Chapter 8

• BRIAN'S POV
• THREE YEARS AGO
• I paced in my office angrily.
• “This is the third time!” I yelled at the top of my voice, smashing my phone on the ground.
• “Third time! And they can't pin all of this to anyone? No one at all?” I was agitated.
• “Calm down Brian” Steve said.
• “Calm down, you say?” I sat at my desk, “I am being hunted down like an animal, Steve,” I said, “it's from one ambush to another, and merely lucky to still have my life, but for how long?” I said, “huh?” I hit my fist on the desk.
• “Burning down my warehouse at the exact time I was to be there?” I scoffed. “This is more than sheer coincidence, Steve, and I'm not having it,”
• Steve only watched me, as I ranted and expressed my anger.
• “If the law doesn't take its course in three days, I'd obviously have to take the laws into my hands,” I sounded a threat.
• “Until now, there is no evidence to apprehend anyone,” Steve said, “you have a lot of enemies and rivals, Brian, and for all we know, anyone could be behind this,” he added.
• “You and I know there's only one man desperate enough to want me dead,” I said, staring out the window with a stern expression.
• “Desperate enough to want me completely out of the way. I just need to prove he's behind all of this,” I added.
• “I don't know, Brian. The police are already on the case, I guess you should just let them do their job,” Steve said.
• Steve had always been a calm guy. Growing up together, I would stand up to the bullies who tried to oppress him for being a geeky, nerdy kid.
• “Three days! Three days Steve, that's all I have to spare!” I said, packing up my laptop.
• I had had enough for the day.
• ************************************************
• I drove in my Ferrari Purosangue with Steve, having two vehicles in front of me and two behind.
• I now had a need for a convoy and array of armed men, since it was now the third attack on my life in two weeks, and I could never tell when the next attack would be.
• Steve and I were planning the launch of our next business idea as we drove along, and we were covered by thick silence, lost in thoughts. My thoughts were interrupted when the car suddenly stopped moving.
• “Why did we stop moving?” I asked my driver, looking at the rearview mirror locking my cold eyes with his.
• “Sir, there seems to be a blockage in our path,” My driver replied, with an unsure tone.
• “Call vehicle number one,” I instructed, stepping out of the vehicle.
• I sighted big branches of trees laying on the road, blocking our path.
• “Situation report?” I questioned the driver , who was now on a call with the driver of vehicle number one.
• “Watch out Brian” Steve screamed, interrupting the conversation between the driver and I.
• Steve immediately pulled me into the vehicle, and I barely escaped a bullet, which flew right above my head.
• My driver immediately made a quick turn, while the rest of the men quickly responded with gunshots.
• The shoot lasted for a while, with some bullets hitting our vehicle, which would have caused fatal damage had it not been a bullet proof car.
• “Are you okay Brian?” Steven asked,
• “Of course, I'm okay,” I responded.
• Steven pointed weekly at my arm which was now covered in blood.
• “Shit!” I exclaimed.
• I had been brushed by one of the bullets flying, and hadn't noticed. I was too upset at the incident to notice that I had been injured in the process.
• “Take us to the hospital,” Steven instructed the driver.
• He took off my suit and shirt, cleaning the blood from my arms, and making an attempt to stop the bleeding.
• Our driver took an unusual turn, causing Steve and I to take a glance at each other.
• “Where are you going? The hospital is that way,” Steven said, but the driver offered no response, proceeding in the wrong direction.
• “You, son of a bitch!” I said, holding him by the neck from behind,
• “Pull over, now!” I yelled.
• Steven immediately handed me a gun, which I immediately held to his head,
• “Pull over! Now!” I yelled again.
• He slowly brought the car to a stop, and Steve and I alighted the vehicle.
• “Who do you work for?” Steven asked.
• “He'll kill me,” the driver said, shaking, as I held a gun to his head.
• “Speak!” I ordered.
• “He said I'd die if I ever speak his name,” he repeated, still shaking in fear.
• “Well, you'd die either way,” I said, pulling the trigger to his head.
• “Brian, we could have gotten information out of him,” Steven said, as I got back into the car.
• “He chose death,” I replied fiercely. “Get us out of here,” I said.
• Steven reversed the car and drove us out of the hospital. It was a lonely path we were on, only with trees in rows and columns.
• *****************
• “Good, you are awake” Steven said, as I slowly opened my eyes in the hospital bed.
• “How many men did we lose?” I asked.
• “Four of them Brian” Steven replied.
• “And the police?” I questioned.
• “They arrived only after the shoot out,” Steven reported.
• “I will lay my life down for you Brian, that's how much I care about you” Steven said, “but this is going really far,” he said.
• “Brian, I think it will be safer for you if you leave Winchester for now” Steven said, looking at my face with his brown eyes.
• “What do you mean by leaving Winchester Steven?” I replied with a furious expression on my face.
• “It's no longer safe for you Brian,” he replied, his voice heavy with concern.
• “I've never played safe,” I replied with a hoarse tone.
• Steven raised a brow and I knew this was not one of those moments I could wave off his logical thinking, besides Steven was right.
• The several assassination attempts and the inability of the police to trace it to anyone was worrisome.
• “Are you sure you got this?” I said, referring to the companies in my care.