Becoming His Assassin

7 - The Car Switch

Katerina

    Once again, we met Cedric at his house, then we followed him to the outskirts of town.  At first, all I could see was the vast desert with it’s different sized cacti, then a huge warehouse came into sight.

    As I followed Cedric’s dark gray Chevy Tahoe to the middle of the parking lot, my heart started to race.  I was doing so many things that I never would have considered before, but I didn’t have a choice.  It was my only option if I wanted to be truly free from Luke.

    There were cars, trucks and SUVs all over the place, and the parking lot was well lit, making it easy to see the different vehicles.  After we parked, Cedric jumped out of his Tahoe with a for sale sign in his hand.  

    When we reached my car, he set the sign on top of the trunk and handed me a permanent black marker, as he enthusiastically instructed, “Write your selling price on it, so we can sell this beauty!”

    Not wasting a single second, I pulled the cap off the marker with a pop, then I wrote in large print ‘$20,000’.  It was an excellent price for the car, seeing as I paid more than $60,000 for it less than six months ago.

    Within a few minutes, several potential buyers were eyeing my car with smiles on their faces.  She really was a beauty, and I was sad to be parting with her, but it was the best option.

    It wasn’t long before the potential buyers started a bidding war with each other, while I stood there and watched in amazement.  I expected it to sell rather quickly, but I didn’t expect so many people to want it so much that they were willing to pay more than I was asking for.

    To my surprise, I walked away with $100,000 dollars, and I couldn’t have been more ecstatic about it.  Now it was time to buy a different car.

    After Cedric locked his Tahoe, we walked around the parking lot and looked at the various vehicles.  Some were very eye-catching, and I would have loved to buy many of them, but I couldn’t risk drawing attention to myself, because of my choice in a vehicle.

    Eventually, I came across a maroon 1985 Ford LTD.  It seemed like the perfect fit, since Luke wouldn’t expect to see me in a big car that was practically an antique.

    The seller was only asking for a thousand dollars, but I insisted on paying him two thousand, since I was able to sell my car for so much more than I expected.  The little old guy with white hair was so excited about me paying more, he gave me a tight hug and said thank you so many times I thought he was gonna run out of breath.  It felt so good to make somebody else’s day.  

    I drove that LTD out of that parking lot and followed Jason back to his house with an ear to ear grin plastered on my face.  Things were coming together nicely, and I was starting to think that everything just might be okay.

    As I was getting out of the car, Cedric hollered for me to make sure I brought the title inside.  I already had it in my purse, so that wasn’t a problem.  My father taught me long ago to never leave a car’s title in the car unless I was asking for a thief or con man to steal it.  It was sound advice, and I always kept it committed to my memory.

    I was going to miss my parents a great deal, but I couldn’t stay behind and risk Luke pulling me back into his web of betrayal.  Too many times he had hurt me in one way or another, and I refused to live that way any longer.

    Once we were all inside, Cedric headed down to the basement with me and Jason following close behind.  As soon as we were down there, Cedric plopped down on his chair and asked for the title.

    Right away, I pulled it out of my purse and handed it to him, then Cedric started typing on his keyboard at an extremely quick pace.  Different tabs kept popping up on the various screens, but they would change so fast, it was hard to keep up.

    After close to five minutes, I heard the printer kick on and start printing something.  Cedric hastily put the keyboard back on the desk, then he rolled his chair to the printer with a smirk on his face.  

    Once there, he pulled the tray out and put two different looking pieces of paper in it, then he closed the tray and patiently waited for the printing to finish.  With the papers in his hand, he rolled back to his normal spot, then he swiveled to face me and cockily stated, “I have done all I can to help you, but I’m confident it’s more than enough.”

    I took the papers he was holding out and flipped through them.  My eyes widened in shock, as I took in the sight of an official registration and title in my name.  The only problem was that I didn’t have the official plate, but Cedric insisted that was nothing to worry about.  

    He made a paper plate with the correct number and letter sequence, then he laminated it for me.  When we went to leave a little while later, Cedric walked us out and replaced the old metal, licence plate with his make-shift, laminated, paper plate.  

    It wasn’t exactly ideal, but it was better than nothing, and I was beyond grateful for all of his help.  I made sure to give Cedric a hug and tell him, “Thank you,” before folding into the LTD.

    As I pulled away from his house, I took one last look at my college buddy, knowing it might very well be the last time I got the chance.  That was a disheartening thought, but I pushed it to the back of my mind, as I drove back to Jason’s house.