Playing Dirty

by Kiki Swinson

  Two martinis later I called it quits and headed to my car. Maria tried to get me to stay longer so she could talk me to death about how she was tired of not having a man, but I wasn’t up for that sob story tonight. I had to get out of there because I was on a mission.

  On my way home I tried to figure out a way I was going to get in contact with Mr. Alvarez without Maria’s agents finding out. I knew it would be hard, considering they had him under surveillance. However, he did own a nightclub, and I was sure the agents didn’t have that place all wired up. It would be too hard, considering how noisy it was in there. I was sure the phones were tapped, though. So the best thing for me to do was to make my way inside the club and, hopefully, be able to have a chat with him while no one was around. As difficult as that might sound, if there’s a will, there’s a way.

  After leaving Maria’s house the night before, I could only think about how I’d be able to strategically plan the perfect time to approach Mr. Alvarez. I knew time was of the essence and that I wouldn’t be able to drag this out any longer. Government agents worked odd hours—so who knew when they would execute their plan of attack? I wasn’t about to take any chances, so I finally decided to put on a provocative dress and strut my stuff into his club. The only thing I would need to worry about was how to break the news to him. That was my only concern.

  “Ophelia, I need you to run me a bubble bath,” I yelled.

  “Okay, ma’am,” she replied, and then I heard her run off to my bathroom.

  I had no idea what I was going to wear, but I knew what image I wanted to portray. “Sexy” and “glamorous” were the only two words that popped in my head, so I searched for a dress that would give me that exact look. After sifting through at least one hundred dresses, I finally ran across the perfect one. It was a black Carolina Herrera off-the-shoulder faille dress. It stopped right above my knee, so it would look dazzling with my four-inch satin Jimmy Choo pumps and the clutch bag to match. I knew the crowd would stop and take notice of me the moment I stepped foot inside the club, which was exactly what I wanted to accomplish.

  My bubble bath was warm and the suds from the bubbles felt like silk on my skin, so I lay back and relaxed in it for at least twenty minutes. When the water started getting cold, I climbed out of the tub and headed back to my bedroom to get dressed.

  “Ophelia, have the valet fetch my Aston Martin, please. And tell him that I’ll be down in five minutes,” I yelled.

  “Okay, ma’am,” she replied, and then she disappeared.

  Once I had everything in place—my attire, my hair, and my makeup—I sprayed on my favorite fragrance and exited my home like I was Cinderella. Maria called me while I was in transit. I started not to answer her call, but I knew she’d keep ringing my phone until she got in touch with me. I exhaled right before I said hello.

  “What are you getting into tonight?” she inquired.

  “Oh…nothing,” I said, trying to sound like I was relaxing.

  “You sound like you’re dead tired,” she commented.

  “I am. But I can’t let that stop me from working.”

  “Whatcha working on? One of your cases?”

  I sighed. “Yes, I am, and I’m getting a headache, too.”

  “Why don’t you step away from it tonight and come out with me so you can clear your head? Then tomorrow you’ll start over fresh.”

  “No, I don’t think that’ll be a good idea. I’ve got work up to my neck, so the best thing for me to do is sit my ass right and continue doing what I started.”

  Maria sighed. “Alright. I guess you know what works for you. But if you decide you want to hang out, give me a call.”

  “I will,” I assured her; then we hung up.

  I only had a couple of blocks to drive until I reached Juan Alvarez’s club. My heart was beating like crazy, but I didn’t let that stop me from continuing on with my mission. As I pulled up curbside in front of the club, the valet driver met me and took my keys in hand. I greeted him with a seductive smile and carried on about my business. The line for Mr. Alvarez’s club wrapped around the building, but I was not about to stand in it. I was too glamorous for that shit, so I entered inside through the VIP entrance. I had to pay the guy two 100-dollar bills before I was given the green light. It didn’t matter, though, because that little bit of money was just a penny in the bucket compared to what I was about to earn.

  After I walked into the club, I had to climb a flight of stairs that led to the VIP room, which overlooked the entire club. It was really nice and a sight to see. Everyone who had tons of money was in the VIP section. I recognized a couple of the faces, like the infamous Valdez brothers. There were three of them and they were all very handsome. Plus they were notorious for the enormous amount of power they had. The entire family owned a massive amount of hotels and other real estate in Miami. Hailing from Colombia, they also owned massive cargos of cocaine, too. No one in any government agency had been able to bring these guys down. They had been under a microscope for a few years, I’d heard, but no busts had been made.

  Another familiar face walked by me and my heart dropped. It was Juan Alvarez in the flesh, dressed in a black Armani suit. I played it off and smiled as he turned around to get another look at me. I braced myself and tried desperately to look like I fitted into this whole scene. He stopped in his tracks and walked back toward me. “You look very stunning!” he complimented me.

  “Thank you very much,” I replied, and extended my hand.

  “You look very familiar to me,” he said, squinting his eyes, simultaneously jogging his memory.

  “You’ve probably seen me on TV”—I helped him—“I’m Yoshi Lomax, attorney-at-law.”

  “Oh yes, how are you?” he asked, grabbing my hand a little firmer.

  “I am fine!” I said. “I just wanted to get away from the office and come out so I could enjoy myself for once.”

  “Well, you picked the right place!” he said. “Have a seat over here at the table with me and my guest.” He escorted me over to a table lined with a few members of his entourage and a couple of sleazy-looking women.

  I took a seat at the very end of the table, and Mr. Alvarez took the chair next to me. It was evident that I was going to be his special guest, because immediately after we sat down, he poured both of us a glass of champagne. “Drink up. We are going to have fun tonight!” he insisted.

  I took a couple of sips of my champagne and immediately started feeling the vibes in the club. The salsa music was blasting through every speaker the club had mounted on the walls and in the floors, and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. It was apparent that everyone was there to get fucked-up and take one of these bimbos home afterward. I was there for a totally different reason. I had a motive. And my motive was to get paid. So I began to gather my words together, so they would come out of my mouth right. While I was in deep thought, Mr. Alvarez started up a conversation with me.

  “So, how’s business? How long have you been an attorney?”

  “Business is good. And I’ve been an attorney so long, I’ve lost track of the years.”

  “What’s your acquittal rate?”

  “Let’s just say that I have never lost a case.” I got cocky.

  “That’s good to hear! Do you have a business card?”

  “Why, of course I do,” I eagerly said, and whipped one out of my clutch and handed it to him.

  He stuffed it in the inside pocket of his Armani jacket, then said, “Let’s make a toast to us.”

  “What’s the occasion?” I wondered aloud.

  He and I held our glasses up to each other. He said, “Let’s make a toast to freedom!”

  He and I tapped our glasses against one another and made the ding sound, saying the word “Freedom” in unison. It felt really good to sit there in the presence of this man and become cozy with him. I felt like he and I were on the verge of something really special. I’m not speaking from an intimate standpoint, because I was not the least bit
attracted to him. Okay, granted, he’s a fairly attractive man. He kind of reminded me of the actor Sean Connery, with the salt-and-pepper thing going on. But I was up to my neck when it came to fucking these tired old men. All I wanted to do was make this deal with him and keep it moving. That was it.

  Two hours had passed and I could see that everyone around me was ripped. The sleazy whores were falling all over each other, making themselves look very cheap. I stayed close to Mr. Alvarez, but I was also able to hold my liquor a lot better than these women, who were making complete spectacles of themselves. And when Mr. Alvarez had gotten tired of the show they were putting on, he had two of his men escort their asses downstairs. I laughed my ass off on the inside, because that was surely a sight to see.

  Amid all the loud music, drinking, and laughter that was going on, I noticed that one of Alvarez’s men tapped him on his shoulder; then he leaned over and whispered something in his ear. I was literally killing myself to hear what he was saying, but, of course, I couldn’t manage over all the noise. And then all of a sudden, Alvarez leaned over toward me and said, “Excuse me, Ms. Lomax, but I have some business to take care of, so I am going to have to call it a night.”

  My heart started thudding like crazy, because I didn’t know what was going on. I couldn’t let him leave without telling him what I knew. But the way things were looking, I didn’t have enough time. “Ah, you’re leaving so soon?” I whined. “I was just starting to build a connection with you.”

  “There will be another time,” he assured me. “I have your number, so I will be in touch.”

  As he began to lift himself up from his chair, I grabbed him by the arm. “Please don’t go,” I begged.

  He smiled. “I’m sorry, beautiful, but I have to. Don’t worry, though, you’ll see me again.”

  “You don’t understand. I came here tonight to warn you that the DEA is onto you because someone in your organization is feeding them a lot of information about you. They know how much coke you bring in once a week from South America, and they know that you’re going to be at the docks when your next shipment is brought in.”

  Looking very alarmed, he sat back down. “Who is the traitor?” he demanded.

  “I’m sorry, but I don’t have a name. But I do know that whoever is your lieutenant is the informant. And I also know that whichever day you step foot on that dock, they will be waiting for you,” I continued; then I looked around to see if anyone was watching me.

  “How did you get this information?”

  “I’m sorry, Mr. Alvarez, I can’t tell you who my source is. But I can tell you that they are definitely reliable.”

  “Indeed they are,” he said; then he buried his face in the palm of his hands.

  I didn’t want to say another word. It became very clear to me that he needed some time to think, so I sat back in my chair and waited for him to say something.

  Fifteen seconds later he lifted his head and looked around the room. He motioned for one of his men to come to him. And as soon as he approached Mr. Alvarez, he leaned down toward him, and that’s when Mr. Alvarez whispered into his ear. Several seconds later the guy left the room and headed downstairs.

  I immediately became uneasy and wished that I had not said anything. But it was too late, I had already let the cat out of the bag. Now I had to wait and see what happened. Nervously sitting there, I got up the gumption to speak. “What’s going on?”

  “I told my driver to fetch my car,” he replied.

  “You’re still leaving?”

  “Yes, I am, but I want you to know that you have given me some very valuable information. And I assure you that you will be compensated for it.”

  “But I don’t understand what you mean,” I said, trying to play dumb.

  “Let’s just say that you’ve saved my life, along with millions of dollars, and for that, I must repay you. So tomorrow I am going to have someone bring something very special to your office.”

  “You don’t have to do that,” I said, knowing damn well that’s exactly what I wanted.

  “Stop it! I insist,” he said, and stood back up from his chair. He grabbed ahold of my hand and kissed it.

  I smiled and said, “Please promise me that you’ll never mention that we had this conversation.”

  “You have my word,” he told me, and then he made his exit. And just like that, he was gone. Vanished behind a set of black doors. I sat there and had myself another glass of champagne. I made a toast to myself about the power move I’d just made. And after I finished gulping down the last drop, I set my glass down and left. The entire drive back to my house, all I did was smile and wonder about the special gift Mr. Alvarez was going to have delivered to me. I knew it couldn’t be anything other than money. The question was, how much was he going to toss my way? And since I hadn’t thrown any figures at him, it could be anything. But knowing the magnitude of revenue he had at his disposal made me believe that it would be half a million or better. Time would tell, though.

  Dodging the Bullet

  My BlackBerry started ringing and it startled the hell out of me. I looked over at the alarm clock on my nightstand and realized that it was 6:00 A.M., so I immediately wondered who the hell could have been calling me at this hour. I picked up my phone and looked at the caller ID. Maria’s name was beaming out at me like headlights on a car. I had an idea what she was calling me for, so I hesitated to answer. But then I realized that if I didn’t answer, she’d know that I had something to hide. I pressed down on the call button and said hello in the groggiest voice I could muster.

  “Yoshi, wake up. We need to talk,” she demanded. I could tell she was pissed.

  “What’s the matter?” I asked.

  “Please tell me you didn’t blow the whistle on my agents’ investigation?” she begged.

  “What are you talking about?” I asked, playing dumb.

  “I am talking about the Juan Alvarez case.”

  “What about it?” I asked, continuing to act like I had no idea what she was talking about.

  “His case went bust on us this morning. And we can’t locate our informant anywhere,” she said.

  “Tell me what the hell does that have to do with me?” I countered.

  “Yoshi, you were the only person who knew outside the agency.”

  “So you’re accusing me of blowing your agents’ investigation?”

  “I’m only asking. You were the only person I told.”

  “Come on, Maria, you’ve known me for a long time now. You know I wouldn’t betray your trust like that. What you need to do is talk to your agents, because this sounds like an inside job to me.” I tried to sound as convincing as possible.

  “No way. My men wouldn’t do that. They’ve worked over five hundred man-hours in a two-month period to crack open this case, and then to have it blow up in smoke like that…no, I just can’t believe that.”

  “Well, Maria, I don’t know what to tell you—”

  “I need you to tell me the truth,” she interjected.

  “What the hell do you think I’ve just done? Maria, I am an attorney! Not an informant. And besides, I didn’t know the specifics anyway. Remember, you kept all that information to yourself.”

  “Yeah, but you knew who we were after.”

  “So what! That doesn’t mean shit!” I snapped.

  “Look, Yoshi, I’m not trying to get into a fight with you.”

  “You should not have called me with that bullshit then. You’ve really insulted my intelligence.”

  Maria sighed; then she said, “Cut it out, Yoshi! No one could ever do that.”

  “Are you done? Because I am ready to go back to bed.”

  “Yes, I am done. But I must inform you that if we ever find our informant and he utters your name, just know that life is going to look very dim for you.”

  “Wait a minute, Maria. Are you fucking threatening me?”

  “If you had any involvement in sabotaging my agents’ investigation, then, yes,
I am threatening you.”

  “I am appalled that you would think that I would be capable of doing something like that. I mean, what could I gain from it? Absolutely nothing. I make my money representing clients in a courtroom. I’m not into anything other than that. So, whenever you do find out who blew the whistle on your agents’ case, feel free to call me back and give me an apology. I’ll be all ears.” I indignantly ended the call.

  After I hung up, I laid my phone down on the nightstand and turned back over in my bed. Deep down inside I felt bad, because I never wanted to double-cross Maria. She and I had been friends forever. She was like the sister I never had. But when I looked at it from another angle, I had to come to terms with the fact that I came into this world by myself, and that’s the way I was going to leave. So, to hell with her and her threats! Shit, I was trying to get paid by any means necessary!

  I finally rolled out of my bed around 8:30 A.M. so I could shower and get dressed. After I had my usual cup of hot tea, I headed straight to the office.

  I got my usual stares when I entered the building, but I wasn’t expecting to be greeted by Paul first thing in the morning. He was acting very weird as I walked by him. I threw on a fake smile and said good morning.

  “We need to talk,” he said as he followed me toward my office.

  I looked back at him. “What’s wrong with you?” I asked.

  He waited until we both walked into my office and closed the door behind us. “Are you involved in any type of illegal shit?” he questioned.

  “No, I am not! And why would you ask me something like that?”

  “Because there were a couple of agents here a while ago asking a ton of fucking questions about you!” he roared.

  “What agents? And what kind of fucking questions were they asking?” I felt really nervous on the inside. I had instantly gotten sick in the stomach, but I played it cool in front of Paul.

  “The DEA, that’s who! And they wanted to know everything—from what time you come to work in the morning to what time you go to the bathroom to take a shit!”