Chapter 122 The Sudden Explosion
"Alright, let's roll." William shot a frosty glance at Jones, giving him the nod to lead the way.
The crew hustled over to Factory No. 1 in no time.
"Who's running the show for raw material procurement?" William asked, flipping through the papers Jones handed him.
Jones chimed in, "That's Jasmine. She handles all the raw material buys for Fleurancia."
"She handles all the raw material buys?" Margaret raised an eyebrow at Jones. "If it's a procurement mess-up, why's it only Factory No. 1 that's hit?"
"Jasmine's been with us forever and always nails procurement. I doubt it's on her," Jones said, shrugging with a grin.
Margaret nodded. "Where's Jasmine? I wanna chat with her."
Jones dialed up Jasmine. "Jasmine, swing by my office."
Ten minutes later, in walked a medium-built, slightly chubby middle-aged woman with curly hair.
"Jasmine, Mr. Fisher and Ms. Scott are here," Jones said, flashing a faint smile at Jasmine Moore. "They wanna get the lowdown on the raw material issues for the 'Ice and Fire' jewelry."
Jones then introduced Jasmine to William and Margaret, "This is Jasmine. Fire away with any questions about raw material procurement."
Jasmine looked a bit sheepish at William. "Sorry, Mr. Fisher. I take full blame for the raw material hiccups. But I swear, the stuff I got is legit, and everything was done by the book."
William's voice dropped an octave, "Where'd you get these raw materials from?"
Jasmine pulled out the procurement contracts and broke it down for William, "All our raw materials come from these three companies. We've been tight with them for over three years, no issues till now."
"Do you check the raw materials when they arrive?" Margaret asked, eyeing the contracts.
"Yep, everything's up to code," Jasmine confirmed.
"Got it. Jasmine, you can get back to work," William said, looking up from the documents.
Jasmine nodded respectfully. "Okay, Mr. Fisher. Holler if you need anything."
After Jasmine left, Margaret's eyes zeroed in on the documents in William's hand. "Is there a problem?"
William furrowed his brows and said icily to Jones, "I need a list of everyone who touches the raw materials."
"Got it, I'll get someone on it right now."
Jones quickly got the list sorted. The list had everyone from warehouse staff to transport and production workers who could've messed with the raw materials. Staring at the list of names, William thought for a moment and then asked in a serious tone, "Where's the dodgy raw material stashed now?"
Jones glanced out the window. "They're all in that warehouse over there."
"Only that warehouse has the bad stuff?" Margaret followed Jones's gaze to a row of warehouses.
Jones nodded, "Yep."
William's eyes narrowed. "Let's go check out the warehouse."
The warehouse storing the raw materials was just a stone's throw from the factory, and the transport crew usually hauled the stuff over for production. So, the problem could've popped up during the move too.
"The warehouse is right over there." Jones pointed and started walking.
Margaret and William trailed behind him. As they got closer, Jones' phone buzzed.
"Sorry, Mr. Fisher, gotta take this," Jones said, stepping aside.
"Alright." William nodded, not really caring, and kept walking with Margaret.
The nearer they got, the more Margaret felt this gnawing sense of dread, like something bad was about to go down.
Suddenly, thick smoke started pouring out of the warehouse, and a blast of hot air shot from the roof, flames flickering.
"Oh crap, it's gonna blow!" Margaret yelled, yanking William back.
Right then, a massive explosion rocked the ground. Thick smoke shot up, forming a mushroom cloud, and red flames burst out.
"Margaret, look out!" William's voice cut through the chaos, full of worry.
Margaret looked up just in time to see a chunk of the roof, blown off by the blast, hurtling straight at her.
In a flash, William grabbed her, using his body as a shield to protect her from the flying debris. They both hit the ground hard, Margaret smacking into the concrete. It hurt like hell.
Before blacking out, she barely heard William's deep, raspy voice. "Margaret, don't worry, I'm here."
When Margaret came to, she was lying in a hospital bed. "William!" she called out instinctively, her mind still foggy.
But no one answered.
She forced her eyes open, seeing the typical white hospital walls. 'Where am I? Why does my back hurt so much?'
Rubbing her temples, her memory started to come back. She remembered going to the warehouse with William to check out the raw materials, but then it exploded! In that split second, William had shielded her with his body.
Margaret gritted her teeth against the pain and tried to sit up. Just as she was about to get out of bed, a young nurse walked in.
"Where's William?" Margaret grabbed her, panic in her voice.
"Huh?" The nurse looked puzzled, not getting what Margaret was asking.
She asked again, "Where's William? Who brought me here? Is the guy who was with me okay?"
"I don't know," the nurse shrugged, looking clueless.
Margaret's anxiety spiked. 'Did something happen to William?'
She tried to get out of bed to find him, but the nurse held her down. "Miss, you're hurt and need to rest."
"I'm fine, it's just a scratch," Margaret insisted, her worry growing. She had to find William and make sure he was alright.
But a wave of dread washed over her. She thought, 'If William's okay, he'd be here with me. Why isn't he here? Something must've happened to him.'
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