Chapter 273 From Fear To Flirting

Rider was overwhelmed by the data staring him hard in his face. His heart flattered from the uneasiness the two emails brought to him. He leaned back in his seat wiping his lips with his thumb.

"Shit...." He fell quiet only to let out an unamused chuckle seconds later.

"You got that right", skullface agreed. "What are the odds of you getting just what you need the exact moment you thought you were going nowhere?"

"Shit man. I don't like this", Rider grumbled, practically annoyed.

Skullface understood that Rider was not one happily entertain free things. It always felt like, as he liked to put it, too easy. The man liked a challenge. He enjoyed the thrill of cracking a case with some hard earned evidence. But skullface also understood how frustrated he was with Gwen and Peter.

"Call R.J", He said to him.

Even if Rider didn't like the situation, he still needed to check with the P.A.C.U (public access center unit). He let out a heavy sigh before doing as advised by his friend. He picked up the landline and dialed for R.J's line on speaker. On the very first ring, the call was answered.

"R.J, it's me Rider", he started.

"Sup!"

"So I got these two emails from your side?" He moved the cursor between the two emails while skullface watched and listened from the side.

"Oh yeah? The prodigal son and Gwen Cancino? I have to say, I saw a little bit of what's inside and shit, you guys caught a big one! That woman won't be seeing the light of day anytime soon", he chuckled clearly excited.

Rider still did not feel good about things despite his colleague's excitement. "Who sent these?"

"The tippers would like to remain anonymous", he said, sounding like he was reciting protocol.

"So they're two different people?" Skullface spoke up, a little surprised.

"Is that skullface? Hey man! And yeah. Two different people but this was sent almost at the same time, like barely... seconds apart. I'd like to believe it was coincidental but it almost feels deliberate."

The two men exchanged a look. Instead of feeling confident, they started to feel off. They were going nowhere with this so they decided to end the call. They quietly looked at the temptation sitting in Rider's emails.

"Are you going to use it?" Skullface broke the ice.

"Hm...." He spun his chair from side to side, still undecided.

"Are you going to at least have a look?" He pushed.

"Who's side are you on?" He stopped moving to look at him with an arched brow.

"It's not about who's side I'm on. Those two know that they're wasting our time here because the real culprit is still out there. They know that he might as well protect them and against our wishes, we might see them walking out of here freely to do more damage than good. Rider, this is the big break that we all needed, you, me, and especially our boss, hothead who was injured because of these people. So are you really going to let your ego get in the way of Justice especially after this has been carefully analyzed? No pressure, but it's your call."

Hot head had put Rider in charge of the case while he was away. Rider's let out an awkward chuckle. "Damn bro, calm down."

"Sorry, Gina and I have been attending a couple's therapy. This week is about expressing ourselves", he explain with a faint blush on his cheeks.

"Clearly", he looked away, still feeling awkward about the lecture.

He looked back at his computer. Even though he felt awkward, Skullface's words made a lot of sense. It was not something he would entertain but a lot depended on his decision.

So without letting any other doubts bloom, he pushed his seat forward and clicked open. Skullface leaned forward to have a better view of the new evidence and both men found themselves repeating Rider's words from early on....

"No shit...."

Meanwhile, Gwen was still sitting with her back ramrod straight. The woman had gone through far much worse so being detained like this.....

She let out an amused chuckle as she looked at the cuffs, it was nothing. Although she was teasing Rider early on about the handcuffs, it was meaningless to her.

'You've come a long way', she mused.

Her mind took her back to when she had been introduced to the old King. The image of his laughing face..... All the shit she had been through because of this organization.... She subconsciously closed her eyes to block the memory. Her past? That was one place she did not want to visit. Some things were indeed beat left untouched, and buried away to never be discovered.

But still, all of that amounted to the present her. She liked the place she was at, not at the FBI HQ but as a boss. There was no one to look down on her on this side of the world. She visibly relaxed with this thought. Her eyes opened when she heard the door behind her open.

"Gwen, Gwen, Gwen", Rider sang as he shut the door behind him and proceeded to walk to his seat with his tablet in hand. "We need to stop meeting like this."

"Hadn't had enough of me yet?" She arched a brow at him. "'cause you looked like it earlier."

"Oh! No, you totally misunderstood that."

Rider smiled to himself. Skullface would be in shock if he witnessed the little flirting between the two when the man was clearly afraid of the woman early on....

She leaned forward with her chin resting on top of her laced fingers and she narrowed her eyes, suddenly bringing out the seductive side of her. "It's not uncommon for younger men to hit on me but sweetheart, I don't like your type", she gave him a sweet smile.

"Of course, you like the ones that you could put on a leash like a little puppy. Like Peter?" He nodded towards the door.

Gwen's smile faded and she slightly cocked her head to the side. That's something only she and Peter know about... Something unpleasant started to twist in her stomach....