The following morning, Savior rose up earlier than usual and prepared to go to Destiny Estate.
The past three weeks had been all business for him. Now was the time for a little play to unwind.
All work and no play makes Savior a dull boy.
Today was bright, though a bit cloudy. It was time to finally go on his much-anticipated escapade.
As he dressed up in a simple Levi’s top and navy blue jeans, there was only one mission on his mind.
To unveil the face behind the voice he heard singing a week ago.
He couldn't deny the fact that she had incessantly invaded his curious mind.
And even as he finished dressing up, picked up his car keys and moved out of his apartment to where his car was parked, he kept telling himself that he was just curious, that it was just the usual need to know. Nothing, absolutely nothing more than that.
Somewhere in the distant black hole of his mind, a tiny voice called him ‘liar’. He almost jumped in fright, but Savior wasn't the type who easily gave in to fear.
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He spun around to look for that person who was able to read his jumbled thoughts but didn't see anyone. It was probably a figment of his overactive mind.
"Hope you are up for a joy ride this morning?" Savior said to his car as he approached it and unlocked it with his car remote control.
He opened the driver's side door and got in. Without bothering to strap his seat belt since it was too early for the police to stop him for that kind of thing anyway, he slid his car key into the ignition and zoomed off after the engine roared to life.
A few miles from the estate, he picked a preferred spot and parked his car inconspicuously.
Before getting out of his car, he argued with his highly calculative mind for the umpteenth time that he was only being curious and nothing more.
The argument formed a mini-courtroom atmosphere in his mind.
Of course, he wasn't putting everything on the line for an unknown small girl.
No, he wasn't risking all that he'd built with the police. Of course not. That'd be a ridiculous and dangerous venture.
He just wanted to satisfy his restless curiosity. What was so wrong with that?
No, he was never going to get into any trouble or get himself killed. He was a cat with nine lives. Yes of course, it wouldn't hurt to see a harmless damsel. When did it become a crime?
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The rational part of his mind kept hammering that this was a stupid mistake, but the knowledge didn't taper his desire.
After several pitiful attempts, he finally tuned out the persistent argument and proceeded to do as planned.
Climbing out of his car, he picked up all the equipment that would be necessary for this escapade, and he holstered his Beretta that he decided to bring along in case of any unforeseen situation.
He looked at his car which was one of his best friends and began whispering to it. "I'm going alone for an adventure. Are you sure you'll be alright by yourself?"
He even went as far as quoting some of the words of Jesus Christ to his disciples. "Where I am going you cannot come now."
Funny how he could remember some passages of the Bible after several years of turning his back on God.
Locking his car with one of the buttons on his remote control, he made a beeline for the estate.
Going through his mental map of the estate in his mind, he took the most favorable spot that would help him navigate into the estate with little or no interruption.
Although it was more arduous than the first time, Savior successfully got inside the estate and subsequently the targeted house.
Much to his shock, Savior was not alone.
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As he looked for a place to hunker down before making his next move, he saw it. Or rather, him.
He saw a dark figure moving slowly, inconspicuously around the building presumably towards the direction of the girl's window.
Uh-oh! Looks like someone has beaten him to the punch.
Instantly alert and cautious as there could be more than one person, he immediately whipped out his Beretta which was equipped with a silencer and put on his high optical night goggles. Walking on tiptoes so as to not make a sound that would give away his presence, he began closing the gap on the moving figure.
As soon as he got close enough where he could clearly see the figure, he crouched behind a brick wall that was high enough to conceal the glowing light from his goggles and also prevent this intruder from seeing him.
A quiet gasp escaped his lips as soon as he was able to get a good look at the person's face. He knew this guy.
This was Chika—Stone, was what he was called in the gang—a twenty-year-old School dropout who was given his nickname because of his constant stony expression. He was a member of Alpha Shadows. Even worse was that he was one of those who came with Savior at the last operation that was done in this estate.
Apparently, the guy had nursed the same idea as Savior.
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Who knew how many more had the same idea, he wondered to himself. And how many had executed it like he and Stone were doing right now?
He'd take care of all of them in his own way ASAP.
For now, all he wanted to do was to squeeze the trigger of his Beretta and blow this stupid boy's head off.
None of these jobless imps would lay their filthy hands on her, or set their corrupt eyes on her, he vowed. He would cut out their hands and gorge out their eyes first.
"Control, Savior, control..." he whispered soundlessly to himself.
What to do now?
An idea came to his mind and he didn't hesitate to execute it. Killing the guy today won't be good for his current mission, so he proceeded to do the next best thing in his mind.
Standing up slowly, he stretched out his gun hand, aimed at the boy's right shoulder—a nice spot—and squeezed off two rounds, making sure that the boy would not use that arm for a long time. That is if he had not permanently disabled it.
Stone screamed out in pain and shock, and three terrier guard dogs in the vicinity began barking.
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But just like Stone who immediately muffled his shrieking sound of pain so as to not give up his exposed location, all three dogs stopped barking.
But, there was a new problem. An angry-looking German Shepherd, looking like it was itching for a serious excitement, suddenly came into view.
They both could see the trained German Shepherd, and Savior was sure that it could see them both at the same time.
The dog gave a low growl and looked like it was going to enjoy having one of them as breakfast.
Stone was shaking now, partly from pain, partly from fear.
Savior almost pitied the guy who looked like he was going to wet his pants any moment but quickly decided against it.
The stupid guy deserved it and even more.
Savior looked at the German dog that he had inadvertently named Gibraltar, after a rock in the Bible, and silently implored him to not carry out his intent for his own good and if it wanted to continue living. He even waved his Beretta threateningly at the dog.
All the while, Stone, oblivious to the ongoing transaction, was quaking like a dry leaf in autumn.
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The dog seemed to take the bait because he shot them both a long, menacing glare, snarled and let out another I'm-not-afraid-of-you growl before reluctantly walking off to his next target.
Stone heaved a shuddering sigh of relief, but he knew he wasn't completely out of the woods yet.
Since he didn't get killed by a menacing-looking dog, he might die from a bullet this morning if he did not immediately do the prudent thing that he ought to do in order to save his life, or what was left of it. Somehow, he was sure that after this morning's event, his life will never be the same again.
The boy, who was shocked and now believed one hundred percent that someone was on to him after the bullets from a silencer penetrated his shoulder and ruptured the muscles and tendons in his right arm, immediately took off, leaving a thin trail of blood in his wake.
The first threat has been cleared off, Savior thought as he watched Stone stumble away. Time to continue.
Before that, he had to finish what he started with Stone.
Savior stealthily moved around the apartment with his Beretta on his right hand, scanning for any sign of trouble that might be lurking in the morning shadows.
He took several quick breaths to regulate his pulsating heart. Steady, steady.
Satisfied that he was the only one, apart from the owners, who was currently on this property, he loosened his grip on his handgun and breathed easier.
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Trying not to waste any more precious time, he began looking for a place to hunker down.
The garage appealed to him and he went for it. The garage’s door was halfway open and the lights in it were turned off. Indeed, it was a good place to hide out of sight.
He slid inside and hid behind several working tools that were arranged at the left corner of the garage.
The cuboidal parking space was almost empty. Built to contain a maximum of four cars, it currently housed one black Camry.
This made him wonder if a family that was buoyant enough to live in an elite environment had only one car.
Maybe the other cars were being serviced at the mechanic's. Maybe someone traveled with the other cars. Or maybe the family simply wasn't buoyant enough to afford more than one car.
Maybe, maybe, maybe. A gazillion possibilities flipped through his mind.
‘It's not your blasted business, Savior,’ a voice in his head taunted.
‘I know, I know. You don't have to talk to me like you’re the Wild Witch of the West,’ he shot back to the voice in his mind.
He fished out the GPS tracker that he had brought with him and planted it under the front tyre of the Camry.
When it was safely installed, he returned to his hiding place.
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He crouched low, straining for any sound of movement inside the house. A few silent seconds later, he knew the absurdity of what he was doing. Most times, houses located in sophisticated areas like this were sound-proofed. This one was apparently no exception.
After deciding not to do anything absurd or fertile anymore, he waited patiently for his time.
The right time.
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