"You fucking bitch! Why the fuck did you do that for? I told you to keep a low profile at work." William Reiner was shouting at the blonde, scared girl.

"I am sorry, it won't happen again. But I didnt reveal anything. I just had coffee with her." Emily said while hiccuping through tears.

Emily was from a small town in Texas. When she arrived in San Francisco as a fresh graduate, the city dazzled her. Then she landed a job in the Reiner group in Human Resources. She was ecstatic. However, she was lonely and tried hard to fit in. She was flattered when William Reiner bumped into her in one of the clubs and gave her attention. He was sweet, charming and made her feel like a princess. He told her about his plight, how his mother and he were neglected and mistreated by his stepbrother Aiden Reiner. How his grandfather hated him. She trusted him, sympathized with him. They had been having an affair for last year. He had never been harsh towards her.
He asked her a few weeks ago to set up access and ID for two new employees at their Spring valley plant. He claimed he was assisting a friend. Emily had put her faith in him completely. She was terrified today when the HRs convened an emergency meeting to find out about two unknown guys who were listed in the warehouse ledger. The news of sabotage was widely circulated. It wouldn't be long before she was pinned with it. She was out of her wits when Mrs Reiner asked her for a coffee! Did they already know about her involvement? She never meant any harm to the company. She had simply trusted William, who was now holding her by her hair and glaring at her.

"What did you tell that bitch?" He said through gritted teeth.

"Why? Why would my sister-in law, who is the wife of the CEO, ask you a lowly employee for a coffee?" He pushed her against the wall.

"I.....I was crying in the restroom because I was upset and she just came upon me and asked me for a coffee. We didnt talk about work. It was nothing." Emily said while trying to keep calm.

"I don't think you're telling the truth." He responded bluntly, squeezing her neck even tighter.

"Please, Will, no......"

When he was interrupted by a phone call, Emily breathed a sigh of relief as Will took the call. What should she do in this situation? They'd eventually track those appointments back to her, and she'd lose everything. She was already doomed. Will would never leave her. She cowered back to the wall as William stopped the connection and glared at her.

"I have to go, and I don't want you to give me any slack, is that clear?" He issued a warning.

Emily vigorously nodded her head. She intended to flee before they caught up with her.

*******************

Rob was looking incradelously at Eric. Eric had called him to meet at the theatre without Mike. He said it was a job only for Rob.

"I can't do that. I have already done one job for you. I can't kill anyone."

"I don't want to repeat myself, as I stated at the outset. You follow through when I command you to do anything. This would be a clean shot; she's a tiny creature, so there won't be any resistance." Eric continued to go through the grisly facts.

"I can't do it, Eric, please don't force me," Rob begged, practically in tears, in a broken voice.

Eric let out a sigh.

"Rob, what is the age of your daughter?" In a chilly, steely tone, he inquired.

Rob's face had turned a sheet white. "You can't get near my family. Please...."

"If my memory serves me well, your daughter is on a class picnic today, I believe, to a museum, after which they will proceed to an amusement park. You know how much kids enjoy it." With a sparkle in his eyes, Eric remarked.

"It's all quite straightforward, as you can see. I'll inform your wife and daughter that their father has a surprise in store for them. Of course, they would believe me because I am your boss. After that, it's all downhill. As I have stated, this is a clean shot." Eric stated that with utter hatred in his voice.

Rob's face was already flushed, and perspiration beads speckled his brow.

"Please don't say that..." Softly, he pleaded.

Eric pulled out a revolver and handed it to Rob, saying, "Here is the address," and handing him a card.

"Remember to take a clean shot and not a sloppy one. I don't want it to be a bloodbath."

Rob stared at the rifle and the address he was holding. After a few minutes, Rob heard the sound of Eric's automobile starting up and then slowly dissipating.

*****************

The call jolted Mike awake. He rubbed his eyes and cursed when he looked at his watch, which read 4 a.m.

"Who is here at such an ungodly hour?" He muttered and moved to the door.

"Rob!" Mike became alert all of a sudden. When he saw a dishevelled and injured Rob at the door, his sleep was gone.

"Wait, what happened?" Mike replied as he drew Rob inside by his arm. Mike made Rob sit on the couch and said, "I'll be back with some bandages, Rob."

Mike dashed into the kitchen and yanked the cabinet open. He came across the first-aid kit. He dashed back into the living room, clutching the package. Rob was leaning on the backrest, his leg propped up. Mike disinfected his wounds and put bandages on Rob's damaged arm. He asked Rob to lie down after he was satisfied with his work.

Mike softly remarked, "Let's get you to the doctor before infection sets in."

"I can't go to the doctor, Mike. He had told me to keep a clean shot, but she struggled. Oh god! what have I done?" Rob sighed and covered his face with his palms.

"Could you tell me what happened?"

"Mike, it's all my fault. It's entirely my fault. I should have known better than to go to the theatre in search of you..." Rob continued to stare down.

"Let's not bring it up again. Now we have to clean you up, and then we have to figure out how to get Leah and your family out of here as quickly as possible ",Mike  remarked.

Rob remained silent.

Mike carefully took Rob's hand from his face, pushing him to look up.
"Please Rob, tell me what happened. I can help you."

"You can't help me, Mike, no one can." Rob said dejectedly. " That day when I came to see you at the theatre, I was jealous. Hence, I was there to keep an eye on you...."

Mike frowned. "Jealous? Why?"

"You were constantly with Sydney, chauffeuring her around and spending time with her...I was jealous because I felt you were cheating on me, so I went to the theatre to check on you." Rob whispered.

"What! I do like Sydney, we are close friends, but you know I am not into women. Never been.....how could you assume that I was cheating on you? That too with Sydney!" Mike's voice rose. His face had a pained expression.

"Sorry, I know I was being a fool, but I've always had the feeling that.....that....maybe if you hadn't met me.... You would have been a normal man who dated other women, and I have a sneaking suspicion that I groomed you. When we met, you were only 18 years old," Rob said, wistfully.

Mike got up and began pacing, frustratedly running his fingers through his hair.

"That is not the case. Rob, I've always been gay and have never been attracted to women. It's just that I never met somebody worthy of being in a relationship with. There was nothing wrong with you. You should just have talked to me. All of this would never have happened."

"I'm sorry......I'm sorry...I'm sorry..." Rob shivered and lowered his gaze.

"That Eric is a fucking psycho..." said Mike through gritted teeth. "Look, I have it all planned, I will sell my parent's house, it won't be as much as it's in the country, but it will get us 100 grand maybe. I have some savings. We'll leave this country. All of us. Leah, I, you, your family."

"However, I do not have a large sum of money on hand. My whole financial portfolio is invested in the agency, the stock market, and my home. I can't get rid of them so quickly. How will we get the girls out of the country in a safe way?" Rob remarked.

"I'll come up with something. I'm counting on you to leave with the girls. " Mike said with an urgency in his voice.

"What about you? I'm not going to leave you with that lunatic!" Rob objected.

"We can't all go together, Rob. I will think of a plan," Mike said grimly. He didn't have a plan but he didn't want to worry about Rob. He would figure out something once they had escaped.
A long pause ensued. Then Rob inquired.

"Do you really want to know why I'm hurt?" Rob inquired, a little hesitantly.

Mike sat down next to him on the couch and stopped pacing.

"What happened? Did Eric do something?"

"I killed someone," Rob said with a blank expression. "She was a young woman, the HR who got us our access. I killed her." Rob mumbled.

Mike's face was like a mask, he had no idea how to get out of this mess, it was getting murkier.