“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
“Divorce him?” Rose asked as if she didn't hear clearly what he said.“Yes, daughter. I want to make it as peaceful as it can be and I don't want him to cause any grudges between us. Although he is going to die in this ring any moment from now, we will need his signature for the divorce. I don't want to have his name associated with my family even if he is dead.”“So you are certain you want me to divorce him?” Rose asked again, this time pondering whether it was finally time to succumb to the pressure. She would be saving his life if she agreed just right there and then. Alan couldn't possibly blame her for saving his life, would he? Perhaps she would just prank her father so that he would call off the fight. Anything to save Alan’s life which could be no more any second - a hard punch could be all it took.Just then, Rose’s attention caught something. There was a loud uproar in the hall so she angled her gaze properly to get a good sight of how Alan was faring.With a few more shar
“I have to go now,” Alan responded and hung up the phone before Ms. Daniels could say anything further.Rose was still beside him and he didn’t want her to start getting any ideas. In any case, that was not the most important thing to him - the most important quest was how he would convince his wife not to divorce him.Ever since he got married to her, she was one of his major motivations in life. If she went through with the divorce, he would never get attached to another lady not to talk of marrying her.But why the weird accusation? He never stole a dime in his life before so why would Rose accuse him of stealing a pendant?At that moment, a memory flashed through his mind. “Wait a minute, darling. Are you talking about the golden pendant? The same one that your family accused me of stealing a few years ago?”“Oh! So you remember? You remember that you stole the pendant. Do you even know what that pendant means to this family? Apart from its financial value, It is basically our go
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
“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
“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.
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
“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
The air seemed to thicken with tension, the silence broken only by the faint click of gun safeties being engaged.Alan then whispered into his radio, hoping that he was going to connect with Della. “Della, are you there? We are about to open fire on the guards who want to lock Brody in the basement. We are going to need backup, over.”That was all Alan needed to say and he believed that he had said enough already.They moved a few more steps with deadly precision, their footsteps soft and stealthy as they crept closer to the guards. They saw as the guards were shoving and dragging Brody and this time, they were going to lock him into the basement.They were no longer interrogating him about the phone because there were bigger issues to deal with.But Alan and Jackson thought that it was time to raise a response.The guards burst the basement door open and were prepared to shove Brody into a dark room but there was a sudden startling noise of gunfire.Pow! Pow!Boom!The hail of bulle
Alan was just a few feet away hiding behind one of the pillars. The moment she saw the harsh slap that was performed against the boy, he gritted his teeth in frustration as he became provoked to cause a disruption.Why would they treat such a young boy like that? He had to hold and keep himself in check so that they would stay according to plan.But considering the way he was feeling, he wished that he could just start a gunfire right away. He began to rethink whether it was best to engage the guards with gunfire right away or if they should wait a while until Brody got locked in the basement and they would try to open it up.Just as he was still having a deliberation in his mind, the guards continued with their harsh treatment toward the boy.“Yeah, right, we are not stupid,” Guard two spoke. “Look at the faces of all of us standing here.”Brody’s face was still facing the ground as he was dealing with the harsh effect of the assault but he felt a hand shove his head back up so that
Alan and Jackson froze in place, his breath caught in his throat as he clung himself to the wall. His heart pounded in his chest as he heard the guards’ footsteps growing closer.Time seemed to be very slow as the guards drew nearer, their footsteps echoing off the walls of the hallway but Alan gripped his weapon tightly just in case the situation was going to demand it.But as they got closer, two other guards joined them. They now seemed to be five and they were discussing.Alan and Jackson were picking up on their conversations.“The boss said to keep him in the basement.”“There are many ways that the boss can get the boy on his side. After all, he is his son. I don’t see why there should be an issue between them.”“The boy is a cool guy to me.”“This isn’t about whether he is a cool guy or not. We should listen to what the boss says.”“Come on, this is not to say that I wouldn’t listen to what he says. I am only telling you as a colleague that there is no need for being so harsh
Fred was ready to go for it all. “If you need our main ID badge, my colleague can go them now. She will get mine too but I was hoping you would already know the company we are coming from. We already have a contract here.”The guard who was talking balderdash earlier scurried into the conversation. “But I haven’t seen you guys before. Especially the bright-skinned darling we have here. I would have known if I had seen her before.”Fred responded. “Well, we are not always the same and I am sure you already know that. Today, it is our shift to come to complete the repairs and as we said, we are actually running out of time.”“My colleague can quickly go and get the ID badges if that is what is delaying us from entry.”Fred was speaking with the hope that the guard was going to shrug off the situation and ask Della not to worry.But he needed to show that he wasn’t hiding something and the only way that he could do that effectively was to pretend as if everything was going fine and as ex