Chapter 45 - The USB (1/2)

Marcus told Jackson his location and Jackson immediately rushed out the back door of the club, grabbing a hat from the lost and found box sitting at the back as he passed by it; he knew this would be the quickest way to get to Marcus. He ran through the alleyways, weaving left and right, trying to get to his friend as quickly as possible.

As the air quality in Beijing was always unpredictable, Jackson had a face mask in his pocket, so he quickly pulled it out and put it on, just in case he had to conceal his identity.

As he turned into the small alleyway where Marcus was located, he saw three men attacking him. Marcus was sitting on the floor, defenseless, trying his best to block the men's attacks, but they were merciless. They weren't holding back. They were there to kill him!

One man even held a knife!

Jackson saw some children's toys sitting in front of a house. Amongst them, was a baseball bat. He quickly grabbed the bat and rushed towards the three men, swinging it desperately. In the end, he managed to scare them away, but he was cut on the arm and shoulder.

He then turned to his friend, but everything was already too late for Marcus. He had already received multiple stab wounds and was coughing up blood. ”They found out...” he said as he choked on his own blood. With his last bit of strength, he raised his right hand towards Jackson. Jackson quickly grabbed it and realized he was holding onto a USB stick. As soon as Jackson received it, Marcus' eyes closed, his arm fell limp and he stopped breathing.

Jackson's friend was gone.

Jackson quickly looked around. He was distraught, but he knew he couldn't stay. Whoever was after Marcus, was after this USB stick. He couldn't let anyone know that he was there and that it was in his possession.

He quickly ran to his car, wiped away some of Marcus' blood and hid the USB stick. He then pulled out a burner phone from his glove box, which he always had ready, and reported Marcus' death. He couldn't let his friend lie there undiscovered.

Finally, he disposed of the phone and went to pick up Halia.

That night, after Halia fell asleep, Jackson had already looked inside the USB stick.

”No wonder they wanted to kill him so badly...” Jackson whispered to himself as he stared at the computer screen in shock.