Battle For Life by Paul Kenmir (From The Northern Echo)

Battle For Life by Paul Kenmir

10:00am Wednesday 7th October 2009

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Battle For Life Prologue

Darlington. 2009. The whole town was in absolute chaos. Things were getting out of hand. Everyone was in constant panic. There was no-one that they could turn to for help anymore. The Government didn’t want anything else to do with the town, as things had gotten so bad. They believed that too many soldiers had died already. They couldn’t risk anymore good men dying. The question that was on everyone’s mind, was; “Is there anyone willing to save us from this horrible nightmare? Can anyone save us?” The entire town was in absolute turmoil and disparity.

The person that had the power to save the whole town wasn’t even aware that they were going to have such power. They didn’t even realise that it would be them that would be called on to save the day. This person would have to make the biggest decision of their life so far. This decision was; “Do they save the day, everyone and everything that they believed in? Or do they just let the town suffer and perish under the horrible invasion?” This person’s name was Stuart Johnson. And he was about to get a rude wake-up call.

Chapter One

It was an ordinary Monday morning around eight thirty in the morning on the 22nd of June. The sun was just starting to show through the clouds. People were hoping and praying for another warm summer’s day. They were surprised that they were having such good weather, because for the last three years, the summer weather had been awful and wet. Already it was looking like it would be a nice hot day. Stuart Johnson was in the process of planning the next stage of the job he’d been given. He was simply the best at what he did. This was because he had always been good with planning, timing and everything else. Stuart was a professional hit man for hire.

Stuart was a six foot five inch, two hundred pound man. He was thirty four years old. He had sandy brown hair, huge muscles, a few scars from old wounds he had sustained in minor scuffles that he’d been in on and blue eyes. Overall, he was an average looking guy that seemed decent. Although many people respected him, he knew he had never revealed the true nature of his real job. To those who knew him, he was a managing director of a local firm. He still had a lot of things that he wanted to do, before his time ran out. He wanted to travel the world, settle down and start a family. He wanted the best for himself, as did everyone else. They all wanted him to do the very best that he could.

At the stage in his life that he was at, he believed that he had everything he needed. A steady job, a nice house loving family and friends. However, there was still one thing missing. Stuart liked to call this “Miss Right”. He knew who it was that he wanted to be with. His beautiful best friend Nicole Thompson. She was what every man dreamed of. Beautiful, smart and young. They’d been best friends since high school. She was a thirty three year old secretary at one of Darlington’s most successful businesses. She was five foot seven inches, slim, tanned beautiful brown hair, and just overall amazing. Although she was in a relationship, they both had wondered if the relationship would last much longer. Stuart hoped that he could end up with her someday. Although he’d recently debated his feelings, and tried to move on. ***

Stuart arrived at his hideout and sat down at his desk. It was just a grotty little bedsit, more than anything. But it held all the essential tools of his trade. After checking and replying to his emails on his laptop, listening to his phone messages etc. he got planning the next stage of his most recent assignment. He knew that there was a fair bit that he needed to do before the job was done. He also had lots of phone calls to make and stick to the deadline that he’d promised his client, to get the job done by. He needed the bulk of his assignment out of the way, before he went home that night. Stuart knew that he might struggle slightly, as he had two important people to meet that day. At the same time though Stuart was convinced that he could get it done. After all, he was the best at what he did. Stuart started with his phone calls. He knew that they were fairly important. He called his suppliers to check if his order had come in yet.

“Mike, its Stuart. Just a quick call to see if that new supply has arrived yet?” “Stuart. Just got the order. I was just about to ring you.” replied Mike. Stuart smirked and said, “Great. Can you get them to me in the next hour or so, so that I can test them properly?” Mike replied “Already on their way.” And with that Mike ended the call. Just as Stuart was getting back to his work, his mobile rang. Looking at the screen, he was perplexed by the sight of the term “Unknown Number”. Thinking nothing of it, he ignored the call. He assumed that it was some company trying to sell him something. He’d been getting a lot more of them than usual, over the last few weeks.

Five minutes later, the phone rang again. The same term flashing across the screen. This time, he started to worry a bit. Slowly, he brought the phone to his ear and hit the answer button. He knew that this couldn’t be good if they wouldn’t stop ringing. With a slight whisper he said “Hello?” Silence. All of a sudden, a rasping deep voice said, “Stuart. I trust you’re working hard. You always seem to be working that little bit too hard at the minute don’t you?” “Who is this?” Stuart replied eagerly.

Then the voice said “So the stories about you are true! Stuart really is inquisitive isn’t he? If you want to know what I have to say, then I might have a proposition for you. I suggest that you meet me at the abandoned warehouse outside town at midday. You’ll know it when you arrive. I look forward to finally meeting you.” With that the phone went dead. Stuart was starting to feel a little weird. What was he to do? He couldn’t just drop everything over one silly phone call. Could he? And who would know that his name was Stuart? He was sure that he hadn’t recognised the person’s voice. Now he really started to panic.

Chapter Two

Nicole was sat at her desk, making a start on all the letters and phone calls that she needed to make for her boss, Dave Calloway. Dave was the leading figure of authority in the business, which everyone looked up too, and he was also the person that most of the staff would ask advice from. She even needed to arrange his meetings for the following week. She had a lot to do before she even thought about going home that night. So much to do and so little time. She was getting worried she wouldn’t get everything done in time. But then again, she wouldn’t have been applied for the job if she wasn’t looking for a challenge. She was an attractive thirty three year old, with shoulder length dark hair and tanned skin. She always made sure that she looked after herself. People were always complementing her on her beauty.

Besides, she didn’t really want to go home. Her partner was an absolute nightmare. He abused her every night. He would accuse her of cheating if she wasn’t in by a certain time. He was drunk nearly every night of the week. She was petrified of him. She wanted out of their relationship, but knew if she tried, he would probably kill her for even suggesting it. She didn’t even love him anymore. She had realised that she was in love with someone else. Trouble was she didn’t even know how he felt about her. If she said something, and he didn’t feel the same way, it would jeopardize everything that they had been through together.

Stuart was still slightly scared by the mysterious phone call, and the weird caller, and was still deciding whether or not it was a stupid prank or something far more serious. Whatever he decided, he would probably need to act quickly, and get back on with what he was being paid to do. Otherwise he could kiss his reputation goodbye. Therefore he decided that he would take an early lunch, and make up the time by staying later that night. With that, he logged his computer off and left. He made sure that he set his traps before leaving. It was a standard operating procedure for him.

He quickly exited the building and dashed for his car, which he had parked in the building’s rear car park. He looked at his watch. “Damn it. Only ten minutes to get there” he thought. Time wasn’t on his side at all. Still, he was sure that he was going to make it. He was good at making quick progress and meeting deadlines. He was confident that he could make it on time. Traffic providing. He was really starting to sweat and panic. However, he had no idea what laid in store for him when he got there. If he thought that his life was perfectly normal….he would need to think again.

Chapter Three

He moved through the shadows like a creature of the night. Watching and waiting, with sharp yellow eyes, praying that someone would slip up and make a critical error. It wouldn’t be long now. He had done this so many times before, and to better places as well. He wanted to become even stronger so that no-one could even hope to stop him. Soon nothing would stop him. So hungry and vicious. Sometimes he could be heard howling late at night. Even during the day. It sent chills up and down civilians’ spines, every time.

He wanted people to know he was about and watching them. That was the beauty of what he did. He spent his time flitting between the shadows in alleys or lurking at the top of buildings watching the passers by going about their business like insignificant ants. Sometimes he would let out a growl or snarl and watched in amusement as the people jumped or looked behind them slowly.

The creature had long, sharp claws; greasy hair that was plastered to its face and horrible skin that made him look even more alien than he already was. This creature didn’t like to be seen by anybody but the people it was attacking. That was why it stuck solely to the deep dark shadows where he could sit patiently and grab its unsuspecting victims. But this was fine because its victims were already dead before it had even finished with them and could even think about anything else. He could tear people limb from limb whilst they screamed at the top of their voices. Even better. This was sheer joy to the creature. He seemed to let out a quiet laugh during its kills. The sweet taste of people’s blood was sheer ecstasy to him.

This thing was a sheer brute force. He came from an unknown place. He looked like something out of a horror movie. Like one of those monsters that couldn’t stop killing. Something that would never be truly satisfied until the end. He knew that no-one would even try to stop it in fear of being killed. However, this time, he had banked on the wrong place and most certainly, the wrong people. The creature’s name was Damian.

Nicole was sat at her desk, unable to keep her mind off the man that she truly loved. She thought about him every second she could. She kept thinking that if she told him, it would ruin, let alone end, their lifelong friendship. She had no idea how she was going to deal with it. She knew that what she felt for him was wrong and that it could never happen. She just couldn’t help it. She needed to find some way of telling him how she felt about him. She had absolutely no idea that the events that were going to unfold would draw the two of them ever closer.

That’s when her mobile started to vibrate in her pocket. “Typical” she thought. “That’s the second time today”. Finally she answered with a firm, brisk tone. “Who is this? And why do you keep ringing me?” After a few minutes of steady deep breathing a rasping deep breath said “Nicole. Finally. I’ve heard so much about you.” “Who is this” she asked, curiously. “If you really want to know who I am, really sure, then I suggest that you meet me at the abandoned warehouse outside Darlington at midday. You’ll know it when you get there.” With that the voice hung up. “Damn!” she thought. This would mean working late again, like she usually did. All she wanted was to get away early as well. “Never mind” she muttered to herself. “There’s always tomorrow.” With that, she picked up her coat and bag and left for her car. Dreading the unimaginable meeting.

Stuart made it with only a few minutes to spare. Running from his black Ford Mondeo, sweating, he slowed to a nice steady walk and wiped his brow on a handkerchief from his jacket pocket. Jogging quickly to the front door, he couldn’t help but notice the unnerving feel in the air around him. He started to feel ever more uncomfortable than he already did.

When he finally made it into what he assumed was the main room, he looked around the cavernous room. Each sound resonating loudly. He could hear the rats scratching and squeaking, the sound of water dripping from the ceiling, splashing loudly. He could even smell the damp musky air around him and it made him cringe. He could make out the silhouette of a table ahead of him, with what looked like a figure sat at it. He had a funny feeling that something was going to go seriously wrong. He had that uncomfortable gut feeling he always got when something was wrong.

Chapter Four

He sat on the rooftops looking out on the town. Waiting, watching and prowling the dark shadows watching his victims like a hawk. The faint outlines of his evil eyes could just be made out if people squinted into the shadows. No one dared to though. They were too scared to even go near the shadows, let alone look at them. No one knew where Damian would be lurking. People had even learnt to try and steer clear of alleyways and usually stayed once the sun went down.

Damian was prowling the more secluded and more shaded areas of the small town. He hoped to catch the more unsuspecting people. It was only a matter of time before someone slipped up. He didn’t need to wait too long. Whilst flitting between the shadows of the Neasham Road, he spotted a young man, constantly checking behind him, cautiously creeping down one of the streets. Creeping up on his unsuspecting victim, he toyed with him. He made noises as he approached. He started throwing small stones and hissing. The young man was so petrified that he started to run as fast as he could. Damian liked it when they ran. It made the kill that much sweeter.

As Damian gave chase, the terrified young man’s screams could resounded throughout the entire neighbourhood and most of the area within a 1 mile radius. The young man, Andrew, knew that he had no hope of being saved now, no matter how loud he screamed. That was until he rounded the corner and nearly ran into a dark figure standing in front of him. The man raised his arm and shouted “Duck! Duck now you stupid moron!” As the young man ducked, he heard an almighty bang. He raised his head and saw smoke and realised that the mystery man had fired a shot at Damian. He turned to see Damian rising from the floor. The young guy took his chance and started running again.

As he started passing the strange man, he felt himself being grabbed by the arm and dragged into a car. As the cloaked man dived into the driver’s seat, started the ignition and pulled away with some force, he shouted, “What the hell do you think you were playing at you stupid idiot? You should’ve known better than to go wandering the streets at this time. Lucky I showed up or you’d be dinner right now! Goddamn it! You’re so lucky Andrew! That’s right! I know who you are”

Speeding down Neasham Road, the strange man kept glancing in the mirrors as if checking for something. Whilst checking himself, Andrew finally started to speak. “May be a stupid question, but what the hell was that thing?” He felt a sharp sense of dread and fear. He felt frozen to his chair. He was petrified beyond the point of rational thought. The man replied, with a slightly more gravelly voice, “That thing is a monster. Its name is Damian. I’ve been hunting him for a long time. He destroyed everything that held dear to me. My family and my life. Because of him, I’ve become a hunter, vowing to destroy evil. The name’s Smith by the way. John Smith. May as well be bloody civilised. I know who you are though Andrew. I know all about you. And I want to ask something of you. Go to the abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of town tomorrow at noon. Look for me there.”

Pulling over, by the empty stadium, Joe turned to Andrew and said, “Right kid. Think it’s time you got out. After all. That son of a bitch will most likely try and kill me for the rest of the night now. So until next time kiddo. Just be careful ok!” Andrew stepped from the car, and watched as Joe sped off into the night. He felt quite worried about being left there in the cold damp night on his own, with the threat of Damian coming back to kill him. So he ran. Ran off into the night, never looking back.

Nicole drove the long drive to the abandoned car park out of town. She had no trouble finding a spot. She pulled up next to a brand new black Ford Mondeo. She made sure that she looked presentable, before leaving the car and walking into the dark, damp foyer and looked around. She felt the sudden urge to turn and leave, but decided to stay put and see how things played out.

When she finally noticed the table, and figures sat there, she walked over and let out a short gasp. Because, sat there in front of her, was the man she never thought she’d see again. "Stuart. Hi. How are you?” Stuart seemed quite gobsmacked. “Nicole. I’m fine thanks. What about you?” He leaned across to Joe and angrily whispered, “You son of a... You knew about how I feel for her didn’t you? You’re sick. And now.....because this is so damn funny to you, try this on for size......I’m gone!” With that Stuart shot up from his chair and picked his coat up. He muttered a quick apologetic goodbye to Nicole and turned to leave. “That would be a very bad idea Mr Johnson. This town’s in grave danger. And so are you if you leave now! And you know it is. I know you know what I’m talking about. You’ve seen it haven’t you? So just think before you act.”

Stuart turned back and angrily said, “You’ve got five minutes. Make it good!” As he sat down, another man came dashing over. “Sorry I’m late guys. Traffic was murder trying to get here. Sorry. My name’s Andrew.” he said, extending his hand noticing the confused look on Stuart and Nicole’s faces. He sat in the last available chair and motioned for the conversation to carry on. Joe saw the opportunity to take control. “Now. You’re all here because it has come to my attention, that together, as a team, we could save the town and bring back order and sanity. You will all be aware of the blatant menace that is on our streets. I refer to; of course, to the extremely annoying beast that earned himself the name Damian.” Andrew seemed to take in a short sharp breath at the mention of the beast’s name. He couldn’t get over the previous nights horrific event.

Nicole thought it was she interjected a statement into the conversation. “So what the hell do you want from us then? I mean, why us? What kind of team are you seeing from a secretary, a hitman, some weird looking guy and yourself? No offence by the way” she said to Andrew, who gave a kind of “none taken” nod of the head. Joe turned to Nicole and said, “I chose you three, because I believe that you all deserve a chance to help. Together, we can be truly unstoppable.” Stuart couldn’t help but burst out laughing. “Now I’m sure that you’re winding us up mate. So now……I’m gone. Thanks for wasting my time.” He stood up, said his goodbyes and walked off. He was furious about this guy wasting his time.

Back inside, Joe turned to Nicole and said, “I know the truth Nicole. I know you love him. And he loves you. Go. Go give him a reason to stay and help. We need him. Right now, he’s one of the last four people standing in the way of the town…and destruction.” Making up her mind, Nicole shot from her chair and raced for the door, hoping she would get to Stuart before he disappeared. Bounding out the door, she saw him opening his car door and getting in. So she shouted loudly, “Stuart, wait!” Stuart stopped, sighed and turned to face her. As she got to his car, she said, “Stuart, don’t go. We need you. The town needs you. More importantly, I need you. It’s time you knew the truth. It’s not David anymore. I never did love him. I –”

Before Nicole had time to finish her sentence, there came a loud long howling. Then, all hell broke loose. Damian tore through the trees and shot straight for Stuart and Nicole. Stuart shouted, “Holy Hell! Nicole, MOVE!” As he shoved Nicole out of Damian’s path, he launched for the boot of his car. He popped open the boot and felt for the secret compartment he had installed. Once he found it, he wrenched it open shoved his hand inside and extracted the gun out, that he had hidden for emergencies. It was a brand new Heckler and Koch sub machine gun. He’d never had to use it, so he knew it would be fully loaded, because that’s the way he’d kept it when he bought it.

He spun back round to find Joe and Andrew racing towards them. Surrounding the monster, Joe had his own gun at the ready. As Damian looked at his new circle of victims, Stuart squeezed the trigger in rapid succession, firing off countless shots. However, his aim was off and he only managed to hit Damian’s pectoral muscle with one shot. All other shots went flying wide. Damian howled in pain and turned and ran. But just before Damian disappeared, Stuart caught a good look at his face. He had seen that hideous face before years ago. “It can’t be! Can it?” Stuart muttered to himself.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Stuart turned to Joe and said, “Ok. You were right. Maybe we can help. But only because I have nothing better to do with my time.” Stuart threw his gun back into the boot of car and walked over to Joe. “So what do you need from me? Because right now, after that, I’m curious as hell.” Both men shook hands. Joe turned to them all and said, “So now. It begins. We are now going to rise to the occasion and save the day. We will need a new name that symbolises who we are. And that name shall be……”The Resistance””

Chapter Five

Stuart’s associate, Mike, was on the warpath. He was furious that Stuart had gone off and not said anything at all to him. Mike had called him over and over again to no avail. He was getting caught up by Stuart’s voicemail. Mike had left him several messages demanding to get in touch as soon as possible. Mike was going to make sure that Stuart paid for this. For Mike had some very deep, dark and disturbing secrets of his own that would destroy Stuart in time. Mike was a 35 year old male with thinning dark brown hair. For 35, he was fairly overweight. He never thought about this though. Although people wound him up about it, this wasn’t his main concern. At the minute, his only concern was his associates not being where they should be. No one had ever done this before without paying the evitable price of their career. He was a nasty, tough man to deal with. Even at the best of times. And he was going to make sure that Stuart payed with his life.

Crawling into the sewers, bleeding, Damian howled in agony. He’d never been in so much pain. Now he was hell bent on revenge. He would become more of a nightmare than he already was. He dug his razor sharp nails into his wound, wincing and screaming all the while, and managed to dig the bullet out. He threw it to the ground, where it clinked and rolled into the dirty, murky water and was washed away into the night. Damian howled a long, blood curling howl that could chill people to the very core.

Damian stood at an amazing seven feet tall and weighed around a huge three hundred pounds of sheer muscle. There was no way of telling how old the creature was. He had short wispy hair that was constantly plastered to his head from sweat. His skin was stretched over the sheer mass of muscle that made up the monster. It had hardly any teeth remaining and its nose was broken. This hideous life form had left a trail of mass destruction and sheer terror wherever it had been. It seemed to enjoy terrorising places before destroying them and killing all the people of that certain place. Never before had someone plucked up the courage to shoot him though. That was a new low. Now he would kill only for revenge and would not stop until he killed every last person.

The Resistance decided that it was time to move on and come up with a new plan. They needed to chose where to go carefully though. Because of Stuart’s actions and firing his gun, someone would have phoned for the police. Now they would need to be fully alert and ready to keep moving. Everyone was now on edge. Even Joe.

Andrew summoned the courage to speak first. “So what do we do now Joe? Do we fight back or what? Because I don’t like to fight.” Nicole turned and said, “He has a point. What do we do? Those who don’t like fighting I mean.” Joe turned to Stuart and said, “Stuart? It’s up to you. What do we do? Fight or flight? It’s your choice. Because I’m fighting. And I can’t take that thing by myself. I’m going to need your help. You know I do. And besides, you should have what we need. I mean, aren’t hitmen always equipped?” Stuart looked stunned. He couldn’t believe what he’d just been asked. He was stunned. He couldn’t even breathe. He just stood there; open mouthed and not saying a word. The others looked as stunned. Nicole turned to him and said, “You’re a hitman? But I always thought you were a teacher!” Stuart looked at her and replied, “Yeah, that’s kind of not true!”

He then looked at each member of the group in turn. The look on his face seemed to ask, “What am I supposed to do? What are you expecting me to say?” He had never felt so strange about anything like this before. He needed help. So he plucked up the courage and said, “I don’t know what you are expecting me to say. I can’t be doing with this. I never agreed to fight. Because whichever way you spin this, it’s an unwinnable fight. So if it’s ok with you lot, I’m out of here.” With that Stuart turned and started walking down the long and darkened corridors of the warehouse. Not even bothering to look back. Joe said, “Don’t worry. He’ll be back. He has no choice.”

Chapter Six

Stuart often spent time visiting his family’s grave. He could still remember that fateful night all those years ago when he was just a child. He had the nightmares every night that prevented him from sleeping. He remembered listening to his parents arguing every night from his bed. He used to comfort his little brother who cried when the arguments kicked off. Stuart couldn’t help but feel responsible for the arguments. Even though he had done nothing wrong. He remembered that awful night that changed his life forever. He could still see the horrifically disfigured man bursting through the front door, producing the long bladed knife and slicing his parent’s throats. In his mind, he could still see the blood spattered across the walls and his parent’s clothes.

Shaking himself from the memories, he looked down at the grave and laid his flowers. He breathed a heavy sigh and muttered, “Why did he have to kill you? Why not me?” He hummed the tune to his parent’s favourite song for a moment, and then placed his hand on the tombstone before turning and walking away. Stuart knew what he needed to do. He could hear his father telling him to get his backside into gear and fight for the people. It was his patriotic duty to gather arms and fight for the right to survive. But Stuart was only going to fight for one main reason and one reason only. He needed to keep her safe like he had promised himself, all those years ago.

Mike was pacing outside Stuart’s “office”. He was seething. He’d been waiting for an hour already. Never, in all the time that he had been in the business, or the service, had anyone failed to meet him at the set time. He’d tries Stuart’s mobile, but got the same pre-recorded answering message telling him that the mobile was “currently un-available”. This wasn’t good, and it wasn’t going to be tolerated.

At 5” 9’, Mike was ruthlessly aggressive. He had loads of scars from previous aggressive situations that he’d been involved in. Most of which, weren’t even his fault. He was fast approaching his 50th birthday, and he was starting to feel every one of those years. He wasn’t getting any younger, fitter or faster. He was best known for his short temper and his aggressive nature. Sometimes, even the smallest thing would infuriate him, and he would explode. And right now, this was one of those times.

Back at the warehouse, the remaining members of the resistance had been thinking up strategies that might help them with the ever looming doom that awaited them. They were coming up fruitless every time. They needed Stuart back. More now, than ever before. He was bound to come up with a plan that was guaranteed to succeed. They needed to get him back ASAP. They were starting to get desperate.

Joe finally decided to speak up. “Shall we make a move then? Cause the longer we stay here, like this, the more chance there is that we’re going to get caught and slaughtered.” He stood up and started making for the door. Nicole and Andrew had no real choice but to follow. They couldn’t do anything else. Not on their own. Once they reached the door, and opened it, they came face-to-face with the barrel of a Sig Sauer pistol. There was a faint smell of gun oil. That was the tell-tale sign that the gun was new and the kid holding the gun was a rookie. He looked about his mid-twenties, and was clearly scared beyond belief. He had started screaming orders pretty much since the door had been opened.

“Get down on the ground with your hands behind your heads! Now!” He was screaming, with tears starting to trickle down his cheeks. By the way the kid was shaking; he obviously had no sense of control. Someone had grabbed him and started working him over into this kind of state. And Joe was sure he knew who could do this to someone. In order to keep the lad calm, Joe slowly kneeled down and placed his hands firmly behind his head. He slowly nodded to the others, who were petrified themselves, to follow his lead. They slowly followed suit and obliged to the demands. The smell of gun oil was slowly being replaced by sweat. The kid was shaking and shouting his orders, some louder than others.

Shifting his eyes between his targets, never lowering the gun from their heads, surged forwards and grabbed Nicole by the hair, dragging her to her feet. She let out a gasp of pain and despair. Tears were forming in her eyes. She was more scared now than she had ever before. “Joe! Please help! Don’t let him kill me!” She managed to sob between breaths. Her mascara was starting to smudge due to the amount of tears that she was crying. The fear she was feeling was obvious because she couldn’t stop shaking.

“Yeah Joe. Come and help her. I dare you. Would you risk yet another innocent life for the thrill of a kill?” quizzed the kid. He knew that Joe wouldn’t dare try anything. After a few seconds, the kid threw Nicole face down to the ground and slowly moved towards Joe. Only then did Joe notice the kid’s, and his own, tense, rapid and heavy breathing. Joe started tensing himself, preparing to unleash fury on this delusional kid. No sooner had the thought entered Joe’s head, however, there was a loud, deafening bang, as a gun shot rang out. The kid’s shoulder exploded into a cloud of blood whilst the kid dropped to the floor screaming with agony.

Chapter Seven

Stuart had regretted leaving Nicole at the warehouse like he had, knowing fine well what he had left them to face. He had foreseen an attack from the moment he had left. He was already planning an attack of his own, that would most likely end someone’s life. So long as he and Nicole stayed safe, he would be happy. Racing to his car, he needed to check his boot for the ‘special’ briefcase he knew he had in there. He opened the boot, and the briefcase, despite the abnormal shaking, and the thoughts racing through his mind. He let out a sigh of relief to see his favourite gun waiting to be assembled. It was a simple Glock with three 9mm magazines, fully loaded, and ready to use. He’d had it for a few months and had never found a reason to use it.

He started his car and made his way back to the main road. When he pulled away, he started feeling incredibly uncomfortable. Glancing in his rear-view mirror, noticed a Peugeot 206 four or five cars behind, that’s road positioning was slightly more unusual than the other cars on the road. He could just make out the silhouette of the driver. Stuart tried turning left at the roundabout and carried on driving. The Peugeot turned left a minute later. Just to test his theory, Stuart pulled over and waited. The Peugeot slowly drove past and pulled over a few metres ahead. Stuart knew he’d been followed. He quickly reversed and spun his car around. The Peugeot was starting to match his movements.

Stuart sped off, regardless of traffic around him. He could hear car horns blaring and angry drivers shouting. But he didn’t really care. He had to lose this Peugeot and quickly. He raced the side streets with his pursuer close behind hm. Stuart took a stupid chance and pulled into an alley. He’d finally got a plan. He waited until the Peugeot parked, blocking the only visible way out of the alley. He let out a long breath and reversed quickly. The other driver didn’t have time to react. Stuart collided with full force into him, and sent him spinning violently into the middle of the empty road. Stuart stopped his car and climbed out. He walked over to the Peugeot and dragged the driver out. He was slightly bald with a few missing teeth. The ones that were left were stained yellow from what looked like years of smoking. He was no older than forty-five years old and the years were showing.

Stuart threw the driver to the floor and stood over him. Drawing his gun, he snarled, ”Who are you and what the hell do you want from me? Who hired you to follow me? TELL ME!” The driver coughed and spluttered a little blood. Gasping for air, he managed to say, “Stuart. It’s him. He’s fuming you know. He gunning for your blood!” A small shiver went down the back of his spine. He know knew who was after him. He turned and made for his car. He had to get back to the warehouse as quick as he could.

He made it back to the warehouse inside 10 minutes and just in time to see Nicole being thrust to the floor. He couldn’t have that. No-one was going to assault anyone. Not on his watch. It was one of Stuart’s many rules. However, he may have to bend this one rule, in order to save lives. He walked over to the kid and stopped behind him. He knew what he needed to do.

With the kid distracted, shouting at Joe, Stuart moved his aim to the kid’s shoulder and fired. The kid went down screaming. The gun dropped from his hand and skidded away across the gravel. Stuart stepped forward and said, with a slight smirk on his face, “Did you miss me?”

Damian was lurking on the rooftops fuming about the recent failures on torturing Stuart Johnson’s life. He hated failures. Right now he found himself prowling, and skulking in order to find a perfect candidate that would be willing to torture, and then bring back the body, ready for the kill, without hesitation. He would do it himself. He wanted to torture the local residents, and Stuart, as possible, before he could waste them. And he knew exactly how he was going to torture Stuart. He’d start by attacking the one person that Stuart was willing to die for. But he just needed to come up with a plan that would draw him into the most dangerous game of his entire life.

Chapter Eight

Stuart turned the safety mechanism on his gun, to “on” and placed it in the back of his jeans. “Is everyone alright? Anything damaged?” he asked. Everyone else seemed too petrified to answer, but they managed to nod their heads slowly. Nicole slowly got too her feet and made her way to Stuart where she wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him silently. Stuart couldn’t help but check her out in more than one way. He was checking her for cuts and bruises, but also noticing how amazing she was. When he finally let go of her, Stuart walked over to the gunman who was writhing on the floor in agony. He knelt beside him and did a thorough search for any concealed weapons. He found nothing. He then proceeded to check the obvious hiding spots in case anyone else was lurking in the shadows, waiting for the opportune moment. Again, nothing.

He then went on to ask the more obvious questions to the gunman. “Who are you? Who sent you? How much are they paying you?” He had that hint of grit and violence in his voice. The kid wasn’t about to waste his time answering the questions. He was clutching his shoulder, breathing heavy and wincing at the same time. The wound was obviously excruciatingly painful. Stuart estimated that the kid probably wouldn’t live much longer.

Despite the reluctance to answer, Stuart already knew the answers to his own questions. But the one question puzzling him was, “How the hell does he know where we are?” He just couldn’t grasp it. But he decided that he’d dwell on that later. He stood back up and turned to everyone else and said, “Let’s move. It’s not safe here. We’ve been seen. We’ll need to organise more secure places to meet from now on. We need….We need more people. And I know just who to call.”

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