Nathan was about to give a response to Avery when he saw Derrick marching toward them.Avery noticed that Nathan was starting at a distance. When she looked behind her, she caught Derrick approaching the pavilion. With her left-hand palm on her forehead, Avery heaved a frustrated sigh.Derrick arrived at the pavilion with a clenched jaw. He glared at Nathan and darted his gaze back to Avery.“I’ve been looking all over the campus for you”“I’m trying to have a conversation here,” Avery replied with her face averted from him.Shouldn’t Derrick be at work? She wondered.“Well, I want us to have lunch together. I told you that I was dropping by at lunch time right?” Derrick maintained.Nathan abruptly stood up. “I was just about to leave.”Avery looked up at him with hopelessness in her eyes.“Have a good day,” Nathan told her with a reassuring smile.She turned away with a sigh.Nathan snatched his phone from the table and began taking steps away from the pavilion. While he was walking
About thirty minutes later, Cole came hurrying into the mansion with his laptop tucked underneath his left armpit. He greeted Nathan with a slight bow and settled on the stool beside Don Fernando.Nathan presented Cole to Don Fernando. “This is our tech guy, Cole. I’ve asked him to dig up some things on Salvador after Cameron said he found nothing on him.”“I must say that you have good instincts.” Don Fernando remarked and stroked his beard.Nathan turned to Cole. “What did you find?”Cole placed his laptop on his lap and quickly turned it on. They watched him punch in some keys before he stood up and moved closer to Nathan on the twin couch.“So I created a folder and compiled a list of all my findings on Salvador.” Cole began and turned the laptop toward Nathan.Jackson and Don Fernando were paying keen attention.“According to my findings, Salvador graduated from the London Business School. He exceeded his graduation year because he was charged with theft and other criminal activi
Nathan’s phone began to ring. He excused himself from Mike and quickly responded to the call. “You mean tonight?” Nathan asked. Mike stared at him with a quirked brow. Nathan lowered the phone to his chest. “Charles wants us to hang out tonight.” He whispered to Mike. From his expression, Mike deduced that Nathan was about to turn the offer down. “You need some time out.” Mike sharply replied. Nathan arched a brow. If he wouldn’t take part in the operation, he was hoping on waiting by the house. Mike gave him the look that says everything will be fine. “I’ll change and meet you guys in about an hour,” Nathan told Charles and hung up. Mike gave him a pat on the left shoulder. “Go and have fun with the boys. We will handle everything.”“I’ll be back in an hour,” Nathan said and took the staircase. Mike then walked up to Cole. “Are you ready to work tonight?”Cole gave repeated nods. “I’ve got my computer here and with this stable wifi, I’m good to go.”“I want us to strike t
Don Fernando, Mike, and Nathan were in one of the private rooms at the mansion. Cole had connected them with a camera from the basement so they were seeing all that was happening in the basement on the screen in the private room. It was a few minutes past 11 pm. Jackson moved closer to Salvador and took off the rag sealing his lips. Salvador let out a hopeless groan. “Who are you?”Jackson lifted a finger. “Listen Salvador, I’m going to ask you a couple of questions and the sooner you reply, the sooner we get this over with.”Salvador clenched his jaw and continued attempting to free himself. “Are you responsible for the poisoning at the restaurant? You know which restaurant I’m talking about.” Jackson began with his hands placed behind him. “I don’t know what you are talking about,” Salvador replied and looked up to Jackson with his eyes marred by tears. “I’m innocent.”“I guess you are ready to play then,” Jackson said and moved closer to the switch. Salvador was lost. “Pla
Fredrick was having dinner with his family when his phone began to ring. He swept the phone from the table and quickly left the dining after identifying the caller.“What’s the matter, Scott?” He asked while climbing the staircase.Scott was the head of security at Fredrick’s Penthouse.Fredrick could hear Scott breathing heavily over the phone.“The penthouse was invaded by some men in black masks a few minutes ago. I was on the balcony when it began. They ambushed our guards at the gate and killed everyone. I had to hide up there.” Scott supplied, his tone communicating panic.Fredrick’s eyes widened in surprise.“They took Salvador.”“Shit!” Fredrick groaned and palmed his forehead. “You know what Scott? I need you to lay low and if you get the chance to escape, go as far as you can away from Rockville.”“Got it!” Scott replied and hung up.Fredrick went back to the dining and couldn’t concentrate. No clue revealed the identity of the invaders but he could bet that they were the Al
Salvador hugged himself and buried his head, on his knees, using them to support his chest. It’s been two days since he was thrown into the basement.From the moment he confessed his engagement with the poisoning at the restaurant, the torture from Jackson stopped. Salvador had been in darkness for two days. He was granted a glass of water and dry bread at intervals to sustain him.Salvador was alerted by footsteps reaching toward the basement. He quickly sat up and turned in the direction of the entrance.The door to the basement was flung open and Mike stepped in. He turned on the lights and stood before Salvador with his legs spread apart.Salvador was a mess to behold. His clothes were thorn, his hair was in a mess and he was covered in filth. When he noticed that Mike was standing before him, he slowly looked up at him. It felt like he was looking up to his death.Mike cleared his throat loudly. “We no longer have use for you.”Salvador’s heart dropped. This was the point where h
The meeting ended around 8:30 pm. Nathan was about to head out of the building when McDonald walked up to him. Nathan turned to him with a grin. “It’s been quite a while.”“Indeed. I’m glad you were able to handle the whole restaurant’s crisis.” McDonald replied with a smile. “Thanks to my efficient team. We are good now.”McDonald folded his arms across his chest. “So tell me, how are you gearing up for the business tycoon dinner night?”Nathan gave his forehead a delicate scrape. It was a new concept to him and he was sure that if it didn’t skip Mike’s memory, he would have shed more light on the event. “We will see what the event has in store for us.” Was Nathan’s reply. McDonald moved closer to him. “Well, one of your companies was nominated for the Business of the Year award.”Nathan raised an eyebrow. “Really?”“The nomination list is not yet out but it will be released soon. According to the intel I received from one of the organizers of the show, your company is in the to
Nathan stood up and began to mumble incoherent words. He was so scared of the way Mrs. Jacobs was throwing those questions at him that he couldn’t mumble a simple greeting. With her arms folded across her chest, Mrs. Jacobs kept staring wolfishly at Nathan. “Start speaking, you dumb ass!” she ranted, staring at his cheap clothes. “Stop it, Mom!” Avery intervened, looking embarrassed. She kept on biting inside her cheeks. Mrs. Jacobs turned to Avery. “What did I tell you about making friends with peasants?”Avery tightened her fists. “He’s not a peasant mom. He’s my friend and you better stop embarrassing him.” She maintained. “I think I should better leave,” Nathan mumbled and turned around. “You better do so.” Mrs. Jacobs told him. Avery quickly walked past her mother and faced Nathan. “It’s okay,” Nathan said and faked a smile but Avery knew that her mother's words had gotten straight into his heart and were hurting him. He continued walking away.Avery was about to take a st