7. The Code Of Promise

Jaxon's POV

I couldn't handle myself after leaving Cassie's house. She told me the truth I wanted, but it was difficult to take it all at once. My head ached, and I felt the need to have a friend close by, but there was none. For ten years, my life in Tanzania was a lie. I lived without knowing I had a daughter and that my mother died. Her death hurt me because I didn't even show myself at her funeral. Everything was painful. I realized there was no one to lean onto for support, so I went to Blackwater. There, I surrendered myself to alcohol. I sat on a stool closer to the service counter.

When I was allowing alcohol to take me in with my problems, I saw Mathew entering the bar. He came straight to me and sat on a stool aside me. The bar man poured him some gold blend spirit. He held the glass and poured it all into his mouth. I expected him to greet me, but he didn't even look at me. He was wearing a long black coat, which touched his knees. The bar man filled up his glass again before he refilled mine. I took my glass and slowly sipped while expecting him to speak first because he had to. He was my boy, and I needed explanations of everything that had happened while I lived as a ghost. He removed the scarf around his neck, and his face freshened with a smile when he saw I was looking at him.

"Why?" I politely asked.

He smiled even more and then let out a gently giggle.

"Why?" he returned the question to me. I remained quiet but impatient for the conversation to mature.

At that instant, my phone rang. Amanda was calling. I didn't receive her call. Instead, I switched the phone off. I wanted to concentrate on the conversation with Mathew. He shifted himself and sat facing me.

"I thought you were dead, Jaxon, and I wonder why you are back," he said and poured alcohol into his mouth again. He clenched his jaws and shrugged his shoulders. It was clear, he didn't like my return in town. I put my hands on his shoulders before my speaking, but he pushed them away.

"Why are you back, Jaxon?!" he screamed, his voice carrying anger. His tone bored me. Mathew was my boy, and he knew it. I expected respect from him. He might have grown into a full man while I was away, but he was that courageous because of me.

"Are you out of your mind? Linx died, Mathew, so I came to bury him. I didn't know you guys had started the war I tried to avoid!" I roared, pushing his stool away from me.

People stared at us, thinking we were fighting. However, Mathew came back to sit next to me.

"If you want to behave like animals, please don't do it inside the bar. We have expensive assets here. If you're not careful, you might end up paying for them," the bar man warned us. Mathew smiled as if nothing had happened. And then, from nowhere, he blurted.

"Who doesn't want money or power?" he sighed and mocked. I ignored that question but went straight to ask about what gave me a heavy headache and heartache. I asked about my mother, what happened to her, and who was involved. It was obvious someone had a hand. On hearing my question, Mathew chuckled. I seethed and held my fist while looking at his face.

"Why do you ask something you already know? You know it and you knew before that this was going to happen... Linx killed your mother. Try to balance the equation, Jaxon!" he warbled, tapping my shoulders.

I held my glass firmly and increased my grip on it until it cracked. I sighed heavily, and suddenly, I threw the glass away, and it shattered. Mathew creamed his face with a smile. He wanted me to behave that way. The bar man intruded my face with his stare, and at that moment, I knew I was supposed to pay for that glass.

"The S4S, a secret squad. Damn shit!" I shouted, standing up and asked, "Why Mathew? When you all had everything, all of you?"

"Jaxon, I don't know, it's like you had blinkers back then. We tried to make you see that we wanted money, but you didn't let us, only to come up with stupid rules. You were so lost, and you ran away," he said, nodding.

I remained quiet, trying to make sense of his words. He jumped down from his stool and poked his nose. He moved back and forth, shrugged his shoulders, rubbed his hands together, and finally, he sat back on his stool. He was unable to sit still. I looked at him, trying to learn his new adult behavior.

"Are you taking the drugs, Mathew?" I asked after witnessing his weird behavior.

"Why wouldn't I when I own them?" he responded and chuckled. The bar man poured more spirit into his glass, and he finished it at once. After that he said, "You are the one who crafted the rules, you are the one who instilled that mind in us, you created the S4S bro, and we were ready to play, but you chose to be a coward of your game."

His words sank straight in my head, and I remembered the Code of Promise we made.

"You were all not supposed to make an operation with the drugs. I went away because I didn't want our loved ones to die. You have created tombs of our loved ones, Mathew!" I thundered, grabbing his collar.

"No you are mistaken, Jaxon. Only your mother died, maybe Linx too. Listen to this, there is no good time to need money. We wanted the money when you were still around, but you were stopping us. Linx wasn't going to be able to kill you alone, so we planned to kill you the night before your wedding with my sister. I didn't want you to get married to her. By running away, you did well, but by your return, please picture it out," he said.

"Why didn't you want me to get married to your sister?" I asked.

"I shook hands with Linx so that he was going to be powerful. He was going to get Cassie's shares, and after killing you, we were going to give yours to our new boss," he informed me of their secret. I nodded my head as my heart became heavy inside my chest.

"Cassie is your sister. You can't toy with her, Mathew. You were supposed to protect her from the S4S. You broke the code, Mathew," I tried to make him realize his mistake.

He giggled and ironed the collar of his coat by his hands. By that, I was certain he was preparing to go and wanted to say something.

"In war, it's good to put the shield over yourself, and that's what you should be doing, Jaxon. If you come near my sister, I will kill your daughter, and if you stay in town, I will kill you and your daughter. Drago is now the head of S4S. He is our boss," he said, threatening and exiting the bar. He left me shocked.

The Secrete 4 Squad

The S4S was a secret squad we created when we were eighteen. It had me, John, Seth, and Linx. We wanted to join the military, but the Scouters weren't concerned about the recruits in our region. We started to read books and watched combat movies until we mastered many skills. Moreover, it was easy to get information because I had a friend, Jane, who was recruited. She was giving me tips about their training, so we were doing the same training ourselves.

Our training wasn't as hard as theirs, but what mattered was the skill. We even modified ours. It was after two years that we saw no reason for our self-training because we were not going to get employed by the Scouters even if we wanted. I realized we were no different from the street fighters. We wanted to do scary things like jumping from heights, mountain climbing, jumping off the cliffs, diving in rivers, and many things. We found ourselves playing in the deserted mines underground. It was when things changed.

One day, when we went down to the mines, we found people with drugs. It was cocaine, and we didn't know the drugs were stolen. There were about six men, all armed. When they saw us, they started to shoot at us. We ran trying to find our way out, but the escape was impossible. They ran after us, shooting to kill because they thought we were sent there to spy on them. We felt like it was our last day to breathe.

Seth split from us, and he was caught by a grenade. That was his end. When the grenade exploded, I saw a mass of rocks falling on the people who were after us, and they all died. We became more terrified as it was the scariest thing we ever experienced. We stopped running, trying to catch our breaths. When we looked at each other, John fell down. It was dusty inside, so we didn't see what had happened to him. Linx and I grabbed him on our shoulders and ran back, expecting to find medical kits in the belongings of people who were shooting at us. It was when we saw that John was shot in the stomach. The bullets were inside of him, and he was losing more blood.

"These are drugs, right?" John asked, looking at the bags stacked on each other.

"They are drugs, bro, it is heavy money," Linx responded.

John awaited for my response, so I nodded my head to agree. He smiled and looked at the blood leaking from his stomach. For sure, there was no hope, and he knew he was going to die.

"Jaxon, please give my shares to Cassie. I am begging. I want to make her happy, I love your girlfriend," John requested, breathing his last.

I stared at him, my eyes wide opened. He looked impatient for my response, so he stretched his hand, and I gave him mine. He held it firmly. I could feel his body temperature dropping.

"A promise from a brother should be kept. Cassie will get your shares. She will know when the time is right," I promised him.

He smiled, letting out a little dying giggle, and said "I wanted to know your thoughts."

We looked at him, and his smile enlarged, and I smiled.

"Jaxon, I trust you. Seth died, and I am dying. If you touch these drugs, your lives will be destroyed. You are too young, boys. Never touch these drugs or tell anyone about this, even my death and Seth's, keep it to yourselves. These drugs are our blood. Respect them. As for you Linx… "

John didn't finish speaking. Within a second, he was cold. We shook his body, calling his name loudly. He was dead. I became afraid and confused.

"Jaxon, Jaxon!"

It was Linx calling me. I heard him as if he were calling me from a distance. I gave him my attention.

"Let's bury him, bro. You heard what John said. He wants this to be a secret," he said, already holding a shovel.

We dug a pit and buried John. We couldn't identify Seth's body because it was ruptured by a grenade. One thing for sure, we were young and dumb. It was a promise to our dead friends not to touch the drugs. That's when the secret was born. The disappearance of Seth and John in the town caused chaos, but it passed without the police retrieving their bodies. Linx and I were the last two standing members of the secret squad from the four.

As time went, Linx started to play along the mines, and I knew he wanted to put his hands on the drugs. I asked him about it. He denied. It was when we decided to give Mathew Seth's shares, and Cassie took John's share even though she didn't know anything about the secret squad. We only explained it to Mathew.

We aimed to make concrete rules, which were going to stop us from being tempted to touch the drugs. But Mathew didn't want that; he wanted to take his shares and get money. I disagreed, and Linx also went against me. I then crafted a code and enforced it to them. They were not going to go against me because I was strong, and I had better skills to fight them. It was a code of promise. Anyone who wanted to touch the drugs was supposed to have his family's blood in his hands. I thought no one would emerge brave enough to kill their family. In the squad, I saw myself as the king and the commander of it, and my friends were ready to kill me for that.

Mathew started to cause numerous problems in my relationship with his sister. So he was against my wedding. I knew Linx was also against it. But he was my only friend left so I didn't care to leave the letter with him. Mathew and Linx were ready to spill blood. Thus, I saw it better to run away. I thought I was protecting everyone, but I killed my mother.

At Blackwater, I was still sitting in the bar after Mathew left me. I took my phone and called Amanda. I told her I was going to have a long stay in Zimbabwe. After that, I stood and tried to walk to my mother's grave, but it was cold outside, and I was drunk. So, I looked for a space to sleep in the bar. Before sleeping, I sent a message to Cassie.