Ch 269 - A Visit from Saul

Fairfield, Baltimore was full of rental housing, with prices ranging from five hundred to five thousand dollars a month. It was difficult to find cheaper rental properties anywhere else in the city.

Don and his sister, Daisy, lived in a bedsit on one of the cheaper roads. The room was only thirty square yards, with a sofa bed. The monthly rent was five hundred dollars.

Don came out of the subway station and walked to his house.

Before he left Johns Hopkins, he ate a bowl of noodles for three dollars from the university canteen. It was much cheaper than eating in the city, so he tried to eat in the canteen as often as he could to save a little money.

He only had to walk a couple of blocks to get to his apartment.

The people living there were all poorly paid workers, including several other security guards like Don, and other menial laborers.

A lot of them had their elderly relatives living with them. Don walked past the market where women sold their produce and handmade items.

As he walked past, he noticed that there were several colorfully dressed women sitting at the entrance of the street. He observed that they were looking very attractive in high heeled shoes and silk stockings showing off their shapely legs.

Whenever men walked by, they called out to them to attract their attention, just as they did with Don.

One of the girls she approached Don and said softly, "Hey, handsome boy, come and play with us. Only two hundred for a whole night and I'll take you straight to heaven."

She intentionally loosened the collar of her coat a little so that Don could see her snow-white chest and cleavage.

"No, maybe next time," Don smiled and gently pushed the girl aside.

When he'd been in his twenties, he had often enjoyed a night with one of the girls, but now it was out of the question. He needed every cent that he earned to pay for his younger sister's schooling. He couldn't waste a dime on these girls.

When she saw that she wasn't going to get any business from Don, she lost interest in him and sat back in her chair. She murmured, "Poor man, even if he had the money, he wouldn't know what to do with it."

Don walked back to the basement room where his sister lived and knocked on the door.

After a few moments, the door was opened by a girl dressed in a school uniform. Her long hair was tied back in a ponytail and she had no makeup on her face. She looked very plain and a little naive. She was Don's sister, Daisy.

"Don, you're back." When she saw that it was her brother, her face changed from an anxious frown into a smile of joy.

She opened the door and let her brother in.

Don pinched his sister's cheek and said with a smile, "Hey, Daisy, did you miss your big brother?"

All his troubles and worries vanished when he saw his little sister.

Don smelled food and saw a bowl on her desk. He frowned slightly, and said, "Daisy, why are you eating instant noodles again? Didn't you hear me say that it's not nutritious? You're in high school now and it's time to grow up. How can you eat this rubbish?"

"Don, I've got so much homework to do today. I'm eating instant noodles because they're convenient. Usually, I eat at the school canteen," said Daisy.

She was aware how difficult it was for her brother to earn enough money to support them both. His monthly salary was only two thousand dollars, which wasn't really enough for two people to live on in Baltimore.

For that reason, Daisy either ate the cheapest meal available in the canteen each night, or, if she wasn't too hungry, a bag of instant noodles.

She hadn't expected her brother to come back today, so she became a bit flustered.

"Daisy, you don't have to lie to me. I know that I don't make much money, but I make enough for you to eat a proper meal in the canteen. Please don't eat instant noodles anymore. You have to eat in the canteen every day, okay?" Don and his sister had been living together for so many years that he could tell that she was lying to protect his feelings.

"Okay, I know, I promise. Don't worry. I'll eat in the canteen every day from now on." Then Daisy pulled her brother over to sit on the bed and said, "Listen, the school dormitory building is almost finished. Then I can move in there. You already have a dormitory at Johns Hopkins, so we won't need to rent this house anymore."

Daisy went to a private high school, which had only been open for three years. That year, Baltimore city issued a request that the school must accept three hundred children of low-income workers to the school.

Daisy had been accepted to attend the school, but because the school buildings were still being renovated, Don had had to rent the bedsit for his sister to live in.

"That's great news," he said happily. "Are you done with your homework? It's almost ten o'clock. I'm going to bed soon myself. I'll wash up, and tomorrow I'll wake you up for school."

"Thank you," Daisy said with a radiant smile. She was always so happy when her brother was there. She took off her shoes and climbed into bed.

Don put the dirty dishes into the basin and was about to turn on the faucet, when the doorbell rang.

He was surprised because he didn't really know anyone in that neighborhood and Daisy never had visitors. He wondered who it could be.

Concerned, he hesitated before going to the door. Before he knew what was happening, the door had been kicked open.

Don and Daisy were horrified, and Daisy screamed out in terror.

A large man strode in. He was in his early thirties and was wearing a black jacket with a white vest underneath. His thin face was sallow, and he was staring at Don with a sinister smile.

The man was Saul.

He closed the door behind him and said, "Don, I know what you did today. How dare you confront two gentleman such as Chris and Julian? I'm afraid you're soon going to be begging for mercy."

Don looked at his sister and his heart pounded. He was terrified but desperate to protect her.

Saul walked slowly over to Don.

"Don, Don," Daisy cried fearfully. She knew that this man was there to hurt them.

Saul raised his fist and thumped Don repeatedly, smashing the basin in the process. Lying on the floor, Don's ears were ringing, and he felt that his brain had been shaken as if he had been electrocuted.

Although the pain was intense, his feeling of fear was even stronger.

"Don," Daisy cried when saw that her brother had been beaten. She stepped down from the bed barefoot and rushed at Saul. She would hit anyone who dared to hurt her brother.

But as she rushed at Saul and tried to hit him, he easily pushed her away and she fell back onto the bed.

He said creepily, "The little girl looks so innocent. Once I've dealt with your brother, I'll be able to focus all my attention on you. I promise I'll help you experience things you've never felt before. Don't worry, the bed is small, but I know what I'm doing. I won't let you fall off."

When Don heard what he said, he was horrified. He didn't care what happened to him, but he had to protect his sister.

He saw Saul gazing at his sister and decided to take advantage of the fact that he was distracted. He suddenly grabbed the other man's legs, looked at his sister, and shouted, "Run, Daisy. Don't worry about me. Run as fast as you can."

"Hey!" Saul squatted down and hit Don's back with his elbow.

Don fell on the ground with a thump and vomited a mouthful of foul-smelling water onto the floor. His body felt like it had been cracked in two by Saul's elbow.

"Since you're in such a hurry, I will help you to die," Saul said ferociously.

Then, he raised his foot and stomped down on to Don's back.

"Ah," Don screamed. Because of the pain, his head straightened up and his neck muscles protruded. His face became as red as tomato and his eyes were bulging and completely bloodshot.

Saul snorted at him coldly. Seeing Don lying on the ground in agony reminded him of how he used to feel when he smashed other boxers in the ring. The surge of adrenalin and pleasure was intense.

He hauled Don up from the ground with one large hand. Don was almost lifeless by this time and offered no resistance.

"I'll teach you to think you can beat me," Saul hissed angrily and punched him in the face.

Don's body slammed into the cupboard, and the cabinet split in two.

Saul grabbed his opponent's clothes again and pulled him to his feet. His face was red and swollen like a tomato, and there was blood pouring from his nose.

"Look at you now. You're more pitiful than the mangey street dogs," he laughed.

His pupils shrank to pinpoints and the muscles in his hand bulged as he punched Don again, this time slamming him into the cabinet mirror.

The noise of the cracking glass could hardly be heard over Don's scream.

His skull had been cracked and blood was pouring from a three-inch wound in his scalp.

Although the upper part of the mirror had been smashed, the lower half was still there but with deadly long shards protruding upward.

"Go to hell," Saul shouted as he clenched his teeth, grabbed Don's limp body, and got ready to throw him onto the mirror shards. The intent was to cut Don's throat and finish him off for good.

But as he raised Don's body, ready to throw it, a cell phone started ringing. Saul froze and Daisy rushed over to her brother's body and hugged his head.

"Turn your cell phone off right now," Saul ordered angrily. He didn't like to have any distractions when he was dealing with people.

Don just about managed to pull out his cell phone. He was shaking so badly that he could hardly hold it but he managed to see that Alex was calling him.

"Give it to me," Saul demanded as he snatched the phone from Don.

When he saw the name, Alex, on the screen he smiled. It was a perfect opportunity to lure Alex to that flat to kill him there. After all, it would be much easier to kill him there than at the university. He pressed the answer button and listened as Alex said, "Don, are you at home?"

After finishing his day's work, Alex had eaten the supper that Debbie had brought him. When he saw that Debbie had turned her light out, he started thinking again about Don. He was worried about him so decided to call to check that he was okay.

"Alex," Saul answered coldly. Hearing his voice made Alex's heart thump. He had a really bad feeling about the man that answered Don's phone. He asked warily, "Who are you?"

Saul told him, "I'm with Don. If you don't want me to hurt him anymore, you better come to his home right now. And don't call the police or bring anyone with you. Don't tell anyone what's going on. If you do any of those things, I promise that I will kill your friend."

"What? Don't hurt him!" Alex cried desperately.

"Well, it depends on whether you get here in time or not," Saul replied. When he heard the panic in Alex's voice, he knew that he would come.

"Alex, don't come, he'll kill—" Don tried to say, but Saul slapped him in the face.

"Don!" Alex was desperate to help his friend.

"One more time. If you're not here in half an hour, you won't be seeing your friend again," Saul said calmly and ended the call.