A man they called 'The Plague'

Chapter One

“Baby don’t, im not in the mood,” mumbled Sarah as her husband John tried to unbutton her blouse as she returned home from work.

“Oh come on baby, you know today’s our day,” I pleaded desperately.

“I said I’m not in the mood!” shouted Sarah as she stomped up the stairs and slammed our bedroom door shut behind her.

Being married to Sarah, a 4’8” accountant with the beauty, hair and body of a supermodel, coupled with the composure of Mother Theresa, I, John, the 5’4” English professor, basketball coach and ex Marine Corps captain with the tan of John Cena and the physique of 50 Cent, knew when my Latino wife was unhappy. After all, we’ve been married for two wonderful years.

Somewhat disappointed, I took lovemaking off my mind; atleast temporarily, and trudged up the stairs. I slowly opened our bedroom door and entered to find my wife emptying all our drawers, apparently in search of something.

“You okay honey?” I asked cautiously.

“I’m fine!” she snapped, obviously annoyed.

Now, we’re not the best couple around, but we never speak to each other that way. We prefer the dreadful ‘silent treatment’, so her tone surprised, scared and caught my full attention all at once. I caught her by the shoulder, spun her around and hugged her, burying her face in my chest. This always calmed her down, and this time was no different.

“I’m sorry honey,” she whispered softly.

“I know, just tell me what the problem is. We’ll solve it together.” I assured her.

“It’s nothing, just some stress at work. That’s all.”

“You sure that’s it?”

“Yes. And im fine now, don’t worry.”

“Okay if you say so. Go shower and then meet me in the kitchen. I’ll straighten out the room in the meanwhile.”

Chapter Two

Forty five minutes later, Sarah was at the dining table sipping a soda while I prepared dinner. I’m a really good cook and I love cooking so this was not unusual. My wife also says it turns her on to see me sweating over a hot stove, and tonight, I wanted just that. Also, to help it along, I was preparing her favourite.

Another forty five minutes we were having delicious baby back ribs, roasted potatoes and macaroni salad. My wife had good table manners, but it always amazed me how a good rack of ribs made her lose or forget them. I just stared and smiled as she smacked her lips around those ribs while trying to lick the sauce off the middle finger on her right hand. I was jealous, I closed my eyes and tried to imagine her licking me the way she was licking those ribs. She must’ve guessed what I was thinking because she playfully threw a bone at me and called me a ‘naughty boy’. After cleaning up after our wonderful meal and snuggling up to watch a chick flick, we were im bed at 10 pm. 

  Chapter Three

The next morning I woke up with the sun in my face, and looked over to see Sarah sleep; something she hated but I loved, and so I always remembered to do it every Saturday morning. This morning was different, instead of seeing her face, I found myself staring at her pillow. My wife was gone. Alarmed, I jumped out of bed. Sarah always slept until 9am on Saturdays and it was only 7:30 now. I quickly pulled on a vest and a pair of trousers and sprinted down the stairs. As I reached the bottom, I heard Sarah scream from the kitchen.

I reached the kitchen to find Sarah perched on a chair, with a large knife in her hand. Noticing me standing there with a skeptical look on my face, she quickly explained that she wanted to surprise me with breakfast in bed but Ms. Freddy, our unwelcome guest and a rival of Sarah, had other plans as she scurried over Sarah’s foot and into her hole.

“Baby that rat has got to go!” said Sarah as she got down from the chair and gave me a morning kiss.

“No protests here,” I blurted out laughing profusely as I remembered her position on the chair.

We finished having breakfast, showered and left to visit my in-laws as we did on the last Saturday of every month. Around 9, we left home to begin our 3 hour drive. The sun was hot so we wound the tinted windows up and turned on the air conditioning. The road was a bit busy, and after a brief stop for lunch, we finally reached our destination at 1.

As we pulled up in the driveway, we were greeted by Sarah’s mother who was just returning from the supermarket. She greeted her daughter with a hug and a kiss and me with the usual salute and ‘afternoon sir!’. We unpacked our bags and headed straight up to Sarah’s old room, where we usually bunked when we came over, I was then dragged down the stairs by my hand like an unruly child by Sarah, who knew that I would just sleep until dinner. As we entered the kitchen, we were once again greeted by Sarah’s mother Shelly or Shells as she was affectionately called.

Chapter Four

Shells was your typical fifty five year old. She was 5’ 1” in height, had grey hair that was dyed a different color every month and was always decked out in the latest fashion. Okay, maybe she wasn’t your ‘typical’ granny; after all, she did own an I-Pad and would buy every new Samsung device as soon as it hit the market, not forgetting the fact that she drives an Aston Martin. The crazy things people do when they hit the jackpot and invest wisely.

After about 15 minutes, my sense of humor kicked in and I had them laughing without end. It’s true, I have a great sense of humor that always had to be suppressed whenever Timmy, Shelly’s only son and eldest child entered the room., and this time was no different. I shut my mouth and watched as he dragged himself over to a chair and plopped down.

Timmy was 29 years old, 5’9” tall and had enough muscle to make a mountain tremble. However, maybe fortunately, he never used them. When Timmy was much younger, he fell, hit his head and developed some mental disorder. As a result, he was a 6 year old mind trapped in an aging body. Most of his time was spent watching the same Sesame Street videos over and over again when he wasn’t running around in his underwear with a towel draped around his neck shouting ‘I’m Superman’ in that rusty 29 year old voice of his. None dared to tease him though, Shells was very protective of her retard. The crazy woman once threw a vase at my head for telling him to go put some clothes on. Ever since then, I stay quiet when he’s around.

Another 20 minutes passed and I was about to go for a walk when I felt a slap to the back of my head, followed by; “What’s this loser doing here?”

“I wanted to see you one last time before they killed all the apes” I replied to the voice.

It was Sarah’s obnoxious older sister Cassie. We weren’t enemies, nor did we dislike each other, we just loved treating each other like dirt. She had just returned from the mall and I watched as she hugged Sarah and headed for the fridge, looking for food without any success.

“Did you pack up all the food to take back to Loserville with you Lord Loser?” She always took cheapshots like that at me. But I knew how to block them and send them back.

“Why yes Cassie the Clown, I did. They said I should not let the apes eat,” I shot back.

At this point Shells chimed in, knowing full well that a verbal war was brewing, one that she would have to end eventually.

“Cassie there’s food in the microwave, Sarah check on Timmy then get some rest and John you and I are in charge of dinner.”

“Yes ma’am’ we all answered in chorus.

Chapter Five

Cassie, Sarah and Timmy quickly dispersed leaving Shells and I to cook dinner. We decide to prepare baked chicken with raisin rice and her signature potato salad. I gathered all the needed ingredients while answering questions that she fired at me about my job and as usual, when she would be getting a grandchild from Sarah and I. I gave her the usual reply ‘soon’ and we both laughed. We finally finished preparing the dinner at 6:30 and decided to go freshen up for dinner at 7, after we had set the table.

At 7 sharp, we were all seated and ready. I said grace and immediately after, we attacked the food like a pack of hungry wolves. 30 minutes later, we were all filled to capacity and sprawled out on our chairs. Sarah and I volunteered to clear the table while the others retreated to the living room for a movie. We quickly joined them and after a few jokes from me at Cassie’s expense we headed to bed.

We were both up by 6 the next day, courtesy of Shells hymns, something that woke everyone including the immediate neighbors. We showered and headed downstairs to meet a heap of pancakes on the table and piping hot coffee. After breakfast, we did the usual; attend church. The church was only two blocks away so we enjoyed a cool walk. Pastor Clarence greeted us at the door and the sermon began shortly after. The pastor delivered an excellent sermon on being faithful to your partner and how to keep relationships strong, his speech sounded a little like an extract I read on the internet once, but I ignored that thought and focused on him.

After church, we headed to a nearby deli for lunch. The sermon had lifted me and the lunch was good as usual, with me and Cassie trading punches, entertaining our table as well as all the surrounding ones in the process. However, Timmy was the highlight of the day when he started crying for a balloon that was given to children as they exited the premises. He finally got one when I explained his ‘condition’ to the man distributing the balloons.

We said our goodbyes and left for home around 3 pm. I was forced to drive slowly and cautiously as a downpour had begun. In addition, we wound up in a traffic jam after a car skidded and hit a truck, backing traffic up for miles. When we finally reached home, we barely had enough energy to shower and head to bed.

Chapter Six

Monday is without a doubt my favorite day of the week. I didn’t have to lecture to any classes. This only left coaching a team of sixteen year olds, who had formed a basketball team. This basically means my work ends at noon on Mondays, and I was free to hang with the guys. Today would be no different, or so I thought.

I showered, dressed and headed downstairs to find my wife already prepared for work, and sipping coffee at the dining table. I gave her a quick kiss and poured some juice. After a little chit chat about traffic and other trivial things, we were ready to head out. We said our goodbyes and prepared to head out. Instinctively, I felt my pockets only to find my wallet missing. I groaned as I remembered sticking it under the mattress. I bounded up the stairs two at a time and hastily lifted the mattress only to see the wallet and a little red flash drive staring at me. I had never seen the flash drive before so I figured it had to be Sarah’s. By the time I got back downstairs, she was already gone. I shrugged, shoved it in my pocket and left.

The team was exceptionally well today and made few mistakes. I didn’t mind though, it made my job easier. After a few games and some chatting with the team, I called it a day and headed home to get changed and then catch a few cold ones with the guys at a bar.

As I pulled up in our driveway, I was shocked to see my wife’s car there. I headed inside and up the stairs quietly, intending to surprise her. As I pushed open the door quietly, I almost fell over in awe, as I took in the sight before my eyes. All the closets and drawers were disarranged; clothes and sheets were strewn across the room, it was complete and utter chaos. I watched silently as she pushed the mattress of the bed and screamed:

“Where is it? I left it right here! Where could it have gone?”

It was only at that moment that I remembered the flash drive I found earlier and pulled it from my pocket.

“Is there any chance that this is what you are looking for?” I asked casually.

She spun around and gasped as she saw me standing there.

“What are you doing here?”She asked.

“Um….I live here. But if you mean at this time, that question is one you should ask yourself on behalf of me.” I answered.

“I need that flash drive! Now!”

“Not until I know what the hell is going on here, why all this for a flash drive?”

“It’s a long and complicated story.”

“So what? I’m complicated and I got time. Start talking!” I commanded in an authoritative tone that I rarely use, so she knew I meant business.

“Okay” she sighed, “I’ll talk.”

“Did you tear the kitchen apart too? Or can we sit there?”

“Just walk!”

Chapter Seven

When we reached the kitchen I grabbed a beer from the fridge and passed her a soda. She then started to explain that about a month ago, her boss had given her the flash drive for safekeeping. He had also warned her about telling anyone about it, even me, saying she was the only one he could trust. She then explained that Friday she was just checking to make sure it was okay but had forgotten where she had hidden it.

“This morning he told me to get the flash drive to him as soon as possible, that he was leaving the country for safety.”

“Why is this flash drive so important?” I asked, hoping to get an answer that would make sense.

“I don’t know, I just want to get rid of it, I have a bad feeling about it.”

“Let’s check it. Maybe we can figure something out. I’ll go get my laptop.

“Ok hurry though.”

This was the first time I had seen my wife like this. She was genuinely freaked out. It took me no more than 5 minutes to get my laptop, turn it on and insert the flash drive. It was only a matter of seconds now, all will be exposed.

“Oh damn!” I yelled.

“What’s wrong?” she asked worriedly.

“The files are encrypted. I’ll call Steve, he’s good at this stuff.”

It felt like we were waiting for days before the doorbell finally rung. I ushered Steve in and quickly filled him in on what was happening. He was a close personal friend of mine since high school and he now worked for the CIA. If this was indeed something top secret, there is no one I would trust more than him. He wasted no time working his computer magic and 5 minutes later he announced proudly that he was in. I saw Steve’s facial expression change as soon as he saw the contents of the flash. He abruptly closed the computer, removed the flash and said he had to go.

“What’s wrong bro? Where you going?” I asked dumbfounded.

“I have to go, and I’m taking this flash drive with me.” He replied.

“You’re what?”

“I said I’m taki…….”

“I heard what you said, and you’re not doing that. Just tell me what the problem is.”

“Sorry, can’t do that.”

“Why not?”

“I just can’t.”

“Fine. Thanks for coming. Go, but hand over the flash.”

“You don’t know what you’re getting yourselves into. You’ll be sorry.” He tossed me the flash drive as he left.

I couldn’t believe this. Steve had never acted this way before. What did he see on the flas drive? What did he mean by ‘you’ll be sorry’? These were just a few of the questions that pierced my mind as I entered the kitchen closely followed by Sarah who was just as dumbfounded as I was.

“Let’s go see your boss.” I said as I spun on my heels and headed for the door.

“You’re right, Mr. Bryan may be able to tell us what’s going on.”

“He better be. He got us into this mess, he’ll get us out.”

We reached her workplace just as they were about to close. We barged in and marched right up to the boss’ office, flung the doors open and walked in. He gasped and then smiled as he realized it was us.

“Good afternoon, Sarah and Joe, have a seat.”

“It’s John, and I’m not here to sit. You’re going to tell me what you got my wife into.”

“What do you mean?” he asked, trying to look innocent and puzzled.

“I’m talking about this!” I yelled as I tossed the flash drive onto his desk.

A look of fear came over his face as he saw the flash drive.

“I don’t know what that is, I’ve never seen it before.”

“But you’re the one who gave it to me!” Sarah shouted, getting up from her chair obviously angry.

“Let me handle this baby.” I smiled at her, “Mr. Bryan, I hate liars with a passion, and right now, you’re working on my last nerve. I’d advise you to start talking.”

“I already told you, I don’t know what it is.”

“Is that your final answer?”

“Yes it………”

The ‘it’ had barely left his mouth when I seized him by the collar and dragged him out of his chair and to his feet. This was a difficult task since he was almost as tall as he was wide.

“Okay! Okay!” he blurted out, sweat starting to run down his face as he realized how serious I was, “I’ll talk, just don’t hurt me.”

The spineless coward’s mouth started to run like a pipe, and I don’t thing I could’ve shut him up if I wanted to. He started to explain that the flash drive held a list of every corrupt official in the country, from politicians, to police officers and even CIA agents. He then went on to say that it had evidence against each of the individuals, evidence that could put them away for 10 lifetimes. As a result, anyone who had the list was a target, since very powerful and influential persons wanted to own that list. He claimed that he was given the list by a friend, and 2 days later the friend was found dead.

“Hold on for just a second,” I interrupted him, ”What were you thinking when you gave the list to her?”

“She was supposed to hide it.”

“Why couldn’t you do it yourself?”

“Because I think they are closing in on me.”

I couldn’t help smiling at this fool, “so of all the hundreds of persons in this city, you choose to make my wife a target. Do you understand why that makes me want to rip your throat out? Why couldn’t you find someone in the FBI to give it to?”

“Weren’t you listening? Those agencies all have corrupt persons whose names are on the list.”

I sighed, “so what do we do now Einstein?”

“I don’t know, just lay low, hide the list. Forget about all this.”

“And if that doesn’t work?”

“Then it won’t matter, we will all be dead ducks.”

“No we’ll be dead ducks; you’ll be a dead whale.”

We reached home around 8 that night after stopping for a light dinner at pizza hut. We quickly and silently and went to bed.