FIFTY-TWO

EVANGELISTA'S POV

When I was brought into an extremely beautiful room, decorated in all black and a touch of red, I knew that there was no turning back on what I had said. It was a huge risk to let the people in Zuri's camp know that I was related to Israel, but at that moment I had no other option. That was it; or I would have to accept the fact that I was going to become a sex worker.

At the back of my mind, I knew that even though I was going to assist Zuri to find Israel, it was not going to guarantee my freedom. They could still find Israel and still kill me or send me off to become a sex worker. It dawned upon me why Israel emphasised that I should never tell anyone my real name. Zuri and her team all knew me as Leah, and they believed I was Leah. Not that anyone cared much about my identity anyway, they hardly ever spoke to me, and when they did, I was usually referred to as the girl, or that babysitter, even after they had known that I was not Anisha.

While I sat on a very expensive looking couch in the room, I told myself that Israel had to stand up for himself. I was finally selling him out because I had no other option. I loved him a lot as my brother; I knew he led a very dark life, although I had no specifics of what he did. I believed that even if I sold him out, he was going to be able to fight his way out of danger, and would one day forgive me. Israel was the only family I had, after our parents died while I was still very young; he took care of me and my late brother Vice.

After what seemed like eternity, Zuri walked in, closely followed by Troy. They closed the door behind them, Zuri stared at me for a very long time before she said, "tell me, how do you know Israel Bassard?"

"Israel is brother to my best friend," I lied.

"And who is your best friend?"

"Her name is Evangelista Bassard." I maintained a straight face.

Zuri turned to Troy and said, "check on social platforms; do we have anyone by that name?"

I knew they were not going to find anything. I had never used my real name on any social media platforms, after my brother told me never to do that. Instead, I used my nickname and besides, I was not very active on social media.

"There's nothing", Troy said. "It seems Israel did a good job of hiding this sister of his. We won't find anything. Just give her the phone, let her make the call"

A phone was immediately handed to me. I dialed Israel's number and it started to ring, but it was not picked.

I dialed a second time and the same thing happened. I dialed the third and fourth times, and still no response came.

Then I heard the sound of a gun cracking, Zuri had just placed her hand on the trigger and pointed the gun right on my head.

"I will shoot you right now! You lied!!" she seethed in anger.

"I did not lie!" I seethed back.

I was scared, yes, but then I had no other option but to gather all the courage I had and fight for my life. I could not die; no I could not die. I had to fight until the end.

"Then why is he not answering?" Zuri's eyes looked like they were going to pop out and fall on my laps.

"I don't know!" I said.

"You promised us that you could get connected to him!"

"And I meant it!" I yelled. No-one would have ever known from where I got all the energy and confidence.

"You don't raise your voice at me, girl! Trust me I have killed before. I don't need two seconds before I send a bullet right through your brains."

I saw that she was on the edge. Just one look at Zuri was enough to see that her patience was thinning away. My confidence wore off, and although fear gripped me, I fought hard not to show it. I needed to act brave. I still needed confidence, for after the call, it was still necessary for me to make sure that the deal was carried out. Not that I had any power if Zuri decided to let me become a sex worker. All the decisions lay in her hands. I was just telling myself, over and over, that it was worth giving in a fight, even a mini one, before accepting defeat. Bracing myself for whatever lay ahead of me, I proceeded,

"If you choose to believe that I am lying, then suit yourself. If to you it was by coincidence that I was seen in Lucas la Martina's car, then you are naïve." My heart was pounding heavily, but my face must have shown bravery.

"Girl, who are you?"

"I have answered that one already. I am the girl who can bring Israel Bassard here!"

Zuri and Troy looked at each other. Troy shook his head and said, "we underestimated this girl."

Deciding not to waste any more time, I said, "Israel Bassard does not answer calls from unknown numbers. Get me my phone and I will call him; he will answer it!"

I did my best to stop my voice from shaking. A gun was placed on my head; it definitely was not easy to remain calm.

"As long as I continue calling using an unknown number, he will never call," I emphasised my point after seeing that I was beginning to have the upper hand. It sure felt good.

Zuri and Troy looked at each other for a while, then Zuri gave a slight nod. Troy called out for my phone to be brought. A lady brought it to the room and since it was off, it was immediately placed on the charger and I remained sitting on the couch with Zuri and Troy watching me closely as if I was a piece of gold which they feared could disappear at any moment.

SOMEWHERE IN YELLOWLEAF

Israel moved backwards; warning everyone not to dare move. Harris seemed to be losing control of the situation, for there was desperation in his eyes; he did not know what to do. Harris had dealt with a lot more other criminals before, but Israel seemed to be on top of his game. He seemed to know all the tricks, and each time Harris or any of his team mates thought they could attack, Israel showed them that he was already ahead of them.

An officer tiptoed and whispered something into Fraser's ears. Fraser, who all the while was standing about ten steps behind Fraser, walked two steps forward and spoke out, "Detective Harris, new information has been received. Israel Bassard is telling the truth; he did have a brother called Vice. But the claim that la Martina killed Vice cannot be verified."

"Whether you believe me or not, it is all up to you. Just know that today I will not give up that easily.!" He repeated his laughter.

Harris ignored him, and instead shouted, "any progress on the hostages?"

"Nothing yet! Still searching for any signs of a basement!"

Upon hearing that, Israel burst out laughing, but he immediately stopped, because his phone rang. The phone was in his shirt pocket, but he neither touched nor looked at it.

It rang again for the second time, and he ignored it.

"Answer your phone!" Harris commanded!

"Why should I? So that when I answer it, you can get a chance to shoot me? Forget it!" Israel sneered.

The phone rang for the third time, and he still ignored it. For the fourth time again it rang, and when the ringing ended, Israel pulled out the phone and threw it on the ground just near to where he stood. It fell with a thud, and Israel laughed again very loud, causing the child in his hands to cry again. Liam's eyes were red and puffy; his hair was a total mess and one could see that the little boy had been through too much trauma. No child deserved to go through what little Liam was going through.

EVANGELISTA'S POV

When my battery was at twenty-three percent, the phone was removed from the charger and handed over to me. With all confidence, I spoke,

"Does our deal still stand? If I get him, you will let me go, and I won't have to become a sex worker for you?" I asked with my eyes fixed squarely on Zuri. I was still unaware from where that self-reliance came.

I felt a renewed confidence and even the voice that spoke sounded too authoritative to be mine. I knew that my freedom lay in one phone call, if Zuri was honest enough to keep her promise. But then, even if she had plans of going back on her promise, to me it was good enough that Israel was finally going to know about my whereabouts. I was more than sure that he, my brother, was going to come for me.

"The deal still stands. Now make the call", Zuri said impatiently.

I dialed the number.

SOMEWHERE IN YELLOWLEAF

While Israel was busy laughing mockingly, his phone flashed a light, and soon it started to ring again. He instantly stopped laughing and stared at the caller ID.

"Evangelista?" he exclaimed in deep shock. Swiftly he moved towards the phone. Harris gave a code to his officers, telling everyone that it was too risky to attack at that moment.

Israel, carefully moving the child from one hand to the other hand, slid with his finger on the phone screen. His phone was still on the ground, and he made no attempt to pick it up.

"Hello!" he spoke out loud.