Ibunkun1:
Imagine Alex too dey give dating lessons

My brother, I am even surprised o.

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

Damn these typos! damn them to pieces!!.

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.


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

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.

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.

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.


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

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.

Ambassador21:
When are you updating again Boss?

Probably on Friday or Saturday.

Corrections made again

do4luv14:
Chaiii Am Suspecting that Bar owner,

Thanks for the Updates Iroukurtain , Trust you are feeling great now,
send my love to the Family

Thanks bro.

yungbanks:
This is really awesome welcome back Ironkurtain the update is lit , hope you're good and okay now? Been weeks since I last came online just having issues with my phone

I am doing okay now, thanks. I hope you have fixed the issues with your phone.

"So what's the deal, huh? You f@cking sneaky bastard", the voice continued as the hand moved from Eric's shoulder and started giving him a quick pat down.

Eric remained still as the hand took his weapon. He could hear the man's eager and somewhat uneasy breaths as the man further searched his body. He could tell that the man was quite troubled, probably due to his unannounced presence at the house.

With the gun muzzle still pressed against his head, the hand holding his gun stretched forward and tapped the door a few times.

A movement in the house was heard. "Who is it?", the waitress's voice then demanded.

"It's me", the man replied.

"Rangel?". The waitress's voice called out, and a brief quick shuffling of feet followed. The door was unlocked and opened immediately, and the waitress froze on seeing Eric standing before her.

"Move your ass". Rangel forcefully pushed Eric inside the house. The woman got even more unsettled when she saw the gun pointed at Eric. She then quickly slammed the door shut when the man and Eric were inside the house. She locked it and stood beside the man with an inquisitive stare fixed on Eric.

Eric took a few glances around the small, shabby looking living room that was decorated with a few worn-out furniture and turned his attention to the man: Rangel, that held him at gunpoint. He wasn't as rough as Eric had envisioned him to be from his voice, though the black loose jean and black tank top that he was wearing with brown timberland boots, gave him the striking image of a street thug.

Rangel was in his late twenties, a few inches taller than Eric, and muscular built with a good-sized biceps. He also has strong facial features with brown skin.

"Now", Rangel began, tightening his grip on his weapon that was pointed at Eric with a finger on the trigger, and the other hand holding Eric's handgun. "Why are you here?", he curtly demanded.

Eric glanced at the muzzle of the weapon pointing in his direction. "I came here to ask her a few questions", he replied, jerking his head at the waitress, and staring a Rangel.

"And you came to do it with a gun, huh?", Rangel narrowed his eyes and waved the pistol that he had taken from Eric.

"You know very well that this is not a nice neighbourhood to be walking around at this hour", Eric responded.

"Well you better start telling me what brought your f@cking ass to her house", Rangel insisted with anger. "Is it a hit? Who is paying you to carry out the job?!", he demanded aggressively.

Eric smirked at the hysterical questions. "I'm not here to cause harm", he replied calmly. "I just came here to get some information, that's all".

"And what kind of a f@cking information brings you to her place at this hour?" Rangel barked, regarding Eric with a fiery glare as his muscular chest rose and fell to his eager breaths of anxiety.

"Ask your girlfriend", Eric replied, still maintaining his calm composure. "She knows what I'm talking about".

"Honey", Jessica, the bar waitress began at Rangel, her boyfriend. "He is the guy that I told you about", she said.

Rangel glanced at her and stared at Eric intently. "I still don't give a sh!t about who you are or whatever situation that you are having", he then muttered quietly. "But I do know that you have been sneaking around her like a motherfucker to know where she lives".

"My guess is, I won't be asking her any questions", Eric noted.

"Not only that, I might as well have to kill you for having the nerve to follow her", Rangel corrected.

"Look, let's not get all worked up here".

"Shut your f@cking mouth!".

"Honey, I think you should calm down", Jessica put in and gently got hold of Rangel's muscular upper arm.

"Why?". Rangel looked at Jessica. "We don't know who the f@ck he is, or what he is really up to".

"Maybe he indeed came here to ask some questions, just like he did at the bar", Jessica suggested. "And I think he could also be of help....to us".

"Well I don't trust guys like him", Rangel disagreed.

Rangel diverting his eyes to Jessica was the needed opportunity for Eric to make his move and disarm the man. But his line of sight had already been shifted from the pistol pointing in his direction to the window behind the Rangel.

"You better take cover", Eric said, eyebrows furrowed with his gaze fixed at the window.

"What the f@ck did you just say?", Rangel muttered and looked at him.

"I said get down, now!", Eric said out loud as the numerous shadows that he had seen lurking outside, got closer to the house.

Jessica immediately turned to look at the window behind her. And then she suddenly shrilled Rangel's name with terror in her voice.

Rangel swiftly looked behind him and saw a group of masked men speedily approaching the house. His eyes turned wide with fear on seeing all of them brandishing assault rifles with murderous intents written on their faces. He immediately dropped Eric's handgun to get a firm grip on his weapon with both hands. Two of the men aimed their weapons at the window with the rest of the armed assailants surrounding the front side of the house. Eric was now making his move. He got hold of Jessica and pulled her down with him to the floor as flurries of loud automatic gunfires disrupted the early morning serene atmosphere in the neighbourhood. He succeedly prevented her from getting hit by the hails of bullets that started flying into the living room.

Rangel only managed to let off a single shot before his pistol jammed. A bullet knocked his weapon off his grip before Eric's swift action toward his position, left him sprawling on the floor, and saved him from being gunned down instantly. Eric then frantically crawled to his handgun that was lying a few feet away from him as the gunmen unleashed hails of bullets into the living room. He quickly got hold of the weapon and rolled to his back on the floor to get down with the deadly action.

'Click-click!'.

Eric's gun-slide chambered a round and pushed back the hammer as he swiftly cocked the weapon. And the front door got violently kicked open with two gunmen barging into the house as Eric swung his pistol gripping hand to take an aim.

'Bvoom!! Bvoom!! Bvoom!!'

Lightning flashes preceded from the muzzle of the .45 ACP Nighthawk semi-auto handgun with thunder that shook the living room. Three Black Talon hollow-point bullets took flight. Two slugs ripped into the chest of the first gunman that came through the door with the third tearing an ugly hole through his dome before his body doubled over, crashed to the floor, and his assault rifle dropped inside the living room.

The second assailant immediately doubled back to take cover after his partner was gunned down. Eric's trigger finger repeated the firearm's action twice, and the bullets penetrated the second intruder's abdomen. The man's body collapsed outside the house.

More bursts of gunfire from outside the house rang out with an endless barrage of bullets whizzing into the living room. The ricocheting slugs damaged the furniture, left holes in the walls, and the gunmen's intentions to kill everything inside the place were made known. But they seemed reluctant to make another attempt to gain entrance into the house after seeing their cohorts that had tried to do so, being mown down by the occupants' surprising replies.

Rangel then got hold of his pistol that had fallen.
"Damn!", he cursed on seeing that it had been rendered useless. Then he glanced at the two dead bodies and looked at Eric with increasing anxiety.

Eric motioned at the assault rifle that had fallen inside the living room and fired a few rounds to keep the gunmen at bay. Rangel quickly crawled to the weapon. He got hold of it and crawled back to Eric's position more quickly as more gunfire echoed outside with the bullets doing more damage inside.

"Friends of yours?", Eric asked as Rangel checked on his uncontrollably shivering girlfriend to see if she had been hit.

"Do you have friends that want to A.K you down?!", Rangel blurted his reply to the ridiculous question.

"Well, this is not my house, and she is not my girlfriend", Eric muttered under his breath as he shielded his eyes from flying splinters and glasses. "And I don't think those seven guys are here to ask her questions too".

"Seven?",

"Down to five now. I counted seven of them before hell broke loose. But they could be more".

"F@ck!". Rangel muttered breathlessly and checked on Jessica again.

Eric saw a shadow moving behind the window. He blasted two shots and a brief sharp groan of pain was heard, followed by the sound of a body hitting the floor.

"Four men now", he gasped. "Any other way to gain access into this house?", he asked, keeping an eye out for the next armed intruder as he tried to stay focused on the nerve-racking onslaught that was going on around them and thinking of a quick escape plan.

It was clear that they weren't faced with a random armed robbery. The armed assailants outside the house are clearly on a grim mission that they intend to accomplish at all costs. And the men do have more than enough bullets to outlast them in the raging shootout. Three of them are down now, but Eric wasn't sure of the number of the rest, even though he had initially counted seven. Making a break through the front door was out of the question. The men might have placed themselves in positions that would make them nothing less than moving objects for target practice if they try to shoot their way out of the house through the front door.

"Is there any other way to get the hell out of this house?", Eric desperately asked Rangel.

"There is a door to the back of the house in the kitchen", Rangel gasped with one hand clutching his new weapon and the other shielding Jessica. She was fearfully grasping at one end of his shirt and shuddering at the loud gunfire roaring outside her house.

"Cover me and try not to get yourself killed", Eric muttered. Rangel nodded vigorously like an overly troubled worker taking orders from an intimidating supervisor.

Then, in a prone position to duck from the flying bullets, Eric quickly made his way to the kitchen.

Rangel covered Jessica with his body to protect her as both of them stayed still in their position. The assault rifle he was wielding was pointed at the door with a hard gaze in his eyes, very ready to blast at anything that comes through it.

Eric quickly made his way into the kitchen and wildly glanced around the place which was quite small and very disorganized. He moved to the backdoor, paused for a short while, and quietly unlocked it. Then he swung the door open and dashed into the backyard, ducking down with his gun pointed and ready to shoot at any assailant that might have ventured their way into the place. Seeing nothing that speaks of danger, he quickly surveyed the dilapidating wooden fence before him and immediately peered through one of several slits in the woods. He saw a shallow open sewer drainage channel that ran between the fence and the fence of another house on the other side. Then he rushed back into the kitchen, glanced at the gas cylinder, and quickly put the idea that crossed his mind, to work.

The gunfires raged on. Rangel sent his replies at the open front door and the living room window. And hitting nothing. The expended bullet casings that littered the floor grimly reminded him that he was running out of bullets. As he aimed the assault weapon to fire off more shots.

"Let's go!".

Rangel looked in the direction of the kitchen and saw Eric frantically beckoning at him. He immediately got off Jessica and both of them speedily made for the kitchen. Eric led them to the backdoor and then raised his hand to stop them in their tracks.

"Give me the rifle", Eric demanded at Rangel and tucked his handgun in his waistbelt.

Rangel took a glance around the backyard of the house to see what Eric intends to do with the weapon. And then he saw a gas cylinder propped against the fence with a spoon stuck in its valve, and hissing out its gaseous content. He handed the weapon to Eric and immediately pulled Jessica into the kitchen, knowing what was about to happen next.

Eric aimed the gas cylinder valve with the assault rifle and stroked the trigger.

The cylinder erupted into a thunderous boom with a ball of flame. The blast tore a big hole in the wooden structure, bombarding the fence of the house on the other side with wooden splinters, and reducing the loud barks of the dogs in there to frightened whimpers.

Eric quickly grabbed Rangel, took out from the man's pocket, the key of the Mercedes that Rangel had taken from him, and bawled at him to follow. Eric quickly made for the opening in the wooden makeshift fence. Rangel and Jessica did so too, and also followed suit when he jumped into the wet drainage tunnel that bore a horrifying stench that made Jessica hesitate a bit as Rangel helped her to join them. Stampedes and gunfire from the gunmen could be heard now in the living room.

The three of them then raced through the filthy drainage tunnel; their feet splashing the dirty water.

CHAPTER SIX.



Eric made a left turn just as the taxi that he had been tailing, did so. He carefully followed the vehicle that had picked up the waitress from the Amber-Cat bar, and being cautious as to not to attract its passenger.

He had earlier gone to that bar at the around 12 midnight; the hour at which the place was packed full with all the waitress being dreadfully busy. He also wore a hooded jacket with it's hood pulled over his face to his hide identity from the waitress that he had been watching. He had spent over an hour, hiding among the crowd at a corner and watching the woman and her every move as she served the customers with her usual briskness. And he was taken aback when the woman then suddenly approached Reggie; the bar owner, whispered a few words to him, got a nod from him, then went into the staff room, and reappeared with her clothings changed. She was leaving work quite early.

Eric had to leave the bar immediately on seeing the new development. And he got into his car in time to watch her hail the taxi that was now transporting to her destination. And the destination was in a neighbourhood that he rather wouldn't want to be prowling around at that time of the night.

The place was located in one of the worst and crime ridden part of town, and probably the worst place in the entire country. Its entire neighbourhood was in a state of total neglect. Most of the structures were ancient looking: it was as if time had stopped in the place while every other parts of the country had moved on. The poorly constructed and dilapidated buildings showed the nation's past history of poverty and economic strives, and a bare reminder of the poor plannings of the country's old corrupt government regimes and political powers before the long consistent governance that was now in place. And the ever continuous redevelopments that came with the country's booming economy, seemed to have strangely eluded the town.

The blasted scenery around Eric was the least of his worries. It was the kind of characters that made the derelict town their place of abode, that had him cautiously driving through the neighborhood as he followed the taxi. Some of them were shady, and the place was well known to harbour all of them; from the petty thieves, burglars, street urchins, prostitutes, and illegal immigrants, to the brazen armed robbers, psychopaths, and murderers. He had once seen on tv, the news of a serial killer being arrested in that town.

Driving through such neighborhood in a fancy vehicle at that hour, was an overly major risk for anyone to take. And it made him to keep a semi-auto handgun that was set in its action mode, within an arm's reach. He also has a loaded Ak-47 under the front passenger seat with a round in its chamber, ready to go. Just being there as a new face was even a bad risk in itself, and he wasn't taking any chances at all.

Eric maintained the distance between him and the taxi as he followed the vehicle, taking the turns that it took without arousing suspicions. When the cab grinded to a halt, he gently floored the brake of the Mercedes benz and immediately turned off its headlights as parked the car several meters away from where the taxi was standing. He watched as the bar waitress alighted from the car and paid the taxi fare. The taxi speedily zoomed off immediately, as if the driver was in a hurry to get out of the place.

Then Eric watched as the waitress casually crossed the street, though with a somewhat brisk steps. She was heading towards one of the wooden fenced bungalow-style houses that lined the street. He closely watched as she paused infront of the door to take out the keys in her handbag, keeping a tight grip on his handgun with steady glances around the empty street to be sure that he doesn't get caught off guard by any adventurous individual.

After the waitress had gotten inside her house, Eric then quietly unbuckled his seatbelt. He got hold of his handgun, made one more cautious glance around him, tucked his handgun in his waistband and slowly alighted from the Mercedes benz after concealing the weapon with his sweater. He shut the car door and crossed the road, heading towards the waitress' house, and stealing steady glances over his shoulder as he did so. He could see the living-room light that had been switched on, through the single front window of the house.

Eric got close to the front door of the house and then paused. He made a quick survey of the surrounding and proceeded towards the front door. He paused again to take one more look over his shoulder and turned his gaze at the door. As he raised his hand to knock on it, a strong hand suddenly grabbed his shoulder. Then he felt the muzzle of a handgun being pushed against the back of his head.

"Don't move, you asshole". A deep voice of a man said quietly to him with an unfriendly tone.


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

Corrections made.

2.35pm.


Alex swung the grey-coloured BMW into the half-empty parking lot of Charlie's Burger restaurant. He killed the car engine, stole a glance at his digital wristwatch, surveyed the few cars around him, and caught sight of the vehicle that he had been looking for. A sky blue older model Hyundai Sonata sedan. He proceeded to alight from his car, feeling the handgun tucked in his waistband, and started heading towards the restaurant entrance door.

The glass doors automatically slid open and Alex walked into the fast-food place. He made a few glances around and at the customers for a brief moment, and started moving towards a table on seeing the lone individual that occupied it.

"What's up buttermilk?", Alex began at the individual; a young man who was the same age as him, and made himself comfortable on the opposite chair.

The young man by the name of Greg was sitting in a hunched position and staring at the extra large-sized hamburger with a heap of French fries on the food tray in front of him. He was chubby in stature, quite taller with meaty arms that were folded on the table.

He heard Alex's voice and slowly raised his unfriendly-looking eye to him. He regard Alex with the look, fixed a long gaze at Alex, and said nothing. Buttermilk was a nickname that he loathed being called. But seeing whose mouth it came from, he knew very well that he was in no position to kick-up dust about it; it would have been different, six years ago.

"What do you want", Greg asked in a low growling tone of voice, his face expressing his displeasure for being called that nickname.

Alex gave Greg a smile of satisfaction and stared at the food tray. "Are you trying so hard to quicken your death?", he asked and picked a fry from Greg's food. "Didn't you learn in school what this greasy food can do to your body?", he went on and chewed the fries noisily, and reached for another one.

Greg looked at the adventurous hand that reached for one of his french fries for the second time. His eyes which were then clouded with a frown, followed the hand as it transported another fries into Alex's mouth.

"What the f@ck do you want from me?", he asked again. "And stop eating my damn food", he warned.

Alex swallowed the second morsel in his mouth and gave Greg a cheeky grin, seemingly enjoying himself.

"And what are you gonna do if I eat your food? You fat pig", Alex then asked Greg, and reached for the third helping of the fries, this time fixing a hard gaze at the big guy. "Wasn't it your favourite hobby in school?".

Greg remained still, returning the gaze to Alex. But the frown on his face had slightly faded, and his eyes were now expressing some concern for his safety, though trying to hide it.

Alex also sensed the dilemma. But he had no mercy in his heart for the big guy sitting in front of him. Greg used to be his nemesis back in high school. The guy had bullied him to the extent of making his high school life quite unbearable. A problem that was eventually resolved, thanks to both his twin brother and biological mother. And to Alex, it was sorted out real good: Eric, who had at one-time impersonated him in high school, almost pounded Greg into dust when he came with his usual shenanigans and being unaware that he was dealing with Metro-city Steel-hammer whose favourite hobby was bully-beatdown. And the special force style of training that Nina had made him go through, though he always hated it, made him finally put an end to it when Greg and one of his bully-boy friends confronted him to take revenge. That day, Alex left Greg with a deadly warning after severely putting his friend down with the filthiest beating that was fit enough to alter any bad mindset. He told Greg to stay away from him or he will do worse to him: Alex's exact words to Greg were, he will beat him down, jam a pen into his ear and kick it into his brain, and stick around to watch how he dies.

Greg did indeed take heed of that warning, and he henceforth avoided the person that he had mercilessly bullied, like a deadly plague. And it was the reason for the helpless look on his face with his forehead breaking out beads of sweat as he stared at the guy that he was several sizes bigger than, taking his food right under his nose.

"Hey man, I don't want any problem", Greg muttered quietly.

"I know", Alex said quietly as he munched, and picked another french fry. "I only want to ask you something. And it is very important to me", he continued and ate the fry. "So, you better mind how you answer the questions".

Then another young man carrying a tray of snacks came over to the table and stood beside Alex. Alex raised his eyes and looked at the man that was as burly as Greg, though a bit shorter.

The man curiously regarded Alex that was sitting on the chair that was his. He gave Greg a short look and then turned his attention back to Alex.

"Who are you?", he began curtly at Alex, after seeing from Greg's expression, that the person sitting on his chair was an uninvited guest.

"Could you sit somewhere else", Alex said to him and beckoned at another table. "We are having an important discussion here", he went on, turning his eyes back at Greg, and knowing very well that he was Greg's friend.

"What important discussion?", Greg's friend asked, narrowing his eyes at Alex.

"None of your damn business, pal", Alex replied immediately and glared at him. "Now move the block industry somewhere else, I need fresh air", he gestured at Greg's friend to move away from his side.

"Look at this motherfucker", Greg's friend scoffed at Alex and gave Greg an incredulous stare. "Do you know who the f@ck you are talking to?", he asked, returning a glare at Alex.

"I have zero f@cks to give about that", Alex replied coolly.

"Well you better watch your damn mouth or I f@ck you right here!", Greg's friend threatened, drawing curious stares from the few customers in the restaurant.

"And I respectfully decline the offer, cos guys like you do make a lot of noise when they get bent over".

"What?".

Hey!, Julius!". Greg began at his friend as he made a move to set his food tray on the table to start something unpleasant with Alex. Then Greg motioned at him to keep his cool and pointed at the empty table next to his.

Alex had already moved his hand close to his concealed handgun. And he was waiting for him to make his move so as to see if the big fellow was bigger than the trigger of the Glock 43 pistol.

"Better get going....Julius", Alex snorted at the name as Greg's friend went over to the empty table with a low grumble.

"Yo man what's your problem now?", Greg demanded immediately. "I have been staying away from you just as you had told me to do".

"I came to ask about your girl, Sharon", Alex replied.

Greg regarded Alex suspiciously. "Why?", he demanded with furrowed brows.

"I just want to ask her a few questions", Alex said and picked another fry.

"What question?".

That's between me and her. So when can I meet her? It is very urgent".

Greg lowered his gaze to his food and said nothing.

"What's the matter?", Alex asked after a brief silence, and seeing the moody look that clouded Greg's face.

"Well, we are no longer seeing each other", Greg muttered his reply. And seemingly the reason why he had left his favourite food, still untouched.

"You have broken up with her", Alex snorted and reclined in his seat, now feeling that he could fulfill his intention of getting Greg's girlfriend in bed without having any guilt about it. "Anyway", he sighed, glancing around the restaurant and stealing a glance at Julius who was now eating slowly and staring at them, him in particular. "I don't care, just tell me where I can find her", he insisted.

"I can't do that", Greg sighed, still staring at his food. "She changed her phone number, and also told me to never try to contact her", he went on.

"When did that happen?".

"Yesterday".

"It's like she too had gotten tired of you sh!ts", Alex chuckled. But Greg continued in his moody state and he knew that the break-up must have hit the guy quite hard. Then he leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table. "Did you in any way happen to notice anything that's going on around her?", he asked quietly.

Greg raised his eye to Alex. "What do you mean?", he replied with a question.

"I mean something odd, something that speaks of trouble", Alex inquired.

"No". Greg shook his head. "Except for her sudden interest in bad guys", he added.

"You weren't bad enough for her?".

"I am talking about really bad guys, the gang members type".

Alex sighed and remained silent with a thoughtful distant gaze in his eyes. He was doing a lot of thinking: the incident that had happened last night at Lisa's house, what Eric had told him about the men whose bodies he was made to get rid of, the pictures that he had seen with one of them having the face of Greg's now ex-girlfriend, and the news about the murders that he had seen on t.v. with one of the victims' face also being in those pictures.

From the answer that he had gotten from Greg, it was very clear he doesn't know anything, nor was aware of what might be going on. And he didn't want to go into details as to why he wanted to see Greg's girlfriend. He can't risk putting Greg on the edge that might make the guy to do something stupid that could draw the perpetrator's attention to him, or even that of his mother's to the situation at hand. He might have to look for another way to contact Greg's girl, which seems to have gotten more difficult because Greg had informed him of her change of cellphone number.

"Give me your phone", Alex then demanded.

"Why?", Greg asked confusedly.

"Just give me the damn thing, now", Alex insisted and beckoned at Greg to hand over his cell phone.

Greg moved uncomfortably and reached into his pocket. He took out his device and gave Alex a brief curious look before handing the phone to him after unlocking it.

Alex quickly ran his fingers through the buttons to put his cellphone number in it. "I want you to call me as soon as possible if you happen to contact her, or tell her to call my number", he said to Greg and handed the cell phone back to him. And he then got to his feet.

"What is this all about?", Greg curiously asked as Alex turned to leave the table.

"As I said, it is about something very important to me", Alex replied indifferently. "Make sure to call me if you see her, or give her my number", he continued and straightened his shirt. "You wouldn't wanna know what I will do to you if you fail to do so", he warned.

Greg stared at Alex briefly. Then he sighed and returned his gaze to his food as Alex left him, heading towards the door. Then Greg's friend got to his feet and joined him at the table. He dropped his food tray on the table and dropped his weight on the chair that Alex had vacated.

"You should have allowed me to hang one on that fool", Greg's friend began irritatedly. "What's the matter with you bro? You even sat there and let him eat your food", he continued. "You should have punched him in his damn mouth".

"I probably saved your ass from a lot of trouble", Greg muttered to his friend.

"What? from that asshole?", Greg's friend snorted and glanced at the door that Alex had exited. "That guy ain't sh!t. It will end very quickly for him", he continued with a lot of determination.

"Have you ever been hit by a hammer at full force?" Greg asked his friend without looking at him. "That's what you will get if you dare go at him, and it gonna be mostly in your f@cking face", he continued quietly and reached for his hamburger after deciding to eat his food. "Just stay the f@ck away from that guy whenever you see him", he warned and quietly took a bite from the burger.


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


"Did you meet Greg?", Eric asked as Alex crossed the floor of the safe house living room.

Alex dropped the car key on the center table and tiredly dropped his weight on the sofa with a sigh, sitting beside Eric. Then he took out his cell phone and glanced around the living-room room.

"Where is Lisa?", he asked on sensing her absence.

"She left to go meet a friend of hers", Eric replied. "She will be spending the night there, girls' night out she said", he continued.

"You allowed her to leave to go spend a girls' night out with all these sh!t that's going on?", Alex asked, giving his brother a flabbergasted gaze.

"She disguised herself very well, dressed like a Nun", Eric smirked. "And I rented a car for her to drive around too", he continued.

"And how did she even get the Nun clothing?", Alex asked, looking even more confused. "What kind of scam have you two started?".

"Dude, let's not worry about that", Eric said impatiently. "Just tell me how it went with Greg", he insisted. "Did you meet him?", he asked.

"Yeah, I met Greg", Alex answered the question and then started going through his phone.

"And?". Eric's hand made an impatient gesture after waiting for a short while for him to continue. "

"And the guy seems to be eating himself beyond the limits of what an elevator can carry after his girlfriend dumped him", Alex replied nonchalantly with his eyes still on the screen of his cell phone.

"Meaning what?"

"Meaning that he doesn't know sh!t about f@ck".

"Could you ever for once, speak the language that a human being would understand?"

Alex lowered his cell phone with a sigh and looked at his brother. "I am telling you that Greg knows nothing at all", he muttered. "And I didn't want to tell him too. The guy might go around and start doing stupid sh!ts that might make those goons to find out who took care of their partners", he continued. "I just told him to contact me if he happens to meet the girl".

Eric sighed on seeing that his brother had embarked on a fruitless journey. "Did mother call you?", he then asked.

"She did, on my way back to the house", Alex replied. "She wanted to know how we are coping, and also to know if we have noticed anything that required her attention, to which I responded well".

"She did the same to me too", Eric muttered.

"How about you? What did you find out from the bar owner?", Alex asked.

Eric sighed again. "Some major league deep sh!t", he replied. And it drew Alex's gaze to him. "I just found out that I had killed the brother of the leader of the most dangerous drug gang in this city", he continued.

"That's indeed a major deep sh!t", Alex noted thoughtfully to his brother. "We might have started some kind of a gang war", he continued with a lot of concern in his tone.

"Probably", Eric agreed. "The bar owner even wanted to know if I was on some kind of a take-over mission", he went on. "But I'm still yet to know what Lisa and those girls got to do with those individuals. Everything still looks odd to me".

"Well I do know that illegal organ trafficking and girls being kidnapped for forced prostitution are hot businesses in this country", Alex said. "But sh!ts like that are being handled by the foot soldiers in most criminal enterprise, not the top-notch guys".

"Yep", Eric agreed as he stared ahead with a thoughtful look in his eyes. "And neither are those girls, including Lisa, from a very wealthy family or important people. The top guys would only tag along to make sure that whatever they intend to do, goes well".

"Are you still sure that we shouldn't let mother know about this?", Alex asked.

Eric shook his head. "As I said before, I don't want her getting to know about it", he replied.

"Hey bro, I do know your reasons for not wanting her to know, but if those individuals, dangerous drug gang as you said, happens to find out about us, they gonna be coming with men packing all sorts of heavy artillery", Alex warned and sounding even more concerned.

"You said that you wanted to roll around the sh!t. Are you gonna complain about how it smells?", Eric asked and looked at Alex.

Alex sighed uncomfortably. "So what's gonna be your next move?", he asked.

"I will go meet the waitress that called the bar owner", Eric replied. "She seems to know something though".

"When?".

"Tonight".

Alex then thought for a long moment. "Do you still have the dead guys' cellphones", he asked Eric.

"Yeah, why?", Eric asked.

"I will take it to Chris", Alex replied. "He is very good with digging into these technology gadgets. He might find something", he continued.

"I see", Eric nodded. "You do that immediately", he said to his brother.

"I will be going to his place tonight too. I can't be alone in this damn house". Alex reached for the t.v remote lying beside him.

"Good". Eric then got to his feet to go get the needed rest for what he was about to do tonight.

samebony1:
Hi Iron,
Hope you are up and doing again.
Missing your writing baaaaaad

Recovering well my brother. And thanks for all your prayers too. Last week, and this week too, had been very hectic for me. My illness and family issues back home in Nigeria, had really put me in a tight corner. But i will try as much as I can to put up an upload today. I am forever grateful for your patience. I hope you all had a fruitful week and having a blissful weekend.

My sincere apologies o. I was down with fever for two days. Season change sickness, we are now heading into winter. Please do bear with me.

GoodIsGod:


Remain blessed bro. You've got good writing skills. Kudos

Editing alone is a job almost tougher than writing. I have edited my book about four times. The last one I just concluded and I still found some errors both grammatical and typos.

Together weld grow bro.
Shalom

Yeah bro, editing is one piece of work. No matter how hard you make the checks, there is always one typo, or one grammatical error there.

GoodIsGod:
Bro. You write nicely and your use of words is okay but you are making the same mistakes I made when I first started out writing. You are writing both in the present and in the past. These are two different styles. It's either you choose one and leave the other.
Take for example the first sentence of your Chapter One.

It is supposed to be:
It was already past 11 o'clock in the morning.of the first Thursday of the month.

Again, look at this below: @ the bolded. It is supposed to be seemed

But despite the positivity in the air and driving through Chamberlain main street at the hour when the traffic was bearable, Nina seems to be having a bad day. The frown that darkened her face with the hard stare in her eyes that glared right back at her when she glanced at the car rearview mirror, said it all.


Reading your story, I can see you are more comfortable with past tense so, I would advise you stick to it all through. Let every of your narration expression be in the past even if it doesn't sound nice in the ear ( that was the way I felt when I was corrected )
You only have excess freedom during dialogue. Your characters can talk anyhow.

I recommend you join some Facebook book writers groups. It was there I was sharpened although mostly with jokes by the whites who see your English not sound enough. But they will correct and guide you. You don't paste the whole of your book on the pages but excerpts. The areas you doubt if you made sense or wrote good grammar.

In a nutshell, stick to one style while writing. Past or present.

Sorry, I am not an expert myself. I just felt like sharing what I've learned.

Stay blessed and keep writing.

Thanks man. Most of the paragraphs were hurriedly written and stored. In some cases, I just copy and paste it on Nairaland. I don't usually have time to go through them cos i am either working when doing so, or into another activity at home. Please do help me with other corrections bro, and thanks for the advice.

The gunman ushered both Desmond and Matt into the living room of the farmhouse. It was spacious, decorated with antique furniture and vintage-inspired lighting. Bronco was sitting on one of the soft cushion-covered sofas with a bottle of liquor on a side table in front of him, and surrounded by four men that were brandishing assault weapons.

The atmosphere in the living room got tense the moment Bronco and his men set their eyes on Desmond. Matt who was following after his boss maintained a calm composure. And with a lot of effort, he kept his nervousness well hidden from the men in the room. His eyes were making a quick study of the living room and the men. To see if they would have a fighting chance in case Bronco decides to have them killed on the spot.

"These meetings are becoming too frequent for my liking", Desmond then began intently at Bronco.

Bronco regarded Desmond with an expressionless glare for a long moment. Then he got to his feet and walked towards Desmond. Matt saw him approach and moved his hand closer to the weapon he had underneath his open jacket. Bronco's men saw Matt's movement and tightened their grip on their weapons with keen eyes on Matt. Desmond maintained his calm composure as Bronco stood before him.

"I have one question", Bronco then began at Desmond, his tone of voice, low and very serious. And in his red eyes, a burning flame of great anger. "Who the f@ck is that chick?", he asked sinisterly.

"She is someone that I really want to get my hands on", Desmond replied calmly, and casually staring back at Bronco.

"And....you didn't know that the bitch is also running around with killers?", Bronco narrowed his disturbing-looking eyes at Desmond.

"That makes it two questions....", Desmond muttered quietly.

"Stop f@cking around with me!!", Bronco thundered angrily. "Tell me what's up with that b!tch...and don't you dare play games with me", he warned.

Demond sighed and looked away. "So what the f@ck is this shit-show about, huh?" he then began and turned his gaze back at Bronco. "Am I to take the blame for your brother's death? I paid him the full price for a job, and you somehow expect me to do half of that job for him?", he asked.

"You f@cking told him that none of these individuals would be a problem!".

"Of course, and it's the truth cos he had delivered three of them without any problem at all. Maybe he got too comfortable with the job and made a mistake that came with a great cost".

Bronco flashed incredulous glances at his men, and then rested his eyes on Desmond.

"There is a goddamn long list of serious guys that John had successfully dealt with it, and these are thorough men", he stated. "And you want me to believe that a harmless little chick somehow managed to kill him and two of his best men?", he asked, narrowing his eyes again at Desmond.

"You don't ignore the safety procedures in a damn factory just because you are well acquainted with the machinery", Desmond replied irritatedly to Bronco. "Do that, and you gonna regret it one day. That's what happened to your brother", he continued with his forefinger, pointing at Bronco's well-built chest. "He got too complacent with his job. That's what killed and left him publicly displayed", he went on.

"It was a clean job, and very unlikely for a normal girl to inflict the kind of damage that was done to them", one of Bronco's men stated. "More like a professional hit", he went on.

"You hear that?", Bronco flashed a glare at Desmond. "It sounds like the b!tch is rolling with a Murder factory".

"Desmond scoffed. "I said that your brother got too complacent with his job, I didn't say the girl killed him", he noted.

"Meaning what?", Bronco frowned.

"Well.....", Desmond shrugged. "Maybe he was too focused on the girl, and failed to make other observations. Maybe the girl was chilling with a guy who's even more bloodthirsty".

Bronco then stepped closer to Desmond. "If you know something about my brother's killing, then you better spill it out immediately", he demanded "And put a goddamn end to your senseless yappings before it ends your heartbeat", he warned seriously.

"Look man, the last time I heard from him was about half an hour before we had our meeting yesterday night", Desmond said. "When was the last time you communicated with him?", he asked. "Any info on the possible location where he and those guys were killed?".

Bronco turned away, sighed, and paced towards the sofa that he had earlier sat on.

"Nothing at all, except where their dead bodies were found", Bronco muttered quietly and stood over the side table with the bottle of liquor and his glass on it. "Sh!t was just too silent....like a planned hit. John wouldn't go out like that without a fight", then he glared at Desmond. "Unless it was a set-up".

"Did he happen to mention where he was before he got killed?", Desmond asked again.

Bronco picked up his glass of drink, thoughtfully paused for a short moment, and said, "AMBER-CAT". Then he took a sip from his glass. "That's the name of the bar that he said he was at when he called me last night", he continued.

Matt then tapped Desmond on his shoulder and whispered something in his ear. Desmond listened and then smiled. After Matt was done whispering to him, he glanced at Matt with a smile still on his face.

"I have something that I wanna tell you", Desmond then began at Bronco. "But first, I want all your men to leave us".

Bronco regarded Desmond suspiciously. "Why?", he demanded.

"As I said, I have something, but I'm a guy with trust issues, can't tell who might be listening", Desmond replied.

Bronco then snapped his fingers at his men and jerked his head at the door.

"You man should leave too", he said to Desmond.

Desmond nodded and Matt joined Bronco's men as they filed out of the living room. Desmond and Bronco watched until the last man left, closing the door after him. Then Bronco looked at Desmond.

"Now, start talking".

"Where did you say John and the two men were found?", Desmond asked.

"In a junkyard, the three of them beaten to death", Matt replied to his boss as he rode the BMW along the dirt road in a secluded woodland that's outskirts of the city. "Bronco thinks it's the job that we gave his brother, that got him killed", Matt continued with his eyes fixed on the road. "I guess it's probably the reason why he wants to see us. And this doesn't sound good at all", he went on with some concern in his tone.

Desmond wasn't concerned at all. "I ain't worried about that", he muttered as he stared at the green scenery that flashed by. The car was making its way toward the farmhouse that they saw at a distance.

Then Desmond picked up the file lying beside him. He opened it and went through the document in it for a short while. And he studied the picture that was also in the file. The picture is of a good-looking girl who seems to be in her early twenties.

"So how far have you gone with your subject?", he then asked Matt.

"Still in the process", Matt replied as he worked the steering wheel of the vehicle.

"It's almost three months now", Desmond muttered. "I thought that by now you had already made a very significant progress with her. Perhaps already gotten the passcode from her", he sighed.

"I know sir", Matt said quietly. "But Mr. Adams did a good job in making sure that she is the only one that can get her hands on the cash. And from what I have seen so far, it's like she is not even aware of the money in her name".

"What about her relationship with Adams?", Desmond demanded. "How was it? Did she mention any damn thing that might serve as a clue to where to start searching?", he asked impatiently.

"She mentioned nothing except knowing Mr. Adam as the man whose philanthropic foundation took care of her after her mother died", Matt replied. "She only got closer to him a few weeks before he died".

"So are you telling me that I should be expecting to be disappointed", Desmond asked with furrowed brows at Matt.

"I need more time, boss". Matt replied. "If I don't get it the easy way, then I will go for the very easy way", he continued with a lot of determination in his voice.

"Well you damn better hurry up cos we don't have much time".

"I will do that, boss".

Desmond sighed and stared out of the car window with a frown on his face.

"Boss, do you intend to call that woman?", Matt then asked.

"Of course, I will do that for sure", Desmond replied as he stared out of the car window. "But first, I gotta settle this problem with Bronco.

"Is it really necessary to do that?", Matt asked. "You know, with the so-called organization that she is running with, and her being tied to one of the guys that were named in the case that has to do with your boy", he noted. "I just hope that it doesn't put our entire operations at risk".

"That's why I wanna meet her", Desmond replied. "I intend to find out what's her relationship with that young man".

"But who is she?", Matt asked curiously.

Desmond smiled. "She is just an old friend", he replied. "And I also have some catching up to do with her too", he continued with the smile still on his face.

Matt nodded and concentrated on the dirt road as they got closer to the farmhouse.

"So did you get anything on that woman that's hanging out with Ricardo?", Desmond then asked.

"Yeah boss", Matt replied. "And you won't believe this shit that I am about to tell you", he snorted.

"Go ahead", Desmond said.

"Does the name Rangel, ring any bell?", Matt asked Desmond.

"Yeah. I heard that he is a stick-up guy who robs drug dealers", Desmond replied with his eyes focused on Matt, and with less concern. He was very aware of whom Matt was talking about.

"Yeah, and mostly the guys that do business with Bronco", Matt added. "He also robbed one of Bronco's stash houses, and had one of his top lieutenants killed in the process. Bronco had been trying to get him. Even put a price on his head".

"Okay", Desmond murmured, still unconcerned.

"I have been keeping tabs on this Rangel for some time. To which I was able to discover that there is this girl that he secretly meets at times", Matt continued. "A girl that works in a bar".

"So?".

"Well, Ricardo's woman is also seeing this girl that I'm talking about".

Desmond then regarded Matt with some interest written on his face, while Matt threw steady glances at him through the rearview mirror.

"That sounds quite interesting", Desmond said slowly.

"Yeah", Matt agreed with a smirk on his face. "Our guy who saw them together late last night said that they seem to be quite the good friends from the way they related", he went on.

Desmond then thoughtfully stared out of the car window for a brief while. Anyway, that's none of our business", he then sighed. "That's Bronco's affairs. So let him handle it. I just want to make sure that his brother's death, doesn't in any way f@ck sh!t up for us", he muttered.


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

samebony1:
Hi Ironkurtain, I know its about 7pm in Seoul right now, but just to remind you its Friday and we are anxiously waiting to hear from you.

My brother, how is ur day?, I have been crazy busy today. I will make the uploads tomorrow.

olanshile2016:
TOP TWENTY NAIRALAND BEST WRITER OF ALL TIME

Alright, just killing my Sunday afternoon boredom by compiling this list ,there are so many good writer here,the writer included in this list are considered the best by me after reading ALL their works, however,the list is in no particular order

Larrysun – the talented grammarian was indeed one of the best , his “the brand of cain” was not only the best detective story in nairaland but in Nigeria. Coupled with other sensations black maria,dark tears of babylon and a host of others. His ability to write almost all genres is superb.his latest work is black maria, and the diary of a rogue www.nairaland.com/larrySun
Audery timms – one of the best female writer,her great writing prowess was first noticed after “unfulfilled promises”,her latest story,”Letting go” was indeed mind blowing,she also input her favorite language italian in most of her stories.Her upcoming story is the sequel to letting go www.nairaland.com/AudreyTimms
Repogirl – was so talented that she was christened,the mistress of romance tales, her “false pretense” is equal to no other till date,the mother of three is also a great user of simple and clear english in her works,her latest work is the third book of the davies’s series, “First night www.nairaland.com/repogirl
Frank317 - one of best also.his stories,”the religion”, “secret of the gods” and others shows his great writing prowess.He was known for his usual bloody stories, but currently its like the bro has hung his boot, lol, www.nairaland.com/frank317
Glowingscenes – her “chocolates and sushi “ was popular in the literature section for even years after she had finished it,she also a good plotter , her latest story is “beautiful wings” www.nairaland.com/glowingscenes
Redmosquito – the father of all nairaland mosquito monikers, his “african nerd” was intriguing,always writing about supernatural beliefs.His latest story was Sango; the return of the lightening. www.nairaland.com/redmosquito
Royver – the medical doctor was also one of the best in the art of writing,his host of other good stories to his credit,seems that he had also paused writing. www.nairaland.com/royver
Kayemjay – was a good writer of action stories,the hollyhood types,his “an evening with eva” and the sequel “the complete assasin”showed his brilliancy ,got a lot of other good stories www.nairaland.com/kayemjay
Ishilove – was also a great user of tense,”iyawo nylon bag” is indeed one of nairaland’s best romance story, her adventurous service year story “wasinmi’chronicles” was also a great piece. www.nairaland.com/ishilove
Flow1759 – worthy being called Nigeria’s best comic writer, his”man wey dey reason” and other rib cracking stories were so hilarious, starting another story soon. www.nairaland.com/flow1759
Mynd44 – “the tri-partenal son” and “the guardian” showed the the multitalented poet is a genius,gats some other story.his latest story is the sequel to “the tri-partenal son” www.nairaland.com/mynd44
Maziomenuko – the chairman of nairaland sinner association.lol as he’s called then is also one of the literature big thing,got a unique narrative technique,his “National year of sex and comfort” and the sequel “place of promiscious assignment” was superb. had also hung his boot,lol www.nairaland.com/maziomenuko
D9ty7 – “teenage love”,”the undercover agent” and host of other are from his stable, so talented with his use of simple english.his latest work is “the murderer” www.nairaland.com/d9ty7
Tiffanyj – delivering her always mindlowing stories with her superb plotting,she’s really one of the best.The reluctant bride and her other stories is really mindblowing www.nairaland.com/tiffanyj
Therock555 – the bad pastor’s son is one of nairaland literature sensations,writing good stories since his first story “preacher’s son” which is in three parts. www.nairaland.com/therock5555
Kingzpen- the author of “the simcard” and a host of other good stories is definitely one of the best writers www.nairaland.com/kingzpen
Bibijay123- also a newcomer in the list but has proven to be one of the best writer on nairaland,she’s indeed a genius and a brilliant writer,”a day in the life of a lazy girl” is her current work. www.nairaland.com/bibijay123
ZUBY77 –the boss is also talented,writing about his adventures during his sojourn in europe is indeed thrilling,”there and back on time” is one of his stories,his latest work is “jennifer; from grass to grace” www.nairaland.com/zuby77
Oyinprince – He’s one of the new comers in the list and the author of tarasha which is indeed one of the best action/crime story in nairaland,always delivering good stories in collaboration with donkross1, fans are waiting eagerly for the second part of tarasha. www.nairaland.com/oyinprince
Divepen1- another good writer with fantastic cover design, “Another fenced heart” is his latest work www.nairaland.com/divepen1

OTHER GOOD WRITERS
prettySpicey
Amiablejay
Stefikal
Eze_promoe
Princesa
Sebonzakura-kageyoshi
Danwrites
Slickest
Vantee20
Chistar01
360prince
Domawoleye
Eze2000
Fantasyisland
Clemzy16
Foxyflow
Humbledbygrace
Victvames
Fiyah
Mattkent
Fembleez1
oluwabuqqyYOLO
rapmike
underage
yemi2plus
donkross1
onihaxy
davidflo
fatalveli
iphekitan
skarlett
handie



The list is indeed endless shows that nairaland have gat a lot of genius,dedicated to all good writer whose name I forgot,will be added as am remembering your names

Chaaai, I didn't even make the 'other list' o. I guess i still have alot of improvements to make. Good list though, and i have had the chance to read the stories of some of the top writers. Still learning how to construct good plots from Larrysun. D9ty7 story was the first that I read on Nairaland and also gave me the motivation to write. Oyinprince made me to put in more work.

samebony1:
Hi Iron, Today is friday ooooo. Just to remind you, incase you have forgotten to do the needful, otherwise man go enter plane come meet you for Korea.

Biggest bro, you are always invited, but if na vawulence you wan carry come here, abeg make you reconsider am o. We wey dey here still dey fear the fat man of North Korea. Anyway it's good to see you again. I hope the family is doing great. Remained blessed.

Richyblack1:


I'm a huge fan of you bro,I read your stories around 2018 I made my siblings read it too..I was so happy when you started writing this again, I couldn't comment cos I forgot my password but I do fellow all your updates..you are amazing bro I wish I can write like you do...you are doing us a great favour with your writing...thanks man

Thanks man comments like this do encourage us alot, and I'm very happy to know that you were well entertained by my stories. I'll always do my best to keep up with that.

Now my beer is getting quite warm. Let me stop here and wait for the comments. You all have a blessed weekend.

"Have a seat", Reggie waved at a chair when they stepped inside the booth with a moderate light that was bright enough to make their faces visible. "Do you want any refreshments to cool that temper of yours?", he offered. "It's on the house".

"No, I'm good", Eric declined, wondering the reason for the sudden hospitality.

He made a quick survey around the bar's private booth. A sofa chair, big enough to contain two people, was on both sides of a table and its cushion was covered with dark brown cheap leather. The scent of the activities and excitements that had happened in the room faintly lingered in the air.

Eric then made himself comfortable on one chair while Reggie dropped his weight in the opposite chair which gave a good view of the activities going on outside the booth. Eric rested his elbows on the table that separated them and turned a keen attention to Reggie. And he waited for the man to start spilling out the words as the bar owner reached for the packet of cigarettes in the pocket of his black jean pants.

"So, before I begin", Reggie began after lighting the cigarette stuck in between his thick lips. "I'm very curious about something". He then blew a few puffs of tobacco smoke and turned a searching gaze at Eric. "How did you get to find out that I know that guy?", he asked.

"It was quite glaring from the way you took care of him", Eric replied. "He was the one kicking up dust, but you handled him like he was someone of importance. His body language towards you even clearly showed that of blatant disrespect", Eric paused and looked at Reggie. "Guys like you don't get scared that easily", he noted. "But I watched as you just stood still, like a suspicious mouse, and taking insults from a guy half your size", he continued. "Besides, it wasn't even that necessary for you to be present to have the situation settled cos the three serious looking big dudes in bar-security outfits that night weren't being paid to act as a decoration in the bar", he added.

Reggie sniggered and took another drag from his cigarette.

"So that man is either a very close friend that you have sworn never to cause physical pain of any sort, or a guy with some kind of an influence that you are very well aware of, and wouldn't wanna have problems with", Eric concluded.

"Hm". Reggies smiled and was quite impressed with what Eric had said; his attention to every detail. "I guess the gut feeling that I also had about you that night, wasn't wrong after all", he then said.

"What do you mean?", Eric asked.

Reggie snorted, blew another cloud of tobacco smoke, and regarded Eric with a weak smile.

"Do you know one of the perks that come with running a watering hole like this?", he asked, motioning the cigarette-holding hand around the booth. "It makes one to be a good judge of character....and I am very excellent at that. Having that ability does pay off real good....especially if you are also a gambling man", he smiled wryly with his eyes looking away from Eric to make a quick check on the activities going on in his bar.

Eric sighed. "I still have no idea of what the hell are you talking about", he muttered, feeling his patience being tested again.

Reggie snorted again. He took another drag from the cigarette and let the tobacco smoke precede his face from his nostrils. He sighed and looked at the glowing end of the cigarette that he held close to his face.

The silence that settled between them then grew by the seconds that ticked away as Reggie remained mute with the face of a man that has a lot on his mind. His eyes continued staring at the stick of tobacco being held in place by his fore and middle fingers that had been thickened from years of hitting heavy bags and clobbering opponents in boxing matches.

"The guy that you are asking for", Reggie then broke his silence and reached for the ashtray on the table. "His name is John Brown, also known as Big John", he grunted as he extinguished his cigarette in the ashtray. "And also a well-known figure...among the figures in this city's underworld", he added.

"Okay", Eric nodded. He was already aware of that. He had seen the government name that was written on the short man's identification card.

"And you are also right about another thing", Reggie continued. "Only two kinds of persons do scare me, mafia bosses and individuals in the business of killing people". He paused again as Eric listened attentively. "Big John belongs in the latter group", he went on and gave Eric an unblinking steady stare.

"Quite the befitting occupation for a guy like that", Eric snorted and looked away, pretending to be surprised.

"You can say that again. The guy's reputation for violence precedes him", Reggie sighed. "Even the waitress that brought my attention to him was quite scared of telling me that, cos of the stories about him and what he does to people that cross him. He is quite the individual that no one would wanna mess with".

"I get the picture", Eric nodded. "Well, if your concern is about him getting to know about this discussion, then you don't have to worry about it", he assured and looked at Reggie. "This will remain strictly between you and me". Then Eric narrowed his eyes at Reggie. "Unless someone talks. It's just the two of us here, I am a guy of few words, and I don't know John".

Reggie gave Eric an inquisitive stare for a few seconds and quietly said, "I already know that I don't have to...Ever...worry about Big John".

Eric was mute. He regarded Reggie with a blank stare. He easily read between the lines of Reggie's words which came to him as a surprise. But did well in hiding it. It was definitely to him that Reggie was somehow close to those men that he had killed last night. Close enough to have already known that they were dead. Individuals in that position always get that news firsthand before every media outlet informs the masses; those that cared to listen, about the fresh killings.

'Are they close friends? business associates?', Eric thought to himself with a steady gaze at Reggie. Perhaps Big John could be someone that Reggie relies on, or probably a member of a gang that he pays for the protection of his business.

These thoughts made Eric's cautiousness to kick in immediately. And with a casual movement, his right hand slide from the table and rested on his side. To keep it closer to the weapon tucked underneath his garment, done discreetly to make the intention unknown to Reggie. His senses were now on high alert, his eyes making cursory glances outside the booth to keep a steady awareness of the activities going on in the bar. To act fast in case he finds out that he had placed himself in enemy territory.

"I heard about it, this morning", Reggie continued, turning his gaze to his side. "John and the two men he was with last night were found in a junkyard, beaten to death. John even looked worse". He turned his eyes back at Eric. "So I want you to tell me what the hell is going on", he demanded

Eric chuckled. "If I had known that, I wouldn't be here asking questions", he stated.

"Questions about your girlfriend's safety?", Reggie scoffed and shook his head. "I can even smell that bullshit from a mile away. You said that you ain't a fool. Well, neither am i".

"It is indeed the reason why I am here".

"Still doesn't make sense to me".

"Well, if you tell me everything you know about Big John, then I might help you with that".

Reggie looked at his pack of cigarettes lying on the table and thought for a short while. "Big John wasn't a guy that you would consider a troublemaker", he then said. "He hardly gets into arguments or wastes his time and energy dragging trivial issues, especially with random individuals. And he never does that in my bar cos we respect each other's boundaries".

Eric nodded as he listened.

"But if John happens to get into it with someone, then that person is a target, and it being a ploy in his set-out plan, probably a way to draw the individual out of a public place", Reggie continued.

"And then have the person killed", Eric added.

Reggie nodded. "Now, this brings you into this equation that I have been trying to figure out", he said and looked at Eric.

"How?", Eric demanded.

Reggie then folded his big arms. "That night, I noticed something odd while I was trying to intervene in the situation that Big John was having with your girlfriend", he noted. "It was as if he was bent on it, which was very unusual to me because it was also happening in my bar".

"So the guy was at work, I get it", Eric noted.

"Yeah", Reggie agreed. "And I was only getting between him and his job. This got me concerned and also wondering what an innocent-looking chick would be into, that would attract a guy like John cos they seem to dwell in two separate worlds". Then he looked at Eric. "That was my thoughts until I saw the guy she was chilling with".

"And what is it about me?", Eric asked suspiciously.

Reggie smirked, paused for a long moment with a lowered gaze, and then said, "You know what they say about the eyes being the window to one's soul?".

"Never cared to know or find out", Eric muttered quietly.

"It tells a lot", Reggie continued, disregarding Eric's reply. "A lot about who the person is, what the person had been through, and what the person is capable of".

"So?", Eric raised his brows, very eager to know where Reggie was heading with his words.

Reggie slightly leaned away and studied Eric with his head tilted to the side. "Well, I looked into yours. And I saw nothing. Nothing at all that says or gives any clue whatsoever as to show who you are....or what you are capable of doing. It was like...staring into a dark pit of nothingness and uncertainty",

The need for another cigarette made Reggie to reach for the pack and lighter in front of him. Eric stayed silent and watched as he fired up the tobacco, waiting patiently to hear more. Despite the space between them, he could still catch the whiffs of stale cigarette smell oozing out from Reggie's shirt. The man must have left an ashtray overflowing with cigarette butts, probably after learning about the deaths of Big John and his cohorts.

"And seeing all these attributes, especially in a guy with a physique that looked like one that had gone through the fire of activities that made men tougher, to just stay calm in his seat and even put on a smiley face, while his hot looking girlfriend is being disrespected right in front of him and do nothing about it", Reggie continued, exhaled the smoke in his lungs and let out a sharp cough that blew some of it towards Eric. "Most people might not see it with less regard for what's really behind the harmless smile", he went on. But I do, and the last time I saw something a bit close to what I saw last night, was on the day an opponent cannoned the blow that put an end to my boxing career".

Eric chuckled. "So you think that everything that went down last night was some kind of a set-out plan...and I was also part of the plan?", he asked, now knowing why Reggie had asked him if he knew John after settling their dispute with the short man.

"I am saying that it seems like something big is about to happen, perhaps happening already", Reggie put in. "A brewing gang war that I'm yet to be aware of, that resulted in Big John getting killed. That's why I wanna know what's going on".

Eric chuckled again.

"And you have to know that I am just a man on his own, minding and trying to run his business" Reggie continued, his tone of voice turning serious. "In case if you have been sent to me by your crew. I don't run with any gang, and I never take allegiance to any side when it comes to sh!t-shows", he stated seriously.

"Well, we are on the same boat here", Eric said. "I'm a guy on his own, always prefer to mind my own business, and also not a gang member".

"And you expect me to believe that?".

"That's who I am. And that's the truth".

"Then tell me why Big John was so bent on trying to make problems with someone close to you? Why are he and the men with him that night, all dead with their bodies in a junkyard?".

Eric sighed. "That night, while minding our business, Big John came to our table", he started quietly. "He had initially sent a bottle to my girlfriend after, on two occasions, had tried to start a conversation with her. My girlfriend flatly told him that she wasn't having any of his sh!ts, he got pissed off, said some shits to both of us, and you know the rest of the story".

"And then what happened?", Reggie asked with a lot of interest.

"So after he walked away with his buddies, I and my girlfriend decided that we have had enough for the night", Eric continued. "But on our way to her place, I noticed a car steadily tailing us, and saw that same vehicle parked a few metres away from her house. Sensing that it could be trouble, I had to prepare, put everything in place, and waited for them to come meet their fates", Eric concluded.

"And so...you killed them?", Reggie narrowed his eyes at Eric.

"We might be sailing on the same boat, but I don't take it lightly with any individual that intends to rock that boat", Eric bluntly replied. "They came with ski masks and armed to the teeth".

"You did that alone?", Reggie asked with disbelief.

"It was only me and my girlfriend in her house that night".

"Did she play any part in it?".

"She is not aware that I killed three men in her house".

"Is she even aware that she is dating a killer?".

"Look", Eric sighed and uncomfortably moved his weight. "I'm only in town to enjoy my holiday with my girlfriend, us being in your bar last night was part of that activity" he stated. "Not in town with a gang to murder my way into controlling a turf or whatever that you are thinking".

"What about your girlfriend?", Reggie asked. "How well do you know her?".

"I have known her for almost four years, and I most definitely know that she has nothing whatsoever to do with John cos she is studying in a different country in a different continent", Eric replied. "If there is any at all, Big John would have spilled it out after I showed him the hammer that cracked his skull open", Eric added.

"Sounds like a psychopathic killer", Reggie winced, disliking the taste of the cigarette he was holding, and stubbed it in the ashtray. "Excuse my choice of words", he apologized immediately. "And you might have to start keeping your girl closer to you too", he then added.

"Why?", Eric asked.

"If everything that you have told me is true, then she might be in a lot of trouble", Reggie replied. "It's clear that someone is out to get her cos John gets paid to kill, or probably to kidnap her, if it's not the former", he added.

Eric nodded. He rested his gaze on the table with his lips pursed. His eyes caught a faded -'F@ck Metro-city bitches'- roughly scratched near the edge of the table. He was busy thinking about everything that had happened so far with his eyes on the barely visible inscription of someone's problem with girls from his city of residence. And trying to process the seemingly dangerous situation that he and Lisa were faced with.

"So what do you make of this?", Eric then asked and looked at Reggie.

"I don't know, man", Reggie sighed. "But I do know that Big John's killing might have made things to even get more worse for your girl....probably for the both of you"

"How?", Eric asked, and was now getting more concerned.

"I'm talking about John's younger brother by the name Bronco Brown", Reggie replied with a look of concern. "Both of them run a dangerous gang in this city, a gang that engage in all kinds of criminal activities; drugs, robberies, kidnaps, murders, you name it"

"Tell me about this brother of his", Eric demanded.

"John is the chill guy between the two. Bronco, his brother, is a unique character in the gallery of rogue characters. A guy you wouldn't even dream of messing with", Reggie replied. "A real violent motherfucker, who absolutely has no method to his madness. John only engages in killings, but Bronco does all kinds of shits".

Eric remained silent, thinking of how very serious the situation had gotten. "So where can I find this...Bronco?", he asked.

Reggie regarded Eric with a funny look and then laughed. "You suppose to be thinking of how to haul-ass out of this city as fast as you can, both you and your girlfriend", he said after his laughter. "And I don't know where he is, or where he stays. I don't even want to have anything whatsoever to do with that kind of guy".

Eric nodded. Then he took a glance at his wristwatch and saw that he had spent almost an hour in the bar.

"Anyway, thanks for the information", he said to Reggie and got to his feet. "And like I said, let this be strictly between you and me", he warned as he adjusted his jacket.

"No, don't let them know I told you all these in case they happen to get you", Reggie said as Eric was about to step out of the private booth. "I will be a dead man if they do".

Eric paused and looked over his shoulder. "I will make sure that doesn't happen", he said to Reggie and then stepped out of the booth.

Reggie watched as Eric walked away and head towards the bar entrance. He thought for a short while and looked at the waitress that was staring in Eric's direction as he left. Then Reggie thought again and reached for his cell phone in his pocket to make a phone call.


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

12.35 pm noon of the same day,


"Wait here", the male bartender said plainly and walked away. Eric nodded and watched the man head towards the position of the pool table.

With his hands dug inside the pockets of his brown jacket, Eric looked around the bar. He was quite taken aback by the size of the place; the AMBER-CAT looked quite spacious without the usual rowdy crowd. He monitored the activities of the waitresses and bartenders that were busy with the cleanings and setting things in the right places. They were all preparing for the business that they would be having tonight.

Moments later, the bartender then came back.

"He is over there", he said to Eric and pointed at the man standing near the pool table with his back hunched and going through something on the surface of the pool table.

Eric nodded his thanks and went towards the man, the owner of the bar whom he easily recognized.

"Good day sir", he began at the man.

The bar owner turned around, saw Eric, and regarded him with a look of recognition.

"Yeah, can I help you?", he asked with indifference and turned his attention back to the pile of papers in front of him.

"Yes sir", Eric replied. "Sir I wanna ask...."

"It's Reggie", the bar owner coldly interrupted before Eric could continue.

"Okay", Eric murmured, wondering the reason for the man's lukewarm attitude that was a clear contrast to the friendliness that he had shown last night.

"So what's the problem", Reggie asked, still with indifference in his tone, and not looking at Eric.

"I want to ask about the guy that my girlfriend had some issues within your bar last night", Eric began.

"Issues with your girlfriend?", Reggie asked.

"Yeah"

"So why isn't she here asking the question instead of you?",

The question made Eric narrow his eyes at Reggie.

"Anyway, what do you wanna know about the guy?", Reggie then asked

"Everything", Eric replied.

"And the reason being what?"

"It's because of the way he approached her last night", Eric replied. "She's having a lot of concern for her safety cos she thinks that the guy might be up to something", he stated.

Reggie smirked and looked at Eric. "And you think that I am the go-to-person for these questions because your girl had an issue with some random dude in this bar?", he asked.

"I know that the guy isn't just some random dude....and it happened in your bar", Eric said in a matter-of-fact tone. He was now feeling the contempt for Reggie's rudeness, slowly building inside him.

"And what makes you think so?" Reggie demanded.

"Well, I saw how you related with him, just as much as you saw my presence when you were settling the quarrel", Eric coldly replied, his face now becoming dead serious.

Reggie pursed his lips and faced the pile of receipts on the pool table. "I do relate with all my regular customers, and there are many of them", he muttered. "You can't expect me to know everything about them, I can even barely remember the first name of most of them", he said nonchalantly.

"I know what I saw", Eric insisted. "And I hate being taken for a fool", he warned. "So let's just cut to the f@cking chase and tell me what I want to hear".

Reggie scoffed and turned his attention back to Eric. "Young man, you can see that I'm very busy, and I'm not in the business of giving information to random strangers", Reggie began irritatedly with a frown. "If your girlfriend is scared because of some guy that she encountered in my place, then she damn well needs to go make a report to the authorities", he warned. "They are the ones that I will only answer to in this matter. And I don't see any identification that makes you one of them. So if you are not here to spend money on booze, then you have no damn business being in this place, my friend", he concluded rudely with his thick hand motioning at the bar entrance door. Then he turned his wide back at Eric and continue sorting out the papers on the pool table.

Eric remained in his position, dead silent and regarding Reggie with a lot of contempt. He wished that he had met the man in a different place, only just the two of them. There, he would certainly put his uncivilized methods of getting answers to use. And for sure every consideration will be next to nothing.

After a short while Reggie turned and saw that Eric hadn't made any move at all.

"Why are you still here?", Reggie frown again. "Didn't I make it clear that this place isn't a public information office?"

Eric has had enough. With that, he stepped closer to Reggie. Close enough to perceive the stale tobacco smoke reeking from the man's shirt.

"Sir", Eric began as he took a deep breath. "I know very well that you own and run this place", he acknowledged and exhaled to control the fire of anger that was now raging in his chest. "But I ain't cool with being disrespected, be it in any form or from whomever it may be, especially when it involves trying to get answers for situations that affect the people that are very close to me in a negative way", he warned with an unusual coldness in his tone of voice, his eyes being clouded with a grimly hostile look.

Eric's sudden change in demeanor quickly replaced the frown on Reggie's face with a somewhat wary look.

"So I am asking you again to tell me what you know about that regular customer of yours", Eric continued coldly. "As I said, I know what I saw last night and I didn't come to your joint to take disrespect", he went on. "So just tell me what I want to know before I start doing sh!ts that you won't even believe", Eric warned.

Reggie kept mute for a while and regarded Eric with a somewhat disturbed look on his face that was also coupled with a lot of curiosity. Then he lowered his gaze, heaved a deep sigh, and looked at Eric again. It's clear that the young man in front of him was indeed very serious. He had even been convinced of that, on seeing the unsettling death stare in Eric's eyes when he was driving home his warning. And it was fit enough to put fear in the heart of any individual with an inflated sense of self-confidence.

Not wanting to further push his luck with someone that might ruin his business on a day that will be very busy, Reggie then took cursory glances at his busy workers. He motioned at Eric to follow him and started walking towards one of the private booths in the bar.

Eric also knew that Reggie had been convinced of his threat to start something unpleasant if he didn't get what he wanted. He was sure of that as he was led towards the booth that was sitting at the end of the bar; a place to keep them away from prying eyes and eavesdropping.

As he followed Reggie, a waitress heading towards the bar counter table with some packs of paper towels saw both men. She paused in her tracks with her attention on them. Eric glanced in her direction and saw that she was the waitress that had served Lisa the beer the night before. The woman recognized him too. She regarded him suspiciously for a short while, and looked at her boss. Then she continued in her journey, this time with a downcast gaze and moved with the gait of someone that's very unsettled.

Eric also noticed the waitress's sudden nervousness. The woman was also a person of interest to him. But as of now, he wants to hear what her boss has to say to him about the man that bought the drink that she had brought to their table. He might as well ask her later if he is unsatisfied with Reggie's information.

Before entering the booth with Reggie, Eric looked over his shoulder to take a quick note of any unusual activity that might have started. Apart from the agitated waitress' watchful eyes that were directed at him, there was nothing of serious concern as all the other bar workers busied themselves with their job.

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

"The body of 22 years-old Florence Davies was discovered in the early hours of the morning near the park, and she appeared to have been brutally murdered". The female news anchor continued with her report that had gotten Lisa's attention after she walked out of the bathroom.

"I know that girl", Lisa said quietly as the three of them stood in front of the t.v with their eyes watching the news of the recent murder being broadcasted.

Eric and Alex glanced at themselves and turned their attention back to the t.v screen. It was beaming the images of a dead body that was covered with a white sheet of cloth and being wheeled towards a waiting ambulance. The picture of the female victim was displayed at the top corner of the screen. A face that both Eric and Alex had seen in one of the pictures they saw last night. The hysterical wailings of the dead girl's family could be heard in the background, with the scenes of policemen rolling out their yellow tapes and guarding the crime scene against the small crowd of onlookers.

"This comes a day after the discovery of the body of a young man by the name of Anthony Jones, who had also suffered a similar fate. Florence was believed to be with Anthony on the day both individuals were reported missing by their families", the news anchor went on.

"Oh Lord!", Lisa gasped, her eyes turning wide with her hand covering her mouth.

"Do you also know him?", Eric asked her.

Lisa looked at Eric and nodded. "Florence had introduced him to me as her boyfriend", she informed him, and then stared at the t.v.

"How did you get to know her?", Alex asked.

"She was Tracy's close friend", Lisa replied.

"Tracy? You mean the Tracy that died four years ago?", Eric asked.

"The same girl that set Lisa up in Angel's house?", Alex murmured to Eric. Eric nodded.

"The authorities are now making a full investigation into what appears to be a case of double homicide. And they are appealing to the public for any information that could lead to the arrest of the perpetrators of these gruesome murders", the news anchor concluded

"Florence shouldn't have hanged around with that guy, Anthony", Lisa then muttered. "He always seemed to be some kind of bad news", she went on quietly.

"Why say so?", Eric demanded.

"The guy had this 'Gang-gang' sort of attitude, a thug wannabe", Lisa sighed. "He must have gotten himself into some kind of a situation that might have cost them their lives", Lisa then shook her head and turned away from the t.v.

"When and where was the last time you met them?", Eric asked.

Lisa then curiously furrowed her brows at him. "Why all these questions?", she asked him. "Is there anything wrong?", she asked again after glancing at Alex and noticing the look of concern on his face.

"Well....", Eric began and threw an uncomfortable glance at Alex.

"There seems to be some kind of a situation", Alex immediately put in.

Lisa threw suspicious glances at the twin brothers. "What kind of a situation?", she demanded quietly.

"Our mother said that it has to do with Angel's murder case", Alex replied. Eric then regarded his brother with furrowed eyebrows that seems to be warning him of his utterance. "She thinks that there is something at play", he continued. "She is not that sure, it could be nothing though, but she wants us to be very cautious throughout this vacation".

"And that's why I am in Easthill", Eric put in.

"But you told me that it had been closed", Lisa stated and stared at Eric confusedly. "Do you think it has something to do with Florence's murder?", she asked.

"It is highly unlikely", Eric replied. "It could probably have happened because of Florence's boyfriend's Gang-gang attitude, as you had described him", he lied. "But she's Tracy's close friend like you said, and Tracy was very close to Angel. Now they are all dead. And if you consider our mother's suspicions, it would be advisable for one to tread cautiously for the time being", Eric stated.

"Am I in some kind of danger?", Lisa asked nervously.

"No", Eric replied. "As Alex said, it's probably nothing. Nina lives her life always suspicious of everything. But I would like you to spend your vacation at our place, as a precaution, and most especially for you being all alone in this house throughout your stay in this country", he continued. And this time, it was Alex that was regarding him with furrowed brows, warning him of the utterance that he had just made.

Lisa thought for a brief moment and regarded Eric with an expression that tells of being excited, instead of that of great concern that one suppose to have on hearing such kind of news. It left both Eric and Alex seemingly quite confused. Even though they didn't properly go into details about the situation, or even mentioned the gruesome activities that had happened in her house while she was asleep, they had for sure said enough to at least make her start feeling a bit agitated.

"Okay, I will do that", Lisa then agreed to the request. "So when do I go?", she asked. There was a little bit of excitement in her tone of voice.

"Well, with Alex here with us, we can get the stuff that you will be needing, and go now", Eric replied.

"Okay", Lisa nodded. "I'm yet to unpack the luggage that I had brought with me though. I will just go change my clothes, grab a few stuff, and we will be on our way", she smiled. Then she immediately headed straight to the stairs leading to the rooms.

"That went unexpectedly well with her", Alex noted quietly as he watched Lisa ascend the stairs. Then he looked at Eric. "And very worse for us", he continued. "Dude!, what were you thinking? Why would you wanna take Lisa to our safe house?", he eagerly asked.

"That's the best place to keep her safe", Eric shrugged.

"And then probably get us killed by mother cos you are about to give her the worst disrespect that you have ever given her", Alex protested. "In this case, she wouldn't mind setting Max on our ass and enjoying her wine while watching our ass getting beat to death".

Eric smirked. "I would love to see mother try it", he muttered.

"Hey man, I do respect your talents in knocking a motherfucker out", Alex chuckled. "But don't do that with Max. If that load of boulders puts his hands on you, you gonna perish in an instant", he warned. "Don't be deceived by what he did to your guy in Metro-city. He only gave him a pat on the face".

"Whatever man".

"Yeah, whatever. Don't say I didn't warn you".

"Anyway, after we drop Lisa at the house, I will go to the bar where Lisa and I met last night to see if I can get some info on those men", Eric said.

Alex sighed, his face expressing his displeasure about what they were about to do.

"And I want you to meet Greg and see if he knows anything", Eric continued. "I hope that won't be a problem?", he asked Alex.

"None at all. I know where he usually hangs out", Alex replied, but still looking concerned.

"Good, and always keep the 'heater' with you wherever you go", Eric motioned a finger at the side where Alex was concealing his handgun. "You will always be needing it from now on", he concluded as they waited for Lisa.


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

samebony1:
Hi Iron, Today is friday ooooo. Just to remind you, incase you have forgotten to do the needful, otherwise man go enter plane come meet you for Korea.

My brother, I just woke up. It's 4 am here. I posted this update, and passed out as I was working on the next. I will try as much as I can to upload the it.