“Do you mind if I turn the player on?”
The driver of the lawyer’s sedan looked friendly enough to get Armand into a conversation. Seeing his passenger strapped tightly on the seat, he could not help but offer his ‘guest’ some relaxing songs for the two-hour ride.
“Why not?” Armand replied. “Do I have a choice?”
“You’ll love this,” the driver said, feeding the compact disc to the player. He did not detect Armand’s tone of resignation.
“I do hope Nurse Angela would not mind,” he quipped. “She dislikes loud music.”
“She won’t mind at all,” the driver winked at her who sat behind Armand for reasons she only knew why.
“Angie, Angie …” the driver began to sing along.
Armand kept his mouth shut. He wanted to sing, too, but he was not sure if Angela possessed the same sense of humor he had.
“No offense, man!” Armand said after the song was finished. “Can we have silence for a while? I have a headache.”
“Sure!” he turned the player off. “I just want the monotony broken. I don’t want to fall asleep behind the wheel, you know.”
“Please, for an hour or so.”
They heard a loud sigh of relief at the back. It was her unspoken signal of gratitude.
– 0 –
“This is a mistake.”
Doctor Aran insisted to the comfortably-seated lawyer at the driver seat. Attorney Abad was probably counting the hours before Armand handed to him the fortune he would legally inherit.
“I like that mansion. I don’t want him dying there. You might not believe in ghosts but I do. I don’t want him haunting me for the rest of my life.”
“Why the mountain resort? Why not anywhere unknown?”
“Do I have to repeat to you why? Obviously, we want him dead in one of his properties.”
“With rabies?” Doctor Aran asked incredulously. “That won’t work.”
“Give him a heart attack or something. Do your job! I will take care of the press and the authorities.”
“I don’t feel good about this,” the doctor said.
“A few hours more and you can start a new life,” Attorney Abad whistled a victorious tune.
– 0 –
“Are there people waiting for us at the resort?”
Nurse Angela was not privy to Armand’s transactions. She did not want to know but at least she should be warned what to expect if ever any hostilities erupted.
“No one,” Armand replied. “Not a soul. It’s empty during this time of the year.”
“I see.” She interpreted the claim as the opposite. He sounded confident that the trap was set according to his plan. “”I just be by your side then, wherever you are.”
“Of course,” he replied. “I’ll tell you when to give our driver the other juice.”
“What’s that?” the driver asked. He momentarily glanced back at the nurse for clarification.
“He meant something to drink. The juice the cook prepared for our lunch.”
Nurse Angela reached for the injection, ready to stick it to the driver’s neck when given the word.
– 0 –
“That’s odd!”
Attorney Abad slowly stepped on the brake to decelerate the vehicle. He was not prepared to see a military checkpoint a few meters from the resort’s gate.
“Turn back!” Doctor Aran shouted.
“Don’t worry,” the lawyer said calmly. “I’ll handle this.”
Two heavily-armed men wearing Marines’ uniforms signaled him to stop.
“Sir, there’s a break in at the resort. We were ordered to escort any incoming vehicles inside.”
“Lead the way, then!”
Attorney Abad was elated for the good turn of events. The break-in would add flavor to the scenario he hatched in his mind.
“I don’t like it!” Doctor Aran slumped on his seat, dejected that his opinion was never heeded.
(to be continued)
belsbror 
Short, sharp and enticing writing.
Thank you. You are too kind.