As Justin was riding his bike, someone in a white Ferrari followed him along. He was unaware of this and kept on going till he reached an underground parking lot. His mysterious follower in Ferrari followed him there. As he parked his bike and got off, he ducked down as if dodging something. It was a knife thrown towards him from behind but his reflexes were so quick that he immediately sensed it and saved himself.

Linda, who was also present at the spot, stepped out of her Ferrari and was amazed at Justin’s swift move; but at the same time she was curious about the attackers. She turned to see and found three thugs who were approaching Justin. They had tattoos on their arms and chains around their necks, as well as forearms. Justin was however calm and had recognised those thugs as his old rivals.

“Hey!” he chuckled waving his hand in order to provoke them.

The leader of the thugs got enraged and threw another knife from his pocket towards him.

But Justin’s calculated move and power of speed was so accurate that he instantly took out his pistol and shot at the spot where the knife was about to be. And his bullet accurately hit the knife creating a little flame.

Linda got so impressed that her eyes were left wide open.

“Try harder next time!” Justin commented purposely intending to provoke them.

The other two thugs took out their knives and robustly threw them towards him.

Their leader exclaimed, “No, don’t!”

However it was too late and the knives had already been thrown. Justin effortlessly caught one of the knives and dodged the other one. Justin stood straight and threw aside the knife he held. He now knew that cheap goons like these had wasted all their weapons and had nothing left due to their lack of smartness. So he aimed his pistol towards them and said, “Just get out of here, if you want to walk out alive.”

Two of the thugs turned around and ran away. Their leader, however, stood there and said, “You owe me money. Keep the weapon aside and show me your own power.”

Justin smiled and threw his pistol far away. The thug came rushing towards him intending to hit him with a clenched fist. Justin smartly sat down and moved slightly ahead keeping his leg straight. As the two hit each other, the thug’s knee got severely fractured. The injured guy yelled out loud and fell on the ground. Justin stood up and spat on him.

Witnessing the entire scene for a few minutes, Linda was left amazed at Justin’s skills and guts. However, some security guards invaded the parking lot after hearing gunshots. Linda got alert and escaped the scene.

****

Linda was inside a lift that opened to a luxurious room. It was simply indescribable. She stepped outside and kept on walking until she saw Gilbert Brown finalizing a deal with two men. She heard their conversation and one of the men who held a brief case said, “This is our boss’s final installment.”

“Ok, keep it on the table,” Gilbert replied.

They were talking until Gilbert stopped when he saw Linda. Using his hands, he gestured the two men to leave. Linda came ahead while the two men left.

“So, what is it that you want to tell me?” Gilbert asked her. “And what was it that you wouldn’t tell me on phone?”

“Mr. Gilbert you know about our gang and its members. They are not smart enough. Not capable enough.”

Disliking yet agreeing with her words, he said, “So, where are you going with this?”

“There’s this guy. He’s a gangster. A criminal like us. Not at all afraid to kill people. His name is Justin McElroy. I think he is perfect for our gang. We really need a sharp shooter like him.”

“Sharp shooter?” Gilbert gained interest.

“I’ve been following him for days. I got to tell you that I haven’t seen a sharp and accurate shooter like him before. He is so smart and capable that he never misses his shot.”

Gilbert was impressed.

“Besides his shooting capability, I admire his guts,” she said and continued, “He is very courageous. He doesn’t care who his opponent is or how many opponents he has, he just focuses on winning.”

“No kidding, really?”

“He is very clever if you ask me. He knows how to play mind games. I’ve seen him provoking his enemies, leaving them angry and using it against them.”

“You know where he lives?”

“Yes I do. Should I go and get him?”

“Well, I do want to meet him. When was the last time you saw him?”

“The last time I saw him, he was almost surrounded by some security guards, after he had a fight with a few local thugs in a parking lot.”

“What if he’s under arrest?” Gilbert asked.

“No, that can’t be true. As much as I know him, he’s a one man army. He definitely would have made his way out. I have faith in him.”

“Well, in that case…” Gilbert suggested, “bring him here. I want to test him. I want to see if he’s really all that you think he is.”

“Ok, but how are you going to test him?”

“Linda, you know you are the most trusted member of my gang. You are the only one with whom I share even the most secret information. But for a guy like this, I want to see him with my own eyes.”

“See what? Whether he’s sharp enough?”

“No, whether he fears death or not.”

****

Next morning, four gang members stepped out from their car outside a building. They walked towards a specific apartment and gently rang the bell. A minute later, Justin went to answer the door, one of the gang members held his collar and pulled him outside. Justin did his best to resist but the other one from behind hit Justin’s head with a metallic rod; it wasn’t hard though. Justin fainted after being hit so hard. The gang members tied his hands and legs with chains.

“Let’s take him,” said one of them.

One hour later, Gilbert, Linda and all the important gang members were waiting inside Gilbert’s large luxurious room. As the lift reached Gilbert’s room, they all turned to see the gang members dragging Justin’s body out of the lift. His eyes were covered with a handkerchief. All the members now looked at this strong guy. Gilbert asked everyone to be silent with a finger-on-the-lips gesture. He then asked one of his special members, Verbal Boone, to hand him the iPad. Verbal was instructed by Gilbert to communicate with Justin by reading the questions on the device.

“So, Mr Justin!” Verbal began. “Do you have any idea about where you are at the moment?”

“I don’t know the exact location, but I do know that whatever you’re asking and whatever you’ll be asking are not your own questions. These questions are assigned to you by your boss,” Justin smartly replied.

Everyone in the room including Gilbert was left surprised.

“What do you know about my boss?”

“I don’t know his name, but he sure seems like a coward to me.”

One of the gang members who was holding Justin, hit him really hard after getting angry on what he said.

“What do you mean coward?” Verbal asked in an angry tone.

“My hands are tied with steel. My legs are also tied. You guys didn’t even spare my eyes. And yet your boss is afraid to talk to me himself. How else would you define a coward?”

Almost everyone was enraged and agitated except for Gilbert and Linda. Gilbert directed his men to let go off Justin without saying a word.

“Alright, fine!” Gilbert spoke, “Talk to me. I’m the boss… my name is…”

“Gilbert Brown,” Justin interrupted, recognising the voice, “I’m not surprised, and that’s strange.”

Verbal walked towards Justin and uncovered his eyes.

“You didn’t have to do that,” Justin said. “I would have believed the voice.”

“Would you join our gang?” Linda asked.

“I know that if I say no then I wouldn’t walk out of this place alive. But if I say yes, I would be a slave of an underworld mafia’s rules. So my answer is definitely, no!”

Everyone was left appalled after what Justin had said. However, after a moment Gilbert said, “How about you join our gang with no rules to follow?”

Everyone waited for his answer. Justin looked around, smiled and said, “Ok, that’s better, your gang but my rules.”

Linda was now relieved, as Justin had finally joined their gang.

“Now, before you go,” Gilbert spoke, “I’m going to take your test. I need to see how sharp you are with your weapons.”

****

Next afternoon, Jackson was in his office with his colleague. Jackson’s cell phone began to ring and his colleague who was standing closer to the phone saw the caller ID. She looked at Jackson and said, “It’s your brother, Justin’s call.”

Jackson left everything and stood up from his desk and answered the call.

“Hello, Justin!” he answered the call in desperation.

The colleague watched Jackson talking to his brother with so much concern.

“Really?” Jackson got delighted as he heard a good news from his brother. “You got a job? Finally!”

Jackson was just told a lie but he was happy that his brother finally got the job.

“My brother…” Jackson continued, “I congratulate you with the depth of my heart.”

He kept talking to Justin, while his colleague left the room.

****

Days passed by and Justin had become one of the finest gang members. He had impressed Mr. Gilbert in so many ways that he wanted to give Justin a higher rank than Linda. Gilbert had not shared any secret information with Justin because he still wasn’t too trustworthy for him. But Gilbert believed that one day Justin would grant them all the success.

Days later, there was a meeting inside Gilbert’s room. Justin and Linda were the only ones who were seated on the sofa. Almost all the members were attending this meeting. Gilbert started to speak.

“Tomorrow morning there will be a deal between two gangs. One of them is a gang of American criminals and the other gang is Hungarians. They are very unreliable people. Can’t say when they can attack the opposite party.”

“So, what’s our part in this?” Linda asked.

“Good question. Now let me explain what this is about. This deal is worth billions of dollars. I don’t know what the Hungarians are bringing but I do know that the American criminals shall be carrying cash of billions of dollars.”

“How do you know that?” Justin asked. “Do you have your agents among those American gangsters?”

“Only one, but yes I have. I’ve been informed about this deal yesterday. So anyways, your job is to attack all those criminals in the deal. And bring in the money as well as what those Hungarian criminals are offering.”

“How many members would there be?” Justin asked.

“I think ten on each side. But you have to be loaded with weapons. Take bombs, explosives, whatever but I want both. The money and what the Hungarians are offering.”

“Is there a possibility that we may not survive?” Linda asked.

“There is…” Gilbert answered and then looked at Justin, “Which is why I’m sending my best man – Justin McElroy. I’m confident that as long as he stays there to fight, our gang would return successful.”

“What about me?” Linda asked. “Do I have to go?”

“Not there,” Gilbert told Linda. “Your job is different in this deal.”

Some other questions were answered and a brief plan was designed by Gilbert for the men.

After an hour while all the criminals left, Gilbert, Linda and Justin stood together. Gilbert looked at Justin, kept his hand on his shoulder and said, “You are the most capable of all my men. If you carry out tomorrow’s mission successfully, I will give you a 50 per cent share.”

“That’s very generous of you,” Justin commented.

“And other than that, I will give you the highest position in this gang. Only I will be senior to you, but all others would be your subordinates.”

“Thank you!” Justin responded with modesty.

****

Next day, Justin along with 20 other gang members made his way towards the appointed location. They were in separate cars and were expecting the deal to take place outside a cinema theatre. They reached and waited outside in their cars.

Minutes later, as they saw some Hungarians carrying briefcases making their way towards the cinema house, Justin and five other shooters followed them. To Justin’s surprise, there was no security check at the theatre’s entrance. Everyone carrying weapons was easily making their way inside. Justin entered too but had a strong feeling that this lack of security in a city like New York was an entrapment or something suspicious. However, he followed the Hungarians until they stopped. One of the Hungarians walked towards the American Gangsters and handed over the two brief cases that he held. While watching them Justin got disturbed by the sound of an alarm. The alarm was too loud and noisy. The Hungarians started to panic and the American gangsters took out their guns ready to fire. A few police officers appeared out of nowhere and aimed their guns towards all the criminals including Justin’s gang.

A vigilante Justin said, “I knew it was an entrapment.”

to be continued...