GONE WITH THE GUN

EPISODE 4

 
20th December, 1994. 

Mr. Woods had just finished taking a call from the Russian arms dealer. He sat in the settee in his office and smiled. He was pleased with the turn of events. This time the gang will have so much arms that they can tear down the central police station. The Russian mob has agreed to supply all the arms they need, as long as they keep their end of the contract.

Mr. Woods could not help but be proud of himself. Only he can pull off something like this. His mastery in the use of arms made him
so respected. All those years of fighting and learning new ways to kill has finally paid off.

Mr. Woods took out his specially designed combat pistol. He kissed the nozzle of the pistol, he was ecstatic, this was the biggest deal ever made by him. With this, they would run the whole city, hell they would run the country. He could not wait to relay the news to Don Alvarez.

He also wanted to tell the Don about the two new devices he had invented. The DEMO and the ARBSOLET. These were the names he had given to his new inventions. He had the ARBSOLET strapped to his chest and the DEMO in his pocket. The Don would be so pleased.

Mr. Woods walked to his desk and picked up his mobile phone to call Don Alvarez. Just then, Don Alvarez walked into the office. Mr. Woods was surprised but happy to see the Don.

He smiled at Don Alvarez and said 
"Sir, you would not believe it, but i got the Russians to agree to the deal, now we are....."

Mr. Woods stopped mid-sentence as he noticed that Don Alvarez was staring at him like he was about to kill him. Mr. Woods was scared. He took a step backwards and gulped. Anyone would be scared if they got a look like that from Don Alvarez. He was that intimidating.

Mr. Woods spoke with fear
"Sir, is anything wrong?"

Don Alvarez walked towards Mr. Woods in a cold stare. His white suit shimmered from the sun that was hitting it. He was breathing hard and heavy as he walked. He dug his hand into his suit pocket and took out a small gold timer clock. He said to Mr. Woods.

"I am going to give you 30 seconds to speak. If i am not convinced, i will strangle you with my bare hands. Now, give me your gun."

Mr. Woods handed his pistol over to Don Alvarez and asked hurriedly.

"Convinced about what sir?"

Don Alvarez put the gun at Mr. Woods head. He cocked the gun and placed his finger on the trigger.
 
"I am only going to ask once. Are you working with Mr. Hills to kill me? Your 30 seconds starts now."

He immediately clicked the button on the timer setting the timer on.

Mr. Woods was petrified. His sky blue shirt was soaked with sweat. He could not understand where this was coming from. Working with Hills to kill the boss? Why would he? Why would they? Something was definitely wrong. This is clearly a set up.
 
"Sir, I don't think you need convincing to know that i would never try to kill you. I have put my life in front of death many times for you. I have taken so many bullets in your place. I was stripped of my rank in the army and denounced as a soldier and i went to prison for 8 years on your behalf. I was there for you after the death of your wife. All these i did because i love you. I saw and still see you as a brother. You had a dream to do this business and i was with you from the start. I am the one who made the first deal. At the...."

Mr. Woods was spewing everything he could to defend himself. He knew that if the time was up and Don Alvarez was not convinced, he would be dead. 

"Sir, i am loyal to you in all ways that the word implies."

Mr. Woods stopped here as the timer rang. 

He was sweating profusely. He looked at Don Alvarez and felt that maybe the Don wasn't convinced.

Oh, there were many other things he could have said. If only he had at least one minute. He surrendered his life to fate knowing there was nothing else he could do. He closed his eyes and waited for the bullet. He was about to die by his own gun.

"Alright, Im convinced. Follow me" Don Alvarez said, and stomped out of the office.

Mr. Woods quickly walked behind him. He was hoping he could summon the courage to talk to Don Alvarez. To tell him to think about this. This might be a set up by the enemy to destroy them from within. There was no reason why Mr. Hills would want to kill the boss.
 
They entered into Don Alvarez's Cadillac SUV and both sat and the back seat. The driver drove off. Don Alvarez was quiet. He kept staring ahead, occasionally swearing inside his voice.

"Sir, i seriously think you should consider this. I doubt Mr. Hills would ever be disloyal to you. He loves and respects you. This must surely be a plan to tear the gang down. Sir, please."

Don Alvarez said nothing. And Mr. Woods continued.

"I mean sir, think about it. There is no reason why Mr. Hills would want to do this."

Mr. Woods noticed that they were driving to the middle school. That is where Mr. Hills' son Jason, goes to school. Mr. Woods was not happy with what he thought was about to happen. Was the boss going to kidnap the young boy? This was bad.
 
"Boss, this is insane. You can't kidnap Jason. He hasn't done anything wrong sir. If you think Mr. Hills is planning an overthrow, you should ask him. No need to kidnap his son and torture him into telling you."

They pulled into the school. Mr. Woods was still talking to the Don. Still trying to convince him not to do anything to the boy.

Don Alvarez looked sternly at Mr. Woods. He held Mr. Woods on his throat and squeezed hard. Mr. Woods was slowly running out of oxygen as his trachea was hurting. Don Alvarez knew that if he squeezed any harder, he could strangle Mr. Woods.
 
"Now listen, i have your family surrounded. For an arms dealer, you have a bad security system. Oh, your wife will look so beautiful with your little daughter in her arms and both lying dead when you get home. Thats a pretty picture right? Now, if you don't want your family dead, paint a different picture. Go in there and get the boy. Now!"

He shoved Mr. Woods. 

Mr. Woods got off the car quickly. He stood by the door and breathed a sigh of relief. He had to get oxygen to his lungs fast. Satisfied, he walked away from the car towards the school playground.

Just then, Don Alvarez called him back and asked to take his phone. Mr. Woods handed his phone over to Don Alvarez and walked on. He spotted the young Jason on a swing. He called Jason and Jason was so happy to see him. Jason ran into the arms of Mr. Woods with a smile on his face. Mr. Woods gave the boy a hug. After 3 seconds, Jason tried to break the hug but Mr. Woods held him tightly. He quickly unbuttoned Jason's shirt and shoved something into Jason's shirt and said.
"My gift to you. Don't tell anyone".  
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What could the gift be? 😎

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