Chapter Three: The Life

It had been three months since Tyler and Chris were initiated into the Black ice gang. Tyler was able to blend in easily, Chris on the other hand, tried to leave Westbrook the next day after their initiation, but Tega found out and stopped him before he could reach the airport. Tega threatened to kill every member of his family. Chris had no choice but to stay and play along, but he didn't give up; he reported his situation to the Police there in Westbrook, but it turned out Tega had made a couple powerful friends over there.

Tega then kept Chris prisoner and taught him the ways of the Black ice by force. There was nothing he could think of anymore concerning leaving the Black ice. He was devastated. Many of his friends in school asked him what was wrong, but he couldn't say anything. He and Tyler weren't roommates anymore. Tyler had relocated to another apartment in Afefe. Chris almost poisoned himself to death in his room once, but Tyler found him and rushed him to the hospital. He awoke to see Tylerbeside him.

"Hello friend, I see you are awake. You almost..." "Get out!" Exclaimed Chris with deep vexation in his tone. "Are you deaf?! I already sent you out of my house and out of my life, so just go. Your sight is irritating me" said Chris. Tyler stared at him for a couple seconds then snapped; "Guy what the fuck is wrong with you?! I saved your life. If not for me, you would be dead. You should be thanking me. Suicide, really Chris? You actually wanted to commit suicide!" "Tell me, what else is there to live for? You have destroyed my life. I had dreams, a promising career ahead of me, and now I can never have that" replied Chris. He said all these with tears in his eyes. "I know it looks bad now, but very soon, you will start enjoying the perks that come with being a cold wolf. You get all the girls, all the marks, you can enter anywhere on this campus, and nobody will question you. That is how powerful you will be. Don't tell me you don't like it". Tyler's reply made Chris feel irritated, and out of anger, he picked up a wooden part of the bed that was loose and threw it at his head. Tyler groaned aloud because of the pain and held his head until he passed out on the hospital floor.

A doctor and two nurses that heard Tyler's cry rushed in and tended to him immediately. They asked Chris what happened, but he ignored them. Chris signed out of the hospital a few hours later that day, and after that day, he made sure not to lay his eyes on Tyler. After a while, he started performing his roles in the gang as he was obligated to because he eventually got used to the system, and it took three months of torture from Tega. When Chris finally obliged, he treated every kill as a necessary evil. He had a new nickname; 'the reaper.' They called him the reaper because he hovers around any body he butchers to ensure they are now in the Afterlife before leaving them.

Chris's appearance into the gang life was no longer safe for his old friends, so before he turned dark, he made sure he said good-bye to everything he used to have, including his friends. The only thing he didn't say goodbye to was his background because his gang collected money from him occasionally to finance some of their operations. Chris posed a more immense contribution to the cult, and Tyler was becoming jealous. After almost a year of becoming a cold wolf, his parents died in a mysterious fire accident. Chris inherited everything they had. However, he was devastated.

The base of the Black ice operation was a building Tega acquired somewhere around the outskirts of Westbrook. It was a deserted place; the very location Chris was initiated. The area was surrounded by bushes making it hard for anyone to suspect that people were there. One hot afternoon, while they were preparing to rob a bank near Westbrook, Tyler walked up to Tega and told him he didn't want to be the driver anymore. Tyler, the bad boy, turn out to be the driver. That was the role Tega gave him because he believed he wasn't tough enough to be out in the field like Chris. "Tega!" Abiola shouted his name, and immediately, Tega stood up and pointed his gun at Tyler. "The fuck is wrong with you?! Are you mad?! How dare you shout my name like that?!" Tyler, immediately realizing that he had shouted his name, apologized with some fear in his tone. Tega then put down the gun and asked him, "Nigga what do you want?! I need you sharp for this operation" "that's what I wanted to talk to you about," "Okay, go ahead, I'm listening," "I don't want to be the driver anymore." And with those few words, Tega's facial expression changed from mere anger to rage and awe at the same time. "Why?" Tega said calmly so he won't snap and do something he may regret. "I have so much more potential than driving. I agree it's for transporting our heroin, but that's not what I signed up for". Tyler then paused and waited to hear Tega's following words, but he didn't say anything. He then continued talking, "One year ago, I came to you to join this family so I can be fully involved in everything you do, and all you've done since that time is toss me aside and give Chris preferential treatment". Tyler then paused again, his heart was beating really hard and fast because he wasn't sure of what Tega's reaction would be, he was afraid, but he knew he had to pour out his thoughts. After a few seconds, he continued; "I realized it's you, Chris and the other guys that get attention more than me. I want attention too, I want to be feared on this campus. Give me a gun and a machete. Let me show you how good I am, too!". After Tyler was done talking, about a couple seconds passed, and there was utter silence with Tega staring straight at Tyler, after which he let out a loud laugh continuously. Tyler had never been so surprised in his life. Tega then replied, "Do you know how long I have been waiting for you to grow some balls and tell me how you really feel?! I know you have skills. I only left you as the driver to also test if you had the guts to stand up to me". Tyler was in awe. "Wait, so all this time it was just a test?!" "Yes, you fool" replied Tega. Tyler felt really stupid at this point. Tega then picked up his bag and brought out a gun and a machete "Take! I was supposed to give you this when you joined us, but I didn't know it would take you this long to grow some balls," he said this laughing really hard again. Tyler then realized what was so funny and started laughing too as if he didn't know he was laughing at himself. He collected the weapons from Tega. "We already have a driver, now go and prepare for the operation." Tega said. "Sure thing boss. Aren't you coming?" asked Tyler. "I'm coming. Let me strap up first" "Okay, boss".

Chris was in the main lounge with the rest of the gang, joking around and making small talk when Tega approached him; "Chris" said Tega. "Oh! Boss wassup" replied Chris "You strapped?!" "Sure boss" "okay, let's go" "why don't we tell the others? We may need the help" "how many times will I tell you?! I'm keeping this low-key" "okay, boss," replied Chris. after which they left the building together and stormed off in Tega's vehicle. They were on a mission to go and execute a group of people posing to be cold wolves and stealing their heroin supplies. Once Tega found out, he became furious and searched for them until he found their base. However, he wanted to keep their execution low-key, so he called only Chris to accompany him cause he knew Chris to be the most low-key killer in the Black ice.

"Francisca, are you mad?! Drop that camera. Do you think we are joking here?!" Said Stanley in deep vexation as he tried snatching the camera away from his younger sister. "I'm making a documentary of the typical Nigerian gang life," replied Francisca. They were in the parlor of a small yellow-painted bungalow counting money and taking inventory of the amount of heroin in their possession. These were the set of people impersonating the Black ice; altogether, they were eight in number. Stanley was the gang leader. Francisca, his younger sister, wasn't one of them. She just came over to visit her brother when she found them and immediately brought out her camera to start recording.

Stanley, the gang leader, seeing how easy she stepped into the house, immediately placed two of his men at the entrance to serve as guards. "Francisca, are you mad?! I'm not playing. Drop that camera. It's because of me these other men haven't killed you yet" "ehn you're their leader na..." "Francisca!" "Okay fine. I'll drop the camera". Then just as she was about to stop recording, they all heard two gunshots coming from outside. Immediately they all ducked. Francisca's camera fell to the ground immediately as her hands shivered in fear.

"Francisca, come here!" Said Stanley, after which he shielded her by his side and brought out his gun while ducking behind a table. However, she just lay down body flat on the floor and covered her face in fear. "What was that?!" Asked one of the gang members. "I have no idea, man," replied Stanley. Before they could make another movement, random bullets started flying into the building, making bullet holes everywhere. They tried lying on the ground to escape the shots, but it was too late; it hit everyone except Francisca. Stanley, on the other hand, was the last person in the gang to die. Nonso and Abiola each wore an all-black outfit. Their tops were hoodies with the Black ice insignia on them. The shots fired were made by them, and they each used an Ak-47 machine gun. They stepped into the building, sauntering like they had come to reap their souls. All Francisca could hear were slow footsteps coming her way. Her heartbeat was so fast she felt like it was going to pull out of her chest. She cried and shivered in fear. The sight of her brother's half-dead body wasn't doing her any favors either. "I am going to assume you're the leader," said Tega as he looked down at Stanley's blood bathed body. "I remember seeing you when I found out your identities. You dare impersonate the Black ice! Mtchewww, you don't know anything" "Digidigidigi!" Sounded the gunshot as Tega blasted open his skull with the bullets, blood splattering back at his face and on the nearby floor.

He and Chris then packed the heroin into a bag he found on the table along with all the cash. All the while, Francisca was still lying face down, crying and shivering. "Waste that one and join me in the car. Fast!" Instructed Tega as he pointed at Francisca then stormed out of the building with the bag. Nonso then pointed his gun at her but didn't make any shot just yet; he hesitated. Tega had already stepped into his car when he heard a gunshot. He perceived that as confirmation that Chris had killed her. Chris then stormed out, stepped into the car as well, and without uttering a word Tega sped off.

They were in their meeting room, where they planned all their operations. There were five seats altogether. They sat such that they formed a circle. Altogether, Tega gathered five of them that would design the procedure. "Killswitch, bring the blueprints of the bank" Tega ordered. "Here it is," replied killswitch as he brought out the blueprints pointing out all the safest exits from the bank. "Over here, once we've taken the desired amount, we'll leave through the back," said Tega pointing at a place on one of the blueprints. However, Chris had a different idea; "That bank has been robbed before. These blueprints are old," said Chris.

"How do you know?" Replied Tega, "I know because it was on the news." Tega then shook his head and replied impatiently; "I know the bank has been robbed before! That is public knowledge. My question is, how do you know the blueprints are old?". "Last month, when you told me we were robbing that bank, I did some research and got the contact of the architect that designed all the blueprints for the bank. Obviously, a bank that has been robbed before would have put in some reinforcements and changed all their exit doors. The architect told me everything I needed to know". "So he willingly gave you such information?" Asked Romeo. "Well, he did that with some persuasion," he said this with a cunning smirk on his face. "Nice one, bro, now we can..." "I wasn't talking to you Tyler, you are just the driver. I'm talking to the actual workers" said Chris cutting Tyler short. Tyler was vexed by that action. He thought to himself 'the naive boy he brought to the gang, now looked down on him. He was about to stand up and react, but Tega held his hand and said; "Tyler is no longer the driver for this operation, he will be joining us this time around" "wow nice one, congratulations bro" said Killswitch to Tyler. Chris wasn't surprised, he knew that day would eventually come, but his question was who the new driver would be.

Seeing the curiosity on everyone's faces, Tega knew they all had the same thoughts; 'Who will be our driver?' no other person had driven them to significant operations for the past year. "Everyone, I would like to introduce you to someone. You can come out now," Said Tega, and immediately, a tall, dark man who looked about in his mid-20s came out. "This is Barry. He will be our new driver. Fish introduced me to him. I personally held his initiation ceremony yesterday. He has a history of trafficking illegal packages through his vehicle and gets paid. He wanted to be a part of this family, and I checked him. He is clean, any questions?".

All five of them stared at each other in silence for a couple seconds before talking. They welcomed him to the family, and they all talked a little, then wrapped up their plans. Nonso's boldness had grown more substantial, and he was one of the most respected people in the black ice gang, so when he spoke, people listened. "Chris please explain that plan for me again," said Romeo. "I thought you said you understand it," replied Chris. "Bro, I didn't want to embarrass myself in that meeting. I wanted to pretend like I am smart so they'll not insult me". After he said this, Chris started laughing. He laughed for a couple seconds, with Romeo staring at him in silence. Romeo was expecting it anyway. Chris and Romeo were very close. Romeo had been in the confraternity for as old as its origin. He was chubby, dark in complexion, had full dark hair and well-trimmed facial hair that made him look more attractive, 5'7 in height, and always wore shorts and armless tops.

When Chris was initiated, Romeo was the one in charge of grooming him. During those times, they bonded and started knowing things about one another that ordinarily, no one should know. Romeo wanted to laugh too, but he knew Chris. If he joined the laughter, Chris would not stop, and he will use that chance to mock him. There was pretty much no more time for any of that, so Chris looking at the seriousness on Romeo's face, decided to explain to him; "Bro, here is how it is: Segun will drive us to the bank when we get there, we will all get down unarmed and act like regular civilians. According to our connection in the bank, she already has access to the central security system and can shut down all cameras with the push of a button. Among these cameras is the anti-robbery unit installed, which means they will immediately be alerted once the cameras are shut. They will definitely call the bank to ask them what the problem is. That is where you come in. You'll Command Mr Daniels, the General manager to tell them they are having technical difficulties that will take them between 15-20 minutes to fix. The doors will automatically be open throughout our operation with the aid of our contact in the bank. The doors will be held in place long enough for us to acquire the five hundred thousand dollars and leave. While I, Killswitch, and the CSO are packing the money into the bags, the rest of you will be controlling the hostages. We will perform this operation on a low and come back with enough cash in our hands," he said those final words smiling at Romeo. "Nice one man, but how about the exit plan?" Said Romeo. "The outside world wouldn't be contacted within that time of our operation. So we will finish our work fast enough and leave" replied Chris. "Nice, but why?..." "Oh, and before I forget, we are gonna tie down all adult hostages in case any of them tries to act stupid and overpower one of us. That's what those ropes are for. According to my daily observations from visiting the bank, there will be about fifteen customers there by tomorrow morning cause that's the average number that comes there by that time early in the morning every day". "Damn! You've really prepared for this thing" said Romeo with an impressed look on his face. He knew Chris was brilliant, but he felt this was his best work yet. "Sure, Tega put me in charge of logistics and planning, so it's my job to know everything about where we are going to rob" replied Chris. " Why do we need hostages?" "We need them in case the plan goes sideways so we can have the leverage to negotiate with the Police" "Oh! Very smart. Okay bro, let me go strap up" said Romeo. "Nice, I'll see you in an hour" replied Chris.

This operation was Tega's idea. Ordinarily, they didn't go on heists. They made their money through the sales of heroin, but ever since those impersonators came into Westbrook, they had been losing a substantial amount of money. His men weren't aware of this; he didn't tell them cause he felt paranoid that they would betray him, seeing that he was going broke. That was why he went with only Chris to execute the impersonators; he wanted it to remain a secret. This heist was Tega's idea of making up for all that loss. Their heroin sales were declining as well ever since drug law enforcers started flooding Afefe. So they needed a new means of making money, or else they would go broke and lose their hold on officers and lawyers they pay for protection. This money heist was the best idea Tega could think of, and it was their last resort.

Tega came from a family where his other siblings did very well for themselves in a positive way. His father, a business giant, had so many high expectations of him, but he disappointed him several times. It got to a point his father finally disowned him. He stole a vast sum of money from his father, and when he found out, he told him that was his inheritance and that he never wanted to see him again. That was the money Tega used to start the Black ice gang. He built the Black ice gang with the leverage of fear and money. Their numbers grew to fifty men, including Chris and Tyler, all initiated thoroughly.

Meanwhile, a few minutes past 7pm in the evening, Chris and Romeo were the only ones in the main lounge talking. Killswitch, Barry, Tyler, Tega, and 7 other cold wolves were in other parts of the house. The remaining Black ice members were in other undisclosed locations in Westbrook. Tega couldn't have all of them in one place cause he felt that would be fatal for them. "The Black ice, elegant but feared," said Chris breaking the silence between him and Romeo. They were both sitting on one of the chairs in the lounge, downing a couple bottles of beer. "What did you say just now?!" Said Romeo. "Oh! you were even listening to me. I said our slogan". Romeo then stared at him for a couple seconds as though he had said something strange. "Bro what's wrong?! Why you looking at me like that man". Romeo then sighed deeply before replying. He had a stern look on his face; "nobody ever says that slogan anymore. It used to be our original slogan before Tega turned the family to what it is today" "wow, but you guys told me that was part of your slogan" replied Chris. "Yes, but Tega prefers to use the other ones; 'cold as the ice, ruthless to the kill.' He says this one you just said is an excuse for being weak. He says one can't be elegant and feared at the same time. He says one can only be a Savage and feared" "well, all I can see is philosophical differences..." "No!" Exclaimed Romeo standing up looking like he was in deep vexation and pent-up frustration. Pacing around the room, he then continued to speak; "do you know that the original name wasn't the Black ice?! It was the Black suits. Back then, we were all fully educated fellows that had class in society. With Tega's money, we did everything with class. The only problem was gangs in Westbrook easily threatened us. We couldn't condone that. So all three of us, I, Killswitch, and Tega, came up with an idea to form a family where we remained elegant but still feared.

We got the connection of an experienced weapons dealer through one of the opposing gang members. We bought enough weapons and recruited enough men thoroughly. We made sure they have all learned men with elegant persona but knew when to cross the line to savagery; Like I said, 'elegant but feared.' said Romeo. "So what happened? How did it become nothing but savagery?" "Tim happened" "what?!" "Tim was his name; short, dark man. I hated his stupid black face. He was the one that corrupted Tega's mind. Killswitch and I knew what Tega was. We were the ones that prevented him from his more violent and bloody tendencies, but when Tim joined the family, those two became thick as thieves. We started this family ten years ago. We grew to a hundred three years later, but that number reduced to below half due to the earlier gang wars. Tim died with those half.

Since then, we hadn't recruited anyone until you and Tyler" said Romeo. "what caused the war?" Replied Chris. "One stupid misunderstanding which Killswitch and I told Tega to stay out of, but that idiot called Tim told him we would look weak. So we retaliated, and before we knew it, five different gangs were at war" "including Fish?" Said Chris. "How do you know Fish?" Replied Romeo. "I heard some cold wolves talking about him" "hmmm, Fish! Fish and his gang are a very dangerous group of bastards. Let's forget about them" replied Romeo.

Chris and Romeo then proceeded to change the topic and kept making small talk, all the while laughing in between until they parted ways and went to bed.

Chris was in his room when he heard a knock. "Who's there?" "It's me," replied the person. The voice sounded like it was Tyler's. Chris was surprised and whispered to himself; "What does this guy want now?" Chris and Tyler hadn't been close since the incident that led to Chris joining the gang. So Chris went ahead to open the door. On opening it, he noticed there was a gun in Tyler's hand. "Man what do you want?! And why are you holding your gun like that?! You wanna kill me?!" Said Chris.

Tyler noticing that he was actually holding his gun in a threatening manner, put it in his trouser and apologized; "Oh! Sorry bro, I just came to talk". Chris then let him in, and they walked a little until they stood a few feet from the door; "About what?" Replied Chris

"About us, bro" He said and paysed while he watched for the effect of his words on Chris's face. He didn't even move a muscle and so Tyler continued talking. "It's been one whole year. I brought you to this family, and at first, you hated it, but now you've come to enjoy it. You are far more powerful than you used to be. Sincerely I'm proud of the man you have become. You have just one more year in this school, and after that, you'll still be in this family because this thing is for life. What I am trying to say is I want both of us to go back to the way we were. If we are doing this for life, then let's do it as brothers, not as enemies". Tyler was sincere with all his words, especially when he said they should come together to become brothers.

"Guy, what you did to me was unbelievable, but I have already forgiven you..." "Then why are you not talking to me meen?!" Tyler cut him short. "You gave me a role without my permission, and I'm playing that role even better than you. If you're jealous of me, tell me instead of all this crap you've been vomiting since. Nonsense!" Said Chris. "Bro, what exactly do you want?! If you wanna leave this family, I'm afraid that ship has sailed. If that's what you want before you can accept me back, believe me, I'll happily give you, but it's not possible". Chris, who was about to open the door to send him out, then turned back to him; "Look at me!" Yelled Chris, his tone even higher now. Tyler tried to look away, then Chris yelled again, "Look at me!" Tyler looked at him but not with fear. He knew the conversation was getting intense, so he moved closer until it felt like they were about to nod heads. "I haven't asked anything from you, and I don't want anything from you, so stop trying to assume you know what I want" said Chris.

"I know you're not happy. Every day you wake up, give that big smile on your face like everything's alright, but we both know how you really feel. Chris you're not happy, and you know why? It's because we're supposed to be doing this together. For the first time in eleven years, you're doing something without me. Bro, you're not happy, let me in again" "Okay, now you're really vexing me. Get out!". "No, I'm not going anywhere until you face this issue" "man there's no issue. Get out! Or you'll feel real pain, not that emotional nonsense you said you're going through." This time they were both still standing headstrong, looking straight at each other as they were speaking. Tyler clenched his fist, about to release all the negative energy inside him, really hoping for a fight, anticipating that one punch that he believed would reset Chris's memory.

Chris looked at him, seeing that he had clenched his fist, then knew what he was trying to do. Back when they were younger, anytime they had a dispute, they would fight and get as physical as they could, and in the end, they always bonded. That was their weird way of settling their quarrel. It's not that they always planned for it, but that's just the way they were.

They did that until they stepped into the University, then they chose to become mature and decided that settling a quarrel should be intellectual, not physical. "I see what you're trying to do here; trying to bring back the good old days, right? You're foolish if you think that would work at this age. Get out of my room!" Said Chris. After saying this, Chris turned back to lie on his bed. With those words, Tyler still angry, felt it wasn't worth it because it won't work, so he frowned in frustration at Chris then turned around to leave. However, he uttered some words before leaving; "I see this is a waste of time. I should have known you're just a bitch like your mother".

He said this while taking some steps towards the door and opening it, but that was enough to trigger Chris; "What did you just say?!" Replied Chris with an infuriated look. "I said your mom is a bitch, and so are you". Chris became so furious he flew out of his bed and ran headfirst to Tyler. He pushed him as they both landed on the floor outside the room. Killswitch, Barry, and four others were out in the main lounge discussing and laughing when they heard Chris and Tyler's groan.

They quickly ran to where they were and seeing that they were fighting they started cheering them. Chris gave Tyler a huge punch as he was trying to stand up. Tyler landed on the floor again then Chris sat on him and started delivering blows. He delivered three blows, all with his right hand, then Tyler trying to regain his balance in the middle of those punches, blocked the fourth punch, then pushed him over and became the one on top. He started delivering blows with his right and left hand, respectively. He delivered up to six, all with utter rage and frustration. When he was about to deliver the seventh, someone withheld his hand; it was Tega.

Tega, with his full-body strength, lifted Tyler and rammed him against the wall; "What are you doing?! That's the brain of the family, I knew you were jealous, but you didn't have to go this far, you fool!" Tega yelled while still holding him against the wall. "No, you don't understand, he started it!" Said Tyler as he repeated those words again. Those words Tyler kept repeating really irritated Tega and with that, he hit him with a punch that instantly knocked him out. "Throw him in the abyss. It was a small space he punishes members who have gone rogue. Bring him out after the operation. I'll know what to do with him by then". With that command, Killswitch and three others carried him to the abyss. At this point, Chris was on his feet, but his face was still feeling the after effect of those blows from Tyler. "You're going to explain to me exactly what happened after the operation. Go and rest for now and treat your face. I don't want you looking like a rascal and blowing our cover tomorrow" "Yes, boss," replied Chris sauntering back into his room. "And as for the rest of you, go to bed. Idiots!" Exclaimed Tega at rest, and immediately they all dispersed. Chris went back to his room and started tending to his swollen face first before sleeping.

Another chapter in all their lives was about to begin the following day. One thing was almost sure; Tyler would not be there to witness it.