The undecided

How does a bad day start?

Ivan knew all about it. First, instead of waking up in his tiny dorm room, he woke up in the back of a moving van. Then when he opened his eyes after being woken up by hitting his head on the ground after the van hit a bump, he could not see because he had a bag over his head. He tried to struggle but found that his hands were cuffed behind his back.

Then, after a long and uncomfortable ride, he was dragged to an isolated warehouse. He was forcefully seated on a chair before his bag was forcefully removed from his head.

A lamp staring straight into his face, classic intimidation tactic.

But Ivan did not panic. And on his face, the goons who had kidnapped him could only see apathy and indifference to his situation. No fear whatsoever.

Sadly this was not the first time he had been taken against his will. To pass the time, he studied his captors. They had not said a word since he was taken.

Maybe if I try to speak, they will tell me to shut up. I might hear an accent that will tell me where they are from. He thought. He had no delusion about trying to negotiate his release. No useless plea for mercy or attempt to get pity from people who clearly had no issue with crimes. If he wanted to save himself, he had to be careful and precise in his gathering if information.

At first he just watched them carefully. They were three men who brought him here. They were tall, muscular and covered in tatoos.

They might be from some kind of gang. Not the kind of people who would kidnap me for ransom money. He analysed.

Not that I have any. My only relative is my father and he wouldn pay a cent to rescue me.

Ivan had no more idea on how to gather more information on the criminals. He had no knowledge of the tatoos they wore and therefore could not determine where they came from or what they wanted with him. He needed more data if he hoped to figure it out.

Time for plan B.

”What do you want with me? ” He asked the man closest to him in what Ivan hoped was his most confident and fearless voice. Even thought he knew it was still trembling a little.

”Youll find out pretty soon. Now stay quiet and do as you are asked and you might live today. ” The man answered in a rough voice as if he had not spoken in years.

Results are inconclusive. No accents discerneable. Although I now know they need something from me.

A few minutes went by in a silence. The atmosphere in the warehouse grew heavier as more and more goons walked in.

Ivan had not noticed until now, but a lot of them were carrying weapons.

Then suddenly, a garage door for the warehouse was opened and a car drove in. One of the goons rushed to the car and opened the door. From the car emerged a man in a suit. He had an incredible presence. He walked as if he owned the world. And he was slowly approaching the chair Ivan was sitting on.

Meanwhile, another goon went toward the trunk of the car, opened it and carried a man out. He dragged him towards Ivan and forcefully sitted him in a chair facing Ivan.

The man was disheveled, wearing ragged clothes, with spot of blood all over him. His face was beaten and his hands were wrapped in rope.

But none of that really mattered because Ivan recognized that man. It was his father.

I hadn heard from him in a while. I guess thats where he was.

Once again, he was apathetic to the situation. Ivan and his father were not close. In fact he had decided to break all contact with him when he went to college a few years ago, only seeing him during the occasional kidnapping.

Just thinking about everything that man had put him throught during his childhood drove Ivan into a fit of rage. He started yelling.

”What did you do this time! Why do you always have to do things like that! And why do you always have to drag me down with you!! ”

”Shut it! ” One of the man hit him.

That was not enough to calm him down but he was still rational enough to know when to stop. Although looking at the smirk on his fathers face as he was hit almost made him snap again.

The man in the suit finally arrived. He placed himself in between the two family member. Right now, that man looked like a typical villain about to make a long monologue to explain his evil plan.

”Relationship between father and son are always so complicated. Believe me I know. I have been in both of your shoes and I know how hard it can be. ”

Ivan did not dare speak to interrupt him but all throughout that speech he was internally rolling his eyes, wishing for it to end. It was a long speech.

”[…]. And that is how I met my father. ”

When it was finally over, Ivan felt like jumping in joy. He did not.

”Now why are you here? Its quite simple really. Your father owes us a lot of money. And the sin of the father is the sin of the son. He has told us you are a chemist. So here is our deal. You will make drugs for us. And if you don , your father dies! ”

Ivan felt awful.

I can believe this is how I die.

He had to tell them he could not do it. That plan was insane and would never work anyway.

”Firstly, I don know what he told you but I am only a college student, I don know how to make drugs. ”

”You
e not a chemist? ” He asked, with both a threatening tone and a deathly glare towards Ivans father.

”Im studying chemistry, theres a difference. I don know how to make drugs and I don know how to find out how to do it. I can just ask a teacher because that will get me expelled. And I will get found out if I try to look it up on my own. Or do you think you are the first person to ever ask someone like me to do this. Youll get caught like all the others. ”

Ivan was very frustrated. It was not his fault that they had not thought this throught. But yet he would be the one to pay the price.

But the man in the suit was not done.

”It doesn matter what you think. You are going to do it. It doesn matter if you get caught or if you get expelled. You figure it out or your father dies! ” He threatened again, doubling down on the plan. After all it was the only way for him to get his money back.

But Ivan would surprise him again.

”You know what. You can kill him. In fact you should do it quickly before he gets bored with the current situation and kill all of you. ”

The man was stunned at first, before he burst out laughing. In fact all if his goons did the same.

”Good one kid. ”

”I wasn joking. In fact I think it might already be too late. ” As he said that, he watched as his father finished untying the rope holding his hands.

He got up. No one was watching him. All the guards had been distracted. He stood up. Walked slowly to one of them and discreetly grabbed a knife in the mans pocket.

Then Ivan closed his eyes. He knew what was about to happen. But he could still hear.

First, a long sound of a knife running throught flesh. Then like water dripping out of a pierced hose. And finally something heavy falling down. He knew it was not water, but he had to tell himself that to keep his sanity.

Then panic ensued, he heard shouting from the guards, gunshot and the man in the suit barking orders. But to no avail.

One after the other, he heard every single guard fall to the ground. Blood gushing out of their neck.

Until finally, silence came back to the warehouse. That is when Ivan decided to open his eyes again.

He was not foolish enough to look down at the dead body. He looked up, to his father, who was slowly coming over, covered in blood and a knife in his hand.

”How disappointing. I can believe my own son was willing to get me killed. ” The irony of the situation did not escape Ivan. He simply chose not to point it out.

”And you even had to spoil the fun. If you had agreed, Im sure I could have kept deceiving that fool for a while more. At least until he brought more goons with him. I barely had any fun. ”

This was the last straw.

”Ive had enough! I am done with you! All those people you kill, all those things you made me see. It end now! I want nothing to do with you anymore! Leave me alone and don ever contact me again. ” He snapped.

But his father only had a growing smile on his face.

”Oh really? If I remember correctly, you said exactly the same thing the last time. And the one before. And the one before that. ”

He was interrupted.

”This time I mean it. If you approach me again, I will kill you! I might not truly care about all those things you did. Ive always known you were a monster. But I will never forgive what you did to mom. ”

”And how are you going to do that? Today there were ten armed gang members. And they couldn touch me. How are you going to do it on you own? ”

”Ill turn you in to the police. ”

His smile faded in an instant. He came closer to his son, his tone was frigid and menacing.

”And how would that work, huh? You are going to tell them Im a serial killer? It will be your word against mine. There is no proof. Once I am done here, this place will be cleaner than it ever was. I suggest you rethink your position Ivan. You would not want to break apart our little family. ”

”You think I don have proof. Ever since you killed her I have been gathering evidence against you. And now I don care anymore so Im going to give everything to the… ” He never finished that sentence. A knife was stabbed in his stomach.

He was speechless. He should have expected it, but he had been blinded by rage.

”Don worry son. Ill make this quick. Just like I did for her. ”

Ivan clenched his fist. They were still cuffed behind the chair. There was nothing he could do.

His father grabbed one of the guards gun and brought it to his head.

He heard a small click.

Then nothing.