CHAPTER 160 Purge
Link
After discussing Liam Cohen’s terms and conditions with Thomas Martín at Norma’s house, I went
home.
As I drove past the gates, I saw the people chanting, carrying cards or holding lit candles. The
guards and the deputies stood idly by, allowing the people to voice out their sentiments. It was
mostly women in the crowd, while the men, I suspected, were rtives of the various women sexually
harassed by Ford.
At home, I decided to stay up incase a riot erupted again. I didn’t want anyone to spend the rest of the
night in jail. I, for one, knew how it felt to be behind bars. It was the lowest part of my life.
I was arrested once after my former girlfriend was found dead in her apartment. I had just gotten home
after a tour of duty and since I had military training, I became the primary suspect of the police.
Sam heard about it. We were acquaintances who happened to bump into each other from time to time
during deployment. He sent Beaufort’s best attorney to get me out. It was at that moment when I
decided I wanted to be a defense attorney.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have money and I couldn’t find an employer who wanted ex-militar to work for
them. I went to Sam and asked him if he could help me find a job. He sent me t
see Beaufort.
For me, it was a blessing to be a member of the Blood Disciples. We have helped more people
than the ones who call themselves the good guys.
Case in point… Liam and his circle of friends.
I was happily enjoying a ss of bourbon when I heard gunshots. I stood up from my chair and peered
through the windows. The gunshots sounded extremely close.
It couldn’t be the Martíns… Norma’s house was on the other side of Hignd Oaks.
Images of the deputies shooting the women gathered at the gates suddenly shed through my mind.
The gates were just a few blocks from this house. It’s possible a riot was happening
again.
1/8
11:17 Fri, Apr 5
CHAPTER 160 Purge
I was putting on my shoulder holster when Dina’s voice sounded in my ear. I had forgotten to take off
my earpiece.
“Link, there are several masked men who have entered Hignd Oaks. All are armed and are currently
making their way to the mob. I’ve alerted emergency services, however-”
“They
y are at the Ol’ Barn,” I said, cutting her off. I nced at my fancy wall clock and saw that it was
midnight.
I holstered my gun, grabbed my jacket and walked outside.
If this was Liam’s doing, I vowed I wouldn’t leave New Salem until I saw him in body bag.
Taking cover beneath the shadows of the beautiful oak trees that graced each property, I walked up to
the gate. There I saw several men in animal masks. Judging by the clothing they were wearing, I
suspected they were part of some skater punk gang.
I noticed, despite being in muscle shirts, they were sweating profusely. I could tell by the damp cloth
under their pits. They couldn’t seem to stand still and were acting like crazed lu natics.
I could only assume their erratic behavior was because they were high on drugs. I guess they were
paid in crystal meth instead of cash.
“Put down your weapons,” a deputy said, pulling his gun out.
“Rx, po-po,” the one in the horse mask said. “We just want to y a game of hide and go seek. Here
are the mechanics. We’re IT.” He pointed to himself. “While you people are to hide. We’ll give you
twenty seconds. If we find you, we’ll kill you.”
Some people gasped while others chuckled in disbelief. Well, how could someone take them seriously
when they had animal masks on?
From where I was standing, I could only see four. A horse, a pig, a rat and a dog. Reminded me of theContent protected by N?v/el(D)rama.Org.
Lunar New Year. “Dina, how many are they?”
“We count seven, but there might be more. They shot down the CCTV cameras, so I’m going blind.” It
was possible there were twelve of them based on the Chinese zodiac.
I looked up at the trees debating whether I should climb or not so I could get a better view. My vantage
point sucked.
2/8
CHAPTER 160 Purge
“We don’t want to y your st upid game,” a man yelled.
“You don’t?” Horseman said, raising his gun and aiming it at the man. The women around him cried out
and moved away from him.
“I said, put your weapons down and step away from the crowd,” the deputy said once again. “I’m
warning you. I will shoot!”
“F uck you, po-po!” The masked men began shooting at the guards and deputies. The crowd
immediately dispersed, screaming, most of them entering the residential area.
“Twenty seconds starts now,” Horseman yelled beforeughing like a hyena.
What was supposed to be a peaceful rally, had suddenly be bl oody.
The people ran through the streets, scurrying for a ce to hide.
I
walked out into the open, waving my hands.
“Follow me. You can hide in my guesthouse. Hurry,” I yelled, running back towards my
house.
To my dismay, only a handful of people had followed me. Well, better that, than nothing. I was ushering
them safely inside the guesthouse, when gunshots pierced the silence of the
night.
Time’s up. Ready or not, here Ie!
I was exiting my backyard to get more people when I saw the Martíns banging on my front door like
their lives depended on it.
“Link, you have got to help us,” Norma cried out “This isn’t random. This is Liam trying to
kill us.
I think so too.
“Calm down,” I opened the door and ushered them inside. “Stay here and hide. I need to help
more people get to safety.” I switched off the lights in the living room. “Pick a spot and whatever you do,
keep quiet.”
Once I was back outside, I whipped out my personal distress beacon and sent out a distress signal.
The signal would activate any Blood Disciple within the area for a rescue
3/8
11:17 Fri, Apr 5
CHAPTER 160 Purge
The sound of gunfire continued amidst the screams of many frightened people and theughter of a
bunch of animals. Honestly, this reminded me of the movie Purge.
So many dead people and the perpetrators were so proud
of their handiwork.
Luckily, I was able to usher in more people into the guesthouse. More people, more lives
saved.
“Everyone stay calm and don’t make a sound,” I told the townsfolk. “Keep the lights off, so they’ll think
no one is here. I’ve alerted emergency services. Someone will be here soon.”
“T-they killed the deputies and the guards. I saw them do it,” a woman said tearfully “You need to call
the governor. We need SWAT.” I nodded my head and ced a hand on her shoulder.
“I understand. For now… Just everyone… please stay calm. I know you’re scared, but we’re going to
survive this. I promise.”
I went back inside through the back door to check on my very important guests. They were huddled
together behind the kitchen counter.
“If Liam promises us safe passage, I’ll give him what he wants. Never mind negotiating with my boss.
My life is more important than her cut Tomas said as I entered. Another gunshot rang out, making me
duck down. Even I was afraid.
From his inner coat pocket, he took out the deed of sale I had given him earlier, signed it and handed
the document to me.
“Here. I signed it. Just tell him to give us safe passage, please,” Tomas begged.
“I’ll give him a call then. You guys stay here in the kitchen.” I grabbed my phone from the living room
and dialed that so no fab itch.
He answered. “Are they willing to negotiate now?” I heard the amusement in his voice. It
must be him.
“Mayor Cohen, yes. Mr. Martín is willing to settle,” I said. Now call off your thugs! I wanted to scream at
him, but I bit my tongue. I had to act as if I was clueless.
“That’s good news. I’ll be there as soon as possible. I just need to clean myself up.” He
quickly hung up.
4/8
11:17 Fri, Apr
CATER 160 Purge
What the f uck did that mean?
“What did he say?” Norma asked.
“He’s on his way here,” I answered, lying. I saw the relief on her face.
However, the relief was only momentary. Gunfire erupted and it seemed to be getting closer.
I quickly turned off the lights in the kitchen which made Norma
scream.
“Keep quiet or we are all going to die, I warned Norma. She nodded her head and covered her mouth
with her hands.
I heard static from my earpiece; it was most probably Dina with an update.
“Link, we’re here.” It was Domenico’s voice. I heaved a huge sigh of relief. I pretended I was answering
a call and moved to the living room area.
“I have a guesthouse full of frightened people and the Martíns are here.” I peeked through the opening
of my curtains and saw several shadows.
“They should consider themselves lucky. There’s a sh itload of dead bodies lying on the street,” he
said, dryly. “By the way, do you have night vision goggles? I suggest you grab them. Dina will be cutting
off the power soon.”
I grabbed my night vision goggles from the vintage cab in the foyer, including my
silencer.
“Goggles check. Gun check,” I whispered, pocketing my silencer while I held on to my goggles.
“Good. There are people running down the street,” Domenico said. “I need you to pull them. to safety
while I get a location of the first target. He seems to be hiding behind those trees.”
I went back to the kitchen where the Martíns were hiding. “I need you to go upstairs,” I instructed the
Martíns. “Pick a room and lock it. Don’t open it unless it’s me.”
“What are you going to do?” Norma asked, frightened.
“Help more people,” I answered. “Please do as I say. Now.”
Norma and Tomas scurried up the stairs while Ford stayed behind, cing a hand on my
5/8
CHAPTER 160 Purge
“Thank you. Now help your parents. They need to stay quiet.” He nodded his head and went
up e stairs.
I walked to the front door, opened it and saw four people running, asking for help. I waved at
them,gesturing to them to run to me. They made a dash for it, however, a sudden gunshot rang out.
One of the four, a man, copsed on the ground, causing the three, who were all women, to freeze
from panic. I ran towards them, taking my gun out and praying I could bring them in safely.
“Dina, cut the power,” I heard Domenico say.
And just like that, all the lights went out. I slipped on my goggles and made my way to the
three women.
“Don’t scream,” I whispered. “I’m Link. I live over there. I need you to follow me. arms and let me assist
you.” I felt two hands grab me. I was missing one.
“I can’t,” she whined.
Grab my
“Yes, you can,” I said. “Just hold on to me. I can see where we need to go.” I felt her shaking. fingers
graze my arm, so I grabbed her hand and ced it securely under my arm. “Follow me. Slowly and
quietly.”
They followed me across my yard without any problems. I quietly assisted them into my house,
managing to get them to sit on my leather sofa in the living room.
“One is hiding behind the tree in your neighbor’s yard while another one is using his phone to light his
way here,” Domenico said. “I suspect they know the Martíns are in your house.”
Fantastic.
“Just keep quiet. I’ll be back,” I told the three women before closing the door. “This is Liam’s doing,
right?” I had to be sure.
“This is definitely Liam’s doing,” Domenico replied. “Expendable crazed addicts. I need you to. shoot at
the one walking while I take down the one behind the tree. Call it out after the
target has been neutralized so we know how many is left.”
Crouching low, I ran to my driveway, hiding behind my car. After screwing on my silencer, I took a quick
peek to locate the one walking towards us. I saw him and aimed my gun at his chest.
6/8
11:17 Fri, Apr 5
CHAPTER 160 Purge
I squeezed the trigger, hitting him in the heart. He went down with a thud.
“One down,” I counted off. Finally, these a ssholes were going down.
At the sound of a smartphone hitting pavement, his friend, who was hiding behind my neighbor’s oak
tree, went out into the open. Sebastian, who was positioned at the house in front of mine, killed him
using an assault rifle.
I knew the sound of the assault rifle was going to alert his buddies, but since it was pitch. ck, I
doubted if they could find their way here… or anywhere.
“Two down,” Domenico counted off.
“There’s another one headed towards your direction, D,” a familiar female voice said through
coms.
Joy? She’s here?
Respect.
“Got it, V, Domenico replied. “Link, hold your position.”
Suddenly, a loud gunshot,ing from a distance, erupted. I could have sworn I heard the wh izzing
sound of a bullet pass by.
“Three down,” Sam said throughs. “You guys counted seven, but there’s three at th and two at the
other side of the residential area. Holler if you need me, okay? Right now going to assist the girls.”
“Copy that,” Sebastian said. “Where’s X?”
“On his way. He got held up on the hill. By the way, Link, he needs you to prepare for
extraction.”
“Roger,” I said, wondering why. I shrugged my shoulders… there is always a reason why.
I opened the door to my house and the three women screamed. I had forgotten about them.
“Hey, hey, hey. It’s just me,” I said, “No need to scream.”
“The SWAT is here, aren’t they?” One of the women asked, a hopeful tone in her voice. She
must have board the aeroule
7/8
11:17 Fri, Apr 5
CHAPTER 160 Purge
“Yup,” I answered, hoping the affirmation would help soothe them. All three women let out sighs of
relief.
“We’re going to be alright then,” one said