The Detectives' Story

XIV

November 9, 2016

1103 Hours

The doors to the compound busted open, and with it James and Dan. The brothers came stumbling out heaving from the running they just did. They didn't want any extra guards that were in there (if there were any) to notice them and follow them out. Especially after they killed their boss, Jir. Once Dan and James got a few meters away from the building, they stopped to take a breather.

"Man. I would hate to see how his stocks are going to suffer," Dan joked in between breaths. He looked over at James, who was sitting down taking in the air around him. Dan noticed James' hands were still clamped. "What did they do to your hands?" James opened his eyes, and looked down at his involuntary fists.

"I don't know. Probably an injection that caused the muscles to retract. I basically have a temporary death grip," James explained. "I hope."

"Yeah, well. That needs to go away before we can go to the killer's house. Which, by the way, you never told me who it was." James nodded his head. "You have a lot of explaining brother."

"Yes. Yes, I know, I know. Let me get my thoughts in order, and then I'll explain everything, alright?" James asked. Dan nodded, mouthing the word "okay" as he was still out of breath.

"We're not in great shape at all," Dan said. James chuckled, and pointed at Dan with a finger.

"You're not in great shape. I'm already calm," James said. Dan made a face, and had a look around their surrounding.

"Okay, well. I'm going to take a piss over there, and when I get back, explain everything." Dan walked over to a hill, and went over it. Disappearing into the woods.

Rogers looked at the greenery surrounding them. It was beautiful. He's never been to this side of Texas before. Rogers lived in Arizona for the first half of his life, and all he remembers about now was the heat and the barrenness. Here in Texas, there was still heat. But there was also cold, green, and a sense of pride. Everywhere he looked, he saw people representing their state with pride, and he liked that.

A collection of beeping distracted Rogers from the outside. He looked towards Sanine who was on the phone. She looked at him, and mouthed, "the boss".

"Hm." Rogers grunted. The idea of anyone being above her never occurred in his mind. After a moment of silence, Sanine lowered the phone, her face showing concern.

"What's up?" Rogers asked. Sanine put away her phone back into her pocket.

"Well. My boss never misses a call. He's very punctual about that kind of thing. He didn't pick up when I tried to call him," She explained.

"Who is your boss?" Rogers asked.

"Ever heard of H&H?" Sanine asked.

"Yeah. They're the company Houses & Holes. They basically have a monopoly on all retail and anything that goes into the ground. Richest company ever known to man. Why?"

"Well, my boss is the Assistant CEO to H&H." Rogers was astonished.

"Jesus lady! He must be one of the richest men alive!"

"Yes he is. Personally, I think it gets to his head sometimes. Anyway, he came to me one day, and said he's been observing me. He liked how I handle business, and asked to join his team."

"His team?"

"A list of people that he considered 'close'. It was technically illegal what he was asking these people to do, but none of us cared. We were getting big bucks, that's for sure. Then he got found out."