UNEDITED
Florence Brown and her partner were sitting on the opposite side in the bus, facing Rex and Sheila who was sitting at the other end. Florence had the phone in her hand extended towards Rex who was leaning forward to speak with Henry. The phone was on loudspeaker, so all four of them could hear the conversation.
“There’s someone, Carl. Someone we didn’t think of…” Rex was trying to explain but Henry cut him short impatiently.
“Who the f**k is it?”
“Florence Brown, does that ring a bell?” Rex gasped, staring at Florence’s face as he said it.
“No, you gotta remind me.”
“Lawrence Brown’s sister,” he mentioned.
There was silence from Henry’s end for a few seconds before he cursed. “Oh, Sh*t!” he took another brief pause again. “What the f**k does she want?”
“I want you, assh*le,” Florence slammed.
Henry gasped and went silent for some more seconds. “Ma’am, you’re delaying something important. You should listen to whatever Rex says to you. I’m sure you won’t want to cause trouble with us…”
“F**k you, man! You’re the one that’s gonna listen to what I have to say,” Florence slammed. “I’ll send you a location to meet me there, alone. If you want to keep Sheila Jack alive, make sure you show up there without trying to be smart.”
Henry did not seem impressed. “Can you get the phone to Rex, please? I ain’t got anything to say to …”
“I’m here, Carl. I’m listening,” Rex put in.
“What the heck does she want from us? You need to fix it. This ain’t the time to let trivial issues stop us…”
“F**k you, man! You’re calling the murder of my brother a trivial issue?” Florence cursed.
“Can you just keep quiet, woman? Let me talk to Rex,” Henry fired back.
“Carl, she’s got us. I’m in shackles right now,” Rex put in.
“How did that happen?”
“Apparently, she works for the Red Wolves. She’s here with an army of men far above what we could handle.”
“Oh, no…” Henry gasped.
“Are you ready to listen to me now?” Florence asked but there was no answer from Henry. “I’m making this call to give you a chance to save Sheila Jack. The only option is to exchange yourself for her. I’ll send you a location and you meet us there.”
Henry was still silent.
“Did you get that?” Florence questioned but there was no response. “I know you’re listening, man. Don’t f**k with me!”
“Why are you doing this?” Henry asked in low tones.
“It’s too late to ask or answer that question, the deed is done now. I’ll send you three addresses to meet me for the exchange.”
“How do I know you’ll be there for sure? What if this is just a plan to get me?”
“I’m not sure you have any choice here,” Florence replied.
“No matter what happens, make sure you do not touch a hair on her body.”
Florence laughed, finding Henry’s threat amusing. “Really? You think you can tell me what to do?”
“You must not hurt her in…”
Florence did not allow him to finish before sending a punch into Sheila’s stomach, making her scream loudly. She sat back with the phone and laughed.
“F^^k you, woman! You’re gonna pay for this…”
“Make sure you get to the addresses I send to you as soon as possible, or she might have gotten a lot of scars before you arrive.”
“How the f**k do you want me to get there quickly with three addresses?”
“I’ll send them one after the other,” Florence replied. “You’ll only get the next one after reaching the first.”
“What if…”
“See you soon, man,” Florence ended the call without letting him finish.
“You shouldn’t have done that,” Rex scoffed.
“If you keep telling me what and what not to do just like Carl was doing, she may not survive the journey,” Florence said in a threatening tone, staring at Sheila who was still writhing in pain.
Rex took in a deep breath, keeping the words he had in mind to himself.
“When do we leave?” Thiago who had been outside, listening to their conversation asked.
“In one minute,” Florence replied and got up. She tapped the guy by her side and they proceeded out.
Thiago signalled to two of his men who entered the vehicle and took the position Florence and her man got up from. The door was closed from behind.
“Since we’re transferring the captives in different vehicles, I think you may need all of my men to escort the vehicles.”
“No,” Florence shook her head. “I think we just need half of the number we have. I put them in a separate vehicle to make sure they’re unable to communicate.”
“But you still have the leader and the girl in that,” Thiago put in, nodding towards the vehicle where Rex and Sheila were.
“Yeah, the woman is not a fighter. She’s just a businesswoman involved in this. Even if Rex thinks of causing any fight along the way, he’ll be scared of what could happen to her.”
“I hope you are right,” Thiago stated before walking towards his men to give them orders. “Some of you will have to return to the base.”
——
Meanwhile at Bexford
“What the heck happened?” Tanko stared at Henry’s face intently.
Henry stared at him blankly as he lowered the slowly, without any intention to answer his question.
“Talk to me, man. What’s happening?”
“They got cornered by the Red Wolves somehow,” Henry finally stated.
“I thought we were certain no one will have an idea where we landed,” Tanko looked alarmed. “Are we sure they aren’t coming for the two of us yet?”
“They don’t know where we are,” Henry replied.
“What if someone has told them?”
“Only Rex and Sheila knew we are dropping off, they won’t say anything,” Henry reassured as he got up to his feet. He stood in front of Tanko and stared into his eyes. The phone in his hand vibrated and he pulled down the notification bar to check the message. “They sent an address. We need to get as many men as possible and go get them.”
“Huh?” Tanko stared at Henry in disbelief. “Go get who? I got some of my best men already being questioned by the FOX, or Hutton Ryker as you guys claim. Now, Rex has been captured too. You want me to lead more men into the lion’s den?”
“Your men are coming back, Tanko. As long as none of them talks, there’s no proof that they were connected to us. The FOX has no reason to hold on to them,” Henry explained.
“What about those caught with Rex?”
“We have to go get those together. You can gather as many men as you have left and we’ll think of something along the way.”
Tanko stepped closer to Henry and stared him closely in the face. “We’ve got our hideouts raided in the last three hours. Most of my fighters have gone into hiding. The Red Wolves have probably got an army and the FOX to support them, how do you want us to go against them with fewer resources?”
Henry’s shoulders dropped as a sigh escaped his lips. “You know what? I’ll go alone but I may need you to continue with me in the background.”
“If what you need me to won’t be dangerous, I’ll do it. I don’t think it makes sense for us to continue on a lost cause.”
“It’s not a lost cause yet, we determine from here if it is lost,” Henry said and placed a hand on his shoulder. Then he turned towards the men loading the vehicles with weapons. “Let’s see what we can use here.”
A few minutes later
Bexford, Bethanna
Hutton was still sitting alone in his chair, his phone held in his hand as he waited for Florence’s call. After a brief moment of waiting, he decided to stop waiting and reach her first. He dialled her number and placed it close to her ear.
“Florence, why have I yet to hear from you?”
“We’ve got them, boss,” Florence replied calmly from the other end.
“I f**king know you’ve got them, Thiago called me already,” Hutton replied. “My question is why haven’t you called to tell me?”
“I was gonna call you,” Florence replied. “But I got to take things one after the other. We still have Carl Winston missing here.”
“Damn!” Hutton gasped. Thiago had reported his discovery about two people who must have jumped off the plane, but couldn’t mention who they were. Hutton had assumed that since Sheila was captured with them, Carl would be there also as he didn’t expect him to leave her side. “Is there any way we’re going to get him?”
“Yes, I reached him already through Rex. I talked to him about exchanging his life for Sheila Jack’s.”
“You think he’s just going to accept that?”
“I think he has no choice if he wants Sheila Jack to remain alive. According to you, that’ll be his priority.”
“Yes, I’m sure he would want to protect her. What I’m not sure is if he’ll not try to stage a rescue.”
“I’m aware of that and prepared. I can assure you that no one is getting away.”
“Do you need more men?”
“No, I’ve got enough already. I’m meeting with Carl Winston very soon and I’m gonna bring him in bonds to you.”
“I can’t wait to see that,” Hutton replied.
_
** Some minutes later **
“Where are we at now?” Elvis Kahn asked as he wheeled himself into the living room, Chanda following behind.
Hutton glanced at him. “Florence has got Rex Morris and Sheila Jack. Carl Winston got off the aeroplane before they arrived at the location and she’s trying to get him now.”
“So, what do we need to do now? Just wait?” Chanda asked.
“Yeah, we wait…”
“If she’s got Rex and Sheila Jack, they should be dead by now right?” Kahn asked.
Hutton stared at him quietly for a while. “No, they aren’t dead. She’s reaching Carl through Rex and plans to stage an exchange of Sheila with Carl.”
Kahn sighed. “You really think that’s gonna work? Come on, Hutton. We’ve made this same mistake several times before now. If she’s got Rex and Sheila, she’s gotta take the opportunity to ki*ll them at once.”
Hutton took in a deep breath. “You’re right,” he mumbled before picking up his phone.
____
“We should be getting to the base in forty minutes,” Xavier, the guy always beside Florence said to her.
“Yeah…” she answered almost inaudibly. Her face looked pale and she had her head leaning on the headrest with her eyes staring forward thinly. Her mind was filled with thoughts of her late brother.
“Are we expecting no fight from Carl?”
“Of course, not. He’s gonna think of putting up a fight, but I’m sure he’ll put Sheila Jack’s safety first. That restricts him and gives us the edge.”
Xavier was going to ask another question when Florence’s phone began to ring. She paused and took it out. Hutton Ryker was calling again.
“Hey,” she answered.
“How close are you to Bexford?” Hutton asked.
“Very close, it could take us fifteen more minutes. You want us to meet you up somewhere?”
“No, I just need…”
Loud sounds of gunshots suddenly rented the air, making it impossible for Florence to continue with her call.
The different vehicles screeched to a halt, including the one Florence was in. She pulled out her guns from her sides immediately and stepped out of the car. Xavier also did the same on the other side.
Florence gasped on seeing that the trouble was coming from the vehicle Rex and Sheila were being transported in.
____
“What the f**k just happened!” Hutton yelled as he paced about the living room, his phone held tightly in his hand. Kahn and Chanda were still in the living room with him.
He paused for a moment and dialled Florence’s number again but she didn’t answer. A minute ago, he was speaking to Florence Brown on the phone when he heard gunshot sounds. To make it worse, Florence stopped answering at the same time.
“You should have ordered her to ki*ll them right there,” Kahn scoffed. “I always knew transporting them would give us trouble.”
“Sh*t up, man!” Hutton slammed at him. “I was about to ask her to ki*ll and transport their dead bodies instead.”
There was silence in the room for a while but the tension was so strong. Hutton tried to reach Florence twice again but to no avail.
Ten minutes later, his phone beeped. He checked the notification and saw there was a new message from Florence’s number.
“Sh*t!” he cursed under his breath. Carl and Rex must have gotten hold of Florence’s phone, he thought.
To his greatest surprise, he opened the message to see a picture of Rex and Sheila on the floor dead.
Before he could say anything, the phone began to ring.
“Florence?” he answered immediately.
“They tried to cause us troubles,” Florence spoke in an exhausted voice. “I had to do it.”
“I was going to tell you to do so,” Hutton gasped. “What about Carl? How are you going to get him?”
“Their death has messed up my plans, but I’ve got to proceed anyway. I’m gonna hope Carl doesn’t suspect they’re dead and continue with the plan.”
“What are you going to do with their bodies?” Hutton asked.
“What do you want us to do?” Florence asked. “We could discard them or I send them to you to do so.”
“No, discard the bodies. What I need now is Carl Winston, whether dead or alive. We need to present him as the head of Red Wolves somehow.”
“I hope to achieve that, boss.”
“I hope you do too, and I have no doubt you can,” Hutton added before ending the call. He kept the phone aside and let out a sigh of relief.
“Tell me what’s happening,” Kahn requested impatiently.
“She dropped Sheila Jack and Rex Morris, but Carl Winston is still out there alive,” Hutton replied, passing his phone to Kahn.
Kahn collected the phone and looked at the pictures. He let out a deep breath in relief and handed the phone to Chanda who also wanted to see it. “That’s some good news.”
“Yes, it is,” Hutton remarked. “Now, we have to finish off Carl Winston with all we can.”
______
Florence was still standing outside with Xavier by her side. Both of them had survived the war of gunshots which took down all their men.
She took in slow deep breaths as she stared at the bodies.
“We can’t discard all these bodies, can we?” Xavier asked. “We don’t even have enough body bags.”
“No, we can’t,” Florence replied. “Just these two will be enough.”
“I’ll bring the bodybags but I’ll need help to put them in,” Xavier replied before walking to the boot of the vehicle he and Florence stepped out from.
Florence took in another deep breath and stared at Rex’s face for a while before turning back.
“Tough bas***d,” she muttered under her breath.
_____
Henry looked into the rearview mirror and could see Dave walking towards the car with his phone close to his ear.
“You’re on the right path, I’m sitting in the red car,” he said into the phone and then ended the call.
Dave put down the phone and increased his steps towards the car. Henry opened the door to the passenger’s side before he got there. Dave entered the car and closed the door.
“Didn’t think you’ll be back early,” Dave remarked.
“Yeah,” Henry replied dryly.
There was silence for almost one minute as both of them took the time to ruminate on their thoughts.
Henry was about to speak when he noticed something in the rearview mirror.
“Did someone follow you?” Henry asked and then turned back to look.
Dave also turned. “Sam!” He exclaimed.
Henry let out a breath. Dave stepped out of the car and waved to Sam to signal where he was.
Samantha walked briskly to the car with a suspicious look on her face.
“Why are you following me?” Dave questioned her.
“Who the f**k are you meeting with?” Samantha ignored his question and bent in to see who was inside.
“Get in, you two,” Henry ordered.
“Henry!” Samantha gasped at seeing him. She entered the backseat and placed a hand on Henry’s shoulder. Henry held her hand in his warmly.
“Wait! Were you suspecting me?” Dave asked after entering and closing the door.
“I heard you answering the call and I had to follow you,” Samantha replied.
“I thought you were asleep.”
“My friends died in a bomb blast a few hours ago, there’s no way I can sleep well.”
“I asked him not to tell anyone I called him,” Henry put in. “I wanted him to tell you and Maria what I had to say, but since you’re both here now, you’ll hear it together.”
Dave and Samantha exchanged glances and then took in a deep breath to prepare themselves for what he was about to say.
“Things have become even messier,” Henry began. “Rex and Sheila have been captured by some of the Red Wolves men as they landed.”
“How did that happen?” Dave questioned.
“I dropped off before we got to the landing ground, that’s why I’m here.”
“I need to understand everything please,” Samantha raised her voice after a moment of silence. “Why is Rex with Sheila? Didn’t you get to El Deols to take Rex down?”
“It’s a little bit complicated than that, Sam,” Henry answered. “I got to find out that Rex has not been against us, he’s been working to prevent us from getting into trouble. But now, we’ve gotten into it anyway.”
“I’m not sure I understand what you’re talking about,” Dave put in.
“I’ve got no time to explain now, guys. What you just have to understand is that Rex is on our side. And now we’ve got a problem, Rex and Sheila are being held by a woman who works for the Red Wolves.”
There was silence for a while.
“Do we have enough time to save them?” Samantha questioned.
“Well…Now that the Red Wolves have taken over the FOX, we don’t even have enough resources or time to save them,” Henry replied.
“Why are you telling us this? You have a plan right?” Dave questioned
Henry chuckled and stayed silent for a while.
“I know what you’re thinking, Henry. But whatever you want us to do, we’re ready to follow you.”
“What?” Dave looked at Samantha’s face and scoffed. He was sure not ready to follow Henry anywhere, especially when they lacked time, manpower, and resources.
“I’m not involving any of you in this,” Henry finally spoke. “The Red Wolves want me to hand over myself in exchange for Sheila’s life,” he paused for a few seconds again. “I’ll hand over myself to them, but I need you two to ensure Sheila returns home safely.”
“What?” Samantha gasped. “Don’t tell me you believe the Red Wolves will go ahead with that plan. What if they decide to keep you two?”
“I have a plan to make sure they don’t keep the two of us, I just need you two to keep Sheila safe.”
“I understand Sheila Jack is also wanted at the moment,” Dave put in. “It’s gonna take a lot to keep her safe.”
“I’ve got enough money for you two to get everything done, you just have to do it.”
“Isn’t there another way?” Samantha asked, looking hopeless.
“No, it’s either they have me or get Sheila. I can’t let Sheila die for nothing.”
To be continued
