Chapter 47 - Going Alone

When Halia finally reached the bottom of the stairs, she found that she was standing in a long rectangular space with some dummies and targets.

"This karaoke bar used to belong to the famous arms dealer, Arvin Chen," Jackson began to explain.

"He built this secret shooting range underground so he could bring his clients to test his newest weapons and I decided to buy it off him after he was sent to jail."

Halia looked around and realized what a criminal mastermind Arvin Chen was. There was no way the police could have discovered this place.

"I brought you here to give you a test. You said you specialized in weaponry, right?" Jackson asked before he looked at his men.

The three men quickly ran into a storage room and came out carrying three big steel tubs of bullets.

"Arvin left behind some bits and pieces that the police never discovered. Amongst them, were these bullets."

Halia looked at the three tubs and then glanced back at Jackson.

"I want you to sort through these tubs and group the same bullets together. After that, I want you to label them and tell me the size, caliber and type of bullet. The boys will be here to monitor you," Jackson explained.

Halia looked at the bullets questioningly. Wasn't Jackson taking her to his meeting today? If she was staying here with the three boys to sort through bullets, did that mean he was going alone? Was he deliberately keeping her occupied?

"Are you staying here too?" Halia asked.

"I've got something to do, I'll be back later," Jackson replied.

Suddenly, Halia got a weird feeling at the pit of her stomach. How could he go by himself? Remy Durand was an international fugitive wanted for robbery, drug trafficking and even murder!

"Where are you going?" she asked; her voice a little shaky.

Jackson looked at the worried expression on Halia's face and could tell that she knew something. He had a feeling this was the case, that's why he brought her down here and asked his three friends to watch over her. Whatever Halia's identity was, Remy Durand was too dangerous for her to get involved with. He had already lost Marcus...he couldn't lose Halia as well.

"Don't worry, I promise I'll be back," he said as he looked into the woman's eyes.

Suddenly, Halia wrapped her arms around Jackson and hugged him tightly. "Stay safe," she whispered.

Jackson held onto Halia. He knew how dangerous Remy was; he had already heard about this man back in France, but this was something he had to do. "Don't worry, I'm just going out for a walk," he laughed as he freed himself from Halia's grip. He then turned and left.

Halia watched as the man disappeared up the stairs. She then brushed her hair behind her ear and sighed.

No one noticed at this time, but her hair clip was gone...

She then turned around, looked at the three tubs of bullets and rubbed her hands together. "Let's get started!" she said confidently.

...

After Jackson exited the stairwell, he closed the secret wall and stepped out of the 'VVIP room'. He then left the karaoke bar through a back entrance. Judging by Halia's reaction, he had a feeling that she knew what was happening and had brought along backup, so he took the back entrance to avoid being seen.

He then headed out to a remote cabin in the mountains. The last time he met Remy Durand's henchman, they had agreed to meet there, but they didn't get the chance to agree on a date before they were interrupted by Halia, so the Frenchman left him a note for Friday.

Jackson parked his car outside and walked towards the little cabin. He had actually been here a few times before. This was a place that Marcus liked to use when he was making illegal transactions. So, the last time Jackson was here, he had spoken to Marcus about using it to meet with Remy Durand and Marcus had allowed him to install some cameras in the place. Neither of them trusted the French man entirely, so the cameras were a safety net. These cameras were connected to one of the screens in Jackson's study room, and it was the reason why he was brave enough to come to the meeting alone today.

But, as soon as Jackson stepped inside the cabin, the door immediately shut behind him and he felt himself being pinned to the floor. Five men looked down at him and forcefully put a vest on his body. They then locked it securely to his body and backed away.

Jackson looked down and his heart began to race. The vest was held together with three padlocks and in the middle was a timer. The number on it read '120'.

Jackson immediately realized what was happening. He had a bomb strapped to his body!