C301 Eliminate Them

Jack frowned in confusion. "Uncle, I don't understand. What exactly can I do to help?" On the other end of the call, Willy's cold voice remained calm. "I don't need you to fight them. I need information." He paused briefly before continuing. "My informants inside Lucia Goods are no longer reliable. Someone has been cleaning up loose ends, and every report I receive is incomplete."

Jack listened carefully. Willy continued, "From what we've managed to gather, the people leading everything are just two young people." "Michael Smith..." "...and Alicia Mooney." Jack was surprised. "Teenagers?" "You're telling me they're the ones investigating us?" Willy gave a short laugh. "Never underestimate your enemy because of their age." "They've already caused us enough trouble." "Our shipment disappeared." "Our movements have become restricted." "And now they're gathering information about us."

His voice turned colder. "I want you to get close enough to find out exactly how much they know." "If they know very little, we'll continue watching them." "But..." "If they know too much..." "...eliminate them." "If that time comes I will send Brian to help you." Jack slowly nodded. "I understand." After thinking for a few seconds, he asked, "Uncle... do you have anything else on them?" "Friends?" "Weaknesses?" "Anything I can use?" Willy answered calmly, "Not yet." "That's why you're going." Jack fell silent.

Several moments passed before he finally spoke again. "I actually have a friend who knows them better than anyone." Willy's interest was immediately piqued. "Oh?" "Who?" "Ben Wood." Jack leaned back against the old bed. "He doesn't trust people easily anymore." "If I want his complete trust..." "I'll have to do him a favor first." "What favor?" Jack smiled faintly. "His girlfriend scammed him." "She stole two hundred thousand dollars from him and fled the country." "If I help him find her..." "He'll owe me." "And once I gain his trust, getting information about Michael Smith and Alicia Mooney will become much easier."

For a moment, neither of them spoke. Finally, Willy asked, "And after you find her?" Jack's smile slowly disappeared. "Eliminate her." He spoke as though it were the most natural thing in the world. "Ben doesn't just want his money back." "He wants revenge." "It's about pride." "He feels humiliated." "He wants everyone to know that no one can make a fool of him." Without the slightest hesitation, Willy replied, "Send me her details." "My men will handle it."

Jack nodded. "Her name is Natalie Maguire." "I'll send you her picture." "She escaped together with her cousin, Justine, and her sick mother, Penelope." Just as Willy was about to end the conversation, Jack suddenly remembered something. "Uncle... wait." "What?" "If your men find them overseas..." "Don't kill them there." Willy narrowed his eyes. "Explain." Jack smiled. "Bring them back first." "Let everything happen here." "When the media discovers their bodies..." "Ben will know someone avenged him." "It'll earn his complete trust."

Willy remained silent for several seconds. Finally he said, "I hope this little plan of yours is worth my time." "You know how much I hate wasting resources." Without waiting for another response, he ended the call. Jack stared at the dark screen for a long moment. He slowly stood up and walked toward the small window of the shabby hotel room. Outside, the streets were almost empty.

After thinking for a while, he opened several old news articles on his phone. Eventually he found the headline he had been looking for. The leaked photograph of Ben Wood and Natalie Maguire. He downloaded it before attaching it to a message. Natalie Maguire. Target confirmed. The message was sent.

Miles away, Willy's phone vibrated. After receiving the picture, he immediately forwarded it to Brian. The message contained only a few lines. Find this woman immediately. Name: Natalie Maguire. Travelling with her cousin Justine and her mother Penelope. Locate them, capture them, and bring them back alive. Brian had only been asleep for a short while when his phone vibrated beside him. He rubbed his eyes before checking the message.

The moment he saw Willy's instructions, all traces of sleep disappeared. He quickly got out of bed. Within minutes he was knocking on another room. "Wake up." "We have work." The technicians inside groaned before opening the door. Soon several computers lit up. Maps, airport databases, immigration records, travel bookings, security footage and border crossings began appearing across multiple screens. No one spoke. The entire team worked throughout the night trying to locate Natalie Maguire before she disappeared again.

Early the next morning, I slowly opened my eyes. Instinctively, I stretched my arm across the bed. It was empty. I immediately sat up. "Wife?" There was no response. I quickly got out of bed before noticing that the study door was slightly open. Curious, I walked over quietly. Alicia was already inside. Several thick books surrounded her while handwritten notes covered the desk. She hadn't even noticed me. Only after I knocked gently on the doorframe did she lift her head.

A warm smile appeared on her face. "Awake already?" I smiled back. "I should be asking you that." "You barely slept." She laughed softly. "I couldn't help it." "I wanted to know more about my mother." I pulled a chair closer and sat beside her. "So..." "Did you find anything?" Alicia nodded. "I did." She gently closed the diary before looking at me. "My mother belonged to the Crawley family." I frowned. She looked down at the old pages again. "They were famous for their engineering." "They designed and built hotels, office buildings, bridges and several major projects across the country." "The Crawley name was once respected everywhere."

Her expression gradually became heavier. "But..." "One night..." "The entire family mansion caught fire." I quietly listened. "Almost everyone died." "My mother was the only survivor." Silence filled the room. She gently touched the pages. "According to her diary, she inherited everything that remained." "Instead of spending it..." "She invested." "In private companies." "In public companies." "In properties." "She quietly expanded her family's wealth without revealing her identity."

I blinked in surprise. "So..." "Your mother was even wealthier than we thought." Alicia gave a small nod. "I think so." She then pointed toward one particular page. "What surprised me most wasn't the money." "It was this." She handed me the diary. Written neatly near the bottom of the page was a phone number. Underneath it was a short sentence. 'If my daughter ever needs help, call this number. They owe me a lifetime favor.'

I looked back at Alicia. "What does that mean?" She smiled thoughtfully. "I'm not completely sure." "But I don't think this is about borrowing money." She tapped the diary gently. "I think whoever wrote this has been managing part of my mother's businesses all these years." I looked at the number again. "So..." "Does that mean if your money ever runs out..." "You simply call them and they'll give you more?"

Alicia laughed and shook her head. "I highly doubt it's that simple." "My mother wasn't the type of person to leave endless handouts." She looked at the number once more. "But..." "I am going to call them today." "I want to know who they are..." "...and I want to learn everything I can about my mother."