"If the night was long, it must have been good. Did you drink a lot?"
"Oh, no. Today I was driving my group of friends. They enjoyed themselves, and I just laughed at the stupid things they did. You know how it is, right? The person in charge of the group."
"So you did my job today."
She laughed.
"Exactly. Being a driver isn't easy. It takes patience. You must have amazing stories, don't you?"
Aiden looked in the rearview mirror and shrugged.
"Some good, some not so much."
"Oh, I want to hear one! Please!"
Aiden thought for a second and told a funny story about a lady who asked for a ride to take her parrot to the vet and spent the whole way arguing with the bird.
The young woman laughed out loud, almost crying from laughing so hard.
"You're kidding! Did the parrot really talk back?"
"Every word. More polite than many passengers."
When they reached their destination, the young woman thanked him, still laughing.
"Thank you for saving the end of my night. You have a talent for it."
"I'm just doing my job. Take care."
She got out of the car with a wave, and Aiden watched as the lights in the building went out.
The clock was almost two in the morning when Aiden finally decided to close the app. He drove slowly through the empty streets, enjoying the silence of the early morning. The wind blew lightly through the half-open window, bringing a sense of calm.
"I think that's enough for today."
He parked the Lamborghini in front of his house and got out of the car, stretching his arms. However, a loud sound caught his attention, a heavy engine roar coming from far away.
Aiden turned in time to see a runaway car turning the corner at high speed. The vehicle seemed out of control, its headlights illuminating everything in a menacing manner.
On instinct, Aiden jumped to the side, landing on his back on the sidewalk. The car scraped past, tires screeching against the asphalt, before crashing into a pole ahead with a loud crash.
"What the hell was that?" Aiden muttered, panting as he stood up.
He stood there for a moment, staring at the crumpled car and the smoke billowing out of it.
Picking up his cell phone, Aiden made a quick call.
"I need you to look into something. Now."
"What happened? Are you okay?"
"I am, but I almost got hit by a car. I want to know where it came from, who was driving, and if it has any connection to the recent events."
The line went silent for a moment before he answered, "Understood. I'll check the area's cameras and send someone to the scene. Don't worry."
Aiden hung up the phone, looking back at the wrecked car. His eyes narrowed.
"They're starting to get a little too bold."
Taking a deep breath, Aiden entered the mansion, someone would be concerned about the situation there.
Aiden couldn't sleep well that night. As soon as the sun began to illuminate the horizon, Aiden got up, took a quick shower and put on casual clothes: a black shirt, dark jeans and a watch that gleamed on his wrist. His expression was serious, and his eyes, even tired, were sharp.
"Let's see what they have." he muttered to himself.
He grabbed his car keys and left.
Upon entering the security team building, Aiden was greeted by two security guards who greeted him formally.
"Mr. Aiden. Good morning."
"Good morning. Where is Karlos?"
"He's in the monitoring room, sir. I'll take you there."
Aiden followed the security guard through cold, well-lit corridors, the sound of his footsteps echoing in the silent environment. When they reached the room, he entered without knocking, and there stood Karlos, accompanied by other members of the team. Huge screens filled the wall, displaying security camera footage, maps, and records.
"You're finally here, boss," Karlos said, without looking up from the screens.
"Someone has to clean up this mess," Aiden replied, standing behind him. "What did you guys find out?"
Karlos gestured to one of the screens, where the traffic camera footage was being analyzed. He pointed to the scene of the runaway truck.
"Here's the moment the car entered the route. As you can see, it was parked in the northbound lane for almost two hours before it started moving. Someone suddenly turned it on and directed it toward your house."
Aiden narrowed his eyes, taking in the details.
"This seems very calculated. Have you identified the driver?"
Karlos snorted, moving on to another screen with a zoomed-in image.
"That's the problem. When the car passed this camera here, the driver was wearing a low hood, making it impossible to identify. We also didn't find any fingerprints on the steering wheel, everything was clean."
Aiden crossed his arms, feeling his irritation growing.
"They're playing with us. What about the car? Where did it come from?"
One of the analysts, sitting further forward, answered:
"It belongs to a company that has been abandoned for three years. The vehicle was stolen two days ago, but no one noticed until now."
"Of course..." Aiden muttered, almost to himself. "What about Ivan's group? Any connection between them and this?"
Karlos swiveled his chair to look directly at Aiden.
"We're still cross-referencing information, but it seems that the group has no direct connection to this event. They were just pawns, people hired to follow you and scare you. But who's behind them... well, that's the tricky part."
"Complicated how?" Aiden pressed.
Karlos hesitated before answering.
"It seems that there's big money involved. Whoever hired them used intermediaries and dummy accounts to avoid leaving a trace. We're trying to track the flow, but it's going to take time."
Aiden took a deep breath, rubbing his chin.
"What about the group that attacked us later? The ones who opened fire on you?"