BLOODLINE 2 Episode 8 (Blood And Diamond) by Ironkurtain

BLOODLINE 2 Episode 8 (Blood And Diamond) by Ironkurtain

Detective Allen Wilson just cant believe the kind of day he is having. He had just arrived at Easthill after being transferred from the Metro-city police department and was already on his way to his first crime scene. Three hours ago he was struggling with his luggages after getting down from the airplane in the airport. Two hour ago he was reporting to the police inspector and being drilled in the situation room. Now he is being driven by his new partner; a talkative man by the name Zack to a “bloody crime scene”. That’s what his new partner said he heard – A bloody crime scene.

Detective Allen had hoped to get some rest and atleast get acclamatized to the city’s cold weather before resuming work in his new office. But the city’s ever increasing crime rate, the reason for his transfer, had him being driven to a scene of a gruesome killings.

“Yet another incident that looks like a gang related violence….the third today and the fifth this week”, said Detective Zack as he parked the car near the building that was surrounded by police vans with yellow tapes around its entrance. “There are no words about any disputes over turfs or territory take over. It’s like they just got bored and started killing each other…..in the worst way”.

Detective Allen remained mute as both men got out of the car. He adjusted his brown trench coat that made him look imposing, even though he was just about 5′ 11″. He has a rigid face with a broad strong shoulders and arms, being an ex marine and an amateur boxing champion. He has a steely gray eyes that are somewhat cold. And he appears to be a quiet man who keeps to himself and barely talks.

“It sucks, right?”, Zack asked as both of them headed towards the entrance of the building that had alot of uniformed policemen guarding the place and crime scene investigators that were taking notes and checking for evidences.

“What do you mean?”, Allen asked.

“I mean it sucks to have just arrived to this city and you are already being assigned to a case”, Zack said with a wry smile. “I dont really know how things work over there in Metro-city, but they should have allowed you get familiar with how things are and how things operate in this city”, he continued.

“Well the country’s entire police force is under the same law and the same code of conduct”, Allen said. He is having the massive urge to tell Zack to shut his mouth. But it is a bad way of starting a partnership. “Besides inspector Adams had already briefed me on everything that i need to know……unless if there is something else going on that i am not aware of”.

Zack smirked. “So what do we have here?”, he asked one of the forensic technicians after both of them showed their badges to the policemen guarding the entrance. “What the hell happened here?”.

“The kind of thing you only see in your nightmares”, the technician replied with a sigh and dropped his toolkit in a van. “I just dont know what to say…..you go inside and see for yourself”, he continued as he took off his rubber gloves that were stained with blood.

“Are the victims from the same group that was shot to death in the strip club some hours ago?”.

“Yeah, they have the same tattoos on their bodies……or rather, what was left of their body.

“How many victims do we have this time?”.

“Seven…….eight……it is just too messed up to count”. 

“Where is Felix?”, Zack asked and looked at the pool of blood near the entrance door.

“He is still in there……making his investigations”, the technician said with a tired voice and then entered the back of the CSI van.

Allen studied the building infront of him and looked at the fancy neon sign above him. It says, “JULIES HEALING HANDS” with other words in the sign board that indicated that it was a massage palour. Then he lowered his eyes to the pool of blood near the entrance and studied the trail of blood that lead into the place.

“Ever since these guys attacked a woman whom we think was gunned down by them, someone or some group of persons seems to be taking on them”, he said and looked at Allen. “Now a total of twenty of them have been killed today. Which is kind of an abnormally high casualty rate for a gang of suspected hardened criminals and murderers”, he said thoughtfully as they entered the massage parlour.

The two detectives stepped into the oriental decorated lobby of the place. They saw men from the forensic team collecting more evidence and taking pictures. And also saw more blood…….lots of blood all over the floor with some furnitures knocked out of place. 

Then a young fellow wearing the white forensic technician cloth came to them. He seems to have a bit of an air of arrogance with a funny look in his face.

“Hello detective Zack”, the young fellow began and gave Allen an inquisitive look.

“Hello Felix”, Zack replied. “This is my new partner, Detective Allen”, then he looked around the lobby and the bloodstains on the floor that seems to get bigger as it trailed into a corridor. “What do we have here?”, he asked.

“Follow me”, Felix motioned at the detectives and lead them into the corridor. 

A strange smell hit their nostrils as they followed the technician into the fairly lighted place. Zack wasn’t sure what it was but it smelled horrible and it made him to wrinkle his nose. Allen made no facial expression at all.

“I thought it’s only in the movies that you see things like these”, Felix sighed when they got close to several mutilated bodies and limbs scattered all over the corridor with a large pool of blood.

“Can you tell us what the hell happened here?”, Zack said as he glanced at Allen and stared at the bloody carnage before him with alot of disgust and horror in his face.

“Yeah……a psychotic super killer paid these guys a visit”, Felix answered.

“A psychotic super killer?”.

“Yep…..and a very efficient one for that matter. This right here is literally a bloodbath”, Felix shook his head. “I have dealt with cases that involved mutilated body……but this is a whole new level”.

“So what did you find in your investigations?”, Allen demanded impatiently. The smell of blood and human flesh is beginning to get to him.

“Well…..here we have the mutilated bodies of six men”, Felix began and gestured at the corpses strewn all over the corridor. “Four of them were quite hefty but it didnt seem to be an obstacle to their killer”, then he pointed at one body. “This one here was the first to be killed……his legs got chopped off outside the building before being dragged to the corridor and got finished off. That explains the trail of blood”.

Zack glanced at Allen with a surprised look on his face.

“Three of these guys were armed”, Felix continued. “Two must have drawn their weapon before losing their arms…..and then other limbs before they could even fire a shot”.

“Wait…..”, Zack began with a sigh as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. “….the perpetrators, how many are they?”, he asked.

“Only one person”, Felix replied.

“One person?”, Zack glanced around the bloody scene. “How is that even possible?”, he asked.

“That’s the question i keep asking myself……”, Felix smirked. “…..until i saw this”, then he motioned at the two detectives and they followed him into one of the rooms in the corridor.

On getting inside the private massage room, detectives Allen and Zack saw the half unclad dead body of a man lying on the floor. But it wasnt mutilated like the rest in the corridor. The dead man’s neck was twisted and face swollen so bad that it was unrecognizable. The body had a lot of signs of terrible beatings.

“You can see that there is only a set of footprints going in and out of this room….”, Felix began and pointed at a bloody footprints on the floor. “And this guy right here…..”, he pointed at the dead body that was mangled and twisted. “…..i would say he got it worse than the others. Whatever hit this guy, really took the time to inflict maximum pain”.

Allen bent over the body and carefully studied the dead man’s face. And then shift his gaze down to the man’s shoulders and chest.

“Give me a glove”, he demanded and Felix handed him a pair of gloves he took out from his toolkit.

Allen slipped his hands into the gloves and examined the body.

“Neck bone completely snapped…..”, Felix began as he also bent over the body. “A single blow from this angle caused it. Now take alook at this….”, he pointed at a dark spot on the man’s face. “This is the point of impact of the blow that resulted to a Comminuted fracture to his skull and also literally bend his face out of shape”, then he looked at Allen. “And it was only a single blow”.

Allen glanced at Felix with a furrowed eyebrow and stared at the dead body.

“Same with the one that shattered his sternum, the one that destroyed his ribcage and the one that shattered his left collar bone”, Felix continued. “All done with just single blows”.

“So the perpetrator must have been wildly swinging a sledgehammer or some kind of a heavy weapon at the guy” Zack said.

“No….”, Allen disagreed. “He did it with his bare hands”, he said and pointed at the large knuckle-like spot on the body. “He beat the man to death with his bare hands”.

“He is right”, Felix agreed with what Allen just said. 

“Then what kind of ‘fist-power’ will someone possess to be able to do this kind of damage because i am finding hard to believe”, Zack said.

“Alot of power….and probably hands made of steel”, Felix smirked. “If fists were guns, then the guy that did this got atom bombs for fists”.

“But is it even possible for a man to do this to a fellow man?”, Zack asked with a bewildering look in his face.

“I just dont know……i have never seen anything like this before”, Felix said and shook his head. “Whatever that did this aint a man. Perhaps half man half amazing”, he smiled.

“Do you know this guy?”, Allen asked Zack.

“Yeah….his name is Santos”, Zack replied. “A well known criminal and a murderer. The worst of the worst……..The authorities always had a hard time convicting him because no one was willing to testify against him. Those that came forward ended up missing or dead”, he sighed and looked at Santos’ body with a smirk of satisfaction. “I bet he wished that he had ended up in the cage when he was taking this seismic beat-down…..and alot of guys in the department will be glad to hear that he is dead”.

Then Zack looked at Allen. “What do you think of this is? Some kind of a gang violence, perhaps a brutal revenge killing?”, he asked.

“No….”, Allen replied and took off the rubber gloves as he straightened up. “If it was some gang violence, the guy would have just shot the men and be done with it than go through the trouble of butchering and beating to death”, he said. “This is totally personal…….and the guy that did this wants to send a serious message to an opposition”, then he looked at Zack. “Expect more of this kind of gruesome killings”, he concluded.

“You asked for the files of the people we have questioned so far……i will have it sent to your desk tomorrow morning”, Zack said to Allen and rubbed his hair as he stared at the mangled dead body thoughtfully.

“Get the motherfuck out of my way!!”, Hector bawled at the man guarding the door and forced his way into the living-room. The man pulled out a handgun and pointed it at Hector as he went towards Gus who was sitting in sofa in quick paces with a file in his hand.

“Who the hell are these people?”, Hector barked at Gus and waved the file in his hand.

Gus motioned at the man with the gun and he lowered the weapon. “I’m suppose to be the one asking the questions here”, he began calmly and stood up. “Questions like, why are the subjects still alive?”.

“F@ck that!!”, Hector yelled. “Tell me who the f@ck you sent us to kill…..what kind of people are these guys?!”, he demanded angrily and threw the file on the floor.

“My friend mind the way you talk to me”, Gus warned with a stern look. “You were the one who accepted the job in the first place and you got paid the amount you demanded. So no matter what, you have to ensure that you complete the task that you are being paid to do”.

Hector exhaled gently and slowly dropped his weight on the sofa. 

“If you had listened to me…..”, Gus continued as he went over to the mini-bar. “…..if you had used the professionals, you wouldn’t be barging into my house and barking like a dog. And those subjects would have being dead and buried by now”, he muttered and poured some shots in two glasses. “You and your associate assumed that the subjects were easy prey because you saw the picture of a woman and a seemingly harmless guy. Now you can see why they say assumptions is the mother of all f@ck ups……I warned you to tell your men to always stay ready”.

“What the hell are you even saying?,…..that the reason my own men are getting killed like they are nothing is because they dont know what they are doing?”, Hector retorted. “They are professionals!. They have being doing this sh!t for quite some time with alot of success till you gave us this f@cking job!”.

“You need to calm down”.

“Calm down?, how do you expect me to calm down when my own men are the ones being buried?…..my own MEN!”, Hector said hysterically. Then he sighed. “Santos got killed yesterday night”, he continued. “He was beaten to death……his bones literally broken in alphabetical order. The rest of the men he was with were turned into something you see in a damn butcher shop”, he looked at Gus. “And you expect me to calm down?,…..cant you see that i’m dealing with some kind of a goddamn demonic…..evil spirit killer”.

Gus came over and handed Hector a glass. Hector accepted the drink reluctantly and raised it to his lips. He paused and stared at the glass for a while. And decided against drinking the shot of liquor. 

“So how many men do you have left?”, Gus asked after taking a sip from his glass.

“Just the four guys i came here with”, Hector replied and set his own glass on a side table. 

“Only four men?”.

“Yeah……the rest are dead”.

“That’s strange…..”, Gus stared at Hector thoughfully while Hector glanced around the spacious living-room with alot of uneasiness. “Really really strange”, he muttered and started pacing around the room with the thoughtful look in his face.

“Gus, i dont know who the hell these subjects are……”, Hector then said with a downcast gaze and a concerned tone of voice as he pointed at the file he threw on the floor “… and neither do i know the kind of people they are rolling with. But one thing i know for sure is, they are f@cking monsters…….and i only go after humans”, he looked at Gus. “Am out man……Tell the so called ‘invisible one’ that i aint doing it. I will refund the money he paid to my account”.

“Well, you wouldn’t wanna say that to him”, Gus warned.

“Why?!”, Hector demanded irritatedly.

“Because if he gives you a job, he expects you not to only finish it, but to also do it very well”, Gus replied. “Doing the job halfway or even not doing it at all is unacceptable, even if you refund ten times the amount paid to you”.

“So what the f@ck he gonna do huh?”, Hector retorted. “I aint doing it no more……if he don’t like it then he can come kiss my ass!”.

“Remember what i told you about disappointing my business partner”, Gus reminded Hector as he reached for the telephone on the center table. “Not only will you have a problem with me but you will also have a problem with him…and he is the last man you will wanna f@ck with”, he continued and dialled the phone.

Hector stared at Gus with alot of anger. He needed a drink, he thought and then grabbed the glass on the side table and gulped down its content.

“The tracker. When last did it show a signal of movement?”, Gus asked as the number he called, rang audibly from the telephone speakers. 

“Yesterday morning…..”, Hector grimaced and set the glass on the side table. “I sent my men to the location it was transmitting and they all got killed. Since then it has gone silent”.

“Hello Gus……”, the voice boomed out from the telephone speaker. “I wasnt expecting your call…..though i had been expecting the news of the job being completed”.

“We seem to be running into alot of hitches trying to deal with the subjects”, Gus sighed and glanced at Hector. “It’s like someone is giving them a helping hand……giving them some informations. I thought you said subject number one is no longer under the protection of her so called family?”, he asked.

“That is correct”, the voice replied.

“Then why is my associate here finding it difficult to eliminate her and the other subject?”, Gus asked. “Infact, yesterday night he lost eight of his men including his right hand man in an unimaginable gruesome way…..not to talk of another eight men that got blown away in a gunfight in some strip club”, he grunted and went to the mini-bar for another round of liquor. “In situations like this, it is clear that something doesnt add up”.

“Mr Gus, you assumed that subject number one would be an easy kill because she is no longer under protection of the family?”, the voice asked.

“Well……i thought she would….”, Gus stuttered as he tried to find an answer to the question.

“When i gave you the contract, i never said that any of the targets would be an easy hit….and you promised that you gonna deliver”, the voice interrupted. “So now are you trying to tell me that i’m about to be disappointed?”, the voice asked.

“No….not at all”, Gus replied. “We just want to be sure that they are not being……”.

“Next time you call me, let it be that you want to inform me that the subjects have been eliminated”, the voice interrupted rather irritatedly. “Time is running out my friend……and tell your associate that i hate disappointments”, the voice warned and the phone call ended.

Hector stared at Gus and asked, “What the hell are we gonna do?”.

Gus picked out a bottle of brandy from the cabinet and poured a shot in his glass. He did so with a thoughtful gaze in his face, perhaps thinking about those final words he heard before the phone conversation ended.

“What about Dante?, have you heard from him?”, Hector asked again. “Should we ask him for help?”.

“Dante is still working on his own contract and i dont think he will help,……especially if it involves someone like you”, Gus replied and took a sip from his glass. “If he agrees, he might demand triple of what you were being paid……not to talk of the sh!ts he gonna be saying, especially to you. He called you the dregs of the underworld. What do you think he gonna say if you ask him for help to save your ass?”.

Hector sighed deeply with a downcast gaze and then stared at the bottle on the bar table. He needed more drink.

“Anyway, i think there is a way”, Gus then said as he picked up the brandy bottle and paced towards Hector. “But it will definitely make you have a serious problem with Dante if he finds out”, he continued and handed the bottle to Hector. 

“What are you saying?”, Hector asked and took a swill from the half empty bottle.

“Well……there is this person Dante had been watching”, Gus began and took another sip. “And from what i have learned, he intends to use this person to get to his subject. This person am talking about is very close to one of your subjects”, he smiled and looked at Hector.

“Well f@ck Dante!….tell me where this person is at let me make whoever it is to tell me where to find the subjects”, Hector said with alot of confidence. “I need to deal with one personally”.

“Arent you worried about Dante and what he might do?”.

“I said f@ck Dante!”.

Gus thought for a while and then smiled. 

“Yeah…..f@ck Dante”, he nodded. “I will give you the name and location…….and i will also give you some of my men”.

Then he finished his drink and told Hector to wait while he get the info.

Lisa yawned and slowly rubbed her tired eyes as she reclined in her seat. Stretching her hands with a deep sigh, she stared at her laptop and the pile of books of different volumes surrounding it on her desk. She took a quick glance at her wristwatch and then watched her fellow co-workers and reporters as they worked hard on the stories they intend to present to the newspaper editor.

It’s only 11 a.m in the morning and she was feeling very sleepy. Last night she had little sleep. For two straight nights she haven’t slept well because of the exhaustive investigations she was doing on both the Sosai and Barry’s father. Quite exhaustive because of the countless hours spent searching the internet, the numerous visits to the national library and the people she had to meet and and ask questions. So far, she has learned quite a few things about both men and also found out alot of secrets. Some quite unpleasant.

Lisa yawned again and rubbed her tired eyes. She leaned forward and rested her elbows on the little space on her desk that was not covered with books. Then a hand rested on her shoulder and a cup of coffee placed infront of her. She smiled and looked up to the smiling face of a man standing beside her.

“This investigations is really getting at you”, the man began and rubbed her shoulders. “Why dont you take a break before you work yourself to death before the day for the interview arrives”.

“Hmmmm……”, Lisa closed her eyes and tilted her head to the side as she enjoyed the hands that was rubbing her sore shoulders. “You know that this interview gonna be a big break in my career……interviewing a man who is one of the top one percent of this continent. A very secretive figure in this country who wants me to write his autobiography. This is like a once in a lifetime opportunity”, she said and then looked at the man. “Kevin i really appreciate all the helps you have given to me so far. Others are busy working on stories that will boost their career but you are putting yours in jeopardy by helping me……and you are just a new guy here”.

“Hey dont worry about me…..you heard what the editor said about the interview”, Kevin said and gently slide his hand away from Lisa’s shoulders. “I just want to help you achieve something big for yourself and for the newspaper…..besides, i am just here to experience how it is to work in the Easthill times newspaper house”, he smiled and looked around the office that had so many workers in their various desks, making phone calls and typing non-stop on their desktop keyboard. 

Lisa picked up the coffee and took a sip from it after thanking Kevin. Kevin leaned on the edge of her desk and stared at her.

“What?”, Lisa asked with a smile when she noticed his stare.

“You know what”, the man replied coolly.

“Well i dont know…..can you please remind me?”, Lisa chuckled and rested her chin on her steepled fingers.

“Well……”, Kevin dugged his hands into the pockets of his trouser and gazed at his shoes. “I have been knocking on the door and still waiting for it to be opened”, he sighed and looked at Lisa. “Am still waiting for your answer”.

Lisa knew what he meant. 

“Kevin i know……but i still need more time”, she said quietly without looking at him. “Its just that i’m still not yet ready for any serious relationship for now…..and i’m very sorry for keeping you waiting”, she looked at him and apologized.

Kevin sighed and pursed his lips with a downcast gaze. He remained like that for a few minutes while Lisa stared at him and wondering if she was making a big mistake to keep hoping on her ex to take her back. And also wondering if she should just give Kevin her co worker a try. 

Kevin is quite a handsome man with strong qualities and charm that seems to give all the female coworkers butterflies. To Lisa, he is a good replacement if Eric decides to stand firm on his decision. But she feels that no one can make her feel the way Eric makes her feel whenever they are together.

“Well…..”, Kevin then began, interrupting Lisa in her thoughts. “What the hell…..i will keep waiting”, he looked at her and gave her a smile “Besides having you as a co worker is cool and good for me”, he patted her on her back. “By the way how far have you gone in your research?”, he asked and glanced at her laptop. “Did you find anything?.

“Yeah…..Secrets…..lots of them”, Lisa replied as she rearranged the books on her desk. “Do you know that Mr Cantona Brown answered different names before he became a billionaire?”.

“Oh really?”.

“Yeah……John Anthony, Samuel Denilson, Alphoso Black…..quite a long list. Now his people call him the Sosai”,

“Sosai?….”, Kevin snorted with furrowed eyebrows. “What does it mean?”, he asked. 

“I don’t really know…..some kind of a japanese word or something”, Lisa sighed. “He started as a street gang member before taking over the gang. And from there he rose steadily to become one of the most richest and most powerful man in this country……quite a story for sure.

“So you think he made all that money from illegal businesses and crime?”, Kevin asked.

“No he went legit a long time ago or perhaps appeared to have gone legit”, Lisa replied. “Especially after he became one of the top dogs in the country’s top circle…..the king makers”.

“And what about the other guy?”.

“You mean Andrew Philips?, well he and Mr Cantona have quite an interesting history together.

“What kind of history?”.

“They were bitter enemies……and had always tried to get rid of each other”, Lisa said and reclined in her chair. “They fought on the opposing sides during the civil war. Andrew fought for the federal army while Cantona fought for the rebels”.

“Well that’s probably the reason why they hated each other so much”, Kevin said. “The war was quite gruesome and it had alot of psychological effects on the soldiers that fought the battles”.

“Yeah but that is the least interesting part”, Lisa said with a smile. “You have heard about the Bridgemont ambush?”, she asked.

“Yeah that terrible ambush the rebel army launched against the federal troops in Bridgemont that lead to the signing of the peace treaty”, Kevin replied. “They said that a large number of federal troops were annihilated and the incident kind of demoralized half of the federal army”, he continued.

Lisa leaned closer to Kevin. “But what they didnt tell you is that it was Cantona who planned and executed the attack”, she said to him.

Kevin stared at her.

“And Andrew was the only soldier in that federal troops that survived the slaughter”, Lisa continued. Then other chains of events started taking place. Andrew Philips joined the police force after the war and became a detective while Cantona Brown became a street gang leader…….”,

“And Andrew was the detective given the job to take down Cantona”, Kevin added.

“You got that right”, Lisa smiled. “So since then, it had being a game of cat and mouse between the two men till Andrew Philips died of lung cancer”.

“Hm…..”, Kevin pursed his lips thoughtfully. “Is Andrew Philips somehow related to Barry Philip, the c.e.o of a conglomerate company?”, he asked.

“Barry Phillips is Andrew Philips son”, Lisa replied. “His only son”.

“The man had being missing for three days and some gunmen attacked his residence on the day of his disappearance”, Kevin said.

“Really?”, Lisa pretended not to know what happened in Barry Philips residence and his kidnap.

“Yep”, do you think Mr Cantona Brown a.k.a the Sosai got anything to do with it?”, Kevin asked.

“Well i dont know…..the man is too powerful. He could do anything and it wont be traced back to him”, Lisa replied.

“Anyway it seems as if you are almost done with your research”.

“Nope…..there is still one thing i’m trying to figure out”, Lisa muttered and started going through the files on her table. “I managed to get some police reports, dating back to when Cantona was still a young street thug”, she continued and took out some documents from one of the files and handed it to Kevin. “I went through all the reports filed against him and noticed that there is this one individual that just keep popping up in every reports. A female by the name Diane”.

“Okay…..”, Kevin murmured as he read through the black and white prints on the papers.

“The last report that had her name was the one filed by Andrew Philips. And it says that Cantona turned himself in after this Diane was caught”, Lisa said. “But a week to Cantona’s trial, Diane was killed. She tried to escape from detention with a police van and ended up plunging into the river. It was Andrews that made her lose control after he shot out the car tyres…..and she drowned. After that, Cantona served only two years in jail and got released after the witness who wanted to testify against him was found shot to death”.

“So who is this Diane and what is she to Cantona?”, Kevin asked.

“That’s what i want to find out”, Lisa replied. “She was only eighteen years of age when she died and had being hanging with Cantona since she was fourteen”.

“She could be a relation…..a sister or a cousin”.

“Cantona was the only surviving member of his family. The rest were killed in the civil war”.

“So you think they were in some kind of a relationship?”.

“I dont know…..maybe. But after her death, the rest of the story is about a very vicious and a ruthless man who built a huge business empire and somehow became one those that control the affairs of the nation”.

“What about Andrew?”.

“Well, he resigned from being a police detective and lived a quiet life till he lost his battle with lung cancer”, Lisa shook her head. “Isn’t it quite strange?”, she asked Kevin. “The hero detective who spent his entire short career in the police force trying to bring down a criminal and a bitter foe suddenly call it quit after one teenager died. He just sat back and watched Cantona take over, streets after streets and turf after turf. When he died, Cantona already had the governor of the state in his pockets”.

Kevin glanced at his wristwatch. “It’s almost 12 noon”, he said and looked at Lisa. “I hope you dont mind going out for a lunch with me?”, he asked.

“No…..”, Lisa smiled as she reached for her handbag. “But this time i am buying”, she added.

Kevin nodded approvingly and gestured at Lisa to lead the way as she got up from her seat. Then Lisa looked ahead and saw someone approaching them.

“Hey Suzanne…..”, Lisa began at Suzanne who wore a baseball cap with darkshades. 

Then Lisa looked at Kevin and told him to excuse them and also told him that she will join him in the cafeteria later. Kevin nodded and left after saying hi to Suzanne.

“So how is aunt Nina doing?”, Lisa asked.

“Still hasnt woken up yet”, Suzanne replied and unsling the duffle bag she was carrying.

“How about Alex……and Eric?”, Lisa asked again.

Suzanne paused for a moment as she was opening the bag and then continue doing what she was doing.

“Eric is okay….and doing his thing”, she replied indifferently. “Anyway i am in a hurry i came to give you this”, she took out four thick files and handed them to Lisa. “Eric said you needed these……i’m sorry to be such in a hurry, i cant risk being seen by the police”, she murmured.

Then Suzanne took out a book that had a dusty old leather cover. “This is grand father’s diary…..i think it might be useful too”, she said and handed it to Lisa. 

Lisa accepted it and then held Suzanne’s arm as she was about to leave.

“Please you guys should be careful”, she said to Suzanne quietly.

Suzanne nodded with a faint smile and left without saying a word.

Lisa sat down and opened the files to start going through them. Then she remembered that Kevin will be waiting for her in the cafeteria. But she decided that saving her ex boyfriend’s father was more important to her and started reading through the documents.

Detective Allen tossed the last seed at the flock of pigeons that were cooing and pecking infront of him. Rubbing his hands together to get off the dusts in his fingers, he glanced around the park and picked up the newspaper lying on the bench he was sitting on. It was noon and the park was quite empty with a few homeless men sleeping under the shade that the foliages of the trees provided. It was a sunny day though the temperature made wearing some warms clothings a necessity.

Allen read the newspaper for a while and slowly looked up to monitor the activities going on around him. Seeing nothing interesting that caught his attention, he shift his gaze back to the newspaper. Then he paused again with a sigh and glanced at the man who just came over and sat next to him on the bench. He gave a weak smile and turn back to his paper.

“It’s been quite a long time my good ol friend”, Allen began indifferently without looking at the man beside him. “How are you doing…..Mr Eric Uzo?”, he asked. 

“What brought you to Easthill?”, Eric asked the detective without looking at him too.

“I suppose to be asking you the same question”, Allen replied. 

“Well, i got bored in Metro-city and heard that hell is being raised here in Easthill. So….i decided to come join the party”, Eric replied. Then he looked at Allen. “I was surprised when i saw your text message, saying that you wanted to see me urgently and more surprised when you told me that you are in this city”.

“Okay……and i’m glad you came”, Allen muttered.

“So what is this meeting about?”, Eric asked. “Dont tell me it’s because you heard that i am in Easthill and started catching some feelings. And decided to come check up on me”.

“No i got transfered to this place”, Allen replied and flipped the paper to the next page. “It’s like that hell raising party also brought me here”, he murmured.

“Hm…..congratulation. So how is your first day on the job”, Eric asked.

Allen placed the newspaper beside him and looked at Eric. “My first day?”, he smirked. “Well, it was kind of interesting. Last night i had to investigate a massage parlour that got turned into a meat factory, only to learn from my new partner that there was another report of a shooting to death of several men in a strip club. This morning i came to my new office to see the manila folder that contained the reports about the two dead bodies found at the General hospital”.

Then detective Allen heaved a deep sigh and stared at the couple that came to the park for a picnic.

“And all the victims of these killings are men of rough charaters, working for a man of rougher character”, he continued and looked at Eric. “It’s like someone has been quite busy. Busy moving his way up the food chain”, he gestured his index finger upwards. “Dont you think so?”, he asked Eric.

“Maybe”, Eric replied. 

Allen smiled. “Do you know any woman by the name Mrs Betty Smith?”, he then asked Eric.

“I think i have heard that name before……but might not remember where”, Eric replied.

“What about Alex Philips?”, Allen asked again.

Eric said nothing.

“I’m very sure you know something about that guy because when i checked his profile in the system, i saw a face that i knew very well”, Allen continued. “I thought there was a mistake somewhere and checked again”, then he looked at Eric keenly. “You never told me you had a twin brother”.

“Well you never asked”, Eric said with indifference.

“What do you know about Barry Philips?”.

“Barry Philips is the head of the family that adopted Alex, which you probably know by now. So if you want to know more about the man you have to go ask my twin brother”.

“Anyway, this woman by the name Betty, which i think is an assumed name, was gunned down about three days ago”, The detective continued. “The next day, Barry Philips was reported missing…..possibly kidnapped. And since then, alot of other things had unfolded in a short period of time after the attempt that was made on that woman’s life”, Allen continued. “The same day that Barry Phillips was reported missing, a group of men who were members of a violent gang, the same group we suspect to be responsible for shooting that woman, went to the Philips house and shot up the place. They killed some of the house-helps and the chauffeur. Then the same day these same men went to the hospital where the woman was receiving treatments. They were disguised as cops and heavily armed. But someone blew some of them away and the woman disappeared, together with your twin brother’s teenage sister who was with her in the hospital”.

Allen paused and dug his hand into his pocket. He took out a pack of cigarette and lit one for himself. He offered one to Eric. Eric rejected it.

“So……”, Allen continued after two or three puffs. “……other events that followed had been nothing but a f@cking gang-land style killings. Someone or perhaps some group of people started taking out this gang. The last incident was a complete horror. They left pieces of those men all over the place in a massage parlour and a man who seems to be one of their leaders was horribly beaten to death. Done with bare hands”.

Allen paused again and stubbed the cigarette. “Eric i want you to tell me what the hell is going on?”, he then said to Eric with a stern voice without looking at him.

“What makes you think that i know what the hell is going on?”, Eric asked.

“Dude dont play dumb with me….remember that i am cop”, Allen retorted. “It’s no coincidence that you are here in Easthill when a gang of murderers who are after your twin brother’s family and someone that he knows very well, are being slaughtered left and right……dont forget that i know who you are and what you are”.

“Yeah i haven’t forgotten that”, Eric nodded and looked at Allen. “And i haven’t forgotten that i had saved your ass more than twice and also the one who helped with those cases that made you a hero detective”.

Allen sighed uncomfortably. “Look, i’m just trying to do my job here”, he said. “And this is not the home turf…..We are in a different city and i dont really know how the boys in the department do things or how they operate”.

“Then you have to thank whoever that is killing those criminals because they are making your job alot easier for you”, Eric said”.

“Of course i like seeing those criminals buried than having them thrown in jail where we would have to waste taxpayers money on them. But i have to do things by the book man”.

“What about those criminals?, are they doing theirs by the book?”, 
The detective heaved an uncomfortable sigh again

Allen knows very well what’s going on and what Eric is up to. But the reason for it is what he still dont know and what he intends to find out. He is a tough detective, known for his “bad cop” techniques of getting informations and making known suspects to break. But he wouldn’t want to use such technique on this guy sitting beside him. Because he owes his life and that of his family to him. And had also seen the way he operates, especially when both of them took on one of Metro-city’s most violent gang.

“Eric i need something”, Allen muttered. “The city mayor wants us to find the perpetrators of these killings and put an end to it immediately. First week in the job and i’m already in a tight spot…..i need something or else you will leave me with no other choice but to bring you in. If i dont, my partner might do it”.

Then silence settled between both men. Eric stared at couple enjoying their warm afternoon picnic with laughters and selfies while Allen stared at him, waiting for an answer.

“You remember the night of 15th of August, two years ago”, Eric began and looked at Allen.

Allen stared at him and said nothing.

“Of course you do remember….i mean, who will ever forget the events that went down that hot summer night if it happened to them”, Eric continued quietly and turned his eyes back to the couple having fun in the grassy field of the park.

Allen remained silent with a distant gaze in his eyes.

“That night you were in your house, wearing only your underwear and lying on the floor with the barrel of a shotgun pointed at your head. Your wife was held down on the floor and unclad. The boss of the Anton crime family had sent some of his craziest foot soldiers to take care of you. Those men were about to make you watch them violate your wife in a very terrible way before carrying out the task required of them. That was when i dropped by and ‘settled’ the situation”.

Allen smirked at how Eric used the word ‘settle’ to describe what he did to the men that were sent to eliminate him and his family. The last of them was about to lose his second arm when he told Eric who gave them the orders.

“That day you told me that you had been trying to bring down the boss of the Anton crime family”, Eric said and interrupted Allen in his thoughts. “But you couldnt do it because the man had alot of connections that helped him beat every case brought against him. You also wished for someone to take him out after seeing that there was no way you can bring him down”.

“Eric, this is something that happened two years ago”, Allen interrupted impatiently. “But what does it have to do with what is going on now?”, he asked.

“That woman that was gunned down”, Eric began and looked at Allen. “She was the one who gave me the order to protect you and your family after she got the information on what the Anton mafia wanted to do to you”, he said. “And she was the one that made the other thing to happen”, Eric added.

“Which other thing?”, Allen asked. Then he thought for a while and looked at Eric with a curious look in his face. “The Anton mafia boss died of a heart attack”, he muttered.

Eric smirked and showed Allen his left palm. “A blow to the chest region with an open palm can stop a man’s heart”, he said as he gestured the hand.

Allen sighed and ran his fingers across his hair. “So who is this woman?……..is she…like your boss?”, he asked.

“Not only my boss”, Eric replied. “She is my mother”.

“Your mother?”, Allen was flabbergasted. “How many mothers do you have?…..what about your mother….i mean the other one in Easthill?”.

“She is my foster mother. That woman is my real mother”, then Eric looked at Allen with a cold look in his face. “And i aint gonna just sit back and watch the fools that tried to take her life walk around and enjoy theirs”.

“So…what the hell do you want me to do?”, Allen asked.

“Just one thing. Show this woman your appreciation for what she did for you by stepping aside and let me do my thing”, Eric replied. Then he thought for a while. “I could get you a list of some of the members of the gang. But you gotta arrest them before i get them”.

“No…..i want the leaders”, Allen protested. 

“Well that can’t happen”, Eric disagreed. “The big boys are already on my list and i wouldn’t want us to have a problem because of them”.

“There can never be a problem”, Allen smiled. “I am a cop, an officer of the law…..”,

“Okay then”, Eric interrupted him and got up. “If you want to hide behind your badge and push your luck, then be my guest”, he concluded and started walking away.

“Dude you are the one pushing your luck…..and dont do anything drastic because i might decide to arrest you”, Allen said after Eric as he left.

Then his phone vibrated. It was his partner, Zack calling him. Allen sighed and answered the call as he got up and headed towards his car parked a few metres away.

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

Nina coughed and slowly moved her hands. Resting them on her chest that was covered with a warm blanket, she opened her eyes slowly and glanced around the room. She looked at the I.V needle taped to her arm and exhaled weakly. She glanced around the room and looked at the hospital machine and equipment beside her bed. It was turned off.

“Arise and shine woman”.

Nina turned to where the voice came from and saw a young man sitting at the corner and busy with his cellphone.

“Eric……what are you doing here?”, she asked and glanced around the room again. “Where am i?”.

“Hm….you are able to tell who is who. That’s a good start”, Eric got up and came over to the bed. “But still look quite weak”, he said quietly as he placed his hand on Nina’s face and examined it.

“Of course i know it is you”, Nina said and held his hand. “Where am i……what happened and what day is today?”, she asked.

“You are in my secret location, your boys had been in the field, scrapping hard and catching bodies. And today is thursday……you had being in a coma for three days”, Eric answered all her questions.

“What?!…..”, Nina almost bark and made an attempt to get up. “…..thursday?!, we have to save your father from the Sosai and we only have three days left!”, she stated.

“I know…..relax”, Eric said and tried to calm her down. “Me and Alex have being getting alot of information. And a few other people are helping out”.

“What information?……and which other people are helping?”.

Then the door opened. Alex, Suzanne walked into the room. Suzanne saw Nina awake and rushed at her bed with alot of joy. She threw her arm around the hurting woman’s shoulder and gave her alot of peck.

“Oh thank God you are awake”, Suzanne said after Nina managed to extricate herself from the hug. “I thought i’ve lost you”.

“Well, young woman you can see that i am alive and almost well”, Nina smiled weakly and looked at Alex. “What about Max?”, she asked him.

“Alex bowed his head and remained silent for a while.

“What happened…..is he alive?”, Nina asked with a bit of fear in her voice.

“He is dead”, Alex replied. “He is the reason why you are still alive mom…..he covered you and took most of the bullets. His body is still in the morgue”.

Nina remained silent with a downcast gaze for a while and then looked at them.

“I promised him that i will protect him”, she then said with a sad tone. “And i failed him……i failed him”, Nina sobbed.

Suzanne sat beside her and held her hand as she comforted her. Alex sighed and looked at Eric who stared at Nina with a surprised look in his face; he had never seen the woman cry.

“Tell me all about the informations you have”, Nina asked and looked at Eric, her voice suddenly firm and the look in her eyes quite hard.

“The oldman still got father but he is not the one that sent those gunmen”, Eric replied. “There is another player in the game. A man by the name Gus……do you know him?”, he asked Nina.

Nina smirked and pursed her lips. “Go on….continue”, she said and looked away.

“This guy called Gus paid some goons by the name Hector and Santos to do the job”, Eric continued. “But you weren’t the only person in their hit list. They also want Alex dead”,

Nina furrowed her eyebrows and looked at Eric. “That’s odd”, she murmured. “Of course i had a beef with Gus…..but why would he want Alex dead…….anyway how did you know that?”, she asked Eric.

“I saw Alex’s picture in one of their guy’s cellphone when i went to the General hospital to check on one of their dead guys”, he replied.

“Dead guys?”.

“Yeah…..they wanted to finish the job, to kill you in the hospital but Suzanne took care of them and got you out of there”, Alex said. “That’s why you are here”.

Nina looked at Suzanne and smiled at her.

“But one other thing…”, Alex continued. “They were tracking us through your cellphone”.

“Tracking through my phone?, That’s impossible”, Nina shook her head in disbelief. “Even the government of this country cannot track that phone”.

“But they did track us through your phone”, Eric said. “That was how they located you at the cafe. Alex left the phone in father’s place and the men showed up and shot up the place”.

“What?!”, Nina exclaimed.

“I had it with me when i went to the General hospital and they showed up there”, Eric added.

“Oh God”, Nina murmured thoughtfully. “What is the situation in Barry’s mansion?”, she asked.

“Five people dead. Four house helps and…….Rogers”, Alex replied quietly and glanced at Eric. “We managed to convince Agnes to take Daniel and Victoria and leave the country. And not to come back till everything is resolved”.

Nina sighed and shook her head again. “What about those men?, how far have you gone with them”, she asked.

“So far about twenty of the guy including Santos now have the ‘Rigamortis’ setting in on them. The rest are yet to make any move”, Eric replied. “Maybe it’s because the tracker is not showing them anything, or maybe they are too scared to make any”.

“Where is my cellphone?”,

“We gave it to Alex’s friend called Chris. We want him to help us find the bug in it.

“And we want you to try to remember the places you had being to throughout last week till the day you were shot”, Alex added. “It will help us to be able to find out how it got bugged.

Nina nodded several times and felt her chest that was covered with bandages. 

“Gus….”, she chuckled and smiled with a nod. “I will take a rest now. I want you all to leave me alone for sometime….perhaps for three hours”, she ordered them. Then she looked at Suzanne. “Get me a pen and some papers”.

“Okay aunt Nina”, she replied and proceeded to the door.

“Whatever it is that make you guys stay sharp and at the top of your game, you better go start doing it…..”, Nina said with a smile. “…..because it is open season on Gus and his crew”.

BLOODLINE 2 Episode 8
#OpraDre

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