°°°BLACK °°°

Brothers become enemies, and strangers become brothers. The battleline was drawn, and I was going to strike back.

My eyes fluttered open slowly and as I made to get up from the soft thing I was laying on - whatever that was - a sharp sting shot up my left arm, reverberating through the rest of my body.

My brain went into immediate action as incidents from yesterday night's drama rushed back.

Angry Dan...... Angry Dan..... Gun.... Rain.....

Shit.

I had ran out of home last night with an initial cluelessness as to where I was going to. I felt my elder brother was still close and I was just in one mad frenzy to get away from him. As far away as I could. Desperately.

It was raining cats and dogs, my arm was bleeding, my vision was hella blurry and my mind was foggy. Clamped. I was wandering about like a homeless spirit, until...

"Black?" A familiar voice bellowed out in the rain but it was dark, and it could be anybody, so I kept moving, but -

"Blackie!"

I stopped, almost fell. I was getting weak, but I knew who was calling me. I recognized that voice.

Only one person called me Blackie. And it was Sena.

On cue, the door creaked open and he came in with a bucket. Droplets of water were dripping down his body and his middle area was wrapped in a brown towel. He had gone to take his bath.

Last night Sena had brought me to his place after I almost fell unconscious, lay me down on the floor in urgency and kept tapping my face to keep me awake. And slowly, painfully might I add, he brought out the bullet from the flesh of my arm as I screamed through the entire process, cleaned and bandaged it up.

A flood of questions came afterwards, but I didn't say a word, didn't answer because I wasn't in the mood and I didn't know when I slept off.

I looked around the room again. It was quite a decent space, not too big and at least there was a mattress that could take two people without having them squeeze each other. I hadn't been in this place for a while, so I was quick to notice the mini fridge that stood at one corner of the room, a new looking gas cylinder and a standing fan.

And if I could remember, if my memory wasn't failing me these things weren't here a while ago but then I wasn't in contact with him, and when I thought further, it really wasn't my problem.

This was one young man who was at least doing something for himself whereas I struggled to get a decent meal. Daily.

"How is your arm? How are you feeling?", he asked, thick voice piercing through my thoughts. He was dressed now, in a simple pair of clean shorts and a t-shirt.

I nodded in the affirmative, "I'm okay, but it still stings a bit. And I think I'll need to change the bandaging."

If I wanted to be honest my arm was aching, and I was beginning to feel to feel the onset of what I knew was going to be a serious migraine later, probably. I was feeling far from good, but I dare not say everything.

One thing I hated doing was to bother people.

He had brought out the bundle and a bottle of what I recognized to be methylated spirit and a patch of cotton wool.

"Give me your arm."

I stretched, while closing my eyes. My left arm suddenly felt like a heavy block to lift. He cut the old, bloodied bandage off and cleaned the small spread of crimson around the wounded area with the spirit and I groaned. He was dabbing the flesh, curious eyes peering at me.

Fine, last night I had avoided all of his questions, but I knew he was going to ask again. I was just going to have to explain it to him, though I seriously didn't want to.

I had left Ma in her disoriented state, and I began to wonder if she was doing okay. She was running a serious fever before I left, and I had wanted to give her some food and medicine, but the devil decided to use Dan against me, and I had to flee for my life first. I was seriously hoping she would be fine back there, because I could bet Dan didn't give two shits about the fact that our mother was ill.

He never cared.

Not once.

I was always with her when she broke down. I always kept her company when I was home. Dan legit didn't care if she was alive or dead, and I could bet he had left her all to herself.

The motherfucker.

Sena was done cleaning my wound and I lay back down, and he was up and about but I was stuck in my own personal thoughts until a simple aroma hit me, and on impulse my stomach made a loud, embarrassing growling sound.

I sat up and he was staring at me. Sena was cooking.

The last time I had eaten something was the morning before. I had used the very last I had on me to get some little bread, and I fueled it with enough water so it would take me through the day but now I was hungry. I was so hungry.

"You will eat rice, ba?"

I nodded, "yes." At this point, I could eat anything. Who would be in my position and have the nerve to choose?

He was seated close to me on the mattress, and I noticed he had a smartphone in his hand.

Okay. It was one old Nokia initially.

"It will be ready soon. So", he turned to face me proper. "What happened to your arm?"

I sighed. Well, here goes.

"It was Dan." I answered, paused to gauge his reaction.

"Your brother?"

"Yes."

"What happened with him?", he probed further.

I stalled.

Reliving last night's incident was definitely going to leave a bitter taste in my mouth, and I was silent for minutes. But Sena never shifted his gaze from me and he sat patiently, waiting for me to talk.

I inhaled deeply, and braced myself. Sena had been kind enough to let me into his place and the least I could to pay him was to be honest, at least.

I opened my mouth to speak.

"I.... He...", I sighed, "I was supposed to help him on a job and I... I flopped it. I messed it up."

He stood up and went to go and check his pot of rice on the fire, came back and sat down, folding his legs in yoga style. His interest was piqued now and I couldn't go back.

"I'm listening", he said.

"I asked him for money for Ma and he refused because I wasn't going to pay him back, so he suggested a job for me. I was to wait up at a coded joint and call him whenever I sighted any of the buyers. Whenever I saw a black jeep I was to call him immediately.

I was pressed, so I went to ease myself after waiting for about half an hour. I didn't know some of Knights were also lurking around and waiting for the same people. I got back minutes later and got a call from Dan and he was angry. Apparently I had missed contact with their clients."

"So the Knights got the sale, rather?"

I nodded, "yes."

"And the item we're talking about in sale, what is it?"

I suddenly registered the fact that my throat felt dry. I didn't know how to I was going to tell Sena about the drug deals the Knights and Dan and his gang had with other people. My brother was dealing in hard drugs, I was dead sure of it but I wasn't ready to admit it to any other person.

"Blackie, what are they selling?"

Cocaine.

"I don't know. I only had to alert him when the buyer came. And because he had lost money he attacked me. Initially he let it go for a moment, but I had lost his phone too."

I knew Sena had an inkling I wasn't being completely open, but he didn't push me further. Silently he stood, went to heat his stew and dished out the meal for both of us.

The sight of food made me forget all my worries, temporarily.

°°°  °°°

I wasn't going home.

At least for the time being I wasn't. I needed to make sure going back to that place was safe, so I had asked to spend a little while at Sena's, out of desperation and the fact that I had nowhere else to go from here.

Of course, I didn't expect him to smile and accept immediately. He had found me bleeding, stranded and it was suspicious. I knew he was still very much suspicious about the entire thing and anyone would.

But after begging and assuring him that I wasn't into any kind of trouble, he agreed I'd stay for only a short while, till I was able to get the money to pay Dan back. The plan was that if I was going to go back there I had to have something I could use to appease him, at least. If I couldn't afford his phone I could try and raise the money I said I'd pay back to him.

Else, I was never going to be free from it. I was never, ever going to hear the end of it.

We had finished eating and we sat, discussing different things. and of course, I wasn't going to be staying here for free. The entire time I was going to be there I was going to have to split the rent and other bills with him, meaning I had to get something doing.

And I had been searching for God knows how long. The menial jobs gave scanty money, and if you were unlucky to have to work for a heartless person you could end up not being paid a dime at all.

Well, I wasn't done being surprised yet. Sena owned a laptop and currently, we were both staring at the screen of the machine. Out of curiosity, I asked him what kind of job he was doing.

Unless you were into illegal business here in the ghetto, it was going to be impossible to get to this point, moreover in such a short time.

"A consultant", he said, fingers running on the keyboard.

"What kind of consulting do you do?" I asked again.

"What do consultants do, Blackie?"

I repeated his question. I was confused.

"What do consultants do?"

"God, consultants provide services. People consult us if they need help with something. That's what I do, and I get paid for it. Pretty well."

Explains the upgrade.

"How did you get the job? Are there... slots? Any qualifications?"

He stopped typing as his browser began to load, and turned to my side.

"Depends on a....... few things. This job requires a certain amount of courage. You know."

I was desperate. I needed money for quite a number of things, and the most pressing needs were to be able to get drugs for my mother and pay back the money I had promised Dan I would.

The remembrance of the promise left a bitter taste in my mouth. Who the hell sent me?

"Tell me about it, please, I'm interested."

Sena looked me up warily. "Are you sure?"

I nodded. I needed the job, whatever it was that was certainly paying him well, and I was going to prove to him that I could do it.

°°° °°°
Hours later after the sun had already set I found myself in a bus with Sena. Apparently, he had gotten me my first landing and I had to meet the client at a venue he was taking me to.

I had gotten all dressed up, my wound all dressed up and plastered with an arm band. What made me realize my friend was serious about it was the fact that he'd spent the afternoon prepping me up. I had gotten a haircut, a good bath and got changed into a couple of his clothes till we got a perfect fit.

"Okay, so this job is simple. I'm giving you a rundown of it again.", he said.

I nodded.

"Like I said, you'll have to give the client what they want so they pay you well. Mm? Money in hand, back on the ground. Are we clear?"

I nodded again. We'd gone through this several times, but there was one thing I was curious about.

"What exactly are we giving this client?"

"She didn't say. It differs for each, both demand and time specifics. Just give her what she wants. You can afford it. Take your money, and leave. If there's anything you don't understand, you have my other phone with you to call. Yes?"

"Yes", I sighed, rubbing my hands together in anticipation. Sena was quite excited when the client had "gotten back to him", and apparently the amount they talked about was very good. Better than he'd imagined. My concern was the fact that he said I was going to pay Dan back in cash. Full. From this very job, why the hell would I miss it?

I hesitated outside the hotel room after Sena and I had parted ways at the entrance, a mix of curiosity and apprehension swirling within me, but this was a whole new level of unknown territory.  Who would want to do business in this kind of place? Reluctantly, I agreed to meet this mysterious client, not entirely sure what I was getting myself into.

The dimly lit corridor reeked of stale smoke and alcohol, making me crinkle my nose in distaste. As I approached the designated room, the sounds of raucous laughter and muffled music grew louder, echoing through the thin walls. I knocked hesitantly, my heart pounding against my ribcage, unsure of what awaited me on the other side.

The door creaked open slowly, revealing a disheveled figure swaying unsteadily in front of me, her features obscured by a heavy cloud of drunkenness. Her glassy eyes struggled to focus on my face, but she managed to conjure a smile that was both endearing and slightly unnerving.

"Oh, you're here," she slurred, her words blending together in a drunken haze. "Come in, come in! You're so beautiful. Sena was right about you."

A wave of confusion washed over me. I had expected a typical client, someone looking for assistance with a business venture or legal matter. But as I stepped into the room, the pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place, and a chill crept up my spine.

No. No way.

The room was filled with an overpowering scent of alcohol and a chaos of discarded clothes strewn across the floor. Empty bottles and glasses covered every available surface. It was then that I noticed the bed, unmade and invitingly disheveled.

My eyes darted back to my client, her gaze lingering on me with a predatory hunger. Suddenly, it all became painfully clear.

"You look even better than what you have on your profile", she sauntered towards me, cigarette in one hand, "God you're so beautiful."

As realization hit me like a sledgehammer, panic surged through my veins. My mind raced, searching for an escape plan, but I found myself frozen in place. The room seemed to close in around me, the air growing thick with the weight of my realization.

With a mischievous smirk, my client moved closer, her voice dripping with suggestive intent. "Don't be shy, baby," she whispered huskily, her hand reaching out to touch my arm. "Sena told me all about your talents."

My heart thundered in my chest as the gravity of the situation consumed me. I had unwittingly stepped into a world that could swallow me whole. Fear, anger, and betrayal coursed through my veins, mingling with a desperate need to escape this nightmare.

In the heat of the moment I had asked to know where the bathroom was, and when she directed me I rushed in there, slamming the door behind and whipping out the phone he had given to me. If this was what I was thinking, then hell, Sena was gone. Dead.

It rung twice. He picked on the second ring.

"Guy, what's up --"

"What the hell did you send me here to do? Consultancy my ass, dude! Are you into -"

"Hook up?", he cut me short, irritation lacing his tone. "Hook up na! That's it. You want to be local about it, right?!"

God have mercy.  Sena was into prostitution and he just led me right into it.

The device dropped from my hand.