frankline461:

You mean 461?

exactily

Thanks for the update

The dad may know more than he's letting on.
But how Shelby take know abi na person use her phone nice concept and I can't wait for more.
Thanks Frankline

enirock:
The dad may know more than he's letting on.

But how Shelby take know abi na person use her phone
nice concept and I can't wait for more.

Thanks Frankline

becca2017:
Thanks for the update

xaviercasmir:
Wow nice update

Lakesc:
Thanks for the update..

Thanks for reading

Odoogu:


did you get the pm?
am sure I did.

I didn't, sorry

Odoogu:


you ready to take the plunge now?
count me in as a team member.
"not grinning sha"...
*now am smiling*
how is your weekend going?

I'm not so ready...okay *chuckles*
How am I just seeing how is the weekend now when weekend is almost over?

Oremeyii:

I'm not so ready...okay *chuckles*
How am I just seeing how is the weekend now when weekend is almost over?

*☺
the weekend was in a rush I guess.
hope you enjoyed it?

Oremeyii:
I didn't, sorry

alright. will resend.

CHAPTER FIVE

Ever wondered what happens when we die, or when we almost die? Religion and science have given very different and opposite explanations for this, and instead of bringing light to a rather tricky subject, it leaves us further confused and frustrated than we initially were, as we try to figure out which is right, and which isn't. This rift of confusion is then suddenly resolved when we finally choose our way of life and what it is we want to believe in; either to believe in a superior being that judges us at the end of our walk in life, or to believe in the big bang theory that states that we exist as a result of a mighty explosion millions of years ago. That being said, our perception of the afterlife involves one of two things, being judged and being subjected to eternal condemnation, or everlasting peace, or having everything we've ever done flash before our eyes in the few minutes and suddenly after, we just seize to exist. This is of course barring some others, like those that claim we are reincarnated and made to live again in another body whilst forgetting everything we ever did in our past life, or those that claim that we have to travel through endless test to prove that we are good enough for the afterlife. Each school of thought fights to be heard and to be shown as the one and only truth, but what you realise when you die, or when you almost do, is that none of this school of thoughts matter when you are on your way to the other side, regardless of your beliefs or way of life, it always ended in one way; a mystery we only get to uncover on our way to the other side, and quickly forget if we are called back before reaching the blue light.

The first thing I heard when I finally came through was the constant beeping of the heart monitor, it beeped at such regular intervals that one could get used to it and forget that it was there all together. My head felt like it had been filled with bags of cement and I was suffering from a gigantic hangover. I could hear some voices as I struggled to open my eyes -a feat that seemed like an herculean task- and I was able to catch a very familiar one in the midst of all the jumble, my mom's.

"He is waking up." She announced to whoever was in the room and I could hear footsteps run off.

"I would get the doctor." Another voice said as the footstep trailed off. It was another familiar voice but my brain had not woken up fully to figure out who it was.

My eyes finally opened up a little bit and I could see the ceiling of the room I was in, although not too clearly. Its brightness sent impulses of pain to the back of my head, through optic nerve, as my lens struggled to adjust to accommodate the image. It took about another minute when the doctor came and pulled my eyelids back, for my eyes to finally adjust, and I could see everyone in the room. He had been muttering something since he stood over me, but all I heard were enhanced movements and whining echoes that I couldn't understand.

"Can you hear me?" The doctor aksed again and I could finally hear him. "Blink twice it you can." He pulled back the touch he had briefly placed in front of my eyeballs.

I blinked and slowly turned to look at my mom and I could see the joy in hers eyes. She had eye bags, probably from excessive crying and lack of sleep and it made me wonder how long I had been unconscious for. The doctor stood in front of me, obstructing my view again, he placed a finger in front of my eyes and asked me to follow it to the left, and then, to the right which I did albeit painfully. He sighed and turned to my mom.

"The worse is over now, all he needs now is rest." He announced and I saw her fall to the ground in tears.

Some of the nurses tried to get her up but she refused as she weeped uncontrollably, I thought I had her say something regarding my siblings but I couldn't grasp what it was as I again, slipped into oblivion.

*

I opened my eyes again and this time it was much easier than it had been when I tried the first time, I felt very much better and my muscles that had been aching suddenly weren't anymore. I also found out that the tube that had gone into my mouth had been removed. I adjusted on the bed and helped myself up as I looked around the room, it was a very spacious one and moderately decorated, with flowers just beside my bed, knowing my mom, I knew she must have requested that we were made comfortable regardless the cost. My eyes caught a figure in the balcony, and although the ray of sunlight that shown from that direction initially prevented me from seeing who it was, but as my eyes adjusted I realized who the second voice had belonged to.

Shelby had her back to me and her ears plugged in with her earpiece, the blowing wind made her hair fly and she looked like an actress playing a scene for a movie. She was oblivious to my actions and looked to be in deep thoughts, her expression savouring every bit of breeze she could get from whatever floor we were in. Suddenly, like a shocking realization, my mind drifted to my dad and siblings and I was anxious to know how they were fairing. I shifted my legs and sat at the edge of the bed and that was when Shelby turned, finally catching my movement. She hurried into the room, pulling the earpiece out of her ears.

"You're finally awake." She said rhetorically as she tried to help me to the edge of the bed. She also stacked some pillows behind me, to support me from behind.

I used my hand to shift my weight back and finally got comfortable in my position as she took a few steps backwards. We had a lot to discuss, but first, I needed to know how the rest of my family were doing.

"My dad, Michael and Shalom?" I asked, preparing myself for the worst.

She was silent for a while and I could see that she was contemplating whether to tell me or not.

"I deserve to know." I cut into her thoughts.
Sighing, she dragged a chair and sat in front of me, intertwining her fingers in front of her face. "Michael is fine, he suffered injuries to some of his internal organs, but the surgeries were successful, and he has since stabilized. The doctor said that it was only a matter of time before he is released from the ICU"

A good news, I thought, but knowing Shelby, I knew she had probably decided to start from the less hurtful news.

"Okay, Shalom and my dad?" I urged her on as she had suddenly stopped talking and looked distant.

She took a deep breath in and stared at me for a while. "I don't think I should be the one telling you this." She protested.

"Just tell me.' I was becoming anxious and frightened, had something bad happened to them?

There was another short pause but it felt like eternity as I stared at her hoping I was wrong.
"Shalom had a damage to her spine, just around her L1 vertebrae. The doctor said she has lost function of the lower part of her body, she is now paraplegic and would spend the rest of her life on a wheel chair."

The news hit me harder than I thought it would, and even though I had braced myself up for something like that, hearing it proved to be a very difficult task to handle. I felt my heart collapsing deep within as pain and anger overwhelmed me.

"Your dad did not make it."

My heart stopped for a moment and all I could hear was the beeping of the monitor, my vision suddenly became blurry and there was a sharp pain in my head as I tried to keep myself from falling off the bed. Shelby pushed me back and helped me maintain my balance. I lowered my head and shut my eyes, I couldn't hold back the tears that suddenly formed behind my eyeball and flowed without resistance, I felt responsible for what had happened to my family, the girl in black had warned me of this possibility but I refused to listen and turned a deaf ear to her. She also had a blame in what had happened, ever since she had showed up in my life, things had taken a sudden turn from good to bad and for all I knew, she might have been responsible for bringing whoever did this into my life. The tears flowed seamlessly down my face and I lost every sense of masculinity as I broke down in tears in front of Shelby, I wished for time to go back for me to make things right, I would have gone far away from my family and faced the tragedy alone, but I was not smart enough, I was dumb, dumb to have allowed such fate befall my loved ones, bringing them nothing but pain and suffering.

I thought of my poor sister whose life had been destroyed due to the foolishness of her brother and I wasn't sure I could ever come to face her again, the guilt would kill me. My dad who had his life set only for his son to bring about his downfall, I was certain he would never forgive me wherever he was. If only I had known that it was the last time i was ever going to see him, I would have just told him everything and not wait till we got back.

The door to my room opened and someone walked in, from her strides, I could tell it was my mom and I couldn't bring myself to look at her.

"You're up already." She said, hurriedly placing what she brought on the table.

She walked to me and stopped short when she saw the tears in my eyes, she turned to Shelby, who nodded and she knew what had happened. She slowly bent beside me and held my head.

"You don't have to be like this now, you should rest and look after your health, let the others worry about theirs."

I raised my head and stared at her, how could she still be so strong in this situation? I knew she was hiding her pain behind her words, she had to be strong for all of us and she really did a good job of it.

"I'm sorry." That was all I could say as the tears flowed. I had cost her a life and probably already ended another. It wasn't something even I was able to forgive myself for.

She pulled me for in a hug as she quickly wiped off the tear that fell from her eyes. "It's not your fault." She said, gripping me tightly. "Trust me when I say, It's not your fault." She assured.

She let go of me after a while and helped me wipe the tears off. "I don't want you to eat yourself up about this and just recover. That's what we all want." She grabbed the bag she had dropped. "I will be back, I need to go to your sister's ward."

As soon as she stepped out, I turned to Shelby. "You called me, just before the accident to warn me. How did you know it was going to happen."

Shelby slowly paced around the room. "You might think I am insane if I tell you, but you have to believe everything I say. "

I scoffed, she had to try living my life for a day. "Try me."

She paused again. "I saw it happen."

I didn't understand what her statement meant. "You were there when it happened?"

"No, I mean, I saw it happen, before it happened."

At that point, I would have thought she was out of her mind if I hadn't known any better, but I did, I just needed to figure out what she meant and what role she played in all of it.

"A week after I moved to China, I got down with the flu and was really sick for a while. I got treatment and along the way, I started having vivid dreams and nightmares. The doctors said it might have been a side effect of the medication, but even after I got better, I still had them and it started interfering with my daily routine. Then all of a sudden, I started seeing things, really scary things, people who looked normal, but weren't."

"What do you mean by were not normal?" I interrupted her. What she had described so far was the same thing I had been going through and I really had to get the details.

"Well, they walked amongst people and even interacted with them. But some of them had wings, really big, strong wings that people seemed not to notice, although I only see the wings in a flash before it vanishes again. There was also something wrong with their eyes, they all had black scary eyeballs."

I almost jumped out of my bed, I was not going insane and Shelby had just confirmed it. I had witness everything she had said, but not those with wings. It made me wonder if they had ever tried to attack her, like they did with me.

"Were you ever attacked?"

"No, although I later got to find out that it was because of this." She pulled her shirt and brought out a necklace. It was the necklace she had always worn when we were in school, she had told me during our days that it was a gift from her late father before he died and she had worn it ever since. I had seen that exact necklace somewhere before, but I still couldn't figure out where I had seen it.

"On the night before we left, I decided to take a walk out of the house, down the street, and that was when I saw them, two people fighting in the middle of the road as people and cars passed by and acted like they weren't there. They were not normal people. The man had wings and the girl wielded swords, she seemed like an expert, but she was already badly injured. I tried to get people to separate them but they all stared at me like I had lost it and went about their ways. I tried to interfere, but the girl waved me back. The man attacked her again and with one strong swing, she beheaded him right in front of my eyes. I was in shock, someone had just been killed on the road and no one cared. The girl wiped her sword and walked up to me, she pulled down my shirt and brought out this necklace. She mumbled something and told me that I had to leave to find the boy and get him to safety, she said I would know when I saw him and that I had to make sure I brought him to her in Russia. That was the first time I saw you in one of my visions, you were sitting in a car and looking out on the road. At first, it was in flashes, just fragments when i fell asleep or when I laid to relax, i didn't understand what it meant but it felt so real. With time, the fragments started coming together, but I still couldn't really get my hand on it and what it actually meant until last night when I saw it completely, the accident. I tried to call to warn you but you weren't picking, I sent you loads of texts but none of them got delivered. We have a lot to talk about, but we have to leave first, she said your family will never be safe if you're around them and I don't think you want any further harm to befall them."

There was only one person that would say what Shelby had just said. "The girl, did she tell you who she was?"

"Yes, Amy, she said you call her the girl in black."

Mom walked in interrupting us, she had a smile on her face as she approached us. "I have good news, Michael just woke up. I know you two have a lot to catch up on." She continued and I knew she still thought that we were together. "But I want you to rest for now."

She helped me raise my leg back on the bed and dragged the cover over me, that was when I saw it, the necklace she was wearing, it was the exact replica of Shelby's.

YOUR COMMENTS ARE HIGHLY APPRECIATED

So the mum too
Interesting. But what of the mark he saw on the dad before he died (I. e if truly he died)
So Amy left guardian angel duty to Shelby

Thanks Frankline for the update. We await more.

Khriztarl:

owk o. It's a promise o..

Enirock,
Ann2012,
Millieademi,
Culin,
sochey(long lost),
Mhizv,
Herbiedeen,
Adesina12,
Ukaface,
Embellished,
Ujunwa14,
Skubido,
Damselposh,
Preshbeauty,
Pre14,
Rosemary33,
Divinelypruned,
Prudysara,
Casnova,
Kweensheba,
Tominix,
Sheikshegetto(missed you for long),
Elvictor,
Okikioluwafemi, (i hope i spelt correctly),
Odoogu,
Onyinelle,
Tonyspecial,
Krazzyandy,
Veenessha,
Lakesc,
Adekunlated.
You people should coman sitdown please.
N/B: Don't make noise. Come quietly. Culin don't like noise.

Thanks oh, i will not make noise, i will just shout small

Odoogu:


*☺
the weekend was in a rush I guess.
hope you enjoyed it?

How did u send an emoji?
*�Hope mine will send
As for the weekend, it was meh for me, hope yours was better

Odoogu:


alright. will resend.

Now I've seen it *grins*

Oremeyii:

How did u send an emoji?
*�Hope mine will send
As for the weekend, it was meh for me, hope yours was better

had no idea how that happened, just gonna use again to be sure *�
and I didn't get to see yours. am sure you mean well.
the weekend is gone, enjoy the weekdays instead.

Oremeyii:

Now I've seen it *grins*

that's good.
you know the grins ain't gonna be enough now
I just want to share a wise saying *wink*

thank you op. we go again

mother too!

I'm here

Khriztarl:

owk o. It's a promise o..

Enirock,
Ann2012,
Millieademi,
Culin,
sochey(long lost),
Mhizv,
Herbiedeen,
Adesina12,
Ukaface,
Embellished,
Ujunwa14,
Skubido,
Damselposh,
Preshbeauty,
Pre14,
Rosemary33,
Divinelypruned,
Prudysara,
Casnova,
Kweensheba,
Tominix,
Sheikshegetto(missed you for long),
Elvictor,
Okikioluwafemi, (i hope i spelt correctly),
Odoogu,
Onyinelle,
Tonyspecial,
Krazzyandy,
Veenessha,
Lakesc,
Adekunlated.
You people should coman sitdown please.
N/B: Don't make noise. Come quietly. Culin don't like noise.

As long as you show me where they sell popcorn around here I'm ok thanks for the mention tho

Odoogu:


had no idea how that happened, just gonna use again to be sure *�
and I didn't get to see yours. am sure you mean well.
the weekend is gone, enjoy the weekdays instead.

It didn't work this time, noooo
Thanks and I wish the same for u too

Oremeyii:

It didn't work this time, noooo
Thanks and I wish the same for u too

thank you.
no reply yet?

Odoogu:


thank you.
no reply yet?

You're welcome...I've replied o

KrazzyAndy:

As long as you show me where they sell popcorn around here I'm ok thanks for the mention tho

ann2012, distribute it for free.

Oremeyii:
You're welcome...I've replied o

yeah.. I got the reply was stuck on my keyboard hoping to pass the wise saying. am sure you know I must have sent a different wise saying. pls don't ignore. it's still a wise saying

CHAPTER SIX

Three weeks later

I walked into the room and found a new tux placed on my bed, I sighed and turned back to the living room where the two ladies sat, their gaze fixed on whatever movie they were seeing. They were so calm and unconcerned about what we had to do that night and one would have thought they had done it before or that I was over reacting. I had not been able to sit still after we had gone through the plan one last time the night before, mission blueberry as Shelby called it. It all felt weird and foreign to me, even though all we had to do was to observe and try to fit in as much as possible; my frustration lied in the fact that I found it had to just 'fit in'.

"I thought the girl in black said we didn't need to wear anything special for tonight's event?" I spoke, interrupting their show. Not surprising, they were seeing a Russian movie without subtitles it had become a ritual.

We had undergone some basic Russian language training over the past week although the girl in black had provided us with chips that automatically translated what we wanted to say in English to Russian, a technology she claimed humans were still decades away from developing. The 'mind reading chip' Shelby had quickly tagged it deviating from it's original name 'Pherth'. She had done a lot of naming, and was also responsible for choosing the names in our fake passport. Alexander Dmitri and Anastasia Popova.

"Amy." The girl in black protested. "My name is A-M-Y. And yes, I said that, but someone seems bent on making sure she and her date steals the show even when we are supposed to go in and out of the event unnoticed."

Shelby rolled her eyes. "Easy for you to say, since no one can see you, you can decide to throw on whatever you want and would be admissible. We are going to a very important show with a lot of high class Russian officials and we are going in with fake identities and a fake invitation card. The least we can do is to look the part and hope luck is on our side." She turned to me. "Also, while you took a stroll, I went through your wardrobe and I couldn't find a single cloth that fits the event, why in the world would you choose to pack only casual wears?" She sounded exasperated.

Well, maybe because no one told me that our mission involved attending a high class Russian show until the last minute, not that it would have changed anything even if they did. I never attended shows in school, and now I was being made to attend one because we needed to find out which of the Russian officials had been possessed and was holding the Vynet. I raised both shoulders and Shelby rolled her eyes again.

"A 'thank you' would suffice." She said, staring expectantly.

"How's your premonition these days, are you still seeing that indian guy?" I asked sarcastically.

Shelby scorned. "Yes, and I think the pieces are coming together, but I can't see the whole picture yet and how it all relates to us or what we are doing. Don't try to change the topic."

I smiled, typical Shelby. I shook my head and walked back to the room as she growled in disappointment.

"You know you won't die if you say it." She shouted after me as the girl in black bursted into laughter.

I pulled off the hand glove I was wearing and placed them by the side of the bed, the most difficult thing since we had come into Russia was dealing with the cold. We had to wear a lot of clothing to prevent ourselves from literally freezing due to the zero degree temperature. It was winter and we had picked the worst time to visit, some of the locals claimed that Rostov had one of the warmest weathers when compared to other regions in the country but it was hard to figure out what they meant by warm; being able to see my every breath and wrapping myself in more than five different pieces of clothing was definitely not my definition of warmth. The only time we could remove some of these clothings without the fear of hypothermia was when we were indoors, sitting in the comfort of the electric furnace.

I sat on the bed and stared at nothing in particular for a while, picking up my phone, I still couldn't believe my life had taken such a huge and drastic turn. Few weeks ago, if anyone had told me that I would be in Russia, trying to save the world, I would not have believed it because I was no hero and only wanted to live a fulfilled life without dramas, but here I was, the protagonist of a major drama, holding a fake identity and planning on attending a dinner with most of the prominent people in Russia. I scrolled through my gallery and stopped at the picture of my dad smiling, it was a picture I had taken some months back when I had visited him in his office. He had been so consumed by whatever he was doing in his files that he didn't even notice the flashlight go on and off. He was so full of life and even though he was disturbed, he still subconsciously had a smile on.

As I pulled off my sweater, I felt an uncomfortable sting in my back, it felt like there were spikes underneath my skin and I had to slowly remove the jacket to prevent any further discomfort. Placing the jacket by my side, I checked my wristwatch for the time and it was already past two. It meant we still had about four hours before the show and I needed to rest in order to bring calm to my mind and put it in the right place for the mission. I placed my head on the pillow and stared at the ceiling, I missed my family as I wondered what they were up to, it was a shame I could not be around the ones I loved the most until it was all over, I couldn't bring any further harm to them. In a way, I derived all the motivation I needed from the fact that at the end of it all, I would be reunited with them, after I had made whoever was responsible for my dad's death pay from their crimes. I held the necklace I was wearing and swore that as long as I was alive, I would not stop until every single one of them paid. I connected my head phone and plugged it into my ears, as Audio by LSD reverberated through the speaker, shutting my eyes, I let the music take over me.

*

Three weeks ago

I watched Shalom and my mom through the glass wall as I could not bring myself to enter into the ward, she looked pale, Shalom, as my mom fed her. The doctor had brought great news earlier, the extent of her spinal damage had been exaggerated and instead of direct ligation, she had a mere compression of her spinal cord and needed to be put under observation over the next few days to determine how long it was going to take for her to regain full control of her lower body. Mom had quickly booked one of the best physiotherapist in the country to work on her immediately she was able to regain sensation to her lower body and help her get back to her feet in no time. Michael on the other was doing much better and had been moved out of the ICU to the male ward and was responding to treatment, I couldn't bring myself to see him either, not when I had put them all in arm's way.

Shalom muttered something as she wiped her mouth and mom placed her hand over her head. She also said something and Shalom smiled. I smiled weakly as I watched them, but deep inside, I ate myself up and mourned what could have been.

"You know none of this is your fault, right?" Shelby walked towards me and handed a can of malt to me as she took a sip out of hers.

Everyone had been trying to assure me that none of what had happened was my fault, but no matter how I looked at it, I always saw a different outcome if I had listened to the girl in black and went with her on her voyage to save mankind.

"It's hard to see that." I replied, pulling the cork on the can and taking a sip from it.

"What are you going to do now?" Shelby asked, taking another sip. "We do not have much time now. After what happened in China, Amy is convinced that other careers of the Vynet would want to speed things up and this gives us a very short window to stop them now."

I took another sip of the malt, its bittersweet taste sent a different kind of sensation to my thalamus and I savored the taste. I turned back to the glass and kept my gaze on Shalom.

"My mom has an exact replica of your necklace." I announced.

There was a short pause and I knew that she had probably seen it too.

"I know, I saw it when I first arrived the hospital. Do you think she knows more than she's letting on?" Shelby took a step closer and stood beside me, her gaze fixed on my mom and Shalom.

"I don't know, there's only one way to find out."

*

Present

The shofer (chauffeur) pulled up in front of the Rostov state musical theatre, the building was much bigger than the images made it look. There were lots of activities going on outside the building as people exchanged pleasantries, the whole area was also crawling with security guards and this made my heart flutter a bit as I swallowed hard. I stepped out of the car, adjusted my tux and walked over to the other side to hold the door open for Shelby.

"Spasibo (Thank you)." She said, holding my outstretched hand as she stepped out of the car.

As the girl in black had pointed out earlier, with Shelby's choice of clothing, we were definitely going to stand out in the crowd, there was no way we were walking in and out of the theatre unnoticed. She had picked out a Perry Elis black tuxedo for me, coupled with a black leather oxfords shoe that perfectly fitted me. She was wearing an ivory black sequin dress with glitters sprinkled around it and a black face net that made her look breathtaking.

"Pozhaluysta (You're welcome)." I extended my arm to her. "Shall we?"

We approached the entrance of the building elegantly and were asked to present our invitation, my heart fluttered again, moment of truth. Shelby handed over our invitation to the guard who scanned it, something popped up on the screen and he turned to look at us, I held my breath and was prepared to make a run for it if the situation called for.

"Dmitri, Popova."

I nodded in affirmation. "Da (Yes)."

He handed back the invitation to us and waved over a female usher. "Special guests."

She smiled at us politely, and with flair asked us to come with her, swinging her hips intentionally as she walked in front of us. I gave a sigh of relief as we walked into the building and Shelby winked at me. We were led to a platform with less guests and everyone there looked important. The usher stopped and turned to look at me, the smile still plastered on her face.

"My zdes', yesli vam nuzhna drugaya veshch', vy mozhete pozvonit' mne (We are here, if you need any other thing, you can call on me)." She said slowly biting her lower lip.

"We are fine." Shelby quickly imputed before I could say a word, gripping my hands tightly. "Eto vse (That will be all)." The usher walked away but not before glaring at Shelby.

Shelby turned to me. "Were you really enjoying that, why didn't you just tell her off?"

She looked irritated and angry and I didn't see the reason she was, but I couldn't let it go any further, we were there for a reason and needed to stick to the plan.

"I can see you are already getting attention" A voice came from behind us.

We turned and there stood the girl in black, contrary to what Shelby had said, she was not putting on just any dress and I was sure that if people could actually see her, she would have garnered more attention than we would.

"You look nice." Shelby complemented her. "You're so uptight I almost forgot you were a lady and you should have a sense of fashion." There she went again, I wondered what had suddenly ticked her off that make her suddenly obnoxious.

Amy smiled and turned to look around the room. "Don't get used to it."

"So, what are we looking for exactly?" I asked, also running my gaze around the room as men and women chatted happily in Russian and security guards whispered endlessly into their devices.

"Anything out of place." Amy responded.

I grinned. "That would be us."

There was an announcement and everyone was asked to pay attention as the opening musical act was about to be performed. The announcer called the names of the singers and there was a loud applause from the entire building. The singers, Rauf and Faik, stepped up to the stage and were going to be performing one of their old songs Aetctbo. There was a loud round of applause after they finished performing, and rightly so, even though I could not understand most of the lyrics, the song still had a way it connected to my soul, great rhythm. The rowdiness resumed as soon as the singers stepped off the stage and we turned back to look for anything 'out of place'.

"There." Shelby pointed out.

There was a lady standing at the corner talking to a man, she was also wearing an expensive black gown and had a shade on.

"We can't check if she's possessed or not, and if she is, there's no way we can drag her away in front of all these people and security."

The girl in black scorned. "Try me."

"Dragging out the Daughter of the chief of staff would be kidnapping." A voice startled us from behind. "And with all these security guards here, I bet it you can only make it five feet to her before you're shot."

There was a man dressed as a waiter standing behind us. He didn't look like most of the waiters and had an indian accent even though we couldn't get a clearer look at his face.

I cleared my throat and turned to Shelby who for some reason looked more shocked than I was. I did my old laughter trick, hoping to clear up the air.

"I think you misread things mister, we were not planning on kidnapping the daughter of the chief of staff."

He smiled and moved toward us. "Well if you actually planned on kidnapping her, doing it at her condo will be wiser. She's a very private woman has little to no security guards there, not that I've been stalking her or anything. I'm Justin." He stretched his hands towards me. "Justin Case."

I received his hand shake and nudged Shelby who had been silent. She remained silent.

"And just in case you need anything, I'm the man for it. I'm actually a tech expert working as a waiter part time." He looked away from me and turned to the direction Shelby and the girl in black were standing. "You lovely ladies have been awkwardly silent, what can I get for the three of you."

what a Chase thanks op. more grace, ink and money

*shocked*
He saw the girl in black?!!!

Guess that's the indian man shelby has been seeing of recent
nice work

Now it's clear for Shelby. That's the man she's been seeing. Nice one Op. We are grateful.

gathering enough toxic.. op, you are there.

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