This chapter is dedicated to Annalisadonkor
Your words add colours to the book and I couldn't feel any greater joy dedicating this chapter to you. Thanks for the lovely comments.

A FRACTURED MIND

★★★★★

It was three months ago when Hannan was having her driving class with Yusuf. He was trying to get her to practice on the highway and then she took the wheel while he observed her from the passenger's seat.

"Listen, if you don't conquer your fear of the road, I don't think you'll be able to drive on your own." Yusuf's voice was steady as he spoke, his words falling on deaf ears. She looked distracted and he was well aware that her reluctance to pull into the main road was accompanied by fear.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the view of a man coming toward them. There was something oddly familiar about him and she was trying to remember where she knew him from. He was in his late twenties, with pale skin, handsome features, and remarkable auburn hair. However, there was something in his ember eyes that made her body shiver.

"I don't feel comfortable about this." She complained, driving slowly along the curb and keeping her eyes on the stranger in front of them.

"Remember all that I've taught you and apply the rules. It's that simple."

"You don't understand, I think we are being followed by that man." She said and saw the man coming their way. She still didn't recall where she knew him from. Probably from the television, she'd like to believe that because there was no way she'd hold such a familiar memory of a white man in a country full of people with dusky complexion.

"Just ignore the man and drive. I don't think he's onto us." Yusuf barely even completed that sentence when the man with porcelain skin tone and auburn hair appeared on his windscreen.

"Hey! Kids, you know where I can find a pharmacy nearby?" He asked. They'd like to assume he was not from around there or maybe because he was a foreigner he decided to call them kids because clearly, they were young responsible adults.

"There are no pharmacies around here," Yusuf told him, winding down the windscreen.

"My dog was exposed to rabies, so I need to go to the clinic to get my jab. Do you know where I can find one?" It wasn't hard for the stranger to cook up a story that was quite believable. His motives were sinister and Hannan was vigilant enough to read it from the air around him.

Yusuf pointed in a certain direction and the man pretended to be attentive as his eyes followed the direction of his finger."You need to go down that street four blocks. There is a clinic there." He was standing one step away from the car with his face directed at the car window.

"Thank you very much, kid." The stranger said and something flashed in his eyes as though he had just noticed Hannan for the first time he arrived. She looked very familiar. His lips curled up into a surprised smile as she stared at him with her big brown orbs as if she couldn't blink. Clearly, he was giving her the creep.

"Excuse me, what's your name, miss?'

Her eyes went wide for a moment, a little hesitant to speak at first before the words came rolling out of her mouth without intent.

"Hannan Saleh,"

She knew that whatever it was that her gut feeling was whispering to her about his aura or personality, this man was probably evil.

"You are Ahmad's sister right?" She was surprised to know that the man seemed to recognize her too, but from where did she know him? They probably have never met before.

"Yes," Her voice was slow with uncertainty, she didn't know if she should be giving information about herself to a random stranger like that.

"You don't remember me, do you?" The stranger's smile grew wider and God! He was a fine young man with an irresistible smile. He was well aware that Hannan was just about seven when they graduated from secondary school and moved out of the city where they all grew up. That justified why she couldn't remember him.

"No, sir."She finally answered after studying him for quite a while.

"I'm Jake, Ahmad's friend from Baze Academy." She remembered that her cousin had several notorious friends that used to drop by their house back in Kano to savour her mother's cooking. There was this particular one, pancake was his favorite dessert. He once stole from her plate. She was looking at him now. He had to be the one.

"I'm lost," Yusuf coughed, bringing Hannan back to her senses."Do you know this guy?"

"I'm not quite sure."She said, her voice filled with skepticism. Jake noticed the awkward atmosphere between them and he didn't hesitate to retract his intention. He never thought that his target would be someone he very well knew, someone who was almost like family to him. He couldn't harm Mr. Saleh's daughter even if he were paid a mountain of gold to do it. Her father was a very good man and her mother was just the sweetest woman he had ever met. Although he hadn't had a proper upbringing, these people who used to feed him and his old friends were like the family he never had.

"I better get going. My regards to Ahmad." He said and disappeared out of sight.

"What the actual heck, Hannan!"Yusuf snapped, his face scrunched up in disappointment.

"What?"She raised a slight brow, matching his energy and reaction.

"You shouldn't give strangers personal information about yourself like that."

"Well, you shouldn't be winding down your car window for any random stranger on the street."

"The man asked me for help." Yusuf pointed out in defense." You should be careful of how you relate with strangers, you are a woman for God's sake."

"I didn't do anything."Her words fell on the bare floor. Had it not been that she regarded him as her older brother, being Kulthum's brother, she'd have spat some venom on his face from the bile rising to her throat.

"Look, I didn't mean to sound harsh." Yusuf might have realized the effect his words had on her, not like he was wrong though. "It's just that as a woman you should be more vigilant, and learn how to talk with caution. You shouldn't have told him your name."

As if sensing that it was a bad idea to remain in that atmosphere she took off her seatbelt. "Yeah, because I'm the weaker vessel. I should be scared all the time because, after all, women are only to be seen and never to be heard."

"That's not what I mean." She had misunderstood him, but her reaction was not unexpected. Yusuf had always known her to be quite stubborn and think like a feminist.

"Well, keep your sermon to yourself. I'm going home. I told you I have a bad feeling about this." With that, she followed her mind and got out of the car. Yusuf called her back but his response was met with a slam of the door. He watched her cross over to the other side of the road and take the street that led home.

End Of Flashback

Monday was the day Yusuf began to gradually regain his memory. His awareness flickered in and out as he lay on a hospital bed and the sterile, sharp smell of antiseptic and iodine filled the air around him. He studied the place trying to recall how he got there but his mind was a chaotic storm of fragmented memories and overwhelming emotions, much like he had been conditioned to remember only one thing.

From the moment his eyes flickered open, his body throbbed with untold pain, each muscle aching as if it had been stretched to cross its elastic limit. His head felt strangely empty, as though a single thought was bouncing around in a vacuum which felt like a disaster spurring on the dark memory his mind had been trapped in.

His mouth was dry with his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth. Swallowing felt like a major effort. He tried to sit up, but it was then he heard a man's voice, distant yet clear, cutting through the background noise of beeping monitors and the swift footsteps of the hospital staff.

"He's awake."He announced urgently, in a loud and sharp voice, piercing through the delicate state of a waking mind.

The man whose lab coat had a name tag that read Dr. Stein, hurried a nurse to go fetch the lead doctor who was responsible for the patient. He was with the patient a while ago, he had just stepped out a few minutes back to attend to a call with information reaching him that his grandmother had regained her consciousness.

It wasn't long until the door creaked open, revealing Dr. Zayn Hassan dan Ali. Silence settled heavily in the room as the Doctor walked in with an air of confidence, his dark hair contrasted starkly with the white of the room. A pretty nurse by the name, Naomi handed a chart to him with a respectful nod as he stood near the patient. Yusuf lay on the hospital bed, his mind a whirlwind of fragmented thoughts and confusion, staring up at the fine man in front of him.

"Hello, I'm Dr. Zayn Hassan."He said, greeting Yusuf with a warm smile that seemed to brighten the room."It's good to see you awake again."

Zayn seemed to notice a slight change in how the patient's eyes studied him, that was a sign that he was capable of sensing things around him now. The last time he was conscious he had not exhibited any sign of intelligence at all. It was like nothing had registered in his memory since the day he was born, much like a clean slate. He could barely focus his sight on anything, speak, or even respond to stimuli.

The virus had damaged some vital part of his cerebral cortex, the aftermath of which Zayn was about to find out. Yusuf offered a feeble nod, his eyes studying the kind face of the doctor gazing down at him.

"Where am I? Where is Hannan?" Yusuf raised a question that shocked Zayn to his bones and for a moment he kept staring at him and then back to Stein. It was not only a miracle that he could talk, he remembered someone, a certain someone with a very familiar name. Despite the shocking twist of events, Zayn was more curious than surprised.

"He can talk?" Naomi exclaimed, drawing the other's attention to the patient.

"How is he?" Prof. Stein asked from beside Zayn. The other staff were eager to know as well.

Just then, Zayn turned away. "Prof. Stein, could I have a word with you in private?" His voice was a hushed whisper filled with concern.

"Of course," Prof. Stein responded gently, indicating for him to lead the way. They stepped outside to a small balcony that overlooked the hospital, sliding the glass door closed behind them with a soft click.

Outside the ICU Zayn stood near the railing, his hands clenched tightly around it. He could see the hospital parking space from there as his gaze was fixated on his car. "He remembers someone. He doesn't ask for his relatives, but he asks for a girl. She seemed to be the only memory he has." It wasn't just about him having a recollection of something, it was about who he remembered and why.

Prof. Stein remained calm, "Memory loss can sometimes happen after a trauma. It can be temporary or long-term. In some cases, the victim may remember what led to the incident and forget everything else. We'll do more tests to understand better." He explained in less professional terms.

They returned inside and Dr. Zayn pulled a chair up to Yusuf's bedside with fluid grace. "You've been doing well, Yusuf. In fact, you are recovering quicker than expected. But we're keeping a close watch on you, especially because of the brain injury you sustained." Zayn's voice was calm and comforting.

"What's your name?" Zayn began with something straightforward.

"Yusuf Idris," He replied, his voice a hushed whisper with a glint of nervousness.

"And what year is it now?"

"2018,"

Dr. Zayn smiled at his response, "Actually it's 2019, but don't worry, this is all part of the testing process. You have been in a coma for nearly three months now. So you couldn't recall all that had happened since then."

Yusuf didn't understand all that was happening around him, the only thing he cared about was Hannan's whereabouts. She was the only person he remembered. He didn't care for further explanation, he only cared that she was fine, that's all.

"Can you tell me what happened to you?" He tried a different approach.

Yusuf paused before answering, telling him all that he could recall. Dr. Zayn made a note, his face neutral yet attentive not knowing the sinister truth that he was about to learn.

Three Months Ago...

An hour after the incident with the stranger, Yusuf found himself in a dreadful place. He had been blindfolded by his abductors so he couldn't make out where he was. His lips had been sealed with a tape and his legs were in shackles with his wrists handcuffed together behind his back like a common criminal.

"Sir, we couldn't find the girl. This was the guy we found in the car."The pair of hands that restrained him tossed him forward and he staggered, struggling for balance and saving himself from falling.

"Get down on your knees, you worm." A thunderous voice rose from behind him and before he knew what was going on someone hit him with a gun and his knees dropped to the floor.

"Take off his blindfold." Another terrifying voice threaded the air, but unlike the first one, this one was much calmer and more in charge.

The moment his eyes were opened, his gaze slowly went over the place and lingered on the man whose face was covered in a black mask, sitting with crossed legs in an armchair, head slightly tilted to the side with a lit cigarette stick dangling between his lips.

He was their boss. A glimpse was enough for the thought to get planted in his head. The other men were loaded with heavy machine guns and 84mm recoiled rifles. There were about six of them. The hefty man in whose hands was a sniper rifle appeared to be the one who had knocked him out when Hannan had left and he seemed to be the one who had shouted at him earlier.

He was the most muscular of them all. He recognized him from that camo trousers and green military undershirt he had on and seeing him up close he also recognized that small tattoo of Saint Peter's cross under his left eye.

"I paid you to bring me the girl and you brought me a worthless worm?" The boss said in an angry tone, filling the air with his smoke.

"We got information that the girl was in the car and upon our arrival we found him." The tattooed man explained. "I'm sorry, she was nowhere to be found."

The masked man chuckled, a low raspy sound, and took a deep whiff before blowing the smoke out in annoyance.

"The deal is off. You may now leave."

"I'm sorry boss."

"I said the deal is off. You may leave, now!"

The tattooed man made for the door, leaving the others. It was at this moment that Yusuf began to study his environment and realized that he was in an old research building. The whole situation seemed vague at first, but he soon realized that Hannan had been right all along. They were being followed and these strange people meant to abduct her. What did they want from her and how did he get himself into this mess? He should have left while he could.

The masked man stood up, his suit cut to his size. He took a couple of steps forward until his perfectly polished shoes appeared in front of the boy. Yusuf's eyes travelled up to his jaw, then to his eyes which were the only visible part of his body.

"I won't call it abduction seeing as you would only be returning to me what was rightfully mine." He said and squatted in front of the boy who was on his knees with an uneasy slouch, his limbs wobbled from nervousness.

"I'll tell you a short story, son." From the sound of his voice, Yusuf knew this man was likely around his early sixties. First, he was wrongfully abducted, he smoked in his face and now he had to listen to the old man's blabber tales.

"An old friend of mine stole a really important flash drive from me some years ago. On the night I was finally to retrieve it from his dead body I realized I had been fooled into believing he was in possession of it. He made me commit an unjust murder. Fortunately, I received word that one of his daughters had it in her possession. He has given this great treasure of mine to a child as a birthday present. A lot of people have died because of that flash drive. Lucky for you, I don't kill unjustly. So I promise you won't die by my hands."

"Hey! Let the boy go!" Someone said from the door and all heads turned to face the silhouette of the figure that came into view.

The masked man chuckled humorlessly, rising to his feet to face his newly found enemy. He took another drag from his cigarette and flicked some ash on the floor before speaking.

"What gave you the nerves to come here to die."He questioned, walking up to the newcomer.

"I've come to return your money."

"I hired you to do a simple job and you failed your generations. I thought you were from a family of great thieves. You didn't get the flash drive, you didn't get the girl."

"You are lucky I didn't run away with your money."

"Oh, you couldn't run far. I'll chase you to the end of the world and kill you if I have to."He retreated to his seat and made himself comfortable. "By the way, I'm interested to learn the reason for your betrayal."

Jake stepped forward, standing in front of the masked man."I'm no longer interested in the deal. It was nice doing business with you. Here, that's your money." He tossed a sack full of hard currency to the ground."How did you find him?"

"The same way I knew you let the girl escape."

Jake could steal anything and escape without a trace. At least that was what he had been doing for the past eight years. It was also the reason he never bothered to further his education since he graduated from secondary school. To him, delivering both Hannan and the flash drive to this cold-hearted drug lord was as easy as blinking an eye. But it was part of his conviction not to use his God-given talent to harm any of his close relatives or anyone who was like family and as far as Hannan was Ahmad's cousin, this principle governed her.

"I can't harm an innocent girl who has done nothing to you. I've returned your money, release the boy, and let's go our separate ways in peace."

Two goons appeared behind him, intent on restraining him, and in order to defend himself Jake thrust his hand in the breast of his coat and pulled out a pistol.

"I've got a gun and I'm not afraid to use it."He pointed the gun at the masked man, aiming at his head. The old man cracked up, shaking his head at the stunts in front of him. To him, Jake was like a lone wolf challenging a pride of lions to a battle.

"You know, I'm really starting to despise you."

"You don't know me, you don't know what I'm capable of." And it was true because Jake was the kind of criminal who could turn anything into a weapon, highly skilled in hand-to-hand combat and It would not take him much time to take them all out.

"You are right, Jake Randolph Kuti." He surprised the young man by calling his full name. They'd only met once for the purpose of this mission and Jake did not remember ever mentioning any vital detail concerning himself during their meeting.

"Maybe I don't know you, but I've been building a profile on you ever since you stole from the Army Resource Center back in 2016. I've been tracking you for a really long time. Now, let me take a crack at who I think you really are."

"Really? You go ahead." A confident smile crept up Jake's lips, intrigued to hear what the old man claimed to know about him.

"You are the youngest of two sons, your dad is a hardened criminal, and your mum is an American Professor. You started stealing at the age of sixteen to eighteen. You found out you have a natural talent for it and made a living out of it."

"Yeah, it's the only thing I'm good at. But is that all?" Jake asked, all his senses on alert as he aimed at the man. He'd have put the gun away but these goons were on to him, ready to attack at any moment. He didn't know who he was up against but he knew that this man in front of him was a psychotic serial killer. He was capable of anything and for that reason, he couldn't afford to lower his guard.

"I'm not done yet, I'm just getting to the interesting part."

"Then I'm all ears."Jake heard one of the guards cracking a gun beside him, and he looked from the corners of his eyes to see a girl wearing black lipstick pointing a gun at him. She looked angry and she didn't seem to appreciate his tone either.

When his gaze returned to their boss, he gestured for them to put away their weapons and so they all lowered their aim. The boss leaned into his seat and resumed talking.

"There are a lot of thieves out there who risk their lives to steal and try not to get caught, that's not unusual, but what is unusual is that you only steal from the military and the government. It's as though you want to get caught so you can escape just to prove yourself all over again and prove that you are better than every other thief out there. And most importantly you want to prove that you are worthy of your father's love."

Worthy of your father's love. Something resonated within Jake as the words sank in. Nobody knew that piece of sensitive information about him. If this man knew that much, then he was clearly a dangerous weapon fashioned against him. He should not be allowed to live.

"Congratulations! I see you've got a great spy." Jake lowered his aim, not in defeat but in astonishment. His expression was immediately replaced with a frown because he knew now that he must kill the bastard in front of him.

"You know, Son, we kind of have a lot of things in common. As long as you are doing it for the money, then we are on the same team."

This old fool was wrong. Jake didn't like to team, he liked to work alone and the only jobs he took were the ones that involved the army. He only did it for the thrill and not the money. It made him feel special and different.

"Are you insane?"Jake's demeanor changed to pure anger. "We have nothing in common. Now let the boy go. If you don't fulfill my demand, I'll kill everyone in here."

"Hey, quit blubbing, will you?" The girl from earlier yelled at Jake, holding a rifle over his head.

"Boss, shall I shut him up with a downer?" Some lunatic, a lanky guy wearing goggles and holding a syringe appeared from behind their boss. He took some steps forward, laughing like a stray hyena.

"What are you, a junkie?" Jake had to ask, seeing that he was clearly a madman, exhibiting the behavior of a drug addict.

"That's rude. I specialize in the development of bioweapons. Don't go calling me a junkie." He corrected and Jake turned to the female with black lips.

"Just because he's important to us, he took the liberty to talk nonsense."The lady spoke and Jake didn't seem to like her much. She was beginning to get on his nerves with her sly interference. With that fury, his expression darkened with wrath and he instantly raised his gun in the direction of their boss to spite her since she didn't like the way he challenged him.

His act caused the others to respond immediately, aiming their guns at him.

"Careful where you point your weapon, Jake." The masked man spoke, standing up."No one in my corner would hesitate to kill you. In fact, they are lethal weapons that are itching to kill someone."

Jake might be a highly skilled fighter and all. However, what he didn't know was that this man was like a satellite, he had eyes everywhere and if he wanted him dead, he would have been long gone right from the moment he walked through that door.

"I've been really patient with you." He rasped. "Where is Huk?" He screamed and that was it, he gave the signal. Someone shot Jake from the ceiling and he winced and fell to the ground.

Now that Jake was out of the way, his attention went to Yusuf who was his new plaything. He walked up to him and resumed what he had barely started before the pesky one interrupted.

"Do you know Saleh and Hassan? Their goal is to find me and kill me. But neither Saleh's corpse nor Hassan's blind intelligence can harm me. " Yusuf looked at him, evidently clueless of the nonsense he spoke. Having to listen to him felt like listening to a ringing echo of sonorous metal. "So the main threat is that girl, but she can't kill people. With that flash drive in her possession, she becomes a deadly weapon, capable of ruining everything I've worked for."

He bent down and took off the hostage tape over his mouth, then he said, "In exchange for your freedom, you'll have to bring me either the girl or the flash drive."

Yusuf looked at him with pure spite and said," The words of a person who doesn't value human life mean nothing to me. I'd rather die than let you lay your filthy hands on Hannan or anything that belongs to her." Barely before he finished talking, the evil man smacked him and ordered his men to tie him up on a chair.

"Thank you so much Son, for making this very easy for me." The man chuckled as the lunatic from earlier approached him with a syringe." Your life is worthless anyway, I wanted to spare you but it seems like you don't appreciate my kind gesture." He turned away and collected the needle. "I want to test my new drug on a human body. Be my guinea pig and have the honour of being the first to taste my elixir of death."

The man stood in front of Yusuf, holding the syringe over his face. The young man had been scared earlier but after seeing how these people shoot down someone before his eyes, he had forgotten what fear feels like. He no longer had the hope of living so he resigned his fate to God, praying to be counted among the people of Paradise. His past rapidly flashed before his eyes for he thought he was going to die.

"Do you know what this is? " The man resumed blabbing."It is a special virus. It's the strongest virus ever and I created it by repeatedly recombining a white blood cell base. The worst part about this virus is that it causes severe immunodeficiency and the good thing about it is that it's not infectious. It took years of experiments to arrive at this perfection and you will be the first to taste it."

It didn't take long before he injected Yusuf and when he passed out they took his body and dumped him by the roadside where he was kidnapped. A pedestrian found him lying subconsciously on the ground and rushed him to a nearby clinic.

*****

"The big guy you spoke of, does he have a scorpion tattoo on his shoulder?" There was only one man Zayn knew who had a tattoo of Saint Peter's cross. It was Veem, his bodyguard. He might have been working for the said masked man before his father hired him. If all these were true, then it only meant one thing-the masked man was someone from the Oasis and Veem might still be working for him. The man had succeeded in planting a spy in his home.

Yusuf said nothing at first, then he said, "I don't remember." He shook his head slowly, his gaze shifting between the doctor and Naomi, trying to sense a memory he couldn't recall.

Zayn noted something on his chart and asked if he recalled anything else."I might have passed out after he injected me. I woke up in this room afterward." He replied.

The Doctor planned to ask him further questions like if he remembered what happened to Jake after he was shot but he figured the young man needed rest. He was still recovering his memories and he had done extremely well for someone who had a temporary memory loss.

Zayn noticed how Prof. Stein let him do the talking, he didn't bother to ask the patient questions regarding what they had been told. Just then, Zayn paused, his gaze lingering on Yusuf, filled with a complex mix of feelings that seemed to wrestle within him.

There was only one name in his head, Hannan. She had been everywhere since the very first day their paths crossed and now she was in his head, stuck in his thoughts. There was no doubt that he was curious about her and the flash drive she possessed. Her father had put her life in danger without her even knowing. A small frown etched on his face and without even knowing, he was thinking of how to protect this young innocent girl who had become a matter of serious concern to him.

His thought was cut short when Prof. Stein told him that he was heading out. He needed to go somewhere important and he'd be back before the day ran out so they could discuss what they had found.

Zayn breathed deeply and attempted to empty his mind of the thoughts of Hannan. If he wished to concentrate on the job at hand then all these thoughts must perish. After a moment, he cleared his throat and said, "That would be all for now." He passed the chart to Naomi, stood up, and attempted to take his leave.

After making sure Yusuf was well cared for. He ordered some security guards to plant CCTV cameras in the room. Two hefty security men were assigned to guide the room and nobody was allowed to enter inside except by Dr. Zayn's permission.

He apparently couldn't trust anyone at the Oasis, not even his father. Maybe he had been taking baby steps toward finding out the truth, it was time for him to take bold steps, even if it meant keeping his father in the dark. He had to keep an eye on Yusuf himself, but first, he had to meet Chris, he had some words for him concerning his missing brother. He didn't know where Chris lived, maybe Omar knew. He'd have to go to him first.

*****

Zayn arrived at the parking space. He was walking slowly up to his car at the VIP lot, sensing someone's presence behind him. Standing there, as he tried to open the door, a muffled sound pierced through the air and winced past his ear. He halted his movement and almost immediately, his eyes caught the figure of a strange man behind from his windshield, holding a sniper over his head.

Just that instant, another bullet flew past his head, shattering the glass and creating a fractured blur of the image he had just seen. He was in a damn big open space and if he tried to run he would shoot him in the head.

Right then, another bullet hit his car missing his head by a few centimeters, and slightly brushing past his ear. He stilled, thinking there went his luck for this life.

In that brief moment, he thought about his life, the work he enjoyed doing, the few people he held dear, and also, without intent, Hannan crossed his mind. Their first collision, how she yelled at him at that very parking lot, the unbridled hostility she held in her eyes toward him at that very moment yet he felt a strange urge to protect her from this cruel world. How could he have forgotten? He lived in a world where survival of the fittest was the reality. A world filled with violence, deception, and betrayal. He certainly did not feel like dying, not that day.

Without dueling much on the thought, he turned around to face the man. He was dressed in black, wearing a leather jacket. He was dark-skinned with a crew cut and a parched eye.

"I never miss my target. I intended to spare you and that was just a warning." The man said, lowering his gun.

"You're just trying to show off," Zayn replied. "I'm more useful alive than dead. You couldn't kill me unless you want to die yourself." There was a confusing mixture of sincerity and iciness to his voice which baffled the assassin much.

"The name is Huk Strange."He introduced himself.

"What do you want from me?"

"I have a message from my Boss." Huk handed a note to Zayn.

I shall bring you and your father to your knees if you don't release the boy within the next 48 hours.

The doctor seemed unfazed after reading. So he squeezed the paper right there and tossed it on the ground, a small smile playing at the corners of his lips.

"In this world, if you want to survive, the rules are not dictated by the most ruthless but by the most honorable. But I guess if we knew the moment when we will die we'd do a fair share of things differently." Zayn deemed it cowardly of him to threaten him with a gun and worthless words on paper. He had a feeling that whoever sent him wanted him alive at all costs.

Huk nodded, smiling at his speech. The man in front of him was polite but the energy around him was filled with pride. "I've heard so much about you and now that I've met you, I feel the urge to kill you coursing through my entire body."

"Interesting, do you mind if I told you something," Zayn smiled cockily. "The person I was before I met you may have eventually been scared or trying to escape out of desperation. But I'm different now. I won't die, not after I put my foot over your dead body."

Huk could smell the arrogance oozing from his words. This man was truly an interesting personality, neither his gun nor his master's words could put fear in him.

"You truly are remarkable. I must commend your bravery. The next time we meet, I won't hesitate to kill you." Huk left him with those words and disappeared the same way he came.

Zayn watched as he drove out of his property. He believed a man of such ruthless intent must be an assassin. The masked man might be smart, Powerful, and dangerous, but he'd got some bad news for him-He'd find him, he'd hunt him, he'd chase him to the end of the world and bring him to book. With a last smile, he slid gracefully into his car and drove off. It was time to hunt, let the game begin.

★★★★★

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