CHAPTER TWO

Rolph was quietly living his boring life in the heart of Texas city when he was called back to Marfa, a desert village popular for its Military history and base. 

Even though this was where grandfather lived, his labs and operational bases were far away, making it hard for anyone to connect him to them. And even if you do, what will you do with such information? 

Even though grandfather hardly left his horse ranch after suffering a severe stroke that had him locked down for two years, he had eyes and ears everywhere and got updates by the minute. 

So when Rolph's slice of Texas city started getting ripped off, grandfather was the first to hear about it even though Rolph was living in Texas city which was roughly 9 hours away from Marfa. 

Grandfather intentionally kept Rolph out of the picture while his own boys conducted investigations on what was going on. 

Rolph's boys caught wind of it two weeks later and started trying to put a stop to it by engaging in fights and gang shooting which led to the death of at least 5 people including a pregnant woman and her 4 years old son who was caught in the crossfire. 

Due to this, the city paid attention to the gang shootings and Grandfather immediately called Rolph back to Marfa. After providing him with the information already gathered, he instructed him to lead the investigations himself. By doing this, he got Rolph out of Texas which means, out of the sight and clutches of the police until he gets the case shut down. 

This investigation was what led Rolph and his boys to Rockport beach.

Rolph and Derrick had been on the stake out at the Rockport beach for 2 weeks but nothing happened. If not that grandfather had insisted that the information they had was 100% accurate, he would have left already. The suspected ship or yacht they were hoping to spot and trail was 6 days late and Rolph was sex starved. Even though his straight, second in command and best friend; Derrick always gave him space to masturbate, it was never his thing so he soon gave up on it and managed his hormones, hoping to finish up on time. 

Unfortunately, the same day he spotted the first male to actually prick his gland was the same day the ship that turned out to be a small boat arrived. 

To avoid further punishment from his grandfather who had already promised him hell for creating so much mess, he had to choose the mission at hand over the gratification of his libido. 

When Rolph got to where Derrick was waiting for him, he met Derrick looking through his binoculars. 

Dressed in brown khaki pants with multiple pockets of different sizes, sleeveless body hug of the same color with gun holsters belted around their waists, the two friends looked like soldiers on a mission to kill. But this mission wasn't to kill, it was a reconnaissance mission. They were to gather pictorial evidence against whoever was underestimating and underrating them by blatantly selling on their slice of Texas city. The evidence was needed in case the person or organization was home-bred and among the ' who-knows-who' of the underworld. 

In that case, a committee would handle the issue but if it was just some small fry, then Rolph was going to have more fun. It's been a long time since he was in an actual gun fight and he missed it so much.  Why else would he let his boys go crazy in the street?! 🙄

"What do you see?"

"Just a boat.'

Rolph collected the binoculars and looked through it. Just then, the boat made a sharp turn and disappeared. 

" It's gone!" Rolph sounded surprised.

"What?!" Derrick asked as he snatched the binoculars from Rolph. 

"It made a sharp turn like it was going to that bank but then just disappeared. What do we do derrick?"

" Let's wait and see if any other boat will appear. If nothing happens in the next 10 mins, then we move in."

"Okay." Rolph replied. 

The two men relaxed but it was Rolph's turn to watch, so he took back the binoculars and took position..

"What was that about?" Derrick asked casually.

"What was what about?"

"The boy at the beach. Do you want us to take him?"

"No!"

Rolph's snappy response puzzled Derrick but he shrugged it off. He hardly ask questions. He simply takes orders. 

Even though they were best friends, Derrick viewed Rolph as a master more than a best friend and that was because any disrespect towards Rolph is punished by death. The rule was irrevocably absolute and Rolph himself didn't have the power to change it. Because of this, Derrick always behaved like a bodyguard and an errand boy more than a best friend. 

Rolph had told him several times to always relax and be closer when they were not at home but Derrick felt that it was better to stick to one personality to avoid mistakes. 

" Did you get a good look at his car?" Rolph asked Derrick after a long pause. 

"Yes I did."

"Good. Run it. I want to know where it has been, who owns it and where it spends its night. "

" Okay boss." And Derrick got on his phone immediately. 

After what seemed like 15 mins, the disappeared boat reappeared and went back the way it came. Rolph had signaled to Derrick and he had focused a second pair binoculars on the sea. 

"Let's go!"

Not far from where they were was a wooden boat covered with a brown drape similar to the color they were wearing. Rolph flung the drape away revealing the boat and two backpack bags containing God knows what. He then went to the head of the boat and started pushing.

'No. Wait!"

"Why?...it's getting away!"

"I know. But since we are not here to get seen. I say we leave the boat alone and find where it is coming out from."

"Let's split then. You go find where it disappeared to and I will find where it came from. My gut says, a ship is dilly dally somewhere and once that boat gets to it, it will leave."

" Okay boss. Let's follow the boat."

"I say we will split."

"Rolph please. You know I have my orders."

Anger rushed into Rolph's eyes. 

"Nobody is here to report you if you leave my side."

"Don't be too sure, boss."

"We will discuss this later…" Rolph snorted. " Now push this damn thing!" He snapped. 

They pushed the boat into the water, got into it and Rolph started the small engine. 

The boat came to life and they sped in the direction the suspicious boat went. 

When they got to the spot where the boat had disappeared the first time, their suspicion was confirmed. There was indeed an inlet, well hidden behind a cliff. 

"This wasn't here before " Derrick muttered suspiciously.

"How would you know?"

"This is the second time I will be doing this recon. shiii."

"Oh really?!..."

Rolph was surprised. "So why are we here again if this had already been done before and when were you planning to tell me I was being sent on a fool's errand?!"

" The first time we came, the cliff had no in-let. This is man made and recent…" 

To confirm his words, he used his hand to dig the areas around the cliff till he came in contact with hard concrete.

"See.... this is not a fool's errand. It's the real deal. I confirmed it before leaving the ranch….I say we follow the boat and come check this out later."

"Sure." Rolph replied with a cold voice and maneuvered the speeding boat into the water. After a bit, Derrick signaled him to stop.

"Here we are." 

Rolph killed the engine and they both positioned their binoculars. 

As predicted, a big ship was lounging out at sea by one of the small islands further away from Rockport beach and completely out of public sight. 

From their binoculars, they could see the small boat latched onto the ship and being hauled into it. 

Derrick brought out a very small, special rectangular camera, attached it to his binoculars and started snapping away. 

" No ordinary person can own a ship that big." Rolph observed. " I say we circle the island and come out on the other side. I want to see the inside of that ship." He continued. 

"There are too many guards and they look armed to the teeth boss. Let's go back and find where the inlet leads to."

"Okay." Rolph replied with irritation. Whether he liked it or not, Derrick was in charge for this operation since Grandfather ordered it to be so. For a boss, he felt like a joke.

Even though Rolph was Derrick's master, he hardly felt like one. What he really wanted was for Derrick to be his true friend and brother but it has always been clear that Derrick's obligation of guiding and guarding him leaves no room for blind loyalty. It could cost him his life.