Malice Masterpieces 2

by K'Anne Meinel

  She locked up her storage units after supplying them with a few more items she might need later and headed south in her Jeep. In Sacramento she rented another storage unit similar to the one in Portland, 24 hour inadequate security and access and parked the Jeep inside. She took her bag and got a taxi to the airport and thought about what she had to do and the various plans she had to enact. The disc had indicated that Eli was still an active ‘member’ of their network, his money or lack thereof was of no consequence, he had provided the Master with contacts and information and traded on this knowledge instead of hard cash. Alice realized this was just one small part of a vast network of sex slavers but they had made a mistake. They had had designs on her daughter and taken her wife. They had unleashed a killer and although it had been many years since Alice had actually taken a life she was certain she could and would again and the thought didn’t bother her in the least.

  “Holy shit, it’s ALICE,” the man exclaimed, he was sitting among three nearly nude women who were touching him all over as he sat up. At the sight of the petite blonde woman in a black bolero, skirt, and high heels striding across the room the man brushed off the women, removing their hands rather forcefully and stood up to meet her halfway. He spread his arms and bellowed, “ALICE, this IS a surprise!”

  Alice stopped dead in the room, glancing around and taking it all in, the high ceiling, the formality of the room, ruined by decadent furniture and men lying about with women in various stages of undress caressing them and vying for their attentions. Two of the men sat up to watch the blonde and the man apparently in charge meet. Alice’s glance took in the large man before her, stopping before his outstretched arms could enfold her in a hug. She watched him with her oddly yellow eyes, ringed with black circles.

  The man’s eyes warily took in her haggard appearance; this pretty blonde looked positively…menacing. His step faltered and halted, well short of the anticipated hug. His smile, once beaming in welcome began to fall into a guardedly waiting one. “What can I do for you my friend that you come in person?” his arms lowered as he took in her demeanor in anticipation of he knew not what.

  Alice took note of the two men who had stopped their playing and risen to join their leader in the center of the room watching them with her peripheral vision. Each of them took up defensive positions on either side, giving them plenty of room to work if needed. One took a stance that told Alice instantly of his martial arts background, the other apparently relied on guns as the bulge under his jacket and the way he held his hands told her, if she saw the back of his pants she wouldn’t be surprised to find another one there and perhaps one in his boot. Her face relaxed and amusement crinkled the corners of her eyes.

  The large man relaxed seeing the humor in her cat-like yellow colored eyes.

  Alice indicated the two men with her head and smiled, “New blood, Sebastian?”

  Sebastian smiled at her inquiry, “Ah I wouldn’t need them if I had the luxury of your presence,” he said charmingly as he gave her a slight bow.

  Alice smiled broader as she indicated the half dressed women, “Your payment would be too high my friend.”

  The man started to laugh and the two minions looked on in surprise as the laugh turned into a deep belly laugh, loud guffaws echoing in the large room making other’s sit up to watch the drama before them unfold. Slowly it wound down and he shook his head, “Ah Alice, I miss talking with you, it has been a long time, you haven’t needed my friendship in too long a time?” His statement was a question, an inquiry, and an acknowledgement of her absence.

  “It has been a long time my friend, I thought I had retired but fate sends things in little pine boxes,” she analogized, the phrase ‘pine boxes’ telling him so much more than anyone in the room might realize. Slowly she raised her arms to point straight out at her sides raising her little black leather bolero tantalizing above her narrow waist exposing her skin as she looked straight into the larger man’s eyes.

  Sebastian nodded slightly to the man whose stance had told Alice of his martial arts expertise. He approached her and began to frisk her for a wire and weapons. He seemed to enjoy feeling her breasts carefully under the bra, no need for an underwire to hold those luscious orbs up, when he felt up the insides of her legs and came alarmingly close to her crotch he slowed to enjoy it as he felt the pouting lips beneath her skirt. Alice never blinked or flinched. Finally the man was done and stepped back. Alice lowered her arms and letting the man take two steps back and return to his stance she whirled and high kicked breaking his jaw effortlessly. The pain, the force, and the unexpectedness of the blow blew him backwards onto the floor, knocking his head against the marble and knocking him out cold which was good as the blood flowed from his mouth from the teeth that had been crushed as well.

  The man with the gun had it in his hand in an instant and brought it down to find Alice had dropped and using a sweeping kick knocked his legs out from under him. Her high heel ripped a gouge out of his pants legs painfully and deeply removed skin as well. She knocked the gun out of his hand with a breaking motion of her hand so quick and unexpected the man was left gasping at the pain as he looked at his broken wrist dumbly. She went to backhand him and break his neck but stopped when she realized he had reacted as automatically as she had. She straightened her skirt and bolero as she stood back up to face Sebastian.

  “Careful boy, she could have killed you!” Sebastian warned as the man she had just downed reached with his other hand for another gun. He was delightfully amazed; Alice was still in fine form. Despite them not finding weapons or a wire he was certain she had at the minimum some type of weapon on her person but then again, what did she need with one, her expertise in a variety of skills was astonishing and alarming as this little display had just shown.

  They could hear the absolute silence in the room from the others sitting on various couches waiting to see if they would be commanded to do something, anything, and yet glancing at the downed men hoping they wouldn’t be asked, the man with the broken wrist began to gasp as the adrenaline surge passed and the pain began. Alice glanced around bored already as she asked cocking an eyebrow, “A word? Alone?”

  Sebastian nodded as he led the way to his office. A deeply paneled room that favored a Continental style of décor from deeply plush leather seats to the rich wood of the bookshelves and desk, warm, welcoming, and official. It could have passed for a lawyer’s office easily. It contrasted deeply with the decadence and gaudiness of the room they had just left. Alice glanced around sure that they were being observed from some hidden paneling. She caught movement out of the corner of her eye from a bookshelf but nothing was indicated as her eyes swept over the room in curiosity as she scoped it out indicating polite interest but seeing it all. Sebastian directed them to two chairs by a gas fireplace and they both sat facing each other, “Now that you have proven you are here on business instead of monkey business what can I do for you, it’s not like you to come in person and not call?”

  Alice smiled, “I need a little help from someone with your contacts.”

  Sebastian smiled in return, Alice had always intrigued him, and her contacts with him over the years had involved great sums of money. Her knowledge of the goings on in his world astounded him. “I thought your fantastic computers and their programs took care of things for you?”

  Alice grinned wryly as she shrugged and glanced down at her nails as though to see if she had broken one earlier, “Some things, rumors shall we say,” she hesitated, “Don’t show up on computers.”

  Sebastian nodded, “What can I find for you?”

  Alice stopped smiling as she looked up, in fact the feline yellow eyes narrowed making the man sitting across from her feel like squirming, and he didn’t like the feeling but sat there frozen in his chair knowing how terror stricken a mouse felt when a cat stared at them before pouncing, the eyes holding him hostage, mesmerized, and terror stricken. “I need to know the names of Eli Watson’s playmates from before he went to
prison.”

  Sebastian was surprised, “Eli Watson?” He stopped himself from asking ‘why’ but barely. Why she wanted this information was none of his business and might save his life. Alice would be generous for the information of that he was sure. But Eli Watson was a high profile person or at least he had been over five years ago, his imprisonment had been a high news item, making national news even.

  Alice nodded in confirmation. She knew that Sebastian had a lot of contacts all over the country but she was only interested in the Pacific Northwest at this moment. She waited patiently for Sebastian to digest her request.

  “It must be important if you came personally,” he offered, his eyes glancing at her to see if she made any expression or would offer any information although he didn’t expect her to.

  She nodded and then Alice reached into a small pocket on her bolero and removed a little globe of glass or it seemed to be glass until she held it in her hand and the lights caught it.

  Sebastian sucked in his breath; it was a perfectly round crystal, many faceted to catch the brilliance of the lights in the room. She held it up between her thumb and forefinger, it shone in the dim light and he knew it wasn’t just a crystal.

  “I brought you a gift to complete this favor for me my friend,” she said as she leaned forward and handed him the nearly perfectly round marble. “Perhaps, a little on credit as well….” she left it hanging.

  Sebastian felt the weight of the stone and realized that this was a nearly perfect diamond, cut so exquisitely with a laser that it would seem to be round; only a setting of expensive and nearly perfect proportions could show it off to its best display. He knew the price of this diamond had to be absolutely astounding which told him the information was valuable and the credit she would ask for later maybe more than he had bargained for. He studied the stone momentarily before his natural greed took over about the orb and he closed his fist; the deal was on whether he wanted it or not by this action alone. He hoped he wasn’t in for more than he had bargained for, he didn’t know why Alice wanted the information but from the price she was paying he knew that it wasn’t going to be easy, sometimes obtaining information was more expensive than monetarily and he wondered if she anticipated trouble, he also wondered what the credit would entail, he also wondered if it would be dangerous for him and his operation. He nodded slightly to show he agreed with the transaction even though his fist around the stone had sealed his fate.

  “Good, then I look forward to hearing from you shortly,” she said as she rose gracefully from the chair the bolero raising slightly and giving him a tantalizing view of her midriff.

  He rose with her out of respect for a woman, never forgetting his gentlemanly etiquette and upbringing. He escorted her to the door saying politely, “I heard about your wife and I am sorry.”

  Alice stiffened only slightly and then glanced at the taller man. He nearly flinched at the devastated look he saw in her eyes before she hid it expertly and nodded slightly. She opened the study door and made her way to the front door by herself, Sebastian watched from the door of his office as she made her way through the front door as though she owned the place, no one stopping her or questioning her presence there.

  Sebastian walked quickly to a bank of monitors to watch Alice get in a cream colored Porsche and drive away. He breathed a sigh of relief knowing she was gone as he was far out of his depth with this one woman. He felt the stone in his hand and his greed returned, it was well worth it though, profitable; he would just have to learn to tread water.

  “Who was that?” a voice asked as the panel Alice had noted slid back to reveal a slight man who had watched the entire proceedings.

  “That was one Alice Weaver, a philanthropist,” he grinned at the double entendre of the word.

  “A philanthropist? Why would a philanthropist pay you in diamonds for information about one Eli Watson?”

  Sebastian smiled as he held up the diamond in better light the beauty of the stone telling him how fine the laser had cut the various facets. “Because diamonds aren’t as traceable as cash or wire transfers and although a wire transfer could have been erased, she has the knowledge and the technology, she wanted to personally give me this which tells me that this particular task isn’t going to be easy and it’s highly important to her. I can’t fail her,” he added thoughtfully.

  “Who is Alice Weaver that you can’t fail her?” the slighter man asked curious.

  Sebastian looked at him and indicated the chairs he and his guest had recently vacated. As they sat down he began, “Alice Weaver I am not sure anyone knows absolutely, she is an amazing woman who gives to charities, politics, and good causes. She keeps mainly to herself, she used to be a bit of a hermit, and she stayed home, did on line investing, handled some portfolios for some private investors, but kept to herself going out on her boat occasionally. Traveling abroad occasionally from what I’ve heard. Then surprisingly she married a few years ago, her partner,” he stopped as his audience lifted a brow and nodded as he added, “Yes her partner, a woman, became her wife. They had two children and her wife had one from before the marriage that Alice adopted as well. They were very happy and then the wife was found murdered in a condo that Alice owned a little over a year ago, where she kept her boat. Alice was devastated. For the five years of her marriage she had changed her whole lifestyle, heck before that she was changing it for this wife that she adored. Before her wife she sent me occasional business but I understood once she had a family she had retired.” He indicated the stone in his hand holding it up once more catching the lights in it, “Apparently she has come out of retirement.”

  “What does she do with the information she gets from you?”

  Sebastian stared at the stone sadly before turning a look on his employee, “You don’t want to know,” he informed him but then thought, neither do I.

  The man swallowed a little uncomfortably, “What about Ron and Dave,” he indicated the two men that were even now being taken for medical attention.

  Sebastian chuckled, “I wished at one time that I could recruit Alice, in fact when I first met her I tried to not only recruit her but to seduce her. She only broke all my limbs for my impertinence; I was laid up for months. She visited me faithfully every week, feeding me chocolates, bringing me sweet and exotic smelling oils that could be rubbed on my aching limbs as they healed,” he shook his head in memory. “Considering I was in one of our safe houses, locked from the inside it was amazing her impertinence but it told me something, she was much better as a friend than an enemy and we’ve been understanding and profitable friends ever since.”

  “Does she have some kind of special training or something?” his captive listener asked.

  Sebastian smiled as he lowered his hand from admiring the addictively captivating crystal he had been paid with and gave his full attention to his questioner. “I never asked, when I began inquiring into her past and her sister’s past my underlings kept coming up missing, I got the hint after the fourth one appeared in my bed, blood leaking from every orifice, it dripped all over the bed and floor, no sign of struggle but a definite warning, that too was a safe house,” he added wryly in remembrance.

  “Couldn’t you just kill her?”

  “Why?” He looked at the man incredulously. “She asks for information and I supply it, occasionally she asks for odd little extras, it’s healthier that way and besides you saw her moves on Ron and Dave and they were two of my best, what hope would I have against her? God help anyone who tried or missed! I heard once, and I don’t want you to repeat this that the tortures that woman can come up with will boggle the mind.” He gave a little shudder as he continued, “I consider her a friend, she didn’t kill me, just reminded me of my mortality. I’m useful, she doesn’t question my work ethics as some of my clients do, and she pays well,” he indicated the stone again.

  “Come on, a bullet can stop anyone,” he said in a disbelieving voice.

  Sebastian stared past the orb to the ma
n who had stated something extremely stupid, “And what if that bullet missed, would you want to be the one that pulled the trigger, ordered it pulled? How about the others that work with or for you? Are their lives worth so little?”

  “Would she really be that vindictive?” the man swallowed at what he was hearing.