Juniper and Shanley stared at each other, a heavy silence hanging between them.


    "When you captured her," Juniper finally said, breaking the silence as she began walking briskly toward the factory, "did you use force?"


    Shanley didn''t answer, instead ncing at Felton and Flint, who looked just as terrified as he felt.


    “Well.....” Flint licked his lips nervously. "We, uh, fired a few warning shots, but none of them hit, I swear."


    "Is that so?" Juniper paused, her gazending on Flint with aplex expression. "Should I thank you for that?"


    "Ah?" Flint felt goosebumps erupt all over his skin under her stare. "N-no need for thanks," he stammered.


    Damn, Ms. Payne''s re was terrifying!


    Just then, Felton''s phone rang. His brow furrowed as he listened. "Boss," he said, "my men are reporting that besides Ebony Fox, they also captured three of her aplices."


    Aplices? Shanley''s own brow furrowed, his mind buzzing. Where did three aplicese from?


    "Oh," Juniper said coolly, her hands stuffed in her pockets as she strolled ahead. "My three brothers went to meet my sister first to make sure everything was okay before calling me."


    "So...” Shanley''s mind raced to catch up, his throat suddenly dry. "Those three aplices... are most likely your three brothers?"


    Juniper stopped and turned to face him. She traced a light finger over his chest, a faint smile ying on her lips. "The probability is about 1000%, Mr. Schwartz. You''ve really outdone yourself this time."


    Shanley''s face was ashen. He was utterly speechless. He had screwed up on an epic scale.


    "Juniper..." He instinctively took her


    hand, his deep voiceced with hoarseness. “I truly believed she was


    investigating and following you to: assassinate you. Thats why f


    "Scared?" Juniper tilted her head back, the corners of her lips curling into a half-


    smile as she watched him.


    Shanley said nothing, but his


    expression said it all. Of course, he


    was scared: If he had only


    mi?takenly captured one of them he could have at least asked Jimmie and the others to help smooth things over.


    But now? He''d captured all of them. A total party wipe. Talk about friendly fire; he''d practically bombed his own headquarters.


    Juniper took a step closer, her body pressing against his. She narrowed her eyes yfully. "I hear my sister is a senior instructor at a special


    forces academy. If she decides to hit


    you, you should remember to


    dodge."


    "You''re not going to help me?" Shanley wrapped his arms around her waist, feeling like his world was crumbling.


    "She''s a senior instructor," Juniper said, batting her eyshes with a suppressedugh. “I don''t think I could win, could I?"


    Shanley pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Let''s go. We should get them released."


    He was no stranger to apologizing. In fact, he was quite good at it.


    Inside the factory, in a dpidated room, Jimmie, Harold, Melvin, and Ebony Fox were bound, their mouths taped shut. They were all disheveled and dirty, looking utterly defeated.


    "Stay put,” the leader of the squad sneered, waving his gun in front of them menacingly. “Move, and this thing might just go off by ident."


    Ebony Fox''s face was a dark mask of fury. If she weren''t worried that struggling would endanger her brothers, these grunts would be no match for her.