FREDDY BONES

The next two days felt like two years for Ian. After the first twenty-four hours, when he couldn't bear it anymore, he left his room so he wouldn't die of boredom.

All he kept doing was thinking about Kim. He decided to familiarize himself with the city of LA. It was his first time there, and he didn't know how long his mission was going to take. So, he got a tour guide to show him around.

He spent the entire day, from morning till evening, moving around the city, learning about safe areas and places that were unsafe.

When it was getting dark, he came back to his hotel room and slept off because he was tired. In the morning, he met with the private investigator called Bob. But this time, they met in a café, which was much better than where they had met before.

The private investigator said, "I found the man you're looking for, David Suarez. I found him at a dangerous club downtown. At first, he refused to cooperate, so I had to use extreme measures. Apparently, he's not the one using the number he gave. The SIM card was given to a guy called Helium."

"Why?" Ian asked.

The investigator sighed, "Helium runs a drug cartel; the Helium Cartel. What Suarez does is; he gets the numbers and delivers them to the guys who deal in the drug business. He does this to cover their tracks, and all the numbers carry his name.

I don't know how he does this, but apparently, when that call was made, the SIM card wasn't with him. I looked deeper into it. From the outside, it seems like an ordinary club, but underground, they run deadly businesses. Not just drugs, they're very dangerous people and shouldn't be trifled with."

"Do not worry about that," Ian said. "I can take care of myself. I know a few self-defense skills as I was trained in martial arts."

"Really?" Bob said. "So, can you shoot a gun?"

Ian shook his head. "No, I've never held a gun before."

Bob laughed, "I'll advise you to forget about them."

"No, I will not. If it's because I can't shoot a gun, I'm willing to learn."

"Why? Why are you looking for trouble?" Bob asked.

"I am not looking for trouble," Ian replied. "I am looking for someone; a girl. My girl. If Helium was the one who made that call, then I need to get to Helium. I need to get close to him, and I need to go underground. Please help me. I have enough money. I' will pay you."

The investigator sighed, "Well, I know someone who can help you, but it will cost you a lot of money. The first thing you need to do, though, is to change your identity.

Once Helium finds out who you are, he will kill you like a fly. So, the first thing you have to do is make sure your identity carries the name of someone who fits into his world. Once that has been achieved, I will set you up with the man who will help you get underground like you want."

"Okay, that sounds like a plan," Ian replied. "As I said, money is not the problem."

Bob smiled, "If money is not the problem, then you've got yourself a deal. Meet me here in the evening at six, and I'll be here with your new identity, as well as the person who will help you meet Helium."

"Thank you very much," Ian said.

Afterward, he left the cafe. When he went back to his hotel room, he kept pacing up and down, thinking about what to do.

In all honesty, he was afraid. He had never been involved with dangerous guys, and he was just eighteen years old. Yes, he tried to act tough and confident in front of Bob, but he kept thinking, "How will Kim be involved with such people?"

All the way from Evanston to LA, it was just too impossible for him to piece everything together.

When it was evening, he left his hotel room and met with Bob at the agreed time. They waited until a man suddenly arrived. From the very first glance, he looked like a gangster. His beard was disgusting in Ian's opinion.

The gangster sat down and said, "Yes, so you said his name is what?"

"Freddy Bones," Bob lied.

Ian was surprised, as Bob had not told him anything about his new identity but still played along.

"Yes, I'm Freddy."

"Okay, so what do you want, Freddy? What can I do for you?"

"I need you to get me underground. I want to work for and with Helium," Ian replied.

The guy smiled, "That's not impossible, but you need to know that Helium is very dangerous. He's not your average guy."

"Of course, I know. I know very well who Helium is, and I know what I'm getting myself into. This business interests me so much. I am aware that it's risky, so I don't mind."

"In that case, come with me."

"Take a look at the club first," Bob told Ian.

He let Ian go with the gangster. When they arrived at the club, he took Ian around, introducing him to different people and telling them that Ian was his friend. Ian kept looking all around the club, trying to see if he could notice anyone. Bob had shown him a picture of Helium, but he couldn't find him anywhere.

After showing him around, the gangster sat with him and said, "Let's have a bottle of beer."

"Oh no, I'm not in the mood," Ian replied.

"What does that mean?" the gangster asked.

"Well, my baby mama will throw a fit if I go home drunk."

"Oh, I see. The person I want to introduce you to is yet to arrive."

After a while, a man wearing black goggles eventually arrived and sat at the table with them.

"This is Spider," the gangster said to Ian, "and he understands the business very well."

Turning to the man he said, "he wants to meet Helium.

The guy whose name was Spider shook his head, "Helium is very busy tonight and cannot see anyone. Are you a user?" he asked.

Ian nodded.

"Yes, okay, that's good. You should come back in two days."

"Two days? That's quite far away." Ian replied.

"Well, you want to meet Helium, only he can clear you and he's not around. So you don't have a choice. It's either you come in two days or you forget about it." Spider told him.

"No, I can't forget it. I really need this job. It's important to me." Ian replied.

After he left the club, Ian called the private investigator and told him everything.

"Okay, I do not want these two days to go to waste. I need to learn to shoot, and I need to have a gun. Please connect me to someone."

"Alright, as I said before, as long as you have the money, you've got yourself a deal."

Ian met with Bob the next day, and he was introduced to a man who gave him a gun after paying a lot of money. He spent the next two days learning how to shoot. His aim wasn't perfect, but it was good enough. Afterward, he hid the gun and took it back to his hotel room.

As he sat on the bed that night, he went through Kim's pictures on his phone and said, "I am doing all this for you, Kim. I hope you're out there somewhere and that my efforts will not be in vain."

The next day, when it was evening, Ian found his way to the club to meet with Spider. He dressed as he had observed people in the club dressing because he wanted to fit in, putting on black torn jeans and a black torn t-shirt. But he kept his gun in the hotel room, telling himself that he would survey the area first and be sure it was truly dangerous before carrying his gun. He did not want to give Helium any opportunity to be suspicious of him.

When he arrived, Spider said, "Come with me."

He took him downstairs to a part of the club which was out of bounds to others. A door below them opened, and they went down through a ladder. When he got into the place, Ian was surprised by the number of people he saw.

There were more than twenty, and they all seemed to be working. They were wrapping a white substance, and he did not need a soothe-sayer to tell him that it was coke.

He finally saw Helium sitting on a big chair. As his eyes met him, he felt a little bit afraid. Helium was tall, even as he sat, it was obvious that he was tall.

Helium stood up and Ian could see that he had well-toned muscles. He seemed to be in his late thirties. He had flinty jaws, and one of his ears had been cut off at the top. His lips were big and full, and Ian wondered if he looked the way he did because of substance abuse.

"Freddy Bones, that's your name, right?"

Ian nodded. "Yes, that's my name."

"Come closer, let me take a look at you."

Ian moved closer to the table as Helium sat down. There was a gun on the table. As his eyes went to the ground, he suddenly prayed that Helium would not try to use it on him or ask him to kill anyone.

"So, I heard you want to work for me," Helium said.

"Yes, I want to work for you," he replied.

"Why?"

"Well, I need to make enough money, quick money. I've got a baby and a woman. I got bills to pay and I just need the easy way out." Ian explained.

Helium smiled, "That's interesting. You did come highly recommended, though. Let me see his ID."

Ian was surprised. He didn't know they were that meticulous. It was a good thing Bob had asked him to take on a new identity; otherwise, he would have been exposed. They searched his pocket, taking out his ID and a few dollar bills which he had carried with him.

As Helium looked at the ID, he said, "Hmm, interesting. So, what's your name and when were you born?"

Ian recalled the information Bob had given him and quickly mentioned it. Afterward, Helium typed it into his computer and smiled.

"Hmm, your identity checks out. What exactly is wrong with your little girl, though? She really does seem sick."

Ian was surprised because he had no idea about the girl in question or how she looked. He only knew what Bob told him, and that was what he repeated.

"Well, she's got Alport Syndrome, trouble with her kidneys."

"Oh, that's a real pity, a real pity indeed. But don't worry, you've come to the right place. As long as you work hard, I can assure you you'll make enough money to save your girl," Helium replied.

He smiled and turned towards one of the guys who was wrapping coke into a transparent bag. "Come here, Sammy."

The guy dropped the bag and moved closer to Helium. He was just as tall as Helium, almost seven feet.

"Umm, Freddy here wants to work for us. But as usual, I need to see how good he is. So show me."

Ian did not know what was about to happen, but the moment Helium spoke, the guy called Sammy charged at him and punched him hard in the face.

Ian staggered and after regaining his composure, stared at Sammy in surprise, wondering what was happening.