Damn, I needed this update, thanks man

Corrections made again

When are you updating again Boss?

Ambassador21:
When are you updating again Boss?

Probably on Friday or Saturday.

ironkurtain:


Probably on Friday or Saturday.

Good day sir hope all is well? You don't fail us ooh. I don't refresh page tire.

Ojusco:
Good day sir hope all is well? You don't fail us ooh. I don't refresh page tire.

My bros no vex o. Due to the Halloween incident in Seoul South korea, I have been busy all night making calls to check up on both my Naija and Korean friends.

ironkurtain:


My bros no vex o. Due to the Halloween incident in Seoul South korea, I have been busy all night making calls to check up on both my Naija and Korean friends.

Alright sir, abeg try package us.

Hope it didn't affect people close to you? been awhile we're missing your updates ooo boss

ironkurtain:


My bros no vex o. Due to the Halloween incident in Seoul South korea, I have been busy all night making calls to check up on both my Naija and Korean friends.

They raced as fast as their feet could carry them through the drainage tunnel with barely enough light in the dark narrow path to see what they were stepping on. Three gunmen were now jumping into the drain tunnel, with the last one retreating into the house. The men unleashed gunfire at the three fleeing individuals that were speedily making for the side street that was several meters away. And the gunmen started giving them a hot pursuit.

Gasps of breath, feet stomping, gunfires, and loud voices, filled the dark and narrow pathway with a filthy drain tunnel that ran in between the fenced houses on both sides. Doors slamming and being bolted shut could be heard too. Dogs were barking out loud, and a few infants bawling hysterically. The air was thick with sounds of chaos, the danger coming after Jessica and the two men running with her was very great, and adrenaline ran extremely high as they ran for their lives.

However, they finally reached where the drainage tunnel ended as a concrete culvert pipe that ran under the side street in the neighbourhood. And they did so without taking any hit from the multiple bullets being sent their way by the gunmen. Eric turned around and opened fire at the gunmen to hold them off while Rangel and Jessica quickly climbed out of the tunnel and onto the street pavement with Rangel giving his woman a helping hand. Eric then joined them, and they started running towards the main street where he had parked his car.

On reaching the street, Eric sighted his Mercedes Benz that he had parked several meters away from Jessica's house, and ran towards the vehicle. Rangel and Jessica immediately followed him. He took out the electronic key as he approached the vehicle and pressed the button to unlock its doors.

"Go to the white Benz!", Eric ordered Rangel and Jessica. Then he sent shots at the gunmen to hold them off again while Rangel frantically opened the backdoor of the car and shoved Jessica into the backseat.

The gunman that had retreated into the house suddenly appeared from the front door and opened up at Eric with his assault weapon. Bullets whizzed past Eric, missing him by inches. He immediately docked down and sent his replies to the man. The man got struck in his thigh and stomach, and he dropped to the ground gravely wounded. Rangel, who had gotten into the car immediately jumped into the front passenger seat and hit the engine 'Start' button as Eric quickly came over and opened the driver's door. Eric dropped his weight behind the wheel, tossed the assault rifle at Rangel, hit the gear, and floored the gas pedal.

The tires of the Benz screeched hard on the asphalt and shot forward to make the getaway. Rangel hit the window wind-down button and fired off the last bullets in the gun magazine at the gunmen chasing behind them. Eric pulled out his pistol from his waistband as they speedily drove past Jessica's house and killed the man that he had injured; the man was still trying to crawl into the house to take cover.

Rangel reclined in his seat tiredly with his eyes shut. "Thank you Lord", he heaved. "Thank you, thank you, thank you", he continued breathlessly.

"Still too early to say that prayer", Eric muttered with a glance at the rearview mirror. "Those men aren't done yet", he continued after seeing the black mini-van that the remaining three gunmen had jumped into, now moving to give them a pursuit. "They are coming after us".

"What da f@ck?", Rangel gasped. He looked at the back screen and saw the van coming after them. "I'm spent", he said hysterically after he dislodged the gun magazine and saw that it was empty. "What are we gonna do?", he asked and looked at Eric.

Eric didn't reply. He was glancing around the empty street that they were racing through and stealing glances at the van steadily covering the distance between them.

"Get the gun under your seat", he then told Rangel.

Rangel immediately did so, reaching under his seat and pulling out the Ak-47 Eric had left there. The new weapon brought a delightful smile to his face and he quickly made a move to shoot at the van behind them.

"No!". Eric stopped him short. He took another glance at the rearview mirror to see the distance between them and the van. Then he swung the Mercedes to his right, and into a narrow street. He raced the car down the street, passed a building, and made another sharp turn into another very narrow alley beside the building with a dead end ahead of it. He brought the car to a screeching halt and turned off its headlights.

"What the f@ck are you doing?", Rangel barked as Eric speedily opened his door and snatched the assault rifle from him.

Eric quickly ran towards the street that he had diverted from and took position beside the wall of the building, adjacent to the street with his gun pointing ahead. In no time, the road that he was facing, was flooded with light from headlamps as the vehicle that was conveying their assailants, turned into the street. Eric readied his finger on the trigger with the roaring engine getting louder as the van speedily got closer to his position. The front side of the van then flashed before Eric's eyes, and so did his finger stroke the trigger of the weapon.

The Kalashnikov barked and buckled with every blow from the automatic hammer. Multiple rounds of 7.62 mm slugs that came with deadly intentions, shattered the front passenger door screen and rattled the rest of the vehicle that drove past Eric as he let the cartridges continue spitting death. The gunman in the front passenger seat was killed instantly, the driver suffered the same fate too. The third gunman in the back seat took several slugs to his chest. His body was also thrown to the front side of the van and mangled when the vehicle violently crashed into the back of a large trash truck that was parked ahead with a force that briefly lifted the van's back wheels off the ground.

Eric then cautiously went over to the van with the assault rifle pointed and peered into the wreckage of the destruction that he had caused. The dreadful collision had left the bodies of the driver and the man in the front, totally pulverized; two trips would be required to transport one of the dead bodies out of the wrecked van. The third man was still moving. A lot of blood was spurting out from the bullet holes in his body and the grievous looking split on his skull. His limbs were also twisted in ways that looked very nasty and extremely painful.

Eric took one more look at the bloody mess and death in the van and turned his rifle at the third man. Three loud gunshots rang out with the bullet casings littering around the car, when he took the man out of his misery. Then he turned around and started heading back towards his car, very unwilling to go through the blood and guts in the wrecked car for any piece of information.

Rangel and Jessica were now standing together outside the Mercedes. They had gotten out of the car after hearing the gunshots and loud crash. And they also witnessed the killing of their last assailant. Both of them were now staring at Eric intently as he approached them. Jessica looked visibly concerned, and Rangel was trying to hide his feelings.

"Someone must have paid good money for your head", Eric began at Rangel, as he made glances around the alley that was poorly lit.

Rangel regarded Eric for a short while, and glanced at Jessica. "What makes you think so?", he then asked.

Eric chuckled at the question. "No man would pay seven heavily armed and hardened killers just to kill one harmless woman", he noted and jerked his head at Jessica. "Even a rich guy that's about to be totally f@cked over by an ex-wife in a divorce court, wouldn't even go that far", he continued. "Your girl doesn't look like the ex-wife of some wealthy bloke, and everything about you speaks of a guy that's always into something that ain't good". He narrowed his eyes at Rangel.

"And what about you?", Rangel asked with a fixed gaze at Eric. "Maybe they were after you", he muttered.

"I know very well that it wasn't me cos no one followed me", Eric disagreed. "I made sure of that when I was coming to your girl's place", he went on. "And no one else followed her when I was following her", he added.

"But I caught your ass off guard when you came to her house", Rangel put in. "What makes you think that it will be impossible for you to be followed without you getting to know about it?", he asked.

"You didn't follow me, your monkey ass was hiding somewhere near your girl's house", Eric muttered with a searching gaze at Rangel. "Probably at a usual spot where you had always waited for her to come home", he added.

"But, I'm not the one that killed Bronco's brother, John, and those guys that you just killed are his men", Rangel stated.

"How do you know that those guys were Bronco's men", Eric asked.

That's his M.O.", Rangel replied. "A carload of men with Ak-47 that are ready to start blasting at anything", he continued.

"But I still doubt that those men were coming after me", Eric still disagreed with being the target of the gunmen that he had killed. "First, Bronco, or whatever his name is, still doesn't have the face of the guy that killed his brother. Secondly, if those men were after me, they would have lit my ass up the moment I stepped out of my car", he noted. "And they were already there waiting before I came over. Probably waiting for someone that always comes to her house", he went on with his eyes on Rangel.

Rangel said nothing. It was the truth. He had been waiting for Jessica to arrive and was about to make his move before holding back when he noticed a stranger walking up to her door. The strange man whose actions had made him escape death by the skin of his teeth.

"Okay, let's just say what you just said is true", he agreed and glanced at the assault rifle in Eric's hands. "Now the f@cking question is, how did Bronco's men get to find out that I was in that location?", he asked. "I also made sure that I wasn't followed. Hell, I even circled the area several times to be sure that no one was on my ass before waiting at my usual spot that is very well hidden", he continued.

"Says the guy who didn't even know that he was walking around with a busted pistol", Eric snorted. "How many friends of yours know about you and your girlfriend?", he asked.

"I have no friends, and only one person knows that I am seeing Jessica", Rangel replied.

"And that person happens to be Reggie, right?", Eric asked.

"That's right", Rangel nodded.

"Then he might have ratted you out to Big John's men and his brother. He seems to have some kind of a connection to them, maybe as a way to take Bronco off his back, because it was his bar that Bronco's brother had visited before he was killed", Eric stated.

"No, I don't think so", Jessica disagreed and speaking to Eric for the first time.

"What makes you think so?", Eric asked Jessica and fixed a gaze at her. "It's probably the reason why he allowed you to get off work very early on a busy day in his bar", he went on. "The guy is clearly serious about his business".

"She is right", Rangel supported his girlfriend. "And Reggie wouldn't do such a thing", he said firmly.

"You can't be sure about that".

"I am a hundred percent sure. Reggie has no connection with John or his brother, Bronco".

Eric gave Rangel a brief curious stare. "So how did Reggie get to hear about John's death?", he asked.

"I was the person that brought the news to him", Rangel replied.

Eric remained silent with a thoughtful look on his face as he lowered his gaze. Then he noticed that his shoes were covered with mud. And his eyes saw how soiled the legs of his trousers were, and also noticed that he was smelling horrible. The distant wailing sirens of the ambulances and police squad cars also caught his attention.

"We have to get the hell out of here", Rangel then said, also hearing the sirens.

"Yeah", Eric agreed and glanced around the alley. "But we still have a lot to talk about. So, you gonna be driving". He motioned the assault rifle at Rangel, gesturing at him to move. "And your girl will be sitting beside you", he continued.

Without wasting any time or asking questions, Rangel immediately did as he was told. Jessica regarded Eric shortly with a look that says of little trust in the man with the Automat Kalashnikov in his hands, and then followed after Rangel. The three of them got into the Mercedes, with Rangel getting behind the wheel. Jessica dropped her weight in the front passenger seat and glanced at Eric through the side mirror as he got in the back seat of the car. Rangel brought life to the car engine and started driving, taking directions from Eric and heading towards another destination that Eric had in mind.


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

And again, my apologies for not putting up any update on in this story. The Halloween incident last week was a real horror. It was quite difficult coping throughout the week with that tragedy being constantly replayed in my head.

ironkurtain:
And again, my apologies for not putting up any update on in this story. The Halloween incident last week was a real horror. First time in Korea's for that number of people getting killed in a stampede.

I appreciate the little update. Take care of yourself and your family.

Vidamia:

I appreciate the little update. Take care of yourself and your family.

Thanks my bros. The incident really affect us over here, mentally most especially. The epicenter where it happened was where I always hangout and I had plans to go there that day with the family, but had a change of mind cos I was strangely feeling unwell. Might have been a warning sign.

ironkurtain:


Thanks my bros. The incident really affect us over here, mentally most especially. The epicenter where it happened was where I always hangout and I had plans to go there that day with the family, but had a change of mind cos I was strangely feeling unwell. Might have been a warning sign.

Wow! Thank God for preservation o.

Thanks for the update boss

The elevator that had been humming quietly for a while finally arrived at the tenth floor with a ding sound. Its steel polished double doors slide apart and Alex stepped into the empty brightly lit and pleasantly designed corridor of the fifteen-storey multi-purpose building that housed studio apartments and commercial units. And the building is located in an upper-middle-class bustling neighbourhood in Easthill.

Alex started walking down the corridor, with the doors of the elevator behind him quietly sliding shut. He hummed quietly to himself, the heels of his black Blundstone boots digging into the red carpet that covered the floor as he walked past several doors on both sides. He reached the far end of the corridor and stood in front of the door on his left. He glanced at the illuminated house number sign with "1007" written on it and then pressed the doorbell.

A long moment of silence passed. Then the sound of the door's electronic lock was heard. The door opened and a young fellow stood before Alex. He was average in height, quite skinny, and wore eyeglasses with prescription lenses. The young man regarded Alex with an uncomfortable smile and briefly peered into the corridor.

"What's up, Chris", Alex began with a faint smile at the young man who happened to be his best friend throughout high school, and still his best friend.

"Cool", Chris replied quietly and took another quick peek into the corridor like a suspicious mouse. "Couldn't it wait till tomorrow? I told you that i was very busy tonight", he continued with a sigh.

"Hm". Alex regarded Chris suspiciously. "Chris being too busy to dig into some technological gadgets and devices? That's kind of new to me though", he said.

"Chris, who is it?". A female voice in the apartment asked.

Alex cocked his head on hearing the voice and stared at Chris with a mischievous grin. "You should have told me that you were...getting some tonight", he then chuckled.

Chris uncomfortably shifted his weight from one foot to the other. He looked over his shoulder and took a glance into his apartment.

"That's what I was trying to do before you showed up, man", he rasped out quickly with a whisper. His body leaned closer to Alex to say those words.

"Cindy?", Alex asked.

Chris nodded.

"Nah", Alex shook his head. He moved forward and Chris stepped aside to give ground. "It ain't gonna happen tonight....and probably many other nights to come", he continued quietly as he stepped into the apartment.

Alex crossed the soft rug-covered floor of the fairly big studio apartment that was pleasantly furnished and very cozy. He stood at the center of the floor with his eyes casually scanning the room; taking glances at the few nice looking furniture, keeping his sights longer at the reading table that has a bookshelf on one side of its surface with two big computer screens in front, and disregarding the female occupant that was sitting on the bed with several books beside her and giving him a curious stare. After a long while of him taking notes of the apartment that he had visited countless times, he finally rested his eyes on the young woman that had been staring at him quietly.

"Hi Alex", the young woman began at Alex with a superficial smile. "What brings you here at this time of the night?", she demanded quietly, putting up a friendly face.

"Nah, the question is, why are you still here?", Alex said to her.

The young girl who looked quite beautiful and dressed in a mini jean skirt and a tight black t-shirt with good-sized bosoms gave Chris a confused glance. Chris, who had paced towards them, was standing beside Alex and furrowing his brows at him.

"Let me guess, you are here for the routine that you had done more than a million times", Alex continued indifferently. His eyes trailed off from the girl and stared at the two empty cola bottles lying next to the bed with the food delivery wrap box that was filled with the bones of the chicken that she and Chris had eaten. "To come over, as usual, get my friend to do your school work, enjoy some good refreshments at his expense, and then leave", he continued.

"What is he talking about?", the girl asked with her eyes on Chris.

Chris opened his mouth to say something, but Alex silenced him with a finger raised to his face.

"I am very curious to know what he is getting in return for all this goodwill of his, cos that's what I have been trying to figure out in this setup between the two of you", Alex went on. "So, what is it?", he asked and returned a fixed gaze at the girl.

The girl pursed her lips, regarded Alex with a knowing look on her face, and turned away.

"I do have a lot of problems with anyone that enjoys taking advantage of my very good friend", Alex then stated firmly. "And I always smell that stink whenever you come and leave his place. And you gotta also know that it is the good side of me that is talking right now. So you better hit the door before the bad side comes out", he concluded and jerked his head at the door.

The girl stole a glance at Alex, and looked at Chris intently, waiting for him to say something.

But Chris said nothing at all to Alex, or to her even. All Alex had said, somehow sounded true to him. The girl had visited him times without number. Throughout those times, he had solved the school assignments that she had presented to him like it was his own, which he had done many times for her. And he had bought food and other things that she had requested from him, done a lot more. Thinking that they had grown close enough to each other, Chris had on several occasions, expressed his desire for them to start a relationship. But the closest he had gotten to that desire so far, if not solving her assignments or eating the food that he had bought with his money, was he being made to listen to her endless yarns that were no better than sitting in close proximity to a radio that's broadcasting the speech of an old politician speaking in a foreign language.

Alex was aware of their relationship, and knew very well what was going on between Chris and the girl; Chris had told him about the relationship when he was seeking advice on how to get a date with a girl. But it was very clear that the girl was just playing games with his friend who was still a novice when it comes to dealings with the opposite sex. Chris has never had a girlfriend due to his very limited knowledge of the dating game, and mainly due to him being too intimidated to approach a girl he fancies. And the reason why he was finding it very difficult to get a girl to date him.

Seeing that Chris wasn't making any move, or saying anything at all to defend her honour, the girl quietly gathered her books with a heavy sigh and got to her feet. She gave Alex a brief unpleasant look, said nothing to Chris, headed straight to the door with her arms clutching her books around her chest, and shut the door quite noisily after she had walked out of the apartment.

"Dude!", Chris then began at Alex and immediately proceeded to gather up the bottles and box of chicken bones that were lying on the floor. "Do you have to say all that nonsense to her?", he asked and took everything to the kitchen side of his apartment.

"What do you mean by - all that nonsense?", Alex chuckled and dropped his weight on the side of the bed that the girl had vacated. "I just saved you from a whole world of pain and heartbreak", he sighed. "That girl is nothing but a f@cking scavenger, a damn parasite in your life".

"Aw come on! It's always about that irritating suspicion of yours". Chris left the bottles and food box in the kitchen sink and walked back into the room. "You may be wrong about Cindy, dude", he muttered and sat heavily beside Alex with a sigh. "And from what I saw today, I think she was finally deciding to accept my proposal", he continued with his eyes staring at the door.

"How?".

"She was extra nice today....and was getting quite touchy with me".

Alex snorted and rolled his eyes at what he perceived as total foolishness from his friend. And he said, "Nah, you thought wrong".

"No I'm very sure of that", Chris insisted. "Her behaviour was far friendlier than before, and in a very cheerful mood as if enjoying being around me today", he continued thoughtfully.

Alex snorted again. "Any girl that gets a good pounding that took her to Hong Kong and back, always ends up being in a cheerful and very friendly mood", he said to Chris with a cheeky smile. "Hell, she will even be more than willing to run around the kitchen at two in the early morning of demon time, making tasty sandwiches for the guy that performed the marvelous job", he continued, still smiling.

"So what are you trying to tell me, huh?", Chris demanded, regarding Alex suspiciously.

"She might have taken a good one from Mr. Chad Thundercock, before hitting your place to get a nourishing replenishment for the fifth round", Alex replied, glancing around the apartment as he said so.

"I don't think so, man", Chris muttered and shook his head. But Alex's reply had brought a thoughtful expression that clouded his face with his brows furrowed. "And who is Mr. Chad Thundercock?", he demanded.

Alex sighed and dug a hand into the pocket of the Heather black, Tommy Hilfiger wool coat that he wore. "Girls do get nice for a million and one other reasons apart from wanting to start something with a guy, be it a relationship or spreading her legs like the gospel for the said guy", he said quietly. "Do bear that in mind my friend and your life will run its course smoothly", he advised and took out three cell phones from his pocket. "Anyway, just forget about trying to break your way into Cindy's pants for now, and tell me if you can break into these cellphones". He handed the three mobile devices to Chris.

Chris gave the three cell phones that had been turned off, a brief study. "Whose cellphones are these?", he asked Alex curiously.

"I will explain later", Alex replied. "Can you get all the information in these phones", he asked.

"You just have to switch it on and search the files and storage, man", Chris chuckled.

"If it was that easy, I wouldn't be here putting an end to the bullshit festival that was going on in your apartment", Alex sighed. "And the owners are not stupid enough not to put a passcode in their phones", he went on.

Chris sighed and gave the cell phones another brief check. "So what do you want me to do?", he asked.

"I want you to dig into them thoroughly, get all the files and call history, even the deleted ones if possible, and see if you can track all the places that it had been used to make calls", Alex stated. "I mean every goddamn thing about everything that these phones are made to do".

"Sounds like a lot of work", Chris muttered quietly.

"Yeah", Alex agreed. "But you gotta do what you gotta do to get them cos it is very important to me".

"Okay", Chris sighed again, staring at the devices. Then he pursed his lips and looked at Alex. "But at least, can you tell me what this is all about", he demanded

"All I can tell you is that this is a life and death situation", Alex replied.

Wait!, what?". Chris regarded his friend with wide eyes. "Please don't get me into a situation that would get me killed, man!", he protested.

"Nah, don't worry about that. You will live long enough to bang chicks that are ten times hotter than that foul thing that just walked out of here", Alex smiled.

"Hm, so are you gonna help me with that", Chris asked with a sudden look of interest on his face.

Alex snorted and slowly reclined till his back was laid in the bed. "I'm having a dry spell, man", he muttered with his eyes closed. "Even made me fancy a nice looking ass of some forty-something years old woman. And I can't say if it is indeed a nice looking ass, or the dry spell now getting into my brain", he continued quietly.

"Sooo...". The look of frustration quickly replaced the expression of interest on Chris's face. "My hopelessness will have to continue till further notice", he murmured and got to his feet.

Alex's cell phone then vibrated an incoming call that made him open his eyes and sit up. He glanced at Chris who was now taking a seat at his reading desk, and he reached into his pocket for his cell phone. He looked at the screen and saw a number that he didn't recognize.


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

Nice update boss, may your pen never run dry, still anticipating more. When are we getting served next?

interesting.

Damn these typos! damn them to pieces!!.

Please do reread it again. Why am I making these elementary school mistakes all the time?. It's getting quite irritating.

Thanks bro ironkurtain

Imagine Alex too dey give dating lessons

Ibunkun1:
Imagine Alex too dey give dating lessons

My brother, I am even surprised o.

You're just going in a circle, just for Alex's friend to unlock a phone and you wrote about him and his girlfriend without him unlocking the phone.

Wolex76:
You're just going in a circle, just for Alex's friend to unlock a phone and you wrote about him and his girlfriend without him unlocking the phone.

I don't understand what you are talking about.

Wolex76:
You're just going in a circle, just for Alex's friend to unlock a phone and you wrote about him and his girlfriend without him unlocking the phone.

Onye Circle, have you been reading the updates,

That Cindy is Connected to the happenings, And She had been turning Chris to her ATM,

do4luv14:



Onye Circle, have you been reading the updates,

That Cindy is Connected to the happenings, And She had been turning Chris to her ATM,

You no suppose answer the guy. When God wan dash some people brain dem run comot for him front

ironkurtain:


My brother, I am even surprised o.

Surprise Surprise
Don't let me laugh oo

ironkurtain:


I don't understand what you are talking about.

Good day boss man Trust all is well sah

What a wonderful story you've got here OP. I hope you are fine.

ironkurtain:


I don't understand what you are talking about.

How are you and your family doing, it's over a month and no update.
I hope all are well with you

The white Mercedes cruised smoothly along the street that was illuminated by the streetlights. The three occupants in the sedan were on high alert and making cautious glances at every vehicle that passed them as their car drove at a steady speed. The silence that had settled in their midst from the alley where their journey had begun, was up until now, still in place. They all seemed to have something on their minds: The two in the front were visibly worried, and still thinking about their close shave with death that they earlier had at the house, while the lone passenger at the back, expressed none and bearing thoughts of his next move to make.

Rangel glanced at the road sign that they drove past. He thought for a long moment and then decided to break the silence that had settled amongst them from the time their journey had begun, and up until now, was still in their midst. "So where are we going?", he asked and glanced at Eric through the rearview mirror.

"Somewhere", Eric replied indifferently with a hand on the assault rifle resting on his lap, gazing at the scenery outside the car finger on the trigger of the assault rifle resting on his laps

"And where is this somewhere?", Rangel demanded.

"A place that could either be a safe place for you and your girl....or a holding house, depending on what I find out about you two", Eric replied, still sounding indifferent.

Jessica got a little bit more worried.

Rangel swallowed hard with the same expression that his girlfriend had on her face. He had seen what the man sitting behind him can do. And he knew that this wasn't the type of person he would want to mess with.

"Dude, you gotta know that we ain't got nothing to do with whatever situation that you had with John", he mentioned quietly as he smoothly worked the steering wheel of the Benz.

"Okay", Eric muttered. "But I do have trust issues whenever am faced with problems of that nature".

"Look, I'm on your side in this sh!t situation", Rangel stated. Then he frowned. "I have been trying to get that motherfucker Bronco for a long time", he muttered quietly.

"A lot of people probably do want Bronco dead, from what I've heard about him", Eric agreed. "But that doesn't necessarily mean that they are on my side", he noted.

Rangel glanced at Eric again through the rearview mirror. "So..what did Reggie tell you about Bronco?", he asked.

Eric moved his eyes away from the scenery outside the car to the weapon on his lap. "Reggie told me that he is one hell of a violent man", he replied.

"Is that all he told you?",

"That was his exact words"

Rangel chuckled. "I guess he probably didn't want to get you too scared", he said.

Eric then narrowed his eyes at Rangel's position. "Do I come off as someone who easily gets scared?", he asked.

"Hey man, I don't know who you are", Rangel sighed. But if your get-down isn't as brutal and as wicked as Bronco's, then you have no business whatsoever, going to war with him", he warned.

"So you are implying that I'm supposed to be scared, huh?", Eric muttered.

I'm only saying that you gotta be careful, man. The guy is a ruthless motherfucker", Rangel said. "If there is any bad person that you know very well, then think of this guy as being ten times worse.

"Is he that much of a bad guy?", Eric asked.

"Yes, he is that bad", Jessica answered the question, now looking quite relaxed and no longer the bundle of nerves that was sitting beside Rangel. she had already made the decision to accept whatever fate the armed man behind her, brings to her. She was no longer afraid of him causing her harm. And she has no reason to be because it was his quick intervention that saved her and Rangel from certain death.

She was yet to understand the motives behind his actions against Bronco and how it involves them. But she did know one damn thing for sure; she and Rangel will be needing all the help that they could get to save them from Bronco.

Bronco wants Rangel dead by all means. And it was clear that Bronco now knows of her relationship with Rangel; his men showing up at her house, guns-blazing, was proof of that. So sticking with the man who was out to do the same and probably worse to Bronco, seemed to be the best option for them, to which she had given some thought, and decided that it was in their best interest to keep their enemy's enemy, in their company. And from what she had heard from Reggie and seen so far, the man behind them seemingly possesses the uncanny abilities of a natural-born killer.

"Do you also know Bronco that well?", Eric asked with his eyes at Jessica.

"A friend of mine told me a lot about him", Jessica replied.

"And who is this friend of yours?".

"Someone that I have known since childhood.

Eric nodded and pursed his lips.

"She also works in a club that Bronco usually visits. A strip club", Jessica continued. "She said the guy always looks sinister and with some kind of an unsettling...eerie vibe around him, even when he is chilling".

"It's like he and his brother are out chasing tail when they are not murdering people", Eric murmured.

"No, he doesn't go there for the women", Jessica disagreed. "He never shows any interest in the women".

"I don't think he gives a sh!t about women", Rangel added to what his girlfriend just said. "The dude looks like the type of guy who doesn't even sleep with women", he snorted.

Eric sneered and glanced at the car that slowly overtook them. "Why don't you give me the location of the strip club so that I can go make him a done situation", he suggested.

"It ain't that easy", Rangel muttered. "I have tried that a lot of times".

"What makes you think that it won't be for me?", Eric asked.

"Believe me, man. It ain't gonna be", Rangel insisted. "The man always brings a squad of trigger-happy goons with him", he went on. "And the men ain't the type that will be pointing at who to kill if someone happens to make a move at him. They will be shooting at everything. My ass is being wanted by the authorities for something less, and I wouldn't wanna add innocent bystanders being killed in a shootout to the list. Besides, with his brother dead, Bronco won't be hanging around his regular spot. He is not that stupid".

For a long moment, Eric thought about what Rangel had said. "So what's your beef with Bronco?", he then asked Rangel.

Rangel paused for a long moment. The anger in his eyes could be seen through the rearview mirror. "He killed my brother", he then replied. "He never did Bronco or anybody any wrongdoing", he continued, and the pain of losing someone very close to him could be heard in his voice. "He wasn't even the violent type, always settled every dispute amicably".

"I guess your brother was also in the drug game", Eric said.

Rangel nodded.

"Well, that's the nature of the business, I am sure your brother was aware of what he was getting himself into", Eric continued. "It's either doing time in the slammer or ending up in the grave".

"Yeah, he was selling dope, and I know very well that it was wrong and dangerous", Rangel agreed. "But he was doing it cos it was the only way for him to take care of himself, and to also support my education, especially us growing up with no one to give us a helping hand. And he also took care of a lot of people, most of them were less privileged just as we had been when we were young.


Eric, who had been listening to Rangel then turned his sights outside the car. The unconcerned expression that he had on his face, also faded. He had considered Rangel and Jessica's situation not to be any of his business, but Rangel's words about his brother had gotten his undivided attention.

"Make a right turn and keep going until I tell you to stop", he then ordered Rangel.

Rangel quietly did as he was told and drove the car along a dark street that led to a low-class neighborhood.

Apologies for the long absence.

The Mercedes drove through the empty street of the neighbourhood for about a minute and came to a halt beside an old-looking building. The building was four floors high with a broken sign above its front door that identified the place as a motel. Rangel then carefully surveyed the building and the surrounding houses around them.

"So what now?", Rangel asked and stared at Eric through the rearview mirror.

Eric gave no response to Rangel's question and quietly alighted from the vehicle.

"I don't know what he intends to do with us", Rangel whispered to Jessica. "But there is something about this damn place that doesn't feel right", he continued and glanced around him.

"Yeah", Jessica agreed "I've heard things about this place", she whispered back to Rangel. "It was said that five leaders of a mafia family came to this place...and were never seen again".

Rangel stared at Jessica curiously.

"It was like they just....vanished", Jessica continued.

Then Rangel looked over his shoulder and stared intently at the assault rifle that Eric had left on the backseat. Jessica got hold of his arm and slowly shook her head at him. Rangel then heavily reclined in his seat with a sigh, staring ahead of him thoughtfully. And only Eric was aware that the rifle magazine was empty.

The both of them watched as Eric stood in front of the car. He stared at a particular house standing across the street, of similar height to the motel, and facing it. One of the windows on the top floor shone to the light in the room that was suddenly switched on. Eric waved his hand when the curtains of the window were slightly drawn apart with the silhouette of the occupant in the room peeking at them. The light then switched off moments later, and Eric motioned at Rangel and Jessica to come out of the car.

Rangel and Jessica nervously alighted from the car with cautious glances around them. Most of the houses in the neighbourhood even though quite old, were fairly better than the ones where Jessica lived. But the place still exudes some kind of a creeping sense of dread and danger, being there at that time of the night.

"Is this the place?", Rangel asked as Eric led them towards the motel.

Eric nodded.

"Are you sure that we will be safe in a place like this?", Rangel asked again and sounding quite nervous.

"As I had said earlier, it all depends", Eric answered. "It could either be a safe place for you guys or your place of demise", he continued.

Rangel made a brief pause with his eyes narrowed at Eric, and then he continued into the motel with Eric holding the door for him and Jessica.

Eric led them through the well-lit, narrow, and shabby-decorated lobby and stood before the front desk. He tapped the bell on the worn-out wooden surface of the desk and waited with his eyes fixed on the door of an inner room behind the desk. The door was left ajar and the sounds of the t.v in the room were faintly audible. Some movements were heard, the door opened wide, and an elderly woman with glasses stepped out of the room and peered at the three of them. She set her eyes on Eric and immediately gave him a recognizing bright smile.

The woman was well in her sixties, with a slender but quite strong-looking body. Her head was crowned with full and well-kempt, silver-coloured hair that was neatly tied behind her head. Her somewhat good-looking face still has the remnants of the youthful beauty that she once had before the onset of her autumn years.

"Samuel!", the old woman began cheerily at Eric. She quickly walked around the front desk and towards Eric with firm steps and a gait that would make anyone doubt her age.

"Good to see you again Mrs. Mary", Eric smiled at the woman when she stood before him.

Mary threw her arms around Eric and hugged him fervently. "I thought you won't be coming back again...like before", she said, held him for a long while and gave him a peck on the side of his face.

"I promised to always come to see you", Eric said to the old woman, gave her a tight hug, and planted a kiss on her forehead. "How are you doing?", he asked and stared into the face of the woman he was towering over.

"Same as usual", Mary replied, still hugging Eric tightly with her body pressed against his.

"And your health?".

"Still controlling the cholesterol. That's one enemy that I'm finding very difficult to defeat". Then Mary looked at both Rangel and Jessica. "Who are they?", she asked.

"Friends that I just made", Eric replied. "They ran into some kind of a hitch. So I brought them here to be protected".

Mary regarded them shortly with indifference. "A lot of people are coming here for protection these days", She said. "But my services don't come for free, and it is not for everyone though".

"They are not the type on a criminal grind",

"I wouldn't have asked about them if they were, especially seeing the ruggedly dressed softie beside the girl". Mary smiled at Eric.

Rangel's face formed a frown on being called a softie.

"But for you, my service is always free", Mary continued. Then she let go of Eric and went straight into the inner room.

"Samuel?", Rangel began and stared at Eric curiously. "Don't tell me that you and that old hag are.....".

"She always mistakes me for a lover that left her years before my mother was born", Eric interrupted. "And my name is not Samuel", he added.

"Oh", Rangel nodded and glanced at Jessica. "The old lady must be messed up in the head", he snorted.

Eric immediately expressed his dislike for what Rangel had said with a cold stare at him. "Well she got eighteen under her belt", he muttered.

"Eighteen what?....boyfriends?", Rangel sneered.

"Eighteen confirmed kills, when she was my age", Eric corrected. "Men, all whom you stand no chance at all, be it a fist, or gunfight", he stated.

The sneer on Rangel's face was wiped off in an instant. Jessica shot a glance at Eric and stared at the inner room with furrowed brows.

"And you better watch your f@cking mouth cos this woman runs the entire neighbourhood", Eric continued. "With just one snap of her finger, you will be sharing a very small bed with all sorts of monstrous men in need of men like you", he warned.

"I...will surely do that, man", Rangel signed. Then he glanced around the motel lobby, thinking about what Jessica had told him about the men that went missing after visiting the neighbourhood, and quietly muttering, "What the hell is this place".

Mary then reappeared from the room with a room key in her hand. "Do you need any other thing else, my dear?", she asked Eric and handed him the key.

"Yes mam, a change of clothes and a resupply", Eric replied.

"I've already set a pair of clean clothing for you in the room. You have enough stink to wake up corpses", Mary sighed. "And the resupply, is it for the long or short one?", she asked.

"The short one", Eric answered.

"The type?"

"The blunted four-five. I hope you still have the black ones".

Mary nodded with a faint smile. Then she gave Rangel a brief cold stare as if she heard what he had said about her, and turned to go behind her front desk. "Go inside and change your clothes, let me get your resupply", she told Eric.

"I hope the cheques are still coming in with the right figures?", Eric asked as he handed the key to Rangel and followed her.

"As always, my dear", Mary heaved her reply and rested her hands on her desk. "They are always punctual to the Tee when it comes to that".

"Okay". Eric then disappeared into the inner room.

Rangel and Jessica remained where they stood and watched Mary as she lowered her trunk with a sigh to reach for something below the desk. They heard the faint sound of her finger punching a button followed by the unlocking sound of a safe box. Mary then straightened up with her hand holding a small black box and quietly left it on the table. Rangel curiously paced closer to the desk and fixed his gaze on the box. The box label identified its contents to be the ammunition of a .45 handgun; Black Talon brand. Rangel then fixed a searching gaze at the old woman as she reached for the notebook on the table.

Mary started flipping the pages of the notebook, stopping to briefly linger over a page before going to the next. She did so with a face that was blank of expression. She remained as silent as a grave and gave no attention whatsoever to the two individuals standing before her.

Rangel's hand then slowly reached for the box of the deadly blunted bullets to take a closer look at it. This prompted Mary to freeze in her movement and remained still as a statue. Then the keen eyes behind her glasses slowly rolled from the page of the book in front of her and rested on the hand that Rangel had left suspended over the box after he noticed the sudden change in her demeanor. Jessica who was now standing beside Rangel immediately gave him a light nudge with her elbow and shook her head at him when he looked at her. Rangel then withdrew his adventurous hand, and Mary then moved her eyes back to the notebook and continued going through the pages.

Eric reappeared from the room, dressed in the new clothes that Mary had given him, with the dirty footwear that he had on being replaced with a new one. It was a perfect fit.

Mary turned her eyes to him, shortly admired his looks, and got hold of the ammo box. "So", she began and held the box in front of Eric. "You will be paying me regular visits for the time being", she said and handed him the box.

"Yes mam". Eric nodded. "Please do take care of the new guests".

"I will, as long as they don't start snooping around my business and keep a good habit", Mary said quietly, but it did come out as a warning. "I will be seeing you soon, Sam".

Eric nodded, gave Rangel and Jessica a brief look, and then walked out of the motel.

"You two should go to your room. It is on the third floor", Mary said nonchalantly to Rangel and Jessica. Go now before I change my mind", she concluded and faced the notebook on her desk.

Jessica immediately grabbed Rangel's arm and hurriedly pulled him towards the stairs leading to the rooms.