บท 1: Chapter 1: Lucious Valentine (r-15)

(Somewhere in the Sahara Desert, Morocco)

In the heart of the military camp base, a dimly lit tent stood shrouded in secrecy. Inside, the atmosphere was thick with tension, a heavy silence broken only by the gentle rustling of the canvas in the wind. The flickering lanterns cast eerie shadows on the walls, and at the center of the room sat a gruesome sight.

A dead body, swathed in the regal uniform of a general, was seated stiffly in a chair. The general's eyes were lifeless, staring blankly into the distance. A deep, gruesome gash ran across his throat, and the steady trickle of blood stained his uniform.

Amidst this chilling tableau, a lone soldier entered the tent, drawn by an inexplicable urge to investigate. His boots shuffled across the rough floor, a stark contrast to the stillness around him. As he approached the body, his eyes widened in shock and horror. He staggered back, letting out a guttural cry that pierced the night.

"The general is dead!" he shouted, his voice trembling with fear and disbelief.

His cry rang through the camp, summoning a swarm of fellow soldiers, each arriving in haste, armed and alert. They gathered around the general's lifeless form, their faces etched with confusion and dread.

As the soldiers took in the gruesome scene, their eyes landed on the table before the deceased general. There should have been a vital map, which they found not long ago, lay spread out on the table, along with a small, ornate key. The map, painstakingly marked with strategic points, and the key, its significance known only to a select few, had been entrusted to their now-slain leader.

But it was clear that the key and map were missing.

A bald muscular man with a forearm tattoo took a deep breath.

The bald high-ranking soldier, his brows furrowed with suspicion, couldn't help but connect the dots. "Where is Assistant General Lucious?" he demanded, his voice echoing with authority and concern. "Has anyone not informed him?"

A hush fell over the tent, and the soldiers exchanged nervous glances. Then, a young soldier, fear etched across his face, stepped forward and stammered, "Sir, Sir Lucious took one of the vehicles with his subordinates for patrolling not long ago."

The room seemed to grow colder as the implications of this revelation set in. The bald soldier's eyes narrowed, and his mind raced. Lucious, the Assistant General, had left the base shortly before the discovery of the general's murder and the theft of the key. It was a damning coincidence.

The high-ranking soldier's jaw clenched as he jumped to a conclusion that sent shivers down the spines of those present. "He's gone rogue," he declared, his voice cold and resolute. "Lucious must be the one who killed the general and stole the key. We have a traitor in our midst, and we need to track him down before he can do any more damage."

*********

Under the relentless desert sun, the green Hummer H1 raced through the arid expanse, leaving a billowing cloud of sand in its wake. The deafening roar of the engine harmonized with the lively strains of Western music blaring from the car's speakers, creating an atmosphere of exhilaration and recklessness.

In the front seats, two men sat, their eyes constantly darting to the rearview mirror, their expressions a mix of excitement and apprehension. At the back of the car, passion flared like wildfire as a muscular man, shirtless and bronzed by the sun, wearing a silver tag chain that glistened in the harsh light. His raven-black hair framed a face chiseled with rugged masculinity. He and a striking woman, her red top hugging her form and black shorts accentuating her curves, engaged in a passionate and intense kiss.

Their kiss was an expression of primal desire, the kind that defied reason and restraint. Their hands gripped each other with a ferocity that mirrored the desert winds whistling outside. It was a scene of raw sensuality, a captivating moment suspended in time.

The two men in the front seats exchanged uneasy glances, the tension in the car palpable. They knew that their leader, Lucious, was a man of unpredictable impulses. His actions were guided by an enigmatic set of desires.

As the Hummer hurtled through the desert, the man in the passenger seat, named Jack, couldn't resist the urge to capture the intense scene unfolding in the back. He reached into his bag, pulled out a small camcorder, and aimed it toward the amorous couple in the rear seat. The camcorder's screen flickered to life, recording the passionate exchange between Lucious and the girl.

However, Jack's voyeuristic tendencies didn't go unnoticed. The girl, her fiery eyes momentarily breaking from their passionate lock with Lucious, shot a searing glare at him. Her tone was sharp and menacing as she warned, "Hey, Jack, stop bothering us and look in front, or I will kill you."

"Sophie, you know we are traveling nonstop till yesterday after killing the general, right? I have gotten bored looking at the pathetic sandy desert all this while. I think I should deserve a change of scenery No?" Jack retorted with a mischievous grin.

"You..YOU!..." Shofie stared at Jack with anger-filled expressions but then, suddenly Lucious's hand grabbed Sophie's chin and forced her to look his way as he started kissing her again while fondling her breasts.

Jack started the recording again but then Lucious gave him a side eye, which gave Jake shivers down his spine.

Jack swallowed hard and quickly retracted the camcorder, averting his gaze and turning his attention back to the road ahead. The veiled threat in Lucious glance was all too clear, and he had no intention of testing the limits of his patience.

The desert landscape stretched endlessly before them, and the relentless sun beat down on the Hummer as it roared forward. The driver, sweat glistening on his forehead, couldn't help but voice his concern. "Boss, when will we reach our destination? Should we really keep going north for another hour?"

Lucious, his enigmatic demeanor undisturbed by the driver's question, met his gaze in the rearview mirror. A confident smile played at the corners of his lips as he reassured his subordinates, "Yup, just one more hour, and we'll be at our destination."

Lucious's words carried a magnetic assurance, a charisma that had always been a defining quality of his leadership. The men in the car, though uncertain about the mission's specifics, harbored unwavering faith in their enigmatic leader. He was a man who had navigated them through treacherous situations before, and his charisma and competence had always proven to be their guiding light.

The driver nodded, his doubts temporarily quelled by Lucious's words. As they continued their journey, they were aware that the key and the map were their most valuable assets. Without them, the camp's forces would be left in the dark, and Lucious's charismatic leadership was the driving force that kept them moving forward, even in the face of uncertainty.

*****

Some people could be seen watching Lucious' car with binoculars from afar. One of the men watching them grabbed a walkie-talkie and started talking in Arabic, "Ra'iis (boss) There is a military car heading towards our base."

"What? Only one car and no drones, are you certain?" An aged man with a big beard asked from the other side of Walkie.