Imagine my surprise when I showed Boss the pictures of Rafael on my phone, and he said these words to me.
"Wow, Elysium. You initiated a stake out of your own, I'm impressed. Nothing I didn't already know, though. Who do you think set Ossini up with that job?"
I stood there in front of Boss' desk dumbfounded. When he saw my obvious look of confusion, he explained some more.
"Ossini came to see me. He told me all about his time away and having to work under contract with penalty of death. That asshole, Dex, in the other town, keeping my team member, making me think he was dead for two fucking years, threatening Ossini's life if he didn't work for him?! I thought about it though, and I asked Ossini if he had made sure to pay attention to that other team's secrets while he was stuck there. He didn't disappoint me when he said yes... so, we are going to set an operation in motion that will severely deplete our enemy's resources, as punishment for him stealing Ossini. Having him work at that restaurant is the first step."
"You're not upset at me?"
"No. After we finished the discussion of him being back, he asked about you, so I told him where you were. I know you guys were close before his supposed demise. Truthfully, I had wondered how long it would take you to get suspicious of Ossini. I know it's in your nature, which is something I love about you. So, I also told Ossini not to tell you that he'd already been to see me. I was testing you to see when you would suspect him, and see how you would handle it. Orchestrating your own stake out was impressive. I'm guessing you wouldn't be here if your stake out had been unsuccessful, right?"
I nodded, still in a very large state of shock from the words I had just heard come out of Boss' mouth. I still felt like I couldn't breathe, almost as if I'd been holding my breath this whole time. Everything felt surreal.
"You trusted him after the first night he was back?"
"No, of course not. I didn't know if he was back because he'd switched sides and Dex was now trying to use him against me, or if he truly was back. That's why I waited for these two months before I gave him a job. I did the routine surveillance on him, finding out that he had just been staying at that hotel, watching tv, and texting you. I didn't want to tell him anything about our operations yet, of course, but I knew it in my heart that he wouldn't hurt you based on how you guys acted when I first hired you, so I felt comfortable telling him where you were on that first night. I hope you don't mind."
"No, I didn't mind, I liked seeing him again. I thought he might have been sent to kill me because of what had happened that night, though."
"Of course you would. That's your mistrusting nature coming out again. Anyway, good job, Elysium. I'll see you back at work tomorrow. Also, I'm giving you thug privileges on your next shift, due to you impressing me."
"Thank you!"
I left Boss' office and got back into the rental car. I could finally be at peace about this whole thing. Boss wasn't mad at either Rafael nor I, and Rafael was on our side. I felt the weight I had been carrying on my shoulders lift itself up and disappear. I slept soundly and went to work the next day, as normal. Boss told me some stuff about the operation we were doing at the Bridgeport Cafe & Casino where Rafael was working. He said that Dex owned a franchise location of the Bridgeport chain of cafes, which he was using as a front for money laundering. Bridgeport Cafe was a chain establishment, and their franchisees got a certain portion of the proceeds from all the cafes in the chain. Since we were in Bridgeport, the headquarters for the company was in our town, and Boss was planning to have delete the information off the computer for Dex's franchise orders, so that he wouldn't get any of his supplies for the week, effectively screwing him over so that his cafe wouldn't run properly. After that, the plan was for Dex's dirty money to start showing through, once his cafe was no longer making any real money. My part was to be the lookout for the person who was going to delete the files and make sure no one got in. This was sure to be an exciting night.
Natalia's Progress: Natalia is now a Level 3 Thug. She gets to be the lookout for the team, and take out any people who try to get in the way of their operations.
So the boss knew all along that Rafael was back and he set Rafael up in that job that was supposed to be straight. I still do not trust the Rafael has switched sides but the side I think he switched to wasn't Dex it law enforcement. At least she gets more responsibilities and has impressed the boss a little more with the stakeout and hopefully she will be able to pull off this new job without any problems.
ReplyDeleteYeah, Boss orchestrated everything with Rafael because Rafael came and told him he was back and where he had been. I don't blame you for not trusting people in the chapter, the whole vibe I wanted to start this generation off with was suspicion, so glad to see that it's being taken that way. Natalia is moving up haha, she's doing pretty well for herself even though she was set up, call it a test of her skills. LOL. She's learning, so I think she'll do just fine in this next operation. Thank you for reading and commenting! ♥
DeleteWow, well I guess that's a good thing. I had my doubts about Rafael but I guess boss cleared that all up. It all seems too neat one way or the other though. Maybe it's because they are criminals that I still have this inkling that something still isn't 100%. Guess we'll have to wait and find out. PG could be on to something there, maybe Rafael went on the straight and narrow and the cops turned him. With the way those business run, I am having a bit of a hard time with this Dex guy just letting him go.
ReplyDeleteYup yup, Boss orchestrated the whole thing as a test for Natalia. He wanted to know if she could do well on her own, if she would take risks, and she did by going on that stakeout by herself. Haha, it does seem too neat, but that's really what happened. Boss wanted his two best people to improve in their skills, Natalia cause she's a little fresh still to this life, and Rafael, he wanted to make sure wasn't a rat or whatever else that could mean badness for Boss' operation. Haha, I like the suspicious feeling you are getting, I wanted this generation to be like that. It would be too easy though wouldn't it? If the answer was Rafael became a cop? XD Dex... yeah... mysterious Dex... >:D We haven't seen him yet, so who knows what he's up to... unless Rafael killed him already and that's how he got away... or... he really did let Rafael out of his contract. Heehee... o.O
DeleteThanks so much for reading and commenting! ♥
Oh, good! Wait, this is a good thing, right? LOL. I know I was definitely a little nervous as to how the boss would react to learning that Rafael was back, so knowing that he already knew and that they're on good footing is a relief! Now Natalia doesn't have to be as cautious around him either =) It seems that she'd really like to reconnect with him, but has been understandably (and wisely) hesitant to do so. Since they're "on the same team" now, perhaps some of that initial hesitation can melt away. Well, unless he's a double-double agent, LOL. That would certainly complicate things XD
ReplyDeleteFor now though, I'm really interested in how this plan will go. Something tells me that it may not all be smooth sailing!
Yes, yes, this is a good thing. Boss orchestrated the whole thing once Rafael came back, and was using it to test Natalia and Rafael, more so Natalia, but he wanted to know if he could trust Rafael too. They may be criminals, but their sense of working on a team project is still strong, so long as loyalties remain. Natalia and Rafael still have feelings for each other, yeah, so they can probably finally act on them a little more than they have been doing thus far. Pahaha, yeah he's most likely not a double-double agent, LOL.
DeleteEhh, you never know, criminals have their good days sometimes too, this could be the easiest job they've ever done. *shrugs*
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ReplyDeleteHello! Haha yeah her boss is a smart one. He likes Natalia too, so he didn't want to lose her as an asset. Testing her seemed like a good way to finally tell her what was happening.
DeleteThanks for reading and commenting!
I know I definitely wouldn't make it in the life of crime. All the double plots and backstabbing. Not being able to trust anyone...
ReplyDeleteLOL, it is a very difficult career to be in, and one where you have to think on your toes. You do make a good point about double plots, even when it's something that benefits you, you never know when things could go sideways.
DeleteThank you for reading and leaving me these comments! :)