CHAPTER FIVE.


The light of the bright morning sunrise flowed into the bedroom and woke Lisa from her sleep. She yawned as she rose and stretched her arms as far as they could reach. She remained still for a moment and then threw the blanket covering her body, to the side. And saw that she was still in the clothes she had worn last night.

Lisa remained still for another long moment, staring at her clothing, trying to recollect the events that had happened between her and Eric.

"Oh sh!t", she muttered under her breath, then got out of bed, and realizing that their date had ended with her falling asleep: not as she had planned for it to be. And she couldn't remember being that tired as to fall asleep without taking her clothes off.

Then Lisa glanced around the room, glanced at her jacket that was still lying on the floor, and rested her eyes on Eric's jacket that was hung on the chair in her room. Seeing that Eric was still in the house, she quietly made towards the door, feeling her forehead with the back of her hand due to the slight throbbing headache she was having as she reach for the door handle.


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"Did you sleep well", Eric began at Lisa with a smile as she walked into the dining room.

Lisa stood behind him, gently wrapped her arms around his waist, and rested her head on his shoulder. Eric caught a whiff of the pleasant smell from her long hair.

"What happened last night?", Lisa asked with a weak tone of voice.

"Well, you drank your wine, gave me a kiss, and passed out", Eric smiled. "Do you want some coffee?", he offered as he stirred the cup of coffee that he had made for himself.

"I gotta brush my teeth first", Lisa sighed and unwrapped her arms from him. "My head hurts, and my mouth tastes like hell", she moaned quietly and sat on one of the dining chairs. Then she rested her elbow on the table and clasped her hands under her chin with a smile and a fixed gaze at Eric.

"What?", Eric asked her as he raised the white ceramic cup of steaming coffee to his lips.

"Last night didn't go....as I had planned", Lisa replied.

"Hm, I didn't know you had other plans in mind", Eric smiled and set the coffee cup on the table as he sat on the opposite chair. Then he stared at his coffee thoughtfully.

"Do you also have something in mind?", Lisa asked on seeing the look on his face.

"Nope", Eric replied. He was thinking about the incident that had happened in her house last night. And the man that he had tortured on the chair that Lisa was now sitting on. "How long will you be staying in the country?", he then asked.

"Well...", Lisa thought for a short moment. "Two weeks and a few days", was her reply.

"What will you be doing?".

"Probably spend most of it with you. I might also meet a few friends too."

Eric remained silent with a thoughtful look on his face again.

Then the doorbell rang out. Eric got tense with his eyes staring at the front door in the living room. Lisa glanced at the wall clock in the dining room.

"The house cleaner is here quite too early", she noted, seeing it was still past nine in the morning.

Then she got to her feet and started heading towards the door. Eric immediately did the same. He followed after her with his hand close to the weapon from one of the gunmen he had taken that was tucked in his waistband and well concealed with his shirt. Lisa opened the door and saw Alex standing before her.

"Morning, beautiful sis", Alex greeted Lisa with a bright smile.

"Morning to you too", Lisa smiled with an inquisitive look on her face as Alex let himself into the house and gave Eric a light slap on his back. "I thought you went on a vacation with the others", she said to him and inquisitively stare at Eric.

"Nah, I prefer to enjoy the party here", Alex replied and dropped his weight on the sofa. "And it gets intense whenever he is in town", he continued, jerking his head at his twin brother.

"I didn't know he is that much of a party guy", Lisa quipped at Eric with a chuckle. She got hold of the t.v remote control that was lying on the living-room center table. She noticed a slightly dusty boot imprints on the floor, and switch on the t.v with less care about it. "Let me go clean up", she then said to Eric and made towards the bathroom.

"Why are you here?", Eric narrowed his eyes at Alex after Lisa left them.

"Just checking on you", Alex replied with his eyes watching the morning news being broadcasted on t.v.

"Why?", Eric demanded.

Alex regarded Eric with a baffled look on his face. "Dude, you killed three men last night", he replied quietly. "What makes you think that I wouldn't be concerned about you and Lisa? There suppose to be a hundred police squad cars outside this house with yellow tapes and investigations going on".

Eric sighed and headed towards the dining room. Alex got to his feet and followed him.

"Did you get rid of the bodies without being noticed?", Eric asked and got hold of his coffee.

"That was the easiest part", Alex replied. "I had to walk almost two kilometers to get a taxi cab. And getting one at that time is one hell of a piece of work", he went on.

Eric took a sip of the coffee and remained silent.

"So what's the deal?", Alex then asked.

Eric looked at him. "You don't have to involve yourself in this situation, especially if you are worried about mother's reaction if she finds out", he stated.

"You done already dragged me into this sh!t", Alex snorted. "I might as well roll around it to the fullest and face whatever consequences that come with it", he continued.

"Well, this isn't some kind of an intense party. People do get killed in this sort of sh!t", Eric warned his brother.

"And I took care of the first three victims last night, so I very well know that bro", Alex nodded.

Eric sighed again and drank his coffee quietly. Then Alex stole a glance at the living room to be sure that Lisa wasn't within the range of eavesdropping.

"So, did you find anything yet?", Alex asked quietly.

Eric shook his head. "I'm thinking of a way to keep her safe first, before going into it", he said. Then he looked at Alex. "Are you carrying a piece?", Eric asked.

"Yeah I got the glizzy with me", Alex replied, patting the side of his grey t-shirt that concealed the Glock 43 handgun tucked in his waistband.

Eric nodded. "I have to look for a way to get Lisa out of this house", he then muttered quietly. "And I wanna do it without her getting to know what's going on", he continued.

"Yeah", Alex agreed. "Those men having her picture, clearly shows that this ain't some random attack", he noted. "We can't risk getting her too hysterical about her safety".

"Oh my God!".

The sudden exclamation immediately drew both Alex's and Eric's attention toward the living room. They saw Lisa staring at them with a lot of terror written on her face.


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I hope you guys have a blessed weekend. Thanks for the comments.

Both of them hauled the short man's dead body into the back of the van with grunt breaths. After a brief difficulty in fitting the last corpse that both of them had carried out of the house, they stepped back. Alex tiredly wiped the beads of sweat on his forehead. He then took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket while Eric made the last check on the bodies that were properly fitted inside the back of the van before slamming the backdoors shut. Then they rested with their backs leaned against the side of the vehicle. Alex lit his cigarette and puffed tobacco smoke while Eric stared ahead with a thoughtful gaze, both of them standing beside each other.

"So", Alex began quietly. "Can you tell me why in the actual f@ck! I'm hauling dead bodies with your ass at this time of the night?", he asked without looking at his brother. "Who are these men and what kind of trouble have you gotten yourself into now?", he asked again, staring at Eric this time.

"Lisa and I had an argument with these men in a bar", Eric replied quietly.

Alex gave Eric a flabbergasted look as tobacco smoke slowly escaped from his nostrils. "So?", he then asked.

"They were bent on making problems with us, for no reason", Eric continued. "The short one even called me a...Tampon", he smirked.

"So three men said some shit to you guys in a bar and you retaliated by beating them to death?", Alex asked with a disgusted stare at his brother.

Eric looked at Alex. "Yeah, and they also happened to be living in Lisa's place", he said sarcastically to his brother, motioning his thumb at Lisa's family house.

Alex got the gist; That the men must have followed Eric and Lisa to Lisa's house. "So who are these guys?", he asked.

"I had wanted to ask you that question because I thought it was probably a case of mistaken identity", Eric replied.

"I don't know these men, bro", Alex shook his head. "You know very well that I don't roll like that".

"I already know that", Eric agreed. "I think these guys were after Lisa, but I'm yet to know the reason", he continued.

"What about Lisa?" Alex asked, suddenly realizing that she wasn't around all the while the dead bodies were being moved out from her house.

"She is in her bedroom", Eric replied.

"Too scared to come out?".

"No, she is asleep".

"Asleep?", Alex raised an eyebrow at his brother. "Dude what kind of body collision did you two have for her to even sleep after this sh!t that you had perpetuated?", he asked.

"She was asleep when I killed them", Eric sighed.

"You left her too unconscious to even hear the killing of two men and the third being tortured to his death in her house?",

"Nothing happened between us and keep your sexual frustration to yourself, man"

Alex nervously took one more drag from his cigarette. "So what made you think that they were after her?", he asked and dropped the cigarette on the ground.

"The way the short one came at her", Eric began. "I initially dismissed their action as just a bunch of frustrated dudes trying to kick up dust with a random couple. Then I saw that his main focus was on her, and all his actions being a clear intention to rile her up", he noted.

Alex nodded.

"I also have this feeling that the bar owner might know something about them too. From the way he settled the misunderstanding between them and us, his demeanor was kind of telling", Eric continued. "He handled them like he was pulling chestnuts out of the fire", Eric noted.

"Maybe he saw the guy's two big friends and wanted to play it cool with them", Alex suggested. "Probably didn't want to break up his bar".

"I don't think so", Eric disagreed. "That defeats the purpose of employing the three bigger security guys that I saw in the bar", he said. "And I bet that some of the bar regular dudes that are of rough character wouldn't mind taking a brutal jump on these guys if he offers them free booze for the night to do the job".

Alex also agreed that what his brother was saying made a lot of sense.

"And... before they met us in the bar, they must have been stalking her", Eric sighed.

"Stalking her? How?", Alex inquired.

"Someone had jacked the house's electronic door lock", Eric replied. "Lisa is always in the habit of confusing the last digits of the passcode. I saw her do the same this night, and the door still opened", he said.

Alex stared at Eric with more concern written on his face.

"She also said the house help told her that a man dressed in a house security company outfit dropped by earlier in the day to fix the house alarm system", Eric added.

Alex sighed, realizing that his brother's presence in Easthill had probably saved Lisa's life. "This is serious. Lisa is not even schooling in this country", he said thoughtfully. "I don't see anything that would tie her to these men, neither do I see any situation that she could be into, that would make them run upon her with guns", he noted.

Then Alex blew out his cheeks and remained silent for a while with a thoughtful gaze. "What about Lisa's dad?", he then asked.

"He has been out of the country for over three weeks", Eric replied and dipped his hand in his pocket. "And I also found these in their possession". He took out the photos that he found in the men's van that he had thoroughly searched before his brother arrived. "Lisa's picture is also among them", he said and handed the pictures to Alex.

Alex lingered over the pictures, one by one. "What the minute". He held one of them in front of Eric. "That's Greg's girlfriend", he said.

Eric stared at the picture curiously. "Do you know her?", he asked and looked at Alex.

"I do know that she is a fine girl with a good ass and tits", he smirked. "I have been thinking of getting her in my bed, a revenge for what Greg had done to me in high school", he continued, giving Eric a mischievous look.

Eric scoffed. He shook his head and looked away.

"What?", Alex sneered. "I know you've already done that by hurting his body. But I'm going for his emotions. That fool deserves it cos he hurt mine a lot. By the way, aren't you still dating his first girl after having the pleasure to be the first guy to....".

"You might wanna put that stupidity of yours on hold", Eric interrupted impatiently. "It seems like someone wants to do something worse to the girls in those pictures".

Alex went through the pictures again. "It's like these guys are running some kind of a racket that involves beautiful girls", he noted. "Do you think they are into something?", he asked and looked at Eric.

"That, I intend to find out", Eric replied quietly.

"What will you do if you find that out?", Alex asked again and intently.

Eric tightened his jaws with a determined look on his face. "Am gonna match their intention with similar intention", he muttered coldly.

Alex uncomfortably shifted his weight with a sigh. "But shouldn't we tell mother what's going on?" he asked.

"I don't want her to know about it", he replied and attracted Alex's inquisitive stare. "You heard what she said about me being with Lisa", he continued and looked at his brother. "You can see that she seems to be in some kind of danger. You know our mother's ways, she probably won't give a sh!t about this situation. You heard her giving me the strict order to never meet Lisa. She might decide to send me back to Metro-city if she hears about it...and that will leave Lisa to face this fate on her own".

"Well, then you have to be very careful".

"About them?".

"About mother", Alex corrected. "She is keeping a watchful eye on us. And recently, she is dreadfully serious about what she does and says. This isn't the best time to cross her", he said with some concern.

"I ain't worried about that", Eric murmured.

"You got to be, bro", Alex advised. "You know that dad is the person that's keeping her cool", he continued. "Now he is out of the country, on a holiday with his wife and her kids. And he didn't even tell mother about that plan, she got to know about it on the day that they had planned to leave. So mom trying to run grandfather's Family organization bullshits with the thoughts of dad having some quality time with that ham-planet of his wife, really got her acting out on a whole different level". Alex then looked at Eric. "This sh!t that you intend to start without her knowledge is like throwing gasoline into that inferno. It ain't gonna be good, bro".

Eric smirked. "As I said, I ain't worried about that". Then he glanced at his wristwatch and looked at Lisa's house. "I will go put the house in order before Lisa wakes up. You have to take this van to the junkyard and dump it there", he said to his brother.

"Take what to where? No man, can't do that!", Alex protested.

"Do you prefer to keep an all-night watch over Lisa in this house?", Eric asked impatiently. "Remember that the alarm has been jacked and these cowboys probably have friends that might wanna check on them after waiting too long for their return".

"Nah, I think I'm good with the first option", Alex decided on a second thought.

"Good". Eric then handed the keys to the van to Alex. "Make sure that no one sees you", he warned.

Alex reluctantly took the keys with a frustrated sigh. Then he dug his hand into his back pocket with a hiss. His hand took out a wallet from the pocket and he started going through its content. Eric immediately recognized the wallet that belonged to the short man.

"What the hell are you doing?", Eric demanded as Alex took out all the currencies in the wallet.

"What does it look like I'm doing?", Alex murmured as he regarded the money in his hand with a satisfying grin on his face.

"Stealing from a dead man", Eric narrowed his eyes.

"Dude, I will gladly spend his life savings if it was my girlfriend that he had tried to sneak up on", Alex replied with less concern as he stuffed the money inside his pocket.

Eric shook his head. "Whatever man. I don’t have time to argue about these new bad manners of yours", he muttered and headed towards the house's front door.

"Yeah, said by the guy who cracked a man's skull open and claimed that the man killed himself with a hammer", Alex scoffed and reached for the van driver's door handle. "Everything about you is - off the map - worse".

Eric rummaged through the pockets of the trench coat as the short man groaned painfully with saliva and blood streaming down his mouth. One hand took out a pack of cigarettes from one pocket and the other hand touched a wallet in another pocket.

Eric dropped the pack of tobacco that was useless to him and started going through the wallet. The short man who was tightly bound to one of the dining chairs with tape, stared as Eric went through his wallet which was thick with a considerable amount of currency that he surely wouldn't be needing anymore.

"Tampon huh?", Eric began quietly as he inspected the identification card that he had taken out from the man's wallet. "It's like you will be needing a lot of it from the way you are bleeding like a girl having a heavy flow", he smirked, glancing at the man and then looking back at the card. Then his hand dropped the wallet, balled into a fist, and swung at the short man.

The punch violently caught the man in his face and dulled the sharp gaze in his eyes. The living room was briefly rented by the screeching sound from the feet of the chair that shifted a bit due to the impact of the violent clobbering.

"That's for disrespecting her", Eric muttered as the short man groaned painfully and coughed, his trench coat soaking up more blood that flowed from his mouth and nose. "The next is for having the nerve to come here. And its severity will depend on the answers you give to my questions", he continued with a menacing glare at the man. "So, I want you to start talking".

The short man remained silent for a while with his head bowed and then looked up. He regarded Eric with the sharp gaze reappearing in his eyes again.

"You and the other two vermins didn't just come here to see if you will get laid", Eric muttered nonchalantly. "So I wanna know what brought your asses to her place".

The short man shortly gave Eric a mocking stare and spat at him. The spittle flew at Eric and drew his attention to the spot on his jacket where it had landed and stained. He stared at the bloodstained patch on his jacket and regarded the short man with a cold look for what he had done to the cloth; a present that Lisa had bought for him. Without uttering a word, he then left, heading towards the kitchen, and came back seconds later with a thick bar of laundry soap.

The short man stared as Eric rolled the soap in his hand, knowing very well that it wasn't his tormentor's intention to wash the jacket that he had wilfully stained.

Bending over the short man, "You might wanna bite down hard", Eric muttered and grabbed the man's jaw with a vice-like grip that forced his mouth open. "Cos...you are about to ride the pain train", he continued and forced the soap into the struggling man's mouth. Then Eric straightened up, calmly took off his jacket and his hands balled into fists.

For two long minutes, sounds of blows that hit like blast cannons echoed in the dining room. Like the hands of a hungry fat kid that was taking his fills from a sweet cake, Eric's fists violently met the short man's face and body nonstop. And just like the cake that was being quickly diminished in size, the short man was speedily taken apart by the blows delivered by the ninety kilograms of bones and muscles, built for pure destruction, and with a very bad intention in mind.

The effects of the short man's ordeal were made known by the groans and squeals that escaped his laundry soap-muffled mouth. The blows that came with enough power to do certain damage, hit and went through him. Bones were cracked, knots lumped up all over his increasingly unrecognizable face, and the few minutes of torture that increased his grievous bodily injuries felt like an eternity to him.

Eric stopped when it seemed like the next blow might end the short man's life. He glared at the man for a long moment and proceed to pull the soap out from the man's battered mouth. Tossing away the soap that has a good dental imprint on it, he grabbed one end of the short man's coat and rubbed off the bloodstains on his hands and knuckles with it, feeling a slight ache caused by his countless deliveries of blunt force trauma blows.

"So do you now have anything to say?", Eric coolly asked as he picked up the hammer on the floor. "Like the answer to the question that I had asked", he suggested, waving the hammer at the badly beaten man; the gesture was to tell of his intention to move the activity up to another grievous level.

The man painfully moved his heavily battered and bloodied face with a groan. Then he looked at Eric and his swollen lips formed a barely recognizable sneer.

"You will get to know that after your bitch joins her friends", the man muttered. "And I hope you witness what they will do to that beautiful body of hers before you join her, you f@cking bastard!", he added with a loud bark. Then he slowly bowed his head with a painful groan. He remained in that position as if waiting for Eric to finish the job.

The outburst left Eric staring at the short man with a somewhat look of admiration for the man's defiance even in the face of certain death. He then shook his head with a sigh and looked at the hammer in his hand. He was now having a disturbing feeling that even a machete won't make the man give him the answers that he wanted. Though it wasn't advisable for him to try it in the first place. It would be a bloody mess. And considering the hours of the night, he wouldn't want to risk causing enough noise that might make one of the neighbours to get too curious as to call the authorities because of the disturbance. He sure has to look for another way to get the answers to the reason for the men's presence in Lisa's house. And he sure has to do so because the man's refusal to give him an answer was now giving him the feeling that their presence in Lisa's house was much more than just them being disrespected by her.

Then the short man's snigger drew Eric's attention back to him.

Eric saw the man staring at him, still sniggering with a look of intent. It's like the man had read his mind and knew his dilemma.

"Okay then", Eric muttered, glanced at the hammer, and then left, heading towards the kitchen again.

Some movements in the kitchen were heard and minutes later, Eric reappeared with a roll of plastic film. He dropped the hammer on the floor and stood before the short man. The short man raised his battered face at Eric, glanced at the plastic food wrapper in his hand, and regarded Eric with his eyes showing a fear-induced expectation of what was about to happen next.

"You speak big words for a man of this size", Eric muttered and stretched out the elastic film from the roll. "And I don't like your face". He started wrapping it around the man's face.

The short man struggled violently as the roll of elastic polyethylene circled his face and head. Eric continuously and roughly wrapped the film around the man's head until his shoulder was supporting a human-head-sized ball of elastic polyethylene.

Eric dropped the roll of plastic, took out his cell phone, and dialed a number while the man's head viciously bobbed back and forth with a throaty groan as he suffocated. Then Eric picked up the hammer. He gave the short man a merciless look and swung the hammer hard at his dome. The blow silenced the short man's groan and ended his head movement. Eric viciously swung the hammer again and again, and harder as the number that he had called, started ringing.



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"It's like the motherfucker will be spending the night at the girl's place", the short man muttered as he saw the front door close through the binoculars he was using to get a closer view of the house.

The other men that he had been with at the bar, were also in the van. Both of them were now wearing an all-black combat fatigue that they had changed into while they were following Eric and Lisa. Except for the short man who was still in the same outfit that he had been wearing.

"Looks like it gonna be the same like the last job", one of the men noted as they maintained their watchful gaze at Lisa's house.

"Yeah", the short man nodded and dropped the binoculars on the dashboard. "You guys already know the drill", he continued. "But don't get too rough on the b!tch, I still have a date with her. I wanna do a lot of things to that fine body before we take her", he muttered with a sinister look on his face, thinking about the insult that he had received from Lisa.

"What about the boyfriend?", the same man asked.

The short man smacked his lip. "I like him", he replied quietly. "That's why I'm gonna first make him watch while I do his girl", he smirked.

"Are you sure about that?", the second guy asked. "He kind of looks like someone with the business", he voiced his concern.

"The guy is a f@cking punk", the first man disagreed. "He ain't gonna be a problem", he murmured as he fitted a silencer to the barrel of his handgun.

"Good, and you gonna be the next to have her when am done", the short man glanced at him through the rearview mirror.

The first man's face lit up with an evil smirk as he slipped in his hand gloves, and very eager to go into the house. To be next-in-line for the bad intention that the short man has for the young woman living there.

"If you get hold of them, you let me know", the short man continued and reached for the pack of cigarettes in the pocket of his coat as the men clipped a two-way radio device to the breast pocket of their black outfits. "But if the guy tries to get tough, kill him right away", he concluded as he lit a cigarette.

Both men nodded to the short man's final order and put on their ski masks.
The door of the van slid open and they quickly alighted from the dark-coloured vehicle parked at the dark spot on the street and hurriedly headed towards Lisa's house. The short man waited in the vehicle with another two-way radio held close to his chest. He smoked with the face of a determined man as he watched the men make their moves toward the house of his next victim.

The men stealthily crossed the house's grass lawn and cautiously approached the front door of the house. They made a quick and careful survey around the front compound that they had kept under surveillance a few days ago. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, the first man proceeded to reach for the buttons of the front door electronic keylock while the second man kept a watchful eye with his handgun held in position. The first man punched in a random five-digit button and the door unlocked. Then he cautiously opened the door and both men stealthily stepped into the midsized cozy living room with their guns pointed.

The living room was quite dark. The door to the kitchen was ajar with the light in the room left on and illuminating the living room.

Seeing nothing of interest in the living room, the men silently paced towards the stair that led to the bedrooms on the second floor. A sudden faint sound from the kitchen made them pause in their tracks and point their weapons at where it was coming from. The sound continued with a steadily rising pitch. The men stayed still in their position, tight grip on their weapons with eager breaths till the whistling sound of a boiling tea kettle audibly echoed in the living room.

Sensing that someone might still be awake or probably woken by the noise, the first man motioned at the stairs and quietly paced toward the kitchen while the second man did the same towards the stairs.

On reaching the stairs-landing of the second floor, the second man pressed his body against the wall and peered into the dark corridor. He made a quick observation of the doors of the rooms as his eyes adjusted to the darkness; there are five of them, three on the left side of the corridor and two on the right. Then he noticed another low sound emitting from one of the doors, the one closest to him.

With his gun pointed and a finger on the trigger, he cautiously went straight to the door, the soft cushion of the rug-covered corridor floor silencing his footsteps as he moved. He gently reached for the door handle and saw that the door was unlocked when he turned it. He slowly opened the door and saw it was the bathroom. The light was on and it flooded into the corridor as he pushed the door wide open.

The bathroom shower curtain was drawn, the sound he heard, being the running tap in the bathtub behind the curtain with a silhouette of a head-shaped figure resting on the edge of the tub.

Maintaining his tight grip on his weapon with his breath getting overly excited, the man took a glance over his shoulder as he inched closer to the bathtub and his glove-covered hand reaching for the shower curtain. And he failed to notice the figure stealthily sneaking up from behind him with a waistbelt strap.

The first man turned the knob of the gas range burner to end the whistling sound from the boiling kettle. He stared at the tea kettle as the whistling sound which was too loud for his liking slowly died down. His hard eyes regarded the utensil suspiciously for a short while, glanced around the spotlessly clean kitchen and at the cutleries that were properly arranged in their racks. Getting more suspicious, he stepped out of the kitchen.

The nervous feeling then made the man head towards the stairs with silent and quick strides. By now there suppose to be some commotional sound of his partner holding up their targets, or should have radioed the message to him if it had been done silently. But the sustained eerie silence in the entire house after he had turned off the gas range, says otherwise. And he was now beginning to have a creeping sense of dread too.

He reached the second floor, pressed his body against the wall, and paused, listening for any sound that might signify a successful or failed mission. At first, he heard nothing. Then a low sound suddenly echoed in the corridor and it made him slide his finger to the trigger of his weapon and ready to use it. The sound was a moan. And the voice was that of a woman.

The man immediately peered into the dark corridor and saw that the sound was coming out of the room that has its door left ajar with the light turned off.

"Son of a b!tch", the man fumed under his breath, thinking that his partner whom he had known to be very mischievous, was taking his turn with their target; raping the woman. That thought made him immediately barge into the room. He saw the outline of a figure on the bed in the room and slammed his fist on the light switch on the wall near the doorpost.

"Shit!", he bawled when the light illuminated the room and his eyes caught the sight of his partner lying on the bed, a belt strap tightly wrapped around his neck with the distant gaze of a dead man in his lifeless eyes. Then a movement from behind caused him to make a quick turn with his weapon. But he wasn't quick enough to dodge the blow that knocked the handgun out of his hand.

The assailant grabbed the man's shirt as his weapon tumbled into the bedroom and sent him into the corridor with enough force that caused him to lose his balance. The man immediately pick himself up, and furiously pulled out a wicked-looking knife from the sheath strapped around his waist. The bedroom light that flooded the corridor made him recognize the face of his assailant as he launched a wild attack.

The assailant dodged the blade of the knife with a sharp step to the side. With a flash, his hand wrapped around the wrist of the man's knife-bearing hand and executed a wrist-lock that dispossessed the man of the knife, sending the blade to the floor. Then he swung at the man's jaw and the stunning blow felled him to the floor.

Shaking off the concussion that he had taken, the man wildly got to his feet again and aimlessly launched another attack with a lot of rage. And it proved to be a fatal move for him to make.

One moment the assailant moved a hand behind his waist. The next, he too was going at the man with the hand clutching a claw hammer. Ducking down, he swung the hammer at the man's right kneecap. The man bellowed a loud groan when the hammerhead met the appendage with brute force, dislocating it and incapacitating the leg. The hammer got redirected to the man's face and knocked him down with a broken jaw and some teeth hanging loose. The assailant made another move to use the metal wrecker again, but the man stopped him short with a left leg kick to his gut.

The blow that was thrown out of desperation didn't faze the assailant. It only seemed to have upped the ante in the ferocity of the attack as the assailant blocked the man's second desperate attempt and started swinging the hammer ferociously.

The hammer blows went through the man like a hydraulic jackhammer. It broke his shoulder blades, left multiple fractures on his face, broke his arms as he tried to block, and his ribcage caved in by the hammer's steelhead. The last his blood-soaked eyes could see as he struggled to breathe was the heel of the assailant's shoe being savagely brought down to his neck. And he found out the hard way that his dead partner was right about the man who was with their intended victim; indeed he was someone with the business.

Eric exhaled deeply, wiped the beads of sweat on his forehead, and looked at the second intruder that he had just killed. He then took the dead man's two-way radio and immediately proceeded into the bedroom to pick up the cell phone that he had planted on the other dead man's body. Turning off the porn video clip it was playing, he quickly walked out of the room.

The short man checked his wristwatch as he impatiently waited for the men to communicate their message. Several minutes had passed and he's yet to hear from them.

Getting more impatient, he held his two-way radio in front of him. "Are you guys done yet?", he quietly communicated, taking a few glances around the area the van was parked.

After a few seconds, "It's done", a muffled voice crackled out of the device speaker. "The guy was a bit of a problem, but it's under control now", the voice continued.

The short man's thick lips curved into an evil smile. "I will be there in a sec", he radioed back and immediately put on his face mask. He grabbed his handgun, got out of the car, and then started heading towards the house with quick strides.

He got close to the house's front door, and looked over his shoulder to take a cursory glance around the front compound before pushing the door open. He stepped into the living room with the thoughts of the girl that had the nerve to insult him and the grave things he was going to do to her. But he failed to see the incoming fist that welcomed him and sent his body crashing to the floor, face down. Overly stunned, he spun around and speedily reached for the gun tucked in his waistbelt. Another blow stopped him short of carrying out his intention, leaving him sprawled on the floor and dazed. Then his eyes caught the silhouette of his assailant standing over him, and the next blow that sent him into oblivion.


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

Eric swerved the Mercedes Benz into the driveway of Lisa's family house. Lisa immediately unbuckled her seatbelt as he turn-off the headlamps of the 2012 E-350 model sedan and killed its engine. He remained still, both hands resting on the steering wheel with his eyes darting around the front compound of the modern two-storey house as he made a careful survey of the place. He checked the flower hedges and glanced at the other houses in the upper middle-class neighborhood.

Lisa reached for the door handle and looked at him. "What's the matter?", she asked seeing that he wasn't making any move to get down from the car.

"You said that your dad is out of the country?", Eric asked her.

"Yeah, why?", Lisa demanded inquisitively.

"So are you staying here all by yourself?".

"No, the house-help spends the day in the house and leaves before nightfall"

Then Lisa leaned towards Eric and placed her hand over his. "Don't worry, we have the whole house to ourselves and I won't bite you", she smiled.

"As I said, I ain't worried about anything", Eric murmured and started unbuckling his seatbelt. He looked concerned, but to be bitten, wasn't the reason.

Lisa excitedly alighted from the car as Eric got out. Both of them held hands and headed towards the front door of the house. Lisa walked with the gait of someone having a difficulty in maintaining a strong footing while Eric maintained his sense of alertness with glances over his shoulder and at the dark spots around them.

"Hm, you must have had one too many drinks tonight", Eric noted with a chuckle on seeing Lisa's unsteady steps.

"Just a Lil bit tired", Lisa said and then tried to maintain her composure. "But that won't be a problem".

"Okay", Eric murmured.

They ascended the steps of the front porch and Lisa reached for the front door electronic lock.

"Hm", Lisa looked at the porch lamp overhead them that didn't light up. "It's like the damn bulb had suddenly given up", she sighed and illuminated the buttons of the door-lock with a touch on its screen. "Mary should have told the guys that came earlier to check on the house security system about it", she muttered quietly and proceeded to punch in the door passcode.

Eric glanced at the lamp above them and watched Lisa's fingers press the buttons of the door lock. The door unlocked. He gave her a quick curious glance as she got hold of the door handle.

"Home sweet home", Lisa said cheerily as both of them stepped into the mid-sized cozy living room. "Wait here", she said to Eric and then left him standing near the door as she hurriedly crossed the living-room floor, heading towards the kitchen.

Eric thoughtfully stared at the door for a while and then glanced around the living room which was well organized. He noticed that some changes had been made in the place because some of the furniture that he had seen the last time he visited Lisa, wasn't there at all. The living room curtain which was still of the same white colour, now has a different design. The TV had also been replaced with a bigger and new model and another portrait had been added to the ones hanging on the wall. The entire place looked even more impressive than it had been.

Lisa reappeared from the kitchen holding two wine glasses and beckoned at Eric before heading towards the stairs that led to her bedroom and the other bedrooms. Eric quietly followed her.

"Make yourself comfortable", Lisa offered as she left the glasses on the bedside table and proceeded to the mini refrigerator in her bedroom.

Eric nodded and dropped his weight on the edge of the soft mattress of the bed, feeling its softness with his hands.

"I have something to show you", Lisa continued with a smile as she handed him a chilled bottle of Orin Swift red wine.

Eric regarded the wine, looked at its label, and read the alcohol content while Lisa went over to her wardrobe. Then he glanced around the bedroom and noticed that a few changes had also been made there too though everything was still in Lisa's favourite colour; pink. And he watched Lisa as she opened the wardrobe filled with designer clothes and went through them.

"What do you think?", Lisa excitedly held a black lingerie in front of her, the smile on her face turning mischievous.

"A lot of inappropriate thoughts if you put that on", Eric quipped and tore off the wine cap seal. Lisa chuckled and proceeded to start unzipping her jacket to take off her clothes. "You don't have to be in a rush", he continued as he filled the wine glasses. "We have more than enough time to spend together".

Lisa carelessly dropped her jacket on the floor and sat beside him. Eric handed her a glass and both of them took their sips.

Lisa held her glass between her lap and rested her head on Eric's strong shoulder. "I've waited for this moment", she murmured.

"Me too", Eric said quietly with one hand rubbing her shoulder. "Even feels great not knowing that we would be together this holiday".

"Yep", Lisa agreed and took another sip of the wine. Then she handed her glass to Eric. And planted a kiss on his cheek after he left both glasses on the table. She made him face her and kissed him more on his lips.

Eric responded in kind and both of them got locked in a passionate kiss. This went on for several minutes before Lisa withdrew and laid on her back.

"Oh, why am I feeling so tired?", she purred, closing her eyes and running her fingers through her hair.

"As i said, you must have had one too many drinks", Eric replied quietly, knowing fully well that the sleeping pills that he had slipped into her drink were now working their effect on her.

Lisa smiled with her eyes still shut and murmured something inaudibly. Then she was silent, and for a while she remained like that while Eric stayed beside her, browsing the net with his cell phone.

A few minutes later, Eric shifted his attention to Lisa. He gave her a slight nudge to which she didn't give any response. He waited for another minute and then decided that it was now the time for him to act.

He moved her body to a comfortable position in the bed and covered her with the blanket. Then he proceeded to leave her bedroom, descended the stairs, and headed towards the front door of the living room. He stepped out of the house, made a cautious survey around him, and walked towards the Mercedes after pressing the button of the electronic car key to open its trunk.

The lamp in the trunk lit up to reveal a black bag in the trunk after he lifted the lid. Then he stole another casual glance around him and reached both hands to the bag. And from the corner of his eyes, he could see a black van that was parked several metres away from the house as he unzipped the bag and got hold of a claw hammer. Then he concealed the hammer under his jacket, making sure that the movement was unseen, and quietly closed the car trunk before proceeding towards the house door. Pausing near the door electronic lock, he stared at the buttons, thinking about the passcode that Lisa had earlier pressed, and then proceeded to punch the buttons. The device made its unlocking sound and Eric regarded it with a smile before stepping inside the house.

Lisa utterance with her finger gesture at him instantly wiped off the sneer on the short man's face. The atmosphere around the table suddenly got tense. The three men remained silent as a stone with their faces darkened with an angry gaze that was directed at Lisa. Their composures were that of a willingness to pounce on the young woman.

Eric saw all of these in the men. It triggered his cautious mode and kept him on alert. But it was well masked by his visibly calm and friendly appearance. Then he reached for his beer and took a sip from the bottle. The movement was only a ploy to keep a tight grip on the bottle as he set it down on the table with his hand still wrapped around it, after taking his sip. His gaze, though seemingly casual, was keenly focused on the men, and watching out for any harmful movement they might make at Lisa. The beer bottle that he had a tight grip on, though of little or no use to him, would become a weapon if they decide to make the costly mistake of making any move at her.

Neutralizing the men with only bare hands won't be a problem for him. He had done it many times. But if the need for him to act, happens to override sticking to Nina's instructions, then he might as well be thorough with the violent activity and leave the men with some nasty flesh wounds.

Half a minute passed, and the only thing that happened so far was just the men's continuous glare at Lisa. The short man was visibly the angriest of the three. His beady eyes that were darkened with a venomous look, glared at Lisa with an unalloyed hate that increased with the seconds that ticked away. It was a clear conviction that his height wasn't his only challenging physical feature. And Lisa must have touched the most sensitive one with her outrageous words.

Eric then decided to put an end to the situation before the three men decide to take it further.

"I think we have to go", he then said to Lisa and made a move to get to his feet.

"No!", Lisa retorted, and quite loudly, with one hand on the table and the other, resting on her akimbo.

Her outburst drew some stares from other customers. She too was staring back at the men with her face showing no sign of being intimidated by their hard stares. It only seemed to have even gotten her angrier.

Eric heaved an uncomfortably sigh. "Baby", he then said, not knowing any other alternative romantic word to calm the seemingly scorned woman. "We can still spend our time somewhere else", he insisted quietly. "Perhaps....we can go to your place if you want to", he suggested, his hand slide across the table and caressed hers.

The waitress that had served Lisa the beer then appeared from the crowd again. She headed towards them and was followed by a plain-looking man that looked slightly overweight and well in his early forties. And he's the owner of the bar.

The waitress stopped several feet away from their table, while the bar owner made his way toward them. The woman remained where she was standing, staring at them.

Eric had already seen them. And the way the waitress was staring at the three men with a somewhat look of agitation in her eyes, it was clear that she had alerted her boss about what was going on between them and the men. And despite it being a fortunate development, Eric was having some reservations about her action. It seemed too immediate, considering the large number of customers that she and her co-workers had to deal with. They were all too busy with their services to be able to notice any unpleasant issue that was brewing between customers. Unless it happens to escalate into a noisy brawl.

Eric was having the feeling that the woman must have been watching them have noticed the unfriendly body language, and the men's sinister behaviours. He also wondered why she didn't alert the bar security men instead of her boss. He had seen the three Bouncers several times, making their rounds of check-ups on the customers.

The bar owner arrived at the table and acknowledged both Eric and Lisa with a jovial smile that seemed to brighten up the dark atmosphere that had enveloped their place. Eric replied with the same gesture and then saw the look of recognition that appeared on the bar owner's face the moment he turned his attention to the short man. A clear sign that the short man was a known individual to him. And his jovial smile was overshadowed by a look of concern.

"Everything okay with you guys?", the bar owner then asked Lisa with a surprisingly nervous tone of voice for a man that owns one of the most popular bars in the city.

"No, we are not okay here", Lisa countered immediately.

"Oh, so what's the problem?", the bar owner asked and regarded Eric with an inquisitive stare, as if asking him the question.

"This guy and his friends want to ruin our evening", Lisa replied. "I don't know what's the problem they have with me being with my boyfriend, cos they seem to have one", Lisa stated to the bar owner.

The bar owner regarded Lisa with a forced smile as he nodded to her reply. He then gave Eric another short inquisitive stare with the smile fading away. And Eric stared back at the bar owner confusedly, wondering if the man was getting the wrong info on the person that was causing the problem.

Then the bar owner turned to the short man, and Eric noticed the reluctance in his movement. He also saw the short man regarding the bar owner with a look of arrogance when he got closer to him, to make peace.

Shrugging his shoulder as he thought about the situation that seemed to have even gotten more awkward with the bar owner's presence, Eric got hold of his bottle to finish its content. He watched as the bar owner spoke to the short man, whom he very much towered over. He had to bend a bit forward to whisper to the man. The short man remained silent, staring at Lisa sinisterly as he listened to the bar owner whose body language, spoke of someone that seems to be making pleas.

This went on for a short while, till the short man regarded the bar owner with a smug little smile. He glanced at Lisa with a smug still on his face and then proceeded to walk away without saying a word to the bar owner. The other two men followed after him.

"Yeah, walk away. And keep walking with the two sides of beef with you, asshole", Lisa quietly muttered after the short man as he left. Then she sighed. "Thank your sir", she said her appreciation to the bar owner with a glad smile.

The bar owner didn't reply. He remained standing with his eyes still staring in the direction that the short man had gone. After doing so for a while, he heaved a sigh with a downcast gaze.

"Do you know that guy?", he then asked with his eyes on Eric.

"Never seen him before", Eric replied, coldly staring back at the bar owner with a dislike for the man's question. It sounded kind of stupid to him.

The bar owner then pursed his lips with a suspicious look at Eric.

"Enjoy yourself", he then said to Lisa, as his answer to her gratitude for his intervention. "And next time, be very careful", the man finally said to Eric with his voice sounding like a warning, and immediately left them.

Eric furrowed his brows and looked over his shoulder to watch the bar owner leave.

"That's odd", he murmured and shrugged again with an unbothered look on his face. He looked at Lisa. "And what you said to that guy was kind of tragic", he said to her. "Itsy-bitsy-sized pee-pee?", he repeated what Lisa had said to the short man. "That's one hell of a way to chop a man in half".

"He made a statement and I made mine", Lisa pointed out.

"Well...yeah, but yours was horrific", Eric snorted. "You just murdered the man in front of his friends. You could have just handed him his beer and let him to go kick rocks"

Lisa laughed.

"For a moment I thought it was gonna get physical between you and the short one", Eric continued.

"Hah!", Lisa rolled her eyes. "Let that football sized monkey raise his dirty finger, and watch me take a penalty kick in this damn bar", she scoffed.

Eric gave Lisa a faint smile and stared at the empty bottle in front of him. He was wondering if that display of courage was a result of growing confidence or an alcohol-inflated sense of courage. Whichever it was, be it a sudden boost in confidence or alcoholic liquid courage, Eric wasn't bothered at all. Lisa always knows her limits, no matter what. Her attitude towards those men was the warranted thing for her to do in that situation.

"You just gotta be careful though", Eric then sighed. "Some guys do come here with bad intentions", he added.

He was quite surprised that Lisa didn't make any fuss about him not standing up to the three men. Most females would have had that issue with their male partners.

"I know", Lisa agreed and glanced at a smallish drunk man that drunkenly stumbled by.

The man then paused near their table, and regarded Lisa with a mischievous grin. The expression speedily vanished when he set his eyes on the guy sitting at the table with her. He shortly stared at Eric like a helpless and hungry hyena staring at a huge lion devouring a carcass and then moved on in his drunken stupor. Not wanting to go through the bigger guy in testing his luck with the beautiful girl.

"But not everyone tolerates sh!ts from sh!tty guys", Lisa continued. Then she stared at her glass for a short while, thinking to herself, and looked at Eric. "Do you wanna go to my place?", she asked. "I have drinks there. This bar is beginning to creep me out".

"Yeah". Eric was very glad to hear the request.

It was almost an hour past midnight. The time that most individuals in the bar would have had more than enough of their fills of alcohol. More than enough to fuel the various intentions that brought them to the place, be it either friendly or felonious one. And a few could be seen in their uncontrolled search for an incendiary situation to accelerate the fire of their intended activity.

They had stayed past the hour when the alcohol-induced activities were at their peak, with an increase in the number of young raging testosterones that are searching for an adventure. Making the bar at that hour, to be a stupid place to be, at a stupid time of the night.

"Your dad is still out of the country?", Eric asked as he made a move to get to his feet, and quite eager in his movement.

"Yeah", Lisa replied. She too got to her feet. "Why? Are you afraid of him?" She asked as she reached for her jacket.

"I do respect him, don't confuse it with fear", Eric replied and stood in front of her.

"Anyway, it doesn't matter even if he is around", Lisa said.

Eric snorted. "It matters a lot to most guys when it comes to dads", he chuckled. Even the boldest boys do become a bundle of nerves when it comes to their girl's father", he went on. "Your dad is just different and a man in a league of his own, a strange man if you ask me".

"You can say that again", Lisa laughed. "But I'm a big girl now, and I don't have to take permission to do what big girls do".

"You being grown doesn't necessarily mean that you can bring a man to his house at will, especially when he is around", Eric quipped.

"Right, but there are things that do push one to make a brash decision", Lisa smiled at Eric. "Especially the ones that can no longer wait to be taken care of", her smile became playful.

"I have zero idea of what you are talking about", Eric murmured and helped Lisa don her jacket while Lisa giggled at what he just said.

When Lisa was done with her jacket, Eric's hand patted her back, slid down her lovely curves, and rested on her hip. Lisa expressed her joy at having his strong arm around her by pressing her body against his. Then they locked their fingers, squeezed their way through the crowd, and exited the club with a few envious stares from both sexes, being thrown at them.


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

yungbanks:
Boss if I were a woman na just to marry you ni ooo chai , keep it flowing you just know how to keep us on our toes when are we expecting more because I'm craving it like my dear garri flakes

Abeg ooo make madam no see this comment. She fit use my phone take pluck mango, if she no carry all my trousers go outside come make neighbours think say Christmas don land as she go dey fire knock-outs with am.

Fellows, pls don't mind the typos and mistakes. I'm making the correction.

do4luv14:
Hahahaha Vawulence loading hehehehe

Lisa have spiked Shorty wotoporiously kaiii, Small pencil


make I go ready am again

My bros, the thing tire me sef.

Let me just sit down now with this plate of soaked garri, and wait for the comments.

"So is that it?", the short man then asked, interrupting Lisa in her conversation.

"Yes, that's it", Lisa gave an immediate reply without looking at him. "And it will always be the same, even if we happen to see each other again in a different place", she added.

"Okay then, but you should have at least shown some....appreciation", the short man stated with a cold tone that signaled a change in the seemingly friendly attitude that he had been displaying. This prompted Lisa to furrow her brows at him. Eric who appeared to be unbothered, already knew what the man meant.

"Appreciation for what?", Lisa asked, looking confused.

"Well, even though you wanna pass on the offer from a guy that will take good care of a girl like you", the short man coldly continued. "At least, you should have shown some appreciation for my little generosity".

Lisa then got the gist of what he was talking about. "Oh I see, you want me to show some appreciation for this drink", she said, jerking her head at the beer the man had bought for her. "A drink that I never asked for,..... and not even drinking in the first place?", Lisa sneered and pointed at her cocktail.

"Seems necessary to me", the man shrugged and slipped both hands inside his brown coat. "And my friends here kind of agree with me".

"And I guess it was also necessary to bring your friends with you just to tell me all this?". Then Lisa looked at the beer on their table. "Or was there some kind of crowd-funding for this one beer?", she asked coolly and looked at the short man. Eric rubbed his nose bridge with a faint smile that came out from a suppressed sneer.

"It doesn't matter how the drink was bought", the short man said curtly and glanced at Eric, knowing what Lisa had said was funny to him. "What matters to me right now is my kind gesture being disrespected".

"Okay", Lisa began and folded her arms. "So which one is it? Here with your friends to hit on me in front of my boyfriend or just looking for trouble?", she asked indifferently.

"Well, I came here with the former in mind. But the latter could happen if I am given a reason to be unhappy", the man replied, regarding Lisa with an expressionless look on his face.

"Well, I and my boyfriend might have considered giving you your fifteen seconds of fame if it was just the former. But from what I have seen so far, it's like you are more into the latter. And we don't want to waste our energy on that", Lisa retorted, her patience for the short man now exhausted.

Eric was now staring at her, and thinking about the kind of luck that he was having; to be dealing with the similar situation that he had in Metro-city when he met Janet. This time, it was his girlfriend.

"Excuse me...sir", Eric then began speaking to the short man for the first time. "My friend and I are only here to spend our time together. We have no interest in any other activity except the one that we were having", he stated politely.

The short man sniggered at Eric's benign attitude and glance at the other men.

"We have no intention to be rude if it seems so to you. We just want to be left alone", Eric continued, hoping that it would diffuse the growing escalation. "So I hope you and your friends understand our situation", he concluded, still maintaining his polite tone.

The short man nodded at Eric a few times. "At least your Tampon does have some respect", he said to Lisa while giving Eric a condescending sneer. "Unlike you, he knows very well when to show some respect.....and to watch his mouth, especially to guys with balls bigger than he's. And he is very lucky because of that", he continued and looked at Lisa, still bearing a condescending sneer on his face.

Lisa felt highly insulted by the man's words but did well in hiding it. She just chuckled and looked at Eric, who appeared to be unprovoked by the short man's disrespect.

"Well, then congratulations to you and your enormous balls", Lisa said dryly at the short man. Then she turned to him and unfolded her arms. "But did you make a proper check to see if it's the itsy-bitsy-sized pee-pee that made your balls appear so big?", she asked him, motioning her pinky finger at the man, and mockingly eyeing him from head to toe.

The man's features was quite distinctive, he seemed to be the shortest individual in the bar. He was stoutly built with strong broad shoulders and a thick neck that supported a big head that was scanty of hair. He wore a dark brown overcoat that would have been mistaken for a walker-coat, with black jean pants that covered his thick legs.

The man raised the glass of drink that he was holding close to his chest at them with a smile and took a sip from it. He then paused for a shortwhile with his eyes still looking in their direction, as if making a decision, and then started heading toward them with slow strides.

"And which of them are you talking about?", Eric asked Lisa after two other men followed suit when the short man started moving. Both of them were much taller, same build like the short man and dressed in black leather jacket and blue jean.

"What?", Lisa immediately looked in that direction again.

She saw the short man now approaching their table and being flanked on both sides by two men with a composure that speaks more of bodyguards than friends. This made her to let out a frustrating sigh. This was definitely not what she had anticipated, especially on a night-out with someone she had been longing to meet, and also very much longing to 'get it on' with.

"What is his problem?", Lisa muttered quietly and looked at the beer that the waitress had left beside her drink, suspiciously regarding it. And she immediately pushed it away from her glass with a look of disgust, like the content in the bottle was poison. Then she straightened her back and rested her hands on her lap.

"Just play it cool", Eric murmured to her, knowing fully well what happens when she gets crossed with someone. It gets worse if the said person persistently brings an irritating behavior to play.

Lisa heard him and nodded with pursed lips. Then she turned her head and set her eyes in a different direction. She intended to keep her line of sight away from the three men as they got closer to their table. Listening to the song that was playing, she slowly moved her body side to side, oscillating to the rhythm of the slow music with a distant gaze in her eyes that was clouded with indifference.

The three men came over and stood close to the edge of their table. Eric regarded them with a benign smile while Lisa paid no attention to their presence. He took a quick note of their faces and saw that the short one wasn't handsome either.

The short man gave Eric a brief stare with an indifference that showed a clear disregard for his presence and turned the somewhat cold beady eyes at Lisa.

"Hello young lady", he began at Lisa, his lips curving into a smile that made his face look worse. "Good to see you again my dear", his lips parted to show his clean white teeth.

Lisa sucked her teeth, remained still for a few seconds, and then looked at the short man. "Hi", she began with a quiet noncommittal tone of voice.

"How are you doing?",

"Just minding the business that I'm having with my boyfriend".

Eric's eyes moved from the short man to the other two men that flanked him. Both of them were standing with their hands in the pockets of their jacket, chests puffed up with the stance of men that had spent a lot of time in the gym lifting irons. They were staring down at him with blank expressions, and poised as if very ready to start something very unfriendly with him. Perhaps they were trying to intimidate him into not getting between the discussion the short man was trying to start with his female friend.

"I see", the short man continued with a nod. "Anyway, like I had told you earlier, my friends here do agree with me that you are definitely the most beautiful chick in the bar. And they also agreed that....I should give it another try".

"Thanks for the compliments", Lisa said coolly. "But I have already given you my answer, which is, that I'm already taken". She looked at Eric. "He is here with me too. Though am quite flattered by your insistence to hook up with me. But I am very happy with what I have". Lisa turned her eyes back to the short man. "So it's no use wasting your time and all these efforts", she concluded and then turned to Eric to continue their conversations and hoping that the man would finally get the message and leave her alone.

The short man nodded with a smirk. He made a few glances at the other two men with him and made a cursory look around the bar. Lisa, pretending like they don't even exist, tried to carry on with her conversations with Eric, who only nodded with his eyes on his beer, and his full attention on the men beside them.

Two hours into being preoccupied with their intimate conversations, one of the bar waitresses squeezed her way through the light crowd with a tray carrying a bottle of beer. She stopped beside their table and rested her eyes on Eric. He and Lisa paused in their discussion, and regarded the woman with curiosity written on their faces.

"This is for you", the waitress then said quietly with a superficial smile and gently placed the bottle infront of Lisa.

Lisa stared at the new drink infront of her for a shortwhile looking confused and then eyed the waitress with a look that demanded an explanation for what the woman just did. They didnt order any beer at all. Eric was now having his last drink for the night and clearly wasn't for her because she had been having only a cocktail drink; it had been her intention to only have cocktails.

"I think you made a mistake", Eric politely noted at the waitress.

"No sir", the waitress disagreed. "Someone ordered the drink...for her".

"Who?", Lisa asked with an inquisitive stare at the waitress.

"That guy over there", the waitress replied, motioning a finger at the crowd at one end of the bar. Then the woman hurriedly left their table before any other question could be thrown at her. As if trying to avoid it.

"Hm", Eric glanced at the bottle. "You are yet to even get your seat warm and already gotten an admirer", he teased Lisa as she craned her neck with her eyes scanning the direction that the waitress had pointed, searching for the individual that bought the drink.

"Sh!t", Lisa then muttered and faced Eric with a look of annoyance.

"What's the matter?", Eric asked on seeing the new expression.

"Remember the ass-helmet that i talked about?", Lisa sighed.

"Unhuh".

"Someone seems to be really...really trying hard to prove to be one".

"Who?".

Lisa heaved another sigh. "One strange guy tried to hit on me, on my way to the restroom", Lisa said. "And did the same when I came out".

"Quite the desperate fellow", Eric murmured with a chuckle.

"A creep", Lisa corrected. "And on both occasions, I told him that I am here with my boyfriend", she shook her head. "But why be so persistent? There are other girls in here that are single and the guy can't pick one?", she motioned her hand around with a sneer. "Maybe the guy is indeed a creep", she muttered quietly and regarded the beer in front of her with a look of distaste.

Out of curiosity, Eric then looked over his shoulder to see who the person might be. His eyes scanned the corner of the bar where Lisa had stared. He took notes of all the occupied tables, the customers standing or pacing around the floor, and the individuals having their beers while waiting for their turn at the pool table that was standing at that corner. Then his eyes caught one particular individual--a man-- who seemed to have his full attention on their position.

Lisa came over, waving both hands to dry off the remaining moisture from washing them. Eric regarded her with a glad look and nodded his thanks at the waitress who placed the drinks on the table, acknowledged him with a faint smile, and scurried away to attend to others.

Lisa looked even more beautiful than the last time he saw her. She wore tight blue jeans and a scoop neckline red short-sleeve t-shirt that adorned the radiant glossy skin of her shapely figure. Though she rarely left her hair untied, on this occasion, her silky golden brown curls flowed like a sparkling waterfall and majestically draped on her shoulders.

Lisa gave Eric a bright smile that showed her sparkling white teeth and dropped her weight in the opposite chair. Eric smiled back and handed her the drink that she had requested; a glass of Jack Daniel mixed with Cola and chilled with ice. Eric was having a bottle of beer. Both of them raised their drinks with a murmured 'cheers' and sipped their alcoholic drinks.

"So", Lisa began after taking another sip. "What have you been up to all these months?", she asked, setting her glass on the table and sitting up to straighten her tight-fitted shirt. Her back arched in the process, making her eye-catching youthful, and ample bosoms to thrust forward.

"What do you mean?", Eric replied to Lisa's question with his question, stealing a glance at the two mounds of 'lustful temptation' on her chest that were pointing in his direction.

"It looks like you have been busy farming muscles apart from studying", Lisa replied, intriguingly staring at Eric's shoulders and biceps. "You look bigger, though still with the face of the guy that I fell in love with".

Eric smiled weakly and stole another glance at the good-looking 'package' on Lisa's chest before his eyes trailed off to the beer in front of him. "Well, you know me", he said, telling himself to stop looking at his girlfriend's distracting sized 'bosoms'. "I hate idling around, so I spend most of my spare time getting in shape", he continued.

"You will probably have a good career being a physical trainer than a chemist", Lisa giggled and reached for her glass of drink.

"So how are you doing? And your quest in becoming a journalist?", Eric asked.

"Investigative journalism", Lisa corrected.

"Investigative journalism", Eric murmured and got hold of the beer in front of him. "So...what have you discovered so far from your investigations", he asked with a cheeky smile.

"Hm", Lisa took a sip of her Jack 'n' Coke that was chilled with little blocks of ice. "That there is a disturbing amount of ass-helmets in this world", she began, smacking her lips as she swallowed the alcohol. "And that one has to have a thick skin when out there", she continued.

"Glad to know that", Eric murmured. He rested an elbow next to his beer on the table and set his eyes on Lisa.

Lisa drew closer to Eric, resting her elbows on the table too, and clasped her hands under her chin. "How is yours?", she asked, regarding him with a lot of fondness in her eyes. "I hope you are not playing too much with chemicals", she chuckled.

Eric chuckled too. "Same ol' educational routines...and no, we are not allowed to play too much with chemicals", he replied. "Can't risk bringing down the whole lab if the wrong ones mix", he added, making casual glances around the lively bar and taking notes of the activities around them.

"How is your kid brother doing?"

"Benjamin is very healthy,.....getting built like an ox every day.

"What about Aunt Esther?"

"Mom is fine, but she's yet to quit her endless scrutinies on me. Always making sure that her 'first son' is always in line".

"What do you mean?".

Eric sighed and reached for his beer for another sip. "I thought Benjamin's arrival would at least get her off my back a bit", he said quietly. "Despite my age and the demands that come with dealing with Ben's unending energy, mom somehow still has enough strength left to always check up on me. Mostly to see if I have started some inappropriate activities that come with being grown".

"It is called a mother's unconditional love, stop whining", Lisa laughed.

"I know", Eric agreed. "But I still deserve some space, especially now that I am no longer a kid", he stated.

"She will always see you as the baby that she once carried in her hand....and loved so much", Lisa said and reached for her drink. "And watched till you grew up to be a fine young man. From what I have seen so far, your mother's fondness for you will never fade", she added and sipped.

Eric nodded several times, pondering on what Lisa said.

"And i envy you for that". Then Lisa sighed. "She is very unlike my mother", she muttered quietly, still holding the glass close to her lips.

"Yeah. I wanted to ask you why you are in Easthill cos you said something about spending your vacation with her", Eric noted.

"True", Lisa agreed and still staring at her glass.

"You said that you wanted to connect and re-establish your relationship with her, right?".

"Yeah".

"So....how did it go?"

Lisa heaved another depressing sighed and looked to her side. "Me sitting here with you have already answered that question", she replied with a distant gaze in her eyes and Eric then understood that she meant to tell him that she had failed in that quest. "Just one week with her was enough for me to know that she didn't want me around her. To her, it's like I'm nonexistent. And I have decided to just let it stay that way".

"Is it that bad?", Eric asked with furrowed brows.

"If she was a little bit like Aunt Nina, who, in my honest opinion, is only being hard on you for the right reasons, you won't even hear me complain", Lisa replied, paused for a while with some sadness written on her face and then looked at Eric. "That's why I envy you a lot, seeing two women competing in showing you love", she said.

"Three", Eric corrected. "You didn't include yourself", he said intending to brighten Lisa's seemingly soured mood. It did work when Lisa's face lightened up with a faint smile after hearing what he just said to her.

"Aww shut up", Lisa playfully rolled her eyes and left her drink in its former position on the table. "Now you are being too romantic".

"What? you don't like it?"

"No, it only makes a day without you even more torturous"

"Then you better be ready"

"Already in line...cos vengeance will always be mine when I get my hands on you". Lisa drooped her head and jokingly narrowed her eyes at Eric. "And you very well know how I get down".

Both of them laughed. Their discussions then continued. And just like every other intimate couple or friends in the bar, their yarns flowed amidst waves of laughter, smiles, and some wild friendly gestures with the occasional pause to let the alcohol flow. Lisa did most of the talking.... and the drinking too.

**

Eric pushed back the left sleeve of his dark navy-blue modern jacket to check his wristwatch. It was half past 10 pm already. Readjusting the sleeve, he turned his attention back to lively activities in the bar that he had been watching as the shortest hand in his silver Omega wristwatch slowly crawled into the late hours of the friday night.

It was business as usual in the weekend at the 'AMBER-CAT'. A bar located in Downtown Westgrove; an entertainment district at the heart of Easthill city known for it's energetic nightlife. Amber-Cat being one of most popular middle-class bar in the district, it attracted alot of people from all walks of life, most especially the younger ones. And like every other weekends, the place was filled with a lot of customers and regular patrons.

The bar with it's vibrant decor, has a friendly atmosphere filled with a great upbeat music. The crowd was rowdy with many youths having a blast of their holiday fun, working professionals wanting to unwind and relax after a week of grinding away in the office, and singles that were there to enjoy the great drinks selection while listening to the person next to them talking. All these were being handled by the attentive bar staffs that worked at a blistering pace to satisfy their teeming customers.

Eric casually monitored all these activities. His table was still empty and waiting for the drink that he had ordered. As he watched the interesting scene before him, three girls made their way towards him, chattering noisily amongst themselves with some wild gestures and giggles. The most good-looking and seemingly most reserved of the three, paused and looked in his direction. Eric noticed the attention and shifted his line of sight at her. The girl expressed a friendly interest and made a pass at him. Eric, knowing what she had in mind, gestured a nonchalant negative response at her and pointed at the black leather jacket that was hung on the chair opposite him. The girl saw the feminine styled cloth, and a disappointed look replaced her smile, and she immediately turned away from him.

Eric then sighed and turned back at the crowd as the girl moved on to catch-up with her friends. He was now getting tired of the gestures that he felt to have gotten one too many times, though every other man would be excited and feeling important, especially in such a place. He had been approached several times with such passes, done on three occasions by three other good looking girls and once by a gay man. To which he made it known to the girls that he was waiting for his date, and the gay man, he dismissed without sounding homophobic; he had even wondered what made the man think that he was playing for the "other" team.

Eric looked at the black jacket. The jacket that Lisa had used to keep herself warm from the nights chilly weather on her way to meet him and left hanging on her seat when she excused herself to use the restroom. He stared at it, wishing that she quickly returned from her bathroom break so as to put a stop to these undesired gestures. And he was also wondering why she was taking longer than usual.

While staring at the garment, the thoughts of Lisa's overly excitement when they met, came to his mind. Her lips crushing against his, and her waist doing more, had shown that she had been longing for something more, something other than to just see him in person. He too had missed her alot and was very pleased to see her.

But he was abit concerned about him violating the instructions that Nina had given him; to never meet Lisa nor engage in any activity whatsoever that involves her. The sinister glare that he had seen in her eyes when she gave the instruction, made it sound like a grave warning. And his twin brother had warned him several times about their biological mother's increasing unpredictability and ruthlessness.

Eric blew out his cheeks with a sigh, deciding within himself to fully enjoy the activity that Nina had forbidden since it was already in full motion. He will have to do it secretly and as quietly as possible so as not to attract Nina's attention to it. Then he looked over his shoulder and towards the direction of the bar restroom to see if Lisa was done. His sight caught the waitress heading towards his table with a tray carrying his order. And he also saw Lisa approaching too. Good timing.

CHAPTER FOUR.


Two hours earlier on the same night, and somewhere else in Easthill.


".....Brothers are amused by other brother's rep.
Some niggas pull tecs catch others for checks.
All for respect, all for the bread.
For the chance of success they might hand him his head.... ".


Alex stared inside the fully stocked refrigerator with alot of interest, his head bobbing up and down, to the lyrics of Gang-Starr's 'Skillz' rap song, playing in the living-room with a moderate volume. He had just woken up from a long nap, several minutes ago. The Music being played to while away the quietness and boredom in the two-storey modern bungalow that he and Eric had moved into, during the hours of mid afternoon.

They arrived in Easthill around mid noon after an hour flight from Metro-city before being picked up at the airport by their mother. They had lunch with her, were made to listen to their mother's usual rebuking statements, they also made their own statements, and got on her nerves with some of it. They spent close to an hour with her before being driven to a bungalow in a quiet upper middle-class neighborhood: the safe house where they would be spending their vacation days, for the time being.

The bungalow was well furnished and stocked with all needs that would make their stay to be as comfortable as it could possibly be. And also well secured, with hidden cameras monitoring every movements around the building.

After making several searching gaze at the contents in the refrigerator, Alex decided to have a beer. He reached for one of the numerous chilled cans of Heineken beer. He closed the refrigerator and stole a quick glance at Eric who paced into the living-room after descending the stairs that led to the bedrooms upstairs.

"So...we just gonna eat, sleep, and possibly get shit-faced drunk", Alex began as he joined Eric in the living-room. "And then repeat, till our holiday ends. That's, if boredom doesn't end our lives", he chuckled at his brother, and cracked open the can of beer in his hand. Then he sat heavily on the sofa and immediately sipped on the frothy foam that speedily preceded from the open can. "So where the hell are you going to, at this time of the night?", he asked, with his eyes taking notes of Eric's outfit.

"To go get some fresh air", Eric said quietly, making one last check on his cloths, and ran his palm across his neat '360 waves' hair. "Don't wanna die of boredom here", he murmured.

Going to get some fresh air and dressed like that?", Alex asked, raising his eyebrows at him.

"Is there a particular dress code for getting some air in this town?", Eric asked without looking at his brother. "And i might not be back till tomorrow. The weather outside is just too good", he continued.

"Okay". Alex took another sip from the can. "You just gotta be very careful, man", he warned as he reached into his pocket to get hold of his cellphone. "Mother warned you not to meet her".

Eric paused in what he was doing and slowly turned his sights at Alex. "What are you talking about?", he asked.

Alex scoffed. He took a sip from the can, swallowed the beer, and smacked his lips.

"It's true that we didnt grow up together as brothers, but i do know your body languages, whenever Lisa is around", Alex went on. "And when going out to meet her", he added with his eyes, staring at the screen of his cellphone.

"So...are you gonna file a violation of order to mother?", Eric asked with less concern as he reached for the car keys that was lying on the glass-surfaced living-room center table.

"What i'm saying is, with the way we are living our lives, and most especially with this still unknown situation that we are likely faced with, wouldn't it be unwise to keeping someone that we have so much care, around us?", Alex asked.

"I'm well aware of all these things. And the...unknown situation is not world war 3", Eric replied. "You live close enough to mother to know her more than i do, but i do know that everything that she tells us to do, benefits her more than it does to us", he continued. "Use your brains, man. God didn't put it in your head as a decoration", he advised, and made for the front door.

Alex sighed. "Just be careful", he said after Eric as he opened the door.

"I will", Eric replied, and walked out of the house, closing the door after him.


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

Longer updates to come tomorrow. It's past 12 mid night here. I gotta sleep. Pls bear with me.

Sorry. I saw some missed words and typos. I have made the corrections.

"Is this your idea of the best place to have an important meeting?", Desmond then began at the man with a hand waving around the room. "In a filthy gutter with all kinds of STDs crawling in it?".

"You already know that i am a very careful man", Bronco muttered

"You should've atleast given me a heads-up", Desmond continued as he made his way towards Bronco's position. "So that i can bring the necessary disinfectants with me", he grunted as he dropped his weight beside Bronco and made himself comfortable on the sofa.

Bronco reached for the empty glass on the table and placed it infront of Desmond. He snapped his fingers at the girl who immediately got to her feet. She got hold of one of the bottles on the table proceeded to serve Desmond a drink. After she was done filling his glass half-way with a drink from the half empty bottle of Hennessey, she left the bottle back in its former position and then reached for the bucket filled with small blocks of ice.

"No need for that", Desmond curtly said to her as she made a move to put some ice in his drink. "And you should get that filthy ass out of here", he continued at her in the same unfriendly tone.

"Hey!". The man sitting next to the girl glared at Desmond. "Don't you ever disrespect my girl like that again", he warned.

Desmond smirked and raised his glass to his lips. "Is she doing her regular medical checkups?", he asked the man after sipping his drink. "Taking a pee that feels like pissing razor-blades, is one hell of a shitty discomfort", he said without looking at the young man and smacked his lips. "Perhaps you already know that", he continued.

"Motherfucker what did you just say?", the young man asked, slowly getting to his feet and narrowing the glare in the his eyes at Desmond

"Rick, sit your ass down, and tell your girl to leave us", Bronco then muttered quietly, and with an expression that showed little interest for the brewing arguments.

The young man who's name is Ricardo, but goes by the name Rick, quietly took his seat with the anger still written on his face. Then he looked at his 'stripper' girlfriend and jerked his head at the door. The girl glanced at Rick, then straightened her skimpy black skirt with an insulting glare at Desmond, and quietly walked out of the room.

"So....", Desmond continued and reached for his glass of drink. "Why do you wanna meet me on a short notice, in this rot?", he asked, checking for any foreign substance that might have fallen into his drink from the girl's body.

"Like i said, i am a very careful man", Bronco gave a noncommittal reply and took a drag from his cigarette. "I wanted to be a hundred percent sure that nothing else is at play, apart from what you are bringing to the table", he continued and blew a cloud of tobacco smoke.

"You are being suspicious of me even after us knowing each other for almost fifteen years", Desmond scoffed and regarded Bronco with an incredulous look.

"You spent seven of those years in the joint for a ten-years prison sentence", Bronco replied, and still sounding noncommittal. "That's more than enough time for jailbirds to take the decision of getting in bed with the Canaries for a reduced sentence, or an early release".

"So..you think that i might have turned an informant for the...Canaries?", Desmond asked, narrowing his eyes at Bronco.

"One can't really tell, these days".

"Is that why your men were tailing me on my way to this meeting?".

Bronco shifted his gaze from his drink to Desmond, quite surprised by the man being aware of the men that he had sent to watch him. But he didn't let him see that that feelings.

"Like i said, i am a very careful man", Bronco then said, turned away and sipped his drink. "I had to send my men do it so as to check-up on your movements, and to also do a pest control, in case a rat is being sent my way", he continued.

Desmond chuckled. "Even after getting a re-up of the products, and me giving your associate some jobs to do for me?", he asked.

Bronco shrugged. "These days the damn cops are willing to do anything just to get their hands on any stink that would enable them make their arrest", he muttered quietly.

"So, what does it mean?", Desmond asked, sounding quite irritated and staring at Bronco intently. "If you still wanna keep being paranoid with your rat catchers following me around and sniffing every step that i make to see if it smells of rat, that's on you, man. But you gotta know that i'm always willing to do the deal with the next guy that's willing to do business", he said impatiently. "And you best pray to....Pablo Escobar, that it won't be one of your enemies".

Bronco turn his attention back at Desmond and regarded him with a hard gaze.

"They gonna stifle you out of business, just like that". Desmond snapped his fingers at Bronco "And no amount of gunplay will stop that from happening", he continued.

"Anyway....". Bronco sighed. ".....So what's the deal? Are you really serious about what you told me?", he asked.

"I mean every word of it", Desmond replied.

"So you are telling me that you really want to hand over all your operations?"

"For the right price".

"And that includes all your dealings with your Colombian connect?".

"Do i sound like i am talking out of my ass? You heard me right".

Bronco sighed and remained silent, fingering his glass and thoughtfully stared at it for a while. Then he leaned closer to Desmond.

"You know very well that your stuff is top grade in this country", he then said.

"Always the sugar delight for sure", Desmond said proudly about the cocaine that he was supplying to Bronco and other drug dealers.

"So why would you wanna quit on a product with the potential of raking in an unimaginable amount of money?", Bronco asked with a fixed searching gaze at Desmond.

Desmond sighed, and stared at his glass for a long moment. "I'm planning on retiring", he then replied. "Having being to prison one to many times, and losing someone that is very dear to me, there's not left for me in this country", he continued with a thoughtful stare in his eye. "I intend to leave this damn country and relocate somewhere else. Perhaps got to one of those island countries, and spend the rest of my days partying, getting drunk, and banging pretty girls. Probably die with one on top of me", he smirked and sipped his drink.

Rick, who had remained silent throughout the discussion, chuckled at Desmonds words with a gleeful look on his face. It drew Desmond's attention at him.

"You are yet to introduce your friend to me", Desmond said with a fixed gaze at Rick. "Or should i just see him as Mr Ho fucker?", he asked, turning his eyes back at Bronco.

"Hey man, do you have to insult everything that you set your eyes upon?", Rick asked, leaning forward with a frown.

"He is a guy that i do business with", Bronco put in. "And also a partner in this deal", he added.

Desmond stared at Rick, and at the blue sweat shirt and pants outfit that he was wearing, with a distasteful look on his face.

Why is he a partner in this deal?", he then asked Bronco.

"That's my f@cking business, not yours", Bronco retorted with some anger in his voice, and glared at Desmond.

Desmond gave Bronco a brief stare, glanced at Rick who seemingly appeared to be glad that Bronco defended him, and then blew out his cheeks with his eyes resting on his glass of drink.

"No need to be worked up", he said to Bronco, and took another glance at Rick. "I just want to be sure of him", he continued and raised the glass to his lips.

"So when's the deal gonna happen?", Bronco asked.

Desmond swallowed his drink with a grimace. "Do you have the money?", he asked.

"Yeah i got the money", Bronco replied.

"All in cash?".

"Just like you had said".

Desmond nodded at Bronco's with a weak smile. He finished his drink with one swig and left his glass beside Bronco's drink. Then he got to his feet, and regarded Bronco with a delightful smile.

"Always keep the money at hand", he said. "My connect is on his way to this country. I will give you a call when he arrives, and tell you where we gonna meet".

Bronco nodded at Desmond, and reclined, resting his broad shoulders on the sofa back cushion. He regard Desmond with his usual unemotional stare and nodded again.

Desmond then gave Rick an expressionless glance and started heading towards the door.

"And", he suddenly began as he paused in his tracks, and looked over his shoulder. "Tell your associate that i am expecting the delivery by tomorrow morning, as he had promised", he informed Bronco. "He shouldn't fail me", he warned and the opened the door to exit the room.


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


"Did it go well?". Desmond's partner asked as both of them took their seats in the Bmw.

Desmond slammed the door of the backseat and heaved a sigh. "It went well, as i had expected", he replied.

"Sounds good to me", Desmond's partner said quietly, staring at Desmond through the rearview mirror, and waiting for his next order.

Desmond remained quiet for a shortwhile with his eyes staring at the strip club that he had walked out from.

"Hey Matt, do you know a guy that's in the dope game by the name Rick?", he than asked his partner. "Young dude, good looking, and sort of a 'chill' kind of guy?", he continued, describing Rick to his partner, Matt.

"Yeah i know him", Matt replied. "Ricardo Hughes. They call him Pretty Rick", he continued. He looked over his shoulder to his boss, Desmond. "Is he in there?", he asked.

"Yeah, he in there, as Bronco's business partner", Desmond replied.

"Well, i know for sure that he gets his coke from Bronco, and he likes to keep low-key even though it's said that he has alot of cash", Matt said. "Is he going to be some kind of problem?", he asked.

Desmond sighed, thought for a few moments. "I want you to put a guy on his girlfriend, she seems to be a working girl in that joint", he then told Matt. "I want her every moves to be watched closely and every updates given to me", he continued.

"It will be done immediately", Matt nodded. "Anything else?", he asked.

Desmond shook his head at Matt, and then rested it on the back cushion of the car seat with his eyes closed.

"Take me home", he sighed weakly. "Gotta rest for the important work that we have tomorrow morning", he muttered with his eyes still shut.

The Bmw grinded to a halt next to the line of cars parked along the street curb. The vehicle was standing some meters away from a somewhat large-sized single storey building with a big blinking neon sign of a cowgirl. The engine of the Bmw and its headlamps then turned off. The two male occupants in the vehicle closely studied the building with the neon sign, and the activities that was going in front of it, which seemed to be not much of a deal.

The building was a strip club. The place looked seemingly like a place for suspicious activities, which was quite understandable, being located in a seedy neighborhood in the bad part of town. A few luxury brand cars were among the vehicles that were lined up in front of the building, and most likely owned by shady characters that ran illegal businesses in the city. The club was well known to be patronized by such individuals.

Both men studied the place for a while. Mostly keeping their focus on the few men that were hanging around the building. Two hefty no-nonsense looking bouncers that guarded the club's entry door, remained rooted in their position and checked on the patrons that were going in or out of the place.

"Why would Bronco wanna meet me in that damn armpit of a place?", the man then began with a sigh.

"I don't know, man", his partner shook his head. "That's his regular joint. Maybe he wants a place where he feels more comfortable". Then he looked at the man. "Do you want me to call the boys? Just incase Bronco decides to start something funny", he asked.

"No", the man replied and unbuckled his seatbelt. "I've known Bronco for a very long time. He wanting to see me on a short notice means that he really wants to do business", he continued.

"The guy is a f@cking certified lunatic", his partner mentioned. "Are you sure he is the best guy for this deal", he then asked with some concern in his voice. "I always keep my eyes open whenever am around that crazy bastard", he muttered. "There's no telling of what he might do".

"I know. But he is the best guy for this deal", the man smiled. "He is the only person that would give me what i want, and quick enough", he continued and opened the car door.

The man's partner then unbuckled his seatbelt and paused for a short moment. Then he opened the car compartment box that revealed a black semi-auto handgun. He immediately reached for it, tucked it in his waistbelt, and got out of the vehicle. He adjusted his jacket, and increased his steps so as to catch-up with the man that was now heading towards the front door of the strip club.

"Sir, can i see your i.d", one of the bouncers demand from the man.

"The name is Desmond", the man identified himself.

The other bouncer immediately stepped forward and tapped his co-worker on his shoulder, and told him that he would handle it. His co-worker immediately stepped aside. He beckoned at the man to follow him. The man then glanced at his partner who remained standing outside. His partner already knew the drill; he has to wait outside because Bronco had told them that he wanted the man, his boss by the name Desmond, to meet him alone.

Desmond made a few casual glances around the strip club, both hands tucked in the pockets of his coat, and flashing blank expressions at the skimpy dressed waitresses that cared to look in his way. He and the bouncer that led the way, made their way through the aisle inbetween the tables and the dance stage, as they headed towards a corridor.

The place was moderately filled with both new and regular patrons, with many more to come before the time marches its way into the hours of midnight. Three strippers were performing on a raised platform stage that has two stainless metal poles, with psychedelic and disco lights bouncing around its floor. The 'Whithead bros' groovy "Your love is a 187" song, was blaring from the club's loudspeakers. And to the music, the overly scanty dressed strippers, grooved their bodies in all sorts of seductive ways that would make a priest to have a rethink of his vows.

The girls were all putting up their best sexy dance moves to the guests' entertainment. They were performing all sorts of erotic tricks with the metal poles, touching and twisting their bodies in lewd ways that mostly impressed the drooling patrons sitting at the tables around the stage that were leering at their bodies. And making provocative gestures that brought about the occasional tosses of numerous currency notes in their direction, from the excited crowd around them. Some patrons that were seated at the tables situated at the dark corners of the club, were getting lap dances from the strippers that they had fancied. Some just watched while enjoying their drinks.

The bouncer arrived near the entrance of the corridor to the private rooms with Desmond and whispered a few words to the waitress that was standing next to the corridor. The waitress nodded, and the motioned at Desmond to follow her with a superficial smile.

Desmond made no reply to the woman's gesture. He followed her as she led him into the dimly lit corridor with the several doors of the club's V.I.P rooms. And she was heading towards the door being guarded by two stout and grim looking men.

On seeing the waitress approaching them with Desmond in her company, the men immediately opened the door of the room they were guarding. They stepped aside for Desmond to go through when he stood before them. The waitress immediately turned around and headed back to club's main floor. She was very brisk in her steps, as if she was running late on something very important. Perhaps she's going back to the place of her prowl for the next man that would be unfortunate enough to take a hit to his wallet.

Desmond stole a quick glance at the waitress as she mechanically walked out of the corridor, he regarded the two men with a faint smile that didn't change the scowls on their faces, and then walked into the room.

The V.I.P room was fairly big, and enough to contain up to six people. It had a rectangular table standing inbetween a crescent shaped, red leather covered sofa. The light in the room was quite moderate, but enough to give a clear view of the faces of three individuals that were in the place. They all had glasses of drinks in front of them with several bottles of liquors and a bucket of ice on the table. Two of them are male, and the third, a young woman dressed in skimpy clothing.

One of the males, a man that looked to be in his mid thirties, barely handsome with an unemotional look on his face, and built like an olympic wrestler. He was dressed in a button down khaki jacket with a gold wristwatch around his wrist, and sitting away from the other man that was younger and good looking. He held inbetween the fingers of one hand, a burning stick of tobacco, with the fingers of the other hand wrapped around his glass, and staring at Desmond intently.

Desmond didn't know the young man, and young woman that were both sitting close to each other like intimate couples. It was his first time seeing them. But the man in the khaki outfit, with a calm composure in his seat, and closely staring at him, he knew very well. He was also fully aware that being calm, weren't among the words used to describe the man's real character.

The man's name is Bronco Brown. In the criminal world, he was also known as Brazy Bronco; Brazy, short for 'Bloody crazy'. And just as Desmond's partner had earlier described him, he's a certified lunatic whose name was synonymous with murder. To the authorities, he was a stone cold killer. He was also a man in their list of the suspected criminals whom they were finding almost impossible to prosecute due to the absence of witnesses that are willing or even alive, to testify against him.

Bronco started his crime career as a 'hitter'; a hit-man whose services were employed by drug dealers that wanted to take out their competitors. But as time went by, and him seeing the crazy amount of money that his employers were making, he decided to switch up in that career to become a drug dealer. He wanted a piece of the pie in the drug business. And with that ambition in mind, coupled with his ruthlessness and greed, he took most of that pie by murderously taking over a huge chunk of the drug business in the city of Easthill, killing off most of his competitors that also included the ones that had once employed his services. And putting himself at the top of the drug distribution and murder game.

Every individuals in the underworld knew how he operates; you are either doing business with him or you are not, and no inbetweens. Those that did business with him, did it mostly on his own terms. Those that didn't, were faced with the barrel of a gun, and the ones that didn't meet a violent death, had to shut down their operations and were forced to flee the state.

My apologies for the short update. I was busy with the family last week. So I couldn't write much, pls bear with me.

CHAPTER THREE.


Two masked men heaved sighs of heavy breaths, hastily stepping into what appeared to be an empty warehouse. And with them, a nude body that they dragged across the dirt and debris that littered on the floor of place. They stopped infront of two other men that were in the place, roughly let go of the body infront of them, and stepped back with one of the masked men unslinging the black duffle bag that he had been carrying along with him.

The warehouse was in a dilapidating state and seemed to be had been abandoned for several years with all the windows boarded up with thick plywood. Two construction work lamps were being used to illuminate the place with a bright light. Its atmosphere was thick with floating dust particles and a heavy smell of mold and decay, lingering in the air.

The nude body was that of a girl. Her entire body was covered with severe bruises that even made her young age, quite unrecognizable. She was still alive but barely, and her hands and fingers were moving weakly. The other two men that seemed to had been waiting for the masked men, stared at the nude body in silence.

Unlike the masked men, their faces was unhidden, though their identities was made partly visible by the bright rays of the lamps that was standing behind them. One of the men was sitting on a chair and wore a black trench coat that covered his broad and somewhat well built shoulders. He appeared to be in his early forties with a handsome facial feature, and long legs that tells of his tall height.

His partner; the man standing next to him, was a few centimeter shorter, plain looking, and similarly built like the man on the chair. He was standing with both hands tucked inside the pockets of his black leather jacket that was open and revealing the grey turtleneck shirt that he wearing underneath the jacket.

For a long moment both men stared at the girl who happened to be their victim, with the one on the chair, doing so with a look of disgust and a satisfying smile in his face.

"I hope the boys had their fun with her", the man on the chair then broke the silence.

"Totally wasted", his partner replied with a sneer. "They even took all kinds of enhancement sh!ts. Quite a surprise to see that the chick is even still alive", he continued.

"Did she say anything at all?", the man asked again.

"Just like her boyfriend, she said she doesn't know anything at all", his partner answered. "Maybe they indeed don't know, or just plainly stupid".

The chair made a low creak as the man then leaned forward, resting his elbows on his thighs as he lowered his trunk to gaze at the girl

"She is special to me - That's what your boyfriend said about you", he snorted at the girl. "You won't be that much of an appeal when you meet him in hell, we will make sure of that", he mutterred with his eyes on his clean and well manicured fingernail. "And so will the rest of your friends that will soon be on their way too", he added.

The man got to his feet and looked at the men that had brought the girl to his presence. "Get rid of her....make her look pretty, and be sure to leave her in the place where her people would find her", he ordered them.

The two masked individuals nodded and then commenced to act on the orders that they were given. The man readjusted the collar of his trench coat and watched as they got down to work. One of them was now slipping white latex gloves on his hands while the other had already taken out a thick industrial plastic wrap that was neatly folded, from the duffle bag. His hand also took out a medium sized sledgehammer and a nail that's almost the length of a tent pin.

The man then made his way towards the warehouse door, following after his partner that was now exiting the place while making a phonecall. He made one last glance at the nude body as the masked men, who were done spreading out the plastic wrap on floor, lifted the girl and laid her on the wrap. His eyes caught the sight of nail being stood on the girl's temple as he walked out of the door. And then heard the echoes of the nail being hammered as he stepped into the chilly weather of the night with visibility made fair by the moon in the cloudless sky.

Filling his lungs with a deep breath of fresh air, he gave the moon a glance, and gently exhaled. He made several glances around the place that looked secluded and surrounded with several rundown structures. A few rusty signboards and some worn out machineries lying around, showed that it was an abandoned factory complex.

Two vehicles stood a few feet away from him. One was a minivan that the masked men had used to transport their victim to the place. The other vehicle was a black Bmw that brought the man and his partner. His partner was standing beside the Bmw, and now ending the phone conversation that he had been having.

His partner then coming with his hand tucking the cellphone into his pocket. "Johnny and his crew just got a drop on our top priority subject", he began. "They saw her at her residence this afternoon".

"So why am i hearing this now, instead of being told that they have gotten their hands on her", the man asked.

"That's the same question i asked him", his partner replied with a shrug. "According to him, he wanted to make a double check in order to be sure that she is the one. And with her staying in a well secured residential area, making a quick grab at that location in daylight might create alot of problems for him.

"How? That fool only need a loaded gun and the threat to cause harm, to make her stay silent and get into his car like a good girl", the man scoffed. "Or is he intending to do the job with a f@cking military tank?", he asked with a chuckle.

The man's partner chuckled too. "But no worries about that though", he said to the man. "He said that everything is now in place. And that we should be expecting her being delivered to us by tomorrow morning".

"Okay", the man nodded, looking quite pleased with the news. Then he glanced at his wristwatch. "Anything else?", he asked and started heading towards the Bmw.

"Yes", his partner replied and followed him. "I just got off the phone with Bronco. He wants to have a meeting with you".

The man paused in his tracks on hearing the news. He looked over his shoulder and gave his partner and inquisitive gaze.

"And he wants it to be done immediately", his partner added.

The man maintained his gaze at his partner for a brief while. "Did he say where he wants to meet?", he then asked.

"He said we should drive to Palmgroove boulevard and call him when we get there", his partner replied.

"Well", the man sighed and opened the door to the backseat of the Bmw. "If he wants me to meet him immediately, then we should be on our way to Palmgroove boulevard", he grunted and dropped his weight on the black leather covered car seat.

His partner got behind the car wheel and the headlamps switched on with the car engine turning over.


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

..

Eric gently placed the white chinaware plate on the dining table as he and Alex quietly prepared the table for dinner. Benjamin, Esther's 2-year-old son, and Eric's little brother was sitting among the numerous toys on the living room floor and cheerily playing with one. And each time his attention was drawn to the twins, he stares at them confusedly. Alex had visited the house several times. But on each occasion, he was always left wondering which of the twins was the one that he always sees in the house.

Eric looked in Benjamin's position and smiled at him. He ran his eyes at the rest of the plates he had properly set on the table and looked at Alex. His brother was standing beside him, cluelessly staring at the cutleries in his hand. Alex had never set a dinner table before and was wondering on which side of the plates to place the right cutlery.

"What are you doing?", Eric asked him.

Alex sighed with a defeated look on his face. "On which side of the plate should the fork and spoon go?", he replied with his question.

"Years of stuffing your face at the dinner table and you still don't know the proper side for each cutleries?", Eric chuckled at him and turned away.

"Hey man, where am from, the house helps do that work",

"And I am very impressed with that dumb excuse".

"Yeah, why don't you impress my balls in your dumb mouth, man"

"Hand me the knife first so that I can see which of them, to begin with".

"You mean the knife that I'm about to sheath in between your ass?".

Then Esther stepped into the dining place with her mitts covered hands carrying a steaming bowl of food. Her ears were greeted by the twins back and forth.

"Boys", she chuckled and set the bowl at the center of the dining table. "I wonder what this house would be like if I had ended up with both of you", she laughed and took the cutleries from Alex.

"It would have been a much better place than it is now, ma", Alex smiled.

"Yeah, with someone constantly passing out from doing simple housework", Eric muttered quietly.

"More like stocking up lots of aspirin that I will be needing just to see that you two get along with each other", Esther quipped as she properly set the cutleries. "I might even age faster".

"Nah, that will never happen", Alex opposed with a smile.

Esther looked at Eric. "Eric, I want you to help me with something in my bedroom", she requested. Eric nodded and followed Esther as she walked out of the dining room. Then he paused and looked at Benjamin.

"If you catch him stealing meat, you beat his ass", Eric said to his little brother and it brought a cute smile on Benjamin's face though he didn't even understand that order.

"Bro, just a few years left before you start running for the hills whenever he comes around", Alex said after Eric as he left.

"You boys", Esther laughed as she led the way to her bedroom.

When Eric and Esther got inside the well-organized bedroom with a king-sized bed, Esther quietly closed the door.

"So", Esther began and looked at Eric. "What is this business you have in Easthill that brought Alex all the way from there to inform you?", she asked.

Eric shrugged. "I thought he had already told us", he replied.

"That your father wants you to sign some documents? That's not really convincing, not to me", Esther noted, furrowing her brows at Eric.

"Well, I have to be there myself to know if that's what it is about", Eric said. "And I have also decided to use it as an opportunity to spend the holiday with Lisa too", he further lied.

"But you said that she won't be coming to the country".

"She had a change of plan".

Esther sighed and thoughtfully stared at the door of the room that she shared with her husband, David.

"I hope it's not about your mother?", she then asked. "You know that I am always concerned about you meeting her, after all, that she had made you go through", she muttered. "Ever since that woman appeared, it's always you going from one camp to another, staying there for months and coming back looking different".

"I don't think it has anything to do with Nina", Eric said and hated himself for lying to his foster mother. "Besides I am old enough to take care of myself. You have to stop worrying too much about me though", he stated.

Esther looked at her son. "Eric, you know it's very difficult for me to do that", she said to him. "Last time someone said that to me, I ended up having a lasting painful memory". Esther paused for a short moment and shook her head with a downcast gaze. Then she looked back at Eric. "But I don't want to be the one holding you back from doing the things that you want to do. You should go if it is something that must be done", she continued. "But always bear in mind that I will be waiting till you come back home, and I will never forgive you if you don't", Esther concluded quietly.

Eric could hear the sadness in her tone of voice when Esther uttered those last words. He drew closer and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry mom, I will be back when am done", he assured her with a smile. "You know that I always come back home to you", he added, rubbing his mother's shoulder.

Esther nodded and then walked out of the bedroom. Eric's cell phone made a brief vibration of an alert in his pocket as he followed his foster mother. He reached for it as he stepped out of the room. Then he paused in his tracks with furrowed brows as he read the new text message that he had just received, and then joined the rest at the dining table.

The dining table was now completely set for the day's dinner. Benjamin was now sitting in his toddler chair that was next to Esther's seat and being bubbly. Eric dropped his weight on the chair next to Alex, who had already made himself comfortable at the table. Alex rubbed his palms with a delightful stare at the delicious food in front of him with its sweet aroma and immediately reached for his spoon.

"Alex, do the honour of saying the prayer before we eat", Eric said to his brother.

"Aww come on man", Alex sighed with his hand left suspending over his cutleries. "Why do you have to do me like that?".

"What's the matter now?", Eric asked.

"You know that I ain't the religious type", Alex protested and sheepishly glanced at Esther.

"I don't care if you worship Baphomet, just say a prayer so that we can all eat. I'm starving", Eric interrupted.

"Alex dear, just say a short prayer", Esther smiled.

Alex sighed again. "Dear Father....God in heaven....", he began with his eyes closed.

The first line of the prayer amused Esther. But Eric's mind was on the text message that he had received. It was a text from Lisa. And as Alex continued his prayer, Eric was busy trying to think up an alternative plan that he could put in motion, other than the one that Nina had set for them. He needs a good one because Lisa said that she will be in the country by tomorrow morning.

King2019:
Welcome back bro, I am happy you still remember your loyal reader

Of course I do bro. You guys are the ones inspiring me.

Olaitan3784:
Before reading, let me say a big WELCOME BACK TO YOU

Thanks my sis. Longest time oo

Meneski

yungbanks:
Please keep it coming so far so good

Will do that, thanks man

Deasegun19:
yes. yes. Eric. Eric.

I will be seeing you guys next week friday. I hope you all have a good one this weekend.