Grian entered the office, like he'd usually do. Except, when he entered the room this time, he immediately felt that something was not right. He wasn't really sure where that feeling of dread came from, but he could feel it. It was there.

Unlike usual, none of the people in the room greeted each other or exchanged 'good mornings'. Everything was quieter than usual.

Grian immediately headed for his desk, not knowing what's happening. He started his laptop like usual, and opened the news site. And that's when he immediately knew what was wrong.

Aque Corp CEO's secretary, found dead at desk

The assassination of Aque Corp's CEO's secretary

AC's CEO Secretary's assassination - how did this happen?

"As I expected, it made it to the news, didn't it?"

Grian nearly jumped out of his chair as Iskall suddenly was behind him. "Iskall you nearly scared the life out of me." He sighed. "Can't you access the news from your own work desktop?"

"Nope, the site is blocked for some reason." Iskall replied, before focusing back on the news. "So, Cub's death made the top headlines, right?"

"Uh- right, yeah."

"That's a bit unusual, when you think about it." Iskall mentioned. "Usually, the higher ups try to hide any news about assassinations and big influencers deaths to the public, but this time, the headline actually made it to the front page."

Grian stayed silent for a moment, quietly reading the article. "It's not that peculiar." He then responded. "This company is a big one, and covering the assassination of someone who works in such a big company wouldn't be an easy job. Even if they manage it, most people will still be suspicious of the sudden disappearance, so the easiest option is to just reveal the truth as it is."

"Mhm, I guess that's true-"

"Iskall! Head back to your seat and go back to work!" Stress called him out from the other side of the room.

"Whatever- Yes ma'am!"

With a huff, Iskall quickly returned to his desk, and Grian quickly returned to his work.

+---+---+

"I still find it pretty unbelievable that someone could just pass through all the security. This building has some of the smartest security, especially the higher you go." Mumbo spoke out his opinion on the matter. The three of them were sitting in the cafeteria at lunch time.

"Yeah, that's true." Iskall replied. "But it is rumored that 'Swifter' was the one that was hired for the job, so if he was the one, I wouldn't be surprised if he did get through all the security."

"Iskall, being a 'highly skilled hitmen' or a 'veteran' doesn't just make you immune to technology." Mumbo sighed. "Besides, the CEO reported that none of the security was tampered with, and nothing seemed to have evidence of lockpicking."

"According to the news articles I read, it was also mostly a locked room mystery, right?" Grian joined the discussion. "Cub locked himself in the room so nobody would disturb him when he's working and pulling an all-nighter, but then in the morning, when CEO Scar tried to open the door, it was still locked, and when the door was finally unlocked, he was already dead."

"Another thing added to the long list of unsolved mysteries, I guess." Mumbo said.

The next moment, lunch break ended, and they all were heading back to their offices. The trio walked through the corridor along with some of the other co-workers. Grian was carrying some boxes filled with more paperwork that needs signing.

"Oh! Look who it is!" Stress suddenly said.

In Front of them was the CEO of the company plus his right hand man, Scar and Bdubs. They were walking from the opposite side of the corridor, and they seemed to be talking about something serious, judging by their faces. When Scar took notice of Grian and the others though, he just waved hello at all of them, his expression morphing into a friendly smile as they passed by each other.

"They seemed serious, I wonder what they were talking about." Pearl mentioned.

"Probably something about his death." Iskall said. "Obviously they both are the most affected by it."

"Yeah, I'd imagine it's something about that." Hypno commented. "They are the closest to Cub, as far as I know."

"I guess."

Suddenly, Grian had an idea. He purposely tripped himself, and fell to the ground, the boxes he was holding tumbling down with him.

"Grian- are you alright mate!?" Mumbo immediately sat beside him, checking on him, while the others just looked surprised and worried.

"I'm fine." Grian stated. "You guys go ahead, I need to pick up the boxes again."

"Are you sure you don't need help?" Iskall asked.

"No, I'm fine, trust me, guys."

After he was able to convince everyone to leave, he pretended to pick up the boxes until everyone was out of view and he was the only one left in the corridor, which surprisingly only took a few seconds.

He then followed where Scar and Bdubs went, going down the halls and making sure not to get caught.

"But- Scar- how did you know I was the one that-?"

"I know a lot of things, Bdubs."

Grian eavesdropped into the conversation, interested in what he was hearing.

"You were the one that hired 'Swifters' to go after Cub, right?" Scar continued.

"Well- uh-" Bdubs finally sighed in defeat. "...Yeah, I was. Scar, please don't tell anyone about this, I don't even know what possessed me to do such a t-"

"Yeah, no worries." Scar chuckled. "I won't tell anyone, I promise. But the only thing you did was hiring the assassination, right? You didn't sabotage anything, right?"

"N-no, as you know, yesterday I went home early, I couldn't have time to do anything."

"Mhm, yeah, that's true, but if that's the case...

"Who was the one that unlocked the security to give 'Swifters' free access?"

As the light will start to lead you astray