Chapter 12

Burger moaned, and Christopher patted his face. “Morning sunshine. You have a good sleep?”

Eva squirmed. Whimpering into Danny’s shoulder. He released her hand and whispered. “Plug your ears.”

Her hands slapped over her ears, and her face pressed harder into his arm.

Burger’s head lolled to one side, then he lifted it. One eye was swollen shut, but the other eye looked up at Christopher, then slid across to Danny. When he noticed Eva, he came fully awake and strained at his restraints.

“Eva, no.” His words were muffled by his swollen lips and tongue. “Please.” His one good eye focused back on Christopher. “I’ll do anything.”

“That’s what I was hoping you’d say.” He turned to Danny. “See how much easier things are now?”

“You don’t need her to be here to threaten him,” Danny said.

Christopher turned from him as he focused back on his task. “Does that mean we’re in agreement?”

Burger’s head dropped in defeat. He might not be a good man, but at least he cared about his daughter.

“I’ll do whatever he wants,” Burger said. “Just leave Eva alone.”

“Leave her alone?” Christopher’s lip curled up on one side. “Is that a request or a demand? Because it looks to me like you’re in no position to demand anything.” He walked over to Eva, who was humming softly between chokes of tears with her head squeezed between her hands.

Christopher ran his finger across her knuckles, and Danny stiffened, waiting for him to cross a line.

“It’s a tough world out there,” Christopher continued, sitting on the other side of her. She squirmed closer to Danny, her body shuddering.

“I think that’s enough,” Danny said. “Burger said he’d do what you want. We’re done here.”

Christopher feigned offense. “What is it you think I’m going to do to her?” Then he grinned. “But if I did do anything, it would only be a favor. Prepare her for the harsh realities of life.”

“I’m sure she’s seen enough for one lifetime. Leave her alone.”

Burger was watching Danny with his one good eye. It was damp with tears and full of pleading hope that Danny had the power to make it stop. Burger would know that, if he spoke, it would only make things worse, and Danny could feel the weight of his desperation.

“You think she has a nice childhood here with Burger?” Christopher said. “You believe all that crap he’s feeding us about caring about her? You think she hasn’t already faced the horrors of life with a man like that?” His face hardened, and he grabbed Eva’s ponytail, yanking her hair.

In the seconds that followed, Burger bellowed in fear, Eva’s hands reached for her hair as her eyes bulged open, and she screamed. Danny jumped to his feet a moment away from throwing his fist at Christopher’s face but pulled up short when he found a gun pointed at him.

Christopher tsked, shaking his head. He let go of Eva, who scrambled to the other side of the couch and compressed herself into a ball, shaking in terror. She was sobbing, but not making any other noise.

“Back at Gregory’s house,” Christopher said, slapping the back of Burger’s head as he walked past. “I really thought you could gel with us, Danny. I thought you had a real chance. You still have your uses, but I thought we’d hooked a real winner. Trouble is, now you’re in too deep. And if you’re not with us, you’re against us. Which is it going to be?”

“You got what you came here for. It’s time to go.”

“ I say when it’s time to go.”

Danny’s eye shifted to Eva, whose face was pale. She’d stopped crying, but her lips were pressed firmly together, and she was rocking back and forth. A brave girl, despite the terror that filled her eyes.

“You’ve totally ruined the moment,” Christopher said, tucking his gun away. “I was ready for a good day today, but I’ve lost motivation.” He walked over to Burger and backhanded him. Eva screamed, then clamped her hands over her mouth and squeezed her eyes shut.

Burger was silent, and Danny thought for a moment that he’d been knocked out, but then his head tilted to check on Eva with one bloodshot eye.

“ Now it’s time to go,” Christopher shouted and marched toward the front door, but Danny moved around behind Burger to untie him.

“I said now!” Christopher shouted as he grabbed the door, throwing it open so it smacked into the wall and was held fast by the door handle now embedded into the wall.

Danny looked at Eva. “You think you can get him free?”

She nodded. Her focus was completely on him, too afraid to look anywhere else.

“I’m sorry for all this,” he said to no one in particular. “I thought I’d be able to do more. Burger, for what it’s worth, you have a good girl here, and she deserves the best from you. This is your chance to turn your life around for her sake. Whatever you’re mixed up with, stop.”

“I can’t. Artus won’t let me go. He’ll kill me first.”

“Yeah, well, you never know what the future holds. If you have the chance to get free of him, make sure you do the right thing by Eva.”

Danny followed Christopher out to the car, wondering if he’d be better off walking. He would rather have walked, but Christopher buzzed his window down.

“You coming? Or what?”

“I thought you couldn’t stand the sight of me.”

“I can’t.” Christopher laughed. “But get in anyway. You may not be good for a proper job, but you can now consider yourself in the full employ of Artus Sisera. Desertion carries a death sentence.”

Danny paused. He wasn’t afraid of Christopher’s threat. This was the break he’d been hoping for, but pretending to grovel didn’t suit him. He took one last look at the house, then got in the car.

“You should have seen your face back there,” Christopher said in another round of laughter.

“I’m sorry if I don’t find it as amusing as you do.”

“That’s because you take yourself way too seriously. Wasn’t there ever a time when this was fun?”

“Not really. I did what I was asked because I was good at it, and I got paid well. But I’d never been asked to hurt a kid.”

“No kid was hurt, were they? Come on, Danny, even you have to admit that it worked wonders on Burger to have his daughter there.”

“He would have caved with the beating you gave him. That would have been more than enough.”

Christopher sped down the road. “I would have been better off on my own.”

“Then why’d you bring me?”

“Test run.”

“Oh yeah? Or did you know there would be a kid there, and you needed someone to wrangle her?”

“Of course I knew. Everyone knows Burger’s the only one stupid enough to keep a kid around when he works with dangerous folks like my father. He has only himself to blame. Oh, by the way, I can’t make any promises that you’ll get paid for today.”

Danny had to turn his head to keep Christopher from seeing the revulsion on his face. “I expected as much.”

“Good. At least you’re man enough to know when you’ve messed up. I can’t promise we’ll have any more work for you into the future besides what we’ve already discussed. I don’t know that you’re good for more than gathering gossip.”

“Probably not.”

Christopher grunted. “I should have known that Gregory would only keep weak men close to him. The sad thing is you prop him up. He’s fallen so far, even you stand out next to him.”

“That’s a pretty nasty thing to say about a man who’s given you so much.”

“If he hadn’t given it, we would have taken it. Gregory is too full of his own self-importance to know what’s going on right under his nose. Not that it will matter soon.”

Danny wanted to ask but knew Christopher wouldn’t give him any more information. He was on a high after abusing Burger. It made him boastful.

Christopher reached for the stereo and blasted his heavy metal, which meant Danny could focus on the houses streaming past out the window. He was relieved he wouldn’t have to keep the conversation going.

The drive home went faster than expected, and when they pulled up outside of Danny’s building, Christopher only turned the music down a couple of notches before shouting, “I’ll probably see you around. Don’t forget about putting in a good word with Jael.” He gave Danny a warning look. “What goes on at work stays at work. You got it? If I find out she heard about our little outing, I’ll end you.”

“I thought you said it wouldn’t bother her.”

“It’s not about that. See you around.”

Danny shouldered out of the car, watched Christopher disappear down the road, then looked at his apartment building and sighed. He wasn’t ready to be cooped up yet, so he turned on his heel and walked down the sidewalk with his hands stuffed in his pockets.

As he passed a tall brick building, music drifted out the half-open door. A tune he recognized. He veered up the steps, poking his head in far enough so he could see into a lobby area.

“Can I help you?” A teenage girl was folding sheets of paper at a high table near the side wall. It had a giant “Welcome” sign above it.

“Sorry,” Danny said. “I heard the music.”

“Yeah. They’re practicing for Sunday, but you’re welcome to come in and listen if you want. Or I can get someone for you if you need to talk?”

“No, I’m good, but I wouldn’t mind listening for a few minutes.”

“Absolutely. Come in and sit wherever you like. You want anything to drink? Tea, coffee, soda?”

“No thanks. Listening is enough. It’s exactly what I need.”

She nodded with a smile, then focused back on her folding.

He entered a large auditorium space and made his way along the seats in the back row, keeping his focus low as he sat.

He kneaded his shaking hand with his thumb. The day had gotten under his skin more deeply than he realized, but he was thankful to God that he’d been there. Who knew what would have happened if Christopher had brought someone more sadistic? He steadied his breathing against the bile that rose at the thought.

“Please, God. Make sure Burger changes his life so Eva will be safe.” He continued to pray for her and her safety as the music team finished their sound check and began to run through the songs. The woman leading had a rich, deep resonance to her voice that made the words melt inside of him and allowed God to do a work on his injured soul.

He hadn’t been inside a church since coming back to America. In Nairobi, he attended a small fellowship and brought as many of the boys from the slum as he could, but it was a lot of work, and he never took as much time as he needed to look after his own spiritual health.

Having all this space around him to sit and meditate was uncomfortable at first, but as the music continued, his heart opened further, and God began cleaning off the filth of what Danny had experienced that day. He knew God was with him, but he also knew he wasn’t allowing God’s wisdom and discernment to steer him as much as he should be. In this environment, he’d been his own man with no god to lead him. He wouldn’t let himself fall into the familiarity of that again. That’s the person he’d been the last time he’d worked with Deborah; he wouldn’t be that person now. He’d changed too much.

With that thought, a bitterness came that he hadn’t realized he’d been harboring against Deborah and how she’d used him. Coming back wasn’t just about protecting people or putting anyone in prison. It was a cleansing for Danny as well, and he wanted to ensure that God could do the full work before his time here ran out. God could make the most of it if Danny could submit to his Father’s leading.