“Larry, please have you been able to see Ken all this while? Marvin had not been to the office and Ken had not reported to him since then.” I asked Larry as I navigated the wide major roads to our hotel.

“Do you want me to place a man on him?” Larry asked.

“I want his location, I want to hear him confess. I want him out of Marvin’s life once and for all. His parasitic attachment to Marvin is not helping,” I said.

“Cassie, have you seen the doctor? I also think it is the right time to let Marvin know that he is expecting a baby. If you decide to keep the child, you must tell the father and take care of yourself and the baby. What you are not doing, there are going to be consequences for that, you know,” Larry said as he sent texts to his men concerning Ken’s location.

“I asked for Ken’s location not for some fatherly advice, Larry. Please locate Ken and let me get to work,” I said.

“Done. Check your phone. The GPS location has been sent to you. Do you need me to come with you?” Larry asked.

“No, thank you, I will handle this myself,” I said as I dropped him off at the hotel.

“Be careful, Cassie, and when you come back I am taking you to the hospital,” Larry said.

I found Ken in a dimly lit corner of the motel, his face illuminated by the flickering light of a solitary bulb. Ken was once trusted by Marvin, but now he was a source of turmoil. He looked up as I approached. The air thickened with unspoken tension, a storm gathering in the shadows.

"Cassie, what brings you here?" Ken's nonchalant tone betrayed a feigned innocence, a facade that barely concealed the undercurrent of deceit.

My eyes were ablaze with a mix of rage and disappointment and I wasted no time in cutting to the chase. "You betrayed us, Ken. You were working with Uncle Jonah and Lucas. Lucas paid the price." I said as I watched his concerned face mixed with fear.

Ken's expression wavered for a moment before settling into a defiant stance. "It's not that simple, Cassie. You don't understand the pressure I was under. Uncle Jonah had his ways of making you comply. Lucas wanted everything for himself, he promised to make me the Managing Director of his new company if he got it. I was under a lot of pressure," Ken said, as if he was begging for my mercy.

“So why didn’t you tell Marvin?” I asked.

“Marvin! He does not know his left from right and these two are menacing,” he replied.

I was unyielding in my resolve. I countered Ken with a steely gaze. "Pressure or not, you chose to betray us. Lucas is dead because of you, Lucas, and Uncle Jonah’s actions," I said.

The room seemed to tighten around them, the walls echoing with the weight of unspoken truths. There were people in the corner aware of the confrontation unfolding, but maintained a cautious distance, allowing the clash between me and Ken to play out. They must have thought I was his wife or girlfriend.

"I did what I had to do to survive. You don't know what it's like, Cassie," Ken retorted, a flicker of desperation in his eyes.

I looked at Ken, my patience wearing thin. I leaned in closer. "Survival doesn't excuse betrayal. You had a choice, and you chose to align yourself with the very forces we fight against. You betrayed the love and trust Mavin had in you," I said.

“And you came here because Marvin sent you,” Ken replied.

“I thought you knew me better, nobody has to do that,” I responded.

The exchange escalated into a heated argument, words clashing like swords in the confined space. Accusations flew, each syllable cutting deeper into the frayed fabric of trust that once bound us together, and right from the beginning, I never liked him.

As the tension reached its peak, a sudden commotion from outside the Motel interrupted the confrontation. Shouts and the clang of metal echoed through the air, a chaotic symphony that pulled both me and Ken from their verbal duel.

"What's happening?" Ken asked, a hint of genuine concern breaking through the defensive front.

I was also concerned, and my instincts were on high alert as I turned towards the entrance of the motel. "I don't know, but I can't let that distract me. We have unfinished business," I said.

As we stepped further out of the motel, chaos unfolded before us. We were caught off guard, engaged in a fierce firefight with an unknown adversary. The sudden attack had thrust us into the midst of a battle we were ill-prepared for.

Amidst the chaos, my gaze locked with Ken's. The realization dawned on me that I had allowed this internal strife with Ken to allow a slipover as I had created an opening, a vulnerability that opportunistic enemies sought to exploit. I really do not know where the shots were coming from. But the shooter was not actually aiming at us.

"We will deal with this later. Right now, we need to survive," I declared. It looked like a reluctant truce forged in the face of an external threat.

Ken, his focus momentarily diverted, joined me to repel the attackers. The confrontation with Ken lingered in the back of my mind, an unresolved conflict that demanded resolution.

“How many rounds do you have left,” I asked.

“Two rounds,” Ken replied.

“Don’t shoot without a target, we don't even know who it is,” I said.

As the battle raged on, the two of us managed to push back the assailants, driving them into the shadows from whence they came. The motel, scarred by the clash, bore witness to the toll as it immediately looked empty and scanty, everyone had either run away or gone into hiding.

"Cassie, we need to stick together. We can't afford internal conflicts," Ken urged, a trace of sincerity in his eyes as he noticed that we had taken out the gunmen.

I was not ready for any of his pleas, as my expression was unreadable, and nodded in agreement. "But trust is earned Ken, and right now, you have a long way to go."

Once the chaos subsided, I found myself alone with Ken. The echoes of the recent battle lingered in the air, but a different kind of confrontation awaited us.

"Cassie, I know I messed up, but we can work through this," Ken pleaded, a vulnerability seeping through his defenses.

My features carved from stone, faced him with a resolve that brooked no compromise. "You made your choice, Ken. Now, you have to live with the consequences."

It took one shot and everywhere went calmly. I immediately sensed an uneasiness in me. Killing Ken brought no satisfaction but a judgment call that had to be made.