REINER – CAN’T GET AWAY
While his head was wrapped in thoughts, the destination island came into view. Reiner had mixed
feelings as he stared at the island that was his home from above. On one hand, he sort of missed the
place and wanted to visit after being away for so long. On the other hand, he didn’t want to face the
complications of his family and the never-ending demands of his father. A normal life wasn’t something
that he had.
He rubbed the back of his neck and flexed his stiff shoulders before he started to prepare for landing.
Reiner hoped that whatever he was transporting wasn’t fragile items because he didn’t think that the
landing would be smooth.
After landing the plane, Reiner took a look at the phone that he was given for this mission. Now that the
plane had landed in the correct designated location, he should be receiving a message on what to do
next. Reiner stared at the phone screened as he wished that the instructions would say something
along the lines of ‘just walk away’.
The phone vibrated, notifying that a text message had arrived. Reiner brows knitted together as he
frowned at the text that he had just read.
‘Open the cargo,’
That was all the message said. Open the cargo and then what, Reiner thought in confusion.
“Is this some type of mistake?” Reiner spoke through the phone.
“I don’t know. I’m just following instructions,” the old man replied.
“I’m not opening the cargo. It’s not part of the job,” Reiner replied emotionlessly.
The weather felt too humid for his tastes, and he wondered if it was going to rain today. The small
private airport where he had just landed was pretty much deserted safe for a few staff that manned the
terminal. He felt irritated and couldn’t be bothered to deal with the old man’s or the client’s selfish
demands.
“Open the goddamn cargo! Be a professional and complete your mission!” the old man shouted
through the phone loudly.
Reiner moved the phone away from his ear and winced in annoyance. He just couldn’t understand the
request. It was abnormal for a transporter to open the cargo. He sighed thinking that whoever was
supposed to pick up the cargo could open it themselves. The suspicions he had when he took on this
mission was quickly confirmed: this mission was a big pain in the ass.
“Ok…” Reiner mumbled before hanging up.
Reiner headed back to the plane. He stared at the door of the cargo section of the plane. That was
when he realized that even the cargo had proper ventilation systems and air pressure control. A slight
sense of dread filled him as he began to consider the possibility that the contents in the cargo was
living. He closed his eyes and sighed again, he felt tired and didn’t want to deal with this. He wasn’t
against animal trade because he knew that his job was just to transport.
However, he wasn’t looking forward to opening up a cargo filled with live animals. If someone from this
island ordered it, then it wasn’t going to be a den full of cute looking little puppies, that’s for sure. Illegal
or exotic animals were probably inside. Once again, he had no idea why he had to be the one to open
the cargo. Reiner knew that thinking about it wasn’t going to do him any good. Better get this over and
done with so that he can head back home.
Scratching his head in annoyance, he started to unlock the cargo door. Slowly, the cargo door slid
open. It was a little dark inside with only dim lighting and at first Reiner couldn’t see much. He braced
himself and had one hand on his gun in case the animals were not in proper cages. They better be, he
thought to himself. This is exactly why he hated opening up unknown cargo. If a tiger or something
similar jumps on him, he’s just going to shoot it.
Fortunately, nothing like that happened and he was able to open the door all the way without having
something jump out at him. He couldn’t see well because of the dim lighting so he turned on the
flashlight on his phone. The cargo room was large, Reiner bent down a little to enter through the door.
Surprisingly the cargo room was largely empty. Apparently, the client didn’t ask to transport much
although they paid an exorbitant price for the service. Not that that was his problem. When his light
shown on the mid-section of the room, he froze.
For the first time, he realized what this whole affair was about.
Sitting on a dark red velvet sofa in the center of the cargo space was a woman.
…
The door started moving and light from the outside shined in through the opening crack in the door.
Inch by inch, the door slid open, and more light entered the cargo room. I guess that we have arrived.
Everything was progressing exactly like it was supposed to. Any moment now…
I sat on a comfortable sofa that had been prepared for my journey as I waited patiently. I had spent the
last few days and the entire flight thinking about this moment and what I would do when it arrived. From
all that thinking, I figured out that a little surprise wouldn’t be a bad thing after all. copyrighted © content.
I heard footsteps as someone came into the room and started walking deeper inside. Then a flashlight
turned on, its bright light almost blinding. I held my breath in anticipation as I anxiously waited for the
moment that I would be spotted. There wasn’t a lot of things in this room. Most things were there to
ensure that I had a comfortable flight, although the flight was a short one.
The man came closer to me now and soon the flashlight landed on a part of the sofa. I could sense the
man tensing as he spotted the first content that was inside the cargo. I almost had to place a hand over
my mouth to keep myself from giggling and making any sounds. Seconds later, I could feel the bright
spot of light from the flashlight on my chest and mid-section. At that same moment, I heard a sharp
intake of breath, and the man froze in place.
He's probably so shocked right now…
“Natalia…”
The voice that I had been desiring to hear for the past week finally spoke my name.
“Did you think that you could get away again, Reiner?” I asked as I smirked a little at him.
--To be continued…