A newspaper was slammed into Gwen's desk. She didn't flinch at the harsh actions and slowly looked up at the culprit only to fall in amusement. She looked at the news that had made the headlines and was already in the papers.
"Wow! They sure are fast", her lips lifted in amusement.
"Have you lost your mind?" Aldo growled as he rested his fists on her desk. His glare could smother her into dust if it could.
"What did I do?" She shrugged with an innocent expression.
"Is this about the break in?" He was hardly keeping his composure. Gwen was starting to learn that this man had a short temper but she was unfazed by his antics.
"And if it is?"
"The King made it clear that we don't draw unnecessary attention. We're in the F.B.I's turf, how is this going to help us stay low?"
Gwen broke into a laugh. She leaned back to her seat and laughed to the point of wiping away tears. "How did someone so short-sighted become The King's second in command?"
Her eyes were mocking him and her lips curled in disdain. That just fueled Aldo's anger as he opened his mouth to speak when he was interrupted by the sound of the door opening and someone else speaking.
"Not short sighted but short tempered", Esmeralda said as she walked in. "It may sound like a liability but that temper of his comes in handy at times."
Gwen's brows shot up. She shouldn't be surprised but hearing such things come from Esmeralda's pretty little mouth just ..... didnt suit her. Gwen felt that this woman didn't belong to their world. But then again, how did she know this? It sounded like she had known and seen Aldo in action. 'What's their story?' Gwen mused.
Esmeralda went to settle in the lounge. She was dressed in a red pantsuit with nude heels and a bold red lipstick. Her brown hair was tied in a bun. She crossed her longs in an elegant manner looking like a boss as she looked at the two. Aldo suppressed his rage when he heard her walk in and Gwen still had on an amused face.
"Three men who belonged to companies that are obvious rivals to Greco were killed in a fire. And this happened after the Corporate gala. There are two ways to look at this: one, Greco has just gotten rid of it's rivals; and two, something must have happened at the gala for this to happen. Things get a little fierce in the commerce world after the gala. Either way, there's no way to prove that this was Greco's doing. And would Greco deliberately do something that would attract the authories' attention knowing they were onto them because of the Dark waters? Am I wrong?" Esmeralda gestured with her hands.
Aldo seemed to understand the situation now that Esmeralda had elaborated. He looked at Gwen who, for the first time, smiled genuinely at the other woman. She seemed impressed with the deduction. But something did not sit right with him.
"But if this is about the break in, why punish all three when it was one person who broke in. Unless..... You didn't find the culprit. But still, why?" Aldo never knew her to be heartless. Actually, he didn't know much about her except that she was running Greco.
"It's a warning to everyone who's after us", Gwen said in an icy tone. "Now they know that we're not an easy target."
Esmeralda stood up from her seat and slowly walked over to the desk. She had on a contemplative expression as she sashayed towards them.
"Warning? Sounds good. But burning them alive.... Someone would think you're hiding something. Was it something they did or.....", She rested her hands on the desk and leaned in and her eyes were mysterious looking like she knew something no one else did. ".... because they were-"
"I think they're ready for us. Let's not waste any more time on useless things", Gwen suddenly stood up. Her expression was cold but her heart did summersaults in anxiousness wondering if Esmeralda knew her little secret.
Esmeralda only smiled before she stood up straight. "Lead the way."
Aldo looked at the women suspiciously. What was it that he was missing? He didn't even dream of asking Esmeralda, would she even say anything when she doesn't speak to him unless it's necessary? He followed after them with Gwen leading the way.
They took the elevator going down to the underground lab. The ride was silent, Gwen preferred it that way after the other woman had send her on the edge with her analysis. Just what did she know? And how much did she know? As she mused over this, Esmeralda jabbed at her once more.
"I see your little muse is not joining us today", she said. "Why? Did something happen?"
Gwen remained quiet. She was not sure how high Esmeralda was on the organization's hierarchy. But it was still hard for her to do especially when she was used to talking down to people not the other way around. Esmeralda chuckled when she got the silence.
"Is everything ready? The test subject?" She changed the subject.
"Yes, they were prepped for what's about to happen and signed an N.D.A for anything that happens here", Gwen responded.
"Great", Esmeralda sounded more enthusiastic than any of them.
The doors swung open and the three stepped out of the elevator. They were accompanied by bodyguards until they reached an observatory. It was filled with glass walls were they would be able to oversee operations being conducted on the floor below.
A middle aged man in a white coat came forward.
"This is Dr. Mortimer. He will be conducting today's test", Gwen introduced them and they shook hands.
"Alright! Let's get on it", Esmeralda rubbed her hands together in excitement.
The doctor excused himself and disappeared. He later returned with a team and all were wearing surgical gowns and protective clothes. A woman was wheeled in on a bed. The team of medical personnel prepped and hooked get to an ECG to monitor her heart rate. The doctor said something to her and she nodded away. He looked at them and Gwen gave a nod giving him the go ahead.
He took a small bottle that had a clear liquid inside. He took a syringe and drew the liquid. He shot some out to get rid of the air in the syringe. Another person rubbed a spirit soaked cotton bud on her skin before Dr. Mortimer drove the syringe into the woman's forearm.
Silence.
Everything looked normal as there was no reaction from the woman. Gwen could practically hear her own heart pounding. Esmeralda had her hands cupping her mouth as she watched in anticipation. The ECG suddenly burst off into alarming sounds. The woman started convulsing.
"Hold her down!" Dr. Mortimer shouted.
The team was quick to react, however, she started coughing out blood.
"Oh! My God!" Someone shouted.
The three in the observatory could not tell who shouted but soon saw why. Blood pooled out between the woman's legs as she thrashed around. In a second, a long beep, accompanied with a straight line on the ECG, echoed in the room as the woman stopped moving..... She died....
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