A Deal with the Gangster
She couldn't keep the truth from him any longer. "Markson, we need to talk," she said, barely above a whisper.
He sighed, "What is it again, Laura?"
Her eyes searched his, looking for any hint of the man she thought she knew. "I went to the mansion," she began. "I heard you with McAllister."
The color drained from Mark's face, and he paled. "You were there?"
Laura nodded, her grip on the edge of the table tightening. "I know you're in trouble, Markson, And I know you're hiding something."
He leaned back in his chair, his eyes on hers, searching for a way out of the tangled web he had spun.
"I never wanted to involve you in this," he said finally. "But it's too late now."
The words hung in the air, heavy with meaning. Laura's mind reeled with the implications. "What have you done?" she whispered.
Mark took a deep breath. "I made a deal with McAllister,"Markson has decided to admit.
He continued, "I made a deal with McAllister,"
"A deal to protect us, to give us a better life."
Laura felt the blood drain from her face. "What kind of deal?"
"A deal that now has us both in too deep," Mark said. "But I've found a way out. A way to bring him down."
Laura could feel the threads of their lives unraveling before her very eyes. "What do we do?" she asked, shaking.
Markson reached across the table, taking her hand in his. "We stick together," he said firmly. "We face this together then."
Laura's eyes searched his, seeking the truth she desperately needed. "But what about the deal?" she asked, barely audible.
"It's over," Markson said. "I have evidence that can take him down. But we need to be careful. He's not a man to be played with."
The gravity of the situation settled on Laura's shoulders like a heavy blanket.
Her life had turned into a thriller she never wanted to star in.
"What's the plan?" she asked, with a mix of fear and determination.
"We need to get to the proof before he does," Markson replied, his eyes dark with resolve. "And then we go to the authorities. We expose him for who he really is."
The clock ticked on the wall, each second a drumbeat in Laura's chest. The room felt suffocating, the walls closing in. This was it. The moment of truth she had been dreading.
"But what if he finds out?" she whispered.
Mark squeezed her hand reassuringly. "We'll be ready," he said. "We have to be."
The next few days, Laura and Markson worked tirelessly, piecing together the puzzle of McAllister's deceit. The evidence on the USB was damning, but they needed more.
They had to be meticulous, leaving no stone unturned.
Laura felt like a detective in a film noir, her world a stark contrast to the comfortable life she once knew.
They decided to infiltrate the mansion again, this time together. Laura's heart pounded as they approached the gates, dressed as catering staff for a party McAllister was hosting.
The plan was simple: find the proof, get out, and never look back. But simple plans rarely played out that way in real life.
Once inside, they split up, agreeing to meet at the designated extraction point. Laura's palms were slick with sweat as she moved through the mansion, dodging real staff and guests.
She felt like an intruder in a museum of greed, her eyes scanning for anything that could be the proof.
And then she found it. In a hidden panel in the library, behind a painting.
Laura's pulse raced as she worked on the combination, her mind racing with thoughts of what could be inside.
Finally, with a satisfying click, the door swung open, revealing a treasure.
Hmmm, what was the treasure?
The treasure was a set of documents, so damning they could bring down the McAllister empire.
Laura's eyes widened as she skimmed through the pages, her heart thumping in her chest.
This was it, the smoking gun she had been searching for. But her victory was short-lived.
As she pocketed the papers, she heard footsteps approaching. Panic flooded her body, her breaths shallow and quick.
It was McAllister himself, his icy gaze locking onto her. "I see you've found what you've been looking for," he said, his smile not reaching his eyes.
Laura froze, the blood draining from her face. She had been caught red-handed. "Markson" she whispered. "We need to get out of here."
But Markson was nowhere to be found.
McAllister stepped closer. "I'm afraid it's too late for that, Mrs. Smith," he said, his eyes gleaming with malice. "You see, I knew you'd come looking for answers. You're quite the curious little thing."
"Ha! Ha!, I know that you would someday involve yourself into this" McAllister said, his face frightening in the dark room.
He stepped forward and brought out a pistol and ready to pull the trigger.
POV! He released the bullet on Laura.
Heh! Heh!! Heh!!! Heh!!!! Laura woke up from sleep screaming and sweating profusely.
" Oh, it was a dream" Laura said, her heart panting and racing as though she had ran a hundred metre race.
" What is it? What's it?" Markson asked in fear of whether someone had attacked his wife Laura as he ran into the room from the restroom.
The nightmare was just a shadow of what would happen if they continue in the investigation and search for proof.
"This mission won't be easy as we thought" Laura said quietly. " McAllister should be after us and would stop at nothing to prevent us from knowing the truth "
But, how did McAllister know that Laura had gotten some evidence to pull him down?
"How? Who told McAllister about our plan and how did you know that he would be after us, Laura? Markson asked in surprise.
"It's not time for more questions, let's plan another way of getting the proof " Laura suggested.
As they were talking, markson's phone rang. It was McAllister calling.
Ha! The struggle has just began....
To be continued....