Reuel stood frozen in his place, blanking out for a moment amidst a crowd of drunken and sweaty bodies. He stared at his hands that had touched the lady, albeit briefly before he looked in the direction she had gone.
'If only...' He wondered, his eyes filled with interest before he shook his head. Pushing away his thoughts to the back of his mind, he took a deep breath and ambled towards the bartender, keeping an eye around for him. Other than the usual activities in the club, he found nothing suspicious. It seemed as it had always been, as it always would be.
"Good evening, Boss." The bartender greeted him and pushed a glass of scotch, his regular and Reuel nodded at him in return.
"Anything worthy of my attention?" Reuel still had his eyes towards the crowd and if not for his barely noticeable lip movement, no one would find him talking.
"Not at all, Boss. Everything's fine here. But there might be something that interests you."
This caught Reuel's attention and he finally focused on the man and his trusted worker.
"Craig Tyrell is here and I think...."
"Things might go nasty today." Reuel completed and the man nodded at him.
"That won't be happening, not on my turf. He wouldn't dare behave recklessly here when he knows what will happen in the end." Reuel smirked and the bartender gulped when he recalled one of the incidents in the past. Things had turned bloody in an instant and one of the men responsible for it was sitting before him while the other was somewhere nearby.
"I need to speak to you in private. Meet me in my office after you work." Reuel chugged his scotch and scrutinized the place again before standing up.
"Yes, Boss. Have a good evening."
"You too, Derek."
Derek was visibly stunned. This was the first time his Boss had addressed him by his name and he did not know what to make out of it.
Not caring about Derek anymore, Reuel made his way towards the back, amusement dancing in his eyes. Careful not to touch anyone, he approached the barely noticeable door behind the black drapes.
'Horny teenagers.' He scoffed when he saw a couple eating each other's lips. With a sigh, he pressed his fingerprint on the scanner and the door opened immediately. Not caring that people would see him go in, he entered the place and nodded at the two bouncers guarding the door.
Compared to the other side of the door, where the music of going on as if there was no tomorrow, on this side, a warm, sensual tune filled the air and Reuel sucked in a deep breath. Yet, it did not entice him.
Running a hand through his hair in frustration, Reuel strode towards the stairs that led to the top. Even when people tried to chat with him, he ignored them, barely acknowledging them with a nod. He did not care about the sound of whip that filled the air, nor about the dominatrix holding a public scene on the stage with her female submissive.
Reuel was done for the day and his migraine was hitting his head slowly. All he needed was a break and a drink and that was what he did the moment he reached his office, one which he shared with his brother.
As usual, his brother had his eyes fixed on the scene happening on the stage. Once in a while, he would glance at the security footage on the television screens on the wall to make sure everything was in order.
"Craig Tyrell is here," Azael muttered and focused his gaze on the man, his gaze spitting venom in disgust.
"I know. Derek informed me. He won't be able to do anything here."
"Remind me why we haven't suspended his membership after the stunt he played with us when he was here last time." Azael turned around to face his brother, who was swirling the drink in his glass.
"You would have known if you had come to work. Lazy bum, all you did was idle around and now, you are asking me about it." Reuel retorted and shook his head when his brother winked at him cheekily.
"It's good to take a break once in a while. You should do it too."
"Oh, I will. Don't worry." Reuel smiled and all of a sudden, Azael started to have an ominous feeling. "The day you return to work I'll be going on a long vacation and mind you, it will be longer than yours. Just wait and watch."
Reuel smirked and Azael gritted his teeth. "This is not fair. It's not like I went on a vacation voluntarily."
"But mine will be voluntary. Anyway, Craig Tyrell will not be able to sit calmly for long."
"What do you mean?" Azael narrowed his eyes when he noticed the wicked gleam in his brother's eyes. Victory was in their hands and Craig was nothing but a roach destined to die.
"Wait and see."
Azael turned around and stared hard at the man from the transparent floor-to-ceiling window. While he could see everything from where he was, nobody from downstairs could even look past the glass pane that separated them.
Reuel chuckled softly and tapped his fingers on the armrest. "Five."
Azael moved closer towards the screens and clicked on the video that was focused on Craig.
"Four."
Azael glanced at his brother who had started counting all of a sudden, his excitement not dwindling even for a moment.
"Three."
Azael's gaze returned to the man who he had come to despise over time.
"Two."
Reuel chugged the drink in his hand and crossed his legs.
"One. Boom."
Barely had he finished speaking when the brothers saw Craig picking up a call on his phone and immediately after, his phone dropped to the floor. The man stood up suddenly, forcing the lady beside him to move back.
"What did you do, Reuel? Why does Craig look so agonized?" Azael still kept looking at the man, who soon started tugging at his tie.
"Let's just say I destroyed his life."
"Huh?"
"Just sit and watch the show. The roach will come to us soon to get himself killed."
Azael leaned back and turned around, his predatory eyes watching Craig run towards the stairs. His lips arched up on one side in sarcasm, and he scoffed before walking out of the place.Reuel too smoothened his trousers and followed his brothers. The inner office was their private space and no one was allowed there, not even their trusted employees.'Craig, you are just a leech. You do not deserve to breathe the same air around me, let alone enter our room.' Reuel sneered and took one of the only two chairs in the outer room."This should be fun." Azael leaned back and crossed his legs, ignoring the pain in his ankle while Reuel chuckled in mirth."It will be. Trust me."Barely had he finished speaking when there was a knock at the door. However, the anxious man on the other side could not enter the room even if they wanted to.Although they could not hear a word, Azael and Reuel were sure that the man was yelling at the top of his lungs and their smiles widened.Azael picked up the r
"Did you just mention a BDSM club?" Elise was flabbergasted and she stared at the man beside her incredulously."I think I did just that. Or do you want me to rewind time so you can find out yourself?" Kai teased and winked at her."Ohh, please do. Let me see how you will rewind time." Elise folded her hands, annoyed by the man's blatant foolish acts.Kai tried to remember what had happened a few minutes ago and sat straight in his seat while driving the car carefully. Fortunately for him, the road was clear. Other than a few vehicles passing by occasionally, it was practically deserted.It was past midnight on a Friday—the best time for people to go clubbing and relieve their entire week's stress."Unless it is a BDSM club," Kai repeated what he had said some time ago and glanced at his friend, his eyes twinkling like the stars. "Now, everything falls into place."Elise burst out laughing at his antics and her annoyance vanished momentarily. "You are fucking unbelievable.""I know. T
"This is so fucked up." Kai raised his hands and grumbled in annoyance as he looked at the remains after the explosion.Everything was a mess. The building was utterly destroyed and blood was splattered everywhere. The fatality rate was a hundred percent. Nobody in the vicinity of the building had managed to live to tell them how exactly the situation had come to this. Moreover, they were yet to find the death count."It was a time bomb." Elise kicked the fragments by her leg and squatted to examine the piece of the explosive. Although it was utterly destroyed like the place, she still saw a part of the timer clock. "And if the people who heard the explosion are telling the truth, then five timer bombs were used to wreck the place."Five, you say?" Kai stood behind as he analyzed the place. "Seems fair, considering how massive the building is. But just five time bombs are not capable of causing such a massive explosion.""No. But I think you forgot that this place had tonnes of RDX."
Elise sucked in a deep breath before she accepted the call. "Yes, Chief?""Elise, why haven't you updated me on the status of the investigation yet?" She heard a harsh voice from the other end and felt her blood boil in fury. 'It had barely been a few minutes since I arrived and this man was dying to get reports from me. How annoying!' She cursed under her breath and looked at her shoe, kicking away the broken piece of brick as though it was her Chief's head she was kicking."Chief, we are yet to investigate the matter completely. We have only begun." She tried but was interrupted by the shithead of a man. "Elise, I do not want any excuses. Do your job well." He ordered and Elise felt her hand itching to give him a good beating. He was the only irritating person in her life, besides Kai of course. But she could tolerate Kai, not her Chief. Never."Yes, Chief." Elise suppressed her anger and looked at Kai who was already staring at her in... concern. Elise frowned when she noticed t
Elise returned to the two men who were deep in discussion. "I apologize for that. I was seeking help from a trusted aid.""No problem, Officer. We were discussing what to do next." Daniel replied with a smile."This is going to be a long night," Kai mumbled, running a hand through his messy hair."It sure will be, considering the number of people who died here." Daniel agreed and closed the file in his hands."Sir," One of the policemen jogged towards them and interrupted their conversation. "I'm sorry for interrupting. But Officer Derek is looking for you. You are to handle the reporters.""Shit!" Daniel cursed under his breath and gnashed his teeth in annoyance. "Aren't we in a mess already? Why do we have to handle the reporters when we are yet to crack the case?" He grumbled, and Elise pitied the man for his state.It was one thing to handle the reporters when they had evidence with them and more or less knew who the culprit was. But it was a different thing altogether to face the
The reporter had no words to say and he lowered his head, utterly embarrassed by how things had turned out to be. Not only had he been humiliated by the police and the NCI, but he had also made a fool of himself in front of his peers. Unable to face the ignominy anymore, he departed from the place immediately.Daniel and Derek smiled at Elise gratefully while the lady faced the other reporters who had gone silent after her valiant attack."If any of you here is going to ask such stupid questions, I suggest you leave right away. Otherwise, you'll only disgrace yourself. I don't mind thrashing stupid people black and blue if that is what they're looking for." She warned and when she noticed that the threat had been registered by them, she stepped back again, allowing the two police officers to take over."Good job." Kia whispered the moment she was back to her place and Elise gave him a curt nod. Since the nuisance was gone, Daniel and Derek could handle the other reporters and Elise d
"We'd like to meet the owners of the club." Daniel and Derek flashed their IDs at the entrance of Black Opal as they waited for the bouncers to allow them inside.Elise and Kai stood behind them as they scrutinized the place. This time, they were more alert and careful as they waited behind the police officers. Although they were just assisting them in the investigation, it was still their duty to accompany them even if they'd be recognized by the people who worked in the club."May I know the reason?" One of the bouncers questioned and glanced behind him, signaling his companion to alert their Bosses."We're investigating a case and we have a few questions we wish to ask them," Derek replied as he looked inside the club from where he was. As expected of a club on a Friday night. The music was blasting off and the smell of smoke and booze filled the air. The crowd was unbearable and Elise felt sick just by looking at them."Follow me." The guard stated monotonously and Elise quirked
“Please take your seats.” Reuel pointed towards the two couches and everyone noticed that his eyes lingered more on Elise than anyone else. While the three men sat down, Elise stood still and watched the twins who were sitting like emperors on their throne-like chairs. She squinted her eyes when her eyes fell on Azael’s white sneakers. Unlike his twin who was dressed prim and proper in a suit, minus the jacket now, Azael instead was dressed casually. “Please take your seat as well, Elise.” Reuel gestured towards one of the chairs that was closer to them, forcing her to snap out of her thoughts. “No, thank you. I’m fine.” Elise smiled nonchalantly and moved her gaze away from the twins. Taking the sudden silence as their cue, the two police officers started their interrogation. “Mr. Azael, Mr. Reuel, Craig Tyrell was last seen in your club. Are we right?” Derek started. “It might be. After all, the club is open to the public.” Azael shrugged as though it was not uncommon for Crai