Tony looked at Lily and sighed once again. She looked weak and tired. Her clothes had been stained and rumpled thanks to the floor Mehdi left her on.
“She needs a bath.” Rachael pointed out as if reading his mind.
“Hmm.” Tony nodded. “What do we do then? Wake her up? She looks really tired though.” He said in a calm voice, sounding exhausted himself.
“I’ll be gentle with her. She needs a bath to help her sleep properly. If she goes to bed like this she’ll only wake up much later. You know Lily is a clean freak.” Rachael added when she saw that Tony didn’t want to wake Lily up because of how tired she looked.
“I don’t know…” He sighed but Rachael touched his arm and smiled assuringly.
“Don’t worry, Tony. I’ll be gentle with her and I’ll make she doesn’t hit her head on a
“Alright then. I’ll take a shower myself and come back in an hour.” Tony said before leaving the room.
Once he was out, Rachael tapped Lily lightly until she stirred in her sleep. Her eyelids fluttered and slowly opened. With her mind still fuzzy, she turned and saw Rachael seated beside her with a small smile.
“Hey…” Rachael whispered and Lily blinked just to be sure she was in the right place. She thought she was still at Mehdi’s basement but as she looked at Rachael’s face, the memories of the past few hours flooded back into her mind.
“Rachael? Oh my God.” She gasped and wrapped her arm around her. “I thought I was never going to see you again, Rachael! God, I was so scared.” Lily cried, clutching Rachael like her life depended on it.
“Oh, Lily.” Rachael sighed and returned her hug. “You’re okay now. You’re fine now. It’s all over. You’re out of there now.” Rachael calmed her down, caressing her lightly.
“Tony left to get freshened up. I think you should do the same.” She added and Lily nodded before stepping out of the bed and walking into the bathroom.
Soon, the sound of running water could be heard in the room as Lily stayed under the shower, washing the dirt and filth away.
She scrubbed her body harshly, wanting to erase Mehdi’s touch. By the time she was done, her face was filled with tears and her hands shook.
Something told her that even though he had been arrested, the battle wasn’t still over.
And then, there was Oliver who she hadn’t seen since the incident.
‘What if he’s dead?’ The thought suddenly came in but she quickly shook her head.
“It can’t be. Why would they kill him? He didn’t do anything to them. l she said and grabbed her towel before stepping out of the shower.
When she entered the room, Rachael was nowhere to be found, instead, Tony sat on her bed, staring at her with relief in his eyes.
“Hey.” He said softly and walked to her, taking her in his arms, not caring that she was still a bit wet.
“Come here.” He said and pulled her in, crushing her body against his.
“Tony…I…”
“Shhh…” He cut her before she could speak. “Don’t say anything, Lily. You need to rest. Do that instead.” He said and she nodded obediently.
Tony helped her pick out her nightwear but left her to change into it herself. Then, he tucked her in and lay beside her.
“Go to bed, Lily. Everything is fine now.” He assured, brushing a strand of hair from her face.
A few seconds later, sleep claimed her.
*
*
THE NEXT DAY
As Tony placed the breakfast plates along with Rachael, the ring of his phone called for his attention. He hesitantly picked it up and checked who it was only to see that it was Raphael. Sensing that it could be a serious matter, he answered the phone.
“What’s up?” He asked and he heard a shuffle at Raphael’s end.
“You’re not going to believe this, man. This is so fucked up.” Raphael said, his voice laced with frustration.
“I just got a call from Rico. He has been fired.” He revealed and Tony felt his heart drop. His grip on the cup he was tightened and he was at the verge of breaking the innocent glass.
Rachael noticed his behavior and grabbed the glass from him, her eyes filled with worry.
“That’s not all. Mehdi King has been released. He didn’t even spend an hour in jail according to Rico.”
“What?” The shock was evident in Tony’s voice but he managed to keep it under control as he didn’t want to startle the sleeping Lily. He sighed loudly and ran a hand through his hair in disbelief.
“I couldn’t believe it myself. As soon as Rico walked into that station with Mehdi, he was dismissed and Mehdi walked out of custody like nothing happened. The entire situation has been hidden from the public and not a single report on it has been published. It is more than obvious that Mehdi is more powerful than we thought.” Raphael explained and Tony shook his head in annoyance.
“Fuck!” He hissed and hurried to his room. “I’m going to see the commissioner immediately. I need to understand what is going on.” He said and ended the call.
*
*
When Tony arrived at the police station, the atmosphere was tense and most of the officers were overly quiet and calm, like they had been threatened.
Tony marched to the commissioner’s office and since he was already known by most of them, he wasn’t stopped.
When he reached the commissioner’s office, he entered without knocking, and to his surprise, Mehdi was in the office, sitting comfortably on a sofa with a wine glass in his hand.
“Mr Martinez!” The commissioner exclaimed out of shock and quickly stood to his feet. He was not expecting Tony, especially when he was in a compromising position with Mehdi.
Tony scoffed and ran a hand through his hair before chuckling. “I see what this is about then.” He said, pointing at both of them.
“Funny how we spend millions of dollars to end corruption but the commissioner himself is the head of corruption.” He mocked and the police commissioner lowered his head in shame.
“What were you expecting, Tony?” Mehdi spoke up, dropping his glass on the table.
“Did you think you could arrest me? You think you’re the first who has tried?” He asked with a mocking grin and stood up.
“Let me tell you something, Tony. The reason you won’t be able to win is because this is much bigger than you think. Do you really think I take all the money that comes from my business? No! A lot of politicians and businessmen you’d never expect are stakeholders so, it’ll take a lot to take me down. I just hope you understand this now and give up.” Mehdi explained and the commissioner stepped forward.
“He’s right, Mr Martinez. You should back down. This is beyond you. You’ll only put yourself in trouble if you continue.” He said with a straight face and Tony looked at the both of them like they had lost it.
They had lost their senses because of money and power.
Tony shook his head and stepped back.
“You’re right, Mehdi. I’m not the first to come after you. But, I will be the first to catch you and bring you and all you’re accomplices to justice.” He said and walked out of the office.
As soon as he entered his car, he pulled out one of the buttons from his shirt and turned his back to be sure that the secret camera he had installed before going into the commissioner’s office was still working.