Abacus

them. Listen, I will have them next week, that is all I can do,” he snapped.
    “Fuck you , Bob,” Michelle yelled before hanging up.
    He sat and thought for a minute, there was no other way he could have handled it. He was now in the bad books with his ex-wife, but that was the least of his problems at the moment.
    He got up from his seat, rolled his newspaper under his arm, and paid the waitress before he left. He was ever watchful as he walked back to his Merc. On the drive home, he constantly used his rear vision and external mirrors to see if he was being tailed.
    Reaching the refuge of his home, he pulled up the driveway and hurried inside, locking the front door behind him. He headed to the back door and checked it was locked before turning out all lights throughout the home.
    Once in the front master bedroom, he looked out into the darkened street. It was all quiet. He pulled the Glock handgun from his ankle holster and held it in his right hand. Pulling back the slide with his left hand, he looked at the bright gold-coloured casing in the chamber. The weapon was ready to fire.
    In the darkness with pistol at the ready, h e walked through the house and unlocked the back door. Walking out onto the darkened back deck, he lowered himself into a chair. He slowly raised the barrel to his temple with his finger on the trigger. Moving the barrel up and down, he scratched an itch on his head before placing it gently on the table in front of him.
    Looking down at Arnold, he reached down to pat his obedient friend. He looked out into the darkness of the yard for any movement. If he was to be shot, he expected it would be from long range, so he would have little chance to see where the sniper was. He needed to remain vigilant, so he did not have a beer and he didn’t turn on a light.
    He scanned the yard until he felt the familiar vibration of the DL phone in his pocket. Thank God, he thought. He was apprehensive, and at the same time relieved that they were again in communication with him. He stood up, pulled the phone from his trouser pocket and took a deep breath as he flipped it open. It was a text.
    Carefully reading the text, his hands began to tremble. Losing the use of his legs, he stumbled to a nearby timber support post and steadied himself. Staring at the screen in shock, he slid down the timber post, a totally shattered man. “What am I?” he murmured. He dropped the phone on the timber floor and stared vulnerably into the darkness.
    The phone landed face up with the screen illuminated, and read: Randall, you have been played. Your work is not what you think. DL does not exist. You work for a drug syndicate. Your targets are the competition of this syndicate who they need to eliminate. I’m sorry. You need to save yourself. They will come for you soon. Noel.
    Getting to his feet , he grabbed the pistol off the table and waved it in the air defiantly. “Come and get me, you weak bastards!”

CHAPTER 26 – LEST HE FORGET.

    Randall held his crying children in his arms. “It was so scary, Dad, why would someone shoot at us,” she asked through tears. Randall looked up at his ex-wife Michelle who was being comforted by her new beau, Ken the accountant. Ken himself looked very shaken. His days on the front line at his suburban accounting firm had not prepared him for a drive-by shooting.
    Roughing up his son ’s hair with his hands he felt a grainy sensation. He looked closely and saw a fine white powder through his hair. It was fine plaster from the walls. Bloody hell, a bullet has just missed him, he thought, trying to remain calm for their sake. “Don’t worry, you kids, you are safe now. Dad will find out who did this, and dad will put them in jail.”
    Randall looked at the large front plate glass window , which had been peppered with neat bullet holes. They had passed through the pane without cracking the glass. He watched as the forensic officers took photos of the glass and tiled landing.
    “Wait here , guys, I want to have a word to mummy, she looks upset.” Randall left the kids on the driveway and walked over the lawn of the front yard.
    Michelle let go of Ken and instinctively ran towards Randall , wrapping her arms around him, sobbing. Randall looked at Ken, a little lost for words. “Bob who would do this to us, we are scared. The kids are beside themselves,” she said, wiping tears from her eyes.
    “I don’t know , love, but I will find out and deal with it,” he said, patting