by Marie Astor
“It was good? That’s all you have to say after leaving the party with Weiss on Thursday night and disappearing for three days straight? I was worried sick about you. You could’ve at least called.”
“No, I couldn’t. I did send a message, didn’t I? And I just got debriefed by Jake. So as far as the agency’s business goes, I’ve done everything by the book. Hell, I even got praised.”
Ally’s eyes widened. “You spoke with Jake? I haven’t heard a word from him.”
“Well, apparently he didn’t think it necessary for you to be contacted.” Delilah instantly regretted the harshness of her retort. It was obvious that Ally’s anger was coming from a different place. She was upset about her troubles with Jake and she was worried that Delilah might fall prey to a similar predicament with Brad. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean say it like that.”
“Nothing to be sorry about—it’s obviously true.” Ally shrugged and turned away just as Delilah noticed a glimmer of tears in her friend’s eyes.
Delilah reached for her friend’s hand. “Ally, Jake cares about you a lot.”
“He sure has a funny way of showing it.”
“That’s because he’s worried about you. He’s being overly cautious because the thought of any harm coming to you terrifies him.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t know if I believe that. Not after the way he was trailing Irene at the party. He was by her side all night long.”
“That’s because he was trying to get information out of her. There’s supposed to be this corporate retreat she’s planning for Weiss and Wright and Jake’s been trying to get more info on that, but he’s come up flat.”
“Yeah, well, maybe he should try a more direct approach. The only reason he found out about that damn retreat is because I bugged Irene’s office.”
“I know that. Jake knows that too. He knows that you’re great at your job.”
“At least that’s comforting.”
“That’s not what I meant and you know it. He loves you. He cares for you and he admires you. What more do you want?”
“Actually showing any or all of those things would be nice.”
“You know he can’t right now. And I’m sure he will just as soon as the case is over.”
“Yeah, well, we’ll see. I’m not holding my breath. Anyway, we’re supposed to be talking about you. Nice try switching topics. How did it go with Brad?”
“Wonderful,” Delilah blurted out. “And terrible . . . You got enough coffee? Because this is going to take a while.” Delilah took a deep breath and launched into an account of her weekend with Brad.
Ally remained silent for several moments after Delilah finished her story. “Wow,” she finally said.
“You sound very reassuring,” Delilah quipped.
“It’s just that I never thought you to be such a romantic. You really like him, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
“So what are you going to do now?” Ally asked.
“I don’t know. I was prepared to say goodbye to him after this weekend, but Jake wants me to keep seeing him. He said it’d be an excellent source of information. And I don’t know if I’m prepared to do that.”
“I see what you mean. I don’t know if I could do that either. Well, I’ll tell you one thing you can count on—my friendship. Whatever you decide to do, Jake won’t hear about it from me.”
“Thanks.”
“It’s really less of a favor than you think. The way things are going he doesn’t talk to me anyway.”
“Oh please, don’t start with that again.”
“You’ve got a point. I guess you’re in even greater heart trouble than I am. I’ll stop, or at least I’ll try. Don’t know for how long I’ll hold on though.”
“Hang on a second.” Delilah reached for her phone. Her eyes widened as she read the message from Brad.
“What’s wrong?”
“I have to go. I’ll explain later.” Delilah rose from her chair and rushed out the door.
Chapter 20
As she jumped into her car Delilah wondered what was it that Brad had to talk to her about. The message had come from his personal email to her personal email, which in itself wasn’t necessarily alarming—the more discreet they were the better. It was the content of the message itself that alarmed her. It gave an address of a motel on the outskirts of town and told her to meet Brad there as soon as she could, that he’d be there waiting for her. His message instantly filled her with dread. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to see Brad—in fact, she was starting to miss him already. It was the manner in which he acted that alarmed her. She doubted he’d act so clandestinely for an afternoon of hanky panky. Plus the shabby location didn’t jive with Brad’s luxurious taste. Something just didn’t feel right to her.
About twenty minutes later Delilah pulled her car into the parking lot of the motel Brad had specified in his message. The entry doors leading to the room were outside, so she easily found the room number Brad had rented without having to have an awkward discussion with a check-in clerk—the place looked like it was rented by the hour.
Brad opened the door an instant after Delilah’s tentative knock. He looked relieved to see her. “I’m so glad you could make it. Quick, get inside.” He pulled her in, shutting the door after her.
“What’s going on?” Delilah asked, surveying the surroundings with suspicion. It was a typical cheap motel room, but Brad had turned down all the shades, even going as far as propping couch pillows against the windows.
“Sit down,” he murmured, motioning to the pillowless couch. “Did you see anyone follow you here?” he asked, taking her hand.
Delilah noticed that Brad’s fingers were shaking. “Not that I know of. Why would anyone want to follow me?”
“I have something very important to tell you, Katherine. I’m in a lot of trouble.”
“What kind of trouble?”
“Very serious trouble. I’ve made some stupid choices and got involved with some very bad, dangerous people. And now both you and I are in danger.”
“Hang on a second. I can’t make sense of your cryptic talk. Some very bad, dangerous people? Could you be a little bit more specific?”
“Have you heard of Tian Wang?”
Delilah had to muster her entire self-control not to gape. “Yes, he’s a Chinese energy magnate.”
“Yes, and up until recently his company was the main supplier of gas to China and Hong Kong until Orion took a chunk of Wang’s contracts. Now the Chinese government is requesting that he cut down his facilities due to the pollution they’re producing.”
“So?” Delilah asked naively.
“About a month ago I foolishly visited Mr. Wang’s casino. I didn’t know it was his casino at the time. They slipped me some crazy drug of their own creation that made me think I was winning, while I was really losing. Losing a lot of money—four million dollars.”
“You owe Tian Wang four million dollars?”
“And that’s not the worst of it.” He sighed. “I hope you won’t judge me by what I’m about to say. It is difficult for me to say it, but I feel that I must be completely honest with you. Just remember that all of this happened before I met you. There was a woman there, a very attractive woman who approached me. One thing led to another and she ended up in my room. The bottom line is that I slept with her and her two sisters—they were triplets.”
Delilah nodded understandingly. She could tell how difficult it was for Brad to tell her all of this and felt it best for her to remain silent. Truth be told, she’d been more shocked to hear that Brad owed Tian Wang four million dollars than that he screwed a bunch of women while gambling at Wang’s casino. Gambling and sex went hand in hand, and with her past she certainly wasn’t one to judge Brad for loose morals.
“They certainly looked like they knew what they were doing when they came on to me, but later on Wang showed me their IDs—they were underage. He threatened to hand me over to the local police if I didn’t agree
to cooperate with him.”
“Cooperate with him?”
“He wants to take down Orion and he wanted my complete cooperation. I don’t have all the details of his scheme. He’s keeping it all very tight. His niece, Irene Zong, is running the show for him.”
“Irene Zong is Tian Wang’s niece?” Delilah asked, bewildered. Numerous background checks that Ally and Jake requested from the agency didn’t show any connection between Irene and Wang.
“Yes, at least that’s how he introduced her and she does refer to him as her uncle. For all I know it could be just a figure of speech, but she is doing his bidding. Her only job at McKeenly is to take down Orion. This whole project of McKeenly doing maintenance for Orion’s plants is a sham to sabotage the plant.”
“But how are they going to do it?”
“That is the million dollar question. If I knew how he was going to do it, I would’ve gone to the authorities a long time ago. But I don’t have any concrete proof or leads to give them and no one is going to take me seriously. And it’s not as if I’m completely innocent, either. A case could be easily made that I was aiding and abetting Wang in his scheme. If I had evidence I could negotiate immunity for myself.”
“What are you going to do?” Delilah reached for Brad’s shoulder to comfort him and was stunned to see him wince with pain from her touch. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, it’s nothing.” He tugged at the open collar of his shirt, and she could glimpse red marks on his chest.
“What’s that?” Delilah asked, sliding closer to him. Before he could stop her, she undid several of the buttons on his shirt and saw that his torso was bruised like a punching bag. “Did he do that to you?” she gasped. “Did Tian Wang’s people do that to you?”
“Yes. This morning Wright called me into his office and there was this man there who’s working for Wang. He did a number on me. I’m embarrassed to say that I didn’t even manage to get in one punch. He was quicker than lightning.”
Delilah shook her head, stunned to hear Brad talk about his fighting skills at a time like this. Male vanity had no end to it. “Wright is in on this too?”
“Yes. I don’t know how, but he pulled the wool over Langman’s eyes and Langman hired him for a job that was supposed to be mine. I was in line to be the next CEO, but it hardly matters now . . . The point is that Langman thinks that Wright can do no wrong, while Wright’s been Tian Wang’s Trojan horse from the start. Wang had Wright on his payroll the minute Wright got the job with Orion.”
“Tian Wang sounds like someone who doesn’t mess around. He must really want to bring Orion down.”
“Wouldn’t you, if you stood to lose millions?”
“So what now?”
“I was going to wait it out and see, but as of this morning everything’s changed. These people are very dangerous and they won’t stop at anything to get what they want.”
“I can see that.”
“You need to get out of here, Katherine. Wang knows that we’re . . .” Brad trailed off, as though unsure how to describe the nature of their acquaintance. “Involved,” he continued diplomatically. “They had photos of us from this weekend. They had me followed the entire time and I had no idea.”
“Neither did I,” Delilah muttered. It was part of her training to notice things like that, but she’d been so wrapped up in her attraction for Brad that she became oblivious to her surroundings.
“There was no way for you to know that something like this might happen, but I should’ve been smarter than this. I’ve dragged you into a dangerous situation, and I’m so sorry. I’m going to make this right. You need to get out of here, Katherine.”
The tone of Brad’s voice and the expression on his face made Delilah wince with guilt. He really cared for her and she didn’t even have the decency to tell him her real name.
“Katherine, are you listening to me? I know this is scary, but we both need to stay focused here.”
“Yes, I‘m listening.” Delilah knew that she had to tell him the truth now. She’d found the lead the agency was looking for. With Brad’s cooperation, Tian Wang’s plan could be stopped. She’d gotten everything she wanted, except for now it no longer mattered and she knew that the moment she revealed her true identity to Brad, she’d lose the one thing that mattered to her now—being with him.
“You have to go back to New York. I’ve booked you a ticket. You have to go to the airport right now. Don’t bother going back for your things—I’ll have them shipped to you later.”
“Brad,” she stopped him. “I have something I need to tell you.”
“Yes?”
She blinked, the weight of the enormity of what she was about to reveal to him heavy on her chest. “After you hear what I’m about to tell you, you’re going to hate me. You’ll probably never want to speak with me again—”
“Katherine, what’s gotten into you? What are you talking about? There’s nothing you could tell me that would make me hate you. I know we barely know each other, but what I felt this weekend—it was more real to me that anything I’ve felt in years.”
She shook her head, tears welling up in her eyes. “You might change your mind after you hear what I have to tell you.”
“What is it?”
“I’m an undercover agent for the Department of Energy. Being a college intern at Orion was my cover to investigate a tip that the agency received about a possible leak in Orion. The agency suspected Tian Wang for a while now, but we couldn’t get any leads and now you told me the whole story. I can get you protection, Brad. The agency will make sure that you won’t be harmed and that Tian Wang pays for his crimes.”
Brad’s faced twisted in hurt. “You’re an agent? You mean to tell me that all this . . . everything that happened between us was only so that you could get a lead?”
“That’s not true. What I feel for you . . . it wasn’t supposed to happen, but it did and it was—it is real. But I can’t let it get in the way of the case. As you said yourself, this is a very dangerous situation. I can get you protection—”
“I don’t need your protection. You lied to me and used me.” He got up from the couch, his face filled with disgust. “You women are all the same. All you do is take, take, take. I never want to see you again. Get out.”
Brad’s words hurt like burning coals against her skin, but Delilah forced herself to be numb to the pain. Her tone became formal and impersonal. “I’m afraid it’s not going to work that way,” she said calmly. “I’m under an obligation to escalate this matter to my senior officer who will have the authority to discuss the specifics of conditions that will be offered to you should you choose to cooperate with the agency in this investigation. Of course the agency’s powers are only civil, so we can’t force you to cooperate. But if you refuse to do so, the agency will escalate this matter to the appropriate authorities to ensure your cooperation. In which case you will forfeit any of the leniencies that might have been offered to you had you cooperated willingly.”
“Wow.” He stared at her disbelief. “So this is the real you, Katherine, or whatever your name is. A hard, cold bitch. Call your supervisor. I’ll cooperate, but I’m not speaking with him or you without a lawyer.”
Chapter 21
Brad Weiss got out of the car and headed toward an abandoned-looking shack that stood on the shore. The cabin belonged to a fisherman and Irene Zong had rented it out for their meeting, liking its remote location. While he looked calm on the outside, inside he was a bundle of nerves. Brad tentatively touched the middle button on his polo shirt, which contained a microphone. His mission was to get Irene and Steven Wright to spill as many details of Wang’s scheme as possible. Brad had retained a lawyer who specialized in these kinds of matters and had secured himself a deal with the agency. Brad would cooperate with the investigation and in exchange he would walk away free, regardless of the outcome.
Brad took a deep breath and put his hand on the front door handle. Realistically he knew that t
here was no way for Irene or Wright to know that he had a recording device hidden in a button of his shirt, but he was still nervous. He’d been extremely careful in his interactions with his lawyer and the agency, but what if somehow Tian Wang’s people were still able to trail him, just like they had tracked him with Katherine? Katherine . . . his heart sank at the thought of her. He’d been taken for such a fool—he’d actually believed that what happened between them meant something to her, meant as much to her as it did to him. In reality the only thing she’d wanted from him was information and he’d been a naïve fool. Turned out his approach to women and relationships had been right all along. At least when you paid for your merchandise you knew exactly what you were going to receive. Brad’s expression hardened—now was not the time to think about Katherine. He had a job to do. With a decisive motion, he swung the door open and walked inside.
The windows were dirty and the house was dimly lit inside. It took his eyes several minutes to adjust. Irene Zong and Steven Wright were already seated behind a crudely made wooden table in the main room.
“Mr. Wright, Ms. Zong, wonderful to see you as always.” Brad used their last names on purpose to identify them on the recording that was being transmitted to the agency.
“Brad, how good of you to join us,” Irene greeted him sarcastically.
Brad checked his watch. He was right on time, but he ignored her remark and joined them at the table. “Will Tian Wang be joining us?” he asked, purposely articulating Wang’s name. He wanted to get as much dirt as possible recorded on the tape.
“My uncle will be joining us on the phone shortly,” Irene replied. She reached for her cell phone and punched in a number. “Hello, Uncle?” she purred into the receiver. After several muffled words of exchange she put the phone on speaker.
***
Ally, Delilah, and Jake were huddled up in a van a few blocks away from the address where Brad Weiss and Steven Wright were meeting with Irene Zong. Thanks to the bug that had been implanted in Brad’s shirt button, they were getting crystal clear reception. In a nearby building there was a squad of FBI agents for backup should things turn violent, as this was now a joint investigation with the FBI.