'But it's not like I've offended anyone else recently…'
Philip Payne couldn't figure it out for the life of him.
The clamor of footsteps grew louder, and several men in black wielding machetes stopped at the mouth of the alley.
Philip Payne trembled in fear, shrinking behind a foul-smelling pile of trash, not daring to even breathe.
"Where's the guy?"
"Didn't see him. No idea where he ran off to. That son of a bitch is fast."
"Find him, now! We took the money to do the job. Miss Linton said we have to take his life today, no matter what!"
The men exchanged a few more words in low voices, then quickly disappeared from the alley's entrance.
Philip Payne felt as if he'd been struck by lightning.
Miss Linton...
Vivian Linton?!
'Because I know all her secrets, and because she doesn't want to give me ten million, she's trying to kill me to shut me up?'
'That bitch!'
...
Across the street, not far from the alley, a black van blended silently into the night.
