It's Just a Business Transaction Ch. 12

Alex released her hands and pulled her close, his cock still embedded inside of her. She did not move but just let her tears flowed. Then her silent cries turned to heart wrenching sobs. She beat at him with her fists and pushed herself away from him. She ran back to her room and slammed the door shut. Alex did not pursue her. He sat up on the bed and ran his hands through his hair. He sat there for a long time replaying the scene over and over again in his mind of what he had done to her. Instead of improving the relationship he had destroyed it.

Oh God! Why did he behave like an animal? Never ever in his life had he ever force a woman to bed and now not only had he raped Aida, he made her lost her trust in him too and she might even leave him now!

He got up from the bed and quickly walked over to their adjoining door and was about to open it when he hesitated. He was afraid she would scream when she sees him. So he decided to knock on the door.

"Aida, will you let me come in please? I am sorry for what I did. Let me make it up to you please?" he called through the door pleadingly.

There was no answer. He knocked louder and called again but still no answer from her. Suddenly a cold fear ran through him. What if she really went to throw herself down the stairs and kill the baby and in the process injuring herself too? Shit!

He wrenched open their adjoining door and step through it but she was not in the room. He ran over to the bathroom and she wasn't there either. He ran back to his room and typed on the keyboard. Greg's face disappeared from the screen and the images were replaced that of his house now. He clicked through every single spot that was with a surveillance camera and she was nowhere to be seen. She must have left the house!

Alex quickly picked up his mobile and called his bodyguards' number. The bodyguards at this time were usually at the guardhouse.

"Did Mrs. Jefferson drive through the gate?" said Alex anxiously.

"No sir," replied his bodyguard.

Alex clicked off his mobile. Alex realized she had taken the other secret route, which he had used to go to the hospital with her sitting next to him when he had first brought her to see his grandfather seven months ago. He quickly called her number hopefully she would answer his call. Of course she did not. He was getting frantic now. There was only one place she would go now - Greg's apartment. Alex quickly changed to go after her hopefully he would be able to intercept them before they ran off.

He can't let her go. He can't let her run off with his baby, THEIR baby! Why not? Because they had a business dealing. A transaction! He owned her for a year! And their contract has not ended yet. No! Because he loved her! OH GOD! I LOVED HER! He thought with sudden realization.

That was why he was so consumed with jealousy and accused her with baseless so-called evidence! Damn! Why was he so arrogant to see that? Hadn't he heard her say she loved him last night when she was falling asleep? Why was he so stubborn, refusing to believe it could be true and was not said in a moment of passion?

Alex felt exhilarated yet at the same time scared. He was exhilarated because he had fallen in love for the first time in his adult life to a very small beautiful woman. Scared because of his blindness and arrogance, he might lose her. Damn! He had never been to Greg's place and he doesn't know Greg's address. The last time it was Mrs. Josef who had called on his behalf. He called his bodyguards to get the address; hopefully he could make it in time to stop them and then had instructed his bodyguards to look for Aida at all the places she usually frequented in case she was not at Greg's.

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Aida had indeed gone to Greg's place. She ran up the stairs two at a time. By the time she reached Greg's floor she was slightly out of breath. She walked to his door and was about to knock on his door when a man in a jumpsuit that looked like a uniform came out of Greg's apartment carrying a blue sport bag and a cap.

"Who are you?" asked Aida surprisingly.

The man seemed surprised to see her and did not answer her but was trying to evade her. Suddenly Aida remembered the guy with the moustache, bulbous nose and long sideburns on Alex's screens.

"Greg!" she exclaimed. "It's…it's really you! Oh my god!" said Aida shockingly.

Greg quickly opened his door and pulled Aida inside before locking it. Aida was getting furious again, this time with Greg.

"You better have a good explanation Greg," threatens Aida.

"I…I can't Aida. I am sorry," said Greg trying hard not to look at her.

"Don't you sorry me, Gregory Lyndon Johnson. I want an explanation now! I am sick with all of you people hiding things from me and…and LYING to me and MANIPULATING ME!" said Aida fiercely.

Greg did not answer her but look uneasily at her. Just then Aida saw he was still holding the sports bag and she snatched it from him. Her abrupt action made him lose custody of the bag momentarily. Greg tried to snatch it back but Aida was hell-bent on looking inside the bag and was already unzipping the bag. Greg dare not really fight over the bag for he was afraid of the content inside might explode even though it was not fused together yet. So he just let Aida have it. Aida took one look at the content and almost screamed.

"What are you doing, Greg?!" Aida question Greg shockingly.

"It's…it's nothing!" said Greg evasively.

"I'm not stupid Greg! These…oh my God! These are some kind of an explosives isn't it?!!!" Aida was alarmed now.

Greg knew he could not hide anymore. He knew he had to tell her now.

"Yes! It's C-4. A kind of explosives! It's for your husband's oil refinery! Satisfied?" Greg screamed in frustration.

Aida looked at him confuse and speechless then blurted out.

"But…but why? Why are you planning to blow…blow up his refinery…if…if that was really your intention," Aida said haltingly getting more confused with Greg's behaviour.

"BECAUSE SHE HAS GOT WENDY! AND RUPERT IS DEAD! DEAD! OH GOD!!!" Greg shouted and broke down crying.

Aida was shocked at Greg's outbursts and his crying. Suddenly she felt sorry for Greg but she had to know what was going on.

"Who's got Wendy? Greg you are not making sense. Did you and…and Rupert have anything to do with the waters too?" said Aida but she was praying Greg would say no.

Greg did not answer her. He just stood there, hands in his face crying away. Aida's fear was confirmed. Greg did it. But why? And who was the 'she' he was talking about?

"Greg tell me, what has happen?" urged Aida.

"Sonja had killed Rupert and kidnapped Wendy…" said Greg still sobbing like a little boy. He took a deep breath and related the whole story to Aida leaving out nothing even how he had been manipulated by Sonja to plant the cocaine in her locker.

Aida felt herself trembling uncontrollably. Dear God! She had never ever thought Greg would betray her this badly and had used her. She did try to reason the part where he had to do it because of his sister. But she could not accept the fact that Greg; of all people would betray her too. She felt numb. Too stunned to say anything.

"I am sorry Aida. I don't mean to hurt you at all. You would be the last person I would want to hurt. I do love you!" said Greg still crying.

Love? Was this what you called love? Betraying someone you care so much was love? Aida shook her head in sadness and disbelief.

"Greg, thank you for your cruel honesty. It makes me see things more clearly now. Take care," Aida said dejectedly and made a move towards the door.

Greg had stopped crying and was looking at her. "Where are you going?" he asked.

"I'm leaving…"

Greg tried to say something but she interrupted him quickly.

"Don't say anything and don't try to stop me. You do what you must to save Wendy. I don't want to have anything to do with you or Alex or…or anyone else anymore. You want to blow up Alex's refinery. Fine go ahead! I don't care. But a word of caution, Alex already knew it was you. Goodbye Greg, thank you for taking care of me when I first step off the bus at the terminal. I really like this place you know…but I guess this place is just not for me…" said Aida sadly and turned to go.

Greg did not stop her. He wouldn't dare. He really had betrayed her. The least he could do for her now was to let her go gracefully without hurting her anymore.

Little did Alex and Greg know that Aida was taken against her will while trying to get into her station wagon.

Aida was feeling so disheartened and betrayed with the men in her life that she did not notice a truck had stop beside her and someone had made a grab for her until it was too late. She tried to scream and to twist off from the grabbing hands but the assailant was too strong. She felt a heavy blow below the base of her skull and she lost consciousness.

Roderick has driven to Greg's place as a lookout for Sonja to make sure Greg carries out her order. It was a surprise when he saw Aida drove up to Greg's apartment and without any bodyguards. He and Sonja had been planning on how to lure Aida away from her bodyguard so they could get a chance to kidnap her but seems like that won't be necessary anymore. She has delivered herself right into his lap. He was sure Sonja would be very pleased with him when he gets the bitch to the warehouse today. He just could not believe his luck. It was too good to be true. For months he had been waiting to get that bitch and the timing couldn't be more perfect. At last, it's pay back time. Roderick thought excitedly, his adrenalin pumping.

It would be really easy to snatch her off the street as this neighbourhood belongs to the lower class folks, and most likely no one would bother or care about what goes on right under their nose for fear of getting into trouble themselves. He told himself she would come back down soon and then he would strike. Sure enough after half an hour later Aida had emerged from the building looking crestfallen. Roderick checked the surrounding one more time noticing there weren't many pedestrians or motorists about and immediately swung his truck in the direction of Aida.

Roderick brought the truck to a halt beside her and took advantage of her despondent state and ran out to grab her quickly. He knew she would start to scream the minute she realize what was happening to her and had immediately clamped his hand over her mouth. He pretended to loosen his hold on her for a second only to bring down his other hand behind her neck. She gave a muffled scream and slumped forward. Roderick was really excited now to be able hold Aida in his arms. He wasted no time in dumping her behind the passengers' seats and quickly drove off but not before he had a feel of Aida's breasts – pinching and mauling them, which he had wanted to do for so long.

If only Alex had came earlier by fifteen minutes and he would have witnessed his half-brother kidnapping Aida and would probably be able to prevent Roderick from getting to her.

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Meanwhile Greg still has a job to do. He still has to get to Passyunk Avenue and get into Alex's oil refinery to plant the bomb. He was still wondering how he could get inside the refinery when his mobile rings. He looked at the LCD screen and noted it was an unlisted number. Must be that psychopath. Greg thought bitterly.

"Hello," answered Greg gruffly.

"Ah glad you answered my call sweetie. Ok let's get down to business. Now go down to the 34th train station at Market St. There will be a truck that picks up workers to go into the refinery. Once you are up in the truck with the other workers find a place to hide the stuffs. The securities at the guardhouse will go through the usual routine in checking everyone. So make sure you wear your nametag and try to act normally. If you slipped up too bad then. Don't forget I still got Wendy here who would love to see her brother to come and fetch her. Now hurry along, you have half an hour to get to the station before the truck took off and good luck with the job," said Sonja with pure evil in her voice and clicked off.

Fucking bitch! Thought Greg.

He hurries off to the station as was being instructed, still holding the bag with its deadly contents. He was so absorbed in his own thoughts that he did not noticed Aida's station wagon was still parked below his apartment when he came down. He decided to take the local transport instead of driving his new Toyota which Sonja had bought him two months back even though he had adamantly refused to accept it but Sonja had insisted, saying it was her way in thanking him for a job well done. Greg was more worried with his colleagues questioning him on how he managed to find so much money to buy a new car.

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Alex was late in coming and missed Greg too. When he drove into the compound he could see Aida's station wagon parked there. His anger rushed forth like the raging water gushing out of a broken dam. Without even bothering to switch off his engine he ran up to Greg's floor. On the landing he looked at all the apartments number and found Greg's apartment. He banged on the door loudly for a long while but no one answered. He heard the other tenants on the same floor shouting from behind their close doors at him to shut up.

Shit! Don't tell me they have left already. Alex thought grimly. He quickly called his bodyguards to check with them if they have any news on Mrs. Jefferson but the bodyguards told him negative.

Alex was still feeling frustrated when he received a call from his PI saying he had dug up some new information regarding J.M. Mendelssohn company. Alex was not really in the mood to know more about the company other than trying to locate Aida but what the PI said changed his mind. Apparently J.M. Mendelssohn actually owns La Broadway the theatre where Greg and Sonja worked. And the most startling piece of news was Sonja was an unnamed shareholder of La Broadway until several months back where she had quietly sold off her share. On top of that the initial J.M does have a meaning. It was known as Jason Matthias Mendelssohn Pte. Ltd. before it was changed to just J.M Mendelssohn Pte. Ltd. ten years back. It took a while for the PI to dug out this information as Poland back then was still rather behind times in using the computer systems to updates their data and was still recording data by hand.

Jason Matthias Mendelssohn? Matthias…wasn't that Sonja's surname too? Could Sonja really be the owner of J.M Mendelssohn? And if she was, what was her role in this whole thing? What was her relationship with the Mendelssohn family? He decided to go home to ask his grandfather. He intends to get to the bottom of this affair. Unknown to him Aida was being tortured at that moment in an abandon warehouse somewhere along Delaware River.

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When Greg got to 34th St. station in Market St, there were already about twenty or so other workers whom were wearing the same uniform as his waiting to be pick up to go to the refinery. Seems like most of the workers were on part time basis as it was not a prestigious job cleaning waste from oil drums therefore no one really spoke to one another. He was so nervous holding his bag sitting at the kerb waiting for the truck. About five minutes or so had passed and a big truck came by. All the workers got into the truck and so did Greg. Hurriedly he looked about the truck and there were empty oil drums and crates about. He went right into the deep end of the truck and quietly stowed the bag into a crate and covered it with some gunnysacks. Soon the truck moved off.

It was not really far from the train station to Passyunk Avenue. Another ten minutes or so they came to the guardhouse and everyone was asked to alight for clearance. The guards at the guardhouse went through a monotonous motion checking their ID and for formality sake went up to the truck to poke around a bit and then declare it was clear. Greg and the workers piled back into the truck and went through the gate barrier.

First step accomplished. Greg heaved a sigh inwardly. Now for the next step. Greg pulled the bag out of the crate and alighted the truck with the rest of the workers. There was a foreman waiting for them there and was giving them instruction as what to expect or do. Greg looked around the area and noticed the distillation columns over at the north side. Looks like a good place to plant the damn bomb, thought Greg. By now he was sweating profusely. The other workers were busy hauling the drums of fuel wastes onto the truck now. Greg pretended to help out for a bit and when no one was really paying attention he slipped off quietly and edged over to the distillation columns.

He found a very secluded spot far away from the busy workers minding their own business and set to work. He pulled out the C-4 and the detonator. C-4 was one of the most flexible and easiest explosives to use and also one of the safest. Without a detonator the C-4 would not come alive. He was so absorbed in fixing the detonator onto the explosives that he did not notice the guards doing their round and saw him crouching between the columns.

"HEY! What are you doing there?!" shouted one of the guards.

Greg was so shocked being shouted at that he almost dropped the detonator. The first thing that comes to his mind now was to run for his life before he was caught. He ran still holding the detonator but the explosives was left plastered on the oil column. By this time the guards had alerted the rest of the guards in the refinery and they had blocked off every exit. Greg just kept on running not sure which way he was heading for. Finally he saw a tall barbed wire fence ahead of him and he ran towards it.

He tried to climb over the fence but it was too high and spiky at the top. The guards were right behind him now and were shouting for him to freeze. Greg was still attempting to break free. He made a last effort to scale the fence only to be pulled down by one of the guards. He tried struggling to break away from their hold but he was easily outnumbered.

"Please…please don't call the police! I want to see Alex Jefferson!" Greg pleaded with them.

"Don't worry we will notify him. Let's get him to the office," said one of the guards.

They then escorted Greg to the office while one of them notified the personnel in charge of the refinery who in turn called up Dan Edward – Alex's Executive Chief Operating Officer.

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Alex reached home and went over to the east wing in search for his grandfather. He found his grandfather at the garden with Miss. Kathy the nurse.

"Miss. Kathy could you leave us?" said Alex commandingly.

Alex's grandfather looked at his grandson's odd behaviour wondering what was wrong.

"Something wrong Alex?" his grandfather asked.

"Aida has gone missing," said Alex, looking disconsolate and a little disheveled.

"Missing? How? When?" enquired his grandfather looking baffled.

"Since…since about four hours ago," said Alex.

"She could have gone to attend some functions?" his grandfather offered trying to reassure him.

"We…we had a fight and…and she ran off," Alex said haltingly.

"About what? Come, tell me about it," coaxed William Sr.

Alex finally told his grandfather he had forced Aida to sign another contract so he could keep her and the baby forever and because he suspected Aida was having an affair with Greg because of some stupid photos and the half a million his grandfather had issued to Aida and she had given the money to Greg instead.

"But you made a mistake on the cheque. You had the date written wrongly. I thought you might wanted me to know why Aida wanted so much cash from you," said Alex looking at his grandfather for confirmation.

"Yes I did write the date wrong on purpose. She did mention she wanted the money for a friend. But I thought you should still know about it as she said you were not on friendly terms with her friend and since she is your wife, I thought you have every right to know whom she was giving the money to. So did Aida say why she needed to lend this Greg so much money?" William Sr. asked.