He parked at the end of a deserted street, hopped down the car and stepped into a roadside bar. "A glass of vodka, please." A man in his late sixties is the barman. He is fat and grimly looking with a scar over his face. He served Andrew his order, glared at him for a while, and then shook his head and went back to his section of the Inn. Andrew brought out his phone and then punched some numbers on the screen. "Hello. What's the update?" "We have been able to track her line to a remote area and we will be on our way as soon as possible." "What is delaying you? You should have called me as soon as you found her location. " Andrew disconnected the call, hissed, swallowed the content in the glass belched with contentment, and then ordered a glass of tequila. He was on his fourth glass when two young men wobbled into the bar. "Is that not Andrew?" "It's him. What is he doing here?" The men were his friends during his youth days. Several years later, he decided to quit hanging w
The moon was already glaring in the sky when two trucks filled with armed men stopped in front of a large black gate. A tall and sturdy man in a black shirt and pants hopped down from the truck and then gestured to the rest of the gang to come with him. "Are we passing through the black gate?" Andrew who lagged at the back of the men asked. "No. We are jumping over the fence. I prefer we were unseen throughout the operation," the sturdy man answered back in a whisper. He smiled and said, Don't be scared. You will be protected by me. Or better still, you can stay inside the car till we are back." "Am not scared. I just want to know your plan," Andrew let out with a smirk. "How are we scaling over the fence when there are electric wires on top of it?" 'Did you have a better idea?" "No." 'Then watch us do our work." The seven men stepped closer to the rear side of the wall. One among them removed a gadget from the bag in his hand and then pressed a red button and everything
'Is Andrea part of this deal?' Andrew asked himself. 'That's the only explanation for her being a guest here… Geez! Not when I planned to forgive her.' Ratty turned toward Andrew and said, "Now that you heard that she is here as a guest, what is your decision?" He realized it was foolhardy to turn back now. Not after coming this far. "Tell them to bring her out." Ratty shrugged and asked, "What if she refused to follow them? Should I tell them to drag her or knock her out if she proves difficult? " "Maybe I should come with you. She will willingly follow you when she sees me." "No. I suggest you stay closer to that fence and wait for us. " Even though he wasn't satisfied with the instruction. Andrew had no choice but to stop on his track and said, "Do all you can to bring the two of them out of here. " "Things may get bloody inside that house. I don't want you to be caught in between the crossfire," the tall and barrel chest said. He turned at the men at his back and ann
Andrew woke up on the third day and was disoriented for two more days. During his first few days at the hospital, he noticed Andrea beside his sick bed but he was too weary to talk to her. And then, she abruptly stops coming when he becomes strong enough. "Where is Andrea? " Andrew asked the first day he had the use of his tongues." "Your daddy stopped her from coming here. He believed you were almost killed because of her, " Simpson answered back. Just like Andrea, everyone received their share of tongue-lashing from the angry man when he heard of Andrew's near-death condition. Because of this, Simpson was more than happy when Andrew finally regained consciousness. Andrew nodded his head and then winced with pain as a sudden headache thunderclap on his forehead. "What about my son? " "He is in your villa in Orange County with the rest of your family. They wanted to transfer you down there, but the doctors kicked against it because of your critical condition. " Andr
Hundreds of patients were cramped in the tiny room. The lucky ones gawked at him from their lice-infested bed, while the less fortunate moaned from the blankets on the floor. "This is West Wing A, " Benita explained. "It's the ward for those with terminal disease… Those on the floor were those who can no longer afford to pay for the hospital bed." "Why are there so many people inside this small ward? This place is overcrowded." "That is why it's called a public ward," Benita answered back. "And that's my sister over there. " Like the majority of the patients inside West Wing A, Benita's sister lay on a blue blanket with her eyes closed. And she immediately opened her eyes when she heard her sister's voice. "Hello, Amelia. Meet Andrew. He is also a patient here." The lady lying down was a shadow of herself. Thin with jaunty skin and shallow eyes. She looked up, offered a thin smile and let out, "Hello Andrew. Nice to meet you. " Just like her sister, Amelia is tall and she po
Andrew and Jackson were admitted into Andrea's section of the O'Connor family villa. Since Simpson was still angry with him, she insisted on waiting for them inside the Cherokee Jeep. "Welcome, Andrew. Am glad you are finally discharged from the hospital, " Mary mumbled as she placed two cups of coffee on the table in front of Andrew and Jackson. "We came to check on you, but your Daddy sent us out of your ward." "I apologize for the way he treated you, " Andrew let out. He picked up the cup of coffee, gazed absent-mindedly at the rich chocolate-coloured liquid and then asked, "Where is Andrea? I have some questions for her?" "She is in the washroom and will join you soon… Please excuse me, our breakfast is on fire and needs my attention before it gets burned." Just like Andrew, Jackson also peeked at the coffee in the cup in his hand. "Why aren't you drinking what your in-law offers us? Don't tell me you believe that she may poison us, " Jackson asked in a whisper. "I don't
The root of all evil Andrew recuperated in a few days, and he was soon seen in his usual happy mood. Because of the recent incident, Elizabethan attached three personal bodyguards to him and warned him never to go out without them. "I don't want to see your legs in Arkansas City anymore. High time you settle down here and take over your responsibility, " the old man yelled at Andrew as he barged into his room one sunny afternoon. "I'm not a kid, Daddy. You can't be dictating where to go for a grownup man like me." "Then act like a grownup and stop risking your life over unnecessary things. The fate of a whole nation lies on your shoulders. Why will you get killed because of a woman? " "My son was also kidnapped with her. You didn't expect me to ignore my only son, did you? " "No, I don't. But I expect you to leave it to capable hands and not plunge headlong into a deadly trap. I heard Andrea was an accomplice to the kidnapping." "Lies, Dad. And that is why I want
After attending to Henry and Jackson's wounds and calling for a rescue team, Andrew called his Dad to explain about the helicopter crash and his location. As expected, the old man was as furious as a thunderstorm. "Why don't you go out with your bodyguard after warning you against such movement?" "I'm so sorry, Dad. I just want to see the forest view from the sky. I never knew the chopper would develop a mechanical fault and break down." "How about your friend and the pilot? " "We are all fine." "Stay where you are. A chopper is coming to pick you up now," Elizabethan yelled from the other side of the line and the call was disconnected immediately. Out of curiosity than common sense, Andrew decided to ignore his father's instruction. "Please excuse me, I want to look around our environment." "It's dangerous, Andrew. Let me come with you." "No, Jackson. Henry is wounded and needs your attention more than mine. Stay with him, I will be right back." As Andrew