Asset Management

by Annette Mori

  Toni saw Natalie approach one of the women who she assumed was Dani. Standing next to her was an attractive blonde. She must be the trainer.

  Through the headphones, Toni heard one of the men speak. “Lift your arms and open your jacket.”

  Toni watched in horror as a man with a flattened nose and steely gray eyes seemed to leer as he patted Natalie down and then proceeded to unbutton her shirt as he ran his hands over her breasts and back.

  “Unzip your pants,” the ugly man said.

  Toni glanced at Sophie who was clenching her jaw as the image on the laptop showed the man slowly running his hands over her buttocks, inner thighs, and under her panties.

  “She’s clear of wires.”

  “Good, good. Now we need to inspect the van.” Another man nodded his head in the direction of the van.

  The confident woman stepped in front of the man who just gave the order to inspect the van. “I want to do the inspection. My girls, my show. I’ve trained them, I will inspect the van while you get the money.”

  “You are not in charge here, Oksana. Viktor only allowed you here tonight because you have been useful to our business,” the tallest man barked.

  Toni surmised that this man must be Dimitri but didn’t understand why the woman was so intent on inspecting the van. That thought flew out of her mind, as everything seemed to happen in slow motion after that as she watched the shitstorm unfold.

  When Oksana pulled out a knife and placed it against the throat of the man, Sophie quickly exited the van and Toni followed closely behind. Natalie quickly turned around and kicked out at one of the men as he pulled his gun and shot her between the eyes.

  The one Toni thought must be Dani screamed. “No, oh God, no,” She cried as she knelt in front of Natalie. She gently placed Natalie’s head in her lap, rocking her and sobbing over her body.

  The man with the gun turned in Dani’s direction and Oksana removed the knife and threw it his direction, hitting her target directly in his heart, but not before he squeezed the trigger and landed a bullet in Dani’s back as she was bent over Natalie’s lifeless body.

  The man Toni suspected was Dimitri pulled the knife from his colleague’s body and sliced Sophie’s hand as she pointed her gun at the other man pulling his Beretta from his holster.

  The Glock clattered to the ground, sliding next to Dimitri. He tossed aside the knife and bent down to reach for the gun just as Oksana grabbed his head and sliced his throat.

  The final man standing grabbed Toni and placed the Beretta to her head.

  Sophie executed a perfect roundhouse kick to his hand and the gun collided with the pavement.

  Toni glanced at Oksana and was amazed at how quickly she retrieved the Beretta in her right hand while shoving the Glock into the waistband of her pants. How the hell did she do that?

  Oksana peeked at Dani and frowned. She pointed the gun at the final man. “You move an inch and I’ll shoot. I’m an expert shot so do not test me.”

  She glared at Sophie and barked an order. “The girls are in the warehouse, take them to safety and I will clean up this mess.”

  “You are fucking crazy if you think I’ll allow that to happen,” Sophie yelled.

  “I don’t want to shoot you, Sophie, but I will if I have to. There is nothing you can do for Natalie now and I need to attend to Dani. She’s my priority.” She turned her head and Toni heard Oksana speak into her shoulder. “Dani’s down, send the medical team.”

  “Who the fuck are you?” Sophie asked.

  “I’m not the enemy. Let’s just leave it at that.”

  Toni grabbed Sophie’s good arm. “Soph, come on. Your arm looks bad. Frankly, I don’t care what happens to him.” Toni pointed at the man the blonde was holding at gunpoint.

  “We can’t just leave Natalie here.” A tear leaked out of Sophie’s eye.

  Toni looked at Oksana. “Can I please carry her to the van?”

  A nod was the only answer she received.

  Toni was about to remove Natalie from Dani’s embrace until she realized that blood was seeping from a wound in Dani’s back. When she attempted to move, Toni held her down.

  “Don’t move. You’ve been shot in the back. Wait for the medical team to arrive.”

  “I loved her. Will you make sure she’s taken care of? Everything is not always as it seems.” Dani grimaced before she collapsed on top of Natalie.

  “I promise. We will take good care of her,” Toni whispered.

  Toni looked up as a car rapidly approached and a short brunette woman, carrying what appeared to be a medical bag and IV equipment, magically appeared. She wondered why she hadn’t heard the sirens and then noticed that the vehicle was not an ambulance or aide car. Toni assumed she was the medic, but this was certainly not what she expected when she heard Oksana call for a medical team. Another woman was pulling a gurney and medical equipment out of the back of the vehicle. It looked more sophisticated than what she envisioned a normal ambulance might offer.

  The medic was immediately by their side. She crouched down and assessed Dani’s injuries. Dani did not appear to be moving and Toni feared for her life.

  “She’s been shot in the back,” Toni said.

  “Yeah, I can see that,” the short brunette said, not looking at Toni. “We will handle it from here.”

  Toni looked up and watched Sophie corral six frightened girls into the van. Appraising them, she realized none looked older than twelve. The knowledge of the life the Russian mob almost forced them into made Toni physically ill.

  Once Dani was secure, Toni picked up Natalie and choked back the vomit threatening to explode from her stomach as she carried the lifeless body into the van. She gently placed her in the back and attempted to reassure the young girls that they were safe. Nothing would erase the memory of this night from their traumatized brains, but at least they were not destined for the bleak life that had surely been in the cards for them prior to this fateful evening. Toni was thankful for that one bright thought.

  Wordlessly, she had climbed into the driver’s seat and exited the dark street. As she turned the corner, she’d heard a single gunshot.

  Good, I hope the bastard rots in hell.

  Chapter 9

  Char bent over the microscope as she looked at the foreign substance woven into the ink. She scraped some of the ink from the business card and placed the particles into a test tube. After she added a couple of drops of testing solution, she watched as the tube turned a bright lavender color.

  “Oh, Toni, you clever, clever girl.”

  Char pulled out her phone and quickly pressed the numbers for headquarters.

  “Hello, Maggie, I’m sorry to wake you in the middle of the night. Yes, I’m still at my office. Yes, it’s as I suspected. No, I’m not sure about the impact just yet. No, I don’t think so. I don’t think that’s what she’s about. Yes, I just think she may be a bit more intrigued with me than we want at this point. No, I’ll just stay here for the night… I’ll call to let you know more after dinner tomorrow night.”

  Char shut down her phone and smiled.

  “I am really going to enjoy the chase, my lovely little inventor.”

  Char removed her shirt and stripped down to lace underwear. She yawned and stretched her arms above her head as she ambled into the small bathroom attached to the hidden room. She scrubbed her face with her favorite lemon lavender soap and pulled the electric toothbrush from its holder.

  After she crawled into the soft cotton sheets on the cot set up in the corner of the secret room she let her thoughts wander to Toni. She had to admit she was finding this mission very pleasurable. Toni intrigued her more than any other mark ever had.

  Perhaps they would become friends, she thought, or maybe more. Could she possibly let someone inside the inner sanctum of her emotions? She never let that happen before, but there was something uniquely different about Toni. She’d caught her eye that very first night. What an awful way to meet someone. The terror i
n Toni’s eyes had been unmistakable.

  Thank God, it wasn’t her that was a casualty. Poor Natalie, she never even saw it coming.

  †

  Toni looked at her phone with bleary eyes. She’d sprawled out on her couch after she decided Heather wasn’t going anywhere.

  It was close to three o’clock in the morning when she decided to throw the towel in and go home. Before she settled on her couch, she programmed her phone to produce an audio signal if Heather moved from her current location.

  The phone glowed in the darkness of the pre-dawn—illustrating the early morning hour.

  Toni rubbed her hand across her face and smacked her lips, as she tasted the cotton in her mouth. Normally, Toni would go to bed chewing a stick of gum. She hated the taste of her morning breath. She was convinced that chewing peppermint gum prevented that yucky taste on her tongue. It was just one of her many quirks.

  Might as well get up and take a morning jog. Toni doubted Heather was out and about this early.

  Toni grabbed a pair of sweats laying on her ultra-suede recliner and pulled them over her comfortable black Patagonia briefs. After she pulled on her matching black sports bra and bamboo T-shirt designed to wick away sweat, she headed for the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Trail.

  †

  Toni set a grueling pace and was startled from her thoughts when her iPhone dinged. She glanced at the phone attached to her armband and noticed the dot moving. Hmm, another early riser.

  Toni watched the dot as it moved slowly along the Rock Creek Trail. Toni wasn’t prepared to meet up with Heather just yet so she veered off the trail and looked for a place to hunker down. The dot moved in her direction coming close to where Rock Creek Trail intersected with the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Trail in Georgetown.

  From her hiding place, Toni watched as Heather’s long legs appeared. Heather was wearing running shorts and her muscular thighs flexed in an appealing mix of strength and femininity. Toni nearly gasped at the sight. She looked beautiful in the early morning dawn as the light reflected off her coppery hair tied back into a messy ponytail.

  Toni chuckled quietly as she heard her singing to her iPod clipped to the waistband of her shorts. Her voice was a pleasant alto and surprisingly on key.

  Toni was looking forward to her evening date with the alluring attorney. She knew Heather was not who she seemed, but she didn’t care. She was an enigma that was worth unraveling.

  Toni couldn’t remember ever wanting to untangle someone’s mysteries before. She had always been content with brief affairs. Something was compelling her to dig deeper this time and it wasn’t just the conundrum of this woman as a possible danger to her and her friends.

  After Heather had long passed the hidden spot, Toni remained with her face upturned to the sun. It was a glorious morning. Finally, she stretched and pushed out of the weeds to enter the trail and finish her run. It was a great way to start the day. Toni only hoped the end of her day would be just as pleasant.

  †

  Char pulled her sweaty running clothes off and stepped into the shower. Her iPad was playing one of her favorite Missy Higgins songs, Secret, and she sang along.

  After her shower, Char transformed into her corporate attorney persona, Heather Stiles. An emerald-green silk shirt was the perfect accent to her conservative tan suit. The blouse brought out the color of her eyes.

  Char glanced in the mirror and brushed invisible lint off her suit. Time to play corporate attorney.

  Char hated this part of her cover. She always felt like taking another shower after meeting with her high roller clients. There wasn’t one client with any redeeming qualities. Her job was to protect their assets and find every conceivable way to help them make money at the expense of those less fortunate or those unwilling to sacrifice their ethics.

  It had taken her nearly a year for Viktor to notice her and several more months before he approached her after hearing of her stellar reputation. Now that this part of the mission was solid and secure, they needed the trio to help them finish their plans.

  Char had personal reasons for hating Viktor and his white slave trade business, but her knowledge of the vast depravity of the business was what really fueled her efforts. She knew the human trafficking industry made an estimated thirty-two billion dollars annually. While no one really knew for sure the true scale of sex trafficking in the United States, there was an estimated three hundred thousand underage victims forced into prostitution every year. Despite the millions of dollars the federal government dedicated to fight this heinous industry, they had barely made a dent. New laws and stiffer penalties were also not making a significant impact. This is why the organization existed. They didn’t have to play by the strict rules to fight this disease.

  Char stepped into her office and pulled out her files for the day, glancing at her calendar to make sure she had pulled the correct documents. Her assistant was due any minute and Char wanted to make sure she was fully in character before her arrival.

  Shortly after eight, Sandy knocked lightly on her door.

  “Come in,” Char called out.

  Sandy poked her head in Char’s office. “Good morning, Heather, I brought you some coffee and a muffin.”

  “Thanks, Sandy, you’re a peach.”

  Sandy placed the mug and muffin on her desk as the phone starting ringing in the reception area. Sandy scurried to get the phone.

  With the door open, Char overheard Sandy’s portion of the conversation.

  “Yes, Mr. Borsky. I’ll let Heather know. Sure. We can reschedule for next week. She has an open spot on Wednesday, will that work? Oh, okay. Why don’t you call when you know your schedule,” Sandy offered.

  Char heard Sandy end the call and shortly thereafter, she poked her head back into Char’s office.

  “The Big V just canceled his appointment.” Sandy grinned.

  “You better not let Viktor hear you call him that.” Char admonished without really meaning it.

  Sandy chuckled. “Anything else I can get you before you start your day?”

  “No, thanks, Sandy, I’m set. Oh, wait. Will you pick up a dozen roses for me around four o’clock? I don’t want them wilting before dinner tonight. Can you just drop them off for me before you leave tonight?”

  “Oooh, hot date?” Sandy asked.

  “Don’t act so surprised. Yes, I have a date tonight. One I am very much looking forward to.”

  “Is it that hot woman you met at the fundraiser?”

  Char smiled to herself at the irony that it was indeed the same woman, but since Toni was in disguise, she had to play along and create the illusion that she had no clue. “No, but I guarantee this one is just as hot and witty as the one at the fundraiser.”

  “Well, hot damn, that’s a good thing, but I really thought there was chemistry between you two. I’ve never seen anything quite like it before. You really ought to follow up with that one.”

  “Perhaps.” Char smiled.

  The call from Viktor was an unexpected plus because, after her refreshing run, she didn’t want anything to mar the start of her day. She looked forward to her date and wanted to be in a good mood while having dinner with Toni.

  Chapter 10

  Byron rolled up to the gate of the garish home of Viktor Borsky. He shook his head at the plaster statues of lions and the overly ornate gate. He hated the tawdry way Viktor flaunted his wealth, but he needed his resources.

  What a disaster yesterday. He was frightened by the explosion and shivered at the thought that there was much more going on than he could possibly conceive.

  Byron knew he was in way over his head. The fact that he was reaching out to the head of the Russian mob, who he was certain had their car blown up in broad daylight, left him with more than an uneasy feeling.

  He didn’t have much time to figure out what was going on and unfortunately, Viktor’s resources were more far-reaching than Antonio’s. Viktor had moles everywhere. Surely he would be able to figure out w
ho these women worked for.

  Byron pressed the intercom just outside the gate. “Byron Harrison to see Viktor. I have an appointment at ten.”

  The disembodied voice on the other end answered. “One moment please. The gates will open for you. Please wait in the circular drive while I send someone to meet you.”

  “Paranoid bastards,” Byron mumbled under his breath.

  Byron rolled slowly up to the circular drive, placed his Mercedes in park, and pushed the power button to turn off the vehicle. He stepped onto the circular drive as a large man with an impassive expression stepped forward and gestured at Byron.

  At first, Byron didn’t understand and then he realized this man’s job was to check him for weapons. Preposterous. I’m a banker for God’s sake, not a thug.

  Byron lifted his arms as the thug patted him down. The man nodded and the front door opened to reveal Viktor who turned and pointed inside.

  “Come. We will meet in the parlor,” Viktor ordered.

  Byron followed Viktor into the surprisingly cozy room. As he looked around, he noticed a photograph of a beautiful woman with long dark hair and bright blue eyes, placed prominently on a side table. Next to that picture was a photo of an equally attractive woman with short hair. The photo looked like an official portrait and her stature screamed law enforcement.

  “Sit.” Viktor directed Byron to an expensive leather chair.

  Byron pointed to the pictures on the table. “Who are those women?”

  “Do not be rude, Byron. All in good time.” Viktor pointed to a decanter. “Please have a brandy with me.”

  “Thank you. I would be delighted to accept a drink.”

  Viktor poured generous amounts of brandy into two crystal glasses sitting next to the decanter. He handed one to Byron and then raised his glass in a toast.