—Boss…
—Look…
The man pointed toward the windshield.
Stiven raised his gaze.
And froze.
In the middle of the road…
There was a clown.
The clown held two human heads in his hands.
The heads of two of his subordinates.
The clown smiled.
—Hello.
He slightly lifted the heads, as if they were trophies.
—I think today… you're the main act.
He tilted his head.
—What do you say we begin?
Stiven didn't respond.
He couldn't.
One of his men reacted first.
He pulled out a gun.
The clown looked at him.
And with a jump, moved several meters back.
—Move! —Stiven shouted— Get to the driver's seat!
The man in the back opened the door, pushed out the headless body of the driver, and took his place.
He slammed the accelerator.
The car roared forward.
Stiven, trembling, pulled out his phone.
He dialed.
—Reinforcements! Now!
If they managed to capture that man…
Ricardo would reward them.
—Hold on! —he said— Reinforcements are coming!
The clown watched them in silence.
Then he threw several knives.
The tires burst.
The car stopped abruptly.
Silence.
—Leaving without watching the show… —the clown said, slowly walking toward them— is very rude.
He brought a hand to the chin of his mask.
—Although… I just heard something interesting.
He paused slightly.
—Reinforcements.
He snapped his fingers.
—How about this?
His voice turned playful.
—If they manage to arrive… I'll let you watch as I eliminate them.
He tilted his head.
—But first…
He looked at the two men inside the car.
—Them.
A low laugh escaped him.
—Hahaha…
Suddenly, he pulled out a knife.
He swung it once.
The roof of the car split open like paper.
Another swing.
The engine was cut apart.
—Run —he said calmly.
Stiven and his men didn't move.
Fear had paralyzed them.
One of them, desperate, raised his weapon.
He fired.
The shot hit.
The clown fell to the ground.
Silence.
Stiven and the others stared.
—…Did he die? —one whispered.
For a second…
They felt relief.
Then…
Clap… clap… clap…
Applause.
The three froze.
They slowly turned their heads.
The clown was behind the damaged car.
Standing.
Unharmed.
—Tada.
He spread his arms.
—First trick… illusion.
He snapped his fingers.
The world distorted.
Everything blurred.
Stiven blinked.
And then he saw it.
They were no longer on the road.
They were in the warehouse.
The place where the cargo was being loaded.
The bodies of all his men were on the ground.
Dead.
With smiles on their faces.
The air felt heavy.
Unreal.
—What do you think? —the clown said— It's a magnificent trick, don't you think?
No one answered.
—Well, Stiven…
He walked closer slowly.
—You were deceived.
He raised one finger.
Snapped.
A balloon appeared in front of Stiven.
It floated slowly.
It popped.
Pop.
A party hat fell onto his head.
On it were the words:
"The fooled one is this guy."
The clown burst into laughter.
—Hahahaha…
—It suits you.
Stiven trembled.
He couldn't think.
He couldn't move.
—Well…
The clown tilted his head slightly.
—It's time to finish.
He paused.
—Don't worry.
—I won't be the one to kill you.
Stiven looked up, confused.
The clown clapped once.
One of his men fell to the ground.
He began to convulse.
Blood started pouring from his mouth.
From his eyes.
From his ears.
He screamed.
The other tried to move back.
But couldn't.
The blood began to rise.
Floating.
Condensing in the air.
Forming a sphere.
Then another.
Both merged.
A single pulsating red mass.
The sphere floated toward the clown.
It stopped in front of him.
—Interesting…
He observed it as if it were art.
Then he looked back at Stiven.
—Well…
He leaned closer.
—How do you want to do this?
His voice turned colder.
—The easy way…?
He stepped closer.
—Or the hard way?
Stiven fell to his knees.
His body wouldn't stop shaking.
—T… t-the…
His eyes filled with tears.
—The easy way…
The clown smiled.
—Good choice.