Yeral: Short Story

Yeral and Rio sat in their Government Issue car waiting patiently for Yeral’s new informant to show up. The pair did not say a word to each other; there was still huge tension between them since Yeral took out pastor Alvin. The African man could not help but notice that Rio caressed his hand, the one that Yeral had shot him through; whenever the two argued, as if to remind him.

Rio fiddled around with the CD player, while Yeral peered out into the darkness for any sign of his informant; he still had not revealed his source to his partner Rio, and felt uncomfortable doing so. Yeral suspected that his partner had been hanging around the wrong identities, ever since he was rejected any compensation money for his hand, and after hassling their superior Bill Darsen, Rio had forced Yeral to reveal to him the identity of the informant.

Yeral knew that details of informants drew in huge pay packets from organized crime, and since Bill assigned them to target key figures in Chuck’s drug cartel along with the Korean family, it would be very tempting. It was pure luck gaining this informant out of the Giuseppe family, who claims he was unknowingly delivering a package of unknown goods for his boss; the goods turned out to be heroin. 

“Why’s this so important to you man?” Yeral turned to face his partner.

Rio did not answer but instead scrolled through his phone contacts. Twenty minutes passed and still nothing. It was beginning to drizzle rain as usual in Contro city and it was freezing. Rio put his phone away and turned the heat up a notch as they wait.

“What is the go with this guy?” Rio finally spoke to his partner. 

“I already talked to him today, he said he’d be here.”

“Two hours late? We’re in the middle of fucking nowhere, they probably nabbed this guy,” Rio adjusted the heat again.

Rio was starting to nod off and Yeral relaxed a little hoping he was too tired to continue the tension, or start a fight.

“I need to piss,” Yeral took out one of his handguns and walked into the darkness. He wished Darsen had not ordered him to share his informant with Rio; part of him was certain Rio was only interested to cash in.

Even still Yeral told Rio to pop the boot so he could get them some more layers of clothes to throw over themselves; it was freezing and they could not just have the car running all night. He handed Rio the thickest of the two coats; even though they were having differences Yeral always made sure he looked after others first.

“Thanks,” Rio’s tone was the same; still bitter from the events at Pastor Alvin’s office, and Yeral did not blame him, but if he had of just put down the gun and listened, things would have gone different. 

 Yeral always wondered what happened to the kid in the office that night. He just snuck off amongst the confusion. He rubbed his hands together for warmth, and stared into the darkness for any sign of his informant 8409. How can a person just be another number? 

When Rio fell asleep,Yeral locked the doors and put his chair back. All night he drifted in and out of dreams. He had no idea what he was doing with himself; he was a bodyguard for the Mayor, and now he was part of a special team organized into pairs in hunting down dangerous criminal figures. Was Bill Darsen finally going mad? Or maybe there was only a few good guys left that Darsen could trust.

Yeral knew one thing, and that was he did not trust his partner anymore. It was a doomed team and it would certainly not last. He awoke the next morning to more rain, and tapping on the window; his informant had arrived.

“Get in!” Yeral called through the glass; the informant tried but it was looked, the commotion woke Rio, “Shit,” he hit the automatic locking button and the young man got into the backseat.