A DATE WITH THE DEVIL
As the bus came to a stop after an hour's drive from Kamloon to Kingstown in front of a huge mansion situated opposite a warehouse, the driver shouted, "Brazel Mansion, Nebraska Street, this is your stop." Jalen was the first to step out; he stretched out his arms and had a smile of contentment carved over his face. Then Damian stepped out; his pupils slithered to the left corner, and looking at the excitement on his friend's face, he giggled, gave him a slight punch to the tummy, and said, "Daddy's Boy Returns," mimicking the words written boldly in midair. Jalen rubbed his hair in return and said, "What can I say... There's no place like home." "And your family ruined mine." Damian lip-rapped, making sure no word came out to his hearing. "Pardon?" Jalen asked, "I said, this driveway leads to a mansion where a mother is probably getting breakfast ready but is not ready for the bigger surprise, which is his police officer son's homecoming." Damian lied, tapping Jalen's shoulder twice, "Ouch, shut uppppp... Come-on, let's go; the last one to get there is a rotten egg." Jalen replied, "What?" "Come on, Jay, you're a policeman now, you can't be seen running around" "So? Tell you what, a policeman who doesn't have fun dies early, he probably gets knocked down by a trash car; all work and no play makes Jack a rotten egg or should I say 'Damian a rotten egg'?" Jalen replied teasingly, "That does it, I'm going to kill you, I am so going to kill you" Damian threatened "Catch me first" Jalen said as Damian began to race after him towards the mansion.
As they approached the large, imposing mansion, Damian couldn't help but think about his father and the man who had taken him away from him so brutally. Damian clutched a knife hidden in his pocket, his fingers tight around the handle, as he thought about his plan to finally get revenge on Jalen's father, the drug lord who had murdered his own father all those years ago.
As they walked through the grand entrance of the house, the first people to greet them were guards; there were two at the door with guns and the rest scattered in different positions around the house, a perfect description of a drug lord's house. Damian smiled and said, "Why are there so many guards here; we didn't come to the president's house, did we?" Jalen laughed and gave no response to that, but instead, when he spotted his mother from a distance, he signaled any guard that saw them to be quiet. He gently wrapped his arms around her from behind, rested his shoulders, and said, "You're under arrest for being the best mom on the planet." Her eyes lighted up brightly as the voice sailed into her ears. Overwhelmed with joy, she couldn't find any words fit for a reply. She released herself, turned around, and as she hugged him super tightly, "Jalen!" she shouted joyfully. "My son, you're home; you have no idea how much I missed you." As Damian watched the two, tears began to rush down his cheeks, knowing how much his mother would love to have him by her side right now. When Jalen's mother noticed him behind Jalen and the tears he was trying to wipe from his cheek, "You must be Damian," she said. "I'm really sorry for your loss, dear," she said, wrapping her arms tightly around him as well, hoping to get him to feel better. Damian wrapped his arms around her and said, "Thanks, Mrs. Brazel," patting her back. "No, no, my boy, just call me Monica, or Mom," she said, "even "Come on, let's go inside. You two must be really tired after sitting for almost an hour in that bus, Jalen, why didn't you call for one of the drivers to come pick you up?" "Our officer doesn't need a driver when he can just call for the pilot," a male voice interrupted Mrs. Brazel. Damian suddenly felt chills all-over his body; his hairs stood erect like the quills of a porcupine ready to attack. As he lifted up his eyes to look, behold, standing approximately seven meters away from him was the man he had been waiting to meet face to face after fifteen long years. "Dad!" Jalen called out as he walked up to shake his hand in a manly fashion, "Hey officer, don't I get a hug too?" His father asked and pulled him in for a hug. As Damian saw the happiness in his eyes, he shook his head with a smile and breathed out heavily, "So Satan is a human who loves his family too, huh?" he thought, and that's when he noticed a hand wave from him; apparently he had been trying to catch Damian's attention for almost thirty seconds, but Damian's mind was nowhere close, for he was lost in thoughts. "Oh... Uhm.. Sorry, I'm just trying to digest something," Damian apologized and stretched out to accept a handshake from him. "I know son, I've heard a lot about you," Mr Brazel replied with a beautiful smile, "thanks for taking care of my son." "Does he tell you guys everything?" Damian inquired, putting on a silly smile to tease his male friend standing beside his father. Jimmy laughed and joined in the tease of his own son by commenting, "He's a girl, isn't he?""Yeah... " Damian laughed, "Damian!... I'll tear you to pieces if you don't shut up." Jalen threatened, but as a joke. "That's enough welcome, let's go have breakfast before I'm forced to listen to the thunder strikes from your bellies" the woman of the house said with a clap, inviting the three men to follow her inside.
During breakfast, Damian kept stealing stares at Jimmy, he was still left in disbelief that after waiting for so long, he was finally having breakfast with the devil he had been dying to meet. The man was about fifty five to sixty years but could be mistaken for a fourty year old due to how young and handsome his skin had managed to remain after decades. As he rolled up the sleeve of his left hand to take off his wrist watch, Damian saw the tattoo he had seen on the night of his father's murder. He wanted to ask a question or two about why Mr Brazel picked a tarantula of all the animals to be tattooed on his wrist, but he thought it twice that it could raise suspicions, so he decided to save that question for Jalen. At a point when Jimmy noticed Damian staring at him, he dropped his spoon and decided to have a little conversation with his admirer. "Everything okay?" He asked Damian, "Yes... looking at you right now and how famous but yet humble you are, I can't help but feel chills all over my body Sir" Damian replied, Jimmy smiled and thanked Damian for the compliment, "Life is not easy" he said "all these you see, these are not some abracadabra magic, these are years of sweating, falling, getting back up and investments into a lot of things, not forgetting advice from this beautiful woman here." "Oh shut up, don't drag me into this" Mrs Brazel replied trying to hide how flattered she felt, "I guess its true what they say, that behind every successful man there's a beautiful woman." Jalen commented, causing everyone to laugh, "But seriously if you want to make crazy money, you should start investing whatever you have. I mean, who wouldn't have to have a retirement in a paradise like this. If you want to be rich, don't save, invest, you get me? Else even in your retirement you might end up searching for a side job." Jimmy adviced, both Damian and Jalen nodded and thanked him for the advice and returned to having their meals in peace.
After breakfast, Mr. Brazel took some time to give the newly adorned officers a word or two of advice, but it was cut short when he got a call and decided to walk out. "Jay, why not show your friend around and to one of the guest rooms where he will be staying?" Monica, Jalen's mother, suggested. The two got up, and with Jalen leading the way, the tour began. The mansion was a grand, imposing structure with a sleek, modern design. The exterior was made of gleaming white marble, with large floor-to-ceiling windows that allowed natural light to flood the interior. The entrance was marked by a pair of towering, ornate doors that opened to reveal a spacious foyer with a sweeping staircase and a chandelier that sparkled like diamonds. The living areas were adorned with luxurious furnishings, expensive artwork, and elegant decor. The kitchen was a chef's dream, with state-of-the-art appliances and an island that could seat several people. The bedrooms were all en-suite and had balconies with views of the gardens. The bathrooms were marble-tiled and had large soaking tubs and rain showers. Outside, the gardens were lush and meticulously maintained, with a variety of flowers and trees. There was a swimming pool and a tennis court. And behind the mansion, there was a helipad, ready to take off at any moment. The two men spent some time on the tennis court, where while playing, Jalen began to talk about a game his father calls "stowaway." "One day, when we take a break from our job like this one," he began, "we should try a stowaway." He hit the ball with enough strength to keep Damian busy, giving him a breathing space, "A stowaway? "Stowaway from where?" Damian asked, "You won, mahn. I'm tired. I'll go sit there," he added, as he walked towards the seat in his sight. "It's not something bad, kind of stowaway," Jalen began to explain, "this one is a game Dad came up with; we'll have a parachute on our backs, we'll be in the helicopter you saw back there, and when it gets a good altitude we just jump out; it's fun, trust me, and it's a good exercise to make a person courageous." "Okay. But if I die of that skydiving, your head better be buried with me." Damian joked, "Alright mahn, trust me, you'll love it." "Crane!" Mr. Brazel interrupted, waving at Jalen, "Look, err, I'll be right back; keep yourself busy," Jalen said to Damian as he bailed. When he was left alone, Damian stood up, slipped a hand in his pocket, and safely guarded his pocket knife, a tactical slingshot 420J2, which he bought just hours after he graduated. As he began pacing back and forth in the court, imagining how gently he would love to slit Jimmy Brazel's throat, a tiny bag filled with an off-white powdery substance in the corner of the floor caught his attention. As he walked towards it and picked it up, he noticed that it hadn't been sealed or that the seal had been opened. He placed the knife back in his pocket, dipped a finger in the powdery substance, took it to his lips, and touched it with the tip of his tongue. "Coke?" he asked himself. He knew because they were taught how to identify the different types of drugs by tasting and sniffing. He quickly dropped it and began to spit around. When he noticed Jalen returning, he pretended he hadn't seen anything, so he went to meet him. "So what was that all about?" He asked him, and Jalen threw a bottle of water at him, which he caught, "Typical Dad's attitude, he can't spend the day with us, he's going for a meeting somewhere." Jalen answered, Damian nodded and began to follow him as they headed back into the house. "Hey Dame, I wanna ask you something." Jalen broke the silence after they had walked just a few meters and Damian was taking a sip. "Mh," Damian responded, "Will you be there for me through hell and good times?" Jalen questioned, causing Damian to get choked on the water he was drinking. He halted, and with a raised brow, he looked at his friend and asked, "Where's this coming from?" Jalen smiled and looked at him. "Damian," he began, "there's a secret I want to share with you; we've known each other long enough, but I couldn't get myself to tell you; I didn't know if I could trust you to the fullest." This secret will either get you to bind yourself to me and my family or split us up. If you know me well enough, you should know that the second option isn't something I want because you've saved my life once, and I trust you enough because of it that I want to repay you with wealth and fame, but you must prove to my dad that you can be trusted." "I don't understand," Damian replied with a laugh, "I'm friends with you, not with your dad, so what does he need to trust me for? Is there something he needs me to do for him?" Jalen seemed a bit nervous, as if what he wanted to say was really important. Suddenly, their phones lit up with a message from the police office. Jalen's face got pale as he read the message.
"Damian... we have to go to the police office. There's been a robbery at a bank fifteen minutes from here, and they want us to go check it out as soon as possible" Jalen said, his voice shaking. Damian looked at him, confused. "Wait, what? Us? "We're just new recruits; why are they giving us a case like this?" Jalen hesitated for a moment before replying. "I... I don't know; probably it's because I live close to the place and the chief knows you and I are together." But I think we should go and find out." Even though the explanation sounded weird to Damian, he kept quiet, and as they began to speed up their walking a little, Jalen turned to Damian and said, "There's something else I need to tell you, but it can wait until we get back." Let's just focus on this case for now, okay? Damian nodded, the two friends headed inside for Jalen to get dressed, but Damian only picked up his badge because he had come on a vacation and wasn't expecting any impromptu calls to duty. In order to get there much faster, Jalen picked up the keys to a black sports car which was a surprise gift from his father to him for successfully graduating at the Academy. "Is this legally legal for an officer on the job? I mean we're less than a week-old officers, and we're going on a mission in a brand new sports car?" Damian asked, wide-eyed as Jalen started the car, "Well bro, the law will understand that we needed to get there fast, what's more important? The money in the bank and the hostages or how we get there? Come on, don't be a chicken, let's go" Jalen replied, without a warning he stepped on the accelerator and sped off.