Chapter 1

Antonio sat there for a while thinking, he knew that logo very well; it was a logo of the mafia boss’s hotel, Lux; the hotel was one of the most prestigious ones in the city, only rich people can afford to enter there, middle-class people could not afford to spend even a night here and the likes of him could not even walk passed the entrance of the hotel. Yuri the mafia boss’s penthouse was there, and the place was a fortress with state-of-the-art security. He thought of returning the money but the problem was that he could only get as far as across the street from the entrance of the hotel.

But then again, he knew what would happen to him should he return the money; he stole from a man no one dared to steal from and he knew what he was capable of. He had seen how his men killed people on the streets and have heard a lot of things about Yuri. So, either way, he was as good as dead. Then he thought of how he has been struggling on the streets for years now, he thought of the cold tar on the side of the road he sleeps on, the dirty clothes he wore, and the trash cans he has eaten on.

Then decided, if he was going to die then he might as well die having experienced a little of the good life, a life he has never experienced before, a life of luxury. He turned and stared at the case then slowly stood up. He pulled the case close to him then took a stack of the cash and stuffed it in his pocket then closed the case. He turned and scanned the room for his jacket. He saw it laying right behind the couch; he bent down and picked it up then wore it.

He looked at himself in the mirror, he even lost the color of his skin, he was dirty and the smell was not so pleasant even though he was used to it by now. He did not want to die like this, like a dog that no one will care about, he shook his head then took the case and hid it under his arm and covered it with the big jacket then went out of the room. The woman was still at the front desk when he got out; he placed the keys to the room then left without saying a word.

He looked around then hailed a cab that was passing by; the driver was probably going home to sleep, but he stopped, anyway; It surprised him he did because they don’t normally stop for the likes of him; he got in then spoke. “To the mall.” He told the driver who could not help but look at the back seat through the rearview mirror, it was because of the smell that he looked and when he saw him, he regretted stopping.

“Don’t worry I have money” he told him when he did not drive, he took out the money and handed him two hundred dollars. The driver started the car and drove off. Antonio thought about how he might not be let into any store looking like that and smelling so badly and asked the driver for help. “Listen, I will give you $500 if you could help me with a shower and change of clothes before going to the mall.” The driver had little luck today and has made little money.

His offer was tempting as he thought about it, what harm could it do? It was just a shower and a change of clothes. The driver decided. “I can help with that, my friend doesn’t live far from here and he's out of town for a couple of days, I know where he put his spare key so, I guess we can go there.” The driver told him; he did not answer but nodded in agreement. The driver gave him a small smile then drove to his friend’s house, upon arrival he took the spare key and opened the house.

He showed him where the bathroom was then left him to shower while he went to look for some clothes for him and shoes. Antonio took two hours in the shower thoroughly cleaning himself up, removing all the dirt he had, despite that, he did not feel clean enough; it has been years since he took a bath and his hair was so long and had a lot of knots. His beard had also grown so much with its own knots that he tried to remove with a brush.

He went out then after drying himself and saw the clothes that the driver brought for him and wore them. He looked better than he even did in years; he felt lighter even like a load had been lifted off his shoulder, and he did not feel like a man that was living his last days. Instead, he felt like he had been reborn but each time he thought of Yuri, fear would creep into his heart and would shiver at the thought but that was not enough to stop him from what he wanted to do with the money.

He went out and found the driver waiting for him; he was still carrying the case as he went into the bathroom with it. He took out the $500 from the stack in his packet then gave it to the driver; the driver smiled and thanked him. He then drove him to the mall as promised, the mall was quiet this time of night; he went into the first store and bought him several suits as he liked them. When he was on the streets, he would watch and admire business owners in suits walking by and wished that he could own one as well.

He bought suits, shirts, underwear, vests, belts, shoes, and ties. He then went to the jewelry store and got himself several watches to go with the suits. He bought himself a cell phone then went to the public bathrooms and changed into one suit. He looked so handsome in it like they made it just for him, his lips twitched resembling something that looked like a smile, he liked this look. He went out now wearing a suit and carrying a new case with the money.

He found a barber and cut his hair then trimmed his beard nicely, how with his look complete he looked nothing like the homeless man he was a few hours ago, now he looked like a respectable business executive people would give respect to without being asked. At the barber, he asked them to help him get a rental car, an SUV, and a driver for a few days. It was easy to get what he wanted and in a few minutes, a car stopped just outside the barber.

He got out and went to the car; he stood there admiring it before he got into the open door the driver held for him. “Lux hotel.” He told the driver if he was going to die, he might as well not make the man look too hard for him, he can find him right at his hotel and can do what he wants with him. He sat in the car like a sophisticated man looking out the window, the drive was not long as the road was empty, and the car stopped in front of Lux.

The driver got out and opened the door for him. He got out then looked at the hotel he has been looking at from across the street for years and it looked so much better up close. He went inside and straight to the front desk. A beautiful lady stood behind the desk, she was well dressed and wore a smile on her face. She looked nothing like the lady in the motel downtown, he could clearly see the difference in status.

“Hello sir, how may I help you?” asked the lady, it felt good to be called sir, instead of being called names daily, just to be treated with respect felt good. “Hello, I would like your best room or a pant house if you have one available.” He requested; the lady smiled at him then clicked away on her computer before looking back at him. “We have one of our small penthouses available, it is not as small as you might think but is smaller than the other three, we have, and it will be perfect for you.” The lady told him.

“I will take it; I am not sure how long I will stay but for now book it for a week then I will let you know of any changes.” He told her. “Perfect.” All the procedure was done, and he was shown to the penthouse. It was beautiful with a marvelous view of the city; he sighed and place his briefcase on the couch then ordered something to eat. He then went and stood by the window looking out in the night. “Well, Mr. Yuri, I guess you won’t have to look far to find me, but until then, I will be waiting.” He said then took a puff of the cigarette he had dangling between his fingers.