Before the doctor could say another word, the man with the husky voice shot him. Neither of Daniel Heinrich nor Velika O'Sullivan saw this coming. First, they thought these people were going to take the chemist away and could follow them so that they can seek for the lead to the truth of Edmund Leontes' death. Since their plan ceased to work, they had to follow their instincts.
After exchanging complicated looks, Daniel Heinrich pointed at the way out but Velika O'Sullivan refused. She convinced, or more like ordered him to stay until these people left, then they could find clues from the doctor's files.
The sound of gunfire intervened in their argument. Another armed squad broke through the door and shot the former group which Daniel Heinrich would address as a massacre. The casualties on both sides were tied but the second group got slightly advantage, mainly because they came in later. Velika O'Sullivan had seen enough scenes like this, she could easily concentrate on finding the evidence of the identities of these unknown people. Daniel Heinrich was more concerned about an escape route as he considered Velika O'Sullivan's plan too risky. He was a thorough, vigilant person, and after he was forced to leave his field two years ago, he became even more guarded.
"Don't be a coward." She mocked him and patted his shoulder, "Where did your blind confidence go?"
"My confidence is based on the percentage of risk." He rose his eyebrow.
Finally, the gunfire was over. The second group was trying to clean up the mess by setting explosives in the corners of the room. 'A chemical test that led to an accidental explosion, what a perfect and stereotypical cover story', Daniel Heinrich curled his lips.
After several minutes, they finished setting the explosives and sealed the door from the outside.
Daniel Heinrich saw the timer which said two minutes and hadn't started counting yet. He looked down at the bodies and suddenly he saw there was a man with a company badge in his shirt pocket, he tried to use his phone to take a picture, but it was too small and not legible.
"Hey O'Sullivan, did you see that?" He pointed at the badge, "Let's play with time, two minutes are enough, what do you think?"
"Send me down." She said hurriedly.
Daniel Heinrich sent her down swiftly, the timer already started. She ran to the man and grabbed his badge, she tried to find phones or other electrical devices but there were none. The second squad must have cleared every evidence. She pushed the ladder to the vent and climbed up as fast as she could manage.
"Go." She shouted. They quickly moved through the vent, after they crawled about fifteen meters, there was the explosion. They could feel the intense heat, but they were lucky enough not to be injured.
They got out from somewhere at the back of the ally. It was around noon; the sunlight was dry, and they could feel the burn on their skin. Velika O'Sullivan was holding the badge tightly and Daniel Heinrich, once again, felt alive. After years of wasting his life doing tedious jobs, finally, he returned to what he belonged to even that meant he had to work with Velika O'Sullivan. But somehow, he felt working with that woman was pretty exciting, she was the mixture of a sociopath and a psychopath and took risks daringly without considering any consequences.
Dangerous, but exciting.
"I never expected this." Said Velika O'Sullivan as they were heading to their car, "Quite a show, wasn't it?"
"Yes." Daniel Heinrich grinned, "Now what?"
"Go back to our safe house or operation center or whatever you want to call it and try to find out the company." Velika O'Sullivan showed him the badge she found.
His mind went spinning when he saw the badge, he knew that badge by heart. More and more firmly, he was sure his suspicion was true, he was the first person who figured out all the brutal truths, but he had no intention to tell his current partner. He didn't trust her, not at all.
"Well, I think I have a better idea." He smirked and she couldn't tell what was on his mind.
"And that would be?" She crossed her arms.
"I'm starving." With the humming of the engine, he started the car. Unlike last time, he now felt much relieved, "Let's go have lunch, on me."
She turned her head away with a smile, she rolled down the window so the breeze could sway her hair again, she enjoyed the soft breeze in the early summer.
"Yes or no?" He asked again.
"Yes, of course." She answered and looked back at him. he impressed her in a good way. Velika O'Sullivan had heard about him before they met two years ago, and out of the belief that all handsome men were ignorant, she despised him and felt he was just another honey trap. The day after they met and talked, she realized he was far more than a honey trap. He was perceptive and incisive, and that was the reason she desperately wanted to compete with him. She did win, and though she knew how twisted it was, she still felt triumphed. Later she did all the research about him, she was sure she knew 95% of his past, but she was also pretty positive that he was trying to hide a part of his life away. The famous Daniel Heinrich had to obey her lead now, how phenomenal it was.