Take Me Home, Country Roads chapter 1

Shival was born in a small town called Goiás. His father, França, was a wealthy farmer. When Shival graduated, his father advised him to apply to the agricultural college so that he could inherit the farm in the future. However, Shival was already tired of the small – town life and believed that big cities were where he should make his mark. Finally, after a big fight with his father, Shival ran away from home and went to the city of Natal.

The outside world was both wonderful and full of hardships. He soon found that making a living in the city was not as easy as he had imagined. Eventually, out of desperation for survival, the hot – blooded Shival joined a theft gang and became a complete bandit.

In a few days, it would be the annual carnival in Natal. The gang leader, “Baldy”, gathered everyone together to plan a robbery. Based on previous years’ situations, during the carnival, the citizens would be in a collective frenzy, and the guards at the city museum would be very lax. It was the perfect time to steal the famous paintings in the museum’s collection! Baldy assigned this task to Shival, who had been with him for many years.

The day of the plan finally arrived. Early in the morning, the people who were ready to celebrate the carnival took to the streets. Wearing all kinds of masks and colorful costumes, they danced the passionate samba, spreading joy all over the city under the leadership of the “King Momo”.

When Shival arrived at the museum, he took a quick look around. There were only a few staff members and security guards in the museum. They seemed listless, probably because they couldn’t participate in the carnival. There were also very few visitors, and the whole hall was empty. There was only a masked man who seemed very restless, constantly looking around. It seemed as if he had lost something.

Seeing that there was no sign of trouble, Shival immediately signaled to his accomplices. The gang quietly dispersed and approached the security guards, staff members, and the entrances and exits. He and the accomplice beside him walked towards the monitoring room on the second floor. When they reached the door of the monitoring room, Shival knocked on it. A lazy voice from inside asked, “Who is it?” Shival pretended to be in a hurry and shouted, “Sir, where is the restroom?”

The person inside clearly let down his guard and opened the door, impatiently saying, “The restroom is on the first floor. You go from…” Before he could finish, Shival suddenly stepped forward, took out his pistol, and pointed it at his head, saying, “Don’t move!” The accomplice beside him quickly took out a rope and tied the man up tightly in a few moves, then stuffed a cloth into his mouth. Shival then said, “Tell me where the switch for the surveillance video is, or I’ll blow your head off!”

The staff member was already pale with fear. He nodded desperately and then shakily walked to the control console, indicating a black button with his chin. Shival pressed it, and all the dozens of monitors went blank! He gave a cold laugh, then suddenly swung the butt of his gun and knocked the staff member unconscious. Then he quickly ran downstairs.

When he reached the first – floor hall, Shival nodded to his accomplices. One of the accomplices quickly took out a bomb from his body and shouted, “Listen up, anyone who doesn’t do as I say will go straight to hell!” There was an immediate outburst of screams in the hall. A few security guards tried to reach for their guns, but the robbers who had been lying in wait beside them pointed their guns at their heads. Seeing this situation, everyone didn’t dare to move and obediently raised their hands and stood still.

Shival opened the door of a storage room and said, “Get in there quietly!” The people were pushed and shoved by the robbers into the storage room. Shival took a big padlock and locked them inside with a click.

Everything was ready. Just as Shival was about to order his accomplices to rob the famous paintings, he suddenly heard the door of the restroom beside the hall open. The masked man who had been there before walked out. This man seemed completely oblivious to the changes in the surroundings. He walked straight up to the nearest famous painting, raised the hammer in his hand, and with a “bang”, smashed it against the protective layer in front of the painting!

Shival was extremely shocked. Could this masked man also be here to steal the famous paintings? But he had already sent his accomplices to check the restroom. How did this man manage to hide? Shival didn’t have time to think too much. He roared, “Stop!” But the man showed no sign of stopping. With the second blow, a big hole was smashed in the protective layer!

Was this masked man so bold because he had accomplices waiting in the wings? If so, would the famous paintings that were almost in their hands end up in someone else’s? Shival was in a hurry. He suddenly drew his pistol and without hesitation pulled the trigger. With a “bang”, the masked man fell to the ground, struggled painfully for a couple of times, and then stopped moving.

There was no time to lose. Shival quickly took action. He took down the famous painting and quickly left the museum. The streets were still filled with people enjoying the carnival. They blended in with the crowd and disappeared in an instant.

In the following days, Shival kept dreaming of getting rich. He was waiting for Baldy to sell the famous painting and reward him according to his contribution. Sure enough, a few days later, Baldy called him over. Shival went to Baldy’s place cheerfully. As soon as he entered the door, he asked happily, “Boss, how much money can I get this time?”

Baldy’s face darkened. He slapped the table hard and said, “You still have the nerve to ask me for money? Haven’t you watched TV? To prevent the famous paintings from being stolen during the carnival, the city museum specially removed the real paintings and put up fakes! You’ve really screwed me over this time. Not only did you steal a fake painting, but you also killed someone!”

Shival wanted to argue, but Baldy threw a stack of money in front of him and said, “Get out of this place quickly and don’t drag the rest of us down.”

Shival never dreamed that after so many years of risking his life, he would end up like this! He wanted to leave this city that made him sad and desperate, go back to his hometown, the small town of Goiás, see his father, França, and then make other plans.