by Mike Dagons
Glenda had given me a Wolfsbane plant when I was at Charter. She’d told me that it was a reminder to never judge a book by its cover. It bloomed in a pretty purple flower that looked delicate and harmless, and then she told me that it was called the queen of poisons. ‘What you see is not always what you get. Your petite size is the perfect cover. Most people won’t expect to find a killer inside such a cute little package. But you remember that deadly things sometimes come in pretty packages, and never underestimate an opponent if you plan to grow old in this life.’ Janie made me realize the importance of that piece of advice. I had underestimated her, and it irked me that she had the effrontery to ask to work with me after she tried to have me killed.
Tyler Basin walked in with Ceylon and Mark flanking him. He took the podium, and the music stopped. “If you haven’t already found your table, please do so now,” he smiled big, as he waited for the few people standing to take their seats.
The waiters stopped filling glasses, and stood at attention behind their assigned tables. “And now, let’s pray,” he said when everyone was in place. He bowed his head, and prayed a prayer of thanks in a loud evangelic voice.
I lowered my head, but I didn’t close my eyes. There were a lot of killers in the room, and I had just vowed never to ignore Glenda’s expert advice again. Matthew 26:41 King James Version: Watch and pray, that you enter not into temptation. Glenda’s Version: every time you close your eyes you give somebody the opportunity to slit your throat. Don’t tempt them. Keep ‘em open, even when you’re praying. A quick glance around the room confirmed that I wasn’t the only one living by Glenda’s version. Ceylon and Mark hadn’t even bothered to lower their heads.
“Amen,” Tyler shouted, and we all echoed him.
“Shirley and I would like to thank all of you for coming, and as a token of our appreciation, she has given each of you a special tablet computer that she swears is better and more fun than the iPad. If it’s not, you can blame her,” he joked, and we all laughed dutifully.
“Please power it on, and see how it has been personalized just for you, and then enjoy your dinner,” he backed away from the podium, and Ceylon and Mark escorted him over to our table. He sat down, and they stood back and watched him like the secret service watches the President.
The servers, who had disappeared from the floor immediately after the prayer ended, began rolling food carts out to the tables.
I powered on my tablet and the screen came to life with my name, and a picture of Steven’s hand holding the engagement ring Shirley insisted I wear tonight. A screen show followed with pictures of him starting when he was a baby, and ending with pictures of us together, which they must have taken from his loft. There was an instant message at the end that read: I hope this gives you enough happy memories to carry you through the days to come, and it was digitally signed, Shirley Tyler.
Instinctively, I knew I was being watched, so I forced out a few tears before I looked up from the tablet. “Thank you so much,” I leaned over and kissed her on her cheek.
“You’re welcome, dear. Wipe your eyes. We’re celebrating tonight,” she smiled, and then handed me a cloth napkin off the table.
“Thank you for everything. Thank you, Mr. Basin,” I said when I saw him looking at me.
“You’re welcome. Are you having a good time?”
“Yes sir, thank you.”
He nodded, and then struck up a conversation with the man sitting next to him, who I’d been told was the Mayor.
Outwardly Basin had the appearance of an affluent businessman, but looks were deceiving, and as I’d learned. Judging a book by its cover in my business could get you killed.
Chapter 27
When D’Agon and Rayce powered on their tablets, they found a personalized, thank you for joining us, message. Choc found something totally different on his. He read it, and then handed it to D’Agon, who read the first line, and then looked up at him. “This is it. This is a slick way of doing it,” he said, and then continued to read. Mr. Williams, the bid opens at five billion US dollars. You have five minutes to enter your bid.
D’Agon stopped reading, and tried to enter his bid. When it was rejected, he continued reading. If you have the highest bid, you will get an instant message notification with instructions for the money transfer. Once the funds have been verified, you will be given instructions outlining the delivery process. You will receive your merchandise before leaving. Please delete this message to enter your bid.
After he finished reading the message, he deleted it, and then entered a bid of seven billion dollars, the amount they had agreed on. They weren’t trying to win, but their bid needed to be high enough to make Segal appear to be a serious contender.
Janie slipped a data stick into Yeltsin’s tablet, and then she watched the screen and waited. She had created the interface device by reverse engineering Bender’s, and she was certain that the technology would work perfectly.
Bender thought he was the best in the business, but she was so much smarter. He had done all the heavy lifting in creating the device, and she was going to reap the benefits of his labor.
After a few seconds, bids started scrolling on her screen as she intercepted every transmission in the room. She waited until all the bids were in, and then she entered Yeltsin’s bid, making it a few hundred thousand more than the highest bid coming in from Hussein Mohammad, a known Jihadist terrorist.
She removed the device, and then gave the tablet back to Yeltsin with a smile. He took her hand and kissed it. She had made herself everything he wanted in a woman, and he was in love, and blind to her deception.
After she learned that Ryan only wanted her in Chicago to use her skills to help build his agency, she started trying to think of ways to make working for Genesis more beneficial for her. When the card job came up, she decided to use the opportunity to better her standard of living. Severe almost fucked it up, but she was able to seduce Yeltsin, and sell him on the idea of stealing the card.
Yes, she had to use her brothers and her daughter, but they were never in any real danger. Yeltsin had sacrificed a few of his men, but their lives meant nothing to him compared to the trillion dollar paycheck they could potentially receive.
She already had a buyer, so all she had to do was get the card in her hands. If Tyler Basin hadn’t been such an attention whore, he could have made the sale silently, and drama free. Now he was going to be caught up in a personal war with Yeltsin and his backers, as soon as they discovered the card they purchased was a fake, but she planned to be long gone by then.
Janie was too anxious to enjoy dinner, and she was sure the guests waiting to hear the results of the auction were too. A few minutes after dessert was served, Yeltsin took her hand. “You are beautiful,” he smiled, and then handed her the tablet.
She read the message, Congratulations! Please follow the instructions to transfer funds, and your merchandise will be delivered to your room twenty minutes after the party ends.
Janie keyed in the necessary information, and got a transfer confirmation notice. “It’s done,” she said to Yeltsin, and then kissed him.
The win had given her a rush, and she wanted to jump up and shout their victory to the room, but she didn’t. She waited until people started dancing again, and then she excused herself to go to the ladies room.
She was pretty sure that Choc was going to give her the duplicate. All she needed to do was be available to receive it, and then keep up the pretense a few more hours. She would be infinitely richer, and rid of Petro Yeltsin for good.
Janie was slowly making her way across the room to the bathroom when Choc intercepted her. He pulled her onto the dance floor, and whispered in her ear, “I got a polite, sorry you didn’t win note, so I assume Yeltsin did.”
“Yes, I told you that he would,” she couldn’t contain her smile.
“You think you can switch the card before midnight?”
“The party is winding down, and Basin has promised to d
eliver the card twenty minutes after it ends. I’ll switch it, and meet you anywhere you want.”
“Meet Severe in the kitchen at midnight. Go to the ladies room, and Rayce will give you the duplicate.”
They continued the dance until the song ended, and then she walked out the ballroom and through the great hall to the ladies lounge.
Rayce was standing at the vanity counter pretending to be touching up her makeup. “Mr. Basin really knows how to throw a party, doesn’t he?” she said.
“Yes, he does,” Janie smiled deceitfully.
“Your nose could use a little powder.” Rayce handed her a rectangle shaped compact.
“What brand is it?”
“Second chance, and keep it. You need it more than I do,” she eyed Janie for a beat, and then walked out the bathroom.
“Thank you,” She answered tersely.
Janie got in line behind the other ladies waiting for a free stall, and waited for her turn. The stalls were floor to ceiling marble slabs with thick wooden doors. Once Janie was inside alone, she sat down on the commode, and opened the compact. She lifted the powder puff and looked at the compressed powder. If she hadn’t known a release lever was there, she wouldn’t have seen it. She held the compact in her hand, and used her thumb to firmly press the release mechanism hidden under the powder. The top edge of the mirror in the lid popped opened, and she saw the ultra thin plastic case holding the duplicate card.
Janie removed the black card, and inspected it briefly. It was ultra thin, and it didn’t have a name embossed on it, but other than that, it looked like any other credit card.
Janie wasn’t as patriotic as Ryan, so she hadn’t believed the government official who hired them was telling the truth about his interest in the card. After some extensive investigating of her own, she learned that the card’s ability to access top secret information was unlimited. The owner would have the names of every US operative on foreign soil. That information was worth more than the thing’s alleged ability to create futuristic weapons.
She had gotten an astronomical offer from a certain Prince who wanted total anonymity. Like the man backing Yeltsin, he did not want the visibility of participating in the auction. If he won, his small country would be numbered among the world’s superpowers.
Once she learned the true value of the card, Janie contracted the inventor’s death. She had also been the one to suggest Genesis send their best operatives out the country to look for him. She had orchestrated a fool proof plan, and she couldn’t be more pleased with the way it was coming together beautifully.
Janie put the compact in her evening bag, and exited the stall. She washed her hands, and then took a moment to admire herself in the mirror before she went back and joined the party.
Chapter 28
Ivan accompanied Janie and Yeltsin back to their bedroom after the party ended. “Isn’t she remarkable, Ivan?” Yeltsin pulled Janie into his arms.
“It’s not over yet, baby,” she giggled. “Once we get the card in our hands, then we’ll celebrate,” she kissed him to give him a sample of what was to come.
“Yes, we will celebrate,” he grinned lustfully.
The sharp tap on the door brought them all to attention. “You won’t need me for this. I’m going to get out of this dress and freshen up for later,” she gave him a quick peck on his lips, and then went into the bathroom.
Janie was deliberately staying out of sight, and hopefully out of mind. Basin thought she was just a flunky e-geek, and she didn’t want him to learn how important her role was in Yeltsin’s participation.
“Open the door. Let’s get this done,” he spoke to Ivan when she closed the bathroom door.
Ivan opened the door wide, and then stepped back so Tyler could enter. Ceylon and Mark followed him inside. They had been by his side all night, and Yeltsin understood why the man felt the need to keep security tight.
“Congratulations, Mr. Yeltsin. Here is your merchandise.” He got right to the point and handed him the small black metal attaché case.
Yeltsin took it, and then sat down on the sofa and put it down on the coffee table in front of him. The case had a small grid screen under the handle. “Is it locked?” he looked up at Tyler.
“Yes, and it can only be opened with a DNA sequence code. Right now, I am the key,” he placed his thumb on the screen, and the lock hummed, and then the lid popped open.
One half of the case was lined with gray foam padding that had a credit card size pocket cutout in its center to store the valuable card. The other half was an alpha numeric keypad, and the lid was a nine inch monitor.
“Please, place your thumb on the grid to reset the code to recognize your DNA.”
Yeltsin placed his thumb on the grid under the handle like he was told, and Tyler entered a code. “Enter a new pin,” he said to Yeltsin. “In combination with your DNA code, it will allow you to open the case or change the lock code. The pin is important because you cannot change the code without it.”
“Can I use anything I want?”
“Yes, you may use an alpha or numeric code.”
Yeltsin keyed in a long series of letters and numbers. “Is that it?”
“Yes, once you close it, no one can open it without using your DNA sequence, and only your pin will reset it.”
“Now, let’s see what I bought.”
Tyler lifted the hard plastic card sleeve out of its cradle and opened it. He took the card out, and then pushed it into a slot in the attaché. “Does it need this machine to work?” he asked while watching the black monitor come to life with scrolling white numbers.
“No, it’ll work with any supercomputer.”
A numbered list of names appeared on the screen. “Use the keypad to select a number,” Basin instructed.
Yeltsin entered the number two, and an icon labeled Black Water flashed with a date and time. Yeltsin touched it, and immediately, an operation video; code named Black Water, starting playing. Yeltsin watched a few seconds of the footage, and then he pressed the stop tag.
“Are you satisfied that it is authentic?”
“Yes, I am,” he smiled as he pushed the button to eject the card. He put it back in the protective jacket, and stood up.
“Good, I must say that I was surprised to learn you were the winner, Mr. Yeltsin.”
“Didn’t know I had that much money, huh?” he laughed mockingly.
“We have verified the funds transferred.”
“Then this concludes our business. When can I check out? I was told it would be after the auction tomorrow, but since the auction was tonight, that was obviously a lie.”
“All the guests were deceived about the time for their own protection. For security reasons, the auction was conducted in a way that gave the bidders and the winner anonymity. No one knew who the winner was, or how much they bid,” Basin said, and he intended to keep it that way until they were all out of there. “I hope you understand my reasons for doing it this way.”
“Yeah, I understand, but now that I have my merchandise. I would like to leave.”
“You will be allowed to leave an hour before the other buyers tomorrow morning. Right now, only the people in this room know you won the auction. As you know, not all of my guests are honorable, so as a courtesy, you will remain under my protection until you are safely off my property. You will be responsible for your own security as soon as you pass the last check point.”
“Well, thank you. The dinner was great by the way, and the hospitality was more than I expected from you people.”
Ivan, who had been watching in silence, cracked a smile. He knew that Yeltsin was intentionally trying to be insulting because they had been hearing about Tyler’s royal ancestry and his rise from slavery all night. They were both sick of his pompous black power bullshit.
“I’m glad we were able to exceed your expectations,” Basin forced a smile, but Mark’s expression turned sour.
“Sure thing,” Yeltsin grinned. “Goodnight, it�
��s been nice doing business with you, Tyler.”
“Goodnight, Mr. Yeltsin,” he replied, keeping it formal, and ignoring Yeltsin attempt to disrespect him by using his first name.
Basin gave Ivan a conciliatory nod, and then he turned and walked to the door. “I suggest you keep the card locked in its case. It’s yours now, and the responsibility for keeping it safe is no longer mine,” he said before he walked out the door.
His men followed him out and Ivan locked the door. Janie came out the bathroom and leaped into Yeltsin’s arms. She had been hiding in there with her ear to the door. “We did it, baby. Let’s have a drink to celebrate our success,” she picked up the whiskey decanter sitting on the couch table and started pouring drinks. “Will you be joining us, Ivan?”
“Get a good night’s sleep, Ivan. I want to leave the minute he opens the gate. I’ll talk to you in the morning.” Yeltsin urged him to disregard her invitation.
“Sure…see you in the morning, boss. Good night, Janie.”
Yeltsin started to put the card back in the case, and Janie took it from his hand and replaced it with a drink. “So, this is it,” she rubbed it affectionately.
“Yep, that’s it,” he downed the drink.
Janie put the card down, and then moved into Yeltsin’s arms. She pushed her tongue into his mouth in a deliberate attempt to take his mind off it. “Make love to me, baby,” she purred.
Yeltsin pushed her robe down off her shoulders, and threw her on the bed.
She went through the motions of making love to him until the drug she’d put in his drink knocked him out, and then she pushed him off her, and got up and went into the bathroom. She got dressed quickly in her black running gear, and then she entered a code to disrupt the video feed in their room for a few seconds while she switched the real card with the duplicate.
Janie closed the attaché, and it locked automatically. When Yeltsin discovered she was gone, he would open the case; see the card was still there, and assume she left because she got cold feet about meeting the buyer. It was almost eleven thirty, and she was to meet Severe in the kitchen at midnight, so she needed to hurry.