The Formidable Stranger (Trilogy)

A Promise Kept

Having eaten to the point of discomfort, the remaining hour flew by with the wind and before long, the ladies finally arrived at their destination. The location was a bit shabby as rust and spiderwebs created an eerie ambiance. The semi pulled up to big closed gates which were opened after 20 minutes of the constant and deafening sound of the ship-like horn. A stout middle-aged man came out and unlocked the chains before pushing the gates wide open and giving the directive to park the truck to the back of the enormous yard where they would offload.

"Is that your buyer?" Penelope asked in a condescending tone. She was a bit pissed off after waiting so long and her tone conveyed a hint of scorn for his appearance.

"Nah" Sophie answered, "I researched the guy. I didn't find much information but apparently, he's from a rich family- oil business. He recently set out to start his own company in finance. This building is supposedly going to be it...."

"Doesn't make any sense." Tammy added to the conversation, "This place doesn't look like it even has electricity or water, no proper windows... Graffiti everywhere... what the hell is this guy doing with office equipment?"

With the mystery of this whole shebang dwelling in their minds, the truck pulled up in the rear end of the establishment. There was one man who appeared to be the boss and ten others around him who were dressed as workmen. As the truck parked, they began to off-load the equipment. Sophie was taken a little distance to talk with a dark-skinned man in a tailored three-piece suit to finalize the transaction. Mr. Andrews is an exacting man whose character cannot be described from one interaction. They spoke briefly

before Sophie returned to her friends.

"What's going on, can we leave?" Penny asked eager to escape.

"What's the matter, getting tired of my company already?" Sophie answered with her own question.

"More tired of this dump..."

"I get you. I'm waiting on him to come back with the cheque actually."

Tammy however noticed something strange. She pointed out that Mr. Andrews was looking down on them through the window of his would-be office. He was on a phone call but his eyes pierced their skin. When the others noticed, Penelope's face showed a great deal of concern. Throughout her years of being the Red Dragon, she picked up the ability to read a person's lips from a far distance. Glancing at Mr. Andrews from below, he spoke one word which struck terror inside of her instantly- "Kasdeya".

"Girls, we need to go... now!" She exclaimed

"What's wrong?" Tammy questioned

"This is a set-up.."

Penny grabbed the arms of both ladies as they briskly trotted towards the semi. Mr. Andrews sprung into action as he realized his cover was blown. He slammed the phone on the desk and signaled to the workers to secure the area. They made it to the truck only a few seconds before Penelope popped the clutch and sped towards the gate. It was almost an effortless escape until the sound of a machine gun went off. Sparks flew as most of the tires were shot to shit and the bare rim scraped along the concrete. With panic in her voice, Sophie asked what the hell is going on.

"He said the word Kasdeya... be ready for a fight"

"A fight?!" Sophie questioned, "I'm not a Shadow, those are machine guns outside!"

"Gun... it was one" Tammy interjected, "let's do or die" she concluded while pulling out her whip again and hopping out.

Penny followed in like manner, unarmed but not for long. Two men came upon the driver side of the vehicle; one with the AK-47 that went off moments ago pointed in her face and the other guy holding a chain in his hand. To her advantage, neither of them knew her history. When they got close enough, she quickly grabbed the nozzle of the machine gun and pointed it to the ground while raising her left foot to deliver a swift kick to the guy's temple. He staggered and released the fire-arm. She swung her foot back in the opposite direction and did the same to the other guy before beating them senseless with the butt of the rifle.