We hit the road and started the journey downhill, Kogna on the wheels with eyes strained on the treacherous road, a smoky joint dangling on one corner of his mouth.
"you have my 9mil with you right?". "right here Kogna" I tapped beneath the seat.
"what about the point .38 from Blazer."
"I left it with the women the will need it."
"know how to use one?". "yeah Kogna, only as a last resort, I prefer the mind as the ultimate weapon."
"scared of the blood right spooky? Or maybe you don't wantta get your hands stained."
"it's all the same thing Kogna, we are in a civilize world after all, what sort of men are we if we can't reason out our differences without bloodshed."
"you've really changed man; hell you use to be very tuff among the older boys breaking some jaws."
"not anymore Kogna, time and place variance. Man is an evolving beast that learns to shed his skin as he rises to the peaks, for he can't rise with all the burden of his past still weighing on him."
"best advice for the wrong man Spooky, in my world the gun is the only thing that keep the malice of men in check."
"how long do you intend to last in that world you keep making reference to Kogna, have you ever taken sometime out to think about your own future?"
"hell yah spooky, couple of times, being looking for ways to get out from all this but seems like destiny has its own plans for me in the underworld, and over a period of time it becomes an addiction, a life we have come to love so much leaving it behind becomes quite impossible…umm until now maybe."
"what do you mean until now maybe?". "you know what, forget it man".
"no Kogna, I want to know". "hell yah spooky, I am human and I feel things okay, that woman got my head spinning man..."
"oh, well, I guess that makes two of us Kogna."
"you mean the princess nailed you? oh boy, look at your face, the lady really nailed you, spooky."
"now is not the time to be thinking about all that Kogna". "demm right spooky, I am not going down without a fight..."
"how well do you know the lady with pink lips Kogna? And do you know where she lives?"
"woman is powerful enough to be at the top of Lycan heights. if she pop up in our stinking world, it means something big is dropping from the sky".
"how much do you know, about the attack on me? I mean with the gas?".
"how come you have a neighbor but never check them out spooky?", at this question I looked at kogna swiftly, causing him to park by the side of the road.
"what the hell Kogna!!". the punch I delivered was uncalculated but it landed home crunching cartilage on kognas' nose.
his broken nose oozed blood inside out.
his movement was nimble, malicious and ferocious when his punch caught me in the gut.
we stepped out of the car and meet each other on the side of the road, eyeball to eyeball.
in fury, I didn't give the man a breathing space. I stepped up on him pounding way, as he did the same. it was dirty, and nasty. we were back in the trenches, where hard knuckles is the only ticket out of trouble.
all the fear, tension and frustration in the past few days I did been suppressing, came erupting into a raging monster.
for I know it so well, it wouldn't stop till one of us is out complete.
I felt no pain, that always comes later. "stop! it before I club you real good!!". A rambling voice warn from behind me.
"you're killing the man!!" he roared this time, clocking me hard on the shoulder. I snapped out from the Savage world that born 'Spooky the jaw breaker.'
"help me save the man. that is my house over there". the healthy grandpa in combat boots said in a smile.
Kogna was totally out. I would have probably killed him has the old man not come to my aid. it has happened again.
I couldn't hold the silent tears that were streaming down within me as we held the lifeless body of Kogna onto a camoflouge gurney the crony retrieved from the shack he called house.
the sun had already passed it's Zenith. Because of my impulsive act, we may spent a day here.
"he will be fine. his breathing is normal."
"are you a doctor or something?". "no, but I know a thing or two about survival."
"navy, arm force or air Force". "Neither, but I have a few friends in the Navy. is there anything more you will like to know, Mr...
"... Spooky, call me Spooky." "No kidding, then I must be a ghost...". He smiled evenly extending his hand amiably and I took it.
"What the hell Spooky, you knocked me out!! better watcha yourself school boy, next time I will put a bullet in your third eye, or a knife to your heart."
"Good to have you back Kogna. Can you drive?". " hell yeah".
"I wouldn't advice that, why not help a cronny out with a roasted bush fowl. it will give you time to clear you heads my friends.... I have some strong Turkey coffee brewing as well."
"Man, I can smell it from here." Kogna said, and sniff greedily with his bloody nose as he stood up gingerly on his feet.
the man called ghost took the lead to the shack more than 100yards away from the meandering mountain road.
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it was a treat to be hosted by Ghost. he was like an oracle. such men are very rare. we delve deeper into conversations that bored Kogna to sleep.
Nourish and energized in the morning we set off.....
..
" thank you old friend,". " till we meet again keep that monster locked. And learn to use it, than let it use you.."
"only if you can promise me never to grow old"
"that I can promise you my spooy friend."
we hit the road again, and drive mostly in silence.
" I did suspected the neighbor on the night of the robbery, and did be planning to find out the next day."
"and that nearly cost you your life, the spooky I knew will have rampage that house that same night before going to bed."
"I will you stop reminding me how sluggish and stupid I have become and tell me all that I need to know instead of feeding me the truth in bits?".
"well, this is the thing, you remember Shanaz?". "came across him and his gang couple of times in the ghetto when we were growing up, guy love pets, birds, cats, monkeys and dogs, but like me he manages to move out."
"yeah spooky, manage to move out and become a police, a hound trainer in the special division of sorts. also handy with tools, got himself fired from the force due to drug charges, a right candidate for Lycan heights."
"he has been the guy next door all this while with the hounds." "yeah, and he is always with miss pink lips whenever she is visiting the underworld and through him Lycan heights had most of his brothers back in the force on their payroll."
"the hounds back every time I return from work in the night, and do the same every time I am going out, and secretly I did like that.
knowing I have covert allies who are looking out for me, except I never realize they rather keeping taps on me.
guy might scale the wall to my place when I visited safari that night."
"he is the guy spooky, we nailed him and the anaconda vomits all em belly content."
the retort from Kogna gave me my first honest laugh for the day.
How could I have known, I was trying to keep myself behind the scenes working endless nights and days trying to get rid of felix and tarik from Wodmax, not knowing I was dealing with something totally different.
.
"how many clubs are Lycan heights dealing with?". "many clubs all over the city spooky."
"and what is the extent of their operations in the underground?".
"you really make me look like a snitch man, well, you have my loyalty.
but telling about my employer doesn't make me feel good spooky, I am no Judas man."
"well Kogna, it's about time we start thinking about the first loyalty we owe to our very self's which is survival, we have to stay alive first, and the sooner you get that into your rigid mind and share with me whatever you got that can help us get out of this miss, we are all screwed."
"and you think I don't know that, this fight is in your hands now spooky, cuz I know my bullets are but flies to this King Kong.
so hell yah, it's all about the underground stuff you already know about, from drugs to sex trade and all the dirty stuff in between. They use most of the labs of the companies to manufacture all sort of highly potent drugs. them opium, mushrooms for LSD... the kind you wouldn't find in drug stores, they have the best men on this thing.
Next they move these drugs to markets abroad where demand is high and consumers are willing to pay high prices."
"they have the ships, and separating the market from the place of manufacture quite uncanny…"
"we are dealing with real pros here Kogna." "You catching on quick, man
.
" So they have in their cargo women and drugs ".
"most of them ladies are killing for the spot, a whole bunch of them are signing in voluntarily spooky.
except in rare cases where they have to pirates some of them, they call this one's precious gems. a night of moving 'precious gems' can make a slinger the full moon cash."
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