ClineTower

THE START OF A WAR

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SOMEWHERE IN MADRID, JUNE 1996

Ruth Mendez crossed her legs and played with her fingers as she sat down at the table in the middle of the restaurant. She had a permanent scowl to her face and she constantly looked at her wrist watch and tapped her feet. The time was four in the evening

She had ordered just a drink as she didn't have much appetite today. In fact, her appetite has long departed her side for 6 months now and she looked a ghost of her former self.

*********************

People talk about things they see when they are in a near death scenario, some see a tunnel emanating light others a long dark road. Ruth freezing and drowning saw no such things. Maybe because this was no death scenario. She was really dying.

She fought but she was fighting against liquid and she could grasp it. Her eyes closed just as she felt someone bang open the door. She felt darkness as she fell unconscious.

Ruth awoke to see a man pumping at her chest as she spat out more water. He was breathing cold air and he had red eyes and a bald hair. He looked relieved as he saw her come to life.

'Thank God you are alive', he said as he picked her up in one clean swoop and carried her to the last boat available.

She opened her eyes and looked at him, her vision dimmed.

'Who are you?'

'Williams' he said, 'you can call me Williams'

She nodded and closed her eyes again.

*************************************

At exactly 4:10, a bald man entered the restaurant. He wore a grey suit and had a fat cigar in his hands. He was staring at the newspapers and didn't look up once but still found his way to the table where Ruth Mendez sat.

'I like your hat', he said finally looking at her. Ruth was dressed in a blue gown with a blue bag to match.

'You look different...good different' she said.

'Don't we all?'

Ruth cleared her throat and started to speak. 'Now, to the issue that brought us here, you said you could help me find my son'

The man smiled, 'I already did, the woman who took him from you is the owner of the biggest business in Europe. I call her the owner because as the saying goes "a woman owns everything her husband owns''.

Ruth tightened her fists, 'what's her name?'

'Alessandra, Alessandra Rossi'

'Italian?'

'Yes, the most powerful Italian woman alive, I wonder if you couldn't have asked someone else to help you'

Ruth held her head. There was no way she was ever going to get her son back from this woman. She was very powerful and who was she, but a midwife? Ruth bent her head in shame.

'I can get the boy back but it'll come at a cost'

Ruth looked up as she felt a glitter of hope 'I'll do anything, anything'

He dropped his cigar and looked at her intently 'when he is brought back, he cannot stay with you, I'll find a family for him and he stay there and when he's old enough, he'll come work for me and I'll adopt him as my own son. You can always see him whenever you like.

Ruth frowned 'I do not agree, he is my son! And I will not allow him to be adopted by anyone, even though you saved my life.

The man smiled 'but he is not your son is he, Ruth Mendez?'

Ruth froze as she had not mentioned her surname to this man before. She was becoming scared at the things this man could do.

'I know everything about you, where you are from, who you are, what happened to your family, how you got this baby...'

'Who are you' Ruth whispered.

He picked up his cigar and took a puff

'Do we have a deal?'

Ruth shut her eyes and gulped. She had no choice, it was the only way she would see her son again.

'Yes, yes we do'

'Good, the child will be gotten within three months' at that, the man stood up and turned to leave.

'Williams, please don't do this to me' Ruth said hanging on to her last hope.

'The name's Mr. Stones'

He left her sitting there looking out into open space.

*******************************

THE PRESENT

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A silent bullet sliced through the air and the man in leather groaned in pain as he felt it hit his leg. He tried to focus with the pain but then another bullet hit his other leg and he gave up trying to shoot and fell to the ground. Someone stood over him holding a silenced gun; Mr. Stones with rage and venom emanating from his eyes.

Picking him up by the sides of his shirt, he shook him.

'Who sent you?'

The man in leather smiled.

'Mrs. Rossi sent her regards' he said in thick Italian accent and bit down on his shoulder allowing the content of the cyanide attached to his clothing enter his mouth and blood streams.

The man in leather died peacefully with Mr. Stones holding him up, anger written all over his face.

UMESI_JNR