CHAPTER 23

There was silence among the guests and everyone’s heart was in their throat. Whatever needed to be done for the assassins to leave the hall and be on their way was what needed to be done.

Layla heaved a sigh of relief when she heard Jamie’s name called. Even though it seemed a little selfish, it showed that they were not going to summon her.

She had great fear in her heart because she thought that her position as Oscar’s personal assistant was going to draw the assassins in her direction.

“Jamie! Where are you?” The lead assassin spoke out again.

Jamie’s body was tense and coiled as he tried to blend into the shadows, his fears a potent force that threatened to overshadow him.

But he wasn't going to heed their call. If everyone else was just going to keep shut, the assassins might think that the name wasn’t in the auditorium, Jamie thought.

“Jamie! I know you are here and for the last time, reveal yourself!”

The whole crowd was thrown into fear and confusion as they wondered why Jamie hadn’t yielded to their call yet.

What was he waiting for? He was the only one left because the assassins had announced that they only needed four people among the guests before they left on their way.

The men and women around Jamie gestured frantically and silently, begging him to listen to the assassin’s call.

Each of their gazes was filled with gestures because of their fear. All they wanted was for the assassins to go away.

Jamie wasn't ready to listen to them though as he turned away from their pleading gazes.

The hall was filled with tension as the assassin spoke again. “Well, Jamie! Since you have decided to ignore our call, I guess the best thing to do is to give you some encouragement.”

The lead assassin immediately signaled a deadly gesture to one of the assassins and within a moment, the assassin moved with a dangerous determination, his feet stomping on the ground as he headed towards a young man in a suit and pulled him away from the other guests.

The other people around where the young man was pulled shrieked with fear. It was obvious that it was a very random pick and they wanted to show Jamie a lesson for refusing to heed their command.

“Kneel!” The assassin commanded.

The man’s voice was pitiful, a pleading wail that echoed through the wall. He didn't want to die. “Please, I beg you. Don't kill me. I am innocent, I don't want to die.”

He had been scared just like everybody else and he thought that surely if only he could remain on the ground just like everyone else, he would not die before the assassins completed their operation.

But this had turned out differently for him.

The assassin’s face was unforgiving and even though he was on a mask, it seemed as if no plea could change what was going to happen.

The assassins were angry at Jamie’s refusal to heed their command. They saw it as a defiance and they were ready to make some persons pay dearly for that.

“Do you know the Jamie guy?” The assassin asked, his voice threatening and harsh.

“I don't know him, I swear I don't know him,” the man’s face streaked with tears, his body wracked as he begged for his life.

In truth, the young innocent man never knew Jamie. He was only an ordinary junior employee in one of the companies.

He had just only graduated from being an intern and was even under probation. He only attended the event to impress some of his superiors and show them that he could be relied on if not he had no business in such an event.

Was he just going to die like that? All because of nothing?

The assassin’s hand was steady, his fingers hovering over the trigger with lethal precision as he aimed at the man.

“Please don't do it, please!” The young man pleaded desperately, his eyes squeezed shut in danger.

He wondered why he would have to die because another person refused to heed the assassins’ call.

His brain was fueled with desperation and hope that whoever the Jamie guy was would identify himself before the assassin pressed the trigger.

The assassin turned his gaze around the guests one last time and realized that there was still no one willing to identify as Jamie Lowie.

With a cold finality, he pressed the trigger.

Pow!

The man slumped to the floor, his body lifeless as he shrank into itself. His eyes were blank and his blood spread on the ground like a dark pool.

The guests recoiled in horror, their eyes wide with fear as they braced themselves for the worst. Everyone was shivering in some sort of way as they were scared of what could happen if Jamie didn't reveal himself.

How many more persons were going to be killed until Jamie decided to reveal himself?

The lead assassin called out in a loud voice. “Jamie! Are you going to come out or not? You choose for yourself how many more people have to die until you reveal yourself.”