“Come on, Penelope. You need to say something so I can know that you’re willing” Rachael urged when she got no response from her.
“What exactly do I need to do?” Penelope asked, her eyes flashing with determination as they locked with Rachael’s.
A warm smile curved on Rachael’s lips. “You just need to testify to the truth. Although I do know the cause of your staged accident, I haven’t mentioned anything about the mastermind, Gina, to Liam.. we haven’t had time to discuss our new cause of action because of how hard we’ve been trying to find Isabella’s kidnappers”
“Huh.. what are you talking about?.. what do you mean about Isabelle’s kidnappers?… Where is she? Penelope questioned continuously in a panicked state, her grip tightened on Rachael’s arm. “Tell me everything thing”
“Take it easy, Penelope. I was about to when you interrupted” Rachael retorted, her voice solemn yet slightly irritated. She sighed deeply before explaining the situation from Isabelle’s scandal to the kidnapping case, to Penelope who looked like she would eat her whole just to get the full information out.
“Liam is still out looking for the kidnappers, they should be back by tomorrow morning. I mean it’s almost midnight already.” Rachael concluded with a deep sigh, showing her frustration.
“Tch… Who could the bastard be?” Penelope questioned no one in particular, her teeth clenched in anger as she threatened to curse. “I hope they find those god-damned forsaken criminals”
“The problem isn’t about finding them, they will definitely get a hold of them. What we should worried about is how to make them give us the name of the person who hired them” Rachael muttered, her voice laced with trouble. “We just need to wait for Liam and the others to bring the trios”
“I can’t believe I slept for this long. We would have stopped all these before it happened” Isabelle uttered, her face etched with regrets, her voice solemn and somber. “I hope she’s fine wherever she is, that bastard better make sure he keeps his hand off her”
“The issue at hand would still have occurred, regardless of you waking up earlier. Your help is only needed with Damien and Russo. Max’s case can only be dealt with by Liam and Isabelle alone. We have no hand in it” Rachael explained with seriousness in her voice.
A phone call interrupted their conversation
****
“That was faster than I’d expected”Adrian exclaimed, his gaze scrutinizing the three criminals William and the men had brought in, his voice laced with apprehension as he added. “I hope there’s nobody on our trail”
William arched his brow in annoyance, wondering why he would ask a question like that. “Aren’t you the one in charge of the locations?… Besides, their leader only cares about his life, a trait that can only be identified in a hardened criminal- selfishness”
Adrian scanned the digital map on the computer in front of him and sighed in relief saying,” We’re clear. What’s the next thing to do, where are we taking these guys to?”
“Back to the company”William revealed with a mysterious smile on his face. “There’s an underground base where people like these are treated with utmost care” his voice was laced with sarcasm. “I wonder how much dust it had accumulated since Liam had refused to use it?”
“Wait! So you mean there’s an underground base in the Callahan enterprise, where I work?” Adrian parted his lips in shock as he gazed sharply at William to be sure he wasn’t pulling his legs. “I can’t believe your words until I see things for myself”
“It’s fine, I get your point. Be prepared to be stunned by more discoveries.” William replied with a nonchalant expression on his face. Gradually, his expression turned serious as he noticed the absence of someone. “Where’s Liam?… I haven’t seen him since we entered the van”
Adrian seemed to register the question in his brain before answering. “He’s right there, at that corner. I guess he doesn’t want to see the faces of those three or his anger might blow off”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. I understand”William remarked with a dismissive wave of his hand. “I should go check on those three”
An hour later, they had already arrived and had the company and to Adrian’s disbelief, they had driven through a gateway that would normally be disregarded as a wall section.
“Haha.. that’s the face I’ve been waiting to see”William snickered as soon as he noticed Adrian’s bewildered expression on his face. “This pathway has been here for decades and yet no one knows about it. I must say, Liam, you did a very good job hiding it from everyone”
Liam who had been silent ever since they left the kidnapper’s lair, threw a deathly glare at William who shivered slightly, swallowing the laughter that was about to erupt from his belly.
“Chill, man.. you’re scaring everyone here”William chided Liam the moment he found his voice back. “I guess dispersing the men earlier was a good idea”
The three men who sat comfortably in their respective seats suddenly became serious, causing tension to rise in the dimly lit room. Their gaze was on the three people tied to their chairs, waiting patiently for them to wake up since the effect of the drug administered on them had reached its limit.
“I should go get the tools we’ll be needing,” William said, standing up and walking over to an old rusty cabinet by the corner.
“Where am I?” one of them who had woken up asked in fear as his gaze fluttered around the unfamiliar room. The creaking sound from the chair due to his constant shaking movement, woke the other two who were equally scared to the core.
“Oh! The notorious trio has woken up. Took you guys long enough” William commented, his voice laced with a hint of laziness as he walked back to his seat with an iron tray in his hands. He shifted his gaze to Liam and asked. “Should we get started?”
“Sure” Liam’s voice was eerie as it resounded through the corners of the room. “I’ll do the questioning myself”
“Roger that, boss” William replied with his two hands up in the air, signifying his surrender. “I’m ready anytime you are. Just make sure my skill isn’t put to waste”