The Justice Minister's office was unusually silent this ti, no argunts, no stress. She was simply working, just like she had before all the chaos began.
Stephen was in the office with her, but he sat quietly, flipping through so docunts of his own.
"This is the third ti you've been working in my office." Linda said.
"You know I need to stay close to you. I don't want people questioning at the Ministry about things." Stephen replied as he turned a page.
Linda paused for a mont and looked up. "You know, being with all day can already cause trouble. It makes it seem like we're working together, which could destabilize our political roles."
Stephen glanced up. "Considering that they're already at each other's throats, nobody's going to say anything."
"You just countered your own point. Now get up and get out of my office."
Stephen was silent for a mont before tossing the docunt onto the table.
"We're just sinking deeper into shit." He tapped on a highlighted section. "Read it out loud if you can, miss."
Linda sighed, already annoyed, but she picked up the docunt and read it.
"1625. report part of the 12th International Security Bureau (ISB) 'Spear' investigation unit, found evidence and intercepted a radio channel and communication device. The ssages and calls referenced a 'business move'."
She looked up at Stephen before continuing.
"The calls were recorded between Rizai Kops and Ben Gibs. The main topic was trafficking of 'rice', a codena for white magic into the capital. The conversations also ntioned a potential 'hunt,' which was a signal for a hit on a potential player in the market. The nicknas referenced include 'Pirate,' confird to be Jas Bellini, and 'Old Fucker,' confird to be Silas Ricci."
"What the fuck is this, Stephen?"
"Exactly what you just read." Stephen leaned back.
"I've never heard these nas before. Who the fuck are they?"
"They're both from Dennus, and they didn't really show up on our radar, but for a while now, we've been keeping an eye on them. Even though they're not a big organization, they're wild and brutal."
"What does that an?"
"The two are in an alliance and have maybe 300 people. Their strategy is to attack suppliers and supply chains, stealing the product. They also believe that if you kill the boss, the whole family crumbles with them. So their plan is to kill Jas and let his entire organization fall apart so they can take whatever's left."
Linda sat back, laughing and shaking her head. They were already in deep trouble without this, and now these fuckers wanted to make things even worse.
"Why the nickna 'Pirate'?" She asked.
"They got intel that Jas has a slight limp, and that's why."
"So they're idiots?"
"Yeah, kinda like that. But there's more to it read the last page, the red highlighted section."
She turned the pages and started reading out loud.
"The 12th International Security Bureau 'Spear' investigation unit also conducted an in-depth investigation into their organizational structure and found key evidence that one of their suppliers was Aubrey Ricci, who sold them white magic stolen from Jas Bellini.
Furthermore, there is evidence that the International Security Bureau 'Spear' investigation unit confird that Aubrey Ricci has joined Rizai Kops and Ben Gibs' organization."
She looked up at Stephen again, her mouth opening in disbelief.
"Yeah, let that sink in. It ans that, since Lucian, this is the first major family conflict. And if we let it happen, it will lead to a war. Aubrey is a selfish motherfucker who stole from Jas, and now they want to take a hit on him. But this isn't the biggest problem."
"Then what is?"
"This would be international. Their organization is in Dennus, which ans if they start a war, then Dennus agencies will get involved. And at that point, we could no longer hide that we work with Jas."
Linda sat back in her chair, her hand pressed to her forehead. "International, oh my fucking God." She let out a breath, trying to steady herself. "This is worse than I thought. If Dennus gets involved, it's not just a family issue anymore, it becos a full blown international problem. And we're in the middle of it." She looked up at the celling. "The ISB has a headquarters in Dennus, am I right?"
"Yeah, but to take action, I need a eting with the director in Dennus. Problem is, he's very old fashioned."
Linda thought about every possibility. "I have the authority to order a mission, but it still needs to be signed off by the president and the head of security."
"You don't need to do all that. Just say the word, and I can take care of it."
She remained silent, thinking about all the diplomatic bullshit it could cause if they got caught. But still, it was a better option than letting things escalate further.
"Do it. No reports, no docuntation. Don't even use official equipnt."
Stephen stood up from his chair. "I'll select the right agents, and we'll buy equipnt from the black market. No official traces, nothing to tie us back. Give it about a week, and we can take them down."
Linda's voice stopped him as he was about to leave. "Stephen. I'm serious. If any of your agents even get a photo of them, you know what you need to do."
Stephen didn't look back. "Don't worry. I know the rules." With that he left the office.
"First Carter, and now a hit in another country... what kind of world would it be if there wasn't corruption or cri?" She let out a bitter laugh. "Yeah, maybe in a fantasy world."
A world without corruption, without cri. That would be nice, wouldn't it?
The worst part is, no matter how hard I try to make it right, it always ends up the sa. More deals, more blood on our hands.
She sat up, shaking the thoughts out of her head, pushing the weight of it all to the back of her mind for the mont.
Then a knock ca on the door, and Benjamin stepped into the office.
But his look was different this ti.
"Why do you have all black on?"
Benjamin laughed as he looked down at himself. "Well, I'm going to a funeral, so it's to show respect."
"What?"
"Why are you surprised? I'm going to Rafael's funeral." He said with a simple smile as he sat down.
Linda sat there laughing, like Benjamin had told a joke. "First, you didn't even fucking report what you talked about with him, and now you're going to his brother's funeral? Are you fucking stupid, Benjamin?"
"Why would I report to you any of my business?"
"Because I'm your fucking boss, that's why!" She said, standing up. "You can't go to his funeral, how the fuck would it look like if you were there, mourning a gangster's little brother?"
"Actually, my boss is Jas. He accepted my loyalty, and as a loyal man, I'm going to pay my respects."
Linda's eyes widened as she tried to process the weirdness of what Benjamin just said to her. It didn't make sense.
"What...?"
"Yeah, I made a deal with him, and together we're going to make this country greater than it's ever been."
"You made a deal with Jas? Are you out of your mind?"
"I'm not out of my mind. I'm just doing what needs to be done. Jas is soone who gets things done, and I'm on the right side of that."
"Do you even realize what you're saying?"
Benjamin leaned back, a smirk on his lips. "You're worried about ? Don't be. I know what I'm doing. And trust , when this country rises, you'll see who was right."
"I'm not fucking worried about you! I would kill you right now, but I don't have a gun, you stupid fucker!" Linda yelled, picking up the paperweight and threw it at him.
"Woah, don't be mad. You just need to sit in your position and pretend everything's okay, just like you did before all this shit." Benjamin smiled, casually placing the paperweight back on the desk.
But that wasn't enough for Linda. She picked it up again and stepped to Benjamin, grabbing his tie and ready to strike him with it.
"My family's life is in danger! I need to kill the vice president, and you're fucking making deals with the man who did all of it?!"
"Exactly, Linda." Benjamin said, and a click echoed through the room. She looked down, and a gun was pointed directly at her.
"Look, I'm not dumb, nor am I an idiot. I'm making moves that will do good for our country, and in the anti, I'll make sure your family isn't hurt, nor will Stephen's. So please, step back before my gun accidentally goes off."
"You think I'm going to step back just because you have a gun pointed at ? Pulling a gun on ?"
"You're not in a position to lecture , Linda. And let remind you, you were the one who ca up with the DTA bullshit and the president, so don't pretend you didn't fuck up yourself."
She took a step back and threw the paper to the ground, while Benjamin holstered his gun and stood up.
"Thanks for this lovely talk, Linda. And don't worry, I'll tell you about the deal with Jas when it's ready. Until then, just do what's necessary to stay alive."
He waved his hand and left the office, leaving behind Linda, who was already thinking about an "escape plan" from this life… but that would just cause more trouble.
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