Chapter 345: Change of plans

Meanwhile, the President's assistant too received the message on his phone and he ignored it at first. However, when he saw the subject, he opened it immediately. Ivy knew that something like that would happen and the chances of her email being ignored was high. So, she had made sure to add a subject line that said - 'Poison attack evidence - Very important'. She hoped that this would gain his attention and he would take a look at the contents.

Just as she had expected, the subject line worked its charm and the assistant viewed the file. He had assumed it be a hoax, but what he saw made his eyes go wide. The video clip shocked him beyond his imagination. Not wasting another minute, he whispered to the President who at that moment was having a meeting with his cabinet of ministers.

Luis Truman gave him a curt nod before he addressed his ministers. "I apologize, ladies and gentlemen. We will have to cut short our meeting for now as I have something urgent to attend to. Let's discuss the issue after we get a complete report from the police investigation."

The cabinet too did not say a thing as they were already about to end the meeting anyway. A few minutes early would not have made any difference. The President accompanied his assistant to his office after everybody dispersed. "What have you got?"

"Sir, I just received an email from an anonymous person and the contents are extremely shocking." The man handed over the phone to Luis and he played the video for him to view. Just as he had expected, the President was flabbergasted with what he was seeing. His face paled and he seemed to have lost all his senses. 

Time passed and nobody said a word for a long time. It was truly unbelievable to see the man they knew closely was the one behind the issue they were busy trying to resolve. "Do you think this video is authentic?"

"Sir, as far as I know, the video does not seem to be fabricated. It is even showing the date and time when it was recorded, which by the way is today. But we can run this through an expert to confirm it."

"Do it. I do not want to blame Frederick on baseless and fake proofs."

"Right away, Sir." The assistant left the office to follow Luis's orders, while he remained seated with his eyes staring into the distance. If the video turned out to be authentic, then Frederick was the man they were looking for. Luis had never expected the man he knew for a long time to be such a criminal. 

Not only was he the man behind the poisonous incident he was also the one behind the organ trafficking issue. The fact that he had done all of these so that he could get people to the hospital for his gains made Luis to grit his teeth. He wanted to punch the man who was playing with innocent people's lives so badly. How dare he do something like this when it was his duty to protect them?

Half an hour later, the assistant returned with a grave expression on his face. Luis could guess the answer already seeing him, but he was still hoping to get a negative answer. However, the words he heard next made him lose all hopes. "Sir, this video is authentic and we have also tracked down the place seen in the video. It is a food package factory on the outskirts of the city."

Luis nodded pondering over what to do next. "Give a call to Frederick. Let's see what he is up to right now."

The assistant did not delay his orders and placed the call to the disgusting man who at that moment was still in the factory, discussing a few things with his men. It came as a surprise to the man to receive a call from the President at this time of the day. Nevertheless, he still answered the call. "Hello, Mr. President." He replied politely, his tone changing completely. The men before him blinked at the sudden change but remained silent. 

"At you at the office, Frederick?"

"Yes, I am. Although right now, I have come out to attend a meeting. Is anything the matter, Mr. President?"

"Frederick, I have an important mission at hand and I need your team's help in it. So, I will be visiting the Intelligence in a few minutes." His statement made Frederick to lose his calm immediately. His expression turned horrible and his face scrunched up, startling the men in front of him. However, he did not care about them. He had other pressing matters to attend to right now. 

Frederick dismissed the men with the flick of his hands and went in the corner to speak to Luis separately. "Please do not take the trouble, Sir. I'll send my team to you, they will handle everything. Sir must have a lot of things to attend to." Frederick kept on blabbering not realizing that he was only digging his own grave further. 

His words were enough for the President to doubt the man all the more. He was sure now that Frederick was still at the factory and that was why he was trying to evade the situation. "No, Frederick. I need to hand over the mission to your team right away and I'll visit your office right now. Be prepared." That was all Luis said before he ended the call and threw the phone at the wall in anger. 

It was not abnormal for the assistant to see the man lose his cool. He did not even flinch when the phone broke with a loud crash. He pulled out a brand new one from the cupboard behind him and activated the President's number in it. "We will be going to the Intelligence right away. Make preparations."

"Sir, do you want to speak to the Deputy Chief, Valarie Evans? Maybe, she could help us deal with the situation fast?" The assistant suggested while he also sent a message to the driver and the head of the Presidential guards to get ready.

"No. We are not sure if she is with Frederick or not. I do not want to take risks and alert the man. Let's go to the Intelligence office and find out ourselves. I do not trust anybody right now. Let's go."

"Yes Sir."

Meanwhile, inside the factory, Frederick would not stop cursing Luis for the sudden change of plans. He was far away from the city and it would take him another two hours or so to reach his office. By then, the President would already have arrived and would find out about his absence, when he had clearly told him that he was nearby. "Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Get the car ready. I need to go back to the city as soon as possible." He ordered one of his men and started to curse again.

The driver drove towards the city at a full speed. But still, they would need some time to even enter inside. Frederick did not know how to salvage the situation now. He racked his brain to come up with a solution and the first person he thought about was Valarie. "Yes, she could help me. She could speak to the President and attend to him until I return. Yes, that will work."

The man then dialed Valarie's number which was answered on the first ring. "Valarie Evans, be prepared. The President is about to visit our office and he has an urgent mission for us. I'll be there shortly. If the President reaches before me, attend to him. Your team will be in charge of the mission he is going to hand over."

Frederick continued to bark orders on the phone not caring about his image. He seemed like a totally different person to not only Valarie even to the driver who was driving the car. The man looked like a hooligan on the streets as he continued shouting. "Do you understand Valarie? Do not make any mistake."

"Okay." That was all she said before Valarie cut the call. Frederick was too worried over the unexpected situation for him to notice the indifference in Valarie's voice. She had neither greeted him nor had she spoken to him with respect. She was disgusted to even speak to the man, let alone listen to his instructions and follow them. 

"Who is it?" Preston questioned, not looking up from his phone. He was still watching the video Ivy had sent them. He wanted to get more information from it that could help them in the investigation.

"It's that bastard." Valarie seethed, gripping her phone tight.

"Why did he call you now?"

"The President is coming here himself to hand over a mission to us and the disgusting shit wants us to take over the mission."

This gained Preston's attention. Valarie had already called her and had requested her to meet her. Although Ivy was reluctant at first, she eventually agreed when Valarie begged her. 

"Did that bastard inform what the President wants to tell us?"

"No. But I believe it has got to do something with the video. Ivy revealed that she had sent another copy to him. Maybe the President now wants to confront the culprit himself."

"In that case, is Frederick coming here?" Everybody had dropped the honorifics and they started to call Frederick with whatever name they found suitable.

"He seems to be on his way. Shit." Valarie cursed suddenly when she realized something.

"What happened?" Preston stared at her in alertness hearing her curse, wondering what happened to her.

"Ivy is on her way too and she is not ready to meet anybody else other than us three. What if she comes here when the President is here?"