To his surprise, the real estate agent replied
John paused momentarily, then replied, (Yes, I am.]
[Alright then. It’s okay, it’s free for you! Come to the first- floor lobby to get the keys. I’m close with Robyn, and I know the troubles you guys are facing. Just think of this as my way of helping you guys.]
John’s heart tingled with relief. He sprinted down to
“Here. This is the key to unit number 501, block 12. From what I heard, those men haven’t gone there yet.”
John nodded and thanked the real estate agent, then walked out of the building.
He wrapped his coat around himself and followed the rest of the tenants who were trying to sneak into the building across.
As they trudged along the path, one of the neighbors shot John a suit, for God’s sake. Why do you even need this ten thousand dollars?”
John smiled and glanced back at the man who
With that, he handed the man a cigarette and asked sharply, “Aren’t you doing the same?”
The man was rendered speechless by John’s reply. A split second later, he took the cigarette from John and gave him a thumbs-up in admiration. “You’re a brave man. I salute you.
John smiled before turning and leaping over the fence that separated the two buildings. “I appreciate your compliment, but all I’m trying to do is care for my family.”
His only wish was to see Anne, Sammie, and Robyn live healthy and happy lives.
“And I’m certain you will achieve that!” the man grinned.
John did not reply and instead headed straight to block 12.
When he finally found unit 501 and opened the door with his key, however, he realized this was not a vacant unit as the real estate agent promised.
As soon as he entered the door, he felt the cold barrel of a gun against his forehead. “Who the hell are you?”
The old version of John would have passed out if he was threatened with a gun, but after nearly losing Anne’s life and having murdered someone with his bare hands, he was not at all afraid of being pointed at with a gun.
He stared at the man pointing the gun. “I’m just here for the money.”
The man frowned and asked dubiously, “What money?”
John pointed at the illuminated buildings outside the window. “Well, if I guessed correctly, all those people are here for you.”
The man narrowed his eyes. “You’re correct.”
They would never miss out on such a commotion.
Unfortunately, they did not receive any orders from Tyson to leave, and even if they wanted to, they were surrounded and had no chance of escaping.
They were trying to decide what to do, and this man just so happened to barge in. Of course they would immediately suspect his motives.
“What are you doing here?”
John sighed and pointed again at his apartment building. “I live right across the street. We all heard that they were giving out money as compensation here, so I snuck in to pretend I live here and mooch some money.”
With that, he glanced at the inside of the house.
There were six other men inside the house, apart from him and the man with the gun. Five of them were sprawled across the couch and bed, eating.
Another man was sitting on the ground with his face shielded, but it was clear that he was tied up.
John immediately understood what was happening. He had barged right into these men’s hideout!
His mind began to race as he tried to figure out what to do.
Since whoever was giving the money was so generous as to give 10000 dollars to every tenant, he was certain he would be able to get more money if he helped them find whoever it was they were looking for.
He was so broke at this point that nothing mattered more than money.
“Is that so?” the man with the gun asked warily.
One of the men sitting on the couch shouted, “Don’t even bother listening to him. Just kill him on the spot!”
“That’s right! Maybe he’s a spy!”
“Kill him! Kill him!”
The man with the gun furrowed his brow and placed his thumb over the trigger. “Sorry, pal.”
John forced himself to remain calm when he heard the snap. “Don’t shoot!”
He tried to make himself sound as calm as possible, then continued, “You all saw what’s happening outside. They’re ransacking the entire building. If you shoot me, they’ll hear you and come right over.
“Do you honestly think you’d be able to make it out alive? Is it worth it to put yourself and the rest of your friends in danger over me?”
The man with the gun narrowed his eyes. “Well, will we stand a chance of surviving if we don’t kill you?”
Even if they spared him, they would be discovered and trapped anyway.
“I can help you escape!”
John exclaimed just as the man was about the pull trigger. “I can help you!”
The man furrowed his brow and moved the gun away from John’s forehead. “What do you have?”
John exhaled and said in a low voice, “Sir, have you forgotten about what I said? Whoever’s searching for you right now is giving out ten thousand dollars to every person whose door they knocked on.
“There are many more tenants in this building besides you, and if you guys split up and sneak into the vacant units, you’ll be able to pass off as tenants. Not only will you be safe, but you’ll get some money in addition also.
“There are plenty of other people like me who’ve snuck in just to get the money. If you put on a good act, I’m sure no one will notice!”
With that, John glanced at the rest of the men in the room and added, “Sir, I’m sorry to say this, but you guys are no match for the people outside. There are carloads of men out there searching for you right now, and no matter how powerful you are, you won’t stand a chance.”
The man paused, glanced out the window, and fell silent.
He knew John was right. As skilled as they were, they were severely outnumbered.
There was no doubt that staying in this room would get them killed. Although Tyson was in power, all of them were still loyal to Luke and did not truly want to be Tyson’s subordinates.
Therefore, none of them were willing to sacrifice themselves for Tyson’s sake.
At the thought of this, the man with the gun glanced at another man sitting on the bed. “Did you manage to get through?”
The man shook his head. “I can’t get in touch with Diablo nor anyone from Sea City.”
He shot the man a worried look and asked, “Have they given up on us, Scarface? Have we been left for dead?”
Scarface exhaled and turned to stare at John. “Are you sure those people will leave after giving them money and won’t investigate further?”
“Yes!”
John nodded. “There are thousands of units in this building. Even if they have plenty of men, they’d never be able to finish investigating every household tonight. All they did was just ask some basic questions and leave. If that weren’t the case, neither of us would even dare sneak in here.
“Besides, you can always just pretend to be annoyed residents and stir up a fight with them once they knock on your door. It’s their fault for conducting such a search in the middle of the night, and surely they’ll feel bad for doing so and won’t dare to waste too much of your time, but…”
He glanced at the rest of the men and continued, “I still think you all should split up. With so many men in one house, they’ll have to be idiots not to know something is up.”
Scarface was silent after hearing this.
A split second later, one of the men on the bed stood up and declared, “Scarface, this man is right! We can’t just sit around and wait for them to find us! We’d be dead once they lay their hands on us! We might as well just take the money for ourselves and leave that old geezer behind. If we do that, we might stand a chance of surviving!
“Even if we manage to survive all this, Tyson will surely be suspicious of us once we return!”
“He’s right!” the rest all geared up to support him. “This is our best shot!”
Scarface was silent for a moment, then finally turned to glance coldly at John. “Perhaps you’re just a spy that they sent over to trick us.”
“Do you honestly think I’d be a spy?”
John scratched his head sheepishly. “I’m just here for the money, but I just so happened to run into you guys. Now that I’m here, not only will I not get my money, but I might be killed too. All I’m trying to do is make sure I get out of here alive by helping you guys.”
Scarface stared at him for a long time before narrowing his eyes again. “Are you being honest?”
“Of course I am.”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.