Chapter 259 GHOST ARMY
1548words
I see the light hues of orange in the sky at the beginning of the light hours in the sky and lean back to my place feeling depressed. I wonder how Tessa would be, would she be fine? Had Ann beaten her badly? Is she still alive or…
No, that thought terrifies me and again I sit up feeling stressed as the car starts to jump on the bumpy road, and after a while, the car stops.
I get out of the car before Jethro and look around the place where we have arrived. It's a remote area, completely isolated, I don't see a single person around, not even a bird in the sky.
There are plenty of abandoned buildings and I look around puzzled not knowing which one has my Tessa inside it, trapped.
"Which one?" I tilt my head and ask Jethro.
He too looks blank just like me, "No idea, man." He shakes his head and fury starts to boil inside me.
"Control yourself, or I'll beat the shit out of you." Jethro snaps sensing my anger. "For F**k's sake, I am a Mafia leader, treat me with respect man, I have people all around watching my every move in which you keep insulting me and doubting my abilities." His voice was dark, filled with rage, but surprisingly low.
I look at him weirdly, has he gone mad suddenly or what? There is no one far far away who could listen to us at all?
Without waiting for my reply, he starts walking towards the abandoned buildings while I follow him quietly. Except for him and me, there is nobody around.
I guess his men are still scared of stepping into this place. As far, as I haven't seen any black shadow or any witch at all, neither there is any sound in the air except the weird smell of dirt.
We pass by two buildings, but there is no clue of anyone present here. I start to get distressed by each step we take towards the third building when suddenly a few shadows appear surrounding us.
For a moment, I believe those haunted stories but the illusion breaks immediately when I see the shadows holding guns, they are not ghosts but real people.
I look around counting in my mind, they are 8, not few for us, and then look at Jethro for the suggestion, "So?"
"On the count of three, kneel." He says in a low voice and I look at him in confusion.
"One,
Two,
Three,
Kneel."
He orders in a low voice and I obey immediately.
BANG
The multiple shotguns come in the background piercing the silent atmosphere and when I look up I see the eight dead bodies on the ground, all shot straight in the head.
"What the…?"
"My ghost army." Jethro stands up, smoothing his clothes with a proud smile. He waves his hand in a signal and finally, I am able to see a bunch of people hiding in the bushes with snipers in their hands, they are far far away but still too close to keep an eye on us.
For a moment, I admire Jethro's abilities, he indeed is a man of multiple talents and secretive too while keeping them.
He again made a gesture with his hand and there a bunch of people appeared from afar slowly jogging towards him.
"Boss," The man stands out of the crowd wearing a bulletproof jacket, he nods at me respectfully and then turns to Jethro.
"The place is crowded, the bird is on the third floor, and the eagle stays all the time." He informs and I frown, are they referring to Tessa and Ann?
"Will you be able to entertain the crowd?" Jethro asks, "Surely, Boss." The man replies with a confident smile.
"Great, then go. We will be waiting here." Jethro orders and my nerves start to panic, "No… Stop…"
Jethro turns to me, so as his men, giving me a surprising look, "I want to go with them." I say with determination and Jethro rolls his eyes in dismay, "No, you're not, they will bring your wife."
"How, exactly?" I start to argue, "Ann won't let her go so easily, let me go, let me talk to her."
"Talk?" Jethro spat in disdain, "If she was capable of listening you wouldn't be doing this talking here. You have given me the job so let me handle this." He says dismissively but I stay persistent to go with his men.
"This is about my wife, and sister, so I would be the one facing them first."
Jethro looks at my stubborn face and then his men, his brows knit in distress and finally, he opens his mouth in agreement, "Blake, hand him a bulletproof jacket and keep him behind you."
He orders his man and I sigh in relief, "Thanks, Jethro." I wear the jacket and then look at him with gratitude while he stomps his feet and walks away from me angrily.
I will apologize to him later.
First, I need to see my wife and save her, hopefully.
The men are trained well, very quietly they enter just like a ghost as Jethro had mentioned before, we get to the second floor with the piles of people's bodies lying on the floor.
On the third floor, finally, I see my wife, Tessa, sitting on a chair half conscious, her face all bruised, her clothes dirty, she looks haggard and terrible.
"Tessa." I cry out and step forward to reach her when Jethro's man, Blake, stops me abruptly. "Behind me." He gives me a stern look and I slap his hand away, "That's my wife."
And I rush towards Tessa, her eyes half closed, and when finally she looks up at me and blinks, a heavy noise pushes me away from her, and I fall to the ground with a loud THUD.
"Ahh.."
My ears starts to ring, I couldn't hear properly, there was smoke all around me, what just happened? My head, it hurts terribly, and finally, when the smoke vanishes in the air I see Ann dragging Tessa to the stairs.
"Ann," I exclaim and she looks at me, the time stops between us, her eyes look the same innocent green the way they were when I first saw her and then suddenly her lips get covered in a smug smile which clearly isn't my innocent Ann.
I run after them while looking at the piles of dead bodies under me, was it an explosion just now?
F**k
Before I am able to step out of the gate, a firm grip pulls me back, "I told you to stay behind, are you deaf or what?" The man shouts at me is Blake and finally, my hearing seems to return.
"Stay here." He forces me to stay at my place and then enters through the door first, I follow behind him.
"Andrew." Tessa cries out when she sees me, her eyes swollen from crying.
"I am here." I stretch my arm towards her and then Ann steps aside from behind her, "Stop right there, both of you." She holds a gun.
BANG
She shoots in the direction of Blake making us all flinch, "I said, Stop." She reminds him with a stern face.
"Take off the jackets, Now." She yells and we quickly throw the jackets on the floor.
"Ann, let Tessa go, she has nothing to do with the property or money at all." I start to negotiate. The sun shines brightly behind Ann and the wind is cool but somehow I don't feel cold but anxious, too much anxiety covers my heart.
I slowly take out the papers from the inside pocket which I had prepared beforehand for this negotiation, "See, I am handing everything to you. No one, no one will demand a single penny, everything is yours only yours if you let her go now."
"And you, what about you? Will you also return to me, Andrew?" Ann questions, she shields her body with Tessa's, only her hand visible which is holding the gun and it points at Tessa's head.
I look at Tessa, she is crying silently, I don't know if she is happy to see me or if is it the pain in her body which is making her weep like this, "I will return only, if you send her back, safe and alive." I emphasize my words and she seems to be lost in thinking.
Blakes moves from his place and I raise my hand immediately asking him to stop his movements and his plans too. Thankfully, he obeys and steps back, I know he must be thinking looking for a way to shoot at Ann perhaps her hand because it's the only visible part of her body but what if that shot costs my Tessa's life, already I have harmed her so much, I don't want to harm her more.
It was my lack of abilities that she had suffered so much and today standing here in such a pathetic state. How did I never able to see Ann's cruelty, why did I never listen to Tessa? If I had, she wouldn't be standing here today once more near to her death.
Sigh…
