Red Hourglass : Dark Coming Of Age Romance Thriller

Emergency

It was early afternoon by the time I got back to my apartment. I bolted out of the car and up the stairs.

I threw open my packed luggage and quickly changed into my leather catsuit and knee-high leather boots. I tucked a pair of leather gloves into the boots. This was my killing outfit. The catsuit was designed with eight hidden sheaths that allowed easy deployment of blades. The boots had secret compartments in the soles for switchblades, and I could carry two more blades in the uppers. I loaded up my blades and tied my long hair in a ponytail, tucking it down the back of the suit.

I grabbed my phone and ran down the fire escape. I called Conan but his phone was off. I pulled up Kelvin's number and began walking.

"Kelvin it's Scarlet. Is Conan at work?"

"Hi Scarlet," said Kelvin. "No. I thought he was with you."

"Kelvin, listen to me very closely. Conan's been taken hostage."

"What?! Fuck!" Kelvin roared. "I told him not to go off on that little romantic getaway without his bodyguards! What the hell is going on?!"

"White Holdings is hell-bent on stopping the merger with Zhong Yuan and they'll do whatever it takes. They're planning to kill the Eagle at the meeting ... to scare off Zhong Yuan. If they can't do that, they'll kill Conan."

"How the fuck do you know all this?!"

"Kelvin, that doesn't matter. All that matters right now is that you understand that Wilmar's under attack and you need to do what I tell you to do. I'll explain later."

"Okay, okay. What do I need to do?"

"Where's the Eagle?"

"He's in the boardroom with the rest of the board and the Chinese guys," said Kelvin. "They're having lunch before the meeting."

"Get up there immediately with your toughest men. Take as many as you can, and they better be armed. You need to evacuate the floor, but keep the board and the Zhong Yuan executives in the boardroom."

"Scarlet, this sounds crazy. What's really going on? Is this some sort of security drill?"

"NO! Mrs. White's agents are going to try to get into the boardroom. You can't let that happen. They don't carry firearms, but they'll have other weapons. If they get in the building, I need your guys to hold them for me. I have to talk to them."

"Oh fuck. I've heard rumors about that old hag and her killer Amazons, but I never believed them."

"Well you better believe."

"What about Conan?"

"I couldn't get him on his phone. I'll head over to his apartment after I talk to Christophe. I'm pretty sure the killer Amazons were waiting for him last night. I tried to warn him, but he laughed."

"Why do you need to talk to Christophe?"

"We don't have time for more questions Kelvin. If we all get out of this alive, I'll explain later. Just do it ... please."

"Okay."

I hung up and called Christophe.

"Christophe, it's Scarlet."

"Hey Scarlet. How's it going? We haven't had a pizza in a long time."

"Christophe, we have an emergency. Where are you?"

"I took the morning off. I just got to my desk."

"I need you to look at the live cameras around the building."