The director of POWER Wireless, Conrad Laird, came
rushing back from a business trip early in the morning after Sumner, his
trusted agent called to inform him of last night’s intrusion. He was shown into
the room on the seventh floor where Dias laid dead.
Jackson, the captain, led him
inside and the crowd of guards gathering around the covered corpse dispersed to
make way.
Jackson: (to Conrad) This was one of their members—the one whom Mr. Sumner
caught cutting the CCTV.
Conrad: Uncover her.
Jackson
pulled the white cloth away. Conrad was alarmed at the sight.
Conrad: She’s just a teenager!
He
crouched down to examine the corpse. Jackson got down beside him and showed him
the shot in Dias’s head.
Jackson: Mr. Sumner shot her through the back when he caught her. Her team
mates dragged her here and put a shot in her brain.
Conrad
bent over to look at the revolting mess.
Jackson: I wonder why would they do away with their injured team mate like this—so
inhumanly.
Conrad: We must find out about the intruders. Where is Sumner? Send him to me.
Jackson: Yes sir.
Jackson
descended from the room.
Conrad: (to the rest of the people in the room) Was anything damaged or
stolen?
Guard1: Twelve robotic guards are destroyed.
Guard2: Sir, the power in area 3 had been shut down, but now it is restored.
Conrad: What about the computer network? Any signs of breaking in?
Guard1: No information seemed to be lost, sir, as far as we know
Conrad: (nods) That’s fine. I’ll check it myself. And the intruders are not
seen again?
Guard3: No, sir. They might have already made their escapes.
Conrad: Very well. You may dismiss.
As the guards walked out, Kit Wan, the vice director, came into the room. She was an elegant lady in her early thirties.
Kit: Heard it was quite a bit of bloody trouble here last night.
Conrad: (checks his watch and looks at her with some disapproval) You’re late.
Kit
smiled sheepishly. She was beautiful when she did so. There was something evil
about women. Conrad quickly forgot his rage.
Kit
spotted the dead body on the floor. She sighed.
Kit: She’s a pretty girl.
Conrad
ignored her statement.
Sumner
entered. He greeted his directors with a cold nod. Conrad was less than pleased
to see him—always so dark and grim.
Conrad: Good morning. Tell me more about last night—about the intruders, more
specifically.
Sumner: There were at least four of them—two boys, two girls. They were all
teenagers. Every one of them has weapons.
He
took out Dias’s gun in a plastic bag from the pocket of his jacket.
Sumner: This is the model they used.
Conrad: (looks at the weapon) It’s XT-960! The government just banned its
manufacturing three weeks ago. How did they get the weapon?
Sumner: I suspect there’s an organization behind these kids, providing them
with weapons and equipments. Judging from their action yesterday, the teens
were well trained. They didn’t come here for nothing—the intrusion was planned.
This is not a simple situation at all.
Conrad
looked at Dias. He could never associate that teenage girl with weapons.
Sumner: I caught this girl in the central control room, cutting off our CCTV cameras.
I didn’t intend to shoot her, but she had a team mate with a gun pointing to
me. I had to defend myself.
Conrad
nodded. It happened so suddenly, and even someone who always appeared calm like
Sumner could make the wrong decision.
Kit
joined in their conversation and asked.
Kit: Should we report this to the police?
Conrad: (reflex action) No. (hesitates for a while, then firmly) No.
Kit: (points at Dias) But someone just died in here.
Conrad: (hesitates) We would have to explain why she had a shot in her back.
Kit: Mr. Sumner was only defending himself, and she was killed by her team
mates. We aren’t responsible for this.
Conrad: (ignores Kit, to Sumner) Move the corpse to Eox. Make sure you keep
this action from view.
Sumner: Yes sir.
Kit: (to Conrad) Does a life mean anything to you? How could you just
pretend nothing happened?
Conrad: (immediately to Kit) How much do you want?
Kit: (puzzled) What?
Conrad: Name the price. How much do you want for keeping your mouth shut?
Later that day, Conrad summoned
Sumner into his office and had a conversation with him in private.
Conrad: I don’t think we can
trust Kit.
Sumner: (nods in agreement) She
will definitely betray us, so it’s better to get rid of her before she can tell
the next person.