CHAPTER 24

Jamie was still trembling with the effort of maintaining his composure as he hid in the shadows.

His heart thudded in his chest as he heard the gunshot that highlighted the death of the innocent man.

His fear threatened to consume him as he wondered if it was really a wise idea to remain there and refuse to heed the assassins’ call.

But why would he just surrender himself to die? He was most likely more important than the guy the assassins killed anyway, he reasoned.

A lot of people would suffer so the people around him who were signaling to him and urging him to surrender himself had better given a second thought.

Jamie’s mind twisted and turned, his thoughts a frantic and disorganized mess as he forced himself to ignore the guilt that he was having.

He had to drown himself in his own excuses.

“Alright, since you are still going to remain there, I guess you have no problem seeing some more innocent persons die.”

The lead assassin whispered again to one of his men.

Within a moment, two assassins advanced like a pair of predators, their masked faces pitiless and scary as their boots thundered on the floor.

Their hands were like iron as they dragged the guests from their hiding places, their strength a powerful force that kept them powerless and vulnerable.

The guest's voices were pitiful as they begged for mercy, their pleas a desperate force that fell on deaf ears.

“Please, don’t do this to us. Please, I beg you.”

“Maybe he is not here, please.”

“I will do anything you want. I will give you anything you ask for but just spare my life.”

“No! No! Don't kill me, I beg you. I have a family to take care of.”

“I also have a family. Please don't do this. Just be patient for a little while.”

Their eyes were wide with fear and their bodies were limp with exhaustion as they begged in helplessness. They hoped that the assassins might perhaps be merciful to them.

There were two ladies and one guy who were forced away from their hiding.

The assassins were ruthless as they turned a deaf ear to their pleas.

“Who cares if you all have families,” one of the assassins spoke. “How does that change the fact that Oscar has to pay for his stupidity.”

“We really don't have much time and we have to make this quick so perhaps killing the three of you at once would help him make a decision. We have to choose the quickest route and if killing every one of you who we don't need dead yet needs to happen, then we won’t hesitate.”

The assassins’ boots were cruel, their kicks a brutal force as they left the victims gasping and begging for air.

They were forced to kneel to the ground and their faces slumped in helplessness.

The gun was painted at the lady, her eyes squeezed shut as she accepted the warm embrace of death.

There was no need to wail and cry for mercy anymore, she reasoned. The assassins had shown that they were not ready to listen to their pleas so the only option left for her was to forget about everything and say goodbye.

Pow!

The lady fell like a fragile flower, her body crumpling to the floor in a tragic force. Her eyes were wide, staring at the ceiling in a vacant stare of death.

Jamie’s breath was shallow, his lungs struggling to take in air as he became more scared. He heard another gunshot and he knew that it meant another person had died because of his refusal to listen to the assassins’ call.

He fought desperately against his guilt, trying to convince himself that he was protecting himself for the greater good and that many more people would benefit from him being alive than from his kidnapping or death.

The guests around Jamie had their hands moving in a chorus of pleading gestures as they begged Jamie to surrender to the assassins.

Jamie was a respectable person, not only in the companies but also in the society so none of them dared to expose him themselves. That kind of spotlight was always going to be dangerous.

But it didn't change the fact that they were still scared and wondered how Jamie would let two persons die just because he wanted to protect himself.

Was that how selfish he was? At the end of the day, the assassins may decide not to hurt him because of the kind of influence he has.

One of the guests, a middle-aged man who was a secretary in one of Oscar’s companies summoned the courage as he leapt quietly towards Jamie.

His face was dripping with sweat as he hoped to convince Jamie to finally surrender to the assassins.

When he was close to Jamie, his eyes were pleading as he whispered politely. “Sir, please we don't know who the assassins would come for next. Please just accept their invitation so that innocent people won’t have to die.”

Jamie’s gaze slid away, his attention drifting to the window as he showed that he was unready to listen to whatever gibberish was coming out of the man’s lips.

What even made him think that he could summon the courage to approach him? He had better left him before the assassins noticed that something was going on there, he thought.

Jamie’s posture was stiff, his ears seemed to be deafened to the man’s words as his attempt to engage with him and get him to bulge fell on deaf ears.

The secretary guy wasn't going to relent though. “Sir, please we respect you enough not to snitch on you but all of us are scared right now. You would be making us equally guilty of allowing innocent people to die if you refuse to listen to the assassins. No one else has to die.”

Jamie felt like his boundaries were being breached with the man’s latest words. What audacity did he have to tell him that he respected him enough not to snitch on him? Was he indirectly trying to threaten him? He thought.

Jamie finally turned his gaze towards the young man, his expression hard and his stare a menacing force. “Don’t you ever threaten me again!”

The secretary guy was thrown into a harsh reality as he realized that Jamie was never going to bulge even if more innocent persons had to die.

How could he be so cruel as to watch innocent lives go to waste?