Flint watched her retreating figure.
When he heard her say that, he knew he'd really done it.
What he'd always been afraid would happen someday.
He'd finally pushed her to the edge.
For the first time in his life, Flint knew fear...the other kind.
He feared for his family, for his marriage.
**********
Paul was returning from the home of his girlfriend when he got jumped.
He'd barely turned out of her driveway when he got crossed.
Two men instantly jumped out of the black van wearing masks, carrying guns.
One of them pointed a gun at him in front of his car, the other one picked his driver's window to put his on display.
"Don't do anything stupid...open the door" the one close to Paul said, then he added "get out" gesturing with his gun hand and his head.
Paul raised both hands up and slowly got out of the car.
"move" the man said, the moment Paul got out, then he took position behind Paul.
Paul suddenly had to tie his shoe laces.
"hey get..."the man behind him began, stretching his left hand to grab a hold of Paul's t-shirt, wanting to drag him up.
Paul stood up forcefully as the man bent and gave him a hard jab at his jaw, throwing the man off balance and splitting the man's skin instantly.
The one who'd been standing in front of Paul opened fire and Paul luckily wasn't in sights.
It hit the man's colleague instead and he landed like a sack of potatoes on the floor, blood gushing from the opening in his neck.
The one who'd done the shooting was furious... his face grew red with anger.
Just then, another Man jumped out of the van, holding an iron rod that Paul had no idea where he'd produced the damn thing from.
As he walked towards Paul menacingly, Paul turned to run.
The sound of a bullet hitting the ground, raising dirt few inches from where he stood stopped him in his tracks.
For good measure, the man fired another that grazed Paul's right arm.
The open wound began to burn.
"the next one leaves you in the same state as my friend here" the man said, gesturing at his colleague that was lying in a pool of his own blood.
Paul froze. He stood still as a statue.
The one with the rod walked towards Paul and bound his hands first, then he gleefully began to plummel Paul with the rod.
Paul got it everywhere.
Head, hands, legs, wherever the men felt like landing a blow.
He curled into a ball and put his hands on his head in an attempt to protect his skull.
The one with the gun had joined in the fun,the gun and rod did a wonderful job, Paul got a combo beating.
After they had hit him to their satisfaction, they dragged him on the hard asphalt to their van and threw him carelessly inside.
Paul groaned in pain as his bruised body came in contact with the floor if the van.
They'd thrown him in like a bag of discarded bricks.
They dragged their dead colleague in the same fashion and dumped him in the van.
The man's dead weight head connected with Paul's skull and a splitting headache formed instantly starting from his forehead before it spread. Paul's eyes began to water and slowly, his eyes shut themselves.
He drifted into a dreamless dreamland.
One of the men jumped into the driver's seat, while the other slammed the door of the van shut, unleashing various streams of profanities directed at Paul as he did.
He stomped to Paul's car and flicked a lighter.
He threw it through the driver's window.
The flames caught the seats instantly and slowly spread.
The van sped off towards the outskirts of town to the rendezvous point.
When they arrived, Miguel was already waiting.
"what took you so long" he asked no one in particular.
None of the men gave him a reply.
They opened the door of their van and dragged their fallen colleague out, before gesturing at Miguel to help himself with Paul.
"Shit!" Miguel cursed the moment he saw the man's body and Paul's sorry state.
He didn't say a word to the men as he pulled Paul out.
Paul had caused the death of one of their own, something had to give.
The stupid cunt had to count himself lucky to be alive.
**********
Miguel sat for a while gazing at his phone after he'd dropped the call to Flint, then he turned to the Flint kids.
The girl was slowly starting to come around, the boy on the other hand was still out cold.
Stupid idiocy of a thing he did, attempting to fight two men with guns.
He admired the boy though, at least one of them was currently lying down six feet somewhere, food for worms and maggots.
He shook his head and raised his hands to the bandage on his forehead.
Probably craziness did run in their family.
They apparently were like their dumb stubborn father.
Never wanting to surrender, never wanting to give up, even when the odds were stacked against them.
Miguel suddenly wondered what their mother would be like. Well if Jerusalem looked like this, how would Jericho look.
He didn't want to meet her.
The girl had slept longer than he'd expected though, putting his initial theory of her coming around fast to shame.
He watched her come around slowly, shaking her head to clear the dizziness, one of the drug's aftereffects.
Fayth tried to place her hands on her forehead , the chains binding her tugged at her wrists.
Then the events of the previous day came crashing in. She'd been kidnapped.
She tugged at the chains again before she turned her head left, then right.
It was dark but a figure stood up when she gazed in the direction it sat.
Miguel stood up, but didn't go close to her.
He had no plans of being a victim of whatever he was sure she had up her sleeves.
"hey coward! easy for you to jump on defenseless women in lonely parking lots huh? defenseless women! why not come here and let me give you a friendly hug you fucking bloody piece of cunt!" Fayth yelled at Miguel, rattling the chains that held her.
Her legs hurt.
They felt like lead. She didn't know how much she slept but she knew it had to be for a very long time.
Her tired legs and grumbling stomach was a sign.
She was hungry.
Miguel chuckled at her outburst.
He found it funny. Friendly hug his ass.
Did she really think he'd fall for that stupid trick? Apparently she'd been watching too many action movies.
Henchmen of mafia bosses weren't stupid like in the movies.
He stepped out of the shadows into the illumination of the lone bulb.
Fayth Flint's words stuck in her throat.
The person standing in front of her looked completely different from the handsome scarred stranger she'd been hitting on the moment she'd set eyes on him in that parking lot.
Fayth's cheeks flushed red in embarrassment.
She'd been hitting on a guy who had plans of jumping her.
Oh Fayth...how much stupider could you get she thought.
That instant, she made a mental note to be wary of men she'd meet in parking lots.
Maybe if she'd gone to yapping Ben to ask for help instead, she wouldn't be in this hot load of shit right now.
She glared at him.
Now handsome stranger looked more like a man who'd invited his personal demons to come out and play.
Fayth swallowed and suddenly dropped her gaze.
Miguel chuckled. Where had her initial bravery vanished to? She'd just ruined the fun he wanted to have.
"what do you want?" Fayth asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
"your father already knows"Miguel replied simply.
"oh ... great...dad" Fayth muttered. What had he done this time she wondered.
"fa...faythh" she heard a voice call, her head snapped to the right instantly.
"p..pa..paul?" she stammered, half asking, disbelieving her eyes.
"why is he here" she asked, tears begining to form in her eyes.
He looked like he was in so much pain.
Fayth's heart broke.
"cacc...cann..I...gett.ge..watt..er ..pl..plee...ease" Paul stammered, blood dripping out his lips as he spoke.
Fayth let her tears fall.
Hot floods ran down her cheeks.
"what did he do to deserve getting hit like this!" Fayth yelled, pulling her chains.
Miguel gave her no response and fetched Paul a cup of water.
Fayth watched Miguel hold water to Paul's lips.
He took a sip and gurgled it slowly in his mouth, before spitting it out.
The liquid was pure red.
Fayth's wails increased, she began to unleash a stream of colourful words at Miguel.
He didn't pay her any heed, but his patience was beginning to run out.