Have a best friend that has your back

"prosecutor Carl, you need to see this" Sasha said to Carl immediately after he came out of Carlos's ward.

"…I was going through Carlos's phone and look at what I found," she said

"why were you going through Carlos's phone?" Carl asked her with a confused look.

"for clues. I'm sure you heard it when the woodcutter said Carlos was driving at full speed before the accident happened. I just wanted to know where Carlos was heading to and why he was such in a hurry?" She explained and Carl nodded

"and what did you find?" he asked.

"you're not going to believe it but… Carlos's accident wasn't just an accident" Sasha said.

"what??" Carl exclaimed.

"yes, listen to this voice recording," Sasha said and played the recording on Carlos's phone.

"of course! An eye for an eye …I've loosened some screws in your car tires and you're about to have a fatal accident."

Carl's eyes widened with his jaw dropped in response to the shocking thing he just heard.

"No no no, you… you can't do that,"

Sasha and Carl could hear Carlos's trembling voice from the phone.

"This will teach you never to mess with me ...Goodbye son of a bitch!"

Carl's hands were clenched into a fist. He was already furious at whoever was behind that voice he just heard.

"I want you to find out everything you know about that bastard," Carl said with gritted teeth.

"I will, but what do you want to do?" Sasha asked.

"bring him to justice for what he did to my best friend!" Carl answered

"Not so fast, prosecutor Carl," she said.

"so what now? I should wait until Carlos dies in a coma??" he angrily said.

"That's not what I meant, you're being too emotional right now. Look, I understand you're hurt because of your best friend's critical situation but we shouldn't rush things." Sasha said.

Meanwhile, Carl was feeling restless. He was scared that Carlos might not survive what he was going through.

"…I strongly believe that Carlos must've done something bad to whoever had caused his accident. And maybe, he was trying to get even with Carlos.

An eye for an eye, this will teach you not to mess with me. All those words meant something don't you think so?" Sasha said

"Well, what I think is that Carlos is the victim here and your main focus should be on that lunatic who tampered with Carlos's car. No matter what Carlos must've done to him, it shouldn't give him the right to come after his life" Carl said in a husky tone.

Sasha sighed deeply. She understood that Carl was unhappy and he wasn't thinking straight at the moment.

"prosecutor Carl, it's obvious you're worried about Carlos but nothing is going to happen to him, he's a very strong man and I assure you that he's going to be okay," Sasha said in a calm tone and Carl nodded his head reluctantly.

"The man who tried to kill Carlos was stored in Carlos's contacts as 'DL' I'm going to do my possible best to gather every information about him so we can hunt him down," she said.

"…Thank you, Sasha," Carl said softly.

"Sure… I have to go now, see you at work tomorrow" Sasha said and left.

Carl looked at his wristwatch and saw that the time was past 5 o'clock in the evening.

He picked up his phone to call Anne to break the sad news to her. He wanted her to know about Carlos's situation but he thought it might break her heart if she finds out so he left it.

But she has to know, she needs to know that Carlos is currently in a coma fighting for his life.

'I'll let her know tomorrow' Carl thought and kept his phone back in his pockets

The next day***

Carl was sitting down on his swivel chair inside his office, still thinking about Carlos's critical condition. He was deep in thought with a worried expression on his face yet still looking as handsome as always.

He was putting on a dark-green corporate long-sleeved shirt that matched his beautiful eyes and black trousers which matched the black shoes he was putting on.

"I just have to break the news to Anne," Carl said to himself as he brought out his phone to call Anne, ignoring the fact that she had told him she wanted her space and time to heal.

He called her number but her line was unavailable so he decided to leave her a voicemail.

"Good morning Anne, I know you said you wanted your space but uh... we really need to talk... I have some news that's not going to sit well with you and it's best if I tell you in person." Carl let out a soft sigh.

"Please call me back when you get this..." He dropped his phone on his desk and just then, he heard a knock.

"come in," he said.

"Prosecutor Carl, please come with me it's urgent," Sasha said, standing by the door she left half-opened.

Carl immediately stood up from his seat and followed her to her office.

Inside her office, Sasha sat down on her swivel chair in front of her desk and Carl stood beside her.

"Does this guy look familiar to you?" Sasha said, pointing to a man's picture on her laptop.

Carl took his time to get a good look at the picture

"no, I don't think so, …but he looks a little bit familiar," he said

"That's the man stored as DL on Carlos's contacts. The same man who must've tampered with Carlos's car to cause his accident," Sasha said.

Carl's eyes beamed

"Have you figured out who he is?" he asked sharply.

"Yes. He's a notorious criminal who calls himself 'Thee drug lord' but his actual name is Alberto Louis. He's an ex-convict, originally from Mexico but he currently lives in New York.

Apparently, I don't think he has changed from his evil ways. He's a serial killer, he trades illegal drugs, robs banks, and he's still wanted for killing a cop some years ago. He's also the leader of that gang the black blade" she said

"so he's the one behind the voice we heard in the recording," Carl said and she nodded.

"Thankfully, Carlos was smart enough to record their conversation but I wish he had recorded their entire conversation… or, what if Carlos is hiding something?" Sasha asked suspiciously.

"what do you mean?" Carl said

"I mean, what business does Carlos have with this criminal and why was he saved in Carlos's contacts? …They must've known each other so well don't you think?" Sasha asked

Meanwhile, Carl recalled when he caught Carlos escaping from robbing a bank. He has always known Carlos to be a thug but having any business with a serial killer? Nah.

"I don't think so..." Carl shook his head.

"Why would Carlos have any connections with that serial killer? I know Carlos has a little thuggishness in him but that was because he was raised in the hood." Carl said

"A little thuggishness?" Sasha chuckled

"Carlos is a freaking psychopath and we both know that. See how he dresses to work is that how a supposed lawyer should look like?" She questioned Carl.

"great! you're now judging him based on his appearance" Carl said

"not just by his appearance but how he acts sometimes…"

"…Carlos has bipolar disorder for Christ's sake, how do you expect him to act?" Carl interrupted her

Sasha stood up from her seat

"Carlos can have bipolar disorder and still act like a normal human being but NO, he chose not to seek therapy or take medications.

Remember when he spat on a cop just because he was questioned for being a reckless driver." Sasha said in a serious tone.

"Sasha, where is all this coming from? Are you forgetting that Carlos is the victim? A notorious criminal deliberately wrecked Carlos's car so he could die in an accident and you're here accusing him of being in touch with that serial killer" Carl said in a husky tone glaring at her.

He didn't want to believe that his best friend who he has known for so many years and who is also like a brother to him will be involved with a serial killer.

"Prosecutor Carl, I'm not accusing him. You don't wanna see the bad side of Carlos just because he's your BEST FRIEND" she said sternly but spoke nothing but the truth.

"Maybe if you were a lot nicer to people, especially your co-workers and not act so tough, you might as well have a friend or a best friend that has your back." He said tactlessly

Sasha inhaled sharply.

"You better pray things don't go south once Carlos finds out that you've been secretly obsessing over his girlfriend for months, Mr. prosecutor," she said, frowning at Carl, and immediately, a police officer barged in.

"Prosecutor Carl, commander Sasha, I'm sorry to interrupt but we've gotten track of where the drug lord and his gang is." the police officer said.