Howard reached his den with his gang after they got their share from the Bet Master. When they meant to share, Howard got the major share! About eighty percent of the whole sum.
As the gang could earn a whole lot of money just from a fight, Howard often took challenges. And also people from the underworld liked to strike at Howard so that they could prove themselves better than him.
It was the underworld. A world within a normal world. Far different from the place where normal people lived. People like Howard never had a life like usual guys who had families to live with, jobs to do, responsibilities to fulfil and promises to be kept. But for persons like Howard, none of them mattered since he didn't have any of them. No family, no job, no responsibility and neither did he make any promises. And even if he made one by mistake, there was no such rule that it should have been kept!
He was a carefree guy who had to maintain his position as a don to survive. And his juniors held onto him strongly so that they could also survive in that savage world! A world which had a pavement of blood and there lived people with no dreams as their eyes were darkened with crimes!
Howard wasn’t better either! For achieving the place as a don who held the highest authority in that world, he had to indulge himself in crimes like murder, gambling and drug dealings. He had only one motto in life, "Snatch it but don't beg!" This motto helped him to make it that far. And then? The underworld dogs wagged their tails for him.
Howard was only a twenty-five years old young man who had seen the world much more than any adult! He had to go through a lot since his childhood. As an infant, he was left in front of an orphanage. From there, he got kicked out when he was just eight! After that streets were his home. But no matter how hard his life was, he never begged.
Howard used to think that begging was something that a dead man would do. A man who died from the inside but begged just to live in flesh. So he never begged! Rather he worked hard taking different jobs. That's when he met Raho! The previous underworld don who used to be a terror of Roveign city!
It was the first time when Howard looked up to someone. Raho was a person with arrogance and pride. Yet people obeyed him. It was Raho's position as a don of the underworld that made others bow before him.
At such a young age, Howard got greedy for that position. He decided to snatch that position by any means. So he chose the underworld life. As every day passed, Howard grew stronger gradually! And eventually, a time came when he killed Raho and took over his gang!
Howard could feel the power of being a don from the day he sat on that seat! But the guilt also devoured him from the inside as he had to go against his rules many times for the sake of holding onto that power. It was then that he realised that Raho was just wearing a mask of arrogance and pride. But he had a hollow soul within.
Regretful as it was, Howard couldn't rewind what he did! He could only live with guilt for killing such a worthy person who could lead the gang better than him. So the only way to make up for his mistake was to ensure a better life for the people in his gang. To be precise, Raho's gang.
"Big brother! Come, sit here!" Neo tidied the sofa and showed Howard to sit there. Howard affectionately rubbed Neo's head.
"Ahh! Bro! Don't destroy my hair.."
"Boss, Neo loves his hair after you, you know? He beats us if we touch it?!" Quell, Howard's right-hand man mockingly looked at Neo who was busy remaking his messed-up hair.
"Is that right, boy?"
"Br..brother? It's not true at all! They are trying to mess with me!"
"Then let us touch your hair also!!" Quell almost got up to touch Neo's made-up hair. But Neo shouted like a girl, "NO!! I WILL KILL YA!!"
"Whoa...whoa! Easy there, boy!" Quell backed up politely.
"Haha...that was funny." Howard softly laughed at his men's childishness before he buckled up and intensely looked at the file kept on the glass table, beside the wine glass. "Now then! Let's talk about business," he said.
Neo poured wine for him a while ago, ice cubes were floating in it.
"This boy!" Howard felt pleased with Neo's performance as was expected!
"Everyone paid, except one!" Tany came forward with a glass in his hand. He cheered with others and then Howard, " That so-called rich guy! We gotta do something about that oldie, boss."
"Just take him in a corner and kick his balls!!" Leo stepped into the conversation. He was holding a huge package. " Boss!!" He threw the package to Howard that he beautifully caught.
"His balls won't pay us back." Quell protested the suggestion.
"How much is left to clear?" Howard finished his glass and gave that to Neo.
"About thirty million!" Tany said as he was standing near the door. He was swallowing the talk. "That guy gambles a lot!"
"Doesn't matter!! Money is all that matters! I want him here within twenty minutes... Get going boys!!!" Howard clapped his hands and signed the gang to move for the job.
As soon as everyone left, Neo sat beside Howard. He started massaging Howard's shoulder, " Bro….is it really necessary to beat a guy of that age?"
"So you want me to kill him?"
"NO!! I didn't mean that!!"
Howard sat straight and looked into Neo's deep blue eyes. "Look, boy! Weak people don't have a place here. If you wanna live, then you gotta snatch it! Got that?!"
" Yeah, yeah! 'Snatch it but don't beg!' I got it!"
While tapping Neo's shoulder, Howard said, "I know you aren't strong enough to support me. But I don't need a weak person beside me either!! If you don't set your mind, then get out!"
"Bro!!", Neo turned to Howard with a shocked face.
"See! If ya aren't strong enough, people may throw ya. Bury it in the mind." Howard got up from his seat and went in front of a picture where a man had a prideful look on his face, staring right toward Howard!
"You still regret it, bro?"
"Kinda, man!"
"............."
" Neo!" Howard walked towards Neo and held him by his shoulders, " You need to get stronger!! More than me! You need to live, k?
Neo nodded his head obediently before looking at the picture. "Bro, don't feel sad! You are a better don than Raho!"
Howard laughed out loudly hearing Neo's childishness. "I already know that!"
"Heh!!...Oh!! Give me ya'r glass. It's already empty.
Howard handed the glass to Neo as he also looked back at the picture hanging before him. He knew that Neo needed to grow stronger for Raho's sake. Or maybe... to reduce Howard's guilt!! But anyhow, he had to grow stronger than Howard…..
Nina left the tray of tea and snacks a while ago on Eleanor's table. But Eleanor was so busy that she couldn't set time aside to enjoy it. Afterwards, it got cold. However, she had no attention to it. She was roaming all over her room looking for an important file. "Where did I keep it? TCH!" Suddenly the phone rang. Eleanor squinted her eyes since it was an unexpected call. Although she was kinda troubled by it, Eleanor picked it up. “Hello? Eleanor Anderson speaking here.” "Eleanor!" A female voice whispered from the other side of the phone. Somehow the voice made Eleanor jump out of joy, " Oh my!!! Aunt Laura! After a long time." It was Laura Anderson on the other side of the phone, the one and only daughter of Miranda And also Eleanor’s aunt. The one who first gave Eleanor blessings other than Eleanor’s father was Laura. She had no child of her own and had only an adoptive daughter named Lione. But for some reason, Laura used to love Eleanor more than Lione. Although she nev
“Where are you taking me? Le..let me go!!” Aiden was moving like a cockroach in the capture. His eyes were blindfolded and his hands were tied to the back. "Shut his goddamn mouth!!!" Howard shouted which ended up echoing in the room! Suddenly it was pin-drop silence. Nobody spoke or moved. "Who..who are you?!" Fear could be sensed in Aiden's voice as if he could guess a little bit that he was standing before his death. But he shouted again while crying, " I asked...who are you? Do you know who I am? Let me…" Before Aiden could even finish his whole line, Leo put a sock in his mouth. Aiden kept struggling as he couldn't breathe! He gulped his words and tears fell down his eyes. "Take him to our old place." Howard signed the back door to Tany and Leo to take Aiden away from his sight. By lugging Aiden, Leo and Tany took him outside the room where loud sounds were coming from. There was a casino beneath the room and it was where Aiden used to gamble! The sound hit Aiden's eardrum
“Hello? This is Eleanor Anderson here. May I please speak with your Senior Officer in charge?" Eleanor called the Roads and Highways Surveillance Office. "Please, hold on a minute." A polite manly voice responded to Eleanor's phone call. A beep sound came into her ear as she was wearing a mini wireless Bluetooth headphones. Eleanor left home about half an hour ago to look for Aiden. But there was no information about her father yet! She was on her way to the Roads and Highways Surveillance Office. But she took the road to the party at first. Since Eleanor was forbidden to show her face in front of Miranda, a long road was the best choice for her until everyone from the Andersons left the party hall. She inquired about almost everybody she knew, who attended the party today. But no one had seen Aiden. "It means he didn't go to the party.", Eleanor murmured while waiting for the Senior Officer on hold. She tightly held the wheel. Her eyes were burning in rage when she thought how irr
"Sir, the place we are going to isn't suitable for people like us. So I would like to tell you to stay calm.", Paul warned Mr Dixon who was looking outside the window and watching the car being devoured by a big tunnel. Cars were passing by. Some were looking at his car repeatedly while driving. It was a daily scene for Mr Dixon. But he was awestruck when he saw a tunnel beneath the tunnel! It happened a while after they entered the first one. Suddenly Paul told the driver to pull the car aside. He got down from the car and went near the tunnel wall. Mr Dixon was dumbfounded seeing a voice checker inside the wall. Paul took a deep breath seeing Mr Dixon staring at him intensely. He let out a sigh and went near the checker. A voice came out from inside when he tapped the button, “Say the code!” “Fuck you, Roveign!” “Voice recognised. You can enter now.” “.................” Paul was about to cry. Mr Dixon watched the whole show. He was so loud that Dixon was on the verge of laughin
Eleanor took a detour from the place where the van was last seen. However, there wasn’t any secret passage or any other linked road. She took another three rounds to confirm, but there wasn’t any clue where the van might have gone. Eleanor stopped the car far from the tunnel. It was almost getting dark. The sky was filled with bright stars and birds were returning to their nests. The view made Eleanor more depressed thinking about the uncertainty that she could find her father. Eleanor finally realised that Roveign city was far bigger than she had imagined. She didn’t know a thing about that place even though she had been living there for twenty-two years. It was a jungle and if you weren’t strong, you wouldn’t survive there. The anxiety and fear Eleanor was feeling, was sign of facing a beast. Or more probably facing a certain someone. Eleanor sighed while looking at the night sky. It was cold. She rubbed her arms to keep herself warm. Yet she couldn’t tolerate the cold wind that w
That was the first time when Howard felt uneasiness around men. He was feeling suffocated to breathe as he noticed four eyes were staring holes in his body. “Are they gays?!”, was the only question circling his head. He couldn’t meet their eyes and kept looking at the casino downstairs. Feeling the pressure and not being sure if his boss was going to start the topic first, Paul broke the silence in the room, “Haha, the meeting was unexpected. Don’t you agree, Sir?” Mr Dixon kept looking at Howard without replying to Paul and that confirmed Howard’s doubt, declaring Mr Dixon as a homosexual. Howard thought of making himself clear before a misunderstanding had started. He cleared his throat, “I’m straight!” However, hearing Howard clearing his throat, Mr Dixon also at the same time said, “I’m sorry.” But then again, Howard’s weird line forced him to ask again, “I’m sorry?!” “Ya’ve been staring holes in me!”, Howard protested. Realising their mistake, Paul and Mr Dixon started stam
Eleanor was circling her room. She almost ate her nails while pondering about how to get the money. Even if she accumulated all her earnings and savings, It doesn’t even reach the foot of the loan. Because her parents would devour half of her money and Eleanor was ordered to pay her employers on her budget. That’s why she could only afford Nina and their driver. And there were additional costs too which were already too much for Eleanor to handle. So her savings were ultimately less than her total earnings. Nina came inside the room with a tray of food in her hands. She was worried for Eleanor since she didn’t take a single grain after breakfast. On top of that, Eleanor wasted so much water as she cried after getting scolded by Miranda. If that went by, it was sure that she would fall sick. That’s why Nina was thinking of a trick to make her eat her dinner. “How?! How to get the money?”, Eleanor was biting her thumbnail. She sat down on the sofa, frowning her eyes and getting drown
Howard slowly approached with a locket in his hand. It shone brightly reflecting under the light that caught Nile’s attention. He took it to take a look at it and a lovely smile was born on his face at a glance. Howard sat face to face with Nile. Seeing his clumsy face, irritation clouded in his head. He lit a cigarette while relaxing his back on the couch. Some of the others were sitting at the back or standing in the corners with guns in their hands. They were waiting for the right timing to shoot the unexpected intruders in their boss’s life.Swinging the locket clumsily, Nile looked at Howard with a beaming face. He pointed at the locket, “Hey, see there? There’s HD written in Pacifico.”Howard focused on his pointed positi