Outside of Red Shoe
Gabriel's black Lamborghini Sian, pulled up opposite Red Shoe along with several other luxury cars. After turning off the engine, Gabriel got out of his car with Janet and behind them, Mark and some men, had gotten off their various cars.
If Maria were here, she would recognise the black Mercedes, Mark just got out from.
Mark adjusted his royal blue tie and stared at Red Shoe as he walked to stand next to Gabriel.
"So, how are we going in?" Mark asked
"I was wondering if you had an idea" Gabriel said and they looked at each other before looking at Janet
"Sir, I-I can't" Janet stammered "T-this is a bar. I don't think I can..."
"Janet, it's an order" Gabriel said sternly and she sucked in a deep breath
"Yes, Sir" Janet said before turning to the men that came with them "Two of you will come with me while the others will prepare the wearhouse. There should be no mistakes" she said while adjusting her square glasses.
Janet was a petite young woman with shoulder length espresso hair, grey eyes, beige skin and round lips painted by dark red lipstick. She took a deep breath again and stared at Red Shoe.
Suddenly, Helen bursted out of Red Shoe barefooted and blood dripping down one of her hands.
"Shit" Helen let out as she hailed a taxi. A taxi had stop next to her and just as she was about to get inside, a man slammed the door shut and stared at her hungrily.
"Hey, we weren't done talking yet" the man said
The streets weren't noisy, so Gabriel and the others could hear everything clearly. It was so clear that the guy was flirting with her
"I heard your name's Helen" the man said "Your name tag says Helen Ashley. So, I want to offer you a job. Only if you spend one night with me"
When Mark heard her full name, his mind instantly went to the photo of the Helen Ashley he had on his phone. The appearance, and description of her personality, were a perfect match. He couldn't believe he had just found her but then, when he remembered the words of the man, he became furious.
Hearing her full name, she turned to the man in front of her "You were saying?"
"I can take you home and we can...."
Before he could even finish, Helen punched his face and grabbed him by his hair before slamming his head into the taxi. As the man's body fell to the floor, she stared at him coldly before walking up and kicking him in the groin
"Sorry, but as you can see, I'm in a bad mood" Helen said before spitting on him "Men. Always an annoying species of human crap" she said before opening the back door of the taxi and getting in. The taxi zoomed away after everything.
Mark stared at the zooming taxi lot in thought, when he suddenly remembered that Helen's voice was the same voice as the Helen he spoke to when he called Maria to ask her about the job
'They are definitely the same people' Mark thought before looking at Gabriel
"Don't care" Gabriel said while crossing his arms before glancing at Janet "Handle this. I'll be waiting for the results at the wearhouse" he said before getting into his car and driving off. Mark and most of the men did the same while two men stayed with Janet.
Janet frowned "Let's go in" she walked in her heels with the two men and entered Red Shoe.
******
VIP section
Jerry was getting his head wound treated by a male attendant who was not at all gentle.
"Get out of here" Jerry shouted at the man "You're not helping" he said and the attendant walked away with a smile on his face "Stupid service" he muttered as he took a swig of his vodka. He finished the bottle in one go "Someone get me three more" he shouted and a female attendant brought him three more bottles before leaving hurriedly
He finished the second bottle and remembered how he was treated the other day. He slammed the bottle on the table 'I still haven't gotten word from those mercenaries. That woman seemed really important to him' he thought as he finished his bottle 'I'll use her to threaten him into getting my job back and turning against Gabriel'.
Jerry picked up another bottle and was just about to take a swig when he was grabbed by two muscular men
"Unhand me" Jerry shouted "Do you know who I am?"
"Well, have you forgotten who I am, Mister Atkins?" Janet asked as the two men made Jerry kneel in front of her "I'm the personal assistant of the CEO of the Lion's Den and if I remember correctly, Master Wayne warned you to be careful of your every move" she said with a smile "It seems like you're still a fool" she turned to the two men "Take him away"
As Jerry was being dragged, he screamed and tried to fight back
"I haven't done anything wrong" Jerry shouted "Why are you kidnapping me?"
"Master Wayne would like to see you" Janet said "You refused to return the money you embezzled" she said and Jerry's face went pale
'This wasn't how things were meant to go' Jerry thought as he was knocked out and forced into the boot of their vehicle.
Janet got into the backseat of the vehicle while the two men sat in front. She crossed her legs and said with a muddled expression "Drive"
The car started and left Red Shoe.
******
Oyster Bay, New York
Wearhouse owned by the Wayne family
Jerry was chained to a chair with his head hung. Due to how he was forcibly moved from the bar, the wounds Helen had inflicted on him, had been reopened.
Gabriel was staring at him with a deadly glare while Mark comfortably sat to the side and played with a pistol watching the two.
Mark looked around when he noticed that a couple of people were missing and only two men were in the room with them.
"Janet's outside with the others, guarding the place" Gabriel said already knowing what was going to ask
"What happened to him?" Mark asked while staring at Jerry
"Apparently, this man tried to molest that barbarian we met on the streets" Gabriel started "He then expected her to apologize but instead she quit her job after hitting him hard" he said as he folded the sleeves of his shirt, to just above his elbows
Mark frowned when he heard this "Wake him up" he said to the men standing to the side
One of them walked up to Jerry with an ice cold bucket of water and splashed the water on Jerry's face. The cold stimulated Jerry's body and he instantly opened his eyes and started to cough and shiver. The man moved away while the other one walked behind Jerry and pulled him by the hair; lifting up his face to meet Gabriel's imposing eyes.
"Hello, Atkins" Gabriel said "I can see someone did a good number on you for being a pervert"
"Why did you bring me here?" Jerry asked "What do you want from me?"
"Why did I bring you here?" Gabriel repeated as he punched Jerry right across the face and at the right time, the man that was holding Jerry moved away which caused Jerry's head to sway to the side from the punch.
"Are you seriously asking him that stupid question?" Mark sneered "Return the money you stole" he glared at Jerry
Jerry raised up his head and laughed while looking at Mark
"So this is YOUR doing" Jerry said "Is it because I went after your family?"
Hearing this, Mark stopped playing with his gun and instantly shot Jerry's shin. Jerry screamed in pain and struggled but there was no method of escape.
"You demon" Jerry shouted
"Jerry, I've been patient with you. But, when I heard you specifically sent some mercenaries after my family, that was when the last string of patience snapped like a toothpick" Mark said "I'd like to know who exactly you were after and why. If you don't answer, I make you to be even less of a man. Your choice"
"One of my men just happened to catch a glimpse of you and a woman at a boutique" Jerry immediately said when he saw Mark's gun pointed at his groin "At first I thought I could destroy you and your marriage because the woman was your mistress. That was my first thought until I had to confirm things for myself and realized she wasn't your mistress. If she was, you wouldn't be so stupid to let her be next to your wife and children"
Mark prepared to pull the trigger and Jerry panicked. "I had my people investigate the woman but there was no information whatsoever" Jerry hurriedly said "Do you even know the ticking time bomb that's around your family?" he laughed triumphantly and Mark took in a deep breath
"Bring him in" Gabriel said and the men standing to the side, left their positions and were gone for a few minutes. When they came back, they were with the man known as Robert Peanut
"Boss" Robert shouted and the triumphant look on Jerry's face disappeared. Jerry had actually thought that his people had succeeded in the kidnapping and he was brought to ask for the location.
"What are you doing here? What about the woman I sent you to capture?" Jerry asked
"T-that woman...she's a monster" Robert said "First, she asked who had sent us after her. We thought we were in control of the situation until she killed all the others" he said with fear
"You see, Atkins, anyone who works or visits the Page household is definitely not a normal person. Honestly, the woman you tried to kidnap, I'm very curious about her" Gabriel said "I don't want anything to happen to her until I've judged her myself. I've already taken everything of mine that you've been keeping from me. I have no use for you"
"Who do you think you are? God?" Jerry shouted "I'm a favoured subordinate of your father. You can't do this to me"
"I thought you'd know about her past, but you're even more clueless than I am" Mark said as he moved his gun from Jerry's groin and instead shot his thigh "You just wasted my precious time and resources" he added while Jerry screamed and struggled but Mark didn't have any emotion on his face as he turned to Robert and shot him
"Now that that's over.." Gabriel said before shooting Jerry dead in the head "Burn his and the other guy's body" he said and the men walked forward and dragged Jerry's dead body away. Some minutes later, they came back for Robert's body and dragged it in the same direction as they did, Jerry's.
"What a pain" Gabriel said as he pulled himself a seat and sat down
Mark sat opposite him with an unfathomable expression and Gabriel could only stare at him.
"Did what Atkins and that other guy, say, bother you?" Gabriel asked "Because I for one, I'm even more curious about the so called bomb" he said seriously
"I don't give a shit about what those lowlifes, said" Mark said grumpily "You yourself, know what job I really do. I have everything on Maria and those in her social circle...." he said before raising up his head "Someone who visited orphanages frequently and offered music and tutor sessions to children, isn't a bad person. She's very kind, hardworking, innocent, and she loves children"
"But she killed seven men" Gabriel pointed out
"It was self defense" Mark said and the they both went silent
"What did you mean, by what you said earlier?" Gabriel asked and Mark gave him an odd look "I'm talking about what you said when you shot Atkins' thigh" he said and Mark looked away from him
"Honestly speaking, Maria once worked three jobs to keep herself steady here in New York" Mark said "I just happened to stumbled across her and after investigating, I found a couple of things" he said "Along with the fact that from age twelve, all the way to age sixteen, information about her seemed to disappear. People thought she was dead but then suddenly, she reappeared at seventeen and nobody knew what happened to her other than herself"
"So, that's why you're keeping her close" Gabriel said
"It's among the tertiary part of things but not among the primary or secondary" Mark said and Gabriel was about to speak when Mark said "When the time comes, it wouldn't only you or Vivian who will know the truth, but the whole world will"
....
Please like👍 and vote. My exams are currently still ongoing and will finish in August. Some weeks I might release chapters while other times, I won't. Wish me luck in my exams