Just Friends With An Enemy

Romero

Derek stepped out of the office, confidently. He had no idea of what he could encounter but he wasn’t scared. If his father was okay with it, then he had nothing to be afraid of. Liam and Stan walked over to him.

“Hey”

“Hey, man”

“Hey, guys”, he replied. “What’s up?”

“You seemed a little different, today”, Liam asked. “What happened?”

“You advised me to live life as it comes, right?”, Derek replied. “I’m taking your advice. We have nothing to be afraid of.”

Stan stared at him for a second. “You realized that, when?”

“The same time I realized no matter what we find in this, there’s no way out for us”, Derek said and smiled. “I have to get back to work”.

“Um, wait. Club, tonight?”

“Nah. Man’s got to sleep”, Derek said and walked to his office. He really wasn’t bothered about anything. They had been told about the powers they possessed as members of the Circle. In other words, there was literally nothing to be worried about.

***★***

He walked into his room and dropped himself on the bed. Accepting the Circle seemed to have given him some peace. He hadn’t slept well for many nights. He was determined to make that night an exception, but not before his father filled him in on what the delivery was. He heard the door open. That was earlier than he had expected. He rushed out of the room.

“Derek?”, His father called.

“I was just coming down”, Derek replied, as he walked into the sitting room. His dad was seated on the couch.

“What’s up with the act at the meeting?”

“What’s up with it? You don’t like it?”, Derek asked.

“Actually, I like it. You want to do the delivery?”, Mr. Biden asked. “You’re not scared anymore?”

“Are you scared?”, Derek asked. “You told me to live with it, I think”

“I am not bothered. I was just wondering how you suddenly changed your mind”, Mr. Biden said. “Hopefully, you’ll keep the same confidence when delivering the badge”

“That’s why I came down here”, Derek replied. “What’s up with the badge? He said the thugs couldn’t deliver it. Why?”

“Yea. The badge is almost the same one you hold. It’s in a box, indicating that whatever Romero and his men do, they are backed by the Circle. The permission badge cannot be handed to just anyone who’s not in on the secret.”

“What’s up with this Circle story? Is it beyond the ten men in the room?”, Derek asked. “I mean, giving a badge to indicate that a person is backed by us, probably to do anything he or she desires. I don’t get the idea”

“I understand you. It’s not just about the Circle. Even the Circle is backed by a greater force”, Mr. Biden said. “I don’t understand that force but we also stand as forces backing other things like Romero and his men. With the permission badge in Romero’s hands, he can kill the president and he’ll never get caught”

“Uhn?”, Derek exclaimed. “What kind of force is capable of that?”

“The kind of force that backs us”, Mr. Biden replied. “If you get confronted by anyone, just flash the badge. You’ll have your way”.

“And if I come across the cops?”

“They have no problem with you”, Mr. Biden said. “And I say, flash the badge if the cops stop you. Even the government will not stop you if you flash that badge”

***★***

The blanket was cool, the exact way he wanted it. He reached out and pressed the switch, turning off the lights. He let out a sigh of relief and covered himself with the cold blanket. “Good night to the world”, he muttered to himself and slept off.

He seemed to be counting the minutes, as he relaxed on his soft bed. A knock on the door jerked his ears awake. He opened his eyes and remained under his blanket for a few seconds. The knock was on the door to his room. The knock was repeated again and again, sounding more urgent than earlier. He raised his head and sat up on his bed. “Who’s there?”, he asked. Who else could be there if it’s not his dad? He was too lazy to get up.

The door opened suddenly and the person rushed in, as if chased by someone. She ran into his arms, on the bed. It was sudden but Derek felt her rest on his body. He was jerked to complete consciousness. The girl folded in his arms, pointing at the door like someone would walk in, soon. “What are you running from?”, Derek asked.

“There’s a ghost, out there”, she said and looked at him with terrified eyes. It was Emily. The girl he had met at the restaurant.

“A ghost?”, Derek wondered, as she moved closer to him, pressing her soft body against his. “Are you sure it wasn’t just a dream?”

“A dream?”, Emily asked, innocently. “I saw my parents. I can swear they were just behind me, some minutes ago”

“It’s okay, Emmy”, Derek said and wrapped his hands around her. “It was just a dream, ok?”

She stopped shaking. She was slowly getting relieved. She gently slid away from Derek’s arm. “Thank you”, she muttered. “I’m sorry for invading your privacy”

“Come on”, Derek said, casually, and sprung up from his feet. “It’s fine by me. For someone as cocky as you, I didn’t think you would be scared of ghosts”.

“Excuse me? Have you seen ghosts?”, Emily asked. “It’s like seeing the impossible right in front of you. It’s as scary as crazy”

“It’s still a part of your imaginations. Dead souls don’t reappear”, Derek said. “You are welcome to stay at my place for as long as you want… you know, in case the ghosts come back”

“No way. I could tell you were getting turned on, after just a few minutes with me”

“Are you kidding?!”, Derek exclaimed. She was right about that. She was the one who jumped at him, in the first place. “You’re crazy”

“I’m crazy but I’m right”, Emily said, walking towards the door. “You know, after our first encounter, I thought you would come back to see me. They always come back”

“You want me to come back?”, Derek asked but she walked out without answering. It would be better to get her cellphone number, in case he was to busy to go back to the countryside. He rushed out of the room, after Emily.

Immediately he stepped out of his room, the ground seemed to disappear from underneath his feet. He dropped down and slammed his full body on the ground. He was still wrapped in his blanket. The light was still off and the door was closed. Emily was never there. It was just a dream. He reached out and pressed the switch, turning the light back on. He got up, slowly, and his eyes fell on his reflection in the mirror. He burst into laughter. “f**k, Derek! You fell off the bed!”, he said, still laughing at himself.

He was feeling pretty strong, that morning. The sleep was a good one. He picked up his phone and dialed his mom’s number. A picture of his mom popped up on the screen, reminding him of his dream and Emily. “She’s pretty cute”, he muttered and walked into the bathroom. The phone was still beeping. He washed his face and stared into the mirror on the wall.

“Hello. Good morning, Derek”, his mom’s voice came out from the phone.

“Oh. Good morning, mom. How was your night?”, Derek greeted.

“It was short. How was yours?”

“Oh. I slept so well”, Derek said. “I dreamt of this cute girl I met, recently, and I fell off the bed”

His mom laughed. “Are you kidding?”

“Oh no. I literally woke up on the ground, looking in the mirror and laughing at myself”

“Wow”, his mom replied. “It sounds like you’re at peace now. You’re good?”

“Yes, I am. I spoke to dad about the Circle”, Derek said. “It wasn’t his fault”

“What did he tell you?”

“He didn’t just tell me. I’ve seen things too”, Derek replied. “He didn’t want me to be a part of the Circle but he couldn’t stop it from happening. He actually wanted to leave, you know?”

“He told you that, too? ‘Cause if he really wanted to leave the group, he could just walk out”

“Why aren’t you saying the same about me now?”

“How do you mean?”, she asked.

“I don’t want to be a part of the Circle but I am, anyways. Why don’t I just walk out?”

“Why don’t you just walk out?”

“Well, it’s the same reason he couldn’t walk out. We just can’t leave, once we’ve stepped in”, Derek said. “You really should have listened to his side of the story”

“Ok, so what, now? You want me to come back home?”

“Actually, you should stay there. Don’t come back home… but don’t cut him off. Talk to him”

“Ok. I’ll try that”, his mom said and sighed. “What is going on in the Circle, Derek?”

“It’s a lot of dark s**t”, Derek replied. “From what he told me yesterday, the Circle had paused it’s activities for a year. Apparently, whatever the Circle is about, I’m yet to know or see it….. but I’m ready, mom. If I can’t get out of it, I’ll just live with it”

His mom paused for a while. “That really doesn’t sound relieving but… I’ll take it”, she said. “Stay alive, stay safe, son.”

“Stay alive, mom”, Derek said. “So I’ll call you again, later”

“Before you end the call, the girl you dreamt of; what’s her name?”

Derek hesitated to answer. “Um… Emily. Her name’s Emily”

“Ok. Extend my regards to her”

“Thank you, mom, but she’s still a stranger and I’m definitely not going to extend your regards”, he said, in a joking tone, and ended the call.

***★***

She was so stressed out that she could barely see anything. She sat on the cold hard floor in the kitchen. Frank and Sharon were probably talking to her but all she heard was unclear mumblings. She was only half conscious. She didn’t really care about anything, even when the mumblings got louder like they were already yelling. She was going to sleep off, where she sat.

“Emily!”, Sharon screamed her name, shaking her awake. “Wake up! We haven’t had any customers and you’re sleeping”

Emily grumbled. “What am I supposed to do? Go out and fish for customers?” she asked, angrily. “Now I’m going to have an headache because of you”

“Well, sorry about that. You have to get up”, Sharon said.

Emily got up, reluctantly. She was able to hold back her sleep. “Where’s Frank?”

“He just walked out of here”, Sharon said. “Please, you’ll have to stay behind the counter, in case anyone shows up”

“Aargh!”, she grumbled. “So many demands”

Emily walked out of the kitchen and ran into someone, immediately she stepped out. It was a man. She had walked out, without looking, and slipped, falling into the arms of a man, who caught her from falling. She mindlessly caressed the hard chest of the unknown stranger, like she’d sleep off on it if both of them weren’t careful.

“Hey, Emily”, the man said, smiling at her.

Emily stared back at his face for a few seconds before she actually saw who he was. “Derek? What are you doing here?”

“I need to find Troy and his friends”, Derek replied. “Can you help me out? You seem close to them”

“Oh, yea, I can”, she replied. She was still barely conscious as her hand made it’s way up Derek’s chest again.

Derek caught her hand and held it softly. “Emily? Are you alright?”, he asked.

“Oh, sorry about that”, she muttered and withdrew her hand from his soft hold. “What did you say you came for?”

“You seem a bit worried”, Derek said. “What I came for isn’t so important”

“I didn’t think you’d come back here, you know?”, Emily replied. “Your type never comes back”

“What type am I? The type that you admire, I guess?”

“What makes you think I admire you?”, Emily asked.

“Because every other type comes back”, Derek said. “And you don’t like every other type that comes back. I’m the special type”

Emily smiled. “You really are full of yourself”

“Not if I’m right with my claims. Why did you look so dull?”

“Isn’t it obvious? I wanted to sleep and you ruined the fun. Thank you, anyways”

“Actually, if I didn’t wake you up, I’m sure your head against the hard wall would have woken you up”, Derek said. “In case you were so sleepy when it happened, let it be recorded that I saved your life”

“Thank you for saving my life”, Emily joked. “I will forever be grateful. Now, what did you come here for?”

“What else does a man come to do in a restaurant?”, Derek asked. “You know what I came for”

“To eat? What would you like?”

“I didn’t come to eat. I need to see Troy and the other farmers. Just tell me where they are”

“That’s not what a right thinking man comes to do in a restaurant”, Emily replied. “What do I get for giving you the info?”

“Ok. Your colleague probably thinks I’m here to eat. I’ll give you a hundred dollars for your boss. I’ll give you fifty dollars for yourself”

“Um. You’ll really give me that?”

“Yea. It’s nothing. Besides, I haven’t paid for the short chest massage you gave me”, Derek said, with a smile. “It was oddly satisfying.”

“Come on. You know I wasn’t conscious”, Emily said. “I’m sorry I embarrassed myself”

“No. I actually felt loved. It was fun, coming from you”, Derek said.

“Ok. You just have to go down the street. Take the second turning to the left and keep your eyes on the right side, while walking on that road. You’ll see the farm, demarcated with tall poles. They’ll be there now”

“Ok. I’m really grateful for the help”, Derek said and placed the money on the counter. He turned to leave. “Thanks. Love you”

“Uhn! What did you say?”, Emily asked, dramatically.

“What did I say? I can’t remember”

“Don’t say it again. It freaks me out”, Emily said.

Derek nodded. “Ok. That’s fine by me. I will not say ‘love you’ again… even if I actually mean it”

“When will you come back?”, Emily asked and hid her smile. It was obvious that she was trying to hide it. It made Derek smile back.

“Do you want me to come back?”, Derek asked.

“I’m supposed to bring customers here so yes. I want you to come back and patronize us”, Emily replied.

“That sounds like you are hiding your true feelings just like you are hiding that smile”, Derek said, teasingly.

“Shut up! Get out of here”

“Um, ok. Can I get your number, first? Plea-“

“No. Get out!”, Emily replied, sternly. Derek nodded, still smiling, and walked out of the restaurant.

“Are you sure?”, Sharon’s voice spoke from the window. “Are you sure you wouldn’t need to call him for CUSTOMER SERVICES?”

Emily smiled at her and went after Derek. “Hey!”, she called, as she ran towards the door. Immediately she stepped outside the restaurant, the ground seemed to have left the bottom of her legs. She dropped down, like she had walked into a pit. She slammed her body on the hard ground, suddenly, jerking herself awake and regaining full consciousness.

The door to her room opened. “Emily? O my God! Did you roll of your bed?”, Susan asked, mocking and laughing.

Emily stood up, slowly, and realized what had happened. She burst into laughter, too. “It’s not funny. Stop it”, she said, still laughing.

“Wait! What were you dreaming about? Skydiving?”

“It’s quite better than skydiving”, Emily replied and stopped laughing. She picked her blanket from the floor and rearranged her bed.

“Hm… it’s about a new boy. I bet” Susan said, pestering.

“Well, you’re wrong. It’s not about a boy” Emily lied.

“No. I’m never wrong. There’s a guy in the picture”

“Whatever. It’s about a guy”, Emily replied, in a casual voice. “He’s a stranger. I’ve only seen him once and I’m already dreaming about him. So embarrassing!”

“Hm. I thought you just said the dream was good”

“No. I said it was better than skydiving”, Emily replied. “Skydiving’s just one dumb s**t I know nothing about”

“I can tell that you like this guy you speak of so may I know why you speak of him, this way?”

“He is a stranger. That’s one reason” Emily replied. “Who knows? He could even be worse than Sam”

“You can’t just judge him that way” Susan said. “He is not Sam so, instead of assuming the kind of person he may be, why don’t you just find out who is and everything you want to know? What is his name?”

“His name is Derek. I don’t know his other names”

“Okay. Describe him. What do you see in him?”

“Well, he is from the city, rich and proud”, Emily replied. “He’s handsome and funny too. He came to the restaurant, a few days ago, with Troy, Leonardo, and Terry…..”

***★***

It was a pretty long drive. He placed the small brown box beside him, as he drove through the rough paths. He wasn’t sure if he had ever been there. The whole place looked so strange to him. The old decrepit building he was heading to stood right in front of him. He stepped out of the car and walked into the small door. There was a door on the ground, probably leading to a vault. He was meant to go in, anyway. He opened the door and saw the staircase that led down the vault. He walked down, slowly, till he got to the bottom and stepped down from the staircase.

Immediately he looked up, a girl appeared from nowhere with a g*n pointed at his head. “Who are you?”, she asked.

Derek pulled out his badge and showed her. “You know what this is?”, he asked.

“What is that?”, she stared, ignorantly, at the badge. She didn’t look as tough as the g*n made her seem. Rather, she looked scared, like someone armed with a g*n in case of an attack.

“You don’t know what this badge is?”

“Who are you?”, she said, staring at the badge and at Derek’s face. “Tell me who you are or I’ll shoot you”

“Romero wouldn’t want you to shoot”, Derek said, smiling confidently. “That could be the greatest mistake you’ll ever make in your life. The Circle will come for you and hunt you down. Every single person in this den will regret a mistake you made. Trust me when I say you don’t want that!”

Derek raised an hand, slowly, and held the g*n. “You’re scared”, Derek continued. Her sweat trickled down her cute young ebony face. Her short hair almost covered one part of her eye but it was too short. “I am not an enemy”, Derek said, in a calmer voice.

The girl let go of the g*n and walked up the staircase, quickly, running away. She probably wasn’t part of the g**g. Derek put the badge back in his pocket and proceeded into the underground room. An hefty man showed up in front of him with a g*n. “Drop the weapon”.

Derek dropped the g*n. “I don’t need it. I want to see Romero”

The man looked at Derek over again. “Who are you?”

Derek dipped his hand in his pocket and pulled out his badge. “This is enough introduction”

The man looked at the badge and back at Derek’s face. Then, he nodded. He pulled out his cellphone and made a call. “Boss. Circle”

“Okay. Collect the box from him”, Romero replied.

The man extended his hand to collect the box but Derek refused to give it. “No”, he said.

“He said No”

“Give him the phone”, Romero ordered.

Derek collected the phone and spoke. “Direct delivery”

“I can trust my men, ok?”, Romero replied. “Just give him the box. You have noth-“

“Direct delivery or I’ll return with the package”, Derek said, sounding tough. The request was needless but he wanted to know who Romero was. He had the power to command it and no one dared to touch him.

“Ok, fine. I’ll come down in a minute”, Romero replied.

“Thirty seconds or I’ll be going”, Derek retorted, and ended the call. He gave the phone back to the bouncer and stood there, checking his wrist watch frequently.

He turned his back. “When your boss is out, tell him he missed his chance”, Derek said to the bouncer, boldly, and walked back towards the staircase.

“Wait!”, a voice stopped him. It sounded less thicker than the one on the phone but it was the same person, Romero. “Sorry for keeping you waiting”

Derek stopped walking and turned around, slowly. Romero was wearing a mask which covered his nose and mouth so Derek couldn’t see his face well enough. He couldn’t do more to see who he was dealing with. He’d have to give the box and leave.