"That is better." Mikhail said. "Please don’t move yet Nadia."
She looked around to see if Mikhail was visible anywhere, dreading the sight of his evil face.
"Don't waste time looking for me Nadia. I see you clearly but you don't find me nowhere near you. My employees take care of this little business for me. Look behind you. My representative is there."
She turned her head and saw a man in his mid-thirties, in need of a shave but wearing a smart business suit, approaching them nonchalantly.
"That is him. You can call him 'Mitch'. He will take over from here. Of course, I still watch you Nadia, so only intelligent decision please. I trust you, but idiot American boyfriend I have to watch. Don't let him do nothing stupid or he die very quickly."
The call ended and a shiver of horror ran down Nadia's spine.
This was the man she intended to hand herself over to. Maybe Ruben and Clayton thought they could outsmart him but it was also likely that they were out of their depth here. She might disappear into this evil man's world and never see him again.
It was a moment of revelation. She looked at Clayton, his fearless demeanor and absolute calm was awesome. He didn't just look the part, this guy was the real deal and there was no-one else here beside her.
Would she be able to stand losing him? She had lost her mother for so long, never known her father, said goodbye to a whole world in order to maintain her integrity and freedom. Did she have to lose him as well?
Boyevik's guy sat down roughly next to Clayton, bumping into him. Clayton gave him a cold look.
"Where's Boyevik?" He said, looking down at the smaller man.
"Shut up you prick." Mitch said. He spoke with a Jersey accent, a local recruit into Boyevik's organization. "I'll fuckin' tell you if I need you to speak or not. Fuckin' asshole." Clayton blinked slowly, took a deep breath and visualized the moment when he would cave in this mobster's jaw.
"Look at your mommy over there Nadia." Mitch said. "Good to see her again, ain't it?"
Nadia nodded, struggling with her desire to run to her mother, hold her, make sure this was all real.
"Where's Angel?" Clayton asked.
"Didn't I tell this prick to shut up?" Mitch said to Nadia.
"This prick is going to ruin your organization, put your disgusting boss in jail and then destroy you personally." Nadia said. "I'd be nice to him if I were you."
Mitch made a wry face and then addressed Clayton.
"I do apologize Mr. Hargrave." He said sarcastically. "Your guy Angel is right over there."
"Where? I don’t see anything."
"See that parked van?"
"I see it."
"I got the keys right here boss." Mitch reached into his pocket.
"Slowly." Clayton warned him. "Move very, very slowly.
Mitch smiled and with great deliberation pulled a set of car keys out of his pocket and held them up in front of Clayton, gripping them tightly. Clayton put his hand out to receive them as Mitch slowly unwrapped his fingers, put his mouth a little closer to his hand and then blew. A barely visible cloud of white dust lifted in front of Clayton and Nadia's faces, making them close their eyes and draw back.
"Sorry about that. They're a little dusty." The mobster said.
When the Clayton and Nadia opened their eyes again, everything seemed okay. Clayton still had his hand was still outstretched waiting for the keys.
"Take them Hargrave." Mitch said. "And smile." Clayton did exactly what he was told to do. "Now let's go check out that truck. You guy's ready?"
They both smiled and nodded.
Dale and Ruben watched on laptop from across the street in their car. Ruben had Nadia's view and Dale had Clayton's. The plan had been to make the switch and then quickly close in on Boyevik's men as they tried to get away with Nadia. A moment of quiet shock had run through Ruben as the thin white dust floated in front of Clayton's face.
"No." He whispered barely audibly. He had travelled extensively in Colombia where the drug scopolamine is widely used for criminal purposes. He never left his hotel there without two wads of cotton inserted into his nostrils to prevent inhalation of the world's most dangerous drug. One breath and you are out on your feet, all free will gone, willing to carry out any request for your captor.
But this was the Russian mob and they were in New York City, not Bogota.
"Crew stand by." He said. "Come on Dale, we have to move."
"Wait Ruben, everything's going to plan, they're going to make the switch."
He was following Clayton's view on his screen, looking into the darkness of the back of the van.
"It’s a drug." He said. "They're under his control, we have to move it."
"Don’t screw this up Ruben. Stick to the plan."
Ruben hesitated. If they moved out too early it could ruin everything. The switch wouldn’t take place, they would be back to square one and was that really scopolamine? The chances were slim to none.
He looked back to his screen and saw Nadia stepping into the back of the van and then look around to see both Clayton and her mother. They were all leaving together.
"Shit." He said. "That's not in the plan." He his ear piece in while he barked orders to his team.
"Don’t lose that van. " He said and two black BMWs pulled out immediately in pursuit. "And someone get that phone." The phone they had been using to communicate with Boyevik was still on the park bench.
"Downtown Manhattan Heliport." Ruben barked at their driver. It was a short drive from where they were but they could pursue better from the air if the van left Manhattan which it was likely to do. From the back of the car they continued to watch through the eyes of Nadia and Clayton who were now chatting amiably with Mitch in the back of the van.
"Okay rich guy, now's the time to come clean. Tracking devices, surveillance equipment. Whatever you two love birds got on you, I need to know about."
Clayton began to list the catalogue of undetectable devices that would guarantee their safety.
"We're wearing two each of the latest surveillance spots from Hargrave electronics." He said calmly. I've got one on my left wrist, the other is on my back under my right shoulder blade."
"I've got one on my neck and one on the inside of my right ankle." Nadia added.
"What the hell is going on?" Dale hissed in exasperation. "Why are they telling him this?"
"Scopolamine." Ruben said. "They'll do anything he asks and won't remember a thing."
"Lose the tracking devices first." Mitch said. Ruben and Dale watched as the dots on the screen went stationary one by one, flicked out the windows of the moving vehicle.
"I'll be damned." Mitch said. "Technology is a bitch. You sure that's all you got on you?"
Clayton nodded.
"Now what else do I need to be aware of?" Mitch asked.
"Super thin bullet proof material in our clothes." Clayton added. "But probably the most important things are these." He said tapping Nadia's glasses. "My guys will already have picked up and indentified any digital signals you and your men have. You should probably get rid of all your cell phones and any other electronic equipment you have."
"Shit." Mitch hissed. "My damn phone is my life. So what if your guys know my number? Can't I just turn it off?"
"That might work Might not though." Nadia offered happily.
"Shit. All phones, give, give, give. Now. We can't risk it." His men handed over their electronics reluctantly and he began taking out the chips and destroying them.
"What else?" He said with growing irritation.
"Our glasses need to go, they can track us and see you through them."
"Is that a fact?" Mitch grimaced first but then smiled into the screen at Ruben before taking the glasses. He smashed them under his boot and tossed them out the window like the tracking devices. .
"Shit." Dale hissed as sound left the laptops as well. "Please don’t tell them about the contact lenses." He whispered. It was the last thing left.
>
"I better take these out too." Clayton added. The view into the back of the van disappeared. Ruben put his laptop quietly down while Dale wedged his angrily into the back of the seat.
"So much for our damn technology." He said. "Do your guys still have them in view?"
"They do. Looks like they're headed the same place as us.
"Shit. To the Heliport?"
"Looks like it. If that's really scopolamine Clay will walk them right in there, clear it with security and take them anywhere they want to go. We didn’t see any weapons on any of them so there won’t be any security issues."
Dale grabbed his phone and dialed the Heliport. "The hell there won't. They won’t get anywhere near a chopper." The phone picked up and Dale began barking into the receiver.
"It's Dale Hargrave. My brother is on his way to you right now. He's been kidnapped and drugged. Don’t do a word he says. He's with a woman who's also drugged and at least two men who are unarmed but in possession of life-threatening drugs. Don’t challenge them, but don’t let them take off either. We'll be there soon."
There was hesitation at the other end of the line.
"This could be a terrorist situation." Dale continued. "If you let them fly it will be your responsibility."
"Okay Mr. Hargrave. It's just that Mr. Hargrave Junior, your brother, he called before you to clear his group for take-off already."
"I told you he's been drugged, God damn it. Don't let him get into the air. Do you hear me?"
"Okay, roger that, we'll do our best to keep him on the ground until you get here."
"Damn right you will." He ended the call.
"Let me handle it once we get there." Ruben said. "My people are well trained. They'll take care of this."
"They better had Ruben. This is your screw up if those guys get away with my brother and Nadia."
Ruben didn’t reply. He knew the stakes and would accept responsibility if it came to that. But he was determined it never would.
They rode the next minutes in tense silence, the short journey seeming to take forever, but at last the heliport entrance came into view.
"I don’t see their van." Dale said.
"They're already inside. So are my people. They're being stalled, don’t worry. As soon as we have a direct view we can take them down."
Dale felt like pushing his friend and associate's head through the BMW window, but that wouldn't achieve anything.
"Give me the first aid box." He said to the driver. Dale looked at him incredulously, wasting time when every second counted.
"What the hell are you doing?"
Ruben took out a swatch of cotton wool and tore off chunks for each of them.
"Block your noses. They might have more scopolamine."
Dale nodded his head. He should get used to it; Ruben was the boss when it came to situations like this.
In seconds they were flashing ID at security and then they were through. Nadia and Clayton were with a group heading towards the Hargrave Robotics chopper. The bird was already fired up, the blades picking up speed.
"Let's go people." Ruben ordered his team. "Make it a clean one. Don’t get close enough to let anyone blow in your face or make physical contact."
The group were only a few feet from boarding. The BMW drew closer to them and Ruben rolled down his window, shouting over the noise of the chopper. He could see his people, eight in total, emerging from various points in the building. The fugitive group began sprinting for the chopper. The car was within yards of them but they wouldn't make it in time; Mitch's men piled Clayton and Nadia on board, climbed in themselves and slammed the doors shut just as Ruben and Dale reached them.
Nadia's smiling face looked at them passively through the glass. She would remember nothing of this afterwards.
Ruben looked at Dale, too sorry for words as the helicopter lifted away into the sky. He was rarely this wrong and never with Dale Hargrave. They had known each other since the seventh grade, had shared experiences both good and bad since even then, but nothing quite like this.
Dale was angry, but as much with himself as with Ruben and this was not the time for words.
And they were not beaten yet.
"Come on." He said. "That's a Hargrave Robotics chopper. We fly it remotely as long as we can get the pilot to play ball. I'll get my people to track it while you get us one of these other birds to fly in."
Ruben turned to go but his way was blocked.
"I'm sorry sir." The Heliport Security guard said to him firmly. " But I can't allow you to go anywhere until the authorities arrive."
Ruben looked at him archly. "I'm Ruben Mayweather." He said. "You work for me. Call the police and tell them not to come, there's been a mistake." The guard hesitated, an airspace security breach in lower Manhattan was a big deal, but so was Ruben Mayweather. "Look, here's my ID." Ruben showed held it up for him to get a clear view. "We have this situation under control. Not a word to anyone and I mean no-one. Do you understand?"
The head of security arrived to back up his guard and take control.
"Not a word Mr. Mayweather. Don’t worry." He said. "None of this ever happened. You have my personal guarantee."
*******************
When Nadia awoke she felt fully aroused and totally confused. She lay for a minute afraid to even begin to think about where she was. She was sure when she did that the fear would set in. The room was dark and her ear was filled with the sound of heavy male breathing. Something warm, massive and living was directly underneath her but she had no recollection of how she had gotten there.
Too late. The fear was already there.
"Oh God," she heard her own voice - slurred, inebriated. "Where the hell am I? Why is this happening again?" She shook her head and felt it. Unmistakable. It had happened again - this time it was a real blackout and it was every bit as bad as any she had had four years ago.
"Thank God you're awake." She heard Clayton's deep voice, full of concern, next her ear. An unbelievable wave of relief came over her but was soon followed by more confusion. She lifted her head and looked down. She was lying on top of him.
"I was afraid to move… afraid you wouldn't…." He had been terrified for several long minutes that she might be gone, overcome with the feeling that something terrible and nameless had occurred but that he could no recollect.
"What's going on Clayton? I don’t remember a thing. This is scaring me."
"I don’t either. The last I thing in my head is sitting on that bench with you and then I wake up here with you lying on top of me. They must have drugged us somehow, but I don't remember eating or drinking anything."
Nadia tried to move only to discover she was restrained and there wasn't much give in her bonds. They had been tied up, her on top of him. She continued to writhe and pull to see if her hands could slip free.
"Nadia, you've got to stop moving." Clayton's voice vibrated through her entire body. It was good to know he was there, even if they were trapped, kidnapped, even left there to die. At least they were together.
"We have to get out of here Clay. I need to get my hands free."
"We will get out of here. Of course we will. it's just that with you so close to me. I've been lying here for I don’t know how long with you strapped down on top of me…"
She stopped moving, momentarily confused but then she felt it. The swell of his trapped erection between her legs. They had strapped them together with a kind of perversity, her legs straddling his hips, trapping her above and him below.
"I'm sorry. I didn't realize. I'll try to move a little."
She began to slide up and down to free herself some and move away from his cock.
"That's not helping." He said with a kind of anguish.
"I know what you mean." She said huskily as the sensation of his hardened member sent a surge of excitement through her. "Whoever did this is kind of sick."
Clayton looked at her with his intense eyes.
"Sick yes, but in kind
a good way." He said. Nadia felt another thrill go through her and then watched as his ridiculously handsome face cracked into a smile. She began shaking with laughter as well, pushing their bodies even closer.
"Oh Jesus, whatever you do, please don’t laugh." He said. "I'll have to shout for a change of trousers from our kidnappers if you do."
The two began laughing uncontrollably.
"Jesus Christ Clay." Nadia finally said when the shuddering had stopped. "Only you could turn me on and make me laugh at the same time while tied up in a bed waiting for …."
The seriousness of the situation overtook her again. She had no idea what the plan was, for either of them. Clayton looked at her again with his unreadable eyes and then lifted his head from the bed towards hers. She began shaking her head from side to side. The realization was hitting her hard. Boyevik had taken them. He was a sick and evil man, probably watching them even now and this could be the last time they got to share a moment together, alone or not.
She pressed her lips to his, shut her eyes tightly and kissed passionately.
Every moment could be their last.
Clayton laid his head back at last and she rested her head to his chest.
"When we get out of here baby," He said quietly, "I want to make sure I spend the rest of my life with you."
The words went straight to her heart and she buried herself in his neck, biting down into the flesh to hold back the tears. He strained his head to press his lips to her head, longing to put his hand to her hair but instead intertwining his fingers into hers and gripping both her hands in his powerful but helpless grasp.
"I love you more than anything else in this world Nadia Komerov." He whispered passionately into her ear.
Her body clung to his - desperately tenaciously - every heartbeat seeming to last an eternity but one that could be stolen from them at any second.
His cock pressed hard to her again and she shook her head.
"Really?" She said incredulously. "You really can't control that thing, can you?"
He shook his head dejectedly.
Her Sweet Satisfaction: Billionaire Secrets - Book Two Page 8
