The Tenth Explosion

Chapter 14: the visitation.

The conversation stayed in Kate's head long after she left Mr. James' office. Honestly, it was impossible not to think about it. Most people spend their lives trying to save a few thousand dollars. Some fight for years just to buy a small apartment. Others work overtime hoping for a promotion that adds a little extra money to their monthly salary. Then there was Mr. James casually sitting behind a desk saying: "The only gang I may have is my seventy f*****g billion dollars."

That sentence refused to leave her brain. It followed her into the elevator. Followed her into the parking lot. Followed her all the way home. Because how exactly was a normal person supposed to process something like that? Seventy billion dollars. Not million. Billion. The number was so large it stopped feeling like money and started feeling like a government budget.

Kate sat alone on her couch later that evening. Television running. Not watching it. Phone beside her. Not using it. Just thinking. Because she was still stuck with one very important problem. The Sun Thunder gang. Mr. James could hire security teams. Bodyguards. Lawyers. Private investigators. Half the planet if he wanted. Kate? Kate had herself. A rented house. A modest salary. And apparently gang membership she never wanted. She buried her face in a pillow. "This is ridiculous." The pillow offered no solution.

Meanwhile, inside his office, James was thinking about exactly the same issue. Kate. For all the chaos around him, that situation bothered him more than he expected. Because unlike him, she never chose any part of this. She simply happened to be standing in the wrong office when the wrong people arrived. That was all. He leaned back in his chair. Then picked up his phone. A few calls later, he already knew what he was going to do.

"I'll find a way for you to come out." He had promised her. James wasn't the type to make promises casually. The problem was that nobody seemed interested in giving him a clean solution. Which was why he eventually found himself driving toward the prison.

The maximum-security facility looked exactly like every government building designed by people who hated happiness. Concrete. Steel. Watchtowers. Barbed wire. Nothing welcoming. Nothing friendly. James passed through security checkpoints one after another before finally reaching the visitation area. Several guards escorted him into a private meeting room.

A few minutes later the door opened. Jackie walked in. Prison hadn't broken him. That was the first thing James noticed. Most inmates developed a defeated look after enough time. Jackie still carried himself like he owned property somewhere. Expensive property. He sat down calmly. Smiled. Not warmly. Just enough.

James placed both hands on the table. "I saw your letter."

Jackie nodded. "It is only seen by those that still live."

James stared at him for a second. Then laughed. A short laugh. "That's one way to start a conversation."

Jackie smiled slightly. "I've always preferred honesty."

That statement alone could probably win awards for irony. Still, James ignored it. There were more important things to discuss. "Your men forced one of my employees into joining."

Jackie's expression didn't change. "Kate."

"Yes."

Silence settled briefly between them. Then Jackie sighed. "Those betrayers."

James nodded. "Those betrayers of yours."

"They caused many problems."

"They caused enough."

Jackie leaned back. His chains rattled softly against the chair. "As far as the organization is concerned..." He paused. "...she took the oath."

James already knew he wasn't going to like the next sentence.

"There is no turning back."

The answer irritated him immediately. "No exceptions?"

"No."

"No negotiations?"

"No."

"No release?"

"No."

James rubbed his forehead. "That's insane."

Jackie shrugged. "Gangs survive because members believe leaving is impossible."

That part unfortunately made sense. Terrible logic. Effective logic. The worst combination. James looked directly at him. "I need another option."

Jackie thought for a moment. Then smiled. "There is one."

James immediately paid attention.

Jackie continued. "If she decides to leave and someone comes after her and she kills them..." A pause. "...then she becomes free."

James stared. Blinking once. Twice. Then shook his head. "No."

Jackie looked amused. "What?"

"That's not freedom."

"It is by our rules."

"Your rules are terrible."

Jackie laughed. A genuine laugh this time. "You may be right."

James leaned back. That wasn't remotely the solution he wanted. Kate wasn't a trained fighter. She wasn't some underground assassin. She was an employee. A hardworking employee who somehow got kidnapped into organized crime.

The conversation drifted elsewhere afterward. Business. Influence. Power. Random observations. Neither man completely trusted the other. Yet oddly enough, neither disliked the other either. Eventually Jackie stood. The meeting was over.

Then something unexpected happened. Jackie walked around the table and hugged him. Not aggressively. Not emotionally. Just a quick embrace.

James froze completely. "What are you doing?"

Jackie smiled. "Nothing."

"That wasn't nothing."

"It was."

Then prison guards escorted him away. James remained standing there confused. Because that interaction made absolutely no sense. Not then. Not yet.

By the time he arrived home later that evening, the prison visit already felt strange enough. The hug only made it stranger. He entered the house. Dropped his jacket. Went upstairs. Prepared for a shower. Then noticed something. A small flash drive sitting inside his pocket.

James frowned immediately. He definitely hadn't placed it there. His mind replayed the prison meeting instantly. The hug. Jackie. The proximity. The timing.

"Oh."

Now it made sense. Somehow. Some way. Jackie had slipped the flash drive into his pocket. The realization alone was impressive. The man was inside a maximum-security prison and still passing information around like a magician.

James placed the drive on a table. Showered. Changed clothes. Made coffee. Then finally returned to it. Curiosity won. It always does.

A few moments later the flash drive connected to his laptop. Several video files appeared. No labels. No explanations. Just footage. James opened the first one.

The video began inside a massive underground facility. At first he thought it was military training. Then the creature appeared. And everything changed. He leaned closer. "What the hell..."

The creature wasn't human. Not remotely. Large wings. Pale skin. Black eyes. Something between mythology and science fiction. Military personnel surrounded it. Weapons raised. Scientists stood behind reinforced glass watching. The creature attacked. The soldiers responded. The battle that followed looked less like reality and more like something accidentally leaked from another universe.

Another file showed different creatures. Different experiments. Different containment chambers. Some succeeded. Some failed. One explosion tore through an entire section of the facility. Alarms screamed. People died. Footage ended abruptly.

James sat motionless. Then opened another file. And another. And another. Each one carried the same location tag. City Sermon Laboratory. The same laboratory connected to the death of his fiancée. The same facility that seemed to suffer mysterious incidents every year.

Suddenly years of rumors began making sense. The explosions. The secrecy. The military involvement. Government coverups. Everything fit together now. At least partially. James leaned back slowly. "So this is what they're hiding."

The answer felt enormous. And terrifying. Because the footage suggested something much bigger than corruption. Much bigger than illegal research. The government appeared to be creating or studying supernatural entities. Creatures that shouldn't exist. Creatures capable of killing trained soldiers.

James paused the video. His heart beat faster. The question wasn't whether the footage was real. It clearly was. The real question was why. Why create them? Why risk so many lives? Why keep funding projects that kept exploding? That part still made no sense. And perhaps most importantly—Who could he trust with this information?

The answer came immediately. Nobody. So he kept the flash drive hidden. For now.

Far away inside the prison, Jackie sat in a separate meeting room with several loyal followers. News from the James meeting had already reached them. One man spoke first. "Should we tell her?"

Jackie shook his head. "No."

"Nothing?"

"Nothing."

The men exchanged looks.

Jackie continued. "Keep an eye on Kate."

"Watch her."

"Protect her if necessary."

One follower frowned. "Does she know she's being watched?"

"No."

"And if she resigns?"

Jackie's expression hardened slightly. That answer came instantly. "Then go after her."

The room became quiet. Not because they disagreed. Because they understood. Kate wasn't important because of power. She wasn't important because of influence. She was important because she represented a loose thread. And loose threads eventually unravel organizations.

Back in the city, James made another decision. One that surprised even himself. He requested Kate's home address from company records. Nothing creepy. Nothing complicated. He simply wanted to speak with her outside the office. Without interruptions. Without meetings. Without security teams listening nearby. A normal conversation. Or at least as normal as their lives allowed.

About forty minutes later he parked outside her house. The neighborhood looked peaceful. Clean streets. Small houses. Children riding bicycles in the distance. A completely different world from gang wars and secret laboratories. James walked to the front door. Then knocked.

Inside, Kate was cleaning. Oversized T-shirt. Biker shorts. Hair tied back carelessly. Music playing from her phone. A mop leaned against the wall. Honestly she looked more like someone preparing for a quiet evening than someone accidentally connected to organized crime.

The knock interrupted her thoughts. She frowned. "Who's that?"

A familiar voice answered. "It's your delivery guy."

Kate stopped moving. Delivery guy? She hadn't ordered anything. Maybe somebody sent a gift. Maybe a mistake. Maybe—She walked toward the door. "Hold on."

The door opened. Kate looked outside. Then froze. Completely froze. Because standing there wasn't a delivery worker. It was Mr. James. The CEO of Covalen. One of the richest men she'd ever met. Standing alone. No bodyguards. No assistants. No convoy. Just him.

Kate blinked. Then looked around. Then back at him. Then around again. "What the f**k?"

James smiled. Honestly he expected exactly that reaction.

Kate pointed at him. "You."

"Me."

"Here."

"Yes."

"At my house."

"Also yes."

Kate looked genuinely confused. James folded his hands casually. "Can I come in..." A pause. "...or do you plan on keeping me standing out here all night?"

Kate stared at him for several seconds. Then stepped aside slowly. Still shocked. Still confused. Still wondering why a billionaire CEO was standing at her front door pretending to be a delivery guy.