Penny was reminded of the ti she arrived at the Anteca correctional facility. Although she didn’t have the cuffs and chains that kept the "fresh ats" in line, and Zoren was with her, she felt a very familiar sensation crawling under her skin.
Following one of the mbers, she looked around. There were a lot of people; so were ard, while others didn’t seem like they belonged to the group. She saw a few won on the balconies, smoking, with their eyes on the two people being led inside. The n, on the other hand, were divided into two groups: those who were obviously "soldiers" because they were carrying arms, and the others who lingered in the open hallway, watching them. The latter group wore worn-out yellow shirts.
It looked like a prison, but quieter. Everyone was eyeing Penny and Zoren, no matter how far they were.
’This place...’ Penny’s thoughts halted as the person they were following stopped in front of an old ergency exit.
He looked back at the couple before pulling open the door and nodding his head. "After you," he said.
Penny and Zoren exchanged a brief glance before looking inside. What they saw imdiately were stairs heading upward. Zoren intuitively held her hand, leading her and making sure she was on his side. Once they were inside, the person who had initially led them followed.
Penny’s steps were careful, while Zoren stayed close behind her. Glancing back at her husband, Zoren showed no other emotion—there was no fear, anger, or urgency. He was calm. However, despite the lack of reaction, she could tell what was on his mind.
Just what was this place?
What was this syndicate? What kind of business were they in?
At this point, the couple had a few guesses, but couldn’t be exactly sure. All they knew was that this place was utterly strange.
******
anwhile...
Following the syndicate mber’s instructions, Mint infiltrated the base without a problem. Even so, she didn’t reveal herself, nor did she try to blend in imdiately. She knew too little about the place and couldn’t afford to be reckless.
Moving along the dark corners of the base, Mint stopped when she saw so people walking through the yard. She paused, narrowed her eyes, and her mouth dropped as she recognized Penny and Zoren.
’What in the—!!!’Mint bit her tongue to stop herself from yelling and confronting the couple. ’Was my instruction not clear enough for those two?!’
She pinched the bridge of her nose, realizing she was wrong to assu Zoren and Penny would just listen to her. She saw the reluctance in Penny’s eyes and how Zoren studied his wife. It looked like no matter what, Zoren wouldn’t say no to his wife.
’It’s okay, it’s okay!’ Mint peeked again, watching the couple being led inside without any trace of caution. ’That’s Penelope Bennet and Zoren Pierson. I’m sure they have sothing planned.’
If so, why didn’t they tell Mint? Wouldn’t it have been better if she had gone with them? In that case, she could’ve entered without sneaking around!
"But..." she breathed out, collecting herself. "They can buy so ti."
Mint didn’t dwell on it for long. If Zoren and Penny had decided to reveal themselves and entered like this, she was certain they had a plan. For now, she had to focus on the most important thing: finding Benjamin and Slater.
With that thought in mind, Mint continued to sneak through the base, searching for clues that would lead her to her cousin. She didn’t know much about the syndicate since she hadn’t conducted a full investigation—she’d only heard rumors. As a result, she wasn’t sure where they might have kept Benjamin.
As Mint navigated her way, she stopped at a corner when she heard voices. Leaning against the wall, she peeked around and saw so n sweeping what seed to be a basketball court.
’Are those...’she trailed off, narrowing her eyes as she watched the n sweep the concrete. ’... money?’
Her mouth fell open as she saw bills rolling across the concrete like dried leaves. The man was sweeping them with a large broom and a big improvised dustpan made from a can. They were tossing the bills into a large sack atop a wagon.
"Co on! Finish that up now!" A loud yell broke the silence.
The man sweeping the money glanced up at the person yelling but sighed and continued working. Mint, however, noticed sothing she hadn’t seen before.
’Compared to those guys sweeping the money, that guy...’Mint stretched her neck, now noticing the ard n with the person who had yelled. ’... those guys are ard.’
Having worked in different departnts of law enforcent before, Mint easily pieced together the situation. The ard n were part of the syndicate, and those without weapons were either victims or, in rare cases, the lowest-ranking soldiers.
She leaned more toward the forr—those n were either victims or hostages.
Soon enough, the small group finished cleaning up the money. The ard n approached them, ordering the unard workers to drop their cleaning tools. They checked the workers to see if they had pocketed any bills. After the brief inspection, the leader nodded in a direction.
The unard n picked up their cleaning tools, and one of them pushed the wagon. The ard n followed closely behind. The group quickly disappeared from Mint’s line of sight.
"What in the world is this place?" she muttered to herself. "At first, I thought it was a cartel. After all, even the townspeople aren’t sure of the nature of this group’s business. All they know is that this syndicate has a subgroup that extorts money from the townspeople."
"But it seems... I’m wrong, after all," she whispered, sniffing the air in an attempt to catch any scent. But there was nothing to indicate that this was the "kitchen" where illegal substances were being produced.
Mint would soon learn that she had been wrong. This place wasn’t a cartel where illegal substances were being manufactured or distributed. It was involved in sothing equally vile, but different.
*
*
*
When Mint finally managed to get into one of the buildings, she found herself standing at the entrance of what appeared to be an underground office. Unlike any other office, this one was a stark contrast to the usual conventional workplaces—it was hot, dirty, and it reeked of cigarettes.
"Holy... damn," she breathed out, her eyes taking in the countless computers lining the long desks. People sat in front of them, wearing headphones and speaking into microphones nonstop.
’I think I just found the base of the syndicate that annoying colleague of mine is hunting.’
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