Chapter 16 (Diego versus Keres)

"Look Keres, if I break down this door you're going to be the one paying for the damages" Ian threatened. She still didn't let him in after hours of trying to convince her to open up. Negotiation wasn't working again and as she taught him. Violence was always the key. He took a few steps backwards and prepared to run.

"I'm breaking it" he said

"Ah!" He screamed running forward and like the little devil she was she opened the door making him crash into the bath tub.

"Little brat" he cursed

"How long did you know?" She asked

"Know what?" He asked

"Nikolay. Being Diego's son" she said

"Did you go to see Diego?" He asked surprised

"Answer the darn question" she said

"Legend introduced him to me as Diego Enterprise's heir" he answered

"But there is something else you don't know" he added

"What?" She asked

"Hazel, she didn't die by accident. The contractor knew what he was doing" he said

"What?" Keres asked. She knew all that but hearing a different narrative of the story wouldn't hurt.

"Well since we were digging up trash on Diego, Hunter recently found out that two years ago Nikolay and Hazel were friends. They started growing a liking for each other and Diego didn't want that so he ordered for her to be eliminated" he narrated

"Just because she liked his stupid son" She said

"Did you know all this?" He asked

"I would be a fool not to" she said

"So, now that you know what are you going to do about Nikolay?" He asked

"I'm going to kill him" she said

Ian's phone beeped. It was a text message from Nikolay asking to meet up because he knew of their plans. Like Father like son eh?

"Well, good decision" Ian said and got up

"Where are you going to?" She asked

"To get us some snacks, the hospital food here sucks" he said

"I might take some time" he added

"Okay" she said still sitting on the floor

"Okay, I'll be leaving" he said and walked out

"Where are you?" He asked Nikolay over the phone

"In front of the hospital" Nikolay replied

"What? Are you crazy? She could see you" Ian said rushing out as he ended the call

He saw Nikolay standing by a pillar

"What do you want?" He asked walking up to him

"I know what Sally did" Nikolay said

"All the things that has been happening to my family all points at her" he added

"I know. You said that in your text" Ian said

"So what did you come here to do? Threaten us?" He laughed

"No. I came here to warn you guys because I know the kind of man my Father is and he'd want to get revenge for what happened" Nikolay said

"Well, we already know that and we're ready" Ian said

"I see. How's Keres doing?" Nikolay asked

"After she found out that you and your family are the ones she despises so much? She's doing great" Ian said sarcastically

"Ian please, try to get her to understand that I have no hand in what happened to Hazel" Nikolay begged

"Why would I do that? What am I? Stupid?" Ian asked

"Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting for this day to come? It's finally here and I'm savoring every bit of it" he added

"You wanted her to hate me" Nikolay said realizing the fact

"Now you're getting it. But that's not it at all. The reconstruction your stupid Father caused also lead to me losing a family member as well"

"Anyway. I'm pretty sure she won't want to see you ever again now that she knows her sister died because of you so it's a win for me" he added

"And let me give you one last piece of advice. Stay away from us because once any of us catches a glimpse of you again we'd make sure your head touches the ground" he said and walked back inside

"Where's the snack?" Keres asked as Ian walked back in

"Um.. I couldn't find anything" Ian said

"I was getting hungry" she said sitting on the bed

"Well, I could ask your Uncle James to get some chicken feet when he comes" Ian suggested

"I'm already here" James said walking inside the room. Family was family. Murderer, arsonist or not. They weren't going to turn their backs on the only survivor of the Evans family.

"James" she said smiling as he dropped a food bag on the side table

"How're you feeling?" He asked

"I'll live" she said smiling

"Um... Your Auntie and Perry had to close the shop so I came before them but they'd soon be here" he said

"We are here..." Lucia sang walking in with Perry

"Hi, my love" she said touching Keres' face

"I got you a few things. New clothes, perfume, body lotion oh, toiletries" she added showing her some sanitary pads

"Mom, you should have waited for us to leave first" Perry said. He and Ian closed their eyes acting like they were shy around it.

"No, it's fine" Keres said

"I mean I don't see my period" she said

"Huh?" Lucia asked

"It's what they do when you are a mercenary" Keres said

"They just go in and pull out all of your reproductive organs without asking for your permission" she added

"So, you can't have babies?" James asked shocked at her revelation. What more did he not know about her?

"Don't want to be attached to nothing" she said

"Oh my gosh" Lucia said and walked out crying

"What's up with her?" Keres wondered

"You didn't tell me that" Ian said sitting by her side

"You didn't ask" she said

"Hey sunshine" Ray said bursting into the room

"Ray!" She smiled pretentiously

"I know, you missed me too much" he joked as he embraced her

"I'm here too" Oscar said dropping some flowers on the table

"Awww, you brought me flowers. So sweet" she said touching them

"Unlike some other people" she added turning to Ian

"Please, it's not like you'd eat the flowers" Ian said rolling his eyes

"Who was that crying lady outside?" Ray asked

"No one" Keres said. Perry and James gasped at her words. She called her Auntie no one.

"How're you feeling?" Oscar asked

"I'm okay...." Keres began to say

"Didn't you guys get my text?" Ian asked

"She literally went out of the hospital the whole night without telling anyone so if she can manage on her own then she's perfectly fine" he added

"I see" Ray said

"Anyway, the others send their love" he added handing her a few get well cards

"Wow" she said taking it as James set up her meal

"Look, I even got one from Emerald" she added grinning evilly

"God. Sometimes I just don't get you" Ray said sitting on a chair

"That reminds me, Nikolay didn't come to school, did he come here?" Oscar asked

"Why would he come here?" Ian asked annoyed

"Because he's friends with Sally, right?" Oscar answered

"He didn't come here, go look for him else where" Keres said reading the cards

"Oh, I see" Ray said

"Do you boys want some?" James asked Ray and Oscar

"Oh, good day, Sir. We didn't see you" Ray said

"I did" James said smiling

"Spicy chicken feet? Is that okay for you with your injury?" Oscar asked

"I don't care" Keres said and took one

Diego's private investigator was glad when he was told Keres was the culprit to the crimes surrounding Diego but was disappointed when he heard Diego had another investigator run a background check on her. The pay would have been a lot.

"What do we do now?" He asked

"We can't make any move now because she has the USB key. Darn, I shouldn't have doubted you and I'd have had that USB in my hands now" Diego said

"Should we just get rid of her and take the USB?" Stanford asked

"I don't think she's working alone. It'd be hard to get to her" Diego said. Stanford sat on the welcoming couch savoring it's warmth.

"Your son. Use your son" Stanford said. The comfy couch was giving him ideas

"What do you mean?" Diego asked

"Your son is acquainted to her right?" He nodded. "You can use him to lure her out alone and then we attack" Stanford suggested

"Good plan" Diego said

"I'll call Nikolay and his Mother back and then set it up"

Nikolay and his Mom stood outside their mansion. If given the chance he was never going to speak to his Father again. The man was a beast to him. Nikolay didn't want to be there but with Diego's alarming call and him saying Keres was in danger he was forced to come back home. They walked into the house together. Diego was waiting in the living room going over the lie he was going to tell in his head

"How can we save her?" Nikolay asked walking in

"Mom!" Stellar called and jumped into Claudia's arms

"Claudia, go up stairs with your daughter. I'll talk with Nikolay" Diego said

"Be careful" Claudia whispered to Nikolay before leaving with Stellar. What did she mean be careful? There was no way he was going to kill his own son, right?

"I'll ask again. How can we save her?" Nikolay said

"Your friend has something which I've been keeping safe all this while" Diego said

"A USB key" he added

"That's what they were looking for" Nikolay said remembering Ian saying something about a USB key

"What?" Diego asked

"Nothing, go on" Nikolay said

"Here's the thing, the government officials I work with have been planning to bring me down and they have bundled up lies to use against me if I ever want to back away from them. I found out their evil scheme and had some of our agents get the evidence they have framed up against me and I thought of all the places in the world to hide it but I didn't find any so that's why I built the school and hid it there placing all the files in a USB key"

"Recently, I heard the government officials began to look for it so I had to move it to another location but your friend got her hands on it. The agents thought she was working for the government and that's why they chased her down. I never meant for it to get this way" he said

"What's in this USB key?" Nikolay asked

"Lies, lies against me and our company" Diego said

"Well, I can't help you get it back if that's what you want" Nikolay said

"You know why? Because you killed her sister! You killed Hazel just because she was with me" Nikolay said

"That was then, but now I want to change. Please son, help me" Diego pleaded

"Son? You're just scared you'd go to prison and they'll take the company from you" Nikolay said

"No, I'm scared for your friend because I know what those government officials can do and if we don't act fast I doubt she'll be able to see the end of the month" Diego said instilling fear in Nikolay. That sentence worked. Her dying before the end of the month was something he didn't want.

"Okay, what do I have to do?"

There was still some good left in the town. A persistent CIS captain and his team leader who were bent on digging into Diego's corruption and locking him up were still investigating the bribery scandal. They both knew it wasn't long till they caught him red-handed.

"How's the case against Diego Enterprise going" Orlando the CIS captain asked

"We got a new lead but we still aren't sure where it's heading" Grace said

"Can I still hear it?" Orlando asked

"Well, a female student fell off a railing in the school while she was being chased by some men" Marcel said

"And the school is Delta High which is owned by Diego Enterprise. The men chasing her have been identified to be Diego Lukeman's agents" he added

"Now, what would Diego's agents want with a high school student?" Orlando asked

"We don't know but the family of the girl has ordered us not to investigate since their daughter is fine" Grace said

"That's highly suspicious" Orlando said

"Marcel conduct a private investigation on that girl and Grace come with me to the hospital where she's admitted" he said

"Why Captain?" Grace asked

"For interrogation of course" Orlando said and walked out

"I'll get going now" Grace said

"You've become popular huh?" Perry said walking in

"What do you mean?" Keres asked

"Those boys who left now, are they your friends?" He asked

"You mean Ray and Oscar? He nodded. "No, they're Sally's classmates" she said

"Sally? Aren't you also Sally?" He asked

"Did you bring it?" She ignored his questions

"Yep" he said handing her a laptop

"Thanks" she said

"What do you want to do with it?" He asked

"Homework" Keres and Ian said at once

"You're doing homework after you almost died?" He asked

"We are the ideal students every parent wants" Ian said. Perry looked at them wondering if his parents wanted a murderer and a murder accomplice as children.

"Nice. Can I see?" He asked

"Later, we need focus" Keres said

"Okay, I'll go get some soda from the vending machine" he said and walked out

"Bring it out" Ian told Keres watching Perry leave. She let her hand fall into her hospital gown and took out a small embroidered purse. In it was the USB key

"What? You kept it there?" He asked

"No one would want to grope me" she said

"Well done" he said laughing

She inserted the USB key into the laptop and opened the files it contained

"Diego Enterprise's request for 500 billion dollars for an unknown project" she read out

"Look for the one that affects us" Ian said

"North Valley, Candida said to harbor natural minerals. Diego Enterprise purchases the land. Deal with the government to harness the minerals. Evacuation of residents in North Valley Candida claims the life of a teenage girl. Now residents of North Valley Candida pay rent directly to Diego Enterprise. Diego Enterprise secretly exploits the minerals without government approval. Diego Enterprise reduce returns to government from the land acquired in North Valley Candida. Diego Enterprise stops returns to the government. Diego Enterprise withdraws from deal with the government" they read out

"No wonder why they want to get this in their hands" Ian said

"Even the transactions to the town's men and any other available transaction is right here" she said

"Those government officials were keeping track of what they were into with Diego so they'd manipulate it and turn against him when the time comes. Everything against Diego Enterprise is here and...." Her phone interrupted their discussion

"It's Hunter" Ian said checking the caller ID

"He'll probably start lecturing me, don't pick up" she said

"Okay" he said dropping the phone

"We have to come up with a plan on how to effectively use this info" Ian said turning to her

"We can't let what happened to the info we gathered for Hunter before repeat itself" she said

"How about this? We'll ask Diego to meet up with the mind of giving it to him and when he comes we'd capture him, take him to the Police and expose it later on" Ian suggested. She looked at him wondering why he was mentioning the Police. She wanted him dead. Revenge and not justice.

"Why does he keep calling?" Keres said angrily as she picked up the phone

"What?!" She asked

"Keres, get out of there the Cops are on their way to question you" Hunter's voice rang out

"What?" She asked surprised and struggled to get down from the bed and looked outside the window

"Too late, they're already here. Why didn't you call sooner?" She asked

"I got the message from our man in the CIS late" Hunter said

"Yeah. Marcel is always late on delivery" she said

"Look, get your story together with Ian. I'll make it that no one else would come question you and cause you to counter your testimony so get it together" he said, his voice shaking

"Calm down, Hunter" she said

"It's me. I'll be fine" she said and ended the call

"Ian just concur to anything I say" she said

"Huh?" He asked as she took out the USB key from the laptop and placed it back in her gown and started playing some music on the laptop

"What's going on?" He asked

"You're my roommate, not brother" she said

"Okay" he said

"Don't freak out, be yourself" she said and laid on the bed

"Sure thing" he said understandingly

A knock came on the door. He looked at her all confused

"Go" she mouthed drawing the sheets

"Who's it?" Ian asked getting up

"Ian" she said holding his hand

"Yes?" He asked

"Go stall Perry" she whispered

"Okay" he said and went to answer the door

"Hello there" Orlando said entering

"Good day officers" Ian said

"Um.. how can we help you?" He asked

"We just have a few questions for you, Miss Hall" Orlando said looking at Keres

"Okay, I'll leave you guys then" Ian said

"Sally, I'll go get some food" he added and walked out of the room

"Hello there" Grace said walking towards the bed

"Who was that guy?" She asked

"Roommate" Keres replied with a poker face

"Wow, a guy for a roommate? We rarely see that now. How're you feeling?" She asked

"What do you think?" Keres asked

"What do you mean?" Grace asked

"You can see me lying on this bed looking like a fallen damsel, how do you think I'm feeling?" Keres asked

"Not good" Grace said

"Then you've got your answer" Keres said surprising Grace

"Okay, we have some questions for you regarding the accident that led to you being here" Orlando said

"If it's worth answering then, why not?" Keres said

"Good" Orlando said taking out a note and a pen

"What exactly were you doing when the accident happened?" He asked

"My roommate and I were messing around the school cafeteria with a piece of paper" she said

"Messing around?" Orlando asked

"Yes. Throw and catch" she said

"Then some men started chasing you?" He asked

"No" she said

"No?" Grace asked

"What do you mean no?" Orlando asked

"I was at fault. I bumped into one of them first" she said

"And then my roommate and I went into the hall room and picked up some papers, when we got out we started playing with it. I think those guys thought we took something from them" she said staring straight into Orlando's eyes

"I see, and when they started chasing you and your roommate you two still kept on playing around?" He asked

"Why not? We didn't know what those guys were thinking and besides we thought they maybe wanted to join us" she said

"Grown men, wanted to join you guys to play?" Orlando asked

"It's a fun game if you haven't noticed" she said

"When did you fall off the railing?" Grace asked tired of beating around the bush

"Well, I said the game was about throw and catch right? When my roommate threw I reached out to catch and then lost my balance so there, I fell" she said

"Did you not think it was a dangerous game? Why didn't you just leave the paper ball?" Orlando asked

"That meant losing and losing meant buying a whole pizza" she said

"When you fell did the men leave?" Grace asked

"When you fall from somewhere that high do you still know what's happening around you?" Keres asked

Grace was taken aback

"Um... I presume you became unconscious" Grace said coughing

"Did those men ever come to pay a visit?" Orlando asked

"Are they supposed to?" Keres asked

"No, no I guess not" he said cancelling that question

"I guess you have nothing more to ask me since I presume you've already checked the surveillance cameras around the cafeteria in the school, right?" She said

"No we haven't" Orlando said

"Mmm, yes. Yes we have" Grace lied

"Then I guess we're done here. Good bye" she said and made to lie down

"Why did your family ask the Cops not to investigate the case?" Orlando asked

"It's not a case, it was an accidental occurrence caused by me so what's there to investigate?" She asked

"Aren't your parents curious as to why those men were chasing you?" Grace asked

"Parents? I don't have any, just a few relatives and they've already got a lot on their plate so I don't wish to add to it" she said

"I mean, none of them even took me in so I have to live in a church with a Priest and I have a guy as my roommate plus I still don't know how we're going to pay the bills for my stay in this hospital and you want us to investigate?" She asked

"Sorry to hear that" Grace said

"Let's go" she added tugging at Orlando's shirt

"Your voice sounds familiar. Very familiar, have we met before?" Orlando asked

"I don't work at night" Keres said

"Huh? What does that mean?" He asked

"I'm not a call girl" she said

"Oh, I didn't mean it that way" he said

"Have you ever been to L&J chicken and yogurt?" He asked

"My Auntie owns it" she said

"Did you ever get involved in the blast at Diego paper factory?" He asked

"Kind of. I left just before it blew up" she said

"But what does that have to do with this?" She asked

"Nothing" Orlando said

"We'll be seeing each other then" he said and made to leave

"No we won't" Keres said and laid down

They exchanged puzzled looks. Orlando and Grace walked out of the room getting nothing out of Keres

"How did you do?" Ian asked as he and Perry walked in

"Good, I guess" she said

"You guess? Did they notice anything odd about you?" Perry asked

"What do you mean odd?" She asked

"I fed him on everything while we waited outside" Ian said

"Ian, the more people find out about what I do the higher the risk of me getting caught. Be warned" she said

"Yes boss" he said

"Hunter's calling" he added handing her his phone

"Talk to me" Hunter said as she picked up

"They've left already, no need to panic" she said

"Thank goodness" he said heaving a sigh of relief

"Listen Keres, the CIS and FBI are on Diego's case so I want you to be extra careful" he added

"What do you mean be careful? I'm here lying in a hospital bed, am I not?" She said

"Be careful" he said and ended the call

Perry rushed to take the phone from her like a little minion

"Here, you kept getting messages from someone" Perry said dropping her phone beside her

"Who?" Ian asked

"Nikolay" Perry replied

"That bastard" Ian muttered as he picked up the phone

"Give it back" Keres said

"But...." Ian began

"I said, give it back" she said. He handed it to her angrily

The first message read:

"Let's meet up, just us"

The second:

"Look, Sally it's important"

The third was like a negotiation:

"Okay, I know a way everyone would be happy again, just trust me on this"

"Yeah, you don't trust me but please meet me at Gladden Hotel and Suites at 7.00pm"

The fourth was the bomb:

"Fine, my Father is coming, you can kill him if you want!"

And finally, he ended up beging:

"Please, Keres, come"

Orlando and Grace went through Keres' answers while waiting their turn on the queue in the Cafe. They wondered if they could get a lead on Diego's case with her accident. They thought they could charge him for child manhandling if that was a thing

"You know, that girl was right. We should have checked the CCTV cameras before coming to interrogate her" Grace said

"But that's the job of the investigation team Marcel belongs to. It's almost as if they didn't look into the case at all" Orlando said

"Yeah, we would have had more questions for her" Grace said

"But that's okay, we can still come back after obtaining the footage" Orlando said as they took their order from the counter

"But her story didn't make any sense. Throw and catch?" Grace said

"I know right? But she's the only one we can ask about what happened seeing as the people who caused her fall have disappeared into thin air" he said

"And her voice sounded so familiar" Orlando said as he sat over a cup of coffee

"That cold, lifeless tone she uses to talk and that poker face. You wouldn't even know if she's lying or not" he added

"Where did you hear it?" Grace asked

"I don't know" he said holding his head

"Are you recalling something?" Grace asked

"Yes, but I'm not sure it's her" Orlando said

"Tell me, what do you remember?" Grace said

"A mercenary I met in Sunnyvale. The voice sounds the same" he said

"No way, Sally is just a high school student" Grace said taking a bite from her biscuit

"I know right? But I don't think that's the only time I've heard her voice" he said

"Yes!" He said startling Grace

"You gave me a scare there" she said wiping the coffee she spilled off the table with a napkin

"At L&J chicken and yogurt she was there!" Orlando said

"So?" She asked

"She was the one who gave us the lead that Sandra Stewart was the crazy girl who blew up the factory" he said

"Did you two talk one on one?" She asked finding the story interesting

"No, we were hiding in the kitchen when she was having a discussion with her Auntie about the factory incident" he said

"When we asked her earlier if she knew the chicken shop she didn't lie, that means she's telling the truth" she said

"I don't think so" he said

"Why?" Grace asked

"Isn't it obvious?" He asked

"She was in the factory just before it blew up, a factory that by the way belongs to Diego Enterprise and then she was the one who gave us the description of the girl the late survivor mentioned in his interview and before we could get to the girl she committed suicide then after some time the girl who gave us the leads to all this is attacked by Diego Enterprise's agents and she falls off a railing"

"Something is missing in the story" he said cracking his brain

"Sally?" Grace asked

"She is also a school girl so she should have been investigated too after the survivor's report but the only person we looked into was Sandra Stewart" he said

"Why? Because she made us believe that Sandra Stewart was the one whom the survivor was referring to" he added

"We didn't also ask the security guard who survived if two girls got in. He would have been able to give us a clear description of the persons who went in and out of the factory" she said

"During his interview he mentioned only one girl but Keres said there were two of them" Orlando said absentmindedly

"Keres? Who's that?" Grace asked confused

"The girl who gave us the lead on Sandra Stewart" he said

"Wait, isn't she the same person who we saw at the hospital?" Grace asked

"Yes" he said operating his tablet

"I thought her records said her name's Sally?" Grace asked

"Yes but...."

"Oh my gosh, her Auntie called her Keres!" Orlando said

"That means she lied about her name" Grace said

"We need to investigate this Sally girl"

"Hey, has Mrs. Andre arrived yet?" Oscar asked. He and Ray sneaked back into the school after their visit to the hospital without the school's permission.

"No, she hasn't" Sandra said

"What happened? Were you guys able to see Ian?" Emma asked

"Yes, we saw them both. Ian and Sally" Ray said

"How are they doing?" Sandra asked

"They're alright. Sally was surprised she got a get well soon letter from Emerald after she ruined her face" Oscar said laughing

"Shut up" Emerald said

"Was Nikolay there?" Legend asked

"No, they said he didn't even stop by. Which is actually strange, I thought he and Sally were beginning to bond" Oscar said

"Settle down students, let's begin lesson" Mrs. Andre said walking in

"We have a little more to cover before the exams begin and...."

"Raymond and Oscar, why aren't you in your uniforms?" She asked them

"Um..., We paid Sally and Ian a visit at the hospital" Ray said

"Really? When the Teachers went there no one was in the hospital room Sally was assigned to" she said

"It's a trap" Ian said

"I'm aware" Keres said placing some bullets in her gun

"And you're walking in?" He asked

"Yes" she said

"Please, tell her to stop" Ian said turning to Perry

"Keres, it's a trap, stop" Perry said dramatically

"A trap that helps me kill Diego Lukeman?"

"I'm going head first" she said. Nikolay telling her Diego asked to meet her was the sweetest message she had ever received. She wasn't ready to kill them yet. She just wanted to play with them till she fully recovered from her injuries but with the Police beginning to pry any opportunity to get revenge on Diego was always welcome.

"What if he's calling the Cops?" Ian asked

"He knows I'm in possession of the USB key so he won't be that stupid" she said

"I'm coming with you" Ian resorted

"What about me?" Perry asked

"Don't let Hunter or anyone know about this" she said and walked out of the room with Ian following

"Don't let anyone know, I can do that much" Perry said sitting on the bed

They got to Gladden Hotel and Suites at 6.15pm and stood outside under some trees. Ian paced back and forth apprehensively. He wasn't always settled whenever she wanted to do something alone.

"Keres, they're in there and we're out here. They got here before us so God knows what they've planned" he said

"That's why I'm going in alone" she said

"It's 6.20 now so when I go in by 7.00pm and don't come out after thirty minutes release this" she said handing him another USB key

"What's in it?" He asked

"Info about their illegal activities with the government plus the deal with the town's men, it's all in there" she said

"Are you saying you might not come out?" He asked

"I will come out, but you might as well use that to stir up trouble. Diego would be crazy by the morning" she said

"6.45" Ian said after a while

"We could still return you know" he added

She sighed getting annoyed

"Okay, what's your plan?" He asked

"I don't have one. I would just go with the flow" she said

"What?! You don't have a plan and you're walking into a danger zone?" He asked

"Ian, I don't have a plan because I already know theirs" she said

"Huh?" He asked

"Don't you remember what I told you about the listening device I installed in Diego's house? I heard everything" she said

"Wow, okay so what's their plan?" He asked

"They'll use Nikolay to lure me here and then some agents would be lying in wait for me" she said

"7.00pm. I'm heading in"

After finding out Keres lied about being Sally in her records Orlando and Grace resorted to investigate her. If what the late survivor was saying was true she was the next suspect after Sandra Stewart who Keres claimed was at the factory as well. A reinvestigation of the factory incident was what they needed.

"A re-investigation?!" Lars shouted

"Yes Chief" Orlando said

"Is it a trend to drink in the day?" Lars asked

"We've closed this case, why are you trying to open it again?" He asked

"We just noticed now that there are a lot of loose ends attached to this case" Orlando

"We? You and who?" Lars asked

"Grace and I" Orlando said pulling Grace out of where she hid

"Good day Chief" she said

"It's Diego Enterprise" Lars said

"Those guys swim with the higher ups in the pool of wealth and it's already okay that we looked like complete idiots when we had no idea why and how his factory blew up. We found the culprit and she's dead so why are you trying to re-investigate?" He asked

"Because we might have been wrong all along" Grace said

"After analysing everything again it felt as if someone was looking for a scape goat. I mean, everything was handed to us on a silver platter, we didn't even carry out any investigations to know whether the leads we got were true" she added

"What exactly are you saying?" Lars asked

"Take for an instance Sandra Stewart, we didn't check if she had an alibi on the day of the blast at the factory or the day that Sheldon Yale was murdered but we concluded she was the culprit" Orlando said

"Because her suicide note said it all" Lars said

"We compared the writings with her school notes and there were a match" he added

"Have you thought that maybe the person who blew up the factory forced her to write it?" Orlando asked

"Aha, did the person also force her to commit suicide?" Lars asked

"If I were to break into your home and place a gun on your head and order you to take your life what would be your action?" Orlando asked. That was a stupid question.

"Of course I'll tell you to kill me! Taking my life and you shooting me, isn't it the same thing?!"

"Dummy!" Lars shouted angrily

"What if you were threatened with your family?" Grace asked stepping in

"You know, your life for theirs" she added

"That...that's different" Lars said not knowing what to say

"Yes, Sandra Stewart had a Father who was sick in the hospital and after the day of her death he passed away" Orlando said

"We checked and Sandra Stewart had a alibi the day of the blast at Diego Paper Factory" Grace said

"What alibi?" Lars asked

"Sandra Stewart was a school bully and she was in the school bullying her classmates at the time of the incident so how did she go in to the paper factory and blow the place up?" She asked

"Are you asking me?" Lars asked offended

"No we're not. Please just give us your permission to carry out the re-investigation" Orlando said

"We already have a suspect. If we find the real culprit you would be taking the credit" Grace added. Credits. Yes. That was what the Chiefs always loved to hear.

"Fine! But secretly, I don't want the higher ups hearing about this or else you would turn in your resignation letters" Lars said and walked away

"That went well" Grace said heaving a sigh of relief

"Where are they?" Hunter asked walking inside the room

"Who?" Perry asked jumping down from the bed in fright

"Who else?" Hunter asked

It was time for him to carry out the mission given to him by Keres. Not letting Hunter find out they went to Diego. Perry knew Hunter. If he caught on he was going to have his neck. Not literally but some talking and trashing.

"Oh, Keres and Ian? They went out for a walk and some drinks" Perry lied

"When will they be back?" Hunter asked

"I don't know" Perry said trembling

"I'll go use the bathroom now" he said and hurried out. He thought that was the best thing to do. If he wasn't around him he wasn't going to blabber their location. Hunter walked around the room trying to make sure Keres was comfortable in the hospital. As he straightened out the bed a piece of paper fell off to the ground. He bent down to pick it up

"Let's meet?" He said as he read the contents

It sounded suspicious to him. He got up and his eyes moved to the desk at the corner in the room. The locker was opened. He rushed towards it and looked inside. The gun there was gone

"Shit!" He said and walked out of the room in search of Perry. As he walked out he saw Perry approaching

"Oh darn it" Perry said and turned back around

"Perry, stop right there!" Hunter shouted and ran after him

"Stop" he said pulling him by his collar

"Where are they?! Where the hell is Keres?!" He shouted

"What does this mean?" He asked him showing him the piece of paper

"Who's the bastard who sent this? Did she go to the sender?" He asked

"No" Perry said scared to see Hunter all hyper

"It was someone else she went to see. Nikolay" He added fearfully

"What?" Hunter said slowly releasing his grip from Perry's collar

"Hey boy! Is that man disturbing you?" Orlando asked walking up to them

"Officer? No, he's my Uncle and we were just discussing something" Perry said

"You were with Sally right? I remember seeing you outside the door" Grace said

"Yes, that's right" Perry said

"So, you must also be her Uncle too" she said turning to Hunter

"Yes" he answered

"Ah, is that so? Then let's go" Orlando said

"Go where?" Hunter asked

"To your niece's room" Orlando said

"We have some questions for her" he added

"You can't see her because she's been sedated" Hunter said and walked away dragging Perry with him

"Darn it, we're late" Grace said stomping her foot on the floor

"Hey there Diego" Keres said as she walked into the hotel

It was completely empty except for Nikolay and Diego along with the agents he had hidden around. Oh, she knew of his plans.

"Sally" Nikolay said rushing towards her

"Stop right there!" She said

"Okay, I'll just stay here then" he said walking back to his Father

"You said I can kill him right? That's why I came" she said

"Sally, the real reason why I asked you to meet with my Dad and I is so we can help each other out" Nikolay said

"How?" She asked

"How can I help the man who killed my sister and how can the man who killed my sister help me?" She asked

"The USB key" Diego said

"If you hand it to us we could keep you safe" he added

"How?" She asked again playing dumb

"The government wants to use the content of the USB key against my Dad because he's trying to change for the better. Everything in that key are all lies and you shouldn't believe it but the problem is that the government is going to come for you to take the USB key. If you don't turn it to us now you will be at a great disadvantage"

"You might die" Nikolay said

"You said your Dad's trying to change, what do you mean by that?" She asked

"He said he's going to turn himself to the Police for the crimes he committed but he can't sit down and watch the people who have been controlling him kill you" Nikolay said

"Is this true, Diego?" She asked turning to him

"Yes, everything is true" Diego said

"So hand us the USB key" he said stretching out his hands

"If what you're telling me is true then why are your agents hiding behind those doors loaded with arms waiting for me to hand over the USB key so they can blow my brains out?" She asked

"Agents?" Nikolay asked surprised

"No, there are no agents here, I promise" he said

"Shut up!" Keres said

"Let him speak for himself" she added walking closer to Nikolay

"There are no agents here, I swear it. I'm just trying to help you" Diego said taking his hand back as he signaled to the agents to get ready

"Hand it over and go home because I'm pretty sure someone followed you here without your knowledge" Diego said

"Fine, sorry I doubted you. I believe you, but you must promise to protect me" she said having a pitiful look on her face. Nikolay wanted to hug her that moment. He thought she was scared for her life. He thought she didn't mean to commit arson. His Father might have just pushed her over the edge.

"We promise" Nikolay said

"Here!" Keres said and threw the USB key towards Diego. He caught it mid-way

"Thanks, I knew we could come to an agreement" he said smiling devilishly

"And I thought you were smarter than this" he added

"This guy's a fool" Ian laughed in Keres' intercom. He was apparently listening in on their conversation all this while

"Now" Keres whispered

"Okay, I'm releasing it" Ian said and posted the evidence of Diego's corruption on social media platforms and news websites

"Did you really think I'd let you live?" Diego asked just as his agents walked out of their hiding places holding weapons to Nikolay's surprise

"No" Keres said and grabbed Nikolay. She turned him around and held onto his neck with her arm and took out her gun placing it on his head

"And I'm smart" she said

"But my friend calls you a fool" she added

"Keres, did you just friend zone me?" Ian asked

"I, shut up so I can concentrate" she said

"Who's she talking to?" One of the agents asked his colleague

"Dad, what are you doing?" Nikolay asked

"I said no agents around!" He yelled as Keres tightened her grip on him

"Son, I'm sorry but this is the way I work. There's nothing you can do about it" Diego said

"You rotten man! Can't believe I trusted you" Nikolay said

"And I can't believe that you trusted me. Is this how you want to succeed me? By believing everything everyone says?" Diego said

"Kill her" he said as he made to walk away

"But she's holding your son hostage" An agent said

"It doesn't matter, kill her" he insisted

"The bullet might hit your son" the agent said hesitating

"Take one step Diego and I'll blow his brains out" Keres said

"You're going to see what brain matter looks like and I bet you haven't ever seen a dead body since you have underlines who do the dirty work for you. But I dare you to take one more step and you'll hold his cold body in your hands" she emphasized

"And what do you think you're going to do with an empty USB key?" She asked

"What?" Diego asked and opened the USB key

It was empty

"You bitch!" He yelled

"Now, I thought you were smarter than that" she laughed

"You don't have the USB key and I'm going to kill your son" she said

"It's a win for me" she said

"You're just bluffing. You can't kill" he said

"Wait a minute, I can't kill?" She asked surprised

"I took down your building which held not less a lot people, killed the survivor and killed a girl after framing her up for my crimes and yet you say I can't kill?" She asked

"Well, let me show you" she said turned around and shot at an agent who was trying to sneak up on her from behind. It was Stanford. The bullet hit his neck. He didn't even have the time to gasp for breath as he slumped and died immediately

"Wow" she said turning back around still holding Nikolay

"You guys think you're so smart huh? Trying to attack from behind while you distract me?" She asked

"Nice try, but at least I showed you that I can kill just anyone or anything that crosses my path towards revenge" she said

"Does that include me?" Ian asked

"I, I said shut up!" She said

"Ian?" Nikolay said realizing who she was talking to all the while

Meanwhile, Black Cat were outside the hotel with Perry as their guide. Their leader's favorite had walked right into a lion's den. Only fair they helped rescue her.

"Are you sure it's this hotel?" Mrs. Peters asked as She, Hunter, Hurricane and Silas stepped out of the car dragging Perry along with them

"Yes, I swear" Perry said in fright

"I think he's telling the truth, that's Ian over there" Hurricane said seeing Ian parading the hotel entrance

"Ian!" Silas called

"Huh?" Ian said turning around to see them walking towards him

"Holy shit!" He swore and took off on his heels

"Get him!" Mrs. Peters said to Hurricane and Silas as she and Hunter ran towards the hotel.

Silas let go of Perry's shirt and pursued Ian

"Oh God!" Perry said knowing the trouble he was in with Keres

"The gate's locked shut" Hunter said as they got to the hotel

"Darn it, she's in there alone" Mrs. Peters said

"She'll be fine" Hunter said

"What do you mean? One girl against maybe a dozen agents and she'll be fine?" Mrs. Peters asked

"That's right, there's only a dozen of them and not an army of them. She'll be fine" he said

"She brought her gun too" Perry informed them

"Shut up!" They yelled at him

"God" he groaned as he leaned on the car

Diego wasn't going to let her get away with playing with him.

"Give me that!" He said and took a gun from an agent and aimed it towards Keres and Nikolay

"Dad" Nikolay said surprised

"Really?" Keres asked

"You know, I've seen this scene before" she said

"It was when I was fifteen years old, I held a man's child just like this and he aimed at me with a gun. I don't know who he was hoping to hit but the bullet pierced right through his child's heart and killed her. Only that then it was a girl and now it's a guy" she said smiling down at Nikolay

"Holy shit!" She heard Ian say

"Hmm, you're all surrounded" she said knowing that the members of Black Cat had come

"By who?" Diego asked

"My pack?" She asked

"No, that would be inappropriate since we aren't wolves" she said laughing

"Dad, please stop" Nikolay begged

"I bet you're wondering why I haven't pulled the trigger yet Nikolay. I'll tell you. I would kill you, yes but not right now" she said

"Then when?" He asked

"When you see the look on your Father's face once I make him lose everything he dubiously worked hard to get, then I'll kill you. Both of you" she said

"And I think that look of losing everything should already be on his face since something interesting from the USB key I got has been let out" she added

"What?" Diego said worriedly as he took out his phone and browsed through the Internet and saw the news

"Shouldn't you you be worried about what the Board of Directors in your Enterprise would say?" She asked. He was cornered.

"What do you want?" He asked

"Right now?" she asked

"Tell all your little minions to throw their weapons toward my feet. And that includes you with that Glock you're holding" she said

"Do it" he told the reluctant agents as he tossed his weapon. They also tossed theirs towards her

"Let's not forget the spare guns in your waist pocket" she said

They again tossed them towards her

"Both waist pockets" she added rolling her eyes and they again tossed the guns

"Also the military knives and daggers in your jackets. Those are dangerous" she said as they threw it away

"What else?" Diego asked

"Open all the damn exits" she said sternly. The agents were reluctant to open them

"I won't repeat myself" she said moving the gun on Nikolay's head. He closed his eyes and a small tear slid down his cheeks

"Do it" Diego said

"Awww, Daddy's worried about his son but can't show it" she mocked as the agents opened the doors

"Nobody moves" she said and began to move backwards slowly

"Let him go first" Diego said stopping her

"Don't worry, he'll just see me off at the front and then I'll let him go except you guys try something stupid" she said and continued moving backwards. They got to the bar in the hotel and she stopped

"Keres" Nikolay said as she let go of his neck

"Shut the hell up! You don't get to call my name" she said pointing the gun towards him as she paced back and forth

"You know what?" He asked

"I've been asking myself why the hell I still like you so much regardless of all the things I've heard and seen you do" he said

"Well, sorry but I don't have the answer to that" she said

"Can't you just stop all this?" He asked

"Let go of all the hatred that you harbor in your heart and just live a normal life" he said just as Ian walked towards them without their knowledge

"That kind of life is possible Keres. This isn't it" he said

"So just because you kissed her once or twice you now think that you can tell us what to do?" She asked

"Her? Us?" He asked surprised

"Look Nikolay, your Father broke her life, infact my entire plans. He completely destroyed it and I'm going to do the same thing to yours. And trust me, I'm not bluffing" she said

"No you're not and that's because you're blinded by rage and fury against my Father but I know that within that cold heart of yours there's still a flicker of kindness" he said

"Really? Then let me tell you just how kind I am" she said

"I placed a pressure wire bomb by your belt when we got here but you didn't know since I was touching you in all places huh?"

"If you make a move from now you die" she said and made to walk away

"And when those foolish agents of yours come don't let them touch you or else you go kaboom! When you hear a click then you can move" she concluded and turned around

"Why tell me then Keres?" Nikolay asked

"Why not just let me move and die?" He asked

"I'll tell you. It's because you are not a bad person" he said

"What's he saying?" Ian asked

"Let's go" he said giving her his hand looking at Nikolay to see his reaction

"Seriously?" She said and pushed him out of the way and walked out

Ian with an evil look on his face looked at Nikolay who was scared to even breath talk more of moving an inch. He walked up to him and made to touch him

"Ian!" Keres called from where she stood

"Coming!" He said and gave Nikolay one last look and walked away

A few minutes later, Nikolay heard the click and slowly lifted his fingers. To his surprise nothing happened to him. He reached for his belt and took off the bomb discarding it on the floor

"Nikolay!" Diego called running towards him

"Are you okay?" He asked touching his arm

"Get off!" Nikolay yelled

"You're such a horrible person. I hate you!" He shouted and walked away

Hunter and the rest met Keres at the entrance

"Come here!" Hunter said dragging Keres and Ian by their necks

"Ouch!" They winced

"Hunter let go" Keres said

"You're grounded" he said

"Both of you!" He shouted

"You've got to be kidding me. What am I? Five?" Keres said and freed herself from him

"Aren't you using your heads?!" Mrs. Peters asked them worriedly

"What are you doing here?" Keres asked

"She's his wife" Ian said smirking

"What!" Keres laughed

"Hunter, you still got married at this age?" She mocked

"I guess I should address you as Auntie now huh? But that doesn't give you the right to question my every move" she said and walked towards the car they came with

"Asshole" she said to Perry as she got into the car

"Seriously? Asshole?"

"I nearly peed myself thinking that Uncle was going to kill me if something happened to you" he said as he and Ian got in

"Why do I have this feeling like we should have followed that boy and Sally's Uncle?" Grace asked

They were back at the station still without a lead and Lars was giving them the evil eye from his office.

"I'm getting that feeling too" Orlando said

"Well, the feeling I'm getting is firing both of you!" Lars said walking up to them

"Chief" they said at once standing up

"Don't Chief me, tell me something. Have you found prove to your claims?" He asked

"Not yet" Orlando said

"Not yet? What do you mean not yet?" Lars asked

"Do I need to remind you that you need to put some one under arrest before news about you two reinvestigating this case goes with the wind?"

"Do I need to remind you that you are not with the reinvestigation team and that you'll be causing trouble once people find out?" He asked

"Chief, I think your voice is going with the wind. You'll end up being the one to tell people we are reinvestigating with all your shouting" Orlando said

"What?!" Lars asked

"We're working on it. Trust us, with time the suspect will expose herself" Grace said

"Just do it. Fast!" Lars said