The Countdown Begins (Part-II)

Chapter - 20

"What the fuck did you just say?" Cockroach's forehead frowned when a man walked into his room with the recent developments.

His fingers curled tightly around the glass in his hand, but his face remained calm, just too calm.

The man swallowed hard. It was Cockroach's calmness that actually scared the shit out of them.

"Boss... I swear, I just heard it myself from one of my men. The investigator… He found some pen drive. Said it has some sort of evidence." 

"From what we know, he is on his way to the judge's house to get himself a warrant," The man explained, "And he is not going to be alone."

For a moment, silence filled the room. Heavy. Suffocating. Cockroach just listened to the man without speaking a word.

"That motherfucker," His voice was lazy. He swirled the whiskey in his glass. 

"He actually thinks he won?" His gaze flickered toward the man as he asked him, "Tell me, does that bastard really believe he can walk into my world, steal from me, and just… drive away?"

The man stayed silent. Smart choice.

Ibrahim exhaled through his nose, his jaw tightening, "No one. And I mean no one gets in my way and walks away breathing to talk about it."

He straightened, his grip still firm on his glass, but his free hand waved at the man in front of him, "Get the boys. Loaded and ready. Tonight we are going to hunt on the streets."

"I want that bastard alive," He let out a slow breath, his lips curling into a sinister smirk, "Rip him off the fucking streets and bring him to me… Now."

His man didn't wait for a second command. He almost ran out of the door.

The hunt had begun.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The investigator sat on the passenger seat of a car as they drove through the city streets.

The rain had stopped by now, which seemed like a good sign.

But his mind was running on an override with something else. After months of going after Ibrahim, that cockroach was finally in his grasp. And no matter what, he was going to crush him this time.

A rare smirk touched the investigator's lips as he muttered to himself, "Let's see you slither your way out of this one."

But this time he was not alone. The investigator has made preparations. 

Behind his car, a convoy of black SUVs followed closely. 

Inside those vehicles were some of his men and SWAT officers. All of them were trained to fight on the streets and have seen the worst of the underworld. 

There was constant communication between them. Some were talking over their radios, while others kept their hands on their weapons. They were all alert, ready for anything that could be thrown their way.

Soon the city lights blurred past as the convoy moved through a relatively empty stretch of road. It was quiet. Too quiet.

Then, out of nowhere—

BOOM!

An explosion erupted in front of the car in the front. Tires screeched as the lead SUV braked hard, coming to a sudden halt. The vehicles behind it barely had time to react before…

BANG! BANG! BANG!

From every direction possible, Gunfire rained down on them. Muzzle flashes lit up the street like fireworks. The windows of the SUVs shattered as bullets went through glass and metal. 

Inside the cars, men shouted, some dived for cover while others tried to draw their weapons. But the attackers were fast and ruthless.

In a matter of seconds, masked men emerged from the darkness, dressed in black. They were so brazen that they didn't even care to use silencers in their weapons. 

They wanted to make an example tonight. One officer barely raised his gun trying to fight back, but before he could do that, a bullet punched through his skull, sending him crumpling to the ground. 

Another man tried to call for backup but was shot dead before he could speak.

Meanwhile, the investigator's heart pounded. He also tried reaching for his gun, but before he could pull it…

SCREECH!

A black armored vehicle rammed his car from the side with brutal force. The impact sent him crashing against the door, his vision blurring for a second. 

"Move, move, move!" one of the attackers barked.

The driver of the investigator's car was already slumped over the wheel, blood dripping from a bullet wound in his head. The investigator gritted his teeth, trying to push open his door, but—

CRASH!

Just as he tried to get out, the glass shattered as a gun barrel was shoved into his face.

"Out. Now," a cold voice ordered.

The man left no choice for negotiation. The investigator's mind raced for a way out, but he could not find any. Slowly, he raised his hands and stepped out of the car. 

As soon as he got out, his eyes flicked around, scanning the scene. The convoy was destroyed. The road was littered with bodies of his men, the officers he brought with him. 

All dead! 

The unknown gunmen had wiped out his entire team in less than five minutes.

While he was still grasping the scene in front of him, a sharp blow to his gut sent him coughing as pain exploded through his stomach. 

Two pairs of hands grabbed him, twisting his arms behind his back. The investigator struggled, but his struggles were crushed with another blow to his head.

And before he could recover, a thick cloth was slammed over his mouth and nose. The strong, sickly-sweet scent filled his lungs instantly.

Chloroform.

His vision went dizzy, the world around him twisted.

Then nothing.

It all went blank.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Uggghhh!!!"

Pain was the first thing he felt when he regained consciousness: A searing, pulsing pain in his skull, spreading all over his head. 

His head rolled sideways as he felt his arms become heavy and aching. 

He tried to open his eyes with great discomfort. The room was dimly lit and a single bulb hung over his head.

"Aghhhh!!!" The investigator tried to wipe the sweat, blurring his vision from his eyes. But then he realised that his wrists and ankles were tied to the chair.

Then he heard the sound of boots scraping against the floor. Slow and deliberate.

"Well, well… Sleeping Beauty is finally awake without the kiss," A voice dripping with mockery.

Hearing the voice, His stomach twisted. He knew that voice.

Ibrahim!

Ibrahim stood in front of the investigator with his eyes gleaming with amusement. The investigator tried to move, but the zip ties cut into his skin, tightening at the slightest struggle. 

Ibrahim took a slow step forward, hands in his pockets, "You know, you became a real pain in my ass the first we met. That's actually a feat you should be proud of."

"Those who know me, know how much I hate a mess," Ibrahim spoke, shaking his head, "But you made me colour the streets red tonight. You have surpassed anything I could have thought of you."

The investigator forced a smirk, tasting blood on his lips, "And yet, here I am, still breathing. That must piss you off."

"Piss me off??? Hahaha… You must be joking," He chuckled, "Well, you can be happy thinking that. But you won't be breathing for long, dumbass," he said, his lips curling into a cruel smile. 

"You are fucking stubborn. But you are also a dumbass. You thought you could win? That you could outsmart me?" Ibrahim looked at the investigator with disdain.

"You know the judge you were running off too? He is already on my payroll," Ibrahim lazily told the investigator.

"I could have silently dealt with you, and whatever something you have on me."

"Why do you think I chose the messy way?" Ibrahim asked him.

"Oh I know the answer to that," The investigator smirked, blood trickling from his lip, "I may not be smart enough to expose you, bastard." 

"But what about you? Do you think I don't know you have lost your loyal dog?" 

"You only had control because your loyal dog was there to protect you," The investigator grinned, and hearing him, for the first time the expression on Ibrahim's face changed. 

"You are losing control. That means you are all alone now." 

"And alone? You are nothing," The investigator grinned, showing his bloody teeth to Ibrahim.

Ibrahim's jaw clenched, "You talk too fucking much. You should have learned when to shut up. But no, you had to play the hero. What now? Now, I get to teach you a lesson."

"What a loser," the investigator taunted, chuckling darkly, "You tied me up because you're scared of me, aren't you? You fucking cow..."

Ibrahim didn't let him finish and in a sudden move, drove his fist against the investigator's nose, the sickening crack of bone echoing in the room. 

Blood trickled down, but the investigator only let out a low, mocking laugh.

"I will cut you into pieces," Ibrahim said as he wiped his bloodied knuckles on his shirt and leaned in closer, his breath hot against the investigator's face. 

"But before that… why not have some fun?" His lips curled into a wicked smirk, "It would have been so much better if you had a family. My boys could have had some fun with your wife, and I could have had some fun with your daughter."

"But alas, which woman would want to spend her life with a loser?" Shaking his head in disappointment, Ibrahim turned, picking up a small metal tray from a nearby table. 

The tray had some instruments neatly laid out… A hammer, a bunch of pliers, a few scalpels, nails and what not.

"You see this? This is going to be your new best friend," Ibrahim showed it to the investigator with amusement.

The investigator didn't flinch, "You think this scares me, you sick fuck?"

The Cockroach laughed, "I could have just shot you in the head and been done with it," Ibrahim mused, rolling up his sleeves. 

"But where's the fucking fun in that? You made things personal. And when things get personal, I like to take my time."

The investigator's smirk didn't falter, "I doubt it, you quickshot."

The Cockroach's grin vanished.

Without warning, he grabbed the hammer and brought it down… smashing it onto the investigator's thigh. A sickening crack echoed in the room.

"UGGGHHHHHHH!!!" Pain exploded through his leg, but the investigator refused to scream.

He clicked his tongue, "Oh? Tough guy, huh? Let's see how long that lasts."

He raised the hammer again and slammed it down onto his hand that time.

CRACK!

"UMMMMGHHHHH!!!" The investigator gritted his teeth, his fingers twitching unnaturally.

"Don't be stubborn now man. That one must have surely hurt." 

"Let's do another one."

CRACK!

Another bone shattered. One by one, his fingers shattered under the relentless strikes of the hammer. Blood dripped onto the floor, pooling beneath the chair. 

The pain was unbearable, yet the investigator refused to give him the satisfaction of a scream.

The Cockroach sighed dramatically, "Damn, you're fucking stubborn. But that's okay. I have all the time in the world."

He dropped the hammer and reached for the pliers.

"Ugggghhh!!!" The investigator breathed heavily, "Ughhahahha… Go fuck yourself."

He laughed, "That's cute of you. But right now…" 

"I am the one doing the fucking."

** ** ** ** **