Chapter 213: Failed Extraction
"What was that?" Athena asked, stupefied to a spot, her voice almost a whisper as she met Ewan’s gazee. His
facial expression mirrored hers: shock.
Ewan was about to answer when another loud bang was heard. This time, it was followed by a rampage of sharp
sounds that could only be attributed to large guns.
"The gang!" Athena whisper-yelled, her legs instantly operating on instinct and adrenaline. She ran quickly,
followed closely by Ewan, down the winding corridor into the elevator.
"Can this go any faster?" She asked Ewan, impatience notable in her voice.
Ewan shook his head. This was the fastest speed of the elevator; any more speed, and the machine might
malfunction. It didn’t take long, however, and they were down at the lobby.
When the door opened, Athena and Ewan rushed out, both surprised to see a combination of workers of the
company and non-workers—mere pedestrians—huddling fearfully around in the office. It would mean that the
gunshots were exploding right in front of the building.
"Why do you think they are here?" Ewan asked as he and Athena hurried to the front door.
"For Alfonso and Fiona."
The matter-of-factness in Athena’s tone was surprising to Ewan.
"You talk like you knew this would happen?"
Athena nodded, opening the door and subtly peering out. "I was aware. My earlier panic was just reflexes. | think
their last attack againstleft more traumatic remnants than | had thought."
Ewan nodded slowly. "That's okay. You will be totally fine in sdays. But how did you know they were coming
today?"
However, Athena had already opened the door fully and walked outside, almost giving Ewan high blood pressure
since the bullets were still flying around.
"Athena, wait!!!"
But Athena was already in military mode. She crouched to the ground and moved fast to a car, where she knew
Old Mr. Thorne was waiting with his wife.
Her eyes caught Aiden and the other security detail finishing off whatever remained of the gang. She smiled as
she dropped a knock on the door, startled when she felt a touch on her shoulder.
Acting out of reflex, she pulled the hand forward, about to do as the occasion demanded when a whiff of perfume
crossed through her nostrils. There was only one person that had the scent.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"Ewan, what the hell! Why are you following me? I thought you would wait inside?"
Ewan, who was wondering how Athena's reflexes could be so fast and smart, said nothing. What was there to
say? That he followed her out because he wouldn't be able to live with himself if anything happened to her? He
didn’t think Athena would want to hear that.
Athena, tired of the silence, gave another rasp knock on the door. Twice and once, then twice again. Then she
shifted away as the door opened.
"Athena, thank God..." Florence said, before Old Mr. Thorne could say anything.
"Cin..." She added, sighting Ewan. She gave him a smile when he met her gaze with an unsure expression.
Athena nodded and entered the car, which had a large interior and was very spacious. Ewan followed suit.
"So, how is it going? Did it happen as we had thought?" Athena started, reclining on the chair, aware of the
decrease in the bullets flying around. Soon, it would all be over.
She wondered for a second what Morgan would do when he discovered that his plan had been foiled again. The
thought brought a small smile to her lips.
"Yes, it did," Old Mr. Thorne said, smiling. "They attacked us head-on as they had planned. Only that they hadn't
expected us to be aware of the plans..." He laughed and shook his head, amusement buttering his facial
expression.
"I'm sure Alfonso would be pissing in his pants now." He laughed again; this taround Athena and his wife
joined in the laughter.
But Ewan was at a loss. As much as he didn’t appreciate being left out of the loop, he knew the fault for that fell
solely on him.
"But how did you people find out they were coming?" He finally asked when the laughter had died down. If
Athena and her group hadn't known about this, he would have been attacked by the gang, because Fiona would
have been with him.
And maybe he would have been killed during the extraction?
He didn’t know that. But he was sure there would have been bloodshed.
"You know we kept them in a cottage. Well, it is a wired cottage, a fact only known to people in the inner
caucus..." Old Mr. Thorne paused here, looking at Ewan intently, as if gauging his loyalty.
"You can trust me, old man... | am a changed man now..." Ewan said then, with all sincerity.
Athena exchanged furtive glances with Florence before looking out the window. Ewan’s sincerity was none of her
concern.
"Well, the duo wasn’t aware of this, or rather they guessed it right to an extent because they didn’t speak on
weighty matters, rather communicating through their phones. But they didn’t know that their phones had been
tapped too."
Ewan furrowed his eyebrows. "They didn’t make that deduction themselves? They didn’t suspect that your men
had tapped their phones?"
Old Mr. Thorne shook his head. "They couldn't because they have been with their phones since the court case.
Even when Fiona threw down her phone to obstruct evidence collection, she retrieved it later when she
recognized that the phone hadn't spoilt—considering the safeguard screen and pack used on the gadget. So, we
didn’t touch their phones, which is why it didn’t cross their minds."
Ewan was still confused. "If you didn’t touch their phones, how did you then tap into their phones? How did you
even access their messages with themselves and with Morgan?"
Old Mr. Thorne shrugged his shoulders. "Their phones were already tapped before the court case by a special
individual. It's not that hard."
Ewan’s mouth fell slightly open in shock. To tap a phone here, especially that kind of phone, they would have to
have access to the phone and input scodes. It would mean that someone, most likely one of their special
agents, had sneaked into his mansion and done the deed.
Was that why Sandro and Zane had told him to stay with them the few nights before the court case? Ewan
cocked his head to the side. Probably not. It was chiefly because of the poisoned tea Fiona gave him every
morning.
Ewan sighed and rested his head on the chair. He knew he couldn’t go further with this line of questioning; he
had a feeling that would be entering Athena's turf, and seeing as she still had reservations concerning him, she
wouldn't give him the answer he was expecting.
He sighed and shut his eyes. Athena Caddels. A doctor, a businesswoman. Of course, seeing her educational
records, hearing the rector at the prestigious university talk about her, he knew it was possible, especially since
the male talked about her not showing her face in all her years both as a student and a lecturer.
She was a genius, and he had been blind to that because of his contempt for her during their marriage. It was
possible that she had been taking online classes before and after their marriage. That would be why her close
friends never called her an illiterate. They knew. He didn’t think Zack was aware of this either.
What amazed him, however, was the strength and value of her connections. Now the president? It really amazed
him how a girl whom he had thought stupid and low had risen up the ranks, to the extent of having a private
phone call with the president of the country.
A knock sounded on the door, dragging him out of his thoughts. He realized then that the shootout had stopped.
Everywhere was quiet, except for the sirens. The police had arrived. At this rate, Morgan would be declared a
wanted national criminal.
"It is finished. The police will take care of the bodies," Aiden, who had been the one knocking, spoke as his eyes
ran through everyone in the car.
Moments later, Ewan was standing face to face with Alfonso and Fiona—the duo had been kept in the scar
when the shootout had started to prevent the possibility of one escaping.
Alfonso was speechless, having no choice but to bottle his anger and throw it into the abyss, because it was of
no use to him anymore. He was going to the black cell.
"How did you know they were coming?" he asked calmly, when Aiden held him by the arm to drag him away to
the car.
At his question, Fiona, who had been silently wallowing in despair, lifted her head, needing to know this. Their
eyes were focused on Athena.
Athena shrugged. "Your phones were tapped, that’s all." She turned to Aiden. "Please take him away."
To Ewan, she said, "Take Fiona away to the psychiatric hospital. | hope she receives the help she needs."
This was said in a calm voice that soothed Fiona’s heart to an extent. At least she wasn’t going to the black cell.
At
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