Eric's arm suddenly shot at the unsuspecting man's handgun. He got a firm grip on the gun slide and jammed his thumb against its cocked back hammer. The sharp movement prompted the startled gunman to immediately reacted with a pull of the trigger.

Nothing happened.

And at that moment, with the man getting panicky on seeing no action from his firearm, Eric's other hand speedily came with a clenched fist and rocked him with a stunning blow to his jaw that briefly separated him from his senses. Another sharp move followed, and Eric expertly dispossessed the man of his weapon in no time.

The big man immediately dropped his cellphone on seeing the sudden scuffle and reached for his own weapon. But Eric was already on him with the pistol he had taken from his partner being sent flying toward him.

The weapon struck the big man's face with pinpoint accuracy and force. The stunning blow broke his nose and stopped short his adventurous hand from grabbing his gun. Eric smashed another blow into the face of the other man and made his move to close in on the big man as his partner crumbled to the ground.

The big man was yet to recover when Eric came at him and sent his big body staggering backward with an uppercut that almost knocked his big head off his shoulder. He then yanked the man's pistol out of his waistbelt and clobbered him to the ground with it.

Annette stood still, staring astoundingly at Eric as he picked up the other pistol from the ground and quickly tossed the weapons into the back of the garbage truck. Her gaze was still fixed at him as he took his position between her and the men, who were now scrambling to their feet after shaking off the concussions they had taken.

"Are you okay?" Eric asked without looking at her as he maintained his gaze at their assailants. But she was too scared to give him an answer.

"Like i said, you bastards don't look like the cops," Eric then said to the men as they glared at him with murderous intent and at the same time, seemingly taken aback at how fast he had disarmed them. "Which means that it's gonna be very easy for me," he continued. "So you all better start talking, or none of you will be leaving this dump," he told them.

But the men had already decided on a totally different option. They made it known by rushing wildly towards Eric, who made his own move too, and got in between them to let loose his intention of getting up-close and personal with them.

Dodging a blow from the big man's meaty arm in the close quarter combat, Eric drove a wicked right hook into the other man's face and broke his jaw. He drew back the fist to deliver a backward elbow strike that increased the big man's facial injuries as he came from behind. The fist then switched into a knifehand strike that came back at the other man and broke his shoulder blade. Eric's left fist got into the action too. It drove deep into the man's side and broke some ribs. Switching back to the big man, the left fist drove into the thug's chubby face and knocked out blood and an agonizing groan from his mouth before his partner then got put down with a vicious leg kick to his foot that dropped him on one knee with a broken ankle, followed by a brutal knee kick that broke his neck and knocked him out cold to the ground.

Seeing that his partner wasn't moving anymore, the big man launched another desperate attack. He ragingly went at Eric with blood and spittle flying out of his profusely bleeding mouth as he bawled out curses. But he was about to find out that all his efforts would be in vain and regret his actions.

Eric outmaneuvered all the moves and wild punches till the man's big body started giving in to fatigue. The man relentlessly threw another straight punch with an agonizing grunt. This time, Eric ducked skillfully and replied with a cross counter that hit the man's face and threw his big body into an uncontrollable backward stagger.

"Is that all you got, you fat f@ck," Eric mocked, and the big man furiously made another wild dash. Eric's arm then made a sharp jerk, and Annette's steak knife that he had hidden in his sleeve made a quick slide into his palm.

Annette, who had been standing and staring dumbfounded as Eric destroyed the thugs who were several sizes bigger than him, caught sight of the cutlery flashing into his hand. She immediately knew that he was about to take the reckless violence to a deadly level.

One moment, she was staring with a frightened look as Eric ducked the big man's punch and dropped low with the knife in his hand. The next moment, the look on her face turned horrified as the blade sank deep into the man's knee joint. Eric then swung a kick at the big man's other leg, knocking it out from under him to throw his body off balance, and she gasped to the sickening sound of the damaged knee joint cracking under the man's heavy weight.

The big man bellowed an agonizing groan, and his entire body wobbled as he tried to support himself on one leg. Eric immediately grabbed the man by his jacket, stunned him with a headbutt that weakened his last footing to the ground, then propelled his body as he was collapse to the ground, and rerouted his destination towards the garbage truck with a leg kick that added more momentum to the fall.

"Oh lord!" Annette exclaimed when the big man landed head first against the steel frame of the truck with a violent thud. She then covered her mouth with wide eyes staring at the trail of blood he left as his body slided from the body of the garbage vehicle and collapsed heavily on the ground.

Eric was already going through the pockets of the big man's unconscious partner.

It was now clear that Annette had been spooked by something behind him. Eric decided to make the check. He remained still, thinking of how to investigate without being noticed with his eyes making quick glances at everything that lay on their table. His sights finally rested on Annette's purse, lying next to her elbow. He then slid his hand towards it and motioned at her to hand it over to him.

Annette did as she was told without questioning his motive. Getting out of the restaurant as soon as possible was the only thing she could think of right now.

Eric opened the purse and took out what he was looking for and what he had expected to see inside it; a small hand mirror. He held the mirror in front of him under the pretext of checking his 360 waves haircut while monitoring the activities going on behind him with it.

After making a few turns to an angle with the mirror, Eric finally saw Annette's source of concern. It came in the form of two men at a corner table behind him. One was burly looking, and the other had a stoutly built frame.

Both of them appeared to be minding their business with the occasional sips from their soda cups. But Eric still noticed the careful surveying glances their stone-cold looking faces were making at his position and knew for sure that they weren't in the restaurant for the food.

"Two ugly looking guys,...one wearing a brown trench coat, and the other in blue jacket." Eric gave Annette the descriptions of the two men sitting behind him.

Annette affirmed with a nod.

"Do you know them?" Eric asked.

"Only the fat one," Annette replied, referring to the burly looking man. "I have seen him before," she murmured.

"Who is he, and how did you get to know him?" Eric demanded.

The question made Annette's face turn gloomy with a downcast gaze, and Eric immediately knew he needed not to be told that it was a bad experience for her.

"Please, can we go now?" Annette asked again, as if pleading for them to leave the restaurant.

Eric pursed his lips and then dug his hand into his pocket. "We have to pay the bill first," he said quietly and took out his wallet. "And you have to stay calm," he warned and slid his credit card toward Annette.

Annette gave Eric a brief stare of discomfort, hesitated a bit, and got to her feet. And she then left for the table, taking the card with her while Eric continued watching the two men through the mirror.

"Thank you very much," the young female receptionist said cheerily to Annette and handed the credit card and receipt to her with a smile. "See you again."

"I don't think so," Annette muttered inaudibly and hurriedly accepted only the card. Then a hand got hold of her arm, and she almost jumped in fear.

"Let's go." Eric took his card from Annette and gave the receptionist a faint smile. "Get a hold of yourself and stay calm," he continued and guided her towards the door.

"I am trying," Annette gasped quietly as she followed his lead.

Eric then walked Annette to the door and opened it for her. From the corner of his eyes, he could see the two men now standing at the front desk and being attended to by the ever smiling receptionist.

On exiting the restaurant and stepping on to the pedestrian filled sidewalk of the busy street, Eric started walking in the opposite direction from where they were supposed to go. He did so with Annette in tow.

"Where are we going?" Annette protested, stealing a glance over her shoulder to look in the other direction that led to his parked car. "Shouldn't we be going that way?" she asked, staring confusedly at Eric.

"Just follow me," Eric told her. "I want you to act normal and don't look back," he continued with his hand still wrapped around her arm and almost dragging her with him as he increased his pace.

"Are they following us?"

Eric looked over his shoulder and saw the men dashing out of the restaurant and making searching glances around the street. He turned away before they they could notice that he was aware of their presence.

"Are they following us?" Annette asked again.

"As expected," Eric replied.

"Oh God!" Annette heaved with increased agitation. "What are we gonna do? How did they even find me?...or is it possible that they saw me that day?"

Eric ignored her frantic questions. He was still trying to come up with a better escape plan. Having Annette in tow would make it very difficult for him to just shake the men off. Going for a shoot out is out of the question because wouldn't want to risks putting Annette in danger, not to talk of the men catching up to them before he being able to find a proper place where he wouldn't have to worry about innocent bystanders getting hit by stray bullets.

Eric then saw a narrow pathway to an alley ahead of him. "Now, I want you to grab my hand and make a quick turn to the road on your left," he told Annette. "You have to play it nice....as if you want us to do something naughty," he continued.

"Oh, for Christ sake!" Annette groaned. "What's that gonna do? Make them hide their eyes from us?"

"Just do as i say!"

The two thugs then increased their steps to close the distance between them and two individuals they had been following. Their initial plan for a fast traffic-stop kidnap had just taken a turn to the back burner on seeing that their subject was taking a different route instead of going to the vehicle as they had expected. One of them was about to make a phone call as instructed by the other before the target suddenly made a sharp turn into an alleyway.

Both men immediately upped their pace, almost pushing a few pedestrian out of their way as they ran toward the alleyway. They made their diversion into the narrow dirty place that has a dead end ahead, and stopped on seeing the bags of trash and dirts that littered every corner of the place without their target and the second individual in sight.

They made wild searching glances around the alley, looking confused. One of the men trained his eyes at the parked garbage truck ahead of them and got suspicious. He then made a motion at his partner, who then nodded and followed as he moved toward the truck with his hand being held close to the handgun tucked in his waistbelt.

The men slowed down their steps when they arrived a few feet away from the truck and slowly approached it. They got to the front of the vehicle and took a quick peek inside through the windscreen. Seeing nothing at all, they slowly proceeded towards it rear-end, moving stealthily till they caught sight of their subjects.

The young woman was standing with her back against the wall and her arms around the shoulder of her male partner, who was standing very close to her. Both of them seemed to be on the verge of getting intimate with each other.

"Hey! You two lovebirds!" The big man began at them.

Eric looked over his shoulder with a somewhat mischievous smile at both men. "What?" he demanded, putting up an expression of being disappointed by their presence.

The stoutly built man then stepped forward and said, "The both of you should come with us."

Eric made glances at both men. "And who the hell are you guys?" he asked. Annette stared at them, trying to hide her fear as Eric had instructed her. "We are not doing anything illegal here, and you guys don't look like the cops," he went on.

The man pulled out his handgun, cocked and pointed it at Eric. "Do i look like i give a f@ck? Get moving, and don't waste my f@cking time, pal," he told Eric sinisterly. The big man drew his trench coat aside to reveal his own weapon, too.

Eric immediately held his hands in front of his chest. "Hey man, take it easy," he said quietly, pretending to be scared by the sight of the weapon.

"Move it!" the gunman ordered.

"Okay, chill... we are coming," Eric obeyed. Annette moved behind him, murmuring her exclamation to God.

"Tell Rogan to get the car ready," the man told his burly partner and beckoned at Eric with his pistol. "Tell him where we are," he continued as his partner turned away from them to make the call.

Eric kept his sight on the man's weapon as he moved slowly toward him and also watched the man's partner from the corner of his eyes, timing his movement toward the man holding the gun with that of his burly partner that was reaching for the cellphone to make the call. At the exact moment at which the big man's attention was fully focused on the screen of his phone, Eric had placed himself at the right position to make his intended move.

"Mmph!," Annette nodded with satisfaction after emptying her glass of club soda to wash down the last bite of the steak and potato salad she had been having. "This meal is indeed the meaning of life being good," she elated.

Eric had been watching in silence throughout the sawing and spearing of her knife and fork. He gave Annette a faint smile, seeing how delightful she was, despite having his patience being pushed to its limits by the way she had eaten her food with a lot of delay.

He then reached for his glass of the orange juice he was having and made glances around the Steakhouse that was teeming with customers.

"I hope you enjoyed yourself," he said quietly to Annette and took a sip from his glass.

"If i have to die now, i will surely go with a smile on my face," Annette chuckled.

"Okay, but before that...." Eric left his glass on the table. "....i think we should now get down to the business at hand."

"Well...of course." Annette moved her empty plate aside and rest her elbows on the table with a long moment of silence, her eyes staring at her folded arms. "You were right about the connection," she then started. "The girl and her boyfriend that were found dead in the park yesterday morning, the other girl that was gunned-down in a carjacking two weeks ago, and the one that killed with her entire family member in an armed robbery last month." She looked at Eric. "They were all members of Angel's fraternity."

Eric narrowed his eyes on learning that there were two other victims, which he hadn't been aware of, being in Metro-city at the time of their murders. But Annette has also confirmed his suspicions, and he wants to push further for more information.

"Do you know that for sure?" he asked.

"Didn't i tell you that i was in his house the day you went berserk?" Annette furrowed her brows at him.

"Were you also a member?"

"I was the one who brought up that idea."

Eric then stared at Annette with growing intrigue.

"I also helped him in creating it," Annette continued.

"And what were the reasons behind that idea anyway?" Eric demanded curiously. "Did Angel have any political ambition or what?"

Annette regarded him shortly with a plain Annette regarded Eric shortly with a plain look and stared absent-mindedly at her empty plate, recollecting of the past event.

"Angel had a problem that has to do with girls," she then told Eric.

Eric snorted. "Are you telling me that even with his popularity and being from a rich family who also commanded a lot of respect among his rich friends, he was finding it very difficult to find a date?" He asked with a chuckle.

"No. He only likes to...you know....get it on with only virgins," Annette said.

"Well....," Eric snorted again. "I do know that finding such girls in this time and age is one hell of a work. But with his credentials, i don't think it would have been an impossible feat for him."

"Yeah," Annette agreed. "But he's the guy with little patience. He always wants to get what he want and at the time he wanted it," she stated.

"Oh i see," Eric nodded, now knowing what Annette meant. "He just doesn't want to put in the necessary work that should be done to achieve his aim," he said quietly. "So that's why he had rumours of rapes hovering around him," he noted.

Annette nodded. "That's the reason why i suggested a fraternity," she said.

"So as to do what? Make him have an endless supply of virgins to rape?"

"No! To see if he could learn a few things about females and get to know how to approach them in the right way, other than forcing himself on them."

"Nah, you should have had him buried in a prison cell where he would have gotten a painful re-education from behind by monstrous dudes that love guys like him."

Annette shortly regarded Eric with a plain look. "Do you think all his victims wouldn't have done that if his father wasn't going around paying them off or using his influence to keep it swept under the rug?" She asked.

Eric pursed his lips and thought about what Annette had said. "But why would you even wanna help that creep?" He asked.

Annette sighed. "He was putting his dad through a lot of bad sh!t," she replied. "His father was a good man, and it pained me a lot seeing what Angel made him go through despite he trying his best to put his son in the right path," she added.

"Well, he should have probably allowed his son to suffer the consequences of his action," Eric shrugged. "Which, to me, still remains the best way to sort out such problem."

"Mr Adams had always wanted to do that," Annette said. "But....". She paused for a short while with a thoughtful look on her face. "....he always seemed to be finding it very difficult to do so. It was as if he was being stopped by....something, or perhaps, someone," she continued thoughtfully "There are times he did confront Angel, but Angel just blew him off, and very rudely in every occasion. And the man just stood there, looking very helpless for a man with a lot of influence," she added.

Eric nodded thoughtfully.

"My idea was actually working though," Annette continued. "It made him the center of attention for the girls. It kept him very busy in trying to decide on which girl he would have because there were a lot of them that willing to jump into bed with him in a snap due to his popularity, the virgins included." She then fixed Eric a gaze. " Until your girl, Lisa, came into the fold. And everything then went to sh!t," she muttered.

Eric smirked on hearing those words. "Don't tell me that you are blaming Lisa for your plan nosediving into the gutters," he said, fully knowing the entirety of what really happened.

"Of course!" Annette elated. "Things wouldn't have ended up taking the wrong turn if she hadn't shown up, trying so hard to become one of us."

Eric sighed and averted his gaze away from her. "I really don't understand what you are talking about, though," he then said indifferently.

"Does it even matter if you do?" Annette scoffed. "She got into trouble, and you just swooped in and left a trail of carnage in saving her," she muttered.

Eric regarded her with an incredulous stare. "Well, i do remember very well that Angel and his friends had wanted to run a train on Lisa before i dropped by," he said.

"That wouldn't have happened if she had just kept to herself, instead of showing off with her sassiness and constantly hovering around Angel, trying hard to get his attention cos she wanted to join his inner circle of friends," Annette countered. "If Lisa had taken her time to get to know him and what he was about, she would've found out the kind of person he was," she went on.

"Look," Eric then began and moved his weight in his seat with a grunt. "Lisa was only being friendly to the people around her," he sighed. "Angel himself was a rotten piece of sh!t, who got too bold with his demons cos his pops always covered his ass for all the bad stuff that he did," he went on indifferently. "And no matter how you try to convince yourself of giving him the much needed help, it still doesn't change the fact that he's a rotten piece of sh!t. The only help you can render to guys like that is giving them the taste of their own medicine. That's all. So don't bring Lisa into this," he warned.

"What you just said about Angel is true," Annette agreed. "He was probably even worse. But all I'm just saying is, if Lisa didn't come around, things wouldn't have gone up to this level ," she stated.

"Can you give me a clear explanation as to why it was so," Eric demanded.

Annette sighed. "Well, after the incident that he had with Lisa at his place, it threw him into the bad light amongst his peers and everyone that knew him," she said. "It did cost him a lot of friendship and brought a lot of disrespect, especially from the girls, whose attention he had always enjoyed."

Annette paused, thought for a brief moment. "All his victims started having the idea that the way you had handled him was the best course of action," she continued. "So they all lined up to take their own pound of flesh for what he had done to them, and the line was indeed a very long one. His friends who remained loyal to him started thinning down when they themselves started becoming the crash dummies for those that were on a serious collision course with him, i also took a lot of smoke too, and with his dad washing his hands off him, he became nothing but an empty noise maker. That's why the authorities who investigated his death were left with a long list of suspects, which also includes you, Lisa, the dead girl and her boyfriend, and even Sharon who had once put her hands on him for having the nerve to threaten her."

Eric nodded severally after Annette finished talking. He then blew out his cheeks and reclined in his seat, making glances around the restaurant as he analyzed what she had told him. What he did had indeed set off a lot of chain reactions.

"But now that he's dead with nobody still calling themselves his friends, and his parents dead too, so who else could it possibly be that would be out to hurt these people?" Eric muttered thoughtfully as he rested his sights at the table of an older couple having a minor dispute between themselves.

"I don't know." Annette shook her head. She stared at her empty plate for a short while and looked up. "I've been trying to...." she then paused abruptly.

"Been trying to what?" Eric asked. But he didn't get any response.

Eric averted his eyes away from the couple and saw that Annette was still as a suspicious mouse with a fixated gaze ahead of her. Something behind him seems to have gotten her attention in a big way, and probably what made her stop short in her statement.

Sensing the likelihood of it being something unpleasant, Eric made no attempt of looking behind him to see for himself.

"What's it?" he asked her.

After being in that state of transfixion for a short while, Annette then lowering her gaze. "Alex, we have to leave now," she finally spoke quietly to Eric with her voice sounding quite nervous. A look of anxiety was also written on her face.

Eric's eyes narrowed on seeing that Annette's lively demeanor had suddenly turned unsettled. "What is the matter?" he demanded again.

"I want us to leave now," Annette insisted and made another quick look at that position again. "Please, we have to leave this place," she said again with a quiver in her voice.

Ubong001:
SO you still came back to continue this story God bless you

Bros, I would have probably finished it by now. But it was my dad's funeral that put a hold to this story. Now I'm straddled with a lot of responsibilities being the head of the family. Not to talk of the one I have here with me. I hope you do understand my situation.

fabulousbrainzz:
Welcome back

Hey bro! How are you doing? It's been a very long time.

Abdulreheem:
welcome back op u made my day
thanks for the update

Ur welcome

do4luv14:
Phew!!!!!!!.....

Thanks for the updates, Trust you are doing great and back for good now

Yeah bro. Thanks for the comment.

Several minutes later with Annette having changed into a beige coloured blouse with blue jeans and white casual sneakers, both of them walked out of the house. She locked the front door, made a check to be sure of it, also checked the contents in her pink purse, and then joined Eric who was waiting for her at the front lawn. They started heading towards the direction where Eric had parked his vehicle after he had told her that he came with one.

After walking several meters away from the house, " Hey!....Annette!" Both of them stopped in their tracks and looked over their shoulders to the direction where the voice came from.

"Goddammit," Annette hissed frustratingly as two young men made towards their position with quick strides.

The men came over and stood infront of both Annette and Eric, looking quite aggressive. The one that had called out Annette's name, then regarded Eric shortly with a smug smile on his face before turning his focus at Annette.

"So is this the f@cking monkey-shine that you and your friend are pulling off with us, huh?" he asked her curtly.

Annette firstly regarded the man that threw the rude question at her, then turned to his partner, and saw herself staring at a physique that's built like a white Rhino. He was the taller of the two, even though the other guy was quite tall, and with a puffed up rock-solid chest under the black t-shirt he was wearing. Her eyes then traveled from the unsettling scowl on his face, to his frame that was made swollen by the abundance of muscles.

Seeing the guy's build and his cold glare, did indeed shake Annette to the core. But she still maintained a look of defiance that was directed at him, though finding it quite difficult to do so.

"What are you talking about?" She then began at the first guy.

"You damn know very well what I'm talking about!" The guy fumed at her. "I should have known that Sharon hooking up with me was a whole big fucking scam being orchestrated by you and her!" he continued angrily.

"Scam?" Annette snorted. She folded her arms with a funny look on her face. "Talking about scam, weren't you the one that lied your way into Sharon's heart?" she asked. "Or did you see me tell her anything when the both of you were having your misunderstandings last night?"

"You must have said something to her!" The man insisted with a blurt. "And probably the reason why you brought this motherfucker to threaten me!" he went on and pointed at Eric who then narrowed his eyes confusedly at Annette on hearing those words.

"Threaten you?" Annette regarded the man with a flabbergasted look. "You had four of your friends with you, and you were the one making the damn threats," she told him.

"Who is he?" Eric curiously asked Annette with a whisper. This immediately drew a fixed gaze from her that stared confusedly at him. As if he had vehemently insisted that one plus one equals fifty.

"Is this some kind of joke...or did i miss a public announcement about you boys going crazy today?" Annette quietly replied Eric's question with a glare.

"You better keep your f@cking mouth shut" the guy put in curtly at Eric. "You and i gonna have a talk when I'm done with her," he fumed, pointing a finger at Eric's face.

"Leonard, please, we don't have time for this right now," Annette then said seriously. "There's something very important that we are now running abit late in attending to," she continued. "You know where i live. And if you also want to have words with him, then i will gladly bring him to you," she went on, pointing at Eric and making him look even more confused. "But as of now, we are very busy," she concluded, grabbed Eric's hand, and made a move to leave the scene.

But Leonard's big friend moved and stood in their way. "Where the f@ck do you think you are going?" he growled at Annette. "We ain't done talking," he went on, and folded his big arms with a hard stare at Eric.

Eric, while still keeping his cool toward the blatant show of intimidation, then regarded guy that blocked their way. He ran his eyes from the guy's big chest to the condescending glare on his face, and then smiled faintly on seeing the differences in the capabilities after sizing him up.

The damages will definitely be a one-way street if the guy decides to start a physical contest. But Eric's unwillingness to deal with the dusts that he might raise from probably overdoing it, greatly overrides his yearn to leave the guy with a boatload of hospital bills and heartbreak.

With that in mind, Eric decided to keep silent, and also stayed cool. And he let Annette to handle the situation by herself. Unless.

"Perhaps, i will have to call the authorities if you don't tell your friend to get out of our way," Annette warned. "And if I'm forced to do so, then I will make sure that both of you are gonna fully regret it!" She further warned with a raised voice that attracted a lot of stares from the people in the neighbourhood.

Seeing all the attentions that Annette had drawn towards them, Leonard then nodded. "You better start watching your back cos it ain't over," he threatened. "Be sure to relay the message to Greg and that b!tch." He looked at Eric. "And i hope your Supreme Hustlers friend will be protecting your ass too." He then motioned at his friend for them to leave.

"We can atleast take his good-looking shoes for a start," Leonard's friend suggested with his eyes on Eric's black sneakers. "I wanna see how much of the tough guy that he is."

"Nah, i will be taking more than that when i get him," Leonard muttered and started walking away with his friend following, after giving Eric one last glare.

Annette eyed both of them as they left and started moving. Eric stayed briefly with his eyes staring at the men, then glanced at his sneakers and followed after her. He caught up, and guided her to the parked Benz.

"I don't wanna hear any complains about my choice in the menu when we get to the restaurant," Annette began irritatedly as she shut the door and grabbed her seatbelt.

Eric paused in his move to buckle his seatbelt. "Meaning what?" he asked with furrowed brows at Annette.

"Well, i just saved your ass from the Gorilla that Leonard brought with him," Annette sighed.

Eric proceeded to slide the belt tongue into its buckle with a smirk on his face. "But i didn't say the guy was too muscular for me to handle, though," he noted.

"Whatever, tough guy," Annette muttered. "Just drive."

Eric shrugged and then brought life to the car engine. He thought about her last words as he put the vehicle in motion, wondering if it was a compliment from her, or him being mocked at.


Matt remained hidden in his car and watched as the Mercedes drove past him. "They are now on the move," he spoke quietly into the his cellphone mouthpiece. Then the sound of engine turning over was heard, and another car that was parked several meters away from where the Mercedes had been standing, started moving in direction it went. "The boys are tailing them now," Matt continued. He listened to the voice rasping from the phone earpiece. "Yeah, i told them what to do, as you have said. The girl won't be touched, and i told them to bring the guy to us unfailingly." He listened again with his eyes staring intently at the two young men that were now walking past his car. "I will do that, boss," he concluded.

Matt ended the phone call, and immediately got out of the car. "Hey guys," he began at the two young men and got their attentions. "Can i have a few words with both of you," he continued and walked toward them as they stood, staring curiously at the person whom none of them had ever seen before.


******************************************

For a long moment, Annette stood in silence with an unblinking gaze trained on Eric. She's still trying to make sense of what was transpiring in her house after being shown the person whom she had been told was waiting for her in the living room.

Hi," Eric began at her with a wave of hand, wondering if the salutation would make the girl, whom Alex had described as unfriendly, to be willing to have a conversation with an uninvited guest. But he only drew a brief flash of an incredulous look from her.

After another long moment of regarding Eric with a searching stare, Annette shook her head with a low sigh, then folded her arms and leaned her body against the bedroom door frame. As much as she had wanted an explanation as to how he had gotten her home address before telling him to get the hell out, she was highly intrigued by his presence in her house and wanted to know the reasons.

"Aren't you supposed to meet Sharon?" Annette asked Eric with a tone of indifference in her voice after getting over the shock of seeing him in her house.

"Already done that," Eric replied coolly to the question and saw it as a good start.

"Today?"

"No... we had our discussions yesterday."

Annette furrowed her brows. "But i heard her telling you to meet her today," she noted to Eric.

"I guess she must have had a change of mind," Eric shrugged.

"Hm..," Annette smirked with a knowing look on her face. "And so the discussion must have ended with her giving you my home address," she said.

"That's right," Eric agreed and threw a glance at the bearded man, who was now sitting on the sofa with his attention fixed on a page of a magazine.

"I guess that's the reason why she canceled the appointment that we were supposed to have today when i called her this morning," Annette sighed. Her head tilted to the side with a short-lived funny smile at Eric. "And you had done well in helping her ex-boyfriend play his cards right cos she also told me that she's in his place."

"Glad to hear that," Eric said indifferently and nodded at the news that had no relevance to him.

"So...," Annette continued and unfolded her arms to adjust the collar of the pink, flowery design pajamas she wore. "....how is Lisa doing?" She asked.

"She is okay and in the country for the holidays as usual," Eric replied.

"Are you guys still dating?"

"I was with her this morning."

Annette then smirked with an incredulous stare at Eric. "Is she even aware that you were coming to see me?" she asked.

"She doesn't have that much of interest in my day to day activities," Eric bluntly replied. Then, feeling impatient with the discussion that was leading nowhere, he said, "I came here for something very important that I would like to discuss with you."

"What is it?," Annette demanded inquisitively and, at the same time, quite taken aback at how fast she had easily opened up to him, and comfortable enough to be having this conversation.

She always tend to be blunt towards guys whom she wasn't acquainted with. Moreover, the relationship that she's now having with the girlfriend of the guy standing before her was as good as giving gasoline to a man trying to save his burning house. That was for sure, more than enough reason to show him the door, or her rudely demanding his own reasons for bringing his presence in her house - if the curiosity somewhat overrides her contempt - before pointing him the direction to kick rocks.

But there's something about him. Something she couldn't really explain, and it made her feel quite secured and very relaxed to the situation.

"We will have to do it privately," Eric told her and glanced at the bearded man.

The bearded man then got to his feet. "You guys don't have to worry about me," he began, glancing at his wristwatch. "I'll be on my way cos i have something to take care of." He looked at Annette. "Are you gonna be okay with just the two of you?" he asked her. Annette gave Eric a brief stare and nodded at the man. "Will you be needing anything in case if I have to drop by again," he asked, to which she gave a short thought and shook her head at him. "Well then...," the man smiled at her. "I'll be seeing you soon." Then he shot a glance at Eric, nodded at him, and made for the front door, taking the magazine with him.

"Who's that guy?" Eric said to Annette after the man had walked out and closed the door after him. "Is he always that nice to everyone? Too nice as to make people feel like he wants to stand in line to kiss their ass," he snorted.

"That's my uncle," Annette said to Eric with a tone that expressed her dislike for what he had said about him. "And you better watch how you talk about him," she warned.

"Oh, okay," Eric murmured unapologetically. "It's like your uncle does care a lot about you," he went on quietly.

"I never knew that i had one until three months ago," Annette said. "He's just trying to catch up on the years of not being around for his niece, and he is the only family that i got." Then she sighed, backed into her room, and motioned at Eric to come inside.

Eric glanced around the living room one more time and then made his way into the bedroom.

Closing the door behind him, Eric made casual glances around Annette bedroom. It looked to be well organized with a good setting. A medium-sized reading table stood next to the bed with numerous books neatly stacked on one side of its surface and writing materials on the other side. His eyes shifted to the big wardrobe that had one of its doors wide open, made a quick study of the clothings that hung in it, and then he sat next to Annette who was now sitting on her double-sized bed.

"I don't usually bring anyone into my room, most especially first-time visitors." Annette began and grabbed the pillow lying on her bed. "But don't start getting the wrong idea about me, though. And it would be in your best interest not to let Lisa know that you were here," she stated and rested the pillow on her laps.

"Okay," Eric nodded at the statement that was also of no relevance to him.

"So...," Annette continued and stared expectantly at Eric. "Can you tell me this...thing that's so important," she demanded and fixed him an attentive gaze.

Eric paused for a brief while. Then he said. "I think there's something going on in town. Something very bad. I could be wrong, but from the way i see it, i think someone out there is going after some people, girls, to be exact." He made a brief pause again, and then went on, "And these girls seem to have some kind of a connection in one way or the other."

"And the reason for you wanting to meet Sharon is because you think she is also in that mix," Annette put in.

"Yeah, sort of. But I'm still not sure about it," Eric said.

"And i guess you feel that Lisa might also be involved in it too," Annette added.

Eric gave her a curious stare. "What makes you think so?" he asked.

Annette then regarded him with a knowing air around her. "Is it about the recent murders in the news?" she asked, and the question immediately left Eric staring at her with furrowed eyebrows. "The dead bodies that were discovered in a park today: the girl and her boyfriend" she went on.

"Go on," Eric said, his gaze now turning very attentive.

"Is that really why you're here?"

"I didn't come here to chew the rags with you."

Annette heaved a heavy sigh and lowered her gaze to her side. "I thought I was the only one that had noticed it," she murmured with an anxious look, clouding her face. "I was even beginning to think that i was going paranoid."

"Now that you have been convinced that you ain't losing your mind, you can as well tell me what you know," Eric demanded firmly.

Annette chuckled and shook her head at Eric. "And what are you even gonna do about it if i tell you, huh?" she asked him. "Break into houses and play Mr Tough-guy?" She sneered. "I do know the dead girl very well. The dead guy was her boyfriend, a well-known tough guy and also a gang member." Annette then regarded Eric closely. "He's indeed a very tough guy, and very unlike those cheap chumps you had ran through in Angel's house long ago," she told him.

"Why don't you just tell me what you know, and let me decide on what kind of guy i will be playing," Eric said coolly.

Annette chuckled again. Then she tossed away the pillow and quietly got to her feet. "Why don't we discuss it over the launch," she said and went towards her wardrobe.

"Lunch?" Eric sounded flabbergasted.

"Yeah, I haven't eaten anything yet because i was supposed to meet Sharon for lunch," she replied as she stared at her clothes, deciding on which one to wear. "And since you are the reason for that appointment being canceled, you will be buying me one," she continued.

"Can't we just talk it out right now and then have your lunch later?" Eric grunted as he got to his feet, too. "I am on a very tight schedule today."

"There are a lot of things that we will be talking about," Annette said without looking at him. "You don't expect me to do all that with an empty stomach. Unless you wanna use your tough guy abilities to get what you want," she continued and reached into the wardrobe to pick out some clothes. "And i guarantee you that it won't get anything out from me," she added.

Eric heaved an impatient sigh.

"You might wanna wait in the living room cos it will surely be a holiday of running riot for Lisa if she also hears that you saw me changing clothes.

Eric sighed again and quietly walked out of the bedroom. He was out of the place before Annette started pulling off her pajamas.

Eric brought the Benz to a halt beside the street and several meters away from the house address that Alex had given him. Then he turned off the engine and reclined in the car seat with his eyes, making a careful surveillance of the neighbourhood that he had arrived at. The place was very unlike the rotting eye-sore that he had been to yesterday night. The residential area was relatively clean, with rows of modern low-cost single-unit houses.

He remained seated in the car and monitored the activities in the area for a while, watching some of the residents, both young and old, who were idling around or getting busy with their daily routines. He also took mental notes of the adjoining streets and some of the vehicles that were parked in the place.

Eric spent close to five minutes doing his surveillances and then reached for the car compartment box. He opened it and took out the loaded Nighthawk firearm with two extra magazines. The scenery around the neighbourhood was indeed looking good with a pleasant and serene atmosphere. But still wasn't convincing enough for him to step out into the cool, fresh air without his loaded Heater. An AK-47 also laid under driver's seat incase if it boils down to making a louder statement in a static effecting, noisy disagreement: He wasn't taking any chances at all after Rangel had sneaked up on him last night.

He made one last check on the pistol, tucked it in his waistbelt, and adjusted his white T-shirt to conceal the weapon. Grabbing the jacket lying on the front passenger seat, he unbuckled his seatbelt and alighted from the car. A few stares from the residents standing outside were thrown at him as he shut the car door. One was a look of admiration from a girl of his age, on seeing the wheels he had rolled into the neighbourhood with.

Eric paid no heed to them, including the young man standing next to the girl with a cloud of envy on his face. He donned his jacket and started walking, and he did so with the gait of one passing through a familiar territory. His composure was relaxed but still maintained his state of alertness. He made glances around the neighbourhood and its Tortilla-brown painted houses that were well arranged on both sides of the street as he walked past them, making his way toward his intended destination; the building with the matching resident number in the address that Alex had given him.

On getting closer to the house of his destination, Eric made a pause with a few more glances around him to be sure that he wasn't being followed. Then, he made his way across the grass lawn and stood at the front door. He paused again for a brief moment with his eyes staring at the doorbell knob and then thumbed it.

The sound of the doorbell buzzing in the house was heard, and a graveyard silence followed as he waited for an answer. And it grew long as if none was forthcoming even though he could sense someone being in the house.

After a little longer in his wait for an answer and getting none at all, Eric then pressed the doorbell knob again. This time, the door was opened almost immediately while his finger was still ringing the bell, which also took Eric by surprise. It was as if the occupant in the house had been waiting on the other side of the door. And he then saw himself staring at a man standing before him.

The man was fairly built, and probably in the mid-thirties of age. He had a bushy but well-kept beard on his face. The look in his eyes was sharp, and with an expression of unpredictability, written on his face.

Those sharp eyes regarded Eric with a long searching stare at first, before the bearded face turned friendly at him.

"Yes, can i help you?" The man asked with a kind tone of voice.

"I'm here to see Annette," Eric replied.

"Oh... you must be a friend of hers," the man remarked with a smile, to which Eric affirmed with a nod. "Well...." he moved to the aside to give ground. "...come on in," and his hand motioned at Eric to come inside the house.

Eric did accept the offer. But the mannerisms that came with it, he wasn't buying at all. The man's invitation was too immediate, just as he had opened the door on the second ring of the doorbell, and too quick to raise questions about the motive behind it. It did raise Eric's suspicions, seeing that the man didn't even bother to ascertain his relationship with Annette or find out the reason for wanting to see her.

"Thank you," Eric then said, staying more alert and returning the smile he was getting from the man, which brought to his mind the hyenas he had seen in a wildlife tv show.

"You're welcome," the man acknowledged kindly.

Eric nodded and walked past the man, sensing being closely watched by those sharp eyes as he stepped into the house.

He found himself in a midsize, cozy living room with a grey coloured rug covering its floor. He stood at the center of the room with both hands tucked inside the pockets of his jacket, absorbing its layout. He made glances at the substantial number of its modern furniture that were rightly set in their respective positions. He also saw the doors that led to the other rooms in the house, his eyes counted four, and immediately knew that it was a two bedroom flat with a single bathroom and kitchen.

"Not bad at all," Eric inaudibly remarked to the living-room setting before resting his eyes on the man who had shut the front door and walked up to him.

"Please..." The man continued with his kind gesture and waved at the sofa. "...make yourself comfortable," he offered, to which Eric acknowledged with a nod but chose to remain on his feet. "So..." the man continued, rubbing his hands together. "..i hope you wouldn't mind me asking your name cos i only know a few of Annette's friends."

"Alex," Eric informed him.

"Okay....Mr Alex," the man nodded. "Annette always stays in her room whenever she's not doing anything...listening to loud music with her headphones," he continued with a cheeky smile. "Let me call her." Then he proceeded towards one of the doors, knocked a few times, and opened it.

Eric immediately took his hands out of his pocket as the man disappeared into the bedroom. He kept the one closest to his concealed weapon, ready for a speedy reach while he listened to the indistinct voices in the room. One was that of a female, and moments later, the man emerged from the bedroom and being followed by a curious and somewhat confused looking young girl.

Eric saw her and at that moment, suddenly realized that he hadn't been given the full description of Annette, which left him in some kind of limbo: he couldn't tell if the man had indeed presented the person he wanted to meet, or possibly bringing a f@cked-up idea to play.

The dilemma was quickly put to rest when the girl stopped in her tracks and regarded him with a look of recognition. The gesture was more than enough to have him feeling very sure that he was indeed staring at Annette.

do4luv14:




Being one of your longtime reader Right from book 1, I would had given it a perfect 10,
But that will means you need no improvement, and might even let you rest on it ,

I had seen and still seeing the mistakes you need to improve on Details, like using she, where a He should be, and vice versa,

I had noticed it from book 1, 2, and now it's in book 3 again, Anyways that's why we always need Editors right

so It's 9/10

My God! I might have to reread the entire book 3. Thanks for the notice.

johnwizey:
Welcome back boss and this series is 10/10

yungbanks:
Welcome back boss swears you're doing a really great job

Thanks.

I want you guys to honestly rate this story on a scale of one to ten, and also tell me where I need to make a lot of improvements. Thanks.

nastynic:
Welcome back boss, you don't know how much I've missed this

Thanks my longtime nairaland friend. It was my dad's funeral that put it on hold.

Abdulreheem:
Welcome back op
And thanks once again for this wonderful update

Thanks man

Alex tiredly trudged into the living-room, still wearing his white pajamas, and sank his weight in the sofa with a heavy sigh. Eric sitting next to him, threw a short stare in his position and turned his sights back to the cellphone screen he had been staring at.

"Problems sleeping well last night?" Eric asked.

Alex nodded and felt his jaw that was still hurting from the blow that he had taken from one of the men he killed last night. "I kept seeing the faces of those guys," he said. "I should have done more to those assholes if i had known it will give me sleepless night." Then he heard a sound coming out from one of the rooms upstairs. "Is Lisa back?" he asked.

"Two hours ago," Eric replied.

Alex looked at his brother. "So...what are we doing next?" he asked.

"That depends on what you found out from Greg's girlfriend cos the men that i dealt with weren't in any mood for a conversation," Eric replied.

Alex then rested his head on the sofa back cushion with his eyes closed. And he started recollecting everything that Sharon had told him. After a while Lisa walked into the living-room to join them. She had taken her usual morning shower and changed into new a with her hair still wet and draped around her shoulder. And still looking beautiful without her makeup.

"Arise and shine big man," Lisa began cheerily at Alex with and sat next to Eric. "Eric told me that you guys were very busy last night," she continued and rested her head on Eric's shoulder. "Yours must have been very very hectic cos your snoring was enough to wake the dead," she smile.

"Or enough to leave some people...dead," Eric murmured and Lisa chuckled.

Alex opened an eye, stole a glance at Eric and sighed again with the other eye opening. "So how did yours go with the girls night?" he asked Lisa, knowing that she wouldn't be amused if she knew that he indeed did leave some people dead, and her boyfriend doing far worse.

"Not much of the fun that it used to be," Lisa replied and stared at Eric's cellphone. "Maybe I'm getting old," she sighed.

Alex smirked and shut his eyes again. "So what did you guys do?"

"What girls do whenever they are together."

"A lot of talks about boys, i guess."

"We talked about alot of things with questions about how we were fairing, and i had to listen to endless comparisons of current lifestyles to see who's better off with proving pictures"

"And also talks about boys."

Lisa gave Alex a funny look.

"Yes...they also talks about boys, if that's gonna float your goat," Eric replied to Alex.

Lisa laughed. Then she looked at the clock hanging on the wall. "Already past Twelve noon," she said. "Are you guys hungry?" she asked the boys.

"We have a lot of things to eat in the refrigerator if you are," Eric replied. "You will have to use the Microwave for some."

"Okay....let me go check." Then Lisa got up and made her way towards the kitchen.

After she was out of sight, Eric looked at Alex. "So can we talk about what Sharon told you last night?" he asked.

Alex suddenly realized that he hadn't been thinking. He paused for a shortwhile to do some recollection. "Well, Sharon is as clueless as Greg in regards to what's going on," he then said. "But she said her friend that was with her last night, was kind of acting strangely lately. And she is indeed quite the strange type," he continued.

"And who is this friend of hers?" Eric asked.

"Her name is Annette," Alex replied. Then he looked at Eric. "And this is where you might come in bro", he added.

Eric regarded Alex confusedly. "How?, he demanded.

"Annette said that she had seen you," Alex replied. "In Angel's house, when you were putting the seismic beat-down on his friends to save Lisa," he went on.

Then Alex went into details on everything that had transpired in the club last night, while Eric made a lookout to see if Lisa was within hearing dustance. He talked about how the kidnap went down, how he, Greg and Chris saved Sharon, what Sharon told him and also what he advised both Greg and Sharon to do.

"So...how do i come into this?" Eric asked Alex after he was done talking.

"Since it was you that did the damage in the house, i figured out that you are in the best position to be able to get something from her," Alex replied. "She might decide to mention one or two events that went down that day which i am not aware of, and my response might arouse her suspicion," he continued. "And I'm not a good listener to history lessons if you decide to give me one now. Hell, i can barely remember what i did last month, how much more someone else's," he noted.

Eric sighed. "I guess I'll have to go see her," he said quietly.

"I have her home address. Sharon gave it to me." Alex took out his cellphone. "I think you should meet her as soon as possible," he suggested and texted Annette home address to Eric's cellphone. "And she is ain't really the friendly type, bro," he warned.

"I will keep that in mind," Eric glanced at Alex text and then checked his clothing, the one which he had put on when he left the house to pick up Lisa and was still wearing. Then he got to his feet as Lisa was walking back into the living-room carrying two steaming plate of food in her hands.

"Something just came up that i have to go check immediately," Eric began at Lisa which made her pause in her tracks with an inquisitive stare at him. "I will be back in a jiffy," he continued.

"Why don't you eat something before you leave," she said "Or is it really that important?"

"Just got a call from our mother," Eric lied. "You know how she gets if her time is being wasted." Without waiting for Lisa to say something else, he grabbed the car keys lying on the center table. "You take care of her," he said to Alex. "You know where everything is incase if she needs anything," he concluded and got a nod from Alex. Then he gave Lisa a quick peck on her lips and immediately walked out of the living-room leaving her staring in his direction with a puzzled look on her face.


******************************************

"Do you think she will fall for it?" Matt asked as both men made their way along the pedestrian filled sidewalk.

"That depends on how smarter she had gotten," Desmond replied. "Females tend to use emotions to make decisions. So we might not have to wait too long... unless she is given enough logical reason not to give a positive reply," he continued.

"Well, i hope she does...cos things have quite been turning sideways these few days," Matt sighed.

"So..," Desmond then stopped walking after they had covered some distance away from the café and closer to their parked vehicle. "What the f@ck is going on?" he asked with a fixed gaze at Matt. "You told me that Tyson and his crew had the girl, and it all went smoothly."

"That's what he told me, boss," Matt replied.

"If that's what he said, then where did it all go wrong?" Desmond demanded, looking visibly angry.

Matt heaved a heavy sigh and dug both hands into his side pockets. "Tyson didn't give any explanation as to what happened, boss," he then answered. "The guy is even more confused than i am about this situation."

"I want you to tell me everything that he told you about this sh!t-show that I'm hearing," Desmond demanded immediately.

"Well, according to him, he had called his men to give them the location that i had told him to take the girl," Matt began with his eyes on the paved street curb they were standing on. "But he was unable to reach them after calling their cellphones countless times. So he went over to the house, thinking the h@rny bastards might have screwed themselves into coma as they always do to every good-looking female subject that would be eventually put down." Matt then looked at Desmond. "It turned out worse than he had thought."

Desmond stared confusedly at Matt. "So, what happened at the house?" he asked.

"He was there on time to get a good look at his men as their dead bodies were being hauled into the meat wagon", Matt continued. "The place was turned into a goddamn gallery of ways to kill a man, he said. One took a dead-center bullet hole to the head, the second was knifed deep in the gut, and the third appeared to have had his face rearranged with a sledgehammer."

Desmond furrowed his brows.

"And he sounded quite spooked when he told me all this," Matt went on.

"Did he say anything about the neighbours seeing or hearing something?" Desmond asked.

Matt shook his head. "He said neighbours were unwilling to tell the cops anything at all cos none of them wanted to be involved in that horror show," he said.

"He should have atleast asked around. Sh!t like that can't go down without some noise."

"That's probably the least of his worries. He intends to go into hiding cos the cops will be doing their investigations. His main concern is us telling him exactly who that girl is."

"Why?"

"He wants to know whom to be mostly on the lookout for, between the cops and the girl."

Desmond snorted. "That's why i hate doing business with low level thugs," he muttered under his breath. Then he continued making his way toward their vehicle.

"But that's not the real problem for us as of now," Matt said as he followed Desmond.

"What's the real problem?" Desmond asked with a sigh.

"Those dead men that you saw on TV weren't Tyson's guys. They are Bronco's men."

"Did they get their target?"

"I don't think so"

Desmond clenched his jaw, the look on his face turning frustrated as he stared ahead. "A problem indeed," he muttered to himself.

"Yeah, and Bronco ain't gonna take it kindly with us" Matt muttered too.

Desmond smirked. "I mean a problem for business," he said. "This might cause some delay, and we don't have much time."

"But aren't we suppose to be taking proper measures in protecting our asses?" Matt asked, now knowing that his boss was more concerned about closing his deal with Bronco than the grim possibility of the man killing him on sight. Especially him being indirectly responsible for his brother's death and also who provided the address of where his men got slaughtered.

"I ain't worried about that," Desmond replied. "I only gave his brother a job and showed him where his enemy's girlfriend lives. They are the ones that failed greatly in carrying out their plans," he said indifferently.

"If you say so," Matt murmured.

"We need to find out who's behind all these killings and what that person is really up to," Desmond went on.

"Could it be that someone is on us?"

"Probably not. Perhaps had gotten wind of our plan, but still not aware that it's us cos the person would have made their move, rather than sit back and wait for us to keep making ours. We have to find out who and what we are up against, and we have to do it fast."

They reached the parked Bmw and got inside it with Desmond sliding into the back seat and Matt commandeering the steering wheel.

"I want you to take me home," Desmond grunted as he shut the car door. "I'll be taking myself to Bronco's place."

Matt's hand paused mid-way to the engine switch. "Are you sure about that, boss?" he asked, staring at Desmond through the rearview mirror.

"I wouldn't do that if I'm not very sure", Desmond replied.

"Won't you be needing my company just incase Bronco decides that he's done talking? Perhaps, call some backups," Matt suggested.

"Why?" Desmond asked as he reached into his pocket for his cellphone.

"The guy is a murderous beast...and his cage has been rattled one too many times," Matt replied. "As much as i wouldn't wanna be anywhere near that cage when it is open, we still have to let it be known to Bronco that it ain't gonna go down like that if he decides to kick up some dust."

Desmond smirked and unlocked his mobile device to consult its call list. "I have dealt with Bronco for a very long time," he then said with his eyes on his phone screen. "Of course he's a dangerous sick bastard, but i do know how to pull his chains," he continued. "Besides, with the way his men are being killed off, that crazy animal now knows that an even more bloodthirsty hunter is on the prowl. He will be more than willing to listen to what i have to say." He raised his eyes from his phone and looked at Matt. "Just take me to my place, and see what you can find out from your subject," he ordered.

"Will do that, boss," Matt said. He brought life to the car engine and put the car in motion to battle their way through the heavy traffic on the road.


******************************************

The story continues. Sorry for the long delay.

CHAPTER SEVEN.


The first light of the next day dawned with a chilly weather over the city that warmed up by late hours of the morning. The sky over Midtown Arlington bay was clear and blue with a bright sunshine. The exterior windows and curtain walls of the highrises and tall office buildings gleamed to the rays of warm and brilliant sunlight that shone on the central business district in downtown Easthill. And the ever-hectic activity in the country's biggest financial hub, very much up and running for the day with good weather.

Nina was in a coffee house called LUX CAFE. An upscale café with a big presence in the district's vicinity. A spacious cafe that occupies a bigger portion of the ground floor of a fifteen-floor modern structure which stood with the other tall buildings lining Midtown Arlington bay's ever busy Ivory avenue that runs through the heart of the paved expanse jungle of tall concrete buildings, skyscrapers, and vehicle thronged road networks.

Looking neat in her all-black suit and pants work outfit with a white dress shirt underneath the suit jacket that adorned her tall shapely figure, Nina was sitting alone in the coffee shop, her composure as calm as a sheet of ice. She was seated at one of the tables that were arranged next to the cafe's big windows facing the traffic on the main street with a panoramic view of the big city hustle'n'bustle epidemic on steroids.

She had spent close to ten minutes in that place; fifteen minutes earlier than the scheduled time, which she needed and solely for the purpose of preparing herself mentally for the person she was about to meet. She spent half of that time taking sips - with delays in between - of the hot, black coffee from the white ceramic mug the café attendant had set on her table. The other half was spent being mindful of the activities around her, which always comes as a second nature; taking cursory glances around the café with her darkshades that covered the surveillance her eyes were making of the place and movements of every customers that were having their caffeinated drinks.

After a little over five more minutes in the wait and Nina getting to know about it with her eyes on her Rose-gold constellation wristwatch, a man walked into the cafe. He was finely dressed in a grey suit and wore black shoes. He made a brief paused at the door to absorb the cafe's uniquely designed modern interior with a well refined elements of the decor, made a few glances at the activities going on in the place, and then proceeded in his steps.

Nina looked up from her wristwatch and saw him. Then she took off her darkshades and regarded him with a fixed gaze as he approached her table with a recognizing smile on his face. He stood before Nina with his smile turning bright, and she then got to her feet, having butterflies in her stomach, and forced a weak smile at the visitor whom she had been expecting.

It's been ages since that last time Nina had set her eyes on him. But she clearly recognizes the face of the man she had dated during her teenage years. It brought back memories of the relationship they had a long time ago, and she also remembered vividly the day they broke up, or rather, the day she stopped seeing him. It was the day that they had their first, and also the same day, she also found out about the affair that he had had with her classmate and most bitter rival.

"Hello, Nina," the man began.

"Desmond," Nina said to him.

Desmond then moved closer to Nina and gave her a warm, tight embrace. Nina did embrace Desmond, too. But hers lacked affection, and her arms were loosely wrapped around him.

They broke away from each other after a brief while of being in that position and made themselves comfortable in the opposite chairs.

"It's been ages." Desmond continued as he adjusted his suit jacket and still wearing his bright smile. "How have you been doing all these years?" he asked.

"Good," Nina replied plainly, staring back at Desmond . "And you?" she asked.

Desmond held up his spread-out arms.
"Not what you had expected, i guess," he replied. "I got out of prison....about four months."

"I know," Nina said quietly and reached for her coffee mug.

"I heard that you came back to the country several years ago."

Desmond heaved a sigh. "You could have at least paid an old pal a visit."

Nina furrowed her brows at him. "And do what? Mock at you for how things had turned out for you...and your family?" she asked. "Cos that would be the only thing that will bring my presence there, as far as I'm concerned," she went on dryly.

"Talking about family, I heard that you are now working for your father's organization, just as you had always wished," Desmond went on. "But certainly not in the rank that you had wanted to be in," he noted and studied his fingernails. "Company office assistant?" Desmond cocked his head to the side and raised an eyebrow at Nina. "One hell of position for a billionaire's daughter in his company."

Nina shrugged. "One has to start from somewhere at the bottom and work their way to the top," she sighed.

Desmond pursed his lips with a shake of head, expressing his disapproval for what Nina just said. "That's very low level for someone like you," he said. "I'm very sure you know that too. And from my findings, your father is really tough on his workers. I heard that he even treats you less,". Then he eased forward and rested his elbows on the table with his hands close to Nina's, and said, "And one thing that i am very sure of is, we wouldn't have ended up in our current situations if we had stuck together."

"So you are saying that I'm to be blamed for you going to prison." Nina muttered with a wry smile. Then, she narrowed her eyes at Desmond. "And i can see that you have been keeping an eye on me," she muttered with a long searching stare at Desmond. "Is that why your man is posted in here, watching me?", she asked and looked in the direction of a man seated at a table away from them: He was Matt, and he had been in the café all the while before Desmond arrived, pretending to be reading a newspaper while keeping a close watch on Nina.

Desmond shifted in his seat and was taken aback by Nina's discovery. But he didn't express it.

"I could have sent one of my men to make him tell who sent him to spy on me," Nina continued, her fixed gaze at Desmond turning hard "And you will get to know my real line of work."

"Look, I didn't come here cause any trouble", Desmond immediately put in quietly.

"Neither do I, and you better see it as my last warning," Nina muttered, flashing a brief baleful look at him.

Desmond sighed, nodded his head, and said, "I only wanted to know how you are doing...and it's the reason why i wanted to see you after getting to find out." His hands moved a bit closer to Nina's hands that were clasped around her coffee cup. "The both of us could have done a lot of great things, Nina", he continued. "By now we would have been on a different level, a higher one, not sitting like this....with you literally working as a paper pusher for your father who has done nothing except being very ruthless to you."

"And you ending up being an ex-convict," Nina added.

Desmond sighed uncomfortably. "Yes.. That too," he murmured quietly.

"Well, I've always known you to be someone with a lot of ambition," she went on, raised her mug to sip her coffee and returned it to its former position with her eyes staring at mug.

"A lot of ambition for the both of us", Desmond corrected. "I've always had that in mind from the first day I got to know about you," he said with a cadence that showed he meant it.

Nina smiled mirthlessly and looked at Desmond. "So, did you also tell Priscilla this same thing on that day the both of you were cuddled up? Or are you kind of confused as to who it was that you had this in mind for?" she then asked with a sneered.

"Nina, come on", Desmond rolled his eyes with a frustrated wince. "That was just one mistake, and the only mistake that i still regret to this day. "Besides, you can't still be mad at me for something that happened a very long time ago," he stated.

"Just one mistake, huh?" Nina sighed. "But the question is, how many more mistakes will you make if I had stayed?", she asked. "Cos i still remember what i saw." An expression of detest briefly flickered across her face. "And i also remember what you told that...Stupid b!tch..about me", she continued, trying to keep herself from making an angry outburst at the man whom she had once loved. "It's true that it happened a long time ago. But sitting here and telling me about the ambition that you always had in mind for us that somehow slipped out of your mind when you decided to jump in bed with her, is a damn big insult to me," she stated with a slightly raised angry tone of voice and then turned the crossed look in eyes away from Desmond.

Desmond knew that Nina was trying to control her emotions. And bearing that in mind, he then remained silent to let her cool off. Even though he was more interested in accomplishing what he had in mind for wanting to meet her, and with no regards whatsoever for her feelings nor a single regret for his past actions, he was very aware of one rule when dealing with her; pushing the boundaries whenever Nina's emotion goes through the roof was a bad idea, even as far as back when she was still a naive girl. And definitely won't be the best thing to do now that she's well equipped with a whole world of experience.

Nina did cool off after a short while, taking a deep breath and exhaling with the bitterness written on her face, slowly fading away. And like Desmond, she too kept mute.

They remained like that with the silence that had settled between them which never existed when they used to be so fond of each other decades ago, steadily growing longer. A plain looking waitress walking-by, made a brief pause to look in their direction for any signal of her attention being needed, and then continued with her journey after seeing none.

After a few more moments of not uttering any word to each other, Desmond decided to test the waters again.

"I know that you are still hurt, and I'm very sorry for what my foolish mistake had made you go through", he then started, trying to sound as sincere as he could, even though it was just a pretext. "I had tried innumerable times to reach you back then, to apologize. But it was as if you had vanished, and then heard about a year later that you had left the country."

Nina sighed. She continued maintaining her silence, but her ears were open to what he was saying.

"The main reason for wanting to meet you is make amends for my past mistake," Desmond continued, moved his hands further and gently rested them on Nina's. "And to see if we can make a fresh start and let bygones be bygones."

Nina stared at Desmond's hand that held hers, and thought about what he said.

"You can't just continue living like this: being underappreciated and also being treated less," Desmond went on. "You deserve a lot better, and the Nina that i had always known is a very strong woman with a lot of potentials, and wouldn't settle for less," he concluded, staring at her, and hoping the bait that he had casted was good enough to make the woman take a bite.

"So...what do you want from me?" Nina then asked and looked at Desmond. "I do have my own plans and ambitions, and I have gone too far down the path that I had chosen to be convinced to move away from it, especially to join someone like you", she sighed heavily.

"I am not trying to convince you to do that," Desmond disagreed immediately. "I just want to be there to help you with it." His hold on Nina's hand slightly tightened. "And more than that, i just want to be there for you."

Again, Nina remained silent. For a while she thought about what Desmond had said, which left her reflecting on her relationship with her father, her two sons and their biological father. His words about her situation was true: her sons and their biological father mostly left her feeling unappreciated for all efforts that she had made for them, and she was endlessly slaving away for her father who had done nothing but being ruthlessness to her. And this could be her chance to get away from a future that looked bleak to her.

Then Matt came over to their table with a hurry, his cell phone in his hand. He stood beside Desmond and regarded Nina with a brief faint smile. Nina shot an indifferent glance at him and disregarded his presence.

"I have a message for you, sir," he said quietly to Desmond.

"Didn't I mention not to be disturbed?" Desmond muttered irritatedly without looking at Matt. Then Matt whispered something into his ears. He suddenly turn tense and stared surprisedly at Matt with furrowed brows.

Nina did notice the change in Desmond's demeanor. It left her with a curiosity that interrupted the decision she was about to make.

Again, Matt whispered into Desmond ears. Desmond nodded a few times and casually turned his attention to screen of the big t.v hanging on the wall of the café that was on mute. It was beaming images of the bodies of several dead men being lifted into ambulances in an alleyway and a crashed van.

Nina then glanced at the t.v screen that was now showing other dead bodies being carried out of a house and looked at Desmond.

"Is there something wrong?" She asked him quietly.

Desmond looked at her with his expression turning calm again. "No," he replied with a faint smile. He withdrew his hands away from it's hold on Nina's and got to his feet. "I'm sorry to say that i gotta get moving," he continued, sounding apologetically, - "There is a pressing issue that i have to attend to immediately." - and quietly got to his feet.

After he was done readjusting his suit and tie, he motioned at Matt for them to leave the café, and regarded Nina with the faint smile that hid his great concern about the new development that he had been informed.

"I think it's best to give you some time to think about what I've said," he suggested. "Even if you think otherwise, you can still call me...and at any time. Atleast we can still do some catch-up together, probably over lunch or dinner," he concluded, nodded at Nina and left with Matt following after him.

Nina stared at the two men until they exited the café. She turned her sight at the t.v screen, gave it a brief stare and then rested her eyes on her coffee mug, gazing absent-mindedly at it with thoughts about Desmond and considering what he had offered.


******************************************

Rest on father

R.i.p

samebony1:

Good Day, Iron.
Hope you have concluded burial rites for your father.
Our thoughts are with you

Hello fellow nairalanders, the burial ceremony went very well, it ended two weeks ago to be exact. But i have been very busy cos i had to go to Ghana to bless my younger sister's marriage since i am eldest of the family and now taking over the role of the father figure. I came back to Nigeria today and now making plans to head back to South korea to join my immediate family. Anyway thank you all for the condolences shown to me. Soon i will continue this story, and this time with a clearer state of mind. Once again, thank you all and God bless you.