Axel

The square-foot room was a little humid and though there was only one bulb in the center of the ceiling, the white light from it was bright enough.

I watched one of my men throw a punch at the face of the man in front of him. This time, the man crumbled to the ground, lying on his side and groaning in pain. I walked up to him and with my head a little tilted to the side, I stared at him. There was blood from his nose and cuts on his lips.

"Do we have a deal?"

He barely looked at me, his arms wrapped around his body while he shivered in pain. For a second, I rolled my eyes away from him.

I turned away. "I don't think he had enough."

"Yes." His voice was louder than I expected. When I looked back at him, I could see the tears in his eyes as well as the tear stains on his cheek. He was scared of having the same beating done on him for another round. A brief smirk appeared on my face. Do I derive pleasure in seeing a person this destroyed? Well, the true answer was much more complicated than anyone would think. I neither derive immense pleasure nor do I hate it.

I turned to him. "A word to anyone and... let me just say, I hope we never meet like this again."

"Release him like we discussed." I told one of my men before heading up the stairs and one push on the door, I was in a short hall that eventually led into the inside of a bar. The somberness of the bar was mediocre. In décor, it showed a little classiness. The customers were few unlike during the dark hours. The bartender and I exchanged looks. I nodded slightly and he did the same. He was not only the bartender but also the guard to the path I just walked in from. This bar was mine and somewhat a cover up for the business we had going on downstairs.

On my way out through the door, the phone in my coat pocket rang and I reached for it. Steele was the caller ID. I picked the call and held it to my ear. Afterall, I was on my way to his office.

The doors to the elevator opened and I began my walk towards Mordecai's office. The scene of a woman trying to outdo his secretary and get into his office played out in front of me. For what seemed like a minute, I stopped and stared. When I got a somewhat better look of her face, I remembered the last time we encountered and I had to have her escorted out. Necessarily doing that wasn't my job, I mean, there are security guards paid to make sure this sort of problem was avoided. But Mordecai was sort of like my employer and her drama was drawing attention we would much rather not have. So, I decided to take care of it myself.

"Don't touch me!" The young lady whose name I've never bothered to find out, ordered while she struggled to free herself from my men who dragged her away along with them. Compared to the many I've dealt with; she was nothing close to them. Giving her actions or intentions a thought was also not my priority. Mordecai was the only one who had an upper hand over me so whatever rocks his boat, rocks mine and I would have to deal with it.

I knocked on the door.

"Yes, come in." Mordecai's voice came through. I pushed the door open, walked in and closed it behind me.

"Axel." He called the moment his eyes were on me while I walked up to his desk where he sat behind it. Mordecai momentarily returned his gaze to the screen of his laptop then leaned back into his seat.

"I heard some noise. Do you know what that was about?"

"It's nothing. I've taken care of it."

I watched a smile draw up on his face, exposing the little wrinkles at the ends of his eyes.

"Well, I trust you've done the same with the task I handed to you."

"Everything is fine. He'll do as we say."

"Good!" He exclaimed with a wide smile before he was on his feet.

I watched as he walked up to me. Though there was a slight difference in our heights, although I was the taller one, it didn't stop him from keeping his hands on my shoulder.

"Like I told you years ago when we met for the first time... you and I, together, we're going to change the world."

His words brought back memories of that cold night as well as the time before that. Almost immediately, I forced myself not to go back in there. The memory before that wasn't something I loved going back into. Mordecai didn't know that and I very much didn't want him knowing that so I allowed a faint smile on my face and nodded to his words.

"I'll call you soon." Mordecai said before stepping into the backseat of his car and I shut the door on his behalf. I watched as his car drove away. When my eyes drifted from his car, it fell on a blue scooter and the rider whose face was covered with a helmet. It drove by real fast and for a reason unknown to me, I watched it drive away. My brows furrowed lightly as I felt a sense of familiarity. Eventually, I shrugged it off and turned away, walking back to where I parked my car.

Ezra, my most trusted right hand man, called me to a location, a little on the outskirts of the city where the tarred road ran straight for miles to come and the sides were filled with . I parked the car to the side and crossed over to the other side of the road where Ezra and two other men were. He walked up to me the second I was sighted.

"It's Tim. We haven't heard from him in the past two days and when we finally decided to track his phone, we arrived here."

I stared at the body in front of me. It was obvious he'd been shot multiple times and possibly at once by more than one person. His body laid cold, the opposite of what it used to be. The stench was strong. Although I have gotten used to seeing a dead body, it was never fun whenever I actually saw one. This young man here was twenty-five years old. I remembered the first time he walked into the bar and was adamant about joining my team. Something about him got me to say yes to his request although I only accepted anyone from twenty-six years and above. Should I have said no to him then? Would he still be alive now if I'd done that?

"We can't seem to figure out who would have the audacity to do this to one of our own." One of the men said.

"Was he involved with any gang wars?" It was detrimental. I should've found out more about him. Like where he lived and what neighbourhood he came from.

"Not any that we know of." Ezra answered and silence lasted in our midst for a while before another spoke up.

"Well, there was this one time he was trying to get two or three of us to come along with him to a fight. He wouldn't say what fight and why."

Again, there was another silence in our midst and this time, I broke it. "Find out what he was involved in and the enemies he had. Meanwhile, take his body back and give him a burial. We don't want the cops getting involved with this." After those words, I turned away and started walking back to my car. Their words 'yes sir' were still loud enough to my hearing.

When I was seated in the car, I stayed a moment still just because I needed it. I didn't want to think of the fact that maybe the young man who was supposed to be under my wing has lost his life because of my negligence. Whosoever did that to someone who was one of my own was going to pay the ultimate price. That, I promise.

After, I started the car and was on my way back into the city.

Later, in the late of the night, I unlocked the door into my apartment. Thunder barked and came running to me. The moment I closed the door behind me, I bent and petted him for a little while, ruffling my hand from the top of his head to his back. He was a miniature pinscher breed. He nuzzled against me, licking my face whenever he got the chance. I smiled at his show of affection.

"How was your day?" I asked while I walked into the bedroom and he tagged along. Of course, he couldn't reply but he barked a few times as if he was responding to my words.

"Did Jasmine feed you on time?" I asked again even though I knew he wouldn't be able to reply to my question. Jasmine was the middle-aged maid who came whenever I was out. She cleaned the apartment and looked after the dog, leaving an hour or two before I came back.

After taking a shower, I headed out to the kitchen which was adjourned to the living room. I opened the fridge to find new stocks of produce. Jasmine must have shopped with the money I left behind. I didn't often eat a good meal so the stuff in the fridge most often goes bad in the end. Once I decided to make a sandwich, I took out two slices of bread, chopped up a tomato and lettuce and stacked them on top of the first slice. Added the needful and soon took a bite from it. Before going to bed, I took Thunder out for a walk.

I woke up in the middle of the night from sleep as a result of a nightmare which was in fact an old unwanted memory.

Next, I turned on the tap over the sink in the bathroom and splashed some of the water flowing out of it on my face. For a second, I stared at my reflection. Everyday, I can't seem to recognise myself, not that I knew exactly who I was to begin with. Somehow, it was better not knowing than actually knowing. It means I would have to live by a certain self-made rule. Maybe someday, I'll get there. Maybe never. For now, this was how I was going to live.