"A sniper took a shot at you. Luckily, Lorelie just happened to step in front of you in time and her bracelet morphed into armour that took the hit," Aphrodite explained as she held out her hands to both women.
"Thank you," Lorelie said as she accepted the hand and Aphrodite helped her up.
"Thanks," Emma said as she also accepted the hand before being helped up.
"I thought you said this was a kidnapping job, not an assassination one?" Emma asked.
"It's supposed to be; this assassination doesn't make sense from everything we know," Aphrodite replied while frowning.
"It also seemed to be a theft job since they apparently wanted something from your safe," Lorelie stated as her armour faded away to be replaced with the clothing she had been wearing before.
"That form bracelet is even more impressive in person," Emma remarked as she watched Lorelie's outfit change.
"Take the job and you can also have one," Lorelie said with a wink.
"Really?" Emma asked in surprise.
"Sure, we need to protect our own after all," Lorelie replied.
"Are you three ok?" Stacey asked with concern as she rushed into the house.
"We're fine," Lorelie said with a smile before asking, "Where are Tephe and Eri?"
"They have gone after the sniper," Stacey replied.
"Good, maybe we can get some answers from them, assuming Tephe doesn't kill them," Aphrodite remarked.
"Any idea what they would want from your safe?" Lorelie asked as she turned to Emma.
"Money, personnel documents, work documents, it depends on who was responsible," Emma replied.
"We still think it's someone from the Morose family," Stacey replied.
"Why? I thought we decided that Antony Morose was too cowardly for something like this," Emma asked.
"The one who hired the kidnappers apparently informed them that you met with Adam earlier and since Antony Morose was the only one who saw us all together," Stacey replied before thinking of something and adding, "Unless one of your staff members revealed that information."
"Not likely, after Melanie, I made sure that all my employees have thorough background checks, that's especially so for those who work close to me and those with a high position," Emma replied.
"So the Morose family again," Aphrodite remarked.
Emma thought for a moment before saying, "It's possible it could be one of the other families."
"What makes you say that?" Lorelie asked.
"Though it's rare, the five families do talk and do business together, if it's within their interests and Adam's return is definitely something Sebastian Morose would likely warn the other families about after what Adam did to them in the past," Emma explained.
"Great, so our list of suspects has risen from one all-powerful family to five," Stacey said sarcastically.
"Well, let's hope the investigation and interrogation of the kidnapper's leader and the sniper reveal something," Aphrodite remarked before asking, "How about we go see if Adam has turned anything up?"
The other women nodded before Emma led them through her house towards the front door.
After he climbed into the van, Adam bent down and searched the leader until he found his phone.
He then placed it and the other phones he had taken on one of the computer desks in the van before waving his uniband over them and the van's computers while saying, "Scan them all for any useful information."
[[Scanning.]]
As Adam waited for Spector to finish its scanning, which he knew wouldn't take long. He took a glance at the computer monitors; one of them contained information about Emma Hopkins, while another showed an infrared image of the house where he could make out four people, which he assumed was Stacey and the others heading his way.
[[Scan complete.]]
"Did you find out who hired them?"
[[All communications were encrypted using AES-256 encryption in an attempt to hide the client's identity; such encryption is nothing to me.
It appears that the kidnappers planned to drug Emma Hopkins and then transport her to England while she was unconscious.
While the client doesn't specifically mention their name, I was able to ascertain that the client's last communication that happened shortly before their arrival came from Prima Flemming, a high-class restaurant located in London's Notting Hill.]]
"Flemming?" Adam asked in surprise before adding, "As in one of the five families? The Flemming Family that controls Europe?"
[[Affirmative.]]
[[Prima Flemming is owned and run by one Stacey Flemming, the grandaughter of Isabella Flemming.]]
[Celebrityhunter69 (Earth): Does that mean it's actually a member of the Flemming family that's behind the kidnapping attempt and not the Morose?]
[Whostolemyduck (Earth): Maybe, but all they know is the last communication came from Prima Flemming.]
[Gunlovergirl (Earth): Wait, I thought the story of a strange aircraft appearing at Prima Flemming was a hoax.]
"I have never heard of this Stacey Flemming," Adam remarked.
"Did you say, Stacey Flemming?" Emma asked in a surprised tone as she, Stacey, Lorelie and Aphrodite appeared outside the van's rear door.
"I did, do you know her?" Adam asked as he stepped out of the back of the van.
"I do, we have done some business in the past," Emma replied before continuing, "Stacey Flemming is the younger sister of Robert Flemming and was basically an unknown until a little over two years ago. Everyone knew that Isabella Flemming had a daughter called Stacey, but she had not appeared in public for several years.
People started to suspect that she was ill or something; however, shortly after you left Earth, she made her reappearance and entered the business world, quite successfully, I might add."
"Well, the client who hired this lot made their last communication from Prima Flemming," Adam replied.
"The top-class restaurant that is popular with both celebrities and the social elite?" Emma asked in surprise.
"Have you been there?" Lorelie asked curiously.
"When I have travelled to London in the past on business, I have dined there, yes," Emma replied before adding, "It has always belonged to the Flemming family. Isabella Flemming gave it to Stacey to run after she reappeared."
"I wonder why she stayed hidden for so long," Aphrodite said thoughtfully.
"No one's exactly sure. Normally, children of the five families start making a name for themselves when they are young, but for some reason, that didn't happen with Stacey. In fact, there are no records of her even attending school, as if she were home-schooled," Emma replied.
"Is that normal?" Lorelie asked.
"No, it's not," Emma replied while shaking her head before she explained, "Members of the five families, especially those directly related to the current family leader, always receive the best education from the best schools and universities.
Stacey, however, only started attending Oxford University after she reappeared in the public eye."
"Oxford University?" Stacey asked.
"It's a world-renowned university in England that's not far from London," Adam replied.
"The background check I did on you says that both you and Jenny Downs received invites from Oxford, among many other universities," Emma remarked as the other women listened in curiously.
"Yes, it was one of the universities we were considering," Adam replied before adding with a frown, "They presented us with quite the tempting offer to attend their university."
"Is there something wrong with that?" Aphrodite asked as she noticed Adam's frown.
"In itself, no," Adam replied before continuing, "Universities often do that to get the best students to attend them. It's just that the offer they made us was too good."
"How so?" Aphrodite asked.
Adam thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Let's table this topic for now; we have more pressing matters."
"Is our next destination this restaurant, then?" Stacey asked.
"Once Rowena and the others return with the sniper, I want to see if they really were part of the same group or not," Adam replied as he turned to look in the direction Rowena had flown off in.
"If you're going to London, allow me to accompany you," Emma offered before continuing as Adam turned to look at her.
"Prima Flemming is not a restaurant anyone can dine at; you need connections to eat there."
"We're not planning to eat there; we are only going there to ascertain who hired these people," Adam remarked as he indicated the leader who was still unconscious in the van.
"I highly recommend you don't pass up this opportunity, the food there is top-class after all and you may never get the chance to dine there again," Emma replied.
"I wouldn't mind trying out more Earth cuisine, especially if it's as good as Emma makes it out to be," Stacey remarked.
"Yes, most Earth food we have tried so far has been delicious," Lorelie replied.
"Come on, Adam, are you really going to pass on the opportunity to take seven beautiful women out for a meal?" Aphrodite asked with a flirtatious smile.
[StealthAssassin9 (Earth): Lucky fucker.]
"Sorry, but it's not like I can afford to dine there by myself, let alone treat all of you," Adam replied with a shrug before adding, "Here on Earth I'm a poor orphan, remember."
"You have a point," Stacey conceded.
"I don't mind paying," Emma suddenly offered.