BLOODLINE 2 Episode 13c (Blood And Diamond) by Ironkurtain

BLOODLINE 2 Episode 13c (Blood And Diamond) by Ironkurtain

6 am……..Saturday morning.

Eric buttoned up his shirt and readjusted its collar as he stared at himself in the mirror. He slowly ran his fingers back and forth on his low cut hair and went over to the bed where Lisa laid and still sleeping. Eric stood beside the bed and stared at her as she slept and snored silently, her n@de body partly covered with the white down blanket.

Eric stood there with a faint smile on his face as he stared at Lisa sleeping peacefully. He kept wondering how he ended up having such kind of girl. A girl so beautiful. And with that body of hers, she could have any man she wants and probably make them do whatever she wants. It took six dreadfully violent bar-room brawls that landed several guys in the hospital intensive unit, and three dead stalking rapists for him to understand. To understand what some men were willing to do to have a girl like Lisa. Or to have a taste of her.

But he was yet to comprehend why she was trying so hard for them to be together. Despite telling her several times that their relationship wont last long and could unexpectedly end anytime. And even letting her know the dangers she faces, if the both of them are together. A girl in her position can easily get another man. Any man with a normal life and much more better.

Perhaps there is something about him that makes it quite impossible for her to let go of him. “I wont let you go”, was the last words she uttered in her sleepy voice before she dozed off. Those words made him to believe that there’s definitely something about him that got a tight hold on her.

Eric bent over the Lisa and gave her a peck on her forehead. Lisa moaned quietly and turned her head abit as Eric straightened up and properly covered her with the blanket. Then he went over to the table. He picked up his handgun lying on it and held it close his right ear. He cocked it several times and listened to the clicking sound as he did so.

Eric pursed his lips with a look of satisfaction on his face and picked up the bullet magazine on the table. He loaded it in, cocked the gun and took an aim. After a few seconds, he lowered the weapon. He tucked it in his waist belt and looked at Lisa as she moaned again and turned her head with a weak smile on her face. She was probably having sweet dreams about last night’s hot lovemaking, while he was getting ready to go bring nightmares to reality.

Then Eric dug his hand inside his pocket of his trouser and took out the keys to the Lexus. He dropped it beside a note he had written and left on the table. He headed to the door and glanced at Lisa one last time before he exited the hotel room.

***********************************************

“Mama knew a change wouldn’t come, she taught me how to kill a man.
She knew that hard times, will make it hard to smile.
If you didnt live for money, you wouldnt understand.
Now her flowers blooms, from the grave……”

The hook from Yung-Tae’s rap song, “Hard to smile”, thumped out of the speakers of the black 2014 Range Rover sports that rolled into the hotel premises and grinded to a halt infront of Eric. The front passenger glass winded down and Alex looked at his twin brother.

“What’s up brother?…..did you have fun last night?”, he asked Eric with a mischievous smile.

Eric ignored him and slided into the backseat of Suv. He glanced at Suzanne who was in the driver seat with dark sunglasses on her expressionless face and slammed the door shut.

“Did you bring everything i asked you to get?”, Eric asked as Suzanne hit the gas pedal and drove the car into the main street.

“We have a trunk load of heats……and your special occasion matchetes”, Alex replied.

“Good”, Eric muttered. He rested his head backwards on the seat cushion and closed his eyes, after gesturing at Suzanne to lower the volume of the hardcore music.

“What about my Lexus?…..i hope it’s not wrecked like the Genesis?”, Alex asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

“It is still in a good condition”, Eric sighed. “I left it to Lisa for her transportation to her workplace”,

“So…..”, Alex began and looked at Eric through the rearview mirror. “…….how did it go last night?”, he asked intently.

“How did what go?”, Eric asked him with his eyes still closed.

“Between you and your beautiful ex-girlfriend”.

“Everything went well”.

“Oh really?……you mean everything went well as in…you guys managed to stay alive after what you guys must have done last night?”.

Suzanne shook her head and pursed her lips with a sigh as she smoothly worked the steering wheel. Eric slowly opened his eyes and looked at Alex.

“I mean……eight months is a long f@cking time bro”, Alex continued, looking over his shoulder to look at Eric. “A long time not to get laid. To me that’s one hell of an unwanted tragic situation. But i gotta give it to you bro..cos this is the definition of having balls of steel…..Your balls are literally made of steel. One month is the longest time i have ever stayed without getting some, when mother ordered me to go on a field training. The unfortunate chick that hooked up with me after that forced monk-mode, called me ‘Lex gorilla’ after barely surviving an all night hardcore bedframe demolition pounding”, he laughed.

Suzanne scoffed and muttered something inaudible while Eric stared at Alex as he ranted about his sex life.

“So, any plans on how to gain entrance into Gus’ mansion?”, Eric asked Suzanne, trying to bring up a relevant discussion.

“Well, some were presented by ‘Lame gorilla’…..”, Suzanne replied and jerked her head at Alex. “…..but rushing head-first to a machine gunfire, made more sense than what he suggested we should do”.

“What about mother?”.

“Aunty Esther?”.

“No…Nina”.

“She locked herself in her bedroom all night…..probably because of her finding out that it was the Sosai that is behind all these mess”, Suzanne sighed and made a smooth right turn after sighting a police patrol vehicle. The car trunk was packed with unlicensed high calibre weapons. Attracting the attention of the authorities was the last thing she wanted.

“Why does she want me to bring the diamonds?”, Eric asked.

“She made a deal”, Alex answered.

“Deal?…..what kind of deal?”.

“Mother intends to buy dad’s freedom……with your diamonds”.

“How?”

“Our grandfather’s number two man, Bernard, seems to be having a change of heart”, Alex said as he stared at the scenery in the street. “He has finally noticed that our grandfather, his boss, is really crazy”, he continued. “So he wants out…..and he is willing to give us dad for half of the diamonds you got from Congo”,

“Mother said she gonna give him half of the diamonds or he said he wanted half?”, Eric asked.

“His words are we should give him half of the diamonds you got from Congo”, Alex replied. “And mother agreed….which i think is a very good bargain, considering who we are up against”, then he looked at Eric. “If this deal goes through then no need to risk your life going after the old-man”, Alex said calmly.

Eric thought for a while and nodded with a weak smile on his face. “What about Chris?”, he then asked. “I thought he would have wanted to ride with us”.

“He is home”, Suzanne replied and hit the replay button of the car stereo to repeat the rap music that just finished.

“And very sick”, Alex added.

“Sick?……why is he sick?”, Eric asked and glanced at Alex.

“Why dont you tell him what you did”, Alex said to Suzanne.

Suzanne ignored him and started nodding her head to the hardcore rap song she put on replay.

“What did she do to Chris?”, Eric demanded.

“It’s rather what she did, that got the poor dude puking all night”.

“What did she do?”.

“Hector”.

“Hector?, i thought you guys have taken care of him”.

“Of course”, Alex smirked and looked out of the car window with a thoughtful gaze.

Eric saw the distant gaze in Alex eyes and wondered what happened.

“Suzanne not only took care of Hector, she also took her time in taking care of that man”, Alex then said after about a minute of staring ahead thoughtfully. “She quartered the man with a hacksaw”, he sighed. “But what made Chris to get sick is he went to the basement to have some of the chicken she had ordered and saw her eating the chicken infront of all that human multilated limbs, guts and sh!t”, Alex looked at Eric with a sick look on his face. “Dude……seriously…..who the f@ck does that kind of thing?”.

“The kind of person you dont mess with”, Eric replied and reached for his cellphone in his pocket.

“Oh really?”, Alex looked at Suzanne. “So if she is not the kind of person to be messed with, then i guess she has a better plan on how to take down Gus”.

Then Alex leaned closer to Suzanne. “So, beast woman, what plans do you have in that brain of yours?”, he asked.

“Mama said f@ck niggaz.
So what it is nigga, it’s f@ck niggaz.
I can’t trust a soul cos niggaz is hos…….”.

Suzanne started rapping out a verse in the rap music that played out of the speakers and accelerated the Range Rover when they hit they hit freeway.

************************************************

7 am

“Of course i’m very disappointed that you didn’t show up”, Dante spoke coolly to the mouthpiece of his cellphone as he dried his wet body with a towel. He dropped the towel on the floor and listened to the voice coming from the earpiece for a while with a conceited smile on his face, and said, “Okay i understand, but you should have called to tell me what happened”, then he listened again. “It’s okay, apology accepted…….anyway it didnt turn out to be a bad evening because i ran into an old friend of mine”, he continued and sat on the bed, beside woman lying on it. “Anyway….i will see you soon…..you take care my dear…..bye”, he ended the phone conversation.

Dante dropped his cellphone on the bed and listened to the sound…..a muffled groan without looking at where it was coming from. He was staring at the woman who was staring back at him. She was stark n@ked and lying on her side. Her hands were tightly bound together behind her back with a rope, her mouth was duct taped and her teary face showed signs of beatings. Beatings that left her with a swollen black eye and one side of her face badly swollen.

Dante bent over her and the woman quivered with fear as he caressed her thigh, moving his fingers closer to her bloodstained private part. Then the muffled groan and a shuffling sound made him turn to where it was coming from. His eyes met the helpless look in the eyes of burly man who was heavily bounded to a chair, naked.

The burly man struggled on the chair he was tied to. But only succeeded in making a shuffling sound and his duct taped mouth uttering a muffled groan. He watched as Dante’s fingers touched his female companion’s private organ and looked away and sobbed with a downcast gaze. He had seen enough.

Hours ago burly man was about to have some good time with his female friend after what seemed to be a nice dinner date. As they prepared for it, they heard a knock on the door of their hotel room. Burly man opened the door to see who was rudely interrupting their lovemaking because a “No disturb” sign was on their door knob. He saw the guy he had earlier met in the restaurant. The the same guy whom he had some minor confrontation with, because of his woman. Before he could ask the man how he got to know the hotel and the room where they lodged, the man knocked him out with a single punch. Later he woke up and saw himself heavily bounded to a chair with his girlfriend tied up on the bed and taking a severe beating from the guy. Then he watched helplessly as the guy brutally r@ped his female friend with ruthless and reckless abandon for hours, almost all night.

“Sir, you….’wife is not only beautiful but she tastes good”, Dante began and got up. “Probably the tastiest woman i have had so far”, he continued as he crossed the hotel delux bedroom and went over to where the man kept his luggages that were ransacked. “But i’m sorry to say that no amount of sex with her is worth my five thousand dollar suit you damaged with the two hundred dollar wine i bought with my own money”.

Dante picked up the burly man’s wallet and searched it. “A man in your position knows very well that nothing goes for nothing”, he muttered as he took out the man’s i.d card and a picture hidden in the wallet. “So i just collected some of payments for the damages you caused…..for now”, he studied the man’s i.d and the picture he saw in the wallet. “And i might drop by your house….Mr Bruno Johnson….to collect the rest of my payment from Mrs Johnson”, Dante smiled and showed burly man the picture that has the image of the man and another woman in his arms.

Burly man saw the picture and sobbed louder. Then Dante went over to the bed and roughly dragged the woman from it. He brought her to burly man and started choking her infront of the man. Burly man watched as life slipped away from the woman as she put up a futile struggle.

Soon the woman’s struggling ceased. And Dante gently laid her lifeless body on the floor.

“I want you to look at her”, Dante said to the man and paced towards his suit that was on a hanger. “Because that’s exactly what i’m gonna do to your real wife when i see her”, he pulled out a pistol fitted with a silencer and shot burly man twice on his chest. And one more shot to the man’s dome.

************************************************

7 am.

Lisa glanced at her cellphone after line clicked and dropped it on the bed she was lying in. She yawned as she stretched and pulled the blanket over her body. With her head resting on the white pillow, she stared into space with a thoughtful gaze. She was thinking about Kevin and the dinner date she had missed. And hoped that he wasnt that mad at her for not showing up or even calling to inform him that she wont make it. But kevin had reassured her that it was okay and that he wasnt mad at her.

Lisa heaved a deep sigh and turned her eyes to the side of the bed where Eric had laid last night. It had gotten cold and the bedspread rumpled up. Lisa lips curved into a smile as she moved her arm and rested her hand there. Her mind wondered away as the thoughts of what they did last night filled her head. And almost laughed when she remembered the things she had uttered out loud when the pleasuring got to a climax.

Then Lisa’s cellphone ranged and brought her back to reality. She sighed and reached for it. And saw a number she was not familiar with. Lisa stared at the number curiously and decided to answer the call.

“Hello?”, she began with some curiosity in her tone of voice.

“Hello, is this…..Lisa Richards?”, it was a female voice.

“Yeah….this is Lisa Richards”, Lisa replied and sat up. The voice sounded abit familiar.

“This is Sister Diviana Cruz”.

************************************************

“Honey please do hurry up”, Vincent said to his wife and picked up his three year old daughter. “We have to be there on time so as to be able to get the ticket”, he continued and gave the cute little girl a peck on the cheek and smiled at her.

“Okay dear!, i’m almost done!”, Vincent wife voiced out from her bedroom.

“My little angel, daddy and mummy gonna take you”, Vincent said to his smiling daughter and kissed her again. “Because today gonna be a good day for daddy”, he continued and smiled.

The living doorbell buzzed.

Vincent stared at the door as the bell kept buzzing. He wasn’t expecting any visitor, especially on a Saturday morning. The he called their female househelp and told her to go answer the door. She opened the door and Gus stepped into the livingroom. Four big men wearing black leather jackets followed behind him.

“Hello my good friend”, Gus began cheerfully when he saw Vincent and came towards the man with open arms.

Vincent stood still and stared at Gus without saying a word.

“What’s the matter Vinny?”, Gus asked with his arms still open. “It’s like you are not glad to see me?”.

“Oh…..i’m very much glad to see you Gus”, Vincent forced a smile and glanced at the big men. “It’s just that you kind of caught me offguard. I wasn’t expecting you to pay me a visit…..especially by this time of the day”, he continued and stared at Gus keenly.

“Well, you better expect this kind of visits because of alot of things that reguires me to meet my under-bosses on a short notice”, Gus said and moved closer to Vincent. “Wow….”, he smiled and held Vincent daughter’s hand. “Ellen, you are growing up so fast…..daddy is really taking good care of you”.

Vincent’s daughter stared at Gus with some curiosity in her eyes. Then Vincent’s wife descended down the stairs that led to the bedrooms, saying that she was ready as she put on her wristwatch. And stopped mid way in both the sentence and the stairs when she saw Gus and his four men standing in the livingroom.

“Hello Mrs Abigail”, Gus greeted on seeing her. “It’s like the family are going somewhere”, he continued and looked at Vincent.

“Yeah we are about to go out……drive around the city and probably do some shopping”, Vincent replied immediately.

“Isn’t it to early for that?”, Gus looked at his watch. “And considering that in 3 hours, we will be having a meeting at my place, i dont think you will be able to make it there on time”, Gus continued and stared at Vincent. “Or even come there at all”.

“Aww…..you know me very, Gus”, Vincent smiled to hide his nervousness. “I have my own ways of keeping the family happy and at the same time, making out time for every meeting you summon”.

Gus stared at Vincent for a while. “Anyway i’m here to pick you up because i want the both us to meet first before the meeting commences”, he then said. “So you will have to put off the family time today”.

“Honey……”, Vincent’s wife began.

“Come and take Ellen”, he interrupted and went over to her as she descended the stairs. “Sorry honey….”, he said as he handed their daughter to his wife. “The big guy needs me…..why dont you take Ellen to her favourite place today”, he pulled out his platinum credit card and gave it to her and then took out his cellphone. “Honey i will make it up to you next time, i promise”, he concluded as he worked his fingers on his phone.

Vincent’s wife nodded and sighed deeply woth a worried look on her face. She knows what’s going on. Ellen their daughter never had a favourite place. It was just his way of telling her that all is not well and she should go a far away as possible, even to another state or country. And the platinum card he gave her was for all the expenses.

Vincent gave his wife a kiss and said he will call her. Then he turned to Gus.

“Let me get the keys to the other car”, he said.

“Dont worry, you are riding with me”, Gus said.

“Okay then”, Vincent said and slipped his cellphone back into the inner pocket of the black suit jacket he wore.

“Sorry to spoil the day for you”, Gus said to Vincent’s wife with a smile. “Dont worry i will make sure he makes it up to you next time”, he concluded and walked out of the living room with Vincent and the four men. Vincent followed as they started a discussion and hoping that the number he had secretly dialled would be answered. It was Nina’s number.

************************************************

“9 am

Lisa brought the Lexus to a halt near a bus stop and left the engine running as she glanced around the place. She seemed quite eager and unsettled. And kept glancing at her phone as she did so. Then the front passenger door opened and almost immediately an old nun sat on the seat and slammed the door shut.

Lisa stared at the old woman. She was surprised at how fast she was.

“Just drive”, the old nun said without looking at Lisa.

“To where?”, Lisa demanded.

“Just drive the car and stop asking too many questions, young girl!”, the woman’s soft voice became an irritated one.

“Well i have to know where we are going, old woman!”, Lisa countered with an equally irritated voice.

The nun sighed. “Are you being followed”, she asked quietly.

“No”, Lisa replied.

“How do you know that?”.

“Somebody made sure of that”.

“Who?”.

“Now you are asking too many questions”.

Then a long silence settled between the two women. Lisa stared at the steering wheel of the car and stole a few glances at the nun. The nun stared ahead with no movement at all, almost like a statue sitting in the front seat of a car.

“Diane right?”, Lisa began, breaking the uncomfortable silence. “You are Diane”.

Then nun remained still for a few seconds and then nodded her head slowly. “By the way it is Diana”, she corrected and looked at Lisa. “I hated being called Diane”, she muttered and looked away.

“So…..what about Diviana Cruz?”, asked.

Diana scoffed and shook her head. “Diana…..Diane…..Diviana. they are all the same name. The last one being the full pronunciation”, she smirked.

“So……”,

“There is no Diviana Cruz. All those documents i showed you were forged”.

Lisa thought for a while. “And the story about you being pregnant?”, she asked.

“No”, Diana smile. “That’s the only thing that is true about everything”, she said.

“What about the baby?”, Lisa asked.

“Look, there are alot of things to tell you”, Diana began impatiently. “And we could sit in this car all day…..even two days, if you want to here it all. You told me that Mr Cantona Brown a.k.a the Sosai wants to kill Mr Andrew’s son, and according to you, you said it will happen today. So why dont we sort that problem first”.

“How?”, Lisa asked.

“You said you are doing a biography on Cantona?”.

“Yeah…..infact i suppose to meet him this morning by 10 am”.

“Okay then, drive…..i’m going there with you”.

Lisa immediately hit the pedal and guided the car into the traffic, heading to her destination. Her face lit up with a bright smile as she accelerated the car.

9 am.

Bernard knocked on the door and waited. Then a voice told him to come in. He gently opened the door and looked at the old man as he walked into the dressing room.

The old man who was fully clothed in a white suit and sitting on a cushion stool in the middle of the room, didnt turn around to see who just walked into the place. He just remained silent and still with both hands resting on the handle of his walking stick as he stared at the fairly big mirror on the wall infront of him.

“Sir?”, Bernard began and waited for answer, or rather questions from his boss; the Sosai.

The old man didnt respond. He just stared at his image in the mirror with a thoughtful gaze in his eyes. Bernard stood behind the old man and patiently waited for him to say something, glancing around the dressing room as he did so.

The place was quite spacious and immaculate clean. The wall to wall wadrobes and cabinet that adorned the room were made of expensive wood. And the compartments were filled with countless designer suits, shoe, shirts and accessories.

“Sir, did you ask for me?”, Bernard asked again.

“Yes…..”, the old man replied with a firm voice and shifted his eyes to his walking stick. “Is everything ready?”, he asked.

“Yes….sir”, Bernard replied and furrowed his eyebrows because the old man had asked him that same question about thirty minutes ago. “Our men have checked and re-checked the building sir”, he added.

“What about the young woman?”.

“We called and notified her on the time she should be in your office. And we also tracked her cellphone for security measures”.

The old man nodded. “Did you notice anything unusual in her movement?”, he asked Bernard.

“She just made a brief stop at some location before continuing her journey. Perhaps she stopped to pick up some things she needed”, Bernard replied.

“Any information on Nina and her whereabouts?”, the old man looked at Bernard.

“No sir”, was Bernard’s answer.

“And why the hell is that?!”, the old man asked with some anger in his voice.

“But sir…..you gave the orders”, Bernard began.

“What orders!”, the old man almost barked.

“The orders not to look into any activities that involves Nina or the people close to her as long as she is no longer one of us”, Bernard replied.

“Oh…..did i?”, the old man asked with a calmer voice. “Sorry about that”, he sighed, the angry look on his being replaced by the thoughtful gaze he earlier had.

Bernard studied the expression on the old man’s face for a short while. “Sir are you worried about what Nina and her sons might do?”, he asked.

The old man turned his head and gave Bernard a keen look.

“Today is the deadline you gave her to bring your diamonds, sir”, Bernard continued. “She hasnt called yet…..none of them have called. They have literally gone radio silent…..like they dont care what happens to Mr Barry……Like he doesn’t even exist”.

“Maybe she might have come to her senses after the attempt that was made on her life “, the old man said. “And realized that it was a big mistake to choose that idiot over her own father who gave her everything with alot of protection. Soon she will crawl back, begging on her knees to be accepted back into the organization”, he scoffed.

“Or maybe she had realized that finding that diamonds you asked her to bring was an impossible task”, Bernard said. “And probably looking for another way…..or making plans with her sons on how to set their father free”.

“Well, that would be an impossible and a very foolish thing to do”, the old man smirked. “Even Nina herself knows that”.

“Of course sir……but Nina was one of us. And also the best hit-woman we had”, Bernard noted. “She being your daughter, you must have told her alot of things”, he continued.

“Nina is capable of doing alot of things, but coming after me so as to rescue her lover is not one of them”, the old man muttered and got up. “Unless someone on the inside intends to give her a helping hand”, he said and looked at Bernard. “Someone very very close to me”, he continue staring at Bernard keenly.

“If Nina is not a problem, then why do you look so worried if i may ask sir?”, Bernard demanded.

“Just some personal issues bothering me”, the old man replied as he paced around the room. “And through out this week, the things going on around me somehow just doesnt feel right at all……and my….”, the old man paused and thought for some moments. “Forget about it”, he then said and waved his hand.

“Well…..it helps if you share some of the personal issues sir”, Bernard said. “Perhaps i might be able to help out with some”.

The old man glanced at Bernard and smiled. “Well this morning i woke up feeling unusually excited”, he said as he continue pacing around the room.

“Because of the interview?, of course everyone feels like that when they are about to do something they had always wanted to do”, Bernard smiled.

“That’s the problem”, the old man muttered and began his story. “The last time i had this feeling was a very very long time ago. I woke up that morning, feeling too excited and hoping that the news i heard the day before was true”, he paused to take a deep breath. “That day i somehow got too complacent and let my guards down. And it led to a situation that set off a series of irreversible changes in my life. And i lost a friend very close to me”, then the old man shook his head with a downcast gaze.

“And your diamonds”, Bernard added.

The old man nodded. “Nina’s boyfriend’s father was the man responsible for all of it”, he continued his story. “So i suffered my first defeat and loss. And i ended up doing two years of hard labour in a prison where three quarter of the inmates were rival gang members who wanted me dead. Even the prison corrections officers were to eager to use their baton on me, if i as much as chew my food the wrong way”, he smiled and looked at Bernard.

“Sir, how did you survive in there?”, Bernard asked.

“Well, the C.Os got tired of using their baton that didnt seem to have any effect on me and the prison dispensary had an acute shortage of morphines and bandages due to the number of inmates i sent to the prison clinic on a daily basis”, the old man replied. Then he held up his walking stick and stared at its lion shaped handle. “Since then i have never had that feelings……until this morning”, he added, still staring at his walking stick handle.

Bernard remained silent for a while with a thoughtful look on his face. Then he took out his cellphone.

“I will call the reporter sir”, he began and started dialling a number.

“Why?”, the old man demanded.

“To tell her that we are calling off the interview. Sir i think that’s the best thing to do”, Bernard replied.

“No…..”, the old man waved his hand and looked at Bernard. “I’m going”.

“But sir, if you feel……”, Bernard protested.

“Dont worry”, the old man interrupted and paced towards Bernard who was still holding his cellphone close to his ear and staring at his boss with a worried look on his face. “Perhaps it could be something good this time”, the old man smiled and pat Bernard on the back. “Or maybe not. Perhaps everything have finally come to a full circle….for me. I have lived long enough to be willing to accept whatever happens to me”.

Then the old man gently made his way towards the door. Bernard made a move to open it but the old man gestured at him not to do it. As he was about to leave, he paused.

“Incase anything happens to me”, the old man began and looked at Bernard. “I hope you will be able to handle the affairs of the organization?”, he asked.

Bernard heaved a deep sigh and nodded his head without looking at the old man. The old man gave him a weak smile and exited the room.

Bernard stared at the door for a while and his lips curved into smiled. Perhaps everything have come to a full circle for the old man, he thought as he took outhis cellphone and started dialling a number. And hoping that Nina would play her own part as he waited for the number he had dialled to be answered.

****************************************

The big fist with calcified knuckles landed on Vincent’s face and the blood-chilling sound of fist meeting cheekbone filled the room. The impact of the violent blow shook Vincent and the chair he was tied to. It also sent saliva mixed with blood flying out of his mouth and threw his face to the other side, like he kissed a moving bus. The huge man unleashed three more hard punches to the guts that made Vincent groan out in agony and then stepped back.

Vincent bowed his head with alot of pain written on his battered face and spat on the floor. Then he looked up after staying in that position for a few seconds. And looked at Gus who was standing infront of him, next to another man whose slightly overweight body was covered with a blue loose-fitted Hawaiian tee shirt and brown trouser. Six other hefty looking men were in the garage like place and watching as Vincent got pummeled mercilessly.

“I thought you said he is your best friend”, the man in the Hawaiian tee shirt began indifferently as he stared at Vincent. “This is not how friends treat other friends”.

“Well you suppose to be saying that to him, not me”, Gus replied and paced closer to Vincent. “I too thought he was my best friend until i found out that he was nothing but a f@cking canary”, he scoffed and stared down at Vincent. “And he gonna sing like one”, Gus smirked and glanced at the other man.

Vincent stared at Gus and spat again, this time on Gus’ shoe. Gus stared at his spit stained shoe and smiled. Then he placed his hands on Vincent shoulders and bend closer to his eyes.

“It is all over for you my friend”, Gus muttered into Vincent ears. “Just tell me where that woman is…….or where she is hiding, then i will make it easier for you. You can see that i want to have a very important discussion with Lucas White”, Gus pointed at the man in Hawaiian tee shirt. “So please stop wasting our time”.

“Well i too have something important i want to tell you”, Vincent muttered and looked at Gus. “There is a Cactus plant in my house. Why dont you take it and go f@ck yourself with it……you can always use one of the rooms in my house”, he sneered and looked away.

Gus straightened up and shook his head. And slowly paced around Vincent with his hands in his pockets.

“So what kind of deal did he make with you Mr Lucas?”, Vincent asked the man in Hawaiian shirt. “Did he promise more supply of heroin at a cheaper price?…..I dont think it’s possible because he has none”.

Mr Lucas White, the name of the man wearing the Hawaiian shirt and leader of a notorious drug dealing gang, stared at Vincent with the look of indifference still on his face.

“Perhaps he didnt tell you that the manufacturing plant got burned down and the entire men running the operation, massacred”, Vincent continued while Gus stared at him. “Infact the last time he checked his entire bank accounts, the balance was zippo. So Mr Lucas, is this the kind of guy you wanna deal with?, especially now that he is waging a losing war against Nina. You damn know very well who she is and what she can do. “There is always one outcome for anyone who goes against that woman”.

Lucas nodded his head with a pursed lip as he listened, while Gus remained silent.

“Dealing with this man will be nothing but a very bad business for you”, Vincent added and jerked his head at Gus. “A man in your position knows very well what bad business means in our world”.

Lucas smiled and nodded his head again. “Thanks for the infos”, he began in a rather cold tone of voice and looked at Gus. “But i have already heard all of it from Gus himself. That’s why i wanna to join him in hunting down that woman because he told me what we stand to gain when all these sh!ts are over. And from the way i see it, it doesn’t look like a bad business”, he smiled. “Infact, this is the best business deal i have ever made”, he added

Vincent sighed. “You gonna regret this”, he muttered.

“The only regret i’m having is not being informed about this plan earlier”, Lucas said. “We would have ended the operation long ago”, then he looked at Gus. “That’s why i said we should be more than just business partners. And for that to happen, you have to get rid of him”, Lucas pointed at Vincent.

“Oh i intend to do that….”, Vincent said with a smile and looked at Lucas. “…..When my men arrive with his wife and sweet little daughter”, he looked at Vincent and laughed as the man struggled to free himself from the chair he was tied to.

Then Gus nodded at the big man to continue with the beating.

************************************************

Alex cellphone rang and he reached for it immediately. He glanced at the caller i.d and pressed the answer button.

“Hey Chris”, he began and glanced at Suzanne. “Are you still having the gut disagreement?”, he chuckled.

“We have an emergency”, Chris sounded eagerly. Your mother wants you to put the phone on speaker so that she can talk to all of you”.

Alex glanced at Suzanne again and plugged the usb cable that was connected to the car dashboard to his cellphone.

“It’s done……we are all listening”, he said when he was done

“Gus got Vincent”, Nina’s voice came out of the speakers of the car. This made Eric to open his eyes.

“Stop the car”, Eric suddenly blurted out

“What?”,

“Stop the damn car!”, Eric almost barked at Suzanne and she immediately did as she was told and brought the Range Rover to a halt beside the road.

“How did you know that?”, Eric asked Nina.

“He was wise enough to call my phone when he was being picked up from his house”, Nina replied. “I also listened to all the conversations…..and torture. Someone told Gus that Vincent contacted me so he is trying to make Vincent to talk”.

“So what is the situation now?”.

“They are still trying to beat out the infos of my location from him. A few minutes ago they picked up his wife and kid. And they are being taken to where he is being held. But that’s the least of our problem….”.

“Why?”.

“Well, Gus will kill them anyway so there is nothing we can do for him and his family. The problem is we have a new player in the game. Lucas White”.

Alex sighed. “Lucas White…..”, he muttered thoughtfully.

“Who is he?”, Suzanne asked.

“The leader of one of the most dangerous and violent drug dealing gang called, The large team”, Alex replied.

Suzanne glanced at Eric through the rearview mirror and stared at Alex.

“The large team…….Quite the befitting name for those men”, Alex scoffed. “I have seen the way they roll,…..the way they operate. Those motherfuckers are more of animals than men”, he continued. “I’m talking about gorillas and hyenas……and some buntry ass motherfuckers that got more muscles than the f@cking ocean”.

“We have to go save Vincent”, Eric then said.

“No!, you guys have to abort the mission”, Nina exclaimed.

“She is right”, Alex agreed. “We have to abort. The plan was to take on only Gus and his men. Now we have a very dangerous situation”.

“F@ck that!”, Eric bawled. “We cant let the man and his family to die like that”, he retorted.

“I have to agree with Alex on this”, Suzanne said. “Even if we try to save this Vincent and his family, they would probably be killed before we could even achieve our objective”, she continued. “I say we abort this operation and focus on meeting Bernard to make the exchange and rescue father”.

“Well if you guys wanna abort, then go ahead”, Eric said irritatedly as he opened the car door. “I’m going to rescue that man, even if i have to do it alone”.

Suzanne tried to get hold of Eric as she begged him not to go while Nina could be heard telling him that this wasnt the time for any dumb reckless behaviour. Eric heard Nina’s words. It infuriated him. And he angrily told her that atleast it showed that he was not a heartless person like her. Then Alex calmed the situation that was about to get noisy and persuaded Eric to get back into the car, telling him that he has a plan.

“So, what is this plan?”, Eric asked and slammed the car door shut.

Alex heaved a deep sigh. “Lets negotiate with Gus”, he said.

Eric scoffed. “I said it before that i aint…….”, he began.

“Will you please hear me out first?!”, Alex interrupted and glared at Eric.

Eric remained silent.

“I have a plan in mind and it involves negotiating with Gus”, Alex continued. “It could buy us some time to make a plan on how to save Vincent and his family”, he said and glanced at Eric.

“So how are we gonna do this through negotiations?”, Suzanne asked. “We dont have any bargaining chip. Besides, we have shared all the money we took from him to the orphanages across the country”.

“We still have his money printing plates”, Eric said.

“Yeah…..and he seems hell bent on getting mother”, Alex added.

“Nope, we are not using mother as a bargaining chip”, Eric shook his head.

“Alex, tell us what you have in mind”, Nina’s voice said from the car speaker.

“Mother i want you to call Gus”, Alex said. “Chris are you still there?”, he asked.

“Yeah i’m listening”, was the reply of the voice that belonged to Chris.

“Good, you have to listen very carefully to every thing Eric says and the questions he will be asking you because he gonna ask you. And also show us why you are the best hacker in this country”.

“Bring it on bro”.

************************************************

Lisa swung the Lexus into one of the parking space and brought it to a halt. She killed the engine of the car and glanced around the underground parking lot of CANTONA TOWER. The place was empty. It was supposed to be because of the public holiday.

“He has really done well”, Diana then said as she looked around the parking lot. “And achieved alot…….even owns a 30 floor building in one of the most expensive district in this country”, she smiled.

“He is a billionaire. This is just one of the several buildings that he owns”, Lisa said and unbuckled her seatbelt.

“When we were young, i always knew he was going to achieve something big”, Diana continued thoughtfully, still bearing the smile on her face. “Most people doubted it. He was a man of few words. This made them think that he was just an ordinary man and in some cases, they saw him as a weak individual. But i was the only one who knew that he was extraordinary”, then Diana looked at Lisa who was staring at her. “That’s why i left him”, she concluded.

“You loved him”, Lisa said to Diana with a keen look on her face.

Diana sighed with a downcast gaze and said nothing.

“If you loved him, then why did you do what you did?”, Lisa asked.

“Alot of things were going on that time”, Diana sighed. “Things that he failed to see because i was with him”, she muttered with a distant stare. “So it became a ‘loving someone so much as to leave that person’…”, she said and looked at Lisa.

“Except the part of taking something that belongs to that person”, Lisa said. “Something that worth alot of money……like diamonds. Only a selfish and a shamefully greedy person does that kind of thing to someone who they claim to love”, Lisa scoffed.

“Diamonds?”, Diana murmured with furrowed eyebrows.

“Yeah, the diamonds that you stole before convincing Mr Andrew Philips to help you fake your own death”, Lisa said in a matter of fact tone of voice.

Diana smirked and remained silent. Then their attention got diverted to the four men approaching their car. They were quite big and dressed in black suits with dark shades that made their expressionless face even more scarier. Three of them stop a few metres away and one walked towards the vehicle.

“Here they come”, Lisa muttered and checked the contents in her handbag. “They were only expecting me so let me do the talking”, she said and glanced at Diana.

Diana fixed her habit veil and unbuckled her seatbelt without said a word.

Then both women got out of the car while the man, who was now standing infront of the Lexus and staring at them keenly. Lisa and Diana stood infront of the big man who was towering over them and stared at him in silence. Lisa looked intimidated by the man’s size and facial expression while Diana stared at him with an expressionless look on her face after running her eyes from his head to his feet.

The man stared at them for a while, especially at Lisa. “Miss Lisa Richards?”, he then asked Lisa.

“Yes that’s me”, Lisa replied with a smile.

The man maintained the cold look on his face and looked at Diana.

“This is sister Diana”, Lisa immediately introduced Diana to the man. “She is with me”, she continued and smiled again.

“Good morning young man”, Diana then greeted with a bright smile. “I hope you are having a blessed day?”.

The man ignored Diana with a pursed lip and touched the Bluetooth earpiece on his left ear. He could be heard muttering, “she is here”, and “Okay i will bring her up”. Then he looked at Lisa. “Follow me”, he said coldly.

Lisa obeyed and Diana did the same. But the man stopped and raised his palm at Diana.

“Not you”, the man said to Diana. “You wait in the car”.

“But she is with me…..”, Lisa began and stopped when the man took off his dark shades and glared at her.

“You follow me and you stay here”, the man said to the women.

Then Diana stepped forward. “Young man…..”, she began at the big man with a smile. “Maybe you didnt hear her right…..or maybe you are ignorant of what she said to you, just as you ignored my salutation, which to me is a very rude thing to do, considering the fact that i’m old enough to be your grandmother”, she continued. “This young lady said that i’m with her. Which means that i am also part of whatever business dealings she has with your boss. So if your decision is for me to wait here, then you better go tell your boss that he is about to be disappointed”.

Lisa looked at Diana and sighed with a fearful and worried look on her face. The big man stared at Diana for a while with the cold look on his face fading away and being replaced by a surprised look. Then he touched the Bluetooth earpiece and paced around as he muttered something inaudible.

“Are you crazy?”, Lisa whispered at Diana with alot of caution in her voice. “Do you want to ruin everything?.

“Relax young lady”, Diana whispered back.

“Relax?, how can i be relaxed when i’m with someone who is trying to piss off a large dude like that”, Lisa asked and jerked her head at the man who was still muttering with a finger on his earpiece.

“I have dealt with guys bigger than him during my youthful days”.

“What do you mean?”.

Then the man looked at them. “Both of you follow me”, he said and immediately started walking away.

Lisa glanced at Diana who smiled at her and both women followed the man, trying to keep up with him. The other three men followed them behind while the first man lead them towards a glass door of a well lit elevator lobby.

When they go to the glass door, two men in the lobby opened the door. They were also dressed in black suits like the men in the parking lot , much more bigger but friendly looking. One was holding a plastic bag and the other, a hand held metal detector device.

“Ladies please put your cellphones in the bag”, the man with a plastic bag said to the women with a smile.

Lisa and Diana did as they were told.

“Miss, what do you have in your handbag”, the man with the metal detector device asked.

“My pen, notebook, tape recorder and my make ups”, Lisa replied.

The man extended his hand at Lisa and she handed her handbag to him. She stared in silence as the man emptied the content of the bag on a table beside him. When the man was done going through the bag and its content, he moved the tape recorder, pen and notebook away and put the rest in the handbag. Then he nodded at the other man who motioned at Lisa and Diana to step forward. They stepped forward and he waved the metal detector around them. And nodded at his colleague when he was done.

“We will keep your handbag and cellphones”, the man said and handed the recorder and notebook to Lisa. “Sorry for the inconvenience,……it is the protocol”, he apologized.

As Lisa opened her mouth to say something, Diana smiled and said, “Thank God we are not getting strip searched”.

The man furrowed his eyes at Diana and gestured at the man that brought the women from the parking lot.

“Ladies, please follow me” the man said to the women. “Keep an eye out for any activity in the parking lot”, he said to the other three men who were with him and started heading towards one of the elevators with Lisa and Diana following him.

Lisa stared at Diana keenly as they waited for the elevator to arrive. Diana was well aware of her stare. But she remained silent with her eyes staring at the elevator door with no expressions on her face.

“That diamond must have worth a fortune”, Lisa then began and looked at the elevator indicator. “Enough to make a man like him to put his own daughter in such a hellish position”.

Diana said nothing and kept staring at the elevator door.

“So, i’m kind of wondering what you did with it because you suppose to be in some country with a sweet holiday resort, lavishing your new found wealth. Instead of living like this”, Lisa continued and looked at Diana from head to toe. “Did you make alot of bad investments?……or did some lover take it all, just as you took from someone else?”, she asked.

Diana sighed. “You know, when you came to my office with your investigations, i saw you as a very smart girl”, she began without looking at Lisa. “But the more time i spend with you and the more you talk about the…..diamonds, the more i see the dumbness and stupidity i always see in every youth i had the chance to meet”.

Lisa frowned.

“But i dont blame you”, Diana continued with a smirk. “These technological gadgets had made you all unable to see beyond your damn noses”, then she looked at Lisa. “Have you asked yourself if the diamonds he was talking about were gemstones?”, she asked.

Lisa stared at Diana and lowered her eyes with a confused look on her face.

“I guess not”, Diana smirked again as the elevator arrived with a ‘ding’ sound. “Well i loved Cantona and he too loved me. We were madly in love with each other”, she continued. “Diamonds is my nickname……nickname given to me by Cantona”.

The elevator door slided open and Diana followed the man in. Lisa then entered after getting over the shock she just received.

BLOODLINE 2 Episode 13c
#OpraDre

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