The night had taken an eternity to pass and Jessica had caught a fever because of the constant anxiety. She was shaking terribly. Her eyes burned and begged for rest but her brain refused. She had been lying in her bed with her eyes wide open. The paranoia of an unseen creep stalking her from the shadows to do god knows what was too much for the woman. It was a bright morning with a lot of activity in the neighborhood yet she was cooped up inside her dark room. After what had happened at work, her boss and colleagues would do well to expect her to take another day off. She had hoped that the sunrise would bring her some relief but she was wrong.
The eerie feeling of a lamb before slaughter was there to stay. She couldn't gather the courage to take a peek through the window. She dreaded the off chance of someone peeking back. There was a gentle knock on the front door. The abrupt noise r
Palomino was hot enough to cook a person alive. The heat of the sea was running through the city in full swing. The entire city felt like an oven. Casa Ortiz was tranquil like the rest of the city in the last hours of the daylight. The huge white mansion glowed in the golden sunlight. The servants had started to flick on the exterior lights of the mansion. The estate stretched to acres and every bit of it had something to be admired. The huge garden of the mansion had olive trees that bore ripe fruits. The gardener had scheduled the harvest for the next morning. There was a patch of neatly trimmed hedges that looked too perfect to be real. There were extremely expensive vintage cars standing around the estate with a separate designated driver on stand by. Every bit of the estate was well looked after and not one inch of it was devoid of intimidating armed security. Squads of men wearing commando gear, armed to the teeth, patrolled the mansion every five minutes or so. There was an air
The entire mansion was in a frenzy as Gabriel’s intentions were obvious to the servants and the guards. The mansion had been dormant for a year with nothing but sorrow and depression dominant in it. All of a sudden the atmosphere had drastically changed. All the servants were running around, trying their best to anticipate any task and get it done as soon as possible. None of the staff knew what was going on but they could tell that whatever it was it was big.Amidst all the chaos, a bright red roofless Lotus entered the mansion grounds and screeched to a halt in front of the building. The guards and the staff knew the owner well enough to let the car inside the mansion grounds. An extravagantly dressed twenty-four-year-old woman emerged from the car and carefreely walked towards the mansion. A huge pair of sunglasses covered most of her face. Her dress was an invitation for all the onlookers. Barely anything was covered. A few guards welcomed her a bit too enthusiastically. She enjoy
The private jet touched down in Nebraska in the darkness of the night. Gabriel was the first one to emerge from the jet and he was immediately on the phone. A swarm of guards rushed out of the jet after him. There wasn’t a lot of baggage to unload. A convoy of SUVs was waiting for the guests. In front of the vehicles were a dozen heavily armed men in military uniform that looked capable enough to take care of a small army. Gabriel was sure that the convoy was meant for them the moment he laid his eyes on it from above. It was a good sign for the outfit. Varga was given nothing but chump change and a handful of the deadweight men to survive in the Russian dominated world of crime in Nebraska. The young man seemed to have achieved a lot in his years in the stranger state. After a few phone calls, Gabriel hit Hugo up. Hugo Ortiz exited the jet. The moment he passed the door, he could feel the freezing cold breeze penetrate his skin. He instinctively jerked his arms. The armed men in unif
In the heat of the afternoon, Michelle headed back home, fuming with rage. Her car raced through the densely populated streets and everyone ran for cover. She wouldn't mind running a dozen people over. She could feel the veins on her forehead pulsating with every heartbeat. She finally reached her apartment and stopped her car. The valet approached her to relieve her of the keys. She held the keys forward and just as the valet extended his arm to take them, she dropped them on the ground. It was on purpose. The keys bounced once before rolling under the car. The young valet had his heart in his mouth. “Oops! Look what you’ve done! If there’s even a single scratch on it, it’ll come out of your salary!” she yelled. The man knew well enough that she had dropped the keys intentionally but he couldn't dare to retaliate. He stood there shaking like a scared little puppy. Michelle loved it. It was her favorite pastime.“Well? My keys won’t get off the ground themselves!” she yelled. The val
Unmindful of the terror she had faced the day before, Jessica arrived at work in a delightful mood. She tipped the hobo outside the bank with a bill instead of a usual coin. The hobo was overjoyed. She didn't care if he blew it on a bet or a whiff of heroin as long as he was happy. The staff of the bank hadn't expected to see her in such a state but they weren't complaining. They all hoped to put it all behind them and start anew. Carlos greeted her like he did everyday and she greeted him back. Brenda was the happiest on seeing her in such a good mood. The traffic in the bank was slow as usual. “So what’d you do in your time off?” Brenda casually asked, briefly glancing away from the screen of her phone. “Watched some movies and went shopping,” responded Jessica. All the coworkers wanted to check in on her but the awkwardness was too much. Wheatley paid her a brief visit. The man rarely came out of his office. The visit was mainly a streak of recorded sentences and overly formal r
All the officers in the police station were on edge. They were accustomed to small-time burglaries, petty thievery and drunken brawls. Not even the most experienced of them had seen something of that scale. An army of intimidating and obviously foreign looking men sat in front of them in handcuffs, waiting to be processed. More than half of the policemen in the station did not even know who the guests were. Juan Varga sat with his men without a hint of care on his face while Hugo and Gabriel sat in the interrogation room. Rodrigo had made a run for it. Hugo sat there like a mannequin. A sad one at that. He just stared at the walls in deep thought. A couple of officers sat across from him at a loss for words. They didn't even know where to start. They didn't have the slightest clue who they were dealing with. Gabriel had been waiting for the opportunity to make a phone call since the moment he had arrived there. As soon as the opportunity arrived, he made the most of it. Gabriel was di
The sun was about to go down and the neighborhood was bustling with activity. The children were making the most of the last minutes of sunlight. A bunch of kids were playing street hockey. The game was getting heated and there were all sorts of noises. Adam was having a hard time trying to concentrate on his work. His new project was killing him. It had been a while and still he couldn't plan the second floor. He kept drawing and deleting. The laptop screen was taking a toll on his eyes. The harder he tried to focus, the children just matched it. He finally gave up and slapped the laptop shut. He heard the front door close. He sprang up to his feet filled with adrenaline. He looked around for anything to wield. He picked up the baseball bat. It had taken him a lot of trying to get all the worry out of his mind. But that one thud sound brought back all the fears tenfold. He slowly creeped towards the door of his room.“Honey, I’m home!” Jessica exclaimed as soon as she entered the hous
Jessica gathered the courage to speak but the doorbell snatched the opportunity away from her. The pizza had arrived. Adam sprang up to his feet to receive it. Stepping outside, Adam realized that the sun had taken its leave a while ago. The sky was pitch black. The time flew when they were being intimate with one another. Adam gave the pizza guy a generous tip and returned to Jessica with the boxes. She had finally picked a movie to watch. Adam grabbed a crate of beer from the fridge and they were set for the evening. The movie was a romantic comedy just like Jessica had wanted. It had just the right amount of comedy and dirty jokes. The main female character has an affair in her office and her husband suspects it but the evidence escapes him by the barest of margins in a very laughable manner. After a while of enjoying the meal and the movie, Jessica remembered the matter at her own office that she needed to share with her husband. She took her time and chose her words. “Y’know? T