Seriously, fuck humanity.
Before I can get to my car, I get a ping on my phone.
This can’t be happening.
Little hummingbird, why don’t you go to the emergency room? You might have broken something.
M.
This leaves me with one question. Who is M?
5
MIt’s Tuesday afternoon, and I’m currently in my second residence in the center of Sarajevo. It’s a gorgeous penthouse on the twenty-fifth floor in one of the biggest buildings in this city. The interior of my apartment is all modern. My living room has a large plush U-shaped white couch and a TV I rarely use. What really steals the show are three big windows overlooking Sarajevo. The dining room has a mixture of beige and off-white colors that fit perfectly with the wooden tables and huge kitchen, an amenity I use as often as I can. The rest of the apartment is in the same style with its three bedrooms and three bathrooms.
I don’t conduct any business here. I only sleep here when I have work to do for my car dealerships.
Which is what I’m doing now.
Well, working is a big word. I’m pumping money into restoring one of my car dealerships. Why? Because yet another one burned down last night.
The rage I felt last night when Sami, the manager of the dealership, called me up to tell me. It was around 1 a.m., and I bolted out of my bed to check the security cameras. It didn’t surprise me that the cameras weren’t working last night.
I wanted to call my cousin Hana immediately, but I knew she was studying and catching up on some sleep. So I waited.
Until now.
“What?!” I’m not used to Hana being this defensive. I scrunch my eyebrows.
“Who took a dump in your cornflakes?” I ask, even though I think I know the answer. Despite being curt with her, I still love her. She is my baby cousin, and our shared hatred for our parents only deepened our bond.
“My professor who teaches computing in biomedicine. I don’t even want to work in the biomedical field, no offense to anyone who does.”
“Let me guess, he failed you?” If she could slap me through the phone, she would. Hana has hated her professor since the beginning of her master’s studies.
“He did, and when he asked me why I couldn’t study forhiscourse, I simply said to him that I don’t care about what he teaches.”
“You can’t do that, he will fail you on purpose.”
“Let him fucking try, and if he does, I’ll have Sara come to his house so that she can yank his b—”
“Hana, please stop. You know you will have to earn your degree if you want to work full-time for me. And if you want to give out orders.” She sighs heavily through the phone.
“What do you want, M?” She knows me so well.
“I’m sure you got the confirmation that one of my car dealerships burned down, again.”
“I did. And before you ask, no, I still don’t know who did this. M, whoever is doing this is dangerous.”
“I fucking know that,” I state. “Do we even know if it’s a woman or a man?” My question hangs in the air while I make myself a cup of coffee.
“It’s a dude, M. I’ve seen the same person go into our buildings many times. You know what? I’ll just come over and explain everything. Be there in ten minutes.” I don’t protest, and after less than fifteen minutes, the doorman is calling to ask if she can come up.
The moment I open the door, Hana moves past me and sits down at my kitchen table, opening up her laptop. I go and sit across from her.
“As you can see on the screen, this is the man who has been burning down your dealerships.” Hana points to a hooded figure who knows how to avoid my cameras.
It’s like he knows where they are.
