Chapter 61

*Mark*

Life at Seasbury was just as I had expected it to be. Slow yet busy in its own way. It was evening and I was heading back to my small dingy apartment in the grimmer part of the town. This was where most of us dockworkers stayed. Housing was still expensive; here some places were even dearer than at Selspur City. Though I had no incentive to spend money and be discovered.

I had enough money to rent a better apartment but then that would mean I would have to leave my details whether real or fake with the landlord. I had tried to get an apartment as soon as I had arrived but when I was asked for identification I hesitated.

It was the landlord who assumed I was an illegal immigrant and suggested that I go get a job and housing at the dockside. I did exactly that and the foreman just looked at me and assigned me my post and mentioned the daily wage I would be getting. He also told me to be reporting as early as five in the morning though end of shift was dependent on the number of ships docked there.

The pay itself wasn't bad as he handed me my wage and he also asked if I had any accommodation. When I said I was searching, he called one of the burly men and told him to show me where I could get a roof over my head. I was then taken to the lower CBD area and I started to be alert in case anyone tried to jump me. The neighborhood itself was teeming with life but no one batted an eyelid at me. There were ladies skimpily dressed on almost every street corner standing in twos or threes.

People milled around doorways that I later found out to be clubs and drinking spots for the locals. I spotted a few betting and gaming lounges here and there. I also managed to point out internally the few drug dealers and their fronts.

Finally, we pulled up at a four-storeyed building and he pushed open the iron gate. We walked past the empty parking lot save for a few teenagers smoking weed in two of the unlit corners. He got to the wooden door that was hanging on two of its three hinges and pushed it open. He led me to the end of the corridor and knocked on the door.

A gruff voice hollered from the inside and I heard heavy footsteps approaching. The door was swung open indoors and a heavily bearded man with an even bigger body than my guide covered the doorway.

"New tenant, Vittorio sent him over," my nameless guide said and then left without as much as a glance at me.

"Give me a second," the man said and closed the door behind him. I heard him open a few drawers then pulled out a set of keys that jingled loudly. He opened the door and walked out going up. I followed him to the third floor where he stood in front of a metallic gate. He removed two keys and used one of them to open the gate and the second to open the wooden door.

He stepped aside and motioned for me to get in before handing me my keys.

"Rent is due weekly and you pay upfront but since Vittorio Sent you, I will let you pay on Fridays," he said.

I had my bag with me so I put it down and rummaged through the side pockets and found what I was looking for. I counted a number of bills from inside the bag and pulled out the exact amount I needed.

I turned and gave him the sheaf of bills, "Here is two months upfront."

A grin broke out on his face and he took the money which he counted and put in his pocket, "It looks like we shall not have any trouble then. You know where my place is if you need anything. Hot water is available throughout as well as all appliances working. You don't look like the type to cause chaos and destroy my house so enjoy your stay."

He walked away and I shut the gate and door behind me. I switched on the lights to see my new domicile. The fluorescent lights dimly lit the small apartment. The sitting room was small but it had a three-seater brown sofa and the floor was carpeted. A small dining table with four wooden chairs adorned one of the corners.

The kitchenette had all the kitchen appliances I would need. The fridge though was a small one. The oven was also a medium sized one. Next to it was the sink and surprisingly a washing machine. I walked to the bedroom and found it had a small bed and a wardrobe where I put my bag. Like the sitting room, the bedroom was also carpeted and the widows were grilled but at least they were sliding windows.

I found myself drifting off to sleep that night. I would have overslept except for a loud bang outside that woke me up at a few minutes past four. I cursed and took my phone looking at the time. I remembered I was to be at work in less than an hour time.

I had taken a shower and then slowly made my way to the docks. I arrived on time and so my life of loading and unloading cargo at the docks had begun.

Today was no different from any of those other days. It was super busy as a few commercial ships had docked and both inbound and outbound warehouses were packed with people. I maneuvered my loader to the wooden pallet and picked it up.

The foreman, after a night together at the bar, had realized that I could operate the machinery and he had promoted me the following day from manual labor. He had also put me in charge of a team to supervise.

Today and tomorrow would be super busy but after that we were all given three days to rest before the next ship would depart. Everyone was looking forward to those free days as was I. I wanted to go back inconspicuously and see Olga back at Selspur.

Twice we had had visits from the police but the foreman had quickly sorted it out. I had asked him later what they had wanted and he mentioned that since most of the dockworkers were illegal immigrants, he had to give them something to make them turn their eyes away. Though he also mentioned that they knew they needed the dockworkers because none of the locals wanted to do the heavy lifting.

When I heard that, I relaxed a little. I thought that the billionaire had sent them after me. When my thoughts went to him they inadvertently drifted to Sierra and Lisa. I had promised Sierra I would stay away from Lisa but after that incident I no longer felt the need of honoring my words.

After I met up with Olga, Lisa would be my next port of call. Sierra would be the hardest to reach considering how that billionaire watched over her, but I would use Lisa to get to her. It looked like Sierra still cared about Lisa.

I looked at both sides of the station and then lowered my hood and quickly crossed the road. None of the guards bothered to look at me as I left the train station. I walked slowly to my old apartment keeping all my senses open. I walked up the stairs and saw signs of forced entry into the house. Not that the door was broken though, but I could tell the lock had been picked by the rough scratches on the metallic lock. That means that they hadn't reported me to the police.

I still had the keys to my place considering I had paid rent in advance. I entered the house and saw it was just as I had left it. But I could tell they had entered and rummaged through it before returning everything as it was. Which meant they suspected that I would be coming back.

Well as I was here I decided to take the rest of my belongings and packed them up. I had a friend who would hold on to them until I left tomorrow. I called my friend and had him come with a pickup and he helped me take my items to his place.

I felt like writing a note just to rile them up but decided not to. I locked the now empty house and left the apartment block. They would soon realize that I was around but by then I would have left a trail of dust. For good measure I dropped a card for a far-off city for them to find.

My next destination was Olga's apartment that I had found for her. I went to her place but found it locked. I knocked on the next door and a middle aged woman holding a young baby in her arms opened it.

"Sorry, I thought this was Olga's door," I said smiling.

"She moved out a while back, from the rumors she is at Grey's Residence," she told me.

"Thank you," I smiled and left. So she had succeeded in getting her man. That then left Lisa. From what I had discovered that The Purple Mirage was the de facto housing unit for the staff at that fancy hotel.

I took out my phone and decided to first call Olga. Her phone rang but she didn't pick up. I called two other times and then hung up and sent her a text to call me as soon as she could.

I then called Lisa and she picked up on the first ring.

"Hello," she said warily.

"Are you at work, I am outside here at the hotel," I lied to her.

"No, I am not at work today," she said. "I am home."

"Good, because I am here outside The Purple Mirage, so you had better come for me or else I will start banging all the doors until I find yours."

I heard her sigh and then she said, "Come to the fourth floor, my apartment is FF6."

Again that was a little lie but she had confirmed that she did indeed stay at Purple Mirage. I jogged over to the place and took the stairs up to her apartment. I rang the doorbell and she opened it. I saw fear in her eyes but she stepped aside for me to enter.

"Nice little place you have here," I commented looking around. "I need a place to stay for a few days."

She eyed me cautiously and motioned for me to take a seat. I removed my shoes and stepped onto the fluffy carpet taking a seat on the armchair.

"You know my boss is looking for you," she said.

"And I know you are smart enough not to tell him that I am here," I shot back.

"Why are you back?" she asked and offered me a beer from the fridge.

I gulped it down greedily, downing half of the bottle. I let out a sigh and leaned back. "I need to see Olga-"

"Well that is going to be hard. She is now living with Jayden after she messed up with Sierra who then left.

"What do you mean Sierra left?"

She took a seat opposite me, "Olga is pregnant with Jayden's child and she told Sierra who left Jayden- my boss a while back."

"I don't follow," I said, finishing the beer.

"I suppose you didn't know, but Sierra and Jayden had been staying together and from what I heard they were in a secret relationship. Apparently Olga knew about it and to get Sierra out of the picture she slept with Jayden and got pregnant. Sierra found out and she left shortly after.

"No one knows where she went to?" I asked but Lisa shook her head.

Damn! Now how was I to find her? So Olga had been competing with Sierra. If only I had known earlier.

"What about her friend that she stayed with on this floor? Is she around?"

Lisa shook her head and sighed, "The whole issue you had with Amanda as well as your disappearance put everyone on high alert. Both Amanda and Cynthia are living at the residence of Mr. Grey. You can't approach either of them easily now, they are ferried from work to home. That's all I know."

"When are you going back to work?"

"Tomorrow morning," was her reply. I closed my eyes and thought of my next move. Since Sierra wasn't around, I would just have to settle for Lisa. I know I will bump into Sierra later on.

"Well it is like this, I am going to stay here for this week. You shall give your notice at the hotel and then we will leave," I said, opening my eyes.

"No, I am not leaving this place," she said stubbornly. "I am just starting to get my life back."

"Lisa, you forget I am not asking you, I am commanding you,"I said, raising an eyebrow.

She looked at me defiantly and I swear I saw a glint in her eye. She nodded and went to the kitchen. She handed me another beer and started preparing food for me. I switched on the television and flipped through the channels.

There was a knock on the door and I looked at Lisa with a dark look on my face. "Were you expecting anyone?"

She shook her head and approached the door. I went to her bedroom as she hid my shoes behind the door. The knocking kept on going until she opened.

"I know Mark is here."

"Mark come out, I know you are here," I heard Olga's voice in the sitting room. I opened the door and there was Olga standing at the door as if expecting me to come out of the room.

"You don't have much time, Jayden knows you are here in the city. That was stupid of you to take your items out of the apartment, you should have called me."

I hugged her and growled, "Check your phone I called and texted you."

"Well it doesn't matter. I don't think they know you are stupid enough to come here," she emphasised on stupid, "But you should get going. I heard Jayden receiving a call ten minutes ago that you had been spotted at your old place. I take it you went to my place too. All the roads are being watched but if you are fast enough, there is a train leaving in the next fifteen minutes."

I had no option but to do as she said. They had reacted too fast and I looked at Lisa who was watching us both. I knew she was relieved that my plans for her had gone awry.

"What about her?" I asked.

"Don't worry she won't say anything," Olga said. "Now go I will call you later on."

With that I left the apartment quickly and sneaked out. I stayed in the dark alleys until I got to the station where I entered the departing train. I finally breathed a sigh of relief before realizing I had boarded the wrong train.