ASHES: 23

Jake slicked back his black hair in exasperation. His light brown eyes lit up again in anger. He had dealt with the impromptu situation caused by 'Lucas' rather smoothly. Still, he was angry that, despite begging to become the host, he went ahead and caused a mess so huge that some sponsors pulled out instantly. He took out his phone and called someone. Mark.

After the fourth ring, 'he' answered," What the hell did you guys do to make Luc leave me in shit"? Jake said in a low angry voice. ' Mark' answered," I don't know what you're talking about .. I mean he was buried in work like you asked and kept going on and on about the expo.."' he' answered but was interrupted by Jake. " So you pushed him beyond the way I told you to huh"? he said almost shouting. "Idiots", Jake concluded before angrily ending the call. ' No problem, all I need is to use that on him and he will be back to singing a happy tune. My tune' he thought and smiled darkly. 

A few minutes prior...

Lucas took Mark's phone and threw it to Riley. " Install the voice changer that we worked on in that phone quickly," he said. Riley did as told. He had barely finished when the phone rang. It was Jake. He hurriedly finished the installation then answered, putting it in loud speaker for Lucas to hear. The whole time, they had pretended to be Mark and Jake never noticed. When the call was over, Lucas looked at the phone and smiled, darkly.

He took out his phone and called his double, Drake. He answered instantly," Jake is on the move. He'll try to find you using any means necessary be careful", he told him tersely. Not waiting for an answer he hung up.

'Lucas' who was having lunch in an expensive hotel with Melanie, smiled to hide his irritation. ' There's a thing called phone etiquette' he thought. He looked at his food and sighed. It was his favorite meal, steamed coconut rice with well done lamb shanks in gravy. It was delicious but he didn't have time to enjoy it.

" Umm after this can I take you home because...", he said but trailed off. Melanie wasn't listening. 'He wants to take me home probably to bed' she thought as wild lewd images flashed in her head. Dazed, she never noticed when they left, got into the car or when they actually arrived at her home. It wasn't until 'Lucas' kissed her forehead did she finally sober up. " Wait, you're not coming in"? she asked in dismay. ' No way bitch' he thought but replied loudly, " No I can't I am too tired and I bet that I'll knock myself out if I enter the bed," he noticed her angry, disappointed look and smiled inwardly. "I'll try to come tomorrow maybe you can let me have you", he said seductively grabbing her waist and pulling her to him. Melanie merely blushed and said," Fine but come early okay ,"? she gave him a kiss on the cheek. 'Lucas' pulled her and kissed her deeply then let her go and replied," Yes, Lanie," he turned and left. She closed the door, panting heavily. 

'Lucas', who was driving along the highway, pulled up and stopped the car. He got out and threw up in the sidewalk. Oh! How he hated that woman. Once done, he got back in his car and drove off.

* * * 

Lucas looked at Riley and said, " I need a van to follow me to this location," he was pointing to a place on the screen of the computer. Riley looked at the screen and asked, " Why"? " That's where I plan to kidnap Dan", he replied as he zipped up his leather jacket and picked up a pair of gloves. "Let me get the men out you can.. ", Riley volunteered. " You can't take him easily," Lucas replied quietly. " Despite how he looks, Dan is an amazing fighter who excels in close quarter combat. He may even be better than me. So just let them follow me.", he concluded looking at the door. "How will you beat him," ? Riley couldn't help but ask. Lucas looked at him from the corner of his eye and said," I know his weakness." He grabbed a helmet and walked out.

* * *

The rays of the setting sun cast long shadows outside the insanely expensive apartment block. Dan, who lived in the penthouse up the ten-story building, was at the ground floor smoking. He had been watching the expo from the beginning until 'Lucas' resigned. He had panicked and called Mark who never picked up. Fearing Jake's wrath, he had turned off his phone. " You always smoke when you're stressed out", a familiar voice spoke up from behind him. He turned. It was Lucas. His frustrations and anger merged into one, "Do you know what the fuck you did this morning? Do you? You fucking almost ruined us", he said loudly turning and walking towards him. "So",? Lucas replied coldly. Dan stopped in his tracks. That question made him lose it. He got extremely angry and lunged at Lucas. Right now, he was going to teach this idiot a lesson, he would deal with the consequences later.

Lucas had expected this. He dodged Dan's left hook and threw his own only to get himself punched in the right ribcage. He grabbed Lucas' hair and forced him downwards, trying to knee him up. Lucas used his hands and blocked the knee. He then grabbed his opponent's leg and tripped up the other leg making him lose balance. Dan countered by throwing himself on top of Lucas. They fell. Dan threw a barrage of punches on Lucas. He was blocking them all. 

For one split second, Dan paused to catch his breath. That was enough for Lucas. He elbowed the man's gut and threw a back hand on his face, throwing him off. They rolled. Now Lucas was on top. He elbowed Dan's chest making him pull his arms down . He punched him twice in the face . He pulled back and stood up then grabbed the legs and dragged him across the ground, kicking him in the process. Dan twisted his body freeing himself then stood up. The sky darkened suddenly.