“Right. Well… ” Peeters hesitated, as if he was worried about saying things out loud. When he looked at his bodyguard standing watch by the door, the man gave a slight, affirmative nod. They’d been scanned and were clear. “I can provide you with any kind of enhancers available on the market and some that are harder to find, and of course, lovely companions for those who feel the need.” A smirk pulled at one corner of Konrad’s mouth as he looked expectantly at both Carter and Nate. Carter could feel his loathing of the man rise in his chest and pushed it down hard. He couldn't afford to piss off the guy just yet, but fuck did he want to smash his fist in the dickhead’s face.
“Just so we are perfectly clear and there are no misunderstandings. You are saying that you can provide me with any drugs currently available on the market, illegal or otherwise, and also supply women for those of my clients who require them?” Carter pinned Peeters with a hard glare.
He cleared his throat. “Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying. And to be even clearer, I have everything from purest coke and heroin, to MDMA, the latest synthetic drugs from South East Asia, and of course, the simplest ecstasy pills. Anything you like.” Konrad Peeters’ gaze wavered under Carter’s piercing stare. He drew a deep breath, leaned back in his chair and clasped his hands over his stomach in a gesture of relaxation and confidence.
“Age range of the girls?” This time it was Nathan asking the question.
“Youngest are fourteen and the oldest twenty five. I can supply even younger than that, but I wouldn't recommend anything older. Too much mileage by then.” Konrad guffawed at his own sick joke and Carter couldn’t stop a grimace from forming on his face. Luckily, Peeters was still watching for Nathan’s reaction, who just smiled and nodded thoughtfully.
“We will need to see some of these girls before we allow them to entertain our clients. I assume they’ve all been tested, and the paperwork is in order?” Carter kept up his hard stare at Konrad to reinforce the impression of a hard-nosed and very rich businessman who was willing to go to any length to keep his associates happy.
“Of course, the girls are continuously checked by a doctor on my staff and I can show you the latest records of anyone you choose. Why don’t you come by tomorrow evening and I’ll have a selection sent here for you to inspect?”
“That sounds good. 10 pm suit you?”
Carter and Nathan walked out of Peeters’ office an hour later, with a nasty taste in their mouths, but at least they were getting somewhere.
“So, now we know he has access to both drugs and girls. Bastard. I just hope he’s the head of the snake around here and we can get it cut off, soon. These missions are the worst. I’d rather be back in the jungles of South America than in these nightclubs. Bloodsucking mosquitoes I don’t mind, but bloodsucking drug dealers? Those I want to put in the deepest, darkest fucking holes I can find.” Nate had a razor-sharp edge to his voice and Carter knew he meant every word.
“I hear you and I completely agree. Let’s go home and finalize our plan so we can put Mr Peeters where he belongs and get back to Virginia.”
“What will you do when we get back?” Nate asked him in a low voice.
“How do you mean? We’ll probably get sent right back out on a new assignment.” Carter was a bit surprised by Nate’s question.
“No, I mean about the girl — Madison. Are you going to try to find her?”
“Probably not. I’ll check my cell when I get back to see if she’s tried to get in touch, otherwise I’ll just drop it.” Carter’s lips thinned at the thought of Madison and not seeing her again, so he pushed them out of his head and refocused on their mission. They couldn’t afford for anything to go wrong because of him being distracted by personal issues.
Nathan saw the expression on his friend’s face and dropped the subject for now. He’d witnessed first-hand what Carter had gone through after Mira was killed and he understood his reasons for not wanting to get involved with a woman again. He’d also heard the tone in his voice when he’d asked Nate to check in on Madison in St. George. It was the same tone he’d had whenever he’d talked about Mira. In fact, there had been a lot more in his voice than that. Nate knew Carter and Mira had had a relationship of sorts, but he’d always thought they were more friends with benefits. If Carter was really honest with himself, he’d know it would never have gone any further than that. He may be telling himself that he was never going to be in a relationship again when in fact, it was Mira who hadn’t been the settling down type. Nate had seen that from the very beginning and had always wondered why Carter had allowed himself to get so close to her. She’d been stunningly beautiful for sure, and it was the kind that came from within and transformed her whole appearance. She always had a smile for everybody, but when on a mission she’d been tough as nails and took no prisoners. Nate would have said that her and Carter’s relationship had been more of a convenience and a way to let off steam whenever they had some downtime. It would never have lasted in Nate’s opinion. Having Mira bleed out in Carter’s arms had really fucked with his head, and now he was just trying to stop himself from having to go through something like that ever again. They wouldn’t have lasted anyway, in Nate’s opinion. Carter was punishing himself for Mira’s death, even though there was no way he could have prevented it.
Once back in the house, they updated Caroline on their meeting with Peeters and worked out how they were going to proceed.
“Right, so the first thing we’re going to do is to cancel on Peeters. We’ll just tell him we have to go out of town for the evening and we’ll get back in touch to reschedule. We need to mess with his head a little bit,” Carter stated.
“So we make him think we’re still interested but not in a hurry to make the deal?” Caroline wondered.
“Exactly. We want him to sweat first and worry about us finding another supplier in the meantime. He may be the biggest supplier here in Seattle, though by no means the only one.”
“These parties we’re throwing this week are hopefully going to light a fire under his ass as well. Excluding him might just make him that more desperate deal with us.”
“Yes, you’re right, Nate. We need him to be sweating bullets at the thought of us walking away, so we can push him right to where we want him, like a lamb to slaughter.” A sneer of contempt swept across Carter’s face.
Arrangements for two lavish parties were already in place. One would be for corporate acquaintances and potential business clients, and the other one for the rich and famous of the entertainment side of Seattle. There would be crossovers of guests, but that shouldn’t be a problem. It was more to show Peeters, by excluding him, what kind of people they were dealing with, so he would bring his best game at the next meeting.
“What’s the dress code for these events? Please, tell me I don’t have to wear a dress? I hate long dresses, and high heels! Whoever invented high heels needs to be shot!” Caroline groaned, knowing full well what she’d be wearing. She already had two evening gowns with matching shoes hanging in her wardrobe, courtesy of a high end boutique in San Francisco. Someone from their office in Virginia Beach had taken pity on her and organized it all to be shipped up to Seattle.
“Very funny. Besides, you scrub up good when you want to.” Nate smirked and pretended to give her a once over. Something he quickly regretted when he didn’t move out of the way in time and suffered a smack to the head as she leaned across the table. Carter laughed and dropped down on the couch to watch their antics. He’d seen it many times before and knew it was their way of easing the tension during a mission.
“At least you get to look beautiful. All we have is different type of suit, with stupid studs instead of buttons on our shirts, and a bow tied around our necks like we’re some goddamned present. They're even worse than a normal tie, and I hate wearing those enough as it is.” Nate grumbled.
“Quit your whining. I agree with Caroline. Those spiky heels may look sexy as fuck, but they can’t be comfortable. They’re more lik
e deadly weapons.” Carter chuckled, and briefly wondered how many people had actually been killed by stilettos. There had to be quite a few, he thought.
Both parties, one on Wednesday and one the following Saturday went off without a hitch and people seemed to have enjoyed them. They’d certainly had enough to eat and drink. There were around 150 people each night and the house had been transformed with lights, flower arrangements, wet bars and extravagant food that included lobster, caviar and oysters. The champagne had flowed and the servers from the catering company had been kept busy throughout both nights.
Carter, Caroline and Nathan had performed their roles to perfection and had even gone so far as to make sure the master bedroom looked as if a couple were using it while Carter’s room had been turned back into an empty spare room, just in case someone was nosy enough to sneak up the stairs while their backs were turned. It was part of their training to be thorough and not leave anything to chance.
The day after the first party, Carter had a message from his PA that Konrad Peeters had called. He decided to wait till the following Monday, after the second event, to call him back and reschedule. It was a dangerous game to play as he didn’t want to piss the man off so much he decided it wasn’t worth it. Although, he had a feeling Mr Peeters was more than willing to put up with having to wait just for the chance to make some serious money on what Marcus Henderson wanted supplied for his clients.
On Monday afternoon, Carter asked his assistant to rearrange the meeting with Peeters for the next evening and for him to bring samples of his best ‘products’ ready for inspection. Carter made it clear it would only be the two of them at the meeting as Nate and Caroline would each be at one of the other clubs. They wanted to see if they could work out where the drugs and girls were being held. It was unlikely they’d find them at either venue, but it was worth checking out anyway. Nate would go to The Hole by himself, pretending he was at a loose end and might be looking for company while Caroline would join a few of the ladies from the office for a girls’ night out. None of the ladies knew the real reason she was going to join them, but as she was only there to look around and not venture beyond the public areas, it didn’t matter who she was with. Going by herself would have looked much more suspicious.
“Mr Henderson, welcome back. It’s been a while since you were last here, I thought you might have left town.”
“Hi Gary, thanks. No, I’m here a little longer, but I’ve been busy setting up the business.”
“I’m glad it’s going well. The usual?”
“Yeah, thanks. I’m meeting with your boss in a few minutes.” Carter carefully studied the barman’s face hoping to see a hint of what the man thought of the club owner. Bartenders tended to see and hear everything that was going on and could be very useful to befriend, but the look on Gary’s face was indecipherable. It reminded Carter of his own expression when he was trying to keep his cover up and not let any personal feelings rise to the surface. He didn’t have time to dwell on it, though. Konrad was walking towards him.
“Mr Henderson, I’m glad you could make it.” The smile on the drug dealer’s face was smarmy and fake, so Carter plastered an equally false grin on his and shook the man’s hand.
“Sorry about the delay. I’d forgotten about the events the company scheduled. I don’t normally deal with those things and let my assistants figure everything out while I close the deals in the boardroom.”
“Not a problem. Shall we?” Konrad gestured towards a small room to the side of the main lounge. He let Carter enter ahead of him. A couple of people were already inside waiting.
The blood drained from Carter’s face and he felt the bottom of his world drop out from under his feet. All the air was sucked out of the room and he could hear the blood thundering in his ears. Stepping out from behind an enormous, steroid-filled brute of a man was Madison. Or at least, a woman who looked like Madison. Only, this girl was a lot thinner and paler than the woman he remembered, but there was no mistaking the eyes. They had dimmed, yet still had that unusually intense shade of green. What the fuck is she doing on the opposite side of the whole damn country? Is she one of Konrad’s girls? Someone he forced to ‘entertain’ men whenever they required, or is she here willingly? FUCK! Maybe she’d been in Port St. George to spy on him? Was that possible? Could Konrad Peeters have suspected he was DEA and sent Madison to befriend him so she could pump him for information? His mind was racing, trying to find a plausible reason, a connection, an explanation for Madison’s presence in Seattle, in the club, at this specific time. Had she ever mentioned Seattle, or Peeters? No, he was sure he would have remembered that, but she had said she was from the Northwest, so maybe it wasn’t so farfetched after all? Had he said anything that could have indicated he was DEA? Who had known he was going to be in Florida to recuperate? Shit, what the fuck was he going to do now? What the hell was going on? Carter felt the sweat breaking out all over his body and his head was spinning. Was he going to have to abort the mission? Ok, man, calm down. She hasn’t said anything yet, so just take it easy.
After a second or two which felt like an eternity, he managed to get a grip on himself and decided it had to be a complete coincidence that Madison was there even if he didn’t believe in coincidences. His decision to use Nathan's beach house had been a spur of the moment decision and for anyone to have found out would have meant Nate telling them, and there was no fucking way his best buddy would have ever sold him out. He hadn’t even been given this assignment when he met Maddie, so it had to be a stroke of really bad fucking luck. Ok, pull yourself together and play your part. Carter slipped back into his ‘Marcus Henderson’ persona and stood still, shuttering the storm of emotions that threatened to overtake his senses, and waited to see how this was going to play out. He would either be carried out with a bullet in his head or walk out with a deal in his pocket. All he could do was play his role till the very end.
Carter quickly schooled the expression on his face as Konrad went to sit down at the top of the small table with Madison standing right behind him. Her eyes had widened slightly at the sight of Carter but she hadn’t given any sign of recognition. To him, she looked terrified and painfully thin with too much heavy makeup on her face. As he studied her a bit closer from the corner of his eye, he noticed her hair was lanky and had lost much of its bouncy volume. She was dressed in a tight-fitting sleeveless top with an equally tight micro skirt that barely covered the cheeks of her ass. Completely out of character for the woman he knew.
Chapter Twenty-Two
“Mr Henderson, let me tell you exactly what I’m able to offer. As I told you before, I can supply girls of any age as well as every type of drugs you, or your clients, might wish for. I can also include full VIP access to Overdrive, including the private rooms, and a full complement of all products at any events you may hold at your residence or other location.” Peeters wore a confident smirk. Carter leaned back in the chair and took a slow sip of his whiskey. He studied Konrad carefully, trying to put him on a slight edge to reveal all his cards. What he wanted to do was smash his fist in the man’s face.
“Very well, but I think we need more than one meeting in order to come to a mutually beneficial agreement. I suggest we meet again tomorrow, and I will have Mr Townsend with me to look over everything. He will make sure I don’t miss any opportunity to provide my clients with the best you have to offer. Can I see some of your merchandise now? I’ll leave the girls till tomorrow to have another set of eyes to confirm my choices.” Carter stared at Peeters to see his reaction. He wanted to rattle him, but at the same time assure him the deal was going through. Anything to keep the upper hand and get the son of a bitch to reveal everything. Also, he had to get out of there before he passed out from the storm raging inside his chest. Madison stood like a statue behind Konrad, never moving a muscle. She barely even breathed. Her eyes were fixed on a point behind Carter but held no emotions except for the occasional spark of what he recognized as pure fear. He’d seen
it in her eyes before, back in Florida. Seeing her this way and not being able to talk to her was driving him nuts.
“Of course, I’m glad you’re being thorough and thinking this through in such great detail. But I guess that’s why you’re such a successful part of Titan Industries.”
“I suppose it is.” Carter thought he could detect a bit of jealousy in the man’s voice and smiled inwardly at what he knew was coming for the slimy bastard.
“Hugo, go fetch the merchandise, and take her back where she belongs. I’ve had enough of her. Give her a reminder of what her duties and responsibilities are. She was a little slack today.”
“Sure thing, boss. It’ll be my pleasure. I’ll be right back with the packages and then I’ll put her in the van.” Hugo flashed a malicious grin at Madison who seemed to shrink under his stare. Carter watched as he grabbed Madison and dragged her out of the room with a tight grip on her arm. The expression on the big guy’s face set his teeth on edge. He displayed the obvious signs of a steroid addict with his protruding brow, flushed skin and the muscle bloating, but there was something else wrong about him. Carter couldn’t put his finger on what bothered him, though. The way his eyes narrowed and his mouth turned into a satisfied smirk at the sound of Madison’s barely noticeable whimper sent a chill down his spine. Carter clenched his jaw to not let his feelings show over the treatment of the woman, and he wondered again why she was there and what she meant to Peeters.
He spent the next thirty minutes listening to the drug dealer talking while examining samples of the drugs he was able to supply. Carter kept up his cover by asking all the right questions about purity, origin and availability of the illegal drugs placed before him. In the end, Konrad seemed to be convinced he was on the level and they settled on a time for their next meeting the following evening when Carter would have Nathan there as well.
Agent Undone Page 19
