Elizabeth at War Ch. 08 - Management

Stan nodded. "There's a point. Do we set him up in a suite in the best hotel in town? Perhaps we should, give them a target, so to speak. Anything else we should be aware of?"

She nodded. "Word is that there is a big deal coming off in the next two weeks. Pablo's group is probably involved. We may have the means of taking them on, but there is still not a decision if we stop it, or let it roll and pick up as many of the operatives as we can. So just be aware that there may be some waves in the underworld."

Stan nodded. "Thank you. I think we are moving into a time frame that might coincide. Now, join us in a steak or a burger, and have some fun. Nunes, how far does the 'need to know' stretch?"

The detective frowned. "She is cleared to the top, Stan, all the way. I think it might be wise to have her fully briefed, you never know what might develop."

The afternoon stretched into the evening, when Jenny turned up with a dishevelled Tammy and an obviously pumped-up Tommy. Tammy was obviously bursting with news, but demanded a bourbon and ten minutes to freshen up. Then she tore into a super special double stacked burger built to Stan's personal recipe.

Jenny was working on the computer system and now called everyone into the lounge, which also doubled as a briefing room. The big screen now displayed a picture of Jessica as she was leaving the McCall offices, aviator sunglasses in her hand.

Tammy was hesitant to talk and giggled nervously. "You guys, I know there's some heavy police here, and I am used to be on the other side of the table. So excuse me if I worry that you will arrest me, ok?"

Stan looked at Nunes, who smiled. "Don't worry, honey, we are looking the other way. Did you find her?"

Tammy nodded. "I did all right. Look, you guys gave me the list, three houses. And the floor plans. So first house, really weird. Some pop artist, the place was covered in memorabilia, a room full of dirty clothes, that sort of things. Some young kids around, you might want to look into that, they looked underage, but hey, it's not my business. The second one was some old fogey's house, he has a harem of nubiles there, big orgy going on but again all seemed to be willing. And lots of jewels. My god, if I decide to come out of retirement.... And the third house, bingo. I went in at about ten. Easy when you know how. Basement garage, I put a relay in the DB. Not very neat, it was meant to be an in and out, so someone might spot it. But how many of you check your DB on a daily basis?"

She looked at them challengingly while sipping her drink. Most had to admit they did not even know where their DB's were, in fact most did not know what it was. She explained:

"The distribution board where all the electricity come in and gets distributed through the building. So I put a radio relay in there, everything I put in uses the house wiring as an antenna. I have a small communicator and it uses the same system, so no antenna will pick me up. So I pick up some really sophisticated alarm system. Easy to neutralise if you know how. Then outside. Nice creepers on all the walls and a great little chimney between two wings. So ground floor, nothing much, reception area and so on. Kitchens, that stuff. First floor has some bedrooms and offices, a suite in a corner. Swanky, so I put a camera there. Then top floor, and I strike gold. First suite there's this languid redhead getting screwed by a big stud. Got a nice pic, fed it through, turns out he is wanted for murder. There you go."

A video of two people having violent sex played on the screen, then a read-out of a rap sheet complete with mugshot of the male. Tammy went on:

"Two other rooms had people in, a few were empty but were occupied. There's also a gym, your friend was there."

Another video came on the screen, showing Jessica running on a treadmill, naked, and a tall man with a flexible rod striping her from time to time.

"This was before I could get audio on. He was telling her to run faster although the sweat was streaming off her already. And he was telling her he was going to fuck her if she ran fast and far enough. But then it got interesting. This other guy appeared."

On the screen another figure, clad in a neat suit, appeared. He stood looking on, then leant forward and caressed Jessica's naked body as she ran.

"He was speaking to her, telling her he was proud of her, that she had earned forgiveness, that he was going to give her the ultimate expiation for her sins. He was talking to her all the time, then he told the guy whipping her that he was not to fuck her, that she was to have only one orgasm every two days so that she could save up for the last one."

Elizabeth asked: "What does this mean? Last one?"

Maria da Silva spoke softly in the silence: "They are going to snuff her, they are going to kill her. Make a sex scene where she dies as she has the last orgasm. Probably some sort of ceremony or event."

Elizabeth looked at the screen, then as the white-haired man turned around she shuddered and cried out: "I know him. I... he was at that... Sondra..."

Terry caught her as she collapsed. Sunitra was there to help. Bill took her pulse, then helped them take her to her room.

Stan shook his head. "This is really weird. I can hardly believe this is going on. So, what did you do then?"

Tammy grinned. "I got on the roof to plant a few more cameras and stuff, then started getting out, but they had released a few dogs and a guy was patrolling. I think they heard me somehow, one of the guys was calling a code red and Tommy heard it on the bug I had planted so he warned me. I got in through a basement window. You should see this place, there are all sorts of stuff. Racks with manacles and whips, crosses to tie people to, that sort of thing. A real dungeon. I found a cupboard and hid in there half the day. Tommy and Linda staged a diversion and I got out. Linda had dropped something over the wall for the dogs so I went over the next wall. Had a slight altercation with a gardener though. But here I am, and apparently all the systems are working well."

Stan frowned. "This guy with the white hair, there was no reaction on the databases for him? No facial recognition?"

Tommy shook his head. "Nothing so far. I have the redhead identified, someone called Bronwen. Some family with money reported her missing a while ago. The other guys are on the record. One served time for driving a getaway car at a bank robbery. The other has had a few convictions and one short sentence. All around the edge of crime."

A short discussion followed, then Samantha asked: "Do you see a connection with my line of business? Because this smells like there is some connection, but I don't see it."

Nunes smiled. "The one guy, Mearsden, has connections in the drug world. Much suspected, no proof."

She frowned. "I know the name. Maybe... I'm going to have to check. Do you see a link?"

Nunes nodded. "Oh yes. Not that I can put my finger on it, but somewhere... I did mention the car case to you? A gang that cut up a car and stuffed a body inside before. Crushing it? And the guy responsible said it was not the first time?"

Samantha frowned. "No, I don't think I was told. Do you have details of the previous times?"

Nunes grinned. "Only the barest outlines. I'll send you an extract from the interview record. Still, these things tend to go together."

Bill came back. Before anyone could ask he said: "I don't know. She is resting now. Sunitra and Terry are with her. It must be a sort of nervous collapse, brought on by the tension of the latest news and the image of that man."

Samantha asked: "Does she have some pre-existing condition? I have never seen someone collapse like that."

Bill nodded. "She was poisoned by a gang that was infiltrating major companies to run personal pleasure kingdoms and stealing money. There are also trade secrets involved. Foreign interests, defence companies. Her colleagues died, she just barely made it. In practical terms her brain was wiped clean. It has been a long way back for her."

Jenny asked, hesitantly: "Is she... I know she had some problems, some moments when she could not remember, or coordinate. Do you think she had a relapse? Is she going to be all right? Bill, how is she?"

Bill sat down and gave a tight smile. "I don't know, in fact nobody knows. We will have to get her to an expert, this is a new situation. Me, I think this would have some positive aspects. The fact that she could recognise that person shows that some memory is rebuilding itself, so that may be a positive sign."

Stan sighed. "My take is that the best gift we could give her is to go on and wipe this nest out completely. We were sure we had done so, and Elizabeth was the one to believe the spider in the web was still out there. So let's plan how we are going to do that."

***

Peace, warmth, safety. In the silence a voice, far in the distance. The dark beckons. Silence. Just the voice nagging, calling. The silence returns. Pleasant sensations, warm hands, peace.

The voice returns, nagging. "Elizabeth, come back. Elizabeth, my chela, we need you."

Elizabeth surrendered to the dark, the silence. And after a long while the warmth, the feeling of a warm body against her returned. The safety, the comfort. And another voice: "Elizabeth, my love?"

She whispered: "Terry, love."

Terry was there when she opened her eyes. He held her in his arms, kissing her. "My love, we need you, ok? Don't go away. Sammy, Sweetie and Danny need you but I knew you will come back. Sunitra showed me how to rub your back, do you feel better now?"

She smiled up to Terry and spent a few wordless, tear-filled minutes hugging him. It was much later when she sat up with Sunitra and Bill and asked:

"What happened? What is going on?"

Terry answered. "You had a relapse. Bill will give you all sorts of educated guesses, but the sight of that white haired man sent you back into some deep place. We need you safe, I want to fly you out to the children. But we are going to roll up the network in a day or two. Sunitra, you tell her."

Sunitra touched her face and asked: "Are you all right, my chela? Are you going to be back with us?"

Elizabeth nodded, feeling the weakness in her body, the determination in her mind.

"Yes, I will be all right. Something broke, a barrier, I don't know. I'll be all right. That man is the spider, I know it. There is drug money behind this thing, but it is bigger, it is a network of influence and of stealing technology. That man is the key. McCall is in on it, they are part of it. We need Jessica out of there, she has vital information. We have to burn them out. Oh, if I wasn't so tired."

Sunitra caressed her cheek. "My chela, relax. I know you are right. It is not easy to convince Nunes and the police. They are trying to get a warrant to search, but that will take too long. I got Nikita to wangle me an invitation to do a sensual massage demonstration as an introduction there for an evening they are preparing, this weekend. We are planning as best we can and we will need your input, perhaps on the link. Maybe nothing will happen, but we have a few plans."

Elizabeth held out a hand. "Terry, I want to be with them, but you have to stay here. Mrs DeSoto is another key element and you can talk to her. Find that nephew of hers. He is a loose strand in the pattern. I can see it now. I know the spider is not alone, he has someone close to him. What was the silver woman doing here? Where else do they have connections? I cannot leave now, I have to see this through, to break him."

Terry calmed her down. "My love, we are running with it. Samantha has picked up a few leads that tie in with their coming bust. I think you need to get care, somewhere safe. I will join you as soon as we can, but the team on the ground cannot be distracted with you here. Jenny will go with you to make sure you and the babies are safe."

She shook her head. "Her team needs her. Tammy can stay with me, but I must be here. I need to be there when we take the spider down."

"But you need rest, and she's not trained on weapons. In fact she refuses to touch a gun."

Elizabeth leant back. "Master Tsang taught her. You don't need a thief now."

Terry insisted. "You can follow everything on the net as it happens, but we will have to move quickly and I need you where I am sure you and the babies are safe. Please, love. I will come to get you and you can be in at the final wrap-up."