The Inducer Page 5

  After a while they arrived at a basketball court. She remembers the pictures of Ismat with the ball in his hand. She takes her strength and decides to continue.

  - This is my world, Yesi. I didn't know where to take you. After the other night it was impossible for me to think of a seductive candlelit dinner. You, me, dance a little and then who knows?

  - It sounds excellent, I would have accepted. I want to be funny and she does it.

  - Fuck, what a mistake! But there's no time to be sorry, come on.

  They enter the training site. She looks at all the young people as they hug Frank and greet him. There are about fourteen or maybe more guys in numbered T-shirts. On the back, it said, "Frank's boys."

  And it happens: she sees Ismat's face in one of the young men. You can't believe it. Then he sees you better. It was a hallucination to his anxiety.

  - Are you all right, Yesi?

  - Yes, I am, it's all right.

  - I saw you blinking. I thought... Is something wrong?

  - Don't worry, it's just the ride. I'm a little dizzy.

  - Sit down, we'll leave in a little while.

  Frank starts talking and training with the boys. One of them, somewhat older than the others, is apparently the leader. His name is Peter. This one secretes things in Frank's ear once in a while. Yesi takes out his Kindle and starts reading a little, while Frank finishes his hypocritical routine.

  It could have been about two hours maybe. She didn't feel the time, she didn't listen either, and she just tasted the lines of her new passion: reading. Frank breaks in when she's about to finish an interesting chapter.

  - What do you read? He hugs her from behind. She's sitting in the front row of seats, near the court.

  - A story of romance. It's gorgeous. I'm almost done.

  - Wow, I'd like to get your attention like that device. A Kindle, right?

  - Sure, a wonderful Kindle, a world full of millions of worlds in the palm of my hand. Do you know what? I didn't know what to read. He was so good! I missed a lot for quite some time.

  - I'd like to invite you to a place. We're done here and I was wondering if you'd like to....

  - Intimacy?

  - Yes, but from the healthy, without malice.

  -Do you promise?

  - I can't promise that. With you it is impossible to be cautious and healthy, you invoke sinful thoughts. I'm sure they'll ban you from a mass.

  -Ha, ha, ha, ha! You're crazy, Frank.

  -Yes, I am. I'm crazy to be alone with you, even if it's looking at you.

  Yesi could not deny that the guru was right. She was being seduced by her enemy and had to act, without passion.

  -Come on then. Watch me in your privacy, I promise I'll be good. Look at him this time. The kids watch him and laugh.

  Two Hours Later …

  Frank takes her to his apartment. They start a rude game of desire. They kissed in desperation. They walk all over the place in the middle of a game, while anxiously they take each other's clothes off.

  At that moment Yesi remembers his mission. It's like, "Don't get attached to the chicken, you're going to eat it anyway. She takes off abruptly from that warm and beautiful body in which she could not deny she felt comfortable. He looks at her exposed chest and blinks.

  -Don't you have anything to drink, Frank?

  Frank looks at her strangely, but his desire prevents him from identifying the failure. She really wanted to drink alcohol so that she could perform the act with him in an uninhibited way.

  -Wine. I'll go get him.

  -Wait, don't you have anything stronger?

  He smiles and answers and offers her the most beautiful smile she has ever seen in her life.

  -Beer. I have a six-pack I bought yesterday. He took it watching the game, but I couldn't see him yesterday, so I'm going to the fridge, wait.

  - No, I want something stronger, you understand?

  She thought, "He's going to get the drugs."

  Oh, I know, when I was in Tijuana on vacation last year I brought tequila. It was a gift. That, my dear, is the strongest thing there is. Now I'm going to get her.

  Frank gets into the little kitchen and when Yesi comes back he has his bra half off. With the eyes of a hungry wolf, he passes her the bottle and she drinks from it. He drops some liquid from his mouth, which slips down his neck. Frank understands the seductive game. He drinks from the liquid that runs down his neck, touching that skin with desire and passion. This time more slowly, they experienced the warmth of a slow, seductive sex game. Bodies that are eaten little by little without haste, without leaving a bit of skin. Groaning, drooling pleasure. Between shots of tequila and excessive burning he makes it his and she explodes. That overflow was the most shocking thing I had ever experienced.

  The meeting is repeated until the morning. Both of them on the floor of that apartment, naked in fur, dressed in their souls, sleep in each other's arms. The cushions on the furniture are witnesses to so much desire. He gets up, takes a cigarette and lights it. He sits on the furniture.

  -Do you smoke?

  - Yes, only when I feel satisfied.

  - Then you'll become addicted to smoking," she replied, putting herself on all fours. Like a brunette cat walks towards him. The seductive game was maddening. Frank was speechless.

  - You scare me, tiger, but your words turn me on. I burn with desire again, and we just ate like two hungry beggars.

  She gets up, stands up, takes him cigarette away and smokes a little. Then she lies down on the furniture and puts her head on Frank's legs. He strokes her hair.

  - So this is your rabbit hole, you guinea pig. It's cosy.

  - Yeah, kind of, but when Mac's home, things aren't that quiet. If you only knew what it took for the department to learn! It was months of a lot of training.

  - And where is he now?

  - He left for two days with his mother. I created this loneliness between you and me. Do you think it was a coincidence?

  - You had it all planned out, you're a rascal.

  - Yes, the worst rascal you've ever met. I plan to steal your heart, piece by piece.

  - And how will you do that? Come on, surprise me.

  - These are seduction tricks, I can't tell you, I'm sorry. You'll find out my charm tactics with the ladies, and that's a state secret.

  Laughing didn't take long.

  -I think I should go, Frank. Our meeting is wonderful, but I must leave.

  -Stay, please. I'll be good.

  - No, I can't, I'm sorry. She gets up and starts getting dressed.

  -Then I'll take you.

  - No need, Frank, I know the way. Call a cab and it's all settled. It's dry and cold.

  -Sure? I can take you to your apartment and walk you to bed, I'm available. Again, that beautiful smile that would bring down any woman.

  - Don't worry, Frank, I can make it on my own.

  The cab passed by half an hour later. She arrived at her apartment and in tears lamented her fate. Surrendering yourself to the person responsible for your child's addiction and death was a real, horrible nightmare..

  Twenty-Three Days Later…

  That afternoon she would meet Mac. She was nervous. Frank picked her up at the flower shop for lunch together so she could meet his son. I'll meet you at the coffee shop next door by the florist. There he looked at the clock and despaired.

  Until at last he could see them through the glass door and walk towards her. Frank smiled satisfied. The woman he was dating for almost a month finally saw his little boy.

  They get to where she's sitting. I had ordered a juice, which came with Frank and Mac, but she didn't care. As the boy walked toward her, he could only see Ismat take smiling steps toward her arms.

  A strange echo in Yesi's ears asked him to listen. She was being held captive in the presence of her son, who was not her son, he was just Mac, Frank's son.

  - Mac, she is Yesi. Reach out your hand. The child obeys and she touches his hand, soft, white, tend
er.

  - What about her hair, Dad? I want to touch it. He looked lost in the middle of nowhere, his green eyes didn't blink.

  Yesi smiles strangely.

  - I told her about your beautiful hair, the wavy, the way it's wavy. He's never touched a texture like that. Can he?

  Yesi looks at them both and feels troubled, but she must be flexible.

  - Sure, you can. Come here. She pulls him gently by the hand.

  -Come on, champ, go with her.

  The child approaches and touches from the hand, rising gently to the face. He touches her features, her nose, her mouth, and is surprised, because it is not her usual size. He continues to the top and smiles as he encounters Yesi's plentiful curly hair. He touches it, he touches it again. Then he smells it, then he tenderly embraces it.

  She feels strange. "What should I do? she thinks. He's the son of my enemy. I should act now and squeeze this body till I'm tired and avenge my little one. That's what I should do. But the reason came back: "Are you crazy? He's just a child," she thinks, confused, withdrawing the child and suddenly standing up.

  -I have to go to the bathroom, Frank. I'll be right back.

  And there in that bathroom she broke his rage a little by tapping his hands on the walls. He was writhing in inner pain. It was time to end this, I couldn't go on. He takes strength from the guru's words, washes his face and returns smiling.

  -All right?

  -Yeah, I just got a little colicky, I'm sorry," she says.

  Frank won't stop looking at her. He's in the seat next to the child waiting for her to sit down.

  - Have you ordered yet?

  - Yeah, I took the liberty of ordering something special: hamburgers with milkshake. I wanted to be funny.

  The child laughs.

  A little after lunch, Frank takes the boy to the vehicle. He walks away a little, staying alone with her.

  - Love, I felt a little pressured by Mac's presence, and it's normal, I understand, but I promise you the kid is not a problem, he's adorable, we can deal with him easily, I assure you.

  -What do you mean?

  - Isn't that logical? I want you to come live with me and Mac. He needs a mother and I think you're the right person for it. I know you're a perfect stranger, but I need you. I love you, Yesi, I'm crazy about you. These days have been the best of my life, I think you would make a great companion and a great mother to Mac.

  -Sure?

  - Yesi, don't be quiet. Answer me: would you come and live with us?

  If he said no, he'd miss the chance to enter Frank's world and find out a lot more about himself.

  - I accept, of course.

  They hug each other. She looks at Mac in the vehicle about eight steps from them. She gets a little sad. Then her eyes take on that dangerously despicable tone. It was time to start executing her plan for revenge.

  In revenge, the weak are always the fiercest..

  Maurice Barries

  CHAPTER VIII

  Taming the Lamb to Take Him to the Slaughterhouse

  Six months later, Yesi was living with Frank. They left their respective apartments to move into that wonderful house, with a large patio, garage and modern touches, just one block from the old house of Ismat and Yaro. That cosy place was perfect to make a new life, Frank said. She breathed tolerance, sustained her impulses to live with him. She was worried about the fact that Frank was interesting to her. Sometimes she gets confused between the contempt and the feeling that grew in her towards that being she had to hurt to satisfy her low instincts of revenge.

  Little Mac gets to know her. The house was suitable for this child to have safe contact with the whole environment. Yesi could not deny that this infant was charming. It turned out that the emptiness of not being able to be with Ismat had sensitized her. She could not deny that she had mixed feelings with that special creature. She helped him bathe, dressed him, fed him, and took him to his reading classes for the blind. Anyway, she stopped working at the flower shop to make a new life with Frank.

  Frank wasn't just a basketball player, he was also supposed to sell property online. In doing so, he camouflaged the sale of the drug. From time to time, he would tell her that he rented premises for events, among others. He insisted that selling expensive property was not common, but when he did, he would live on that money for a while until new sales appeared. He thought he was cheating on Yeri. Frank really traded drugs on a low level, no one noticed.

  On the other hand, Frank receives government support for Mac's education. This helped him to invest what he could in accommodating Yesi, with whom he was madly in love.

  That afternoon, Yesi is at the supermarket doing the shopping for the week. She had to hurry. She's having dinner at home with Frank and Mac. She'd make something special.

  In the vegetable aisle she was thinking of pasta and carrot salad with broccoli. She was about to pick a fruit when her hand was suddenly touched: it was the guru. He takes an apple and bites it. She gets scared when she sees him. She looked dark under the eyes, dressed casually.

  - You scared me, guru. What a surprise! Where have you been?

  - I've been having encounters with my old demons, I miss them. Revenge is no longer the job it used to be. People forgive too much already, it keeps me not too busy.

  - Were you resting then? She drags the shopping cart and he walks by her side. Your old demons seem to matter a great deal to you. They enter the pasta aisle.

  - And what about you?

  - No, there are no demons in my past.

  - But in your present, yes. Right now you're dealing with the worst.

  - Is that for you or for Frank?

  - Very clever. He laughs and puts the bitten apple in Yesi's shopping cart.

  - Guru, a lot has happened. I'm living with Frank.

  -I know. Don't you wonder how I found you?

  - Ah, I forgot! You're a big fan of this invisible one.

  - No, no modesty. You're glowing. Look at you, you look exquisite. Frank's polishing you like a diamond, carefully. He's spoiling you. He gives you everything you want, he even gave you a son. And you, deluded, fall at his feet. He says this slowly in his ear.

  -I don't fall at her feet, I just... -She hesitates.

  - You just get carried away, that's all. He's energetic.

  - I'm sorry, guru, I'm sorry. I don't think I can go on. It's just....

  - It's that nothing. I told you, Frank is charming, and I warned you. And now you're in love with your victim. You're one of the most incompetent clients I've ever had.

  Yeri stops. His eyes are filled with tears.

  - I don't feel well. I....

  -Stop, little one. Don't worry, I think I raised my voice to you too loud. I'm sorry. How about you go for a walk? Do you like ballet?

  - I can't, I'm having dinner with....

  - With your new fake family?

  - Yes, that's right. She's drowning in tears. The guru dries his cheeks with his hands. They find themselves alone in the hallway.

  - Come on, cheer up, it'll only be two hours. I promise you, when we get out, you'll be calmer.

  - All right, she said, leaving the shopping cart and leaving the place with the guru.

  As usual, the guru hands her a box with a beautiful dress. She smiles and looks at him. She gets in the car and gets dressed. The guru is waiting for you outside.

  Once in the theatre…

  The music was beautiful. The silhouette of a lone dancer showed the expert movements of a woman. The tragic touch of the melody indicated that it was a sad story. She couldn't understand the opera's voice in an unknown language, but she liked it, although it was also heartfelt to think that it had kept Frank waiting.

  - Isn't she beautiful? It reminds me of Natalie Portman's movie.

  —Ah, The black swan. Yeah, that's right. We always relate situations to movies or books. On the other hand, I admit it was worth it, guru. I appreciate him, it's a nice show.

  After about thirteen minutes, the
scene becomes clear. The silhouette stops showing. This time you can see a beautiful Asian dancer on the surface: she was nothing less than Pons.

  - She's a very talented girl, isn't she? -It sounds ironic.

  -Yes, I see. -Yeri starts to remember how much that girl loved her son.

  - It's a unique opportunity. She's performing alone tonight in this town. He's leaving tomorrow to continue his tour of the United States. I thought you might like to take a closer look at the girl who deposited butterflies in Ismat's stomach.

  Pons danced with extreme delicacy. Her face remained saddened, to the beat of the music. It was extraordinary. After a few minutes the dance ends. A model arrives with flowers for Pons. She's got tears in her eyes. She says goodbye to the audience by throwing the top of her body forward. Everybody's standing for a standing ovation. It was a hell of a show. Pons runs off the stage with her flowers in her hand. Her outfit is splendid.

  Another dancer comes in. Yesi gets up and goes to the exit. The guru is with him.

  - She's tense. Would you like to leave?

  - No, not without talking to her.

  -Sure? Do you think you can?

  - Yes, I can, of course I can. I have to look her in the eye, talk to her.

  - Are you not afraid? I remind you that your identity is secret, at least for the purposes we know.

  They look each other in the eye. The guru moves away a little and takes advantage of the fact that the caretaker of the entrance to the dressing rooms is entertained in the show. That's when he tells Yesi to come by and he does it.

  She sneaks in fast and manages to find the aisle. There are several dancers waiting to go on stage. They looked beautiful, all dressed up like Swan Lake.

  She gets to see the door where Pons is ajar. She walks in and meets the girl, who is in front of the mirror looking at herself. With her hand she touches the chain that has a large heart-shaped pendant. His eyes are watering.

  - What do you want? -She sees her from the mirror.

  -Nothing. I just came to congratulate you on your beautiful dance, that's all. I'm leaving. She makes him leave, but the girl stops her.