by Finian Blake
“I am going to haul you down to the café to meet Gregory and Anna for lunch.” Adam gave the chain a light tug with his finger causing Liz to wince.
They took a taxi from the hotel to the café finding that Gregory and Anna were already seated at a table. There was a light breeze in the harbor which blew Liz’s blouse up as she sat down, so that Anna detected the gold chain hanging by her navel.
“He did this to you?” Adam blushed. As bold as he was, Adam was still embarrassed by sexual conversation. “Let me see.”
Adam tried to stop Liz, “Darling, do not show…”
“For a thousand pounds, I want a little thrill.” Liz flashed her breasts to give Anna a quick peek. “I do admire your persuasive powers. The next thing you have to do is get him to spank you. Adam does not spank women.” Liz gave Anna a knowing smile.
“I was very bad.” Anna saw Liz in a new light. She was much more persuasive than Anna had given her credit for. Anna dropped the napkin on the floor and ducked under the table looking up Liz’s short skirt that she intentionally let ride up when she sat down. Liz spread her legs as wide as the garment would allow her to. Anna clearly saw the one carat diamond that Gregory had bet her Adam would not place. Gregory’s fork hit the floor and he stuck his head under the table too.
“The damn thing looks like a headlight in a tunnel,” Gregory loudly blurted out. Both Gregory and Anna sat back in their chairs each one had a knowing grin on their faces.
“Can we have some lunch now?” Adam was trying desperately to change the subject. Anna took mercy on Adam and waved the waiter over.
After lunch Gregory started to cover what they had accomplished. His contacts in Russia could deliver a mix of five hundred thousand pounds of new first and second generation arms including thirty heavy machine guns for ten million in gold. They would also require four million in bribe money. The hitch was that it had to be done within thirty days with fourteen days being even better. There was going to be a shakeup in command and the key players would be reassigned. Adam quickly understood the need for instant action, since the ship would take at least that long to get in position. He needed to find out if he could get the front money and he had not set the price with the contact in Karachi.
“I will have to contact Mercury and get them started on the front money. I assume that they want the payment in Krugerrands.”
“We Russians prefer gold. My contacts would also like to have the same deal that you worked out with us. They would like to leave with their families and would prefer not to be interrogated by your government. In short, they want your personal services.”
“That much I can agree to, but I need to know how many people, their ages and we will need a place to hold them while we work out their identities.” The price will be fifty thousand each and we can pull that out of expenses, but right now we will have to get things under way in Malta. I have one hundred twenty five thousand in gold for the ship. We can leave from Manchester as soon as we get back.” With the time difference, it was eight AM in Washington. “Gregory, how have you been making your phone calls?”
“There are several business centers throughout Monaco. This is an international banking center. We can rent a phone office for very little and make our calls as long as we pay in cash. They will be too late by the time they locate where the calls came from.” Adam and Gregory dropped the ladies off at the hotel and went off in search of a business center that was not in Monte-Carlo.
As soon as they arrived back at the hotel, Liz went off in search of a hooker. Anna had to know why.
“I was careless with my birth control. I think that I might be pregnant. Hookers know where to find doctors that will take care of these things. I cannot use the one back at the Inn. He and Adam drink together all the time.” Anna went along to see how she would handle this. Liz went to the bar and spotted one in short order.
“How do you know she is a hooker?” Anna was curious.
“It takes one to know one.” She introduced herself as Liz and explained her predicament. After a brief exchange she had the address of a doctor. After a brief introduction, Liz went into her story about how she was indiscrete and did not want to lose her rich boyfriend by coming up pregnant. The hooker was happy to give her a name.
The doctor was a man of the world and understood these things. He also understood the two hundred and fifty pounds that Liz gave him. He normally took care of the girls for two hundred Francs each. He gave Liz a small envelope with a four pills in it.
“Take one and it will force your period. Take the other and there will be a minor miscarriage. You will no longer be pregnant. Be careful not to wait longer than thirty days, because this is more of a morning after pill. The further along that you are the more chance you have of a hemorrhage and if you are not careful it could be life threatening, especially if you are taking blood thinners. You could bleed to death.” Liz nodded solemnly at this advice. She left the office with Anna.
“Are you going to take those now,” Anna asked.
“No, I will wait until I get back. I don’t want to take the risk of getting sick while we are traveling.” They rode back to the hotel in silence. Anna miscarried twice before she had Alice and did not like the idea of an abortion.
“I may not go through with it. I just need to be prepared.” Liz walked back through the bar and gave the hooker a twenty pound tip and went up to Anna’s room.
Gregory and Adam found a business center. The first call was to Hans. It was ten AM in Washington D C. Hans was not available and the person that answered was short with Adam. After a few attempts to get him on the line, Adam gave up tact.
“Give Hans this message. Either he is available or he can take his deal and fuck off. Have him available in thirty minutes!” Adam broke the connection. He walked down the street and had a cup of coffee with Gregory. He called back in exactly thirty minutes asking for Hans.
“He is not here. But he has asked me to deal for him. We can work something out. I have the power to act for him.” Adam was feeling shades of Nicaragua.
“Fuck off!” He hung up the phone. “Well Greg it was a lot of work for nothing. We need to get out of here before they catch up with us.” The phone in the booth rang.
“This is Hans. What is the news?” Adam looked at Gregory.
“The news is that you are a treacherous piece of shit. You are playing a game trying to get a team over here. Everybody that shows up will die, and I will be by to visit your family.” Adam screamed into the phone.
“Wait…” Hans said in a panicked voice as Adam hung up and started to leave. The phone rang again. Gregory pointed to the phone and nodded.
“What do you mean my family,” Hans said in a panic.
“Everyone related to you between one week and one hundred is going to die. Call Mercury and see if I have ever made a threat. Your wife is Linda, your daughter Deborah is thirteen, you have a new born named Carl, your father is Bob, your mother is Martha, your grandmother Cathy died last year, and your grandfather is Xavier.” Adam hung up again and left. “Let him stew.”
Gregory was stunned, “How did you know all of that?”
“Mercury told me. I got tired of dealing blind.”
“You would really do all of that?”
“It will take me a few weeks.” Adam sounded so casual about it that Gregory was thoroughly shaken.
“When we started this deal, I told him that I would not tolerate double dealing. They all go.” Adam said it as casually as he would order a drink at the bar. “We need to leave.”
They drove to the other end of Monaco and Gregory arranged another business center. Adam dialed the number again. This time Hans answered.
“I am here.” His voice was thoroughly in panic. “You cannot…”
“I have already done it. There is ten thousand on each member of your family that I mentioned which is ten times the going rate. Your family tree ends with Carl. Unless I remove it things will happen in three weeks.”
>
“You cannot…”
“I am going to give you one chance. If you are not going to do business, say so now and walk away. You go your way and I go mine. If you double deal me, your house gets cleaned. Are we clear?”
“But what if…”
“Are we clear or not?”
“We are clear.”
“Good think it over and I will call you back. If you do not want to do business, just say so. You can pay my expenses and no harm done. I will call you back in sixty minutes exactly. Give me your answer then. If anybody shows up looking for me they will not return. Sixty minutes…!”
Gregory had a new estimate of Adam. The easy going man disappeared.
“Stalin would have been proud of you.” It was not a sarcastic comment Gregory was honestly impressed. Stalin had started with the communist party in Georgia. “What if Anna and I screw up?”
“A screw up is a mistake, they happen. I will not tolerate intentional double dealing. You and Anna do not work that way. These government assholes work like that as a matter of practice. Mercury knows that I do not make threats. I make promises, and I keep my promises. We have fifty six minutes let us get some dinner. Adam went to a pay phone to tell Liz that he would be late.” He and Gregory drove back to another business center in Monte-Carlo eating a quick dinner and calling Hans back.
“Hans have you made up your mind?” Hans was surprised that Adam did not make any further threats.
“We can talk business.” He had been on the phone to Mercury for forty minutes. The only thing that they told him was not to do it unless he was one hundred percent behind it. He had risked his life before but never his entire family. NSA told him to get the deal done. He was worried that Noah would find out that his team showed up at the first business center.
“What have you found out,” Hans asked nervously.
“We can deliver up to five hundred thousand pounds. That would include thirty heavy machine guns, RPG 7s, RPG 12s, AK 47s, AK 74s, lots of hand grenades and several million rounds of ammo. We will deliver it to Karachi. We will need thirty one million dollars in Krugerrands delivered to Trabzon, Turkey with two chartered Everywhere Air 747 cargo planes. I need them to pick up a load in Ontario California. You can add the gold anywhere you want. That will be one thousand nine hundred and thirty-seven pounds of the yellow metal in Krugerrands. We will need this in twelve days. Are we clear?”
“We are crystal clear.” Hans wondered if Noah had any more threats to make.
“I will call back tomorrow for a go or no go. I will call once and it should not take any longer than fifteen seconds to take your answer.” Noah broke the connection and dialed the next number.
“Hello this is Marc.” He had given Noah his personal number.
“Marc this is Noah. We wish to charter the Patna. Will it be possible to have her in Trabzon in fourteen to thirty days?”
“Sixteen days would be perfect,” Marc said. “She is due into port in three days. I have another ship coming out of dry dock that can pick up her commitments, but I will need one hundred and fifty thousand pounds to lock it in.”
“Would you like that in gold?”
“Gold is always good.”
“Would you like it in Malta or somewhere else,” Noah asked.
“Zurich would be nice. I like the Swiss.” Marc laughed.
“The rest will be paid in Trabzon before leaving the dock with a bonus when we unload in Karachi. Would you like that in Switzerland too?”
“You are truly a ‘businessman’. Who did you learn from?”
“I learned from somebody called Mooney.” Noah said with a touch of pride in his voice.
“I have dealt with him before. It is a shame that he is dead.” Marc knew that that name was not mentioned casually. When ‘Mooney’ ran a deal, things ran smoothly. He was one of the most ruthless men that he knew but it was all business. He started to feel better about this deal.
“Who will deliver the money?”
“I will deliver it in person. I will meet you at the bank at two PM.” Noah broke the connection.
“Unfortunately I will not be able to go to Zurich with you. I would like to talk to Susan about investing in the Inn. It appears to be a solid investment.” Gregory said in a pained voice.
“That is a shame,” Adam said reflectively. “I thought that you might want to say hello to Marc.”
“Yes, but as you always say business comes first, so I must respectfully decline.” Gregory offered waiting to see if Anna had revealed anything about his problem with Marc.
“Well Anna made the arrangements, so perhaps she will be able to accompany me.”
“Yes,” Gregory agreed relishing some unfettered play time with the women at the Inn.
7.
EXTRAS
Noah called Sean in LA. “Sean this is Hermes. I need you to do a job for me.”
“What would you like?” Sean always made good money with Hermes.
“Do you still have access to the materials disposal depot? I need one hundred fifty thousand pounds of humanitarian supplies: tents, cots, mobile kitchens, mobile hospitals, clothes, shoes, food and finish off the order with plasma, antibiotics along with any other medical supplies that you can arrange. It does not matter go to eighty percent of what two 747 cargo liners can hold. I will forward two million to your account. Do you think ten percent will cover your end?”
“Two hundred thousand will cover things nicely. When do you need it?”
“I was hoping for ten days. I will take whatever you can come up within ten days and of course I will cover the charter with Everywhere Air. Schedule a fuel stop in Manchester England. They will top off in Trabzon, Turkey and then fly to Karachi, Pakistan.” Sean knew better than to question the routing. Noah broke the connection. He switched to a pay phone in another area of the business center. He desperately needed to talk to Terri. When she answered he let out a huge sigh of relief.
“It is so good to hear your voice. Things are coming together for the deal but bringing Liz along was an error. She looks so much like you that it is confusing.”
“What about us?” Terri was sick waiting for his answer. The upcoming deal dropped way back on her list of fears.
“I love you with all my heart and soul.” She was glad to hear him answer immediately. It took some of the sting out of his announcement. They never had a standard marriage. Susan took him whenever she needed a man. Suki always walked through their bedroom and until she got together with Frank, she would use Adam. Jennifer and Anna had been to bed with him too. Terri had been talking to Suki and Lynn about this possibility. “Lynn threw a surprise in the deal too. My pregnancy triggered Lynn’s desire to have a baby and Lynn admitted that she wants you to be the father, but we can deal with that when you return tomorrow.” Terri’s answer threw Adam way off. Considering her mood when he left, this was a total surprise.
“I love you.” Terri broke the connection without responding.
Adam and Gregory returned to the Hotel de Paris. Each man went to his room. Adam was surprised to find both Liz and Anna in the room. Liz was sitting on the bed crying. Anna whispered in her ear and left, “You need to tell him.” And whispering to Adam on the way out Anna said, “Be gentle with her.”
“What is the mystery?” He was feeling somewhat calmer after talking to Terri.
“I have not been on my birth control for a month. I could get pregnant. When I ran away from the Boss, I did not take it with me. I went to the doctor to get some pills just in case. Anna made me promise to talk to you before I took them.” Liz held up the small envelope that the doctor had given her. Adam was silent noticing that Liz was still wearing the chain that was attached to her piercings. He gently removed it taking her gently in his arms. Liz was dying for him to say something she was expecting him to rage about her trying to trap him.
“Aren’t you going to say anything?”
“No,” Adam started to kiss her tenderly on the lips. He continued to
kiss her all over her body. He caressed and fondled her and their love making was quiet and soft. Liz found herself hoping that he would not say anything. Before he fell asleep, Adam said one thing.
“I am glad that you did not take those pills.” He moved them from the pillow to the night stand. He wanted to throw them away, but more pills were available, so that would not be a solution. Liz could get a second batch as easy as she got the first batch.
They all met in the lobby with Liz walking up to Anna and kissing her on the cheek.
“Thank you for your advice. You were right. I am surprised that you lost our bet on the piercing.”
“Who said that I wanted to win? Gregory supplied the diamonds.” Anna insisted on driving into Nice with Liz. That left Adam and Greg to drive together. The ride to Nice went without incident. Liz used Terri’s passport for the last time. She was silent for the whole flight back to Manchester wondering what Terri would do. The flight landed ten minutes early and they found Frank waiting for them at the prearranged spot. Liz was praying for heavy traffic for some more time, but it only took ten minutes to get back to the Inn. When they pulled in the drive, Adam could see the Ark was parked on the roadway. Terri and Susan were standing in front of the house. Suki, Lynn, and Jennifer were standing behind them. Adam kissed Terri hello passionately. Lynn stepped up to Adam and handed him a brief case.
“Here is sixteen pounds of gold as you requested. You will be late for your meeting with Marc in Zurich. Ralph and Roger are waiting for you. Take Gregory and Frank with you for security.”
“But we need to discuss…” Adam began.
“We will do the discussing when you return. You need to take care of business.” Lynn gave Adam a tap below his belt and pushed him away with a smile. Frank took Adam and Anna down to the Ark in the cart. Anna looked the Caribou over carefully as they approached. It appeared to be new, but she still insisted on doing a walk around before boarding. Adam went directly on board. “Roger, I would like Anna to fly this run with Ralph. I want her familiar with the Ark.”