Chapter 393 Disguise and Crisis
William gave Quillon a nod, slapped him on the shoulder, and said, "Good job. I'll have Mary hook you up with a raise."
Mary rolled her eyes at William.
This was the office; how could William be so careless with his words?
Quillon, hearing about the raise, lit up like a Christmas tree. "You got it, boss. We're all ears for your orders."
"Just guard the door. No one gets in without my say-so!" William barked.
"Got it!" Quillon said. He turned to his crew and shouted, "Get twenty guys here, seal off this floor. No one gets in!"
The team member saluted back and dashed off.
William stood by the door, glanced at Mary, and asked, "You ready?"
Mary stayed silent. William shook his head slightly, looking at her delicate profile.
She'd been a rock during the chaos earlier, but now that things had calmed down, it was natural for her to feel a bit shaky.
"Here, put this on. It'll help," William said, pulling a mask from his pocket and handing it to Mary.
Mary looked at him, surprised. His smile made her feel oddly comforted. "Thanks," she said.
"I'm your husband; no need for thanks," William replied, unwrapping the mask and gently putting it on her.
Mary stood still, letting him put the mask on her.
Quillon, nearby, turned his head away, pretending not to notice.
Once the mask was on, William said softly, "If you get scared, just let me know."
Mary hesitated but then nodded with determination.
William took her hand and led her into the room.
As soon as the door opened, the stench of blood hit them like a freight train.
Mary almost passed out from the smell.
Good thing William had given her the mask; otherwise, she would've puked right there.
Even so, Mary's face was pale, and her brow was furrowed.
"Quillon, that moron, didn't even crack a window!" William grumbled, walking over and opening the window. Fresh air rushed in, diluting the bloody smell.
Viperstrike, who had fought William earlier, was lying on the ground, covered in blood and unconscious.
On the other side, Ghosthawk lay flat, his face pale, body cold as ice.
Mary frowned. This was the guy who had almost choked her out in the lab.
Seeing her thoughts, William sneered. "Big money makes people crazy. Brothers turn on each other, fathers and sons become enemies, especially when the puppet master has power and status. To them, killing is just business," William said slowly, a cold glint in his eyes.
What Mary would face in the future would be a thousand times worse.
As his wife, she'd become the mistress of the Jones family, running the show.
Mary thought to herself, 'Is it my stubbornness and refusal to share my research that brought this mess?'
"Don't beat yourself up. We don't bow to threats. They started this, they'll pay for it!" William declared, his eyes blazing with anger.
Mary nodded, agreeing with him.
"Alright, leave the rest to me. Just watch. If you can't bear it, you can step out," William said finally.
He ignored the unconscious Viperstrike and squatted in front of Ghosthawk's corpse.
Sometimes, the dead told no lies.
He ripped open Ghosthawk's lab coat, exposing his body.
His skin was pale, bruised, and his chest was caved in.
Mary felt nauseous but held her ground.
After a thorough check, William found nothing on Ghosthawk's body. Just a few wounds, no clues to his identity.
"Don't assassin groups have tattoos or something?" William muttered.
He turned to Mary and asked, "You said you handpicked the lab staff? Do you know these two?"
Mary leaned in for a closer look and nodded. "Yeah, I do. I recruited them. They're top-notch research experts, hired with fat paychecks. But why are they assassins?"
"And before bringing them on board, I did a deep dive into their backgrounds. Everything checked out," she added.
William fell silent, eyeing the two guys on the ground. "What are they usually like? Who do they hang with? Any entry and exit logs?"
Mary glanced at the blood-soaked Viperstrike. Thankfully, the window was open, letting in some fresh air; otherwise, standing in the storage room would be a nightmare.
"They usually keep to themselves, but they're decent folks. They're researchers, you know. People like them are generally all about their work. They mostly interact with the lab staff. There should be entry and exit logs; we can check later," Mary replied.
She was right. They mainly mingled with their lab colleagues, no contact with other company employees. They were dedicated to their research and wouldn't cause any trouble.
The entry and exit logs of the researchers were meticulously kept, making it nearly impossible for them to contact outsiders.
"That's weird. These two are top-tier assassins, totally not what you described," William remarked, frowning. "Even if they were prepped before you hired them, I have to say, their disguise game has been on point."
Mary nodded, recalling the lab scene where Ghosthawk had strangled her. He didn't seem like a researcher at all, but a terrifying killer!
"From what you're saying, their long-term disguise is indeed extraordinary. So, what do you mean?" Mary asked, puzzled.
"Let me confirm again. Are you sure you personally recruited them recently? No slip-ups?" William asked again.
Mary thought for a moment and then said confidently, "I'm sure. I personally recruited them. Except for a few staff adjustments, there have been no changes, and nothing unusual has happened in the lab."
William nodded and then asked, "Has there been recent progress with the new drug?"
"Yeah, that's right," Mary answered.
"So, the masterminds couldn't have predicted what you were developing or when it would succeed," William said.
"You're right," Mary said with a nod, rubbing her chin. "Initially, developing the new drug was just a shot in the dark. We didn't expect it to succeed, so the enemy couldn't have foreseen it. Moreover, the research only had progress in the past six months. Could someone behind them have foresight?"
"Impossible! Don't overthink it," William said.
Mary pondered, then shook a finger and said, "Then there's only one possibility left: they were bought off."
"No, they weren't bought off," William immediately denied.
"Why? Only being bought off can reasonably explain this," Mary insisted.
William smiled and said, "You forgot one thing: they are not ordinary people; they are assassins!"
Mary suddenly realized, frowning. They were assassins, not ordinary people, nor were they research experts.
William said, "Their fighting skills are exceptional, definitely not so-called researchers."
He couldn't help but recall Viperstrike's exceptional stealth and assassination skills, the blade that nearly slit his throat from the shadows.
An ordinary researcher could not possess such skills.
"Then there's only one explanation left," William said, his face serious. "It seems these two were swapped."
"Swapped?" Mary blurted out, puzzled.
William glanced at Mary, rubbing his chin as he analyzed, "My guess is they were never bought off."
"If they weren't bought off, why would they do this?" Mary asked. William said, "These two are likely not the researchers you initially recruited. Think about it: everyone works in the lab, wearing heavy lab coats and masks every day. Ordinary people wouldn't recognize their faces."
Mary nodded slightly, then shook her head, "But that's not right. The lab doors require fingerprint passwords. Fingerprints can't be changed."
"Fingerprints are actually easy to fake," William said, smiling. "If they can disguise faces, fingerprints are just a piece of cake, right?"
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