“What are you doing, Anderson?”
Iris jumped from the backseat to the passenger seat with her gun still pointed at Claire’s temple. She was wearing a tight fit overall, zippered on her chest, and a big grin on her face. “Breathe, girl. You might get a heart attack.”
Claire exhaled slowly. Suddenly, every dreading second was frightening because Iris looked like a whole different person. Her eyes were dead empty and her words sounded hollow, as if she doesn’t care what her mouth will say. “Don’t make a mistake you’ll regret.”
Iris let out an incredulous laugh, her eyes bulging as she spoke. “The only mistake I regret was letting you live this long, Martin. Now shut your mouth and fucking drive.”
Claire turned to her and with a hesitant expression, she stared at her eyes meeting her deadly stares. “Kill me,”
William was humming as he entered, he closed the door behind him and when he turned around, his eyebrows furrowed on the mess that was on the floor.“Goodness, my child,” he muttered as he walked further in, his eyes fixated on Claire’s unmoving body. “What have you done?”Iris showed no expression. She pulled out a cigarette and with her trembling hands, she lit it open. William watched her as she puffs out the smoke, blocking his sight of her face. “Obviously, I killed her just like you wanted.”“I never said that,” he defended with a sly smile. His eyes darted back to Claire, narrowing it as he looked. He bent down and Iris could feel her heart wanting to jump out from her chest, she watched William nervously as he reached for her hand, searching for a pulse. Iris closed her eyes and bit her lip, and with a low chuckle from William made her hold her b
Claire’s finger moved which Iris’ eyes caught, she leaned forward narrowing her eyes, waiting for another movement. “Martin? Are you awake? Can you hear me?” she asked. Claire’s eyes slowly parted, squinting from the light cascading through the window beside her bed. Her chest went up and down fast as she started to breathe heavily, filling her lungs the air that has been stolen from her.“Hey, relax. You’re okay.” Iris quickly stood up from her seat and momentarily disappeared from the room to call the nurses. She came back bringing two who immediately injected morphine to Claire. “She’s fine, she just needs to rest more. Call us when she can’t bear the pain,” the other one said. Iris nodded and after attending to Claire’s needs they went out of the room.Claire’s eyes were empty staring at Iris who also didn’t know what to
Max’s phone rang in the middle of the Chief’ briefing about the operation they will carry out at the Oakleys University. The office was filled with about four team leaders with each team consisting of ten officers. Some will be joining the ceremony for the security of the civilians, and the others will surround the hall, break into the rooms where the possible meeting of the Nightcrawlers will take place. An anonymous caller gave them a tip about the University ceremony, and the Oakleys’ plan to merge business with the Nightcrawlers. The call dropped before the Chief could even ask who was at the other line but the information specialists confirmed that the Oakleys University would be holding a graduation ceremony by four o’clock in the afternoon. Driven by their eagerness to gain their credibility and reputation again, the Chief gathered the best teams to deploy.Iris’ name showed up on his screen. Max tapped the acce
“Team 1, attend to the Oakley University with me. The rest will go with Detective Anderson,” said Max upon coming back from the Chief’s office, he turned to Iris who was about to protest. “It’s the Chief’s order. We have to eliminate the suspicion with you, and to make sure we cover all areas. I agreed with this too.”“But why are you coming with them?” Iris asked, a tinge of panic centered on her voice. “Let someone else lead, Carter.”“No,” Max refused firmly, closing his eyes for a second to calm himself, “I’ll cover the Oakley, you cover the Hawks Den. Martin’s not around so it will be just you and me. There’s no one else who could lead.” Max could feel that Iris is hiding something. Her moves are convincing but he can see that her eyes were onto something else. Nevertheless, he wants to trust her with the case.
“Please everyone, stand up and let us welcome the guest speaker for tonight.” The collective murmurs in the half-oval shaped hall finally died down after the host spoke to the mic. The giddy smiles of the students wearing their maroon graduation robes set the place with such a triumphant and euphoric atmosphere. The crowd followed the order to stand up, clapping as the guests sauntered up the wide and bright stage with grand curtains behind an enormous screen. There were six chairs elegantly lined up on the stage, two were vacant while the other four were occupied by three old gentlemen in their black suits looking all debonair while a sophisticated looking middle-aged woman sat at the center, her dark hair with big curls cascading over her shoulders, making her look younger than her age.Iris almost couldn’t feel her lungs as she runs out of breath arriving at the hall. Her eyes quickly roamed around the hall glistening in differ
Betrayal is a strange word for Iris. She neverdeceived anyone nor was deceivedbecause she didn’t had any friends she can trust and so no one hurt her like what betrayal does to people. Williamwas the closest on the line she made separating herself from everyone, but she just kept him close not because she needs him but because she knows he needs her.She was his most prized possession, if he was to choose between the gang or her, she is certainthat he’d choose her. His power was advantageous for her side, and so was her power to him. But between them, William is the one more at risk of getting betrayed. ButIris didn’t anticipated the other way around—that as she expands her world to seek for her revenge, she will gain someone else’s trust and she’ll be the one betraying them.After William defused the bomb wrapped on Max’s lap, Ir
Iris drove Max to his home in an awfully quiet ride of thirty minutes. To prevent further mistakes coming out from her mouth, she just let him sleep the whole time and didn’t bother to initiate a talk. His house was along from one of the suburbs few blocks away from the St. Valen’s unit. It was a humble home of a single floor built with a yard and a parking garage. Iris concluded he was living alone. But as she help Max get out from her car, a young girl came running out from the house with horrified expression upon seeing them. “Max!” she yelled with a tiny, shaking voice. Iris was stunned when she approached them and jumped to hug Max sobbing. “What happened to you?!” she asked. Max gave her a weak smile, his gaze turned back to Iris. “My sister, Georgia,” he said. The girl peeked from Max’s arms. “She’s a little shy around people.” Iris saw the resemblance of their eyes, both as if glazed with honey that glimmer when th
Max’s eyebrows flinched, slowly, his eyelids moved as he opens his eyes. He felt something brushing against his forehead. He turned his gaze to his side and saw Iris’ face. “How are you feeling?” she asked, her fingers trailing on his skin, brushing off the stray strands of hair from his forehead. His lips curled upward, feeling a lot better for the first thing he saw was Iris.“I’m fine,” he muttered, his voice barely coming out. “Where’s my sister?”“She’s asleep. It’s already one o’clock midnight.”“Oh, aren’t you going home? I’m so sorry, Anderson. You should’ve wake me up.”Iris’ hands reached for his hand, she held it there, enveloping it with her warmth. “It’s fine. I can’t just leave you to your sister all by herself. She’s really