A broken code of Promise

Deadly Plan

Jane’s POV

I was sitting in my room, still trying to connect the cards about the death of Linx. His death crushed me, but nothing came together. Linx was the last skilled man standing in the S4S. I was convinced that Jaxon was killed ten years back, on the night before his wedding, and Linx was one of my suspects. I thought Linx wanted to marry Cassie so that he would become the head of the S4S, but my cards reshuffled when he was killed. After Linx’s death, everything became more complicated. I failed to have a suspect, although I suspected Mathew. However, I never thought he was well trained enough to be able to kill Linx, but just in case, I put him on my cards.

Okay, let me introduce myself. Jane is my name. I am the high-ranked leader of Scouters Defense in my region. I was recruited ten years back when Jaxon and his friends were turned down. Jaxon and I met during a summer ceremony at his high school. He confronted me, and we chatted a little, but the funny thing was that we ended up kissing. It was childish back then because I went back to my school on that same day. I wished to transfer from my school to his, but my parents never agreed. We were communicating over phones, and after high school, we both wanted to join the Scouters Defense, so we were going to spend most of our time together. But things didn’t go as we expected. He wasn’t recruited, so I started to tell him about everything we were doing in my training.

He started to tell me about his self-training and depended on everything I told him. I was pushed by love, so I took all the risks of feeding him with anything he wanted. After about a year, he told me about his four friends and a group they had formed. It was called S4S, a Secret 4 Squad. I didn’t know what they were intending to do, but I knew they were motivating themselves after being turned down by the Scouters, a prominent organization that used to defend our region.

After a few months, they formed the S4S, and I was tasked with investigating stolen cocaine drugs in my region. I managed to bust some drug lords but never retrieved the drugs. That was when Jaxon shocked me. He told me about the drugs they found in the mines and everything that happened. I didn’t know what to do because they were going to get arrested.

I spent most of my time thinking about how to stop Jaxon from getting arrested. That was when he came up with ideas of destroying the drugs or not letting anyone touch them. I didn’t agree with him because I was afraid I would break the law. I asked him to do what he thought was good and to tell me when he was done with his plans.

They didn’t burn the drugs because they knew it was money. They thought of making harsh rules, believing they would stop themselves from taking the drugs. Mathew and Cassie joined the S4S. Cassie didn’t know about everything—they chose not to tell her. She was part of the S4S just to honor John’s wish, their friend who was killed in the mine. Anyone who wanted to touch the drugs was supposed to kill a family member among their families. They were confident that no one was going to take the drugs. I also agreed with them to protect Jaxon, but things changed when I heard he was going to get married to Cassie. I became furious to the extent that I cut all communication with him.

When the wedding day approached, Jaxon was announced to have run away from his wedding. People whispered, saying he didn’t want to marry Cassie, but to me, it was different. I thought the S4S had killed him for the drugs. I investigated from a distance, but I didn’t see blood on the S4S’s hands.

I started to harass Cassie, pressuring the press to visit her frequently, until Mary pleaded on camera, speaking on her behalf. But with all that, I wasn’t satisfied. I dug again, hoping I would find something, but I found nothing. Jaxon was dead to me. I later learned that Cassie was already pregnant with Jaxon’s child. That made me choose to leave Cassie to live her life alone. However, Cassie made a move that struck me—she was getting married to Linx. Things were moving too fast under my watch, and Jaxon’s mother was killed. I started to realize that someone in the S4S was acting. I suspected Linx and Cassie.

Likewise, I tried other ways to gather information, and I was right—Linx was not only selling drugs; he was also using them. He was using the money for his campaigns to be the city mayor, but he never won.

Years went by, and still, Jaxon didn’t show up. My little hope evaporated, and I became confident that Jaxon was killed like his mother. Everything started to fall apart, and my equations failed to balance when Linx was killed in the streets. I thought he was the most powerful man in the S4S. His end made me wonder who killed him. I asked myself many questions and never got answers. I was hurt and didn’t want to expose the S4S because I would expose myself too.

An Unexpected Call

My phone rang as it vibrated. It was around five in the evening, and I was sitting on my sofa after work with my son, Billy, watching cartoons. My husband was out of the country for business. I picked up my phone and looked at the screen. It was a no-name number, and I touched the green icon.

“Hello, who is it?” I asked.

“Is it Jane?”

It was a male voice I suspected I knew, but it was thick. I lowered the TV volume.

“Yes, it’s Jane,” I confirmed, sitting up from the sofa.

“It’s Jaxon. I need your help!”

I was shocked to hear his voice. It was trembling, and I knew he was in trouble. For ten years, I thought he was dead. My emotions overpowered me, and tears ran down my cheeks as I held the phone. My son was staring at me.

“Yes, yes, Jaxon. Where are you?!” I asked, breathing heavily.

“I don’t have time. Do you still remember my plan from ten years back about the S4S?” he asked.

“Yes, I remember, but I told you I wouldn’t do it. Where are you? Tell me—I’ll come right now to pick you up,” I said, overreacting.

“I have no time, Jane. I only have thirty-seven minutes. Start your stopwatch at twenty-five. I’ve sent you all the addresses you’ll need. We need to finish this at once,” he explained, declaring war.

I heard gunshots rupturing the air through the phone. I was well trained in my field, and I could tell the caliber of a bullet just from its sound.

“Jaxon! Where are you? Are you alright?” I asked nervously.

“Please stick to the plan. I am going underground!”

He was breathing loudly, his voice breaking as if he was running. Then he lowered his breathing and said, “If I don’t make it, tell Cassie I loved her—deeply.”

He disconnected the call. I froze for a moment. Jaxon was in trouble. I called for a helicopter, and it picked me up from my home. It was time to engage the authorities on the matter of the S4S. I always knew that someday I would go down with them. Jaxon’s plan was bullshit—he was going to sacrifice himself to kill everyone underground. I called my neighbor and asked her to look after Billy.

Within a few minutes, I was in a helicopter hovering above my house, preparing to maneuver to Gwanda town. My house was in Bulawayo, and within a few minutes, I was in the skies above Gwanda. That was when I started a twenty-five-minute countdown on my watch, as Jaxon had instructed. When I landed, I called Cassie to confirm the addresses Jaxon had sent to my phone. It was time to destroy the S4S, and we had less than twenty-five minutes.