The punching bag swung back and forth with a fierce momentum with every impact of the punch thrown – one after another without any mercy. Sweat dripped down his forehead as he lashed out all of his pent-up anger and frustration on the punching bag mercilessly – imagining it to be someone else.
The low ping sound of his cellphone made him stop his assault on the poor punching bag and he moved towards the bench where his phone was placed – heavy breath escaping through his parted lips as his chest heaved up and down and sweat dribbled down his chiseled chest.
He unlocked his phone to check the notification.
The job is done, sir.
A sinister smile appeared on his lips as he read the message.
***************
"Such a happy happy day," Mia sang sarcastically to herself as she skipped down the pavement. It was late at night and she was returning from a terrible blind date. Her phone vibrated in the back pocket of her pants making her stop in her tracks and fished it out.
Being in the safer side of the neighborhood – she didn't worry much about getting jumped on and loads of people are still out there – even though it's 2 am now.
From Melissa: hey....I'll be going back to Jacksonville for a couple of days – something came up – don't worry about me though...I'll see you soon.
Something seemed off about this message but I will worry about it in the morning - I'm too exhausted right now. She taught to herself as she made her way towards the shared apartment.
******************
I'm going to get blinded by this harsh sunlight. This was the first thing that came to Ryan's mind as soon as his eyes opened. His head was throbbing fiercely – all resulting from the drinking that he did last night at the frat party.
He rolled over on the bed and came across the naked body with an almost anorexic figure and badly dyed blonde hair – probably a girl from the sorority and the looks of it – they are still in the frat house.
He decided to check his phone and saw a message popping up as soon as he unlocked the phone.
It was from Melissa.
Hey, I had to leave for Jacksonville urgently – something came up. Don't worry about me.
Something seemed fishy about that particular text but he decided to ignore that uneasy feeling as he knew that Melissa is quite capable of taking care of herself.
He shut off his phone and went back to his peaceful slumber.
**************************
"Mr. Blackford, there's a message for you," his secretary and right-hand man Daniel Thomas said as he walked into the conference room. Norman was busy in the preparation of an important conference – or more like an alliance treaty between some of the major gangs in the European region. If it works then some of the biggest Mafia syndicates of the world i.e. Spain, Sicilian, Italian- American, French, and Russian mafia will come together as a joint force – they will be stronger than the government in their respective countries.
"Who's it from?" Norman questioned averting his eyes from the papers scattered near the table.
His eyes instantly lit up when he heard the name of the sender making Daniel smirked in amusement. His boss can be many things but he was never the one to get all giddy at the mention of a mere name but along the way Melissa Davis came and single-handedly changed his boss's entire perspective. Daniel had been friends with Norman for years and known all about his dark past – Melissa has been one of the best things that had happened to Norman and he hoped for them to end up together despite the five-year-old age difference.
"Read it for me," he said to Daniel trying to hide his eagerness but failing to do so.
Hey, how are you? I hope that your trip goes well. Something came up and I had to start for Jacksonville immediately. I will be okay though. Don't worry about me. See ya. Daniel finished reading.
The tone of the text seemed odd to Norman – his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. They have been texting each other for a while now and Melissa was never the one to write descriptive messages. She had always been a short-hand person, something seemed very odd – something out of the place.
"Boss you're meeting starts in five minutes," Alexio's voice broke him out of his reverie as he saw him enter the immediately stopping when he noticed the look on his boss's face.
"What's the matter, boss? You look tense."
"Nothing – everything's alright. Let's get ready for the meeting," Norman announced as he got up from his chair.
***********************
"GET ME OUT OF HERE. I SAID GET ME OUTTA HERE," Melissa thrashed and screamed at the top of her lungs. She doesn't know where she is and the fear of the unknown was eating her out alive. She was blindfolded and she can feel herself cuffed to a metallic table.
The loud screeching sound of the metal door opening immediately made Melissa silent and she can faintly make out two sets of footsteps entering the room. The two sets of footsteps seemed to come to a halt right across from her – perhaps on the other side of the table.
"Pleasure to meet you, Miss Melissa Davis," a familiar deep voice greeted her making her gasp in astonishment.