by Finian Blake
“Paul, I have looked into the matter and find that you are correct,” Uri said in his most apologetic voice. “If you allow me to handle this, it will be handled in a most severe manner.”
“May I have your personal assurances?”
“I will not go into detail, but I will send you his nuts in the diplomatic pouch delivered by the new head of security,” Uri said coldly.
“Thank you Uri, I will tell the press that the explosion was caused by chemicals that were ignited by an electrical spark. They were of course illegally stored in the basement at the time.” Paul said warmly.
“Will they buy that?”
“They will after we manufacture the evidence. The President will sleep better if we tell him a lie that he wants to believe.” Paul asked, “And what are you going to do about Fyodor? It seems that two hundred fifty thousand went into his personal account.”
“Fyodor has been a very bad boy. I believe that he will be severely punished,” Uri chuckled. “He may even die of shame, what about the other two hundred fifty?”
“We will use that to clean up the mess,” Paul said seriously. “Paying for silence can be expensive.”
“I understand,” Uri said before he broke the connection.
Boris closed the Skype connection in his laboratory ending the dialogue between Paul and Uri. Winnie took a long pull on her drink waiting a full minute before saying anything.
“Those two just commandeered their country’s foreign policy intentionally deceiving their leaders as if it is done every day.”
“Yes,” Boris said tapping the table for emphasis. “We just avoided an international incident. Fyodor crossed the line but it was really Salvador’s screw up. If this matter became public, we would have had to respond and they would respond. The whole incident would most certainly become mired down in posturing and spin out of control. If we kill a Russian agent, they must retaliate. This way we each clean up our own back yard.”
“But how are you going to sell the idea that Ardent Computers was storing flammable waste in their basement,” Winnie pressed.
“Right now one of Paul’s teams are at the Fort Meade toxic waste dump loading sprayers with the appropriate chemical to spray around the wreckage,” Boris said confidently. “We will create a truth that they want to hear and since Ardent was storing ‘TOP SECRET’ material the whole thing will be classified and secured in the NSA archives under the National Secrets Act.”
“Do you really think that you can get away with that,” Marvin asked unsure which he answer wanted to hear.
“It is an answer that fits an acceptable solution,” Rhonda said jumping into the conversation. Felicia started to say something, but Paul squeezed her hand tightly.
“Well the hour is late and we need to sleep on it,” Paul said cautiously pulling Felicia from the room to the elevator refusing any conversation until they reached their room.
“They just killed more than forty people,” Felicia blurted out.
“Yes, but they did not kill us,” Paul hissed barely above a whisper. “We just made over thirty million when Haggard died. I for one am going to take it and shut my mouth.”
“But…” Felicia started.
“But nothing,” Paul snapped. “If they wanted to kill us do you think that they would have any problem? They just killed the man that tried to steal our dream and kill us. I believe that I will say thank you and sleep well tonight.”
“They did not threaten us,” Felicia said reflectively. “I wonder what their price is?”
“Those idiots were trying to kill them too,” Paul said with a forced calm wanting to prevent Felicia from going crazy. “They will make millions the same as us.”
“What if they change their mind,” Felicia pressed.
“They could have easily put us under that building if they had wanted to,” Paul pointed out. “I believe that they have things figured out. They saved our bacon more than once and made us very rich in the process for which I am eternally grateful.”
“I suppose that you’re right,” Felicia had to admit. “We will just have to ride this out.”
Mary Lee was still charged up from her part in the raid on Ardent Computers. Her job was to get a feel for what Blake and Molly would do. She invited them to the guest suite making her way straight to the bar Stripping off her combat coveralls as she went revealing the sexy lingerie that she was wearing underneath. She grabbed a bottle of Oak Heart Rum skipping the glass taking a long pull coughing away the shock of the hard liquor. She held up the bottle up to Blake’s lips forcing her to take a prolonged pull.
“Hey are you two going to hog that jug all to yourselves?” Molly complained prying the bottle out of Mary Lee’s tight grip downing a substantial part of the bottle. “Shit how do you do it?”
“You mean kill so coldly?” Mary Lee slurred her words.
“No,” Molly said drunkenly. “You’re a man that believes that he is a woman and she is a woman pretending to be a man. Shit, I’m confused!” Blake reached around from behind her starting to grope and Mary Lee kissed her passionately groping Blake as she did.
“Right now, all I want to do is confuse you more,” Mary Lee said desperately as she tried to catch her breath.
“Ok,” Molly moaned as the three people fell to the carpeted floor in a tangle of limbs.
Tamar had taken Senator Ransom to her place at the bottom of the hill. The mood was somber as they stared at each other over one more drink. Winnie could not get over the satisfied look on Tamar’s face. “You look pleased with what transpired tonight.”
Tamara said emotionlessly. “These animals don’t kill for survival, money or racial motives. They kill because it makes them feel superior and the feeling of power that it gives them.”
And you know this from…,” Winnie let the question hang incomplete.
“My family was the target of genocide,” Tamar said emotionlessly. “They killed my father, mother and two of my brothers laughing as they cut my throat.” She ran her finger over a faint line over her collar bone. “They ran their knife over my collarbone instead of my neck because they were drunk on their ass when they did it. There was a lot of blood and they left me for dead. They went to sleep. When I came to I shot them with my father’s shot gun while they slept.”
“So it was revenge,” Winnie pressed.
“No,” Tamar said sounding offended, “They came here to kill everyone here and I stopped them. I will never standby and let evil conquer. Make no mistake if they had seen you tonight they would have killed you without blinking an eye.” Winnie shuddered as she realized the truth in what Tamar had just said. “And you have no doubt that you are right,” Winnie pressed not wanting to acknowledge the simple truth.
“None what so ever,” Tamar said barely above a whisper. “You know the truth of the matter.” Winnie bowed her head nodding imperceptibly starting to cry softly. Tamar slipped an arm around her shoulders as they fell asleep on the floor in front of the fire place.
Cherry had left instructions with all of her ‘ambassadors’ to have their charges meet for breakfast at the control center. Tamar walked in with Winnie to find that she was the last to arrive. Marry Lee and her charges were sitting down to breakfast with their small expresso cups. Felicia and Paul were just finishing a fresh fruit breakfast with Rhonda while Cherry, Nadia and Ted were seated in the back of the room with a very nervous, Senator Marvin Belight whom was thoroughly shaken by the thought that he could have been under that seven story building in the parking lot. Blake laughed at her boss’s discomfort.
“The asshole was just an inch away from being on the wrong side of the line,” Blake scoffed. “What will you do if he reneges on his promise?”
“He is about to receive a visit from Paul Valiant with a reminder about the National Secrets Act that he helped pass,” Mary Lee said blandly.
“What if that does not work,” Molly asked wondering if something bad would happen and if it would apply to her and Reid.
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“We don’t kill people just because they refuse our suggestions,” Mary Lee said maintaining her bland tone. “A NSA psychiatrist will have him committed for an indefinite stay in a psychiatric hospital.
“And what about us?” Blake asked with a concerned voice.
“I anticipated that you would go along with the project,” Mary Lee said with a surprised tone.
“No, what about us.” Blake said taking both Molly’s and Mary Lee’s hand.
“Oh us,” Mary Lee said realizing the context of us taking Blake’s hand and reaching out for Molly. “I believe that ‘us’ is very much in the picture, but that will have to develop over time.” Molly squeezed her hand warmly to acknowledge the statement, as did Reid. All three looked up as Cherry walked up to the table with a smirk on her face staring down at Molly’s cleavage that was exposed by her low cut blouse.
“You are going to need to be more discrete,” Cherry laughed.
“And just what is that supposed to mean,” Molly demanded feeling Cherry’s unmistakable stare.
“You have a carpet burn on your tits,” Cherry said pointing directly at Molly’s cleavage with a lewd laugh. “But that is not what I came here for. Marvin is having a panic attack and I would like both you and Blake to keep a close eye on him until he settles down. Mary Lee will assist you.”
Cherry wandered over to Paul and Felicia’s table. Both people tensed as she approached afraid of what she might ask of them.
“Paul, you and Felicia have not had the grand tour yet we have an excellent range of amenities and Boris would love to show Paul his digital test tank.” Cherry’s offer threw them off of their thoughts since they felt that she would start with some sort of demand or a threat.
“What about…,” Felicia started to say.
“Last night,” Cherry said in an even tone. “You know what was done and why we did it. We were defending ourselves against an attack. Then we insured that there would be no more attacks. They tried to kill you too and if we had not stopped them they would try again. That which was done, was necessary and not an act of revenge. You profited from what happened as did we. Do what you want. No one will stop you. In the mean time we have business to take care of.”
“I believe that we will stay,” Paul stammered squeezing Felicia’s hand tightly to stop her from saying anything. “Would Boris have time to show us his digital test tank?”
“Yes, you can catch him in the steam room, as usual he had too much to drink and he is meanly hung over,” Cherry laughed signaling for Eden to escort them to the spa. “You can get a massage while he finishes. If you will excuse me I need to have a conversation with Senator Ransom.” Cherry walked off in the direction of Winnie and Tamar.
“Winnie, has Tamar explained our views about last night.” Cherry asked with a concerned tone in her voice. “We kept our actions down to what was necessary.”
“Do you really think that they will buy that story about ‘illegally’ stored toxic waste,” Winnie asked.
“They will buy it because nobody wants to hear the truth,” Cherry said confidently. “Paul Valiant’s team is manufacturing the evidence as we speak and the reports will come from official government agencies.” Rhonda said over Cherry’s shoulder. “They will most certainly buy it because that is a truth that they can live with. Too many highly placed people want our citizens to believe that we are always moral and virtuous because God is on our side.”
“Unfortunately you are right on target,” Winnie said with a touch of despair in her voice. Cherry put a hand on her shoulder to console her.
“Salvador, Haggard and Archer sent sixty men over two weeks at a cost of half a million dollars to kill us, you can bet that they would have kept trying until somebody succeeded. What we did was absolutely necessary and the only thing that saved us is that security is our business.”
“I am still not comfortable with it,” Winnie said not trying to hide her feelings.
“I would have preferred to have them stop, but we both know that was not going to happen,” Cherry countered.
“We could have gone to the police,” Winnie argued.
“And in the mean time they might succeed,” Tamar injected excitedly. “These were animals that hire their killing done so that they can feel clean. Death was the only thing that was going to stop them. They just selected the wrong people as targets, some targets shoot back.” Cherry put her arms around Tamar to calm her turning to walk out of the room.
“Winnie, you need to make up your own mind on this. We will leave you to your thoughts.”
Rhonda cornered Senator Belight at the door of his room following him in as he entered. As Marvin opened the door he was greeted by Led Zeppelin’s ‘Whole Lotta Love’ blaring full volume on the CD player. Rhonda calmly followed him in as he ran to the tuner holding his ears as he went to turn down the volume. After turning down the volume, Marvin found himself face to face with Rhonda smiling confidently like a vulture waiting for her next meal.
“Is this threat time,” Marvin asked nervously.
“No I came to show you the future,” Rhonda said quietly as Mary Lee, Blake and Molly appeared out of nowhere. Mary Lee was wearing a tight fitting black outfit with a black mask that looked like a bird’s head, Blake wore a brightly colored body stocking with a mask that looked like a parrot, and Molly wore a furry outfit with a mask that looked like a cat.
“Oh! I have a costume party in my future,” Marvin said mockingly.
“No,” Rhonda purred quietly unnerving Marvin with the softness of her answer. Molly presented Rhonda with a tray holding a syringe while Mary Lee and Reid grabbed his arms. Rhonda picked up the syringe searching Marvin’s arm for a vein. “We are going to send you on a trip. This is a cousin of LSD and you are going to see things that will fry your mind. The reason that the music was up so loud is to let you know that this room is truly sound proof and you can scream as loud as you want.” Rhonda pushed the plunger on the syringe and within a minute Marvin was on his way. Mary Lee turned into a giant crow that started to tickle Marvin’s back, Reid turned into a giant parrot that started to tear at him with her beak, and Molly turned into a wicked looking house cat that started to use his legs as a scratching post. Marvin started to scream for rescue as the three fed his nightmare. Rhonda stepped out of the room closing the door enjoying the silence of the hallway satisfied that the room was truly soundproof. She found Cherry leaning against the wall with a disapproving look on her face.
“Was that really necessary,” Cherry asked in a voice barely above a whisper.
“Did you put me in charge of operations or not,” Rhonda said defensively. “We have been ignoring his shit for far too long,”
“I wasn’t criticizing you,” Cherry said softly. “I just wanted to know what your thoughts were.”
“After what he did I think that we should have lumped him with Salvador and the others. I will call this the minimum,” Rhonda said finding it impossible to keep the venom out of her voice. “What indications have you gotten from Paul and Felicia?”
“They are still dealing with the shock, but they completely understand since those assholes were trying to kill them and steal their company. They will go along with the program,” Cherry said confidently. “The problem is Senator Ransom, she the wild card. She is a straight arrow and tends to work on the straight and narrow however Tamar is making progress with her.”
“What are your inclinations should she elect not to cooperate,” Rhonda asked nervously.
“I would not care to go down that dark road. We will have to deal with the fallout as it comes,” Cherry said cautiously. “I like Winnie and…” Just then the door to the room opened up and Molly stepped out with a worried look on her face.
“Mary Lee needs both of you right now!” Cherry pushed through to see Mary Lee kneeling on the floor with two fingers pressed to Marvin’s neck.
“He just switched off,” Mary Lee said in a panic. “He has a strong pulse, but his brain j
ust checked out.”
“Dress him in pajamas and put a few tabs of acid in his shaving kit, then call ‘Doctor Feel Good’, and have him evaluate the situation.” Cherry looked down at the drooling figure of Marvin Belight without the slightest bit of sympathy. “It’s going to be harder to sell Winnie on our no action claim with Marvin lying around like a vegetable.”
“Mary Lee you three change into normal dress and get Marvin into PJ’s and slip him between the covers. I will have ‘Doctor Feel Good’ out within the hour,” Rhonda said coolly still not feeling any sympathy for the unconscious man giving him a light kick in the ribs to make sure that he was not faking. “Let’s check with Winnie to see where she is at.”
Winnie and Tamar were in Tamar’s studio having a cup of expresso watching a computer screen build a pattern for a suit. She had talked Winnie into doing a fashion show and the two women were tweaking the planned designs for Winnie.
“I can have these designs ready by tonight. We can shoot the spread tomorrow if you don’t mind working on Sunday.” Tamar said hopefully. “If we do this right most of the work will happen on the weekend so it will not interfere with your schedule.” Rhonda and Cherry walked in as Tamar and Winnie were putting down their expresso shots.
“We are glad to see that you have recovered from your shock last night Winnie,” Rhonda said hopefully.
“I have not recovered from last night. I have come to terms with it,” Winnie started out slowly. “Tamar filled me in on the other events leading up to all of the action and they match up to some of the facts that I am aware of. I believe that since Director Valiant is assisting it must have been necessary. Before you ask, I will accept the fact that this falls under National Security. I will go along with it providing the rest of the facts are accurate.” Rhonda decided to go for broke.
“Before you get too comfortable with that we have a problem with Senator Belight.” Rhonda dug deep for a touch of concern to add to her statement. “Reid called me to his room she found him screaming ‘stay away from me’ in his bed. She found some little white pills wrapped in aluminum foil in his shaving kit. He went unconscious before we could get to him, so we called a doctor.”
