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EPISODE 21
(BRUCE)

BY BRABAR AUSTIN

Brian noticed his stare “Do I look out of place?”. Easton shook his head “No you don’t”
Crystal wasn’t in any way finding this funny. She wondered if Bruce came back from the dead to haunt them.
She never believed in ghost or any thing related to the after world, but with what she was seeing, she believed. If this wasn’t Bruce then it had to be his twin, but she remembered him say that the guy she killed at the club was his only family.
She watched Easton and noticed how he concealed his shock like a pro. Brian winked at her and faced Easton
“Your girlfriend is really something” “explain”
“I mean she is drop dead gorgeous”
“Oh thank you, but she isn’t my girlfriend, she’s just like a sister to me”.
Brian smiled. “Then in that case, a brother is interested”
Crystal gave him the “don’t you dare” look and folded her arms.
Easton cleared his throat and sipped from the glass in his hand, “well, errrrrr, I could allow her keep you company this night, when I say this night I mean in this casino and not on your bed”.
There was an awkward silence for few seconds until Brian looked at the straight faced Crystal, “so shall we?”
She looked at Easton “you really do permit this?”
“Yep”, she pulled him aside “how can I possibly chat with the man I murdered? Every time I look at him I see bullets flying into his head and it makes me sick, please don’t do this”, Easton placed his hand on her shoulder “look, just pretend everything is fine and get to know him, it might just be a look alike or a sibling who knows nothing of us
killing Bruce, it happens all the time, so don’t freak out, take a deep breath and have a
beautiful evening, don’t worry my eyes are everywhere nothing bad will happen to you. And make sure every discussion should be right here, do you understand?”
She nodded and walked towards Brian.
“I see you have a very protective big brother, I wouldn’t blame him, you are like a goddess and every man with blood flowing in his veins would want to have a piece of you”
She smiled.
He stretched his hand she took it then turned back to look at Easton, he gave her the ok
sign and resumed his fun.

Brian took her away from the crowded side, he spotted an empty couch and he led her to it, they both sit simultaneously.
She looked really tense and couldn’t look at him in the eye, he noticed this and smiled with the corner of his mouth, “I don’t bite miss, loosen up and be free, it’s just going to be a
conversation and not an interrogation”
“I am not tensed, I really don’t like the casino that much”
“Okay then, I could take you to a different place, but we have to take your big brother’s permission”.
She remembered Easton’s instruction. “Nope, I will be fine here”
“Ok then, if you say so. But come to think of it, Easton your supposed big brother readily allowed you to spend an evening with a strange person, is that how much he trust’s people”
“Believe me when I say this, for him to allow you spend the evening with me shows there is something tremendously different about you. Tell me about yourself”
“Why don’t you start first”
“I asked first”.
“Alright”. He started talking about himself, she watched him and saw Bruce in him. He stopped talking and looked at her “why are you looking at me in a funny way.
She regained herself and blinked severally “sorry I got carried away, I noticed you didn’t
talk about your family”
“Oh yea, there is nothing much to talk about on that aspect”
“Are you a twin”, suddenly an aura of sadness came over him.
“I was a twin but not anymore, we found his body in his apartment and that was after my elder brother died. We never really got along up to our adulthood, we didn’t even speak to each other, he hated my guts and I hated his.
That was really strange for twins, I know most twins always have a bond but ours’ was different, we fought over every little thing. When he died that’s when I knew I loved him, sometimes I wish I had the power to control time. I would take it to when we were little and start all over again”
A pang of guilt hit her, but she didn’t allow it to show.
“I’m sorry to hear that. What was his name?”
“His name was Ben, Benjamin”. She realized Bruce lied about his name.
“I think he was involved in a shady deal and that got him killed, Benjamin had always
been the lawless one”.
“I’m sorry for your loss” she simply said.
“Okay enough about me, tell me about yourself” “Well, I …….” Her cell phone beeped, she took it out of her purse and saw a message from Easton telling her to meet him by the car. She
sprang up “it was nice knowing you Brian”
He looked confused “you are already leaving?. Can I have your contact atleast”.
She shook her head “no you can’t and this might be the last time we see”. With that she took quick strides out of the casino.

***************

She met Easton holding a stick of cigarette in his hand and puffing out smoke from his
mouth slowly. “So what did you find out?”
“First of all he is not Bruce, he is Bruce twin and again Bruce lied to me about his name, his
real name was Benjamin”
“Okay that’s relieving”
“So what do we do?”
“What do you mean by what do we do? You simply stay away from Brian and let the chapter end”
“Alright”.
“Let’s go home”. Easton got behind the wheels as she hopped into the car, she was eager to leave. Bruce, Benjamin, Brian, whatever, she was leaving the B family behind.
Easton inhaled the air and for the first time he perceived the cologne she wore
“What cologne is that?, it smells really good” “Oh, thank you, I am wearing a Clive Christian Imperial Majesty, a fragrance made for royalty alone”.
“That’s way too expensive Crystal”
“Well, it’s my money I do what I want to do with it, what’s really expensive is talking to the twin of the man we killed, that’s expensive”.
Easton turned to her and smiled “but you concealed your emotions properly”
“Yea right”. She relaxed more on the chair as they zoomed off towards home.

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EPISODE 11
(NANNY)

BY BARBRA AUSTIN

Days passed quickly, she had not gotten instruction from Easton on what to do. The
fourth week was nearly over.
Ella had developed a strong attachment for her, she centered the whole of each day around her, and she didn’t care about her grandpa anymore, all she wanted was to be with crystal. Francesca and Reuben got better each day with their annoying statements. Crystal avoided them as much as she could.
The old man who she finally knew his name to be Mr. Thomas developed closeness with her. He always wanted to have a little chat with her anytime he had the strength.
The job Easton had given to her seemed to take forever for it to be executed. At a point she thought Easton wanted to abandon her and pick someone new, maybe he had gotten tired of her and needed someone smarter, more swift and deadly because she was turning soft, but she thought it was dumb to think like that of Easton, he cherished her and loved the way she did her job.

****************

One fine afternoon, she was at the backyard with Ella, building a house with bricks of different colors when her cell phone rang. She glanced at the caller and saw Easton. She picked. “Its time, go upstairs now, to the old man’s room.
Something precious is there.
When I say precious, I mean precious, now go and keep the phone on your ears, I would still give instructions”. Crystal sprang up without
excusing herself.
Ella looked concerned she didn’t like the way her nanny left her, she followed.
Immediately Crystal got in, she met Francesca holding a gun, “take it”, Easton ordered from the other end, she wondered how he knew Francesca held a gun, she took the gun from her anyway, it was time to prove herself. She climbed the stairs quickly, with her left hand holding the phone to her ear, and her right hand held the gun.
She kicked the door to the room open and saw the old man holding a little black bag under his arm.
He looked frightened and unsure of what to do.
“Rebecca help me please, they want to take this away from me”, he looked at her right
hand and saw a gun; he looked betrayed “I hired a nanny, not a killer. Do you want to kill me? Please don’t do this, think about Ella, think about the times we spent together” actually before he started talking she was already thinking about Ella and the few times she sat to talk with him.
“Shoot him Crystal; he is dangerous and devious, even more than I am” Easton voice on the phone seemed to bring out the hardness in her. She raised her hand and pointed the gun towards him, aimed it at his forehead.
He trembled; words seemed to get stuck in his throat, so his eyes pleaded for mercy. She had a thought and brought her hand down “what are we taking away from him” she asked Easton
“The bag he’s holding?”
“Must he die for it? Why don’t I take it away from him and walk away, he is old and weak, it’s no big deal” she could hear his anger rising over the phone but she didn’t understand this
at all.
“Look Crystal if you let him live, you would die within few minutes, he has seen you’re a threat to him, he has seen your face, he would kill you I know him.
Stop giving orders, it’s my duty to do it, shoot him”.
She tried to raise her hand again but felt a hand stopping it from coming up, she looked down to see Ella holding her hand.
“Please don’t kill my grandpa, Miss Rebecca, please”, her eyes were already teary.
Crystal saw how scared she was, even though he barely had time for her, she still loved him.
“Shoot him and lets get this over with”, she heard Reuben’s voice behind her. She looked at Ella “Leave this place. Ella; you are not supposed to be here”.
“Forget about her and focus”, she heard Francesca voice behind her.
“Do it now”, Reuben’s voice,
“There is no time Crystal eliminate him”, Francesca voice.
“Please don’t kill my uncle”, Ella’s voice. All their voices crowded her head; she pulled her hand away from Ella’s grip, she pointed the gun at him, he closed his eyes ready to be erased, Ella tugged at her elbow to stop, Francesca and Reuben urged her to go ahead. She thought about Easton. She pulled the trigger. Nothing happened. She pulled again, nothing happened.
Immediately laughter erupted from everyone around her except Ella, she too looked confused.

Crystal pressed the phone to her ear and also heard Easton laugh “so you wanted to kill my father?” she looked confused, she didn’t understand what was going on.
“Your what?”
“Hello Crystal, it’s a pleasure meeting you”, Mr. Thomas grinned. She looked at Reuben, for the first time she saw him really smile.
Was this a prank the whole time? She didn’t get it, why did Easton play the prank on her? She thought. She felt a sharp stinging sensation on
her arm; she looked down to see Ella pinching with so much effort.
“You wanted to kill my grandpa”, she sounded sad.
Crystal got down on her knees to ease her hurt, “No honey, it was just a game, can’t you see us all laughing?”
Ella bought the lie, but clearly she didn’t like that type of game.
Mr. Thomas tapped Crystal on her back, she turned to look at his pleased face, and she
quickly got up in respect to the father of her boss.
He smiled. “Everything you see Easton do, he got it from me, everything he owns, he
inherited it though I am not dead. I was a business man, but retired now so he took over. We have a rule in our business anybody that gets in the way would have to die, so we need people to do the dirty job of erasing, and if the person is caught, there is a way we go about it that the person would be released and trust we have connections. In every sector there are always corrupt and greedy people who would do anything to get more money”.

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EPISODE 1 (Reminiscence)

BY BARBRA AUSTIN

Graceful and with poise she walked towards the stage set for her. So many eyes followed her in anticipation.
Her gold shoes hit each stair gently as she climbed. Her long red dress glittered so much, she held the microphone, her wrist wore a gold bracelet, her manicured red painted nails were perfect. She opened her mouth to sing, a soft and beautiful voice emitted from her, her voice was as beautiful as she was.
She spread out her arms as she sang, the instruments played added more beauty to her beautiful and soulful song, she swirled round slowly as if possessed by the song that came out of her, her gold long earrings danced along with her. Her audience watched trapped in her stronghold, they watched her every move, listened to every word, the song illuminated their hearts, they marveled at her beauty and uniqueness. She ended the song with a long drag of her voice. Screams, roaring
applauds were heard. She placed her hand on her chest and bowed a little with a radiating smile that exposed her well arranged teeth. She climbed down just the way she climbed up.
She had been working as a singer in this exquisite club for a long time and was always nervous each time she wanted to sing, but always ended up having a crowd loving her more. As she walked towards the dressing room glimpses of the past took over her thoughts.

******************

At sixteen she was homeless, and sat down on the ground close to a church, she hoped for rescue, but none came, she was looked at as filth and as though she deserved what she got. The cold made her teeth knock against each other, she had knocked on doors, but at the sight of her they jammed their doors shut,
no one wanted a stranger in their home let alone a haggard looking girl.
Then a day came, a black car with tinted glasses stopped, the driver got down and opened the door, a man came out with sympathy exuding from him, the hunger that ravaged her made her vision blurry but she felt his genuine kindness. He walked
to her slowly and stretched his hand to touch her face, she looked at him hoping for help.
“My name is Easton, come with me let me give you a better life.”
She didn’t bother to argue, she held his hand and got up, all she thought about was food. She turned to him “I’m hungry”, he smiled and led her to the car, he got in after her and shut the door firmly. The car stopped in front of what looked like a castle. He led her through a
long corridor, left and right stood elaborate mantle pieces.
She walked slowly, he was patient, and made sure his steps were equal to hers’. She caught sight of the living room but didn’t bother to take a close look, her head hung as she leaned on his body for support. He led her up each stair. He pushed open a door and led her into a peaceful room, the air seemed clearer, she inhaled and exhaled weakly.
He made her sit on the bed, but her body couldn’t withstand a sitting position, she slumped on the bed and shook with hunger.
She heard him say “get her something to eat now!” with urgency in his voice.
Few minutes later, food was brought, her body seemed to energize as soon has she knew there was food, she got up to a sitting position smartly.
The tray was placed on her lap, she devoured the food in split seconds, consumed lots of
water and tried to hold back a loud belch, but it came out much louder than she expected.
She politely apologized as the tray was taken off her lap. She turned to look at Easton “thank
you.”
He gave her a warm smile as she laid down feeling better than when she came, she just felt sleepy.
“What’s your name?”, “Crystal”, he urged her to sleep then placed a thick blanket on her. “This is your new home”, she smiled and drifted into a deep and peaceful sleep.

**************

That was eight years ago. Every time she remembered how Easton took her off the streets, she was always thankful. She was lucky to be alive. She got into the dressing room, sat down and retouched her face with a little make up.

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