Under Pressure

Hearing the strange but familiar voice, Ethan looked closely at the bar, holding the pool cue in his hands, but had not moved at all. Cigarette smoke entered his eyes and his eyelashes moved quickly, the tension in the air could be felt, and the silence was broken by the newcomer man. —Jason, where's the money? — I exclaim in a calm voice. The sound of Jason swallowing saliva could be heard, and he said in a dry voice: —Sorry, I don't know what you're talking about.At that moment, Ethan put his heel aside and slowly got up. His eyes were fixed on the entrance to the bar, where two men guarded the door with an imposing posture. One of them, the one in front, was wearing a black fur coat that hit his ankles that fell heavily on his shoulders, giving him an intimidating air. But what caught everyone's attention was not the coat, but the Uzi that hung around his waist, swaying dangerously under the firm hand of man. Behind the man dressed in leather, was a man with slightly bald hair. He wore a high-end dark suit made to measure, without a single wrinkle, looking flawless. Noticing the movement inside, the man turned his head to look at Ethan. His eyes filled with joy after being confused for a time. —What a surprise, it must be my lucky day. We see Ethan again. —No more than mine, Quentin. — The corners of Ethan's mouth rose slowly, showing a predatory smile that showed his white teeth —Before the words finished coming out of his mouth, Ethan unsheathed the Glock 17 in a fluid motion, as if it were an extension of his arm. The man dressed in leather across the room instantly captured the situation. His eyes widened with surprise and instinct made him lift the Uzi hanging around his waist, but Ethan was already one step ahead.—Bang bang bangThe Glock's bullets pierced the air with lethal precision, like calculated bursts. The sound of the shots rumbled in the premises, as tongues of fire gushed out of the barrel of the weapon. The first bullet hit the leather man's forehead, causing his head to explode into a cloud of blood and bone fragments. However, his body, still responding to the last impulses of his brain, managed to pull the Uzi trigger.The roar of the Uzi filled the bar, spitting bullets in an uncontrolled path. The tables were blown to pieces, the glasses were shattered, and the lamps fell to pieces with thunderous bursts. The chairs spun through the air like dry leaves, and the bar windows exploded outward, scattering glass everywhere, taking the man's life by his side as collateral damage.Without warning, Hood and Job, reacting with pure instinct, threw themselves to the ground, dodging bullets that flew inches from their heads. But not everyone had the same luck.Jason, who was having a drink at the bar, saw his beer bottle explode in his hand. The glass cut off his skin, and a sudden heat ran through his crotch as he screamed, surprised by the feeling of blood mixed with the spilled alcohol.Ethan, in the midst of chaos, held his firm stance. Uzi's bullets kept bouncing around the bar, but he moved like a shadow through the crossfire. He advanced without losing a single step, aiming with ruthless precision. As the smoke rose in midair, only one man remained standing ... and that was Ethan, with the Glock still steaming in his hand. The bullets fired by the submachine gun did not stop until they smashed the row of tall glasses hanging upside down over Sugar's head. Sugar stared at the row of rotten cups less than ten centimeters above his head, not daring to move.When Quentin saw his escort shot at him, his survival instincts took over. Without thinking, he turned around and ran away, his steps echoing on the floor of the bar like a desperate drum.Ethan, adrenaline pumping through his veins, waited patiently until the deafening sound of the Uzi ceased. With a determined movement, he ran out, the Glock in hand, his gaze fixed on the exit door. The roar of a car's engine rang out on the street, a sound indicating that Quentin had an escape route. However, Ethan could not allow that to happen. I knew I had to act fast.With each stride, the air grew denser, but that didn't stop him. The explosion of several shots behind him resounded, filling the environment with echoes of danger. The bullets whistled dangerously close, like a death shower, but his focus was entirely on his target.Upon reaching the door, Ethan felt the street wind knock on his face. With one last impulse, he crossed the entrance, just in time to see Quentin's shadow slide into the vehicle. In an instant of decision, he raised the Glock and fired.— Bang! —The sound mixed with the roar of the engine, but Ethan did not stop to hear the result. He was on the move, running to the car, hoping luck was on his side and he shot the Jaguar tires. The tires suddenly exploded and the Jaguar's body swayed to one side. Quentin had great driving skills. When the front of the car hit the trees on the side of the road, he was forced to push it back. The Jaguar roared and advanced rapidly. —!Goes up. Job's voice rang urgently and Ethan turned around. Job who ran out of the bar following Ethan and was already sitting in his convertible, firmly holding the wheel.At the time, Job still didn't know what had happened, but Ethan was the one who shot first, without provocation, but without thinking he decided to follow him.Ethan ran back quickly and jumped into the passenger seat. Only then did Job start the vehicle. He stepped on the gas and the convertible drifted out of the place, but not before seeing Hood behind them with the shotgun that Sugar kept under the bar.— I leave the disaster to you Chief. —Ethan yelled as he turned around.Hood had no choice but to stop and leave the shotgun, angry. As Job stepped on the gas and chased the Jaguar, Ethan quickly changed the magazine. Fortunately, it was a road that led to the outskirts of town and there was no one at the time. The Jaguar slowed down due to a flat tire and was quickly overtaken by Job.Ethan fired several shots at the vehicle in front.Seeing that he couldn't escape, Quentin turned his car and plunged into the woods on the side of the road.—Hold on.Job screamed, turned around without hesitation, and followed him. The moment the vehicle shot off the road, it flew several meters and then hit the ground hard, testing the excellent suspension of the vehicle. After advancing a few dozen meters, the trees became denser and there was no way to move on. The Jaguar stopped suddenly, Quentin opened the car door and ran forward quickly on foot trying to flee his captors. Before Job could stop the car, Ethan jumped out of it and started running after him, they both quickly disappeared behind the dense trees, one after the other. Job turned off the car, pulled out his gun, and followed them. At that time, the sky had not completely darkened and it was dim inside the forest. Quentin was running fast with his muddy leather shoes dull, he had no wise time that if Ethan caught him he would be mercilessly killed.Meeting Ethan that night had been an unexpected coincidence and he thought that he could finally collect that debt, but I never hope that whoever was at his mercy and managed to escape luckily, was now so decisive and murdered one of his men in cold blood With a shot to the head, he had become so scared that he fled without thinking twice. However, with the tire burst, he was unable to escape and was trapped. He could only run into the forest in search of a chance to survive. Ethan kept Quentin at a safe distance, fearful of a sudden attack. With his current strength and wearing work boots, he could tire Quentin to death, as long as he didn't lose track of him. Heavy footsteps were heard in the silent forest, and occasionally one or two shots rang out. Quentin's steps slowed down, and his despair grew with each passing second, if he looked down the road due to exhaustion, Quentin tripped over the root of a tree that protruded and flew forward, falling to the ground, the weapon in his hand fell sideways losing himself in the dark.Quentin quickly spat out the damp leaves that had slipped into his mouth when he fell to the ground. The earth and sweat covered him, but he did not lose sight of his objective: the pistol that he had dropped a few meters later. In desperation, he used both his hands and feet to crawl between the roots and branches, each muscle in his body struggling to get to the gun.Just as he stretched his trembling hand toward the Glock's cold metal, a blunt, dry sound echoed in the air.— Bang!The shot cut the silence, and Quentin's body bounced violently as if an electric shock had pierced him. A heartbreaking pain shook him instantly, and when he looked at his hand, he saw a clean hole in the palm, through which the blood began to flow. The weapon was no longer an option. Terror paralyzed him for an instant as the pain plunged him into reality: he was finished.He screamed and turned around.The next moment, a black shadow ran towards him with a strong wind. Ethan jumped directly on him, his fists fell like raindrops. After Quentin received several strong blows to the face, he simply passed out. Gasping Ethan got off him, picked up the gun that had been thrown aside.Looking at Quentin's shattered hands, he secretly cursed, then removed his shoelaces and tied his hands and feet tightly. At that moment, Ethan picked up Quentin and walked back with heavy steps.Shortly after walking, she met Job, who was out of breath. —Man, you need to exercise more —Ethan joked. —Fuckyou —Job snorted, leaving his gun while cursing angry, holding his knees — Who is the idiot who decided to chase him through the woods? — It's Quentin, have you forgotten? —said Ethan excitedly — It is the bastard who chased me through the streets of Philadelphia, he works for Brantley.Ethan dragged Quentin all over the dirt road. The two took advantage of the last moonlight to return to the place where the car was parked. Ethan found another piece of cloth in the car, put it in Quentin's mouth by putting tape over his mouth.— What are you going to do now? —Job asked.After Ethan threw Quentin in the trunk of the yellow convertible, Job looked at the two cars in front of him and asked:— I will change the tire, and we will take it with us to get rid of the car. Ethan approached the driver's seat, took out the key, opened the Jaguar trunk, and pulled out the spare wheel. After a while, the two cars left the forest and returned to the road. Ethan drove the Jaguar to a hidden lake outside the city. Thanks to his frequent patrols, he knew exactly where the most inaccessible places were.He expertly drove the vehicle to the lake. Looking at the splashing water on the shore, Ethan shook off the dust from his body and returned to the road, where Job was waiting for him, they were going to return to the Bar to see how things had ended.There weren't many drinkers at the time, and the few people who came to have fun saw the sign for "Closed" hanging at the entrance and they left, frustrated. Ethan and Job walked together to the back door. After a few moments, Sugar opened the door with a worried expression.— How to fix this? —Ethan said, pointing to the men wrapped in black plastic bags.—Don't worry, I'll deal with that later —Sugar replied helplessly.Ethan slapped him on the shoulder, saying in an apologetic tone:—I'm very sorry about your bar, I'll pay the damages.—It has nothing to do with you —Sugar shook his head — it was that idiot over there who brought them here.Seeing Ethan and the others enter through the back door, Hood left what he was doing and asked with a solemn expression:— How are you?— I'm fine, I caught him before he could go far — Ethan replied.He glanced around and saw that the interior was almost clean, with all the broken objects piled up in a corner. He approached the pool table, took the glass of whiskey he had left there, and drank it suddenly.Hood sighed in relief, shoved the mop into the bucket, and the water turned red instantly.Ethan put down his glass and walked over to Jason with a smile. Seeing him, Jason took a few steps back, but Sugar stopped him.—Listen carefully, because I will only ask you once before putting a bullet in your head, and don't try to lie to me —Ethan warned.He pushed him into a chair and sat him down abruptly.—Now tell us again, because Quentin was chasing you, that you stole from them. —Ethan said, lighting a cigarette and staring at Jason.Jason looked at Ethan's hand hitting the lighter flint, noticing how his knuckles were wounded and full of blood. —I don't know who they are.A slap rang in the air.Ethan withdrew his hand, exhaled a cloud of smoke and said:—Last chance.Jason, surprised, shook his head and panicked, replied:—All I know is that the guy in the suit is called Quentin, and he's a Brantley man an Oregon mob boss. I only saw him once, that guy is a fucking legend. Jason looked at Ethan closely.—It seemed that you changed you knew Quentin. What's going on?—That doesn't concern you. Now I ask you, what about the money Quentin mentioned? who you stole — Ethan said without expression.Jason glanced at Hood before answering:—It seems to be the money from a deal that went wrong. I do not know exactly. They stole the money from a guy named Eugene to give it to Brantley.—Don't look at him, look at me —Ethan said mockingly —. So you decided to take the money and run away, right?—Yes, I had to run away —Jason replied, waving his hands —. I knew if I brought him the money, Brantley would kill me right away.Ethan bit his cigarette, pulled out his Glock, and aimed at Jason.—I don't think shit about what you just said. You work for Brantley and he wants to kill you. You don't even believe that idiocy.Jason raised his hands, nervous.—Okay ... okay —said hastily —. I got into bed with his women. I was afraid he would find out, so I took the money and ran away.Job, sitting at the bar, spat out the whiskey in his mouth and started laughing nonstop.— Should you be fucking around? —he asked, his gaze mockingly.Hood raised his shirt, soaked by Job's drink, while he dried his mouth with a handkerchief.—Well, at least they share something: their fascinating talent for looking for problems ... in the women of others.Ethan lowered the gun, his eyes shining with frustration. Hood watched confused as Job recounted Ethan's secret, and finally understood why Ethan fired his gun as soon as he saw Quentin. They all laughed out loud at the strange expression on his face, very rarely had they been able to make fun of Ethan so they took the opportunityJason also breathed a sigh of relief, looking sympathetically at him. Ethan, furious, said:—Now tell me all about Brantley.—I don't know him either. It is very mysterious. What I told you is all I know.Ethan, after a moment of silence, asked:— Where's Brantley's money?Jason hesitated.—At the motel.—I'm not interested in the money you stole, but you're going to take over the losses from Sugar's bar, okay? —Ethan said, pointing to the rags.—Okay —Jason nodded quickly.After hearing that, Sugar's face relaxed a little.Without further information from Jason, Ethan pinned his hopes on Quentin. The affairs of the bar were left to the others, while Ethan, Job and Johnny went to Job's house on the outskirts, for now it was the safest place to take him.After parking the Dodge Challenger, Ethan walked into the trunk of Job's car and opened it. Quentin was huddled inside, well tied up.Ethan leaned over, pulled Quentin out of the trunk of the car, and walked to the garage.—Job, Johnny can help me with the table — he indicated.At their signal, they both moved a wooden table to the center of the garage.Ethan threw Quentin directly onto the table, then removed the rope from Johnny, and tied him to the table, removing the gag from his mouth.After a while, Quentin woke up quietly. He looked at the people who were nearby, feeling as if he had fallen into an abyss of despair.Quentin fought with all his might, discovering that he was firmly tied. He turned his head to look at Ethan desperately and asked:— What do you want?Ethan placed a couple gallons of water on the shelf next to it.—Johnny, can you open them for me?— Everyone? —asked Johnny puzzled.—Let's start with half.As Ethan spoke, he found two bricks and instructed Job to help him lift the end of the table. They placed the bricks under the bases of the table, so that the wooden table was higher on one side and lower on the other.Quentin had a bad feeling and quickly cursed:— Hey bastard, I'm talking to you!Ethan laid the bricks, shook the dust off his hands, and took one of the gallons of water.—Mr. Quentin, can you please be courteous? We are old friends after all.When he finished speaking, he walked to the shelf and took a towel.— Damn just tell me what you want to know! I will tell you the truth —Quentin said anxiously, shaking his head violently when he saw Ethan's actions, he knew what was going to happen to him.Ethan raised his eyebrows, smiling.—So how do I know you won't lie to me? Come on, you're a little dirty after running blindly through the woods for so long. Let me help you rinse your face.Under Ethan's command, Job and Johnny held Quentin's head and shoulders. Ethan pulled out the water and wet the towel:—Be grateful, I still haven't killed you.—Don't do this —Quentin begged, desperately shaking his head — I'll tell you everything you want, don't do it.Job and Johnny held it steady. Ethan wasted no more words, covered his face with the wet towel, and poured the water on the towel. Quentin began to fight violently. His body tightened, his hands and feet flapped wildly as he drowned in the water, quickly feeling him suffocating immediately filled his thoughts, as the water penetrated directly through his nose and mouth making his breathing difficult.Ethan raised the towel after emptying the bottle. Quentin coughed violently, drowning, and pleaded:—Shit please ... just ask me what you want ... I'll tell you.—Wait a minute. Just in case you still plan to lie to me, we will do it one more time. — Ethan said as he put the wet towel back on.After repeating it three times, Quentin was already on the verge of unconsciousness. The towel was red with blood, and Quentin's crotch soaked and smelling of urine, from extreme anguish and psychological trauma.— Are you almost there? —Job asked with a frown.Ethan nodded, raised the towel, and looked at Quentin, stunned.— Where's Brantley?Quentin turned his head, coughing several times before responding weakly:—I don't know. He lives in a modified cargo truck and travels across the country. You never know where he will be unless he finds you.Ethan clenched his teeth. I didn't expect Brantley to be so cautious. Job asked:— Is there any way to contact him?Quentin's eyes were injected into blood.—We all use disposable phones. There is no way to contact him if he doesn't do it first.—Please ... let me go — Quentin pleaded.Ethan kicked the empty gallon with frustration. There was nothing else they could do.—I'll take care of it, thanks for the help.Ethan knocked Quentin unconscious, untying the ropes and lifting him up.At that time, at Savoy Gentlemen's Club ...In the back room, Proctor was teaching Rebecca to read financial statements when the intercom rang.—Chief, Mr. Longshadow came to see you.Proctor thought for a moment, left the report and took the radio.—Let him in.—Okay.Proctor looked at Rebecca. She nodded, sat on the sofa, and picked up a newspaper.There was a knock on the door. Club security opened and allowed Alex in. After the door was closed, Proctor said with interest:—Sit down, Alex, what can I do for you?Alex took off his cowboy hat, hesitated a moment before sitting down. He did not speak immediately, looking at Rebecca, who smiled sweetly at him.Alex turned again, rubbing his hat. Proctor, crossing his legs, said:—You can speak freely. She is my niece.Alex clenched his teeth, coughing before speaking.—George Hunter wants to remove me and replace me as chief of the tribe.Proctor understood immediately. I was asking for help. He got up, taking a bottle of bourbon and two clean glasses, to serve two drinks with his own hands.—I hear you.Alex was confused. He did not believe that Proctor did not understand his situation. He looked at Rebecca again, who was still reading the newspaper.—George Hunter has sided with more than half of the council. At the next tribal committee meeting you will have enough votes to expel me. — Alex said with difficulty.Proctor nodded while drinking.—This bourbon tastes good. Test it.Alex took a big sip. At the time, the taste didn't matter to him.—If Hunter becomes boss, you will have to say goodbye to being the partner of the new casino. It won't let you get close to —Alex said, looking at Proctor.Proctor smiled.—If I remember correctly, you said those same words to me last time.