HOOKED ON ZERO

Z E R O

Even before I opened the swing doors, the smell of liquor hit me like a force. I stood for a bit taking in the scenery before me. Men and women from different works of life crowded the chairs and the dance floor. Some chatted amongst themselves, while others rocked to the beats from the live band playing on the stage.

The bar, however, seemed to be in a different world of its own. All around it sitting on stools were men jostling for beer or whisky, while others threw back the contents from their bottles down their throats.

It looked like a war-zone, except the prize was alcohol and there would be no prisoners.

I smiled to myself. It was stampede night. All the stools around the bar had been occupied, but I needed to be close to the beer, so I headed there. I sashayed forward, my hips taking up a rhythm of their own.

"Hi!" I flapped my eyelashes at this guy with a port belly that could rival King Kong's. "Can I have a seat, please, kind sir?"

He looked at me long enough to know I had a b sized-cup and full hips, and then he made the mistake of leering. "Yeah, sweetheart, you can seat on my lap and I'll give you some of my beer."

Poor man.

I knew he was going to try to draw me to him, and I sighed tiredly.

I gave him a chance. I even stepped back, but he was such a pig-headed son of a gun, so I tried telepathy instead. Maybe that was his thing.

Don't do it, mister, it'll only end in sorrow for you.

But when do men ever listen?

As his hand rose to curl around my waist, I fisted my right hand and hung it in the air as a warning. He flashed his upper missing teeth at me instead of taking heed, stood and walked close to me.

Maybe he thought I was some helpless woman that didn't know how to defend herself, or it could have been because I had red hair and wore a leather mini skirt. Whatever the case was, he didn't see it coming.

My hand landed on his jaw, hot and heavy, giving him and upper cut and making sure to rearrange it. Yeah, he wouldn't be able to talk to anyone for awhile, that's for sure.

For a big man, he went down pretty quickly. He was out like a light at my feet. Make that a beer-filled light.

"Hi, Z!" Ron smiled at me from behind the counter. He didn't so much as blink as he set a green bottle in front of me.

I opened it, about to tip it into my mouth when from the corner of my eyes, I saw him. It had to be him. He stood out like a sore thumb in stark comparison to the other guys around. What with his cold demeanor and all black leather get up, he was a poster boy for dangerous, and he wore it well. He sauntered over to me and with a piercing look at the guy sitting beside me, that one fled, and he took his place.

"I can see you've already made yourself at home." He glanced meaningfully at the unconscious man lying not far from my feet. One of the bouncers was already dragging him away by his legs.

"What can I say, I'm a regular." I shrugged, tipping back my head and gulping the contents of my bottle and smacking my lips after.

"I'll have what she just downed." He indicated to Ron, who had anticipated his request and set before him an identical green bottle.

The man removed a long brown envelope from inside his coat and slid it on the table towards me. I caught it, just before it could get away. As I brought out a 12 by 14 black and white picture of a man from the envelope, I became mesmerized. The man in the picture could have been mistaken for a model by all and any standards. His black hair framed an oval face and a square jaw, while his eyes were grey, hooded and smoldering.

I had never seen a man with such arresting features before. And his eyes, they were so beautiful.

The man I stared at was hot, make that drop dead hot, by any standards.

Pity he had to die.

I looked up to see leather guy quirking a brow at me. "There a problem?"

I shrugged. "Just wondering when you want him gone."

"Tomorrow!" He arched a brow, as if daring me to refuse.

I tried not to look surprised but I couldn't not. That was almost impossible.

"I heard you're the best, so why look so shocked?" His brows arched cockily as he stared at me.

I knew what he was trying to do and I was over that male ego bullshit. I've had to prove myself time without number in this business, and I'll be damned if some man thinks he can swing by and cast aspersions on my reputation.

"For two million quid, I'll do it now if you want." I jutted my chin, daring him to back down. I wasn't just the best, I didn't come cheap either.

He nodded. "My boss will pay you five million. Two and a half million upfront in an untraceable account to be accessed immediately you sign here. . . " He pointed to a form he had whipped out, ". . .and the rest once the job is done."

I struggled not to widen my eyes. Five million was a whole lot of dough. Chito could be made whole again, and I could start a good business with the rest of the money and leave this kind of life I was presently in.

"What's the problem?" The man's gaze settled on me penetratingly. "Money too small for you? My boss is very generous, he can up it if you do a good clean job."

"No problem, mister, except I don't accept transfers upfront. For me, cash is king. Cash advance first, and then a transfer for the balance. I must be paid in full."

The man's eyes glistened dangerously as he leaned forward. "Do you except me to walk around with that amount of money?"

My lips curled in a smile and I also leaned forward. My face was only two inches from his as I replied. "You should have thought about that before contacting me. That's my policy."

Our eyes locked. This wasn't about money, it was a battle of dominance. Who would capitulate first. I didn't blink, neither did I flinch. And then his upper lip tugged up in a smile and he nodded. He drew the briefcase on the floor up to the bar and slid it across to me.

I caught it and looked at him. "What's this?"

"Open it and see."

Without taking my eyes off him, I opened the briefcase slightly. It was stacked with neat-looking one hundred dollar bills. I brought out one and sniffed it before putting it back. I looked up to see the man watching me closely.

"Hi, my name is Zero, glad to make your acquaintance."

I lifted a hand towards him in a hand shake and watched in rising amusement, the flow of emotions on his face. I knew he debated on whether to shake me or not. Coming to a conclusion, he brought out his hand and clasped mine in a firm shake.

Just as he was about to release my hand, I leaned close once more. "I have one question. "What's his profession?" I tapped the picture in my hand.

Ridges appeared on his brows immediately, and I knew he didn't like my inquisition. Too bad, because even I lived by a code, and that was never to kill a man who didn't have blood on his own hands.

Trust me, I always knew.

The man released a heavy sigh, removed his hand from mine and inclined his head. "Fair enough, he's a scientist who has been made rich by killing a lot of people with his drugs, and that's all you need to know. Now, enough talking. Are you in or out?"

I looked at the man seating before me for what seemed like a long time but could only have been a few seconds, and shook my head. "I'm in!"

His face stretched in a smile, but somehow it didn't sit well on his face, unlike Mr. Hot in the picture, the look alike model that was actually a scientist. The man opened his jacket and brought out a phone which before my very eyes, was enlarged to form a mini laptop.

I watched as he tapped on some buttons and after some seconds, turned it round to face me. I saw the name of an escrow bank on the top corner and below it, was two and a half . . . I counted the number of zeros. I filled in the column for my offshore bank details and watched as he tapped on the send button. I smiled in satisfaction as I watched the cursor disappear and in it's place, a message popped up - SENT.

"Inside the envelope you're holding are more details of him. Find him and end his life once and for all. My boss will be waiting impatiently tomorrow for the news. Do not contact me when you're done, trust me, my boss will find out."

He stood, tucked the phone back into his jacket, and without a goodbye, walked off.

Rude.

I looked at his retreating back until he disappeared from sight before I turned to Ron once again. "Another bottle, please. Oh, never mind." I picked up the bottle the man hadn't even touched. "I'll have his."

I downed the contents in five gulps and belched loudly. The man on my left poked his head out and smiled. "I like a woman that can throw back her liquor, and you seem to fit that bill. Care for a dance?"

I smiled and shrugged. Why not? I needed to dance to my victory of getting five million just like that. But as I got up, something about this deal didn't sit right with me. I couldn't pin point what it was, but as the night went on and I took more bottles of beer, the feeling left me and was quickly replaced with a feeling of euphoria.

I deserved this break, and so did Chito.

Z E R O

There was a loud ringing noise that won't let up. It was so shrill and bothersome. Even when I rolled to the other side of the bed, it persisted. I covered my ears with such force, I almost busted my eardrums.

"Uhhhh! Stop that infernal noise."

It stopped miraculously and I was able to breath easier, but just when I was about to turn, it started up once again.

"Will you please stop your alarm clock, it's messing with my sleep." I woke with a start to see Chito beside my bed, hair mussed, eyes red and heavy from lack of sleep.

Pity coursed through me. I was sure he had not been able to sleep since, and here I was messing it up. I rolled over and hit the off button on my beside alarm. "Sorry, buddy, I thought I was dreaming. Try and get some sleep."

I rolled to the other side, intent on catching some more shut eye, but after a few minutes of tossing and turning, I gave up and opened my eyes. I got out of bed and was shocked to see Chito still in the same place I had left him - in front of my bed.

"Buddy, what are you still doing here? Your chair got jammed again?" I bent to check his wheel chair but it seemed fine to me after a brief inspection.

I stood and looked at him noting how his brows were squeezed tightly and there were tell tale track marks of tears on his checks. I was on my knees in front of him in an instant. "What's wrong? Does something hurt? Do you need to go to the hospital?"

He just shook his head and said nothing. I patted him down gently, exactly as the doctor had told me to do. "Your shots, where are they?"

He still said nothing. Instead he squeezed his eyes shut against the tears that had begun spilling out of them. It broke my heart to see my little brother cry. I couldn't take it anymore, and I knew I shouldn't have held him so tightly, but I couldn't help it. I hugged his bony frame to me. Doing that gave me some hope for the future.

"Don't go!" Came his teary voice against my chest a few seconds later.

I froze. How did he know I was going out? I hadn't told him anything about my going anywhere today, especially with it being a Saturday. Once I remembered the alarm, my limbs were released of the inertia that held them captive. That was it. The alarm. That's how he knew. "I've got to go to work so I can put food on the table, Chito. I promise you I won't be long."

It was his turn to freeze, so I moved back and lifted his head. He was all head and a bony frame. My heart broke and I resisted the urge to scream.

Why did he have to suffer so much? He who was pure and good. Why did mother have to die and leave me to fend for him? I was barely an adult myself but I had to face the responsibility of adulthood.

I shook my head at how unfortunate life was.

Chito lifted his tear-streaked face and gazed at me with somber brown eyes that had seen too much pain. "You're thinking of mama, aren't you?"

Couldn't he see that I needed to do this one last job so he could undergo the operation?

That's right, he couldn't, he thought I was just a mere teacher who taught high school kids English language.

I sighed and cleaned his face. "Tell you what - I'll get a big fat burger, the greasy kind with plenty mayonnaise, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes and some pickles, oh, and a side of chips, on my way back, huh, huh. What you think about that?" I gently nudged him on his ribs.

"Mia, I dreamt you died." He delivered that last statement with so much seriousness I had to laugh.

When I came down from my laughter filled high, looked at him. "Me, die?" I shook my head vehemently. "I'm not going anywhere yet, buddy, at least not until you're well and good, and besides, I told you dreams don't mean anything, they're just there to make us realize we've got a soul, nothing more."

But he wasn't convinced, which wasn't new with Chito. He gave me one last puppy dog look before wheeling himself out of my room. I stayed that way for awhile before remembering I needed to get a move on. Out there was an impatient man waiting for results, and a scientist to be dealt with.

I got ready, which didn't take me much time, after brushing my teeth and putting on my work clothes which consisted of a black tee and black jeans. After that I debated on whether to pack my hair up or let it down.

"Whadaya think?" I asked my reflection in the mirror. I stuck my tongue out and made a funny face. "Down it is."

So I brushed my hair, marveling after all these years, at its soft texture. Once I had finished brushing it out rigorously, it trailed down my waist, heavy and long.

I got out my taser from where I hid it underneath my folded clothes in my drawer and tucked it into the sides of my boots.

As I made to leave my room, I saw it. The hand-made bracelet Chito had given me on my last birthday. It seemed to wink at me from my bedside table, so I picked it and wore it.

I set my timer to twenty minutes as I picked up the keys to Sheba and left my room. I passed Chito's bedroom which was practically adjacent to mine, placed an ear against his door but didn't hear any noise. I lifted a hand to knock on it, but thought better of it.

It was better not to disturb him, he was probably asleep anyway.

I shook my head and quietly walked down the stairs. At the kitchen, I jugged down a bottle of water as I was patched and needed hydration. As I walked into the sitting room, my mind was on the mission ahead. Yesterday, I had been a bit too hasty to agree to do the hit today. I always took my time to study the pattern of the person I had to off so as to know the best way to go about -

I dropped to the ground when I saw movement at the window and rolled towards it. The silhouette of a woman passed the window and continued on. I rushed to look out and was just in time to see Mrs. Robinson, my nosy neighbor walking to her garden.

I heaved a sigh of relief and walked out to the garage.

"Hello, Sheba." She sat looking at me with big orange eyes. I got a hold of a rag and cleaned a stain on her, then I patted her on the head. "Ready for another adventure?"

I started the engine of my Harley Davidson bike and revved it, making a hellish noise as I drove out of the garage. Mrs. Robinson looked up in fright like she always did anytime I rode out with Sheba.

"Bye, Mrs. Robinson." I smirked, driving past her and revving Sheba's engine, right before I put on my ray ban glasses.

I saw her snort of disapproval as I sped off leaving her coughing in the wake of the smoke from my exhaust. As I got onto the road, I blanked my mind and opened my chakra, exactly as I had been taught, and exactly as I had done ever since. It helped me have some foreshadowing of what was to come. As I swam through my perceptions, ready to latch on to what was ahead, something dark railroaded my senses. I mentally shrugged it away, but it was like a veil that refused to go.

Try as hard as I could, it refused to leave my front, and so by the time I got to the freeway, I was already upset and my thoughts were all over the place.

Somewhere inside me - the reluctant part of me - knew I should have gone back, but I have always been stubborn, and apart from that, I had a briefcase full of two and a half million quid cooling off in my weapons place, and another two and another half in my offshore account.

I didn't want to release them anytime soon. Make that never.

The funny feeling persisted all through my ride. It only ebbed when I hit a patch of traffic. Cars were lined up on four rows, back to back, jam packed. I looked down at Sheba and smirked. "Ready for some action?"

I thought I heard her purr, so I wore my helmet cause it was about to get nasty. When I saw a leeway as cars began to move, I stepped on the accelerator and Sheba surged forward. I bent her to the side just in time before another car could helm her in and turned left. I was however stopped by two jeeps on either side of me a few paces in front.

Music poured out from the one on the left. From the corner of my eyes, I saw there were four male teenagers inside. From the gold chains hanging around their necks to the piercings in their ears and tattoos on their hands, I could clearly know they were either going for a party or just coming from one. Either way, I wasn't ready for their nonsense.

I heard the whir of the window as it came down and one of them stuck his head out. "Hey, mamacita, how 'bout you come down from that bike and I can give you a ride to wherever."

The rest of the guys in the car hollered like they'd never seen a woman wearing all black and had red hair before in their lives. I ignored their stupidity and stared straight ahead, but then the window of the Jeep on my right, wound down, and a man poked his head out. "Those kids disturbing you?"

Here's the thing? I didn't like young boys who thought they were God's gift to women, neither did I like men who had saviour complexes, so I ignored the both of them.

The traffic began to ease as cars started moving and before they could say 'holla,' I sped off amidst annoying cat calls from the kids.

Didn't anyone teach them to be respectful to their elders?

I smirked as Sheba surged to life beneath me, angry she had been idle for so long.

"Atta, girl, that's the spirit."

It was free sailing after that, until I came across a red light and had to stop once more. Where I was going wasn't far. I needed some supplies, plus I was running out of time.

The window of opportunity flashed before me. Timer on the red light was still forty seconds away. "Come on, come on, come on." But it was taking ages. Thirty five seconds left.

It was now or never. I revved the engine and Sheba sprang to life beneath my hands and surged forward.

Too late, I didn't see the incoming truck. I tried to break but I was too close. The last thing I remembered before the head on collision were Chito's words.

I dreamt you died.

A L E X

I stretched tiredly in the back seat of my Lincoln Navigator, lulled by the movement of the car. I closed my eyes and tried to get some sleep. Just ten minutes would do, at least for now. As I closed my them, I was plagued with visions of a pain-filled Aretha. She had not been able to sleep at all last night. She had tossed and turned, holding her stomach and groaning in pain. Even the strong pain killers given to her by the doctor had not worked. I felt helpless as I had sat beside her. I couldn't even hold her close anymore as her body temperature was through the roof.

Her fever had broken sometime in the early hours of the morning and she had finally stopped clutching her stomach, but the worst was not over. As doe-eyed as I was and as much as I wanted it to be so, I couldn't hide away from the fact anymore.

My wife was dying.

The truth grabbed me by the hair and slapped me in the face. That was when the hysteria came. I lurched out of our room, the same room we had spent many nights making love and planning for the future. I didn't know when I stumbled into junior's room, a room that had never housed a child. A child that was killing my wife.

I knew what rage meant at that moment, or maybe for one hour. I started with the wooden cot fit for a king's child. It sat grand and majestic, mocking me with its emptiness. I didn''t know where I got a hammer from, but I rammed it into it until it was but a wooden pile of crap on the carpeted floor. Next, I went for the fittings on the wall and wrenched all of them off. Nothing escaped my wrath, nothing was spared. By the time I was done, the room was in a mess, and that eased my heart, but only for a few minutes.

After that, the pain came back in full force. Worse than before.

The car jerked to a stop, breaking me out of my reverie.

"Boss, we have a situation upfront."

I groaned and opened my eyes to see chaos. A short distance ahead of us a crowd of people had gathered, but try as much as I craned my neck, I couldn't see anything. I checked my time. I only had ten minutes to spare. I couldn't not make the meeting on time.

"Stay!" I said to Eric, and got down from the car.

I had only gone four paces forward when I stopped and looked down at the clothes I was wearing. Blue tailored pinstriped trouser suit with gold cufflinks worn with pure leather crocodile loafers. I looked around the neighborhood we had stopped and thought better of my hair-brained idea of going to check out what the problem was.

As I still stood, pondering over what to do, an ambulance arrived and the crowd opened up to allow them carry the stretcher through. I caught a glimpse of a woman lying on the ground, her head twisted in an awkward angle, and then blood, so much blood, it put Aretha's problem to shame. And then the crowd was closing in on her once again.

It didn't take long before the police came next, blaring their sirens to my consternation. They cordoned off the area around the woman.

I waited. I don't know why. It wasn't like I hadn't seen blood before, but just watching that woman lying inert on the ground brought something to life inside of me. To my left was a long haulage trailer. All the huge containers on it were on the ground and their contents had been spilled all over the ground. Oil. That made passing this route impossible.

I turned and walked back to my car, but something caught my attention and I stopped and turned back. Underneath the trailer, a woman's purse lay. A few meters beside it lay some other items scattered in the dirt, obviously spilled from it. I knew the purse belonged to the woman who was lying bleeding out on the ground.

I didn't want to think about it because if I did, I probably wouldn't have rushed towards the trailer. I saw a part where the police hadn't cordoned off, and I slid underneath. I knelt down and assessed what lay scattered around on the dirt. A lipstick, her social security card and a few other knick knacks women put in their purses. I picked them all up and put them back into her purse.

As I turned, ready to walk away with her purse, something else caught my eyes, something that lay a few paces away. A picture. I bent and crawled towards it, intent on just picking it and shoving it inside the purse when I froze. Within the lines and pixels of the picture, lay a familiar face that stared back up at me.

My face.

I looked in wonder and shock at it.

How did my picture get here?

What was it doing lying in the dirt beneath a trailer?

Unless. . .

The wheels in my mind began to spin. I spun round and looked over to where the crowd had begun to thin out around the woman. The paramedics had put her on a stretcher and had her neck supported by a brace.The fact that she wasn't dead didn't mean she was going to last till the next morning.

I shook my head to rid it of my morbid thoughts and began the calculations from the distance where she lay to where the trailer stood.

Once I was done, I came to the conclusion that my picture was inside the woman's purse and because of the impact of the collision with the trailer, it flew out and landed a few meters from it.

That was the only plausible reason I could see and think of.

I knew what I had to do.

I pocketed my picture, grabbed her purse from the ground where I had dropped it, and got out from under the trailer. I intercepted the ambulance as they were about closing the door.

"Hi! My name is Alexander Moore." I brought out my company ID card and showed it to the woman. "She's my secretary." I pointed to the woman on the stretcher.

The lie had jumped easily to my lips.

The woman glanced briefly at me from top to bottom and then she looked at me again, this time slower. "What did you say your name was?"

My brows squeezed together. "Moore. Alex Moore."

The woman took a step back and looked behind me. "Where are your bodyguards?"

"My who?" What was she mouthing off about?

"You mean you don't move around with bodyguards?" She looked at my ID card still in her hands and then looked up at me. A look of reverence jumped into her eyes. "It's really you, Mr. Alexander Moore of Raften pharmaceuticals. I'm so pleased to meet you, you don't know how much of an honor it is to see you in the flesh, and you're such a simple man as well."

I didn't know what I would do if she continued her blabbering.

Her colleague joined us, his brows squeezed together. "What's the hold up about?"

I collected my ID card back from the woman and faced the man. "My secretary." I bobbed my head towards the back of the ambulance.

I saw the respect instantly jump into his eyes as he looked me up and down. "You can follow us behind, sir, we're going to Almond hospital on 23, Creek road, it's actually not far from here."

I nodded. I briefly remembered seeing a hospital on the drive here.

I fast-walked to my car. "Change of plans, Eric, follow that ambulance."

"But, boss, what about your meeting?" Eric glanced at me from the rear view mirror. I could see the shock lining his eyes.

"I'll call Kelly to cancel. This is important."

I saw the struggle in his eyes to continue arguing, but he chose the wise route and didn't. "As you wish, boss."

I nodded to myself and sank back into the plush leather seats as Eric made a U-turn and began following the ambulance closely. I had begun to feel the effect of not sleeping at all.

Aretha always said. . .

I shook my head to stop myself from thinking of her. Instead, I focused on why a recent picture of mine, the one that had been taken during the Tokyo seminar of the scientists, was doing in the purse of a woman I had never set my eyes on before.

I had a very good memory, one that helped me get to the level I was at today. I racked my brain to see if she had been among the protocol team that welcomed us last year, but I came up empty.

Then maybe an overzealous woman that came for an interview as a lab assistant a month ago?

Naah! Couldn't be. How could she even have gotten my picture in the first place?

From one of the many magazines in the lobby on which my face was splayed on. Yeah, but the picture I currently had in my possession was a real picture, not cut out from a magazine.

I gave up when all of the options I thought off fell through.

After about twenty minutes of moving behind the ambulance, the hospital loomed ahead, big and daunting. I gritted my teeth in frustration. I had enough of hospitals to last me a lifetime. I watched as the two men came down from the ambulance and opened the door at the back. Three nurses poured out through the hospital doors to assist them, and they wheeled the unresponsive woman on the stretcher inside.

I gave them ten minutes to find her an available room, hook her up to the IV and take her vitals before I came down from the car. I stretched, arching my back and sighing in pleasure as a bone popped into place in my waist.

It was show time.

I strolled to the front desk and pasted on my 'showman' smile. The lady behind it blushed and immediately directed me to the emergency ward. There, I encountered another administrative officer who seemed immune to my smile. She, however, directed me to a doctor who explained to me the situation with the woman that had just been brought in.

"You say she's your staff, Mr. . ."

"Moore, Alexander Moore, CEO of Raften Pharmaceuticals."

Once again, respect danced into his eyes and he became more aware of his words.

"I'm afraid your staff doesn't look to be in good health. She's got blunt head trauma caused by the head-on collision when she hit the ground. The reason why she's not yet dead is because she was wearing a helmet. The accident would definitely have caused her other bodily harm which I haven't yet ascertained. For now, she's not yet out of the woods so we're observing her."

"Please, see you give her an all-around-the-clock observation. I'll pay for all and any bills accrued. Matter of fact, I'll leave a check before I go that will cover all the expenses, and if there's any more, this is my card, don't hesitate to call me."

The doctor took the card from me and nodded. I don't know why I did it, I didn't know the woman from Adam but I was curious about how she had gotten my picture.

Call it fate or stupidity, but I didn't want her to die.

The doctor said he would call and update me in the evening about her situation, if anything changed.

I left the hospital feeling better than I had felt ever since Aretha was diagnosed with womb cancer.