PRESENT DAY

In the heat of the day, Karla and Stella walked into Bessy’s Bistro and headed straight for the counter. The hours that followed their escape from the island of explosions had been filled with a lot of questions, none of which had been answered by their rescuers. In fact, apart from that brief moment in the submarine, it had been the quietest trip of their lives.

Once they’d reached the port, which they didn’t actually get to see because of the bags that were placed over their heads, the women put them in a car and had them driven to some hotel. They never even made it to the counter; the staff had been expecting them, and they were sent straight to their rooms like VIPs. They’d spent most of the night trying to work out what was happening, but there were too many ‘what-the-fuck’ moments for them to make anything make sense.

Then a cleaning lady came and interrupted the little sleep they’d had, but then instead of coming in to clean, she just handed them a paper and left. The paper turned out to be instructions, the first of which was for them to go to the bistro and look for a specific person. Whether it was by luck or by design, the person they were looking for was right at the counter, taking orders.

“Top of the midnight to you, Rose. We would like the bistro special for today.”

The lady looked up at them, then she asked, “Will that be with cream or strawberry?”

Karla answered, “Caramel strawberry, please.”

The lady nodded and then went to the back for a little bit. Karla looked at Stella and winked.

“She’s a cutie.”

Stella rolled her eyes and was about to say something, but then the lady returned and pointed behind them, where another waitress approached them.

“My name is Rosa, and I’ll be your special waitress for today. Come this way.”

Rosa took them through a door which seemed to lead to the bathroom but instead led them through a corridor which ended in an open elevator. Once they got in, Rosa hit the only button there was, and it took them downwards. At the end of the ride, she led them down another corridor which ended in a door with a security keypad. She entered a code, then held the door open.

Stella took Karla by the hand and walked in with her. As soon as both stepped in, the door slammed shut behind them.

The room was weird because they could see sunlight streaming through like they were on an upper floor. It was carpeted and had some wonderful décor, and there was a round table in the middle of it. There were two name cards on there, one for Stella and one for Karla.

The two of them barely had time to turn around when a woman walked into the room. She was dressed in all black and had a mask on. She walked over to the table with a laptop and sat down at the opposite end of it. She opened the laptop and turned it towards Karla and Stella. There was a video that was already open.

“You have only one chance to view what I’m about to show you. Once its done playing, it will automatically be deleted. Let me know when you’re ready.”

*******

“Mary, has the warden’s office called back yet?”

Inspector Kpodo had spent most of the day nursing a headache. He’d spent most of the previous week having to update the top brass on the Glazer investigation, and he’d been called every name but his own each time he’d mentioned the lack of progress they’d made. Internal Affairs seemed to be taking their sweetest time to investigate the bombings, and they had began to suspect him of criminal activity once he’d reported Kane’s invasion of his home. He had basically been on his own the entire time, with only his secretary as his ally.

Mary walked into the office.

“No, sir. I tried to reach them today too, but nothing.”

Kpodo hung his head. “I was not counting on the interim guy giving us much help anyway. I just don’t understand why no one seems to be taking the disappearance of his boss seriously. And the Goosman investigation’s also at a dead end. None of this adds up.”

Mary closed the door and sat in front of Kpodo’s desk.

“Julius, I don’t mean to be a gossip, but there have been rumblings. It is possible that the case will be given to someone else quite soon if there is no progress.”

“They can have it, Mary. I have never ran into a case this crazy in the entirety of my career. If someone else wants it, good luck to them.”

Mary remained quiet and continued to look right at him in a sombre manner.

“What are you not saying, Mary?”

“Well, I’m also hearing that you may be put on administrative leave pending a review.”

“A review of what?”

“I do not know.”

Kpodo was still confused, but the constant look on her face told him something else that she was not saying. As he thought it through, it finally clicked.

“Well, Mary, if that were to happen, I hope you treat your new boss as well as you’ve treated me all these years.”

Mary rolled her eyes at him. “What makes you think I’m staying in this corrupt place if you leave?”

Kpodo was about to answer, but then his phone buzzed. He picked it up and looked, and then he showed Mary what was on the screen.

“Julius, why wouldn’t they want to come inside if they want to meet you?”

Kpodo stood up and put his jacket on.

“As long as they have the information they say they have, it doesn’t matter. Keep your phone close, in case I have to reach out.”

Mmm, is this one of Katherine’s girls on a mission? Must be…