"i wanna know. Tell me."

☆

It had been over two hours since the drive in his sister's car had begun. Rio tries his best to stay awake as his eyes focus on the darkened stretch of road ahead. He had been told to drive, so that's just what he had done. But it was inevitable that the urge to sleep would prevail when the car slowly drifts onto the cats eyes on the road. The 'bump bump bump' causes the other male to glance at the driver. 

"Are you trying to kill me again?" He says with a hint of sarcasm, as the change in the road's surface causes Rio to jump in his seat. 

"I…I..." He huffs out a breath as his mind begins to feel detached from the moment. That of him driving first and foremost, then that he was being kidnapped, or was he now an accomplice? In his moment of mental limbo, it didn't even feel like he was even referring to himself. Like it was all a dream, or something he had seen on tv. 

"We should take a break." The voice brings Rio back to the present as he looks at him. The gun is nowhere to be seen. At least not pointed at his head. The man seems to be looking out of his window. He slowly raises a hand as he points to a small layby at the side of the road, partially shaded with trees. "Pull in here."

Rio finds himself automatically complying as the wheel turns to the left as they grind to a halt. The engine is switched off and the car goes silent. "What are you going to do now? Kill me? Take the car?" Rio looks out of the passenger window next to the other. The wooded area beyond is secluded enough that the other could end his 27 years of life if he wanted. The body would be undiscovered for weeks, maybe months, whilst he drove away and disappeared from the face of the earth. 

The man looks at Rio. "Do you think I would have done it already if I wanted to? You are tired. You need a rest. I don't want to be in another crash."

"You could leave me here. Stranded in the middle of nowhere. No one would know. You could carry on your journey alone…."

"I already said. You are linked to me now. Plus…" he looks down a little embarrassed.

"Plus what?"  Rio turns in his seat, wondering what the man may say.

"I can't drive. I don't have a licence." 

"What?" Rio laughs

"What's funny about it? I just didn't get around to taking my test. That's all." He looks back at Rio. 

"So lemme get this straight. You hijack my cab, you kidnap me, under gunpoint I might add, you threaten my sister, yet you won't drive a car because it's…. What… against the law?" 

The male's stare hardens as he glares back at Rio. "Just watch your mouth. I could still kill you." 

Rio didn't know whether it was his overtired mind taking over, or perhaps it was that there were cracks appearing over the front, that this man was putting on, but he dares to get up close. Nose to nose. An inch away from them touching. He finds his eyes stare into the near black orbs of the other as he utters. "Go on then. Do it. I dare you." 

The moment fills with intensity as they lock eyes, as if wishing to delve deep into the mind and soul of the other to anticipate the next move. Rio was ready to duck, or fumble for the door handle behind him, but the other male finally pulls back, slouching into his seat as if defeated. "Get out." 

"W…what?" This answer Rio wasn't expecting. 

"I said get out." He looks at Rio, who hadn't moved an inch. "Go on! What are you waiting for?" 

"But…"

"But what? You're right. I won't kill you. I can't. I can't kill anyone." He breathes out a sigh. He felt defeated. His grand plans of escape from his wretched life had fallen by the wayside as soon as he had decided to act upon them. 

"Then why do you have a gun?" Rio's eyes gravitate towards the jacket where the weapon remained, out of sight. 

"Protection. That's all." 

"From who?" Rio dares to ask once again.

"Enough questions. The more you know, the more You're in danger. Just get out. I'll take it from here." The male leans over Rio in the driver's seat, his hand about reaching the door, but Rio puts his own hand over the male. 

"I wanna know. Tell me." He looks at the man, who stares back at him with confusion. His face harsh and menacing and for a moment, Rio regrets his sudden impulse. He swallows hard before he repeats the question. "You said they were dangerous?"

The man is silent. He again looks at Rio behind the wheel as he retracts his hand from the handle. "This is your last chance to leave. If I tell you, there's no going back." 

Rio knew it was stupid. He knew he should open the door and get out, but he wasn't known for his brains. That was his sister's fortè. But he was good at reading people. The one skill, he as a taxi driver, posessed. The art of reading others. Anyone and everyone had more or less graced the back of his taxi and he had gotten better and being a good judge of character and right now, he sensed the honest vulnerability of this man. "Tell me." He insists as he sits in his seat to face the passenger a little more. 

The man purses his lips. A last moment to contemplate before the truth would be told. But he needed to tell someone. Someone who was out of the ridiculous circle he lived in. "I betrayed their trust. They won't take kindly to it." He reaches into the pocket of his jacket to retrieve the small cloth bag. "I took these."

Rio looks at the small felt bag in the man's palm. "What's in there?" He asks a little nervously.

"My ticket out of here. Out of my personal hell." He pockets the small bag once again as he looks out of the window. "Have you heard of the Mathesons?" 

Rio's eyes look to the side in thought. "Don't they build houses or something?" 

The man laughs at the response. "Yes they build houses. Big houses, offices, high rise complexes. But there is another side to them. A side not so well known. A side where they don't only possess guns, but they use them too." 

"So…" Rio looks at the man, furrowing his brow. "You're?" 

"I'm Carlos Matheson. The second born child." He pats the pocket with the small bag inside of it. "And I have the family diamonds."