Lost and damned

Chapter 8: The turning Point

"We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope."
-Marthin Luther King Jr during the Civil Rights Mouvement

Melissa, Michael, and I were in shock... we couldn't believe what we were seeing. We stood there, cold as corpses and more than a little afraid... Alex, our one hope and lifeline, lay there, a lifeless body on the floor.It didn’t take long for reality to sink in, pressing down on us with an unbearable weight. How could this happen? Our last shred of hope had been snuffed out in an instant. Panic set in, our breaths coming in shallow gasps as the enforcers closed in around us."Well, what do we have here?" sneered the enforcer with the scar, a sadistic grin spreading across his face. "Thought you could escape your debts with a little help from our friend Alex, did you?"Michael stepped forward, his face pale but determined. "This wasn't part of the deal," he said, his voice trembling with a mix of fear and anger. "We came to make things right."The enforcer's grin widened. "Deals change, kid. Especially when you're dealing with people like us." He motioned to his companions, who grabbed Michael by the arms and forced him to his knees."Stop!" Melissa screamed, rushing forward, but another enforcer blocked her path, pushing her back with a cruel laugh."melissa!," I called out, reaching for her. "Stay back.""Jason, we can't just let them do this," she pleaded, her eyes wide with terror.The enforcer with the scar stepped closer to Michael, pulling out a knife and holding it to his throat. "You know, we could've worked something out if you hadn't tried to go behind our backs. But now? Now we're going to make an example out of you."Michael's eyes met mine, filled with a mix of defiance and resignation. "Don't do this," I said, trying to keep my voice steady. "We can still fix this."The enforcer laughed again. "Fix this? The only thing that needs fixing is the lesson you kids are about to learn." He pressed the knife harder against Michael's throat, drawing a thin line of blood.
"Wait!" I shouted at the leader.

He looked at me with a mocking gaze, and it seemed like nothing would change his mind. He was about to kill Michael, and of course, end us too, "Wait!" I shouted at the leader "I thought all this was about the debt Michael owes you, right?" I said angrily. "We just wanted to borrow enough money from Alex to pay it off. Why all this, then?!"
He looked at me for a moment, then started laughing like a madman, saying, "Hahahaha!!! Is that what this idiot told you? Hahahahaha!"
"Wait, wait, what does he mean?" I looked towards Michael, who seemed defeated and deeply saddened. "Did you lie to us? Was the story you told us not the whole truth?" I demanded, "Michael, say something! What does this man mean?"،"Oh, I'll tell you the truth, boy," the man said, his voice dripping with malice. "Your damned friend here doesn't just owe us money, ha-ha! He owes us a life too."،My heart and mind seemed to stop functioning for a moment due to the shock. It appeared that Melissa understood the man's implication immediately, as she spoke up, "Do you mean that Michael...?"

The man cut her off before she could finish her sentence, saying, "Yes, your little friend here killed one of our dearest associates over a few lousy pills."
Silence fell over the room. Everyone was quiet, some out of anger, some out of shock. For us, we were lost and utterly stunned،The man's words lingered in my mind, eating away at me indirectly. It's true, I'm not a good person. I've fought with people a lot, some ended up in the hospital, and I even resorted to knife fights, but I never once thought of killing someone. I never once imagined that Michael would end up being a murderer over a few pills ,
"Yes, your friend here killed someone dear to me. And before that, he owed us a lot of money," the man said, breaking the silence، I glanced towards Michael, shouting, "Michael, is this true?! Look at me!!","Michael mirrored the same expression, one of resignation and anguish, but he remained silent. "And thus, ladies and gentlemen, you'll witness me ripping your friend's throat out here, and afterward, we'll figure out what to do with you both," the man declared."
"Wait!" Melissa's voice pierced the tense silence, but the man remained resolute about ending Michael's life then and there. My mind raced, searching for a way out of this nightmare. Come on, Jason, think! And suddenly, an idea dawned on me, I smiled, saying, "That's funny" which caught everyone's attention in the room. "And what's funny about it?" asked the leader. "What's funny about it is that you're a fucker wandering with the skin of a lion, thinking you're a brilliant knight. That's what's funny!' I said sarcastically."
I said, "You're here, cornering teenagers and an old woman, about to snuff out a kid's life in the worst way possible. What do you call that?" "Oh, looks like we got a big mouth here, folks," the man said as he approached me slowly, his tone serious and angry.
He seized me by the hair and held a knife to my throat, saying angrily, "What do you think about starting with you so I can hear your calm voice, boy!?" "Wait!" Melissa screamed. "This is between me and you. Leave them the fuck out of it" Spoke Michael  finally "If I were you, I'd let go of this," I said mockingly, and the leader responded "what?" "Do you think I'm a fool? I knew something like this would happen before our arrival, so we brought along some friends ready to call the police if we don't leave on time." I said with full confidence , "i say you're full of shit" replied the leader, "oh you think so? Look out the window you will see 2 black vehicules behind that brown building there...inside there are men ready to call the police in case we don't get out in 30 min because borrowing some money won't take more than 30minutes" i said with a smile، The leader motioned to one of his men to confirm, and one of them approached the window. Indeed, Jason was right، "Smart," the man said with a cunning smile. "Indeed, smart. But I could just send one of my men or call in some of my external guys to take care of them. After all, we're inside a building where anyone can come and go."To my surprise, Melissa seemed to have understood my plan and supported me, saying, "And who told you that these men are the only ones we brought?"
"Hahaha," the man laughed, "you lot are truly interesting characters. Alright then, what's your name, kid?" He asked me. I responded "Jason", and he said, "Jason, huh? Well, I'll give you a deal you can't refuse. While you did bring some pals who could take us down, we can just let y'all go and then deal with you in a few days. But you're a smart one, and I like your way of thinking."What he said is true, I thought to myself. "He doesn't have to get rid of us today; he can do it whenever he wants. And I can't tell the police about this. Even if Michael could inform the police, he would have done so already.

"So, Jason, you're the one who sent those scoundrels a i sent a  few days ago to teach this fool a lesson to me all injured huh?"he said ،I remained silent, processing his words. It seemed he believed I was responsible for the thugs who had confronted him a few days earlier, intending to teach him a lesson. My mind raced, considering how to respond، "So, I'll forgive you for that, and I'm willing to forget Michael's crime and his debts to us. But in return, you'll work for us، I'll give you a set of tasks to do, and you can't refuse any of them. In return, I'll forget everything."
"Jason," Melissa said, "You don't have to accept this. You've suffered for too long, it's not-" Before she could finish i interrupted her saying "I'll be fine, Mrs. Harper," i said with a smile.

Even though Melissa wasn't happy about it, she forced a fake smile. But I knew half of her heart was breaking. However, it didn't matter. I was the one who got her into this mess, and I owed her a lot. I couldn't abandon Michael either; he's my closest friend, and I don't care if he hurted anyone, "Oh, I'm not done yet," the man said. "As for this woman—"

Before he could finish his sentence, I interrupted him angrily, saying, "There's nothing concerning this woman. She has no part in this matter. I'll accept the deal and work for you, but I want you to forget about her completely."
"Jason, wait," Melissa said.

But the man cut her off, saying, "Fine, fine. I'll forget about her completely, but know that your tasks will double in difficulty."

"I accept," I replied.

"Alright then, you can go," he responded. "But I want no one to know about this little meeting. Do you understand ?or you already know what will happen if you tell anyone?" he added with a threatening tone. ,
"Understood" i replied "im gonna give you my phone number so you can call me"i added "no need to " he said while smilling "i know where ,when to find you when i want to " That single sentence was enough to send shivers down my spine and remind me of how cunning, powerful, and dangerous this man truly was.
"You can go now," he said.

Feeling saddened, I cast one last glance at Alex's lifeless body before we left. He had been willing to help us, and now we were the reason for his death.
"Sir, I'll go downstairs to check what the boy said about the cars," one of his men suggested.

"No need for that. He was lying. Do you think a teenager like him could fool me?" the leader replied.
"Then why did you let him go, sir? That's dangerous," Jeff voiced his concern.

"Don't worry, Jeff. He won't dare betray me. I control this city and its entire police force. Besides, this boy is intriguing. I'm interested in his way of thinking. He could be useful to us," the leader replied.

"Alright, if you say so, sir," Jeff responded.

Before leaving the building, the leader instructed his men to dispose of Alex's body and any evidence that could reveal anything.

In his mind, he thought abour jason saying "Jason huh? Finally a little bit of fun"

To be continued...