Page 83 of A Pawn in the Game
“Pogle’. Ona misli da je njegova kraljica,”he says in Croatian, sending my brain into overdrive.“Ali oboje su samo obicni pijuni.A ja sam taj koji ce pobijediti u ovoj igri.”Another cackle, one that chills me to the bones.
He waves for his guard to leave. “I’ll be back as soon as I can,” the goon nods before exiting the room carrying the corpse firefighter style.
I faintly register the sound of him locking the door behind himself. I’m busy replaying the words in my head, trying to connect them with the ones I know.Ona misli da je njegova kraljica. Onameans she in Russian.Kraljicais the queen. It’s what Andre taught me.Obicni pijuni.Pijunis the pawn. Is that plural?A ja sam taj koji ce pobijediti u ovoj igri. Pobijeditimeans to win.Igrais a game.
Realization settles over me like a cool breeze on a summer night. Surprising, but far from shocking. I’m the pawn. Thinking she’s the queen. But he’ll be the one to win the game.
A weird sense of calmness wraps around me. For someone who lives choked by anxiety, the calmness is new, but I welcome it with open arms. Another breath to steel myself, another attack on my senses by the pathetic man in front of me.
“Come on, don’t give up yet,” he taunts me with a disturbing smirk. He thinks he has me.
My focus turns laser sharp, staring at the board to memorize pieces. I rotate them in my mind, trying out different outcomes, until I find the one that makes me win. I clear my throat, doing my best to feign innocence. “What if I told you I could checkmate you in four?”
A deep laughter rumbles out of him, broken by a fit of coughing. “Are you crazy?”
I look back at the board, doing my best to flutter my eyelashes. “You’re right. It’s impossible.”
He snorts like the idea of me winning is absurd. After all, he has more pieces, my previous moves barely making a dent. He’s also threatening my king with a practically inescapable checkmate.
But he doesn’t know who he’s up against. It won’t be an easy feat, but losing is not an option.
And then I make my move.
My knight to G4. Check. He protects his king, but I check him once again. I’m moving only one piece, but I don’t need more, anyway. No, I’ll mate him using only my knight, while my queen protects the diagonal.
Because even if protecting the king is the goal, the queen is the most powerful chess piece. She’s the one who can move in any direction, threatening you from the other side of the board. And that’s what she does, restricting his movements until I bite out, “Checkmate.”
His eyes widen, rage overtaking him. “This is impossible,” he yells, his face now beet red.
But it’s too late. Because I used the moment of distraction to grab his gun. My hands grow clammy against the cold metal as I point it at him.
One of the strategies I tried in dealing with my crippling anxiety was shooting range training. I threw up as soon as we got to the practical part and they handed me the gun, but I kicked ass at theory. Meaning, in theory, I know just what to do with it. I guess. Panic rises in my throat, leaving an acidic taste behind.
The pathetic man in front of me is more anxious, though. He lifts from his seat, squirming in place, and I wouldn’t bet against him peeing himself in fear.
“Wha-what are you doing? I’m here to save you.” He tries shooting me a hyena smile, but it ends up looking like a tick that overtook his face.
“I know what you said.”
His eyes widen to saucers, his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water.
“You must have misunderstood.” He opens his palms in front of himself, but his act doesn’t fool me.
“Yeah? How about you clear that up for me?” I lift the gun higher, pointing it straight into his forehead, and he squirms some more.
“I-I made a deal. But it’s a good deal for you.”
“Talk.”
“Your father… H-he works with the Russians. And I made a deal with them.” He tries on another smile, looking like it’s his first fucking day on planet Earth.
“What kind of deal?”
“To get you out of here.”
“And what do you get out of it?”
“Those are silly business details. You don’t need to worry your pretty head about them. The important thing is that you’re getting out.”
