Chapter 43 - He's dead

John rushed out of the dimly lit room, his heart pounding in his chest as he stumbled onto the empty city street. The cool night air hit his bloodied face, and he winced at the pain radiating through his body. He glanced around, hoping to find some means of escape, but the street was eerily deserted. No vehicles, no pedestrians—just the distant hum of the city in the background.

Fear gripped him as he realized he needed to get as far away from Leo as possible before Leo changed his mind. He began to run, his legs weak and unsteady from the beating he had endured. His breaths came in ragged gasps, each step sending jolts of pain through his battered frame. The cold pavement beneath his feet was a harsh reminder of his desperate situation.

As John ran, his vision blurred with tears and blood, he prayed for a miracle. He needed to find safety, somewhere Leo couldn't reach him. But fate had other plans. Out of nowhere, the blinding headlights of a truck appeared, hurtling down the street towards him. He barely had time to react before the massive vehicle struck him with a sickening thud.

John's body was thrown through the air like a rag doll, and he landed hard on the asphalt, his head cracking against the pavement. Pain exploded through him, and his world began to fade to black. Blood pooled around him, seeping into the cracks of the road, as the life slowly drained from his broken body.

His breaths became shallow and labored, and his vision dimmed. In his final moments, he thought of all the mistakes he had made, the choices that had led him to this point. Regret washed over him, mingling with the pain. As consciousness slipped away, he heard the distant wail of sirens, too late to save him.

The street remained empty and silent, the only sound the faint hum of the city and the distant, fading echo of a life cut tragically short.

The truck roared down the deserted street, its driver gripping the wheel tightly, his knuckles white in the dim glow of the dashboard. He drove on for several minutes, putting distance between himself and the scene of the hit-and-run. Finally, he pulled over into a dark, secluded alley. The engine idled softly as he stepped out, the heavy door closing with a metallic thud.

The driver approached John's motionless body, lying crumpled on the cold asphalt. Blood pooled around him, glistening in the faint light. The driver crouched down, his breath visible in the cool night air, and checked for any signs of life. Satisfied that John was dead, he stood up, wiping his hands on a rag he pulled from his pocket.

Reaching into his jacket, he pulled out a cellphone and dialed a number. It rang twice before Leo's voice came on the line, cold and expectant.

"It's done," the driver said, his voice a low whisper. "He's dead."

There was a moment of silence on the other end, and then Leo spoke, his voice laced with satisfaction. "Good. Make sure there's no trace and disappear."

"Understood," the driver replied. He ended the call, slipping the phone back into his pocket. Without another glance at John's lifeless body, he climbed back into the truck. The massive vehicle rumbled to life, its headlights piercing the darkness as it moved away, disappearing into the night.

Miles away, Leo sat in his office, the room still filled with the lingering scent of smoke. He leaned back in his chair, a sinister smile spreading across his face. The problem had been dealt with, efficiently and effectively. There was no room for failure in his world, and John had paid the ultimate price for his incompetence.

Leo's eyes gleamed with a cold, ruthless satisfaction. He took another drag from his cigarette, savoring the moment. The game was far from over, and he was determined to come out on top. With John out of the picture, he could refocus his efforts on his plans without any loose ends.

He exhaled slowly, the smoke curling around him like a shroud. In the silence of the room, Leo's smile grew even darker. He had made his point clear—failure was not an option. Anyone who dared to cross him would face the same fate as John. And as he plotted his next move, the city slept, unaware of the darkness lurking just beneath its surface.

The alley where John's lifeless body lay was shrouded in shadows, a forgotten corner of the city where even the bravest souls dared not venture after dark. The dim streetlights cast a weak, flickering glow that barely penetrated the darkness, leaving much of the area concealed in inky blackness. It was a place where secrets thrived, and the absence of surveillance cameras ensured that those secrets remained buried.

The truck driver knew this all too well. He had chosen the location carefully, aware that the city's security infrastructure did not extend to this desolate stretch of road. Here, in the forgotten heart of the urban sprawl, crimes could be committed without fear of electronic eyes capturing the evidence. It was a perfect spot for the grisly task he had been assigned.

As the truck disappeared into the night, leaving only the faint echo of its engine behind, the silence returned, thick and oppressive. No one had witnessed the hit-and-run. The only sounds were the distant hum of the city and the occasional rustle of trash in the breeze. John's blood continued to seep into the cracks of the pavement, a silent testament to the violence that had occurred.

By morning, the news of John's death had spread, but the details were scarce. The authorities found his body, a mangled mess of flesh and bone, with no witnesses and no clear evidence to piece together what had happened. The lack of cameras in the area left them with few leads. The hit-and-run was quickly classified as a mystery, a tragic and brutal incident with no clear perpetrator.

Speculation ran rampant. Some whispered of gang-related violence, others of a robbery gone wrong. The truth, however, remained elusive, hidden in the shadows where John's life had been violently snuffed out. The city, with all its secrets and sins, moved on, its inhabitants unaware of the dark machinations that had led to John's untimely demise.

Leo, meanwhile, continued with his plans, his sinister smile never faltering. He knew that the mystery surrounding John's death only added to his own aura of untouchability. In the world he navigated, fear and uncertainty were powerful tools, and John's death had become just another reminder of the ruthlessness that governed Leo's operations.

As the city hummed with life, the memory of John faded, becoming just another unsolved case in the annals of urban legend. And in the shadows, Leo remained ever vigilant, ever calculating, knowing that in a world without cameras, his reign of terror could continue unchecked .