"You wouldn't mind me asking but how exactly did you manage to kill Pauline?" Brittany's question coming from the changing room, the two were in a mall trying out any clothes that so much as caught the pampered miss. "If I told you then I don't think that I would be your favorite toy."
Brittany got out of the small room, her hands grabbing the hem of crimson dress and twirled them lightly in a fairy like motion. "Aww, I would never grow bored of you Andrew if that is what you're worried about.Now tell me what do you think of this dress?"
Andrew looked at Brittany's figure, the latter absorbed in her dress, a smile etched on her lips. "Stunning as always. It really helps bring out youor red eyes." Brittany gave an understanding hum as she assessed her reflection. "Well if you think it's good then I don't mind wearing it for you."
She went back in and switched back to her original clothes.
*Ring*
Andrew excused himself as he saw the contacts, making his way to the restroom. "Andrew Grayson, you've proven to be a tough nut to crack but we'll break you one way or another." The man from before urged as he dangled a finger in front of the camera. "I'm sure you know whose this is." The camera panned to Lara who was curled in a ball, a small pool of blood around her.
Rivulets of blood streamed out of her digits, staining her clothes as faint her faint whimpers echoed through the air. The man noticing a lack of reaction from Andrew gnashed his teeth. 'What is wrong with this person? Does he really not care about her or is he really good at playing indifferent?' The man was in similar situations and by now his victims would be crying at the camera, wishing for him to stop but that isn't what he got out of Andrew.
A deadpan face that stared at the camera, his interest barely there as if he was watching a mildly interesting channel on television. "It would be best of you to kill her as you're wasting everyone's time here. I have other matters to be focusing on."His words calm as if unaware of what the agony that Lara was going through. "Why would we kill her so quickly when you get a front row seat to her torture?"
The man chuckled, thinking that Andrew had began to break. "Should you call me one more time I'll report this to the police. As for killing Lara, once you do that there's no leverage you have on me. BE it Clara or Kevin, I don't mind whether they live or die so do as you please." And with that he brought the call to an end.
The goons on the other end of the call were baffled, his reaction something they hadn't accounted for. "What do we do now? It seems like he really doesn't care about her." A lackey urged, turning off the camera. "He's merely bluffing, even if he isn't close with these people, there's no way he would be so callous about their deaths." The leader mused as he stole a glance at Lara who deep in her self pity.
"Please, please stop…" Murmurs cooed out of her, some hysterical, others wishing for the pain to end. "Call him and tell him that he's not working as intended."
. . .
"I doubt that a trip to the bathroom would take that long so out with it." Brittany said as she picked up the bags after her purchase and gave them to Andrew to carry them. "I got a phone call from Lara's kidnappers, threatening me about killing Lara if I don't comply." Brittany was stunned with how calm his voice was. "Have you tried calling the police?" Her tone dripping with worry.
"I was about to make my way to the precinct after this." The two left the mall and made their way to the police station where Andrew came clean about the whole situation about Lara. How he was required to keep it a secret and the torture videos he was forced to watch. The officer taking in his statement, Pike, however was skeptical of Andrew. The calmness of his tone wasn't one who was reporting a kidnapping but someone speaking of the weather.
'I thought that Connor was losing it but now I see it.' Pike mused as he took Andrew's phone and checked the phone logs. "We'll have to keep your phone in case they call again. I hope that this doesn't inconvenience you that much but it is essential for this case. Should they call again."
Andrew didn't protest before the two left. Brittany however eyed the officer, his motions when taking Andrew' s phone seemed a bit too eager. "How am I going to contact you if you don't have your phone now?" Her qualms met with a hum and a shrug from Andrew. 'Without his phone continuing with this operation is going to be rather complicated.'
"How about I buy you a new phone then, the thought of you being idle and not serving me doesn't feel well." The two made their way to a phone store where they quickly made their purchase. 'Maybe this time they can finally decode who that Charles guy is. I guess Lara getting kidnapped wasn't something entirely negative.'
The two making their way to the park where Andrew was busy trying to transfer his contacts to this new phone. "If I were to be kidnapped, would you still have that face that you never put down?" A thought crept in her mind as she leaned into the bench, taking in the sight. "Yes." His immediate answer didn't sit well with her. "What do you mean yes? You're telling me not a single frown, not a sigh. Nothing?!!"
Andrew with his fingers typing away gave his response. "I would feel nothing should you're body be sent to me in bits." His casualness now unnerving Brittany. "Can you actually die?" She followed with another question, trying to relive the tension that now lingered in the air. "What kind of question is that? Of course I can."
She was about to protest before falling silent. 'Is he aware that he's being monitored for him to give that response?' Her eyes scanned his figure, one that she had grown accustomed to and as always there was nothing that he gave away other than apathy.
"Do you think that we could rent a hotel, I've been getting a bit peckish as of late and with school, I haven't had the time to properly let loose." Andrew put his phone away, rising to his feet. "I have curfew." His excuse eliciting a frown from Brittany. "You told me that I should be as greedy as possible. You even dropped your chess match for me so I order you to do so about this as well."
Andrew 's seemingly lifeless beads for eyes took a quick glance at Brittany. "Yes but your authority hasn't reached that level. I'll see you later." Without another word he took his leave, Brittany posed on the bench wearing a face of shock and disbelief. 'What does he mean my authority hasn't reached that level? I didn't think that he would go about it with tiers.'
She got a call forcing her to head back home.
. . .
"How was his reaction when he got the call? After all I take it that he would show some level of distraught, right?" Maya asked, her figure resting in the mansion lobby together with Callahan. "No, he seemed calm as he usually is. His testament at the precinct wasn't one of worry but his usual banality." Maya and Callahan inwardly puzzled with how Andrew could have been so calm with such a critical matter.
"By the way, I do have to add that during his testament, his phone was confiscated at the station but the police seemed way too eager, as if waiting for it. Looks like he already has a reputation with the boys in blue." Maya and Callahan exchanged glances. "I'll be leaving now." Seeing Maya's abrupt departure, Brittany realized that there was more to Andrew that she wasn't being told about.
"Okay, out with it. What's on his phone that could make you two act up like this?" Callahan let out a short sigh. "In his phone there is a contact with the alias of Charles, we believe that he could be the one Andrew is contacting but we couldn't get any more information as his phone was encrypted. There were transfers of money between the two parties, millions of money from Charles to Andrew with no reason given."
Brittany's face contorted into a frown. 'Is that why Lara was kidnapped? Looks like a lot of people know about this then.' Callahan pressed on, his brows furrowing. "When you were with Andrew in the park, I do have to ask. Why did you ask him if he could die? What kind of question is that?" Brittany let out a low nervous chuckle as she squirmed in her chair.
"I was talking for the sake of talking. I just wanted to see what his response would be is all." Callahan assessed her features, other than a light nervous smile, there wasn't much else that he could pick up from her. "Well maybe next time you ask him questions, try to be pragmatic."
Callahan rose and left, Brittany left lost in thought. 'Looks like they hacked my phone for them to know about my silly question. But did he know about that as well given his response. There's no way that would be his response if it was the two of us.'
Brittany by now was sure that Andrew already knew that he was being watched and she, the role of playing the middleman was thrilling to her. 'Since he knows, then let's see for how long he can keep on his facade before he runs into a wall. As for this Charles, I could ask him but dad would reprimand me right after.'
Ever since the start of this operation, her father had ordered her to always keep her phone on her and now she knew why.
. . .
"Hey Connor, you won't believe what I got you. You should be on your knees and licking my boots." Pike said with an ear to ear smile as he barged into Connor's office who was busy with his documents. "I don't have the time to play games with you Pike." Pike went on anyway with his movements as he presented Andrew's phone.
"Do you know who's phone this is?" Connor shot an eye at Pike, half interested before the papers in his hands scattered to the floor. "What the- How did you manage to get that?" His figure rising and taking the phone out of Pike's hands. "Andrew came in and filed a report about Lara, that he was being blackmailed and well you don't have to think too hard with what I told him."
Connor took the phone to his desk before hooking it with his laptop. Cracking his password wasn't something to worry about but Connor's rush of excitement quickly died into confusion. "What? There's nothing here. Other than the deposits, no messages were sent between the two!"
He had expected to find at the very least something interesting and yet what he was presented with was a barely communicated chat log between Andrew and Charles. "Sure there might be nothing on it but with his phone, I'm sure that we could now properly keep track of him and anyone he tries to talk to."
Connor slid the phone back to Connor. "Or Andrew could simply get a new phone and have that encrypted as well. Besides even if we do give this back to him and place a tracker on it, I'm sure that he would be suspicious of it. Given how he hasn't broken character, I doubt that he could just casually talk what we want to hear on a whim."