Zion was left smiling. He was happy to find such a loyal person. He even risked his life to save his. That day was scary for him. It was the day that changed his life forever. He was not interested in his family business but after an attempt on his life, he understood that no matter what he does, or where he goes, people will always associate him with crime, he will always be a part of his family.
Theo had been trying to persuade Zion to take interest in his family business after his father left the position of head of the family, empty. But all Zion wanted was money in his bank account and girls in his bed. He had no interest in how that money came to his account, he just wanted money to spend on his eccentricities.
One such day after much persuasion, Zion decided to accompany Theo on a drug deal. All he had to do was stand in a corner and look at the exchange. It was his first time. After the exchange was done, Theo's most trusted man, Bobby, approached Theo and handed him a briefcase full of cash. Zion saw the amount of money with his own eyes and was mesmerized.
He had a lot of money in his bank account, but this was the first time he was seeing a large amount of money in cash. Like an overjoyed kid, he touched the bundle of money and grinned from ear to ear. He loved that sensation. He loved this sensation even more than sex.
"So, every time we sell drugs, we make this much money?" asked Zion while the car drove to the Hall mansion.
"You have no idea. You haven't seen anything yet. It's not only drugs but also guns, different contrabands, underage girls, you name it. We sell everything," replied Theo with pride.
As if Zion was not even listening to Theo, he just kept touching the money in the briefcase. "I like money," he said.
Theo knew Zion was in. "So, will you consider taking your father's position in the family," he broached the subject, carefully.
"I won't promise, but I can hold the fort till he returns," Zion took out a bundle and started fanning himself with the money.
So, every time there was an exchange, he would see it from a corner. He still remembered the unfortunate evening when he was observing an exchange with Theo which had almost ended but then a man approached them from behind. He kicked Theo on the back of his knees making him fall from pain and grabbed Zion by his hair. He dragged Zion before a large man who was shoving doughnut after doughnut in his mouth.
His lips and the area around the lips were covered with powdered sugar. It seemed as if he would burst if he would shove another doughnut in his mouth, but nothing happened. He kept opening his mouth and dumping doughnuts in it.
He was busy giving orders to his men. The other party took the drugs and went away. "Bobby, take this money to the boss." The tall, slender man grabbed the briefcase and nodded at him. The large man then turned towards Zion and the man who grabbed him by his hair. "What do have, Archie?"
"Boss, he and another man were spying on us. I hurt his partner and I brought him for you," replied Archer with pride.
Zion was always hidden from Zachary's men as he never actively participated in criminal activities. He would just waste time partying and having sex. So, none of the men recognized him.
Archer still had his hair in his hand. Zion grabbed his hands and tried to wiggle out of them. "Do you know who I am, boy?" shouted the large man.
But Zion was not afraid. "Do you know who I am, fatty?" he retorted back.
"How dare he? Shoot him and kill his partner as well," shouted the large man.
"Dudley 'doughnut' Drew!!!" suddenly the whole arena echoed with an authoritative voice. "How dare you?" Everyone looked in the direction from which the voice was coming. Archer was shocked to see that it was the voice of the man whom he hurt on the knees.
Dudley who was sitting comfortably in a chair stood up with a jolt. "Boss!!" he exclaimed.
"Boss?" inquired Archer.
"Yes, he is our boss, Theo boss," replied Dudley. He placed the doughnut down softly and saluted Theo.
Theo moved towards Dudley in a flash, took out his gun and sunk it into Dudley's stomach. The barrel of the gun disappeared in his stomach. "Do you know who you were giving the order to kill?" Theo gritted his teeth.
Dudley started sweating. "Sorry sir, I didn't know."
"He is your future boss," snapped Theo.
Dudley gave a look at Zion and gasped, "he is the son of the Don?"
"Should I make a hole in your stomach so that you can shove the doughnuts directly here," Theo pushed the gun further into his stomach. Dudley groaned with pain.
"Sorry boss, I am very sorry, it's Archie's fault. He hurt you," Dudley tried to shift the blame and pointed towards Archer.
Theo looked at Archer who was standing beside Dudley still clasping Zion's hair in his hand. After Theo gave him a look he slowly let go of Zion's hair. Without removing his right hand that had the gun pointed at Dudley, Theo slapped Archer hard on his face with the back of his left hand. Thwack! The whole arena echoed with the sound of the slap.
Archer's face moved with a jerk in the opposite direction. He could feel the heat and tingle on his cheeks. He covered his cheek and apologized to Theo. "I am sorry sir, I had no idea." He then looked at Zion and apologized to him. "I am sorry sir, I didn't know about you."
Theo stared at Archer and put his gun back in his holster. He took out a thousand bucks and gave it to Archer. "Here, this is your reward."
"Reward, sir?" Archer was perplexed. A moment ago, he slapped him and now he was giving him a reward. What the hell?
"We have been keeping an eye on everything for days, but this doughnut never even bothered to check the premises. I know that we have a few of NYPD's finest in our pocket but there are a few straight arrows too. What if instead of us, DEA was trying to raid our product? You are the first person to notice us and take action. I am glad," explained Theo.
"But you hit me," Archer complained.
"When you work for people, make sure to research about the boss and upper management first. You hurt so I hurt you," educated Theo.
"Yes, sir," nodded Archer.
Theo then took out a knife and in a swift motion gave a deep cut on Dudley's cheeks. For a minute, Dudley didn't even feel the pain. He touched his cheeks when he felt something hot and wet on his face. He looked at his fingers which were stained red with blood and then suddenly all the pain came flooding in.
"Make another mistake again and I will kill you," warned Theo.
"Sorry, Boss." Dudley kept holding his cheeks tightly.
"Bobby, keep the money in the car. Let's go, Zion. Everyone, he is your new boss, make sure to remember his face. Even a scratch on him and I will burn this empire to the ground," Theo forewarned everyone.
But before Zion could move, Archer jumped towards him and threw him to the ground, before anyone could say anything, there was a loud bang and white sparks from a nearby metal pole. Everyone knew what that was. Someone tried to hit Zion with a sniper bullet, but Archer saved his life.
Everyone started running in all directions and took shelter behind sturdy things. There were cars and tables and metal doors. Bullets started flying. Ricochets after ricochets, bang after bang, sparks after sparks made the scene chaotic. All the goons were firing blindly. They had no idea from which direction the bullet came.
Then the opposite side rained bullets at the Hall family with a machine gun. There were holes in the walls, there were holes in the car doors. Bullets were penetrating the legs and arms and brains of the Hall mafia.
"Run, Zion, run," commanded Theo.
Archer was lying over Zion. "Follow me," he said. He helped Zion to stand up and started dragging him away to the corner from which he found him. Before they could reach the corner that was away from the bullet zone, a bullet sneaked its way to Archer and struck his legs. He stumbled as he felt the bullet in his calf. The blood started pouring out.
Zion kept screaming his head off. He was in love with the money that his business brought but was not ready for the enemies. He knew how to charm girls, spend money but had no idea how to escape certain death. He curled up into a ball and kept screaming loudly. Even his screams were muffled by the rain of bullets.