They knew I wasn’t planning a company picnic.
When I stepped off the elevator onto the fifth floor, everyone was squeezed into the very center of the room. Some of them were nervously eyeing the metal cabinets, while others had their eyes on the chairs. A few of them were flat out praying, and I couldn’t blame them. The survival rate of anyone besides myself or Milli who came up to the fifth floor was less than ten percent.
“Separate yourselves into guards and house staff,” I ordered.
They listened immediately, scrambling to divide themselves into underlings and those who worked under me in the Raines Family, and those who worked specifically for my home. I knew everyone who was supposed to be in my estate at any given time, and I’d taken a few minutes to look over the schedule. If anyone were missing, I’d know it.
In order to make sure that everyone knew how serious I was, I walked over to one of the metal cabinets and unlocked it. I pulled aside the doors, revealing a collection of weaponry and instrumentalities of torture. I wasn’t a gory kind of guy, even if my father had an affinity for it, but Milli classed himself a connoisseur of torture. If there was information we needed, he could get it out of someone, and a majority of the fifth floor’s tools were his personal collection. I settled for just grabbing one of the large, black pistols, but leaving the cabinet open for show.
“Earlier today,” I started, “my compound was breached by some of my greatest enemies. They somehow managed to get beyond the gate outside, up the long driveway supposedly under surveillance, through the front door, and up to the third floor where they were able to get the jump on Milli and I and steal something very important to me.”
It was immediately identifiable which staff and guards had been on a different side of the house or had no idea that it happened because they immediately started to gasp or drop their jaws. “Now, I’m sure you all are worried about the fact that I’ve invited you up here, and in short, you should be. But make no mistake. I don’t want to hurt anyone innocent in this matter, but someone in this room knowssomething. Do not lie to me, because I will find out. So long as everyone here is cooperative and helps me suss out the rat, the rest of you will leave with your lives.”
Shifting my attention to the guards, I could see them all looking at me nervously. The house staff, I was less concerned about. Even if they saw the Narzands coming, they weren’t trained to deal with them. It didn’t mean that they didn’t need to be vetted—anyone could open a back door and let someone in—but my bigger issue at the moment was with my underlings and security who not only let the Narzands come strolling through the front door but allowed a helicopter to descend over my property without batting an eye.
“Who were the tower guards?” I asked.
Everyone started looking at one another and stepping aside until finally, six people, three men, and three women, were left at the center of attention. I recognized them, as I had handled their hires personally. They were all ex-military or police and were being paid a significant amount of money to guard my property from the outside. I stepped up to each of them and did a careful scan of each of their eyes. There was fear behind all of them, but the fear I was looking for was specific. Fear wrought of guilt.
And I found one. A man named Jon who had only come to work for me within the past year. Rather than homing in on him at first, I looked at one of the female guards. “Did you receive any strange instructions today?”
Immediately, her eyes sideswiped to Jon. “I was told to go on break early,” she replied.
“By whom?”
She turned and looked over at Jon. “Jon told me my post was being relieved.”
I scanned the group of tower guards. “Did anyone else receive this message?”
All of their eyes turned slowly and focused on Jon. I zeroed in on him after that, lifting my gun to train on him and stepping closer to back him out of the group. “Why did you give that instruction?” He swallowed hard but didn’t respond. I cocked my pistol and continued to back him up until he was against one of the walls. “Why did you give that instruction?”
“Th-The Narzand brothers,” he finally whimpered out. “They paid me.” He offered the answer up too quickly and it made me immediately suspicious.
“How much?” I asked.
He blinked a few times before saying, “Two-hundred-and-fifty-thousand.”
“When?”
He started to stutter and stammer. “L-last, um, Thursday.”
“You’re lying.”
He shook his head. “No, no, no. I was approached by them.”
“Which one?” I asked. “One or both?”
“Both.”
“What are their names?”
He blinked rapidly as he fought to hold eye contact. Sweat was pouring down his brow and his skin was turning a sickly pale color. “V-Vincent and… and…”
Then he bolted at me.
He was screaming and had his hands out like he was going to attack me, so I fired. I hit him in his shoulder first, not wanting to kill him before I could get the information I needed, but then he got up and ran at me again. The other staff was screeching, and I shot again, that time hitting him in his chest. He dropped to his knees, and I was hoping that he wouldn’t die. Milli was the one who could get the information out of him that I needed. He got to his feet again, though he was bleeding profusely, and ran at me. He reached out and took hold of my gun, trying to wrench it from my hands, though he wasn’t strong enough. I lifted my foot and pressed it against his torso and kicked him backward. He went flying, losing his balance and falling to the floor, cracking his skull on the cement with a resounding snap.
Blood began to pour from his motionless body, and I let out a “Fuck!”
