Bennington in turn moved the discussion to the immediate political needs of the congressman, namely the upcoming joint interview with Congresswoman Mears, and further assurances from Ohio that if Congressman Latner were to be Governor Mendez’s running mate, the congressman would in fact deliver Ohio to the campaign.
When Bennington reminded Tracy he was to make personal phone calls to his family to obtain those assurances, Tracy responded in both tone and substance that left no doubt as to his concern for Kat, and his feelings for the congressman.
“I won’t make one damn call until you find out how Kat is doing, you understand me Frank? You want my family’s support? Their influence? Their money? You do right by that girl and make sure she’s safe.”
Colin looked back at Tracy with a newfound respect. The rich boy was a human being after all.
“Since when did you grow a set of balls Tracy?”
Tracy’s tight lipped smile and steely stare indicated he found no humor in Bennington’s remark.
“Since I began to realize we’re all working for some kind of abusive sociopath. The congressman might be a good politician, but he’s a piece of shit human being. Colin knows – he’s already asked questions about him.”
Colin sensed Bennington’s eyes looking over at him.
‘That true Colin? You share Tracy’s concerns?”
Colin turned his head and nodded back at Bennington.
“You know I do. Something’s not right with this situation. The congressman and Kat. Jo said it earlier. We all saw how she looked in the backseat of that car. She was terrified Frank. I think she was afraid for her life. I’m not exaggerating either – that’s how she looked.”
Frank Bennington stood up and stared back down at the other three members of the congressional staff, his face moving from anger to understanding and then back to anger.
“Ok, look, here’s the deal. And I want you all to listen real hard to what I am telling you. In this business, you got to take the shit with the flowers. That’s how it is. None of these politicians are perfect. Most of them are the most arrogant, self centered, assholes on the planet. It’s our job to push them to do right when we get the chance. Now the congressman, he’s far from perfect. I get that. I know that. But he’s also a hell of a politician. He knows the game, knows how to get things done. Whether its women’s rights, voting rights, immigration reform, banking reform, you know…those things that really matter to this country.
Congressman Latner gets shit done.
You have to separate the congressman from the man. Don’t let your dislike of one, prevent you from working with the other. That’s how this job has to be. If we do this thing right over the next few months, I think we will be hitching ourselves to a national campaign. To the White House. Now let that sink in. Imagine that. The White House.
I’ll check in on that girl. I already promised Colin as much. This deal between her and the congressman, will be dealt with. I’m on it, ok? What I need from you three is to make sure everything else in this office runs smoothly. No mistakes. Can you give me that?”
Colin, Jo, and Tracy looked at on another and then back to Bennington, their heads nodding in agreement. Jo was the first to respond.
“Hell yes we can do that Frank. We got your back – you just make sure to have ours too.”
Frank Bennington gave a grateful smile and tapped the top of the table lightly with his right hand.
“Good. Then let’s get to work.”
34.
“Hello Ivanka – this is Frank Bennington.”
There was no reply.
“Uh, are you there Ivanka?”
The Russian madam finally responded.
“Yes. What do you want?”
“Well, uh, I was trying to check in on a young lady, uh, Kat. Wanted to see how Kat was doing.”
Ivanka’s voice indicated her suspicion over Bennington’s call.
“Why are you concerned with Kat? Shouldn’t you be asking your boss? He would know.”
Frank Bennington paused, growing uncomfortable talking about the subject on his cell phone.
“Is it possible we could meet later today to discuss this Ivanka? Just a courtesy thing – nothing to worry about.”
Ivanka’s reply was both cold and confident.
“I am not worried Mr. Bennington – should you be?”
Bennington removed his cell phone from his ear and looked at it intently, silently mouthing the words you bitch, before speaking into it again.
“How about I stop by your place in a couple of hours Ivanka? Just a quick chat.”
“If you wish Mr. Bennington. Goodbye.”
Well that went about as well as I thought it would.
Frank Bennington moved from his desk to open his office door and shout down the hallway.
“O’Shea! My office – now!”
Sitting at his own desk, Colin looked up to see both Tracy and Jo staring back at him. Jo winked.
“The great and mighty political Oz requests your presence!”
Colin knocked on Bennington’s door and then walked in. Bennington sate behind his desk, motioning for Colin to take a seat.
“Spoke with Ivanka. Didn’t want to say too much over the phone so let her know we’d be stopping by to see her in a couple hours.”
Colin’s eyes widened slightly.
“We are going – you mean you and me?”
Bennington nodded, holding his hands out to his sides like some overweight, corrupted Jesus.
“Yeah, this is your concern, so you get to come along with me. We go over there, find out about this Kat girl, tell Ivanka to keep her away from the congressman, and the problem is solved.”
“What if the congressman demands to see her again?”
Frank Bennington shrugged.
“I don’t know, and you don’t worry about it. Once we get word the Mendez camp is green lighting the congressman as a running mate, he’ll focus in for us. He loves campaigning even more than he loves messing around with women way too young for him. When it comes time to deliver, he always does.”
Despite Bennington’s assurances, Colin O’Shea had a feeling this time might be different.
Two hours later, both men stood in front of the seated Russian madam inside of her opulently furnished residence. Her eyes regarded the visitors with open contempt.
“Katalina is with your congressman. He phoned earlier to indicate he wishes to keep her at his home for another few days. He has already sent payment.”
Colin noted how the older Russian woman’s demeanor oozed an aristocratic arrogance and confidence. Ivanka Vetrov was not one to be impressed by men with political titles. For her, they were simply wretched creatures willing to pay money for sex – a lot of money.
“So you haven’t actually spoken to Kat lately?”
The Russian’s eyes bored into Bennington, the right corner of her thin lipped mouth curling into an almost hidden smile.
“No. Like I said, your congressman already paid for her services in advance.”
“I’ve tried to call Kat – she won’t answer her phone.”
Ivanka’s stare fixed itself on Colin.
“You’re the boy Kat would leave with, correct?”
Colin nodded.
“Yes. She…she seemed afraid of the congressman. Lately anyways.”
The Russian’s eyes narrowed slightly as they remain glaring at Colin O’Shea.
“Was she? And how do you know this?”
Colin was about to answer when Bennington raised his hand to cut him off.
“Can you just check in on her Ivanka? We want to make sure she’s ok, that’s all.”
Ivanka tilted her head upward slightly, the faint smile turning into a sneer.
“She is with YOUR congressman – you find out if she is ok. And if she is not, then we have ourselves a problem Mr. Bennington. You, this boy here, and the congressman too. His position will not grant him protection if something should happen to Katalina.”
/> Frank Bennington smiled as he waved his hands nervously in front of himself.
“No-no…nothing has happened to her. We just, we just wanted to know if you had heard from her, that’s all. And maybe it would be best, when she does return, that you have her stay away from the congressman for now. At least for a while.”
Ivanka pursed her lips tightly and then looked away.
“We are done. Goodbye gentlemen.”
Bennington turned back toward the door, motioning for Colin to follow behind him, his eyes clearly suggesting he wanted nothing more than to get the hell out of there.
Once both men stood back outside Ivanka’s building, Colin looked down at Bennington.
“Now what?”
Frank Bennington jabbed a finger into Colin’s chest.
“We go back to work Colin. Ivanka will check in on Kat, and if there’s any kind of problem, she sure as shit will let us know about it. That won’t be happening though, because Kat is fine. She’s probably rolling around in bed with the congressman right now. When she goes home, Ivanka will keep her away, and I’ll have another sit down with the congressman and get him refocused on being the next Vice President of the United States. Everything will be fine.”
As Bennington gave his directive to Colin O’Shea, Ivanka was initiating her own directive over the phone to Arman.
“I want you to stop by the congressman’s home and check in on Katalina. Yes, that congressman. I want it done within the hour and then report back to me. Thank you Arman.”
Ivanka sat silently in one of the parlor chairs trying to figure out what bothered her about the brief conversation she just had with Arman. His voice didn’t indicate anything unusual, and yet, her instincts demanded something wasn’t right.
Arman didn’t ask where the congressman lived.
The Russian madam contemplated how Arman would already know the location of the congressman’s home. She could not recall him ever delivering Katalina there – that would be a violation of business protocol. And if he already knew the location, why? What was going on that would require Arman to have already been there?
Men and their perpetual games. How tired Ivanka Vetrov had become of them.
35.
Kat looked into the face of madness. Congressman Latner smiled down on her still bound and gagged form, spread out nude upon the top of his bed. The congressman’s fingers caressed Kat’s skin along her inner thighs as he leaned down to kiss her gently on the forehead.
“Nothing to be afraid of Kat. I won’t ever hurt you. I always knew we’d be together like this some day. Didn’t you?”
The young Russian woman’s eyes rolled wildly in her head as she strained against her bonds. Her attempts to scream were defeated by the duct tape that remained firmly placed over her mouth.
The congressman’s excitement was visibly enhanced by Kat’s struggles, his smile turning more wolfish as he began removing his own clothes. Within a few seconds his body was grinding against Kat’s, his mouth softly biting on her neck and shoulders. The more Kat fought, the more urgent became the congressman’s movements until he was nothing more than a heaving, sweating mass above her, grunting like an animal with each forced and increasingly violent thrust.
Kat ended her struggles, instead closing her eyes and again escaping into a safe corner of her mind, waiting for the congressman to finish. When that finish came, Congressman Latner pressed his face against Kat’s chest and fell asleep, a faint smile implanted on his face. Moments later, Kat found herself drifting off to sleep as well.
Both were interrupted by the sound of the home’s doorbell. Congressman Latner looked over at the bedside clock and saw it was just past 3:00 p.m. He had been asleep for nearly an hour.
Kat was already awake, her eyes glaring back at the congressman, the muscles of her body already tense as she again struggled against the rope that held her in place.
“You stay here Kat. I’ll be right back.”
Kat watched as the congressman went into the bathroom and then re-emerged with a large, white, terry cloth robe wrapped around him. He then left the room, closing the door behind him, leaving Kat alone in the late afternoon gloom that filled the bedroom.
The doorbell sounded again. Whoever it was, appeared unwilling to simply just go away.
Congressman Latner peered through his front door’s security viewer and saw the imposing figure of Arman standing at the entrance to his home looking annoyed. The Russian was dressed in his familiar, long black leather trench coat, both hands tucked deeply into the front pockets.
“Open your damn door, Congressman.”
The command was uttered in Arman’s thick, Russian accent, more a growl than a clearly spoken sentence.
Congressman Latner paused, wondering why Arman was here. Was he checking up on Kat? Ivanka had never done anything like that before. She had her money – why would she care?
“I said open the door!”
The congressman unlocked the door and pulled it open, staring back at the Russian enforcer while trying hard not to appear intimidated.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
Arman said nothing, instead pushing the door completely open and forcing himself past the congressman as he stepped inside.
“Hey! I asked you what the hell you’re doing here! You cant’ just walk in like this unannounced! You do remember who I am, right?”
Arman strode into the main living area, his eyes scanning the interior of the congressman’s home.
“Where is Katalina?”
Congressman Latner sat down on the couch while gesturing for Arman to sit down in one of the chairs facing him.
“She’s out getting me some flu medicine. I’m not feeling well. Why?”
Arman remained standing, his eyes looking toward the kitchen before returning back to the congressman.
“Ivanka sent me here to check on her. I don’t know why, so don’t ask.”
Congressman Latner shook his head, looking both confused and offended.
“What do you mean check on her? Why would Ivanka be doing that? I’m a longtime client. She’s taken a hell of a lot of my money over the years. I would think that lends me a little more trust from her than what this…whatever the hell this is you’re doing would suggest.”
Arman shrugged.
“I don’t know. If she finds out you’ve been paying me directly…that would not be good. Ivanka would be very pissed. I brought Kat here for you, took her from outside that club, so if something has happened to her, Ivanka would hold me responsible. After she has you killed first of course.”
The congressman’s eyes grew wide as he pointed back at Arman, an internal competition exploding within him over whether he felt more rage or fear at the implied threat.
“Did you just threaten a United States congressman Arman? You really think that’s something you want to be doing? I could have the D.C. police crawling all over that place of Ivanka’s you know! Looking at you, her, your associates. Don’t you EVER threaten me like that again!”
Arman remained unimpressed by the congressman’s outrage.
“Go ahead, Congressman, send your little police to us. We will be happy to let them know just how many times you have used Ivanka’s service. I wonder if that will help your political career any? And you like the girls to be so young!”
Congressman Latner looked up at Arman’s wide, leering grin. The Russian was right of course, moving against Ivanka would put himself at risk. If he couldn’t intimidate Arman, he would have to try and appeal to his greed, of which the Russian had plenty.
“I’m actually glad you’re here Arman. Please, have a seat. I have a business proposition. Something that could prove very profitable for you in the not too distant future.”
The Russian’s eyes betrayed his interest. If there was easy money to be made, Arman Vetrov was always interested.
“This better not be bullshit. I don’t want my time wasted.”
Congressman Latner nodded
.
“Of course Arman, of course. Here’s the deal. I do have a bit of a situation here. Something that needs to be gotten rid of. I understand you are somewhat of an expert in that area, right?”
Arman’s head tilted downward slightly as he looked back at the congressman.
“What is it?”
Congressman Joseph Latner, a man intent on being the next Vice President of the United States, replied as if he was talking about the weather, without a hint of concern, fear, or regret.
Private Detective: BENNINGTON P.I.: A thrilling four-novel political murder mystery private detective series... Page 17