Chapter 33 - Desperate Measures Don't Pay Off Pt 2
Business block, Zithen family complex, State Zhyphrese, Draconian continent Voldage, and the Year 2041, Planet Grimoire.
When the two males considered everything that happened simultaneously, they shook their heads with exasperated sighs.
The timing was just too coincidental.
Cilin shrugged with a scowl. "It just so happened that we happened to be here, and whoever attacked that place just decided to attempt a two-in-one with a gas or timer-delayed bomb scenario."
Tae-Jun tapped his jaw. "I think we should warn Director Dorlina Galleon and Miss Davi," he said at last. "I have this bad gut feeling that if neither are warned, someone will die."
While Cilin didn't care for the notion of interfering, he understood why Tae-Jun wanted to do something for both women. He frowned and grunted. "I'll warn the good director, I think you should warn Davi."
Tae-Jun hesitated and then nodded. "Fine, what should I use to do it that would imitate the Director?" The fact that he wasn't willing to use his name alerted Cilin to another problem.
"Never mind, I'll warn both of them." Cilin caught onto Tae-Jun's nervousness. He still didn't know all the nuances of protocol, so Cilin acted with haste. He sent the messages with a sigh: "It is a pity that we're getting others involved in our problems."
Tae-Jun grunted. "True, and now they're starting to reveal their intentions and won't bother avoiding collateral damage anymore."
They were dealing with some nasty individuals who decided to eliminate people who weren't even involved with Tae-Jun's troubles. They were, in essence, collateral damage, and neither Cilin nor Tae-Jun wanted their possible deaths on their consciences if that was avoidable.
*
Davi noticed that they went into a separate vehicle from the main one. It was apparent to her that they didn't trust the others, and with good reason. Someone knew which floor they were settled into.
Infuriated, Davi's hands fisted at her sides. She turned to her staff. "Go start looking." She ordered them.
It didn't take her long to realize that some of the staff were involved in the sabotage. A few of them glared at her but did as they were told. There was some angry mumbling because she wasn't going up there immediately, as anticipated.
"Bastards. Did they really believe I'm that stupid?" When she would've gone to do precisely what she said, Davi's communicator went off. "Oh, now what is happening?" With an annoyed scowl twisting her face, she looked to see what it was.
A message awaited her, and it froze her blood.
"Davi,
Take your animals and get out of there. Don't try to investigate anything. It is a trap designed to make you vulnerable to gas that will be spread through the elevator shafts. Just come to my abode. We're leaving this place immediately.
Dorlina"
At first, Davi would've discarded it, but she caught an odd scent that didn't belong in the building. An oppressive sense of foreboding swept over her. "Damnation, they aren't even disguising that they mean to blow my business up." She didn't even blink and simply entered the office where her felines awaited her presence. "I hope no one left anything of value in here. They won't be able to recover it." Davi opened the four carriers, and all four felines crowded into them. She picked up her keys and walked from the office to another exit.
Now wasn't the time to regret leaving behind valuable pictures. Besides, Davi had already remembered to put the most precious ones into a small bug-out bag, which she also took into hand as she headed out of the building and to her car, which she'd fortunately not parked in the garage. After scanning it, Davi determined that it had yet to be sabotaged. She drove away without looking back.
*
Seated in her home office, Dorlina wasn't entirely shocked when she received termination notices from the business. After all, she'd intentionally ensured that some trainees would've gone without shelter the previous night. She shrugged indifferently. Truth be told, Dorlina had known for some time that she wasn't welcomed in this line of business. A yawn escaped her.
Meow!
Miaooowwww!
*Yowl...Danger...Get...Niece...Yowl!*
Miiaooowww!
Meow!
"Okay, okay, I hear you." Muttering beneath her breath, Dorlina saw the other messages and flinched. Huh, so someone warned Davi on her behalf to head to her abode, hmmm? Well, it wasn't that interesting. When Dorlina saw who the sender had been, she flinched. "Why is it that the younger generation is more compassionate yet cognizant of danger than older ones?"
The young master Cilin Midda was living up to his protective draconic nature. However, what dismayed Dorlina the most was that it took some prodding from his companion to make him act.
"Well, it's better to have one do the prodding than nothing at all," Dorlina decided. It was too bad she wouldn't see the first-day results of everything worked on.
However, she preferred to live another day.
That, of course, meant that Dorlina and Davi had to depart immediately. "Where shall we go?" Dorlina pondered the possible departure routes and grimaced. They would have to take their chances with a transporter and hope it didn't glitch in sending them to a sanctuary in the southwestern area of Voldage.
"Hmm, if all else fails, we could go to Mordag or Shalandon." Dorlina knew those continents hadn't been messed with by humanoids. Then again, who in their right mind would visit those mega continents that held only carnivorous and hostile monsters that would eat anything, whether it crawled, swam, walked, or flew. As long as prey came onto those mega-continents, those monstrosities would thrive.
"Ugh, just the thought of navigating one of those mega-continents on the forbidden list gives me the creeps." Dorlina frowned because she knew at least four expedition parties were scheduled to go look them over. That didn't mean she or Davi had to join them.
"On the other hand, it does make for a perfect cover if we don't use our real names," Dorlina mused and shrugged. She'd see how her niece felt about it once Davi arrived at the outer property. "That reminds me, I should make sure nothing is lootable here."
With a goal in mind, Dorlina began working on it with haste.