Sydney
I put on my goggles and tied my blue scarf around my head before looking in the mirror. I looked ridiculous! Why was I dressing myself to resemble some mafia mole, who was out to deliver some illegal stuff? As though the disguise was going to work, I removed my scarf and glasses. It was just money that I was 'legally' receiving from the bank and lending to a friend who, ideally, would use it for something 'legitimate'. Right ?
I snapped my purse shut and grabbed a big carry bag for the cash. Half a million dollars would require a big bag, right?
I drove to the Bank of America and offered my check to the cashier. He looked at me, then at the check. His eyes widened with surprise.
"Mrs Reiner! Please take a seat, the manager will be here soon."
"Manager....but why?" I could barely finish the sentence before a tall middle-aged man in a suit arrived. He greeted me and asked me to wait in his office while they prepared the cash. I nodded and followed him. I was offered coffee and donuts while I sat on a nice sofa! There were perks to being a Reiner! Mike had left a message saying he couldn't make it to the bank where I was scheduled to meet him. So I was planning on delivering the funds to his home.
I cautiously tapped my fingers, unsure of how these things operated.
The manager and another man arrived 20 minutes later with many bundles of cash.
"Mrs Reiner, would you like to count them?" He inquired politely.
My throat was parched; I'd never seen that much cash before.
"No, it's fine; could you put them in this bag?"
I inquired.
I walked out of the manager's office 5 minutes later, only to run into William Reiner. He was leaning against the counter of one of the cashiers. It was difficult to avoid his gaze, so I simply pursed my lips and decided to ignore him.
"Well hello, sister in law, what a lovely surprise." He smiled as he emphasised the final portion of his speech.
"Hello Will," I replied stiffly. What the hell was he doing here? Did he follow me? Did he know I was carrying half a million in cash? What if he created any trouble? Mayrid thoughts popped up in my mind. I had to get rid of him. The bank was full of staff and customers. I didn't want to create a scene, so I pretended to be cordial. He eyed my bag but didn't ask any questions.
"It appears you're leaving; please allow me to escort you out." With a flourish, he extended his arm.
"It's fine, don't worry," I said, dismissing his offer.
"Oh but I insist." He moved to block my way. I can feel a lot of eyes on us now. I shrugged, "fine!"
I didn't take his arm but walked along with him to the door.
"Looks like my brother is showering you with special favours. What exactly are you doing in his bedroom ?" He grinned.
I resisted the impulse to hit him; we were already outside of the bank and he didn't need to come along.
"How about asking your brother? But you lack the courage to do so." I snarled and dashed towards my vehicle. He smirked, but didn't bother to pursue me. My next stop was Mark's house; I needed to get this over with as soon as possible.
***************
- Aiden
My team and I were in a meeting. They'd gotten a key piece of information concerning the Munoz group.
"Mr Reiner, we got the report from Ukraine," Michael remarked.
I said, "Go ahead."
" The Munoz clothing is defunct, it's true. They still have a warehouse and a building, but they've been locked up for years. We were able to track down two security guards and an accountant who works there. They said there was a new owner when Lucia Ponomarenko died. He was a young man who was also a relative. He'd only met them once and couldn't recall their faces. They stayed to work there, because they had job security and it was a simple job with little to do.
"Who pays their salary? It must have been coming from some account," I asked.
"It gets transferred from some bank in Spain. It's hard to trace it," Michael said.
Spain! Munoz was a Spaniard by birth! Was there a chance they had another son or a relative in Spain? Michael went on to say that they had been unable to identify the new owner. They searched even harder to find Lucia's living relatives, but it appeared that she was the last of them after her nephew, Javier Munoz, died.
"Could you please obtain Javier's death certificate for me? What about medical records? Who were the doctors who treated him? Learn everything you can about him." I commanded Michael. I had a hunch that there was something fishy going on.
"Did you find out about the person who dropped the box?"
Michael nodded," about that I need to show you something." He said stiffly.
I went to his office after him. A man in a blue uniform and headgear was shown on the LCD screen in the security room. He was presenting the receptionist with the gift package. Michael paused the video and focused his attention on the courier.
"I'm not aware of any courier service company that wears that attire..." Michael explained.
After that, he focused in on the messenger's face.
"How do you feel about the guy's appearance?" He inquired of me.
"It appears to me that he was disguised," I responded.
As he fiddled with the keys on his computer keyboard, Michael muttered, "OK, let's try to strip him down."
On the LCD panel, the man's face was entirely blown up and converted to a full-frontal image. Michael gradually shaved off his moustache, big nose, sideburns, and hat. Despite the fact that the facial characteristics were slightly deformed, it was clear who they belonged to. Mike Scott.
I clenched my hand in rage as I stared at the face on the computer. I was certain that Mike was also responsible for the sabotage.
"Send his picture to the Spring Valley unit. Ask the supervisor if this was the driver on that particular day." Michael nodded, as if he understood what I was saying.
My mind was racing with rage, and I couldn't understand why Mike hadn't demanded extortion yet.
"Should we contact the police, Mr Reiner?"
"No! I will resolve this personally," I said right away.
Mike couldn't possibly be the brains behind this. I was certain he was nothing more than a pawn, potentially being manipulated by someone. But why was he doing it in the first place? Is it because of Sydney? Perhaps a jealous lover's vengeance?
I went back to my room and made myself a drink. This was an exception to my rule of never drinking at work. For a single day, I'd already had enough shocks.
My train of thought was interrupted by a knock at my office door. Jennifer entered.
"Excuse me, sir, I received a call from the Bank of America branch manager, who stated that Mr Reiner has issued a cheque for $500,000 to Mrs Reiner."
"What? Why? Did William get himself into any more trouble?" Fiona would frequently ask grandpa for money if Will got into problems and we needed to silence the press or bail him out.
She assumed I wouldn't find out about it. However, she was unaware that Grandpa and I had a joint bank account. Grandpa had me put as a co-owner to all of his accounts a few years ago, just in case something happened to him. As a result, I was aware of all the checks that Grandpa had signed.
"It's not for Mrs Fiona, Sir. It's for Mrs Sydney." She said softly.
I was mildly surprised that grandpa had given a half a million dollar cheque to Sydney. Why would she want half a million cash? Why didn't she come to me if she needed the money?
I was still pondering when Jennifer interrupted my thoughts.
"Sir?"
"Ask them to clear the cheque," I said a little sharply.
Jennifer nodded and went on to carry my order. I rubbed my temples. There is something strange going on. I just needed to connect the dots.
I called Clifton, he would be having one of his boys tailing Sydney.
"Where is Sydney ?" I said into my mobile.
"At the bank, she hasn't come out yet," he replied.
"Follow her, I want to know where she went and whom she met. Is that clear? " I said and snapped off my mobile.
I was simmering in anger. What was she up to? What was she trying to hide? And most importantly, where was she taking the money? Suddenly, I had a suspicion about who she might be giving the money to. I prayed that I was wrong, she could not betray me. That was impossible!
