Chapter 8

   Craig was still In the kickboxing camp where he was undergoing serious coaching and hard training. He spent every waking moment practicing his punches, kicks, and footwork. He would wake up early in the morning to go for a run, spend hours in the gym perfecting his technique, and then end the day with more physical fitness training. He was determined to be the best, to outdo his colleagues, and to secure a future for himself.

But despite all his hard work, Craig couldn't shake off the feeling that he was always going to be the best during the final sparring matches of the day, 

Craig would often find himself paired up with one of his best friend, Bobby In the camp, as they exchanged punches and kicks, Craig would find himself struggling to keep up with his opponent's speed and agility. It was disheartening, but he couldn't let himself get distracted. He had to stay focused if he wanted to succeed because he had been carried away with the struggles of searching for his twin brother, 

One day, as Craig was in the middle of a particularly grueling training session, his coach pulled him aside. "Craig," his coach said, "you have to stop comparing yourself to the others, Yes, they might have a natural talent, but you have something that they doesn't have" the coach advised, 

"What's that?" Craig asked, slightly confused.

"Drive. You have a burning desire to succeed, to be the best. And that's something that can't be taught," his coach answered.

Craig felt a sense of relief all over him. He realized that he had been too focused on trying to beat his others instead of focusing on his own goals. From that day on, he made a conscious effort to ignore his other's success and instead focus on his own progress. He pushed himself harder than ever before, and soon he began to notice improvements in his technique and speed.

Months passed, and Craig was finally ready for his amateur kickboxing match. He felt a mix of nerves and excitement as he stepped into the ring, but he knew he was ready. Opposite him stood a formidable opponent, but Craig was determined to come out on top,

As the match began, Craig found himself in the zone. He moved with fluidity and grace, expertly weaving between his opponent's attacks and landing his own powerful hits. The crowd roared as the two fighters battled it out, but in the end, Craig was technically defeated, and he lost the battle because he lack focus, he allowed the thoughts of searching for his twin brother overwhelmed him, 

Craig came out of the ring devastated and frustrated, his coach, Mr, Hendrick was not happy that Craig lost the game, but he hug him, and cheers him up, and he said, “Craig, be strong for yourself and focus, 

Craig was led to his room In the camp by his friends, Martin's and Bobby, though, their tournament was coming In two days, but they learnt from Craig mistake and all of them stayed focus and concentrate on their careers, 

After Craig lost the first battle In the camp, he forgot about his twin brother for the main time, he stopped going out, he focused on the coaching and the training, he only called his girlfriend once In a while, 

Meanwhile, Alfonso was still out for Collins, but he has started begin to understand that  Craig Is not Collins,but he needs to see Collins for because of his packages and his money, 

Collins had came out from the the hideout, but he was still finding away to organize some money for Alfonso because he can be bold to face him, 

Though, Collins Is a tough mafia, but he was owning Alfonso money, he believes that he needs to be brave In dealing with the matter, 

Craig had been going on his daily workout routine for weeks now. He was a strong and disciplined kickboxer who never backed down from a challenge. As he was walking down the street, he noticed a group of men leaning against a parked car. They seemed to be waiting for someone, and when they saw him approaching, they signaled to each other.

Craig tried to pass them by, but one of the men grabbed him by the arm and pulled him towards the car. Craig tried to resist, but the men were too strong, and soon they had him pinned against the car. One of the men pulled out a cloth and covered Craig's face, and before he could react, they had bundled him into the back of the car.

Craig struggled to free himself, but the men had him securely tied up. He had no idea where they were taking him, but he knew it couldn't be good. As the car drove off, Craig felt a sense of fear and helplessness was all over him. He had never been in this situation before, and he didn't know what to expect.

After what seemed like hours, the car finally stopped, and Craig was dragged out. He could hear the sound of machinery and the smell of oil and gasoline. He was brought into a blacked out warehouse. As the men untied him, he tried to fight back, but he was too weak. They poured water over his head, and he gasped for air.

"What do you guys want from me?" Craig demanded.

"We want you to join our organization," one of the men said.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Craig replied, still gasping for air.

"You're a strong fighter," another man said. "We need someone like you on our side."

"I'm not interested," Craig said.

The men laughed and began to torture Craig. They hit him with sticks and punched him until he was bloody and bruised. Craig tried to fight back, but there were too many of them. After hours of torture, Craig finally gave in. He agreed to join their organization, hoping that it was the only way he would be able to escape.

The men untied him and sat him down at a table. They placed a contract in front of him and a pen.

"Sign this," one of the men ordered.

Craig knew that he had no choice. He picked up the pen and signed the contract.

"Welcome to the family," the leader of the group said.

Craig was now a member of the mafia, and he knew that his life would never be the same again. He had to be careful and keep his eyes and ears open at all times. But for now, he was just grateful to be alive.

Craig sat at the lawn with the group, nursing his drink as he watched the people around him. He hated being involved with the mafia, but it was the only way he could find a way out to still be alife, he took a deep breath in, trying to calm himself. He knew he had to follow their orders or face the consequences.

As he sat, he felt a hand on his shoulder. "Craig, my boy. You ready for your first task?" Andy stood behind him, smiling.

Craig turned around to face Andy. "What's the task?"

"We need you to deliver a truck of packages to some of our client at the black junction, though, they are expecting Collins, but you have to be smart and act like him. Can you do that?" Andy ssked,

Craig hesitated. He had not seen his twin brother in years, and he had no idea who his clients were. But he had no choice. He nodded. "I can do it." Craig said,

"Good." Andy gave him the details of the job and handed him a briefcase with the necessary documents. "Remember, Craig. This is your chance to prove yourself. Don't mess this up." he said,

Craig left the lawn and walked towards the garage where the truck was waiting. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest. He climbed into the driver's seat and took a deep breath before starting the engine. It was a twenty minute drive to the black junction, but it seemed like an eternity to him.

As he reached the destination, he saw a man waiving for him to stop. Craig stopped the truck and the man approached him. "You Collins?"

Craig hesitated, then nodded. "Yeah, that's me."

The man looked at him suspiciously. "You don't look like Collins."

Craig took out the briefcase. "I have the papers right here." He showed the man the forged documents. "You can check them."

The man looked at the papers and nodded. "Everything seems to be in order. I'll take the packages."

Craig handed over the packages, relieved that the job was over. He then started to drive away when the same man called out to him. "Hold on. I forgot to give you something." The man came back with an envelope. "Collins' payment."

Craig took the envelope and nodded, then drove off. He couldn't believe it. He had done it. He had completed his first task.

As he returned to the bar to give Andy the good news, he could feel a sense of pride in himself. Maybe he could survive in this world, even though it was not the life he wanted.

When he walked into the lawn where Andy was waiting for him. "Well done, Craig. I knew you could do it." Andy said, 

Craig smiled, feeling a sense of accomplishment. "Thanks, Andy. It was a tough job, but I did it." Craig said,

Andy patted him on the back. "I knew you had it in you. Now, let's get some drinks."

Craig sat down with him, feeling like he had made a friend. Maybe this life wouldn't be all bad.

The same day, Collins felt his heart racing as he made his way towards the black junction.

 It had been more than a month since he last visited, and he couldn't shake off the feeling of unease that lingered within him. He knew that returning to the place where he had lost both his money and packages, to their enemies and the police, was a risk. But Collins had no other option. He was desperate, and he needed the money that delivering this current batch of packages promised.

As he approached the clients, Collins noticed that they all wore suspicious expressions. They stood huddled together in a tight circle, whispering amongst themselves. Collins immediately felt his stomach knotting in anxiety.

"Hey guys", Collins greeted them with a strained smile. "I've got your request quantity of packages. Just like you asked". he said, 

The clients didn't say anything, and their silence Alarmed Collins. Something was truly off.

"I know it's been a while since I've been around", Collins said, "But trust me, I have good reasons for that. The police have been after us, and our enemies have been lurking around, targeting our deliveries", he explained, 

The clients exchanged glances and shook their heads dismissively. "You expect us to believe that?", one of them scoffed.

Collins swallowed hard, feeling the beads of sweat on his forehead growing into rivers. "I swear, I'm telling the truth. I couldn't risk putting myself or you guys in danger by making a delivery. The stakes were too high" he said,

“But you left this place not quite an hour, and you still come with a different the same truck” one of the clients explained,

“Me, Collins being to this place today, no,no, not me, this Is s my first time to come to you people after about being on the low for more than a month” Collins explained, 

“Hmm, okay, If It's not you, someone that looks like you came early hours today, and he had supplying us packages,” another client explained, 

“Is this a joke or prank, nobody has ever drag this black junction with me, you people know me, I don't have duplicate, and I will never send someone to this place because this place Is power point, and I must not joke or slack with It” Collins explained, 

Another client stepped forward and prodded Collins with a finger. "And now you expect us to believe you magically that you are not the one that once came today to supply us  packages” a client said, 

Collins was starting to feel like he was in deep trouble. No one believed him, and he could see the tension in the clients' faces building.

"This Is not magic matter, I brought you original packages, though, I understand you people that someone came before me,", Collins said. "About I can't go into details because I can't risk implicating anyone. But I promise you, I will go to the root of the matter, I will find out about the person that came before me this morning” Collins said, 

“We don't even understand you again,” one of the clients said, “how do you want us to know that you bring original substance today?“ he asked, 

“see, you might not believe me because It's had been long that you've seen me last, but I'm telling you that these packages are from a legitimate source. And I had to go through extraordinary means to get them" Collins explained, 

The clients looked at each other, and for a moment, Collins was sure that they were going to attack him. But then one of them stepped out of the group and took the packages from him. "We'll check them ourselves", he said, 

“Yeah, that's a good idea” Collins said, and he steps aside, waiting for the results, 

“We are coming” one of the clients said, and two of them walked Into their store, going to check and test what's Inside the package, 

Collins breathed a sigh of relief as the clients agreed to inspected the packages. The silence that followed was almost deafening, but Collins hoped it was a good sign,

Finally, one of the clients came out and turned to Collins and handed him a wad of cash. "You're lucky, Collins. These packages seem to be alright. But if we catch you lying to us again, we won't let you off so easily".

Collins nodded and took the cash, feeling a sense of relief, but he couldn't tell them the truth either about his twin brother, Craig, because he doesn't know the type of packages he supplying to them, 

Collins knows that his twin brother, Craig was alife but he couldn't believe that he had liver to join the mafia organization, but he later let the thought of his brother off his skull, 

As he made his way back to his car, Collins couldn't shake off the feeling that he had walked into a trap. It was getting harder to make deliveries after the loss he had suffered. The warehouse he had been using before had been razed to the ground in a police raid, and he had to make more deliveries himself. It was too risky and he knew he couldn't keep doing this for long.

But for now, Collins needed a drink. He made his way to the nearest bar, found a spot at the counter, and ordered a beer.