PROLOGUE

It was two o'clock in the morning. A man, in his early twenties, dressed in a black smooth trench coat, walked briskly towards the building. Taking care to avoid detection, he had chosen the route that intersected with the gloomy and old HDB flats, which was dimly lit with incense every other unit. He was not about to take the risk of ruin everything now by going the other way, which meant being exposed to the bright lights of the petrol station just outside the building.

No, he thought. The Boss will not like that. He thought of the Boss with so much contempt, yet in his heart he had much admiration, and fear, for the man. This was the last step of the plan, and he had been given the honour of executing it. Clearly, he reasoned, he was the chosen one for the Boss' inheritance.

The Boss, being rich and powerful, was however, old. He had once, in a very casual fashion, let word that one of his guys would eventually inherit his riches and title, and it was all up to their performance to decide who would get the coveted title.

As the man proceeded nearer and nearer to the building, his mind whirled with such thoughts of getting the title and the money that his hands grew numb with excitement. He calmed himself down by thinking through the plan over again in his head. It did little to help. He had already known the plan by heart and it was already infused in him.

Finally, he reached the side gate. He stopped and took a deep breath. Under the moonlight, the metallic letters which spelled the name of the building gleamed beautifully. JURONG JUNIOR COLLEGE, it read. The man felt his heart thumping in his throat. He swallowed hard. Why was he scared now? He had gone through the plan so many times; it was ridiculous to be scared now. Was it because this was his alma mater? But he hated this place, so why would he be afraid to commit a crime here? He should be happy instead. Or could it be…?

With a crack of his neck, he waved those thoughts away. He had no other choice, all he could do now is to concentrate, and after that, he would be the rightful heir…

Placing one leg halfway on the side gate and both arms on the top, he hoisted himself over the gate and landed with a soft thump. He stood up quickly, and looked nervously around. Good, no one had noticed him. Pulling his trench coat closer to him, he walked purposefully into the compounds of the college. The air seemed to grow humid around him, as though memories of the place had closed around him. He knew that at this hour, the security guard would be sleeping in the canteen with a few lights on, and he had to avoid that place. Or lose that title.

Moving stealthily across the car park, the man finally reached his destination. The General Office of the school came into sight. Standing in front of the General Office, the man took out the key that had been given to him. Fingers shivering, he inserted the key into the keyhole.

It'll be over soon, he thought. One last step…

To his utter disappointment, the door did not click open. A pang of fright came over him. He cannot afford to fail now! He tried again, but the door did not open still. Frantically, he looked left and right, but there, in front of him was the only door! There were shutters, but they were not in the plan!

Suddenly, pained seared through his whole body and warm blood began to flow down his back, tricking down his leg. He had been pierced from the back, and the pain was over powering him, he could not shout, he could not speak…

"Pathetic."

A voice came from behind him as he fell to the ground. A hooded figure was standing halfway on the spiral staircase, just outside the staff room. The hooded figure began to descend, and as he did, the man started to crawl away, struggling with all his might.

"That's the best that you can do? And you expect to be the heir of the Boss?" the hooded figure asked, then gave a howl of laughter, which echoed loudly in the cavity of the Administrative Block, as though not expecting an answer.

The Boss? He thought. And then it hit him like a rock. He had been double crossed.

"Who…who are you?" the man asked fearfully, as he tried to crawl further away, leaving a bloody trail. "Why-"

"Silence!" the hooded figure demanded. "You have no right to question me, for I am acting on orders on behalf of the Boss!"

"No," the man said. He could now stand up, but walked unsteadily. The hooded figure had landed in front of him and they were just two meters way from each other. "No, it can't be…"

"You shall die," the hooded figure snarled, and inched closer towards him. "Within minutes, you shall die. The knife I pierced you with has been smeared with cobra venom, courtesy of the Boss."

The man knew it must be true now. Many a times he had seen this classic attack by his Boss, but he never thought that he would someday be on the receiving end of it.

"But why kill me now? Here? Why?" the man asked. He could feel the agony in his body as the venom spread.

"Why, I thought you should know better," the hooded figure said quietly.

No. No way.

"Seems like you do know. Well, goodbye then," the hooded figure said and turned on the spot to leave.

"NOOOO!!" the man shouted desperately. "SECURITY! SECURITY!"

"Security's dead. And," the hooded figure said coldly. "Being agitated will make you die faster."

It was true, he could feel his vision blurring, then coming into sight, his heart beating irregularly, not to mention cold sweat dripping down his face…

As a last resort, the man lunged towards the hooded figure and pulled the hood off. The man fell backwards when he saw the face underneath the hood.

"No way! You!" the man pointed at his attacker with shock.

"That's right, it's me," the hooded figure said without even flinching. "Although I do regret that you had to see my face before you die."

That said, the hooded figure kicked the man hard in his stomach and fled into the darkness, leaving the man struggling on the floor. He had been double crossed, and left to die alone. He shut his eyes hard in both pain and anger.

I have to expose them. I have to. But how?

Then he thought of it.

When it was all done, the man struggled to the canteen and lay beside the dead security guard. With his last dying breath, he prayed that all would be uncovered.