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“Zaiden?”
“Yep. He’s at Papa’s place now, and he wants him gone.”
“So, he’s already… departed... but staying over?” Gator said.
“Departed and awaiting disposal,” Blackheart confirmed. “Chains doesn’t need to know. What he doesn’t know he won’t have to keep from Juliette.”
“We’ll head out now,” Gator said, as he and Baptiste turned to leave.
Baptiste hesitated for a moment, then looked back at Blackheart. “Does he know what we did?”
Blackheart’s expression turned dark. “He knows everything. And on account of that, when it comes to the Jokers, I know everything too.”
Gator and Baptiste exchanged an uneasy glance. They had been responsible for getting rid of a body months earlier and believed that no one else knew about it. But in Louisiana, strange things happened, and secrets never stayed secret for long. With the weight of their past actions hanging heavy over them, they prepared to carry out Papa Samedi’s request.
* * *
Blackheart watchedGator and Baptiste exchange uneasy glances before they slowly walked away to prepare for their trip. He could tell they were nervous about what Papa Samedi might know, but it was their responsibility to carry out his request, no questions asked.
As they walked towards the parking lot, Gator couldn’t help but feel a knot forming in his stomach. “Man, I can’t believe Papa Samedi knows about what we did,” he muttered.
Baptiste nodded, his face tense with worry. “Yeah, I thought we were careful. But if Blackheart and Papa Samedi know, who else might?”
Gator shook his head. “I don’t know, but we better make sure we do this job right. We don’t want any more secrets coming back to haunt us.”
They reached Gator’s truck and climbed in, preparing for the drive to Papa Samedi’s place. The tension between them was palpable as they made their way through the winding roads, each lost in their own thoughts about what had transpired months before.
Upon arriving at Papa Samedi’s, they were greeted by the old man himself, his eyes piercing as they regarded Gator and Baptiste. “Suivez-moi,” he said, his voice rough but commanding.
They followed him as instructed.
Papa Samedi led them to a small shed in the back of his property, and as he opened the door, Gator and Baptiste saw Zaiden’s lifeless body lying on the ground, wrapped in a thick plastic sheet. They exchanged glances before looking back at Papa Samedi, waiting for further instructions.
“Take him to the river,” the old man said simply. “And make sure he’s never found.”
Gator and Baptiste went to work…neither speaking a word. They carefully lifted Zaiden’s body and placed it in the back of the truck.
As they drove towards the river, Baptiste finally spoke up. “Gator, do you think anyone other than Blackheart and Papa knows about this one?”
Gator sighed, gripping the steering wheel tightly. “I don’t know, man. I hope not.”
They reached the river and parked the truck near the water’s edge. Working quickly, they moved Zaiden’s body to the boat they had left at the bank, and after motoring up the river, Baptiste checked that the body was securely weighted down so it wouldn’t resurface.
“You know, Baptiste,” Gator grunted, struggling with the weight of the body, “this is becoming way too common. We’re doing this sort of thing way more often than I’d like.”
Baptiste nodded in agreement, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. “I’ve been thinking the same thing, Gator. We’re risking our necks every time we do one of these ‘odd jobs.’ There’s got to be a better way.”
As they released Zaiden’s body into the swamp, watching it slowly disappear beneath the surface, Gator said, “What if we got into a legitimate cremation business? We could handle these situations with less risk, and we’d be making an honest living too.”
Baptiste laughed. “Might make more than our day jobs.”
For most of the way back they drove in silence then Gator said, “We’ll ask Blackheart when he get back how he knew about the last job. We can’t let anyone else find out.”
Baptiste nodded. “Yeah. And we need to be careful with any future…tasks. We can’t afford to let this shit get out.”
The two men drove back to the clubhouse, mindful of the secrets they would carry with them for the rest of their lives. They knew they were forever bound by their actions, but they also knew they had each other’s backs, no matter what. And in their world, that meant everything.
18
