The Recoil Of The Mind

Chapter 6: Exit The Dragon

The tires screeched against the asphalt, the smell of rubber burning against the air. Rickard and Courtney and Marlon had made a beeline for the highway once they had scouted out the yacht. Bo kept his eyes on the road and took every possible opening he saw. Courtney sat in the back of the car, calling her contacts and trying to get every possible bit of information. Rickard was slumped in the front seat, next to Bo, who was giving Rickard instructions. Bo gave his phone to Rickard, who was trying to call DeShawn.

Ring ring ring.

But no one picked it up.

"Try calling Marlon", Bo suggested. Rickard tried calling him, but it was the same with him. "Shit. Must be doing something important. Call Benny."

"Who?"

"Benny, the bartender. One of ours. He must know."

Rickard complied. Ring ring ring. The phone was ringing. "What the fuck are they doing?", Rickard said as the phone continued to ring. Ring ring ring. The phone clicked.

"Benny here. Wassup? What you need bro?"

"Hey Benny, It's Rickard. Bo's driving so I called you with his phone. Everybody's at the club?"

"Nah man, they left, like, an hour ago."

Shit, Rickard thought. How much time has passed since they left? He didn't have an idea. It was not important at the moment. "Where are they? Where's DeShawn?"

"At the Casino. Mr. House has called an emergency meeting. Dunno much but they was talking 'bout an attack or something. That's all I got."

"No problem, man. Thanks." Rickard cut the call. "They are at House's casino."

"What!", Courtney called out. "What going on? Why has my dad called everybody? Even Griffin seems to have gone."

"I don't know. Benny said that there has been an attack or something."

The car jolted as Bo turned it, a sharp right out of the highway. "It's an hour away, but I know a shortcut."

- - -

The car screeched to a halt. Bo jumped out, throwing his keys at a valet. "Mr. Johnson?", a man puzzlingly said as Bo bumped into him. Rickard and Courtney were more clumsy and took their time getting out of the car. "Yo! Let's go!", Bo shouted at the top of his voice as he made his way into the lobby. Both followed.

They made their way into an elevator, Bo pressing the button to the Platinum level and holding it pressed. "A trick I learned."

"What's going on? Can somebody please explain it to me?", Rickard asked.

Courtney looked around the elevator, despite nobody else being there besides them. "My father has called all the crews. That's why everybody was unreachable. The attack must have been pretty bad."

"Maybe what we saw was the attack", Bo spoke. "Maybe the Chinese have finally gone and done it. They're savages."

Rickard's mind went back to the hefty file Bradley had introduced him to. The two sides had always been suspicious of each other. They often had small skirmishes, but even they had begun to fade away. But a war? Even the Chinese had the resources plan and think. Nobody wanted to lose any of their resources, be it money, guns, or blood. Rickard thought, his mind racing to conclusions. The terrorists? Could it be them? He wasn't sure of it. He wasn't even sure of what had happened at the yacht.

The elevator stopped at the Platinum level, its bell ringing as the door opened. The three of them walked out.

Guards. Three of them, in suits and holding a p911 in plain sight stood before them, guarding a huge brown door etched in intricate floral patterns. "Let us pass", Courtney roared and pushed the door open. Rickard followed Marlon, who followed Courtney in turn, who was the first to enter the room. Rickard entered the brightly lit room and stood for a second to let his eyes adjust to the lights.