RESTLESS : The Hunt For Peace Episode 160

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246

Unedited episode

The FOX Corporation, EPA Hill

Bexford, Bethanna

16:50

“Well-done Agents, you’ve done a great job,” Paul Edwards congratulated the team.

“Thank you, sir,” Steve replied on behalf of the team. He had Evelyn, Daniel, and Lydia beside him in the office where they stood in front of the Chairman and Agent Sylvanus.

“How many arrests were made in total?” Paul asked.

“We arrested seventeen men,” Steve replied.

“How many of them are high profiled people?”

“For now, we only know of Daysman, we haven’t checked the profile of the other men,” Steve replied.

“Have you arranged for the questioning?”

“Yes, I and the Agents here will pair with others to question the suspects one after the other.”

“Good,” Paul nodded. “Get it started immediately before the news of the arrests spread and the other Wolves men begin to move out of town”

“Yes sir,” Steve and his men saluted before turning to walk out of the office.

Steve mumbled some words to his colleagues before they all split into different directions.

“Prepare the suspects for interrogation immediately,” Steve said into his communicator.

__

Evelyn took out the guns in her pockets as she walked straight to the interrogation room. She took out the cartridges from the guns and arranged them into their container which she brought out from the locker. She returned the bullet pack into the drawer and neatly arranged the guns. After that she sat and took a minute to untie and repack her hair.

She was about to get up and proceed to the interrogation room when she noticed a piece of paper on her table. She reached for the note and saw a message left for her.

I saw you walk in that night, you wiped the items clean of the fingerprints. I would have loved to expose you but I have something I need from you. Wait for me at the Agency’s restaurant by 17:20 or I walk straight to the Chairman’s office with my proof

Evelyn looked around the office quickly and also stared out through the transparent walls as if to check if anyone was watching her. She let out a deep breath. The message had brought a sudden shock and fear to her mind. She wondered who it could be that saw her and why the person wasn’t reporting to the executives yet. She also wondered what the person could want from her.

After some seconds of confusion, she picked her phone and tapped it on to check the time. It was 17:05 already. She heaved a sigh of frustration. It would take her between seven to ten minutes to get to the restaurant. That means she had to leave immediately to get to the restaurant quickly and hide somewhere to see the person threatening her first.

She picked her phone from the table and proceeded out of the office immediately. She was walking towards the lift which led to the floor above ground level when she ran into Agent Steve.

“Agent Evelyn,” Steve called, raising his brows as he noted she was in a hurry to somewhere. “Where are you rushing to? The interrogation room is being prepared already.”

“Ermm… I just need to get something quickly,” she fumbled.

“Get something?” Steve frowned at her.

“Yes, something…something I need to… to use now,” she paused and noticed how he was looking at her. It was obvious he wasn’t falling for her excuse. She needed to come up with something better.

“I don’t understand you, Evelyn. You’ve been acting strangely today,” Steve stated frankly.

“Erm, yeah. I actually wanted to get medicine to use,” she said. “I’ve been feeling uncomfortable with my stomach since morning.”

“Oh!” his face loosened a bit as he remembered she had told him of stomach upset earlier that day. “Why don’t you go to the office clinic instead?”

“No, it’s not up to that. It’s just something usual, I know what to take.” She replied.

“Okay,” he smiled. He was more convinced now she was just having her monthly cycle. “Can you handle the interrogation or should I assign someone to help you?”

Evelyn was unsure of what to answer at first. Her plan was not to get there and listen to what the one who was about to blackmail her has to say. All she wanted was to see who it was. And she believed she would be able to do so because, at that time of the day, there were usually fewer agents at the restaurant.

“I’ll be back in a couple of minutes, I can handle the interrogation,” she finally replied.

“Okay, I’ll ask them to hold on for you.”

“Thanks,” she said and proceeded into the lift.

Steve remained in his position and watched her until the lift closed.

____

“Daysman has just been arrested with our other men,” Chanda announced as he walked into the room where Hutton Ryker and Elvis Kahn were sitting.

“What the f***!” Kahn got up from his seat immediately with a shocked look on his face. “But he’s supposed to be out of town already.”

“I don’t know why he hasn’t left yet,” Chanda replied. “But I was wondering if it was part of the plans to trap that FOX Agent Evelyn.”

“No, it isn’t part of the plan. Evelyn’s plan would be executed by Michael.”

“Then, how the f*** did it happen?” Chanda exclaimed.

“He got arrested in the factory,” Hutton calmed them with a stern voice.

“Huh?” Kahn stared at Hutton in surprise.

“So you already knew he was arrested?” Kahn asked.

“Yes, the FOX nabbed our men while loading the items in the truck and also nabbed him when he tried to escape,” Hutton explained.

“What the heck! So, you knew this and couldn’t tell me since?” Kahn accused.

“No,” Hutton shook his head and turned his phone towards Kahn. “Agent Michael just sent me a message.”

He gave Kahn and Chanda a brief moment to check the phone and then withdrew it. He cleared the messages in the chat immediately before he dropped his phone.

There was silence in the room for a while.

“How in the world did they know Daysman was there? Even if they bust the loading of the products, how could they get Daysman when they knew he was supposed to be watching from afar?”

“Daysman must have led them there,” Hutton said.

“Huh? You mean Daysman brought them there to get himself arrested?” Chanda asked.

“No,” Elvis Kahn replied in a calm voice and then returned to his seat. Chanda moved his gaze from Hutton to him. “The FOX has been tracing Daysman for some months. I guess he must have been careless to let them trace him there.”

“Or he has a wrong person working closely with him,” Hutton chipped in.

“What do you mean?” Chanda asked.

“One of his close workers was a mole for the FOX,” Hutton explained. “That’s the only way they could have gotten to know the exact location and strategy we  planned.”

Chanda let out a deep breath. He then located a seat and sat calmly. “So, what’s next for the rest of us?”

“We will continue our operations,” Hutton replied. Chanda stared at him in shock. “We will continue our operation from hiding, none of us will be on the field for now until I figure how exactly Daysman was caught.”

A thought struck Elvis Kahn’s mind and he squinted his eyes. He glanced at Chanda and then returned his gaze to Hutton. “Don’t you think Carl Winston could be behind this?”

Hutton turned sharply to him and narrowed his gaze. Carl Winston! He called in his mind. Why hadn’t he thought of that?

“Carl is in Anthanna right now, I’m not so sure he and his team could have tracked Daysman from there successfully. It has to be someone here in Bethanna, Bexford precisely.”

“How are you sure of that?” Chanda asked.

“We’ve had eyes on Simon Perry for a long time,” Hutton replied. “He began to receive and make calls to a number in Athanna around the same time Carl Winston and his men were chased out of Bethanna. The last time he received a call was yesterday. That means Carl was still in Anthanna as of yesterday.”

“And what is the next to do about that operation in the US? It went so bad,” Chanda asked.

“We all listened this morning when Rex Morris called,” Hutton paused and let out a breath while he thought of how to present what he had to say properly. “It’s obvious the operation went quite bad and now that Rex Morris is being chased by the police, there’s little we can do.”

“We just have to hope he doesn’t have any trace to us if he’s caught,” Kahn put in.

“It doesn’t matter if he’s caught or not, he can’t be traced to us. We just need him not to be caught, he’ll be useful for many other things.” Hutton said.

“I don’t understand what’s going on anymore,” Chanda complained bitterly.

“You’ll understand soon my friend, all you have to do is trust me,” Hutton replied.

Chanda heaved a sigh.

Hutton’s phone began to vibrate and he reached for it on the table. He checked the caller, it was Agent Michael.

“Hello Mike,” he said into the phone.

“You should get ready to listen to our conversation,” the voice from the other end came. “She’s getting into the trap already, she’s on her way to the restaurant.”

“Great! Just get it done as we planned,” Hutton replied.

___

Evelyn took out her phone immediately the lift began to move. She opened her call register and clicked an option to send a text message to Henry.

Someone knows I was the one who cleaned the items and is trying to blackmail me. I’m trying to find out who it is now

She typed and sent the message immediately. After the message was confirmed sent, she continued staring at the screen hoping to get a confirmation of the delivery. However, delivery of the text was not confirmed until she stepped out of the lift. She quickly dialed the number, hoping to tell Henry to check the text message.

The call did not connect as the number was unreachable. She shook her head and heaved a sigh. She checked the time again, it was 17:18.

“sh*t!” she cursed again, knowing she was already late and the person would be there before her.

As she approached the reception exit, she suddenly remembered one of the conversations she had with Carl.

FLASHBACK

July 16

21:35

Evelyn had changed into her nightgown and was about to sleep when her phone began to ring. She wiped her face with the towel again and hung it before she walked quickly to get her phone. Carl Winston was the caller.

She answered the call and sat at the edge of the bed.

“Good evening Carl, I’ve been expecting your call,” she said into the phone.

“I’ve been expecting yours too, Eve. Is there no update on the Wolves yet?”

“Nothing interesting yet,” Evelyn replied.

“There has been no recent progress with the investigations?”

“Well, we’ve just been tracking Daysman,” she replied. “It seems like the Wolves are planning a big hit but we aren’t sure yet.”

“You’ll let me know when things are up, right?”

“Yeah, sure,” she replied.

“So, you haven’t noticed anyone trailing you yet?”

“No, I haven’t. I’ve been very watchful.”

“What about your mum and your sister? Has there been any strange attitude from them?”

“No, I’ve had my eyes on them too. Everything is normal.”

“How sure are you?”

“A hundred percent.”

There was silence for a few seconds.

“I guess the Wolves are trying to come in another way, maybe trying to track you at the office. It is also likely that they try to trap you. So, you have to be very careful even of the very unsuspicious things.”

“I understand.”

“Good, they’ll most likely want to get you before their next attack. So, you should watch out.”

“I would, Carl.”

“Henry!” He exclaimed. “Henry is the name you should call me, to avoid getting us into trouble. And I hope you’ve stored my contact on your phone as Henry and not Carl.”

“No, I didn’t save it with Carl. I saved it with special characters.”

“You should save it as Henry instead, anyone can get suspicious seeing a nameless contact.”

“But no one touches my phone,” Evelyn countered.

“That they don’t touch it does not mean they can’t steal it from you,” Henry replied. “You should know better.”

___PRESENT___

“Maybe this was just the trap Henry was talking about,” she thought to herself. But what if it wasn’t? Wouldn’t it get her into trouble if she didn’t go to meet him?

She stepped aside from the passageway to think properly. Then she considered what could have happened if she hadn’t seen the message before that time. She would have missed the meeting with the blackmailer even without knowing. And there was no way for the blackmailer to know if she had seen the message or not, except the person was following and watching her.

She looked around the reception where she was and it didn’t seem like anyone was watching her. But if someone was watching her, it would mean it was a trap like Carl had said and not just blackmail. She checked her time again and realized it was already 17:20. She took out her phone and dialed a number.

“I’m taking the lift to the interrogation room right away, are we ready to start?”

_____

Benuit, Bethanna

17:25

The team journeyed silently in a Toyota Sienna 404 Jeep. Dave was sitting at the front seat with the Driver. The ladies were in the middle seat while Henry was at the back with Charley.

Henry mind was full of questions as the team journeyed on the road. He couldn’t get his mind off the conversation he had on the phone before they left Gemen. How in the world could Rex had attacked and killed the persons looking after him even when he wasn’t strong enough yet?

Henry had spoken with Simon Perry the day before and the latter had told him Rex was yet to speak even though he had gotten better. Simon had only pointed out that Rex was already being able to make some slow moves with his hands and legs. So, how could Rex who was partially paralyzed ki*ll three people? There must be something amiss.

Then, he remembered the UK Police Lieutenant telling him that there were two saved Bethanna numbers on Simon’s phone. If that was true, it meant Simon had been communicating with someone else in Bethanna against his instructions. But if Simon Perry was communicating with the enemy, how could Simon be killed too?

Even though he was still not certain in his mind that Simon Perry had invited the enemy in some way, he had no doubts in his mind that Simon’s disobedience was what led to the deaths. Maybe the Wolves had been able to track him through his contact in Bethanna and then found a way to get to them. That would be what it was! He thought. The Wolves had attacked them and abducted Rex.

Henry heaved a sigh of frustration, wondering what condition Rex would be. He believed the Wolves would try to use Rex to stop him from coming after them and he had no idea what to do about it. If it was about Rex’s life, he was willing to forget about his revenge mission totally.

“I need to stop at this gas station, I need to refuel and also get something at the store. I won’t stay longer than 3 minutes, can I do that please?” the driver asked in a loud voice, directing his question to Henry behind.

Henry did not act like he heard him even though his voice was loud enough. It was until he noticed everyone else was looking at him he thought of replying.

“Yes, you can stop by to get what you want,” he finally said.

In less than a minute after, the driver drove into the gas station and refuelled before parking by the store.

“I’ll like to step out for a minute,” Henry said to the driver who was yet to step out.

“Sure,” the driver replied and turned off the engine. He wound down the window glasses as he turned off the AC. Then, he stepped out of the car and turned to the other side to open the door.

Samantha stepped out first and Henry followed. He walked straight towards the fence of the gas station facing them. He stopped before he got there and put his hands in his pocket as he let out a deep breath.

He was already deep in thoughts again when he heard a voice beside him.

“You lied,” Samantha stopped by his side.

He turned and squinted at her.

“You lied about the phone call,” Samantha continued. “That wasn’t what happened right?”

“Sam,” he looked into her eyes. “I’m bothered about Rex, all isn’t really well with him.”

“Maybe, but you did not tell us what happened. His relapse was just a cover-up, wasn’t it?”

Henry stared at her face for a while and then looked away. He remained completely silent and Samantha concluded in her mind he was not going to give her an answer.

She began to wonder what it could be that Henry had to hide from them. The silence remained until the driver finished with what he stopped to do and called unto them.

“We’re ready,” the driver shouted from the car.

“Let’s go,” Samantha said in a calm voice and turned to leave when he spoke.

“I didn’t tell you because I don’t want it to affect our mission.”

She stopped and turned back to listen to him. From the look on his face, she could tell that something serious had happened. The thought of it alone began to scare her.

“Simon Perry and Doctor Alan are dead,” Henry finally broke the news.

Samantha widened her eyes in shock. Her lips were also left agape. She stared at his face speechlessly for some seconds.

“Rex is nowhere to be found at the moment,” Henry continued. “The police thinks he murdered them but Rex can never do that.”

Samantha stared at his face deeply and notice there was water in his eyes as he sniffed in. He was staring forward blankly.

“Simon Perry made an error, he was talking with someone at Bethanna. The Wolves were able to track them. They must have killed Simon and the doctor, they abducted Rex to use against us,” he said and turned to look at her. “I can’t tell the team this, they’re going to get distracted with fears and we don’t need that now. We have a good plan.”

Samantha nodded gently without saying anything.

“And you?” Henry said in a questioning tone. She stared at him not being sure of what he was asking. “Ain’t you scared now? Do you think all our plans will still work with this news you heard?”

“Hell yea! I bleeping believe in this plan,” she replied. “Simon Perry made an error and that’s why it happened. If we make no errors, the Wolves won’t have an advantage over us. And besides,” she paused and turned to him. “I believe in you.”

He turned to her also with hands in his pocket and a slight smile formed on his face.

“I’ll keep this a secret,” she promised.

He smiled again and nodded gently.

“We’re delaying, let’s go now,” he said and began to walk back to the vehicle. Samantha followed.

To be continued.