His smartphone was propped against the statue, like a body double waiting to take the hit for him. He could get another smartphone. He couldn't get his life back. As he expected, the black coat and boots he saw earlier moved towards it. The second intruder snaked their way through the bushes, benches and made a low-profile dash under the open moonlight. That's when he heard the third whistle. It hit the intruder but they moved undisturbed, paused, fired their own shot and retreated. Now it was an unknown standoff. It was too dark for the two intruders to know what was going on but he saw both of them clearly. Not their faces but their general positions.
Intruder one looked around as though they were facing two opponents. Why would someone hiding behind a statue suddenly dash towards it? If he had moved, they would've seen it. Intruder two also recognized a second force besides the one they were hunting. They weren't together. One of them was here for Blair and the other one, him. However, Blair couldn't move fast. Blair was a scientist, not a trained killer. Therefore, intruder two lost sight of Blair. It meant the engineer hadn't been captured yet. He was impressed that the engineer had managed to shake off her opponent. He was now in a disadvantage though, but still possessed the advantage in terms of location.
The sharp glint of metal on the ground was a formidable weapon. It was some kind of broken shovel. Forty five percent of it on either side had broken off and so had most of the shaft. All that was left was a pointy stick capable of taking a life if thrown with enough force. Since no one could identify him as the killer, he would just kill. He looked around. There were no bushes but there was a lot of open ground and quiet a number of parked cars. He made his way to them, walking around the outside instead of through them. On the corner of the assemble, he saw that the first intruder still had not moved. They were cautious. Too cautious. This was another amateur who wouldn't move until they saw movement from the other side. This person had no potential for being a professional.
So he aimed the shovel at the back of the head and controlled his breathing. His muscles tensed under the heavy weight of what he was going to do but he remained calm. Thought about Megan and Ava and how a beneficial deal might be made between the two. If there were issues, he could resolve them. The second intruder was now also circling around, heading towards the first. The first had unknowingly become the prey between two different hunters.
Then, they had a mutual understanding. The guns lowered as they began to whisper. He barely made out what they were talking about but it told him enough.
"Sigmund? Why did the boss send you?"
"He wanted three difference forces in case the first one didn't pan out"
"So we're both here to collect on the kid's debt?"
"Yeah. The first group never returned so he sent an additional three units"
"Any word from them?"
"Not yet, so I'm assuming they're disposing of the body. We got another problem though. A trained professional seems to be on compound. No idea what force they're from"
"If they get in the way, just kill them"
"Right. You go left and I go-"
He crunched his biceps as he underthrew the broken shovel at an angle. The whistling sound caused the first intruder to tighten his grip on the trigger. The shovel, which looked more like a dagger if one didn't pay close attention, became the weapon of choice as the intruder unknowingly threw an uppercut at their companion. The momentum was fast and all they saw was a spray of blood as the second intruder fell to the ground. A camera swept over but he was long gone. The moonlight provided ample illumination as one intruder swiftly killed the other. With their face partially shown, he had already calculated some possible outcomes. First, the police would investigate the loan shark which would mean that the unusual circumstance of two colleagues killing each other would take a backseat to a shady business. Bosses didn't really care about their subordinates, especially not with the heat that was about to be unleashed.
He thought about killing both of them, but he figured the FBI would be more interested with someone who was alive rather than someone who was dead. At least, they would be less interested in him for the possible injury of two mechanics than someone who actively worked for a loan shark. Now, he wasn't relaxed yet. He didn't know how many other intruders there were. It would be foolish if he thought that only one party was here. What if there were other interests? He cautiously moved in a circle around the threat while investigating the parking lot. When he could find no one else, he waited until the threat left before returning to the house.
No one was any the wiser to what happened and when pressed on Blair, realized he had forgotten about her. The engineer never returned meaning two different possibilities. A second party had captured Blair, unknown to him, or she had gone off somewhere. If there was a second party, they were really good and had no interest in him. Maybe they were interested in the house and its property, but they would've secured the house after securing Blair. Currently, there was nothing to suggest that anyone in the room was scared. If she had indeed went somewhere, then perhaps she had multiple personality disorder. No one would host an event then abandon it suddenly for no reason. Carl was lost after Blair left, meaning it was actually random and something she kept private or was a recent issue.
He was proven wrong minutes later when an armed intruder walked into the room with Blair following obediently. His perception of the situation was proven wrong again when Blair opened her mouth.
"I'm sorry. The head of security just told me that a bodyguard was killed. He'll be investigating the situation so no one can leave before its over. I want to know who is so cold-blooded"
The room was shocked and so was he. Bodyguards? But they were clearly talking about his situation earlier. Too many keywords that he was familiar with. How could that be possible? Was the situation he heard earlier only similar and not the same? He didn't get an answer directly but it would come indirectly.
"My guards are usually very covert. It's impossible for ordinary civilians to notice their presence. Even I don't know where they are unless I give them an order. The fact that one of them was killed by their own was alarming"
"The obvious question is who left the room right? I did"
There was no point in being deceptive about the answer so he was just honest. Blair looked at him and nodded. Since the next question was going to be if he killed them, he didn't wait for a comment.
"I thought I heard debt collectors so I just hid because I didn't want any trouble"
"Yes. Megan told me about it"
There was a pause as his eyes dilated and his breathing slowed. He wanted to make sure he heard correct.
"Do you want me to help you deal with the kingpin hunting you"