XLV
1950 Words
“Did you know that I used to dream of being a surgeon when I was still a little girl? It’s true, I swear! But my parents just laughed at my dream. Now I know why they seemed so unsupportive of that. They already knew even then that I wasn’t cut out for this kind of situations! And I can see now that they are right!”
Helen was hyperventilating as she told him all of that in just a few split seconds. She has driven for more than three kilometers already looking for a motel but the road seemed to stretch endlessly with only trees and more trees at each side. They had passed a rural clinic once but Miguel insisted on not going in an official medical facility. He told her instead to stop in front of another drugstore to buy some of the things he would need for a ‘simple operation’. Helen did not dare ask him what operation that was. Now, she was driving frantically with the bag of medical supplies sitting at the back and Miguel dying on her right side.
“Just hold on there, Sergeant! I know you’ll get through this, just don’t give up. Come on! Where are those goddamn motels when you need them?!”
Miguel opened his eyes and saw that she was already in tears. Suddenly, he felt a painful stab of pity on his chest. So, with great effort to do so, he raised his left arm and let it fall on her hand on the gearstick. Then, he held her and squeezed it tight. Helen looked at his pale hand calming her own shaking hands. Then she looked at him to see him trying to project a fine smile.
“Relax, Helen. I won’t die right now. I know it coz you are there by my side. Just another kilometer and you’ll see a small motel at your left side. Be watchful for it was hidden by some trees. Still, you should see its lighted signage from afar. But don’t give yourself a heart attack from too much worrying. Just don’t die before me and we’ll be both fine.”
She could hardly see him for a moment because her tears doubled in volume but she still managed to laugh good-naturedly at his joke.
“You still got that humor in you, huh? When you’re already half-dead and all?”
Helen stepped on the gas when she heard they were already near a motel. But halfway there, she saw Miguel’s head fall to his chest. His eyes were all closed and his shallow breathing was pretty slowed.
“We’re almost there, Miguel! Please don’t fall asleep now. I can see the motel already. Just hold on tight.”
Helen floored the accelerator and the Rover aimed for the motel’s little gate at a very high speed, before it skidded to a stop on the graveled entrance. Her suddenly swerving to her left led the car in front of her to be counter-flowing to the other lane. The driver cursed her angrily but she did not hear a word for she was already out running to the motel. The old security guard who was almost nodding himself to sleep got alarmed by her unannounced entrance.
“Can I help you ma’am?”
“Uh . . . yes please. I would like to uh . . . we would like to rent a room.”
“You mean you’d like to take a room?”, the guard sneered.
“Yes, take a room.”
“Okay. What room would you like and for how long?”
Helen looked dumb.
“Can you repeat that again, sir?”
“What type of room would you like for yourselves and how long will you be staying?”
“Uh . . . can’t we choose those things later? We really need that room now.”
“I’m sorry ma’am but that’s impossible. Have you done this before?”, the guard asked her with squinted eyes.
Helen did not know how to answer him. Should she tell him that she has never been to such a place before? Or should she tell him another lie? Although she knew it would only come out too obvious to him. But she did not expect the man who answered the question for her.
“Give us an air-conditioned room, with a single bed, a cable TV and unlimited Internet connection. We want complete privacy. No room service required, no stupid phone calls inquiring if we f*****g need anything or what and make sure not to keep any records of this.”
“I’m sorry, sir, but I’m afraid the last one of your requests is impossible. Records are mandatory things now.”
“Who said that bullshit?!”
“The manager, sir.”, the guard answered sheepishly.
“Call the manager now. Tell him that Sergeant Romero is here and that you are denying his request.”
The guard immediately bowed his head and fell to his knees.
“I’m sorry, sir! I did not mean to – “
“Just do what I ask and you’ll just be fine, Jaguar.”
The guy waited no longer and he called someone to prepare the room for them. Helen watched like an innocent child as her supposedly-dying passenger reduced the arrogant man to a slave in just a bunch of airy words. But the greater surprise for her was seeing him quite lively again after the sight of him looking like real dead.
“What happened? I thought you passed out already? But now you are here with that smart mouth of yours, trying to fix everything again.”
“Came at the right time, didn’t I?”
“Were you just scaring me the whole time?”
“No. in fact, I’m about to pass out again right now. In just five seconds, actually. Five . . . four . . . three . . . two . . . – “
“Don’t you dare!”, Helen warned him.
“One. Here it comes.”
From inside the building, walking through the corridors, a stubby mustached man with a pair of short leg came out to greet them. When he reached them after an eternity, he offered his salute to Miguel. The man, apparently, was the manager of the motel.
“Sergeant Mikey, so good to see you again after . . . how long has it been? Ten? Fifteen?”
“It has been ages, Benny.”
“Yeah, it sure has been. I see you’re ‘interrogating’ ladies again huh? Back in business?”, he winked at him and Helen saw he meant something with that.
“No. It’s just this one final time.”
“Oh . . . okay. So, is it the usual?”
Helen was silently growing uncomfortable with the two men’s conversation. Benny’s question was left hanging in the air and she knew nothing of what he was hinting at. Then he saw Miguel looked at her with such intensity.
“No. This one is . . . special.”
“Oh.”
The man said no more and beckoned them to follow him. He told them to leave the keys to the guard so that he could park their car to a hidden place. Helen took the medicine bag first before she went back to his side, to assist him as he walked. Benny was already far ahead so Helen took the opportunity to ask Miguel some of her new questions in her mind.
“The manager is a long-time friend of yours?”
“That’s what he considers himself. I won’t stop him coz it doesn’t do me any harm.”
“How did you meet each other?”
“I met him when I was doing an undercover operation near here. I needed some secret place to perform certain police procedures. I interrogated some of them in more than one of these rooms.”
“Yeah, I just heard that. So . . . you interrogated ladies, huh?”
“It’s not what you think it is.”
“I still haven’t said a thing, mister. Don’t be too defensive so early.”
“Those were legitimate police operations, Helen.”
“I bet, Sergeant. I just wonder what kind of torture you employed for your lady subjects.”
“Whatever you have in that dirty mind now, I’m telling you that it is completely wrong.”
“Whatever.”, Helen was smiling.
“Why am I even explaining myself to you?”
“I don’t know either. Better ask that to yourself. You might surprise yourself with the answer, though.”
Miguel was embarrassed so he just walked silently instead as she was still chuckling by his side. Benny led them to the most remote room inside the motel. Then, when they were already standing before it, he opened the door to clean, respectable room with all the amenities that Miguel asked. He thanked Benny for making sure all of them were attended to and he gave them a roll of cash.
“Please, enjoy your operation, Sergeant.”
He shook his hand and thanked him once more.
“I’m sure I’ll do, Benny.”
With that, he was gone. Helen led him to the bed and then she went back to lock the door. When she turned around, Miguel had already discarded all his clothes on the floor. He was already on his way to the bathroom with an immaculately white towel. Helen faked some interest to the plain white wallpaper as she avoided looking at him who was just wearing nothing but his boxer shorts. A minute after, she heard the bathroom door closed and the faucet turned open. It took him about thirty minutes before he went out of the bathroom. He was on a new boxer shorts and he was drying himself with the towel when he called her.
“I think I’m ready now. You can now start doing your thing to me.”
Helen’s mouth went totally dry as Miguel tossed the towel on the floor before lying in the middle of the bed. Then, he started peeling off the tapes of the bandage on his wound. Still, Helen was rooted on her place. She just stood there and watched him as he slowly peeled away the spent bandage from his wound. Aside from the swollen hole on his abdomen, she noticed that he had a very perfectly-ripped abs.
“Okay. Now, I’m really ready. Are you, Helen?”
She swallowed hard.
“I don’t think I can do what you are asking from me, Miguel. I’m not yet ready for that, I think.”
“What are you talking about? Now that we are already here, nothing’s gonna disturb us. I promise it won’t take long once it’s inside.”
“I don’t think I can give you that.”
Miguel was dumbfounded.
“Why?”
“Is that really necessary? Can we at least slow down a bit?”
“What are you talking about? Of course it is necessary! And we can’t afford to slow down. If you don’t take the bullet inside me, I won’t surely make it tomorrow. So yes and no. This is necessary and we can’t slow down. You have to take that out tonight.”
Helen felt relieved and stupid at the same time.
“Oh! You’re talking about the bullet.”
“Yeah, why? Is there anything else to talk about?”
Helen just laughed and told him nothing.
- Writer
