hands into his coat pocket. Even in the dim-lit night, I can see how expensive that coat is. In other words, he smells of money. Why would such a rich person be looking for me?

Answer: I'm after his bombs. Or is it?

'We have to find her. She has a lot of information which we cannot let out of our grasp. Find her, and I want her alive', the second man says, then enters the passenger seat of the car and it moves away.

The first man- Lionel- grimaces and waits for some minutes again, then another car appears. I'm curious to see who this is now. An elderly man comes out of the car and walks towards him. They shake hands and the first man receives a bag.

'This is for your good work. Now where is she?'.

'Here in Bayamo the last time I checked. But we're still looking for her. We promise to find her as soon as possible'.

'And those other people?'. 'They know also. But if you pay me well...'. 'In that bag there is a hundred million pesos. Get more info, and you might reach five hundred. Make sure you find her exact location. Got that?'.

For an elderly man he's got a lovely voice, I comment in my brain. Lionel grimaces again. 'Yes. I get that'. 'Good'. The man walks away. I almost whistle. Three different groups. Same info. If I had such smartness I'd have found a way to leave the Deville company before getting myself into a situation that has made me homeless.

Finally Lionel leaves; that is, after over thirty minutes of keeping me waiting. I pick my bag and make for the gate fifteen minutes later after he does; extra time for him to be as far away as possible.

As my feet crosses the front door, I feel something cold touch my neck.

'And where do you think you're going?', Lionel's voice growls.

Not again.

'Uh, home. Where else?', I reply, swallowing constantly as the feel of the cold steel on my neck intensifies. Then I realize it's not a gun, it's a knife. And he's opening my skin with it. I bite my lip and take in the sting.

'That's a lie. What did you hear?', he replies, and the knife goes even deeper. My skin burns a little, and my nerves begin to cry in pain.

'Hear? What do you mean by that?', I answer, feigning ignorance. That's the thing; You say the truth, you get killed. You don't say the truth...uh, we're coming to that. 'I saw you clearly. Tell me, what did you hear?'.

'If you saw me as you said, you'd have also seen that I had earplugs on. But you didn't, so...'. My hand shoots out and latches itself onto his wrist, then pulls so hard and fast his head connects with my knee. He looks up in shock. My knee jacks up and he groans, then falls to the floor again.

Shoot and run. No, not now.

With pity, I look at him. 'Get out'.

Just as I turn, from the corner of my eye I see him running with a dagger. Without looking, I throw mine. He lands on the floor. I smile satisfactorily and walk away. Would have taken the picture but I've got work to do. Lots of them. I walk as fast as I can, trying to look as normal as possible. It's useless. Even in the U.S, a lady holding a bag and walking like I am with ruffled brown hair and a serious look is not normal. How much more here?

Anyway, I keep walking until I spot something. Guess what it is. No, it's not a human. Nope, not a cat. Definitely not a huge tiger.

It's my baby!

'Those crazy men', I mutter as I look over my car, making sure there's no one watching. I'd crawl into a hole and die if there is. Joking. 'Did they hurt you?'. Yup. I'm the crazy one.

Now as an agent, there's one lesson I know. "Nothing good comes easy". My car's in perfect shape. Well, apart from the front screen and tires...but we can fix that. I pick a device from my bag and use it to survey the entire vehicle. Safe. I look for the nearest repair guy, and when he's done, I throw my bag in and make my way out of that area. I know there'll be people looking for me around since my car was there.

Forty-two minutes later I'm stranded again. The fuel's gone, and there is no station in sight. I exit the car and place my back on its side on the pavement, then look around. Left, right...and left again.