Hard Case 12: Climate of Chaos (John Harding)

by Bernard Lee DeLeo

  Cal, stunned for a moment, hesitated and then pointed in her direction. “Smiley is a she. Ms. Pyrus is a TV star and famous singer. Would you like to meet her?”

  Lynn stifled amusement. “Why…why would we? We’re not here at someone else’s pleasure. We’re club-hopping as an anniversary of sorts… and we don’t like company. I’m sure your little famous friend is just awesome. Go and explain to her we like our excursion just the way it is. Thanks anyway. Bye, Felicia.”

  Cal thought about a lot of things, but one of them was not facing off with Clint. He felt the strength that put him on his knees all the way to his toes. “I…I’ll tell her. Sorry, Sir… for grabbing you like that.”

  “No harm done.” Clint turned to Lynn as Cal scrambled away. He fondled her lips again, the excitement of the chase engineered by Lynn coursing through him. “That hook is embedded now.”

  “If you don’t back that thing out of my dress front, I may crab this whole operation.” Lynn slowly drew away, grasping Clint’s hand. “C’mon, cowboy. Let’s hit her favorite hangout. She’ll follow. We allow the meet and greet before eventually ending the evening at Nick’s place.”

  “What did he say when you told him you had a bird on the wire to nail at his Las Vegas place?”

  Lynn smiled. “Absolutely. I’ll admit it. A night out at a piano bar with Nick singing and playing, accompanied by his violinist cohort, cannot be beat by this razzle-dazzle loudness marathon. That man is an entertainer. These dolts in the big nightclubs don’t have the guts to get guys like Nick entertaining. They’d rather have some moron with a turned around ballcap, scrapping across a record of crap while pumping a fist in the air.”

  Clint escorted Lynn with suave care through the crowd, enjoying what he could hear of Lynn’s diatribe. He knew it was wrong, but Clint wished Smiley-potato-head would stay here and not follow. Their suite at the MGM Grand would be nearby. Pyrus’s favorite nightclub, the Hakkasan Club, was located at the MGM Grand. Clint breathed in deeply. Smiley stays and he would talk Lynn into one nightcap and then adjourn to their suite.

  * * *

  “They what?”

  “They are celebrating something,” Cal explained. “I don’t know what the big guy does for a living, but he ain’t no dancer. The woman’s no better. She looked at me and my damn dick shriveled up into my bellybutton. You know the old cliché about not playing with fire, you may get burned. This situation illustrates it. Frank was right. I apologize for shooting off my mouth and going down there unprepared.”

  “You’re a good guy, Cal.” Smiley stroked his cheek. “I’m stoked tonight! Ah oh, they’re leaving. Stay here. I’m going where they go.”

  “Please don’t, Ms. Pyrus,” Frank pleaded. “I have a bad feeling about those two.”

  “My disguise works. I’m going. Don’t follow. I mean it. Keep your phones on. I’ll call you if I need you.”

  Frank stepped away. “As you wish. We’ll wait for your call.”

  “She should have listened to you… same as me.” Cal watched Pyrus slithering through the crowd after the enticing couple.

  Frank signaled the bartender and ordered a boilermaker.

  “What the hell? We’re on the clock, Frank.”

  “Not anymore. If we need to pick her up, I’ll hire a limo and driver on my own dime. If she calls begging for help, I will be unemployed tomorrow. Those two are killers she’s following. The only thing I get out of an attempted rescue would be a bullet in the head… if I’m lucky.”

  Cal ordered the same. “Do you think they’re contract killers?”

  Frank gulped down the first shot and pointed at it for a refill while drinking half the beer. “Don’t know… and now… I don’t care. You’ve seen the perverted idiots at those parties she attends. We’re bookends to disaster, Cal.”

  * * *

  Clint and Lynn sauntered unhurriedly from Lava at the Venetian toward Hakkason at the MGM Grand, not a short walk. The couple enjoyed every step, taking in the lights, people and places along the walkway traversing the strip.

  “Smiley followed us,” Lynn said. “I bet she regrets it. She probably hasn’t walked this far in years. I love being on this goofy walk with you.”

  Clint turned into her for a momentary lip caress. “You are incredible tonight. I wish she would have dropped through the floor back there. Maybe she’ll get mugged on the way.”

  Lynn resumed her stroll. “No, you don’t. This pleasurable jaunt comes with the price of business… family business. She sent a mob after one of ours and all the tongue wagging, crotch rubbing antics in her bag of tricks won’t buy her back from that brink.”

  “Agreed… but still hot.”

  * * *

  Smiley stopped as the couple embraced in one of the hottest momentary erotic couplings she had ever seen in real life. The Molly she’d taken earlier surged in her system, tying her emotions in knots of desire at any cost. The walk was long, but Pyrus sensed they would be going to the hottest nightclub around – Hakkasan at the MGM Grand, one of her favorite spots. When they strolled past Drai’s and further on, the Chateau at the Paris, Smiley knew their destination would be Hakkasan.

  Pyrus, never having stalked anyone in her young life, followed the couple into Hakkasan, her body trembling with excitement. They glided ahead of her into the Ling Ling Lounge, found a maître d’, tipping him so hugely, the man nearly danced to the primo lounge seating in the place. A waiter brought over a champagne the couple accepted and were served. Pyrus hunted down the same maître d’, revealing who she was. Smiley noticed first his look of distaste, and then remembered how she had treated him on previous visits. She held out two hundred dollars.

  “Introduce me to the couple you just seated.”

  “I cannot, Ms. Pyrus. They do not wish to be disturbed.”

  “Keep the two hundred just to ask if you may introduce me to them. If they refuse, I will walk away. If you cannot do this small thing for me, I will report you. You know very well what VIP people I bring to this club.”

  “Very well… but know this, young lady, if they refuse the introduction, do not break your word to me.”

  “I won’t. If they accept, it will mean two hundred more for you.”

  He nodded and approached the couple’s seats in hesitant and delicate form.

  * * *

  “She doesn’t know we tipped our boy a thousand dollars to keep visitors away from us,” Lynn said. “Smiley is doing everything but a strip act to get near us. Man… she must be high on something. I know she does weed.”

  “Pyrus does Molly too. In pure form, it rockets you past fear and self-loathing to the plateau she’s on, self-aggrandizement. The maître d’ is on the hook. Pyrus parties here often. He doesn’t want to disturb us.”

  The maître d’ bowed. “I am very sorry to bother you. A young woman of celebrity status would like an introduction. She is a very obstinate young lady and a frequent visitor here at the Hakkasan. If you will be gracious enough to let me introduce her, if she displeases you, I will escort her out immediately.”

  “We see you’re on the spot,” Lynn replied with a smile. “This is partially our fault. We turned down an introduction with her in the Lava. Sure… bring her over.”

  Smiley accompanied the maître d’ to the table with what she hoped was a winning smile. The deadly man stood politely. “I’m Clint Dostiene. This is my wife, Lynn.”

  “Hi, I’m Smiley Pyrus.” She shook hands with Clint.

  Lynn gestured at a chair. “Join us for a moment and tell us why you’ve decided to stalk us. Would you like some champagne?”

  “Uh… yes… please.”

  The maître d’ produced a champagne glass and filled it for Pyrus. She stiffed him on the promised extra two-hundred. He smiled at Clint and Lynn. “Anything you would like, please let me know.”

  “We will, Charles, thank you,” Lynn replied.

  “You two… are so elegant together. I simply wanted to meet and talk with you. I apo
logize for following you here from the Lava. Did my bodyguard upset you? If he did, I’m very sorry.” Smiley paused and glanced at Clint. “You handled him like he was a child. I imagine you’re ex-military.”

  Clint smiled but said nothing, making Pyrus even more self-conscious. “I…I’m a singer/songwriter with some fame. I know it’s conceited, but I thought for sure you would both know who I am.”

  “Seriously… even if we knew who you were… why on earth would we care?” Lynn asked. “Do we look like we need a celebrity fix? Clint and I were out celebrating. We know you stiffed the maître d’ out of money promised because we know people. Go pay him, you spoiled little brat, or leave. Your choice?”

  Lynn stunned Pyrus. No one had ever spoken to her like that before. She hurried over to the maître d’ and gave him the promised money. He grinned and waved his thanks at Lynn. She waved back with a big smile. Pyrus returned.

  “Sorry… I forgot.”

  “Another lie. Tell one more and we have you escorted away,” Lynn told her.

  “Please… yes… okay… I lied. How do you know all this stuff? You two carry yourselves like erotic royalty, slipping into places with charm and dignity, never missing a beat. I’ve never seen anyone in public like you two, so totally uncaring of anything around you, but so… I don’t know… into each other.”

  Clint shrugged. “Lynn and I are old school. We don’t exist for someone else’s entertainment. We are also in the business of reading people. You’re high on something… what… uh… weed and Molly, right?”

  Pyrus gasped. “What do you do for a living? What business needs people who read other people… like you just did me?”

  “Security, information gathering… that kind of thing,” Lynn answered. “We know people in high places who ask for our expertise in matters both violent and delicate.”

  Smiley brightened in a knowing type way, leaning over the table. “I knew it! You two are Illuminati. I’m Illuminati too. Why haven’t we met before?”

  “We don’t mix with the secret societies. Circle jerks like that bore the hell out of us,” Lynn replied. “What thrill do you get out of being stoned and following strangers?”

  Pyrus hesitated, the sharpness of the question cutting through her like a knife. “I…I don’t know. The Illuminati buzzed my career into bigtime success. I know if I turned away from them, they would burn me in a heartbeat, just like other stars who signed on with them and then got cold feet. I need to stay out there in front of all this.” Smiley gestured at the room around them.

  “Let me get this straight. You think this fame you’ve achieved wasn’t due to your talent. You believe it’s due to Illuminati hype? You’re becoming more interesting by the minute.”

  Thinking she had hooked the two cold-blooded killers, Smiley shared more. “Yes, Lynn! It’s exactly that. We get subtle smacks to the head when we don’t contribute. If we’re not out in the public eye, the eye of the Illuminati sees and reminds us if we don’t want to disappear entirely, we need to step up our game. I tried to break into their inner circle with a huge plan, but it failed.”

  “Well… that sounds bad,” Lynn replied. “You tried something on stage and it bombed… so they smacked you down?”

  “No! If they gave me orders, I would have had immense backing. As it was, I tried a flash mob approach with names who like violence. I’ve simply been entertaining with them until now, watching for a chance, secretly encouraging them to keep building the confrontational style at every opportunity. I thought I had my chance, but the fascists brutalized my plan and won. It destroyed my network!”

  Lynn and Clint exchanged glances, silently measuring each other’s thought patterns. Lynn knew Clint would let her make the call. The spoiled brat in front of them couldn’t care less she tried to send a mob after true innocents just to curry favor with faceless beasts of humanity.

  “How old are you, Smiley?”

  “Uh… twenty-six. Why?”

  Clint nodded his backing to go on.

  “We’ll level with you because your life will be in danger from this moment forward, kid. Clint and I are killers, so deadly, even our own kind piss themselves when they know we’re on their trail. We helped foil your stupid plot to savage John Harding’s wife, daughter and new-found son. I can see in your eyes the mean girl you think you are. Here are the stakes: if anything happens to John Harding’s family, here’s what happens to you.”

  Lynn retrieved her phone, cued in her greatest hits and handed Smiley the ear pieces. “Do not try to jump and run during or after you see this. We’ll simply hunt you down.”

  By the time the recording finished, Smiley cried real tears. She buried her head in hands, pleading incoherently. Nothing in this world prepared her for what Smiley saw on the video. Clint shoved napkins into her hands. He and Lynn sipped champagne while waiting patiently for Pyrus to regain control over her emotions. When she finally sat staring at the table, Lynn began again.

  “You’re young and stupid. We understand that. If we thought for a moment you had been ordered to do what you did by someone else, I would have taken you someplace to learn the name, after which you would have disappeared, never to be heard from again. Get off drugs. They tend to amplify your stupidity. We don’t often give second chances. You won’t get a third. Cut your own throat before ever crossing our paths again. My advice to you is gently remove yourself from Illuminati influence. Pretend like you’re going along to get along; but build a life somewhere out of their control. Do you understand my words?”

  Smiley hesitantly returned Lynn’s attention eye to eye. “I will never… ever… do anything like that again. God… you two are good. This was all a play and I stalked you right into it. Please believe me, after seeing that video, no force on earth will make me mess with anyone associated with John Harding, or anyone else for that matter. I’m done. No one deserves endings like in the video, but I can see in your eyes that doesn’t matter at all to you.”

  Lynn chuckled. “We’re letting you walk away, but you’re right, we torture and kill bad guys for our country and we enjoy it. We don’t let anyone lash out at our brethren. If they do, they star in a video like the one you watched.”

  Pyrus leaned forward. “Is there anything else I can do to keep you from making me a star in a video like the one you showed me?”

  “Yeah… now that you mention it. You’ll get extra credit if you keep your stupid tongue in your stupid mouth. One of these days you’ll stick that thing out at the cameras and find me at your bedside one night to cut it out.”

  “No more! I promise. Cut me some slack if I forget at the beginning, Lynn. I won’t do it again unless by accident and habit.”

  “Finish your champagne and call your little buddies to pick you up.”

  “Okay, Lynn… thank you.” Pyrus drained her champagne and retrieved her phone as Clint poured her another. “Frank? Please pick me up at the MGM.”

  “Sure… Ms. Pyrus. I…I’m glad you’re okay. We’ll be at the back entrance in fifteen minutes.”

  “See you then.” Smiley disconnected and gulped down another half of the champagne. She stood. “I know it sounds stupid… but I’m glad I met you both. I need to change my views and lifestyle before they kill me.”

  “Bye, Felicia.”

  Smiley glanced into Lynn’s grim features, knowing she couldn’t be bought, coerced, or confronted. No amount of feel good crap would impress her. “Bye.”

  Lynn watched the young singer run off to get a ride with a slight smile. “I know she committed a mortal sin, but Smiley is so damn stupid, I didn’t have the heart to cut hers out tonight.”

  “I understand. Think of it this way, my love. We get to stay here sipping champagne and then return to our suite where I will show you in great physical detail what your attire has done to me tonight.”

  “Oh my… that sounds almost like a threat.”

  “A threat is an unacted on action. My words would be more like the phrase, done deal.”
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  Chapter Three

  Down the Long Hard Road

  “I thought skip traces went on sabbatical along with blindfolded street fights, T.”

  “Vinnie called in a favor on me. I owed him one for his connections getting my daughter accepted at Berkeley.”

  Tommy had only just now picked me up from home where I recuperated with nothing to do for a whole half day, playing with Kade, and watching little mother Al hovering around her new-found brother. She made it her duty, to Lora’s amusement, in making sure I didn’t somehow hurt the boy accidentally. Halloween, less than two weeks away, would be a treat for all of us. Anyway… when Tommy calls, I answer the call for any action he has on his plate. On this gig, he had us in MIB garb, including Kevlar and FBI credentials – not our usual bond-jumper attire.

  “Good enough. You usually give me a name on the phone. What bad guy’s day are we interrupting this early afternoon? Curious minds want to know.”

  “A threat to Vinnie and his family named Cobus Whitehead. He’s on parole and already been busted for a DUI. Why they didn’t send him back to prison is anyone’s guess. He made bail, so my guess is he’s working jobs again – the usual: extortion, leg breaking, along with whatever smash and grab job coming his way.”

  I never told Tommy about me and Cobus. One night while pursuing another skip, Cobus dragged a woman out of the bar I was watching and began slapping the shit out of her. I exited my vehicle and paid him a visit. Cobus was my height and weight, but a wanker, through and through. He would sell his own mother at auction if she was still alive. When I got done with Cobus, I figured the only place he was going was the morgue, so I left, hoping his victim didn’t get a good look at me after I checked Whitehead’s ID. I admitted the story into evidence for Tommy’s perusal as he drove.

  “Why the hell didn’t you tell me?”

  “Hell, T… if I told you every-time I left a wanker upside down in a garbage bin or close to it, you would have probably shed me back in those days.”