More Shots Fired (06)

“He’s Eddy, and I’m Chris.”

One brother seemed to be finding the events of the day funny – Chris.

Naomi and Ife sat with their hands tied backwards to a metal-pole behind them; both wanted an explanation for what was going on. How exactly were there two Enoch? Naomi was more outspoken about their present condition. Ife observed more than she muttered to herself: she felt she was going crazy. In the midst of her conflict she could tell Eddy was the one with the gun-injury, because of the way he walked with obvious discomfort.

“I really don’t understand what’s happening,” Naomi spoke out: she wasn’t really one to be intimidated by anything, especially not by a set of twins trying to play a fast one on her and her best friend.

“You think this is a joke?” Chris asked her. His anger was as fierce as his bold voice.

“You’ve been kidnapped, and you think it a joke!”

“You think I’m scared of you?” Naomi retorted.

She threw a glance at Ife; but she wouldn’t respond with words as she expected.

Chris laughed in a sarcastic manner, the way common to scary movies. He asked if she thought she was safe because they had sex not long ago at the hospital’s restroom. Naomi shrugged her shoulders and blinked her eyelids uncontrollably, she thought his reason right. He came closer and knelt before her.

“Not to spoil the mood, but you’re wrong.” His hands found its way around her neck. They tightened themselves in the delight of the sight of her struggle.

“Leave her alone!” Ife shouted. Chris was still having the time of his life; Naomi gasped desperately for help, her hands shook, unable to move and help fight for her life. “Please… let her go,” Ife’s pleaded with teary eyes.

Naomi struggled less, till she totally stopped shaking.

Ife’s face wore the worst look it had in years since her biological father’s death. To make things worse, Chris, still exhilarated from the ki*ll wanted to go another round.

“You’re next,” he said, and approached her with threatening steps.

“No!… please!… Don’t do this,” she pleaded in many words. Chris still approached boldly. “I’ll do anything…  I can help you with your Six-Six problem.”

Chris froze on his track and turned to his brother who was still writhing in minute pain. “You told her!” He accused.

“Of course not. I’m not stupid,” Eddy said in his defense. He was also interested in knowing how Ife came to know that name.

Ife was at a crossroad, anything she said determined if she lived or died. Her dream the other day had turned out to be useful, at least in buying her extra moments to figure out how to live another day.

“I know you both are scared of Six-Six… And I have information that’ll take care of that problem once and for all.” Ife began. She had leverage now, all she had to do was use it right.

***

Eddy and Chris had a good deal to argue. Eddy wanted to take Ife on her deal, probably because of the two he was the one who had spent much time on Ife’s case-file over the last six months their mission began. He currently thought her an asset; one willing to help them permanently take care of their Six-Six problem.

“I hope it was worth it,” Chris said; sarcasm filled the corner of his mouth.

Eddy had a look of bewilderment all over him. “What was?”

“Sex with her,” Chris sharply replied.

Ife looked up to Chris with disgust. Eddy untied her in silence.

***

Ife hurried to the balcony, she needed as much clean air as she could get; one doesn’t get this close to sying and still not appreciate life. Naomi’s corpse still laid on the center-rug of the living-space, but she couldn’t bother herself with that now: she needed to keep playing the game well enough to come out of this alive. She looked across to her house, and remembered her father still in coma. She quickly checked her phone for any message from the hospital, but got nothing.

“Hey!”

Ife was stunned. She quickly turned back.

Eddy stood before her; he appeared unsure of the right thing to say to calm the anger he knew was brewing heavily in her.

“Hey.” He greeted again, clearing his voice to make it sound better.

“Hey,” Ife finally replied. Faking a smile.

“I’m sorry,” Eddy started. He consoled himself by placing a hand on the spot of his injury. He apologized for his inability to quickly save Ife from the claws of his crazy brother, Chris. He appreciated her own effort in saving her life. “He sometimes scares me too.” He said of Chris.

“We’re twins, he and I.”

“I figured.” She turned her back to him again.

Eddy narrated their origin to her. How he and Chris always acted as each other’s alibi. He told the truth of his most recent tale of how he got shot. It was during a misunderstanding at a bank robbery. His shooter was the mysterious, always-masked Six-Six. He also talked about how Chris usually covers for his shifts at work and even went to clear his name off the misunderstanding that caused the police summon the day of the explosion.

“Chris may be a psycho, but he is my brother, and he is good to me.”

Ife couldn’t take it anymore: his words were torture to her ears, yet, her body yearned for his. She cursed her hormones, and quickly turned to grab his head and ravage his lips. She had fantasized about this moment in various forms, but none was as unsatisfying as this.

“I want to make the sex worth your while, as your brother accused you.” She said. Her blouse buttons came undone as fast as those foods fell off her lips; by his hands; the same hands quickly cupped her moderately sized breasts through her bra.

He lifted her, and gently carried their weights till he rested his back on the edge of the balcony for leverage. This was the hit of the moment, and couldn’t have been more perfect, under the exposed stars of the night. Anything, just to stay alive.

“Stop!… Stop!”

Ife couldn’t ignore the voice when it was certain it wasn’t her conscience telling her to.

“That’s not me, Ife!”

Ife could see the twin with only a singlet and boxer-short, staggering and holding on to his bleeding side. She jumped off.

“What is going on here?” Ife asked. Her voice shaky with fear and concern.

The twin she was about riding before the revelation came to light stood up, and let out another sarcastic laughter – they were his favorites. He confessed to this being the biggest prank he’d ever pulled using his brother’s identity. He was actually Chris, and had hit his brother unconscious just to confirm if Ife could be trusted by feeding her with enough information and gauging her reactions to them. The sex part was a bonus, simply because she offered it.

“You’re a bas***d!” Ife cursed. She ran to help Eddy, who’s gun-shot injury was bleeding again.

“You should be thanking me,” Chris said. “I know you wanted it as much as I did… If Eddy cannot give it to you, you know where to find me.”

Ife cursed again. This time she also spat on the floor. “Better to sleep with an animal than with you!” She yelled.