BIA Ch. 4

‘…….’

At this point, Isaiah had no choice but to accept it. The fact that he, at least the owner of this body, was Isaiah Cole, and a friend of Manny, the man in front of him. Of course, Manny had drawn the line, stating that their relationship was purely business not friendship but that wasn’t important right now.

How could this happen…?

Isaiah thought, banging his head against the wall. I’m definitely Isaiah Diaz. Although only a fragment, the memories of being Isaiah Diaz were distinct, yet here he was in Isaiah Cole’s body. What had happened overnight? Had someone taken them both, connected them to some strange machine, and swapped their memories using brainwaves or something? Was such a thing even possible with current technology? Or perhaps… magic? Black magic? A soul-swapping spell, perhaps?

Unlike Isaiah, whose shock had propelled him into the realm of the occult, Manny offered a more medically and realistically grounded opinion.

“I think you have a dissociative identity disorder. Like, you know, that Harry Jang thing.”

“What? That’s a real condition?”

Chester asked back, startled.

“Surprisingly, yes. Mental hospitals are full of them.”

Chester blinked, dumbfounded. Judging by his expression, a dissociative disorder seemed just as outlandish to him as black magic. Well, they were both things one only encountered in movies and dramas.

“But you’ve always been fine. Doesn’t it come and go?”

“Not always. I looked it up online, and sometimes it can happen suddenly overnight. There are all sorts of cases.”

Chester still seemed unable to grasp the situation. He stared at Isaiah with a dazed expression. Manny called out to him.

“Chester.”

Chester turned. Manny gestured with his eyes toward the front door. The two men left the house and returned about five minutes later.

“You’re right. You must be more confused than anyone right now. I understand.”

Whatever Manny had said to him, Chester’s demeanor had suddenly shifted to one of gentle concern.

“What… what’s with the sudden change?”

Isaiah, now even more uneasy, openly eyed him with suspicion, but Chester seemed unfazed. Sitting down next to Isaiah, he spoke in an even kinder tone.

“Well, it’s not like this happened because you wanted it to. What good would getting angry do? It’s better to find a way to fix it quickly.”

He had a point. The problem was that it was Chester saying these things. Just minutes ago, he would have drawn his gun at the slightest disobedience. There was no way he could have made such a rational judgment so quickly.

“Manny looked it up online, and it’s likely stress-related. He said we shouldn’t burden you and should help you relax.”

At Chester’s words, Manny nodded slowly, as if confirming. If that were the case, his sudden change in attitude would make sense…

“It would be best to go to the hospital right away, but we don’t have time now. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask Manny or me. Nothing will be solved if you just worry about it on your own.”

Chester said, putting his arm around Isaiah’s shoulders in a friendly gesture. He lowered his head, trying to make eye contact, as if eager for Isaiah to ask him something.

“Alright, then I’ll ask.”

Chester smiled, as if to say, “Ask away.” Judging by the sudden, overly sentimental blinking of his eyes, he was probably expecting questions like, “How did we meet? Who confessed first? How long have we been together?”

Isaiah, glancing sideways at Chester’s long, thick eyelashes, asked.

“Are you in a gang?”

“What?”

Chester recoiled, removing his arm from Isaiah’s shoulder and yelling.

“A gang! What makes you think I’m in a gang?”

Manny answered for Chester, who had quickly reverted to his fiery temper.

“He’s in the Mafia.”

“What? Really…?”

Now it was Isaiah’s turn to be shocked.

“Yes. Our Kalisz Family is the only Irish Mob among the six major families in Eloy City.”

Chester said, lifting his chin arrogantly. It was unclear why he was speaking so boastfully, but that wasn’t important right now.

“Th-then, does that mean I… I’m also…”

Chester nodded, placing his arm back around Isaiah’s shoulder, who had gone pale.

“A proud brother.”

“No way!”

Isaiah screamed, jumping to his feet.

“So you’re saying I lived selling drugs and being a pimp? That I lived such a lowlife, trashy existence? Me?”

Even as Isaiah spewed harsh words in his shock, Chester didn’t get angry at the implication that being in the Mafia was a lowlife, trashy existence. Instead, he seemed rather amused.

“No, you didn’t sell drugs or work as a pimp.”

“Then…?”

Before Isaiah could even finish his question, Chester pulled out a courtesy pistol from inside his coat. He then proceeded to mime shooting in all directions.

“What? Fuck, wait a minute! Are you saying I shot someone with a gun?”

“It happened often.”

“…..”

Isaiah was speechless with shock. Of course, he had been prepared to be a member of the mafia, given his lover and colleagues were all involved, but he had thought he would, at most, be a low-level errand boy, transporting drugs or collecting money. But shooting someone? And frequently, at that!

“Have I… have I ever killed someone…?”

Isaiah mumbled, still in shock. Instead of answering, Chester and Manny looked at each other and smiled. Their expressions conveyed the sentiment of trying to figure out how to explain this.

“You won’t believe it, Isaiah, but you’re pretty famous around here.”

As soon as Chester finished speaking, Manny chimed in.

“Yeah, kid, you’re a hitman. A damn expensive one, too.”

“Because your skills are so good. Well, just with guns, though.”

“That’s better. If this bastard had been good with a knife, the price on his head would have been twice as high.”

“That’s true.”

More and more unbelievable information poured out.

“I’m… a hitman…?”

Chester and Manny nodded simultaneously.

“But I can’t shoot…”

Isaiah muttered, dumbfounded. As soon as he said it, he realized how foolish he sounded.

“You would think so now.”

Chester stood up.

“But when push comes to shove, you will shoot. Just like Jason Bourne. He couldn’t even remember his own name, but he sure knew how to shoot a gun. What was the title of that movie?”

“The Bourne Identity.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

At Manny’s answer, Chester nodded as he headed toward the kitchen.

“Don’t be ridiculous. That’s a movie.”

Isaiah shouted, following Chester.

“Can’t you tell the difference between reality and fiction? A movie is just a movie. Those guys don’t even die when they get shot.”

“Neither would you.”

“What…?”

Just as Isaiah was about to ask what Chester meant, Chester ripped a receipt off the refrigerator. Isaiah stopped dead in his tracks, lost in thought.

“What is this?”

Chester’s expression as he read the note was serious. Understandably so. It appeared his lover had brought someone home last night. Furthermore, that someone had left a corpse at the front door as a gift.

Even a sane person would have trouble processing this, but Chester, who was anything but sane, was sure to lose it completely. This hot-headed mafioso might actually pull the trigger without hesitation this time.

However, unexpectedly, after reading the entire note, Chester simply checked the front of the receipt and said.

“Is this the one from Mountain Dog?”

“What? What dog…?”

Isaiah asked from a distance.

“Mountain Dog. It’s a club. The gay club you’re always hanging out at.”

Isaiah was glad he had kept his distance.