The Mansion (8:01 am)Chris pondered about his choice to stay out of the rescue mission. He glanced at his watch, it was nearly eight in the morning. About now, the team would be preparing to intercept the convoy. He felt very nervous, there was no backing out now. He thought he, who had been a nobody could assist in this mission, but he felt dejected when they said he should sit it out. Also, what was that stupid lie about feeling sick? Everyone knew that he was scared to even hear the comms. Chris felt like a coward. His lack of experience was showing now more than ever. Maybe he should have gotten ready for it. "Fuck!" Chris cussed. He scattered his hair and went to the balcony. The bodyguards were in their positions as if nothing happened. He had heard that his father had decided not to go to work today because of the plan. Should he go over to the comms and hear how it is going? Should he sit back and pray it goes well? What happens if the mission fails? Will Rose and Sar
The sounds of the approaching vehicle were drowned out by the heavy fire of weapons. The convoy's escort was swiftly taken out to ease the extraction at the rear. Sarah glanced at the rearview mirror. The second escort was following close behind her with a man shooting at the convoy. "Phantom two, take it easy, keep your eyes on their main guns. We might be bulletproof, but our armor is no match against a 55. Caliber machine gun," Sarah warned them. "Scanning for thermal," Rose said. Her laptop was on her lap and she was struggling to work on it with Sarah's driving. Bullets ricocheted off the vehicle's body and Rose flinched. She kept her eyes on the computer and chose to put her trust in Sarah. "Do we have her?" Sarah asked. "Not yet, keep your eyes on the road. I will tell you when I see her on the thermal map," Rose said. A car from the envoy, a Ford SUV started slowing down and broke away from the group. It revealed two men with RPGs on their shoulders. "Rocket hot!" Sara
The trio stayed in the car as the enemy pointed their guns at them. There was no escape from either side, forcing their way through would be suicide. "Can we force our way through there?" Rose pointed at corner. Only a few men were standing there. Sarah looked at the windscreen. "Nope, we are out of bullet proof glass, and that 55. Caliber would knock us out of the car if we even dreamed of it. I think we have a better chance hoping they will take us alive," she said. Rose scoffed and passed a gun to Monica. "You can still use one right?" "Yeah," Monica admitted. She took the gun with shaking hands and turned off the safety. She cocked the gun and pointed it at the window. "What's the way forward now chief?" Sarah held her gun to her chest. Even though she was hiding it, she was sweating in the cold environment in the vehicle. "Stay inside, as long as they are not making any moves," Rose replied. Men flooded out of the cars with weapons, and they suddenly started making way for
Rose was the first to scream. "It feels bad! Eyes on the road!""Oh shit!" Chris turned the steering wheel, narrowly avoiding collision with another van. He turned onto the highway and looked in the rearview mirror, they had company. "We have bogeys on our six," Chris said. "It means we've got company right?" He clarified. "Yeah I got it, do you have any other guns?" Sarah demanded. Chris turned back, and his eyes fell on Monica. It was the first time he had seen her in a long time. He had ignored her when she entered because he was focused on getting her to safety. "Monica," Chris said softly. She looked up at him, and her eyes watered. "Rose, can you take the wheels?" He demanded. "No! I'm working on calling reinforcement! Whatever it is that they are using to jam our signals, it's following us!" Her fingers moved at light speed on the small keyboard. "Chris, I asked for the guns?" Sarah was on the ladder that led to the roof. "I didn't carry any other guns, except the machine guns.
The acrid smell of burning metal and gunpowder was in the air. Sarah moved past the policemen, with the aim of going back home. Monica had been rescued, her job was done. Chris had his bodyguard back, maybe he might cut off their alliance now that he had his girl back. Well, it was nice working with them. "Sarah," Rose called her. Sarah slowly turned and raised a brow. "Yeah?" "Where you headed to? It's getting quite cramped back there," Rose demanded. She brought out a packet of cigarettes. "You smoke? Don't worry, I do non-lethal cigars."Sarah gave the cigarettes a longing look. "I will take one," she said. Rose lit the cigarette up and they went to a corner. They looked at the crowd that gathered around Chris and Monica, which mostly consisted of medics and emergency workers. "Do what is the way forward from here? We going back to being enemies?" Rose asked. Sarah drew a long one. She let it out in one puff. "Naw, I just did my part in our agreement. When I need you to scrat
The atmosphere was grim in the building's lobby. Police officers were on standby. This was a normal occurrence since two of the most powerful people in the city and perhaps the whole country was meeting there. Police officers, armed security forces, personal bodyguards, ex-military, mercenaries, you name it. They all took strategic positions in the building. Michael Bolton, Chris, Sarah, and Rose walked through the corridor, the ladies watching everyone because they didn't trust them. "I don't like this," Sarah whispered as they walked. "You shouldn't have come then, why did you come?" "Same to you, you also don't like it. You have brushed your strap three times in the last thirty seconds," Sarah said. Rose threw her a look. "Maybe I would be less worried if you used your all-seeing eyes on the right people," she whispered harshly. The Boltons walked in front of them without a care in the world about what was happening at the back. "Should I be worried about friendly fire?" Chris ment
They didn't say one word, even as they drove back in the same car to the mansion, they wouldn't speak. Chris at the back with his father, Rose at the wheels, and Sarah at the front seat. There were a lot of questions raised, a lot had happened in less than a day. It was war. When they got to the Mansion, Michael cleared his throat before they stepped out of the car. They all waited for him to talk before he stepped out. "I guess all of us heard, there is war. This means we are going to be targeted, and a lot of people are going to die from both sides. But I want one thing, I want unison between us," Michael spoke. He saw Sarah's questionable glance from the mirror. "Miss Sarah. Your group has made me lose quite a lot of money in the past," Michael stated. Sarah cocked her brow. Was this the part where he ended their partnership? Well, she was waiting for it. "But that also means that you are very capable. I propose we have a permanent truce between my group and yours because we
20 YEARS AGO...Michael ran down the street corner, looking behind his back. His pursuers were hard on their heels and they came for him. He knew if they caught up, they would kill him without second thoughts. He winced when he made a sharp turn to his left to try to lose them, the knife wound he had in his stomach was slowing him down. "You there! Stop!" "Stop there!""Get him around the bend?"Michael looked back and continued running. Just a little further, just a little further and he knew he might stay alive. Sparks flew in front of him and he realized that they were shooting at him. Michael crouched and continued his escape to the safe zone. When he took another turn to a side street, a van pulled up and he was relieved that help had come. Thomas opened the door. "I'm so sorry, I'm late, are you hurt? Jesus, fuck!" Michael jumped inside and lay flat on the floor. The Van's driver floored the pedal and the vehicle sped away from the shooters. "Get him to the hospital, he is