Ch.80Chapter 11. Doing Our Best in Our Respective Positions (3)

In the midst of all this, it seemed like Cassandra was planning to carry her own bag.

“Isn’t it a bit strange for a kidnapper to be carrying a bag around?”

I quickly shouldered her bag. Camilla asked me incredulously:

“Can’t we just leave normally? Couldn’t we just grab that woman and go?”

Cassandra shook her head.

“I told you. The military police are already watching everything. If you take Cassandra away nicely, you’ll become wanted criminals, but if you’re being threatened, there might be room for leniency.”

We walked through a long corridor and entered the jewelry store lobby. The store employees—that is, Cassandra’s subordinates—and customers stared at us with dumbfounded expressions. Cassandra pointed her gun at each of them in turn.

“Hello. This is a robbery. All of you, take out your phones and push them forward. I don’t want to hurt anyone.”

Cassandra didn’t just make verbal threats. She tapped somewhere on the wall I didn’t even know existed, and with a rattling sound of chains, the entrance was blocked by metal bars.

Customers screamed and fell to their knees. The employees seemed a bit flustered but took money out of their pockets. The bald man from earlier subtly approached.

“Miss, what’s going on?”

“The time has come, Butler.”

The bald man’s eyes changed slightly.

“…Is there anything I can do to help?”

Cassandra quickly scanned the surroundings and whispered just loud enough for the bald man to hear.

“Prepare two large bags and five small ones. Keep the five small ones for yourselves. Consider it your retirement package. Quietly dispose of Hampton Real Estate. You’ve worked hard, and I need one more favor. We need to leave Hampton.”

“Miss, your father’s kindness to us was more than enough.”

“You’ll need a lot of money to live with new identities. And soon, money and jewels will become meaningless. Take whatever you can before then. Live tenaciously. And ladies and gentlemen? If you help gather these jewels, I’ll give you one or two. Want to help?”

The hesitant citizens quickly rushed forward.

* * * * *

Hampton District 1, luxury apartments in front of City Hall.

Though she had just moved in, there was a noticeable lack of belongings. Even her aide couldn’t help but ask, “Commander, don’t you need furniture or something?”

Each time, Virginia shook her head.

“I don’t need it.”

“…But you should at least get a bed. You can’t keep sleeping on a mat. Besides, the previous commander left so much budget, you need to use it all this fiscal year. You know there’ll be an audit if you don’t use the allocated budget.”

Not wanting to see the face of the old Camio Minto, the 8th National Military Police Commander again, Virginia agreed.

As a result, she ended up with two residences: one in the single officers’ quarters within the 8th Military Police headquarters, and another in the Hampton apartment.

Both places were equally devoid of furniture. She didn’t remove built-in cabinets but didn’t bring in anything new either. Toiletries, uniforms, a mat, a bed, a radio, a laptop. No photos, no decorations, no medals or honors. Literally an empty house.

If anything could be considered decor, it might be a single small candle.

“Hah…”

In the empty house, Virginia was deeply focused on yoga. She was completely naked. Sweat beaded on her skin, tracing the curves of her body as distracting thoughts melted away.

Her large, firm breasts might have been cumbersome, but they didn’t hinder her at all, given how adept she was at controlling her body.

Her phone rang. Virginia didn’t answer. This was her time to release her soul from herself, deliberately turning her back on the world’s affairs.

Like a snake entering its burrow to shed its skin, she was reborn anew.

Only after calmly completing her final pose and relaxing her entire body did Virginia check her phone. It was the Security Bureau of the 14th Military Police.

The 14th Military Police’s command structure and communication network had completely broken down, and recovery would take considerable time.

That’s why the 8th Military Police had declared martial law in Hampton and was performing the 14th’s duties in the form of a joint operation. Though they called it cooperation, there was actually talk of merging the two military police forces.

“What is it?”

“I apologize for disturbing your day off, Commander. It’s about the important matter you mentioned. Cassandra, a senior researcher at the Disease Control Bureau, has taken hostages at a jewelry store in Hampton. She’s currently fleeing with stolen jewels and hostages, and we’re tracking her.”

“How long has it been?”

“About an hour since the report came in.”

Virginia checked when the first call had come in. Considering the time it would take for the duty officer to verify and report, it was fairly efficient handling.

“I should have answered right away. You said you’re tracking her? Where is she now?”

“She’s still moving around within Hampton’s safe zone. We’ve already issued a wanted notice, but there’s a problem.”

“What problem?”

“It seems she has accomplices. Two similar cars suddenly appeared and got mixed up with hers, and now we’re tracking all three. They’ve cleverly sprayed paint on the license plates and bodies, covering the original numbers.”

An hour had passed and they hadn’t caught even one of the three cars. Virginia thought it was incompetence beyond imagination. Rubbing her brow, she gave instructions.

“Block all exits to the safe zone.”

“Actually, that’s why I called. To block all exits, we need authorization from the 8th Military Police Commander, since we’re still under martial law.”

Virginia almost erupted in anger, wondering if that really mattered right now. But it wasn’t the time. Before the long winter came, she needed to eat enough and grow stronger. It wasn’t time to raise her head yet.

“Which gate is the narrowest and most confined?”

“The one near District 4.”

“Close all gates except that one. If anyone complains, tell them to go through District 4. Since it’s not a complete blockade, is that acceptable?”

“…Yes, that’s fine.”

“Then implement it immediately. I’m coming too.”

There are many vehicles traveling in and out of Hampton. Moreover, no matter how skilled a driver is, there’s no way to escape if the roads are completely jammed.

If barricades couldn’t guarantee containment, they needed to create traffic congestion to block escape routes.

“Ah, one more request. Mobilize all motorcycles. And send one to the apartment in front of City Hall in District 1. Quickly. Pursuing by car will be too slow.”

“Understood.”

First tighten the noose, then swallow from the head. Digestion can happen slowly. Virginia walked to the shower. She had time to wash off her sweat before the motorcycle arrived.

* * * * *

How should I put it—everything happened so quickly.

Cassandra didn’t do this without thinking. Rather, it seemed she had been preparing for this day for a very long time.

First, the employees were suspicious.

As soon as she finished speaking, they brought out bags and started transferring jewels. But their movements were too skilled. The way they placed drawers that slid out completely on the floor instead of putting them back, and how they divided territories to avoid overlapping movements—it all showed experience.

“Uh, you don’t really need to include that…”

But the bald man resolutely put “that hideous set” into the large bag. Camilla made a sour face, but anyway, she and I also diligently transferred jewels.

As the last bag was being tightly tied, Cassandra pointed her gun at the citizens.

“You’ve all done a great job. Got all your jewels? Thank you. Now please go into the back room. You’ll be safe there. It might feel cramped, but please bear with it a little longer. There are candies and drinks inside, so take a rest. I’m sorry for startling you. Please take some plates with you when you leave.”

For some reason, the now-adapted citizens went inside. Two employees pushed a cabinet to block the door. Their phones were still in the store, which would delay any reports a little. Of course, with observers already attached to the situation, it was a rather meaningless measure.

Cassandra hit the switch on the wall again. The sound of chains turning was heard, and the lock was released.

“The vehicle?”

The middle-aged butler answered Cassandra’s question.

“I contacted Fernando, the manager of the Continental, in advance. He said he would send someone to help.”

“Fernando?!”

Camilla and I exclaimed in surprise. The butler frowned. Cassandra tilted her head curiously.

“You know him?”

“Yes. We stayed at the Continental. I know Fernando too. But he’s the manager? More importantly, how do you know him?”

Instead of answering, Cassandra pointed her gun at my forehead and said:

“Hostages shouldn’t chatter too much. Observers might still be watching. So get in the car now.”

“Aren’t you going to put that gun away?!”

Camilla surged forward angrily. But Cassandra raised one hand to stop her. She seemed to be thinking about something, then moved closer to me. Still not lowering the gun.

“Nervous? Want to touch my chest?”

“Hey!”

“Excuse me, miss.”

The middle-aged butler who had been watching spoke politely.

“Yes, Butler?”

“It’s impolite to ask people to touch your chest.”

“It’s okay. This one is my friend.”

The butler’s face transformed. He seemed somewhat moved.

“…So you’ve finally made a friend. I wish I could have taught you more about etiquette, but I’m glad. And you.”

Suddenly the man looked sharply at me.

“Please take care of the young miss. She’s a good person. You might find her strange, but no. You seem to have adapted already. Then I don’t need to say more. Ah, the vehicles have arrived.”

Two vehicles stopped in front of the jewelry store. They were different models from our car, but looked quite similar, and the bulletproof equipment was almost identical.

“Come on, hostages, let’s go.”

Camilla and I shouldered the bags and went out. The jewelry store employees were suddenly fully armed. It seems they chose to become kidnappers rather than hostages.

Two men wearing dark sunglasses got out of the vehicles. One held an automatic rifle, the other a paint can. The man with the rifle fired into the empty space down the alley.

“The observers have been driven away.”

The man with the can splashed paint on the license plates. He carefully applied the rest to the three cars, avoiding the windows.

“Disguise complete. I’m truly sorry about your father, miss.”

“Thank you for keeping your word.”

The sunglassed men got back into the driver’s seats. The five heavily armed employees also gathered around Cassandra for a final farewell.

“You can follow us, miss. After that, we part ways.”

“Live happily wherever you go.”

The five employees got into the two vehicles. We loaded the two large bags and Cassandra’s bag into our car. Cassandra put down her gun.

“I’ll drive. That would be better.”

Cassandra took the driver’s seat, I sat in the passenger seat, and Camilla in the back. One car departed first, and the other honked as if clearing the way. Our car started moving.

“…Cassandra. Can you explain what’s going on now? What is all this?”

“We’re escaping. Flying over the cage. The military police will pursue us relentlessly, but those people aren’t pushovers either. We have a meticulous plan, so we just need to follow it.”

Buzz. Cassandra’s phone rang. Despite driving, she answered it. Fortunately, it was a brief conversation.

“The military police are already moving. They’re trying to block all exits except the District 4 gate. They’re deliberately causing traffic jams to trap us. Commander Virginia Helford, she’s a smart woman.”

“I’ll kill her.”

Camilla muttered from the back seat. Cassandra nodded.

“Do you have a plan?”

“Of course, Johan. Virginia might be smart, but Cassandra is a genius. I’ve planted C4 explosives on a nearby fence. It’s at the hub connecting to the highway. When we get close, boom. Bye-bye, Virginia.”

Click. Camilla loaded her rifle. And pointed it at the driver’s seat. She pushed it forward enough for Cassandra to notice.

“Ms. Cassandra. Johan might trust you, but I don’t. There are too many suspicious things. If you talk nonsense, I’ll blow your head off first.”

“What do you want to know, Camilla?”

“If you had everything prepared, why didn’t you leave earlier? And what’s your relationship with the Syndicate? Finally, where are you trying to go?”

“The first reason is simple. I had no one to go with. Everyone is loyal and faithful, but they have friends, family, and lives. I couldn’t ask them to come with me to the human non-protected zone.”

Cassandra turned the steering wheel.

“What’s your relationship with the Syndicate?”

“Would you understand if I said ‘the founder’s daughter’?”