Clueless Love

“There is a reason, and I will explain. The video you watched is not a video it is actually CCTV Surveillance footage,” he says taking a seat in front of me.

“I think I got that right from the beginning,” I say feeling a bit upset and not understanding why he is not going straight to the point. And yes, I realized the video I was watching was CCTV footage. What I don’t understand is why he is watching it on his home pc.

“Alright, that’s good. It was a deal between two men,” Ismail says still not giving any information or an explanation.

“Ismail I just watched everything unfold in front of me. I am not asking you to tell me what happened, rather explain to me why I watched it on your computer,” I reply getting straight to the point, not liking the fact that he is holding back.

“I see you are a little upset and confused; that is understandable.”

“Ismail I am not upset because I watched the most brutal thing in my life. I am getting upset because you won’t explain to me why I saw that on your computer!” I say getting more upset by the minute as he continues to refuse to explain. I don’t want to believe what is going through my head. I just want him to explain to me what is going on.

“Alright, I didn’t want to tell you, but it seems like that is impossible after what you witnessed. I will tell you everything you want to know.”

“You have been saying that for the past two minutes, and we are still here.”

“I will go straight to the point this time. The events you watched was a deal between two men. One manufactures guns, and the other is a gun dealer. I hacked into the CCTV cameras close by because I need evidence against Mr. Alberto, the gun dealer.”

“I don’t understand. Why are you doing this? Isn’t that what we have the police for?” I say getting more confused by the second.

“Yes, we do. But Umit, can you tell me exactly what you saw before I explain further.” “Alright. Like you said it was a deal between two men. I only saw one person’s face; I did not see the others. His back was to the camera. I don’t know who the gun manufacturer is, or who Mr. Alberto is, but I am guessing the one whose face I could see was the gun manufacturer because he was the one who provided the guns for the other person. The other person whose back was to the camera, who I am guessing is Mr. Alberto, had two briefcases with him. There was a lot of money in it. He showed it to the gun manufacturer. That’s how I know. It looked like they had a little argument, I guess about the prize of the guns from their body language. They seem like they had concluded their business, but then the buyer betrayed the gun manufacturer. He ordered his men to start shooting, killing all the gun manufacturer’s men. They did not even have any time to bring out their guns and fight back before they were shot dead. Ismail, I watched men fall to the ground like flies. It was the most horrifying thing I have ever witnessed in my life. The gun manufacturer was the last to be shot; he was shot in the head, dying instantly. I saw blood flowing from all the men they killed as they lay dead on the ground. It was so painful to watch all those men die. I never wish to witness that again in my life,” I tell him, feeling tears roll down my face as I relive the events I watched.

“Umit, I am so sorry you saw that. I never wished for you to,” Ismail says sounding sad while he hands me his handkerchief.

“Thank you, it’s okay. It’s not your fault I did but I would really like to know why you took it upon yourself to hack into CCTV to find this,” I ask wiping my tears away.

“I will tell you everything from the beginning so that you can fully understand. I have a friend, David. He is a policeman. He has been trying to put Mr. Alberto in jail for about two years now. Every time he gets some evidence against Mr. Alberto, he always finds a way to get away with it.

A few months back he came to me and asked me to help him get strong evidence against Mr. Alberto. At first, I didn’t agree but then he showed me a video of how the guns Mr. Alberto buys are used to kill innocent people. I agreed to help, and I applied for an IT position in Mr. Alberto’s company.

Within two months of working for Mr. Alberto I was able to get information about a gun deal that was going to happen, the where and when. Every time my friend received CCTV footage of Mr. Alberto like the one you saw; his back was always to the camera. It was never enough to put him in jail, but with the information I gave my friend, he could catch him in the act and get enough evidence to put him away for a long time,” Ismail says and taking a break from speaking.

“But I am guessing that didn’t happen because I just watched him kill people. They might not have been innocent, but he still ordered their deaths,” I reply feeling very sad that such an evil man gets to walk around the earth freely while others suffered.

“Yes, you’re right. David was going to go the next day and finally arrest Mr. Alberto, but then David went missing. I tried contacting him that day and was able to. We have a secret code we made in case one of us had to lay low for a while if Mr. Alberto was suspecting us. He sent the code that day, so I assumed someone must have told Mr. Alberto we had information on him. David told me to lay low for a while and leave Mr. Alberto’s company.” he says, but I stop him from continuing because I just realized something.

“Wait, is that why you moved into your brother’s house?” I ask recalling I never knew the reason why Ismail moved in. I found it very strange that he was so rich but decided to live with his brother.

“Yes, something like that. I had to change my lifestyle because if Mr. Alberto had me followed and found out I am richer than an IT staff member should be, it would have raised suspicions. Aazim knew I was helping David, and when I told him about changing my lifestyle, he suggested that I moved into his house. At first, I found the idea laughable, but then realized it was a brilliant idea. By moving into Aazim’s house for a week, it showed I was the kind of guy who was living off his brother.”

“Wow, I would have never guessed that, so what happened next,” I ask wanting to hear how everything played out.

“A month after I moved into Aazim’s house, I tried contacting David again. I tried all means to find him, but I could not find him anywhere. I found out a week later that David is dead. I was so shocked and confused about what happened. But what I did not know was that while I was trying to find him, I became a target for Mr. Alberto. They began following me. At first, I assumed they were paparazzi because they had cameras with them, but I started to notice that they followed me a bit too much. I didn’t take it seriously because it was around the time we were leaving for our trip and felt they would stop once I was out of the country, but I was wrong. They followed me to every single country we travelled to.”

“Wait, were they the ones we saw in Italy. Are they the reason why those things happened to me in France and Iceland?” I ask, feeling like everything is starting to make sense as to why those things happened, although I still can’t understand what they were looking for.ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

“Yes, after that day you complained to me that he was a bit odd. I did a background check and found out they were working for Mr. Alberto. That was when I realized I was being followed by Mr. Alberto’s men. Like yours, my room was also searched in France, but they did not take anything. They also tried to steal my phone in Iceland. I did not know what they were looking for until we came back to America.”

“What are they looking for?” I’m curious to finally understand everything, but I still feel a few things are missing…

“They believe David left evidence with me before he died.”

“Oh, and did he leave anything with you?”

“No, he did not, and that’s why I was watching the CCTV footage. I was trying to see if I can find the needed evidence to put Mr. Alberto away for good. David might be dead, but that is even more reason I want to help him finish what he started. If I can get evidence against Mr. Alberto, I know a good policeman who I can send the evidence to, and get Mr. Alberto arrested.”

“Oh, now I understand. But there are still a few things that are not clear to me. Why did they check my room, and tried to steal my phone? It’s not like I know David or anything.’

“Like I told you I did not know why until recently. They thought you were my girlfriend, and since they could not find it with me, they believed I gave it to you to keep it safe for me.”

“That makes sense, but why did they think I was your girlfriend?” I ask feeling my heart rate increase because they thought I was his girlfriend. Can the whole world tell I love Ismail? What if he knows and decided to keep it to himself because he does not feel the same way? I have started with my negative thinking again; I really need to stop doing this. For all I know they might have just thought so for another reason. And it’s not the first-time people thought we were together. So, what makes this time different.

“Because Umit, you might not be my girlfriend, but they know you mean the world to me. They know you are someone special to me. They know you are someone close to my heart. They know I would do anything to keep you safe. And now that I have told you all these things, I hope you understand why you should keep your distance from me,” Ismail replies. I freeze because I don’t know how to respond to all he just said. He might not have said I like you, or I love you, but all he did say clearly tells me I am more than a sister-in-law to him.

“Umit, are you even listening to me?” Ismail asks waving his hand in front of my face.

“Yes, yes I am listening to you,” I say coming back from my thoughts.

“I said, do you understand why keeping your distance from me will keep you safe?”

“Yes, I do, but it does not mean I am going anywhere,” I say. I can’t believe Ismail thinks I will not do anything to help while he is in danger. I am not going anywhere. I am going to stay by his side and help him put Mr. Alberto in jail.

“Why?” he asks shocked.

“Because I am going to help you.”

“You are doing no such thing. Umit, the further you stay away from me the safer for you.”

“I clearly know that, but I also know I won’t be able to sit by and not help you in any way I can,” I say making sure he understands it is my choice and I am determined to stay by his side.

“Is there anything I can say or do to make you change your mind?” Ismail says sounding very defeated.

“No, there is not,” I smile because I know I have won this battle.

“Alright, but I am not happy with your decision.”

“You don’t have to be happy with it, you just have to accept it.”

“Alright then, let’s go and eat. I am famished,” Ismail says, walking out of his study with me following behind.

Now that I fully understand why Ismail was pushing me away, it makes me love him more because I know he cares for my safety deeply. It makes me understand that all the cold shoulders he gave me were to keep me safe, not because he didn’t care about me. I am more than happy that he cares deeply for me.