. . .
Jinno Di Angelo's eyes narrowed, scrutiny plastered all over his face, "So you do know something about Chikamoto's plans. You're as guilty as it sounds."
Greissha's eyebrows formed an arch, "I said I'm only here to save my neck. How does that make me sound guilty?"
"You're not willing to commit to full disclosure," he replied. "There must have been talks between you and Chikamoto already, and you're worried that I'm merely his agent, trying to test your loyalty."
Greissha's eyes lit up, her face rather inpressed by the commander's impeccable deduction. "That's impressive. You're right, we did have some negotiations he failed to keep," she said. "But I don't trust you either, and I'd rather lose my head against Chikamoto than offer you anything ever again."
"Well, you might want to reconsider after seeing this," Jinno's hand reached out for a suit case on the side of the couch, carefully flipping to the papers inside before handing one to Greissha.
"What's this?" she asked, her eyes punching holes into the paper upon reading the content. "He's turning all my buildings in Japan into pig-processing factories? That son of a bitch!"
Although Greissha rarely cared about material things, she still had her bottom line. She was indifferent to her name being tarnished, but when it came to her life's work—her buildings, her properties, her craft—she was adamant about not letting them suffer any damage.
A victorious smile crossed the commander's lips knowing how he bagged the right news, "Do you wanna talk now?"
"Fine." Greissha said with gritted teeth, her hand curved into a fist as it slammed the papers to the ground, "I didn't pay millions for landscaping , interior design, and greek-modern architecture just to have my properties butchered. That sick bastard."
The commander got comfortable on the couch, both his arms crossed while waiting for Greissha Ricci's statement.
"I found every single specific detail of Chikamoto's plan by accident, and that should put you in shame." Greissha said, "You bragged about your men and their investigate skills whatever—digging for something I found out in the open."
Jinno Di Angelo smiled, that signature sinister smile. "I'll take your insult and bragging, so what exactly do you want?"
"I'll tell you everything I know, give you all the resources you might need, and in return, you clear my name and kill that bastard Chikamoto."
"You want him killed?"
"I was joking. Of course not. It's already packed in hell. I'd have nowhere to sit in if he gets there first," Greissha said with a low, threatening voice, ironic to her claims of jesting. "I'll decide what happens to him later. And that decision should be part of the deal."
"I feel like I'm getting the lower half of the bargain," Jinno said, finally taking out the version Greissha Ricci always knew. The complicated, doubtful, calculating Di Angelo.
"Fine. To cement this deal, I'll tell you the gist of everything," Greissha said. "Deputy Prime Minister Chikamoto is working with Prime Minister Kwang. Both ministers planning to overthrow their leaders," she said, "Thanks to me, they just ousted Haruki Nendo. Their next plan is to oust President Geum Gyu Beom, and they're willing to put hundreds of civilians at risk just to stir civil unrest."
"Thanks to you?" The commander reiterated. "You said you weren't involved. And what civil unrest?"
Greissha explained the grand conspiracy behind her detainment, and crazy enough, the commander never questioned her story as if he found none of her misfortune of interest. This cooperation was in shambles to begin with, she knew.
Screw Chikamoto, and screw the UIF. Everything she lost, she'll reclaim by herself.
Once she was finished, Jinno Di Angelo shifted in his seat upon hearing her statement, now more vigilant he might as well fly to a different country right this moment. "What about the civil unrest? What are they planning to do?"
Greissha shrugged. "All I know is that Chikamoto came in contact with the Ianucci family. You know them, don't you?"
"We do. The Ianucci family monopolizes the underground world in smuggling weapons. They've been on the record for years."
Greissha shook her head. "Not just weapons, Commander," she said, "Bombs."
That was enough to get the commander on his feet. Without even sparing Greissha Ricci a goodbye, Jinno Di Angelo was fast in his exit, leaving Greissha triumphant in her own ways.
"That should keep him busy for a week," she said before starting to look around the sweet suite room that trapped her in.
. . .
Greissha spent the following days trying to get to know the place better. She was not allowed to step out of her room, so she had to be accustomed to her surroundings. The soldiers who guarded her listened to every request except her pleas for stepping out. For two days, she got used to this boring life and decided two days were enough.
So on the third night, she finally decided to step out. She had observed keenly how the guards outside her room were stationed. They switched not on a specific time, but a random setting. It would have been harder for anyone to plot against such a setting, but Greissha lived her entire childhood, sneaking out of their mansion every single day. Stepping out of her room undetected was her forte.
She knew there wasn't any camera or voice recorder in the room. Guessing they valued information over privacy, she knew there would be thermal scanners instead. From the very first day, for every meal, she requested for nothing but the spiciest of food. She even asked for some chili to be added. All these chilis somehow ended up stored in her toilet. Also for two days, she's been sleeping in the most uncomfortable position — completely tucked under the covers.
When a person is tucked under the covers, the thermal scanner can only detect the air pocket inside, resulting in the surveillance cameras losing a person's definite shape. Instead of wasting her time trying to piece together a chili-model in her form, she decided to lose comfort for two days, barely breathing under the covers.
And so for tonight, she would appear to be peacefully tucked under the covers, but underneath, there would be nothing but chilis. Her past meals would generate enough heat to mimic the sleeping condition she faked for the last two days, and whoever watches her on camera would only see whatever lump of air pocket he'd been seeing every night.
She took a cold shower to keep her temperature at bay. Once she tucked under the sheets, logically, it should take some time before a person transfers heat to the covers. The chilis was taking their time racking up the temperature as she snuck to one of the windows inside her room, freezing cold.
She spent her days inspecting the window and its mechanism with only one feedback.
"The UIF needs some funding. These are some cheap window pane."
She had her ears pressed on this window for days like a lunatic, so she had listened carefully and prepared for whatever it was that greets her outside. The sunlight reaches her room enough for her to navigate her location. If this was a huge complex building, she guessed to be located at the easternmost.These windows lead directly outside, but four stories above the ground. She also noticed streaks of light passing through her windows every night. It meant she was in the most secure location. With dozens of soldiers marching from below, and a watchtower on watch from above.
"You really made sure to make things hard for me, didn't you?" Greissha snickered, cursing the very person who put her in this room, "Piece of cake."
Her proficient hands tinkered with the motion sensor, and on so the third night, she was able to sneak out undetected within a minute.
After the first rotation of the watchtower. She climbed out, holding on to nothing but the narrow window ledge. Thankfully, the floor directly below her had a balcony. If this room was not a viable exit, then she'd spend this first attempt of mischief to observe whatever the UIF had to offer.
She examined the balcony before jumping down into it. There were no sensors, a fact that made her suspicious. Whatever or whoever was staying in this room was either very insignificant or very confident. There was one person that came to mind for the second adjective.
She rubbed her chin. "I guess this is the devil's lair."
It has only been two days since she gave out that warning. Jinno Di Angelo hasn't been back, has he?
Greissha spared no luck to check, and she immediately climbed down to the second floor. The balcony shielded her from the watchtowers on her way down. Thanks to her expertise in sliding on walls, she touched the ground uninjured, landing a few feet from two guards engrossed in a serious conversation. She didn't care about their topic, so she went on her way. Being vigilant for every step she took until a series of footsteps almost startled her in her pursuit.
. . .