The Monster & The Conspiracy (BWWM)

32. The Greyson Enemy

C H A P T E R
T H I R T Y - T W O  

Lin noted the deadly gleam in Julian's eyes as he pressed his gun on the Big Man's cheek. The Big Man, on the other hand, looked weary. Shelly stood a few feet away from the Big Man, her eyes furiously studying him. James stood next to Shelly. Henry was beside Julian, his arms folded.

"I said start talking." Julian ordered.

"What's the point? Just shoot me, I'm already a dead man." The Big Man said wearily.

"Who the hell are you and why are you trying to kill us?" Julian demanded.

"It doesn't matter who I am, we're all dead anyway." The Big Man muttered hopelessly.

"What do you mean?" Shelly moved closer to the Big Man, her tone levelled but extremely wary.

"The boss is going to kill me. Then he'll kill all of you," the Big Man chuckled humourlessly.

"You think this is funny?" Julian barked. He grabbed a handful of the Big Man's brunette locks. The Big Man grimaced at the pain of having his hair yanked.

"Calm down Julian." Henry intervened coolly.

"Don't tell me to calm down!" Julian snapped his head in Henry's direction, an angry scowl marring his handsome face. "This man tried to kill us and he thinks it's funny?!"

"Amico!" It was James' turn to snap. "Calm down and let him talk or we won't get anywhere. Per favore*."

Julian growled in frustration but he released the tuft of the Big Man's hair so roughly that the chair he was sitting on teetered backwards. He would have fallen if Henry hadn't grabbed the chair on time. Once his chair was steady, the Big Man's racing heart slowed down some.

"Now let's try this again, who are you and why are you trying to kill us?" James interrogated calmly. The Big Man remained quiet, his eyes glued to Shelly's glass shard littered, marble black floors . "It's either you answer our questions or you deal with my crazy friend over there." James cocked his head at Julian.

The Big Man briefly glanced at Julian before his gaze returned to the floor. "He threatened me." The Big Man started. The Big Man looked weary, it looked like he had aged a century in just half an hour. Anyone looking at him could see the bags under his eyes. Shelly could see various emotions dancing in his eyes. She saw distress, anger, hopelessness and fear. His fisted hands and his creased forehead told her all she needed to know about this man: he was acting out of fear.

"They took my daughter, Kathy. That wretched man threatened to kill my Kathy if I don't get rid of all of you."

Lin arched an eyebrow, "You mean Kathy Stevens, that museum guide? Great, so both father and daughter are trying to kill us off." Lin muttered. "So she was working at the Museum to what? Spy on us?" Lin probed.

"I told her not to spy on you but she was adamant on helping me get out of my boss' control. She didn't want to hurt anyone...she did what she had to do." The Big Man explained, his eyes held a flicker of honesty. Honesty that Shelly detected in a heartbeat. Not only were his eyes a dead give away, but his affectionate tone was as well.

"He's telling the truth." Shelly nodded.

"It doesn't change the fact that all these people are trying to kill us." Julian muttered angrily.

"She's the one who led us to Coite d'Ivoire? She's the one who led us right into that bombing trap?" James asked.

The Big Man shook his head, "Yes and no. She was told to lead you all to Coite d'Ivoire but she didn't have anything to with the bombing. Kathy would never do that...please spare her...she only did this to help me out of my debt. She figured that if she spied on all of you for the boss, she would be helping me pay off my debt."