John was still puzzled by what just happened in the private room. He thought, ' I was lucky this time. These kind of people can not be meddled with. They are dangerous. I have to avoid them next time'. What he didn't know was that the leader of the gang was following him in his car.
....
When the gang left the restaurant they didn't go far, they were waiting outside.
"Boss the kid haven't come out yet, do we have to wait or I can go and take him out of the restaurant for you".
The man in grey suit looked at the man who spoke with a cold glint in his eyes. "We wait", he said softly but the words carry authority in them. The man who spoke almost lost his balance when the guy in the grey suit looked at him.
The man in grey suit was Manyuchi Wilbert. He was a boxer with high potential. When he was around 19 years, he was the most feared boxer in the ring among the boxers of his age. His last match in the public ring was with Tshaka Munyaradzi in the national championship when he knocked him out in the second round. But after that match he was never heard of and never took part in the public competition again. People believed that he just wanted to prove himself that he was good and some speculated that he won big money and was enjoying himself.
Reality was different, Manyuchi won that fight and he would have won more international fights if he wasn't threatened by Tshaka. Tshaka new that no matter what he do in the future he was only going to live in the shadow of Manyuchi so the next match Manyuchi had Tshaka kidnapped his younger brother Prosper. Manyuchi Wilbert had no choice but to look for his brother than going to the match and for someone who doesn't have anyone other his brother. And it was his downfall.
His parents died in a car crash long back when he was 5 years old and they went to live with their grandfather who also passed away when he was 13 years old. Because his younger brother was often bullied by other he taught himself to fight until he was noticed by a boxing trainer. He trained him until he was the best even surpassing everyone who has been in that gym. Unfortunately they were affiliated with the same gym as Tshaka Munyaradzi and rivalry started then. Tshaka Munyaradzi was different from Manyuchi Wilbert because he had a backing, a strong family and money. Manyuchi Wilbert have no way to fight back, outside the ring of course, in the ring he was a beast that no one dare to face. Tshaka Munyaradzi knew that as well, that's why he threatened Manyuchi Wilbert when he returned his brother to him. He was to never compete in public fights again.
However, when Manyuchi saw John Moyo he saw a possibility of him competing without entering in the ring. That was the reason why he was waiting outside the restaurant for him. When he looked at John Moyo, he saw himself or someone who could be better than him. He wanted him to become his student.
His colleagues didn't know that, they thought Manyuchi want to teach the boy a lesson or for him to become the message for the restaurant manager.
Now Manyuchi Wilbert is acting as the muscle boy and trainer for the gang. Even though the capital branch was being run by him, he wasn't the boss. The leader of the gang was the guy nicknamed Crazy but his real name was Robert Jumbo, hence the Jumbo gang. The leader was a miniac, a killer without any thought of human life. Even though Crazy was a miniac he respected Manyuchi as his equal. Crazy always show up without notice. He was a wanted person so he doesn't show up at every meeting of the gang. In other words, Jumbo gang was being run by Manyuchi at the moment.
Prosper Manyuchi was now a general manager for at Mutapa People's Bank, so his association with Wilbert Manyuchi was limited. They were only to meet on emergencies or something like that. He wasn't afraid that he will be in trouble because of his actions and besides he was protected by the bank. Personally, Prosper Manyuchi was also a fighter, he was able to handle himself given kidnappers.
Wilbert Manyuchi wanted John Moyo to become his disciple and be a force that no one will be able to go up against. He wanted to train John Moyo and give him something that he never got, a power behind him. A power that will protect him in times of trouble, Manyuchi Wilbert never got that leading him to stop his career early. Joining this gang gave him access to underground fighting rings. That's what Crazy promised him when he joined the gang, he wanted to look for a worthy disciple to train in the underground fighting rings.
'He will do for now, I hope he will say yes', Manyuchi thought. He have been looking for a disciple for a long time but he haven't met someone who have body control like John. At that moment John walked out of the restaurant walking along the street.
...
Before John walked even hundred meters from the restaurant, suddenly a black hillux with tinted windows stopped in front of him giving him no room to escape.
"Get in", an indifferent voice barked from inside the car.
He searched in the street for anyone who could rescue him from this trouble. The people who were close were more than fifty meters away from him at the entrance of the restaurant and were getting into a tax. They were not looking in his direction for that matter and the way the truck was packed blocked the view from that direction.
'I'm dead this time', he thought to himself. He was stupedified by the sudden development but there was nothing he could do. He also recognised the voice that came from the hillux as one of the gang members.
The moment he got inside the truck sped off in to the night.
Inside the truck the atmosphere was tense, Manyuchi's gang still thought that they were going to beat John to send a message to the restaurant so they were looking at him with a cold gaze. "Where should we go boss?" The driver asked.
"Let's go to my gym", Manyuchi responded with closed eyes.
This gym was his, it did not belong to the Jumbo gang. After all, he had made money in the underground rings by betting on the winner and through nurturing fighters. He bought that building with the intention of helping the youth in the area.
After about half an hour they arrived at the entrance of the gym. Unlike the residential place where John lived, this was an high density area. Even this late you could see people in the street walking from work or waiting to be picked by someone. This was not a safe area as crime in this part of the town was high. Almost everyday you would hear someone murdered or gun shots in the streets.
They parked the car in the parking lot, "let's go inside, you go back to Jumbo headquarters and make sure business is going as usual I don't want trouble, do you understand?"
"We understood boss. What about him? Doubt you want us to teach him a lesson or something?" One of the gang said looking at John. But the response from Manyuchi gave them a fright.
"No one is going to touch him and this is none of your business", Manyuchi said looking at the gang but that look was enough to turn them into frightened chicken. They just nodded their heads and drove off.
John was now confused by this incident, Manyuchi just protected him from the Jumbo gang, why? Was he not part of the gang, but he was the one in charge of these guys who just ran off? What's going on?
Even his face betrayed him of this incident because he looked confused.
"I'm not here to hurt you if it's what you think. I have a proposition for you." He said that while walking into the gym and gestured him to follow inside.
"This gym is mine and it doesn't have any connections with the Jumbo gang. I bought it to help the youth of this community. They train whenever they want, for a fee of course." He paused for a moment, " but I want to give an opportunity, a chance to make a difference in there lives ".
John was following him listening to everything he was saying. He was wondering where he would come in handy in a gym. He thought, 'does he think that I'm a troubled person? Why is he explaining all this to me because there are a lot of youth out there who also need help. Do I look troubled?'
All these questions were running in his mind but he was listening to everything. Manyuchi told him part of his background while he was listening.
"So tell me about you, don't worry no one is here. I want to know a little about you so that I can see if my proposal will be okay with you". That question took John by surprise. I felt like he was in an interview but the building was uncommon because it was a gym. It took a minute before he was able to respond to his question.
John took a deep breath before responding.