Chapter Two

Now the day was gradually getting old as more snow flakes keep falling outside, and the night seem quite very exceptionally cold because it was intensive snowy weather all over the coastal Los Bahamas. A certain unusual silence had overpowered their vicinity from where Freya stood behind a garbage bag watching if the compound was safe. The family residential apartment was built up with some beautiful hybrid plants, which were used to create an additional decoration to the well trimmed flower bed in front of the bungalow. 

Bob and his thugs have long arrived earlier on before she came back and were inside with her parents held hostage. The men even shot Susana, Freya's dog in other not to be able to disclose the ambush to her by the time she returns home. 

Freya returned to a scene much like the one she'd left, which only added to her sense of devastating realities. The lights were still brightly shining to illuminate the corridor except for the ones in the living room. The loudmouthed Susana didn't bark as it usually does when it seems to notice unfamiliar faces approaching. She had deliberately parked her car somewhere else about two blocks away from their resident to avoid any similar situation to take her unaware. Her eyes were still scanning the environment for about an hour yet no sign of anything related to Bob's presence. 

Then her mind went to the well-preserved wood door to the secret room and its counterpart in the other bedroom. It was impossible to be certain, of course, but she suspected Bob and his thugs were inside, otherwise her father would have called her long ago to check on her well-being or perhaps to know her whereabouts. That she believed would be too unusual under most circumstances since the night was already far spent. She believes they may have visited to find out something about her because Bob Joker knows her and her friend down to their root. 

Few minutes later, Bob and his thugs came outside with her parents in their custody, and each of them were pointing their guns at her family. Bob held Whitley while the other two men held her mother and her younger brother, each of them were raising their arms up at the gun point. 

"I am Bob Joker, nobody crosses me and still breath the same air that Bob breath. Today, your daughter has crossed my path and I shall have you all pay with your lives". He said, raging as he often wondered what could possibly be keeping Freya from returning home by now. He continued."I shall destroy you if you fail to hand the tape over to me within thirty days. I know you're not far from me, I know you're listening to my voice. But keep running and I assure you that there's no where to hide. Your souls are mine until I get that tape back to me... You are next in line to die". he roared with indignation, and was still pacing back and forth with rage. 

Freya became more worried because of her family, she was very helpless and all that she could do was to keep praying and shedding more tears for them. "I am not handing this video to you Bob, until I bring you and your men down to justice". She whispered to herself firmly. 

Freya stared at them in such a terrific shock with her mouth half way opened in surprise just at the magnitude of his cruelty. She could vividly see her mother and her younger brother crying at the detriment of their lives, yet he didn't even bother to notice or perhaps pretend to be too angry to listen to their plea. 

"Spare our lives and we will do anything that you want us to do. Please just spare our..." It was just too late for Whitley to complete those solemn plea already Bob had pulled the trigger. 

More so, Freya spontaneously closed up her mouth for fear not to scream out of the shock, at the sight of her father falling to the ground after receiving a bullet from Bob to his forehead. She never knew how the sound manage to jolt awake yet another shock into her that she fell down and passed out immediately. 

Consequently, it was early hours the next day, when Freya woke up from her unconscious state into the harsh realities of her tragic fate. At realizing the untimely death of her best friend and father on the same day by the same murderer. It was quite a traumatic experience that nearly made her collapse a second time; after she'd been resuscitated by the coldness from the snow which had almost buried her fragile body besides the garbage bags where she hid herself earlier in the previous night. She tried standing up on her feet but her legs were shaking and too weak to carry the weight of her body at the moment, so she had to lean on the trash bags until she recovers composure.

Besides, she was still staggering when she stumbled across the street to where the lifeless body of her father laid down in the frozen pool of blood. While the others were taken into hostage by Bob Joker for a ransom to hand over the tape. Freya couldn't help shedding further tears because there was just left a little bit of strength within her. Pissed off and puzzled since she knows that Bob and his men are coming back for her. 

Freya covered the corpse and left the scene hastily driving down to a nearby pharmacy where she procured some pain killers after taking a snack and a soda. 

"Ma'am, I'm afraid you don't look so good. Perhaps, how would you like it if I should take you to a doctor?" asked the pharmacist politely. A young man in his mid twenties approximately about same age with Freya. 

Freya shrugged it off as though it was not necessary to her at this moment. But deep down inside of her she knew quite alright than he did that she needed a doctor. 

"No, thank you very much. I'm gonna be fine definitely. You needn't have to bother too much about me." she replied, then beam a faint smile as she staggered hastily out of the building to the lot where she had her car parked.

Everywhere was boring and full of chaos randomly she thought inside her car with her head resting on the wheel. She always make sure that the windows of the car are rolled up in case of emergency. Freya was soon jolted awake from inside the car after she fell asleep by a certain advanced man with grays all over his head. 

"Hello young lady... You have to pull over for my car to get into the lot". he pointed out then she nodded her head immediately and said, "Absolutely sir. I'm so sorry". she apologized, as she heaved a sigh of relief amidst fear. 

Pissed off again. She querried within her confused mind as she soon drove off south ridge road down town escaping from Bob Joker. Freya really need to run away from town because she could easily predict every step of revenge of the monstrous drug dealer, he would definitely continue to hunt for her until he gets rid off the evidence against him. Indeed, she could aptly regard him as a monster dwelling amongst men; perhaps he is capable to wrought worse evil than the devil sometimes. 

Now that the edge has been broken down and the city is corrupt with injustice gods among the law agencies because Bob Joker have enticed most of them with his dirty money to compromise. Although there's still a little bit of hope at the end of the tunnel if only Freya can get to the state capital headquarters, that's where she ought to take care of the case urgently before they hunt her down. 

There comes a certain time, in fact, she believed Bob may have killed a private investigator that was brought from the local police headquarters, to investigate a crime scene which he might have orchestrated. And that was the end of the case precisely. 

Freya shrugged. As she seemed to reason within herself on the steering wheel driving out of the street. "Who knows? This was in Herbiscus Island, where they don't have many murders to begin with and there the government is most likely to think such things seldom does not occur and the culprit gets away a free man. The investigator CID died of a massive overdose of heroin and the agency refused to believe that Bob and his thugs injected the officer to death. After the corpse was found in a garbage bag under a bridge."

What was supposed to be a crime patrol teams are now secretly selling contrabands to thugs in different places around the hood. They even smuggle in weapons for thugs that are living on the street. Even though the Los Bahamas government has a very strict prohibitions against bringing in contraband and weapons into the state, yet most of the law officials are somehow greedy dogs working hand in hand with the Mafias. 

Suddenly, it soon dawned on Freya when she drove down to the toll road under the flyover that leads out of the city, there she saw many fliers with her pictures posted everywhere on the concrete. "Wanted dead or alive, with a handsome reward from Bob Joker." It thus read. 

Freya eagerly alighted down from her car to check out the notice, as though she was daydreaming about it. "Shit! That son of a bitch must pay dearly for this. Bob I won't rest until I take you out of Los Bahamas." she told herself firmly.

Dusk till dawn she had been running and hiding around like a varnished rogue because of Bob Joker, and it's hard to find someone to rely upon more or less to entrust with this murder case. She felt helpless and broke down into tears as she sat down on the ground with her face buried between her knees. Afterwards when Freya Harvey  felt she'd shed enough tears already, she spontaneously picked up her phone and dialed a number but it wasn't connecting. Then she heaved a sigh of depression and anxiety not sure which way to go from here. She began pacing back and forth pensively all alone thinking of what to do right now, and then she saw a black van with a lot of thugs hanging out with weapons approaching from afar off. She could obviously see the red flag with a black skull and crossbones on it, that's one of the pirate Mafias led to hunt for her. They are one of the most dangerous and dreading gangsters that is sponsored by Bob Joker on a murder mission. 

"Oh my gosh!" she exhaled, while she hurried up into the car and pulled out towards another route, a bypass leading out of Los Bahamas to the next city; which is approximately more than an hour drive before you get to the next town. An afar location in the outskirts of the county with woods on both sides of the road. As she was driving on the highway descending down the hill, Freya could now hear her stomach rumbling for dinner. She could barely think about food as all that matters to her is how to escape through the rough highway with so many potholes. However, what's paramount at this point is a shoulder to lean on, and a pragmatic shelter that can shed her helpless soul from despair in this kind of bizarre situation which just doesn't happen in a perfect world she was familiar with, where the people have equal rights, and the lives of less privileged people are not taken for granted by the government. 

Once again for Freya on the way of what seems like an endless journey, she finally came out over the next hour; in fits and starts when she got to a safe place in the old Woodridge town. She didn't see the men anymore just as she hope to find solemn in the house of an old friend living somewhere around the country side. She applied the brakes then hopped out of the car to feel the peaceful and gently breeze from the woods as she closed her eyes in harmony. Then she said after a little while longer, "Redemption is nigh, and change is on the way." she resolved, at the sight of the beach house where Amanda and her husband live. Now the battle line is drawn out between Bob Joker and Freya Harvey.