Vera stopped in shock. Did Charles just get shot? James let out a loud cry, and bent to Charles, pressing a palm on his bleeding shoulder where the bullet had gone through. Charles groaned in pain, squeezing his face, and turning from his left to his right, and back, as a result of the excruciating pain he felt at the moment. Vera pushed herself up to her feet, and ran blindly to Charles with tears on her face. "Charles!" She called, and the sound of her voice seemed to add even more pain. "Keep Quiet!" James snapped, and swept his hand in the direction of the injured people. "Just… call the ambulance now. I'll rush Charles, and whatever number of people I can take to tie hospital now." He instructed, and with one last look at Charles, Vera left to help the other people. She dialed the emergency number for the hospital, and reported the case. By then, James had already lifted Charles halfway across the restaurant. Vera picked up a lady shot in the belly carefully, and together they walked across the restaurant. The cooks too who had been in the kitchen, left the kitchen, and helped out in lifting the people. Only three people were able to go with Charles, and the rest had to wait for the ambulance. The ambulances appeared shortly after, and the remaining people were helped into them. At the hospital, Vera left immediately to check on Charles. "Some patients were brought in earlier. I need the ward of the one in a suit." She said frantically to the receptions nurses. "You would have to wait ma'am. They're still undergoing treatment." One of the reception nurses replied, and Vera nodded. In the waiting room, she met with James, and they both waited. "They said not to worry, and that it's something minor." James consoled her, and she nodded. "What is the biggest piece of work on his plate currently?" She asked, with her hands on her waist, as she stared at the doors, wondering which had Charles in the room beyond. "That's probably the Solar Panel Industry. You know it's a new industry, so he has a lot of things to watch over, and put in place. There are also certain people he has to monitor, and a few files to run over. Why? You want to help him with it?" He asked, and she nodded. "I have to. What if he wakes up, and says he has to jump right back to work? That would be unacceptable, so I'll tell him I'll be in charge of the Solar Panel Industry for the time being." She replied, finally plopping down on the seat. "You're a great P.A, Vera." James commented, taking his own seat. "You know he also has other work, right? His schedule is packed, and thinking about it, the Solar Panel Industry is indeed the biggest piece of work he has. It needs all his attention, so that will be the best for me to look over. I'll also see some others that I can pick up." She continued, counting the work off her fingers and James marveled at her. She was a strong woman. Yes, she was, and Charles was lucky to have her. ~ "Get them!" The cop in charge screamed, as the killers got into their cars in a rush. The killers on their part blamed each other for a sloppy work. "Just drive! Drive the damn thing!" The leader shouted. "This would never have happened if you'd just shot the crazy man, but no! You insisted on playing with him. Tell me, is he a toy!?" "Firenze, I'm warning you! Do not get on my bad side!" The leader shouted. "Firenze is right. What do we tell Mrs. Penny? Tell me, Barry." Another one attacked the leader. "You tell her we shot him. Do it now, and ask for the money." Barry ordered, and Gulliver, the one who had attacked Barry took out his phone. "My phone is dead. Pass me yours, Al." Gulliver requested, and Al took out his phone, tossing it to Gulliver. "What do we do about the siren?" Al asked, and Barry swore under his breath. "Pull over! Pull over!!" A cop shouted, using a megaphone. Like the siren wasn't enough, they had to use a megaphone also. "Wait till we lose them. Drive faster, Firenze." Barry snapped, and Firenze stepped on the brakes to go faster. "Should we go onto the streets? It'll be easy to lose us amongst the throng of cars?" Firenze asked. "No, there's a lot of traffic. We can't afford that at this rate. The cars would simply block us, and we'd be caught. Keep driving on the path we are, and try to lose them." Gulliver replied, looking back at the chasing cops. "Get your damn ass out of the way!" Firenze shouted, pushing his head out the window to shout at an old lady who was walking close to the car's path, and would be hit if she wasn't warned."Why ask? Just run her over, and the police would have to stop to help her!" Barry screamed, pushing Firenze's head angrily. "Ah!" Firenze exclaimed as he hit his head on his steering wheel. "Pull over! Pull over!" The cops called once more, and Gulliver dialed Mrs. Penny's number. "What the heck are you doing!?" Barry screamed. "The megaphones, and siren." Al pointed out. "We did our job, didn't we? We need our money. So what happens if we're being chased by the cops?" Gulliver asked. "Lane and the rest are far ahead. They could have done it!" Firenze snapped, but it was too late. "Mrs. Penny. It's done." Gulliver said, immediately the call was connected. "Yes, we shot him." "Pull over one last time! Bullets will be released!" The cops threatened. "None of your business! All you have to do is wire us the money." Gulliver snapped. "Good. We're expecting it in two… Damn!" The men all let out yelps as the bumper of the car was shot. More shots were fired, and Firenze tried to drive in a wavy line, but it wasn't helping. A loud sound exploded in the air, and it wasn't a gunshot. Their car skidded dangerously to a halt. "Shit! The damn tire!" Firenze shouted, and pushed the door open. "Run out onto the streets!" Barry ordered, as they all burst out of the car's four doors. "Lane! I need to pull over! The cops got us!" Gulliver said frantically after placing a call to Lane. Luckily for them, the car had stopped in an horizontal line, so they police also had to stop, for the road was quite narrow, and couldn't take a car. Half of them got down from their cars, and started chasing. "Lane's on the next street. We're almost there!" Gulliver called out. "Move out of my way!" Al said to Firenze who seemed to be running like he was drunk. The cops ran with all the strength they had. They couldn't get away. The car wouldn't stop them. They continued running. "Sir. The other car's waiting!" One of the younger cops said to the cop in charge. Ahead, the other car had stopped, and the criminals were squeezing in. He fired a shot, and the car started to move while two of them hadn't gotten in. They ran faster, and one managed to get in, leaving the last one behind. "Screw you! Come back! Damn it!" The left-behind criminal screamed. The hot chase continued, and the last killer ran out onto the streets, which had been clogged with traffic. They cops ran, weaving in, and out of cars, and running like their lives depended on it. Finally, an officer risked a shot even though it was highly irresponsible amongst all the cars on the road, and Al fell. He had been shot on his thigh. "What the heck did you do that for!?" An officer asked, screaming. They ran the little way Al had on them, and Al saw them coming, but couldn't move for he was in excruciating pain. "You're under arrest!" A cop said, bending to handcuff him. ~ "If you know what's best for you, you'll reveal who sent you all. Trust me. Your colleagues will be found soon. Don't forget we had a car tailing them." The investigating officer said to Al. "We only did it out of hate." Al replied, looking at the desk with a stony expressiom. "Don't feed me that. Seasoned killers like you with mind-blowing criminal records, all going just to kill one man? And the funniest part is that you admitted it yourself. No one thought you all went there for a single man, seeing you left almost everyone there with injuries, but you said it. You said, you all hated Charles." The officer said, pushing a cup of water towards him. "Yes, we do." "One of you could have easily done the job. Go there, shoot him, and leave before the cops got there, but all seven of you went there because you were caught." The officer pointed out, but Al was adamant. He refused to talk or say what he ought to say. It felt to the cops like they were wasting their time.They tried everything, but Al didn't respond. Not until a cop came in. "We caught two more, and promised them a lighter sentence. They confessed the name of the person who paid them for the work, but refuse to spill the names of the rest of the members, and their whereabouts." The man informed the officer, who looked at Al. "Punish this one. To be precise, make it that he takes all the blame, and rots in prison for merely wasting my time." He said, turning to leave, and Al's eyes went wide open. He was going to take all the blame? Including Mrs. Penny's part? Why did he have to do that? He wasn't a sacrificial lamb. "I'm sorry! Ask me questions once more! I'm ready to say everything." Al cried out after hours of questioning, and the men shared knowing looks. "You can leave." The officer said to the one who had given him the information he needed. "Start by telling me the name of your employer." He said, starting to record the conversation afresh with his phone. "Mrs. Penny." Al replied, with his hands already shaking. He was the youngest killer, and was being groomed, so fear was still a trait he was yet to do away with. The officer stopped, although keeping his surprise to himself. Mrs. Penny? There was only one Mrs. Penny he knew, and if she was the one, then that was quite a shock. "Name of next of kin. Just any name of a family member." "Uh… Angel. No, it's Angela." "Wow." The officer let out softly. "Who did she send you to kill?" "The man called Charles. She gave us only a picture, and a name." "Damn." The Officer swore. The innocent looking women were really the worst. ~ Vera, and James sat with Charles, watching him eat fruits. His arm was bandaged, and he was told not to move it for a while until it was healed. The bullet had managed to graze his shoulder a little too deep for a graze, but not deep enough to cause any more problems. Vera, and James had also taken time to check on all the injured employees. Most of them had minor injuries, and they compensated each, and every one of them for the injuries."I'm fine." Charles muttered as he chewed on a juicy slice of watermelon. "You're not." "I can handle that. It's just documents…" "No, the Solar Panel Industry is over to me for the time being. You have to heal. You can't keep going around with an injured arm." Vera insisted. She had made sure she took care of Charles immediate appointments which she couldn't fill in for, shifting them, adjusting their dates, and calling the people to inform them on the reason they appointment had been pushed back. She had also called the cops once more to ensure they were on it, and they had informed her that the criminals were being chased. "Alright, but it's quite late. You guys need to go home. It's not too good if I take up half of your night, and you get little hours to sleep." Charles said, insisting on them getting some rest. "What if a doctor is sent this time? What if poison is injected into your drip bag?" Vera asked, and both Charles, and James chuckled. "Don't be so extreme. This isn't a drama." James countered, picking a slice of watermelon, and Vera glared at him. "You have watermelons at your house in abundance. Can't you just get home, and eat that?" She asked, and Charles laughed. "I'm glad I don't have you for a mother." He replied, and both he, and James laughed. Then a call came in for Vera. "The cops." She said, moistening her lips. "Have you gotten the men?" She asked. "Yes, ma'am, and we have found out who was behind it all." The cop replied. "Who was it?" Vera asked, and all three of them paid extra attention. "It's Mrs. Penny." The cop replied, and Vera's mouth dropped. "Who?" James mouthed, and Vera blinked unbelievably. "Who's it?" Charles asked, pushing aside his plate of watermelon. "I… I got it." "We're making arrangements to arrest her immediately, so you can be rest assured." The cop continued, and Vera nodded even though he couldn't see her. "Thanks." She replied, and ended the call. "It's… it's Mrs. Penny." She replied, and Charles froze. Mrs. Penny? Why would she go to that extent? Why would she try to murder him?