BIA Ch. 70

“You son of a bitch, wanna die?”

The driver of the car that honked hurled insults as he passed. Behind him, cars whizzed by, cutting through the dark road.

As if pushed, Isaiah retreated to the shoulder of the road, forgetting to catch his breath, and habitually patted his back pocket.

His gun was gone.

“Shit…”

No wonder the back of his thigh felt empty when he was running.

Even while cursing, Isaiah calmly patted himself down again. But the gun was nowhere to be found. Not even his cell phone. Both the smartphone he received from Chester and the feature phone for contacting WD were gone.

Come to think of it, the clothes he was wearing were strange too. A suit, a coat, and dress shoes. It was a style he would never wear, and it was clearly Chester’s taste.

He wondered if he had gone to some party, but he couldn’t remember anything. Feeling uneasy, he tried to recall his most recent memories as if checking himself, but perhaps because of his anxiety, he couldn’t think of anything right away. Rather than specific situations, only scenes from his daily life, like waking up in the morning, meeting Chester, going around the area he was in charge of, and going to Mountain Dog in the evening, passed through his mind like a panorama.

Isaiah patted his head. Sometimes, a concussion could cause a loss of recent memories.

But no matter how much he touched it, there wasn’t even a hint of pain. Based on his experience, if it was a shock that caused amnesia, or even if it wasn’t, there should at least be some lingering pain.

Which meant it wasn’t a concussion.

While he was pondering, he saw an empty taxi and flagged it down. There was no point in worrying alone in this situation. Anyway, it seemed like he was with Chester until just before, so it would be better to meet Chester and talk.

“Please go to 144 Beryl Avenue.”

As soon as he got in the taxi, he gave his apartment address.

“Where?”

The taxi driver turned around with a surprised expression. Isaiah didn’t understand why the driver was reacting like that. Just as Isaiah was about to ask if there was a problem, he saw a signpost gradually getting closer outside the car window.

Isaiah almost made the same expression as the taxi driver. If he wasn’t mistaken, this was Liberty Harbor. He was clearly in downtown Eloy City until just before, but suddenly he was in Liberty Harbor.

But how this could have happened was a problem for later. Right now, convincing the taxi driver was the priority. It would take almost two hours by car to get from here to his apartment.

“144 Beryl Avenue. It’s between Mason Square Park and Broner Subway Station in the west of Eloy City.”

Isaiah stated his destination accurately once more.

“Look, to go there from here at this time…”

“I’ll give you three hundred dollars including the tip.”

“Did you say 144 Beryl Avenue?”

Before Isaiah could even finish speaking, the taxi driver entered the address into the navigation system and immediately stepped on the gas. As expected, nothing was more persuasive than money.

Isaiah took the opportunity to ask the driver.

“I’m sorry, but could I borrow your cell phone? I need to call a friend.”

“Ah, sure.”

The driver, who had already earned a day’s pay with a two-hour drive, seemed ready to lend him his car if necessary.

Isaiah took the driver’s phone and hesitated whether to call Chester or Manny, then pressed Manny’s number. It was a godsend that he had developed the habit of memorizing number sequences after learning ballistics.

Fortunately, Manny answered the phone not long after the dial tone.

“Hello.”

“Manny, it’s me.”

“Who is this?”

Perhaps because it was an unfamiliar number, Manny replied indifferently as usual. Then, as if belatedly recognizing Isaiah’s voice, he exclaimed,

“Oh, hold on!”

“Isaiah? Is that you, Isaiah? Hey! Where the hell are you?”

“Liberty Harbor.”

“What? Why the hell are you there?”

While Manny was talking, a crackling noise was heard, and suddenly the voice changed to Chester’s.

“You fucking crazy bastard! Where are you now!”

Chester yelled as soon as he snatched the phone from Manny. Isaiah clicked his tongue and pulled the phone away from his ear. He had called Manny because he didn’t want to hear this screeching.

Anyway, judging by Manny’s reaction when he said Liberty Harbor, it seemed like he hadn’t come with Chester. If that was the case…

“You can ask Manny where I am.”

Isaiah deliberately avoided answering and before Chester could say anything more, he quickly stated his business.

“I’ll arrive at my apartment in two hours. I don’t have my wallet right now. So, come out with three hundred dollars in cash.”

“You crazy bastard, three hundred dollars or whatever…”

“You can tell from the number, but this isn’t my cell phone. I’m using the taxi driver’s phone. I can’t talk for long. I’ll talk when I get there. I’ll call you again when I arrive.”

Don’t forget, three hundred dollars. Isaiah said only what he needed to say until the end and hung up. The phone immediately rang again from Manny’s number, but he ignored it and gave it back to the driver.

“You’re getting a call?”

“Ignore it.”

“You can take it.”

“Ignore it.”

The driver glanced at Isaiah’s expression in the rearview mirror, then subtly rejected the call. Only then did Isaiah sink into the seat. The hot air blasting from the car heater instantly melted his frozen body.

As the tension in his body eased, fatigue washed over him. But he wasn’t sleepy. His mind was too complicated for that. He couldn’t figure out what was going on. Why the hell was he here?

Isaiah turned his head toward the window. Finally, he saw the sea, dyed the color of night, beyond the dark road.

Liberty Port.

It was a place the Eloy’s mafia would come and go from as if it were their own home. But while he was stuck to Chester’s side as his lover, he had only been here once and that wasn’t even because of drugs. It was for personal business.

Was it April? No, it was early May. It was shortly after he had met Bran again. The sun was scorching like summer, but the wind was strong. Seeing the people here wearing jackets as if it were natural, he understood the harshness of the sea breeze.

At first, it was simple curiosity.…No, that’s not the right way to put it. It was closer to a pilgrimage. He couldn’t control his feelings for Bran, and he was frustrated that he couldn’t even say a proper word to him even when he was by his side, so he came here instead. He wanted to see the place where Bran was born and raised. Now that he was about to send him away with his own hands, he wouldn’t be able to come back here again, even out of guilt. So, before that, he wanted to see at least one thing with his own eyes and keep it in his memory.

Like a true believer on a pilgrimage to a holy site, he wandered around the entire village, giving meaning to every place his feet touched and every place his eyes rested. Back then, he still believed he could kill Bran, so, feeling like he had become Saint Longinus^[1] in advance, he followed all of Bran’s traces with a heart of repentance and worship at the same time.

He should have just walked around the port area, but it was a disaster that he went all the way to Bran’s house. No, going to the house was okay. You could see that as part of the pilgrimage. He shouldn’t have stolen his ID and books from there… No, he shouldn’t have run into that man while taking them out… He shouldn’t have moved to another place to talk… Then he wouldn’t have felt that way…

Before he knew it, Isaiah had fallen into a light sleep. Just before falling into a deep sleep, something flickered in his fading consciousness, but before he could realize what it was, he was dragged away by slumber.

“Sir, we’ll turn at the next alley, and we’ll be at your destination.”

When he opened his eyes at the driver’s voice, he was near his house. As the familiar street came into view, Isaiah borrowed the driver’s phone again and called Manny.

“Next alley.”

“I’m coming out now.”

As soon as he hung up, the taxi turned into the alley. Manny was standing in front of the apartment building. The taxi driver stopped the car in front of Manny, who was waving his arm.

“What happened?”

As soon as Isaiah got out of the car, Manny shouted. Instead of answering, Isaiah gestured with his eyes toward the taxi. As if understanding that it meant he should pay first, Manny cursed under his breath and took out his card.