Reiner doubt that this was just all about money for King. The business had been booming since he set it up. King and the company were extremely wealthy, and all their income were not taxed by any government. King’s main problem is where to store and hide his wealth and not how to acquire more wealth.
“What do you really want?” Reiner asked as he slowly stood up from his seat.
There was something very suspicious about the details and the timing of the client’s request; however, Reiner knew that the request was real. King wouldn’t fake up something like this no matter what he had to gain from it. The request was real and that meant that if he didn’t do something about it a very talented assassin would be assigned to the job to finish it up quickly and hopefully quietly. It didn’t help that Natalia was walking around freely on this island where the agents were based.
“Nothing. As I said, I just thought that I should let you know. You are my son after all…” King replied like none of this concerned him at all.
“Turn down this request. I’ll pay you and the company whatever the client wants to pay,” Reiner demanded as he leaned across the table towards his father.
If it’s money, then…
“You know that I can’t do that. If I do, how will the company uphold its reputation. We will work on all requests from all clients as long as it follows our protocol,” King said resolutely.
Reiner sighed as his worst suspicion had been confirmed. It wasn’t about the money. King would die to live by his beliefs and his so called ‘protocols’.
“Protocols…” Reiner muttered as his mind raced to figure out a solution.
“The mission can’t be delayed for long. I’ll give you 24 hours to figure out what you want to do. Remember, we always follow our protocols,” King stated while stressing on every word.
Great, now King is using time to assert even more pressure and Reiner noticed this in less than a heartbeat. This old man is so hard to deal with, he thought as he tried to remain calm while remember to keep his emotions from showing on his face. He could feel King’s eyes on him, and he knew that King was reading all the signs. One wrong move and this whole game could change for the worst.
Reiner quickly realized that 24 hours isn’t a long time at all. Even if he could convince Natalia to somehow leave the island, she wouldn’t get very far in 24 hours. Whoever King decided to send would catch up and find her in no time at all. Reiner didn’t know anyone who could guarantee Natalia’s safety or anyone who could protect her.
Being hunted by the company is pretty much equivalent to death. The success rate of missions was extremely high and killing a simple target is considered an easy mission. Even if an agent were to fail, the company will take responsibility and send in other assassins until the mission is completed.
You can’t run from King and the company. From his personal experience working for both the man and the company, he knew that best of all.
What should I do?
For now…
“I’ll take on this mission,” Reiner said without hesitation.
Reiner was surprised to see the look of surprise on his father’s face at his sudden request to take on this mission himself. Not knowing what to do with the situation, he decided that the best way was to stall for time. Time to think, time to find a solution and time to prepare things. Time. What he needed now was time, and the only way to get time is to convince King to assign the mission to him.
The company never assigns the same mission to multiple agents unless it is a team-based mission. The reasons for that were simply because it creates confusion while also being cost inefficient. The only way to make sure that no one is after Natalia is for him to be assigned as her assassin.
Reiner knew that it wasn’t the best solution at all. Furthermore, he knew that it wasn’t even a solution. He was just buying time, but it was better than nothing at all. He’ll use the time granted to him to figure out his next move.
…
“Hey. Sorry for calling out of the blue like this…” Reiner spoke through the phone.
“That’s ok. I know that you just returned. There’s no need to act so distant…” a sweet woman voice replied.
“I need your help. You’re still working at your family business, right?” he asked hopefully.
“Of course, I am! That aside…wow! I never dreamt that you would be calling me for help about this…” the woman said followed by a teasing laugh.
“I never thought so too…” Reiner replied, and it was clear that he didn’t find any of this amusing.
“It’s urgent, isn’t it?” the woman asked, catching on fast.
“Yes. I’m sorry but…” Reiner began asking.
“No worries. Come over to my store tomorrow morning. 8AM? 7AM? Earlier? I’ll help you with everything even before the store opens,” the woman readily offered.
“7 in the morning it is. Thank you, Charm…” Reiner whispered.
“Anytime. I can’t wait to see you…and you know who…” Charm said teasingly.
After hanging up the call, Reiner immediately dialed Natalia’s number. He did see her text but hadn’t had the time to reply to them for obvious reasons. Now he just needed to tell Natalia that he would be slightly late to pick her up for their date tomorrow. He knew that she wouldn’t mind because she wasn’t really a morning person to begin with…
…
“So…what do you think?” Charm asked as she stared at Reiner’s stressful face from across the glass counter.
Charm couldn’t help but giggle at the baffled and confused look that her childhood friend had on his face as he stared down at the large array of loose diamond stones and diamond rings that she had on display in her store.
–To be continued…