Day 37 David's side of the story

I waited patiently for the Western Union office in the city center in downtown Nairobi to open. It was only 7:00 am and I was way too early.

According to the contract I was to collect $ 5,000 daily for the next 8 days starting today, which would complete my final payment of $40,000. I should have been excited at getting my hands on the cash, so much cash at that, albeit in the local currency but it was easily convertible back to US dollars.

I told myself that considering all that I’d been through, I had really earned it. Still the feeling of excitement did not come.

Again my thoughts drifted back to Teresa. I had left her out there in the bush somewhere.

I replayed our last conversation in my mind yet again.

“I’m leaving today.” I told her out in the garden where we usually had our simple breakfast of tea and bread.

“I saw your packed bags.”

“I guess we should just discuss business, it is the only conversation that gets anywhere with you.”

“Is that right? Maybe it’s because money is all that excites you.” Teresa said casually. Her venom shocked me and hit me harder than a physical slap would have.

“I’m not interested in arguing with you Teresa.”

“Neither am I.”

“Am I still good for the 40,000 dollars?”

“I guess.”

“You’re not sure?”

She turned and looked at me for a long time without saying anything. In fact I had given up her ever getting to answer my question when she finally spoke.

“I’m sure. That transaction was sealed and done in the US.”

“Thank you.”

I stood up from the table shortly after.

“I guess I’ll be seeing you around, Thank you for everything,”I sadly told Teresa, feeling a heavy load in my heart.

“I guess I’ll be seeing you around David.”

“Don’t you want to know what my plans are?”

“I wouldn’t care less...”

“So our relationship was all a lie?”

“It was all in the contract, I keep on telling you.”

I slowly walked away with my bags without once looking back.

I was still weak from the shooting and I walked slowly and carefully like the ground was made of eggs that I could break if I stepped too hard. But the biggest injury was in the beating organ somewhere in my chest and I wondered whether it would ever heal.

The Western Union office finally opened and I went inside with the control number and details that I had obtained from my email, just as the contract had said. I was the very first customer so I filled out the form, showed the pretty African teller my passport and was out of there with the cash in crisp local currency in less than 10 minutes. I fely like somebody who had gfotten some questions in very difficult online college courses answered correctly.

I didn’t go very far.

The first thing I felt was the cold metal of the barrel of an automatic pressed against my back.

The low tone voice spoke in perfect English.

“If you make the mistake of trying to raise the alarm, we’ll shoot you right here and now. Just move quietly and follow our instructions carefully.”

I walked on in the crowded streets conscious of the three heavily built men behind me.

“Turn at the first turning on your left and keep walking.” The low tone voice barked again.

I wondered what all this was about. Were they after the cash or was this trouble again related to my LA contract? I suspected the latter and wondered whether I would ever finish the terms of that contract alive. In a way I didn’t care. I had been through so much that my appetite for life had somehow diminished.

“Stop. This is a good enough place to kill you.”

We were now in some filthy deserted back alley and if I had any illusions that the voice from behind me was just joking, they quickly disappeared when I heard the distinctive noise behind me of an automatic weapon being loaded and cocked. So the gun had been empty all along, was the first though that came to my mind.

But now it was loaded and ready.