CHAPTER 20

Desperate voices could be heard here and there as the people in the hall looked for the safest option of hiding.

The shooters soon emerged from the smoke and chaos. Their faces were concealed as they had masks on them that hid their identities.

Their guns were held high as they scanned the scene very carefully to make sure that everyone was under their command.

“Everyone, get down on the floor now!”

One of them assumed to be the leader of the operation spoke out loudly, his voice booming across the whole hall.

“Second instruction. Put your hands behind your head, now!”

The crowd let out a collective cry of terror, their screams echoing off the wall as they cowered in fear.

The floor shook with the force of their trembling as they immediately obeyed the instruction of the assassin.

Inara, who was pregnant, had a difficult time in such a situation. Her body was vulnerable as she trembled with each command that the assassins gave.

Her husband, George put a hand behind her in a protective embrace as if trying to shield her as they both lay on the ground and kept their hands behind their head.

Inara could not cope with the instruction for too long though as she kept one of the hands away from her head and clutched at her stomach. She felt a sharp pain in her belly bump and the normal instinct was for her to protect the life growing inside of her.

“Inara, darling, what’s going on?” George asked, his words heaving with tension and his face contorted with concern.

“No, it’s nothing,” Inara responded.

“What do you mean by it's nothing?” George spoke his expression a gentleness of concern. “If there is something, you should tell me.”

Inara was still feeling a sharp pain. The pain started when she tried to dive towards their place of hiding very quickly since she was protecting herself. Unfortunately, she applied so much pressure and it seemed to cause her pain.

She didn't want George to worry about it though. It probably wasn't anything serious. “Focus, George. It's nothing, I am fine.”

The couple’s tender moment was interrupted by the loud commanding voice of the assassin. “No whispering! We are not joking here.”

“Now, we are going to have your phones one by one. I suggest that no one tries to play smart because there would be consequences. Very serious consequences.”

Three of the assassins had their boots thudding on the floor as they moved with ruthless efficiency, their strides purposeful and brutal as they stalked through the hall.

Their eyes were cold and pitiless as they yanked the phones from their hands in a savage manner.

“Hey, hey, you what are you trying to do?” the assassin’s voice boomed with authority as he noticed that one of the men was trying to press something on his phone.

Before the man could process the next thing to happen, his head was whipped to the side after receiving a very hard slap from one of the assassins.

His ears rang and he could almost hear a melody from the different world that the slap had transported him to - a very harsh melody though, one that he wouldn't want to experience in his life ever again.

He couldn't even feel his body the moment his phone left his hands as the assassin yanked it off him and dropped it into the big sack that they used to seize all the phones.

The lead assassin’s eyes narrowed while standing at the entrance area. “I suggest that no one should try to play smart here. No one may get hurt or killed before we leave here but it depends on each of you.”

The assassins rounded everyone until they got a hold of everyone’s phones and there was no hope for them to reach out to anyone for help.

The assassins fired a few more bullets into the ceiling as a sign to show the guests that they were damn serious.

No one dared to act funny though - not after they had seen the assassins kill some of the officers in cold blood on their route to gaining control of the hall.

The guests shrieked in fear and a collective scream as they wondered when it was going to end. When was the terror going to be over? What did the assassin really want?

No one could figure out an answer yet.

“Now, listen to us! We are here for only four persons so for the sake of every one of you here, I will advise that when those four persons hear their names, they should raise their hands for recognition, or else some other persons could die on their behalf.”

One of the guests hiding could see the assassins from a close view. He wished that he had gained some distance away from them and hidden somewhere further at the back of the auditorium but it was too late especially since he was getting some ideas.

Jaffet was his name and he was one of the CEOs under Oscar’s consortium. He was very protective of his assets and always cared so much about his finances.

He was also quite tight-handed with his finances - a proper businessman who wanted every penny for himself.

Seeing the assassins up close and having to put his hand behind his head was quite a problem for him. His mind started brimming with ideas and his thoughts spun with a reckless abandon.

He tried to figure out a way out of the deadly situation. After all, he was close to the entrance and the assassins were not too close to the pathway with which he was going to use to escape.

Jaffet darted around the room and his eyes were desperate, a potential fuel that made him seek a solution.

Every other person could bow their heads and get themselves at the mercy of the assassins but not him, especially when he was this close to the entrance.

Jaffet had already mapped out his way out and saw that all he needed to do was to be quick.

His focus was a sharp tool as he cut through the fear and uncertainty.

With a burst of tension, he sprinted towards the entrance with reckless abandon, his feet pounding on the floor as he rushed towards his freedom.

His breathing was ragged and his body was fueled with a desperate hope that he could escape. His heart was right there in his throat but just as he was about to reach the entrance, there was a loud ring of gunshots.

Pow! Pow! Pow!

Jaffet fell to the ground immediately and blood pooled out of his lifeless body. His limbs flailed on the ground as everyone else had their mouths open in terror.