I’m fucked. I’m fucked. They heard that.
If not, the others would be in here soon. So far, two guards had already come in, and no one had come out. I had to go now.
I shot at the sewer’ side. Surely it made a lot of noise. The edge of the vent lifted. I grabbed the corner and yanked it up.
Yes.
The top came off. Bugs scurried out.
I swallowed. My gut twisted. Rats I could do, but I hated bugs in small places. I preferred we both had enough space to exist.
Hey, we’ve climbed into worse places. Don’t worry about the bugs. Get out of here.
I spied a sort of ladder on the wall within the hole. Maintenance, or maybe a plumber must’ve had to climb down a few times to fix the sewer pipes.
The bathroom door creaked opened.
Jean-Pierre’s voice filled the room. “What’s going on?”
Shit. I wish it was another guard.
I pushed away my doubts and fear. Sighing, I climbed down on the ladder with no idea where it would take me. For all I knew, I could’ve been plunging to my death.
Where will the ladder go? Fuck it. Hurry!
I kept the gun in my right and used my left to keep my balance on the ladder. I got halfway inside the sewer’s hole, before huge hands grabbed my shoulders, and lifted me.
No. No. No.
I dropped the gun. It fell into the hole. A splash came next.
Jean-Pierre dragged me out of the hole like I was a doll. “Smart, but stupid.”
I got to the ground and rose. The hole was still close. Maybe I could do a nosedive.
Giving me no time for another escape, Jean-Pierre yanked me out of the stall. “Come on.”
Man, I’m not going back in that restaurant with you.
I tried to regain my footing, held the sheet up, and stumbled forward.
“You killed my men?” Jean-Pierre looked their way.
I lunged for him, diving into his center.
He grunted and fell back into the stall.
I let go of his waist to step back and get him again. Wrong move. He tripped me with the sheet. I fell to the ground.
He used my bed sheet against me, twisting it around my legs.
I punched at his hands, and then one of my fists caught under his jaw and clipped his teeth. He roared with rage and grabbed at me. I ducked low and swept at his leg.
He kicked me back.
Fuck!
My back crashed to the floor.
He lowered down to help me up. “Give it up.”
“You give it up.” I took his tie, wrapped it around his neck, and choked the shit out of him.
Wheezing, he chopped at my arms with his hands. Pain bit into my skin. Shit! I refused to let go, as I kept that tie around his neck.
Jean-Pierre struggled to get free, but the tie was well made. Great fabric. Excellent stitching. A cheap one would’ve torn by now.
What next?
I dragged him back into the stall. He was crouched over and struggling. Die, motherfucker, die! Somehow he held on. I yanked him forward. All my strength remained on that tie wrapped around his neck. He had to duck-walk in there as he gasped onto no air. Face turning pink, he wagged his arms.
Think!
Screeching, he stumbled into me. I fell back, but still had him by his tie. We got deeper into the stall.
Come on. Die.
No other option, I dumped his head into the toilet bowl. Water splashed on both of us. I let go of his tie and shoved his head deeper into the toilet bowl.
Bad move.
He was out of that toilet bowl in seconds. Gasping. Water dripped over him. Rage covered his face.
Run!
But I couldn’t.
Fast. So fucking fast. One hand was on my neck, but he didn’t squeeze. The other fisted my hair. He plastered me against the stall wall. Drops of toilet water dotted his noise. His hair and shirt was soaked.
I tried to bat at his arms.
With those big hands, he yanked me forward and then slammed my body against the stall. “Enough!”
I shivered in fear.
“One snap. I could kill you, with one fucking snap!” Jean-Pierre tightened his grip on my neck, but I still could breathe . For now. He leaned in. Only a half of an inch lay between his nose and mine. “One fucking snap of your neck and everything is over for me. I’ll never get Eden back.” His hands shook against my neck. “I want to do it right now. I want to kill you.”
I swallowed.
“Damn. I would love to kill you.” He loosened his grip on my neck. “You know why?”
“N-no.”
“Because you’re fucking annoying!” Blood dripped from his nose. He let go and pushed me out of the stall.
I kept my voice low. “I’m sorry.”
“I don’t accept it!”
“It’s just that. . .”
“You don’t want go with me. I got it.” He slicked his wet hair back and shook his wet shirt. “I don’t give a damn what you want. I didn’t handcuff you, because I believe in being humane, but now I’m rethinking it. Only problem, is that there are no handcuffs. Maybe I should just shoot you in the leg. Would that slow you down?”