Chapter 76

Janet thought about what Marcus had told her and she did not know whether she should disclose it to Fawn, so she told Fawn who was checking out the clothes in her closet that she was going to get them something to drink.

"Oouuu, I didn't know you kept alcohol in this house"

"I do, I'm just not a drink that drinks without a reason. I'm not drinking though, it's morning."

Fawn rolled her eyes and said, "Look, who really made the law that drinking in the morning was a bad thing."

"Nobody. Common sense will tell you that you don't want to feel tipsy in the morning, when you have work and other important business to handle"

"Great. Nobody said it, people assumed it, I'm drinking this morning. Case closed."

Janet shook her head and walked out of the room away from Fawn who was chuckling and dancing in her room. She was deep in thought about Marcus. She did not know if he were safe and fine or if she and Fawn had something to worry about. She thought about telling Fawn what Marcus said as she brewed herself coffee and was looking for the wine she kept in her cabinet for Fawn. She did not see the wine and that's when she remembered that she and Marcus had drank it when they had one of their dinners at home. She remembered that night and smiled because she started feeling butterflies in her stomach again. That was the night she was sure that she loved Marcus. That night brought all the clarity she needed to be sure of her feelings.

She saw a bottle of Brandy that she bought just in case—she didn't drink Brandy so it was definitely not for her. She opened it and decided that whatever was left in the bottle, she'd just give it to Fawn since she was already leaving to college anyways. As she was waiting for the coffee, she started thinking about telling Fawn what Marcus said, again.

Fawn is my best friend, if something is going on, she should know about it. If she needs to protect herself, she should know that something is going on in town. But, what is really going on? Why does a dangerous activity going on concern Marcus? He sounded very concerned, and almost worried as he spoke about it. Should I really leave town today? If things are not so safe, is it wise for me to leave town? I honestly just feel like staying here till I see Marcus in person and ask him what is going on. Let me examine possible scenerios and finally make up my mind; if Marcus is connected in any way to what is going on,that could explain why he'd want me to leave town. But, if he's connected and he's asking me to leave, it means that somehow I am connected too. So, that would explain why I would need to leave because I'm involved with him, but in this scenario, it would also mean that Fawn is in trouble because she is connected to me which makes her a target. And if she is a target, I should warn her. Also, it would explain why the phonecall he had when he was here made him very uncomfortable. It felt like he was trying so hard not to let me know that something was wrong. And, it would also explain his injured worker, but he said that it was a work accident—speaking of his injured worker, how bad is it? He just told me that it was work injury, what if those bad guys messed him up and messed him up pretty bad. Regardless of the situation, there has to be some involvement with them for them to consider destroying his property and getting his worker injured. Unless he is lying to me, and if he is, I wouldn't even be able to tell. I am trying not to think that he is though because he has never lied to me—though, if he decides to lie to me about this situation I would totally understand why, I am going on a trip and he doesn't want to work me out and get me all anxious and worried about him, or Fawn, I would do the same to him if I were in that situation too. In the second scenerio, he is not involved in any of what is going on but he's affected by it and that's why one of his worker is injured. Seeing the worker that way made him worried about me immediately, and that is why he said what he said. If this is the case, then Fawn has absolutely nothing to be worried about and I'm just overthinking everything. His actions are totally comprehendable, I mean, who would want the love of their life to be killed. But, I still need to warn her about her own safety, the town is not that safe.

In the third scenerio, nothing is what I'm imagining and I'm just overthinking what is not really there. Can anyone blame me though? My boyfriend just told me the most indecipherable thing and now my mind has gone ballistic trying to figure out what is what. What do I do now? Listen to him and not say anything or not listen to him and be a good friend to Fawn? What do I really do? I am so confused...what do I do? She thought to herself but her thoughts were interupted by Fawn and the noise from the kettle.

She moved to turn off the cooking stove and then turned to face Fawn, "What were you saying?"

"I was asking you why you were letting the kettle boil that long"

She looked at the hot kettle, then turned back to Fawn and said, "Fawn, what do you know about the attacks from those druglords and gangs?"

Fawn sat in the kitchen with her and said, "Girl, in my opinion, they are doing way too much. Like, I don't—and nobody else does—get the their motives these days. They make the town almost inhabitable and the worst part is, nobody is saying anything about what they're doing. It's like the feds and the mayor himself cannot stop them at all. I feel bad for businesses they destroy with these violence they're exhibiting every damn day."

Janet nodded and said, "You're right. Marcus even has a share of their violence this morning."

Fawn's eyes widened and she said, "What? How did you find out?"

"The phonecall from earlier, it was to tell him, that's why he looked very distress."

"Oh my God, was the damage too much? Have you called him yet?"

"Yeah, he sounded normal but I heard someone whimpering in the background and he told me that the person whimpering was one of his workers."

"Well, did you ask him about the degree of the damage?" Fawn asked and then reached to get her glass of Brandy that Janet set out on the counter.

Janet just gave it to her and said, "I didn't. He...we...it never came up."

"Asking him about his business never came up?"

"Surprisingly no. I think it's because he didn't sound sad or worried. Like, you know what someone has lost something dear or precious to them, you know how they always react to the situation right? He didn't do that. He just just trying to make sure I wasn't worried. Then he said he was sending his PA, Michael to come take me to the airport or something."

Fawn took a sip of her drink, paused for a while and finally said, "Janet, if he's not coming with you then, it's serious, that's all I can tell you."

Janet frowned and said, "So, he lied?"

"I would not say lie, I'd say maybe he didn't want to get you worked up about him and his business. Like, guys like to handle their business alone, especially one this dangerous. Didn't you hear the Calibre of people involved in this? It's too dangerous for him, let alone you. I think you should do as he said"

"But, what about you?"

"What about me?"

"How safe is it for you?"

Fawn laughed and said, "Don't worry about me, my soldier boyfriend has taught me a few self protection moves, I'm good. Besides, it will take a personal attack for anyone to want to track me, what is my relationship in all these?"

"You're my best friend and we go almost everywhere together"

"Yeah, but I'm not dating Marcus and he does not look like the kind of person to escalate any violent issue..."

...

"Get all the silencers ready. Get Marion to bring the boys for their guns, we're bringing down those bitches today. The professor is our goal but tell the boys to have fun hunting down anyone and everyone they feel like killing. Someone needs to tame those lotus bitches—you know what? I don't want them tamed, I want them extinguished." Marcus said into the phone.

"Yes Sir!" The person at the end of the call replied.

Marcus turned to the other boys in front him, they were up to sixty. They looked very ready for the battle they were about to go out for. So, he decided to address them, "Boys, you know what we're doing today right?"

"Yes Sir" Most of them responded.

"For those of you who don't understand why I'm doing this, I'm doing this because those lotus pricks took a leak on our face, and are we going to let them insult us like that?"

"No Sir!" All of them yelled.

Marcus smiled and said, "I did not think so too. So, here's the plan; we're going to save our innocent poor professor who was taken away from under our own nose to the lotus lair. Those lotus jerks have continuously mocked us and believed that they can do whatever they want to do, but no, we have always had the upper hand and we must take control, even if it takes us—"

He got interupted by one of the bodyguards who came to tell him that the two men that betrayed them have been found. Marcus smiled and turned back to the crowd and said, "The traitors who sold us our have been found"

There was lots cheering and claps among the other men. Then Marcus signalled for them to be brought out to face everyone. As they waited briefly for the men to be brought, Marcus continued his speech.

"Lotus lair carry out their deeds based entirely on greed, not us though. We carry out our deeds based on motive and sometimes fun. Today, the motive is fun and cold-blooded revenge so have fun making them feel your rage, even if it means taking their lives. The professor must be untouched, if something as small as a scratch happens to him, the person responsible will face my wrath."

The guards brought in the two men. Immediately they saw Marcus, they began to tremble too. Marcus signalled the other guards to bring out a glass human box that was in one of the torture chamber. Then he turned back to the other men and said, "I like nature. She's a loving woman but when she's mad, she's mad mad. I am the son of nature and I'm mad mad. You dared to double cross me and destroy me? Did you really think I would not find you? Did you really think you'd get away from me? What gave you such guts? Speaking of guts, I guess I'll see what is in them today"

Realization dawned on the two men and they began to beg. They knew that the boss was a psychopath when he was upset, they just didn't know the extent of his madness in person. They had heard tales of it from the other guards in the break room. The guards say that they preferred the devil to the Don. There were tales by those who had see him in action, and they said the Don had the face of an angel—Royal, calm, clean, innocent and joyful, but the heart of the devil himself. When he was mad, he was beyond mad, he was ruthless, and nobody on earth could check him in his enraged form. That's why the guards in the room where he was torturing the other traitor were shocked that he did not go through with killing him. They knew that whoever was capable of making the Don not kill someone that he had started torturing was capable of taming him, he must love this person. This person was the only person that can get him out of this psychopathic rage.

When the guards brought the glasses, he signalled for the men to places in each of the boxes. In one, he asked that it be filled to the brim with water. The boxes were fashion in such a way that the head of the victim will be on top of it. In the box that contained water, he ordered a dark box labelled "pain" be poured into the water. There was an opening at the side of the box. It looked like a funnel shaped opening and it faced upward so the water in the box could not pour out. Then he asked the guards carefully drop the content of the box into the water. He made them wear impenetrable gloves. They saw what was in the box and they almost dropped it but one look at them from Marcus and they did what they were asked to do.

It was piranhas. Hungry, feisty piranhas. Thirty of them. They had not been fed in a week. Immediately they got into the water, the first man yelled out in pains. They took alot of painful bites and the pain was unbearable for the man. He had been stripped naked for the process so it was easier for the dishes to eat him up. The other men saw the entire process as the glass was very clear but at some point, when he fishes were moving so fast, they couldn't really see what was happening in the glass anymore. The whole munching process took less than twenty minutes.

In the second man's glass, there was a glass layer demarcating the man from the eels that was underneath his feet. The small glass could be removed from only anyone outside. That box had a jaw hanger. The jaw hanger helped to open the mouth of the man that was in the box. The way it was structured, the man's oesophagus was open and it did not have a restriction—that is, he could not refuse to swallow whatever would be placed in his mouth because his jaws was separated. Then, Marcus ordered that a tiny hose be put in his mouth and the liquid from a particular container was released into his mouth.

It was petrol.