Westfield London Shopping Mall
1:00 PM
Syd Barrett leaned his elbows against the railing of the mall's upper floor, eyes scanning the crowd bustling below.
There are more people here than at Siam Paragon...
He observed everything—the flow of people, the escalators, the elevators. But most importantly, the emergency exits, just in case things went south.
When he turned to glance at the woman standing beside him—Seraphina—he saw her staring fixatedly at a clothing store across the hall.
"Sigh... the scent of capitalism. Smells so good."
"..."
"Got a problem with that?"
Then Seraphina noticed something tucked under Syd's jacket.
It was a handgun.
"...Syd, is that...?"
"Just a precaution. I don't like using it anyway. Too noisy."
"..."
And just then, Jody stepped out from the women's restroom nearby, dressed in a janitor's uniform, pushing a mop and a water bucket cart.
"Put on your face mask. You'll blend in better."
Jody pulled out a mask and slipped it on. Her hair was tied up neatly under a cap.
At a glance, she was indistinguishable from any other cleaning staff.
"Alright. Remember, this mission is capture-only. Don't go blowing his head off."
Inside a private office, a middle-aged man in his early 40s—standard build, neatly groomed purple hair—sat at his desk, working.
This was Palmer Lake, director of Westfield London.
But his face showed signs of worry...
Where the hell is Collins...?
Though his hands kept signing paperwork, his mind lingered elsewhere.
It had been two days since Collins last contacted him—unusual behavior. Still, two days wasn't enough to jump to conclusions.
They'd discussed business plenty. Collins' usefulness lay in finding clients for them. But suddenly vanishing like this? It made Palmer uneasy.
Had the police caught wind of something? Gone after Collins?
The news did just break three days ago—
Father Peter was arrested for smuggling illegal artifacts and embezzling foundation funds.
But that didn't necessarily mean anything—Peter probably got himself caught being careless. Besides, Palmer barely interacted with the priest outside of paying him to safeguard certain items. That job was done now. No more ties.
Only that fat swindler Collins remained... Where the hell is he? Still too busy siphoning school funds to remember what daylight looks like?
"..."
Just then, his female secretary knocked and entered.
"Come in."
"Sir, Mr. Steven Lee has arrived."
"The one we scheduled three days ago?"
"Yes."
"Alright. Are they in the lounge?"
"Yes, sir."
"Okay. Tell him I'll be right there."
Palmer hesitated at his desk for a moment… then reached into a drawer and took something with him.
Syd Barrett and Seraphina Gilmour waited in the VIP lounge—a formal, no-nonsense room that gave off more of a "clean-cut professionalism" vibe than luxury.
Click.
Palmer's secretary peeked in.
"Mr. Lake is on his way. Would you care for tea or coffee?"
"No thanks," Syd said with a wave. Seraphina also shook her head.
"Understood."
The secretary eyed Syd with some curiosity before leaving to do her job.
"...Charming as ever, huh?" Seraphina said.
"Of course."
She gave him a dagger-eyed glare.
This asshole needs a good slap...
Then the door opened—and the target walked in.
Palmer Lake greeted them with warm professionalism.
"It's an honor to meet you, Mr. Steven. You're younger than I expected."
Syd rose and shook his hand.
"Everyone says that. I'm used to it. After all, we've only communicated through secretaries. No surprise you assumed otherwise. I find it amusing, actually. Ha ha."
"Quite right."
Palmer sat across from them.
Damn, this guy's smooth... Seraphina thought.
Syd gestured to her.
"This is my secretary."
"Amy," Seraphina said, extending her hand. They shook, and she opened a folder of fake documents, pretending to take notes.
"We were originally scheduled to meet at the end of the month. Why the sudden reschedule?"
"Well, one of my business partners—Xiao Ye Wong, an Asian fashion import mogul—his mother passed away. That delayed my calendar, and I didn't want an empty gap, so I moved our meeting up."
Of course, this Xiao Ye was completely made up. Syd had prepared his backstory well.
"Wow, you really respect your schedule."
"Above all else."
"Haha. I admire that in a young, driven entrepreneur like yourself."
Palmer's secretary entered with a cup of tea.
"Your tea, sir."
"Thanks."
He took a sip and turned back.
"Steven, sure you don't want some?"
"No, thank you."
Palmer leaned in.
"Alright, let's begin our negotiations."
Five minutes later…
"…and with this event showcasing our new product line, I'm hoping to use the first floor as the venue."
"Great choice, Steven. First floor draws the most foot traffic."
"Exactly. So—"
"But with high traffic, that could obstruct the main entrances. What about the other tenants in that area? I can't give you the first floor. How about the second?"
Syd paused, pretending to consider it.
"The second floor, huh… that might work…"
"But rent stays the same. If you really want the first floor, that'll be triple the price, plus 5% of your event revenue. That's all I ask."
"That's all"? You bloodsucking bastard... think just 'cause you own a famous mall you can charge whatever you want? Seraphina cursed inwardly.
Even though this whole thing was just a smokescreen, her inner businesswoman couldn't help flaring up.
Still, she kept her expression composed.
"Triple? Don't you think that's a bit harsh? How about double, but I'll agree to the 5% cut."
"Hmm…"
Palmer crossed his arms, thinking.
"Fine. Two and a half times the rent, and I'll take 8%."
"Two times, but 7%."
"Can't do that. 2.5 is the lowest I'll go for prime real estate. I'm doing you a favor."
Meanwhile, outside the room—
Clink… clink… clink…
The janitor's cart came to a stop outside Palmer Lake's office.
The guards standing watch spotted a young female janitor approaching with a mop in hand and a cleaning cart.
"Hold up…"
One of them stopped her.
Looking her over, she had a surprisingly good figure for a janitor. Something felt off. They hadn't seen her before.
Jody felt their eyes crawling over her, but held her composure.
"Back again? Didn't you already clean here at noon?"
"I'm new."
"..."
"..."
"Huh… guess that explains it. Your voice didn't sound familiar."
They let her pass.
"Don't take too long. You're lucky you're new—anyone else, the boss'd chew 'em out."
Clink… clink…
Jody rolled the cart through. One guard lingered, eyes still on her backside, before turning back to his post.
"Heh… I know what you're thinking."
"Shhh, zip it—"
*** Fwhip. *** *** Fwhip. ***
Both guards dropped instantly.
Jody scanned the ceiling. She had been avoiding the security cams, but it turned out there weren't any in this corridor. That made things easier.
"Hey…"
A female employee spotted Jody passing by through the glass partitions.
She called her over.
Jody paused.
"…?"
"Throw this cup away."
The woman pointed to an empty Starbucks cup next to her desk.
"Hurry up."
"…."
Jody played along. She picked up the cup, used the moment to slip behind the woman—
And pressed her finger to the back of her skull.
*** Fwhip. ***