by Amber Lynn
I had no idea how to play my mistake. Did I go with escapee from the psych ward or level with the guy? He sounded sincere in everything he'd been saying, enough so that I'd made a mental note of it more than once.
I really wished I had a way to hear Nate's opinion. Of course, right then he was probably saying things like, "I can't believe the idiot I'm forced to work with," and very likely trying to think of places to dispose of my body after he killed me.
Everywhere I turned there seemed to be someone needing a place to dispose of my body. Having thought up a list of great places only days before, I could've been nice and shared with those from out-of-town, but I was going to make them find their own spots.
I decided to go with my gut. "Technically, I'm not with the police, but I happen to have a FBI agent listening in to everything we say."
"That's great. Do you think they'll help me? I was too afraid to go to the cops because Olaf had my sister kidnapped from school a month ago. He threatened to kill her if I did anything stupid, so I've been going along with everything they've told me to do." I got the feeling by the look he gave me that he thought I was the reincarnation of some mighty savior.
"How in the world did you get involved with the Schwartz operation in the first place? They are really, really, I don't think there are enough reallys in the world to stress my point that they are bad men."
"I know that now. At first I wasn't even aware they existed. I've already told you part of this when we were talking about my business. I needed some funding for a big project at work that I knew would make the company a large profit. I was having problems finding backing when a good friend of mine put me in contact with that guy I met at the deli the other day, Manny. He seemed to have the money and at the time I thought a legitimate business of his own."
Jimmy took a second gathering his thoughts before he continued. I imagined he'd been storing up his story for a while and I was the privileged one who got to sit through it.
"As you can imagine, things went bad. The Schwartz's needed some weapons for some big army they're trying to create or something down in Panama, but they didn't want to deal with the arms dealer directly and for some reason decided I'd be the perfect mark to be the middle man. I don't know why, since I've never dealt in that kind of business."
"This is bad news, how much do you know about the deal they have going on?" I asked, hoping that he was no longer on speaking terms with his "good friend". What kind of friend would get him involved with people as dangerous as the Schwartz brothers?
"I don't know a lot, just what Manny told me. He's a big talker and it doesn't take much to get him going. I know the shipment is in New York Harbor on a boat called The Santa F?. It's supposed to set out in the morning at two. I believe at least one of the brothers is planning on being there to oversee things, because of some mess ups recently within their operation. I haven't seen Manny for a couple days and he isn't answering his phone, so I haven't gotten any updates."
I found it interesting that he hadn't heard about Manny's demise. I hadn't had a chance to watch the news, but I figured there'd been at least a mention on the news.
"That's good information as long as they didn't change the departure time," I replied to Jimmy. Out to anyone listening in, I said, "Might be a good idea to get someone to the docks and see if that boat is still in the harbor." I was sure Nate had already thought of that, but he could've still been cursing me for blowing my cover.
"Do you think the people you've been working with are going to be able to help me? I really didn't want to get involved with this, but they had my sister. Once I have her back safe, I'm willing to give over any evidence I have, if you think you can help out my case."
"I really don't know how things like this work. I sit in front of a computer all day and only have what I've seen on TV to go by as far as possibilities. I have to think things look good for you though from what you've told me. As far as your sister goes, do you know where they're keeping her?" I asked.
She was the one I worried about. If anyone got a hint that Jimmy was dealing with anyone able to help, his sister's life was more than likely the first one lost.
"Manny said they're keeping her in a hotel here in town and she'd be dropped off in front of my hotel when the shipment left the docks. I think he said it was the Belnord Hotel or something like that. They've let me talk to her every couple of days and she seems to be okay. I don't think they've done anything to harm her. I don't know what I'd do if they did, she's all I have left."
It sounded like he was about to cry. Personally, I would've been too pissed to even worry about crying, but I didn't get the feeling he had as sturdy a backbone as I did.
"I will personally do everything I can to make sure she gets back to you unharmed," I vowed. I didn't have a way to carry out that promise, but I was fairly certain Nate would take care of things.
"They have guys watching me. They're probably following us and I'm sure they'll be at the ball tonight. How are we going to play this?"
"I think I've mentioned this, but I'm no expert in these situations. We'll know more when we get to the ball and I can get a word with the person listening in. Until then, I guess we just act like we're two people out having a good time."
"I've been pretending nothing has been wrong for over a month now, so a few more hours should be easy," he said as the limo came to a stop. I could see bright lights outside the window, making me believe we'd made it to our destination and not just stopped for traffic.
Jimmy exited the car first and turned to assist me. Moving in a dress wasn't as easy as it was in jeans, but I managed not to flash anyone. I thanked Jimmy and wrapped my arm through his as he led me into the hotel.
We made our way up to the second floor and entered an elegantly decorated ballroom. I spotted a couple of waterfalls and lighted water displays that only confirmed it wasn't my usual scene. It looked like most of the other guests had arrived, if not, people were going to be dancing in the hallway before long.
"You want to grab something to drink?" Jimmy asked, leading me towards the refreshments.
"Sure, all the talking we did has left me a little dry. I'm hoping they have some water, because I don't trust a bucket of punch."
I noticed as we got closer that there was plenty of bottles. Jimmy got us both a bottle and we headed over to a corner to admire some art on the wall. I wasn't big in to art, so it was my way of pretending I belonged.
"We could dance if you wanted to, while we wait for the presentation that they'll be doing," Jimmy suggested.
"Me dancing would probably scare everyone away. For the charity's sake, I think it's best I stay far away from the dance floor." I scanned the room trying to find Nate. Not seeing him yet I asked, "What charity are we supporting tonight anyway?"
Along with the dossier on Zuba, I should've gotten that information. If the spy world was for me, I'd have taken notes on all the things I needed to remember for my next undercover mission.
"This one is a charity that promotes getting drinking water to everyone. I've heard they do great work overseas in places that haven't seen clean water in a very long time," he informed me.
"It sounds like a very worthy cause," I said. I finally saw Nate walking towards us, and my heart did its little skipping a beat trick. I was thankful to see he didn't exactly look murderous. To Jimmy I said, "Elphay isway erehay. Ayplay itway oolcay." Maybe he'd understand, probably not, but I still liked my secret way of communicating.
"Gotcha," he said immediately. The idea of being friends with Jimmy sounded more believable the more time I spent with him.
"You're Jimmy Zuba, aren't you?" Nate walked up, extending his hand to Jimmy. "I can't believe it, Jimmy Zuba. It's been forever since I saw you last. What maybe ten years since high school graduation? Remember me? As successful as you've become, I doubt it. I'm Nate."
"Oh my goodness, Nate," Jimmy played right along with the story. "How are you doing? Are you and Heather still together?"
Jimm
y was good, and I could tell I was taking home the award for least able to blend in. I considered asking Nate what kind of trophy came with that honor, but was too busy watching the masters at work.
"No, sadly we broke up freshman year of college. You know how it is, high school sweethearts who went out and found there are a lot more fish in the pond than we originally thought. Won't you introduce me to your date?" Nate asked.
"Of course. This is the beautiful Avery. I'm pretty sure God above sent her to me. We met just a couple of days ago at a deli not far from here. One look at her and I was lost. I was ever so grateful she agreed to be my date tonight. I'm afraid without her this night would've been a total bore," he said as he lifted my hand and kissed it.
Nate, being Nate, just had to let a little growl slip. Sometimes I wanted to throw him a raw T-bone to see if he pounced on it. I had a sneaky suspicion he would.
"She is very enchanting," Nate said as he got himself under control. "You're a very lucky man to have found her. How about we get together after the event tonight and catch up over some coffee?"
"I love that idea. I have a limo waiting for me. After the speeches are over and I've said hello to everyone I need to, we could try to slip out. I'd love to hear what you're up to these days," Zuba replied, and I almost believed the two of them really knew each other.
"I'll look for you then. I need to go speak to someone I just noticed across the room. See you in a little while." With that Nate was gone and I was alone with Jimmy again.
"Hmm. He seems to like you," Jimmy said as we moved to an unpopulated part of the room. A few people had wandered over to look at the same art we had been.
"Nah, I'm pretty sure he's plotting my demise. He tends to do it a couple of times a day and nine o'clock at night just happens to be one of those times. I've even set my watch to him." The statement would make more sense if I wore a watch, but the sentiment remained the same.
"I see you're in denial. As long as you stay there, maybe I stand an actual chance at a real date after this is over." I didn't miss the wicked glint in his eyes. I had to admit that Nate did it better.
"I'm really not on the dating market. Talking to people isn't my forte so I tend to stay away from relationships, where talking is kind of essential. You'll be going back to Chicago anyway and I wasn't joking about not wanting to move closer to my mother. She'd drive me insane"
?"Well, no one wants that. It's too bad. I really do find you very intriguing. Most women I meet are just out for my money."
"Don't be fooled. I was out for money too, just in a different way. I like tracking things and money is one of my specialties," I explained.
"So that's where you come into the equation. You really do like computers?" he asked. "That wasn't a cover story?"
"Almost everything I've said to you was the truth," I replied, surprised we'd been able to keep away from the other guests for so long. "I obviously don't go to NYU, but otherwise it was the truth. We better start mingling a little more. Your shadows will probably get suspicious if we don't."
We joined up with the big group just as the speeches were about to begin. An hour later, after three speeches that had me wanting to stab skewers in my ears enough times to make me deaf, we could finally blend into the crowd and get out the door. On the way out, Jimmy made a call to his driver so the limo would be ready.
"There you guys are," Nate said as we walked outside the door. "Where would you like to go for coffee? I was hoping to see the Statue of Liberty at night. Do you think we can find somewhere close to it?"
That was why Nate got the label super-agent and I was the agent who never was. His ability to blend the fact that we were going somewhere close to the harbor that just happened to have a ship full of guns, waiting to head out and start World War III.
Anyone listening to him would believe he was a tourist wanting to see a sight most tourists flocked to see. I thought about making him some kind of reward for his efforts, or maybe just getting him a gold star sticker to wear.
Trying to help I said, "That's a sight to see. She's magnificent in the daylight hours, but night will really take your breath away, if you haven't seen it before. I'm sure there are coffee shops close by. This is New York, after all, there are coffee shops on every corner."
With that, we all piled into the limo and headed towards what could be my first experience in active duty. I wasn't ready, and I doubted a year of training would really prepare me.
CHAPTER 22
The human lie detector, that's me?Yeah right