As soon as Wade was done with the archive room, he ordered Carl to drive him to the bank the next day. The entire journey, his brain kept repeating the same words, ‘the hell was he doing there?’ If Hugo had visited the bank alone or just with Gabriel, it wouldn't have troubled Wade that much but the entire army of trained thugs left a lot of questions unanswered. The bank wasn't too far. They stopped the car at the parking lot and went to the entrance. Carlos saw them approach and blocked the way. He could see his own reflection on Wade’s goggles. Wade couldn't help but chuckle. “Aren’t you the same guy who allowed an army of goons inside the bank?” Wade mocked and walked right past him. Carlos had his confidence shattered and his posture weakened. He caught the badge hanging from Wade’s neck as he passed him. Wade stopped and turned back. Carlos was stiff with fear. “Why did you let me through, big man?” Asked Wade without a hint of playfulness on his face. “Because… you’re cops,
Back at Juan Varga’s liquor place…Hugo Ortiz refused to lay on the bed like a helpless person. He stood in front of the mirror and slowly buttoned up his shirt. He tried to move as little as possible to avoid stretching the stitches. Juan had procured a lot of things that he thought his boss might ask for. He was rarely nervous but nothing in his life had ever prepared him for what he was facing today. He stood behind his boss, trying to find the correct words to frame his question. “What do we do now?” Juan finally asked. Hugo didn't take his eyes off the mirror and pondered for a moment. “You know when I was just a boy, I used to keep chickens and roosters. The coop was in the garden of our mansion. There was no greater happiness to me than seeing my flock grow. I used to show my newly hatched chicks to everyone I knew,” Hugo told his story. Juan listened intently. “On Sunday mornings, my father and I used to hang out in the garden of the mansion. My father read the paper while
The van was moving at a blinding speed. The driver expertly shifted the car from lane to lane and maneuvered around the traffic. The interior of the van was extremely dark and the windows were painted black. The maneuvering made the passengers of the van lose their balance every once in a while. The old beggar tried to fight blindly and threw a few random punches in the air but he received a single well timed blow in his abdomen that made him fall down and roll into a ball. His head was covered by a small sack and his hands were zip-tied behind his back. It took him a while to regain his breath. “Do you fuckers have any idea who I am?” The old beggar yelled as soon as his lungs allowed him to speak. “I work for Vladimir. Ever heard of that name?” The beggar added and awaited a shocked or terrorized response. “We know. That’s exactly why you’re coming with us,” a voice laced with indifference responded from the darkness of the sprinting van. “I will rape your families, you fucking b
At Jessica’s house…Night had fallen and the house looked empty. Adam sat idly in the dimly lit living room and stared at the clock as it barely moved. The half full bottle of whiskey stared at him and he stared back. The voices in his head were continuously suggesting him everything ranging from violence to suicide. Recently, Adam had been encountering these thoughts quite frequently and in those times, the bottle had always been his best friend. But today, he didn't crave the alcohol. A part of him wanted the voices to finally consume him. The arrival of police in his already shook up life was not a good omen. It was the harbinger of even worse days to come. With police in the picture, god knows what Hugo would do to get his hands on Jessica. Among the voices, he could hear Jessica’s voice, calling him a liar. It made him break down. Tears fell from his eyes as he sobbed with his face buried in his palms. All this time he had tried his best to convince himself that he had no choice.
In front of the Citylights Strip Club…A convoy of cars smoothly maneuvered through the empty roads in the middle of the night. Juan Varga had swept the streets beforehand and taken care of any threats in the area. It was safe for Hugo to move in. Hugo sat silently in the car in the middle. The convoy scattered as soon as it was in the vicinity of the club. Only Hugo’s car approached the main gate of the building. The strip club had a long line in front of it and all of the patrons were men. The building was covered in neon outlines of nude female silhouettes. The club was owned by a Russian businessman who just wanted to have something in the US. The Bratva offered to take care of it for him. It wasn't an offer to be exact. They wanted a hideout and the owner wasn't given much of a choice but at least they didn't steal the money the club made. Hugo and Varga stepped out of the vehicle and cut the line. The people in the line were furious but they decided against causing any trouble.
The moment Hugo saw that security camera, he was sure that Vladimir was here. Hugo could almost see the scared thug shivering in front of a screen inside the room. When the door opened, Hugo found exactly what he had expected. Vladimir was in his boxers standing in front of a small screen. Behind him was an unconscious naked girl lying on the bed. The room was trashed. Empty bottles of champagne were scattered around. A small table at the corner still had two lines of coke on it. There was slow music and faint red lighting in the room. It was obvious that Vladimir had been making full use of the club’s facilities. It seemed that Vladimir had got the news of their arrival a bit too late. He didn't have a gun in his hands. It was meters away from him on the table and he knew better than to make a run for it in front of those two. He eyeballed and tried to intimidate them. It was no use. Hugo might have been two decades younger than Vladimir but his aura was unmatched. He just stood the
Back at Adam’s and Jessica’s house…Jessica had been out cold for a couple of hours and Adam had been right by her side the whole time. The moment she finally woke up, she started crying her eyes out again. She hadn't expected her issues to be that bad. She was tainted. She couldn't give herself to the one she loved even if she tried. Adam comforted her and convinced her to have some rest. He went downstairs to the kitchen and found half the jars empty. The grocery day had passed a while ago. His life had been so muddled in the past few days that he didn't even realize it. He picked up his jacket and decided to pay the store a visit. Adam’s mind kept playing Jessica’s screams on a loop. At one point he had had enough and he stopped the car at the roadside. He closed his eyes and tried to erase Jessica’s pitiful wailing face from his vision. It just kept flashing back. He let out a scream and punched the steering wheel multiple times. The windows were shut so his cry didn't escape the
Carl drove swiftly and expertly through the oncoming traffic. At times, he even had to drive the wrong way to avoid the delays. Some of the swerves were extremely dangerous and left the drivers around him flipping him the bird. Wade Johnson was in a world of his own. He didn't give a crap about a beggar’s corpse but the specifics left him intrigued. After a long journey, the car arrived in front of an abandoned tunnel. A bunch of police cars and an ambulance stood by the entrance of the tunnel. The place was cordoned off with yellow police tape. Wade got out of the car and walked towards the crime scene. A rookie tried to stop him from entering but another cop who recognized Wade told the rookie to let him through. The Detective lifted the tape with his finger and walked underneath it. A corpse covered by a white sheet lay at the far end of the tunnel. A forensics guy was snapping pics of the crime scene. There were a bunch of yellow cones scattered around with numbers on them. Wade