I didn't know what to do. I didn't want to hang around in town in case the man found me- or in case one of the Death's Heads gang spotted me. I was too scared to wait at the bridge- I knew Dreslin would probably be annoyed when he found out. I didn't want to let him down.
So I felt the only alternative was to return to The DG. I would try to get the heroin tomorrow- even if it was a day late surely Dreslin would be pleased I'd had the diligence to go through with it.
As soon as I walked through the door I braced myself- I was expecting some sort of prank from Liam. It often happened. When none came, I shrugged my shoulders and made for the stairs. That was strange. In fact, I hadn't had a prank played on me for days.
I was turning the corner of the corridor- and bumped into Liam.
"Oh, sorry!" we both said together.
"Um..."
"How was it?" Liam asked, with a worried look on his face.
I didn't know whether to tell him. But he'd known so much already and hadn't told a soul. I could trust him. "I- I got caught."
Liam's eyes widened. "What, by the police?"
I shook my head. "No, by the man who sold the heroin. He grabbed me, and...He was gonna beat me up, but I managed to get away."
We stood in silence for about a minute, not looking at each other.
"I think you should give it up, Elektra. Your desire for the drug- I can help you fight it. But Dreslin's not worth it."
"But I can't. He's counting on me."
"But I don't think you can count on him. He's bad news Elektra, and deep down, you know it."
"How do you know how I feel? You keep telling me, 'Elektra don't do it, don't do it!' You're so predictable, Liam!" I shouted angrily at him. I ran into my room and slammed the door.
I fell onto my bed. I didn't know I was crying until I lifted up my head from the pillow. It was damp. I sighed and turned to lie on my back. Everything's gonna be ok, I kept telling myself. 'You're gonna try again tomorrow, and Dres will be pleased, and you'll get the heroin you need.'
During breakfast the next day I decided to go for a walk. Try and find some other places to get the heroin.
"Why do you always go out all the time?" Tee asked me.
"Because I want to, brat." I took another bite out of my toast.
"Well...it's good to see you're eating properly for once" Mike said.
"Can we come with you, Elektra? Can we, can we?" Carmen batted her eyelashes at me.
I sighed with annoyance and got up and left the room. Liam hadn't talked to me for the whole of breakfast. I felt rather bad- he had just been trying to protect me. Wow, it sounds weird saying that about Liam...
It was raining, but I didn't have a raincoat. I decided to go to get a coffee as I felt so tired. I had a little money.
But suddenly, I felt a hand grab me as I walked along the pavement next to the park. My screams were muffled by the arm around my neck. They dragged me off to a place- don't remember where. It was in some sort of ware house down an alleyway.
They entered a shabby room, still dragging me with them. It was not until I heard a voice did I know who they were.
"Put her there."
It was Dreslin, of course. I was thrown to the ground onto my hands and knees. I was panting for breath. I looked up and it was Dres for sure, with 2 of his gang members with him. He had his arms folded and he was looking down at me.
"Dres, I'm sorry I didn't come yesterday, it's just, I was nearly caught and-" I panted, but he silenced me.
"Shut up, Elektra. It's not just that. I know your little secret, and you are going to be punished." He kicked me hard in the stomach, and I recoiled in pain on the floor. I gritted my teeth.
"So you thought it was wise to steal some of my precious heroin. Why did you do it Elektra?" He kicked me again, hard.
"I- I was craving it so badly, I'm sorry, please, you must understand-" He grabbed me by the hair and I whimpered. He held up my face to his.
"You chose to satisfy your craving over me then? I thought you cared about me, you bitch!" He punched me in the face and the other guys laughed. But then he bent over and looked at me lying on the floor. "I'm gonna make you a deal." He spoke in that dangerously soft voice- like he used to. "You have 2 weeks to get your act together and replace all the heroin that you nicked from me. If not...well, by what you have just experienced, it'll be ten times worse."
He got back up and grinned evilly down at me. "Think of it as...an act of kindness- from me." Then he and his 2 guys walked away out of the building, roaring with horrible laughter.
