by K. T. Tomb
“Yes. It is layered. I get it. Go on.”
“After peeling back all of the layers, at the very core of the onion, so to speak, is a company that is known to have very strong ties to SLG and is based out of Cucuta, which is on the Colombian and Venezuelan border. What is SLG, you ask? SLG stands for Soldados de Liberacion de la Gente and they are big in Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador. They are a revolutionary movement that is financed mostly through… Take a wild guess.”
“Drugs.”
“Wasn’t that hard to figure out, really. People of organizations that have something to hide, like SLG, typically launder money through legitimate businesses, but they put them in layers so that only someone who really knows how to dig has a chance of finding them.”
“Okay. I can see where your train of thought is going on this, but how do you know that Robin used that particular matchmaking service… or any service at all, for that matter? Chance meetings do occur in life you know.”
“But it doesn’t make sense. Miss Th… Natalia is like a 10-plus, and 10-plus women simply don’t date and fall for someone like Robin. I mean, especially since she has to be close to 15 years younger than he is.”
“Don’t get confused by age. Lots of South American women look 5 to 10 years younger than they really are. There could be other reasons that she’s attracted to him. He is a stable, confident and successful man. That is attractive to women, especially ones coming from a broken home or a difficult childhood. And, you know, Robin is a decent looking guy.”
“Yes, but he’s as boring as a box of rocks. He’s an accountant, for God’s sake. Fun for him is balancing his checkbook.”
“I don’t know, Rebecca.” Natalia made a tent of her fingers and held them in front of her face touching the two index fingers to the tip of her nose. “If – and I’m just going along with you for the sake of speculation – Robin did in fact use that particular matchmaking agency, yes, I would be a little bit concerned, given their ties to SLG. But Natalia seems to be on the up and up to me.”
“I know a quick way to find out.” There was a wicked smile on Rebecca’s face.
“I don’t know if I like that smile of yours.” Whenever Rebecca had that look on her face, she was about to get herself into some mischief. “What’s stirring around in that head of yours?”
“We could always do a little test.”
“What, you want to try out the dating service yourself? Can’t be me.” She held up her left hand, showing off the wedding band with the large, square-cut diamond. “Besides, you know that messing around in the affairs of South American revolutionaries has a tendency to cause people to wind up dead.”
“I wasn’t thinking of doing that at all. I’m afraid that another employee suddenly showing up would scare them away, and we would never know what was really going on.”
“I doubt they’d get scared, but go ahead.”
“I had another idea. Like I said, sort of a test of fidelity.”
“I’m not sure I’m going to like where this is leading, but go ahead.”
Rebecca explained her idea to her boss. Aurora listened carefully. The connection between her and Natalia had been brief; however, she felt that it had been a profound one. She saw the changes that had been made in Robin and she felt like meddling in what was going on between them might not be a good idea for anyone. She knew how ruthless Robin could become. Yet, if there was a threat to Thorn Industries, it was better to risk a little bit in order to protect the interests of the company as a whole.
When Rebecca had finished laying out her plan, Aurora was silent. It was the type of thing that she ought to discuss with Will, but she was afraid that what Rebecca was suggesting would send him through the roof. What was it they said? “Better to beg for forgiveness than ask for permission?” She thought her judgment concerning Natalia was spot on, but what if Natalia was an excellent actress? What if she had pulled the wool over everyone’s eyes, including Robin’s? If some danger came to the company later and everyone found out that she had turned Rebecca away… she braced herself to give her reluctant answer.
Rebecca searched Aurora’s face to try to discern whether or not she was going to go along with her plan. She saw the frustration there and mistook it for a sign that Aurora was about to reject the idea. “It’s safer than going straight at the matchmaking service and possibly the SLG.”
“And if we discover something, then we’ll still have to face up to them.”
“At least we’ll have time to prepare for whatever we need to do, maybe even gain a little bit of extra information in the process.”
“You think Zach will agree to help?”
Rebecca cocked her head to the side and just grinned as a response.
“Oh. Yeah. It’s right down Zach’s alley; of course he will.” She hesitated a bit longer. “Okay,” she finally agreed, “but please, be careful; this has the potential to grow into an enormous explosion.”
Chapter Nine
Thorn Industries Office,
Caracas, Venezuela
“Hey, little bro,” Robin beamed as he took hold of Zach’s offered hand. “What brings you down here to my neck of the woods? And without calling first, I might add.”
“There seems to be a lot of that going around lately,” Zach chuckled as he shook his older brother’s hand vigorously.
“Touché.” Robin looked into Zach’s usually bright and confident eyes and saw a hint of worry there, but it passed quickly. Robin dismissed it as jetlag. He wasn’t sure which continent lover boy Zach had been on most recently, but it was likely someplace exotic. “Did you already go by the house?”
“No. I came straight here since it’s still fairly early. I sent my bag on to the house in the car.”
“That would mean that you’ll be needing a ride with me then.”
“That’s the plan.”
“If I refuse?” They hadn’t enjoyed such banter in a while and Robin was eating it up.
“Then I’ll go out and walk the streets until I find a Venezuelan hottie that will take me in.”
“I don’t doubt that, but be careful hanging those dollar bills out of your pockets around here; it tends to attract unwanted attention.”
“You are probably right about that. I’ll put the money away and let my good looks and natural charm do the talking.”
“Then you’re going to be very lonely.”
“Ah, brotha, you know I got game,” he said, making an attempt at a ghetto accent.
“That was horrible.”
“Yeah. Let’s see you do better.”
“I’m not even gonna try.”
Robin missed their younger days when they felt like they had the freedom to mess around and banter with each other. Will had always been the serious one and he and Zach had been more inclined to play around. Somewhere along the line, when Robin had started studying accounting, he’d become much more serious and withdrawn. Things had gotten more and more tense between the brothers as they were competing for their father’s approval inside the company and he and Zach had grown apart; he and Will had grown apart too. That was part of what his trip to Georgia had been about; mending fences. It seemed to have worked.
“So, the old man says you’re doing a great job down here. He showed me the numbers.”
“Dad has been looking at numbers?” It sounded a little off. When John Thorn said he was going to step out and leave it all up to the boys, Robin knew that he was deadly serious.
“No. Will did. Hell, he’s switched places with the old man. He’s the one who is all serious, focused and driven, while the old man is partying his ass off.”
Robin chuckled at the thought of his father partying at all. “Yeah. We’re doing alright down here. We’ve seen single digit increases every month so far and I’m expecting this month to jump into double digits. Maybe not by much, but hey, who’s bitching, right?”
“Not me, I’m not going to bitch about anything. So, how’s Talia?”
“Tal
ia?” Robin wrinkled his brow.
“Talia… short for Natalia… geez, dude, you are in Never Never Land.”
“That’s funny. I’ve never made that connection before.” He smiled and thought about it. He sort of liked the sound of it. “She’s doing great actually. We’re supposed to go up to El Hatillo this weekend to visit her grandparents.”
“What is an El Hatillo?” Zach’s grasp of Spanish was even worse than Robin’s.
“It’s not a thing, it’s a small municipality up on the side of the mountain.”
“Dude, I’m totally going to let you off on that one. You’re starting to get too easy. There’s no challenge to it any more. That hottie of yours must be doing a number on your brain.”
Robin just smiled and shrugged.
“You been calling in sick a lot?” Zach beamed.
“No. I haven’t been sick at all.”
“Oh brother man, brother man, brother man. It’s like you’re not even trying anymore.”
Robin caught on a little bit late. “Oh. Yeah. I get it. Hmmm. Once or twice a week sometimes.”
“Jesus.” Zach shook his head and then suddenly turned serious. “So, is there a decent place near here where we can get some of this famous South American coffee?”
“Actually, there’s a decent place downstairs. You can get coffee on every corner around here.”
“Colombian?”
“I never ask. What’s the difference anyway? The same mountains, right?”
“You can lie to me about that and I’d never know it.”
“Yeah. Let’s knock off from here, grab a quick cup and then head back to the house. I’ll kick your ass in a game of pool before Talia comes by.”
“Look at you, trying it out already.”
Zach was feeling the camaraderie that they hadn’t shared in years. It made him feel horrible about the real reason that he’d come to visit his brother. Initially, he had turned Rebecca’s request down flat. It had taken input from Aurora and an understanding of the potentially dangerous situation that might be lying just under the surface for Thorn Industries to get him to agree; it still had the potential for blowing up in his face. The only thing that finally convinced him was the chance for a little bit of revenge for the way Robin had set him up and consequently made him spend a weekend in a Bermuda jail.
The game – actually, games – of pool that took place between the two brothers had been as competitive as they’d ever been and it took some doing for them to be pried away from playing “just one more” to even things up. Zach was up a game and it didn’t set well with older brother. The prying away arrived in the form of Natalia in a form-fitting, zebra striped dress and 6” high heels.
Suddenly, Zach wasn’t feeling quite so bad about the job he’d been sent to do. As he was on the flight to Caracas, he hoped that what Robin had was real. He saw how happy his brother truly was. But a stirring a little further south hoped that she was as dirty and mixed up in things as she could be and looking for a way to buy him off. He knew exactly how he’d take the payment.
For a brief, shining moment, he had dabbled in marriage himself, but he and his then-wife quickly learned there was nothing to their relationship after the bed cooled down. They settled everything in a quiet annulment, not two months after their hasty wedding.
When he stepped up to greet Natalia, he extended his hand after the typical American custom, but was pleasantly surprised when she ignored the hand and leaned in for a quick hug and kiss. The lingering scent and the soft touch of her full lips brushing against his cheek sent a chill up his spine. I could get used to this.
Over dinner, he tried to deliver the best casually flirtatious glances that only Natalia would see and was rewarded with a smile each time. This might turn out to be the best company mission I’ve ever been sent to perform.
With Robin close by at all times, he wasn’t able to do much of anything very overt and he was wondering if he was ever going to even get a chance to make his move. He felt dirty doing what he was doing to his brother, especially after how things had gone earlier in the afternoon and evening between them, but if Robin was in over his head, it was better that Zach did him a favor and bailed him out.
The opportunity finally arrived as the three of them were enjoying a Chilean bottle of wine while leaning against the stone carved railing on the back terrace.
“If you two will excuse me for a moment, the coffee, the cocktails and the wine seem to have passed right on through me. I absolutely have to take a wiz.”
“Dude. Nobody says that anymore.”
“What do they say?”
“I don’t know. I need to piss?”
“You’re impossible.” Robin shook his head and went inside and down the hall toward the nearest bathroom.
“So. Talia. Do you like that name?”
“It doesn’t bother me.”
“Well. I’m going to be hanging around for the rest of the week and brother, there has work to do. Why don’t we hang out a little bit?” It was a smooth suggestion that didn’t go too far, but left things open to her interpretation. The response that he received was nothing like what he expected. Rather than getting slapped on the one hand or taken up on his invitation on the other, she began to cry.
Uncertain of what he ought to do, he reached out and pulled her to him and felt her shaking with silent sobs. “Robin is in trouble,” she managed to get out between sobs.
Chapter Ten
Altamira Estate,
Caracas Venezuela
“They did what?” Robin’s voice was venomous, between a shout and a hiss.
“They’re just trying to look out for you and the company,” Zach replied. He had been caught in a compromising position with Natalia and had spent more than two hours trying to explain what had really taken place.
“By ruining my life? What did they hope to gain? And you.” He pointed his finger directly at him. “You come dancing in here all friendly and brotherly so that you could get me to let my guard down and sweep right in. I notice you volunteered easily enough.”
“For the thousandth time, Robin. Nothing happened.”
“Don’t even start that bullshit again. You always do this. You have to try out every woman for your brothers to make sure they fit your standards. You did it with Aurora and now you’re trying to swoop in and sleep with Natalia. You’ve got every goddamned woman in the world that you could want and you have to come in here and do this.”
“I told you what really happened. I told you the truth. I told you why and I even told you what she said. You have to believe me.”
“I don’t have to do anything of the sort.” He called to one of his house staff. When the older man arrived, visibly shaken by the shouting that had been taking place throughout the house for the last couple of hours, he bowed slightly.
“Did you need something, sir?”
“Call the car.”
“Are you going somewhere, sir?”
“No.” He pointed his finger at Zach and then snapped off the words like the crack of a whip. “He is.”
“Very well, sir.”
When the man left them, the silence in the house lingered for several moments. When Robin finally spoke, it was in a low tone, barely audible even to Zach in the room across from him.
“I was getting my life in order. I was righting wrongs. I have been busting my ass to prove that I could be trusted by my family again. Natalia was a part of that transformation. Do you know what it is like to be loved by someone? Do you know what it is like to have something that is wonderful beyond belief? Do you know how it feels to have a spring in your step and a reason to get up in the morning? You don’t and because of that you are jealous. You couldn’t stand to see that much happiness in my life. Not only did you sweep in to see if you could ‘get a wild ride on a Venezuelan hottie,’ but you couldn’t even man up and admit to what you were doing. You had to make up a bullshit story…”
“I’m telling you the truth,” Z
ach objected.
“Stop! Just stop. Own up, grow up and tell me the truth.”
“I told you the truth.”
“You’re really going to stick to that story? Look, we all know that you’re a playboy and a womanizer. You’ve proven it a thousand times. There is no need in going through this all over again.”
“Do the words that Natalia said not tell you that maybe we were right? Can’t you see that you really might be in trouble? Please Robin, listen to me. I’m begging you. We are trying to help you.”
“You know what. I’m tired. We’ve been through this a hundred times. Just get out. Get your shit and get out.” There was neither friendliness nor venom in his tone.
Seeing that he was completely unable to reason with his brother, Zach finally left the room. In the lingering silence, several minutes later, he heard the main door close downstairs, the sound of car doors closing, the buzzing of the gate and the clang when it struck inside the metal frame that received it and locked it tight.
Robin had been at the height of bliss only hours before. His brother was there, they were getting along and Natalia was just the topping on the cake. Everything seemed right with the world when he was plunged to the deepest low when he had seen Zach and Natalia embracing on the terrace. He froze and watched them for a lingering moment, then pushed down his rage and spoke in a normal tone as he approached. He would not accuse Natalia; she was only another of Zach’s victims. No doubt he had promised her something for her betrayal.
The two had separated instantly as he arrived, further proof of Zach’s treason. Fighting to keep control, he had flashed an angry glare at Zach, but was able to maintain his sense of decorum. After a few moments, Natalia had excused herself, saying that she was exhausted from her day and that the two brothers had a lot to catch up on. He had walked her to the door and sent her home in his car. He had sensed a shift in her and it appeared that she might have been crying.
