The Truth Berries

V

          The blast that shook the ground the day after his noble heist sent a clear warning to him. He did not have to hear the entire news on the radio to know who the sole victim was or the real motive behind it. He did not know who did the bombing but it did shed light to one thing; there were others who knew about the treasure. Sooner or later, he would have to disappear with the seed. And if the situation gets critical, he would have to secure its safety. He knew he could not compromise that. It would be the least that he could do to ensure the balance and harmony between the gods and mankind. And if the gods should ask the ultimate price, he knew he had no choice but to comply. If that was what it takes to keep them from getting to the seed, he would do it whole-heartedly. He was already old so what if he’s a few years early if he knew he could add a lot more to others’.

The moment he heard the explosion, he started to pack all his valuable things. He also contacted his nephew and briefed him on what to do while he was away for the moment. He told him everything about the store, from the prices of each item to its historical backgrounds. He taught him how to spot the rich collector from the simple tourists just looking for souvenirs, and the theft amongst them.

          “Where are you going, Uncle?”, his nephew asked.

          “I have to deliver something to a good old friend and it requires my personal touch in it so I’ll be gone for quite some time. Remember, do not talk to people claiming they’re my friends. Do not tell anybody who you really are. You are just a regular employee here, okay? And do not tell anybody where I went. I don’t want to be disturbed. I’m taking my vacation very seriously. Lastly, be on guard all the time. You’ll never know when something bad is going to happen”.

          “What’s wrong, Uncle? You’re being too paranoid.”, his nephew lightly laughed.

          “Remember what I’ve said. Here’s the phone. You can’t call me but I’ll call to check on you from time to time.”

          “When are you leaving?”

          “Tonight, at nine. Anything you need to buy, just buy. The money is in the vault. I’ll leave the key and the passcode to you before I board the plane. Be careful all the time, okay?”

           His nephew gave a shrug before going out of the shop. There’s only one thing left to do. He called the FedEx customer hotline and requested for a rush overseas delivery. When the representative confirmed his request, he went to his vault and took the seed. It had a new replica of the chest now. He tried to do another replica of its chest based on everything that he could remember. He slid it into his jacket and went to the courier branch. Upon arriving, he filled out the form and wrote the package destination, along with its recipient name. He wished de didn’t have to do that but he knew that it was a good insurance. Whatever might happen to him, he knew he did a good job of keeping a step ahead of his enemies. If they happened to catch him, the seed would be already on its way to someone who he knew would know what to do with it. They could do whatever they want to him but he would never speak a word of it to them. He decided he would take the secret of its new whereabouts to his grave.

Once he was done, he went home to check his entire luggage. He brought all the things he knew he would need during his stay in his friend’s place, including five thick bundles of American dollars - all in hundreds. He also brought all his debit cards although he had no intention of using it. He was sure they could trace you with that once you use it. When he was certain he has all the things he would need, he lied down and closed his eyes. The last few days had been such a whirlwind of events for him and he felt the lack of sleep and fatigue accumulating that moment and finally caught up with him. He felt really old for those kinds of adventures. Eventually, he drifted into a dreamless sleep.

          It was the sound of a broken glass downstairs that woke him up, although he could not say if he really did hear one. Still on the edges of sleep, he sat on his bed and tried to assess everything. It was already beginning to grow dark. He has slept for more than five hours and that was a first for him since his wife died of heart attack. He was getting hungry and was about to go down to prepare his own dinner when he heard muffled footsteps going up to his room. He reached under his pillow and felt the hilt of an ancient ceremonial dagger. This was originally used by the pharaoh’s high priest during rituals before a sacrifice was performed. Yoel found the current situation very fitting. He turned the lights off and the room was bathed in total darkness. Slowly and silently, he tiptoed his way towards the side of the door so that he could launch a surprise attack the moment the door opens. He took a deep breath and held it.

          When the door was kicked wide open, he saw a tall, young man entered the room. Using his own weight to gain momentum, he jumped at the man and they were both sent rolling down the stairs. When they reached the first floor of the house, Yoel ended up on top of the stranger. The man’s pistol was thrown ten feet away from him, a result of the initial skirmish. Relying on his instincts, Yoel drew the dagger and aimed for the man’s heart but the younger man took hold of his two wrists, stopping the dagger in midair. Then, finding a momentum, the man pushed his hips upward making Yoel tumble forward headfirst. When he finally collected himself, he turned around just in time to greet the man’s flying elbow. That almost took the wind out of him but he still heard the man asking him where it was.

          “Where’s the chest, old man? Where is it!”

           He felt a little dizzy and he tasted blood in his mouth. Still, he managed to give the young man an idiotic grin, blood running on the side of his lips. The last thing that he remembered was the flash of the man’s fist before everything faded to black.