Inside the limousine, Arlan gave Laurence and Morgan a short introduction about Maharlika. He spoke confidently without stuttering and his temperament didn't lose out to the two business giants. Soon, their conversation shifted to Starbucks' future development. Arlan knew that he couldn't provide a useful idea because of his lack of understanding of the coffee market. However, he suddenly thought about the Transcendent Coffee Recipe he claimed recently. From his memories, this coffee tasted better than Starbucks' best-selling coffee and its ingredients weren't expensive as well. Initially, he wanted to create his own coffee shop and use it as his main product, but it became impossible given his busy schedule.
"Gentlemen, how about I let you taste a coffee recipe that I personally created? I promise that you won't be disappointed." Arlan smiled faintly.
Hearing this, Laurence and Morgan revealed a look of interest.
"Oh? It seems like Mr. Roa is a coffee connoisseur!" Laurence stared at Arlan smilingly.
Arlan chuckled and shook his head at his words. "To be honest with you two, I want to introduce this coffee to our menu. I would love to hear your feedback once you tried my coffee."
Laurence and Morgan were taken aback by his words. The coffee recipes of Starbucks are made with the combined efforts of their talented coffee makers. They spent years perfecting their recipes to satisfy the demand of the market. Starbucks had many competitors so they had to research the new trends to maintain their spot as one of the best coffee brands in the world.
Krizia tugged Arlan's clothes when she heard their discussion. She felt nervous for him.
The convoy soon arrived at the hotel. Arlan and Krizia personally escorted Laurence and Morgan inside.
"Miss Rosalez, please ask someone you can trust to prepare these ingredients as soon as possible. Discard this after everything is prepared." Arlan said as he wrote the ingredients of the Transcendent Coffee. He wasn't afraid that Krizia would steal the recipe since he was the only one who knew the method to brew it.
"Yes, boss!" Krizia grabbed the piece of paper and left.
"Gentlemen, while Miss Rosalez is preparing the ingredients let's..."
***
Karl drove the Subaru Forester into a rural area with little to no houses. He stared at the rearview mirror to take a look at Khalon. The guy was so eerily calm that it made him feel like he was looking at a demon. Even a former soldier like him felt nervous about the thing that they were about to do.
"This place should be perfect. Stop the car." Khalon muttered.
Hearing this, Karl stepped on the brake. He turned his head around and saw Khalon dragging the three struggling men out of the vehicle.
"Stop spacing out and help me deal with them. Although this place is far from the main road, some people pass by here occasionally. Take the shovels and the gasoline. We will need them later." Khalon called out to him.
"Alright." Karl stepped out of the vehicle and grabbed the shovels and gasoline.
Karl and Khalon brought them deeper into the woods. The three men who were tied up struggled fiercely. They knew what was about to happen so they tried to break free from their restraints.
"Mmn mnn! Mmm!"
"Hjfjfkal!"
While holding a Glock 19 pistol in his hand, Khalon stared at the three men. "You see those shovels? You guys will be digging your own graves later. If you try to escape or refuse to dig, I will gouge out your eyeballs and stuff them into your mouth!" His voice was like the devil's whisper. The three men shivered when they saw his chilling gaze. They wanted to run away, but their legs shook uncontrollably, and refused to listen to them.
"Untie them." Khalon muttered as he shifted his gaze to Karl.
Karl nodded his head seriously. He then carefully untied the trio. He remained alert the entire time in case they tried something funny.
After Karl untied their restraints, Khalon pointed the pistol towards them and shouted. "Grab the shovels and start digging!"
Under the threat of the gun, the three men stumbled their way into the shovels.
"Sir, please spare our lives! We were only following the boss' orders!"
"Sir, please don't kill us!"
The three men pleaded with tears on their faces. They were beyond scared at this point.
There was no ripple in Khalon's gaze. He grabbed three fist-sized stones and threw them towards the kowtowing trio.
Pa! Pa! Pa!
"Start digging if you don't want to die a horrible death!"
With bleeding faces, the three pitifully stood up. They hated Khalon for his cruelty, but they didn't dare rebel against him. The man was too scary! With the gun in his hand, he was like a grim reaper looking at them.
The men started digging into the ground. Their gaze sometimes darted towards Karl and Khalon, but they didn't stare at them for too long. It was especially the case for Khalon, they would piss their pants every time they would meet his gaze.
The sound of their shovels hitting the ground echoed like a timer. They knew that after they had dug a certain depth, the end of their lives would follow.
Suddenly, one of them threw his shovel towards the nearby Karl and made the fastest sprint in his entire life. "Ahhh!" He screamed in fear as he ran away.
Bang!
The man's leg was shot, making him fall to the ground.
"Ah! My leg! It hurts! Help! He screamed in pain as he grabbed his bleeding leg.
Khalon lowered the hand that was holding the pistol and slowly walked towards the screaming man. "I already warned you earlier." He muttered in a cold voice.
Karl and the other two stared at the scene nervously. They wondered what Khalon would do.
Khalon kicked the man's face.
Pa!
"S-Spare me!"
"D-Don't kill me!"
"I won't r-run again! P-Please, spare me!" The man cried out pitifully.
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