“You are Brody, aren’t you?” Alan asked.The boy nodded in affirmation. Jackson’s grip on Brody’s hands loosened and Brody’s shoulders were relaxed gradually even though he knew subconsciously that there were most likely going to be some problems lying ahead.“I know you,” Brody spoke to Alan. “I saw you the other day when Mr. Lawrence killed Rose. You are Rose’s husband right?”Alan paused as if he was in a deep emotional thought before he then nodded.“Yes, I was.”It was a moment of reflection for both Alan and Brody as they both seemed to have missed Rose.Brody didn’t get to spend much time with Rose but it was obvious that the little time that he had spent with her was more than enough for him to miss her for a lifetime possibly.“And Della, the lady who texted on the phone. Are you her partner? Do you work with her? Where is she?” Brody asked.He was in a hurry to receive answers to his questions because he was still a little bit scared.“She is going to be with us soon, Brody
Mr. Lawrence then moved his eyes closer to Della’s face to get a clearer view of what was going on.“Wait, what? You look familiar,” Mr. Lawrence’s eyes narrowed, his gaze piercing into Della with the intensity of a predator sizing up its prey.His expression was hardened as a cruel smile spread across his face.“You look awfully and strangely familiar I must say,” Mr. Lawrence remarked again.He wasn’t sure of whether to keep up with his suspicion or to ignore it. He was sure that there was something about her that was too strange to ignore.It dawned on him that the person that she traced her face to was actually that of Rose Billing, the same woman that he murdered.He paused once more and spoke. “I know who you are, don’t I?”Della’s lips curled very slightly by the side as if she was trying to give Mr. Lawrence the clue that he needed.And Mr. Lawrence picked up the clue. He was shocked by the resemblance that Della had with Rose and even though he tried to ignore it as nothing b
“No one, I believe. You see what I am saying. What if they already got past this place and they are already heading outside.”“Think about it, I don’t think they would want to escape through the outside. Look at the way that they came in. We didn’t even know. None of us knew until they got to the top floor and killed two guards.”“It’s obvious they are trained so we have to think along the line of the fact that they are more than prepared for this.”“They probably outlined every step of the way before they came.”“Not probably, man. They did, it’s quite obvious.”“I guess it’s a draw right now. Mr. Lawrence already has one of them while they have gotten Brody.”“We must get back Brody, man. That’s the instruction. Mr. Lawrence has ordered a closure of all entry points right now and it is already in process. Everything must be on lockdown until Brody is found.”“We can’t afford to fool around.”“What if they are holed up in one of the offices? We should search each room systematically.
“Come on, let’s go. We can't just sit here and do nothing after all. We have to do something.”With a grim determination, the guards all filed out of the lobby one after the other, their footsteps resounding through the empty hallways.The tension was palpable in the air as their weapons glinted in the harsh fluorescent light.Their bodies were taut with adrenaline as they headed towards their destination.Alan’s face glimmered with a relieved twinkle of gratitude the moment he saw that the guards had all gone.He then whispered to Jackson. “Hey, Jackson. Call Fred now and tell him to his way to the purple fence area. That’s the easiest route out of here. Tell him to get there as quickly as possible. That’s where Brody would have to go meet him.”Brody was confused, his face darting left and right as he was trying to understand what Alan was saying.Where was he saying that he was going to go? Since when did the plan become that he was going to go somewhere?Alan crouched down, his fa
He was in a hurry to get things done quickly because he knew that it was going to be only a matter of time before the guards would discover that the public service system had been hacked.“When you get on the other side of the purple fence, just hang in there until we come to get you okay?”Jackson’s hands were large and measured, his touch gentle as he took Brody’s hands into his own.“Come on, I will show you the way and then you will complete the move,” Jackson’s voice was soft, his voice sincere as he was careful not to scare the boy with too much haste even though he was in a hurry and rightfully so.They crept until they got to the entrance which was just a few meters away from where they were. Jackson’s eyes were alert as he watched to see that there was no guard close to them that would impede their move.They hid behind the cars, creeping through the shadows with their eyes narrowed with a tense intent to get as far away from view as possible.Jackson then reached a point whe
5:59 - 57 seconds,58 seconds….59,6:00 pmShit!Sweat trickled down Alan Grayson’s face as he took a glance at the wall clock. Mr. Billing was clear - return with the crates of wine for the party before 6 pm or you would regret the day you were born.After making a mess of Mr. Billing's travel plans a day before, he knew that trouble was looming around his neck.“Two more crates please, I am in a hurry. I can only imagine that losing my job is the least that could happen to me and even that would render me finished,” Alan politely encouraged the wine retailer to fasten up the large-scale delivery.In a strange turn of events, wine had finished at Mr. Billing’s 60th birthday anniversary and quite a few elite families had attended the event. Mr. Billing had always known how to attract the elites to his events but this time he couldn't afford to organise a wine-less party. His counterparts would definitely mock him inwardly - some could even leave angrily.Only a few bottles were lef
Alan could feel the pressure building as he tossed the crates over to the waiters as quickly as he could before anyone else found him.“You are lucky you came just right on time. The guests were just about to leave embarrassed,” one of the waiters told him.He didn't feel lucky though. Why would he feel lucky when had just been told that he wouldn't come out of the building alive? He was done for.A deep threatening voice loomed over the subtle darkness in the alley prompting the waiters to scamper like cockroaches at the smell of insecticides. “Hahaha, here you are. You bastard! How dare you disobey father’s instructions”.Alan turned around slowly - it was Lesley Billing; the first son of the Billing family.“I should test how firm these bottles are by slamming them on your head. I am sure Rose would feel sad for a day or two and after that, she will be back to her senses.”“Mr. Lesley, I understand that you are pissed off but it is not my fault I promise, I was stuck in traffic, an
Mr. Billing was referring to Bingo, Tobiat, and Bertrand. They were three of Mr. Billing’s former security detail who betrayed him by taking a bribe from a business rival who wanted to block a large-scale delivery of Mr. Billing’s products. Mr. Billing saw the trio as nothing but traitors so he instructed that they should be beaten and locked up. They had been locked up for 3 years until today.“Hahaha! It's good to see that the three of you still have a lot of muscles after all these years,” Mr. Billing’s mouth widened into a cruel laughter.“We are going to play a game. Something like the semi-final of the World Cup you know?” he said, making funny gestures - he was clearly excited. “But this time, it will be a wrestle. Mr. Greyson would fight Tobiat while Bingo would fight Bertrand in a no-one-comes-out-alive fight. The overall winner would then receive a sum of 50 million dollars. I am sure that is more than what you would ever make even if you could live a thousand years.”Lesl