The last gang in Space Air stood motionless when the Scorpions left. Everybody was shocked at the turn of events. Jake ran his hands over his black hair in frustration. Julia's mouth was wide open as she couldn't believe that Blade actually kissed her knuckles and talked to her with a fake voice.
Vikram was happy at the same time sad at the turn of events. He was happy for the fact that Romeo would no longer share the money and he was sad at the fact that they might have to give the money to the Scorpions.
Romeo fell to the ground in defeat. He couldn't believe that the money he got shot for was about to be taken by a devilish looking black American guy.
Jake could have felt worse, but when everybody looked at him, his face looked blank and emotionless.
For the first time in Jake's life, he actually failed in his plans. How could he not know that those guys were linked to the Scorpions even after he noticed their sleek ways of operating.
Jake was lost in deep thoughts before Bob asked a very wrong and stupid question.
"Did you know that those guys were Scorpions?" he asked.
Jake walked up to Bob and punched him on the cheek with his fist. He wanted to slap him again before Vikram went in between them, the slap mistakenly landed on Vikram's face and he shouted in irritation.
"What the f*ck is the meaning of all of these?" Vikram said.
One of his eyes caught Julia's glare on his face and he asked her "What?". Julia pointed to his face and he finally touched it.
"Ahhhhh…!" Vikram shouted in horror as he discovered that his face was swollen.
"It's alright," he said while getting out of the way for Bob and Jake. "Fight! what are you guys waiting for?grab him by the neck, boss, kill each other, and I'll just have to take the money and leave the country." Vikram said while demonstrating wildly.
Jake looked at him fiercely and Vikram stepped back. He was fuming especially because of what Blade said about his parents.
"I never knew you were so stupid Bob," how could you have asked me in this situation if I knew?" Jake said.
He seemed to be struggling with tears. He stared at Bob for a moment and remembered how they met. They've been friends since Jake turned nineteen.
"I'm sorry," Bob said. "I got so caught up in the current situation and that was how the question slipped out of my mouth."
Jake looked at him for a while and decided that he overreacted. Bob had been with him before he went into all of these and his eyes stung when he saw the look on Bob's face.
Vikram glanced at his watch and he announced that the time was 11:30pm.
"We should better get out of here," Jake suggested. He thought it was offensive to be at a federal property at this ungodly time of the night.
They all started walking the long way back to the bar, passing a car only when they reached the third pole on their way.
Everyone was quiet when they reached the bar, only a few people were inside and Jake suddenly lost his will to stay calm.
"I'm going home," Jake said. He walked with his gang for a few minutes before they all went their separate ways.
****
Jake tried to sleep but he couldn't. He had always been able to just shut his eyes and go off but it didn't work today. He kept turning on the bed and slapping his face like he was being beaten by bedbugs.
He had almost slept off when Blade's face appeared in his imagination, he cursed and stood up from the bed in frustration.
"Maybe I should take a walk," he said to himself.
He was about to wear his clothes when he remembered that it was past 2am and it's forbidden to go out according to his rented house's law.
He wanted a cigarette. He had never smoked before but he remembered Vikram's talk of how a single cigarette could stop all of a persons problem.
But he didn't have any in the house since he had never thought of smoking in his life.
"Maybe his meekness has been too much, maybe he needed to drop the habit of a nice gangster to a bad one, maybe he needed to show the violence in him, maybe he had to start killing and Blade would be his first target." Jake thought in his mind.
He walked back to his bed and thought of the possibility of having a girlfriend. It would be good to forget some of his problems and satisfy his sex life.
"No," he said to himself. "Girlfriends are pests, they are the least of the things I need now.
He had been originally planning to give Blade the money, but he swore to never give him the instant Blade reminded him of his parent's death.
"I'm gonna fight him with my last drop of blood!" Jake declared.
He got up and walked to the small bar in his room, he took a glass cup and poured out a bottle of whiskey. After drinking it, he discovered that he wasn't satisfied, so he smashed the glass cup with anger on his wardrobe and continued drinking the whiskey directly from the bottle.
Jake finally finished a whole bottle of the drink, he staggered to the bed with the influence of alcohol on him and he finally fell asleep.
**
The sound of barking dogs woke Jake up. He was annoyed at the early morning disturbance, he glanced at the clock on his wall and he jumped up when he saw the time was already 12pm.
"How the hell did I sleep that much?" he spanked himself and walked to the bathroom.
After finishing his daily waking-up routine. He took his phone from the bed and walked out of the house wearing red clothes all through.
He had a meeting with his gang, and he was two hours late. Jake chuckled at the thought.
"That's the good thing about being the boss," he said to himself. I have nobody to scold me and ask why."
**
He got into the warehouse exactly fourty five minutes later.
The stinking smell of the cigerette he wanted to smoke last night hung in the air. Vikram was the one smoking and he didn't bother to throw away the lit cigerette when he saw their boss come in.
Jake ignored him and sat down on his usual chair. Bob sat next to him and he was tapping away at something on his phone. Julia was wearing a short skirt and she was standing next to Vikram who was two feet away from them.(Jake and Bob)
They all greeted him sluggishly and Jake answered to their greetings.
"Where's Romeo?" He suddenly asked.
"He went out for a walk or so," Julia replied.
Jake doubted that Romeo would have left in his mind, he was about to ask which direction Romeo went when he saw a pale figure strolling into the room.
Romeo looked miserable and unkempt, his hair was scattered in different directions and he had bags under his eyes like he had barely slept last night.
Jake doubted if he even had a bath. His reduced anger from yesterday's situation suddenly came into him ten folds.
"Why are you late?" Romeo asked him. He didn't bother to greet but Jake wasn't annoyed.
"I slept very late after drinking a whole bottle of whiskey," Jake confessed.
He signaled for Vikram and Julia to come to their various seats for the discussions to begin.
"Have you made up your mind?" Julia asked after sitting down.
"Yes," Jake replied her.
They all looked at him suddenly like they were urging him to continue.
"I'm not giving the Scorpions a damn shit of that money," Jake said.
Silence suddenly flooded the warehouse, nobody knew how to react. They really wanted the money but it was supposed to be life first, right?
"If you're doing this because if me, I'll advice you to give the Scorpions their money." Romeo said.
"I'm not doing if because of you," Jake replied. I'm doing it because I want to do it.
Jake glanced at his watch, it was 1pm and he was supposed to go to the location to give Blade the money at 11am. So, he was supposedly two hours late, and Blade must have known that he changed his mind.
Suddenly, they heard sounds of vehicles coming towards the direction of the warehouse. They all looked at each other questioningly because no vehicle is ever allowed to come in this direction.
"Go and check it out," Jake said to Vikram.
Vikram got up from his seat and went outside to take a peak. He came running in some minutes later while panting.
"It's the Scorpions," He said in fear.
"How the hell do they know we hold our meetings here?" Jake asked nobody in particular.
"We need to go now," Jake said before he stood up.
They all followed him and they got out through the back entrance of the warehouse twice in two days.
Romeo seemed agitated as they ran, he couldn't fathom why Jake hadn't just given the so-called Scorpions their money.
They kept running with no direction in mind and without glancing back.
But they didn't run for up to fifteen minutes before they heard…
"Kpaa..!" Romeo fell to the ground while holding his chest and they all stopped.
Bob's face looked funny like the gunfire destroyed his eardrum, Julia and Vikram just opened their mouths wide in shock. Jake fell to the ground with tears in his eyes.