With most of the security team taken out, Karlee easily made her way into the house. Some sporadic gunfire could still be heard outside as she made her way to the upstairs window. As before at the Lieutenant Governor's, her head was covered with a hood because of security cameras. Still wearing her night vision goggles, she entered the darkened room. A startled man turned around.
“Don't shoot! I'm not armed.”
Karlee confirmed it was her target and took the kill-shot. A second figure appeared in the dimly lit area. She turned and took aim.
“Please don't shoot me,” said the feminine voice.
Karlee hesitated, then remembered what her sister had said about it maybe being the wife who was paying for their contract. She determined there was no point in killing the spouse this time, turned and ran out of the room and exited the home, sprinting across the large lawn. A few more shots could be heard as well as some approaching sirens. She promptly rejoined her sister at the perimeter.
“I think I got 'em all, sis,” Kris bragged. “I hated killing the dogs, but it was them or us.”
“You're a good girl, honey. Now let's get the frig out of here!”
It was early morning when they arrived back at Kristie's house, once again dressed in their everyday clothes. Randolph was waiting. He wasn't the type to ask questions, but did have news.
“Your agent called. You both got parts as extras in that movie!”
It was a week later when the sisters left for Lake Geneva, a plush resort area just across the state line in Wisconsin and home to many rich celebrities, both famous and infamous. There were rumors that in addition to some Fortune 500 CEO's summer homes there, certain Chicago crime families could also be found.
There was an air of excitement as everyone gathered for what was to be a three-day shoot, with some of the big-name stars attending. One of the locals had provided his own mansion for the filming. The Executive Producer was about to address the group.
“Hello, everyone. I'm the movie's Producer and my name is Peter. We ask that you extras not bother the stars during the three-day shoot. There will be lots of downtime between shots, so hopefully you each brought a good book to read. As you know, this film takes place during Chicago's bootleg era and is about an assembly of gangsters and their girlfriends as the men meet to make plans for their future endeavors. You will be provided with costumes from that time period. Please show consideration for your fellow performers. We'll attempt to provide you with breaks and food on a timely basis. This is the staff off to my left. Familiarize yourselves with them, as they will be the ones to help you with your questions, get outfitted and organized. That is all.”
Peter had been given the 'heads-up' by his associates in New York to keep an eye on Karlee, as her audition had captured special attention.
Over the next few days, everyone did prove to be most cordial. The sisters and all the other extras had a memorable, fun time as they donned the outfits, partook in the scenes, and made new friends. Some of the big stars approached the more attractive young ladies who were most awestruck by their presence, with some pairing-off together and disappearing into trailers. During one of the breaks, Karlee chatted with one of the young men.
“Hi, my name's Bob. This is my first time as an extra.”
“I'm Karlee. I'm kind of new to it, too. What do you do when you're not busy being an extra, Bob?”
“I'm a lawyer.”
“Too bad. I guess no one's perfect. I don't have much use for attorneys; I usually just kick their ass.”
“I bet that makes you very popular in the legal community,” he kidded.
“Ditto bankers,” she added with an attitude.
“I've sued bankers,” he said, trying to impress her.
“Really? So have I. I used to be an attorney, too. I don't know how good a lawyer you are, Bob, but I have noticed that you do have a great butt.”
As Bob struggled for an appropriate response, Karlee noticed a man approach her sister. They were close enough that she could eavesdrop.
“Hi, honey. I'm Sonny Sinclair. This is my home,” he informed her with his Italian accent.
“Wow, you have quite an amazing place here, Mr. Sinclair.”
Karlee nearly gagged as she listened to his over-used pick-up lines. Bob soon departed and she continued to listen to Sonny's banter for another fifteen minutes while pretending to read her book. Meanwhile, Peter was observing the whole thing.
Soon Sonny stood up and said, “Kristie, let me give you a tour. There's a lot of history here that you will find of interest.” He led her out of the room, Karlee followed unnoticed. Peter followed Karlee, also unnoticed.
The tour ended upstairs. Karlee, concerned about her still somewhat naive sister, peeked around a hallway corner as the couple entered a bedroom and closed the door. She sensed it was like watching the moth get enticed closer to the flame. A heavyset bodyguard stood outside its door. Peter continued his own surveillance unseen.
Inside the room, Sonny ogled the young woman. “It looks like you’re gonna get what you wanted, sweet thing.”
“What's that, Mr. Sinclair?” she asked in a childlike way.
When he pushed her hand into his crotch, she suddenly realized how foolish she had been. Stunned, she pulled her hand away. “Mr. Sinclair, how dare you! I'm not that kind of girl, sir!”
He tore off her skirt and tossed her onto the bed. She screamed out. Karlee made her move to the guarded doorway.
“You'll have to wait your turn, honey!” exclaimed the threatening fellow.
She gave him a swift and unexpected thrust of her knee. As he bent over in pain, she put him in a choke hold, and then entered the room as he fell unconscious. Kristie was on the bed nude from the waist down, with her blouse and bra pushed up around her neck. The wicked Sinclair was on the verge of penetration, with his trousers wrapped around his ankles.
“Karlee, help!” she cried out.
Karlee was all over the man in an instant. As they struggled, she happened upon a pistol hidden under one of the pillows. She and Kris ran for the door. He tried to pursue, but fell down, tripping over his own pants. Karlee returned and pushed the firearm firmly up against his neck.
“This ends here, Mr. Sinclair, unless you look forward to castration! We don't want you coming after us. If you do, this escalates to the next level. Trust me, you don't want that. Do you agree?”
He nodded yes and the sisters left the room, stepping over the bodyguard on their way down the hallway.
“Why didn't you cut off his balls this time?” asked Kristie. “I liked that idea. And why aren't we calling the authorities?”
“We don't want to end up in a situation like mom and dad had, do we?”
“Oh yeah, I guess you're right,” Kris admitted, as they continued down the hallway.
Peter walked into the room and shook his head in disbelief. Having sensed the potential for various problems, he had brought along his own security team. They maintained control of the facilities as the film-shoot wrapped that afternoon and everyone headed home, most unaware of what had happened.
The next day, Karlee's phone rang. It was Peter the producer.
“Karlee, I was awestruck by your performance yesterday,” he declared.
“But I didn't even have any lines in the movie, sir.”
“No, not that performance, hon. New York told me earlier that they had been most impressed by your audition and asked me to keep close tabs on you, preferably without your knowledge. I did just that and saw everything that happened upstairs when you discovered the assault, as well as the way you handled yourself throughout the three day session. We're preparing to start a new major movie about a young woman, rogue government agent and her adventures saving the free world. She'll have to be very fit physically and most adept at handling herself under adverse circumstances. That's you. You're the one we want to have star as the lead character. Are you interested?”
; “My sister and I are a package deal, sir. That's not negotiable.”
“Done!” he promptly exclaimed. “We're still lining up financing for the project, but expect to start production in the near future.”
Meanwhile, Alexei was lining up other work for her, too. She went on several missions that weren't of much consequence until one day when he called with a special undertaking.
“Karlee, one of the senior American diplomats has been kidnapped for ransom by a small group of Middle Easterners. They are holding him, his wife and kids as hostages on a fishing yacht in the Caribbean. We have been engaged to deliver the payoff and secure their release.”
“Okay, Alexei. What's the plan?”
“I've worked with one of our agency contacts to get both you and your sister included with a group of girls that have been hired to provide an escort service for some of their comrades. You'll each have the usual comm device concealed in your ear. Janine and I will come aboard with the payoff after you two have ensured that the family is alive and well. We'll be using a go-fast, or cigarette boat, in case things go awry and we need to pursue them. Randolph will provide additional cover from another yacht nearby. Several others will be providing assistance.”
It was a few days later when the half-dozen escorts boarded a boat at a pier in Key West to take them to the yacht. Kristie looked over at an adjacent boat to see Randolph watching inconspicuously. He winked at her. The pick-up boat promptly delivered the young ladies at the awaiting luxury craft. As the foreigners welcomed them aboard, their demeanor made her skin crawl.
“You ladies will make certain that these men are kept happy! Be sure that their fishing lines are always baited and that their drinks are always full. There is a changing room down below with your bikinis.” He then turned around and resumed his conversation with the other men in Arabic.
Karlee, seized the opportunity to search the lower deck and determined where the prisoners were probably located. Once all the girls were back on deck, they were joined by the diplomat and his wife, with an armed man accompanying the anxious looking couple. Both were middle-aged and rather frumpy in appearance. The girls determined that the kids were being kept secured in the lower deck area to keep the parents in line.
Inspired by the stories of the 911 terrorists drinking alcohol at the Florida strip clubs, these men also ignored their religion's dictates. “Girls, bring us some drinks!” ordered one of them with his middle eastern accent.
As the morning wore on, the sisters kept an eye out for other boats, hoping to see Randolph's as well as one with Janine and Alexei.
“I just love the turquoise color of this water,” marveled one of the other girls as the warm, salty, sea-breeze blew gently against her face.
“Oh, look, there are some dolphins!” shouted out another.
As the liquor flowed, the men became more obstinate, continuing to speak mostly in their native tongue.
“Girls, now that we are out past the three-mile limit, the rule is no bathing suit tops allowed.”
The other four girls were used to such things, and casually complied. Kris and Karlee were less eager.
“You two, go topless or go overboard!” shouted one of the villainous characters.
Wanting to blend in with the other girls, they too removed their tops.
“Now bring us more drinks, bitches!” he said arrogantly.
By the time morning slipped into afternoon, the sisters had been able to confirm the children were safe below deck, although bound and gagged. The men slipped into a state of increased drunkenness. Several other party boats joined them in the area as a school of fish had been detected by everyone's sonar. Many of the other partiers were topless as well, with some being totally nude.
“Look there,” pointed out one of the liquored-up men, “those girls on that boat are naked. Oh, I love some things about this country!” As Kristie brought him some fresh bait for his fishing line, he reached over and tore off her thong.
“Hey, you can't do that!” she shouted at him.
He slapped her and Karlee started shouting, too. Having enjoyed seeing his comrade tear off Kristie's bottom, another one of the men boldly tore off Karlee's thong as well. As both sisters struggled with the men, the leader shook his finger disparagingly at them.
“You two must learn the meaning of obedience. After all, we are going to take you back to our homeland with us.”
“You can't do that, asshole!” shouted Kristie.
“I can do anything I want to with you. Not only are we out in international waters, but I also have Diplomatic Immunity!” he claimed with a boisterous laugh. “You both are now my property!” He then gave Kris a swift swat on her bare butt.
One of his associates suggested it might be fun to see how long one of them could tread water. He agreed and threw the naked Kristie into the colorful sea.
“Help!” she shouted, struggling to stay afloat in the calm sea. “I hope those fins are dolphin fins coming this way,” she said anxiously.
The men set aside their fishing poles and gathered at the edge of the boat to jeer at her. Karlee threw her a life preserver.
“Here comes a boat!” one of them yelled. “It must be the Americans bringing our money.”
“Bring the girl back into the boat and take them all down below,” he ordered.
A few moments later, Janine and Alexei were climbing aboard with a silver case in-hand. They wore side-arms and several armed men accompanied them, but remained on the idling cigarette boat. Randolph had positioned himself, along with his sniper rifle and scope, unnoticed on one of the neighboring fishing yachts.
“Is that our money?” the leader inquired as his men lined up along side him, also armed.
“Where is the rest of the family? We need all four of them on board our boat before we hand over the case.” Alexei opened the container to show lined-up stacks of hundred dollar bills.
When the exchange had been made and the family was aboard his boat, Alexei said, “I believe I saw some young ladies depart the pier and come here this morning. Where are they?”
“They are busy. We are done. Go now!”
A scream and loud ruckus could be heard from down below. Seconds later both sisters emerged nude and disheveled. One of the kidnappers grabbed Kristie and put a gun to her head.
“Leave now or she dies, this other one, too!”
Just then a hole appeared in his forehead, no rifle fire had been heard. Randolph had taken the shot from a quarter-mile away. The man dropped dead, then another, and their associates promptly stepped back and took cover. Janine and Alexei pulled out their weapons and a fire-fight ensued. When several of the men on deck got away, Randolph picked them off one at a time. Janine went below deck to retrieve the other four girls, along with all their clothes and the silver case full of cash.
The group showed no mercy to the remaining terrorists. Being independent contractors in international waters and there in no official capacity, they proceeded to gather up and kill all the surviving men. Everyone was back on deck except for Janine.
“Bomb!” she shouted from down below. Seconds later she appeared on deck, out of breath. “That last one set-off a timer as I shot him. It says ninety seconds and it's counting down!”
They all scrambled for the idling go-fast boat and quickly crammed themselves into it. Alexei gunned the powerful diesel engines and the craft's response was instantaneous. The engines roared loudly as they sped away. Seconds later the luxury fishing yacht exploding into a million pieces. The concussion could be felt for hundreds of yards.
“I can never thank you people enough,” said the relieved diplomat as he exuded gratitude. “Anytime I can do anything for any of you, please do not hesitate to tell me!”
“He is a man of much influence,” added his adoring spouse. “When he says he can help you with anything, he means it!”
“Thank you. We're just glad we could save your whole family. We got
lucky this time. Besides, we were well paid,” said Alexei.
At the end of the day, the diplomat and his family returned home. The others stayed to unwind and enjoy a sunset walk along one of the Florida beaches. A few lingering clouds made it even more scenic and memorable.
Shortly after returning to Chicago, the sisters got the call from Peter that they had been waiting for. Financing for the rogue agent movie had been secured and they both were needed in Hollywood as soon as possible.
A few days later as the pair sat together in their dressing area of the studio going over the script, several men in suits approached.
“Karlee Kingston, I'm FBI Special Agent Charles Tibbals. This is Special Agent Ibarreta.”
“How can I help you gentleman?”
“We're investigating the killing of Lieutenant Governor Wallace from Illinois,” he revealed in a menacing manner. “We've retrieved digital voice prints from the scene. Our computers routinely search the digital universe for matches in such cases.”
Kristie's face began to reveal a look of grave concern. Karlee's remained emotionless.
“And?” Karlee asked.
“And we have an eighty percent match on your audio track from the scene you two played together in that long-lost twin TV episode. You've become a person-of interest.”
“Eighty percent isn't a lot,” said her sister dismissively.
The agent continued, “We'd like you to come downtown with us, take a lie detector test and provide us details of your whereabouts that night.”
“No thank you, sir.”
“It's not a request, Miss Kingston.”
“First of all, I have no idea what night that was, and when you will tell me, I'll have no memory of my whereabouts on any given night from such a long time ago. Secondly, a lie detector test could pick up false indications from some childhood memory, erroneously implicating me. It could only serve to get an innocent girl like me into more trouble. Thirdly, an eighty percent correlation isn't enough for you to get a warrant, otherwise you'd have one. I'm sorry you wasted your time, gentlemen, but I must ask you to now leave us alone as we have lines to rehearse.”
Lethal Liaisons (Willful Women Assassins Series) Page 5