Chapter 97
Ella’s beautifully rendered speech affected a lot of people. Those, who had been speaking ill of her since the beginning of the scandal, felt guilty and wanted to punish themselves.
Some fans were even seen crying while she talked about perseverance. Most of them now understood the reason behind her silence. They regretted calling her names and decided to support her henceforth.
During all the tension and guilt attack thanks to Ella’s speech, someone shouted from the crowd of APB brand supporters.
“We need justice for our darling, Ariella! Money compensation is not enough! Justice! Justice!”
Before long, Ella’s brand supporters started chanting justice.
“Justice!”
“Justice!!”
“Justice!!!”
.....
At that very moment, Ella, closely followed by Leon and their friends, stepped out of the courthouse through the first entrance. Within the twinkling of an eye, they were crowded by journalists and fans who wanted to be recognized with Ella.
Closely followed by Ella was a heavily guarded Chloe, who was been led out of the courthouse through the second entrance.
Then, someone in the crowd shouted, ” APB fans, attack!”
Instantly, two gunshots were fired. One of the gunshots was fired into the air to give room for everyone to dock while the second was aimed at Chloe.
Luckily for Chloe, one of her bodyguards caught the bullet meant for her on his neck.
The shooter came charging toward Chloe with the intention of killing her but he was stopped immediately by a shot at his arm. He fell on the ground while screaming; “Justice for Ariella.”
Chloe shrieked loudly out of fear and panic as the instantly killed bodyguard’s body fell on her, making her fall to the ground. Her spirit fled from her body as fear ate deeply into her heart. Her wide frightened eyes darted from side to side as her ear picked up a scary statement from an individual close by.
“Kill the b**ch! She is not dead yet!”
Before Chloe knew what was happening around her, crazy anti-fans came running toward her. Their wild and deadly glares could only mean one thing, she was a goner.
Five consecutive shots were fired into the air by Chloe’s security details in other to ward off the attacking crowd of crazy fans. Then Chloe, who had wet herself out of horror was pulled to her feet and whisked away.
During the whole commotion, Ella, Leon, and their friends quickly but quietly left the scene.
Ella couldn’t believe her ears when she heard lots of people screaming for justice for her. Some threw red roses in the air saying, “we love you, Ariella!” She was moved to tears as Leon swiftly led her into the black limo, which zoomed off almost immediately.
Behind the courthouse, three black-tinted cars were parked, one behind the other. A black-tinted bulletproof SUV was parked in front. This was closely followed by a black-tinted bulletproof van in the middle and then another black-tinted bulletproof SUV directly behind the van.
A male and female, wearing a wool full face mask, were swiftly but discreetly led into the van. Then all three cars zoomed off.
The van and its escort were taking a not-so-busy street, in other to join the express road when one of the SUVs in front was sent flying into the air by a grenade launcher.
The shot SUV somersaulted several times before finally resting upside down. The injured occupants in the SUV were quick enough to escape before it exploded due to a ruptured fuel tank.
The occupant of the other vehicle quickly alighted and took cover amidst gunshots.
Within seconds of the grenade shot, an instant battle was initiated as masked men came from different hidden corners of the street, shooting sporadically.
The peaceful street was instantly turned into a battle zone as shots from snipers, automatic machine guns, short guns, and pistols resounded in the entire neighborhood.
A few shop owners and occupants of the street fled and took cover to protect themself from stray bullets.
Cries of pain, misery, and death could be heard from a distance as men from either side of the battle met their horrific doom.
After ten minutes of a fierce battle that felt more like an eternity, a few of Leon’s men escaped the scene with bullet wounds. They were heavily overpowered and had no chance against their attackers; who seemed to be crawling out of their hiding place in great numbers like cockroaches.
The leader of the victorious gang followed closely by his bloodthirsty minions proudly walked over to the van.
“Open it and bring out those dead meats!” The leader of the gang commanded one of his subordinates in a hoarse frightening tone.
“Yes, boss!” The subordinate speedily acted upon his leader’s instruction. He broke down the back entrance door to the van and climbed in. His eyes widened in alarm as he stared into the empty van. He forcefully shut his eyes and open them, to be sure he wasn’t hallucinating. However, he met the same emptiness. Although his eyes could see that there was no one in the van, his head couldn’t process it.
Inside the van, the exact clothes Frost and Jane wore during the court opening process were on the floor of the vehicle but neither their living nor dead bodies were anywhere to be found.
The horrified subordinate slowly picked up the clothes on the floor of the vehicle with trembling hands. He trudged back to his boss and stuttered in a shaky voice.
“B...b... boss, t...there n...no o...one in. The v...van. We have been p...play f...for a f...fool.” He raised the clothes in his hands for his boss to see.
“What the f**k are you saying!” The leader boomed in a high-pitched haunted tone. “I saw them with my own eyes being loaded into the van before I give the orders for them to be followed.” He pushed his subordinate aside and climbed into the van to verify what the stuttering idiot for saying. “F**k! Shit! We messed up big time!” He struck the walls of the van severally. “Mr. Albert is going to be pissed!”
From a distance, wailing police vehicle sirens and ambulance sirens could be heard. Thanks to concerned neighbors, the police were swiftly alerted about the ongoing crime.
“Let’s get the hell out of here, guys! The pigs are on their way!” The leader of the gang instructed angrily.
Instantly the street was cleared before the police arrived.
.....
Earlier, before Leon’s men left the courthouse, they were pre-informed of a possible attack. Hence, they quickly re-strategize their movements.
Frost and Jane were made to take off their clothes in a well-guarded room. Then they were quickly disguised to look like different individuals.
While two of Leon’s men; a man and a lady took the place of Frost and Jane. They wore the exact clothes gotten from the real Frost and Jane before they were discreetly led into the van. Due to the wool full face mask, no one could distinguish them as impostors. Inside the van, they quickly changed back to their combat clothes and got ready for battle.
While the commotion between APB brand fans and Chloe was ongoing in front of the courthouse, Sky and some of his men in disguise discreetly led Frost and Jane safely out of the premises.
Hence, before the battle between Leon’s men and Albert’s men kicked off, Frost and Jane were long gone.
————
Albert Robinson paced up and down in his mansion lounge as he waited patiently for a call. He took several glasses of strong whiskey to calm his raging emotions. However, each glass he took was like pouring fuel into an already ignited fire.
Albert’s whole being was filled with acrimony as waited for Frost and Jane to be brought to him. He had earlier instructed his minions to prepare his butchering room as he alone wanted to give Frost a befitting death that equaled his crime.
Although Albert didn’t attend the court opening process, he watched the whole program live on television. It hurt him so much to see the turmoil in his wife’s eyes as she watched her daughter disgrace her over and over again. He almost broke the head of a maid attending to him, when Chloe had proudly said she would pay the compensation fee of five hundred million dollars like it was nothing but chicken change. His face was red with anger and his mind was poisoned with hatred.
He swore under his breath that Chloe would suffer greatly for all the trouble she had made him go through.
At first, Albert had thought of sending Chloe out of the country in exile. However, he knew his daughter too well. She would always find a way to come back and jeopardize him.
Hence, he decided to place Chloe in a rehabilitation home where all her madness would be cured. With Chloe safely locked up under the care of a psychiatric doctor, he could easily buy off the F&K fashion brand and deal with Leon Treshvire and his wife squarely.
After pacing around for a while, Albert took his seat and focused his attention on the television. He was about to take another sip of his drink when his irked mood suddenly took a horrific turn. He watched in horror as he saw a bodyguard beside Chloe fall to his death from a gunshot wound.
“The bastard!” He smashed his glass of wine on the ground. “The bastard!” He instinctively stood up and picked up his phone. He was about to dial a number when the call he had been expecting came in.
“Boss, we’ve been played! Frost and Jane got away! I am certain Leon has them.” The caller spoke curtly.
“What?” Albert boomed into the earpiece.