How much difference can a wall bring in the skies above? The silence. The noise. The echo of the bussle.The moments sweet, bitter, cold, ugly to downright inhumane. How much can a wall bring a difference to the society, evil and good? Once that big gate opened kevin could see the difference now. He has been behind this thick wall for twenty years, now he was here again, he went in just a mere boy, today he walks out a bulky strongly built guy. He looked up in the sky and saw birds flying above... will they ever change and do somethings new like maybe be able to fly backwards! He had something new, he had a beard now, when he went in, the difference between his chin and forehead was well.... you know the difference.... but now his chin wasn't visible he had grown a bush of hair, infact only his nose, eyes, ears and parts of his lips were the only things that represented a face on his face. The sun hits different too like in jail its just limited sun, in the morning and late in the afternoon, but today he felt the mid-day sun and it was hot he was sweeting like he was inthe gym. He looked into the horizon, he was fascinated by that very thin line that separated the sky from the apex of the trees, like that one blurry leaf that looked like it was piercing the sky. For a moment he was fixatated on that, he couldn't even move.

THE WOMAN

She had waited for this moment for a lifetime. He had changed, he looked ragged but one thing never changed the scar on his right hand, just below his elbow, though it looked much darker now. She has gone through this several times, she would walk up to him, say hi drop her handbag on his feet the she would just pull out the syringe and drive it into any exposed part of his body, the physician had assured her within seconds he would collapse and the drug would take effect within minutes, by then she would have vanished. But there seemed to be a problem apart from her taxi driver, who was engrossed on his phone, he was bursting up all by himself cracking his ribs like he had spare ribs at home, there was this other car, a toyota double cabin pick-up that had its occupant looking straight at the same guy she was looking at, and guy in the centre of this all looked oblivious of the situation infront of him, he had had a good look in the sky and now like a zombie he was looking at the horizon. Drugs are not allowed in jail are they? Whatever this guy was on, everyone in this world needs some of that once in a while.He looke peaceful and relieved

THE OTHER GUYS

Jerry or jere or jeremih was there with his crew. The pick up was so hot that he could feel his skin burning. It was so hot that he could smell something like grilled meat. They had been here for hours waiting for this donkey to be released so that they could make a move on him. It was simple, the four guys seated at the back seat would wait for the right moment spring on kev, huddle him into the car and contain him, he was incharge of driving away.

"Boss i thought you said he was just a regular guy." one of the guys pointed out emminently.

"Do you want me to think about him, or should i think about you mike?" Jerry gave one of those looks he had.

" sorry boss"

when kev went to jail he was just some 17 year old guy who had outgrown his age, but now he looked those mascular wrestlers who cant even touch their shoulder when they fold their arms, he looked like he could carry the pick-up they were seated in with a smile on his face. And Jerry was trying to find a way to accept defeat and call it a wrap.

THE HIDDEN PARTY

In the far distance, someone was following the proceeding right through his pair of binoculars. He had seen the hesitant woman, the uninterested taxi driver and five guys crammed up in a pick up like bags of potatoes. His move depended on their moves. But he wasn't ready to loose sight of the bearded guy. He had information that he needed direly, he has been preparing for this for months and months and should any one make a wrong move all it would take would just be a tap on his phone and the two guys he already had on the ground would come out guns blazing

Annie's feet suddenly became heavy, she could even move an inch forwards, but back peddling did work, her vision bacame blurry, she thought all that vengeance, all anger, all that pain she had built for years would be able to carry her through this, she had meticulously planned this, she had spent years web pages browsing learning , becaming a master, she had acted out this scene in her room and fueled by rage she had found strenghth to fight her demons and she was feareless, she had this fire..... fire doesn't cut it, she had this conflagration that consumed her..... but now she didn't have even a spark..... even the ashes were nowhere to be found she was just there, her feet trembling, her bowels exerting this pressure on her mid section so much that she could feel something burning her thighs.

The taxi driver was now looking at Annie, as her blue jeans pair of trouser suddenly started getting wet.

"Ahhh..... miss..." he had forgotten her name and it took a while for him to get it.

" mh! Miss Ann ... i think we should leave... if ahh you are not feeling okay... we should just ahh just leave i will ... I will take you back.... when you are ready i will bring you back ..... and..... okay just get in the car.... watch your.... i was going to say watch your head..sorry..."

Meanwhile in the pick-up

"Now, this is how we are going to do this, mike you and spence get out of the car rush to him wrestle him to the ground, jack and trev you two follow with a rope tie him up carry him into the car and we leave"

Jerry looked back at the guys, he was hoping to hear doors unlock and people getting busy, but he got were this stares that for a moment, only for a moment, the stares made him feel like he had just opened a third eye on his forehead.

"I am sorry boss, you have my resignation"

"Trev! Have you ever heard of anyone resigning in the middle of a kidnapping??" jerry was so taken back. What did he mean he resigned? Like he was a criminal, criminals dont resign....

" Boss to be honest... that guy can crush all of us plus this truck with one blow" mike was Jerry's right hand man, and he made alot of sense....

Spence and Jack were just foot soldiers, but deep inside the were praying that angels carry their prayers faster, because they needed saving....

" Jesus christ!! " Jerry was scratching his head so hard that he could feel his thoughts on his fingers but none seemed to give him a solution.

"Okay... we find another fucking way. Why didnt we bring a gun anyway what kind of gangsters are we?"

" We hired out all the guns"

"shut up spence... I will need your re-application letter to join before we get to the joint"

The engine started and all that was left was a cloud of dust.

"Everyone calm down, now just follow him and see where his first stop will be" the hidden party had made a call to his accomplices.

Kevin had been snapped out of his gaze by the taxi which had almost run him over and also there was this pick- up that had followed suit and none of them seemed interested in giving him a lift, the world was still as cold as he had left it... all he wanted to do now was to find the nearest town, and so his journey began, he didn't know which way to go, but his heart had given him this direction that seemed to have pulled him. He took his first steps as a free man.... no one will ever know the feeling.

Annie had reached her house, it was a simple two roomed house, one served as her bedroom, the other was the sitting room. Her bedroom was neat. a bed a closet at the entry, a table beside her bed and a flower vase with some plastic flowers.... dont even try to blame her, who in this world has time to water a flower on a daily basis, with plastic thats just it. in between the sitting room and the bedroom were two doors opposite each other, one led to the toilet the other to the kitchen. Whoever angered architecs in this town, they needed to work on an apology. Her sitting room was simple too, one three-seater sofa facing the door and window another sofa on its left, a television, a stereo system on the right and another set of sofa at the window and finally a huge glass table at the centre. But how did she have all these and she was still bringing in more, like that fridge that she had bought recently. Twenty years ago when she was still a naive university girl, she never knew she would achieve all this. And in her entire life if there is a night she has been re-living everyday, its that terrible night when she was at the wrong place at the wrong time. To be honest it had taken suzy, her best friend by then, a whole day just to persuade her. She had been adamant to never have attended such an event in her maiden life. But if anyone knew suzy better, that girl could be persuasive. She could sweet-talk her way out of any situation. She wasn't Eve to persuade Adam to take the apple, she was more of the snake to persuade Eve. She was extremely good. She read out the benefits of attending the party, and she made it seem look like gods were going to be in attendance. Annie was a beautiful young lady back then, her skin tone reasonated with her body shape. She had this curvy body, broad shoulders, pointed breasts and a backside that made her always get that stare from men that would sometimes scare her. Her white teeth and black hair set her on another level all together. She looked older for her age. But she was still very naive. She had met that urban setting when she joined the university, and believe it, the campus life blew her away. The level of immorality, the exposure to life choices that had consequences at each turn, the lies, the truths, the myths, the legends. As pure as she was the environment she was thrown into, really challenged her. And it took only one night to change her from a sweet, morally conscious and naive girl to a vengful, bitter and dangerous woman. She had kept a mental picture of that man on her mind and every man who came after him, found it difficult to break her, she was already broken and all that remained of her were this sharp pieces, one wrong move she cuts you deep. But today all that failed. Right infront of her all she ever wanted, an oppotunity to come face to face with him. A chance had presented itself to her, all she needed was just contact, just a little contact, she had gone through great lengths to acquire VX filled in a syringe and all she needed was just a moment. But she never knew how difficult this would be, was it guilt weighing down on her? was it fear? or was all this she had created just a facade that came tumbling down at a critical stage? She didn't understand. she had changed into her pj's and all she could do for now is just to pour it out.

kevin could not believe the changes that had occured in twenty years, buildings were scattered all over the place, people, cars, noise and smoke, it looked like things had grown out of nowhere. He had managed to hitch hike to the city, being an orphan he literally had no one, the only person he could go to, big father, had died while he was in prison, the rest of the crew had fallen of one by one. Kevin had made the ultimate sacrifice, he had hoped to get out of jail and get the ultimate price, respect and big reward, but big father's death crushed all this.kevin himself had barely survived jail, he was a constant target, the only way he survived that hell hole was the deal he had made with the devil. He owed his life to finishing the task, thats the only way he could be free. He had been caught between a rock and a hard place, one wrong move and that was it. But the game he was playing was like having a carrot and two sticks. Whichever way he went the result would be the same and that is him not breathing, but before he went out he had his mission to accomplish, he had someone to find, he hand fences to mend, he had no hope of living but he had to make this right. He had a clue, on that night someone had handled the situation he was in, twenty years was a long time, but he believed that at the end of it he would find the person he was looking for and unburden his heart. He had came up in a rough life, though partly he blamed himself, had he just stayed at his aunty's, maybe things would have turned different, maybe he would have gone to school, made a life for himself, married, got a job, built a house maybe. But no not him, after his mother's death, he became something else and one night he just walked away and never looked back, he was gone, he became an addition to the growing ptoblems of street children, it was savage, cold nights, hunger, desperation, sexual abuse, constant violence, but he after just a year, Big father had taken a liking to him, so much that he was the one to keep other street kids in check, everyone worked for Big father. He provided drugs, they circulated it and kevin oversaw it. He was the enforcer and by the time he was 16, he was feared, if it was violence, then that was his language. That all his life was all about maintaing that line, never deviating and Big father saw him as a son, but as he later found out, Big father had a deep secret, when kevin heard of it at first he could not believe it Big father of all people! Was that the reason why he was treated differently to other street kids? It took him weeks, and upto to this date his reality is still clouded. But now, he had a new challenge, he had to find a way to survive, he needed money and a place to stay and also he had two days to get things rolling, he really had a short window to achieve his goal and also he had business to take care of. He had to find fox.

The third party had followed kevin to the city, they kept their distance just watching him, they had to exist in the shadows, anything that would spook him might throw this whole thing into shambles. This whole operation was so complicated and it needed very special balance, firstly the team was a joint team, that present one issue and that is trust, the three men had never met before, and it was hard to tell who worked for the government and who worked for the highest bidder. But one thing was for sure, if kevin did get what they wanted him to get, chances all three of them surviving this, was maybe zero point nine percent, there was no way all three of them were going to survive, because on one hand is millions of money to be handed out on the other was piece of evidence that might bring a whole syndicate to its knee, the problem was, only each of them personally knew whose side they were on. But for now focus was the only glue holding them together. They had every tool to their exposure, if they messed up a cleaning crew was always right behind them, if they needed information then that was just a simple call and if anyone got on their way, their weapons were always hot. There was no room for failure, and if they even failed they knew their families would not survive even an hour. It was a case of make it or make it . But so far things looked good kevin had gone to the city as expected, they hoped he would start making moves soon, but for now they had to hide in plain site, they had to play non existant.

Back to jerry, things were not working out as he had expected, firstly he had missed his window, secondly, this was supposed to be a simple case of just grabbing the guy and bring him to the warehouse torture him maybe, make him swallow that picture he had always carried with him. Then he would maybe shoot him, or hit him or do anything to make him not breath, but here he was after months and months of planning and practising he came up short. Kevin had came ontop of him again, after all that pain he had brought on him and his family, he was still standing. Something made a slight noise, Jerry knew that all too familiar sound....

"okay losers! We failed so we have to start from the scratch, i will need you guys here tomorrow before three in the morning." he paused to see if his message was clear....

"okay then if there is no one resigning see you tomorrow". He stood over a while to make sure the men left. He went up the stairs and there on the wall he opened a hidden door, he met the merciful old face.