THE IN-HOUSE FIGHT Bella took her phone and called Caleb and relayed everything she overheard Hart and Madam Rebecca discussing. "The document you've been searching for is with a lawyer," she told him. "A lawyer? Are you sure of this?" Caleb questioned. "Yes. I overheard them from my room but didn't get the name of the lawyer in question." "Alright. Keep your ears to the ground and let me know when you hear more." "I will," Bella said with a catch in her tone. Caleb noticed and asked her what else she wanted to say. "You're okay?" That's when Bella recounted what Madam Rebecca promised to do. "I don't know what they're planning but I don't feel safe here," she admitted. Caleb felt he needed to help her yet didn't know how. "What about your stepfather? Has he said anything yet?" "No. And that's what I fear most - his silence." "No worries, just let me know if anything happens. I will help you," he assured her. Then he heard the girl heaved a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Don
HANDS ON THE DOCUMENTIt was noon the following day when the comptroller called Caleb to inform him of his findings."Barrister Crusoe says Mr Hart had contacted him asking whether he knew any lawyer that he could hire for something highly sensitive," he began.Caleb straightened up in his chair. He had been home all day making and answering calls. One of the calls was made to Bella El-Zaki but her line was switched off. That got him worried until the comptroller called."And did he refer him to any lawyer?" "I asked him the same question, he told me since he didn't understand what the urgency was about, or rather the young man wouldn't disclose the nature of the deal, he only referred him to one of his distant colleagues." "Did he give you his name?" "Yes, coincidentally, he's someone well-known to me. But he also demanded to know why I was requesting." "Hope you didn't tell him?" "Of course not. I'll forward the lawyer's contact to you. I believe you will handle it from here."
SMEARED IN BLOODThe scene was like a war zone in Iraq. The four men had surrounded the other two. One of the two released fire and nearly caught one of the four.It was a costly mistake. Because the man in black emptied his AK-47 into his skull till his body became folded into a mangled heap."Please don't kill me!" the other one shouted. "My hands are up in the air.""Drop the portfolio on the ground and raise them above your head!" he heard someone say.He obeyed. "Now come out slowly."The man came into view. He was a stoutly built man. "Turn around!" the same voice commanded. Someone searched him for a weapon and found a small gun safely strapped to his waist. He retrieved it and gave the man a hard kick on the groin. "Who sent you?" He started to plead that it was his dead friend that asked him to accompany him somewhere. "I don't know who gave the order. It was my friend that asked me to escort him to get something." "Him?" the man in black asked, pointing to the heap of b
PAINFUL BETRAYAL Both father and son paced about their rooms, each one of them wondering what happened to their source. It wasn't until they couldn't bear it anymore that they decided to make enquiries. Hart was losing his mind. He dialled Barrister Crusoe's line and the barrister answered on the first ring. "I've been meaning to call you. Have you seen the news?" Alfred breathed. "It is for the same reason that I'm calling! What the fuck happened to the barrister? Who shot him and where is the portfolio? How did they know what was in it?" All these questions and more came spluttering out of his mouth. Hart had forgotten he hadn't told Barrister Crusoe about the deal with Barrister Garcia. He was only the link that connected him with the dead lawyer. "I'm afraid I don't know. Although I feel guilty like I'm responsible for his death," he added bitterly. "I want you to send your men to the scene. He was your colleague after all, and if you feel guilty about his death, you should
THE BLACKMAIL El-Zaki welcomed Alfred in his private chambers upstairs. It was the second time in recent memory he had asked the lawyer to sit with him up there. He was downing the second glass of whiskey from a bottle of Tequila Ley he took from his wine cellar. "Join me, barrister, let's drink away the doom that is about to implode and consume the El-Zaki household. Including its friends and business associates," he said in a drawl. It was obvious he had been drinking all morning since after Pablo brought him the empty portfolio. "My son has finally opened the door for my enemies to get at me. If they come for me, I want to go down a happy man," he went on as he belched. Alfred knew he had to do something. "You haven't yet told me what the issue is. Maybe I might still be able to help you," he said as he removed the bottle of whiskey from the table. El-Zaki stared at him as if he was talking nonsense. "Help me how? Haven't you seen the news? Now look over there," he pointed to
NAME YOUR PRICE "That's not the right question to ask, barrister," Madam Rebecca said, slyly curling her lips. She was a drama queen obviously but the barrister was worried."You know what your husband would do to me if he found out we met secretly behind his back.""Who will tell him?" she tilted her head backwards and the mass of auburn wig she wore over her dark brown natural hair twirled in the evening breeze. She had used a fez cap to further mask her face, however, when she raised her face, Alfred could see her dull blue-coloured eyes. "Unless you do, I don't see how a man holed up in his room can know anything happening many miles away.""It still doesn't answer the question, ma'am. Why did you summon me here?" The barrister repeated looking over his shoulder as the waiter who showed him to the wine bar came back to take his order. Madam Rebecca brightened up. "Please ask the gentleman what he cares for. I'm not ready to order yet," she said dramatically as though he was doin
AT YOUR SERVICECaleb waited until it was dark before slipping out of the house. He needed to do this alone and discreetly. He had tried several times to reach Bella but her line was still switched off. "Maybe she wants to be left alone," he thought to himself. He could have sent Abhi to find out but decided against it. The less people knew about his involvement with the girl, the better for him, he reasoned. As he got to the hospital, he prayed to meet the kind lady who attended to him that day in the bleeding room. Adriana had travelled back to Madrid for her professional exams otherwise he would have asked her to get the woman's data from her daughter's hospital chart. The lab attendant was just coming out of the bleeding room carrying a pint of blood. She recognised him by herself. "Hey, you're back to donate for another patient?" she teased him. Caleb smiled. "Oh, no. But I could if you treat me nicely," he jokingly said. The young lady smiled back. "Will running a free BP
DANGEROUS MOVE"Turn around slowly and don't scream," the voice said.Then the realization hit him."Mia?""What are you doing sneaking around the hospital at this time of the night?" she said as Caleb swirled around to face her. He couldn't make out her features in the darkness but she looked thinner than her usual self.Caleb didn't know what answer to give her. If Adriana was still around he might have lied that he came to see his doctor friend. But from nowhere a crazy idea popped into his head. "What I'm doing here is none of your business, Mia." "How can you say that when you haven't been around to see me since I was discharged?" She said and started coughing in pretence to evoke Caleb's sympathy. Caleb narrowed his furrow. "Have you been stalking me?" Even though it was too dark for him to see Mia's face, he knew she was startled at the question especially when he added, "And if you've been discharged, why are you in the hospital by this time?" "I came to collect my lab res