Finally, almost with a sense of dejection, Lee whispered, “It’s okay. You’re okay.”
She went on to tell him all about how she had been tricked by Kifo, who had claimed to be a distant relative of hers, into thinking that their tribe was involved in a secret operation of hiding blood diamonds. Kifo, posing as a government official, had conned her into giving up the location of their village. He had then, she insisted, dragged her along and made her watch as he razed their entire village to the ground.
As she sobbed into Lee’s chest, he didn’t know what to believe. With as much blurry area as there was being filled about the goings on those many years ago in Africa, he felt as though he could have been blindly angry at the wrong person. From Abeba’s side of things, she seemed to be as much at fault as he was. For half an hour they talked and caught up and presently she looked at her small watch with a start.
“Oh no!” she said hurriedly, stepping away from where they now sat on the swings. “It’s almost eleven, I have to go. Can you meet me here at the same time tomorrow?”
Perplexed, Lee responded slowly “Um… I guess so.”
She then turned and walked away.
After she had left there was a rustling in the brush nearby as Moses emerged from behind a tree. Lee looked over at him and said blankly “Did you hear all that?”
“Yeah…” said Mo flatly. “I don’t know what to think…”
“I think I believe her… I mean, she was so shaken up and it all sort of makes sense. I remember Kifo howling something about finding the blood diamond.”
“Okay man, just be careful… so are you gonna meet her again tomorrow night?”
“I guess so… We’ll see how that goes and see if her story changes.”
• • •
The sun was half hidden as it descended into the ocean, and Lee pushed the door open, stepping outside into the fading light.
“So what are you gonna do tonight?” Lee asked as Mo followed him out the door.
“Oh…” Mo said deeply, staring out over the ocean. “I’ll be around.”
Lee nodded as he turned and began to walk down the road.
• • •
It was once again dark when Lee reached Astoria Park. A public park in town, it was rarely occupied at night and tonight was no different. He walked slowly past the swing set and the monkey bars, knowing that he was early. Suddenly, he became aware that he was not, as he had thought, alone. He looked around, straining his eyes and trying to pierce the thick shadows. From the shadows came a voice that froze Lee dead in his tracks. He stiffened up and turned to face the great African man who was emerging from the shadows.
“We meet again, little drummer boy,” came the thick nasally voice as he strode into the light. He was virtually unchanged, except for a patch now covering the eye that Mo had done away with. As Kifo emerged, Lee went rigid, half with fear and half with anger. So it had been a trap all the time. Lee’s thoughts were so intense and so infuriating that he found himself tuning out the hulking man, seething at himself for buying into what must have been a practiced melt down by Abeba. Presently, he found his composure and focused on the great man who was now confronting him.
“So tell me, my little blood diamond. Are you going to run a third time?” Kifo asked with his hellish grin, the light from the street lamp reflecting off of the red in his good eye.
Lee’s hands clenched into fists at his side, knuckles cracking. His little blood diamond? He found himself raising his fists into a fighting stance when the man produced a shiny object. Lee’s heart sank as Kifo tossed the knife in the air, catching it in his other hand. Lee looked around wildly but could find nothing to defend himself with. His head suddenly stopped swiveling and he stared directly at Kifo, who was stalking steadily closer.
Lee’s eyes narrowed, his focus on the pirate as he waited.
Kifo suddenly lunged at Lee, knife slashing harshly, held with a loose hand that screamed experience. Lee ducked out of the way, dreadlocks waving wildly as he dodged the assault. He spun around and hurled his fist into the back of Kifo’s body, connecting solidly with what he hoped was a kidney. Kifo then spun around to face Lee, knife shining in the yellow light.
Lee found himself again facing the horrid man, looking alone and outsized when suddenly from the darkness a blur came flying, hitting Kifo with full force in the side. As Kifo belched a surprised yelp of pain, Moses, who had been watching again from the bushes, rolled out of the way of the great African man and quickly found his feet.
“Here!” Mo exclaimed, tossing one of two knives, handle first to Lee who was grinning. Their attention then turned to Kifo, who had gotten back up and was staring loathingly at the pair. “Nice eye patch…” Mo said, now addressing Kifo. “It makes your face that much less ugly.”
“This is none of your concern boy. You may as well save yourself a trip to the morgue and run along home. You got out alive last time but I doubt it’ll happen again,” Kifo seethed, his wicked grin once again stretching across his face.
“Hey Lee?” Mo whispered under his breath as they stared down the great man. “It’s been an honor.“
He then tore off towards Kifo, who turned to meet him. Kifo heaved a broad slash with his knife and ripped through Mo’s sweatshirt, tearing a gash running the width of Mo’s chest. Mo, who had leapt back in anticipation, remained unscathed. As the knife cut across his shirt he followed it with his own knife, feeling it catch on more than cloth.
Lee, seeing the diversion for what it was, charged from where he stood, heaving a heavy roundhouse kick to the side of Kifo’s knee. There was a sickening crunch as he buckled in pain. The boys, shocked at having actually wounded the man, both backed off. At their remission, Kifo regained his balance, swallowing the pain rather impressively. He seemed solid, the only sign of pain being his clenched teeth which glowed white in contrast with his dark face.
He squeezed a throaty noise somewhere between a yell and a scream through his teeth, challenging the boys to give it another go. They could now see blood dripping down his right side where Mo had blindly caught him with his knife. Lee strode up to him, unafraid with his brother at his side, and ducked another broad swing of Kifo’s knife before throwing all of his power into a sucker punch, which connected squarely with the man’s face.
Kifo toppled backward, losing his balance from the momentum of his missed swing in rapid succession with being struck so hard in the face. As he fell to the ground, Lee turned to walk away, lazily dropping the knife behind him as though to say ‘I don’t need it’. As Lee strode away, the knife fell and plunged into Kifo’s left thigh, the same leg that had suffered a blow to the knee.
Lee suddenly turned to face where Kifo laid crumpled in the grass. “You see this?” he said, shaking a foot lazily at the pile of muscle. “I’m walking away. Not running, walking. I’m not afraid. I’m just done…”
With that he turned heel and walked past Mo, who turned and followed him across the grass to where the road was. Silently Lee held out his fist for Mo to pound as they walked down the street until they were sure they were out of sight and out of ear shot.
When they had gone a block, Lee stopped dead in his tracks and whispered excitedly to Mo, “How did you- Where were?”
“I told you I’d be around,” Mo grinned at him. “I didn’t trust Abeba for a second so I had to follow you and make sure. The knives were a lucky guess. What do you think is gonna happen now?”
“We’re gonna end this tonight…” Lee replied with a smile. “Whatever happened that night in Africa, we’re getting to the bottom of it and ending it now.”
Lee had turned around and was walking slowly back toward the park. Moses followed and asked “But how are we gonna do that?”
He suddenly followed Lee’s gaze back to the park and grinned. “Are you- You think?”
Lee smiled knowingly back at Mo and said “I’d bet anything he’ll lead us back to Abeba. We find her, we get our answers…”
Mo’s
eyes were sparkling with excitement as he said under his breath “The hunter becomes the hunted…”
They had by now reached the park and both Mo and Lee hid in the shadows cast by a couple of giant oak trees. Perfectly concealed in the blackness, they watched where Kifo still lay. Presently he got up and hobbled weakly toward the street, reached it and started off slowly in the opposite direction.
The boys slunk from tree to tree, keeping a safe distance behind Kifo as he made his way with impressive speed through the darkened streets. After turn upon turn, he finally made his way down the entirety of main street to where the old Super 8 motel stood next to the ocean. Mo, who had taken to scouting out Kifo’s movement when he had reached main street (where there was nowhere to hide), turned and whispered excitedly to Lee.
“He’s going to the Super 8! Let’s go around the back alley!”
They jogged through the back alley running parallel to the main street and as they approached the motel they slowed to devise a plan.
“Maybe we’ll get lucky and see him through a window. After that we wait until she comes out and we confront her…” Mo said thoughtfully. “Do you wanna do it alone or should I come with?”
Lee thought a moment and replied, “I’d better do it alone. We don’t wanna complicate it by having you there. Just wait here, I’ll go find them…”
• • •
Lee crept along the wall of the Super 8, which