Chapter 14 The Chauffeur

• "What is your name?"
• "Eustace Mooney."
• "How old are you?"
• "Thirty-eight."
• "Do you own a car?"
• "I own a Buick Envision."
• "Why do you want to be a chauffeur with us?"
• Moira shut the document that she was reading, questioning the man with raised eyebrows. They were seated in a recruitment agency in the western region of the city.
• Why does this man look familiar?
• Jacob, on the other hand, could not believe his eyes. There is no way Naeve's cousin could grow up to be such a beautiful woman! Furthermore, she looks almost identical to Naeve! Could it have been because the two of them hung out very often?
• Moira returned the stare as she tapped impatiently on the desk. "Mr. Mooney, kindly answer my question."
• Snapping out of his nostalgia into the present, Jacob was thankful that he remembered that he was in an interview for a job. "Doing a nine-to-five took too much out of me. I just want a simple job."
• Moira lowered her gaze back to the document in her hands. "Mr. Mooney, you are the perfect candidate. In fact, you are beyond our expectations, however…"
• Jacob looked at her quizzically.
• He crafted the perfect resume so that he could get the job for certain and even had Jerry take care of the other two candidates who had excellent resumes too.
• Jerry had either offered them a better job, or a small sum for their efforts.
• If these methods failed, they would have to try the final trick up their sleeves - to utilize their connections.
• Moira's eyes glinted with mischief. "As you know, jobs like these are easy, which means that you are competing against many other candidates…."
• Did she learn how to haggle and negotiate within these short years? Jacob sighed as he observed Moira's neat features and clear, porcelain-like skin. "I don't need a high salary to live comfortably."
• "That's wonderful." Moira grinned without mirth and quickly returned to her usual unemotional demeanor. "You will be paid two thousand and eight hundred without any accommodation and food. You will work on Mondays to Fridays from seven thirty in the morning until three in the afternoon. On the weekends, we expect you to keep your phone close. You will be on call. If you agree to these conditions, shall you start tomorrow?"
• Jacob had to suppress his bubbling joy as he nodded with a smile. "I agree."
• I saved eight hundred! Moira rejoiced in secret, before adding, "I nearly forgot. You have a final test. Send me to the hospital now."
• Jacob winced. I guess the proverb was right. Don't count your chickens before they hatch.
• However, Jacob's wish came through one hour later. He passed the final test when they arrived at Naeve's father's hospital ward.
• Jacob smiled to himself as he observed his daughter, who was peeking out at him from behind her grandmother. We will get to know each other very well soon, my daughter!
• Having his eyes screwed tight upon his daughter was his folly, for he had forgotten to observe Naeve's parents' medical condition. This would come back to bite him in the butt later!
• A meeting of the minds was held in one of the conference rooms on the twenty-seventh floor of the Paramount Police Bureau where the Ministry of Defense was situated. Despite the small number of people in the room, each of the attendees held high positions in their departments.
• A curvaceous young woman, who wore elegantly designed spectacles, was hosting the meeting. Despite her beauty and the calm aura she carried, the reflected glow from the projector screen illuminated her with an eerie glow.
• As she gestured, brutal crime scene photographs appeared on the screen behind her.
• "The thirteenth police bureau in the southern region received a tip and cracked down on an illegal abattoir twenty-seven hours and thirty minutes ago." The girl reported flatly with her face tightly drawn.
• "As they were collecting evidence on the management of the abattoir, they found a mound of dead bodies. Even though there were fourteen heads that were at the scene, efforts to compose the bodies of the deceased have failed as the body parts were in small pieces."
• The Head of the Ministry of Defense, who was seated at the middle of the conference desk, looked away from the gruesome images and around the room at his colleagues. "This is the worst massacre Paramount has seen since its advent!"
• The young woman revealed another photo.
• "Dear sirs, kindly take note. One-and-a-half hour earlier, there was another body discovered in an abandoned house in the southern region. The body showed signs of traumatic torture and dismemberment. The victim is a doctor from a nearby district."
• She turned away, seemingly to wipe something away from her eye. "Although these cases seem unrelated, after a series of investigations and after going through more than 48 hours of surveillance footage, we found some suspects."
• A picture of two people appeared on the projector screen.
• "The suspects arrived at Paramount via a plane flight 63 hours and 10 minutes ago. According to initial reports, one of the men is Jacob Lynch, an outlaw who is on the run after assaulting his victim with a weapon."
• "He committed assault with a weapon? Isn't it easy to solve this situation? Capture him, and the case is closed." One of the supervisors from the Ministry of Defense piped up.
• "The victim's kin did not make a report against him."
• An unsettled silence filled the room once the supervisors heard what she had said.
• Glancing at his subordinates, the head of the Ministry of Defense rapped the desk to capture their attention. "Why are we discussing these men? Who are they?"
• "We have a problem. According to reports, the younger suspect is the leader of the Scarlet Dragons. The other one is a well-known murderer abroad."
• Although a few of the supervisors could not hide their surprise, the head of the Ministry of Defense did not falter. "Are you referring to the Scarlet Dragons who have been raising hell in the east and the south?"
• "Yes!" When she puffed her chest out in pride, the buttons on her top strained to hold the fabric together."
• After a short silence, the head of the Ministry of Defense nodded. "Are you certain that the cases are related to both of these men?"
• "We are fairly certain that these suspects are involved in these cases. Either that, or the Scarlet Dragons did it! But…" The girl winced. "We don't have any evidence that they committed the crime."
• The head of the Ministry of Defense frowned. That's not good. If they were to arrest the leader of Scarlet Dragons without evidence that they committed the crime, it was akin to dropping an atomic bomb onto Paramount. This organization managed to incite a civil war between two regions!
• The girl's eyebrows shot up as she listened in on the report that was sent to her earpiece. The head of the department watched as she took a sharp breath of shock.
• "Sir! There is a report of another massacre!"