Fractured: V Plague Book 15

by Dirk Patton

  “I’m rather fond of him and if you were to try that again I’d have to kill you. Now, put it down.”

  They stared at each other for a long, silent moment, then the woman in bed slowly reached out and put the blade on a nightstand. She was nude other than a pair of panties and started to reach for the sheet to cover her breasts.

  “Don’t!” I snapped, freezing her hand before it could grasp the covers. “Out of the bed and to the couch.”

  I glanced at Lucas and he went down the hall to make sure there weren’t any weapons concealed in the cushions or beneath the furniture.

  “What do you want?” she asked, still frozen in place.

  “Right now, I want you on the couch,” I said. “We’ll bring you something to put on.”

  She nodded slowly, scooted carefully to the edge and stood. I was glad to see our information was correct. She was the same height as Rachel and the two women were built almost identically.

  With our weapons on her, we escorted her out of the bedroom. She sat where I indicated, crossing her legs tightly and covering her bare breasts with her arms. I nodded at Rachel and she disappeared into the bedroom, returning a minute later with a silk robe. She tossed it to the woman who pulled it on and cinched the belt tightly at her waist.

  “Pandora Simone,” I said, putting my pistol away and taking a seat in a chair that faced the sofa. “That’s quite a handle. Personally, I like Natalie Smith better. But I understand why you changed it when you moved from Darwin to Sydney five years ago.”

  Her eyes widened slightly when I used her given name. I had it courtesy of a hack performed by Jessica.

  “I’m John. That’s Rachel and Lucas. We aren’t here to harm you. In fact, we need your help.”

  “I’ve heard that before,” she laughed in a throaty voice.

  “Not like that,” I said.

  “Then what? I don’t have any money here and I don’t do drugs.”

  “It’s what you do for a living,” I said. “Tonight, you have an appointment with Russian President Barinov.”

  For the second time, her eyes widened in surprise.

  “You guys are spies, aren’t you?” she asked, looking at each of us.

  “Hardly,” I said with a smile and shake of my head. “But it doesn’t matter what we are. What matters is that you’re going to stay home tonight.”

  She looked at each of us again, her eyes going to Rachel last. Looking her up and down, I saw something click into place for her.

  “You picked me because I look like her, didn’t you?”

  “No,” I said. “For once, we just happened to get lucky.”

  “So, that’s all you want? Me to stay home?”

  I nodded.

  “That, and an education.”

  Her eyes narrowed briefly, then flicked to Rachel and back.

  “What’s in it for me?”

  “You get to live,” I said, seeing fear flash across her face.

  56

  I didn’t explain everything to Natalie. That could have taken all day and besides, she didn’t need to know all the details. But she was a quick study and easily put two and two together as I spoke. In fact, the girl was smart as a whip. With brains like hers, I didn’t understand why she’d chosen the profession she had.

  “That’s why the Prime Minister has let him treat us like he owns the entire bloody country! Now it makes sense,” she said when I finished telling her about the nerve gas.

  “Yes,” I said. “And that’s where you come in. We need to get in there. We’re going to put an end to this. There’s a sword dangling by a thread over Australia’s neck and it’s time to solve the problem.”

  “So, I’m just supposed to sit here tonight while she goes in my place. That’s it?”

  “That’s it. And we’d like you to help her with what she needs to know to pull this off.”

  Natalie laughed again, turning to face Rachel.

  “Honey, no disrespect, but it would take months, maybe years, to teach you how to be a proper dom.”

  “You’ve got six hours,” I said.

  She looked at me and shook her head.

  “Can’t be done. Don’t you understand? This isn’t about sex. Any woman can do that. Go in, lay down and spread her legs. No, this is about power and control. Finding that fine line that satisfies the client’s needs without going over. You don’t learn it by being taught, you must experience it!

  “Make a mistake and go too far, the client may put you in intensive care. Don’t go far enough and payment is withheld and you still might find yourself in hospital. Those are the best scenarios you can hope for if you don’t know what you’re doing. I won’t recount the worst.”

  “Look,” Rachel said. “It’s not going to get that far. I just need to be able to pass long enough to get him alone and restrained. After that, it won’t matter.”

  Natalie looked at her for a long time, then turned to face me. I nodded to confirm what Rachel had said.

  “I can do that,” she finally said. “But you’d better be damn sure that’s all you need to know. Some of these guys…”

  “What?” Rachel asked when she didn’t continue.

  She sighed before speaking.

  “I’m not a hooker. Not in the traditional sense, at least. In fact, it’s a very rare occasion that I have actually engaged in intercourse with a client. But there’s something supremely broken in these types of men. I can’t explain it, only warn you. They will smile and tell you how wonderful it was, then try to kill you if you pushed the wrong button and went over their line.

  “Understand that they may be submitting during a session, but at their very core they are the ultimate alpha male. Extremely successful and wealthy. They do what they want, how they want, when they want. You’re providing a service and being in control of them is only an illusion to satisfy their need to submit, if only for a brief time. But no matter how docile and compliant they may seem, the wolf is always there. Struggling to come out and reassert control. This can be extremely dangerous.”

  “Why do you do this?” Rachel asked.

  “I’m good at it and it pays well,” Natalie said, shrugging. “I turn twenty-eight next month. I’ve been saving my money. Investing. By the time I’m thirty, I’ll be ready to retire and never have to work again. Then I’ll do what I want, not what someone else wants.”

  “Is it worth it?” Rachel asked, receiving a shrug for an answer.

  While Rachel and Natalie continued to talk, I headed down to the Rover. Lucas stayed behind, just in case the woman wasn’t intending to be as cooperative as she seemed. She took on different personas for a living. And if she messed up, the consequences would be far more dire than not being cast for a role in a movie or play. She had to be flawless. Her very life might depend on it. I suspected she could easily lie to us and we’d never know until it was too late.

  Dog was ecstatic to see me. He’d only been waiting for maybe forty-five minutes, but it had apparently seemed like a week to him. Looking around to make sure no cops were in sight to hassle me about the leash law, I let him out of the vehicle. There was a wide swath of green grass and trees in front of the apartment building and while he sniffed everything, I lit a smoke.

  Pulling Rachel’s packages out of the back, I piled them on the hood and locked up the Rover. The phone buzzed in my pocket and I pulled it out to see Jessica calling.

  “All set, sir,” she said.

  “There’s a cyber expert here in Sydney that told me there was no way to be sure you’d updated every database with new photos and prints,” I said. “You sure this will work and we won’t get flagged at security?”

  Jessica snorted, then said something unintelligible as she cleared her throat and coughed.

  “Sorry, sir. Coffee out my nose. What was that you were asking?”

  I could hear the sarcasm in her voice, as well as a little bit of wounded pride.

  “Nothing, Chief,” I said. “There must be some cross-talk
on the line.”

  “That’s what I thought, sir,” she said with a chuckle.

  We were quiet for a moment, neither of us knowing what to say next.

  “Are you ready for this, sir?” she asked, breaking the silence.

  “I’ve been waiting a long time, Jessica. A long, goddamn time.”

  “The Admiral’s worried about you,” she said, surprising me.

  “He’s worried about the op,” I said. “I think I burned my bridges with him.”

  “You Army officers aren’t very intuitive, are you? Remember what I did? And I’m still here.”

  “You’re one in a million, Chief,” I said. “I really mean that. That’s why you’re where you are.”

  “You too, sir,” she said. “You too.”

  “Thanks, Chief.”

  “Good luck, sir. I’ll be watching.”

  A soft click and she was gone. What the hell was that all about? It felt like she was saying goodbye.

  Dismissing the conversation with a shake of my head, I gathered the packages into my arms, whistled for Dog and headed into the apartment building.

  Several hours later, I was seated on a really uncomfortable metal chair on Natalie’s small balcony with Dog stretched out next to me. Slowly smoking a cigarette, I was watching the western sky turn a fantastic shade of orange as the sun slowly sank into the Tasman Sea. Lucas was on the sofa, speaking with Ziggy. Natalie and Rachel had disappeared into the spare bedroom two hours ago.

  I’d listened to the details and techniques she was describing to Rachel. At first I’d been amazed, and not in a good way. As she progressed, however, that had changed to shuddering disgust. I knew there were people in the world that enjoyed inflicting pain and degradation on others. I’d met plenty of that type in my day, though it hadn’t often been overtly sexual.

  But I couldn’t wrap my head around why any sane person would willingly submit to the things I had heard described in graphic detail. Hell, not only willingly, they actively sought out someone to do it to them! Perhaps sane was the key word in all of this, but then I’ve been called crazy for jumping out of perfectly good airplanes and running toward gunfire. I guess it all depends on your perspective. But they’re still some sick fucks.

  I glanced around when Lucas slid the door open and stepped out into the evening air. He dropped into the other chair with a sigh.

  “Everything okay at home?”

  “Good as it can be,” he said. “They’re still surrounded. Smyth and the lads have the perimeter secured, so they’re safe. For the moment. Unless some bloody idiot decides to try and push the issue.”

  “Ziggy and the kids?”

  “Got an underground bunker. Just in case,” he said with a grin. “They’re holed up and she’s none too happy.”

  “Maybe just turn her loose on them,” I suggested.

  “Poor bastards wouldn’t know what hit ‘em,” he said with a snort.

  We were quiet for a few minutes, watching the sunset.

  “This will all be over in a few hours,” I said.

  “One way or another.”

  “Still not too late to head home,” I said. “Just in case things go bad.”

  “Thought about that. I’ll stay.”

  “Why?” I asked, turning to look at him.

  “It’s what we do. Who we are,” he said with a shrug.

  “Bullshit answer, mate.”

  “Then why are you doing it? Why is Rachel?”

  “Rachel’s a much better person than either of us. She’s doing it because it will save a lot of lives.”

  “And you?” he asked after a long pause.

  “You know why,” I said.

  “Not going to bring her back.”

  I turned back to the west and lit a fresh smoke, remaining quiet for several minutes.

  “I know,” I finally said. “Doesn’t matter.”

  Lucas looked at me for a long time, then took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

  “I’m going home,” he said in a quiet voice.

  I faced him, glad he’d made the decision. There was nothing left for him to do in Sydney. This either worked, or it didn’t. One way, what was left of the world was safe. The other… well, it didn’t matter if the planet died. Everyone would be gone before that happened. I stood as he did and, uncharacteristically for me, was the one who initiated a hug.

  “I’ll be looking for you in a day or two,” he said, stepping back. “We’ll get that house built.”

  “We’ll be there,” I said, hoping I was telling the truth.

  Lucas bent and ruffled Dog’s ears, then left without another word. I watched through the glass slider as he walked out the front door. A few minutes later he appeared at street level, climbed behind the Rover’s wheel and drove away without a backward look. I sighed deeply as it turned the corner at the end of the block and disappeared.

  57

  Stubbing out my cigarette in a bone china coffee cup I’d commandeered for an ashtray, I slid the door open and went inside. Dog followed and headed for the pristine sofa, intending to curl up in comfort. I stopped him with a sharp word and got a dirty look before he turned a slow circle and lay down on the floor.

  “What do you think?”

  I turned when Rachel spoke and my mouth fell open. She beamed at my reaction and made a slow twirl. Natalie stood behind her, also smiling.

  Rachel was, to use a trite phrase that was ironic for our situation, drop dead gorgeous. She was wearing a supple, black leather dress with a plunging neckline and a back that was open to the top of the curve of her ass. It fit her like a second skin. The hem ended just above mid-thigh and the muscles in her legs rippled from the almost impossibly tall stilettos on her feet.

  Her long hair was pulled back severely, curled and tumbling between her shoulder blades. Expertly applied makeup highlighted her features and she… well, hell, I guess the right word is glowed. I wouldn’t have recognized her if we passed on the street.

  “Wow,” I finally managed to say in a breathy voice.

  She lowered her eyes and I was pretty sure she blushed. I couldn’t tear my eyes off her.

  “Okay, this is sweet,” Natalie said. “But we’ve got to go soon. The appointment is in a little over an hour and it’s on the far side of town.”

  It took a moment for what she’d said to register.

  “We? You’re not coming.”

  “Not all the way, no. But the nerves are going to hit her in a few minutes, and I figured she could use my help. You, obviously, are worthless in the presence of a beautiful woman. When we get close, let me out and I’ll call a cab.”

  I shook my head to clear the fog Rachel had caused and looked at Natalie. She’d surprised me. I’d expected to have to leave her restrained, possibly with Lucas guarding her. Lucas! Glancing over at Dog, I realized the hole in my plan.

  Grabbing the iPhone, I hit a speed dial button to call the burner phone Lucas had purchased earlier in the day. He answered quickly, not arguing or asking why when I told him he needed to come back, just said he’d be here in a few minutes.

  “Where is he?” Rachel asked.

  “Going home.”

  “Good!” she said, looking surprised. “How’d you pull that off?”

  “He talked to Ziggy. After that, it wasn’t hard.”

  “So, why’s he coming back?”

  “I want him to take Natalie and Dog with him,” I explained.

  “What?” both women asked at the same time.

  “Neither of you can go with us,” I said, looking at Natalie. “I appreciate all your help and your willingness to keep helping, but if this goes bad and the nerve gas is released, you need to be somewhere safe.”

  She stared back at me, obviously not having considered the ramifications if we failed. After a long moment, Rachel turned to face her and nodded.

  “He’s right,” she said in a quiet voice. “There won’t be a safe place anywhere in the city.”

  “You�
��re not going to fail,” Natalie said, shaking her head. “I don’t know what you’re planning to do once inside, but I can guess. She’ll pull it off!”

  “Willing to bet your life on that?” I asked.

  Natalie looked at me for a beat, glanced at Rachel and started to say something, but the words died before she could utter them.

  “Throw some things in a bag,” I said. “Just a few essentials. Lucas will be back in a minute.”

  She stared at me, then turned to Rachel who smiled a sad smile and nodded. Without a word, Natalie turned and hurried into her bedroom. When she left the room, Rachel looked at Dog and took a deep breath, fanning her face with her hands.

  “You alright?”

  “Trying not to cry,” she said softly. “It would ruin my makeup. You’d better walk them down without me.”

  I nodded, looking over her shoulder when Natalie appeared, carrying a small, soft-sided duffel. She paused next to Rachel.

  “Remember. You are supremely confident at all times! Show no weakness or compassion or empathy. It would be like dangling red meat in front of a lion.”

  “Thank you. For everything!” Rachel said, hugging her tightly with her face turned away to protect the makeup.

  Breaking the embrace, Rachel looked at Dog again, but quickly turned and rushed to the bedroom. Natalie, to her credit, didn’t ask or say anything. Just followed me to the door as I called Dog.

  I rode down in the elevator with them, gently rubbing Dog’s head the whole way. Lucas was pulling to the curb when we stepped out of the building and I got them loaded into the Rover. Nodding at Lucas, I stood there as he pulled away. Dog, in the back, watched me through the window until they were out of sight.

  It was that moment when the import of what we were about to do hit me. Up until then it had all seemed academic. But now, it was… sobering, to say the least. If we failed, the absolute best we could hope for was that we’d be the only people to die. With a sigh, I went inside to collect Rachel. It was time to go.

  58