The Truth.
She hadn't paid much attention to the manila envelope that had been waiting at her desk, sealed and with her name printed on it. She was used to this sort of delivery, considering some of the clients that she and Marc worked with, so she first finished checking emails and voicemails before she checked through her correspondence. It was all habit, really; get a coffee, check emails, voicemail, then mail. Nothing out of the ordinary.
As soon as she opened the envelope, however, things that she needed to do were immediately forgotten. The envelope contained an anonymous letter, stating that Michael, the same Michael that she had left sleeping in his bed just an hour ago, was in a sort of partnership with Stephen and that he was Stephen's undercover man working for Marc. The suspicion had come a few days earlier, when three of their major clients overseas had been arrested on fraud and various crimes, and the evidence that had been used had been some that linked back to Walsh Industries. Marc had been furious, of course, and the investigation had gone underway. Somewhere, deep down, she had figured that Michael had been the one under everything, but somehow having confirmation filled her with anger and disgust. So this was the game that he was playing?
Once she ordered her secretary to hold all her calls and postpone her meetings, she dialed for Marc's private line and waited for his answer. When it finally came, she jumped straight into the conversation, "It's Michael."
"I know," responded the deep voice on the other side of the line, "I'm probably reading the same things you are. I guess the man thinks he can pull the same stunt twice. Helping an officer?" Marc let out a long, fake sigh while Alena read the conversation logs and saw the surveillance pictures that had been taken of Michael talking to Stephen in Boston just over the weekend. "Jack needed to train these two bastards better about loyalty. I'm sure we'll do a good job at explaining that we don't like people like them - people who bite the hand that feeds them."
Alena stayed silent, but agreed with everything that he said. That had been the plan, after all; she'd lure Michael into working for Marc, keep him occupied, and when he was in deep enough they'd tear him apart for what he had done to Jack the previous year.
"Alena," Marc said in an annoyed tone, as if he had been trying to get her attention for a moment now, "is Charlie ready?"
"He's been ready," Alena responded, setting down everything she had been reading. Maybe she was supposed to feel bad about what they'd do to Michael, especially because she had spent the majority of the past two months sleeping together, but she didn't. In fact, she didn't feel much of anything. This was a job, nothing else. "What do you want me to do?"
There was a pause, but it didn't last long. "Take care of it. I don't care how, but just do it. You know what we want in the end, so just make sure we get to that point. Understood?"
Even if she didn't respond, Marc hung up at once. Without wasting time, Alena picked another line and dialed for Charlie's cell phone. They needed to get things moving.
As soon as she opened the envelope, however, things that she needed to do were immediately forgotten. The envelope contained an anonymous letter, stating that Michael, the same Michael that she had left sleeping in his bed just an hour ago, was in a sort of partnership with Stephen and that he was Stephen's undercover man working for Marc. The suspicion had come a few days earlier, when three of their major clients overseas had been arrested on fraud and various crimes, and the evidence that had been used had been some that linked back to Walsh Industries. Marc had been furious, of course, and the investigation had gone underway. Somewhere, deep down, she had figured that Michael had been the one under everything, but somehow having confirmation filled her with anger and disgust. So this was the game that he was playing?
Once she ordered her secretary to hold all her calls and postpone her meetings, she dialed for Marc's private line and waited for his answer. When it finally came, she jumped straight into the conversation, "It's Michael."
"I know," responded the deep voice on the other side of the line, "I'm probably reading the same things you are. I guess the man thinks he can pull the same stunt twice. Helping an officer?" Marc let out a long, fake sigh while Alena read the conversation logs and saw the surveillance pictures that had been taken of Michael talking to Stephen in Boston just over the weekend. "Jack needed to train these two bastards better about loyalty. I'm sure we'll do a good job at explaining that we don't like people like them - people who bite the hand that feeds them."
Alena stayed silent, but agreed with everything that he said. That had been the plan, after all; she'd lure Michael into working for Marc, keep him occupied, and when he was in deep enough they'd tear him apart for what he had done to Jack the previous year.
"Alena," Marc said in an annoyed tone, as if he had been trying to get her attention for a moment now, "is Charlie ready?"
"He's been ready," Alena responded, setting down everything she had been reading. Maybe she was supposed to feel bad about what they'd do to Michael, especially because she had spent the majority of the past two months sleeping together, but she didn't. In fact, she didn't feel much of anything. This was a job, nothing else. "What do you want me to do?"
There was a pause, but it didn't last long. "Take care of it. I don't care how, but just do it. You know what we want in the end, so just make sure we get to that point. Understood?"
Even if she didn't respond, Marc hung up at once. Without wasting time, Alena picked another line and dialed for Charlie's cell phone. They needed to get things moving.