John's Domination

Chapter 4

But there was no gunshot. He lowered the gun because Alice held his arm and  shook her head. 

John stood up, breaking the tension in the air. He stared out the window, relieved to see no police presence outside. The bartender lay lifeless, Sam bled on his own floor, and Alice, well, she stared hard at Sam. Her knuckles were pale from how tight she held them. 

Alice sat on the floor with her legs crossed, her gaze locked on Sam's bleeding wounds as he held them covered with a rag. She shook her head, struggling to accept the truth. She didn't want to believe what she had just heard.

"Why would you want to betray Richard? He's your friend," Alice asked, her voice trembling.

"We need to get out of here," John said, the edge in his voice reflecting the urgency of the situation. "We cannot be here when the police arrive."

Sam wheezed and coughed, struggling to speak. "I had no choice, my darling. They have Sara with them. They have my daughter, my little bunny." He coughed again, blood splattering on his clothes, but he forced himself to keep talking, taking in deep, labored breaths. "There's a new group in town calling themselves Dark Art. I don't know why, but they're after the Drakens."

"That's not a big enough reason to betray us," John retorted, his grip on the gun tightening. Sam's eyes widened. In Sam's eyes, John saw the desperation of a father willing to do anything to save his beloved daughter. He lowered the gun. 

John shook his head, glanced through the broken window and nodded at the still-empty lot. Sam extended his hand with affection, and Alice took it.

"We…" Alice began, her voice trembling with a teardrop glistening in her eye. "We need to take him to a hospital. He's dying."

John, ignoring Alice's statement, knew that taking Sam to a hospital was too risky. Alice likely understood this as well. 

"Where's your phone and the clothes rack?" John asked, his tone firm and pragmatic. "You'll need something to stall the bleeding before the police arrive."

Alice, although shaking her head in pain, showed incredible composure. She didn't scream or shout, which impressed John. He admired her strength and wished he could embrace her to help alleviate the pain she was undoubtedly feeling.

"Through the beads, it's in my office," Sam replied weakly. John moved to go but Sam's grip on his arm tightened. "There's a box hidden under the floor, directly beneath my chair. It contains all the information I've gathered."

"Does it show where Sara is being kept?" Alice asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Sam shook his head, his strength fading. "I've only been able to narrow it down to two possible locations."

John nodded and made his way through the beaded doorway into Sam's office. In the center stood a table made of cedar wood, and on the walls were golden-framed pictures of his daughter at various stages of her life, each picture capturing her holding an award. There were also five golden-framed pictures of a younger Alice, her face radiating happiness as she clutched an ice-cream cone. He was surprised to find the room in such order. It made him pause to take it in. 

There was a small wardrobe to the left of the room. John opened it and found two shotguns with their bullets neatly arranged in a brown box. He picked them up along with a random blue t-shirt from the wardrobe. On the table, the only item was a wooden picture frame displaying a photo of Alice, Sam, and Sara in a picnic boat. It was the only picture in the room where Sam stood with the girls.

John set the items he held on the table, then bent down to move the chair. He shifted the rug and opened the hidden compartment, revealing a white box. He removed it and found a black file beneath the box, which he also picked up. Balancing the boxes on the desk, he grabbed Sam's phone from the table's drawer and pocketed it.

Exiting the room, John found Alice tending to Sam's stomach wound.  He placed the boxes and the gun on the first table and hurried over to Alice, giving her a fresh cloth to replace the now red one.

"We need to go now," John whispered.

"You go ahead, I can't leave him," Alice replied, her gaze fixed on her bloody hands.

John gently held her face, forcing her to meet his eyes. "We'll make them pay and rescue Sara. I know he's important to you, but Richard needs you, Sara needs you," John paused, taking a deep breath.  "I need you with me when we track them down and put bullets through their skulls."

Alice was still shaking her head when Sam spoke weakly. "He's right, my pearl. They need you. I'm sorry for my actions, but this is a well-deserved punishment. You don't need to suffer with me. Go and save Sara, for both of us."

Tears streamed down Alice's face, but she nodded. John handed Sam the phone, about to say something, when they heard the distant sound of sirens approaching.

"Go, both of you," Sam said with urgency. Alice carried the boxes, and John picked up the guns as they hurriedly left the restaurant. She cast one last glance back at Sam, who now appeared to have aged significantly in just a few moments. Sam blew her a kiss with his feeble hand, and Alice caught it with a chuckle.

"Tell my little bunny that I miss her," he called out to Alice as she disappeared through the door, leaving Sam alone in his silent restaurant. His gaze turned to Andrew, his young bartender, now lifeless. The sight ached his heart. Andrew had been an orphan Sam had taken under his wing.

They stashed the guns in the trunk and climbed into the car.

Alice sped away in the opposite direction, her eyes focused on the road. The tears on her face were dry when the police arrived at the "Let Bar" parking lot.

"I'm sorry, Andrew. I'm sorry, Alice. I'm sorry, Sara. It seems I might not be around to see you smile again," Sam muttered aloud to the empty room just before the police rushed in. He lost consciousness.

John glanced back, hoping that Sam would be okay, not that he cared much, but for Alice's sake.

"You know, if you -"

"I don't need comfort, John," Alice interrupted. "What I need now is to track down these bastards and have a serious conversation with them."

"Does that mean we're going to Richard?" John asked. He felt like he was on a runaway train, unable to control the direction, and all he wanted was to confront Xavier and retrieve his software. However, it seemed like he jumped into a quicksand.

Taking a deep breath, he turned to the window and watched the scenery whizzing past them at high speed.

Alice shook her head, her expression resolute. She reached into her jeans and retrieved a button phone, handing it to John. "Dial him and update him on our encounter. That's his private line, he's always on that one. Once he's informed, we'll pack and go through these documents."

"Would we get an address?" John asked, cracking his knuckles.

"We'll get several," Alice replied. "Sam is the best informer in LA, and taking Sara was their biggest mistake. Someone is out to strike at the Drakens, and they've been quiet about it, trying to convert our members. It's high time we say hello in kind."

John watched as Alice's nails dug into the steering wheel. 

"We'll get her back. We'll get Sara," he said out loud to reassure Alice. 

John dialed Richard's private line repeatedly, only to be met with static and silence. Alice's expression grew more alarmed with each unsuccessful attempt.

"Alice, what does it mean when Richard is not picking up?" John finally asked, his voice tinged with unease.

Alice's swallowed hard. "That's a code red,” she whispered. “Whoever is after us is already on the move."

John's heart sank. The thought of someone targeting Richard, who was known for his formidable presence, was unsettling. He looked back at Alice, seeing her tense posture and white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel.

They were heading into something serious, and they had to be prepared to face it head-on. As they sped down the highway at a legal speed, John couldn't help but wonder who their unseen adversary was and what they were up against.