TRAITOR“Weren't we going to deal with Duke?” someone asked. “Where is he, Frankie? What happened?” Another ask. “Where's Danny? Frankie demanded. “Why isn't he here?” The men looked at each other. “Frankie, I haven't seen Danny all morning”, one of the men said. “I'm sure he just got delayed by something. “But that's not an excuse”, Frankie frowns. “He knew that today was a big day and he knew better than to be late, Find him”. He said. The men pulled out their phones and each one tried calling Danny. One by one, each man shook his head as a sign of Danny not responding, and Frankie got extremely furious.Frankie tore one of the couch cushions out of frustration “he betrays me like this!”. None of the men dared to speak. They stood around the room, eyes lowered, hoping not to be the target of their boss’s Anger. But Brian also saw confusion in their eyes. They did not know where Danny was, and they were astonished that he had double-crossed them. “Frankie,” Brian said. “Since Duke
THE ALLY“Who else besides you and Jack knew about our plans over the next few days?, How did Duke find out we were going to ambush him?”. Danny was speechless. He had no comeback, nothing he could say to change Frankie's mind. “Take him out of here”, Frankie said. “And get rid of him, i don't wanna see him again”. There were no questions about what that meant. Jack sighed and hauled Danny to his feet. “Wait”, Brian said, stepping forward.“What?” Frankie demanded. “Do you wanna plead for his life? Because it's not gonna work, I've made my decision”.“Nothing like that, But he might know more than he's letting on", Let me deal with him”.“And when you are done q”“when you’reuestioning him. I'll take care of this traitor””. Frankie shook his head. “ “After all we've learned, you're still determined to go up against Duke” Don't you see how pointless it is? If Duke could bribe my top Lieutenant, he could bribe anyone””. He said “ “Well, we won't know until we ask him, will we?Mayb
THE RIVAL“If that's true, why don't you join me?Stone and Lincoln” Brian suggested. “We can work as one,How about that?” Danny felt honored. Brian used to be a man who didn't have any previous street friends but he had moved to become a topic of gossip on the streets. However, they ignored the gossip and continued to do whatever they wanted.As people got used to having Brian around, Lincoln joined his gang and the gossip started all over again. Everyone wondered how Brian had nabbed a powerful fighter like Lincoln.“I'll think about it”, Danny said seriously. The two of them exchanged their contact information before parting ways. Brian went to the company's office for a while before returning home. When he pulled into the drive, he saw an expensive sports car parked in front of the house. Samantha was standing beside it, talking with a wealthy looking young man. Brian frowned. Although Samantha didn't like the idea of Nick wanting to spend so much time with her, she had been h
WEAK Seeing that Samantha was unwilling to reveal anything, Samantha thought she was just too shy to share details, so she stopped pushing.She turned to Brian and asked.What's the matter? Are you unwilling to apologize and explain your behavior?Brian was in a bad mood and didn't wanna argue, so he went to the kitchen to cook dinner.Or is he cursed and sat down? How rude. Other than his cooking, we don't know anything else about him. He's really useless.After dinner, Samantha wanted to say something to Brian but hesitated.She wanted to tell him that there was nothing between her and Nick.But when she thought about Brian's attitude, she grew irritated and went to bed instead.After tossing and turning in bed for an unknown amount of time, Samantha found she couldn't fall asleep.Brian couldn't sleep either, and you could hear his wife's restlessness beside him.So you began softly.Do you wanna tell me about Nick and you as kids?We just grew up together. He always flirted with me, but
SHE’S MINE “Isn't Director Samantha already married? Isn't she married to that security guard?”“ Yeah, but he's a loser”. “Maybe she's finally realized she can do better, I mean, look at that handsome man who could turn him down.When Nick heard their chattering, he became even more confident.He strode in to Samantha and took out a small, exquisitely made box. “Samantha”, he said.“When you were seven years old, you told me that you loved necklaces. At the time I couldn't afford a very nice one for you, but now I want to give you the best”.He opened the box lid and held it out to her so she could see inside.He then asked smoothly. “Do you like it?” Everyone could see the courting behavior he was displaying.It was only one step shy of falling to one knee with a rose and a ring. The women around them gasp in admiration. Brian's expression darkened. “Nick is pushing his luck if he thinks he can just come here and start giving my wife presents”, he thought bitterly.Nick fed off t
NECKLACENick's mood had improved again. He was confident that his gift was of a higher caliber than that of Brian and if people saw it they would encourage Samantha to accept his gift and she would become his. He offered to follow them home, not fighting with Brian for dibs on who she would ride with.When Dorothy saw Brian's car, she scolded him again and even blurted out the matter of Brian having to borrow a car once more.Nick pretended to stand up for Brian and said. “Mrs Madison, you should understand that Brian's only doing this for fame”. “He borrowed a car so that he doesn't have to spend money.I'm sure it's a perfectly nice car “no, I'll never ride in it”, Brenda Complained as she also came for a visit. “Compared to your fine car, it's nothing”.When they went inside the house, Nick was surprised to find that Thomas was also there. Thomas and Nick embraced each other as if they were brothers by blood.Samantha felt a headache coming on.When she was young, Nick had often b
CORNERShe knew Brian was being targeted because he had stood up for her, so she felt a little bad.Nick acted as if he didn't hear her.He stared at Brian with a playful look and said “I do recall you saying that you had bought a necklace that was even more beautiful than the Peacock bloom.I would love to take a look at it”.“As if Brian could ever afford any kind of fine necklace”, Brenda said contemptuously. “He barely earns enough in a month to feed himself”.“Did you buy it off? Some dealer on the Street?” Thomas asked, laughing mockingly.Gary, Who has been sitting on the couch and reading the newspaper while everyone else talked? Grunted.Samantha, who had spoken up for Brian a moment before, wanted to find a hole and hide in it.The necklace Brian had bought her was pretty. It was a fake and had only been a simple gift.“Frankly speaking, it was something that others wouldn't want. The necklaces could never be compared.Brian, I really shouldn't have accepted the necklace you gav
DISAPPOINTED Then Laura told them everything that had happened at the store that day, leaving out the fact that she had colluded with Brian.Otherwise, Samantha would definitely be angry if she found out what had happened to her.“I encourage Brian to take me to the top floor of the store, I haven't been there yet and wanted to see it”.“The people on the top floor are different and more aggressive, Well, one of the men up there bullied me a bit, and Brian came to my defense. The owner of the store was embarrassed and he apologized and thanked Brian by giving him the necklace”.She had been careful with her words. She hadn't wanted to give away too many details, and she was afraid that she would expose her actions and cause Brian more trouble.Ultimately, she told them it was a knockoff and not all that valuable. The owner of the store could confirm that.After she had stopped talking, they all believed her. Brenda decided to scold her daughter on the phone.“You are too bold. What
JELOUSYRoss shoved him aside. “You want me to give you another chance? “If I keep providing protection for you and your store, how am I going to explain that to Mr. Maxwell when he finds out? it's best for you to just shut the whole store down at this point, otherwise, next time He comes here, he's going to be offended that you're still here, and then you don't want to offend Mr. Maxwell”. He said to the manager. “I'd laugh if anyone else said that. But if it's what Ross thinks is best that would only mean I'm done for it wasn't easy to get to this point. I thought with Ross providing protection, I could do whatever I wanted. I never thought I would offend someone that even Ross is afraid of”. Ross just looked down at him, “Let me give you one last piece of advice”. He said, “try to be a good person from now on if you know what is good for you”After leaving them all, Laura was in no mood to continue their day out, so she and Brian got in the car to head home.Laura was clearly p
THE MANAGERBrian tilted his head thoughtfully “Ross? he asked.“you're not talking about Ross Gilmore, are you? the same guy I had a little chat with yesterday” he thought.“I think I left quite an impression on him”.“ you know Ross Gilmore?” the manager asked. “You could say that” the manager was surprised but then he saw Laura’s panicked expression clearly showed she had also heard of Ross or at least she knew of his reputation.“that's right,” he said “My shop is under Ross Gilmore’s protection so if you two both get down on your knees and beg for mercy I’ll consider asking for less compensation, otherwise you'll have to beg Ross for mercy” “and at this point, the compensation is the secondary”. he thought. just look how pretty that girl is, Ross, is going to be very happy when he sees her”. many people in the crowd had also heard of Ross and his reputation as a local thug they were not surprised that someone as Petty and nasty as the owner of this store had someone as vici
CHAOS Brian smiled at her but did not comment.The shop manager returned in short order with a Gray scarf draped across his arms. “Go on, Brian, Laura said. “Try it on and see what you think”.She lifted her hand, but the manager turned and held the scarf out of reach. “What?” She asked. “ Aren't you going to let us see it before we buy it?” The manager replied. “You've already seen and handled the other one.Isn't that enough?Except for the color, the two scarves are identical. Come up to the register and I'll get you checked out”.He smiled arrogantly. “They Caused the most trouble”, he thought. “They really need to put their grubby hands all over a genuine branded cashmere scarf.The rich ladies who come in here just point at what they want, pay the bill and leave without any fuss”. Laura's eyes flashed with anger. “Is that how you do business?” She asked. “If you don't try on clothing.How will you know if you like it or not?Maybe we won't like the feel of it.But we won't know until
OUTBURST Laura looked up from her plate of eggs and watched her sister confused. She glanced at Brian, who shrug. “I don't know exactly what's bothering her, but I can guess” he thought. “But I don't wanna talk to Laura about the whole situation with Brandy.That's too much to get into this morning”. “Hey, sis.Did you forget that Brian and I were going out for a fun day today? You should come along.Change your clothes. I'm gonna leave right after breakfast”. “No thanks”, Samantha replied. “I have some important things I need to get done today|”. “Is there anything more?Important than.Quality family time”.Samantha stood up. “You've got Brian, you don't need me”. She left the kitchen.And they heard her bedroom door closed a few seconds later. Gary Wandered into the kitchen, still half asleep.He looked from Laura to Brian. “Where's Samantha?” He asked. “I thought I heard her voice”. “Well, she's not here”, Laura said. “She's having a hissy fit or something”. “Come on Brian, let's
STILL IN LOVE“I'm glad to hear it”, said Brian. “If you'll excuse me”.With that, he walked over to the backstage door. He was determined to see Brandy, and Ross had held him up long enough.He could hear the sound of television through her door, it sounded like a cartoon and you could hear her laughing loudly at it. He Knocked several times before she heard him. “Come in, She shouted once she finally heard his knocking. “Ohh, it's you. Hello”.She walked over and gave him a huge bear hug.She squeezed him so hard he didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He said eventually. “Are you trying to kill me?” It took him a moment or two to disentangle himself from her grip.“You never change, do you?” He said, his words full of affection.He always spoke to her with the affection of an older brother talking to his favorite sister. Annoyed, Brandy pounded him on the chest.Always hoped that Brandy would stay as innocent as a child, but that was never going to be the case.Uncle Sam had already to
BRIANAs he realized that Brian had seen right through him, anger began to take over.He had a powerful urge to kill him.The slower and more painful death, the better.However, that was something that would have to wait.Murdering Brandy Hall's friend in a busy bar wouldn't win him any popularity contests. It was a plan he would have to save for another day. “Don't be so quick to criticize me”, he said. “You may have gotten away with it this evening, but I will get my revenge on you soon”.“I wouldn't be so sure about that”, said Brian.“But I can be sure”, said Ross, a smile starting to appear on his face. “I have a Big Brother and plenty of friends to help me.Next time you might not find the bartender quite so helpful”.“You're going to hide behind your Big Brother?” Asked Brian. “Why is he someone special?”The door to the bar opened.A man walked in.Ross smiled. his Big Brother had just walked in and his timing couldn't have been better.The man saw Ross and walked over.Ross began to s
THROW HIM OUTRoss was surprised that the bartender knew him, but he certainly wasn't complaining.He knew they had backup when it came to making Brian's life even more miserable than he had hoped. “He's the scruffy man over there”, he said, pointing to Brian's back. “He's trying to go backstage to see Brandy, which surely is a serious offense.My advice is that you have him evicted immediately”. “Well, we could always ask Brandy what she thinks”, said the bartender. “After all, she's the star performer.It's only fair that she should decide if she wants a visitor”.Ross was not impressed it wasn't the answer he had wanted to hear. “However”, continued the bartender, winking at Ross. “If she doesn't want any company, young Rossier gets to decide what to do with the unwanted visitor”.Everyone in the room held their breath, listening very carefully. “What's the punishment?” Ross asked one.Ross smiled. He made a choking gesture to the crowd, much to their delight.A huge cheer went up, sig
CODY’S BAR“Don't worry, maybe Brian will come with me”, said Lynn.Samantha looked at her. “Since when have they had such a good relationship?” She thought.But she didn't bother to ask Laura directly.“What's happening tomorrow?” She asked instead.“I thought you were busy”, said Laura. “But seeing as you're asking, it's a social event organized by the college. I thought you might have wanted to come with me”.She sighed.“If you're busy, I'll ask Brian. he won't mind coming with me. he'll make sure I'm OK”.It's sorted Laura, Take Brian”. Being her brother-in-law, she could go out with him without arousing suspicion.Samantha looked at her suspiciously, not convinced that Brian could keep her sister safe.In her mind, it was almost funny.Much more importantly, she was sure they were keeping something from her.Pretending that nothing was worrying her, she decided to go too, despite the pressures of her job. “I think I'll come too”, she said. “It'll be good to have a break from work”.Sh
UNEXPECTED His friends started to laugh mercilessly.By that time, Samantha was in earshot.When she heard laughter, she relaxed, thinking they had already resolved their differences and made-up.Deciding not to get involved, she stayed out of sight around the corner and listen.Has she gone around the corner, she would have realized that she had gotten it drastically wrong. Brian and Ross were staring at each other. Neither had any intention of backing down.Ross threw his cigarette butts on the ground and stepped on it. “I've had enough of your nonsense. It's time I taught you a lesson.Lesson”. Brian repeated questioningly. “A student?,I don't need to be taught a lesson.I think you've got it the wrong way around”. With that, he stepped forward and landed a blow in Ross' stomach”.Ross doubled up, completely taken aback by the punch.As he struggled to catch his breath, he couldn't believe such an unassuming looking man could be so strong. Started to feel nauseated and his vision st