Primrose was panicking, she didn't like the situation at all. Flynt knew her name, her background and now they had no witnesses if things were to go wrong. She would be a fool to trust the waitress. She just really wanted to know what he wants from this.
"I'm quite sure you're familiar with this face," Flynt started again as he put the stack of papers onto the table next to the case. The paper on top had a face that she knew all too well. It was of a middle-aged man, ruggedly handsome with brown hair, brown eyes and a tall, lanky stature. His eyes looked kind and practically emits warmth of melted chocolate.
"But if you need your memory refreshed, this is Arcane Grift. He was a scientist and ally of yours if I'm not mistaken. Which, of course not. He also died three years ago in a lab accident." He continued to explain, with that annoying humour only he, and maybe his bodyguard, can seem to enjoy at the moment. She didn't have the luxury.
Dr. Grift was a loyal and trusted advisor and strategist that had been with them from the beginning. He was like an older brother to them and for Flynt to mention him in such a casual fashion and to refer to his demise was a tad disrespectful. But she held her temper.
"We know him, he used work with us for a long time." Sia looked almost relieved when she started speaking. She does realize she had been quite absent in the conversation earlier.
"My condolences. It must have been devastating to receive the news of his passing on." He actually sounded genuine this time. Maybe death is too sad a subject for lil ol' Flynt. She thought to herself. "And I know all too well just how hard it is to handle the memories after the death of a loved one so that's why I want to apologise for what I'm going to show you next."
She was about to ask what it was before she was hit by a pang of hope, disbelief and pain as she looked at the new piece of paper placed on the stack. It was of Dr. Grift, older and even thinner than before. He looked older than he was before his death.
He's alive.
Primrose was in shock for the second time today. She also heard a quiet gasp from her leader as well. She tried to calm her breathing but to no avail. She couldn't even bring herself to begin to question the authenticity of the photograph. She had so many questions.
What happened? How did he escape? Why didn't he return?
She heard Flynt clear his throat.
"This is a photograph taken by one of my satellites and as you can see, we have discovered Dr. Grift alive and in poor shape to be perfectly honest." His voice buzzed even more quietly. He waved the waitress over who was looking like an adventurer about to enter the dragon's cave. She looked cautiously at the shock stricken assassins and flashed Flynt a nervous smile.
"We'd like some water, if you don't mind." Flynt politely told the waitress before looking from her retreating back to the photograph. "Drink a glass of water and calm down, your questions will be answered shortly."
The water arrived and she quickly gulped it down as did Sia.
"Where was this taken?" Sia asked with a choked up voice.
"The arctic region, specifically, Greenland." He slid the paper off revealing a new piece. "Now here, is also our friend but in arctic Russia." It was another picture of him, he was visibly stressed and miserable.
"I have reason to believe that he is conducting some nefarious experimentations on the arctic ice itself, reason unknown but we do know that there are some unwilling participants involved." He breathed deeply and continued on. "Namely, children."
Children. She was visibly having a hard time believing that her kind mentor who had strong core morals would do anything of the sort. But then again, she didn't expect him to be alive either. She was starting to question everything she knew.
"My satellites that were specifically pulled to surveil the North Pole were blocked and all we had were static images. I had tried to send some bugs over through spies but they didn't have a clue where they were going. My drones suffered the same fate as my satellites. I believe the technology being used here is the one that also makes up a component of my pen."
He took a beautiful fountain pen out of his suit jacket, it was black with silver accents and the clip was embedded with a green gem stone. He lightly caressed it affectionately and the movement looked quite natural for such a practiced man.
"This may look like a normal fancy pen that every rich bloke seems to always have but mine is special. There is a radio wave transmitter in here that I invented, it intervenes with every transmitted signals from devices that don't have specific permission from me. I have some in development by my engineers back at Athens but obviously the area wasn't secured enough. The security cameras were looped during the theft. When we got it working again, we found out that the thief was a woman dressed in all black. Cliched but effective." He showed a clear picture of a petite figure crouching next to a water tank in what looks like a set from a sci-fi movie. She was clad in black and her face was entirely covered, it was a wonder she could navigate at all.
"Anyone you know?" Flynt asked but was clearly not expecting an answer.
"I know her." Sia relied after a few seconds of scanning her own memories. She swallowed and continued. "She works for the russian mafia, one of the best burglars in business. Not very trustworthy but is willing to do anything for the right prize."
"So she sides where the money lies..." Flynt seemed pleasantly surprised at the new piece of information but it was shown through the narrowing of cat-like eyes. "We have used a vast network of cameras and more satellites to track her exit from our facilities to a safehouse nearby. When I sent some agents there, she was gone but she did leave some evidence connecting her to the mafia. We had nearly been able to successfully chase her down but she bloody used the transmitter when she knew she was in trouble." He subtly made an annoyed face. "They were new and weren't programmed to accept any devices yet."
"So what I gathered is that she works with the mafia and they work with Grift?" Primrose suggested.
"Dr. Grift isn't that well off, he put all of his money into investing in his labs and they were evidently burned to ashes. The mafia don't work with the poor. Their main purpose is to make money." Sia provided.
"Unless whatever ungodly thing they're brewing up is going to earn them more money." Flynt quietly stated.
Sia faked a cough. "Um, So what was it about children?"
"Exactly one month after the robbery, there had been an increase in kidnapping reports. From the police database, I had connected some of those kidnappings to the mafia as well. It was easy to access mafia database but due to my previous encounters with them, they had anything even remotely close to relating to me written down in paper. It's such a thrill and disappointment at the same time when the other party is prepared." He leaned back in his chair and so subtly moved closer to the bulking body of his bodyguard who kept a straight face the whole time throughout.
"Though it seemed whoever was doing to the accounting was new as the name Dr. grift was left in there for all to see but the only information in that file were the names of the 20 kidnapped children. I did not know what to make of this but I have a hunch. A scientist that was supposedly dead but isn't, suspicious. Combine that with kidnapped children, absolutely bizarre." He left the rest unsaid.
"Now that you know some details, I would like to have your cooperation on this case. There is far too little information I have on Grift so any help is appreciated. You will be paid handsomely as well, should you wish." He was staring at Primrose and Sia expectantly. "Also, me telling you all this is already a rare sign of trust, I hope you take that into consideration."
Primrose looked at Sia and in her mind, a decision was already made. Sia nodded back at her.
"We agree, but we don't need the money, we need answers." Said Sia, "And for the children as well." She added.
Flynt smirked wryly, satisfied with their decision but also not looking forward to this venture. "That is much preferable." He looked down at his watch. "Well, the new wave of reservation is going to pour in now, we will continue this discussion later." He waved to the waitress while still speaking to them, "Now, I did invite you to dinner in my letter."
The waitress arrived and relaxed that the atmosphere wasn't as bad as before. Primrose didn't know how it had happened. People often said ignorance is bliss but now that they knew more than they did, they were actually relieved. She looked at Flynt, composed and nonchalant as ever, shining the waitress a bright smile. She suddenly felt nauseous, all the talk about children, she didn't quite get the scale of it. It hasn't settled in yet. She needed something to ground her, something familiar.
This expensive restaurant and her strange new allies didn't help. Sia seemed to notice her paling complexion. She rubbed her elbow gently while Flynt was looking at the menu, one was also opened and put in front of her.
"You alright?" Sia asked with concern.
"No, this is weird." She decided to tell the truth. Flynt seemed to ignore them to give the illusion of privacy. Sia examined her a little.
"Hey, I know a place to eat, it's not fancy but it has the best noodles in New york." Sia announced. It was a miracle how much a good secret and common goal can break down perfect facades. Sia was already acting friendly with Flynt when thirty minute ago, she trusted him like one one would trust a reformed serial rapist. Primrose thinks it's inevitable, they had an important mission and trust is crucial in teamwork.
Flynt merely lifted is head and stared at Sia after he heard at suggestion. He then scrutinized both of them before giving a small shrug and closing the menu minutely, giving it back to the waitress who did not seem in any way, shape or form, dissatisfied. He tapped the table twice to signal something to the waitress, in which the content Primrose didn't have a clue of. The waitr-Jane nodded before coming to her side of the table to take the menu back. Primrose could smell expensive perfume on her, surprisingly. It seems this restaurant really likes to give false first impressions. She looked at Flynt who was just standing up along with Sasha so she also stood up.
Sia smiled and stood abruptly as well, traces of horror barely leaving her eyes.
"We'll tell the Limo to leave first." She turned to Flynt, "We'll ride with you, is that okay?"
"My pleasure." Flynt smiled amiably. She didn't find his smiles so charming anymore, just...fake. The smirks and grimaces were more genuine and attractive in her opinion.
Before they left, she noticed that the waitress was starting to feel the underside of the table. Strange. She shrugged and continued to walk. Today was enough.