"What's wrong? Don't you want some?"
Lucas couldn't believe what was happening in front of him.
A part of him… felt relieved.
He wasn't the target.
Harry stepped forward slightly, wiping the sweat from his face. Then he pulled out a large bag of marijuana and some pills from his pocket and threw them onto the ground.
"I get it… I get it now. Fine… I'll stop."
Antonio slowly lowered his hand and smiled.
His eyes were gleaming.
"Really? It's not that easy."
Harry nodded.
"Of course it's not easy… but I have to do it."
Antonio tossed the bag of cocaine onto the ground and smiled widely.
"See? That wasn't so hard."
He ran his hand over his mustache.
"I hope you tell Carlos that."
A cold chill ran through Harry's body.
He knew how dangerous Antonio was… and he had learned his lesson well.
At that moment, Lucas watched in silence:
(Was all of this… just to make Harry stop? Or is there something else?)
Antonio's phone rang.
He stepped away to answer it.
Harry sat on the ground, staring at the drugs in front of him.
"Damn… it was all about me."
He lay on his back, looking at the sky.
A white cloud passed in front of the sun…
and he felt like he had been reborn.
Bait stepped closer to the second grave, smiling slyly.
"I think I know who this one's for."
He looked at Lucas, who was drinking water, unaware.
Antonio returned from the call.
Harry stood up, brushing dust off his clothes, but Bait spoke first:
"The second grave… it's for the other spy, right?"
The air froze.
Lucas swallowed.
Bait smiled and pointed at him:
"The spy… is Lucas."
Shock hit him.
He raised his hands quickly.
"No! No… it's not me!"
Bait smirked.
"I heard your conversation with Stephen this morning."
Lucas's face turned pale.
(He was awake… he heard everything…)
He tried to speak, but the words failed him.
Bait continued:
"You asked him, 'Is it normal for us to go together?' and he told you, 'Don't worry, I fooled them.'"
Lucas looked at Antonio desperately.
"He's lying! I can help you!"
(What do I say…?)
Antonio sighed in disappointment.
"Lucas…"
His body trembled.
"I can explain—"
Antonio smiled simply and said:
"Run."
In the next second, Lucas ran with everything he had.
Antonio pulled out his gun.
Bang… bang…
Two bullets pierced his back.
He fell to the ground, his face sinking into the dirt.
His breathing slowed…
Antonio approached him, Bait behind him, excited as if he had achieved something.
Antonio looked down at him.
"I thought we'd be friends."
He raised the gun toward his head.
At that moment…
Lucas remembered his life.
His office…
the road back home…
the smell of food…
his little daughter laughing.
He wished… he could go back.
Bang.
Darkness.
…then—
A smiling black frog.
Then—
He opened his eyes.
He was still alive.
Harry was sitting on the ground.
Bait near the grave.
Antonio talking on the phone.
His heart pounded.
(Was I… dreaming? No… the pain was real…)
He placed his hand on his chest.
(I died…)
He tried to calm himself:
(Calm down… don't lose your mind…)
"Hey… are you okay?" Harry said.
Lucas raised his head.
Harry froze.
Lucas's face was pale… his eyes red… his hair soaked with sweat.
He tried to vomit, but nothing came out.
The emptiness in his stomach felt like a silent scream…
as if his whole body refused to accept what had happened, insisting on keeping the pain inside.
Antonio returned.
Lucas staggered slightly.
"What's wrong with him?" Antonio asked.
Bait smiled.
"I know… he's a spy."
Time froze.
Lucas screamed like a madman:
"Liar! He's the spy! Not me!"
Spit flew from his mouth.
"I heard him talking this morning—"
Bait cut him off:
"No, I heard you."
Without thinking, Lucas lunged at him.
They crashed to the ground, fighting.
Antonio laughed.
"You know what? We can end this right now."
They stopped instantly.
Bait shouted:
"He's—"
Lucas covered his mouth.
"Trust me! It's not me—"
He suddenly screamed as Bait bit him.
Antonio pulled out his gun, smiling.
"Game over."
"No—!"
Bang… bang… bang…
He kept firing until the gun was empty.
Blood everywhere.
Bait's body lay on the ground…
Lucas on top of him.
Antonio looked at Harry:
"What? Do you have a better idea?"
…then—
Antonio laughed.
A faint… broken laugh.
Everything returned.
Harry sitting.
Bait near the grave.
Antonio on the phone.
Lucas placed his hand on his body…
the pain was still there.
(This isn't a dream… I died… twice…)
(How did this happen… did I really come back from death?)
He stood up quickly and moved toward Bait without anyone noticing.
He whispered:
"Bait…"
Bait turned to him.
"Don't tell them anything… please."
Bait pretended not to understand.
Lucas stepped closer:
"Please… just don't say anything."
Bait finally smiled:
"I can do that."
Lucas let out a breath of relief.
He bent slightly, barely able to stand.
"Thank you… I won't forget this."
Bait turned his back, stuck his finger in his nose in an irritating way, then turned back, wiped it on Lucas's shoulder mockingly, and added:
"Fifty thousand…
and I mean dollars."
Lucas scratched his head hard.
The amount was huge… even his life savings weren't enough.
He tilted his head and said:
"Yeah… you'll have it."
Bait cut him off in his hoarse voice, as usual:
"Three days."
Lucas opened his mouth, but suddenly stopped…
he felt Antonio approaching.
Harry stood, brushing dust off his clothes.
Bait walked toward Antonio, biting his lip, his steps provocative, making the tension even worse.
Antonio stood before them:
"You're wondering who these graves are for?"
Bait stepped forward.
"I know who this one's for!"
He pointed at Lucas.
"He's a spy."
Lucas froze… he didn't expect such direct confrontation.
He gave in to words:
"He asked me to help him… he wants to bribe me."
Antonio looked surprised:
"Really?"
Harry asked nervously:
"Is that true, Lucas?"
Lucas suddenly screamed:
"WAAAAH!"
He had never felt such rage in his life.
His face turned red, and he charged toward Bait—
Bait ran, his short legs scrambling—
Bang!
The bullet hit Lucas's leg before he could reach him.
He fell to the ground.
"Damn… that hurts! Damn you, Antonio… you damn monster!"
Antonio laughed as he approached Lucas lying on the ground:
"You don't know pain!"
His expression changed… becoming far more terrifying.
He leaned closer.
Lucas's face was red, trembling.
"Pain… you know nothing about pain… you're far from it!"
He raised his gun.
"Don't kill me… please… anything you want!"
"I want to do it," Bait said, raising his hand.
Antonio smiled coldly and handed him the gun.
Bait stepped forward, looking down at Lucas.
A feeling of control overwhelmed him… holding the gun gave him power.
He spoke softly:
"Please… don't."
Then he fired.
Not once… twice…
Silence.
A fly landed on his eye… where the light of life had vanished.
.....
Lucas grabbed his forehead, breathing rapidly…
once again… here he was, returning from death.
Now he was sure… every time he dies, he comes back…
and the pain comes with him.
Something inside him disappears each time…
He held his body, trying to process reality.
Harry sat on the ground.
Bait near the grave.
Suddenly—
BOOM!
Bait fell straight into the grave.
Lucas stood above it, holding a shovel.
Harry stood, shouting:
"What are you doing?!"
Antonio turned at the sound—
Lucas jumped into the grave.
Bait's body trembled—
Lucas raised the shovel—
BOOM… BOOM… BOOM!
Again and again… with full force…
until his brain spilled from his shattered skull…
making sure he was dead.
Harry stared in shock, unable to believe what he was seeing.
Lucas couldn't speak:
(There's no other way… I tried with him… he wouldn't listen… it's not my fault…)
Antonio arrived, looking at the scene.
He took out his phone and snapped pictures…
of the body… and of Lucas holding the shovel.
Blood drops covered Lucas's face…
his expression didn't resemble his usual self at all.
Antonio didn't care about the photos… just glanced at his phone:
"My God… we've got a winner here."
Harry looked at the photos too, stunned:
"Why did he do that?"
Antonio smiled:
"Yeah… let's ask why."
He sighed and threw the shovel aside:
"I heard Bait talking this morning with Stephen… they were planning something."
Lucas wiped the blood from his face and looked at them:
"After what happened to Stephen… I didn't tell you… but now… listen carefully."
He moved toward Antonio with heavy steps:
"I want to do it myself… I want to be your right-hand man!"
He stood in front of him, staring directly into his eyes.
Antonio was shocked… how could someone change this much in just a few hours?
Lucas said:
"Here I am, Antonio… I killed a man for you."
And suddenly…
he remembered the book MONICA and its words:
(Can you kill a human?)