Chapter Six

The day after the incident, John could still not get the images of what had happened at the jungle out of his head. He always flashed back to the moment when the lifeless body of the man that sat in the front passenger seat suddenly fell into the hole. The unfortunate man was never given a chance. He didn't even know what hit him. The last two shots had sounded hellish to John and the sound had sent a cold shiver down his spine. The feeling was terrible, but it didn't take too long for his hate and anger at Nico to subside into relief that he was still alive. There was nothing that could be done for the man other than to bury him. John sincerely pitied him, but one man's food was another's poison. "The boss wanna see every 'un," one of the ruffians murmured, jerking John back to reality. "Where's he?", he asked. "Parlour," was the gruff reply. John made his way to the parlour and to his surprise found the place filled up. A circle was formed by Nico's crew which his caller immediately joined. John looked around at the members of the circle in mild, but unexpressed surprise. Many of them he knew, but many others, he was seeing for the first time. Nico was the only one sitting. Sighting John, he beckoned for him to come in. John walked into the room toward the cyclic wall of rough men and they broke up the wall slightly to give room for his passage. Nico was now standing and awaiting him in the middle of the circle. John walked to him and stared at him as if willing him to explain the curious drama that was going on. "Step forward, Mr. Baldwin," Nico ordered. John did as he was told and took a small step toward the gang leader. Suddenly, Nico broke out into a speech. "Gentlemen," he began loudly, "we are here to affirm the loyalty and commitment of our friend and brother, John Baldwin... Mr. Baldwin, will you obey orders at all times, without reluctance?" "I will," John replied, sounding sure but his mind was not very quick to join in. "Will you protect the interests of the Quarker Triangle with all your heart and might?" "I will," he answered as firmly as before, eliciting a curt nod from Nico. "And do you submit to all the rules of the Quarker Triangle without hesitation or reluctance?" "I do," this time, John involuntarily hesitated a little before answering. He had almost no idea what 'all the rules' were, but he realized that he was in too deep for anything other than an answer in the affirmative. Nico seemed pleased with his response and gave him a curt nod which John did not fully know what to make of. "You have passed your first test, Mr. Baldwin," Nico mumbled, looking grave but sounding pleased. He extended his hand and John glanced at his face before forwarding his. After the handshake, the circle broke up and almost everyone exited the room, but some of those whom John did not recognize stayed behind. Nico went back to his seat and stared at John with an expressionless face. John took it as his cue to leave, so he made his way out of the room. The surprise of the incident had still not totally worn off, but inside, he felt a flood of relief. Finally, he was now a full fledged member of the Quarker Triangle. Things were moving faster than he had expected. "You did pretty well back in there?" John turned sharply around at the sound of the voice. It came from a man who was lighting a cigarette just beside the entrance into the building. He didn't look like a thug or a Latino, but he was surely one of Nico's guys, John had seen him in the circle. Maybe someone higher in the food chain, he thought. The stranger was now walking casually toward him. "I'm James," the stranger said, offering his hand. "John," he replied, taking his outstretched hand. "I know. We're the sons of Thunder, huh?" "I guess," John shrugged carelessly as they walked on, side by side. "Boanerges, Jesus called us, right? That's why I was dead sure you'd make it past that first test." "What's the first test?", John asked casually, but inwardly he'd give anything to find out. "Oh, your response to the last question. If you hadn't hesitated... Boom! Hahaha." John stopped short and looked at this stranger friend curiously. "Still don't understand?", James asked. "I don't believe I do," John answered frankly. "When Nico asked if you'll submit to all the rules without hesitation or reluctance, it took you a while to say 'I do'. Now, that's the trick. If you'd said 'I do' without hesitation, you'd ha'been shot in a flash 'cause Nico will think you're a cop 'cause no new member knows all the rules. And then... witch-hunting begins." "Witch-hunting?", John blurted, eyeing him confusedly. "Yeah. Nico'll have to dig out the mole that supplied you with the rules." "Hmmmm." "Yeaaaah. Tricky, right?" "To say the least," John concurred. "Haha. That's the way it is around here, my friend. My name's James. I musta told you that before. But if you ever need help with explanations or something like that, you know... Anyway, I gotta go. See you around!" John didn't get a chance to say anything. James was already hurrying off to some men who were obviously waiting for him. As he went on toward the gate, John couldn't help but turn over in his mind the new intelligence he had just obtained from James. He realized that he had just missed death by a hair's breadth due to his carefulness and wariness. The question was deliberately placed last and a less level headed person would have answered it hurriedly without thinking. He admired Nico's style. The master spider obviously had special taste in his style of obtaining the right men for his organization.