Prologue

A cryptic movement could be seen amongst the shadows of the buildings in front of the dark sidewalk. The cars passing didn't seem to take in the scene while they slashed past…even if they did… they won't have noticed anything among the harsh shadows.

Whatever was there did not want to be seen... whatever was there came to a halt at the opening of an alley and then slipped inside.

This alley was opposite a stray bench with a nervous-looking man pacing in front of it; the man was medium height with a hat tilted on his head; he wore black jeans and a black coat with black boots. Soon, another man arrived at the scene. He emerged with hasty steps but soon regained a steady pace as he came nearer. He wore a black blazer with trousers and a black shirt that peeked out of the unbuttoned blazer. His shoes were black, and he wore a black fedora; he had a black nose mask over his mouth, so only his eyes were seen. These eyes were sky blue. As soon as he entered, the latter pacing man with the tipped hat looked up. His face lit up a little as he tapped his hat in greeting and gestured for his companion to take a seat on the bench behind them. The masked man lowered his mask; the pair began conversing in whispers.

"…this meeting is not necessary", said the tipped hat man,

"I've told you countless times - I will be in deep shit if I am caught-"

"-you have been living with a girl, haven't you," the masked man said

"Yes, I did-" replied the tipped hat man. He glared at his companion

"What do you mean did-"

"-she did not tell me her name though," the tipped hat man said while he leaned backwards, "but when they gave her to me, she looked worried… 'bet she was, she had to be cuz she knew too much."

"Too much about what," said the masked man

"Everything," the tipped hat man whispered with bulging eyes. The masked man leaned forward; he didn't want to miss any information.

"she," he continued, then stopped. He nervously looked around. The tipped hat man eyed him; was he chickening out? The masked man stared at his companion, who had one leg tapping the floor. You could almost see his courage withering. The masked man would be a problem if he decided not to talk.

With a defeated sigh, the tipped hat man "she had seen a document that was taken to one of the men, she was caught-really easily though–then taken away. To keep her mouth shut, she was given to me" he paused and watched his companion. He looked for any interruption, but none came, so he continued, "she was supposed to act as my wife because the place we were told to live was a quiet place, and the lots around us were damn nosy, plus she was pregnant…."

"she was pregnant," the masked man said. His face had nothing but pure shock. Did he violate her? His gaze slowly met the tipped hat man's gaze.

"she came that way," he hastily added once his gaze met his companions. Then he said, "she won't talk to me or let me get close to her" he heaved, the memories flooded in, "she delivered though, but I never saw the child; she came in that day-"

"-do you know what happened to the child" the masked man whispered. This complicates things, he thought.

"It's just like I said, she went out one day and came back childless, she said nothing that day, b-but," the tipped hat man's mouth hung ajar, the memory fresh in his mind.

The masked man stared at him, he wondered what happened, but he wasn't sure if he wanted his curiosity to be quenched.

"But, after she got back," the tipped hat man gulped before he said, "she was-she was…killed" in a low whisper.

"They said 'it was too risky' "he smiled sorrowfully, then said, "I can still remember her blue eyes, as the colour drained out and-and her dark golden curls laid there on her bloody face."

I must remain calm; the masked man chimed within himself, then he asked the only reasonable question he could think of

"Who gave her to you."

The topped hat man stared at his companion like he had been asked to drink poison. His whole body started vibrating; as his shacky lips opened, his eyes darted to the alley they came from. His eyes bulged out in horror.

As he started to speak, his eyes darted to the alley, and he began screaming. But a sweat didn't even leave his mouth before a bullet tore through it. Then another tore through his brain; a tear escaped his eye before he stopped moving.

The masked man stared at the alley, trying to locate their attacker. Before the masked man found the attacker, the attacker emerged with his hand on the trigger. The masked man leapt behind the bench. He quickly put on his mask and felt his blazer for a gun. The attacker fired more shots at the bar. The bullets tore through the lifeless body of his companion and missed the masked man by inches.

On one knee, the masked man emerged from the bench and fired some shots. He heard a picture make contact with skin, so he peeped to see the attacker, who staggered and fell on his knees into a pool of its blood; using his good leg, the attacker started shooting haphazardly at the bench while shaking in the direction despite a shot in the knee, the figure still fired shots at the masked man, and it came from.

The masked man tried to avoid all the bullets and shoot some of his own. But the attacker wasn't visible to him anymore. Once the shots stopped, he breathed heavily, drenched with his and his companion's blood.

Nathaniel staggered away through the bushes.

Lights in the surrounding buildings came on, some went off, and some stayed on, but no one dared to come outside. Eventually, the night became silent again.