Chapter 34
After an hour of driving from Ventura to L A., Mark and Sam arrived and immediately went to Sam’s cousin apartment. They knocked on the door and waited anxiously for someone to answer because they were actually not sure if anybody was home since it was very quiet. They did received a text from Luis, Sam’s cousin, that he was home.
The door opened slightly and they saw Luis’s head peaked at them. When he saw them, they actually heard a relieved sigh from him.
“I’m so glad you’re here! Come in.” Luis looked around then let them inside.
“Where’s Melissa?”
“She’s in a warehouse being used by the Los Santos gang. It’s located on the outskirts that used to be a factory near Figueroa. Her boyfriend stole some money and now the gang’s demanding forty thousand dollars. “
“Where am I gonna get that kind of money!?” Sam gasped.
“Don’t think about that! The important thing is to get Melissa back asap. Did Melissa’s boyfriend really stole the money?” Mark asked Luis.
“Yes, but according to Carlos, that’s Melissa’s boyfriend, he only stole five thousand.”
“And now they’re demanding forty thousand!” Sam gasped again.
Mark scolded Sam. “Can you not focus on the money.” Sam’s face looked contrite.
“Are they a big gang. What kind of gang are they?” Mark asked Luis.
“They’re actually just a small time gang. They’re a Mexican gang but they’re not part of those big drug gangs. They thought that our family has money.”
“Why would they think that?” Sam asked.
“It’s Carlos. He boasted to his friends and some of them were part of the gang.”
Sam asked Mark what they were going to do and he said that they need to go to the warehouse to get Melissa. He told Sam and Luis not to worry about the money since he brought enough.
Sam hugged Mark and cried. “Thank you bro!”. Mark fended him off and the three of them went outside to go get Melissa. He was a bit relieved to find out that the gang was just small time gang. It probably meant that Melissa was safe. They would probably not hurt her, not until they got their money.
While they were driving, Mark asked Luis where was the boyfriend now and Luis actually said that the guy was hiding. Sam got angry and said that once he found the guy, he would beat him to death. When they arrived at the warehouse, a couple of gang members were outside.
“I’m Melissa’s brother! Where is she?” Sam shouted.
“Chill bro. She’s inside. Where’s Carlos? Did you bring the money?” One of the thugs said.
“I don’t know where Carlos is! Bring me to Melissa!”.
“I said chill bro. She’s fine. She’s a fine piece of ass but we didn’t touch her. Yet .” The thug smirked.
Mark saw that Sam looked like he was going to burst and would hurl his skinny body on the thugs any minute now. He dragged Sam to his back and took over.
“Look “bro”, I have the Money. Are you sure you want to stay here and chat? Wouldn’t your boss has something to say about that?” One of the thug’s face paled and opened the door. He said to them to follow him.
Mark, Sam and Luis followed the thug inside until they arrived at a huge room. They saw Melissa sitting on a corner. Although her eyes were red, she looked fine with no visible injuries. She saw them and Immediately shouted her brother’s name.
“Melissa! Are you okay?” Sam asked while trying to run towards her. One of the gang members stepped in front of him. Then a man who was sitting in a middle of a couch, probably their leader, surrounded by thugs spoke. “Do you have my money?”
“We don’t owe you any money!” Sam shouted.
“Is that the case?”. The man laughed and gesture towards one of his thugs. The thug went to Melissa and held her back.
“Sam, shut up!” Mark said to Sam. “Here’s your money.” He went and threw a pouch towards the man.
“That’s more like it.” The man smiled while holding the pouch. “”How much’s inside?”
“It’s forty grand as you asked.”
“What if we said that Carlos owed us fifty grand”.
Mark scowled and knew that this would not stop. He was glad that he could cast spells without obvious action. He immediately casted Swamp of Briar and Bed of Daisies at the same time so nobody would actually die since everybody would be affected. He then shouted.
“Oh my God, the ground is sinking!” Mark then cancelled Swamp of Briar at around three second and let the Bed of Daisies remain.
Everybody panicked and all the gang members ran outside. When all of the gang members were gone, Mark shouted to everybody to calm down. Everyone was still panicking and crying but nobody was actually really hurt since Bed of Daisies healed them including the gang members.
When everyone was calm, he explained that it could be a hallucination brought by a leaked gas or something. Then they went outside and drove to Luis’s apartment. While they were driving, Sam mentioned that pouch of money was still with the gang. Mark just said to forget about it, that it was just money and that their safety was more important. Sam, Melissa and Luis looked grateful and Sam said that he will pay him back. Mark just snorted and said that if he would not forget about the issue, they would no longer be friends.
Mark then asked Melissa some details about his boyfriend and Melissa said that they were just together for a week and she actually did not know about him much. They just met on a party and hang out.
Luis then said to remember not to mention anything to Sam and Melissa’s parents since they actually did not know anything about the situation. When they arrived at Luis’s apartment, it was about two in the afternoon. Mark then asked if anybody was hungry and said that he would treat everybody to celebrate their successful quest completion. Sam and Mark both laughed at Melissa’s and Luis’s questioning face.