CHAPTER 401: HOSPITAL MOLE II

"What if she betrays us? What if she tells the twins about us? What if she tips them off? What if..." Athena’s voice cracked, her words tumbling out in restless waves.

Ewan placed calming hands on Athena’s shoulders, steady but firm, pushing her gently until she dumped her buttocks on her seat with a huff.

They were in her office, and she was getting flustered, restless, with the mic being silent, with not hearing Ciara talk to the twins yet. Hadn’t she gotten to them yet? What was the hold-up?

"Athena... stop worrying. Everything will work out fine."

Athena scowled, narrowing her eyes, her lips pressed in a hard line. "Fine? We would have gotten the information we wanted from her, before sending her down there!"

Ewan sighed, rubbing his face with both hands, his shoulders sagging. He was beginning to think that he had made a wrong call, that he had judged wrong. But Ciara had seemed like a caged woman, and he had thought to give her a chance.

"But there was no time for that, Athena. She received a call from the twins. We had to send her there with a mic to hear what possible things they had to talk about. We needed more information."

"Well now, we might not have any. She might have followed them out of the tunnel and thrown away the mic."

Athena flung her arms wide in frustration, gritting her teeth until her jaw ached. Ciara.

She chuckled sarcastically, the sound harsh. Who could have believed that her doe-eyed secretary, calm and all, was the mole in the hospital? Didn’t Morgan talk about this?

Even though he had been referring to the moles in the Nimbus operation and whatnots, Ciara could easily fit the shoe. The latter had access to her entire schedule, her in and out, a perfect mole candidate. Why hadn’t she considered it?

Athena snorted, tapping her fingers against the desk. Why would she? Wouldn’t it mean she was paranoid? Ciara just hadn’t left any stone unturned!

"Oh God." She sniffed, her chest tightening. She had left her children with the betrayer at one time.

"Athena, what do you know about Ciara? To be honest, she doesn’t pass as a criminal mastermind as Morgan or the doctors. I think there is something at stake here."

"Or rather you are easily moved by a woman’s tears." Athena snapped, folding her arms across her chest, her gaze sharp.

Ewan sighed again, taking a seat on the visitor’s chair.

Feeling he was too far from Athena, the large table being enough of a partition, he got up, pulled the chair to her own side, and took a seat, resting an elbow on the armrest as he leaned toward her.

"I know you feel betrayed, rageful, frustrated... but can you think with those beautiful brain cells of yours..."

"Ewan, now is not the time to be a smooth talker. We need Ciara to report first, then I can make any conclusions from there. Even the most gentle can be the most poisonous. I suggest that you don’t get your hopes up. If she is a criminal, she is going down."

"Of course." Ewan muttered, reclining deeper into his seat, rubbing the back of his neck. It was better to wait before drawing conclusions based on instincts.

Then there was a crack in the tool they were using, a connecting device to the mic.

"Why am I here?"

Ewan and Athena exchanged overt glances, hearing Ciara’s steady voice. So that was why they hadn’t heard anything?

Athena considered the possible fact that the twins were not conversational with her secretary, that maybe they just tolerated Ciara’s presence because they needed important information on the hospital from the latter.

"Because we called you? Stop asking stupid questions. Or do you have something else to do other than protecting your family?" Matthew’s voice. Demeaning. Filled with contempt.

Athena bit her lower lip, her fingers curling tightly over the edge of the desk. It was looking like Ewan was right after all.

Yet... Ciara should have met her about this, should have communicated the matter, trusting that it would be taken care of!

"No, I don’t." Ciara’s voice had lost the steady edge, the cool.

And Athena wondered how the evil ones had gotten their hands on Ciara’s family, how they had even thought to use Ciara. Because she was her secretary? Of course.

Athena frowned at her unnecessary question. Her mind was just being busy. Concentrate!

"Good. Now shut up and wait till we speak to you." Matthew again, dismissive, sharp.

What was Mary doing? What were they searching for?

A long stretch of time passed before Mary’s voice boomed across the static. "Was any vial taken from here?"

Athena looked at Ewan again, a knowing pass between them. They were looking for the vial, which she had luckily seen and taken. It was good then that she had stowed it away in her pocket, till she had gotten to her office.

It might have tipped the moles, if Ciara wasn’t the only one, about her knowing of the virus component, and possible solutions.

"No. Just tools. Are you sure you left a vial?" Ciara.

"Are you saying we don’t know what we are doing?" Matthew.

"Of course not. But I don’t think you will find anything here. The area has been swept entirely clean as you can see. The police made sure of that. So maybe..."

"So maybe we might have lost it as we carried it away?" Mary.

Ciara said nothing.

Maybe she was afraid of being lashed at again?

Athena bit her lip again, ruffling her hair with restless fingers. They also needed to find Ciara’s family.

"I just need to return to the office. My boss might need my services anytime soon. I’m supposed to be compiling files at the moment."

"Oh, the witch is around?" Matthew sneered. "I can’t wait to see the look on her face when this new virus comes out. Or when she discovers she can’t do anything when one of her doctors is infected, or when you are infected..."

"No, you can’t. That was not the deal. You said you will keep my family safe, that you will give me the coordinates if I keep my end of the bargain, and I’ve been doing so. Please don’t..." Ciara’s voice cracked, pleading, raw.

"So, where is it?"

"What?"

"Where is the contract that states that I will do what you are saying?"

Silence. Static.

Then Matthew’s laughter boomed, sinister, wicked, contemptuous.

"Oh, I will love the events of these upcoming days. Maybe we should release the virus at her welcome party. What do you think, Mary?"

***

@400 Chapters and counting... and I have to say thank you for reading this book.

A small favor please... Leave a personality trait on the characters’ images; I would really love to know your thoughts about them at this stage in the book.