Sophie reached out and clasped Colby's hand.
Colby might have looked indifferent on the outside, but deep down, he was all heart.
The staff they had just encountered must have been with Colby for quite stime.
Whoever was pulling the strings behind the scenes was playing dirty, aiming to make them crumble by watching their own people end up behind bars, one by one. "I'm okay." Colby's voice was low and steady. He tightened his grip on Sophie's hand and said, "Let's check the back room." Sophie nodded.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtThe back room was a mess, littered with cigarette butts and filled with lingering smoke.
Sophie had seen these machines before in Summerfield.
She recalled when Odie had taken her to a construction site, boasting about building a den of sin.
After a moment of silence, Sophie said, "Looks like Odie's got his hands all over this." In Summerfield, nothing moved without Odie's say-so, including these machines making their way to Devonport. Colby gestured to the people outside, "Take everything to the station." "Yes, sir!" "What's the point of raiding just one place? Devonport's already crawling with these arcades," Sophie said, frowning. "I heard them say this place has been open for at least a month. That means, even before we went abroad, someone had already started setting up shop here. And after we left, they sped things up." Sophie felt a gnawing sense of unease.
She sensed they were being played, led by the nose by someone who had them completely in his grip. Devonport, the docks.
Two dockworkers were moving crates from the cargo ship to the shore using a forklift.
As the last crate was delivered, the foreman pointed at it, "Open it up for inspection." The dockworkers exchanged wary glances before prying open the crate.
As the foreman moved in to take a look, one of the workers suddenly held a knife to his throat.
"Don't..." Inside the crate, instead of machines, there was a smashed device and a severed hand.
Odie took off his cap, looking utterly out of place in worker's clothes, stark contrast to his usual demeanor. Content belongvele "Spill it. Who's your boss?" Odie's voice carried a menacing edge.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm"Please... spare me..." the foreman begged. "I swear, I don't know anything! I'm just a delivery guy!" "Not talking?" Odie sneered, "Guess it's tfor you to meet your maker." "Wait!" Before he could finish, sirens blared in the distance.
Jonah quickly yanked off his cap, "Boss! It's a setup!" "No kidding! Did I need you to tellthat?" Odie realized they were in trouble, but in that split second of distraction, the foreman shoverUM Odie away and bolted towards the shore.
Odie lunged to give chase, but Jonah grabbed his arm urgently, "Boss, it's the cops. We have to scram!" "I'm not scared of the cops! Let go! I need to know who's framing me!"
In his fury Odie barely registered Jonah's frantic shouts, "It's m Devonport's police! We've got the machines on us, there's no talking our way out of this! We need to go, now!"
Jonah was pulling on Odie, but it was too late. Devonport's police had m already surrounded the docks. X