497 Elimination

Castle — Director's Office

Parker Green was reading a file at his desk when there was a knock on the door. "Come in," he said.

A male guard came inside his office. After receiving a nod from the boss, he reported, "Sir, we received a report from an ongoing Steward on Senator Jones." He placed a flash drive on the desk and waited for instructions.

Parker closed the folder that he was working on and glanced at his guard first before picking up the flash drive, then he plugged the drive into his computer. There was only one file inside the folder and when he clicked on it, an audio recording played through the speakers. He tapped his index finger on the desk as he listened to the conversation between Senator Jennifer Jones and Business Magnate George Watts—both members of The Company.

His expression was unreadable but his eyes darkened the moment he realized that they were talking about replacing him as Shadow's director. The organization had been operating for over thirty years and Parker had been its director for fifteen. He did everything that he could to get this much power and there was no way that he would allow anyone to cast him away.

The audio had stopped playing already, yet he remained silent. With his fingers interlaced together, he contemplated what he was supposed to do next. It was already the third day since he ordered Vertex to capture Chris, but they still weren't able to find him. He was beginning to wonder if someone else was helping him.

"Sir?" the guard spoke up a few minutes later when his boss still did not say anything.

Taking a deep breath, Parker raised his head and told his guard, "Has Agent Gazelle checked in already? Tell him to come."

After acknowledging Parker's request, the guard left and a few minutes later, Gus came into his office.

"You called for me, Sir?" Gus asked as soon as he got inside and stood straight in front of Parker's desk.

Parker glanced at Gus and saw that the latter evidently looked more alert than last night. "You look better, Agent. I see you have recovered well."

"Thank you, Sir. I visited the infirmary last night and this morning to receive treatment."

"Good." Parker took out a black folder from the locked bottom drawer of his desk. He got up from his chair and handed it to Gus saying, "I'm giving you an assignment."

Gus received the folder and flipped it open. There was a picture of a woman clipped to the side of the folder along with papers that contained the person's detailed profile and important information. "Senator Jones?" he probed.

"Yes." Parker walked to a console table and poured liquor into two glasses. He gave one to Gus who was waiting for further instructions. "Elimination," he said.

Also, Parker would usually send Vertex if the target was a high-profile personality. But the three top agents were currently busy tracking down Chris at the moment. Gus didn't have a problem killing someone off—in fact, his skills were on par with the current Vertex agents. Just like Katherine, he was also a candidate but when a position opened a couple of years ago, he declined the offer.

"When do you need this done?"

"Tonight."

Gus checked his watch and saw that it had just struck one in the afternoon. He didn't have much time to prepare. These kinds of missions would usually need thorough planning and set up. Normally, a reason behind the order would be given like: the target is a terrorist or a threat to the country, along with a thoroughly laid out plan on the execution. So Gus thought that this was strange.

"Is there a problem, Agent?" Parker asked when Gus didn't say anything.

Realizing that he had been quiet, Gus straightened up and composed himself. "Nothing, Sir. I just thought that I would continue my search today."

"Ah… Don't worry about that. They'll take care of it." Parker placed a hand on Gus's shoulder. "The floor is busy and so are the other agents. You are the only one I can trust. Can you handle this on your own?"

Gus glanced at the tall window that was overlooking the tech department and that's when he realized that this was indeed a confidential solo mission. He turned to face Parker and asked, "How should this be executed?"

Seeing as Gus was obeying his order, a small satisfied smile appeared on Parker's face as he answered, "Discreetly. Suicide should be enough. Let her write her own note saying she's guilty of infidelity."

Gus flipped the rest of the pages in the folder but there was no information about Senator Jones having an affair outside of marriage. The mission would have been easier if that was true, but now, he didn't even have that evidence. Hundreds of questions flashed in his mind but he could only keep quiet. Even though he was already aware of what was going on in Shadow, he couldn't question an order out of habit. "Understood," he responded.

"I can always put my trust in you, Agent." Parker patted the side of Gus's face. "Finish this mission and when you come back, I will announce your promotion."

"Promotion?" Gus tilted his head in confusion.

Parker took a swig of his drink and smiled. "Agent Gazelle… You've been with Shadow for a very long time. And you are undeniably one of our finest agents. I know you don't want to be part of Vertex. So, how about being the new Head of Operations?"

Gus couldn't help but knit his brows this time. He was just shocked by what was going on since he arrived in the office. First, the mission—now, a promotion?

"You… want me to replace Chris's position?"

"You deserve it." Parker clinked their glasses together and signaled for Gus to drink his liquor too. "Drink up, Agent. It doesn't hurt to have an early celebration."