Dangerous Entanglement

Episode 18

/HANNAHS POV/

I was sitting in my car, waiting for the black guy from the dock, though I gave him my phone number, I still find it compelling to wait for his shift end of for that day which he said will be done five hours from when we met. I had a bit of sightseeing around the dock trying to get myself familiarized with the neighborhood, leaving the house with my own ride made it very easy to drive around.

Immediately he stepped out of the dock, I pressed the horn on him but he refused to acknowledge me after recognizing I was the one. I understood what he did and the reason for doing that, so I drove off and patiently waited for his call. I just got back to my cabin and was going through the brief I was given earlier on the case, it was very scanty and no any detail information on the case, every tip and information were all anonymous with no real fact. Wondering why such a case with so much question marks will be taken up by the agency. Some minutes into the study of the file a call from an unknown number came in, it was obvious the call came from a pay phone.

“Hey b***h, you wanna get me sacked or even killed…” was the first statement I heard after picking the call. I wasn’t surprised, the forklift guy is someone whose looks depicts a pure heart but the words you hear from him makes it obvious he has a dirty mind.

“Hey I am sorry right, you need not get all worked up over this” I said to him trying to calm him down.

“Oh yeah, I need not, till I get killed.” He said with anger still traced in his voice.

“Okay what you really want to know?” he finally asked now ready for business.

“We got a tip about an inflow and outflow of shipments from that dock from somewhere in South America, we don’t really know what it is or when it’s coming, and my job is to know all that”. I told him the whole Intel I have before it dawn on me how stupid I was, how will I be so naïve and unprofessional with trusting a total stranger.

“Ohhh, I see, so where and when do we linkup?” he asked again.

“I know a place in bricklle, I guess it’s a good location, neutral and safe for both of us” I suggested trying to meet him up in the club I met that barman called Kelvin.

“Hey b***h how do you expect me to get myself there, I am broke, and that’s one reason why I want to work as a snitch for you” he said with a different tone entirely, making it hard to decide if he is angry or pleading.

“Okay let’s get this straight, first of all, you not a snitch, you working as my CI, secondly, never you ever again call me the B word and lastly find a way to be there by eight tonight, you my CI, you will be handsomely refunded and with allot of extra tip” I said trying to make sure I have a straight and clear with allot of authority so as not to allow him have the dominance or ride over me.

“All right I get your point straight and clear, so just so we on the same page, will I get to tap that ass tonight?” he asked again switching to his flirty tone again.

“Well that’s not part of the agreement but possibly you could get to if you behave well and be a good boy” I said trying to maintain my authority.

“Well, let’s meet up, we gonna discuss the agreement better over drinks I guess” he said trying not to sound any much intimidated by my authoritative tone.

“Well, Mr. Dele Simon…”

“What… how the f**k did you know my name?” he asked cutting me off with surprise.

“Come on man, you had a badge at the edge of your reflective jacket…” I declared to him.

“Ohhh I see, you really not an armature after all”. He stated having being impressed.

“So as I was saying, if you try to f**k me over, I am so gonna f**k you up that leaving Florida will be your only option” I said to him.

“What lady? Is that a treat? We haven’t even started anything yet and you already passing out threats, and on what basis you giving this threat?” He said with anger and trying as much as he can to hide his fear or so.

“Well, this call is on record and you just messed yourself up by agreeing to Dele Simon being your name”. I stated that with so much confidence wondering why I haven’t thought about placing the call on record from the very beginning.

“s**t Hannah, you such a dumb ass, no wonder you have always been a failure” I thought to myself as I quickly removed the phone from my ear and pressed the button to put the call on record.

“You little sneaky ass b***h” he said with so much regrets in his voice.

“Remember Dele, I am not your b***h” I said to him reminding him of the rule I set earlier.

“Alright I will be texting you with my phone now, text me the location of this place you said is in brickell I will be there I an hour or two” he said and went off the call immediately.

…………………………………………….

“Well! Actually we have something fishy going on the dock, I can’t really place my hands on what it is precisely because only a selected few get to be on duty when that stuff is going down”. Dele said to me about three hours later after we had the talk over the phone. I got there earlier and found myself a sit at the table at the upper floor away from the dances, Dele showed up just fifteen minutes after I got there.

“And yes, over the past few weeks, some south Americans have been showing up on the dock having private meetings with the boss” he added to his earlier statement to support and confirm what I have from in my briefing file.

“So how do you know they are South Americans?” I questioned him trying to know if he is just trying to take me for a ride by playing smart with what I have given to him or he actually knows what he is saying.

“You mean aside from them all looking like Spanish speaking chicharito” he said with chuckle while he sip from the cup of drink. I couldn’t deduce any response to that, so I just stared at him with a straight look.

“Well, I just know they are for so many reasons I can’t even buttress on, like I have stated, identifying people is a survival skill for Me.” he added immediately after dropping the cup.

“Okay, you mentioned something fishy, what are the unusual occurrence in the dock that looks fishy?” I questioned trying to be a little sarcastic.

“Well, they are just movements and segregation of workers, all this are not really something I can prove or explain now because I don’t know very good observations of those acts will fetch me money”. He mentioned with as he took a proper and more convenient sitting posture.

“But you just a forklift operator, how do I know your information is legit and reliable?” I asked him trying to establish credibility.

“Hey lady, you want to do this or know, I don’t have time for you to question. And moreover I already told you, this skills are informally gotten for survival, so stop questioning the products of the skills because it can’t be explained” he fired out hitting his palm on the table out of anger.

“Okay, okay, you don’t need to get all worked out” I said in my defens, but I still try to maintain authority in the partnership.

“Just trust me, honestly, trust me” he said calmly gesturing to his chest trying to put my mind at rest.

“And why should I do that?” I asked the question with the pitch of my voice a little bit on the high.

“Okay, that’s a tough one, and I don’t have a reply for it honestly. But I urge you to trust Me.” he said again in his cold voice. I gulped the last drop of the drink I had with me and just stared at him. He looked up at me and said…

“You have stated your rules earlier, now here are mine… you never initiate contact with me, I do and secondly I get fifty dollars for every information I give and if it is confirmed useful I get another fifty. But I am open to other tips from you” the last stamen came with a wink and other flirty gestures. I only passed him a dull smile in reply to his flirty approach.

“Lastly if we burst this guys, I will like get a badge too” he said with plead in his tone and physical gestures. I looked at him with a surprise.

“Okay that comes as a shocker but well, I will see what I can do” I said as I got up to leave because I was already getting tired of the discussion, I dropped some wands of cash on the table for him to settle the bill and also for him as I moved away.

“Okay my lady, what do I call you, you never introduced yourself properly.” He asked, I turned and looked at him.

“Just keep referring to me as your lady for now.” He passed a smile and turned back to the table.

Though I try not to give him all trust, but deep down in me I just feel he can be well trusted, I went down and headed straight to the bar, I won’t lie, the barman was exactly who I wanted at the bar, not the drink, not the scene. I guess Dele’s flirts have gotten to me and I was feeling a bit funny and wanted some pampering, but to my greatest disappointment I didn’t meet him at the bar counter.

“Excuse me, where is the other guy?” I enquired from the guy I met at the bar counter. He looked at me like he doesn’t understand a word from what I said.

“I mean, the guy who use to be here…. Ermmmm Kelvin or something…” And this time he acknowledged he knows what I am talking about.

“Oh yeah, he travelled to see his family in Mexico, he should be back today”. He said enthusiastically.

“Okay, I hope he gets here before I leave.”

I was there in the club but didn’t stay for long at all, the whole club was just not giving me the vibes I wanted for that night. After about thirty minutes or so, I saw Dele leave and I decided to trail him and know more about him.

“Okay dude, I will be leaving now” I dropped some cash on the counter and leave dropped from the stool, and started moving away towards the exit.

“Hey, Kelvin will soon be here, just some minutes more” he said trying to keep me, I didn’t even reply all I did was just raised my hand right hand to wave him good bye.

I got outside and I couldn’t see the direction Dele took, I ran to the end of the of the closes corner to see on the street to cheek for any trace of Dele, but just as I was getting to the corner I suddenly stopped and turned back to have a second look at someone I noticed dropping from the cab. Oh yeah, it was kelvin, the guy at the bar, I was confused on what to do at that instance I checked the corner and there I saw Dele getting on a power bike and ready to zoom off. 

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