TAKING HIS FIRST SHOT "Do not worry about me. If you can get out of here unhurt, I will fight to the finish. Your safety is more important to me than my own." "You can't do this, Pedro," he disagreed. But Pedro was already moving faster down the stairs. He bent down and picked the mop, and without another word, threw it toward the police van. Caleb ran in the opposite direction and was nearly where the army green station wagon was parked when he heard someone say, "Put your two hands over your head. If you move, I'll shoot you." Caleb halted instantly as if he was being remote-controlled. His heart was pounding as if someone was drumming it. He thought of what was going to happen next. Where was Pedro? Would he come to his rescue the second time? These questions flashed through his mind as he stood rooted to the spot. Then he heard the discharge of two gunshots coming from the direction the van was parked, followed by frantic shouts and running footsteps. As he stood pondering
IT'S AN ALL-OUT WAR Andrés felt his face flush in anger. "How are they always getting ahead of us?" he snapped at the other detective who accompanied him to Caleb's deserted room. The man said nothing. Putting on a hand glove, Andrés reached into José's pocket and retrieved his phone. His gun which he didn't have the chance to fire at Pedro or Caleb lay beside his body. "Call in the medical team to evacuate the body," he said rising from the floor. His hand was bleeding at the shoulder where Pedro's bullet hit him. He pressed it with his palm and winced in the pain, before moving to search the bathroom and wardrobe. Nothing seemed out of place. Caleb didn't have many belongings in the hotel. It was just his two shirts and one pair of trousers, the one he was wearing that day. Pedro had advised him to maintain a low profile until the deal with the Don was successfully sealed. Finding nothing of illegality, Andrés sighed and walked out of the hotel room. "Ensure that the staff do
YOU CAN'T STAY HERECaleb turned to see the old man charging into the room. When he heard the question he feared the worst. "Here... we are," he stammered. The man looked him over and queried, "Are you the ones who shot and killed three police officers at Fenton Hotel?"Caleb swallowed hard. "N-no. Never. I don't know where that is." he replied and avoided the man's curious stare. "We are travellers who unfortunately got ambushed by hoodlums and my friend got hit by their bullet." The man narrowed his eyes till his forehead wrinkled. He obviously didn't believe him. "Perhaps I should let the police verify your story," he said and started towards the door holding the handle. Just then his wife reemerged from the kitchen with the bowl of water. "What kept you for so long?" she inquired, dropping the bowl on the table in the center of the room. "These two are not travellers, it would seem," he said scowling at Caleb and then at Pedro's unconscious form lying on their old couch in t
EATEN UP BY GUILT Caleb remembered the last time he saw Fabian's face as his head bobbed up from under the water those few seconds before the police rained their bullets on the spot, and how it turned reddish with Fabian's blood floating over the icy sea. He had thought of going back to search for him - or his body. But Pedro came and took him out of jail and he never got the chance. Not that he knew his way around the swampy neighbourhood - even to date, Pedro still refuses to mention the name of the island. "You don't have to worry about that anymore, do you?" he had nonchalantly drawled when he pressed on him to tell him. "Besides, the shack house was destroyed and everything went down in ruins. You will never have reasons to go back there." That was how he casually dismissed the subject for the third time and he brought it up again. As he sat watching the elderly couple painfully reminiscing about their grandson, it brought a certain guilt he couldn't exactly explain. "I'm s
GETTING HELP Caleb woke up at the first chime of the alarm clock hanging against the brick wall of the old farmhouse. The time was 6:00 am. He stretched and sat up. Everywhere felt strange. He didn't immediately remember where he was until he heard the soft groan of Pedro. He rubbed his eyes and made out his form lying on the couch. The old couple had retired into their bedroom at some point during the night. "Pedro?" Caleb whispered. "Are you awake?" But Pedro could only mumble a few incoherent words. "Can you hear me?" he repeated. "My stomach hurts," he answered and groaned again. "Sorry." Caleb stood up and went to bend over him, "Are you feeling a bit better?" Pedro tried to turn and let out a shriek. "Oh, ouch. My ribs are on fire." The noise alerted the old couple who were only just waking up. They both came dashing into the living room. "Is he awake?" Camila asked Caleb the moment she switched on the light. He nodded. Her husband walked to the head of the couch and
CAUGHT Not long after Carlos left the farmhouse, Pedro said to Caleb, "We have to leave at once.""But the old woman is not ready yet," replied Caleb."We can't wait another minute my friend. The police might be here sooner than later."It turned out he was right. Just then, a police siren could be heard chiming from a distance. Camila put out her head from the adjoining blinds that separate the living room from the lobby with an apologetic frown, "I'm afraid we might not make it out before the police get here. You two will have to find someplace to hide." Pedro gave Caleb a quick stare that said, "What have you gotten us into?" "Hey, I have an idea where you can hide. Come in here at once. I'll handle the police when they arrive," Camila offered, much to Pedro's relief. But the siren sound grew louder. Before Caleb could assist Pedro up, they heard another siren coming from the other side of the road. The two vehicles were heading in the direction of the farmhouse. It seemed as
A VISITOR FROM HELL "Who is there?" Pedro froze. How could he make such a silly mistake when they had almost succeeded? The officer brought out his gun and cocked it, "I said who is there?" he repeated. "It's me," a voice said. "Detective Alonso?" "Yes, Sergeant," his colleague replied from behind the wooden shed outside the barn. But the snotty sergeant was certain the sound came from within. "Did you hear something?" Alonso added after the prolonged pause from inside. The Sergeant looked intently about him and drew closer toward the drum where he suspected the sound came from. Pedro held his breath as he memorized his last prayer remembering the Holy sacrament taught during Mass service in his local Cathedral. The last time he attended church was when he was very little. Yet somehow at such a crucial moment, those words of prayer came in handy. "I am sure there's something in here," he said flaring his nostrils as if trying to perceive a human smell. Then suddenly a gunsho
THE TRIP TO WOODWARD VALLEY It wasn't often that the Don left his mansion to go on a road trip. Thus, for him to have to come all the way, it meant a big deal.El-Zaki looked every bit the Don he was in his three-piece black overcoat worn over a black suit and white shirt. He had on his fedora hat and moved with an air of authority. Carlos took one glance at the approaching man and stopped loading the truck."Hey, Mister. To what pleasure do I owe this visit?" he asked in his characteristic low rumble tone. He groaned and took a suspicious look at the truck. "What have you got in there, old farmer?" "Who are you to come into my property and question me?" Carlos spoke testily, a bit too defensive for the Don to overlook. He turned to look at Nathan who was immediately at his side and smirked, "Oh, my apologies, old man. Let me introduce myself: My name is Miguel El-Zaki popularly known as Don El-Zaki." "A Don?" murmured Carlos, trying to connect his presence at his home with anyt
THE ENDCaleb went to DeZ Cosmetics the next day with some men from the ministry to reopen the place. He still remembered a few of the staff there and began to call them one by one.Mr Apollo, the company's supervisor, was the first person he called. "Hello Mr Apollo, this is Caleb. Caleb Dezani. I'm calling from DeZ Cosmetics and I am in the office right now. Do you mind reporting to work?"The man grunted in disbelief. "But the company was closed down two days ago. And you no longer work there. Last I asked, I was told you took over as the CEO of another company." Caleb laughed. "Well, that last part is true. However, the company was under dispute and has now been resolved. I have reclaimed it as the rightful CEO and want you to return to work. Please while coming, do well to call others to report to work too. I shall be waiting at the reception hall."But Mr Apollo didn't call anyone until he got to the company and found out for himself that the place was indeed reopened. It was a
THE TRUTH IS OUT It felt like a nightmare as the black police Hilux which carried Madam Rebecca drove into the ministry. Her heart was thumping in her chest. She didn't know what to expect. She was ushered into the office by the officers who brought her with specific instructions from the inspector. Meanwhile, Caleb hadn't joined them. When the inspector asked whether he was going to the ministry from the station, he replied that he wanted his grandfather to be present during the meeting. "I need to go and pick him up at home." The two men shook hands, "Well, whatever happens, do not hesitate to ring me." "Thank you so much, Inspector. I hope we shall be able to meet and have that drink soon." The man laughed. "I will count the hours till I hear from you. Good luck!" he added. Caleb drove back home and lord Diego joined him to the ministry. Abhi couldn't follow because he had already left for work. But his stepmother, Leah, insisted on being a part of it. Caleb obliged her.
The FINAL NAIL The next man to interrogate him was the meanest of them. His face was cold and unfeeling."Why did you abandon your textile business?""I didn't abandon it.""Excuse me?""I did not abandon the business. I was defrauded and the business collapsed." "That means you went bankrupt after that?" He didn't answer. "Please can you speak up so the next person can take over?" "Not really. I had people who pulled resources together to loan me the capital I needed to rebuild my business." "And yet you didn't. Or did you?" Again he swallowed hard. "Okay, let me rephrase the question. As a businessman who was into textile, after you were defrauded and people loaned you money, did you rebuild your textile business?" "No." "So what did you do? "I went into partnership with someone in another line of business." "And what business was that?" "Cosmetics. I went into cosmetics." "Good. That will be all from me."By the time the rest of the members had interrogated him, El-Za
MAKING CONCESSIONEl-Zaki woke up for the third time since he was shot and realised he was in a different atmosphere.This new place smelled of drugs and drip water. "Where am I?" he asked no one in particular. A male nurse who was attached to him was sitting by a desk writing. He looked up and said, "You are in an infirmary. You were shot but now recovering." El-Zaki tried to look around and the effort made his head hurt. "Who shot me and which infirmary is this?" The nurse was instructed not to answer any questions past introducing himself and offering medical care. "I'm sorry sir but you shouldn't be concerned about that. You are responding well to treatment and your wound is drying up faster than expected. Please tell me if you feel any pain or want anything." The man stubbornly tried to sit up and felt a sharp pain on his side." Oh gosh! My rib!" he grunted. "Lie still," the nurse advised. He looked at his watch and said, "It's almost time for your midnight draught. It will
SLIPPING AWAYIt was Mr Ramirez calling back Caleb to tell him the men at the checkpoint said the truck was merely carrying items for charity.But Caleb knew better than to buy that lie. He remembered his own travel adventure with Pedro. How he had to hide at the bottom of Grandpa Carlos' truck loaded with cow refuse and feed for hours until they got to Woodward Valley from Greenville."But did they offload the entire truck to search?" he probed."I doubt that they did." "Okay. You should get to your hotel and remain inside. I just got info that the police team from yesterday may be visiting Cholula this afternoon." "Is that right?" "So I heard. Or better still, do not go to any hotel. Find somewhere else to lodge until you hear from me again." "But where else is safer than a hotel?" he asked feeling desperate. "I know a place. It's an old farmhouse occupied by an old couple. Fabian's grandparents." "Oh ho! Don't tell me this was your grand plan all along to make your friend see
DISCOVEREDIt was lunchtime and Caleb realised he was starving. All he had eaten the previous day was toasted bread and salad prepared by Hannah and Bella. Then in the afternoon, he didn't have time to eat as he spent it trying to help them settle down at the new place he got for them. Later that evening, he was called to be at Primo Palace and all he took was a bottle of the most expensive wine which he shared with Mr Ramirez. And later on in the night, he drank French wine as they talked.He felt his stomach growling in protest. Even Abhi heard it from his office and teased him. "When Madam Leah was begging you to have breakfast at home you said food was the least of your worries. Now the worms can't bear it anymore that they want to cause a volcanic eruption in your stomach." Caleb didn't know when he let out a burst of laughter. "You're crazy, man!" "I swear I've been so busy that I can't wait for all of this to be over so I can take a month-long vacation." "Sure. You will ne
SHOWING UPCaleb called the inspector of police, and he promptly answered. "To what do I owe this personal call?" he said cheerfully. "To a long-lasting friendship of mutual interests," he replied. Then he added, "I was hoping we could hang out maybe later in the day. What do you think?" "Oh, that would be wonderful. Let's make it eight o'clock this evening." "That's fine by me," Caleb consented. "What venue?" the Inspector asked. "FanFood Eatery." "I shall be there," the inspector promised and the call quickly ended. A notification dropped in Caleb's phone. He checked it was a text message. He hastily read through because he was behind the wheel. A delivery truck just turned up in the El-Zaki mansion. It has spent about 25 minutes inside the premises." The message read. Caleb immediately sensed something sinister. He pulled over and replied to the informant. "Have it followed and let me know its destination." The info made him feel a bit troubled. But he shrugged it off an
DOOMSDAY Everyone's attention was turned in the direction of the intruders. "Gentlemen, how may we help you?" the lady questioned. "It's more about how we may help you," Caleb responded. Barrister Crusoe kept his face down avoiding Hart's gaze. The director spoke next. "Yes, let's hear you out." "Good day, lady and gentlemen. My name is Caleb Dezani of Dezani Cosmetics," he introduced himself. The director narrowed his furrow, and the three men seated to the right of the lady gasped. The other three including the lady shone their eyes in disbelief. "You mean you're the CEO of Dezani Cosmetics!" "That's correct," Caleb said suppressing a grin at their dramatic expressions. The director went on. "How may we help you? I mean you already said it's you who wants to help us, so please, to what do we owe this August visit?" "Well, I was reliably informed that you were asking to see the original documents of DeZ Cosmetics." "Dez Cosmetics isn't the same as Dezani Cosmetics, am I
DETAINEDHart drove with bated breath heading to the ministry. He kept trying to reach his father to find out whether he was able to trace barrister Crusoe but his line remained unreachable.It was almost ten o'clock and his line wasn't still connecting. None of the bodyguards that went out with him had returned home last night. It was as if there was a conspiracy amongst them to abandon the mansion the moment their boss went incommunicado. Everyone was just acting strangely - including his mother. She had suddenly packed her bags after his father left the house telling him she was going on an emergency business trip but that she would call to inform him when to join her. "Where is this business conference, seminar, or whatever taking place?" "We'd be touring round different countries starting from Portugal. Then we'd move to Brazil and so on.""All within South America?" Hart had enquired. But she didn't give a definite answer. Surprisingly, not too long after she left for the ai