"Close your eyes. I mean it. Everyone. Close your eyes."
As theatrical as the request seemed, it still it felt right to Nadia. She closed her eyes and the feeling of protection, love and support surrounding her on all sides almost brought her to tears.
"Okay." She said. "I'm ready."
"Good." Ruben said. "Now I want to hear it from all of you. Say this isn’t over until Boyevik is in jail."
"The cops can't know about this." Nadia said urgently.
"Don’t worry about the how, just say the words. Say it together and say it now."
The three repeated the phrase in unison.
"This isn't over until Angel is with us again.
The three duly repeated.
"This isn't over until we find Louise."
Nadia squeezed hard on the brothers' hands and they squeezed back.
They repeated the phrase.
"And last but not least, let me hear you say; we've got these assholes."
The group opened their eyes and exchanged glances. As cheesy and crazy as it was Nadia felt better than she had in days. With these three men by her side? What could possibly go wrong?
The phone rang and all four stretched for the phone but Ruben was the first to reach it. He held it next to his own handset for three rings and then handed it to Nadia.
"Only her from now on." He said. The Hargrave brothers reluctantly stood down.
Nadia took a breath and then answered on the fifth ring. Ruben prodded the screen of his own handset and then put it to his ear.
"It's me." Nadia said. "I'm ready to listen."
"Good. You are intelligent woman Nadia. I never doubt for second you would make right decision."
"Tell me what you want? Because as far as I can see I don’t have anything to give you."
Mikhail laughed softly.
"How modest of you Nadia. Don't you realize how important you were to my organization? I want you back baby." He gave a soft laugh. The use of the term of endearment sent a shiver of revulsion down Nadia's spine. "It's all I've ever wanted." He said.
"I destroyed your organization Boyevik, that's why you’re back to extortion and narcotics, like any other common criminal. I don’t believe you. I don’t believe a fucking word you say. So tell me, what is it you really want from me?"
Boyevik sighed like a resigned parent.
"Okay Nadia, its true I want something more from you than just technical genius." At this point he switched into Russian. "You have new friends Nadia. Powerful ones. These friends of yours can be very useful to me. Or they can be very dead to me as well."
"Never." She spat back at him in English. "Ask whatever you want from me but--"
"Would you like to hear your mother's voice again Nadia?"
She felt herself begin to shake uncontrollably again.
"This is too much." Clayton said. "Let me speak to that bastard."
"Leave her." Ruben hissed at him.
Nadia switched to Russian now.
"Don’t fuck with me you piece of shit, if you have her, let me hear her now or fuck off."
"Come to the phone Louise."
Nadia's heart missed a beat and her breath froze. A woman's voice filled with fear came to the phone.
"Nadia… Nadia baby, is that you?"
"That's enough." Mikhail pulled the handset back and spoke violently.
"Ready to listen now Nadia?"
"I… I…"
The line went dead.
Nadia looked at the three men surrounding her. Her face was deathly pale.
Clayton took her by the shoulders, turned her to him and looked into her eyes.
"What is it Nadia? Tell me."
"I…"
"It's Louise." Ruben said nonchalantly. "They have her mother. My bad."
*****************
Clayton sat in the darkness on one side of the room while Nadia lay on the bed. She had become almost disoriented after the phone call and he had to force her to lie down and rest before the next call. He had left Ruben and Dale together to come up with a plan of action while he watched over her.
"I can't believe they have her." Nadia repeated over and over again at intervals until finally Clayton walked over the bed, took her hand and pulled her to him.
"I know you think you can do it all alone Nadia, but nobody is that tough. Just tell me what he said and then we can begin working this out."
"How can she still be alive." Her eyes pleaded with his for some kind of explanation but he had none.
"Are you sure it was her?"
"Of course I'm sure. Don't you think I know my own mother's voice?"
He breathed in deeply. It was against all reason.
"So we have to get her out of there." He said. "Ruben is very good at what he does. If you trust him--"
"That slick, heartless wise-guy you call a business associate? He couldn't have been more wrong about the whole damn situation. I'd like to see my mother alive again, not in neat, individually packaged, disposable pieces. Do you know who these people are? Do you have any idea what they could do to her?"
"Ruben has an excellent track record. He was off base about your mother but he reacts quickly to changing circumstances; if anyone can get her back for you, believe me, it's him."
Nadia didn't look convinced.
"What's the alternative?" He continued. "Disappear into an underworld of international crime? Become slave to a drug lord and extortionist for the rest of your life in order to be near to your mother?"
"I'll figure out a way once I'm in there."
"Forget about it. I'm not giving you up - not for Angel, not even for your mother. How do you even now they'll keep her alive if you hand yourself over to them?"
"Don’t say that. Not another word Hargrave. I've spent the last four years wondering what happened to my mother and now I have a chance of finding out. I have a chance of being with her again and I won't give that up for anything."
They stared at each other, neither backing down in their grim determination.
"I'll give you to the government before I give you to them." He said in a low, intent voice.
Nadia glared at him, unable to control her shaking, then got off the bed and walked over to the breathtaking view of Manhattan.
"And I will jump out this window before you have time to call them." She said.
The two faced off again; hostility mixing with love, devotion and a wild twist of desperation.
"I won't allow that to happen either." He said with a supreme exercise of control.
Nadia heard his determination and felt close to breaking point.
Of course she hadn't meant it about the jump, but as she looked down to the tiny streams of New York traffic and pedestrians far below, there was a part of her, for just one tiny fraction of a second that gave the idea serious consideration. After all, it would solve everything, wouldn't it? Stop the pain in one sharp instant….
Before she knew it Clayton had his arms around her and was dragging her to the bed. She tried butting his nose with the back of her head, stomping on his feet and kicking his shins, but he had taken every precaution to pin her in an unbreakable hold and he was so much taller than her that she couldn't seem to find anything weak or vulnerable in him to latch onto.
"We need to talk rationally about this Nadia. Trust me, there's a better way."
"The best way isn't always your way. Let me go for Christ's sake. I wasn't serious, I'm not going to jump out of a window. Where would that leave my mom?"
There was a knock at the door and then Ruben's head appeared in the door way.
"You two love birds having fun in there?" He said with a deadpan expression.
Clayton released his hold on Nadia and she pushed herself off the bed.
"What do you want?" She asked him.
"I want you to get ready for the switch."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Clayton stood up from the bed as well.
"I'm talking about the only optio
n we have. They hand over Angel and Louise, we hand over her."
"You see." She looked accusingly at Clayton. "I'm not out of my mind. This is the only thing to do."
"It's crazy and it's not happening." Clayton said.
"I thought you said Ruben was the best in the business. An expert in his field." She mocked.
"Even experts get it wrong sometimes. This isn’t happening. Period."
"It's the only way to get everything that everybody wants Clay." Ruben said. "No other way. Nadia goes willingly to Boyevik, but she'll be carrying one of your personal tracers so we'll be in contact with her all the way. Zero risk. Angel will return to us with information about Boyevik that we can leverage to take him down. Louise is with us, taking her out of the equation and any leverage they have on Nadia. As soon as we have the secure we send our guys in to get Nadia out of there. Then we tip off the cops as to the whereabouts of the very wanted Mikhail Boyevik and his crew of heavies. I'm not saying it’s easy or without risk, but I guarantee you that it’s the only way out of this mess."
"It’s too risky. I don’t buy this story about him wanting Nadia back to work for him. He's a vicious, insane criminal and what he wants is revenge."
"And one hundred million dollars." Ruben added calmly, as though it were a minor consideration.
There was a short, deafening silence while the number settled in to everyone's minds.
"He can have a hundred million." Clayton said. "But he can’t have Nadia."
"I'm not yours to give." She said.
"It’s not negotiable." Ruben said. "It's all or nothing. If Nadia ever wants to see her mother again or if you ever want to see your old buddy Angel back in action, then this is the plan. Do you want her to ever see her mother again?"
"Of course I do. I'll make damn sure of it." Clayton said.
"Good. Then you won’t object to my having already made arrangements for the exchange to take place."
"Ruben, I'm warning you. I brought you into this because I trusted your judgment." Clayton glowered at Ruben who arched an eyebrow but held his ground.
"This is the only way. Either you run with this Clay, or you're on your own."
The two stared at each other for several tense moments before Nadia stood up, almost directly between them. The men looked towards her.
"It's on. Tell me what to do Ruben. I don’t need his permission for this." She said referring to Clayton. "If he wants to contribute his one hundred million so be it, but I know Mikhail will take me in exchange for my mother with or without the money. I'll tell him what the deal's going to be when he calls again."
Ruben nodded and put his hand out to take Nadia's.
"God damn it. Okay." Clayton said. "Tell him we have a deal but I have my conditions as well." He took Nadia's hand away from Ruben's. "She's not going in there alone. Not without surveillance, not without protection."
"I never suggested she would." Ruben said.
"Good, then let's get working on the details before this slimeball calls us back."
Nadia had been ready to go it alone but inside she was relieved; with Clayton Hargrave behind her, maybe she really could beat this thing after all.
"By the way, there's one other thing Clayton." Ruben said with his ultra cool demeanor.
"What's that?"
"Jack Patterson."
The name sounded almost like it was from the distant past, that much had occurred in the last twenty-four hours.
"Do you want to deal with him now? He's waiting for your call."
"Hold on." Nadia interrupted. "What are you going to do? He's my problem, not yours."
"He's a player on the team I own. He is my problem. Minor, but still an annoyance nonetheless."
"You own his entire football team?" Nadia's mouth hung open.
"That's right and he's bringing in negative publicity for management, for his team mates and for me with these crazy antics of his. Now please butt out for ten seconds while I take care of him. Do you have his number Ruben?"
"Be my guest." He said, handing his own phone to Clayton.
Nadia couldn’t believe it. Just a day ago Patterson had been the bane of her existence; a high profile celebrity client threatening to ruin her entire career. Today, he seemed like nothing more than a minion in the vast world of the Hargrave empire.
"Hi. This is Clayton Hargrave. Who's this?"
Nadia heard the familiar foghorn voice on the other end of the line, but it was calmer than usual, more polite.
Clayton listened for about three seconds and then cut in.
"Excuse me for talking over you Patterson, but please shut the fuck up."
There was instant silence.
"You will co-operate with the police. Do you understand?"
Pause.
"You do. Good. You will get help for your problems. Do you understand?"
Pause.
"Good. You will stop speaking to the press and forget about your fucking 'privacy consultant' or whatever the hell she was. Do you read me loud and clear?"
A slightly longer pause.
"Good. Now if you can keep your dick in your pants and your nose clean we'll support you one hundred percent. Any fuck ups and you're out. You'll never play in the NFL again. Now goodbye Patterson, don’t make me have to speak to you again."
He ended the call and looked at the amazed Nadia.
"I'm sorry." He said. "Was there anything else you wanted me to say to him?"
She shook her head, dazed with amazement. Only Clayton Hargrave could make problems like that disappear with a single phone call and he wanted to solve all her problems for her.
So why the hell did she have such a hard time with that again?
Chapter Five
"Okay. Are we all ready for this?" Ruben asked.
Dale nodded, so did Clayton and then they both looked to Nadia. She took a deep breath in and nodded as well.
"We're going to do a sweep on you with the best technology available on or off the market. If anything shows up we'll replace it or lose it. Boyevik needs to think that you are one hundred percent clean."
Nadia nodded and waited for the inspection to begin. A female member of Ruben's security company had been drafted to give Nadia a full body search. The two left the men to go into a bedroom and some minutes later they returned.
"What did we find?" Ruben asked his employee.
"Clean as a whistle Mr. Mayweather." Ruben didn't look happy.
"You found nothing at all." He said sternly. The employee faltered.
"I conducted a full body search and electronic sweep."
"A full body search?" Ruben pressed the point.
"Company standard Mr. Mayweather. No stone left unturned."
He ran his hand through his short, dark ruffled hair and turned to Clayton.
"You guys must be getting better at this." He said.
"Best in the world Ruben, you know that." Dale told him.
"Okay, you can go now. Thanks for your help." Ruben dismissed his employee.
"Okay Nadia," he said, "as far as I'm concerned you're ready to go. If my people can't find a tracking device on you or spot the difference between those smart specs and normal glasses then nobody can. I've got to hand it to you Clay, your tech is pretty impressive lately."
Clayton nodded. It was something he didn't need to be told.
"We'll know exactly where you are and as long as you have the contact lenses in we'll record what you see. As long as you're wearing the glasses we'll have a full picture of whatever is going on digitally and electronically at whatever location he brings you to and we'll hear everything that you hear. Try not to lose them or give them up for any reason."
She had to admit their technology was pretty amazing. Each of them would wear, slim, lightweight, bullet proof fabrics, two of the undetectable surveillance devices, smart glasses which would give a combined audio, visual and electronic picture of all around them and if even all of that failed there were still the contact lense
s to transmit back location and images of their whereabouts.
They were as safe as you could get.
Nadia looked at the sleek glasses again. The same damned glasses that had outed her as a surveillance professional. Maybe they would repay the debt owed to her now and bring her back into contact with her mother.
"Come on." Ruben said. "We need to get going. The switch will take place downtown at the Battery Park Control house. We'll need to make the transfer of funds and then the exchange. Should all be as smooth as Belgian chocolate. We'll get Angel debriefed and then proceed to track you wherever he's planning to take you. And don't worry, " he gave a rare, small, but hugely reassuring smile, "there's nowhere on earth he can take you that we won’t be able to follow."
"What if I don’t want you to follow." Nadia said quietly.
"Don't worry Nadia. It's going to be okay. We won't leave you with him for long and the authorities don't need to know about a thing. At least not until this whole thing is over and you and your mother are back safe with us again."
Nadia was still finding it all hard to believe but she nodded her agreement and prepared to make the journey downtown.
********************
Two hours later Clayton and Nadia were sitting, as directed, on the nearest bench to the entrance of the Battery Park Control House. Dale and Ruben were parked nearby in a customized, but not out of place, high end BMW M6 with blacked out windows. They watched the couple remotely through a secure laptop, waiting for any sign of trouble.
It had been four years since Nadia had seen her mother - four years since she had disappeared. How she would react to seeing her now in front of her, alive and under such disturbing circumstances, she had no idea.
"Don't worry Nadia." Clayton said quietly. He could feel every breath the woman next to him took, every beat of her racing heart. "Everything is going to be okay. We have this. Trust us. Nothing is going to go wrong here."
She was about to look at him, reach for his hand, when she saw them emerge from the train station. Her breath froze, her heart pounded.
"That's her." She whispered and rose to her feet. Her mother looked confused and lost and then frightened as the man next to her stopped walking and corralled her back in. The phone next to Nadia on the bench rang. She sat back down and picked it up.
Her Sweet Satisfaction: Billionaire Secrets - Book Two Page 7
