Page 70 of Midnight Salvation

“We always fulfil a mission,” Jordan said scornfully, his eyebrows lowered in displeasure. “I’m insulted that you even thought to ask.”

Dad stretched the collar of his shirt, a bead of sweat appearing at his brow. “Have they been returned to the Council vault?” Dad asked.

Dylan coughed, his hand holding his throat as he coughed a second time.

My gaze met Xavier’s as he casually lifted the folder in front of him and started to flick through it. There were financial reports and other business matters that needed the attention of different members. Their names had already been assigned to the relevant areas and I had submitted my financial report to it earlier before the packs had been printed.

Herbert wiped his brow. “Is it very hot in here today?”

Xavier glanced up. “I think we have a controlled temperature in here, don’t we?”

“I believe so,” Jordan replied. “I doubt any sunshine is getting in through these ancient stone walls.” He chewed his gum and continued to eyeball Dad.

All around the room, people started to blink, one yawned and Dylan’s head dropped forward before he snapped it back up again. Dad fiddled with his shirt again.

“Are you okay, Dad?” I asked, my brow furrowed.

“I…” He cleared his throat. “I feel a little lightheaded.”

“Should we terminate the meeting?” I glanced around the room at the men all starting to look uncomfortable.

Dad shook his head, frantically grasping the glass of water in front of him to gulp a mouthful. Xavier silently watched as the men in the Council all began to slump in their seats.

The gas in Jordan’s flask would knock them out for a few minutes. That was more than enough time for us to tag them all. Jordan had strapped the syringes under the table, and pulled them free. One at a time, we injected a new tracker into them. Xavier connected a scanner onto his phone and checked each one, typing the name of the recipient into the system. We worked silently in case anyone carried a listening device. They were supposed to search us coming in here, but one glare from Jordan and not a single member of the security unit ever searched any of our group.

I carried out a quick search of Dad, cloning his phone and replacing it into his pocket before moving onto the next member at the table. When we were finished, we moved back to our seats and pretended to collapse with everyone else. Jordan sealed the top on his flask before he slumped back in his chair and closed his eyes. It would take slightly longer for the gas to dissipate in this room, but around ten minutes later, there were noises indicating the Council members were waking up. The gum we were chewing ensured we were immune to the effects of the gas.

Xavier creaked his neck from side to side, blinking his eyes and pretending to come around from whatever happened. Jordan had used this method before with a tube into a room to incapacitate who was inside. It was untraceable and people rarely remembered what happened in the aftermath.

Jordan stumbled to his feet and pressed the emergency exit button that overrode our system. Fresh air cooled the room immediately as everyone came around. They would conveniently find a damaged pipe under this room later when they investigated. Jordan exited the room with his flask in his hand and started to shout orders. The used syringes were inside it, and all other pieces of technology in our pockets. There was no evidence left of our crime.

“What the fuck happened?” Dad demanded, his hand rubbing over his face.

“I’m not sure.” I slowly pushed myself to my feet. “One minute I was speaking to you and the next I was waking up with my head on the table. I need some fresh air.”

On my way to the door, I deliberately held the wall as if to steady myself. To ensure that no one found my gum, I swallowed it as Jordan had instructed before we left this morning.

My footsteps steadied when I was outside the room. Not only had we avoided any incriminating conversations, but we’d also tagged every man in that room. I had no doubt that if we could override Dad’s system, that he could do the same and say he was sitting at home, when he was really touring the countryside creating havoc. The beauty of those trackers was they weren’t detectable unless they were active, and they would only be active when we pressed the button to watch someone.

Other members started to emerge from the room. Jordan arrived with the security team, and they plunged into the chamber to scan everywhere for hidden devices—like the gas cannister that our head of security had wandered in and out of the room with it in his hand.

Dad emerged, his eyes still looking confused and his face pale.

“Maybe we should get the doctor to check you over?” I suggested, taking him by the arm and leading him toward the air outside. The more fresh air he inhaled, the quicker the effects of the gas would disappear from his system.

He stopped, his hands bracing the wall. “How did everything go so wrong?” he randomly asked. “I had everything planned to perfection.”

I stared at him for several seconds before I replied. “Michael changed everything. He was an evil little shit, but he was still one of us.” He met my gaze. “We should have done more to protect him, even if that was locking him in the basement until he came to his senses.”

“He had always been my favourite,” he almost whispered.

“I know, Dad. We all knew that Michael was the one you wanted as heir.”

“I always thought he was most like me until you played that stunt with the business. Maybe I was wrong.”

I didn’t reply because there was nothing to say. Not a single bone in my body was like him. From the time I could talk and walk I had hated everything he stood for. I just never had a reason to rebel against it until now. Lucrezia was that reason. Dad would break her spirit and destroy the very essence that made her the woman I loved.

I could never let that happen and would eradicate the world of his evil long before that. The very thought of him and the other males in our family touching her filled me with murderous rage.

---