AFLOAT Season 4 E.6

If you want something said, ask a man; if you want something done, ask a woman

                - Margaret Thatcher

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Without a word, Eric stood up. His heavy boots thudded against the concrete floor as he walked into the dim bedroom. Resting on the wooden nightstand right where Boma had left it the night Maurice passed was the small feature phone, its screen dark and smudged with fingerprints.

Pulling a handkerchief from his pocket, Eric wrapped it carefully around his hand before picking up the phone like live ammunition. He pressed a key, illuminating the tiny display, and went straight to the call log.

There it was: an incoming call from a contact saved simply as Stanley, timestamped just minutes after Eric had walked out three nights ago.

Who is this Stanley? Eric thought, his thumb scrolling through the text messages. Alex had written Maurice off as just a bitter, greedy loser, but the evidence was undeniable, Maurice was an accomplice to something far more sinister. And now a girl was dead in a river. Who was she? Could it be Dapper? No other girl had been reported missing.

Jaw set so tight his cheek muscles twitched, Eric memorized Stanley's number. Whoever the man was, Eric swore he would hunt him down if it was the last thing he did.

Re-wrapping the phone in the handkerchief, he slipped it deep into his pocket and stepped back into the living room.

The moment he appeared, Boma looked up with wide, terrified eyes, her hand resting instinctively over her swollen belly.

"Eric? What is it? What did Maurice get himself into?" she pleaded, her voice cracking. "Please tell me my husband didn't..."

"Boma," Eric interrupted, his tone softening just enough to spare her the full weight of the truth. "You need to stay inside. Lock your doors. Enough of the condolence visits. Do not speak to anyone about Stanley, birds, or any phone calls. If anyone asks, Maurice had a weak heart, and that is where it ends."

"Eric, you're scaring me," she sobbed.

"I am trying to keep you and that baby alive," Eric said firmly, bending down to meet her gaze. "Whatever Maurice heard on that phone terrified him enough to stop his heart. Now that he’s dead, the people behind this will come looking for answers. Or compensation."

Boma gasped, clapping her hands over her mouth as a fresh wave of horror hit her.

Eric straightened up, his face hardening into the sharp, uncompromising mask of the vigilante leader. 

"I need to share this with Alex immediately. Then I'm going for this Stanley. Until then, You need to stay safe."

Without waiting for a response, Eric hurriedly dragged on his jacket and pulling the hood over his head, threw open the doo. He stepped out into the pouring rain, leaving Boma alone with the quiet storm inside her home.