"BREAKING NEWS! GRECO PHARMACEUTICALS UNDER INVESTIGATION ON CONDUCTING CLINICAL TRIALS THAT KILLED AT LEAST 30 PEOPLE"
"C.E.O GWEN CANCINO AND ASSISTANT PETER WRIGHT FOUND TO BE THE FACILITATORS OF THE CLINICAL TRIALS THAT KILLED AT LEAST 30 PEOPLE"
"C.E.O GWEN CANCINO MIGHT BE FACING MULTIPLE LIFE SENTENCES WITHOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF PAROLE"
"C.E.O GWEN CANCINO CAUGHT IN A LOVE AFFAIR WITH VERY MARRIED ASSISTANT PETER WRIGHT WHILST RUNNING THIS SHOW THAT TOOK THE LIVES OF MANY"
"C.E.O GWEN CANCINO IS ALSO BEING TRIED FOR THE ATTEMPTED MURDER, WITH ARSON, OF MISTERS ALEX MORRIS, CHRISTOPHER JONES, AND DANIEL CORDEN"
News anchor 1 shook his head with a frowning expression, "Can it get any worse than this for what now used to be one of the leading pharmaceutical companies in New York City?"
News anchor 2 let out a heavy sigh before she proceeded to report. "Well, it seems the company has hit an all time low with their shares selling at... a dollar fifty?"
"A dollar fifty? Is anyone buying?"
"Given the circumstances, there have been no reports of anyone buying them; as expected. At this point, anyone can tell what the future of Greco pharmaceuticals is. It's a shame really."
"A real shame", he answered.
In West Village
Pedro turned off the television and put the remote down on his desk. He slowly spun his chair from side to side with his crossed legs propped up onto his desk. Enzo, was seated on the couch and now with the TV off, turned to look at his lover smoking his almost burned out cigarette.
Pedro broke out in an unamused laugh and put out his cigarette on the ash tray. "This woman..."
"It's a good thing we agreed to work with her otherwise... I don't want to think about what could have been..." Enzo shook his head, an attempt to brush off the horrid thoughts. "Good thing we also had a back up."
"Mm", Pedro agreed. With Greco being taken down, most businesses in Pedro and Enzo's line of work suffered a huge financial setback.
With the trust they built with Greco and the Dark waters, they had full trust they would get the goods that would repay them at least more times than what they had invested. The two men were glad that they were in the know of what's to come and prepared a contingency plan to keep them going.
However, that wasn't the only thing that was on Enzo's mind. "That girl..... The truth about her death will now be brought to light."
Pedro stopped spinning his chair when he detected the worry in Enzo's voice and looked at the latter. "What are you worried about?"
"It might lead to us-"
"That had nothing to do with us", he stood and walked to join him on the sofa. "Hermosa, it's the drugs that killed the girl, and those drugs never made it to us as far as I'm concerned."
Enzo sighed, he could not help but be a worrywart. How could things be so simple? He also wanted to remain strong like Pedro but he could not help his anxious thoughts.
"But she died, here, in West Village. What if they investigate how the drugs made it here? We would definitely be among the top suspects. We've got so much baggage, this could be the end for us. What if we ask Mrs. Stanford for help in return for what we did for her?"
"We're not asking that woman for help. And what makes you think she'll willingly help us?" He sneered.
"Because we helped her?" He repeated with a 'duh' face.
Pedro let out, easing his frustration, and held him by the shoulders whilst facing him. "Hermosa, I know you're worried but the answer is still no."
"But-"
"Let me finish", he cut in, earning a frustrated sigh from Enzo. "If it comes down to investigating all the 'channels' linked to the Dark waters and the girl's death, asking that woman for help will practically tell everyone that we were the whistleblowers. You know that it won't just be the end of our business, but our lives too."
Enzo deflated against the sofa and rested a hand on his forehead, looking at the ceiling with frustration weighing on his facial features. Pedro was right. In their line of work, nobody liked snitches.
"I was starting to like this place", Enzo said, his tone heavy with regret. He gave Pedro a side eye and the latter understood.
"Me too", he agreed quietly. He also sat back and took Enzo's hand to intertwine their fingers. Only the sound of the aircon echoed in the quiet room.
The next morning
Cold drops of water dripped from George's head down to his ripped body. He fasted a towel around his waist as he stepped out of the shower in his room. He took another to wipe his hair as he hummed to a tune.
Ring! He stopped to leave his towel resting on his head when he heard his phone ring. He walked to his nightstand to pick it up when he saw the caller ID. His brows slightly rose. This person...
Did something happen? They agreed to call him only when something happened. Only one way to find out.
"Mr. Stewart", the man on the other end greeted with enthusiasm. "It's Daniel Corden."
"Mr. Corden", George acknowledged. He wiped water that dripped down his temple using the towel. "How are you doing?"
"I'm fine. We're both fine", he let out a sigh, almost as though in relief. "We just wanted to let you know that we've been summoned to testify against Miss Cancino. Mr. Stewart, the boys and I just wanted to expressed our deepest gratitude to you and the big boss.
"That night... That night", he choked on a sob and cleared his throat to regain composure. "We really thought that was it for us. We never thought belonging to Greco's rival companies would cost us our lives over an incident that had nothing to do with us..... If not for you sirs.... Thank you. Thank you so much. Just like the big boss said, justice for us will be served. Please be sure to express our gratitude towards him for saving us and keeping his promise. And thank you Mr. Stewart, we wouldn't be here if not for you."
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