White Outside, Red Underneath [Vegaspete]

Chapter 4: Intrigue

 Vegas and Gun were quick to leave after the confrontation in the bathroom. However, someone needed a moment to get himself together before he looked presentable to his father.

 The moment he entered the dining hall, he was informed of his verdict.

 "5 days," His father had said before he left the room as well.

 His body was too tired to digest the information. He felt like a disappointment. But he didn't know why. It was too much. Too many stimuli for him. Vegas... and the weight of the past roaming around the mansion's walls.

 His body moved, while his mind was trying to get out of the suffocating water someone pushed him into. He would not show emotion. Not when he was sure he was being watched. Probably, his father entrusted someone with the task, but the minor family was also a possibility. Perhaps both.

 By the time he went back to his room, he still felt eyes on him. Like he was not alone. Not in the physical sense at least, but there must have been cameras hidden somewhere. He should feel paranoid. He knew he should, yet he couldn't find that feeling inside of him.

 Perhaps he was used to it. True, he had more freedom abroad, but he always knew someone was tailing him. It didn't stop him from doing things he wasn't supposed to, though. He always made sure not to leave any clue behind. Anything that could give him away.

 Tonight, he just leaves it be. All images, every feeling that crosses his mind. He lets them flow, any way they like, not paying attention to them. He sinks his body in a warm bath before going slack in the bed, which doesn't feel warm enough. "Maybe tomorrow," - he whispered - "I can make sense of it."

 The tiredness finally took over his body, just like he anticipated. It came over his eyes, like a safety net. Finally, the hours are here when he doesn't have to think, nor be.

-

 The file was on his desk. Finally, he sighed, happily. It was all he had been waiting for, even more so after last night's dinner. He couldn't stop thinking about Pete's blood in his mouth, the sweet, sweet liquid washing away inside his throat.

 Vegas groaned at the thought. He got off on the thought the night before.

 The first thing that caught his eye was the picture in the upper right corner. It appears to have been taken a few years ago. That's unusual, to say the least. Was it impossible for his team to capture a photo in the past few days?

 The other page had the answer to his question. He was abroad for 4 years. Hmm... interesting. Now it also made sense why he talked about the business in past tense at the dinner table.

 What was also odd was the lack of information. It contained his birth date, his height, and shit like that, but it said nothing about the business he was involved in, and his studies were also gappy. A three-year business course at some high-class university. Three years? Wait...

 He was there for four years. Vegas reread the facts, and it didn't add up. What was he doing in the one-year gap between his departure and the start of university?

 Even his best man couldn't find all the information. It was like somebody intentionally erased everything. Maybe it was Pete himself. This, however, did not achieve the desired effect. It just made this man more captivating.

 Pete was a mystery. A puzzle, Vegas was willing to figure out.

-

 Vegas' first trip led him to the informant they planted years ago in the Saengtham family. It turned out he wasn't very useful. He only started working there after Pete left, so he didn't know much.