A DEAL WITH THE DEVIL "What do you want to discuss with me, sir?" Caleb asked Mr Ramirez. "Call me Antonio," he drawled. Caleb kept silent. The man continued, "You look like a promising young lad. What I want is to make you a life-changing proposal." "I-I thank you for this offer. However..." "Don't turn it down just yet until you hear everything I have to say. Which of course I cannot outrightly tell you on the phone until we meet one-on-one." Caleb thought to argue that it was too late into the night for him to drive. But the man's next statement was as if he was reading his mind. "If you are worried about your safety, then I can send my men to bring you wherever you are." At this point, Caleb knew he would have no excuse to turn him down. "I will come over by myself, thank you." When the man ended the call, he growled in agony. "What have I gotten myself into?" But he knew he couldn't go alone. He needed someone he could count on their loyalty. And someone that could hav

THE DIE IS CAST Caleb felt his limps giving in under him. He was either going to partner with this man in whatever business he is into and stand a chance of getting Mr Benson back or heed the Emailer's warning and El-Zaki continues to win. "You are running out of time, Dezani," Mr Ramirez prompted him. He had gotten Caleb boxed into a corner, exactly how he wanted. True to his words; he wasn't called a sweet-talker for nothing."The clock is ticking," he continued, raising his hand to his lips and staring at him over the rim of the half-empty glass of spirit. "And every minute wasted, makes them farther get away." Someone's phone buzzed in the room. It was Antonio's. He swept his eyes over the screen and a half-grin curled the corner of his mouth. "The caller is one of my men. And whatever command I give this minute is what they will do. I only asked them to delay the process until we've had this meeting." When Caleb didn't give an answer, he picked up the phone and pressed the re

A BLOODY ENCOUNTERDoctor Fernandez had made a quick stopover at the hospital to carry her first aid box, a drip stick and a pint of blood from the blood bank. She gave Caleb the blood to smear some on his face, head and part of his upper body.It was Caleb who remembered the stunt he and Pedro had pulled when they embarked on the planned trip to El-Zaki's mansion before their mission was aborted due to the ambush that led to the first bloody clash.Caleb did a perfect job and it wasn't difficult to fool the security guy. He let the doctor drive in after seeing Caleb's messy body and the drip infused into his forearm. His head was bandaged with a bloody gauze. As soon as they passed the gate, Mr Ramirez put a call to Caleb. "How do you plan on getting him out with just the two of you?" Caleb didn't know what Adriana was planning. It was shameful to imagine that the same person he didn't want to be in their team happened to be their only shot at succeeding on this mission. But it was

HE SUSPECTS FOUL PLAY"How is that possible?" roared El-Zaki. "That a man well-guarded is snatched right under the noses of the police?" "They came heavily armed with sophisticated weapons. We lost two of our men during the attack while three others are severely injured," the deputy inspector explained. "I don't know how I will explain this to the commissioner by morning." "That is your kettle of fish, deputy inspector Brown. I've got a much bigger problem at hand." "Do you know how many of my men have been killed tonight? All of them! They've all been slaughtered like chickens." El-Zaki continued to lash out at the man without any consideration. He was so enraged that his explanations fell on deaf ears. "Well, there's only one course of action that can save your ass: and that is for you to find out those responsible and hint at me. I want to know who they are. Whom they're working for. And lastly, how they got wind of the extraction plan because no one else except you, and maybe

BEATING THE CLOCK"Father, someone broke into your chamber. I think they were searching for something." El-Zaki thought he didn't hear his son well. He asked, "Do you mind repeating what you just said?" His eyes were glittery in the hotel's chandelier light; like a cornered tiger on sighting its prey in the jungle. "We had a general power outage within the estate. It was announced that it would only take about fifteen minutes. Fortunately, the light was restored a little after ten minutes." The Don was grunting, his breathing awkward and uneven. "So what happened?" "I started hearing noises up. At first, I thought it was Nathan going up to do something because he wasn't home when I got back. I had returned to the house earlier than expected." "Did you see who they were?" he impulsively questioned. The Don was getting impatient. Then he remembered he was talking with his son and mellowed down a bit. "Because before anyone would dare to enter my chamber, it must be someone who kno