CHAPTER 30

But Layla noticed that rather than being dodgy, Charlotte was rather confused and unsure about something. Charlotte’s eyes darted with a flicker of uncertainty as she seemed unsure of where she was going.

Layla knew that she probably needed help and even though she was earlier irritated with Charlotte, she started to think that perhaps Charlotte was not as bad as she had initially painted her to be.

Good people do bad things sometimes, she reasoned.

Her heels clicked on the floor as she approached Charlotte whose movements were erratic and uncertain as she paced back and forth with an unbalancing force.

“Hey, Charlotte,” Layla spoke, jolting her from her terrible confusion. “You look kind of confused. Are you okay?”

Charlotte bit her lip, her expression uncertain as she wrestled with the decision to tell Layla what was bothering her. It was quite refreshing that Layla was concerned about her though.

She finally found the courage to speak. “Erm, it is just that I don't have anywhere to stay the night. I don't want to go to my matrimonial home right now. It would be too traumatic and I just wanted to avoid the whole drama that I knew would happen that night. I am just tired of it, I feel exhausted.”

Charlotte’s shoulders slumped slightly as she spoke and her eyes were sunken with exhaustion.

“That’s not a problem. I would book a hotel for you and it's not far away from here at all,” Layla offered, her face curled in a smile.

Charlotte’s face seemed to come alive as she turned towards Layla. “Are you serious? You would really help with that?”

“Come on, of course. It's the least I could do.”

Charlotte was so overtaken with excitement that she rushed to embrace Layla.

The seat she was in when the program was still ongoing had been overturned after the assassins’ attack and she couldn't even identify where her bags were.

Even if she could identify it, the detectives would oppose her picking up any object from the floor because they were ear-marking the whole area for investigation.

She couldn't believe that Layla could be so kind to her. A night at the hotel was all she needed at least for the main time until she thought about what her next line of action was going to be.

***

Back at the sedan vehicle where Oscar had been bound by the assassins en route to their base, he was still playing dead.

Oscar’s body was a still, silent figure as he played the part of an unconscious man. His body was quiet and his muscles relaxed, waiting for the right moment to attack.

The organ trafficking assassins were still talking though so he waited to grasp more information from them.

The head of the organ trafficking cult, Zingo was discussing with his men what and how the next line of operation was going to go.

“The Botaga client needs a new kidney. Brian, how quickly can you deliver on that? We have already identified a suitable donor,” Zingo spoke.

“Alright boss, I will need the identification of the person and when the person is eliminated, I will let you know. Is it male or female though?”

“Oh, it is female. A young lady in her early 20s but we have confirmed that she is suitable for the operation. To make things easier for you, we have identified some of the likely spots where you will find her.

“She usually goes to the clubhouses on Friday evenings but that’s only because her friends are more enthusiastic about parties and stuff like that. She may not come back with her friends but we can bet on the fact that she will be at the clubhouse.”

“Don’t worry I will send you the exact information and addresses that will help execute the task.”

“Alright boss,” Brian responded.

“Sir, you said we were going to lock our main base of operation,” one of the other assassins asked the boss.

“Oh, yes, not one but many of them,” Zingo responded. “Oscar’s act of exposing us means that we won't be able to use many of our hideout warehouses again. I have even instructed some men to get all the useful things away from the warehouses and get them burnt immediately.”

“That’s quite sad boss,” the assassin responded. “We would lose a lot of resources.”

“Yes, we would but on the bright side, we are about to make Oscar pay. We have him right here with us and except you have thought of a more grievous way to make him suffer, then I think the torture I have in mind for him is just the best. Nothing beats that, haha.”

Raphael then cut in. “Boss, the police seem to be sniffing around with our previous project. It's just the surgery that needs to be done but it appears the police want some more money.

Zingo’s mouth widened with a historic laughter. “Haha, don’t you worry, Raph. I will take care of that.”

Oscar’s ears strained to catch every word as his body was still even though he was gaining strength. His deception continued to give him an advantage as he pieced together the details of the assassin’s schemes.

He knew that they were heading towards one of their hideouts.

Oscar sensed that the area was getting bushy and remote. There were a lot of trees and fewer people as the minutes went by. He could sense that it was soon going to be the right time for him to act.

All he had to do was wait for when the assassin was going to pull him out of the vehicle. He decided that he was going to keep playing dead until they alighted and the assassins tried to pull him out.

But he was going to need a gun for such an action to be quick. How could he cope against eight assassins? It would require a lot of swiftness and skill to be able to do what he intended to do effectively without getting a bullet to his head in the process.

Perhaps the other captives - Anna, Allison, and Keneth could help with that.

But to what extent could they possibly help when they looked like scared rabbits about to die?

One thing that was certain to him was that it was worth trying.

The assassins’ words were mocking with cutting ridicule as they were unaware that a potential danger in the form of Oscar was lurking in their midst.

“Oh, damn Oscar, check for me. Is he still looking unconscious?”

“Haha, funny enough he is.”

“Damn, just imagine! He doesn't even have the guts to become who he thinks he already is. Who gets knocked off after mistakenly getting jammed by someone.”

“You know, even Jamie was bolder than him. He worked for his freedom. Oscar can't even move his arm.”

“He is going to learn the lesson of his life today just before we finally kill him.”