Derek Campton stared at his computer, excited. He had been talking to a street urchin that he had met in the park, and he liked what he had been told. Karen Shapiro was the one supplying drugs to the majority of the street gangs. He had only promised the young man, Raphael a few bucks and he had started spilling. It was strange because it actually took them more than that to talk, but he could tell that Rapheal was frustrated. Apparently, Karen Shapiro charged too high for her percentage. And they still had to buy regardless, because her drugs were the real deal. They were quality, gotten directly from Mexico which was the base of good and quality stuff like the one Karen presented them with. Derek had managed to record the session, and heating the young lad's voice on his computer made him excited. It told him one thing; that he was slowly catching up with Karen Shapiro. All he had to do now was have evidence that she was with Atticus. If he could find that out, then he would

He lifted his head again, but at the same time, Derek Campton stretched his hand, stealing a knife in the knife rack and thrusting it as far as it could go into the Russian's neck. Clutching his neck in disbelief, the Russian was crippled instantly. The blood that flowed from his neck told Derek that he had slightly missed his artery. From Derek's calculations, his opponent had less than an hour to live. The man collapsed onto the floor, and Derek used the time to wash the huge gash on his forehead. He managed to wash the wound on his arm too, then opened the kitchen cabinet to retrieve bandages and methylated spirit from the band aid. When he was okay enough to drag the huge Russian back to the sitting room, thirty minutes had flown by. Thirty minutes was precious time because he knew that in a few minutes, his opponent wouldn't be able to let out a single word. Positioning him before the camera of his phone, Derek Campton started to ask the most important questions, the questi

Parking his car a few feet away from the Splendid bar, Derek Campton examined the environment before him. Even outside, he could see the figures of men lying in wait, their weapons at the ready. He spotted a sniper at the rear of the building, and he found himself wondering what more Karen Shapiro had planned. God, she was dangerous. He had expected her to be a handful, but this was more than a handful. He was dealing with a hard criminal, and at the moment all he could do was pity his client who was indoors with such a monster. He only prayed that he could survive the onslaught. A few moments ago, he had been overjoyed that he had a lot of evidence to cripple the defenses of Karen Shapiro but at the moment, he wondered if his evidence was going to be enough to fight such a demon. Who brought snipers to a negotiation? It was clear that whatever powers Karen Shapiro possessed, it ran down to the underworld. She was a boss on her own, not only a boss, but one who had enough conne

“And what if you don't have him? What are you going to do, Mark Darius? You're nothing but a weakling and a coward, and this is why I said playing the hero doesn't fit you. You hide behind your riches and think everything can be solved with wealth?” Mark Darius was irritated. He stared at her, then shook his head. He knew what she was doing. She was trying to rattle him, she was trying to make him lose focus. She was probably trying to make him forget about the purpose of why he was in the splendid bar. And he was going to make sure he proved her wrong. He was going to remain focused, no matter how much the distractions were going to come. “Exchanging words with a power hungry fool like you is the last thing that I want to do. You have something that belongs to me. Give me Atticus and we can settle this and get out of this place.” He could see that she was offended by the term “power hungry fool” but he didn't care. He also knew that he was supposed to play by her rules, but th

Mark Darius had always known that Karen Shapiro was a selfish, power thirsty and ambitious woman, but he didn't believe that she could go as far as she had gone. Was this the purpose of all she had been doing? Was this the reason for her constant attacks? Was this why she had been trying to kill him all along and had gone ahead to kill innocent people? To kill people that he loved and had always cherished? He was furious, but he knew better than to show his anger. He was to remain calm, he was going to try and resolve it. The contract was clear. For him to receive Atticus safe and sound, he had to give her all of his assets, his company included. From that day, they would cease to belong to him, and everything he had ever owned would belong to Karen Shapiro. He was shocked by the level of pettiness he was witnessing. Things were slowly beginning to unravel itself even though it had taken quite a long time to do so. “Was this why you killed them all, Karen?” She smiled, then