After the thunderclap, people on the same floor heard screams. A man in a beige plaid shirt with two tufts of mustache began pounding on his door frantically. A woman in a gold slip dress and ruby earrings scrambled behind her bed. The children who had just turned on the television in their room looked back in confusion. Even the pet dogs lowered their voices, letting out threatening growls.
Hurried footsteps soon echoed through the hallway. The burly bodyguards hired by the Penguin filled the entire corridor. Two of them knocked on the door of the room where the screams had come from, but there was no response.
With a bang, the door was smashed open. A blood-soaked male corpse lay on the floor by the entrance. A woman slumped on the carpet beside the bed, her head hanging low, as if she had already stopped breathing.
The gunmen cautiously entered. The woman, who had been completely still just moments ago, suddenly leaped to her feet and lunged at them, brandishing a shard of glass. The well-trained guards shoved her away with their rifles and knocked her down. Just as one of them was about to fire, his teammate behind him stopped him.
"Don't kill her. The boss needs a statement."
The two men knocked the woman unconscious and dragged her out of the room. The corpse on the floor was swiftly removed as well. Those who had only dared to crack their doors open and peek outside finally stuck their heads out, but when they smelled the thick stench of blood in the corridor, they paled and shut their doors again.
Natasha had been leaning against the door, listening to the commotion outside. Once silence returned, she said thoughtfully, "The corpse in the washroom earlier didn't seem like the