Chapter 2

Loose control

Zarek settled into a chair as the man began to speak. The voice was deep and Zarek could estimate the age.

Late forties or early fifties. To be exact, Zarek concluded that the man was Forty-nine, and he was right.

One thing about Zarek was his perfect intuition and sense of judgement. He never doubted his inner self and he could hit his target blindfold, and from miles away.

"Fifty million would be paid as a down payment, and the rest is payable after the mission," came the voice at the other end of the line.

That's a hundred million in total. Zarek thought about it for a while. He had never gotten that kind of money from a single mission, and it only meant one thing. The target must be a VIP, someone of status in society. 

Like his other victims. 

But Zarek had promised there wouldn't be a next time and had sworn on his late mother. 

"Sorry, I'm retired." 

"Retired? Don't give me that shit. You are the best in the business, and correct me if I'm wrong. You carried out your last job exactly fifteen hours ago. So, how could you be retired?" 

At this point, Zarek felt uneasy, and he dropped the call. He didn't know why, but his gut told him something was fishy.

Zarek checked the time. Past eight pm. The man could tell that Zarek had carried out his last mission fifteen hours ago. Was the man a spy? How did he know about the last mission? 

Zarek continued to ponder as he moved to clear his head. Staring through the glazed wall, his eyes rested on the flowers at a nearby garden and the lights gave him a perfect view. However, his thoughts drifted at a buzzing sound. 

No caller ID, but Zarek could tell it was the same man who had called earlier. 

Zarek dropped the call a second time, and a third. When he got tired, he simply turned off the cellphone. This wasn't about the money anymore. He was worth more than a hundred million dollars. There was something more. He had given his word to Mia, and he quickly remembered that it was already nine pm, an hour above the agreed time, and Mia was not back.

In a hurry, Zarek found his car keys and was soon pushing down the pedals. Nobody must touch his sister, and he blamed himself for having been carried away by an unknown caller. 

Things had not gone well the last time. Mia had gone to a party, and after a few drinks, she became a prey. Sure, there were so many predators lurking around that night, waiting for the perfect prey, and they easily found one in Mia. 

But Zarek had arrived on time, thanks to his intuition, and the predator soon found himself begging to be spared. But Zarek was not one to forgive, not when it has to do with Mia, and he had no remorse nor felt guilty when he slit the man's throat into two. 

That was the first time Mia saw the monster in him, the monster she had for a brother, and she might as well see the same monster tonight as Zarek took the left turn that led to Sophia's place.

Zarek dialed Mia's number for the millionth time, but it went to voicemail. Parking the car, he moved to the front porch and dropped a few knocks. The door swung open on the third attempt. Expecting to see his sister, a grey-haired woman registered.

 "Sorry to bother you, Mrs. Forbes, I'm looking for Mia." 

"You must be Zarek, her brother." 

Zarek nodded, "Sure." 

"Your mom and I were friends back in the days. We attended the same high school until you popped into her stomach." 

Zarek forced a smile at her comments. He had not come to be reminded of how his mom got pregnant and dropped out of high school.

"Mom, who is at the door?" came a distant voice. 

Not long after, Zarek looked stunned when Sophia showed up. 

Where was Mia? 

"Have you seen Mia?" Zarek asked with a confused look.

 "No, not at all. I Haven't seen her. Did she mention coming to my place?" Sophia asked.

Zarek contemplated for a while. "No, I just thought she stopped by at your place. Sorry for bothering you." 

Mia had not only lied to him, but her cellphone was also still unreachable. 

Zarek's next point of call was the club, the place he had once rescued her. But this time, he didn't have to get to the club when he heard a distant voice. The voice was coming from a dark alley to his left. 

Zarek listened closely. Sure enough, the voice was Mia's. In no time, he found his way into the alley, where he saw Mia. Like he had expected, she was drunk and messed up, and there was a guy next to her. The guy had successfully taken off her shirt, and his mouth was on one of her nipples.

Although Mia was moaning, Zarek could tell she was drunk. 

"Don't stop, Mic, take it off," Mia mumbled. 

Zarek's anger only grew. He could see the guy's face – some black dude pleasuring a drunk girl. Not quite a pedohpiile as Mia was of age and eligible to be with a guy, but she was drunk. Most of all, she was still his sister, and his sister shouldn't be moaning under a random guy.

Zarek checked himself, but to his dismay, he couldn't find a knife. But that was not a problem because Zarek Slade, the greatest killer in Durhan, had done more damage with his fists. Maintaining his stealth, Zarek moved closer. Mia was moaning louder. The guy was doing a perfect job with her body, and Zarek's rage only grew by the second. 

The man pleasuring Mia dropped to the ground when a heavy punch landed on the right side of his neck. Mia screamed in shock but couldn't tell what had happened. All she could tell was that the pleasure had stopped, and the man gripped his neck. Although drunk, she could tell he was in pain, and the blood oozing from his mouth confirmed it. 

Mia trotted out of the alley. Zarek maintained his position, where he could observe and remain unobserved. 

Soon, Mia was out of sight, and Zarek moved to finish the man. After landing a series of punches, the man gave up the ghost when his skull got smashed against the concrete floor. Satisfied, Zarek dumped the body in a nearby waste collector. It would take days before the body would be discovered, and by then, Zarek would be long gone.

Back home, Zarek wasn't surprised when he saw Mia, looking all sober and curled up on the sofa. Zarek confirmed he had done a perfect job. She had lied to him, and he was way too angry, so he took another turn and was heading straight to the bedroom. However, the thud of footsteps had registered his presence, and Mia became curious at the sight of his knuckles. They were all bruised up and with blood stains. Of course, the rest of the puzzle was pretty much easy to unravel. 

"What the hell did you do, Zi?" Mia barked.

Zarek kept walking, as he was in no mood to talk to her. When he approached his room, she simply closed the door behind, not minding Mia, who was still barking. Zarek settled onto his bed, but Mia continued to bang the door, and he felt compelled to confront her. 

"What is it, Mia? That you were trying to get yourself fucked?" 

"Really? Is that what you think?" 

"Yes, Mia. Just like the other guy who tried to force himself on you. You always seem to attract the wrong men into your life," Zarek barked, furious that he always had to be a bodyguard due to her poor choices of men. 

"You are a graduate, Mia. Act like one. I expect to see decent men around you. Not the lowlifes you attract," Zarek added. 

"Oh! I should have known it was you. How dumb I was not to have figured it out. Hiding in the darkness, and throwing a punch?" Mia held her head in frustration. "Now tell me, did you kill him?" 

"Yes, Mia. I killed him. A man like him does not deserve to live." 

"And so is a killer," Mia countered. She turned around, but Zarek, offended by her words, was quick to grab her arm. 

"Take that back, Mia," Zarek ordered, squeezing her wrist. 

Mia winced in pain. "Or what, Zi? You will kill me like the rest of your 774 victims?" 

"Take that back!"

 "No, Zarek. You are a killer. I saw the book. How you document your victims, their names, and details…admit it, Zi. Admit that you enjoy killing and stop pretending it's only for the betterment of our lives. You know what, I think I will get myself a job just so I will be done with you." 

Mia turned to leave, but no. She had bitten off more than she could chew. 

Zarek's face furrowed, and his eyes narrowed further. As a matter of fact, he had heard enough of her hurtful words. All he ever wanted was a better life, and he could say that all he had done was mostly for his sister, to please her. But now the ungrateful bitch wanted to rub it in his face? 

Grabbing her neck, Zarek slammed her five-foot-eight-inch frame against a nearby glass, and Mia dropped to the floor, lying motionless.

What just happened?