BETRAYAL

CHAPTER FOUR

SEBASTIAN 

“Idiot!” I cursed at James, my temper rising. How could he make such a low level mistake?

James frowned, and I could see indignation on his face,but then, he quickly swallowed down whatever dissatisfactions he might have, replacing it with a submissive look. 

"I am sorry boss, Damien was way faster than us this time, and he knew the time we were going to arrive," James gave me a bogus explanation. 

I raised an eyebrow suspiciously, as I questioned James with just my gaze. 

He shifted uncomfortably on one foot, and I could tell that he was trying to hide something. I sneered....he might be delusional if he thought that he could play me like this. 

"Damien somehow found out about the time the goods were supposed to arrive? I thought that only the men on your team knew that information?" I asked James. 

He looked confused at first, but then, a panicked look quickly spread across his face. 

Falling to his knees, he made sure to keep his head down. 

I was towering above him, looking at him from above. James was an ant that I could crush beneath my foot at any time that I wanted, and so I had no idea why he insisted on playing tricks with me. 

"I..... I am sorry boss! I think there's a spy in the team!" He blurted out. 

"A spy?" I repeated, a sarcastic smile on my face. 

Crouching down, I grabbed James by the collar and forced him to look into my face. 

He was trembling now, and it irritated me to no end. How this man had stood by my father's side for the longest time was a mystery to me. 

"You should know well by now, James, I don't use anyone that I can't trust. How come there is a spy in your team?" I questioned him slowly. 

"I ...we recruited some guys. After the last mission, some of our guys died when we faced off with the police. We had to recruit quickly and I didn't have the time to vet each and every one of them, " James' voice was shaking as he gave me this explanation. 

Raising my foot, I kicked him hard in the chest, and his body was flung against the wall. He fell to the ground with a thud, and James spat out a mouthful of blood. 

He glanced at me with resentment, but I just stared back like I could not sense it. 

My gaze was cold, and it took a lot of self control to hold back from tearing this man apart. 

Not only was he a big mouthed idiot talking about Sophia when he didn't have to, he also messed up such a simple mission! 

I wondered which one I was more upset about, the mission, or Sophia. 

I removed the top buttons of my shirt as I breathed heavily. Damn it, the thoughts of that woman were creeping into my head again! 

"Boss I....this is my fault. I'll make sure to fix it! I'll find the spy and then....."

"Of course, you should find the spy, he was on your team. If he escapes so quickly, don't you think it'd be a bit too suspicious?" I questioned James, my lips curling up in a sarcastic grin as the words left my mouth. 

Realization dawned on him, and he scrambled to get on his feet, panicking as he did so. 

"No, boss, I would never betray you! You know that!" He insisted. 

"Of course, you don't have the guts to!" I retorted. 

The punishment for whoever dared to betray me was something that James could not afford to risk! 

He swallowed hard, as a fierce look appeared on his face. 

"I'll find out who did this, I'll make them pay, and I'll find a way to get back the goods...." 

"Forget it, I won't be needing you to transport the goods anymore. Since Marco has opened up the ports to us, things would be much easier now. Dante will be in charge of transporting the goods from now on, so make sure you find that spy as soon as possible," I didn't complete the sentence, but James understood it regardless. 

He nodded his head, a helpless look on his face. 

"Are you going to abandon me now, boss?" He asked, a bitter look on his face .

A long pause settled between us as I stared at his face for a long time. 

"Abandon you? Were you ever useful to me?" I asked, without much emotion. 

James froze, as he seemed to be processing what I said. 

He seemed to have complaints, but I didn't care for that. 

"James, you're already what, 40 now? I think it's time you retire, you need to spend more time with your son," my words were plain, but firm, and it was an order James could not ignore. 

He looked appalled, and even hurt by my order, but I didn't budge at all. 

His resentful gaze annoyed me, and in my head, I was already planning his retirement. 

"Don't worry, since you served my father well, I won't hold back on your retirement benefits. As soon as I gain full control of the ports, you should retire," I finally revealed a humorless smile to him, and James started to panic. 

"Boss I..." 

He was pleading his case when I heard someone knock on the office door. 

"Boss, it's me." 

A relaxed look appeared on my face when I heard the knock and I glanced at James for the last time. 

"You can leave now," I said coldly.

......

"So Damien has the goods?" Dante asked me, a perturbed look on his face .

"We went through so much to get them here. With the police on our case, we're basically wanted in other countries. How could James be so...." 

Dante began to complain bitterly, but I raised up a hand to stop him. 

"Don't worry, I have a plan to get those goods back," I assured Dante, with a calm smile dancing on my lips. 

He stared at me, a questioning look in his eyes. 

"What are you planning on doing boss?" He asked me. 

"Give Cynthia a call, it's time she put her skills to good use," I ordered.