THE WATCHMAN

The calm before...

Gwen Schuler rode the bike for hours. Finally, she stopped at a big hospital.

Antonio was bleeding profusely from the wound on his stomach and it needed fresh stitches.

Everyone in the hospital seemed to know Gwen and they quickly rushed to Antonios' aid immediately they arrived.

He was rushed straight to the theatre so that fresh stitches could be done made on his wound.

He was given some anesthesia to help with the pain and told to rest for some time before leaving.

A bed was allocated to him in the VIP ward of the hospital.

Antonio watched in amazement at the first-class treatment he was receiving, and he knew it was all because of Gwen Schuler.

After some minutes, Gwen walked into the room and sat on his bed beside him.

Antonio looked up to her and asked...

"Who really are you?"

*******************************

Lord Murillo was outraged when he heard that The Oraha and Susan Boyle had left the hotel.

"Why didn't you alert me about their presence?" He raged at the manager.

Marco Lahm calmly replied. It is the hotel's policy to protect our clients so we cannot have a bias towards anyone irrespective of who they may be?"

" We could have as well alerted them of your presence and given them a head start on you, but we didn't, so you see that we remain non-partisan".

"Non-partisan my foot!" Lord Murillo retorted.

" If you did not alert them about my presence, how did they know to check out of this hotel the same day I checked in?"He asked.

"With all due respect, Baron General, It is our job to keep you safe, not prevent other people from seeing. Marco Lahm replied sharply.

"I'm sorry I have to take my leave right now as I have other guests I need to attend to". Marco Lahm said then he walked out of the door not waiting for the Barons' response.

This angered Lord Murillo even more.

Meanwhile, Ricardo Pereira, stood silently at a corner watching all that was taking place.

"Who do does he think he is?" Lord Murillo asked in rage.

"Walking out on me just like that? Normally, I would have him put to death immediately!" Lord Murillo said to Ricardo.

"Don't worry my Lord, when we win this battle, we will deal with everyone according!" Ricardo Pereira said.

"Yes! Ricardo, Yes we surely will!" Lord Murillo replied

Ding! Dong!!

The doorbell rang and one of the guards went to open the door and Becky The Reckoner majestically walked into the room.

"Oh! Becky, you're back! How was the family reunion?" Lord Murillo asked.

"Where am I?" Susan thought to herself

. A few moments ago, she was storming out of the hospital and the next moment she found herself in a strange place.

"What's going on and how did I get here?" She asked.

Then suddenly she was carried by a strange wind and she found herself in front of The Light.

It was so radiant that she had to bow herself to the ground. She couldn't look directly at it.

"I can see that you're having challenges with the assignment I have placed in your hands". A loud voice said.

"Yes, a lot of things are going wrong and it seems I cannot handle them all at the same time!" She replied weakly.

" I have not been able to find Antonio, It will be nice to have some help, you know?"

"To make matters worse, I just found out that The Oraha is the grandfather of my son, and he had kept it a secret all this while! I feel so heartbroken!" Susan lamented.

"You are getting distracted!" The Voice said in an angry tone.

"You have been given all you need to succeed and to complete this assignment. You let your emotions becloud your judgments. Do not let irrelevancies distract you, dark days are coming and only the strong can survive".

"What do you mean dark days are coming?" Susan asked.

"How dark can it become? The world is in turmoil, there is confusion everywhere, world powers are crumbling and you still say that dark days are coming how bad can it be? I thought you ruled over all things, why can't you just snap your fingers and make everything good again?" Susan asked in frustration.

"I have given everyone the power of choice, that's what makes you humans. The power to determine your lives, so I cannot interfere with some things, even though I have the power to do so".

"The battles you are going to fight are not physical, you need to know your real enemy. For the enemy you see right now is not the enemy that you think, the real enemy is beyond the eye". The Voice said

" I'm confused, who is this real enemy you talk about?" Susan asked. But before she could finish her question, she found herself back on Earth at the roadside with trees all around.

*************************************************

"I have already told you who I am!" Gwen replied with a smile. "My name is Gwen Schuler and I...!"

" Please don't give me the same bullshit you have been giving me all this while, you think I have not noticed? You say you are a regular lady, yet you have so much money, a house in the woods with a hidden tunnel that leads to a getaway bike hidden in camouflage".

"You have explosives, you know how to treat a serious wound, and here I am in a hospital where you are taken like a goddess! Everyone here knows and respects you".

" I know you are not just anyone, so tell me who you are now!" Antonio demanded.

"I am truly just a regular girl who happens to have a father who was a very powerful and a rich man. So everything you see here is courtesy of the wealth, power, and also the goodwill of my father".

There is nothing really special about me. I'm just alone, trying to survive these hard times as best as I can". She said calmly.

Antonio gave her a stern look, trying to tell if she was telling him the truth through her eyes".

"What beautiful eyes she has!" He thought to himself

His eyes drifted to her lips. They were luscious!

He had not taken his time to gaze at her beauty ever since.

But right now he could see that she was one of the most beautiful creatures ever.

"Antonio?" She said. Snapping him out of his fantasies and back to reality

"Are you sure you're telling me the truth? Antonio asked her sternly, trying to cover for his momentary lapse in concentration.

"Yes, I am..." She replied with a beautiful smile on her face.

"I will not do anything to harm you". She said as she took Antonio's hand into her own.

Antonio was startled by this gesture. He looked up at her with an inquisitive look on his face as if to ask... "What are you doing?"

The look he saw in her eyes melted his bones and he suddenly became weaker than normal.

She looked at him with so much tender loving care, something he could not remember or relate with since he woke up.

Suddenly Gwen leaned towards him and gave him a deep kiss.

Initially, Antonio became stiff in shock and later tried to resist, but he was no match for Gwens' tender touch as he succumbed to her powers and kissed her back even harder.

She pulled her head back to look into his eyes and said the words, "I just want to let you know that I have fallen in love with you Antonio".

[

Those words shocked Antonio even more. "What could this beautiful lady I've seen in me, that she fell in love with me". He thought to himself.

***************************************************

"It was a reunion full of love and tears". Becky the Reckoner replied Lord Murillo.

They both laughed at the statement

"And they fell for it?" Lord Murillo asked.

"They swallowed it hook line and sinker!" Becky replied proudly.

"Jose Reyna really believes that his daughter is back". Lord Murillo said with a mischievous grin on his face.

"I always knew I could trust you, Becky! The league would forever be indebted to you and when all this is over, you will get a just reward. That I promise you. Lord Murillo said to Becky.

"As I'm sure you already know, they are here in Berlin, but what you may not know is that they are in this very hotel!" Becky said.

"We already know that, and we missed them by a whisker!" An irritated Lord Murillo replied.

"I'm sorry about that Sir" Becky replied nervously. "I'm sorry I didn't get the information to you quickly enough".

"No need for unnecessary apologies Becky! You have gained me a great headstart. I didn't trust your plan initially, but to my surprise, it worked! Your father, Jose Reyna did come out of hiding".

"All we need to do now is work it through your angle and make sure we strike at the right time!"

They all will pay, for the death of my beloved wife!"

Ricardo Pereira sat on a chair at the corner, quietly listening to the conversation. But in his heart, he was troubled.

Beckys' sudden return posed a problem to him. He was gaining the trust of the Baron General.

And to make matters worse, she had been working for Lord Murillo all these, while and he failed to mention it.

"Could it be that the Baron has just been deceiving me the whole time?" he thought to himself.

*************************************************

Susan found her way back to the hospital and hurried towards The Oraha room, but by the time she got there, the room was empty and cleaned up.

She looked at her watch, She had only been gone about 10 minutes, "so where did they all go?" She thought to herself.

"Looking for someone?" She heard the familiar voice ask from behind her. She turned around to see who it was.

Immediately she turned around, her eyes widened in amazement it was like she had seen a ghost!