LANDLORD

chapter three

He just wanted peace and quiet, Nothing else.

Dora's words were still sizzling off his brain, every part of his body ached.

For the first time in his whole life, he raided the nearest bar.
Three whole bottles, an abomination. His church must never hear of it.

He lost his Teni, there was nothing more painful than that.
He plonked into the Uber cab so sloppy the driver had to ask how he got so drunk .

Just take me home he thought

The car zoomed through the oddly empty streets with much ease. Surprisingly, despite the throbbing pain in his head he felt numb. That was odd.

Wait a minute, I never ordered an Uber

He tried to unbuckle his seatbelt. It didn't work. He was immediately panic stricken. He frantically tried to roll down the window. The glass wouldn't budge either. He looked at the driver, he was on the phone.

He mustn't suspect me

While the driver was still on the call, he fumbled for his phone. His hands felt rubbery making picking up his phone a difficult task.

Before he even managed to turn it on, it slipped out of his hand. I'm his desperate attempt to pick it up he doubled over in pain.

I'm in trouble

"Stop trying to escape, there's no way out" said the driver, he tried to take a look at him. His face was blurred.

"What do you want from me?" He said, he felt every word piercing through his throat.

"Guy relax, I won't kill you." Said the driver "you Will soon lose your voice so if you want to talk, be careful"

"Listen sir, I'm very worthless. I don't have any rich relatives. I don't even have a wife or child. There is nothing you can...argh" he massaged his neck. It didn't make a difference "there is nothing you can gain from me"

The driver grinned , proudly featuring a blotched set of yellow teeth.

"My boss doesn't think so" his grin got even wider. It reminded him of the evil clown movies Teni used to watch.

"Who do you work for?"

"Nobody knows him, he's a legend. We have never even seen him or heard his real voice before"

"How did you end up working for him then"

"Come closer it's a secret..." His breath was a split contrast to the colour of his teeth "...the same way you were called"

His eyes widened in shock

"W-why would he want me?" He managed to say. His throat was even worse now.

"He liked the way you helped Kitty. He thinks you're very smart."

He was shaking all over, struggling to stay awake.

"Don't worry guy, you'll sleep off very very soon. When you get there be a good boy okay "

It was as if his voice triggered his drowsiness even more.

The sounds of the car, the oddly empty street, the driver, everything drowned out as his eyes failed him.

_________________________________

People overlook things far too easily when surrounded by problems. The landhouse was standing proof of that fact.

The building stood in an area which proved to be a disgrace even to the worst slums. Every street reeked of something new everyday. Although the area was littered with houses, there didn't seem to be actual People in them.

Of course, even beggars had too much class for those soiled floors.

Of a truth nobody would live there even if it was deemed the most beautiful place in the world.

After all, the entire area belongs to one person.

The car pulled over in front of the building. A bunch of boys, probably under fifteen, rushed over to help haul away the comatose man into the building.

One would imagine the headquarters of a notorious street gang to be an edgy, rundown building. From the outside it seemed so. But when they came in, what they saw resembled a busy firm.

Men and women sat in cubicles mechanically processing some sort of paperwork. They climbed floating stairs winding up to a rustic reception. The ancient wood on the furniture giving off an ironic feeling of safety.

The boys set him down on a chair. And made their exit.

He on the other hand would inform landlord of his arrival. He peeked into landvice's office.

he's attending to someone, should I just walk in.

He made up his mind to wait. Just before he could settle down, a woman stepped out of the office.

"Landvice wants to see you now-" she stared wide eyed at the man on the couch. "-who is that"

"Do you know him Kitty?" He asked, a smirk plastered on his face.

"No...I just" she said in near panic.

"Landlord knew about that night. You knew nobody was supposed to see it but you..."

Her eyes widened with shock

Ah I'm screwed

"Wh-why is he here then?"

"Landvice likes this one. For some reason, he doesn't want him dead. Guy you're lucky, no one has ever lied to landlord before"

Remi soon stirred a little on the couch as shreds of consciousness prompted his eyes to flicker rapidly.

The other man perked up a bit.

"Sleeping drugs have worn off , help me carry him inside" he said in an almost domineering tone.

She only returned a nasty stare and turned to leave.

She didn't get to though, a man pushed her aside and attempted to force his way into the office...