"Oh, yeah," the others said in unison.
"You need some lessons," Nikki said. "Now, if you really want to get that Fish person interested in you, you're going to have to do a little sucking up. Now get out there and say something nice before he leaves."
Annie frowned. She opened the door and shouted, "Yoo-hoo, Mr. Fish, wait up a minute." She tripped down the cracked walkway and smiled. "I was. . .uh. . .wondering if you might know where I could find a pair of white boots with rhinestones?"
Little Fish looked like he'd just fallen through the rabbit hole. "Come to think of it, Miss No Name, I do know a cobbler. Walk out to the car with me, and I'll write down his name. I have to warn you, he's expensive."
"That's okay, I'm rich," Annie babbled. "And I do have a name. It's. . .it's Honoria. My friends call me Ria."
Fish grinned. He hadn't had this much fun in a long time. "How do you know Rena?"
"That's NTK. It means need to know."
"I know what it means. I used to be in the military. You look familiar. You from around here?"
"I think I'd remember you if we'd met, you being so cantankerous and all. I don't usually associate with curmudgeons. Life is just too short. I live in New Jersey."
"Nobody lives in New Jersey," Fish said.
"Well, after I left, the state did kind of fold up. Thanks for this," Annie said, waving the piece of paper back and forth. "What's the other phone number?"
"It's mine. That's in case you ever want to call me, Miss Anna de Silva."
Annie's jaw dropped. She stared at the man who was staring at her. Should she panic and run, or should she brazen it out and hope for the best?
Fish climbed into his car and leaned out the window. "Rena called and explained. Your secret is safe with me. I was funning with you. The guy's a great shoemaker. You being rich and all, you should give some thought to maybe making an offer on one of the casinos in town. Maybe we could partner up financially and give it a whirl. I kind of feel drawn to you, and you got some grit to you."
Grit! Panic bubbled up, but she managed to ask, "Which casino? I didn't know there were any for sale. I don't even know you."
"Well, you know me now. There aren't any casinos for sale right this minute, but one will be going on the market in the next day or so. You have my number. Call me if you're interested."
"Which casino?"
"The Babylon."
Annie turned around and ran as fast as her legs could carry her. She slammed the door again, and the other front window cracked down the middle. "Oh, my God! That man knows! He called me by my name! He wants to go into business with me! We have to get out of here right now! Wait till I tell you. . ."
The women clustered around and demanded to know if aside from knowing about them, through Rena, the leathery menace who had darkened their door had asked her for a date.
"Oh, it's better than that. Listen up, girls."
Chapter 18
Ted Robinson sat on a high stool in the condo's kitchen, his fingers working his ever-present BlackBerry. Lizzie was standing in the doorway talking on her cell phone, taking one call after the other. He wasn't sure, but he thought she looked. . .He grappled for the right word, not exactly worried, maybe apprehensive or concerned. He looked down at a message that had popped up from Maggie:
What's she wearing?
Not, What's going on and why is she worried? But, What's she wearing?
Ted's fingers flew over the keys.
A washed-denim bomber jacket and a kind of skimpy T-shirt underneath with lots of cleavage showing. A short skirt with strings hanging off the bottom. I mean short. I guess she's wearing panties. Do you want me to check? I think she went to a tanning bed somewhere during the night. She's bronzed. Looks like all over. Makes her hair sparkle like diamonds. No makeup that I can tell except lipstick.
The incoming message read:
Not necessary to check out panties. What's on her feet?
Ted's fingers tapped away.
Shiny black boots with heels that are at least four inches high. She looks like an Amazonian Aphrodite.
Maggie's response:
Any jewelry?
A set of headlights in her ears. I don't know much about diamonds. Hers are big.
Maggie's response was:
Diamonds are a girl's best friend.
Then she clicked off, and Ted was left staring at Lizzie, who looked like she was finished with her cell phone. His eyebrows rose in question.
"A small change of plans. It seems Marble Rose wants to go with us to the casino to accept her payoff. And, she wants one more crack at those slot machines. Since nothing has been signed, I see no problem with her coming along. I also think she has every right to take another crack at those machines for what she went through. We'll know soon enough if there's a problem when we get there.
"The vigilantes are on their way to somewhere. It seems they were temporarily located at an abandoned nursing home out in the desert, that one Little Fish said was infested with rattlesnake nests. It also seems that Rena Gold confided in Little Fish about the vigilantes. That does not make me happy. The flip side of that is, according to Rena, the man is not stupid and has his own agenda where the casinos are concerned. He might have secured the information on his own and just attributed it to Rena. I will check that out. Regardless, Little Fish, according to Annie and the others, is on our side."
"I'll check him out. He's the guy who has green grass, and his property is mined, right?"
Lizzie nodded. Ted immediately started hitting the keys to his BlackBerry. He knew that within the hour, Maggie and Joe would have the skinny on Little Fish.
"Lizzie, what's our bottom line here? What exactly is going on? I'm usually pretty quick on the uptake, but I seem to be out in left field on what exactly is happening. I thought we came here to spring Marble Rose, which you did, and to make the casino assume liability, which you did. Then all of a sudden there is dirty work afoot, but I'm not clear on what it is. Suddenly the owner of the Babylon is here to attend the meeting we're about to have. The NGC is up to its eyeballs and is willing to pony up beaucoup bucks to have the vigilantes do something. A martial-arts exhibition is arranged on the fly, and suddenly Harry and Jack are en route but only after Elias Cummings, the outgoing director of the FBI, and Judge Cornelia Easter arrive here to get married. Helloooo.
"The Post is stirring up some kind of wasps' nest that's driven the presidential election to page three. Something I never would have believed could happen. Washington is the land of politics. By the way, Martine Connor is experiencing cash flow problems as they approach the finish line. She's in desperate straits."
Lizzie frowned. "How desperate?"
"Maggie said there's no money for the television blitz they planned for the last three weeks of the campaign. On Annie's orders, she's taking IOUs for full-page ad space every single day, and she's got Joe doing below-the-fold coverage. Millions, to answer your question."
"We can deal with that after we finish up today. Anything else?"
"Bert Navarro is on his way here. Seems the official explanation is that Elias Cummings wants him to be his best man. Maggie thinks otherwise. Hell, I think otherwise. So that makes a rather long list of Washingtonians who are in town. If you're counting, which I am, it's Cummings, Judge Easter, Jack, Harry, Bert, you, me, and—of course—all seven vigilantes. All heavy hitters except me. What are you all going to do, and why exactly are you doing it, whatever the hell it is?" Ted felt so frustrated he wanted to bang his head on the kitchen wall.
Lizzie sauntered over to the counter and hoisted herself onto one of the stools. Yep, she was wearing panties. Her legs were so long her feet rested on the floor. Ted tried not to look at the shimmering thighs. He swore to Maggie that Lizzie's thighs sparkled. Maggie responded by saying there was a sparkly something or other that came in a spray can that women sprayed on themselves. He rolled his eyes at this information. Who knew?
Lizzie looked at her watch. She dec
ided she had time for a brief catch-up chat with her newest associate. "Marble Rose was our initial case, but she was a diversion. Yes, she won a boatload of money, and, yes, they put the screws to her, but she was still a diversion. Her. . .uh. . .winning streak, for want of a better word, happened just as Owens and his team were taking on the other casinos and the Babylon and winning big. I don't know as of this minute how many people are involved in what they orchestrated. Greed, as I've always said, is the most powerful motivator in the world. I guess to people like that, no amount of money is ever enough. I do know that the Babylon, like most casinos, has a bonus program. Whatever the head of security saves the casino by being on top of things factors into his monthly bonus.
"I'm thinking that guy Owens has a small army of gamblers who hit a casino once, then they're replaced with others in the crew. That's why they haven't been caught. Mr. Udal says this has been going on for a year, but even with all their high-tech security, they couldn't nail anyone. Then in comes Marble Rose and her big winnings, which brought it all front and center.
"I guess the casinos have their own code of ethics. What they do behind the scenes is something else. That slogan What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas has some truth to it. Bottom line is they want the entire security team at the Babylon taken care of. And they are willing to pay for it.
"Everything is a smoke screen. To put them on edge so they might make a mistake. They know something is up, but they don't know what it is. I got a phone call late last night from Peter Udal, and he said there were no big wins anywhere on the Strip in the last two days, which means Owens and his people are lying low because they can smell trouble. We have to flush them out.
"We're a temporary fix until the vigilantes take over. Another distraction, if you will."
Whatever Lizzie was going to say next was cut off when her cell phone rang. "I'll be right down." Then she said, "Our taxi is here, Ted."
"No fancy cars today, Counselor?"
"No, no fancy cars."
Kathryn Lucas drove the white van, with Nikki riding shotgun and the other women sitting secure and buckled up in the rows of seats in the back. A mile down the road and past Little Fish's spread, she pulled over to the side of the road. The girls hopped out and removed the Red Cross decal and license plate. The new decal, a decorative bouquet of brilliant-colored balloons, graced each side of the van. Matching three-inch letters raced across the top of the balloons and spelled out the words THE PARTY STORE. The current license plate was replaced with an Arizona plate. "Make sure the paperwork matches the plate," Kathryn said as she slipped behind the wheel again.
"Where are we going? I think we'll all feel better if we have a destination in mind," Myra said.
Nikki turned around and said, "I think until Charles locates a nest for us, we should check out the Babylon. All we have to do is put on our padding, our serviceable shoes and wigs, and hit the ground running. We'll park somewhere on the Strip, get out and, one by one, walk up to the Babylon. We can all use the exercise. We'll meet back at the van at a designated time. If anyone has a better idea, let's hear it."
Alexis spoke for the others when she said she agreed. She immediately started to dig into her Red Bag.
Fifteen minutes into their drive, Kathryn broke into their chatter. "I can't be sure, but I think we picked up a tail. Either that, or whoever is driving that big SUV is just out for a joyride."
"Oh, it's probably that Fish person," Annie said airily as she plopped a Shirley Temple wig on her head and gave it a good tug. "I think you should pull over, pretend you're having engine problems, and when he stops, we take him out."
Myra's hands flew to her pearls, and she grasped at them like a lifeline.
"Good idea," Yoko, who now looked like a dumpy little Chinese lady with short black hair and bangs, said. She looked over the top of her granny glasses and winked at Annie.
Kathryn yanked at a baseball cap that said she was an Atlanta Braves fan. She appeared to be twenty pounds heavier, almost as dumpy-looking as Yoko. "Okay, let's do it!" For five seconds the van swerved, then swerved again, before it slid to the side of the blistering road. She said, "That was a tire-blowout simulation. How'd I do?"
"Just perfect," Annie said, as though she were an expert on driving an obstacle course.
"Okay, I'm going to be looking at the right-front tire. Yoko, Nikki, get out and start waving your arms all around. Let's see if the SUV stops to help three women."
"What if there are more than three people in that SUV?" Myra asked anxiously.
"Well, there are seven of us, so I think it might be a crapshoot," Annie said, her hand on the door handle, ready to slide it open if her help was needed. "If you don't want to be part of the action, you just sit in here and play with your pearls."
"That hurt, Annie."
"It was supposed to sting, Myra. Ah, look, they went right past, but now they're backing up. Get ready, girls. Oh, dear, those men look like lean, mean fighting machines."
"How many are there?" Myra demanded, her voice now ringing with confidence.
"I see four," Annie hissed.
"Piece of cake," Myra shot back.
Annie turned around, and said, "Myra, my dear, you rock!"
Myra beamed. Alexis and Isabelle clapped in approval.
The three dowdy-looking women were bent over poking at the tire when four strapping men, Little Fish in the lead, approached. Yoko was jabbering a mile a minute in Japanese as she kicked out at the tire with a shoe that looked like it belonged to a longshoreman.
"What seems to be the problem, ladies?" Little Fish asked.
Yoko straightened up to her four-foot-eight height and said, "You are the problem!" She pivoted, her right leg swinging out like a piston, felling the man nearest Little Fish, while her left hand, fingers like steel rods, jammed into the man on the other side of Fish.
Nikki took the third, while Kathryn did a lightning pirouette and had Fish in a neck vise as Yoko reached for the gun on his hip.
Kathryn dusted her hands dramatically. "Guess that takes care of that! What should we do with them?"
The door to the white van slid open on well-oiled tracks. Annie held up her hand for silence. "Trouble," she hissed.
"I think the question is, what should we do with you?" a voice said from the SUV, where three men stepped to the ground, guns drawn.
Quicker than lightning, Yoko had her foot on Little Fish's neck. "Make a move, and I crush his throat." She bellowed for Annie and the others, who raced to the scene.
Myra and Alexis reached for the newcomers' guns and tossed them into the desert. Her foot still on Fish's throat, Yoko handed the gun to Annie.
"Get over there and sit down with your friends while we decide what to do with you," Isabelle shouted.
Kathryn looked over at Yoko. "You didn't kill those two, did you?" She sounded like she was asking if Yoko had picked up eggs at the grocery store.
"I don't think so." Yoko shrugged to indicate it didn't matter one way or the other.
"You," Myra said, pointing to the three newcomers. "Come over here, sit down, and put your hands over your heads."
Annie had Fish's gun and was waving it around. "Move, and I'll shoot you. Ask Mr. Fish here how good I am with a gun."
Yoko stepped away from Fish.
He started to cough and sputter. "Okay, okay, you took us. But, my dear lady, I'm afraid that I cannot vouch for your proficiency with firearms since I have never seen you do more than wave one around. But in case you haven't noticed, there happens to be a rattlesnake sitting up just about a hundred feet to your right."
Annie spun around, raised the gun, and fired, all in one motion. The rattlesnake dropped like a ton of bricks. Annie calmly walked over to the dead snake, picked it up, brought it back to Fish, and asked, "How about that? Have you ever seen a three-eyed rattler before today?"
"Can't say that I have. Look, we were just following you to make sure nothing happened to you. We were trying to protect you, fo
r God's sake."
"Oh, how sweet of you, Mr. Fish," Annie cooed. Then she snarled, "Does it look like we need protection? Maybe you should think about hiring us."
"What makes you think we need protection?" Nikki asked.
"Because you're going into a snake pit, that's why. I can only guess why you're here and who hired you. You think those bad boys at the Babylon are going to let you take them? Get real."
Nikki laughed. "We took you, didn't we? Not that it's any of your business, but we have backup in town. It's time for you to get real. I say we take these guys back to that empty building, tie them up, and get on with what we came here to do. These wusses are amateurs and not worth the effort we're expending on them. Let's vote."
"Seven to zip to go back to the abandoned building," Alexis said, after all seven hands shot into the air.
"Ladies, ladies, please. We need to be reasonable here. I've known for two days that you were coming. Rena. . .well, let's just say she's a very good friend. She was worried about you and wanted me to. . .watch over you. If I had an ulterior motive, I would have called the cops day before yesterday and sat around to wait to collect the massive reward that's on your heads. I didn't do that, I won't do it, and neither will my men. For whatever it's worth to you, I cheered you on when you. . .uh. . .were in your active mode. I can see now why you're in such demand, but again, you don't know the people you're dealing with. When big money like this is involved, there are no rules."
"Why should we believe anything you tell us?" Yoko asked.
"Because I'm telling you the truth. And because Rena asked me to watch over you because she said she owed you, but there was nothing she could do personally. Rena saved my life a long time ago. There was a bad car accident, and I was part of it. She pulled me out of my truck just minutes before it exploded. She's been like a daughter to me ever since. Call her, for God's sake, ask her."
Final Justice Page 17