Archer Williams woke up with a throbbing headache, chants resounded distantly in his head accompanied with shimmering cymbals and soft hums.Forcing his eyes open, he was instantly greeted by harsh sun light pouring directly from the window- a stark contrast of what he last remembered.Archer recoiled, instinctively clenching his eyes shut against the harsh sunlight."Open your eyes," a soft voice ordered, and Archer obliged, squinting his eyes open.His headache intensified by the moment, the chants that seemed so distant now echoed around him, but with no visible singers.He turned around, in a desperate search for the owner of the voice who was tending to him- Master Woods. "Why did you come? And how did you find me?" He asked, watching him struggle with himself.His question suddenly reminded Archer of the briefcase he had risked his life to protect. "The briefcase," he muttered, scanning the room with his eyes only, since his body was too weak to move. Finally, at a corner in
The journalists exchanged nervous glances, each person looking for a savior. Tangie glared at them, her anxiety from before gradually building into an intimidating demeanor. “I will assume you all were just desperate so you coined a lie to stain my husband’s reputation.”“That’s not true ma’am,” one of them finally spoke up, “We received an anonymous call from someone claiming to have insider information about President Williams.”Tangie’s brows furrowed with suspicion, she glared at the speaker intently as if to uncover more hidden details, “You didn’t bother to verify the authenticity of such a tip before causing a frenzy in my house?” The journalists dropped their gazes with shame, realizing the gravity of their mistake. Tangie’s disappointed tone was daunting enough to stir their remorse. “We were too excited to break the news ma’am. Since President Archer gave Scott McFarland an exclusive, we’ve been under pressure to beat him.”“Pressure to beat him? There are several other
“Huh!” Archer gasped, his legs failed him as he tried to stand. Yet, he pressed on.“Where are you going?” Master Woods asked, concerned about his state.“Master, I trust this man with my family, my wife, my pregnant wife. Celestine, and the guards, everyone that lives with me, they believe he’s trustworthy, because I trust him. Master, he came to meet me at my father’s house.”“Golden Gates?”“Yes!” Archer replied, losing his cool. The gradual realization that Mr Adejobi was not who he said he was felt like the pain of miscarriage, biting and chewing on his insides. He felt his heart decaying with both anger, pain and anxiety. Master Woods reached out to him, tugging at his arms gently, “Sit down, Archer. Sit, and calm yourself. Never loose your grip, you can’t think when you’re like that.”“I apologize, Master. I am no monk. I’m scared for my family, he has access to them, who else is lying to me? Who else? Who are you? Are you lying to me too? Who can I trust?” “Nobody.” Master
What was supposed to be a safe house in Tangie's seemed like the place she would be fighting for her life. She stood by the threshold, with her hand clutching to the back of her pant trousers where the revolver Mr Adejobi had handed her as a gift from Archer remained stacked.They had caught a faint whiff of tobacco when they walked into the house, but as they stood by the door, the scent grew stronger, diffusing from somewhere in the house. "Could we be in the wrong house?" Mariah asked, her heart racing with fear."Mariah pull yourself together, the password worked. We are in the right place.""Then the 'safe house' has been infiltrated." Mariah panicked, "We need to call him. I'll call Celestine," As she was brought out her phone, footsteps echoed faintly in the air, driving Mariah's anxiety to the brink. Without thinking twice, she dashed to the door, and yanked the doorknob with all her might, only to find that the door was locked. By now the faint footstep was approaching c
Mariah's fierce determination gripped the room as tightly as her hand on the trigger. She stared down at Luke, her eyes blazing with anger."Drop the spray, Luke," She demanded.Luke's expression shifted from amusement to surprise, although he concealed his fear. Slowly, he dropped the bottle spray, realizing he couldn't dare Mariah. Her resolve showed in the firm aim of the gun she pointed at him. He took a step back, raising his hands in surrender. "Tangie, are you alright?" Mariah asked, catching her shocked expression from her side-eye. Tangie's cough had subsided, but the effects of the spray lingered on, burning her chest like a sip of alcohol. "I'm alright," She replied, "We just need to get out of here?" "That's right, what's the password?" Mariah asked urgently."I don't know," Luke replied, the smile on his face slowly returning."BAU!!" Mariah shot the artwork on the wall behind him and Luke jumped, startled by the audacity. "I am NOT Tangie," Mariah bellowed, "Wha
"It is impossible!" Archer interjected, rising to his feet, his face scrunched up in disbelief. "I would never speak a lie, son. I suspect Mr Adejobi is the leader of that group Libra..."Archer paused, trying to process the information, "That group ceased to exist when I exposed Maverick Jr's deceit at the shareholders meeting. It can't be.""Have you ever heard of something called a puppet?" Master Woods asked, standing to meet his gaze. "Maverick Jr was just a puppet, they allowed him appear as the leader to distract you from the main leaders and the real operations of that group." The words sank in slowly, although the evidence wasn't enough, Master Woods had always proven to be accurate in his deductions, yet Archer struggled to accept his theories."What about Doctor Mason of the Pure Brooks Hospital? He was a founding father of the Seven Divine Citadels before he joined the Libra. He and almost everyone else turned their backs on Maverick. Whatever was left of that group ende
The air hummed with tension as Archer and Master Woods sat in the back seat of his jeep, the hum of the engine a stark contrast to weight of Archer’s thoughts.He had insisted on driving but almost every guard of the temple worked for Master Woods.Archer was not only surprised, but impressed to find that Master Woods had an army of Kenjitsu experts who looked nothing like what they were. His grip on the armrest, his mind racing with worry for Tangie.They had been on the road all day, blurring through the streets at the highest speed legal.Sunset became dusk and now they were slicing through the night.Master Woods observed him quietly, concerned about him. His denial of the feelings he had for his wife was a sharp contrast to the despair he had in his eyes. “We’re getting close, Archer.” He said quietly, his voice breaking the deafening silence in the air.Archer nodded, but his jaw remained clenched and his grip tightened on the armrest. Afraid that if he said anything, the turm
Celestine pushed through the doors of the Drunken Badger, the usual activities of the night going on like nothing was happening in the outside world. Well, technically nothing that concerned them was happening.Celestine had been everywhere in the city in one day in search of Maverick Jr. But it seemed like he had been erased from existence.There was no sign or trace of him anywhere, and he feared that Archer had trusted the wrong person when he let Mercy take him.“Celestine!” The badger called out, his bubbly voice cutting through the loud music. Celestine turned around in search of the familiar voice calling out to him, his gaze landed on the badger and he flinched, unimpressed by his almost unclad body. “What’s going on with you?” Celestine whispered as the badger approached him.“I’m having fun, Celestine. Live a little.” “This doesn’t look like fun to me. This is madness”. Celestine replied, his eyes blazing with disapproval.“Call it whatever you want,” the Badger replied,