Novels by aayobamialabi

Cullen’s eyes were bloodshot when he saw Sylvester finally charge him.This was the moment he had been waiting for all this while, and Sylvester was finally giving it to him.The privilege to kill the bastard.However, when he struck with all his might, his fists met resistance. Resistance followed by a few quick jabs to his ribs. Nothing particularly disorienting, but it still mocked him."You’re sloppy," Sylvester said, shaking his head. "You’re not built for this, Cullen. Strength without control is just wasted energy."Cullen snarled. "Shut up!" He launched forward again, his strikes coming faster, more relentless. He swung, kicked, twisted his body for unexpected angles, but every single attack met the same result.Sylvester dodged each of his attacks like they were coming to him at a snail’s pace.Then, just as Cullen pulled back to strike again, Sylvester stepped in and delivered a sharp kick to the side of his knee, sending him stumbling. Again, these attacks didn’t do what

The new warriors were gathered before Sylvester could even finish arranging his thoughts. Geral was like that. Sometimes, too efficient. Sylvester liked that. That was a good thing to be “extra” at.The faces of the soldiers and his students were furrowed in anticipation as they waited for him to address them.“You know, I planned something before…and the message was communicated to you all, right?” Sylvester asked. There were mumbles, but most of it was in agreement.“Well, that was a test, designed to gauge your loyalty.” Sylvester revealed his plan blatantly, causing a rancor.There were mumbles, gasps and even outspoken comments.It was expected.“We’re scrapping that, though, and replacing it with something else,” his eyes swept the crowd, looking through the faces of men that looked too uncomfortable with his words.Those men needed to go.A murmur rippled through the crowd, but Sylvester lifted a hand, silencing them before they could break into full-on whispers.“We’re facing

“So, this…Nine, you call him?” Sylvester asked Otto. He, so far, had tried to be as casual with the boy as possible. He didn’t want to do anything to force his back into a shell, knowing everything he had been through. “Yeah?” Otto picked at the breakfast that was given to him. It was the next day, and the people that had taken him looked like they were going to care enough for him, so he was at peace. “You think you can remember exactly what he looked like?” Sylvester prodded lightly. “Oh, yeah. Beat me for a while. Of course, I remember,” Otto chuckled, his eyes darting back and forth trying to shake a reminiscence too vivid. This was what Sylvester was avoiding. A recall that would send him back into his shell, but it was necessary. How was he going to remember the face of the man, if he didn’t relive his traumatic past? Otto was going to have to be strong here. Otto chewed slowly, eyes flickering with a distant memory. “Tall. Muscular. Scar on his left cheek. Wore a lot o

Sylvester leaned against the edge of the desk, arms crossed, as he studied the young boy standing in front of him. Otto looked as wary as ever, even though they had just given him a nice meal and a set of new clothes that were more comfortable than the tattered pair that he was wearing before.One of the telltale signs of human trafficking is that the effects stick with you forever.Not for a long time…not for a very long time. Forever. And so Sylvester knew deep down, that Otto would never feel as great a sense of peace as the normal person ever again.And the fact that such a young boy had to experience horrors like these made his blood boil. It made him more determined to find these evil criminals and make them pay.Katherine, standing beside Sylvester, watched Otto with careful eyes. “So, these traffickers,” she started, “how many are they?”“Those aren’t productive questions,” Geral face-palms.“Well, we have got to start somewhere,” Katherine shrugged and looked back to the boy

Cullen paced the darkened alley, his fingers twitching with impatience. The stranger had told him to come alone.That alone should have deterred him. He could be robbed here. Stabbed and killed. No one would ever find his body.Yet, here he was. Bravery fueled by the craving for power and revenge.Was this even healthy? He wasn’t sure. But one thing was certain. He was going to get his revenge. If this fell through the roof, he would look for an alternative.He had done underground deals before.But nothing like this.He had handed envelopes under tables, sent hush money, even done deals where he had to bury transactions and randomize his mail. But what he was seeing? This felt…strange. Truly, he was face to face with the black market.At first, it seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary. Just a dark shady alley way.But the eyes of the people passing by…when they met his, had a certain knowing that he knew was not of the world he was used to.A shadow moved at the far end of the al

Sylvester stared at the dot on his screen, blinking against the coordinates and lines.It was the tracker he had put on the boy, and the boy had already started moving, having finished his end of day sales, perhaps.Now, Sly just needed to find where he lived, so that he could begin paying the boy regular, more constructed visits, not like the cold standoffish conversation they had in the alleyway. He needed to make the boy see that he could fight for a better life, not just for himself, but for whatever was keeping him on the streets.The dot stopped moving.Not completely, just…around a particular point."An abandoned construction site?" he muttered to himself, narrowing his eyes.This couldn’t be the boy’s final destination. It was either he was remitting money to his suppliers, or taking stock for the next day’s sales. Or he was being jumped.There was the excuse that this could have been his home, since he did look like a runaway, but most runaways would have taken shelter in mor