"Why? Of all places, a club?" Fionn's patience was wearing thin. A club was a place he never wished to be. If it weren't for Kimbell insisting on the meeting, he wouldn't have allowed meeting someone at the club.
The middle-aged man seated across from him and Ethan didn't flinch at the question. He only smiled before speaking.
"It's safe, at least for people like us. Get in, have some drinks, meet people, get deals done, and no one will suspect a thing happened." He said in a hoarse voice.
He filled up three glasses with drink, offering one to each of the brothers and gulping one down his throat.
"I don't drink," Fionn said, pushing the glass back to him.
"Let's cut to the chase. Why do you want to meet us?" Ethan asked after emptying his glass.
The man took his time, gulping down the glass intended for Fionn, and then poured three more drinks, as if they had all the time in the world. He leisurely took all three.
Fionn had had enough. He stood up to leave the place, but before he could get out of the room, the man spoke. "I'm offering you a partnership, my loyalty." He said simply.
"The way you sound," Ethan chuckled."Who do you think you are?" He snapped.
The man remained composed, keeping his calm as he spoke.
"Don't get me wrong. It's just that I'm not a fool." He took a sip from his glass.
"You know it's only fools that make enemies with the strong. And I have information that is useful to you."
Fionn was forced to reclaim his seat. "What do you have to say?" He asked.
"The raid on your base in the West." He paused, gulping down another glass.
"How do you know about that?" Fionn asked with burning eyes.
"It was planned from within. I could give you the details if you promise me a partnership."
The two brothers looked at each other, the same knowing smile appearing on their faces. The old man thought giving them a name or two of the moles in their agency made him worthy of their partnership.
With or without him, they would still find out what the cause was. He was only making their work simpler by giving them first-hand information. Still, that wasn't worth a partnership.
"Just two or three names, you think deems you worthy of our partnership," Fionn said.
"I see, there's a lot you don't know." A satisfactory smile got plastered on his face. "It's not just two or three, it's the entire base. All your men in the West pledged allegiance to someone else." He took another sip, which he almost choked on.
"And yes, the two that died, they were the only ones still loyal to you. So they had to be killed, and it was all fabricated as a raid."
Fionn couldn't believe what he'd just heard. He didn't think such a thing could ever happen.
"We paid those guys fairly, we made their work conditions great. Why?" He almost shed tears. "I don't understand why?"
The door creaked open. When Fionn turned to see who it was. He couldn't understand how she got there, but Kiara's sister staggered into the room, dead drunk.
She looked around, her eyes searching for something she wasn't finding. Kayla started crying, but stopped when her eyes met the man before Fionn and Ethan.
"Dad.... I need to pee, but I can't find the washrooms," she said amidst her sobs.
Ethan moved to her side, holding her in position so she would not fall over. "Let me help," he said.
The girl's gaze turned to him, studying his face, and a smile appeared on her lips. "Eehh...It's you....the...the...eteh..the guy from... the eheh.. mall. Please take me.. to..to..the ..toi..toilet." She barely managed to say the words, then passed out.
And then her pants got wet. Fionn was instantly disgusted that the woman before him was peeing in her pants; however, Ethan played cool, helping her to a couch, he removed his jacket and wrapped it around her.
She suddenly snapped back, muttering something in the process before passing out again. "Big sis. Big sis is going to kill herself from drinking. Please stop her."
Though none got what she said due to her barely audible voice, but at the mention of big sis, Fionn knew it had to be Kiara. He swung into action, his nerves unsettled.
"Hey, wake up. Tell me where your sister is." He backed at the now sleeping girl. He wondered how she could sleep in such a state and so fast.
"Can't you see she can't talk? Instead of wasting time on her. It's better to use it and find Kiara."
Before Ethan even finished his sentence, Fionn was already out of the room.
He moved down the hallway, checking the different VIP rooms on the floor, but there was no sight of Kiara
He came to the last one, opening it, he saw the girl so wasted, barely able to open her eyes. In the room, two men also lay on the couch, passed out. What surprised him was that she wanted more. She struggled to get a bottle to her mouth but every effort was futile.
"Stop it. Do you want to kill yourself?" He said with a soft and calm voice, almost a whisper. He removed the bottle from her hands; she didn't fight for it, she just let him have it.
"Who are you? Where is my baby sister?" She asked with her eyes still closed. She then managed to open them for a moment, catching a glimpse of Fionn.
"Ooh... Fionn...sorry, Tracy....It's you."
Fionn's heart skipped a bit, happy that she recognized him even in such a state. She belched, almost throwing up.
"Come join me, let's see who has the highest alcohol tolerance." She said, patting the space on the couch just beside her.
Fionn ignored her words and instead scooped her off the couch, carrying her in his arms.
Kiara wrapped her hands around his neck and labored to move her head, placing it on his shoulder. He felt her warm breath around his neck as she tried to whisper something into his ear.
"Let me tell you a secret. You know what, only three people know about it. My doctor, Belinda, and finally me. But don't worry, you'll be the fourth, that's if you promise to keep it a secret. Guess what."
She giggled.