Death and Taxes, part 5
Andrea Office, Chicago - February, 19, 1991
Andrea was looking at Johnson in front of her, tapping her fingers anxiously at the table, she looked at the man there, glaring at him, the entire office was in a strange mood for anyone observing, her guards behind her, both of them looking like they had a scarce supply of gentleness to give and an even scarcer supply of patience.
The room itself was a big office room, a couch on the corner, books on the shelves and one of the new personal computers on one of the corners, Andrea did not like those much but were useful for many things, especially record keeping and other math stuff, Johnson was sitting on the chair in front of her desk and she was glaring at every movement he was doing.
Johnson gave a small smile “Well that is about it, boss, that is all the info I could gather from the police files on what happened to Riley”, he was clearly nervous and Andrea could not blame him, yet it irked her, he was such a slimy man, yet so useful on so many fronts. She tapped the table once more.
“So, Riley is not only dead, gruesomely that serial killer is more than one person and they are probably targeting us? Anything else?” and Johnson scratched his head “And the police has someone from Riley operation under custody”.
She slams the table in frustration “Can it get any worse than that??” her voice boomed through the room as her guards even approached a bit. “What are you doing about it, Johnson?!” her voice was increasingly frustrated with the situation for sure. Everything there seemed to be working against her from two sides now “Do you at least have any clue on who is attacking us? Who are these fuckers that have been attacking MY OPERATION?!”.
He raised his hand trying to make a calming gesture, all she could do was squint at him, he had a slimy expression on his face again as she groans, he leans on the chair “This is a problem now boss because we have no idea who would try to just attack Riley like that... Honestly makes no sense”
She was fed up with all that “Do you have any idea how much of a catastrophe this whole mess is, Johnson? Any idea!?” her movements were precise but yet she was nervous, her bodyguards were noticing it as well. Johnson could just let a small polite and non-confrontational smile, Andrea just found it slimy, she looked at him again as he started to speak once more “Of course I cannot understand the whole thing, but I can figure out that it is pretty bad... What I can say so far, Andrea, is that they will be targeting you... that was a message to you, not the police, the fact that Vieira was there at that time was a coincidence... Her operation should have been a blow”
“Why?” she raised her eyebrow to him
“Because I warned one of Riley men on the police to warn him, I got wind of the operation by some other means and I know he could have been out of there far before Vieira came to him... That attack was to send a message”
“Is there any chance that the attackers have tips on the police as well?” she glared at him
He just shrugged “Possible? Yes, likely? No” he checked a block of his notes “I have a register of all the cops under your pay grade and are a lot of them, Lizzy is in the beurocratic area, and she would notice if someone was getting paid by someone else... No, they are independent somewhat... maybe someone trying to make justice... vengeance... still doesn't fit...”
She got up and grabbed one of her special drinks from the drawer, she deserved it she felt, “Some new wannabe hero then? Maybe going too far? Someone with powers trying to send a message to the mafia... revenge?” she looked at him and drank from a glass after pouring it, she appreciated the punch a bit.
He looked a bit at his notebook and shuffled through the pages “no... I don't think it is anything like that, boss, really I don't know what it is, just that it creeps me out... Here” he went to his backpack and grabbed a folder “This is a copy that I managed to grab of the precinct, these things are being kept at lock and key, they really do not want anything leaking” he winked and she groans. Reaching for the folder.
She reaches for the folder, his hand was still over it, he smiled again “Oh and boss, these are not photos for the faint of heart~” he gives out a laugh, she glares at him “fuck you, Johnson, let me see what we are facing...” he kept his hand there for a moment more, this time with a serious expression “Boss, my recommendation is for you and any of the higher profile people under you to increase security, a lot” his voice had changed tone drastically, she looked at him now differently, he never spoke like that unless he was dead serious “I do have powerful guards, Johnson” - his response was almost sharp - “So di Riley, do not play around boss, I do not hate you” he looked at them “I've gotta go, you three take care, alright?” he smiled and walked out, closing the door behind him.
Andrea stared at the folder for a few seconds after he left, opening it, she saw the degree of violence used, being used to gruesome things like she was that did not affect her much, but the sheer spectacle of it felt... Different to her, just killing Riley in some gruesome way and leaving to the police or someone to find would have been enough, but this had spectacle. She narrows her eyes as she looks at the photos and notes of the investigation, one of her guards approached, a tall woman of 189 centimeters, muscular, she had super strength as well.
“What you think, boss?” she leaned in rather warmly close to Andrea, who looked at her for a moment and then back at the photos of the scene as well as the reports. “I think it's strange in many ways... It clearly is a message to us... A big spectacle of a scene at that, very angry and very violent as well” she looked at the scene “They have strewn three bodies in a blood cross, all religious like, all the divine messaging written in blood, the rest of the corpses placed like that to set the stage... A stage in which we are observers, an inversion of holy symbols, edgy” It irked her in many ways really. She reached for a rosary on the side of the table for a second before she looked back at the photos, now looking at what they found.
Her other guard approached a bit also looking at it, her hair was reddish, her eyes glow a bit as she observed everything, pointing at one of the photos, it showed one of the security guards from the warehouse, dead on the side “This one was not spread like the others in the ritualistic sense, why ?” she looked at everyone “They took a while placing everyone there and that poor bastard just dies in the wall?”
Andrea tapped her fingers on the table “No idea... whoever is doing it might just be mad... Or there is a pattern here... But the message is not only clear... It is loud, we cannot appear weak or someone else might start having ideas” she grabbed her phone calmly and typed a quick number on the keyboard, waiting to be picked up “Anton? Yeah... I'm giving the order now, increase security at everything, at every shipment, at every movement, pay the police as well as the inspectors, I'm taking control of Riley operation for the time being, be quick, and call Caterina, tell her to find who did this and deal with them” she didn't even wait for an answer and placed the phone back on the base.
“Caterina, Boss? Are you sure? She is a bit... unstable... Too much of wild card, I can go, deal with these self-important little shits” The red haired one, Nora Preston, spoke a bit concerned
Andrea just raised her hand “No, I need you both with me. After Riley, they will try to assault the fortress if they want to take the operation down or ... even take it over, they are not police and for what I see they won't be bought either or reasoned with, they declared war on us... And a war needs a mad dog sometimes” she smiled “Caterina will do just fine.” she looked at them both, pulling Nora for a deep kiss before she looked at the entire place “We have a small purge to do, whoever did this knew where Riley would be... Nora, go now, grab everyone who even had a hint of knowing where Riley would be, we will start asking questions here... We will find who fucked with me and I will have them dealt with appropriately”
Nora nodded and rushed out after being given an order. Andrea looked over her bookshelves. She dismissed the other guard to wait outside as well. Once she was alone she got up and reached for one of the big books, a book about law, there she opens, and a few pages had been carved with a small key on it. She pockets it before leaving.
