21

In that dark corner in a room at the back of an alleyway, two men dressed in black stood over what looked like a corpse."What happened here?" the younger man asked in surprise when he saw the bloodstain on the wall."It's probably some idiot getting into one too many fights with other idiots.""Let's go." The other man said gruffly while turning around and leaving the room. "If there is something left behind, then we can deal with it later."The older man nodded. He picked up the body with ease and placed it onto his shoulder before he started walking out of the place.They walked in silence for several minutes until they reached a street where the taller man opened the door for him.Once he closed the door, both men entered their respective cars and headed to their destination."Where should I put this?" the taller one said as he lifted the bag from his shoulders, causing the smaller man to look over curiously."You're supposed to bring him to my house. You know where that is right? We can dump him inside.""Ah. Yes.""There's more in here but you'll have to open it. It isn't very heavy," he said."Okay. Don't worry, I know you won't hurt him.""I don't trust those bastards. They're either dead or trying to pull something off.""It doesn't matter who's responsible," the shorter one said as he turned the key in his ignition. They drove off in complete silence after that.When they finally arrived at the location of Pedro Henrique's house, both men got out of their vehicles and headed towards the door. They rang the doorbell a couple of times but no one answered."This is strange," the taller man said as he knocked on the door three times in succession.""Should we call someone?" the younger one said."Nah. Let me do it," the taller one said before he raised his fist.He knocked hard but the door remained stubbornly shut. After knocking a couple more times, he started to feel irritated and decided to try something else. He bent down and grabbed the handle, but before he could push it, the door opened itself with force and fell straight down to the floor.The tall man sighed and glared at the younger one who shrugged nonchalantly before heading in."Welcome back, gentlemen."A young woman wearing a white shirt and a red skirt greeted them when they came inside. She didn't seem to notice anything off about them."Hello, Marisol," the tall man said politely. "Who's your friend?"Marisol turned her head and glanced over at the young man with blonde hair sitting down on the couch near her."My name is Paulo, I'l be staying for a while," Paulo responded."Alright," Marisol said. She glanced at the bags the tall man carried in and smiled sweetly when she saw the dead body still inside the bags. "Is he... alive?"she asked innocently.The tall man nodded curtly."He will be after I kill him for what he did." "Yes, of course. Well, if you'd excuse me, I'll get some water for him."She walked away from the door to get the water that she promised while the other man watched her every move with interest."Didn't peg you as the type to help others," Paulo said to his companion when the girl disappeared.His companion gave him a look. "Shut up."The tall man rolled his eyes as he walked toward the bodies on the ground while Paulo followed him.He knelt down beside the first body and lifted the corpse by its arm, pulling it out of the bag carefully. After dumping the body on the ground, he stood up again and stared at the other body, which was still bleeding out slowly. His companion also noticed the body and walked over to examine the wound."Looks pretty bad, Paulo. Maybe we shouldn't let her touch it.""Yeah. What did you expect her to do with all that gore," Paulo scoffed as he stepped away and shook his head."We could always just burn it..." the other man offered lazily. Paulo chuckled dryly."Yeah, yeah. That's not really our style though.""Maybe we could bury it somewhere...?", Paulo suggested. The man who called himself Paulo frowned but nodded anyway as he went to check outside.After checking to make sure nothing was in sight, Paulo took the shovel out of the backpack and began digging a hole in the ground.He made five holes in total before he stopped. He looked over at his companion who seemed to be deep in thought.After a moment or so, Paulo stood up with his hands clasped behind his back, staring at the sky with a frown on his face. Then, he turned to the tall man and spoke to him in a cold voice."Are you going to keep quiet like usual? Or are you going to tell me why you dragged the kid out of bed like that?"Paulo asked angrily. The taller man didn't even flinch or react. His companion stayed silent instead."Fine," Paulo huffed before he turned and headed back inside the house. He walked through the rooms, searching for a box filled with matches."What're you doing, Paulo?" Marisol asked as she walked into the main living space."Getting a lighter." "Oh. Is that all?"She nodded in agreement. "So... you're staying here a lot, right?""For now.""Are you looking for anything in particular? I've got quite a bit in the storage area. If you want anything, just ask," she said happily."Thanks. I don't think I'll stay long. Probably just need to take care of some things.""Okay... I'll get back to work then!" she said happily before walking away."She's nice." Paulo shrugged as he turned the lights off and left the house."She seems like a decent human being." "Sure she does.""But she's not much of a talker. I wouldn't mind having some company once in awhile.""Whatever. Just make sure no one comes and steals your stuff." "Yeah. Sure. Whatever."Paulo rolled his eyes before he headed back home.He sat on his bed while waiting for Marisol to come back from shopping."Are you ready to go?" Marisol asked cheerfully as she appeared in front of him.She was carrying several bags filled with food. "What's in those bags?""Nothing much. Just some groceries I bought earlier today," she answered vaguely. Paulo frowned and crossed his arms."Aren't there any other people here?"He gestured to the apartment. "Why are you only using this one?" "Because I live alone. And since I haven' really found anyone yet, it's not like I have a choice.""Well. If you were to hire someone, we could share this apartment.""You're not interested in moving in with me?"Marisol blinked a few times in shock."Noooooo! Definitely not. That's crazy! I mean... well... maybe someday.... But not now. Not now. Okay? Now, let's just go eat!" Marisol ran out of the bedroom and down the hallway, leaving a confused Paulo behind."Hey! Wait up!" Paulo chased after her.Marisol had been working part time ever since she started high school and was a great cook. Her parents owned a small bakery that sold bread and pastries. They had hired her recently because she knew how to bake so they didn't bother hiring someone new to take her position. The two of them spent most of their days making treats for the customers in the shop and sometimes helping them with various tasks outside the store."Here we are. Try it!" Marisol said happily when she pushed open a wooden door and pulled him into the kitchen.Inside was a small oven, a large stove, a sink, and counters that were covered with dishes. "Do you like it?" she asked. "Uh... yes," Paulo muttered awkwardly while staring at the contents of the boxes laid out on the counter. Marisol giggled quietly."

So. Do you want help?""I already have a task. But, thank you."

Chapter 3

Pablo was pacing around the living room of the apartment impatiently, fidgeting whenever he thought of something else. Since his father died, he hasn't been able to relax and be free from his thoughts and anxiety. His mother has tried her best to cheer him up, telling him that everything would turn out alright eventually, but Pablo didn't believe his mother. He wished she was wrong. His father always said the same thing to him whenever he felt uneasy or scared;

"Everything will turn out okay." He didn't believe it. In reality, everything will never turn out okay. Everything always ended up bad. Pablo wanted nothing more than to run away from everything related to his father. But, he couldn't leave without letting everyone know he wasn't coming back. The person who had taken care of Pablo during his childhood was his biological father, Pablo's stepbrother, Luis. Although they weren't blood brothers, it still meant a lot to him that Luis cared enough to look after him and provide the things he needed. As soon as Luis died, Pablo took up his duties as the eldest son of the Diaz family and became the oldest son of Luis's business. Even though they never got along well, at least he still had his brother.He never liked the responsibility of caring for his father's business, but it was necessary and he couldn't refuse it. After his father died, he immediately started to run the company from there, with Luis managing the accounts as a secretary.He didn't even know what happened to his brother, and he never bothered looking too closely at the news. It wasn't important, he told himself. Sooner or later, he would find out.As the days went by, he started to miss his little brother very often.He had grown up together with Luis since they were kids. His little brother always listened to him, helped him achieve things that nobody else would do, and he loved his brother with all his heart. It was hard on him, knowing that he could never see Luis again, especially since Luis wasn't even alive anymore.But he didn't let that stop him. He worked everyday till late at night, hoping that one day he would finally be able to visit his little brother's grave.And he was right. One day, the phone rang and the familiar sound of his brother's ringtone came from the receiver."Pablo.", his mother said, "your father asked me to call and give you this message." "Yeah, what is it?""It's time for you to come back, and please don't bring anything with you. It's been years since you last visited," she reminded him.He nodded obediently and hung up the phone."Time to go?"Luis said as he approached.His hair was tied back into a ponytail and he looked tired.Pablo smiled gently at his little brother."Yeah. Let's go back to the family farm. We have plenty of work left there," Pablo replied and got up from his chair."Wait, did my mom say when I can go back to college next year?"he asked curiously."Next year? How should I know? Ask her yourself."His brother laughed softly and nodded."Alright. I'll ask her tomorrow then."They got up and packed their clothes into suitcases, while waiting for the landlord to show up.The landlord showed up at 9:30am and put their luggage onto his car, which was parked outside. The driver drove them out of the city to the countryside where the farm was located."How long does it normally take us to drive there?"Luis asked while yawning loudly."About 30 minutes. Why?"the landlord said calmly."Just wondering. I'd rather wait until evening to go back,'' he explained and closed his eyes sleepily."Good thinking," the landlord said.The driver didn't speak a word, probably because he was too tired.The ride to the farm was very short. The car slowed down near the edge of the field, where two horses were grazing lazily while their owner stood beside them."Welcome back," their uncle greeted them warmly.Their uncles were both very tall men with tanned skin and dark eyes. The older one, Pedro, was in charge of running the farm while the younger one, Ricardo, was the head of security.After giving hugs all over the place, everyone sat down in the yard and ate a hearty breakfast."Is something bothering you, little boy?" Pedro asked as he looked toward Pablo and raised an eyebrow."Yes, actually. We have some issues that we have to deal with," Pedro replied with a frown and glanced over at Luis. "Like?"Luis swallowed hard and hesitated."Like the fact that there's a traitor in our ranks," Paulo whispered quietly."A traitor? Who?"Ricardo asked while chewing on the piece of chicken he held.He had lost his appetite after hearing about his niece's fiance getting kidnapped by another gang. The woman they saw yesterday had brown hair, black eyelashes, and a sweet smile, but she also gave off the scent of an assassin. She must have been sent by that gang, as it seemed that none of the other gangs could find that man.The man had been wearing a mask when he was captured. No one knows who he was nor why the traitor decided to steal him instead of killing him. The traitor must have wanted the man alive, so the traitor had probably kidnapped him in order to get close enough to kill him. The traitor must have been one of the leaders of that gang that had attacked them before. The other members of the organization were all strong fighters and would definitely win if they joined forces against them. But the traitor had made a big mistake. If his plans failed, he would have been caught.Now, they must get the man back somehow before he died. If possible, they need to capture him alive to question him. But what about the others who were kidnapped? Shouldn't they be interrogated too? What kind of traitor takes advantage of someone else like that?"There are a total of six men. Two of them were injured, one has disappeared, and the rest are missing," Rico stated in a serious tone. "So, what are you gonna do? You want to arrest them all and torture them until we get answers?"Pedro asked angrily."We've been searching all over the cities trying to track them down. They're clever and they have a lot of skills. But it seems they have a way to hide their tracks," the guard sighed deeply. Pedro furrowed his eyebrows and turned his gaze toward Luisa.