Blind Date Turned Proposal (Josie and Dexter)

The man abruptly halted, opting instead to raise his hands high in a gesture of surrender, "We're just here on patrol. As soon as we notice something out of the ordinary, we won't hesitate to report it to our superiors."

It was evident that Dexter's car, parked at a discreet distance, had gone unnoticed by them.

"Who's calling the shots for you guys?" Josie pressed, her tone sharp, the threat of the gun against their heads eliciting an involuntary shiver from both men.

After a moment of hesitant eye contact between them, one stammered out, "I-It's Robyn..."

This admission made it clear that these two were merely foot soldiers in Arnold's operation, assigned to patrol rather than being trusted insiders; they didn't even know his true identity.

"What was supposed to be the shipment on those ships?" Josie inquired further.

"Cash..."

Josie's gaze drifted back to the large vessels anchored in the river, as she contemplated the vast amount of capital required for such an operation-a sum that would undoubtedly attract attention if moved through conventional banking channels.

Arnold's personally escorting the shipment, huh?

"And what else?" she asked.

thrown up in a sign of complete surrender, "T-That's all I

With a swift movement, she kicked away the pager that was still attached to his back, its screen glowing with an incoming message. "Answer it," she commanded firmly. The pager came to life with a click, and immediately, a voice filled with urgency broke through, "Arnold, it's not about Mr. Dalton's trust in you-it's that your presence is needed more here." Arnold's voice, cool and detached, replied, "It's just money we're talking about. What exactly do you want me to do with it? Aren't you concerned I might just pocket

have you been with Mr. Dalton?" Arnold interjected,

answered, "Oh, it's been more than a decade

the

"Weren't you the same?"

out a

checked in via the pager, "How's the

glanced at Josie, gauging her reaction before reluctantly answering, "All clear, no issues

he's always been on the radar of the higher-ups for his

indeed guarding against

question. The other individual voiced it for her, "Mr. Vipera, are we really packing

crept into Vipera's tone,

belts, using them to bind their

you, really?" they questioned, still puzzled by

retorting with a

skepticism was palpable. "A woman like you, daring to step into