A Midnight Cab Ride
A Midnight Cab Ride
(Alice’s POV)
Once the decision was made, we wasted no time and started working on a plan. Bunny and Rachel were watching the men outside and kept track of their movements for the rest of the day, meanwhile mom and I started packing for light baggage, so that we could fit in a cab and flee. After dad woke up, we explained the situation. Even though he got very sad, he nodded solemnly and called for a friend of his, a cab driver, to come to the back door at midnight.
Everything was settled, now there was only one thing to do, wait. Bunny and Rachel reported that the men were changing places every 3 hours, and while they were changing shifts, there was 10-15 minutes that they were not around. So, there was a chance. After midnight when the shifts changed they could flee.
We got everything ready at the back door, Bunny insisted on taking her teddy bear. Even though we had very limited room for anything, I accepted it with the condition of her holding it in her arms. I couldn’t bring myself to take that small piece of home from her.
We turned off all of the lights around eleven pm, as we always do. Everyone sat in darkness in front of the back door waiting for men to change their shift. While I was peeking out from the windows. According to their schedule so far, they would change their shift around midnight. If we couldn’t catch that window, we could lose our chance for another 3 hours. Dad called his cab driver friend and informed him a bit about the sensitivity of being discreet. Even asked him not to turn on his headlights, and not wait right in front of our door, instead park a little ahead.
Everything looked ready. We couldn’t even dare to talk except whispering after the lights turned off. Like they could hear us. When I was watching from the window, I noticed they started changing their shift earlier this time. Shit! Shit! Shit! It was around 11:30 pm. They were changing places thirty minutes earlier.
“Come on, they are going! We need to leave now.” I whisper yelled. Everyone started frantically gathering everything we had. Dad called his friend for the cab and he said he was about to reach the street, so we can leave the house in 5 minutes. I wasn’t sure if we had five minutes.
My hands were shaking with anxiety, I shoved them into the pockets of my jeans even though they weren’t visible in the dark hall. I didn’t want to seem nervous so I wouldn’t make Bunny worry more. Dad kept looking at his watch for 5 minutes to pass. When the time was up, he said:
“I will go first casually and look for the cab if it’s there. If it is, I will signal you so all of us run there. Okay?”
“Okay.” we said in unison.
“Will you be alright?” I asked my dad. He just got out of the hospital and he was still having a hard time walking properly. He nodded. We didn’t have many other options anyway.
He opened the door very slowly and carefully, not to make that old door creak. He popped his head out first, took a look up and down the street. When he was certain there was no one there, he stepped out. He walked a little way down the street then he rushed back to the house,
“Come on” he whispered while waving his hand to us to come. We grabbed our bags and backpacks in a hurry and rushed out, closing the door slowly behind us. No one spared a second to look back at our house for one last time. We hadn’t had the luxury of sentimentality right now. Then we were on the street within no time. Dad pointed to a cab parked a little ahead down on the street. The cab's headlights were off. It must have been our ride. We rushed to the cab. Girls were carrying backpacks, mom was carrying a huge garbage bag that she stuffed the things we couldn’t fit in the bags. I was holding the two heavy luggage not daring to roll them down on their wheels out of fright to make too much noise.
When we finally managed to arrive at the cab, I glanced around quickly to make sure Don Virelli’s men hadn't returned. Thankfully they didn’t yet. We stuffed our bags into the trunk of the car. Dad was standing there and was watching the neighborhood while we were stuffing the things. When we were done, all four of us squeezed at the back seat of the cab. The driver was sitting silently on his seat, as if he understood the need for silence, waiting for us to settle. Lastly dad got in the car and we were ready for the ride. The engine of the car started. With the roaring of the cab, a small part of the fear weighing on my chest has lifted. Dad was still looking out of the window to make sure no one was following. We climbed slowly up the street. As we turned right from the end of the street, the fear started giving way to joy in my heart. We did it. We managed to get out of that house without getting caught. İt was the ultimate challenge. As long as we all were together, we could have done anything. We could build a new life. No matter how messed up it was, we could start over again.
While I was processing the thoughts and emotions I felt, I recognized that the cab started slowing down. Dad must have recognized the same thing, for the first time since we got in the cab he took his eyes off of the rear mirror and turned to the driver.
“Mario, why are you slow — you are not Mario!” Before we could even process what was going on, the driver took out a gun and pointed it at dad. All four of us screamed in unison.
“None of you move! Or I will put a hole in your precious dad’s head.” We shut our mouths immediately. Dad raised his hands in surrender. And the cab stopped in a quiet small lane. As soon as it stopped, the doors of the back seat opened from both sides, and arms extended in grabbing Bunny and mom who were sitting at the window sides. Me and Bunny tried to hold onto them in vain, but the same arms returned right after them for us.
When all of us pulled out of the cab, and were being held hostage by one man with a gun pointed at us, I recognized a familiar chuckle coming from my back. When he stepped into my peripheral, I understood I wasn’t wrong. İt was Don Virelli. He slowly came in front of me, holding a cigar in one hand, and a gun in the other.
“My, my… Look at the audacity of these little mice. You really think that you can run away from me?”
“How did you learn?” I demanded.
“Mario is a good customer, he pays on time, unlike others, and he wiped quite a sum off his debt with his one call. He knows how to seize an opportunity for sure.”
Dad cursed his old friend while the man holding him tightened his grip on him.
“Why are you doing this? 50K is nothing for you. Why are you putting so much effort into this?” I cried.
“Because no one can steal from Don Virelli.” he spat at my feet. The girls and mom were restlessly struggling with their holders.
Dad cut in.
“Look, we will pay your money. We just need a little more time. We put the house on sale. As soon as it is sold–”
“Shut up!” he yelled at my father. And turned to me.
“I am talking to you.” he said to me while blowing smoke into my face.
“I said what I could do if you don’t pay on time. But you tried to run away from me? Not wise I should say.”
“Please…” I begged. “Please give us some more time.”
“Sorry darling. I have pressing matters.” he said then turned to his man holding Bunny captive. “Take her.”
“Nooo!!” I cried at the top of my lungs at the same time with Rachel and mom. All of us tried to shake off the firm grips on us to reach her, to stop the man dragging a frantically crying and kicking Bunny into a black car. He pushed Bunny into the car and closed the door on her. Dad kicked the man who was holding him to reach her, but got punched and fell to the ground. Don Virelli turned around and started walking to the car as well. Just before he sat in the car he looked back at me and said:
“I am a man of my word. I have given you time until tomorrow, so it will be. You have time until 6 pm tomorrow. If you don’t bring my money, I will gladly sell your sister for a higher price.”
“Youu bastard—” before I could complete my swear he got in the car. And as soon as his car left, his men pushed us to the ground harshly and left after him. Now we all were scattered on the ground like garbage. Mom went to dad’s side and hugged him. Rachel was crying sitting on the ground like a toddler who didn’t know what to do. And I found a teddy bear on the floor. Bunny’s bear. I held it in my hands. Stared at it intently. There was no doubt anymore. No fear. No question, no disgust. There was one thing left to do. And I wasn’t above doing it. I pulled out my cell phone from my pocket and dialed the number saved in the quick calls for the last couple months now. It rang twice. When the familiar voice at the other end of the line answered, I had only one sentence to say:
“I accept your offer.”
…