Chapter 76: Investigation

Chapter 76: Investigation Athena grunted in pain as Aiden helped her lay on the bed. Although she had lamented that the previous hospital where Ewan had admitted her was okay, despite its locality, Aiden had insisted on moving her to one of the Whitman’s hospitals—but not the headquarters. She knew though that the plans had been made together with Gianna, and probably Zane. "I told you I didn’t want this transfer, now look at how I was handled on the stretcher..." She murmured, arranging the bed sheets over her, in such a way it covered from her breasts down. She was wearing a flimsy hospital wear, with no underwear. Aiden laughed, helping her to spread the tail of the bed sheets to the end of the bed. "Stop complaining. You are a doctor, and you know that’s how it is done. You weren’t hoping for a different treatment, were you? And besides, this ward is better. Don’t you think so?" Athena huffed, refusing to admit the obvious truth. She couldn’t say that the bed was softer, or that the room was neater with better ventilation. She just didn’t want to be moved from one place to another. So, she changed the topic. "Any more news about the gang? Were you able to find any clues concerning their whereabouts or hideouts?" Aiden knew what Athena was doing, but the present topic was a very serious one, so he didn’t call her to it. "Not exactly. The only thing I found out while checking out the hideout was that they haven’t been around in the town for long. They had just moved in. So, there weren’t many clues, but there were pictures... I guess pictures of people they want to kill, or they have killed. Most of them have been burnt. I saw the picture of the chief waiter though, the one whose dead body you had seen on the sidewalk." Athena nodded leisurely. "What about him? Did you check him out too?" Aiden nodded. "It’s gross really. I was able to get my hands on the CCTV. Turns out that Fiona had dined there a few days ago. She had ordered the most expensive dish on the menu, but when the time came to pay up, her cards won’t work. According to the waiter I spoke to, the three cards had gotten declined. The waiter also mentioned that Fiona had kept calling someone—Ewan, if she should take a guess—but the number didn’t go through. She called her father too, but the old man shouted at her instead..." There was a pause, where Athena righted herself properly on the bed to hear more of this story. "Well, the chief waiter appeared then. He tried the cards again, and when it didn’t work, he asked for her necklace, for collateral, till she paid her debt. Fiona refused. She opted for something else. I don’t know what, but I guessed it was for kitchen duty, seeing as the man led her to the kitchen, where plates were heaped to be washed." A pause. "She didn’t wash the plates. So if I should take a guess, the man demanded her body as a payment. She did it, but maybe felt angry with the man’s audacity and ordered the gang to kill him." "That’s a wild speculation, Aiden." Aiden shrugged his shoulders. "I think you will make the same deductions if you watch the CCTV. Do you want to check it out?" Athena shook her head. "No. I would rather trust your own deductions. It doesn’t matter really. What matters is that she had a part in the man’s death. What matters is how she knows the gang’s leader. What is their story?" Aiden sighed. "That’s what I don’t know. As usual, the gang is very evasive." As one of the top gangs in the continent should be. Athena thought, remembering the days and months the team had toiled to find the gang, but the latter had kept eluding them at every turn. "So, when will the team be touching down?" "Sometime next week. I have submitted the entire reports to them." Athena took her lips in, and shut her eyes for a microsecond. Her days were about to get busier. "But Athena..." She opened her eyes. "Did he recognize you?" She shook her head. "He didn’t. I’m not sure if it was because it was unexpected or he really forgets faces..." Aiden shook his head. "Whichever one it is, it was for your own good. If he had recognized you, that would have been a different case." Didn’t she know? The scorpions gang was very dangerous. Just then a knock sounded on the door. "Are you expecting anyone?" Athena furrowed her eyebrows, and shook her head. The kids weren’t supposed to be here until an hour later, with Gianna. Zane might be coming later after that. "Come in..." Aiden commanded, already taking a defensive stance. The door opened, and Ewan stepped in. When he saw the defensive pose of Aiden, a thin smile appeared on his lips. He greeted the male. "Afternoon Aiden..." Aiden gave a curt nod of greeting, before leaving the two to talk. Athena wasn’t pleased with that. "How are you doing?" Ewan asked, taking the seat near the bed. Zane had informed him of the change in location after he had gone to the local hospital, and met an empty ward . "I am fine. I don’t think I’ve thanked you personally for saving me back there..." Ewan waved the apology away. "You don’t have to. That’s my job, I would do it again and again, as I’m sure you would have done for me." Athena didn’t know what to say to that. The silence stretched for a while, with her tapping her bed regularly. "So, why were you kidnapped?" Athena shrugged her shoulders. "Beats me. I don’t know." Ewan furrowed his eyebrows. "But you know the gang?" Athena nodded, seeing no need to deny. "How? Have you been kidnapped by them in the past?"