Silencing the thug.

"Are you kidding me, ain't you aware that he isn't in your custody anymore"? Mark asked the police captain in disbelief, were the cops that careless with their apprehended criminals.

"Like seriously, you saw him along your street"? The police captain inquired of Mark, his tone of voice indicated that he had no clue of the thug's escape.

"Yeah, I saw him along my street this morning, his eyes were filled with rage, and he looked about like he was in search of someone. It could be me he was looking for, you guys should do something about it, my life could be in danger". Mark stated with slight fear in his tone of voice, not that he was much of a weakling, but violent thugs like that were capable of doing anything, he had no other choice than to be afraid.

"Damn! that's bad, how could a thug escape from our custody without our knowledge? excuse me for some minutes let me check out something". The police captain said temporarily ending the phone conversation.

Mark sat down at the video studio room thinking of how careless the cops could be with their apprehended criminals. How could a thug escape from the police custody without the police captain having a clue about it? That's just too weird. He was sure that he wasn't going anywhere close to his boulevard or apartment with the thug still roaming about in it.

After 12 minutes, his phone rang again, it was still the police captain calling. He answered the phone call instantly,

"Hello, so what did you guys find out? how did the thug escape from your custody without your knowledge"? Mark asked with curiosity.

"We just discovered through our surveillance camera that one of our colleagues betrayed us by releasing the thug in the middle of the night when everyone was asleep. We detained the violent looking thug separately, so it was much easier for him to be released without the awareness of others". The police captain uttered in reply to Mark's question.

"This doesn't just make sense to my ears, if I may ask, why did one of your colleagues release such a violent thug like that? are they partners in crime? Where is that colleague of yours right now"? Mark asked with confusion, were the cops indulging themselves in criminal activities nowadays?

"We haven't seen him for today at all, he knew what he did, so he is probably in hiding right now. We have lots of investigation to engage in instantly, where are you right now? are you anywhere close to your boulevard"? The police captain inquired of Mark.

"No, I am far away from my boulevard right now, I can't take the risk to be anywhere around there".

"I think you should head over to your apartment now, no need for you to be scared, we are gonna handle matters efficiently and correctly".

"What! are you kidding me, the thug could still be there waiting for me to show up so he could silence me. Maybe that is one of the main reasons why he escaped from jail so he could silence me as fast as possible, I would never forget how fiercely he glanced at me that day. So please, don't suggest such to me, it's too risky". Mark stated, the way he spoke indicates that he really didn't want to die, he loves his life.

"Ok, if you say so, I and my comrades are coming to pick you up wherever you are, so we could drive you safely to your apartment. Tell me your exact location". Demanded the police captain.

"I am at a video studio room located at the Ashland Avenue". Mark uttered, they coming to pick him up was more acceptable by him.

"Ok, we gonna get there as soon as possible". The police captain said abruptly ending the phone conversation.

Being scared and careful doesn't mean a person is a weakling, especially when it is regarding life and death. So Mark isn't a weakling, he is just concerned about his life. Mark sat down on one of the chairs in the studio room waiting for the arrival of the cops, the video director was still present, looks like he wasn't leaving anytime soon. The cops arrived at the front of the MG studio room in their car.

"Wow! they are here as quick as possible, they care for the lives of citizens". Mark announced loudly, standing up from the chair, "Director, you see those cops out there, they are here to pick me, isn't that nice". Mark said to the video director pointing in the direction of the cops as he walks over to them.

They were three in number, the police captain and two other comrades,

"Hop into the car, let's move immediately". The police captain uttered to Mark.

Mark entered the car seating at the backseat of the car with one of the cops, while the police captain and the other comrade sat at the front seat as the police captain put the car into motion. The car moved so smoothly and efficiently on the road, the police captain was in adequate control of the car, he was such a skilled driver.

They drove in silence for some minutes before Mark triggered a conversation,

"So have guys debated on how to catch the thug and the colleague that discharged him"? Mark asked, he wanted a conversation to ensue between them, though, he asked out of curiosity also.

"Yeah, I am sure that hoodlum would still be roaming about in the savage estate, we are surely gonna fish him out. As for our colleague, we have to do some thorough investigation to find out why he committed such an atrocity, then we are gonna fish him out also wherever he is hiding". The police captain stated answering Mark's question. "If I may ask, what were you doing in a video studio room, are you a video director, or do you engage in video shootings"? The police captain inquired of Mark as he drove on.

Mark was unsure if he should tell them he was an artiste, but there was nothing so big and special about it. Not as if they would scream out loud if he notified them he was an artiste, he was just a regular infamous artiste struggling to attain fame.

"I am an artiste, we just climaxed the video shooting for one of my singles, that's why I was in the video studio room". Mark answered.

The cops looked at themselves in amazement and let out a long 'Wooooooow' from their mouths. Mark was all confused, what were they wowing about, as if he was a very famous artiste.

"I am sitting close to an artiste right now, such a privilege". One of the cops sitting close to Mark at the backseat of the car uttered.

"Looks like you haven't attained fame as an artiste yet". The police captain chipped in.

"Yeah, I am still striving hard to acquire fame, even though it can be so tiring sometimes". Mark said.

"Hmmm, things like that don't come that easily". The police captain stated climaxing the conversation.

They drove in silence for the remaining 7 minutes until they arrived at the edifice of Mark's apartment. They all hopped out of the car as the police captain took Mark aside to utter his concluding words to him,

"We've gotten you safely to your apartment, you don't have to be too scared, though, you should always be careful and be at alert. But I promise you, before the thug does anything crazy, we are gonna get hold of him".

"Ok". Mark said, this was the type of words he needed, words that could loosen a person's fear and relax the mind.

He climbed up to his apartment, unlocked the door, and entered it. The next sound that echoed through Mark's ears was the sound of loud gunshots. He became alarmed immediately,

"Who could be shooting at this early time of the afternoon? Could it be another group of hoodlums? or could it be the thug? Is he is coming for me already"? Mark questioned himself in his thoughts as balls of sweat started forming on his forehead.

He tiptoed to his door, opening it slowly as he peeped out to see if anyone was there, but it was clear of any being. He wanted to run downstairs to see what caused those loud gunshots, but he hesitated a bit on remembering what the police captain told him, to be careful and being at alert. But there are some type of curiosity that cannot be managed, it must be satisfied, and that was how curious Mark was at the moment. So he galloped downstairs to take a look at what was happening. What he saw on getting outside wasn't a nice sight to glance at, the violent-looking thug was lying lifelessly on the ground with bloodstains on his cloth.

From the way the police captain and the two other cops surrounded his lifeless body with pistols in their hand, and the way people glanced from afar, it was clearly evident they shot him.