Chapter 2: The Persuasion
A light-skinned woman in a purple jacket exited a black SUV on the side of the road. Another woman in a white shirt and black pants approached her, saying, "Good afternoon, Miss Noria."
Noria shifted the blonder hair from her eyes and replied, "Where is he?"
"He's in the interrogation room. He says he won't talk to anyone except you." The woman replied.
"Guess I'll see what he has to say," Noria answered as they both approached an elevator behind the Cornerstone agency.
***
Meanwhile, a long-haired, light-skinned man in a black suit stood at the front of a control room, speaking. There were four big screens curving the wall behind him, and he was facing a group of individuals. They were all sitting in horizontal aisles of desks with computers on them, listening to what he had to say.
The front of his suit had a badge that said "Maron Trent." He walked back and forth in front of the room, saying, "The man we were dealing with is known as Michael Turnner. He graduated from the contractor academy at the age of 322 and, years later, became the chief of the Cornerstone agency in Florida.
But as the story goes, in 1695, he and five other groups of contractors went to New York City to sort out an exponential increase in carnivore spawns in that area. However, only two groups returned, and Turnner was not with them.
Shortly thereafter, he started showing up in several criminal activities, such as the numerous terrorist attacks in America in 1703 or the rebel uprising in Colombia in 1734. He was also connected to several money laundering schemes and often collaborated with rebel groups in Syria and Afghanistan.
In the year 1755, he became one of the top 10 most wanted criminals on the FBI and Cornerstone Agency's lists. Then, in 1955, something changed that sent him straight to the top. I want any extra information you can find on this man, because one thing's for sure: we're not letting him out."
He stopped speaking when Noria entered the room. She made her way to a white door at the back, and Trent rushed to meet her. Noria noticed him and said, "Is it him?"
"We did fingerprint scans, blood tests, and face recognition; all were 100% matches; there's no denying it, that's Michael Turnner."
"I see."
They finally arrived at the white door. Trent opened the door and let Noria in, and he followed. There was a short hallway behind the door. It had two doors on the right wall. Trent entered the first one, while Noria entered the second.
Turnner was in the second room. It was a small, square prison. He was strapped to a chair with a desk in front of him. When he saw Noria, he said, "It seems the chief has arrived. I suppose you have many questions."
Noria took a seat in a chair at the desk and replied, "I disagree."
"Oh, why is that?"
"Because it's all too convenient for our number one criminal to walk into our agency and give himself up. In a situation like that, my only question is, Why?"
Turnner smiled, then answered, "Remember the disappearance of opera singer Windy Osting in 1824 or the killing of Senator Janet in 1992? Perhaps you recall the recent crash of Trackland Airways Flight 6180 over the Pacific Ocean just two years ago? These sudden, unexplained incidents and many more are all linked to one man."
"Is that so?"
"Yes, he's known as the Debt Maker."
"But what does the Debt Maker have to do with you coming here?"
"I came here because the Debt Maker wants something from me. It's something you want and something I prefer to keep."
"What's that?"
"The Theatom"
Noria sat up in her chair and lapped her legs, then leaned in on Turnner and asked, "Are you saying that you have the Theatom in your possession?"
"Yes, I've always had it in my possession. You all were just uncertain as to if I did and always left it up to speculation."
"And now you're confirming it. Why?"
"Because I want to have a word with the director. It's about a proposal I have for the government. To keep things short, I'll be giving them the Theatom."
"Proposal?"
"Yes."
"I am not letting you propose anything to the government."
"Why not?"
"Because you're a criminal and should be locked up in one of our cells deep underground."
Turnner chuckled and said, "Clearly you don't understand the gravity of the situation, so let me spell it out for you. If you refuse to let me speak with the director, I'll be forced to go to the Russians, and I'm sure they will accept me."
"Don't play the Russia card on me." Noria warned, I'm not playing cards; I'm giving you the facts; it's up to you to decide."
"Even if I agree, where's the proof that you possess the Theatom?"
"This morning I was informed about the debt maker's arrival. His base of operations is the Hellingrad insurance agency on Arcadia Street. If you want proof, then I suggest you pay him a visit."
Noira rose from her seat and said, "Fine, I'll relay this information to my superior. Until then, I expect you to stay in this room and remain here."
"That's fine. It's best if we cooperate with each other."
Upon hearing that, Noria walked out of the room and closed the door. Trent greeted her on the outside and said, "That was fast."
"Yes, I will need you to call in group 4. We may have a case on our hands. I'll brief you about it when I'm done talking to the director."
"Ok," Trent replied as they exited the hallway. Trent approached a man working at his computer and said, "Gordon, I'm going to need you to phone the members of Group 4 and arrange for them to be here by 4 p.m. tomorrow; we're putting them on a fresh case."
"But Group 4 split it up."
"Then bring them back together. That's your job, isn't it?" Trent said as he walked away from Gordon. Gordon became vexed by Trent's reply, but immediately pulled up the credentials of four agents on his computer screen.
Name: Amelia Sanchez
Age: 66
Contract: Combat God
Status: Group 4 Leader
Tel: 234-6789
Name: Lucas Greyart
Age: 55
Contract: N/A
Latent Ability: Strength Status: Group 4 member
Tel: 256-9865
Name: Tokito Ohnari
Age: 32
Contract: Cutting God
Status: Group 4 member
Tel: 639-5479
After seeing their details, Gordon reached for the telephone on his desk and began making phone calls.
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