When Mark Darius opened the door to his apartment, he stood in shock, staring at the letter in front of the door of his home. The letter was wrapped in a red box, and even though he was known for being brave, he was afraid. The red box reminded him of the moment when his car had been destroyed. It made him remember how scared he was when it had happened, how terrified he had been for days. Since the kidnap of Atticus, Mark Darius had discovered that he was in fact, attached to the young child. He also found out something else. He was done hiding and concealing his hate for Karen Shapiro. For her to go as far as kidnapping a young child in order to get to him was very petty. Way too petty. The fact that he also loved Farida Atticus and was more than heartbroken to see her break down constantly in tears was what solidified his hatred for Karen. How could she? It was a game of cat and dog, yes, but involving a woman he had barely known for two weeks? Kidnapping her child? It w
Karen's orders had been clear as day. His job was to go in, scare Farida Atticus and then return to the hotel where she was to meet him. But Brown Darius didn't want to scare her. He was angry. He was angry at the world because everybody seemed to have a tongue. He was angry at the world because nobody knew what he had gone through, and nobody cared. He was angry at the world because he knew that nobody cared about his journey, about how far he had come. There were people who had tongues everywhere, people that didn't even know the gift that they had. People who didn't know how lucky they were. That was why he was angry at the world. That was why he didn't just want to scare Farida Atticus, he wanted to injure her. He wanted her to also feel his pain, he wanted her to also feel the pain that he had felt that night at the hospital after Scar had cut his tongue. When Karen Shapiro had shown him the picture of a battered Scar, he hadn't known what to feel. He knew the story was
Karen Shapiro stared at her phone screen, annoyed. She had been trying to reach him for sometime now, but it was clear that he was ignoring her texts. She had even tried to call him, but it was all the same outcome. She had only sent him to scare her, but she was afraid. She knew that within, Brown Darius was a very dark human being. She had seen it in his eyes. He was a man that hated not having to use his freedom of speech, a man that hated the fact that there were even people out there with tongues. It was crazy because she knew she was right. When she had given him the motorcycle, she hadn't liked the look she had seen in his eyes, the gleam of satisfaction. He was clearly a sucker that had been deprived of attention for so long, and now that he had seen it, she felt he was going to abuse it. But Karen Shapiro knew that there was no one else perfect for the job. The scars on Brown Darius only made him more scary than usual, and she knew that only him could make her scared.
“He wrote that Mark had to do what he was supposed to do in order for me to see Atticus again. He also wrote something about you taking important steps to get Atticus back. What are those important steps, Mark? Look at me!” But Mark Darius couldn't look her in the eye. Karen Shapiro wasn't only having the upper hand, she was tormenting and torturing those that cared for him and loved him as well. Karen Shapiro was taking her game to the highest level, and she was daring him to play. He was ashamed, because he knew that truly, the ball was in his court. For him to rescue Atticus, he had to act according to Karen Shapiro's wishes. He had to do as she said. “What are the steps, Mark?” Steeling himself for what was going to come next, he frowned, knowing that in as much as he loved her, he also wanted her to see his own perspective, and hear his own side of the story. “She sent me a red box yesterday, Farida. She said I should come to the bar next Friday to discuss how we could
Derek Campton waited in the darkness of his car, staring at the house of Karen Shapiro that had been brought to his notice by his client. He rubbed his hair in worry, looking at the house, staring at the men that came out of it and entered after smoking or urinating. He had been staring at the house for hours. As soon as he had heard the name Karen Shapiro, he knew that his client was onto something. Karen Shapiro was the same woman that he had been after for years, a woman that had disguised as a man. A woman that had killed some of his clients and even cheated them when she was meant to compensate them. He had heard the name before. If not for anything, she was a menace. A menace not only to the society, but to the people that even worked with her. It was a crazy thing to see, how according to Mark she had abducted a little boy, involving him and his mother in a game that was played between both of them. Derek found it highly offensive. Why involve a little boy and his mot
When Mark Darius left his bed that Friday morning, he knew why he felt sick and why his body felt weirdly heavy. It had been at the back of his mind for days, the fact that the day had come when he was supposed to meet with Karen Shapiro. He couldn't believe it, that even though he had been okay a few weeks ago, he was far from being okay at the moment. His life was a mess, and for days, he hadn't been able to make it to his office, finding excuses to make up for not being there. He was supposed to meet Karen Shapiro in the Splendid bar by evening time, and he decided to visit Farida in her office that afternoon. The fact that she was still going to work despite what had happened told him of the strength of her character. She was strong, she was brave. The fact that she had also decided to take his advice not to go to the police was soothing. It meant that he could settle the matter without involving the eyes of the police, and endangering Atticus or Farida in any way. When he
Karen Shapiro smiled at Atticus but the young boy only frowned in response, then averted his gaze and focus to the toy that was in his hand. She smiled once again, then fiddled with her phone. Gonzalez was in the room, and so was Brown. Seeing Brown Darius made her happy. The fact that even Mark Darius's own blood was against him and would do anything to bring him down was a relief. She was also smiling because she acknowledged that indeed, Brown Darius was a stupid man. How could he not put two and two and see that she was the one that had sent Scar to cut off his tongue. How could he not see that she was the mastermind, that she was the one that had planned it all along? She wondered how he had worked for her for so long. He was obviously so ignorant and a little bit sick in the head that he couldn't see what was in front of him. Or had his injured tongue impaired his brain and his thinking too? It wasn't her problem now, she thought, picking up Atticus's toy from the floor, s
“Derek Campton is too dangerous to be allowed to walk the streets. He knows a lot, and I can only assure you that what he knows will only come back to hurt us if we don't do something about him as soon as possible.” Gonzalez nodded, then scratched the back of his neck. Karen could see that he was scared. He was trying to know what was going to happen. He had probably heard of Derek Campton's heroics, and was too afraid to go into dangerous waters. But Karen Shapiro was going to force him to do so, whether he liked it or not. She was going to make sure that Derek Campton was out of the way completely, and he wasn't going to be a problem or an obstacle in any way. “He's going to be a dangerous one, number one. Are you certain that I should do this? That I should do as you have said?” Looking out of the windows and at the undergrowth that was growing even though it had only been mowed the week before, Karen Shapiro nodded. She was going to do anything to make sure that Mark Dariu