Page 170 of Morally Corrupt

"It's a two-way street. Jimenez will financially profit from the initial sales and then reap the benefits from the social unrest."

When he puts it like that, it does make sense. If what Vlad's saying ever comes to pass, itwillbe a bloodbath.Both figuratively and literally, and it could have wider political implications.

"Shit. We can't take any chances," I say, and Vlad grimly nods.

"It will not get to that," he says before amending. "Hopefully."

Marcel announces that we've arrived at the gates through one of the intercoms. They open, letting us pass through, and soon, we're in front of the building.

Someone opens the doors, and we remain in character, carrying the craters out. Vlad's people exit as well, mingling with Jimenez's guards.

"Let's go to the convened room," Vlad says, and Marcel and I follow. While Vlad had been able to hack into the CCTV feed from the street and from around the compound, he couldn't get inside the actual building. He'd told us that he could connect to the network and get access to the rest of the cameras once inside. But he needed the proximity.

We'd studied the blueprints of the building and had memorized all the entrances and exits and the rooms and their capacities.

Once inside a room on the ground floor, Vlad quickly takes out his tablet and connects to the system. It takes a while, but he is successful. He retrieves footage from the hallway and multiple rooms within the building.

We see staff and guards moving about freely, with most rooms either empty or filled with craters.

Vlad shifts from one feed to another.

"There," he says and pulls the feed to cover the whole screen.

Bianca is tied to a chair in the middle of the room. In the far back, a man is lounging on what looks to be a chaise.

"Jimenez," I mutter under my breath.

"Are you sure?" Both Vlad and Marcel look at me for confirmation, and I nod. I'd recognize him anywhere.

Vlad then pulls up the blueprints and works to pinpoint the location of the room.

"Once we're out, shoot before asking any questions."

One by one, we get out of the room and head directly towards the staircase. Vlad's men should have mixed with Jimenez's staff and should be on standby if anything happens.

The moment we open the staircase door, shots start ringing out.

"Duck." Marcel pushes me in front of him, turning around and returning the shots. I raise my gun as well and aim. From the corner of my eyes, I can see Vlad unsheathing his swords, ready to fight.

"Stop!" a voice commands, and the shooting stops immediately. We're all confused, and we see a man coming from the direction of the elevator.

Marcel's gun is fixed on him as he approaches us, but he's barehanded.

"The boss will see you now."

"Why would we trust you?" I ask, and he shrugs.

"You can come with me now and avoid more bloodshed, or you can make it on your own through a storm of bullets. It's up to you."

Vlad is the first one to sheath his swords and take a step forward.

"Ortega, isn't it?" The man smirks at him.

"Vladimir Kuznetsov. Can't say it's a pleasure." Ortega sizes Vlad up, displeasure written on his face.

"It's mutual, I assure you," Vlad retorts.

I look at Marcel to gauge his reaction, and he gives me a brief nod, following Vlad. I go as well.

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