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The book is not edited.
Updates are weekly, anywhere from Friday to the weekends.
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Thin red dust clouded the evening air as four black machines landed in the small compound, each haphazardly parking in whatever spot they found free. Two of them ran over the flower beds. The machines were glorious in all their beauty and size, but the landing design screamed trouble.
Men in black suits and dark shades flew out of the vehicles into the main house.
Ivan, who was on his way to his tiny room—just next to the main house—hid behind the oak tree, a few meters from the black machines. He was an orphaned only child left behind to depend on his cruel uncle and his wife. He refrained from complaining much, as they provided him with the bare minimum. Even his small room, with holes in the roof and deep cracks in the walls—the home of an amphibian for sure—was luck. He was grateful for it as he had witnessed people lack the very basics that got pelted at him as if he was scum.
After a few seconds, the men walked out with his uncle, auntie, and his two cousins. They commanded the family to kneel in a line from the oldest to the youngest. Ivan's uncle was the first on the right from the oak tree, and his smallest cousin was the last.
"Is this all of you from this household?" a man with a long black beard—one of the superior bodyguards—asked. His mouth was hardly noticeable as it was covered by a forest of hair and Ivan only appreciated it because the man was shouting.
Ivan's uncle nodded at the question. The man with the beard went ahead to talk over a mouthpiece and the doors to two different black machines opened simultaneously. Two men walked out of each, with a lady walking out after the second man.
A wind blew toward Ivan, the leaves of the oak tree detaching from the tree in submission to the strong currents. The atmosphere smelt like iron, and Ivan wondered whether he was smelling the future or if it was his own fear. The men had guns on even though none were pointed at anyone.
What did he do? Even though Uncle is wicked, he is a coward. He could never go asking for trouble. Ivan wondered.
"Where is the necklace?" the first gentleman asked.
Wow. All this for a necklace. Ivan rolled his eyes as he continued to peep while seated on the ground.
"What necklace, Sir Liam." Ivan's cousin, who was two years older than him, asked.
This has to do with Carlos? What necklace could he have stolen?
"Don't you dare play tricks and word games with me? I've heard them too many times," the man Liam said rather pissed. "Go search the house," he commanded and four of the men in suits led my mister beard guy entered the house.
Even from a distance, Ivan could tell cups and plates were being broken. The cluttering was too much for it to be an accident. Ivan was sure they were intentionally breaking things in the name of a search.
"Here it is," the bearded guy announced as he emerged from the house, a silver necklace in hand.
The man Liam pointed the gun toward Carlos and four bodyguards pulled out their guns. Two pointed their weapon at Ivan's uncle and auntie's forehead and two pointed their guns at his cousins' occiputs.
Ivan's mouth fell open, and he had to cover his mouth to actively withhold a gasp from sounding.
Let it not go down as it does in the movies. Please, let it not.
"I told you he was not to be trusted, Gabriel," the lady next to Gabriel—Gabriel's sister—said in a high pitch.
Gabriel? Is that the man Carlos works for? Carlos stole from him?
"Believe me, sir Gabriel, I didn't take it. How it got to our house, I do not know. But you know me well. I can't do such an act."
The man Gabriel looked at his now ex-secretary, who was in near tears begging, a gun held against his head from behind. "Liam, are you sure?" The man Gabriel asked.
"Of course, I am sure. How else do you suggest the necklace got here? Look at this place. A pigsty. He probably needed the money," Liam said as he snapped his head back toward Carlos, and Carlos leaned back, his head coming in contact with the cold muzzle. He arched his back awkwardly at the fear that threatened to crack his spine into halves. He lost balance and fell forward, belly against the ground. The bodyguard behind him proceeded to adjust his position and put the tip of the gun on Carlos' back.
Carlos fisted his hand, holding the red soil in his hands, tears finally flowing from his eyes. He was no stranger to how the two gentlemen worked. He had seen both of them murder and move on without a care. No amount of begging was going to save him, and he felt like giving up without a try. It was useless. No case had ever proved to be unique. They all begged before being killed. Maybe their victims were 'bad guys', but in this case, he had crossed them. To them, he was the thief of the silver necklace, an accessory that held the complex password to an account with private contracts and documents that ran their businesses. He was in this case a 'bad guy', at least to the two he was.
"Believe me, I didn't steal it," a whisper escaped from Carlos' mouth.
"Then what is it doing in your house, Carlos?" Gabriel asked. He wanted to save Carlos, but since Liam was also involved, there was little he could do. Liam could accuse him of wanting to save his ex-secretary, who was probably working for the Mafia Cato. Double crossers got bullets to the head. That was non-negotiable. Otherwise, what they had worked hard for would go down the drain, and they would be chased out of their business world like hyenas—with sticks and stones. Gabriel left Liam to handle the dirty work for the day. He couldn't bring himself to put bullets in his former secretary's skull.
"Answer his question," Liam commanded before spitting on the man. His spit landed on Carlos' hair.
"I don't know, sir. I honestly don't know," Carlos said.
"You know how this goes, right? If you don't talk, your whole family dies," Liam said.
Carlos quickly got on all four and crawled to Liam's feet. A position he had seen many go to before the two lords. "Please, don't involve them. Do what you want with me, but don't involve them."
"You readily give yourself. Makes me think you are guilty. That was actually a confession. Why would you accept punishment then," Liam said.
Carlos looked back at his family. His mother was shaking, his sister in her arms. His father's face was downcast, facing the ground. The old man dared not give anyone eye contact lest it be considered a challenge.
Carlos held his head between his palms. Tortured. Tears were now coming down his nose. "I know you do not believe me at all. And I know very well you will kill me because you will not believe me, no matter what. But spare my family from this."
Ivy, Gabriel's sister tugged his brother's shirt. "Let him go this once," she said. "The man is pitiful."
"That is for Liam to decide. Not me," Gabriel said.
Liam took a step back before kicking Carlos' face.
Ivan, who was watching the scene from behind the oak tree with tear-stained cheeks, hissed at the sight of Carlos' bloody face.
"Stupid man," Gabriel hissed. He'd spotted Ivan before he even stepped out of the vehicle and had waited to see whether the guards would notice him.
"Who is there?" Liam asked, and the bearded bodyguard quickly pulled out his pistol and pointed it at the oak tree as he took small steps towards it.
"Come out now before I shoot," the bearded man shouted.
Ivan slowly emerged from behind the tree. "Don't shoot," Ivan said, raising both hands in the air.
"Who are you?"
"Don't shoot... I am Carlos' cousin."
Gabriel hissed at the man's naivety. A little lie never hurt anyone, you idiot, he thought.
The bearded man cocked his head at Ivan's uncle. And Ivan's uncle felt the heat of the gaze. "I thought you said this was your whole family."
"This is my whole family," Ivan's uncle replied.
"So, your nephew isn't family?" the bearded man asked.
"He is, but you asked members of my household. He lives separate from the main house and cooks for himself."
"You dare play smart with me?" the bearded man asked, taking huge steps towards the oldest man and kicking his face before elbowing his back. Now both father and son had bloody noses.
"What do you think you are looking at? Walk here and join the family," Liam said rather enthusiastically. The thought of killing an extra human probably thrilled him.
Ivan took slow steps, his right hand on his right thigh just above his knee.
"Hey, why do you walk like that?" Gabriel asked, afraid the man might draw a firearm from his thigh. Despite the chubby man's innocent look, he dared not give the benefit of the doubt. He had seen some pretty women draw pistols from their thighs and shoot their victims.
"It helps me walk," Ivan mumbled.
"Come on, speak louder than that," Liam said, a little pissed at the man's innocent appearance. The more innocent they look, the more dangerous they are. A phrase that had proved true in the criminal world.
"It helps me walk," Ivan repeated, but still, none of the two gentlemen caught it.
"Whatever you said, just walk with your hands in the air," Gabriel said.
Ivan nodded and obeyed. He lifted both hands in the air and took a step forward. The moment his right foot hit the ground, his right knee buckled, submitting to the weight placed on it. He quickly leaned forward and swayed the other foot forward, relieving the right one from the weight. His right knee buckled as he repeated the movements again.
"Handicapped," Liam shouted as if it wasn't very obvious to the rest.
Ivan stopped, unsure of whether to react to the statement or ignore it.
"Keep walking," Liam commanded.
Ivan walked to where Carlos was. Carlos was still at Liam's foot, with the shoe having his blood stains. Ivan knelt even before being commanded to.
"So, shall we proceed? I don't want to waste any more time. This is not worth my time. I'll take this moment to remind you of what happens to the backstabbers, betrayers, double dealers. Call it whatever. I want this to be a show of what happens not only to you, but with a ripple effect to your loved ones." When Liam was done, he signaled the men to cock their guns by raising his index finger.
"May I please speak?" Ivan requested.
"Go ahead," Liam said. Ivan looked at the man, who had a gun pointed at him. Liam, realizing the man was not about to speak with the weapon pointed at him, signaled the one guard to lower his arm. Ivan exhaled, his face deflating of a bit of tension.
"I know Carlos is innocent. Give us some time to prove that to you, sir," Ivan said.
"Ah, so you can be audible," Liam said. "Convince me."
"Carlos worked for your friend for a year. He must have seen signs of betrayal, right? He is letting you deal with this case because he doubts Carlos did it. So that his hands will be clean of innocent blood while you stain yours."
A growl erupted from Gabriel's throat, and every guard adjusted his posture to a more upright one. Even Ivy, the sister of the mafia lord, took a step to the side, distancing himself from her brother.
Ivan had studied the situation right. He had picked up how calm the gentleman had been as Liam spoke compared to how alert they were when Gabriel spoke. If Gabriel was Liam's equal and had employed Carlos, then he should have been angrier about the whole situation than Liam, but it was not so. Therefore, Gabriel either doubted Carlos stole the necklace or didn't want to kill his dear ex-employee. From the sound of how weak Carlos had begged at the brink of death, he doubted the mafia Gabriel had a soft heart. Were it not so, Carlos would have begged harder. Or maybe Gabriel actually did have a soft heart. A secretary, boss relationship was quite a close one. For now, Ivan suspected the former; Gabriel suspected Carlos didn't do it.
Brave of him to talk like that. Gabriel thought to himself as he approached the chubby light skinned man.
"What's your name?" he asked deadly calm.
"Ivan," Ivan replied simply in a soft tone.
"I will be the one to shoot each one of you... And you shall be last," Gabriel said, saving his friendship with Liam at the words. True, he didn't want his hands dirty with blood he suspected to be innocent, but the reason he'd stepped back was not to stain his friend and be free of innocent blood. Rather, Carlos had been close to him as a secretary, and he found it a bit challenging to murder him. Ivan had also made one seem superior to the other in the presence of their subordinates, and Gabriel didn't quite appreciate that.
"Why don't you give us a chance to prove our innocence? As you can see, we are powerless against you. Look at us... how can we offend someone like you? My cousin here even knows that you might not believe his innocence... Why would he try to even offend you if he knows of how unforgiving you are?"
"Quiet," Gabriel roared. "You feign such innocence. I didn't think you'd be a chatterbox. Most of your kind don't go around talking carelessly. Otherwise, they might not be able to escape the trouble they stir."
Ivan bit his lip as a red mist brewed from within. He quickly calmed it down. He had mustered the act of cooling down instantly when someone arose his anger by mocking his disability.
"I will honor your bravery, only if my brother here agrees to it. We will give you a chance to prove yourself, Carlos," Gabriel said, his eyes shifting from Carlos to read Liam's face.
"I agree... And you are coming with me," Liam said as he pulled Carlos from the ground.
"Why don't I go with Sir Gabriel? He is my employer," Carlos asked
"Are you talking back? Want me to—" Liam asked, raising his fist to which Carlos flinched. Liam unclenched his fist before letting it down.
"Okay, I am taking the cripple," Gabriel said, and Ivan looked up to meet his eyes.
"How does this involve me?" Ivan asked, his face evident of his confusion.
"Weren't you desperate to save your cousin? Until he finds a way to prove his innocence, you are coming with me to be my slave. It's his way of paying me for the inconvenience."
"What inconvenience. I think he is the one who is inconvenienced, considering he is innocent," Ivan said.
"Don't act smart with me. I have a lot of patience with me today, especially toward you, coz you are not a complete man. So don't put me in a position where I'll be harassing a disabled man."
Ivan kept mum at the words. It had been such a long time since someone tested his limits. In Ivan's life, most of the cruel words came from ignorant people around him, but it hit differently when the mockery came from an educated wealthy, powerful man. It made him feel small and insignificant, as if his life was at his mercy, as if it was actually a favor he was breathing.
"Why me if I am an incomplete man," Ivan argued.
"How selfish of you. You want me to take your old uncle? Your auntie?" Gabriel asked.
"No," Ivan whispered. He wanted his small cousin to have her parents around who'd bring in a stable income.
"I thought so. And blame your smart mouth. If you were quiet as your face says you are, we could have left with Carlos alone."
"Is Carlos safe? Your friend kicked his face," Ivan asked.
"You are too comfortable around me. And you seem to have the impression that I'm kinder than Liam. You will be quick to realize I am worse. Not another word from you... As for the rest of you," Gabriel addressed the family. "Not a word to the outsiders. Do you hear me, sir?" he asked Ivan's uncle, who nodded. "We will not be disturbing you any time soon, so live your life, take the little girl to school, and don't try any smart moves. I mean escaping."
Ivan's uncle and auntie nodded, and Gabriel gave a firm nod of satisfaction.
"Manuel, tie this slave to the back of your vehicle. You can drag him home at full speed or drive at his walking speed, your choice," Gabriel said, pushing Ivan toward the man called Manuel.