“I want all three of you in the bedroom,” Banyon added.
“Oh?” Previne said as put her hand to her mouth. Her sisters both shrugged like it was okay.
“I think he just wants to talk,” Pramilla told her.
“Pity,” she replied, but followed them into the bedroom.
As soon as they were inside the bedroom, Banyon explained about the noise. The women all giggled.
“Mandy and Edgar will be here shortly. You need to take him with you to the Wilk’s house. But I don’t really trust him, so keep an eye on him will you?”
“Will do,” Maya promised.
“Also we have pretty much put our plan together for the hospital take down. If you want, you can come along, providing you handle your last assignment.”
“Where is the last guy?” Previne asked.
“I’ll tell you later,” Banyon replied as he heard a knock at the suite door. He left the room to let Mandy and Edgar into the suite.
“Mission accomplished,” Mandy said brightly and saluted Banyon. “Where are Heather and Steve?” She asked as she looked around. Her pageboy hair fanned out as she moved her head very quickly.
“They are in the bedroom,” Previne pointed out.
“Gosh, she’s lucky,” Mandy uttered with jealously.
Banyon turned to Edgar, the ferret. He was unabashedly staring at the Patel sisters. His hands had come up to his chest. His overbite was now very prominent. He looked decidedly like his namesake, a ferret. “Edgar, I want you to meet the Patel sisters. You are going with them right now to translate for them.”
“Come on Edgar. We’ll introduce ourselves in the car,” Maya said cheerfully. She hooked his arm. “We’ll take good care of you, sweetie.”
“I want Mandy to go with us,” the ferret nervously said. Banyon could see he was unprepared for the seductive Patel sisters. He realized the ferret would feel more comfortable with Mandy along.
“Mandy would you go with them too?” Banyon asked.
“Of course, Colt,” she responded. “I’ll do anything for the team.”
“Do you want to sit in the back of the car with Maya and me?” Pramilla asked like a flirt. She grabbed his other arm and led the catatonic man to the door.
“Oh, there is one more thing,” Banyon announced. “We are going to postpone our dinner party until after we get back from the hospital. Let’s make it for ten o’clock tonight. Let everyone else know. Also, the Dewey & Beatem people don’t have a room. We may have to double some people up.”
“I volunteer for your room, Colt,” Previne quickly responded.
“We’ve tried that before. Previne. It didn’t work out too well as I recall,” Banyon replied seriously.
“We can always try again,” she replied cheerfully over her shoulder as the sisters walked away.
The door slammed as the women left. Banyon was left alone. He was thankful Mandy had agreed to go with the Patel sisters. He was not in mood to put up with her aggressiveness at the moment.
Chapter Nine
Banyon sat on the couch in the suite. He was running through the timing for the hospital assault. He also worked on the plan for tomorrow morning. He decided to talk to Wolf.
“Wolf, have you found out anything yet?” he spoke to the ceiling.
“Colt, it has only been a half an hour. I need more time,” Wolf quickly replied.
“Is there anything that I should be doing?”
“The Patel sisters are almost at the Wilk house. I’d call Loni and tell her to be prepared.” Wolf didn’t want to tell Banyon the real reason for the call.
“Okay, I’ll do that,” Banyon replied cheerfully.
***
About ten minutes later Heather gracefully entered the main room of the suite. She had changed her clothes. There was a smile on her face.
“Colt, are you all alone?” she asked. “Where is Mandy?”
“The ferret insisted she go with the Patel sisters,” Banyon replied. “I think he was afraid to be alone with them. Kind of happy she went with them.”
“I understand,” Heather agreed.
“Edgar was not prepared for them. I’m sure he is keeping his hands between his legs,” Banyon laughed.
“Sorry about Steve’s little tantrum,” Heather blurted out. “He is such a male chauvinist, you know.
“I would probably have acted the same way,” Banyon said truthfully. “Is he in a better mood now?”
“He’ll be out in a minute,” she answered. “I’m sure he will be fine now. We had a little chat.”
“Yes, we all could hear.”
“No, I mean a real chat,” Heather said as she ran her hand through her hair.
“About what?”
“I told him Kevin was gay,” she said. She looked Banyon straight in the eye with a mesmerizing gaze which penetrated his soul while she said it.
“But he isn’t really gay, is he?”
“No. He most definitely is not gay,” Heather said with a shake of her head.
“Well then, we will keep that secret to ourselves,” Banyon replied with a knowing smile.
“Thank you Colt. I owe you,” she mouthed through pouty lips.
They both turned their heads as Steve came into the room. There was a broad smile in his face as he strutted into the room.
Chapter Ten
“Eric, get dressed. Your wife is almost here,” Loni screamed as soon as she got off the phone with Colton Banyon. She then went looking for her clothes which she had discarded, Loni style, all over the room.
“Thanks for playing cards with me,” Eric cheerfully replied as he pulled on his faded jeans.
“It was fun,” she admitted. “But we can never tell anybody. They won’t believe we kept our hands to ourselves.”
“Especially with our reputations,” Eric noted.
“You mean your reputation don’t you,” Loni corrected him as she hooked her bra. “I’ve never had sex with any other man since I moved in with Colt. And that’s the truth,” she said as she stuck out her tongue at him.
“Well, I’ve kept it all in the family,” he responded in defense. “But you know my family as intimately as I do.”
“That’s different,” she shot back hotly, “and Colt has forgiven me for that too.”
Suddenly there was a knock at the door. They both scrambled to tidy up the room. Loni went to the door to let in the entourage.
Pramilla was the first one in. She went straight to Eric. She threw her body against him with a hug. She quickly realized he was excited and shot a menacing glance towards Loni. Loni gave her the most innocent look she could muster and quickly turned away to greet everyone else.
“What have you been up to Eric?” Pramilla asked in her wife voice.
“Nothing,” Eric replied in his husband voice. “I’m just happy to see you. I hope we have some free time later,” he said with raised eyebrows.
“We’ll see,” Pramilla responded sweetly. “But first we need to fix our little mercenary friend right now.”
“He’s down in the basement,” Loni replied. She led the way for the seven of them to the kitchen.
When they all gathered at the bottom of the steps, they found the man was gone. “Well, where is he?” Pramilla asked suspiciously. “I don’t see him.”
“I was watching the door,” Loni said. “He could not have gotten out.”
“Well then, he must still be down here somewhere,” Previne spoke out. “Let’s find him quickly.”
“Come out, come out, wherever you are, mister mercenary,” Mandy said in a child-like voice.
The ferret quickly spoke in Polish. “You are out-numbered seven to one. Reveal yourself now.” But there was no response.
“Let’s spread out, and look for him,” Previne ordered. “My sisters and I will take the left side. The rest of you take the right side.”
While there was nothing to hide behind in the large basement, it was not well lit. The big man had placed himself in
a corner that was in deep shadow. He had removed his gag but had been unable to untie his hands. He waited calmly for someone to come near him. Once he got a hold on one of them, he figured he could use them as a hostage to make it out of the building. It was Mandy who came close first. He sprang from his corner grabbing her by the hair. She let out a yelp. Everyone turned in her direction.
“Let her go,” the ferret said in Polish.
“She is my ticket out of here,” he calmly replied.
“You won’t get far. There are too many of us,” the ferret said.
“I can break her neck, if I want too,” the mercenary threatened.
“Go ahead,” the ferret responded. “Then we will kill you slowly. If you want to live let her go.”
“What are they saying,” Mandy pleaded nervously. The mercenary had slid his arms over her neck. He pulled her up against his body.
“Just negotiating,” the ferret said in English.
“I have a shot,” Loni announced as she moved in closer to the left side of the big man. “Should I take it?”
“I do too,” Eric added. He was on the right side in a full two-handed stance. The mercenary quickly realized there was no chance of his survival if he broke the little girl’s neck. He pushed Mandy at Eric. He then bolted for the stairs.
Maya stuck out her leg. It tripped him as he flew by. He went down face first and skidded on the floor. The Patel sisters jumped on him pinning him to the ground. Mandy was suddenly behind him. She kicked him between the legs. He screamed in pain, but went still.
“Now listen to me,” the ferret said in Polish. “If you want to live, you will do as I tell you. Do you understand?”
“I understand,” the mercenary said between moans.
“Tell him we are taking him outside behind the house where there is a small lake,” Previne ordered the ferret. “We just want to talk to him.”
Edgar translated and soon Eric helped the man to his feet. They proceeded to the back yard without incident. Loni kept a gun trained on him all the time.
As they stood at the shore of the lake, Previne said, “Let me try the chant without any translation. I think it will still work.”
“What chant?” the ferret asked. “Are you going to cast some kind of a spell or something?” The three Patel sisters made eye contact. They knew at some point Edgar would also have to be made to forget.
“This is actually applied hypnosis,” Maya said to the ferret. “It is not any form of magic.”
Previne started to chant and threw some glitter into the air. She then spoke to the mercenary. Edgar translated for him.
“You will forget everything you know about Albin Wilk. You will forget everything you know about the Orion weapons. When you hit the water, you will not remember how you got there. She placed a knife in his hands so that he could cut himself loose when he surfaced. Eric and Loni moved in behind him. When Previne nodded they shoved him. He went flying into the water.
“Let’s get out of here,” Previne exclaimed. They all scampered through the backyard to reach their cars.
Chapter Eleven
Twenty minutes later, Loni blew through the suite door. She saw Banyon, Heather, and Steve working at the table, but she headed straight for the bedroom. Eric followed her into the suite carrying a big box.
“Eric, would you put the box in my bedroom,” she asked sweetly. Eric followed Loni into the room. The rest of the group headed for the table.
Loni opened the safe, and deposited the last talisman. Eric came near the closet where the safe was located. “Wow, that was close,” he said with relief in a low voice.
“Too close,” Loni agreed. “My panties are on backwards.”
“Pramilla suspects we were doing something naughty. She kept her hands on me all the way back here.”
“Did you see her look at me,” Loni added. “If looks could kill, I’d be dead,” she said with a throaty laugh.
“Good thing that Colt called you or we would have been caught with our pants down, literally,” Eric said.
“Yeah, it was almost like he was warning us.”
***
As soon as the Patel sisters reached the table, Banyon pulled them aside. He spoke to them privately. “You have to leave right away to get to the last man on your list.”
“Okay,” Previne replied reluctantly. “Just tell us were to go.”
“He’s holed up in a flea bag hotel,” Banyon handed them the address. “He’s in room #224. He is not very mobile, but he is armed and dangerous.”
“Why is he not mobile?” Maya asked.
“He is the last mercenary left from the attack on the farmhouse in Wisconsin. He was hit with shrapnel in his arm and leg. He managed to get the metal out of his body by himself. He flew across the Atlantic without anyone noticing his wounds, but he has developed an infection. He can’t get out of bed.”
“How dangerous is he?” Previne suddenly asked.
“He has been very dangerous in the past,” Banyon said carefully.
“I want to take Eric with us,” Pramilla said a she eyed Loni and Eric coming out of the bedroom smiling.
“I’ll go,” Mandy suddenly said. She had moved near the small group when she heard the word Wisconsin. “This is the bastard who caused the Reynolds to die. I want in,” she insisted. “I need closure. Besides, I can pick the lock on his room. I’m also a better shooter than any of you,” she reasoned.
Previne made a snap judgment. “She’ll go with us.” She started for the door.
“What about Edgar?” Banyon grabbed her arm and asked.
“The chant does not need to be translated,” Previne replied. “Also, I agree, he can’t be trusted. The girls and I will come up with a creative way to make him forget.”
“He needs to stay in your suite tonight,” Banyon explained. “Is that alright? I don’t want him to see Heather and Steve together.”
“We’ll take him,” Maya said. “We’ll give him the time of his life. Then make him forget.”
“You girls are too cruel,” Banyon half-joked. He shook his head and watched as the women once again went out the door.
Chapter Twelve
Mandy sat in the back seat of the car with Maya. Previne drove and Pramilla navigated. They were about half-way to their destination when Previne spoke.
“You know Mandy, you are a lot like Loni,” she stated over her shoulder.
“What do you mean?” Mandy said as alarms sounded in her head. She began to wonder if this was some sort of a trap.
“What I mean is you are cute, athletic, speedy, petite, and impulsive, just like Loni. I can see why Colt favors you,” Previne continued as she watched the young girl in the rearview mirror. “You remind him of Loni.”
This made Mandy angry. “Are you saying I’m just a substitute when she is not around,” Mandy blustered.
“I’m saying Loni is a close friend of ours. Keep your hands off of him, especially in public,” Previne threatened.
“Well, I’ve seen you tempt him several times, Previne,” Mandy spat out. “You just want him for yourself,” she argued.
Previne just laughed. “Hah,” she croaked. She threw her head back to emphasize. “I honestly don’t know what I would do if he ever fell for one of my feeble attempts. It is a game we have played for many years now. Loni is well aware of my attempts at bedding Colton Banyon. She knows the attempts are only half-serious. And besides, sometimes it is one of my sisters pretending to be me, who tempt him.” Previne turned slightly to her sister. She winked her eye. She didn’t want Mandy to know that she secretly coveted Colton Banyon, and Mandy was a competitor to eliminate.
“We are quite similar,” Pramilla laughed. “Men are easy to fool. Ask Eric, he is often confused.”
“So, what are you saying?” Mandy asked as she was on the verge of tears. No one seemed to understand what Banyon meant to her.
“I’m saying don’t tempt Colt, especially with Loni around, if you want to continue life w
ith all your limbs intact. Loni can be very jealous and impulsive.”
“But you don’t understand. He changed my life,” Mandy stammered. “He was the first man to treat me like a person. I was headed down a dangerous path until he came along. I owe him so much”
“Mandy, we also were headed down a dangerous path as well when we met Colt,” Previne explained. “My sisters and I were actually trained as belly dancers in India. Our grandfather, who raised us, believed the only way for us to attract a man was through our sexuality. Colt has changed that for us.”
“I didn’t know,” Mandy replied thoughtfully.
“Loni was in even worse shape,” Previne continued. “She felt she was useless as a person until she and Colt were accidently thrust together. She didn’t have a successful relationship with a man until she met Colt. They didn’t even like each other when they first met.”
“It’s all true,” Pramilla added.
“I didn’t know that either,” Mandy responded truthfully.
“There are a lot of things you don’t know yet,” Previne announced.
“So, it’s okay to admire Colt, but it’s not okay to fondle him,” Maya explained.
“Got it, kid,” Previne said.
“Got it,” Mandy answered as expected.
Chapter Thirteen
A few minutes later, the Patel sisters and Mandy were stationed in the hallway outside of room #224. They had found the shabby hotel building and entered through a dirty front door. The clerk was a squirrely old man who stared at them from behind a wire cage. He said something in Polish while he put up his hand to stop them. All four women brandished their guns. He quickly decided he needed to take an inventory of the towels in the back room behind the cage.
“When we go in,” Previne said. “Mandy you go left, Maya you go right. Pramilla and I will go straight in. Any questions?” There were none. They moved to the door. Mandy began to silently pick the lock. It didn’t take her long to disable the ancient device. They readied themselves. Pramilla used her long leg to kick the door in. The four women crashed into the room.
The Polish Discovery: The Society of Orion 1-3 (Colton Banyon Mystery Book 17) Page 26