Chapter 4- Epifanio

            Epifanio woke to the sound of a ringing phone. His phone, to be exact. He picked it up and the caller’s ID read differently: this is how British phone numbers start, he thought. Was it Emma calling from someone else’s phone?

“Hello?” he politely said.

The voice on the other side was panting, grainy-sounding, and almost on the verge of crying. “Mum, it’s me!” the girl on the other end of the line, “I’ll be fine!” Epifanio cringed, when he heard that. That was Emma’s code phrase! But not the full one; he was about to answer when a high pitched shriek was heard in the background. “Just come and pick me up tomorrow!” Emma said.

“Emma! How glad it is to know you’ve screwed this up” he started jokingly, “ But I promise, I’ll try and get you as fast as I can” he answered.

“Thank y-” the voice said as it was cut off.

“Emma? Emma!” screamed Epifanio into his phone. Now he only heard static. Tears welled up in his eyes while he angrily stamped toward his study. “Now it’s personal!” he said crying. He called Noel, and told him to go to Skype. “Noel”, Epifanio started.

“Yeah, buddy?” answered Noel. Noel was about 4 inches smaller than Epifanio, and he had poufy black hair, neatly combed. He wore rectangular glasses, had pale skin and possessed an impressive ability in the form of linguistics and bargaining. “Why are you crying?”

“Emma was kidnapped” Epi answered.

“What?!” Noel responded.

“She called me, and by screams and stuff like that I could tell they were in danger. I need you” the former told Noel.

“And how do I come into this revolú, this mess?” Noel asked, in a voice similar to a certain godfather.

“Book me two tickets to London, stat” Epi answered, sniveling.

“Two? Who’s the second one for?” the other guy asked. Epifanio just stared at him. “Great! What should I take?” Noel said grinning.

“A gun and a sturdy backpack” answered Epifanio. Suddenly, Noel reached for something under his desk.

“Will this do?” Noel said as he reached under his desk and pulled out a sub-machine gun.

“Perfect” replied Epi, giving a thumbs-up.

The pair arrived at the airport and headed toward Customs.

“Yes, we’re both carrying unloaded guns. We don’t have any bullets” Noel rattled off to the attendant.

“Well, it seems you’re good to go. Have a safe trip” replied the attendant. Once they boarded the plane, Epifanio noticed that most people on it were middle-aged men, with the occasional twenty-something, and some old men. They were mostly talking about stock (boring), oil (more boring), and crumpets (that made them hungry); at least that was what he picked up when he eavesdropped. He decided he just had to investigate; he asked the man next to him why so many similar people are on the plane. The man introduced himself as Timothy Dickinson, a banker.

“Don’t you know? They’re holding the Blackheart Convention in London this year!” the old man replied in a thick Cockney accent, “Are you going there too?”

“Nah, we’re just visiting some relatives. They said they wanted us to ‘experiment’ with British society” answered the Puerto Rican. All interest seeped away from the banker, who replied with a condescending “oh” and immediately went to sleep. Epifanio turned to Noel.

“So, what’ll we do when we get to the airport?”

“Dunno” answered Noel through a mouthful of Snickers. “Want some?” he asked, offering a piece of candy bar. Epi looked queasy.

“No thanks, I’m good”. Noel answered with a “your loss”, and continued munching away.

“We are now at cruising altitude. You may now take off your seatbelts and turn on the permitted electronic devices” said the flight attendant over the PA. Noel took out a book with a big “SUDOKU-DO NOT TOUCH” written on it with permanent marker. Epi stared at the puzzle Noel was doing. After a while, the former became uninterested, and started reading the Skymall magazine.

“Noel, I’m bored” whispered Epi.

“Go to sleep” answered Noel.

“I can’t”

“Why?”

“I’m too worried over what’s going to happen when we get there” replied Epifanio.

“Dude, don’t worry. Everything will be fine” Noel assured one last time before closing his book and turning to sleep.

“Attention passengers, we are now landing at Heathrow London Airport. Thanks for flying with us, and have a nice day” said the British flight attendant over the PA. The dawn, slowly arriving, sent streaks of pink and orange crisscrossing the sky.

“Nice meetin’ you, lad” said the old Blackheart that Epifanio conversed with.

“Pleasure’s all mine” Epi answered out of mere politeness.

“Wake up, Noel. We’re here” Epi said as he flicked Noel’s ear.

“Goddammit” Noel said groggily. They walked across the steel boarding tunnel, packs in hand.

“Let’s get something to ea-” Noel started before an earth-shaking BOOM! was heard. Muffled screaming could be heard everywhere as the boys ran down the corridor. British coppers helped evacuators escape, and some rushed around carrying wounded people. The duo followed the directions the police were giving out, but another rumble shook the airport.

“Who would do this?” screamed a middle aged lady next to them. They now only carefully studied the carnage that lay before them. Epi knelt.

“This… this is even beyond the most radical of Blackhearts…” Tears began welling in his eyes. Noel put a hand on his shoulder.

“C’mon, man. Pull yourself together. There are people we need to save”.

“Oi, what are you kids doin’ ‘ere?” asked a copper passing by.

“We can’t find the exit” said Epi.

“Well, you chaps are in luck. First you survive most of the attacks, now you got rescued in time…”

“Attacks? You mean these were terrorists? ” replied Noel, as they were led by the officer.

“Aye, me laddie. We found what seemed to be a small panel bomb; y’know, one of those new-fangled ones. They cost a pretty penny and y’have t’ know the right people” replied the policeman, who introduced himself as Tom Brandy. After a small amount of time, they heard muffled cries. “Come with me” said the officer.

The trio approached a ruined café; most of the tables had collapsed, a few of them were still standing, albeit dirty and heavily damaged. Coffee cups, half-eaten food, and baked goods were strewn across the floor and tables. Everything seemed relatively okay, except a hand poked out from the counter.

“Police is here! Stay calm!” said Brandy. The boys, along with the policeman immediately started ripping through the rubble. Eventually, they found a young man that was the cashier of the establishment.

“What’s your name, lad?” asked Tom, helping him up. The rescued twenty-something coughed and wheezed.

“Dakota” he answered with a croaky voice.