Chapter 2 NO WAY BACK

"Mariana dig faster" Vanessa said wiping the beads of presipiration off her face. "I am trying, I am not a labourer" Mariana replied "Isn't it weird that I have not gotten any call from Karen?" Vanessa asked "Do you also have a business with him tonight?" Mariana replied her question with another question "Nah" "then why should he call you?" "He is suppose to be guarding Alex today, but Alex asked him to stay back at the office while he drove down to the warehouse with me" Vanessa replied.

"Now that is weird, he ought to have blown your phone up with calls wanting to know about Alex's whereabout" Mariana said "Exactly, or do you think something is also happening back at the office?" Vanessa asked "I don't think so, he is probably confident that you will keep Alex safe" Mariana replied "And now, i have done the complete opposite of that" Vanessa paused for a bit then resumed again. Mariana shoved the digger dip into the soil, folding her hands across her chest "Vanessa, I have given you enough time to shake out the event that just happened, right now I want you to talk to me, I'm tired of you leaving me in the dark" she said. "Oh Mariana, I'm not leaving you in the dark, please i want you to understand this isn't the right time to start talking, we have a lot of work to handle" Vanessa answered "I am not taking that excuse for an answer, you better start talking or I will walk out of here and head straight to the boss" Mariana threatened. "Please Mariana, don't make this case more complicated than it already is" Vanessa pleaded calmly. "Then you better start talking"

"Alex wanted me to do a dirty job" Vanessa stop for a while to catch her breath "And?" Mariana asked leaning forward. "And what happened in the warehouse was me trying to fight for my life" Vanessa replied. "What dirty job, aren't all our job dirty?" "I can't say more than that for now Mariana" "What do you mean by fighting for your life?" She asked ignoring Vanessa's. "Can we just get back to work?" Please?" "I am not following any of your orders till I get a detailed explanation on how we got here" Mariana fired. "What don't you understand? We don't have enough time for chit chat is that hard for you to grasp?" Vanessa fired back. Mariana was quiet. Vanessa picked up her digger and continued covering the shallow grave they had dug with the body in it while Mariana mopped at her.

"I know you are going through a tough time, but I want to help, Vanessa you need me, you need my help and I can't help if I don't fully understand what is going on here" Mariana said soothingly as they walk back to the car after completing their work. "I know, I am going to fill you in on what happened but this isn't the right time, I don't feel like talking about any of it now" Vanessa replied. "You shouldn't give your emotions the chance to way you down, like you said we don't have much time and we need to cover our tracks, we need to come up with a solid plan to do that so your mind has to be in the right frame" Mariana continued. "Get into the car, I will drop you off at your place before heading to mine" Vanessa said ignoring Mariana's last statement. "No no no, I'm not going to let you stay at your place alone" "I am fine Mariana, don't worry too much about me" "I am, is either you come stay at my place or we both go to your place together" Mariana replied "Okay fine, you can come with me to my place" Vanessa said.

POV KAREN

Karen was sitted across the office desk reading a fashion magazine as he tapped his feet nervously on the floor. "Sir, we just got feedback from the team you sent to Alex house" Clark, one of Karen team member said as he walked into the office. "What did they say?" Karen asked dropping the magazine on the stool beside him. "There was no one in the house" Clark replied "Are they sure? Did they check thoroughly?" "Yes sir, they also said the porche car Alex drove out today was not in the parking lot" "Meaning he hasn't gone home since he left the office" Karen said "Don't you think we should inform the boss?" Clark asked "Not until we have confirm the situation" Karen replied "What about the team I sent out to the warehouse?" He asked "No news from them yet" Clark answered "You can go back to your post and wait for their feed back. In the mean time make sure no one outside this building know what is happening" Karen stated "Yes sir" Clark said bowing his head slightly before working out.

Few minutes later, Clark came back to Karen's office to tell him what he got from the team that was sent to the warehouse "What do you mean by there was blood on the floor?" Karen yelled jumping on his feet. "They also said there was no one in the warehouse, but Alex car was parked outside and Vanessa car wasn't" Clark continued "Could it be that they went to another place after the warehouse?" Karen murmured to himself "The blood? What happened, Vanessa would have called me if there was any problem" he continued "Gather the rest of the team, I will join you shortly" Karen ordered "Yes sir" Clark said walking out. "This is bullshit" Karen shouted slapping his hand on the office desk. "How did I let my guards down without realizing it?" He added. "Vanessa" he called out as if she was there with him. He ran across the office to where the landline was and dailed a number "Pick, pick, pick" he said nervously as the call was going through but no response. He angrily slammed the phone to the wall before walking out of the office. When he got to the ground floor of the office building, Clark had already gathered the team and was addressing them, he told them about the situation before them, where they were going to and what they are going to do. Karen added a little talk when Clark finish addressing them and they all stormed out of the office building.