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
Derek Campton stared at his computer, excited. He had been talking to a street urchin that he had met in the park, and he liked what he had been told. Karen Shapiro was the one supplying drugs to the majority of the street gangs. He had only promised the young man, Raphael a few bucks and he had started spilling. It was strange because it actually took them more than that to talk, but he could tell that Rapheal was frustrated. Apparently, Karen Shapiro charged too high for her percentage. And they still had to buy regardless, because her drugs were the real deal. They were quality, gotten directly from Mexico which was the base of good and quality stuff like the one Karen presented them with. Derek had managed to record the session, and heating the young lad's voice on his computer made him excited. It told him one thing; that he was slowly catching up with Karen Shapiro. All he had to do now was have evidence that she was with Atticus. If he could find that out, then he would
By the time they fired two more times, it was clear that they would soon be out of bullets. What Derek Campton didn't know was if his opponent brought another magazine with him. His other magazine was in his bedroom, and Derek Campton knew that trying to cross the hallway to get it was death itself. Leaning against the door, he breathed hard, his breath coming in short gasps and spurts. Derek Campton knew one thing for sure. For the first time in his life, he was actually staring at death in the face, and he was defying it too. The problem was how long he was going to continue doing it, how long he was going to continue staring at death in the face and defying it without caring about the consequences. When he fired again, he tried the trigger again, then inhaled sharply as the gravity of his situation became clear to him. He was out of bullets, and his magazine was in the bedroom. He had been counting his opponent's shots too, and he could tell that he must have also exhausted
He lifted his head again, but at the same time, Derek Campton stretched his hand, stealing a knife in the knife rack and thrusting it as far as it could go into the Russian's neck. Clutching his neck in disbelief, the Russian was crippled instantly. The blood that flowed from his neck told Derek that he had slightly missed his artery. From Derek's calculations, his opponent had less than an hour to live. The man collapsed onto the floor, and Derek used the time to wash the huge gash on his forehead. He managed to wash the wound on his arm too, then opened the kitchen cabinet to retrieve bandages and methylated spirit from the band aid. When he was okay enough to drag the huge Russian back to the sitting room, thirty minutes had flown by. Thirty minutes was precious time because he knew that in a few minutes, his opponent wouldn't be able to let out a single word. Positioning him before the camera of his phone, Derek Campton started to ask the most important questions, the questi
When Karen Shapiro saw him, she didn't know what to feel initially. For a minute, she wanted the proceedings to start and she wanted it to end as quickly as it had started. She couldn't shake off the feeling that she still loved him, that she was still very much attracted to him; in love with him even. When their eyes came in contact, she immediately broke the contact, transferring her gaze to Brown Darius who sat next to Gonzalez. She smiled, admiring his courage. At that moment, he didn't seem to care that he was the Stepbrother to Mark Darius, he didn't even act as if they had once lived in the same house and underneath the same roof. He was aloof, not caring, a glass of brandy in his glass. He was laughing heartily with Gonzalez, and Karen wondered if he was drunk. She was taking note, she was watching. Outside, she had stationed two snipers in the trees, their guns at the ready. Inside, the men with her seemed happy, but in reality, they were buzzing for action. It made Ka
Parking his car a few feet away from the Splendid bar, Derek Campton examined the environment before him. Even outside, he could see the figures of men lying in wait, their weapons at the ready. He spotted a sniper at the rear of the building, and he found himself wondering what more Karen Shapiro had planned. God, she was dangerous. He had expected her to be a handful, but this was more than a handful. He was dealing with a hard criminal, and at the moment all he could do was pity his client who was indoors with such a monster. He only prayed that he could survive the onslaught. A few moments ago, he had been overjoyed that he had a lot of evidence to cripple the defenses of Karen Shapiro but at the moment, he wondered if his evidence was going to be enough to fight such a demon. Who brought snipers to a negotiation? It was clear that whatever powers Karen Shapiro possessed, it ran down to the underworld. She was a boss on her own, not only a boss, but one who had enough conne