Death Trip: Piece B

Kayden kicked his boots off at the door, hung up his coat and hat, and greeted his German Shepard with face rubs and a couple of ribs Pat's. "Sarge! Now, this is a face I like to see. Sorry I've been out so long had some business to attend to. I'll fix you some dinner." Kayden walked into his Kitchen he rummaged through the cans of dog food until he found the one he had been saving for a special occasion. He presented it to Sarge, "I know you've been waiting for this one for a while huh? Well, today's your lucky day. I think you've earned it buddy." Kayden opened the can, poured the sludge-like contents onto the dog bowl, then grabbed his bottle of aged barrel rum from the countertop. Sarge looked up from his bowl and barked at Kayden, "What I'm not allowed to celebrate with you either?" the dog barked once more as Kayden poured himself a shot. "Shut up Sarge, don't whine. Enjoy your food it's that proper gourmet shit you should be eating that up right now…alright. Alright, you got me, some pretty messed up stuff happened tonight, but that's on me not you alright so just enjoy your food. I'm going to enjoy this shot." Kayden slammed back the shot and lined up another before slamming back that one also.

He then patted his pockets for a familiar lump; his cigarette packet. When he found he had no luck he whistled at Sarge, "Oi Oi big boy, me and you are going for a walk to the shop." Sarge was now preoccupied with his food and was bent on getting that finished. "That's alright Sarge…I'll wait." Kayden grabbed Emma's phone and thought of what to text the contact simply known as Fix. He doubted he wanted to deal with that tonight but figured it was his best shot since it would only be a matter of time before Notion found out that Emma was dead and that he would be burning time if he didn't.

And so he texted the contact a very simple message: Hey Do you have any more? I'm all out. Meet me out West.

Kayden waited for a moment but got a rather quick reply. The contacts message read: I'm all out, stay safe yeah?

Kayden felt a wave of anger rush over him, he could feel it pulsing in the veins by his temple. His hands began to shake, he thought of a reply but thought to leave it. If he pushed too hard he knew that he would grow suspicious, all that Kayden could do was pray that the Dealer had no connection to Emma outside of Dealing her drugs, perhaps it would buy him more time as far as tracking down the dealer went. He grabbed the dog's leash and clipped it onto Sarge's collar. "C'mon old boy."

Kayden strode through his neighborhood with Sarge eagerly leading the way, and occasionally stopping to smell the scents of the neighborhood. Kayden whistled a tune as he made his way to the local gas station. He had his order memorized; A 30 gram of Mall Pall roll-your-own tobacco, complete with slim filters and slow-burning papers. He came to a crossroad and took the left turn. The Gas station presented itself across the road from the neighboring park, He walked over to the night till lodged between himself and double-layered bulletproof glass. An acne-faced book worm type held down the speaker button as he spoke; "Hi, what can I get ya?" Kayden swiftly spoke the recited order out loud; "I'll grab a 30 gram of Mall Pall, Red, some blue papers, yellow filters, and Lemme check quickly…" Kayden patted himself down before continuing "I'll also grab a lighter." "Any particular color lighter?" Kayden made a somewhat condescending face, "Nah I don't give a shit, any." The Clerk began scanning all the items.

Kayden rolled himself a cigarette right outside the till, his nerves felt like they were ready to explode. He tucked the 'rollie' between his dry lips and quickly grabbed his lighter- "Sir! This is a Gas station. Don't you go lighting that or we'll all go up!" Kayden looked over his shoulder and remembered where he was, looked back at the clerk then removed himself from the premises without another word being spoken.

Kayden took a long heavy drag of his cigarette, exhaled then took one more. He felt his nerves soften, and for a moment he forgot all about how he'd witnessed a could-have-been crime scene a mere hour ago. But just as he recalled its absence it all came flooding back; her lifeless ajar eyes, her bleeding nostrils, her foaming mouth, it all was too real and nothing he had seen in his 15 odd years of debt collecting could even compare. There had been times in the field where he'd been shot at, had a rib broken due to a blow from a tire iron but he always prided himself in the fact that he could always collect what was needed for his client, whether that be a new age sports car or an ancient piece of artwork or artifact. However, after tonight he had felt it all drift away and in its place, a feeling of deep sorrow that he knew would not be clenched once he had disposed of the culprit of Emma's overdose. None the less he was determined, and with that thought, he cast his cigarette to the gutter.

Kayden once again kicked his boots off at the door, hung up his Coat and hat. Let the dog off the lead and turned off his kitchen light. He began his nighttime routine; Shower, brush teeth, floss, take medication and sleep as well as he could. He kept tossing and turning until he found the preferred sleeping position that he was currently unaware of. As he shut his eyes, a woman that some knew as Anita slid out from beneath his bed, a suppressed Beretta by her side. She locked her sights onto Kayden and said with an unforgiving tone: "Get up."

Kayden was startled sharply asking the obvious: "Who are you? Where did you-"

Anita clicked her tongue and never let him finish "I'll be the one to ask the questions. You want to stay alive I suggest you tell me exactly where you've hidden Emma." Kayden stared deeply into the masked face of a person that was most definitely a woman minus the soft and sweet gaze. He Was conflicted, if he told her the truth perhaps she would put a bullet in his head right now, perhaps not. But he sure didn't want to take the risk. "I left her at the Southside Bricks Motel. Last I heard she had scored some cocaine." Anita cocked the Beretta's hammer back. "I'm going to give you one more chance, tell me where you dumped her body." Kayden felt a single droplet of sweat streak down past his left eye. "She overdosed at the motel. I knew that the cops would arrest me if I had gone to them, and had I left her there they surely would have found my prints. I had no choice but to dump her body off a bridge, she's at the bottom of the river. I took her phone and am using it to track down the dealer, believe me, if you're her pimp or Madame or whatever, I'm just as mad as you are." If Anita wasn't sure if she was Going to kill Kayden or not she sure was sure now. The irony of Kayden tracking down the dealer was that Anita had used that very trick to track what she thought to be Emma's whereabouts. Anita used the gun barrel to gesture to Kayden to move his way to the hallway door. "C'mon, you want to see the Dealer who sold to her? It's your lucky day I have him outside." Kayden didn't say a word he just leads the way to his driveway.

As they reached his one park driveway she pointed out across the road to a sports car with mid-tinted windows, he could see a silhouette. He looked back at Anita who had the firearm lodged on the bridge of his spine, "Go on, go speak your mind to him." She said allowing Kayden further on his invisible leash. Kayden leaned against the window of the vehicle and inside was a man that could be no older than 21, he was smoking a joint and didn't even look up at him. Kayden couldn't hold it in he screamed his lungs out at the boy saying "HEY YOU MOTHERFUCKER LOOK AT-" he couldn't finish his sentence. Anita shot him twice in the back, Kayden let out a bloodcurdling wail as he hurdled backward onto the concrete. He writhed in pain, Anita held Kayden onto his back using one of her platform boots. He began to bleed out and that's when Anita hopped in her sports car and drove away, leaving Kayden to die in a pool of his own blood.