BRAZEN

"The key to the safe is missing. Damnit, I knew Xander sent a spy here. What I wonder is how he managed to fool you all. Or maybe I should just take your lives instead since you all are no longer of use", Clarence, holding a gun in his hand, looked at all his men one after another beginning with his right hand man. Staring at the revolver in his hand, he smirked and pointed it to one of them. Aiming at his legs, all the man could do was inclose his eyes. Nothing but muffled screams was heard next as he broke out in cold sweat, trying to endure the pain.

"You all better do your jobs right", Clarence said, leaving the office. "Take him away", Jason instructed. Jason was his right hand man. "Meet me outside now", he instructed and 'beep', the call disconnected.

Alice walked briskly to the car. What could it be this time, she muttered. She was sure it was another mission. She prayed silently in her heart that it wouldn't be difficult. "Open the door, would you" she said to Jason. "What's the job", she said sitting in the car. " The keys to the safe has been stolen and we must get it back at all costs". At all costs,that was what he always said and what she always hated. The cost had to be someone's life or rather people's life. Shoving the thoughts away, she closed to the car door. "Any plans?" She said turning to face him. "There's been a spy amongst us. He's been here for a month now. Xander sent him to steal the key. We have to find him before he finds the safe",Jason said staring into space. "Xander can be cunning at times but he's not as smart as we are. The deadline??", Alice asked playing with her fingers. "Tomorrow by midnight", he replied. He noticed a frown on her face. " You don't have a choice. It's your mission. Find a way to get it done. Your school isn't any of my business. The boss would definitely get us killed if we don't get those keys. Now leave", he gave her a stern look. Slamming the car door, she walked away angrily. Her schooling had always been a joke to her family. Trying to cope with both school and the business, she almost always had bad grades. They never cared anyway. She had skipped school today for an 'urgent business meeting' and here she was, stuck with a mission. Her mind was made up already, she would definitely not skip school tomorrow. "I know what to do next", she thought aloud, walking towards the company's information department.

*** West corp***

"Boss he's got the key". There was someone seated on the chair, with his head down, tapping his fingers lightly. " My name is Alexander West", he said raising his head up slowly. A smile began to form on his face. " What next boss"he asked. "He knows what to do. If he doesn't I can as well teach him", Xander said throwing him a sharp glare. Scared, Jim lowered his head and scurried out of the office. Playing with the gun in his hand, Xander smirked. " Now he'll come looking for the key, and he'll never find it", he thought aloud. He was sure whatever was in the safe was something really valuable as that was the information his spy gave him. He's always wanted the same power Clarence had. No matter how hard he tried to gain more influence, Clarence still beat him to it. Now he had the opportunity to get back at him. His face was red with anger as he went down memory lane, remembering everything he had done to get to this point. "Why does he always have to be better" he said out loud, gritting his teeth. Taking a deep breath, he tried to calm himself down. "Get me a bottle of whiskey", he said, putting the telephone down.

***The Greco group***

"Good morning people" Alice greeted, walking to the big desk. "Yes, little miss how may we help you?" , the man sitting at the end of the desk replied. " Can I get the details of all my dad's men that have been here in the past one month". He began to type on the keyboard. " Here it is" he said, giving her a bunch of papers. Looking through the information, she smiled and looked at all of them. It was rare to see their miss smile at work so they all smiled too and then, all of a sudden, she stopped smiling and gave a stern look, sending chills down their spine. Andre she muttered, leaving the office. Her instincts told her he was the spy. The first day they had met, he bumped into her and left in a hurry without saying a word. He didn't stop to greet her as others would do. She didn't bother to ask him anything. He was always unnoticed whenever Jason called for a meeting. "He's definitely not working alone", she thought aloud. Whoever must have helped him gain access to the company and become one of her dad's men must definitely be an insider. She had to catch the spy. Jason could find the traitor. " I have a plan Jason, first of all let's meet at my school tomorrow" she said over the phone. " See you tomorrow then" came the voice at the other end.

Alice". Hearing her name while walking to the class, she immediately knew what it was and didn't stop. Another rumor had spread again. Alice always had a habit of poking her nose into other's business. Bayside high school was one of the biggest schools in county V. It had always been her dream school ever since she came back to the country. She badly wanted to study there and stayed up so many nights reading to pass the entrance exams. She got what she wanted, not because she passed but because of her family's influence. Good thing was, she got a best friend, Valerie.

"think of the devil", she muttered, smiling at her. "Hey Valerie", she called out. They gave each other a hug and chatted for a while. The bell went. "Class time", Valerie said putting her hand around Alice's shoulder as she drew her close. Alice never thought that as fair. She was older than Valerie but Valerie was taller. "Get your hands off me, idiot", Alice said, forcefully taking her hands off. Valerie put her hands back. Looking at Alice's angry face, she bursted into laughter.

They had geography class and the teacher, Miss Lucia was known for her strict nature, so the whole class was quiet while she taught. Bored, Alice's mind couldn't help but wander.

***3 years back***

" Alice you should hurry up. You don't want to be late for your first office meeting. Your dad is waiting for you outside". Alice stopped to look at herself in the mirror.She had her hair curled and packed into a bun. The tailored red dress she was putting on was the gift her mum gave her when she came back from county A. "Karen" she said. " I really don't want to be in the business line. I just want to go to school like every normal kid. I want to become a detective when I grow up". "And who says you would not go to school my dear. By the way you look really pretty", Karen said, helping her adjust her dress. Alice couldn't help but sigh. She had been homeschooled back in county A and never really got to meet other kids except the ones that usually played outside the house. She came back to county V because her dad said she was old enough to join the business. "The Greco group", Alice silently thought as she walked down the stairs to the dining room. " Good morning mum", she said as she walked silently to the dining table and pulled out a chair for herself. "You look unhappy. Is there a problem I should know about" her mum said, handing her a napkin. " When would I go to school", Alice asked, dropping her cutlery. "Soon enough my dear. Now finish up your food and meet your dad, he's waiting for you outside", Irene said leaving the dining room. She stopped eating. She had lost her appetite. Meeting her dad at the car door, she feigned a smile. "First rule of business, never be late". He told her.

***The Greco group***

It was her first day. She wasn't used to meeting people and couldn't help but cringe when she saw the many people her dad had working for him. "Lily", her dad called out to her. " Meet Jason. He's my right hand man and you'll be working under him. He'll teach you everything you need to know about the business". She looked at him as an ant would an elephant. At least he didn't look like the guy who taught her while she was homeschooled. Although he wore a mask, his eyes looked friendly.

It was already afternoon when she finished the introduction. Her legs were tired, her stomach rumbling. She really wanted to go home and she wanted to tell Karen everything she had seen today. "Alice". Miss Lucia called out, bringing her back to reality. "Tell me the last thing I said". Alice could feel so many eyes on her, waiting for her answer. Her palms were sweating already. The class bell went, she breathed a sigh of relief as miss Lucia walked out of the class. How long have I been thinking, she muttered. "You nearly fell into her trap", Valerie said to her. "Mhmm", she answered not wanting to pay attention to Valerie. Her heart was in her mouth just now. She wondered what the teacher would have done to her. Her phone rang. "Sorry it's urgent. Dad's calling". She walked out, leaving Valerie in the classroom.

She walked outside, towards a building behind the school. Jason stood there leisurely, beside his car with both hands in his pockets , his structure looking like a man that had been patiently waiting for his wife to finish shopping. "It would have been perfect if he wasn't wearing a mask", she thought. "Rubbish" she said to herself, discarding those thoughts. Whatever it was , she came here for business. "Well what's the plan". He said, breaking into her thoughts. "Why does his voice have to be that deep". Alice cleared her throat. Then she noticed something behind the building. She turned her eyes towards that direction and said, " let's hide the safe in that abandoned cabin. It's in a really secluded area and no one knows that place so it'll be hard to find". Jason knew her better than this. He knew something was up. She gave him a signal and then left. "Seems she knows what she's doing boss". Jason said over the phone and drove off.

Welcome home". Valerie smiled at Roland, and threw her bag at him. "You're back early today". She said. It was just the two of them. Her mum had died while giving birth to him. She was just ten that time. Her mind wandered back to the night her mum died. It was a cold night. Her dad was out drinking. The only thing he knew how to do best. Her mum had gone into labor. She called her dad several times to come and take her to the hospital but he never picked. When he finally picked, he shouted at her and ended the call, without even hearing what she had to say. She was scared.

She called the neighbors. After so much screaming, a man was kind enough to help her. Her mum was bleeding already. She was so scared. By the time they got to the hospital, her mum had lost consciousness. They managed to save the child, but her mum couldn't make it. She hated her father for that. He came back later that night after hearing the news. That was the first time she had seen emotions in her dad's eyes. He was quiet that night. His eyes were red with the tears he struggled to hold back. It was a really long night. Ever since then, she had taken care of Roland. Her dad got a house help, but she didn't really help matters. She knew her dad was having an affair with the house help. And she got really lazy and would punish her so many times. Too much, she muttered, pulling herself out of her thoughts. Roland was sitting at the dining table waiting for her so they'll eat lunch. She looked at him with so much tenderness in her eyes. He had grown so much. She felt tears began to gather in her eyes. Just as she was about to go to her room to change, she heard her name. It was her dad calling. She changed quickly and ran to the sitting room. "You called me dad", she said. "Who's Alice", he asked. " She's my friend". "You shouldn't see her again", he said. Shocked, Valerie looked at her dad, but quickly took her eyes down again. "But why", she asked. " Don't you dare ask questions" , he shouted, obviously angry. Valerie trembled, unable to say a word. She had so many questions. Why should she avoid her best friend. Maybe she would ask her in school on Monday. She found her way to the dining table. Though she had lost her appetite, she had to eat for the sake of her brother who had developed the habit of not eating without her. After lunch, she went back to her room. Her room was painted blue, her favorite color. Her table was scattered with papers. After arranging them, she took her headphone and her diary. She had that diary after her mum died. It was her own way of writing letters to her mum. She would write to her everyday and tell her everything that happened.

She then picked up her pen. "Dear mum", she wrote, " today wasn't that bad. I didn't receive any beating today. I went to school in the morning after getting Roland ready for school. He's really grown up now and would soon be done with his elementary education. I talked with Alice and other people. Can you believe Alice almost got into trouble today with the geography teacher. I know, that's unbelievable, but she was so lost in her thoughts. But I'm surprised mum, dad asked me to stay away from Alice today. I do not know why. But I won't just leave my best friend. I definitely have to ask her why. That's all for now mum, I'm sleepy. See you some other time. Your little girl, Valerie". Tears were flowing freely from her eyes when she finished writing. She flipped through the pages of her diary. In there was almost every single detail of her life. Even on the days her dad beat her. After her mum died, her dad would beat her for every little mistake she made and even the ones she didn't. She worked herself tirelessly at home, struggling to take care of her brother and herself while the house help spent time with her dad. She wrote about everything, including the day she had to change school.

***One year ago***

Valerie was in her class when the headteacher sent for her. She walked timidly to his office. "Miss Fletcher, come in", the headteacher, Mr Axel said to Valerie as soon as he saw her at the door. She felt his eyes scan her. She knew she looked a little haggard that morning. She was in a hurry and didn't have time to dress properly. " Well, I've seen your results and they aren't really good. I would like you to call your dad to school tomorrow. We would like to know what's going on". Valerie could feel her heart beat faster, her palms were beginning to get sweaty. She stood there for a while, totally unresponsive. "Miss Fletcher", the headteacher called out to her. " I will sir". She replied and walked out of the office. After school that day, she met her dad at home. Summoning courage, she walked up to him, " dad, the headteacher said he would like to see you in school tomorrow", she said. He didn't reply. She went to her room and closed the door. The next day, her dad took her to see the headteacher. "Good day Mr Fletcher", he greeted. Her dad gave a slight bow as a sign of acknowledgement. " You asked to see me", her dad said, shifting his gaze towards her. " Well, Mr Fletcher, your daughter has bad grades". She could feel her dad's mood change as soon as those words left Mr Axel's mouth, but her dad was still very calm. "Miss Fletcher, you may excuse us for a while". He said to her. She stood outside for what seemed like eternity, fiddling with her clothes. Soon, he was out of the office. She didn't dare to look at him. She could feel the cold aura he emitted. They got in the car and drove home. That was it, she got a thorough beating that day. I should probably sleep now, she said to herself, trying to evade those thoughts. She closed her diary and went to her bed. "I'd love to see you tomorrow", Mr Fletcher said over the phone, staring particularly at no one.