In the Quinton Mansion, the entire Quinton family heard, recorded and downloaded the entire conversation between Madam Louise and Crestwell.
There was still an element of shock running through their veins. They were still coming to terms with the maliciousness revealed by Madam Louise.
From that conversation, they also know that they have bigger matters to worry about.
For example, getting Madison out of that family house proved more difficult than initially anticipated.
But they can only worry about Madison at a later time. After all, they still had spies watching the Smith family's every move.
On this evening, they had a more pressing task at hand.
It was time to put a long outstanding matter to rest....getting rid of Derek's ex-boss once and for all.
"Ok, son. Let's do a roll call before we set off." said Peter.
"Sure dad. Our new gang is already undercover in our ex-boss's office. According to them, he will be spending the whole night in the office with Linda." said Derek.
"So we will be there ready to surprise him when the time comes. Who else will be there?" asked Peter.
"Desmond, obviously. Owen will join him too." replied Derek.
"What about Amanda? Isn't she joining us too?" Peter asked, with a slight hint of teasing.
"Funny you should say that, dad. Amanda texted me and said she has to run some errands before joining us. I wonder what she's up to." Derek wondered.
"Woooooo....someone's getting concerned about Amanda." Lea teased her son.
"Mum....."
"Haha relax, son. Amanda is family to us too." said Peter.
"That's not helping, dad." Derek replied.
"Ok ok. Let's just get ready for tonight." said Peter sheepishly.
The day soon turned to night. Time to put plans into action.
All parties involved agreed to meet two blocks away from the target location.
Peter and Derek soon left the house and went into the family Rolls Royce. Hector was already in the driver's seat.
"Let's go, Hector." said Peter; and Hector drove off.
About twenty minutes later, Peter and Derek met up with Owen and Desmond at their agreed meeting point.
"Hector, take a break. Leave the car where it is. We'll need you to drive us back once we're done." said Derek.
"Yes, Young Master." replied Hector.
Peter and Derek then stepped out of the car and met with Owen and Desmond.
"So you are the new Head of Security. Desmond, am I right?" asked Peter.
"Yes, Mr Quinton. I'm Desmond Jones. It's an honour to finally get to meet you." replied Desmond, bowing to Peter.
"No need for formalities, young man. I heard how you and my son were once colleagues." said Peter.
"Yes, in that corrupted cesspool of an office." replied Desmond, pointing to their ex-boss office.
"My son told me about how you have changed your ways since leaving that company. I must say, good job so far. Keep it up." said Peter.
"I will. Thank you, Sir!" replied Desmond.
"Ok. Enough with the introductions. Are you ready Desmond?" asked Derek.
"Let's end this. For Wayne and everyone else...well, except that sl** Linda.." replied Desmond and all four made their way.
Meanwhile, at a certain Starb*cks cafe opposite the BDT mall, Steph had just served her last customers for the day and cleaned up the cafe, when her manager called to her.
"Steph, I need to rush back home. Family matters. Can you lock up tonight?" asked the manager.
"Sure thing, boss." replied Steph.
"Thank you so much. You are truly amazing." said the manager before leaving the cafe.
Watching her manager drive off, Steph made a signal; and in walked Nick and Madison.
"Hi Steph. Thanks for staying open for us." greeted NIck.
"No problem. Come on in. I'll lock the front door. Usual spot is open, as always." replied Steph.
Nick and Madison walked over to the corner tables while Steph locked up and prepared hot tea for all three of them.
"Okay, Ms Madison. You called for an MNS meeting. What's up?" asked Steph as she brought the teas over and joined in.
"Firstly Steph, we're all friends now. Just call me Madison. No need for formalities. Secondly it's about Derek." replied Madison.
"What about him, Madison?" asked Nick.
"Well, last night, my cousin Charles spotted him and his ex-colleague Desmond somewhere near here in the business district. Apparently there was a third guy spotted with them coming here." Madison explained.
"I can confirm that, Madison. They were here last night. Their conversation was intense, though. Something about getting back at their ex-boss." said Steph.
"Well, brother Derek was unceremoniously fired from his previous job. It's no surprise that he could be plotting some revenge scheme." said Nick.
"He does need to be careful, though." said Steph.
"I agree; but we have a bigger problem. Hence the purpose of this meeting." said Madison.
"Charles shared this info with the whole family this morning. My grandma, upon hearing it, tasked me to spy on brother Derek." explained Madison.
"Will this affect you in anyway? After all, we all want to know about Mr Derek's true identity as well." asked Steph.
"That's true, Steph. It really is a race, not against time; but against my family." said Madison.
"So how are you going to play this potentially deadly game?" asked Nick.
"I'll have to mislead my grandma. To do that, I'll have to contact brother Derek and inform him about what grandma wants." replied Madison.
"I'm sure Derek will help come up with some fake news to help you mislead her. The question is...will she believe you?" said Nick.
"I think she will. As long as there is a recording of any kind of you and Mr Derek having a conversation, that should suffice." said Steph.
"I think so too, Steph. With that said, I want to keep you two in the loop as well." said Madison.
"That's easy. Put us in a group call before you meet Derek. We'll mute our phones from our end." said Nick.
"Sounds good to me." Steph concurred.
"Ok then we'll stick to that. I'll notify you once I get a hold of brother Derek. Meeting adjourned, team MNS." said Madison.
Nick and Madison bidded their farewells to Steph before leaving the cafe, allowing Steph to lock up for real.
Nick volunteered to drive Madison back to the Smith household, stopping his car just two blocks away from the house.
"Hey Madison, about us going to the event as a pair, do you think we can prepare better for that?" asked Nick.
"What do you mean?" Madison asked.
"Ermmm...well...I was wondering, what if people saw us as a dating couple? Do you think we can spy better on that day?" Nick tried his best to explain.
"Oh you mean like we should go on dates as preparation for the event? Interesting." replied Madison.
"Yeah, and you can say to your grandma that you were spying on brother Derek. We can kill two birds with one stone." said Nick.
"That sounds good. We can do that." replied Madison.
"Ok. So dinner tomorrow night?" asked Nick.
"It's a date." replied Madison before leaving Nick's car and going back to her room.
Once Nick saw Madison enter the house safely, he drove back home, his heart beating faster and his face flushed red as he drove off.
Similarly, after watching Nick drive off, Madison could not help but feel her heart beating faster too.
At that moment, both Nick and Madison only had one thought on their minds.
'What! Just! Happened!'