Who is dead?

John landed on the ground with a loud thud. At first, he couldn't understand why the assassin had released him. Then he saw the shoes. Slowly, his gaze trailed the shoes up to the face of the person. His face was expressionless, and his black hair was greasy. John quickly reckoned that he was in his late twenties. The man bowed slightly to him before he moved towards the assassin. 

Who was he? John wondered. Just how did different people keep entering? Did he really forget to lock the door? He looked at the man that had just entered and the latter was sitting over the assassin, delivering powerful punches into his face.

Suddenly, the assassin wrapped his legs around the new guy's neck, knocking air out of him with his fist. He stood up, but the new guy was faster and he pulled him back by his clothes. He threw a fist at the new guy, but the latter dodged it in such a way that it merely glanced at his jaw.

He reciprocated with a punch of his and it caught the assassin's left eye. "Argh!" He yelped in pain. The new guy brought out his pistol and the assassin quickly ran to John who was still struggling to get up. He put John in front of him and held a gun to his head.

"Put your gun down! Slowly!" He told the guy. "Don't try to be funny or I'll blow the shit out of his fucking brains!" He was in a frenzy now as the new guy didn't even listen to him and continued pointing the gun at him.

"Damn it!" He pushed John violently towards the new guy, and they collided against each other and fell to the floor.

Before they could stand up, the assassin had run out through the door, blood seeping out of his neck. John kept his guard up as he pointed a knife at the new guy. "Who are you!?" He asked.

"I'm Jackson, your new bodyguard. Mr. Davis sent me here." He informed him. He told him how Isaac had suspected that something might go wrong and to confirm it, he had been very right. He also said he would be going with him to wherever he was going every day.

John sighed in relief and his thought trailed to what the assassin had said before Jackson. Somehow, John knew that the person who sent the assassin was someone close to him. The assassin had used, "your" when he had been referring to his boss. That means it was someone who was related to him.

Did he mean his friend? Or his colleagues? or his boss? Or whoever! Who was that person who wanted his dead so much? He tried to rack his brain to remember what happened five years ago. Possibly, people who were close to him back then.

His head reeled from the effort of trying to remember. It was very painful and his whole body shook violently. He felt a hand rest on his back and he came back to normal.

"Sir, don't be too hard on yourself!" Jackson said, panic seeping into his voice. "When you're ready, everything will come flowing back.

He nodded, letting Jackson's words sink in. But at the back of his mind, a voice whispered. "What if you're never ready? What if the memory never comes back?"

* * * * *

8'o o'clock saw John driving down to Eon Innovations with Jackson at the steering. It was the day of the formal introduction and he felt a little bit queasy. He didn't know what to expect and his mind couldn't rest at the thought that the person trying to kill him might be working at the company.

He glanced casually at the rearview mirror and he saw a big truck coming towards them at a crazy speed. He tapped Jackson, still looking at the truck. "Step up the speed!" He yelled.

"I don't think that's possible, sir. There's another truck incoming." Jackson replied calmly.

Fear gripped him as he turned his head to look at the front. "What's going on? What are they trying to do now?"

"It's obvious sir. Apparently, someone is trying to stop you from getting to the company." He said in a matter-of-fact tone. "But they chose the wrong person to mess with!" His face turned cold as he floored the gas pedal and revved up the car's engine.

"What do you think you're doing!?" John yelled, looking so horrified. "Are you trying to kill me!?" He could already smell death creeping up to his back. No! He couldn't die just yet! He screamed in his head.

Jackson paid deaf ears to his screaming. His knuckles had turned white from holding the steering so tight. "Hold on tight, sir!" He yelled above the noise that the car made.

Screech! Boom! 

And there came a sudden silence and they were both plunged into an eternal darkness.

At the company, Isaac was becoming restless with each passing second. What could be keeping both Jackson and John? He wondered. He dialed John's number but it redirected him to voicemail. The same thing happened when he dialed Jackson's number.

Panic settled slightly in my heart. He didn't want to think of the worst possibilities, but even despite himself, his thoughts trailed to whether John was still alive or not. Even with the uncertainty, he still prayed that he would be okay.

The staff were becoming restless And they threw questioning glances at him which he returned with a cool smile.

The door to the conference hall suddenly jerked open and everyone turned their head to look. A figure entered and halted at the door, scanning the hall. The man was clad in a suit and his hair was swept to the back, giving him an authoritative look. The staff murmured among themselves, wondering who the man was.

"Mr Davis?" The man said as he walked to the front.

As his face became clearer, a wave of recognition flowed over Isaac's face. "Mr Aldon. It's such a surprise to see you here!"

They shook hands and Mr Aldon soon wore a serious face. "Well, something unfortunate happened today at the mainland bridge." He paused, probably just for effect.

Isaac struggled to remain calm and positive. "What happened, sir? And how does it concern me?" He couldn't keep the panic out of his voice.

"Well, a car was crushed by two trucks, as the trucks collided with each other. Both drivers of the trucks died instantly even before we got to the scene. When we brought the car out, in the safe, we found a document that mentioned your company's name so I thought the owner of the car must be related to you." He finished on a flat note, earning a sharp gasp from Isaac.

Could it really be John at the accident? He thought. "What was the color of the car and did you find the driver?" 

"The car is black and no one was found in the car, but we assume that they might have been thrown out of the car before it crashed into the trucks. We have already sent out a rescue party to search underwater for the driver."

The realization hit Isaac hard in the face. He had finally gotten the Innocent man killed. If he had known, he would have just left him in peace. Everyone thought he was dead before, but his trying to employ him again must have alerted the person who wanted him dead. His legs gave in and he had to grab a chair tight for support.

"So, what you're saying is that the driver is dead?" His voice shook as he asked 

Mr Aldon pursed his lips, and slowly said, choosing his words carefully

 "Well, Mr Davis. I would say nothing is certain for now. But if I'm to be factual to you, I don't think anyone would possibly survive that crash. So, yes! I think whoever was in the car is dead!"

"Who is dead!?" A voice said as the door was pushed open and everyone turned in the direction of the voice.