Saul was surprised to hear Julian's voice on the other end. But from what Alex had told him, Julian and Chris were working together. And now Julian was answering Chris' phone. Clearly, they were in the same place.
"I've taken care of the security guards," Saul lied.
"Great," Julian answered. "Good job, Saul." He sounded happy and relieved.
"Are you at the hotel now?"
"No, we're at my house. We're just having some fun." Julian paused for a moment before continuing. "Saul, you've done well. As a thank you, you can join us if you want. If not, then more for me."
With that, Julian hung up the phone.
Saul turned to Alex. "They're at Julian's house."
"Take me there right now!" Alex shouted. He couldn't contain his anger.
Saul didn't dare protest. "All right. My car is outside. I'll take you there."
Alex followed Saul out of the building. When they came out onto the street, the crowd that had gathered due to the commotion started slinking away.
They got into Saul's car and drove away.
**
Over at Julian's house, Chris came out of the bathroom hand-in-hand with the girl he had been with. Giggling, she ran ahead to the bed.
Julian looked at him. He had always felt close to his cousin. They shared the same interests. And sometimes they indulged in them together.
"Was that my phone ringing?" Chris asked. "Was it Saul?"
"Yeah, it was Saul," Julian answered with excitement. "The security guards are taken care of."
"Already?" Chris was a little surprised. He trusted Saul to deal with things, but it had been less than two hours. The timing seemed off.
"It's done," Justin exclaimed triumphantly. He didn't have any doubts. He glanced at the girl on the bed. "Come on, let's celebrate. Take our mind off things."
Chris smiled and felt his doubts melt away. He didn't know why he had hesitated, but he was back to normal.
**
Meanwhile, Alex and Saul were getting closer.
Julian lived in a luxurious community on the outskirts of Baltimore. When Alex and Saul approached, they saw that it was gated and protected by security guards.
They drove up to the gate and were immediately approached by a security guard. "Who are you here to see?" the guard asked. "If you don't have a good reason to be here, you're not getting in."
"We're here to see Julian," Saul exclaimed without looking at the security guard. He was anxious and uneasy. "He's expecting us. Call him and ask, if you have to."
The security guard became less sure of himself. Two hours ago, he had seen Julian and Chris enter the community together, and he knew better than to disturb them when they were together.
"Don't you recognize me?" Saul continued. "I'm telling you, call him if you're so unsure."
Saul glared at the security guard with a fierce expression on his swollen face. In the dim light, his appearance startled the security guard.
He remembered Saul. He had been on duty a month earlier, when Saul had come to the community to do something for Chris. And he had heard of him. He had heard that he was an underground boxer, and that he was a merciless fighter. He tried to compose himself, but on the inside, he was afraid of what Saul might do to him.
"All right," he said. "Just calm down. You can pass."
He opened the gate, and Saul drove slowly up to Julian's villa.
Inside, Chris and Julian had just finished their little celebration. Chris rose from the bed, walked over to the chair where his clothes were hanging, and took out his cigarettes.
"Are you really taking a break?" Julian asked merrily. "The night's still young!"
Chris sat down on the chair, put a cigarette in his mouth, and lit it. The breeze from the window was cold. He got up and went over to close it, when he suddenly froze. Outside, a car was coming into Julian's driveway. Saul's car.
Chris grew nervous and stepped behind the curtain, watching closely what was going on below.
Two people got out of the car. One of them was Saul, the other was the little security guard. The one called Alex. The one that Saul supposedly had gotten rid of.
Saul mind was spinning. It all makes sense, he thought. Saul lied on the phone before, and he lied because someone was threatening him. That someone must have been Alex. But how could Alex threaten Saul? He couldn't. Saul must be in on it.
"Hey, Julian!" Chris exclaimed as he walked back to the bed.
"What?" Julian asked. "What's wrong with you?"
Before Chris could answer him, a loud bang rang through the house. It was the sound of the front door opening and shutting.
Julian also heard it, and he rose from the bed in surprised anger.
Chris forced himself to calm down, walked quickly over to Julian and whispered to him, "Whatever happens, follow my lead." Julian looked confused.
The sound of footsteps came from the hallway. They came closer and closer. Chris and Julian stood silent, staring at the open doorway out into the hall, and Saul and Alex gradually appeared. The girls, who had been lying still on the bed until this point, sat up quickly and hid under the bedsheet.
Julian grew pale as a ghost. "Saul, I don't know what's happened, but you better deal with this little prick!" he shouted angrily. Alex could tell that he was frightened.
Saul lowered his head and didn't answer. He knew that he couldn't take Alex on even if he wanted to.
Alex looked at the two naked men and smiled. "Are you celebrating?"
"What do you want?" Julian shouted and stepped warily away from Alex.
"What do I want?" Alex responded. "If you were me, what would you want to do to you?"
"Look, I really didn't know anything about it," Chris blurted out. "I had no idea he would try to kill you."
Saul and Julian were both taken aback. They both knew that killing Alex had been Chris' idea. But when Saul looked into Chris' eyes, he understood. He was playing a trick, and he needed Saul to play along.
Julian gave Chris a puzzled look. He still didn't understand what was happening.
Chris turned toward him. "Julian, why didn't you tell me? If I had known, I wouldn't have let you do it. It was a stupid thing to do." As he looked into Julian's eyes, he gave him a slight wink.
Julian suddenly understood everything. Chris was asking him to take the blame. He was in a bind. If he accepted responsibility, he would suffer Alex' revenge. But if he didn't take the blame, Chris would never trust him again. And Chris' family was far more influential than his own. Losing their support would be a terrible blow.
Julian had no choice but to do what Chris wanted.
"I figured Saul could take care of it," he said the Chris with feigned remorse. "I was wrong."
"So, it was your idea?" Alex's eyes fixed on Julian, and temper flared.