Chapter 8: Smell like Death

GERALDINE

"Konstantin?"

Geraldine asks herself if she was hallucinating. A familiar man paces himself across the hallway of the hospital where she visits her psychiatrist. The charming reassuring face of the old man now looks weary. All the betrayal that Konstantin does to her family flies away as she approaches him with concern about his state.

"Konstantin!" Geraldine calls out the man's attention who stops and peeks around nervously as if she says a fatal word. She runs towards him to address her questions.

"Why are you here?" She asks laying a hand on the man's arm to express her concerns.

"I had a heart attack," Konstantin replies in a low voice. He feels weak after a few steps from his room.

"You shouldn't be walking around," Geraldine orders the man and tries to guide him to a chair nearby.

"Help me get out of this hospital, please," Konstantin pleads. He knows she should be angry at him. He used Geraldine to spy on her mother to get the information he needs. Desperation is deflating his character but it is not the first time he begs for his life under a woman's superior hand in the situation.

"But why?" Geraldine asks. She is aware of how her mother and Konstantin's work is tough but never as dangerous as being killed at a hospital.

"They will kill me if they find out I'm here," Konstantin explains with fear crawling into his veins. He has been living life near death but when it comes chasing after him, he no longer knows how to escape.

Geraldine sees the sincerity and panic in Konstantin's eyes. He might be lying to her before but the sound of his voice screams helpless and miserable.

"Okay. I'll help you get out of here." Geraldine agrees to assist the man whom not for long she wishes to die.

Geraldine searches for a wheelchair to help Konstantin move quicker. She finds one parked outside one of the rooms in the hall. She helps the man sit and push his chair towards the elevator. Crossing the hallway is easy. The doctors and nurses passing by do not give a glimpse towards them until they arrive at the exit door where a guard screens the people coming in and out of the hospital.

"Ma'am, are you discharging the patient?" The man wearing a security uniform blocks them. He is wearing a mask and gloves as a precaution to diseases.

"No, my father only had a check-up. He's fine now." Geraldine replies with a smile as the man tries to take note of their temperature.

"Okay. Take care, ma'am." The security personnel says allowing them to go out of the premises and ready to question the person behind them.

Geraldine shoves the wheelchair out of the door until they get in front of her car. She manages to help Konstantin to get inside the passenger seat leaving the wheelchair behind as she drives away from the hospital.

EVE

Eve brings her luggage into the uber van she called a few minutes ago. Her flight for America is in three hours and she does not want to be late because of traffic. The driver helps Eve place the last bag inside the van. He is more than helpful and Eve is thankful for that.

"You are Eve Polastri, right?" The man asks again before she goes inside the vehicle.

"Of course, I am." She replies with a smile and regrets it soon after the man shot her with a dart on her shoulder.

Eve's eyes become blurry with the intense sensation to shut her eyes to sleep and yet the anger in her wants to fight it off as much so she grabs the dart out of her shoulder and tries to maul the driver. Eve shouts at the top of her lungs to frighten the man but the drugs dominate her and she falls down from the van. Flat on the ground.

The driver lifts Eve with ease on his arms and shoves the woman inside the van. He looks around to check for any witness of his crime and goes inside the vehicle and drives away from the apartment.

Eve wakes up on a dark abandoned building with her hands tied up to her back and her mouth covered by tape. A small lamp above illuminates the place. She tries to move her lips and scream thru her close mouth but the muffled sound is not enough to echo in the enormous vacant area.

The man comes back from the corner of the room zipping his fly. He reaches out to take the tape off Eve's mouth. The woman smells the stink in the man's hand and tries to lean her face away as much as she can.

"I'm going to let you go if you answer my question." The man says threatening Eve with his deep rough voice. "Where is Villanelle?" He continues.

"I don't know," Eve answers with her voice in panic. Even if she knows where the assassin is she will never put the woman in danger.

"Really? You don't know?" The man asks sarcastically as he shows her a picture of them on the bridge talking.

"Why are you looking for Villanelle?" Eve asks the man to interrogate her. Villanelle is promoted by the Twelve so why are they after the woman.

"Villanelle killed one of the assassins of the Twelve. The one I'm handling. Her name is Rhian and she's one of the best." The man explains with his wide eyes to scare his captive.

Eve realizes that the Twelve is not after the woman. The man kidnaps her for personal reasons. She realize how dangerous her life is in without Villanelle knowing where she is and who is after them.

Eve tries to move her hands behind her back and find a way to untie the knots. Unfortunately, it is tied tightly by the man and she has no other choice but to lie to save her life.

"Now, I'm going to ask you again, where is Villanelle?" The man shouts in front of her face deep within his lungs to intimidate Eve and the words echoed inside the abandoned establishment.

"You smell like death," Eve replies squirming her face in disgust. The man smirks with her mockery and Eve sees an opportunity. She pulls her head back and forcefully hit the man's nose with her forehead.

"Shit!" The man mumbles with blood on his face and mouth. He puts his hands around Eve's neck but before he can squeeze the life out of his captive an excruciating pain comes between his legs.

Eve's feet are not tied unlike her hands and she uses them to kick the man's orbs to put him down. The man waggle on the floor holding his crouch. Eve bends over to lift the chair up. She positions the seat exactly where the man is and smash it hard against him. It breaks into pieces and gives the man another reason to feel the agony.

Free from the constraints, Eve stands up and stares at the man on the floor. Breathing heavily from the rush of adrenaline that comes from fighting her captor. She picks up a piece of wood from the broken stool.

He tries to kill me.

Eve's hand are trembling, gripping the piece of wood tightly.

It is only self-defence.

The man grins at Eve and grabs the gun on his waist, aiming to shoot at the woman when the sound of a gun echoes and Eve closes her eyes from shock.

Am I dead?

Eve opens her eyes and sees the man bleeding on the floor with a clean shot between his eyes.

"Villanelle!" Eve shouts at the phantom image in the dark. Thankful that woman rescues her in time.

"Hi Eve." The woman greets Eve with a smile but it only confuses her more when she realize.

She's not Villanelle!