You’re Still My Man – English

GINA

Wherever they were taken by the men who swept them away or whatever their intentions, that was what confused her mind at that moment. Not only she was nervous but she was also cold, and she was not just cold, it was bone-chilling cold. Or maybe it was fear that caused her teeth to chatter and her limbs to shake. The men who swept them away now stopped the car to blindfold them and tape their mouths, adding to her fear and dread. Those men not only blindfolded them but also tied their hands behind their backs. They got them out of the car and she thinks they were moved to the backseat before continuing a drive that lasted another twenty minutes or so.

After a few minutes of driving, she thinks they have reached where the kidnappers really intended to take them. They were hauled from the car and shoved up some creaky stairs into a building.

“Untie them now.”

He turned to the person speaking. Brando Nicolas? But how would it happen if Ace was working with Brando Nicolas? Why did he kidnap them? She is even more confused now.

When those men swept them away, she thought they were Brando’s enemies so they also targeted Ace. But now—

She flinched as the icy fingers fumbled with the rope around her hands. They removed her blindfold and her eyes immediately searched for Ace. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Ace in the distance. She removed the tape covering her mouth and watched Ace do the same, while his eyes cautioned her to silence.

“Ah, I do love the telephatic communication between husband and wife.” Brando said and laughed loudly like a demon.

Her eyes now roamed the place they were brought to, seeing a boarded-up, dilapidated room with rotting floorboards and a layer of dirt coating, plus an armed guard around them. She jumped when a big rat passed in front of her. So she took a few steps closer to Ace. But she was suddenly stopped by what appeared to be Brando’s bodyguard.

“Let her. Let her be close to her husband in the last moments.”

She didn’t want to show Brando that she was weak, so she didn’t cling to Ace, although she did move next to him. She straightened her spine, and looked up at Brando.

“What’s going on, Mr. Nicolas?” Ace suddenly asked, while resting his hands on her lower back.

His gesture alone conveyed his concern, his attempt to protect her and his need to be in charge, all at once. So she just sighed and calmed herself down.

“I have a bit of a problem, Durant,” he flicked his fingers down his jacket sleeve, brushing at something only he could see. “Your last transaction wasn’t deposited.”

“That’s impossible, Mr. Nicolas.” Ace said. “I assure you, it didn’t happen.”

They turned around when the two sullen men who abducted them came. They found her bag and Ace other equipment in the car, then they handed it to Brando.

Brando spilled an assortment of items into the floor, as well as the contents of her bag. He moved the items with the toe of his shoes.

“Boss, that’s the only thing we searched inside Durant’s car.”

“Good! Blow up his car and then come back here. I need you to watch over Mrs. Durant while her husband and I go somewhere.”

ACE

He now held Gina’s hands to make her feel that she should not worry about him. God, he couldn’t believe that Gina was still calm even in this situation, and he was proud of her. Amazingly, she hadn’t said a word. He thought at first that she would ask Brando Nicolas why they were taken to that place.

“Where are we going, Mr. Nicolas?” he asked.

“We’re going to find out where my money went.”

“Do you think I’m fooling you? If I really intended to fool you, you wouldn’t have seen me now.”

“Your pretty little wife doesn’t seem to be surprised at our conversation. So she does know what you do for a living after all, Durant?”

“Yes, I know.” Gina said that shocked him.

“And you agree?”ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

“Man does whatever he takes in order to survive, Mr. Nicolas.”

Brando laughed at Gina’s answer. “You look like a gangster in a movie, love. Stand by your man – why, are there still women like that even up to this day?”

GINA

She bit her lower lip. To be honest, what she knows about criminals is only what she saw in the movies, but she’d be damned if she gave up without a fight. Because deep in her heart, she knows that Ace is not like Brando.

“I assure you Mr. Nicolas, that my husband was true to his words.”

“Such a devoted little wife you have, Durant.”

“Yes, and I’m lucky to have her.”

“Indeed you are.” Brando replied and picked up Ace’s cellphone and his gun from the floor.

Brando bent down again when he saw the mini recorder among the things lying around. He picked it up, looked at it and examined it.

“Now, tell me love, how much do you trust your husband? Are you sure that he is not hiding any secrets from you?”

“I trust my husband with all my heart, Mr. Nicolas.” She answered quickly.

He grinned at her, then at Ace. “Brains and beauty. I envy you for now, Mr. Durant. But sooner or later I will have Gina, too.”

No way, over my dead gorgeous body. I will never be with you Brando Nicolas, never.

She saw that Brando had put the mini recorder in his pocket, so she breathed a sigh of relief for now. At least he didn’t listen to what was recorded on the recorder. Brando also picked up her cellphone and it looks like he read her messages. But maybe because he hasn’t read anything he can suspect. So, he turned off her cellphone and threw it on the floor again.

She saw Brando take the mini recorder from his pocket and stare at it again.

“That mini recorder is mine. I used that to take notes in class.” She stammered.

Brando thought for a while, then shook his head. “And why does your wife seem to be shaking now, Durant?”

“Because she doesn’t want to be forced, so she is shaking right now with annoyance.”

“Hmm.. is that so?” Brando said, examining the recorder.

Holy cow! She’s really going to faint. Brando was playing the recorder and now she could hear Ace’s voice. So bad that she was really tense while her knees and hands were shaking. They can now hear the conversation between Ace and Brando regarding their deal. They listened to it until the end. However, Brando repeatedly listened to the part where Ace speaks Spanish dialect while sleeping. While the conversation played again and again, she could now fully translate the Spanish words in her head. So at that time, she wanted to be buried in the ground.

Ace suddenly wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him. “Don’t trust him.” Ace whispered.

“Shh.. It’s alright.”

“Do you know what he can do to you?”

She didn’t notice the last thing that Ace said, because her attention was now focused on listening to the part that Ace and Brando discussed about the large amount and illegal transactions.

Then… the part that she hates to hear played over and over again.

“Ace, Ace! wake up. Here, take the medicine.”

“Usted hacer de mi trabajo much mas dificil. No deberia hacer sido de esta manera, Gina. Ojala nunca te conoci.” The anguish in his voice pierced her once again. Until Brando turned off the recorder.

“I’m a little confused. Were you talking in your sleep, Durant?” Brando asked, and he didn’t dig up what other things he heard.

She and Ace looked at each other. And Brando threw the recorder along with their scattered things on the floor.

“Burn everything they use.” Brando ordered his men. He faced Ace, looking smug.

“Maybe you have a final word to your wife, Durant? Just like Juliet said to Romeo that ‘Parting is such a sweet sorrow… but okay, because I’m generous enough, I’ll give you three minutes to talk to her.” Brando finally said, and then he turned his back on them.

*****