3 Chapter 2

Hale ended up getting scolded when he went to work. Apparently, their chef upheld cleanliness to the highest degree and expected each and everyone of them to come to work with neat and tidy uniforms. His scolding took about a ten minutes before he was permitted back to work. He was grumbling when he started washing the dishes that was quickly mounting up. "Looks like you got an earful." His coworker said. "A great day to start work." He said sarcastically. His mind then wandered to her encounter with that lady. Her pretty face was framed by short black hair that reach down her neck. Those doe-like eyes flickered with intelligence. Her office proper attire completed her prim and proper look. "Hey. Stop daydreaming. You want another earful from the boss?" His co-worker chastised him. He shook his head to clear his head. That small encounter with her truly imprinted in his mind. For some reason, he believed that they'll meet again.

His work continued on throughout the day. Aside from cleaning the dishes, he's also tasked with keeping the floor clean. He never really have a break time since the dishes just kept coming in. However, that's just the way he wanted it. With him busy and everyone busy, he can proceed with his real task.

On the surface, Hale did odd jobs by day and manning the ticket booth at the carnival by night. His other job was to provide information to a detective he was working for. In his formative years, Hale was a street urchin who escaped from his abusive, adoptive family. He lived the only way someone like him could live. He scrounged for scraps on garbage dumps, begged alms from passer-bys and pickpocketed people in the busy streets. It was through stealing that he discovered that he can be sneaky. He can pick someone's pocket clean without the person noticing. This life of his continued on until he made the mistake of robbing a police officer. The said policeman went to beat him up. He would've died that day if it wasn't for that detective. He took him in, fed him, clothed him and treated him like a son. He sent him to school and also trained that talent of his. Unfortunately, he had to part ways when his career hit a snag. To protect him from getting tangled on it, he had no choice to let go of him. Still, he was thankful. To repay the kindness, he would sometimes do work for him.

His head would subtly whipped from left to right. His attention may looked focused on the dishes he's washing but he was on full alert. And sure enough, he saw what he needed to see. Drugs were being hidden in the food that was being served and then sold to the patrons that acted like normal customer's. The corner of his lips curved ever so slightly. His time here was almost done. Tonight, he shall wrap this up.

****

The AICorp. Power Plant was located at the outskirts of the city. With the traffic jam brought by the morning rush hour, getting there would take a slow pace. "Ugh!!! You know with so many roads and highways this city have, you'd think it would solve the traffic jam problem." Lucille complained as she sat on the back seat "The number of roads and highways isn't the problem, Ms. Adineatha. It's the lack of discipline from the motorists and absence of a cohesive traffic plan." Alyssa said as she sat beside her. "Luz or Lucille, Alyssa." Her boss corrected. "Well. Let's talk about something else, Alyssa. This is a good chance for a mentor-student bonding." Lucille suggested. "I really can't believe that you actually chose me, ma'am. There are a lot of candidates more worthy than me. I mean.......Is the board really alright with this?" She asked. "Really? You've been under my tutelage for almost a year now and you still doubt yourself? Have you been really listening? Never doubt yourself. That was my first lesson to you." She chastised. "Besides, the board also have candidates of their own. When my time comes, whoever's the best shall take the mantle of the company. It's what we agreed upon. Besides, it's not like I have a child who would inherit my business." She added. "He died during a storm, right?" Alyssa asked but immediately regretted it. "I'm sorry....I didn't mean to....." Lucille raised her hand to stop her. "It's alright." She said with a soft smile. Soon, the traffic began moving again, allowing them to drive smoothly. "Ahhh. Finally. Take a bit of snooze, Alyssa. It's still a long way there." Lucille said then closed her eyes.

****

The rush inside the kitchen has died down a bit, giving Hale a small window. It won't be a while until the kitchen sink has a mountain of dishes again. Taking opportunity of this moment, Hale excused himself from the kitchen, telling everyone that he'll just take a short break. Once outside and out of earshot, he pulled out his phone then dialled the number of the detective he's working for. "Hey, Sarge." He greeted. "Detective." The man from the other line corrected. "Same difference." Hale quipped back. There was a sigh before the man on the other line continued. "What do you have for me?" He asked. "Well, after a week of undercover, I found everything solid. There is something going on here." Hale answered. "Good work. I'll come there to verify. A solid evidence can hasten this operation." He stated. "Well, good. I'm getting tired of washing dishes. My hands are getting gnarly." He complained. "Anyway, I gotta go now. They do have a code if you wanna avail. I'll text it to you." He added then hung up. He then texted him the codes before he put his phone away. "Alright. Let's get-"

"Hale!!!!" A voice cut him off. Hale turned around and saw that it was the chef. "Hey. I was just.......uhhh......I was uhhhhh.......getting some air. It feels so stuffy there." Hale stammered. "I don't care what you do. Stop loitering and get back in there! The dishes are mounting up they're not gonna clean themselves!!!!" The chef yelled. "Ok. Ok. Ok. I'm gonna now." Hale promptly went inside. Behind him, the chef gave him a suspicious look.

****

The meeting began immediately as soon as Lucille and Alyssa arrived at the AICorp. Power Plant. Since this was a confidential meeting, Alyssa was asked to wait outside the meeting hall, tasked to keep anyone from entering. Inside the room with her was a man wearing a decorated uniform, General Dubois and a middle-aged man in a bespoke suit, Siegfried Doron. "Alright. Let's see the reason why we should rush this project. The structures for the facilities has just beem completed. We don't even have candidates yet." Lucille stated. General Dubois held a hand to stop. "We're not complete yet. Someone else is joining us." He said. As if on cue, the door opened. Lucille's eyes widened on the person entering the meeting room. He was an elderly man on his fifties. Greying hair indicated his age. The age lines on his face did little to hide its hard contours. Despite the old age, he still stood straight, a testament of what years in the military did to him. "Defense Secretary Albert Ortiz. What are you doing here?" She asked. The elderly man simply sat. "To project how dire the situation is, Ms. Adineatha." He answered.

"Like I said earlier, it's still too early." She reasoned. "The safety of the people can't be delayed much more. I'm sure you've heard the news lately." He said. Lucille's brows scrunched up. She was confused. Why was the general bringing up the safety of the people. "What are we even discussing here? Isn't this project's aim was to expand my company's technology on independently powered bunkers after it's success in public transportation?" She asked.

"Not quite." Siegfried interjected. He then pulled out his phone and showed a video to Lucille. What Lucille saw shocked her to the core and made her sick, making her rush out of the room.

****

Noon had arrived which marked the end for Hale's shift. After hanging his apron, he stretched his hands, tired from washing mountains of dishes. "Well. I'm clocking out now. Goodbye guys!!!" He said cheerily before leaving. Once outside the restaurant, he received a text from his detective friend. "I just saw you going out. Good work today. I got it from here." It said. "Thanks, sarge." He replied. He started walking to the bus station. Halfway there, he sensed something was amiss. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, as if someone was watching him. He turned to look behind him. Sure enough, he saw a suspicious-looking man. It was fortunate that the detective also taught him how to profile people.

He continued to walk, increasing his pace every now and then. After a while, he confirmed that this guy was indeed following him. If his hunch was correct, this was related to the restaurant he was working at. He must've been found out when he was talking on the phone earlier. Thinking this, he gritted his teeth in anger for himself. He should've been more careful. He took a turn to the narrow alleys. He took turns every now and then, making sure that it was random. He needed to shake this man so he could alert the detective. Once he was deep enough in the alleyways, he pulled out his phone and dialled the detective. "Come on. Come on." The call connected. "Finally. Sarge. Someone's-" A hand suddenly grabbed his phone, throwing it away. He only got a glimpse of his pursuer before he felt the sharp edge of a switch blade on his abdomen.