Watson was seated at the corner of the Fun Bar. He was in casual dressing and had ordered one of the most disgusting, at least to him, drinks to blend in. The place stinked of bear and smoke and sweat. If he had not grown up in such an area, he could have already passed out from the stench. He remembered how Brandon had saved him from the shackles of unfair life. Born and bred in the central part of the country, he grew up in a very poor background that even street beggars thought they were better off. He was the eldest of three siblings and his parents stole for a living. Well known thieves around his home. During one of his parent's hustles of the day, they had knowingly or unknowingly stolen from the cartel of the area. A Mr. Big Shot. Yes, that was his name in the area. Within the blink of an eye, the gang was raiding his home and he and his siblings hurriedly ran away but since the cartel were still after them, they soon separated and were lost to each other.
As he ran across the slums, and managed to get in to the main town, he saw an unlocked door of a particular jeep and rushed in and hid at the back seat almost below the seats. Very soon, the gang arrived and stood around the area where the jeep was and began looking around.
"What are you looking for in my area?" A deep voice had shot out at them from one of the empty buildings around.
"None of your business." One of the gang members had replied, possibly their leader at the time.
"It is, if you are standing in my area." The voice shot back at the answer. Watson was shaking in his pants and could not see who was talking. His curiosity took the better of him and he lifted his head from below the seats to peep out. Unfortunately, one of the gang members saw his head move in the jeep and pointed at it. "He is in the car boss." He shouted.
"Get him out, even if you have to smoke him out!" The gang boss ordered.
"If any of you takes one step towards that car, then I shall have your toes cut off one by one and the rest of your feet skinned to the bone." The voice in the building shot to the gang again.
"You think we are afraid of someone talking from the shadows? If you know what is best for you, you better stay out of my business!" The gang leader replied. He was getting angry. The other members of the gang stood still, they were a little bid frightened. This guy in the shadows had the audacity to threated the biggest gang in the area. Then he himself must be a big shot too. As they were contemplating on whether to act on the order or not, a man appeared from the abandoned building directly before them. He was young, very young. Possibly in his late teens. He was dressed in a white shirt, unbuttoned half way to his chest and folded sleeves, a black jeans trouser, he had dark shades on, his body physique was well built as though he ate work outs every morning, his complexion was a very deep chocolate, his lips were medium sized with a brush of pink and he was one-eighty centimeters tall.
The boss leader looked at the young man who walking slowly towards him, before standing next to the jeep then leaning forward. He let out a sarcastic laugh. Then his gang members laughed after him. "What are you? Sixteen? I am twice your age and I am the right hand man of Mr. Big Shot so you are basically in my area. And after I am done with that bastard in the car, I shall move on to you. I shall throw you in to the worst brothel in the hood and then we shall see whether you shall open your mouth again after that!" The boss hissed at the young man not a few meters before him. He ushered his men to proceed. The young man lifted his left hand and showed his index finger and the men stopped in hesitation.
The young man smiled at him and reached in to his pocket and took out his cell phone and dialed a number. He proceeds to talk loud enough for the gang members to hear him. "Charles, I thought we were beginning to form some kind of a relationship. Why? Your men are very busy here threatening me and honestly, I am not very impressed. I think I should re-evaluate my business plans in this area. Your hostility and that of your men, is disappointing." He said and hang up immediately before the person at the end of the line had a say. He looked around at the gang and smiled. The gang was confused. They did not know who the young man before them had just called. Who was Charles?
Only one man in the gang knew who Charles was. And that was their boss at the moment-their big boss' right hand man. So the other gang members proceed to the jeep before some shouted at them: "Stop!" is voice was so loud that the eardrums were almost bursting. It bothered all the gang members, except the young man, still leaning at the side of the jeep. They looked at their boss in confusion. Watson was watching all the drama unfold and was really confused. His blood had run cold from fear and his mouth as dry as an unoiled elbow. Their boss just stood still and he knew what was coming, so he just stood there, perplexed. Before he could talk to the young man before him, the big boss rode in in his old, blue rusty pickup. He got out of the vehicle in a hurry and everyone felt a slight earthquake as his feet kissed the sand below them. He was as short as the thumb but as round as a circle- fat and shapeless- and as dark as most people's history.
"Boss Bran, please, do not mind my imbeciles. They are just incompetent. Yes, that is what they are, idiots. The whole lot of them." He begged as he rushed towards the young man still leaning on his jeep. The whole situation could have been funny to any other man who saw it but not the gang members. Seeing their big boss beg on their behalf, they knew that their punishment would be the worst once they get back to their gang hideout. The young man looked at the short fat man before him and observed that the shirt he had put on had the buttons almost popping out of place. He did not want to be the victim of button shots so he moved away from the man and opened the back door of his jeep. "Get out!" He ordered the young boy hiding in the back. The latter was scared so he immediately got out. "Explain!" He ordered. Nobody knew who was ordered to speak.
"Sir, his family was caught stealing from the gang…" Garia, the right hand man started to explain.
"Shut up! Not you." Brandon said not looking at Garia. His eyes remained fixed at Watson. "You."
"Uhm… Well. My family, the five of us, have not eaten for the past four days. My parents are thieves, and they are so because of us- three of their kids. So, today, my sister was passing out because of hunger and so my parents took the biggest risk-stealing from the most dangerous gang. I mean, the gang take money from us but give us nothing in return. If you fail to give them money, you die. If you give them less that they want, you die. If you say you have none, you die. They don't care. But no parent would watch the kids die because of a bunch of sadistic freaks." Watson explained and then spat towards the gang. They were surprised but they saw their big boss eyes telling them to hold themselves together.
"So, where is your family?" Brandon asked.
"We lost each other as we ran from the gang." Watson explained, trying to hold back his tears.
"Don't mind him Boss," said Charles, "he and his family are just thieves who I am going to punish terribly after I catch them all. A pure waste of time. I am sorry to have bothered you with such a minor issue."
"All of you are devils!" Watson said as he spat at them again. Brandon was impresses at either his braveness or his high sense of foolishness. Charles walked towards Watson and lifted his right hand to slap him.
"Don't lay a hand on him." Brandon said, his back turned against the scene. His words confused them. What he said next threw them in to a spiral. "From today onwards, till the end of time, his family are under my protection, and therefore, under yours. So find them and protect them. Never, ever, should they go hungry, nor fed, nor uneducated. If I ever hear any of his family members have met with harm, even the most distant of his relatives, well, that is what we shall call unfortunate event in your life." He opened his driver's seat and got in, ushered Watson to get in to the passenger seat next to him, which he did and they drove away, leaving a bunch of confused goons. From then onwards, Watson became his most trusted personal assistant.