"How was the date yesterday?"
The red palm print on my cheek spoke for itself along with the stormy expression on my face. Unfortunately Felix couldn't see my expression over a voice call.
"Anyone who claims that females are relatively fragile creatures should try getting slapped by one. This palm print might become permanent!" I hissed in response, still not completely over the humiliating incident.
The pompadour loving investor guffawed long and loud without consideration to my bruised pride. Good thing I was prepared for such a reaction and held the dialler a distance away before it could cause some serious hearing damage. I stared at the massive pile of paperwork and vaguely remembered the reason for my call. While my plans for the business proposal were nearly finished, the official documentation for it said otherwise. Trust the Parliament to make things difficult…
I managed to look over three pages of contract terms before Felix's laughter finally died down to hiccups and snorts.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
The answer should have been obvious but that didn't seem to stop Felix from expressing his concern. "Wish on. That lady was a demon, end of story."
Cue another round of uncontrollable laughter. Once again the dialler was placed on the desk and I flipped through a few more pages of the contract. When it was finally over, the wealthy investor lowered his voice in seriousness.
"Jokes aside, what's wrong? You don't usually call me to talk about your dates."
Squirming in my seat, the words formed a lump in my throat. This isn't something I could share easily. I didn't want to involve Felix initially because of the risks but I was running out of options. I needed a proxy for the plan to work and Nash wasn't having much luck. The thought of asking Felix for another favour was much too tempting.
"Don't worry about it. I'm simply a little pent up and haven't had time to take care of it."
As soon as the words left my mouth I felt like slamming my useless brain onto the nearest hard surface. Why the hell couldn't I come up with something better? That must have been the worst excuse anyone has ever come up with. Heck, even Alastair could think of something more believable!
Fortunately, the man left it as it was with only a hint of amusement in his voice. "Well, aren't you glad you are a healthy young man?"
What a way to be subtle, old man. I rolled my eyes and played along. "Well, then, this healthy young man still has a ton of paperwork to deal with… I hope to be able to give a formal pitch by the end of the month."
"The end of the month is a good three weeks away, Titus. You better work hard at it then."
Giving him an affirmative reply, I ended the call with a genuine smile. It was nice chatting with Felix despite feeling as if I had ingested a bucket load of lead.
Feeling my eyelids become heavy, I sighed. Perhaps it was time for a break. The night was still young, and finishing the papers by the end of the week wasn't a problem. The real issue laid in how I would find my proxy. Nash agreed to help me search for one – I didn't have high hopes. The proxy must be someone I could trust to carry on my mission should I fail. Betrayal was out of the question.
Standing to stretch, I felt my bones pop in satisfaction. It was only by chance but it was a horrific find. A glance at the mirror had confirmed my worst fears. I was becoming pudgy! Usually, I maintained my figure by running around the Inner City. However, being stuck to the desk lately gave me no chance for any exercise. This won't do! Fortunately, tonight's schedule was clear and I knew exactly who to visit. I haven't seen Raoul in a while after all.
"Kevin. Can you pull out an image and audio of what Raoul is doing right now?"
"Roger that, sir."
A holographic image materialised and I wasn't expecting to hear the sounds of tortured groans. The image of some beaten up man on the ground caught me by surprise.
The victim was tall and scrawny with a pale complexion. His chestnut coloured hair was tangled and long fringe covered his eyes. Raoul kicked the man who was curled up on the floor once more, eliciting another groan of pain. I leaned forward in my chair as Raoul pulled the man up by his collar to meet him at eye level.
Hazel brown eyes greeted me and I hurried to find my mobile device to access Cain's system for the man's identity. This could be it!
"Two weeks. I have given you TWO WEEKS and what have you done? Nothing! Absolutely nothing! Is this how you people from the Slums repay kindness?"
The brunet yelped in pain and trembled as Raoul released his shirt in favour of grabbing his hair. Some locks were torn off and I clenched my teeth, seething. The brunet had tears in his eyes and I made sure to record every moment. They were in Raoul's room and the poor fellow was a Special Pass worker under Raoul's name. I've seen Raoul interact with him before but it was always about ordinary things such as running errands.
"I'm sorry. Please give me one more week, no! Another three days. I promise I can get the new batch stabilised by then…"
The sneer in Raoul's voice made me want to kick him in the face. "Three days? Who do you think is paying the rental and your salary? You've been working on that new batch of Pantiumite for a while now. Tell me, how long has it been since you started researching it?"
The man quivered as Raoul tightened his grip on the chestnut coloured locks. "Two… no, three months…"
With a soft yet dangerous voice, Raoul leaned in and whispered into the brunet's ear. "That's right. Three months. The last batch that you had successfully created had been stolen from right under my nose. All you need to do is recreate the formula for it so that I can present it to the lead researchers in Centurion. A week has gone by and you have made no progress at all. Do you know how this could affect my career? Wait, of course, you do. You're doing this to ruin it, aren't you?"
At the last question, I saw how his eyes widened as the poor man tried to plead innocence, denying vehemently. Raoul paid no heed and slapped him harshly. The sound resounded for a while even after the poor man had fallen over. A new kind of ugly hatred for Raoul brewed silently as I watched on in disgust.
"Ignacio Cross. You have a family to feed on the other side of the walls. I wonder what would happen if I threw you back there. Surely Red Rumble will love to pay you a visit."
Despite my churning insides, something lit inside of me when I had a name. Finally something useful! "Kevin, search for the name Ignacio Cross and see what you can find in the Patrol Guard's database."
"Yes, sir."
While Kevin worked, I tried to connect the dots. Red Rumble was the biggest gang outside of the Inner City. Rumours were that they had ties with the Inner City and smuggled Pantiumite on a regular basis for the poor who couldn't afford any. Their leader was Rush Rhodes and according to Nash, that man was famous for being unpredictable. There were many stories about how he forcefully enlisted the people he helped into his group. Women were made to satisfy the needs of men who risked their lives in smuggling operations. Anyone who refused was beaten up and left for dead in the wastelands.
"Sir, the information you requested is ready."
Just as I was about to leave and check on the report there was another blood chilling scream of pain from the live footage.
"Kevin, keep me updated about Raoul's location."
Without hearing my assistant's response, I stalked away to grab the closest work tablet. It was slightly disappointing to know that the Patrol Guards didn't have a lot of records for the people in the Slums. The information was basic but it was all I needed. At twenty-eight, Ignacio Cross was younger than most people I knew in the Inner City.
He had numerous accreditations in the science field, rivalling my personal achievements and maybe even surpassing it. Remarks by the Academy investigators about his personality were mostly positive, claiming that Ignacio was a child prodigy with an innate gift for mathematics and physics. The only thing that stood out was a date indicating his official renouncement for his Inner City rights. The reason was left unspecified, fueling my curiosity.
There was no merit in becoming a Special Pass worker when you had citizenship. Anyone who did that willingly was probably part of the underground. Although his actions were questionable on paper, the snippets of information from Raoul's almost one-sided conversation made me think otherwise. It seemed like a baseless assumption to say that this man was the cure to my poison, the light in my darkness. Normally I wouldn't have entertained such a thought. However, I had a strong feeling that simply wouldn't be deterred and I knew better than to ignore a hitman's instinct.