Selene and Ben joined Peter and Lucy in the living room. As soon as they entered, Peter and Lucy stood up with expectant looks on their faces.
Selene looked at Ben and then gave her friends a big smile as she nodded. Lucy and Peter started jumping up and down in excitement. Selene joined them as they hugged each other. Some tears were shed, well-wishes said, and when all was said and done, Selene said, "Whew! That tired me out more than it should have!"
Lucy gave her a look, "Oh come on! You're not that far enough along to be so tired! We have to go celebrate!"
"Maybe another time," Selene replied. "I think it's more like the anxiety from the not knowing and then finding out and just everything you know."
Lucy nodded, "Yah that makes sense. So we'll leave you too alone."
Peter gave Selene a big hug, "But we will definitely celebrate so you better prepare yourself for some serious partying!"
Selene laughed as she walked with her friends to the door. Ben followed silently behind her. After they said their goodbyes, she turned to her fiancé and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Hmm? Nothing. Why do you ask?," Ben responded, taking her into his arms.
She laid her head on his chest and shrugged, "I don't know. You were awfully quiet just now."
"I just need to take it all in is all," he replied.
Selene looked up at him and nodded, "I get that." Then with some hesitation, she asked, "But you are happy right? You're not just saying you are?"
Ben looked at her so intently that she felt the gravity of his words in her soul, "I would never lie to you about something like this. What I said in the bathroom. I stand by that. When the results came back positive, all I felt was an incredible joy. But still, it's a lot to process."
"I do understand that. For me too," Selene squeezed him, and they stayed in each other's arms for a moment longer before Selene suddenly jerked a little away and exclaimed, "I have to tell my parents!"
Ben smiled at the loopy smile on her face, "Go ahead. I'll meet you in the bedroom."
The next day, Selene was busy in the lab preparing for the launch, or re-launch, of Project Phantom, when she got a text from Ben asking her to come to his office. When she got there, she saw that Johnny was there too.
"Uh-oh," she said, "I feel like you're about to tell me some bad news."
"I'm not surprised considering all the bad news lately," Ben replied giving her a kiss on her forehead.
Selene gave him a small smile and then hugged him, "Well, not all the news has been bad."
Johnny sighed, "Okay, you two. Enough with the lovey-dovey. We have serious business to discuss."
After they were all seated, Ben explained, "Johnny has been looking into Victor's death. As you know, it was made to look like another suicide…Like Brown's."
"Yes, which is why they thought it was the same person right?," Selene asked.
"Right," Ben nodded. "But it wasn't."
Johnny explained, "Our guy at the place Victor was being held noticed that a new guard had been transferred over there and tried to buddy him up. It didn't go over too well so he kept an eye on the guy. Unfortunately, there weren't a lot of places to hide cameras and such nearby so the closest one is a bit of ways away from Victor's cell. Still, the new guard was seen in that area before the alleged suicide. It took our guy a while to get the camera back so that's why we're now finding out."
Selene looked a little confused, "Don't those tiny cameras send signals though through like blue tooth or wi-fi or whatever?"
Johnny smiled, "Something like that but we couldn't use anything that transmitted data like that. So we had to go with local only." Seeing the confused look on Selene's face, he added, "There are cameras that come with storage for recordings within the unit itself."
"I see," Selene nodded.
"Anyway," Johnny continued, "We got that lead, so our people picked up the guard for some…questioning."
Selene looked at Ben who simply said, "Don't worry. We're not in the business of torturing cops. We prefer incentives in these cases. So…he was just asked some questions…"
"…And he gave us the answers we needed," Johnny finished. "To sum up, he was hired by Hugh Brown's brother, who apparently knew that Brown was working for Drakos. Then when his brother ended up dying, he figured it was Drakos. I guess being a son of a bitch runs in that family because that's when he put the hit out on Drakos."
Selene seemed stunned. "Unbelievable. Where is that guy now?"
"Which one?," Johnny asked.
"The brother," Selene answered. "But I guess the guard too now that I think about it."
Ben took Selene's hand before he said, "Brown's brother fled to Mexico from what we've learned, and the guard is still working. But I have a feeling he'll seek another transfer soon. We haven't done anything with the information we've learned."
Johnny gave a sly smile, "I say we tell Daddy Drakos about this brother and wash our hands clean of everything."
Selene sighed, "I don't want to do anything illegal, but I'll leave it up to you both to decide what to do." She stood up, "I'm feeling a little tired. I'm going to go tie up some things downstairs and then head home early to rest."
Ben looked at Johnny and then quickly to his fiancée, "I'll go with you."
Selene shook her head, "I think I just want to be alone for a while. Don't worry, I'll be okay."
Ben walked her out of the office, "I'm not happy letting you go when you're not feeling well."
She looked around and seeing that Elise wasn't looking in their direction, Selene gave him a quick kiss. "I'll be fine," she reassured him.
After Selene finished up some work, she headed out. She had just stepped outside the glass doors of the building, when a black sedan with darkened windows pulled up in front of her. The driver stepped out and opened the rear door to reveal Natalia Devons. The woman approached her just as two of Selene's guards stepped in between them, blocking her way. "We have orders not to let you near Dr. Serian," Maria stated firmly.
Natalia huffed, "Well, I'm not here to see her anyway. I'm here to see Mr. Liu."
Maria looked her up and down before she replied, "We also have orders not to let you into the building. Natalia looked at the doors behind Selene and saw several guards positioning themselves to block the door.
"This is unacceptable," Natalia barked. "Tell Mr. Liu I am down here immediately. I'm sure he will want to see me."
Maria scoffed, "I'm sure he's aware of your presence by now. Still, we have our orders."
"Why are you here, Natalia?," Selene asked. "It's okay, Maria. I'll talk to her. I want to see what new fake babies she will conjure next."
Maria smiled and stepped aside.
"How dare you," Natalia fumed. "I'll have you know that this pregnancy is real."
"About as real as her breasts, I'm sure," Maria mumbled.
Hearing that set Natalia off and she lunged for Maria. Selene stepped in between them, trying to stop the woman. That just angered Natalia more and she grabbed Selene's hair.
The guards all descended on the scene but not before Natalia, who was much taller and stronger than Selene, threw her onto the ground. Selene used one hand to brace herself from the impact of hitting the ground while the other went around her abdomen.