Chased by the Merciless Devils

Vroom!

The highway was clear and Leonard did not care if he was riding in the opposite direction. Instead, he went full throttle and ignored the speed limits. If he were to die, he might as well try harder to shake the devils behind him!

The air was cold at two in the morning as the highway chase disturbed the dead silence. Nothing was more terrifying than the piercing sound of gunshots aimed at where he passed. The asphalt beneath his motorbike tried to slow his escape and the smell of burning tyres as Leonard swerved a sharp corner made the rider sweat.

Underneath his jacket, there was an important package stolen from a client for an easy buck. Who knew that there were eyes on this job and his tipper ran away at the first sign of things going south.

With heart pounding in his ears, Leonard kicked the machine back to life, intending to throw the cars tailing him for a loop by going the opposite direction when a black car entered the freeway from a dirt path. Due to the darkness of night, Leonard could only serve sideways at the last moment to avoid a head-on collision.

Thrown off-balance, the bike slid from beneath him and Leonard acted on reflex, kicking off from the vehicle and rolling to his side to protect the important package hidden in his jacket.

A deafening crash and a burst of bright flames later, Leonard could only register the impact of his landing. The highway road was merciless and badly maintained, tearing holes into his clothes. The fabric was poor armour for his tender flesh but thankfully, that expensive helmet he purchased saved his life.

Even as he rolled and broke a few bones, Leonard was vaguely aware of the state of his only hope. The bike was now a pile of scrap metal burning in its own fuel at the side of the road. The cars that were chasing him at top speed earlier now surrounded him as his vision spun.

Feeling disoriented and unaware of his physical condition, Leonard couldn’t muster any strength to move from where he lay. There was definitely something warm and damp clinging onto his pants. The smell of gasoline and metal in the air dulled his mind and it wasn’t until Leonard was pulled to his feet roughly by his collar did he see the colour of the liquid drenching his pants.

Two, three.. No, eight men came out of the cars that surrounded him excluding this beefy bodyguard holding onto his collar. Leonard could barely see from his left eye and the pain was starting to settle in now that the shock from the crash wore off. He could feel fear squeezing the oxygen out of him like a slowly tightening noose as a very classy but dangerous man stepped out of the car, lighting a cigarette casually.

Ignatius Teivel was someone everyone in this area knew. There was not a single low-life who did not fear the young kingpin. At only twenty-nine, Ignatius crushed every single adversary using ruthless methods. He had connections in high places and anything Ignatius wanted, the world would deliver.

“So,” the dangerous underworld lord took a drag from his cigarette and looked at Leonard with the same interest as he did with a bug. “What are you going to do now?”

Freezing, Leonard swallowed hard. If he spoke, he would be killed. If he did not, he would be tortured to death. If there was anyone to blame for the predicament, he could only blame his past self for listening to the wrong people he thought were brothers.

When Leonard did nothing, Ignatius made no attempt to do anything else. A surefire way to get anyone talking was to leave them hanging with anticipation. He would wait for this dog to talk after he leisurely finished this cigarette. They still had many hours until the sun rose and there were a hundred and twenty ways to pry someone’s lips open.

One look from Ignatius was all it took for Leonard to be introduced to a whole new definition of agony. The wrist that was broken from that bike crash was thrown to the ground and stepped on by a heavy boot.

Screaming in pain without restraint, Leonard tried to hold back his tears like the last straw of his pride. However, the pressure only increased until he was close to passing out.

“Speak!” the bodyguard picked him off the ground again and landed a hard blow to his stomach, making Leonard cough something out. He wasn’t sure if it was gastric fluid or blood but he knew that he no longer had any chances of escaping.

“Who do you work for!”

Trying to keep a lid on the pain and quell the quivering, Leonard tried to look at Ignatius who wasn’t paying him any attention. Instead, the delay in his reply earned him another blow to the stomach, causing him to curl up limply.

This went on for a good ten minutes until Ignatius ran out of cigarettes. Frowning lightly, the mafia boss tossed the empty carton away. The box was crushed beneath his suede leather shoes and every step he took towards Leonard was full of authority.

“There are many ways to get the answer from you, Leonard. I am a man of little patience so I will ask one last time before we look for your sister. What’s her name again? Leona? Pretty little thing. I bet she would make a lot in the underground auctions. There are many wealthy sick perverts who would spend a pretty penny on dolls like her.”

The stubborn expression of a resigned loser changed when Leonard heard what the mafia boss intended to do with his sister. Before their mother died, she told them to look after each other. As a good for nothing, Leonard knew that he was constantly putting his sister in a difficult spot.

However, borrowing money and incurring debts was different from a lifetime of slavery. He might be a scumbag but he could never put his sister in that sort of position because of his folly!

“Stop! My sister is a civilian! She doesn’t know anything!”

Unbothered, Ignatius chuckled. “That’s none of my concern. I’m just a businessman looking for the easiest way to recoup the losses you made me incur.”

Hearing that, Leonard lost all hope. His ashen face and broken spirit made the mafia boss smirk. That didn’t take long at all. A cheeky punk like him should have spilt everything from the start. Ignatius had to give this lad credit for lasting this long.

“P-please don’t involve my sister… she’s the only one I have left in this world.”

Grabbing Leonard by the hair so that they were looking at each other eye to eye with one on the ground and one from above, Ignatius spoke slowly so that every syllable could be heard clearly.

“You don’t have a choice. Work for us and she lives, or keep your silence and watch her live a life worse than hell.”

Apologising to Leona in his heart, Leonard finally told Ignatius everything. The moment Ignatius heard that the Polerth clan was behind the heist, everything changed. Initially, Ignatius wanted to kill this rat. However, this was a smart rat with a good leash and could still prove to be useful.

“Pass that package to Polerth and continue to work for them. However, I expect periodic reports. In return, I will take very good care of your sister as long as you do whatever I say.”

Not giving Leonard a chance to get a word in, the bodyguard punched the daylights out of him.

Looking at the extremely battered thug, Ignatius turned around and barked orders for his subordinates to clean the mess up and toss him in a place that the Polerth gang could collect him. At the same time, they were going to pay a nightly visit to a very unfortunate maiden.

“Hopefully, she is my type…” Ignatius mused to himself as the car engine purred to life. If she was too annoying, he might just toss her into a ditch before that fool of a brother could find anything.